#s/i: kerberos

[emoaliien]

turns out ive been selfshipping (on & off) for 6 years at this point! he's not getting rid of me lmao

[kerberosstyxnixcharonandhydra]

Hehe its a height lineup :3

These bitches tested my skill and patience ngl. Im not a fan of how wobbly some of the lineart came out, but fuck it we ball.

Joey belongs to my friend @idiotv2 and hes silly and hes awesome and i can never explain how much i love him btw

*also sadly styx's forearm crutches look weird since medibang kept crashing when I did the lineart so I ended up kinda having to half-ass some of the lines so I could save before it all shut down. sad.

[silvr-skreen]

kerberos BHM pajama shirt

ft: joey from my friend.

[scientistkerberos]

i think its important to note that kerberos is spiritually a 2014 tumblr galaxy print bitch. if it wasnt like. poke2008 they'd be so cringe /affectionate

[girlboypersonthingy]

First Meetings~

Voltron x reader drabble about the first time they met each other 💖💖💖 Gender neutral reader ALWAYS !

LANCE 💙

This cheeky boi. He first laid eyes on you back at the Garrison when he saw you and Pidge talking one day at lunch in the cafeteria. Hunk and Lance came strolling in to find Pidge, presumably to bug them and mess with their current technology fixation. Before the two boys have even sat at the table, Lance has his eyebrow cocked, a smirk on his lips and a hand slowly running through his hair.

"Hey...name's Lance." He looks down at you, leaning on the table to get closer to you. You smile at him politely, unsure of his motive with such a flirty tone.

"Hi. I'm (Y/N). Nice to meet you." You offer him your hand to shake and your smile widens. Right then, as his hand fell into yours and you were being so nice to him (and he was lowkey admiring your smiling lips), he felt it. It was kind of like he had to throw up, but also like he wanted to run a marathon. You'd think he'd go for the ol' kiss on the back of the hand cliche, but not with you. He just stares, in awe of how cute you look. You were different...he didn't know why, but he just couldn't keep his cool around you.

"I-I like your name. Heh...uh yeah. Nice to meet you, too." He mumbles, now a shy blushing mess. Your hands parted, but he kept staring at you. You couldn't help the blush that crept up on your face as you quickly looked away from him. "Oh brother..." Pidge mumbles as they roll their eyes, still tinkering with their device. "Dude, you good?" Hunk whispers to him as he watches the awkward staring contest happening between you two.

"Uh I should...get going actually." You stand slowly, smiling at the two boys again before gently nudging Pidge's shoulder. "See ya later, Pidge." Pidge simply nods, not looking up from their current project. And with that, you quickly run off to your room to scream into a pillow because OH MY GOD WHO WAS THAT CUTIE AND WHERE HAS HE BEEN ALL YOUR LIFE??? And Lance...yeah, he just starts screaming right there in the cafeteria...in front of everyone because the boy is S T A R S T R U C K.

SHIRO 🖤

Aww space dad is so sweet and polite. You and Shiro met when you helped Keith rescue him when he landed back on Earth after the failed Kerberos mission. You had befriended Keith just after Shiro had disappeared and while you knew who Shiro was, you had never actually gotten the chance to meet or interact with him before you were dragging his limp body off of that medical table.

As soon as he woke up, Keith was by his side. "Shiro? Hey...how are you feeling?" Keith stood from his seat and quickly approached the bed Shiro was laying on. He sat up slowly with a groggy groan. "I'm alright." He replies softly before rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, Keith. You haven't eaten all day. Come on, why don't we-" You stop in your tracks upon seeing Shiro awake and standing slowly. You had been concerned that Keith was just rotting away in his seat waiting for Shiro to wake up, but all thoughts left your mind when you saw him. He reaches his long, strong arms above his head to stretch and you just watch, taking note of how much taller than you he is. Seeing him up close like this had your heart doing back flips. His eyes look so soft and his hair is a bit disheveled and he's smiling at you. Oh god, he's smiling at you...

"Oh, uhm. Hi. I'm (Y/N), Keith's friend." You blurt out nervously, fidgeting with your fingers. Shiro nods and holds out his hand to you. "(Y/N). Nice to know Keith is making friends. I'm-" You cut him off as you slap your hand into his, shaking it excitedly. "Shiro! Yeah, I know who you are. Everyone does." His smile becomes bashful as your eyes meet, giving you a firm hand shake. He can't find the strength to let go of you, not when you were looking at him like that, his smile growing by the millisecond. The way he repeated your name made you forget how to breathe for a second. It was like in the movies, a slow motion love-at-first-sight scene.

Keith simply raises a brow and crosses his arms as he watches you guys get lost in each other's eyes for a moment. "Uhm..." Keith's voice brings Shiro back to reality. He quickly pulls his hand away, averts his gaze and clears his throat. His once soft and lovely expression has turned more serious. "I have so much to tell you, Keith."

PIDGE 💚

Let's be real...Matt TOTALLY hooked ya'll up. You were Matt's friend before you met Pidge. He was nice and funny and hella nerdy just like you. You guys just got each other. One day, he invites you over to help you with some very challenging homework because he's obviously way smarter than you and he could tell you were struggling.

You sat across from him at his family's kitchen table, your head in your hands as you sighed. "I'm gonna fail." You groan, causing Matt to chuckle. "No you won't, (Y/N). Come on, let's go over it again." You sigh and try to follow along in your textbook as he reads to you. A small figure sneaking to the cupboard catches your eye. You glance up to see who it was looking for a midnight snack. Matt stopped reading and smirked a bit. "Pidge, you better brush your teeth after you eat all that sugar." You watch the younger of the siblings turn towards you, their arms full of different candies and chocolates. "You're not the boss of me." They reply in a snarky tone, making Matt whip his head around to look at them. "I'm the oldest person in this room, that makes me the boss of both of you." Pidge simply rolls their eyes as you struggle to look away from them.

Pidge approaches you guys, slowly sliding a mars bar across the table to Matt. "Don't tell mom I'm eating sugar this late, please?" They mumble shyly as they attempt to bribe their sibling. You can't help but stare. This adorably small person with long, messy hair and tired eyes was the most gorgeous person you'd ever seen. Matt snatches the candy bar with a cheeky grin. "Only if you share with (Y/N), too."

Pidge glances over at you and sighs. "Fine. What kind do you want?" You panic, barely able to function with them standing so close. "Uh...you uh...got any Reese's?" They go to slide the candy over to you and as you reach out for it, your fingertips touch just for a second. That's all it takes for you two to make eye contact and you both become blushing messes as you both yank your hands back. The eye contact doesn't last long because Pidge is just a shy little bean, but Pidge definitely keeps glancing over at you as you reach out and pull the candy closer. You open it and take a bite, smiling a bit. "Mmm, I love peanut butter." And Pidge just can't look away now. You like peanut butter, they like peanut butter and the way your face looks as you chew. Wow, they think you're too cute.

Pidge just stares as you take another bite. The silence, at this point, is too much to bear. Finally, Matt chimes in, "Geez, Pidge, stare much?" You blush as you look up and meet their gaze. You flash them a small smile, watching them get flustered. They quickly look away and angrily snatch the candy bar from their brother's hand. "I hate you." They grumble before walking off back to their room.

"They totally like you. Oh ho ho! I'm never letting this go." Matt snickers as your face grows more red.

KEITH ❤️

Baby boy met you after you were rescued from a galra prison. Pidge, of course, needed to search every cell for her father and brother and they stubbled upon you, dirty, weak and starving. You looked exhausted but hopeful. Pidge calls for some help in getting you and the others in your cell back to the castle. At this time, Keith was much too busy being the protector to really help you all escape.

Once back at the castle, all the others who were held captive with you were doing fine, but you were in much worse shape. The galra seemed to really despise humans so you were thrown in the ring to fight and man handled the most. Bruises littered your body, scrapes and dry blood painted your face. You had a hard time even making it off the galra ship and to the castle, so Shiro and Allura thought it would be best to put you in a healing pod.

It wasn't long before all the paladins were surrounding your pod, wondering how another human ended up all the way out here in the hands of the galra. Finally, as the pod begins to opens, the group goes silent as they watch you. "Someone better grab them. Last time I did, Allura nearly ripped my poor ear off." Lance shoves his hands in his pockets. "Don't look at me! They're like twice my size!" Pidge protests, their arms crossed now. "Guys-" Keith tries to intervene. "Just do it, Lance." Pidge argues and suddenly, the blue and green paladins are full blown shouting at one another. As Shiro tries to deescalate their fight, Keith notices that your eyes are still closed, but you're slowly leaning forward. He jumps forward to catch your weak body before you nearly face plant. You fall into his arms with a grunt, slowly opening your eyes.

"Hmm? Where...where am I?" You ask the boy holding you, his eyes looking deep into yours. "You're uh...We're uh..." Keith just couldn't come up with any words as his pretty purple eyes bore into yours and your hands clutched the sleeves of his jacket. Your lips began to stretch into a shy smile as he slowly came down to his knees, still cradling you in his arms (lmao bonding moment <3). He gently rests you on the ground, nearly scrambling to get away from you and back to his feet. You look around at the others, a confused look on your face. As Allura begins to explain where you are and who they all are, Keith is just staring at you down on the ground. He rubs his arms where your hands were just resting, a blush quickly tinting his entire face and neck. If God is real, Keith is pretty sure he just met them.

You stand slowly, feeling tired but better than before. "Wow, no way I was saved by the paladins of Voltron. Cool!" You smiled brightly as you clasped your hands together behind your back. "Uh, sorry. I'm (Y/N)." You look around the group as they all begin telling you their names. When your eyes landed on Keith, his eyes went wide with embarrassment. "Keith..." He mumbles shyly, making your stomach drop. "Thanks for catching me, Keith." You watch as he looks down at his shoes, his long dark hair covering his beet red face. You are so damn cute, what the hell? He's never felt this way before and neither have you. The way his name rolled off your tongue made him want to punch something, but also made him want to cry? He is such a dense guy, but something about you softened him just a bit that day.

HUNK 💛

You and Hunk met back at the Garrison. Lance was no doubt out trying to impress some cute pilot while Pidge sat up on the roof, looking for signs of their brother and father. So, that left Hunk to go on a mission of his own. It was late, far past curfew, but when your stomach is grumbling you decide to sneak into the cafeteria in hopes of finding a late night snack. It was dark and quiet as you tip toe through the halls, constantly looking over your shoulder for anyone who might catch you. As you scurry into the kitchen, you slowly open the large industrial sized fridge. The light from the fridge illuminates the room around you and as you look back once again to check for anyone who might catch you, you nearly yelp as your eyes meet Hunk's. He's sitting up on the counter with a jar of peanut butter and a spoon, his eyes wide when he sees you.

"Geez, you scared me" You both whisper in unison. The way the dim light lit up his cute chubby face had you seeing stars. There was a bit of peanut butter on the corner of this mouth and his cheeks were turning red as he stared at you. He couldn't see much detail with the way the light was shining behind you, but just the way you were standing with your hands behind your back and the way your voice sounded tired and the way you wouldn't tear your eyes off of him. Boy was whipped. "I-if you tell anyone about this-" You whispered before he jumped down from the counter to get a closer look at you. "No, its okay. I come in here all the time after curfew. It'll be our little secret."

Now that he's this close, he can see the color of your hair and the shape of your jaw and the curve of your smiling lips. You looked back and forth between his kind eyes and the jar of peanut butter in his hand, your heart racing. "You...want some?" He holds the jar out to you and you shake your head. "Uh no thanks. I was looking for something salty like chips or something." And before you can finish your sentence, he's opening cupboards to help you find a good salty snack. You watch him for a moment before you realize your heart is POUNDING in your chest. He was so...big. Not that you mind that, you just couldn't help but wonder how warm and comforting his hugs must be.

"Ah ha! Hope you like salt and vinegar chips." He turns to hand you the bag, a bright smile plastered across his tan face. You took the bag from his hand and nodded. "You really know your way around the kitchen, huh?" Your voice is still soft, just above a whisper. He lets out a soft laugh as he nods his head. "I mean...I'm not trying to brag, but I do whip up a mean apple pie. Do you...like pie?" He watches as you stare up at him. He wanted to look away because we all know Hunk is a shy babe, but he really loved the way your hair was messy right now and the way you looked at him made his knees feel weak. "Apple is my favorite pie." And at that, you're both full blown smiling at each other.

"I'm (Y/N)." You offer him your hand and he's quick to grab it, shaking it gently. "Hunk." He lets your hand go, but he wishes the contact would never end. Your hand was so cold in his and now he was picturing you two cuddled up in bed, his warm body bringing you comfort. You both stood in a comfortable silence for just a moment before you both hear talking and footsteps coming from the hallway.

"Goodnight, Hunk!" You whisper shout before taking off back towards your room. He watched you scurry off, not even worried about getting caught right now. He couldn't look away, not when you had just said his name so soft and panicked.

"Goodnight, (Y/N)." He sighs dreamily.

ALLURA 💖

You met the princess during a mission in which team Voltron had to sneakily board a galra ship in order to deactivate a weapon that would soon be used to try and capture their precious lions. The galra were using you to their advantage- you were a weak human but you were feisty and a decent fighter so they forced you to protect and serve them and, in return, you were treated a bit better than the other prisoners.

As sirens blare in the ship, you run to where you were told to go. You were simply following orders. As you quickly round the corner, your body SLAMS into another, sending you both falling back on your butts. You quickly regain your footing and reach for your dagger before realizing the hard collision of your bodies sent it flying off in another direction. As the other figure stands, you lift your hands and take a wide-legged stance, ready to fight with your bare hands. Before the fighting began, the tall woman in front of you takes off her helmet, making you nearly gasp. "A human?' She asks, her eyes wide. Your hands fell back to your sides as you watched her. She was so tall and pretty. Did you just die and go to heaven because you are so sure she's an angel.

You shake your head to regain clarity and raise your fists again. "Yeah, and who the hell are you?" She steps closer to you, her hands up in a nonthreatening way. "I'm Princess Allura, I am with Voltron. How did you end up here? Why are you working for the galra?" You blink in shock, your hands once again falling to your sides. "Voltron?" You repeat, realizing this could be your savior. "The galra are keeping me here, forcing me to work for them. I-" She cuts you off by grabbing your hand and leading the way. As you run along behind her, you're quick to grab your dragger off the floor and return it to it's sheath on your hip.

You couldn't help but let your eyes wonder the back of her figure, admiring her long legs and slender fingers wrapped around yours. Your hand was sweating but not as much as your face was. This beautiful lady was rescuing you after you nearly punched her just seconds ago. You simply followed along as the rest of the team took out the weapon and soon returned back to the castle.

Once back at the castle, you introduce yourself, explain your situation and sheepishly apologize for making their mission harder. "Well, I'm glad you're here, (Y/N). If the galra were utilizing your talents then I'm sure we can make good use of you, too." The way your name sounded on her voice made your mouth dry. You gulp nervously, staring up at her bright blue eyes. "Y-yeah. I'm glad I'm here too, Princess." She smiles sweetly at you, causing both of you to blush slightly. For just a moment, everything else disappears and it's just you and her, eyes locked, lips slowly turning up into a smile, cheeks growing more and more red. She realizes that the moment is becoming awkward and tense so she looks over to the others, noticing their smirks. They all knew you two were falling for each other. "Well then...are you hungry?" She asks you before glancing at you once more. "Starving." You reply softly before following the team to the dinning room.

[uniquecellest]

Some fun AU ideas for Adashi

- Adam is half Galra/human but remained unaware

-Adam is half Altean/human

-Adam half Altean/Galra

-Adam was sent to earth to be a spy however he was extremely young and does not recall his mission at all

-Adam was captured; Shiro gets recaptured and thrown into the Gladiator ring again, they have to fight. Adam doesn't remember Shiro

-Shiro and all Paladins get to Earth the day the Galra invade. Shiro ends up saving Adam before Adam can unalive and Shiro is p i s s e d they went after Earth, especially Adam

-Adam and Lance get captured at different times/places resulting in Keith and Shiro to go after them, only they have to make a choice who lives: Adam or Lance (bonus for Adashi/Klance parallels)

-Matt teasing his friends Adam and Shiro constantly being a little terror to them

-more Adam, Shiro, and Matt being the og Garrison trio

-Krolia meeting a young Adam while she's with Keith's dad and Keith's dad being a mentor/role model to Shiro

-Matt, Shiro, and Adam discover Voltron earlier and are the paladins

-Adam meets Zarkon, Lotor, and/or Sendak and goes ferral on them for hurting shiro, Keith, and the other paladins

-They never broke up when Shiro went to space making

-Adam went on Kerberos replacing Matt, Sam, or Shiro

-Adam gets captured but is released as if a hostage, he was brainwashed/had a chip put in him

-Shiro vs. Kuron and Kuron brings Adam up to emotionally hurt Shiro (lowkey pisses Keith off bc no disrespects his brothers like that)

-Shiro and Adam reunite but are stiff thinking the other has moved on. They're only around each other when necessary unaware that they're also spending longer times together again - /and of course I still want him, but I can't when he's clearly moved on/ (cue Matt and Keith pulling a parent trap)

-rebel leader Adam whether it be on earth or a different planet

-Adam helps make Shiro a new hand

-trouble makers Adam, Matt, and Shiro (i.e. Matt and Shiro causing chaos while Adam tries to get them to chill)

- teenage Adam wanting to impress Shiro so he does something stupid that could actually result in explosion from the Garrison

-Shiro and Adam having relationships with the other Paladins before Kerberos (Pidge especially)

-Adam making Shiro blush easily

(Shiro: you know what you're doing

Adam: what are you talking about. [Actually knows what he's doing])

-Shiro and Adam loving to observe each other from afar from when they're cadets all the way to when Shiro leaves for Kerberos

-Adam is secretly an heir to a great fortune, but he had cut ties with his family and didn't get it til his grandparents passed away (Adam is not the only living relative just a sole inheriter)

-Adam sees Kuron and Shiro fighting and is the meme of "hey what's x + x kuron: correct answer Adam: shoots him Paladins: that was the right answer Adam: yes, but Takashi always does this (cut to Shiro and Keith doing the same fucking movement)

- Adam giving Shiro a silent treatment for dying in space

-Adam thanks Haggar for curing Shiro before unaliving her

-nervous cadet crushes bc they're 50/50 if the other will say yes if asked on a date. Someone makes a remark on the other making Adam or Shiro punch someone. The fight is broken by the time the one who wasn't present gets there (or maybe they're pulling their crush off) and don't get the full story until the one who wasn't fighting is helping patch up the one who was

-they're roommates as cadets

-Adam or Shiro is roommates with Matt while the other has a single room (cue Matt doing his best in getting the two idiots together)

-young Keith unaware that Adam and Shiro are dating so he tries to get them together (he enlists Matt's help)

[two-nines-left-spleen]

Thoughts and rambling on HSR 2.2 (Part 2)

MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Please feel free to share your thoughts, Ideas, things you noticed etc. I love when people ramble about things they found in the indulgences they enjoy.

Here are thoughts, pins and findings on Trailblaze Mission

Small Town Grotesque Quest

Misha's introduction as a Key Character was done a little clumsily. He did come a bit out of nowhere and him being suspicious was cleared a tiny bit too fast for me. I mean, as someone who actively tries to figure out the story beforehand, it was clear that there was way more to him, I just thought our characters would find out more -naturally. I blame Welt's perceptiveness, haha. The rest of his story however, was phenomenally executed. More on that later.

Hoyo PLEASE make Micah playable. One man with beard. You had no business designing an NPC this hot. (Siobhan too, please, please, please)

I have - and this is biased as HELL - massive Dr. Ratio brainrot. His fucking prescription he gave to Aventurine in 2.1 said Dormancy first. The Death Meme is revealed here to be Dormancy. Ratio is either a.) connected as all hell to the other characters or b.) really, really fucking clever to have this figured out earlier than everyone else who was NOT directly killed or in contact with Penacony's Kerberos. (Or c.): both). It also shows again, that, for being repeatedly advertised as a narcissist, he cooperates quite well with his surroundings. More on him later - yes, we saw this man for 2 seconds on screen, yes, I will write paragraphs about this. Stop me, I dare you.

Robin is a good-at-heart character and to me, she represents Penacony's heroine (like Bronya and Seele were Belobog's heros -alongside the Express Crew). I like that she was, like Firefly, instigating things on her own and thankfully subverted my fear of her being portrayed as a damsel in distress. I like characters that, at their core, are portrayed as kind. They are easy to write but hard to write well and I feel like HSR has done a very decent (not perfect, but decent) job at it.

I saw some people say that she wasn't in the story enough, and while we didn't get the whole Aventurine-Kakavasha experience with her, I felt like her impact was there during the whole quest, especially towards the end. (Put the metaphorical pin in that too).

Now, Gallagher. Hooooh this one's - hard. Difficult to pinpoint him and his stance and especially his stakes in this story too. I still think I don't fully get why he believes what he believes in. There's obviously so much more to him and this is the very first glimpse of History Fictionologists and the Enigmata followers. I doubt what we saw was the real him - and he did reveal some very interesting things regarding his path. I think we'll see him again, most likely in another form, most likely more complete. He is just a 'made-up character', even according to himself - his story in Penacony is over, but not in the universe. The Penacony Gallagher may have been Thirteen and younger than Mikhail but whatever bigger thing he seems to be part of seems to be- older. Also kind of hilarious that he actually told truths most of the time - in the most backhanded way possible. Frankly, he deserves a whole ass analysis post for himself (The CREDITS, THE CREEDIITS WHAT DOES IT MEAN??????).

And with this 2.2's second trailblaze quest concludes! See you in part 3!

[killxz]

03 ━━ 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐞

Pairing: Keith Kogane x Fem!Reader

trigger warning(s): confrontation?

The group perches on a small cliff jutting out, giving you a perfect view of the containment bubble. The crashed ship is beside the metal bubble, with scientists checking the wrecked ship. Pidge zooms in with her computer thingy and scans the area.

"Whoa, what the heck is that thing?" you point to the crashed ship on the screen. Pidge then zooms into the entrance of the containment bubble. A pretty, slim officer walks out of it and salutes the guard at the entrance. "And who the heck is she?" you hear Lance swoon. 

You whack the back of Lance's head. "Lance!"

"Ow!" he complains. "Right, alien ship. Man, we'll never get past all those guards to get a look."

"Aw man, yeah, yeah, I guess there's nothing to do but head back to the barracks, right?" Hunk tries. You pat his back encouragingly.

"It's alright, Hunk. Worst-case scenario, we all get found by the alien in that ship, and it kills us mercifully," you shrug. "Totally painless."

"Not helping, Y/N!" Hunk whimpers.

"Wait. They set up a camera in there, and I grabbed its feed. Look!" Pidge pushes her computer towards you.

"Hey! What are you doing?!" A familiar voice shouts.

"Calm down, Shiro. We just need to keep you quarantined until we run some tests," a scientist says.

"S-Shiro?" you whisper, eyes wide.

Shiro struggles against the restraints. "You have to listen to me! They destroy worlds! Aliens are coming!"

Lance points to the screen. "That's Shiro! The pilot of the Kerberos Mission! That guy's my hero!"

"Guess he's not dead in space after all," Hunk marvels.

Pidge frowns. "But where's the rest of the crew?"

The voice of one of the scientists comes out. "Do you know how long you've been gone?"

Shiro struggles again. "I don't know. Months? Years? Look, there's no time. Aliens are coming here for a weapon. They're probably on their way. They'll destroy us. We have to find Voltron!"

"Voltron!" Pidge exclaims. You aren't paying attention, still stuck on the fact that Shiro is alive. Shiro had been your mentor, your only father figure in your life.

"-what are they doing? He's a legend. They're not even gonna listen to him?" Lance's worried voice breaks you out of your thoughts.

"W-we have to help him!" you blurt out.

"I hate to be the voice of reason, always, but weren't we watching on TV because there was no way to get past the guards?" Hunk reasons.

"We've just got to think." Lance taps his chin. "Could we tunnel in?"

"Maybe we could get some hazmat suits and sneak in like med techs." Pidge suggests.

"Or we dress up like cooks, head back to the dorms, sneak into the commissary... little late-night snack." Hunk tries.

"No. What we need is a distraction." you interrupt.

As if on cue, explosions light up the space behind the containment bubble. Hunk shrieks. "Is that the aliens? Is that the aliens? Are they here? They got here so quick!"

"No, those explosions were a distraction, for him!" Pidge points to a speeding hover ship.

"The Garrison's headed toward the blast, and he's sneaking in from the other side." She finishes.

"No way! Oh, he is not going to beat us in there!" Lance jumps up, ready for action.

"That guy is always trying to one-up me!" He snarls.

"Who is it?" Hunk asks. You spot a familiar head of raven hair and his favored cropped jacket.

"Keith," you whisper. You begin to run towards the containment bubble.

"Who?" Pidge asks, confused.

"Are you sure?" Hunk asks, running beside you.

"Oh, I'd recognize that mullet anywhere!" Lance shouts.

"Who's Keith?" Pidge yells, running behind you. You slide down the cliff and run towards the bubble. When you get in, you see Keith supporting Shiro, and the scientists lying in a crumpled heap on the floor.

"Nope. No, you... No, no, no. No, you don't. I'm saving Shiro." Lance grabs Shiro's other hand.

"Who are you?" Keith asks.

"Who am I? Uh, the name's Lance. We were in the same class at the Garrison." Lance says, incredulous.

"Really? Are you an engineer?" Keith asks.

"No, I'm a pilot! We were, like, rivals. You know, Lance and Keith, neck and neck." Lance tries to jog Keith's memory.

"Oh, wait. I remember you. You're a cargo pilot." Keith clicks his tongue.

"Well, not anymore. I'm a fighter class now, thanks to you washing out." Lance brags.

"Well, congratulations." Keith deadpans. He looks at the entrance and sees you. His eyes widen. "Y/N?" He breathes. You look away, your heart clenching. Anger sparks in your gut. You continue down the hallway to his hovership.

"Do you mind if we caught a ride with you?" Hunk asks, not waiting for an answer before climbing onto the back. The ship tilts backwards, hitting the ground.

"Is this thing gonna be big enough for all of us?" Pidge adjusts herself.

"No." Keith groans. You stand on the ground, not knowing where to sit. There isn't any place for you. Keith notices your hesitation and grabs your arm, pulling you up behind him. Your cheeks flush at the close proximity to him. Dang it. "What do you think you're doing?!" You demand.

"Oh shut up! Would you rather get left behind?" Keith shouts back.

The Garrison's vehicles are coming towards you. Keith revs the engine, and you speed off away from the Garrison.

"Why am I holding this guy?" Pidge demands.

"Hey, we did all fit." Hunk cheers.

"Can this thing go any faster?!" Lance demands, looking back at the vehicles gaining on you.

"We could toss out some non-essential weight." Keith snarks.

"Oh, right!" Lance agrees and looks around before catching on. "Okay, so that was an insult. I get it."

"Big man, lean left!" Keith shouts.

Hunk leans left, and two of the vehicles crash into each other. "Aw, man! Mr. Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery! No, no. He's fine."

"Big man, lean right!" Keith shouts again. Hunk leans, and the whole ship careens off the side onto a thin road on the side of a cliff.

"Whoa!" Hunk, Pidge, and Lance scream.

"Guys, i-is that a cliff up ahead?" Hunk points a shaky finger.

"Oh, no no no!" Lance screams.

"Yup," Keith leans down and speeds up. You yelp and instinctively grab onto his waist as you shoot down the cliff, squeezing your eyes shut, your head against his back.

"What are you doing?! You're gonna kill us all!" Lance shouts.

"Shut up and trust me!" Keith increases the speed, and you are suspended in the air for a moment before crashing back down harshly on the ground and speeding away.

---

Soon, you reach a small shack in the middle of nowhere. As the three of them carry Shiro into the house, Keith turns to face you and quirks a brow. You realise you're still clutching on to his waist and quickly let go and jumped down from the speeder.

"Don't say a word." You snap before marching to the shack, cheeks warm.

You settle in to wait for Shiro to wake up. 

It's about dawn when Shiro wakes up. He trudges outside for fresh air. It's not long before Keith follows him out.

You all sit in silence as the door closes.

"Okay! Now that he's gone, Y/N, I thought Keith broke up with you a year ago! Why was he flirting with you back there?!" Lance demands. 

"Huh?!" You demand. "Shut up! We were not! He could go fall inro a ditch for all I care!"

 Lance continues to pester you about Keith until the door opens, and Keith and Shiro walk in.

Keith motions for you all to follow him, and you walk in front of a covered board. Keith removes the cover with a flourish.

"What have you been working on?" Shiro asks, awestruck.

"I can't explain it, really. After getting booted from the Garrison, I was kind of lost and found myself drawn out to this place. It's like something... some energy was telling me to search." Keith replies.

"For what?"

"Well, I didn't really know at the time... until I stumbled across this area. It's an outcropping of giant boulders with caves covered in these ancient markings. Each tells a slightly different story about a blue lion, but they all share clues leading to some event, some arrival happening last night." Keith explains. "Then you showed up." He looks at Shiro.

"I should thank you all for getting me out. Lance, right?" Shiro shakes Lance's hand.

"The nervous guy is Hunk, she's Y/N. I'm Pidge." She introduces.

"Y/N?" Shiro's eyes widen. "You've changed so much!" He pulls you into a hug. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Shiro." You hug him back tightly.

"Wait, you two know each other?" Lance asks, confused.

"Shiro used to care for me all the time. He's something like a brother to me." You smile.

"So, did anyone else from your crew make it out?" Pidge asks hopefully.

"I'm not sure. I remember the mission and being captured. After that, it's just bits and pieces." Shiro says apologetically.

"Yeah, sorry to interrupt, but back to the aliens. Where are they now? Are they coming? Are they coming for us? Where are they at this very moment?" Hunk bites his thumbnail.

Shiro sighs. "I can't really put it together. I remember the word 'Voltron'. It's some kind of weapon they're looking for, but I don't know why. Whatever it is, I think we need to find it before they do."

"Well, last night, I was rummaging through Pidge's stuff, and I found this picture." Hunk holds up a picture of Pidge and her brother. "Look, it's his girlfriend."

"Hey, give me that!" Pidge snatches back the picture. "What were you doing in my stuff?!"

"I was looking for a candy bar. But then, I started reading his diary-" Hunk now holds up a red notebook. 

"What?!" Pidge spluttered.

"-and I noticed that the repeating series of numbers the aliens are searching for looks a lot like a Fraunhofer line." Hunk continues like nothing happened.

"Frown-who?" Keith looked confused.

"It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element." You answer. Keith looks towards you with a surprised look and you look away.

Hunk nods his approval. "Only, this element doesn't exist on Earth. I thought it might be this Voltron, and I think I can build a machine to look for it, kinda like a Voltron Geiger counter."

"Hunk, you big gassy genius!" Lance exclaims.

Hunk smiles bashfully. "It's pretty fascinating, really. The wavelength looks like this." He pulls out a piece of paper with a graph on it.

"Give me that!" Keith snatches the paper and scrutinises it carefully. He turns around and holds it up in front of one of the many pictures on his board. The picture was of a rocky canyon, and the many hills looked like the wavelengths of the graph. 

"Looks like that's where we should start," Hunk mused. 

"Okay, let's rest more before we head out tomorrow." Shiro, ever the team leader, instructs everyone. As the group voiced their agreement, they spread like water, Lance flopping onto the couch while Pidge and Hunk start planning their 'Voltron Finder'. 

As everyone settles down, you find a quiet corner of the shack to collect your thoughts. The sudden reappearance of Shiro has thrown you into an emotional whirlwind, and on top of that, there's Keith. You can still feel the heat of his touch on your arm, and it frustrates you.

You stare out the small window, lost in thought, when you hear footsteps behind you. You don't need to turn around to know it's him.

"Y/N," Keith's voice is low, almost hesitant.

"What do you want, Kogane?" you reply, not turning to face him.

"I think we need to talk," he says, coming closer. "About...what happened between us."

You don't look at him, instead pretending to focus on the makeshift sleeping area you've set up. "About what?" you ask, your tone clipped.

He sighs, clearly frustrated but trying to keep his cool. "About what happened between us. I know it wasn't the best way to end things—"

"You don't have to explain anything, Keith," you cut him off, finally turning to face him. Your eyes are hard, even as you feel the sting of old wounds threatening to reopen. "You made your choice a year ago. I don't need closure or whatever you think this is."

You cross your arms, the anger bubbling up inside you. "And don't tell me, you thought ghosting me was the right way to handle it? You didn't even give me a chance to understand, Keith. You just vanished, left me to figure out where the hell you went and why." Your voice is steady, but the hurt is evident.

He sighs. "It's not that simple. I didn't want to leave you, but—"

"—but you did," you cut him off, finally turning to look at him. Your eyes meet his, and for a moment, you see the old Keith, the one who made you feel safe, the one you thought you'd spend your life with. But then, the memory of him walking away from you, leaving you without so much as a proper explanation, crashes back in.

"So, whatever reason you had, it doesn't matter now," you continue, your voice firm. "You left, Keith. You don't get to just walk back in and expect everything to be fine."

Keith looks at you, clearly struggling to find the right words. "I never wanted to hurt you. I thought... I thought I was doing the right thing."

"Well, congratulations," you say, your voice laced with sarcasm. "You succeeded."

You see the hurt flash across his face, and for a split second, you almost regret your words. But then you remember the sleepless nights, the unanswered messages, the pain of realizing he wasn't coming back, and your resolve hardens.

Keith looks down, guilt written all over his face. "I thought it would be easier that way, for both of us. I didn't want to see you get hurt."

You scoff, shaking your head. "Well, newsflash, Keith, disappearing hurt more than anything else could have." You take a deep breath, trying to rein in your emotions. "But that's in the past now. We've got bigger things to worry about, so let's just focus on that."

His shoulders slump slightly, and he nods. "Yeah. You're right."

As he leaves, you let out a shaky breath, your emotions swirling. You'd thought you were over it, over him, but seeing Keith again has brought everything rushing back. But you push it down, reminding yourself of the mission ahead. There's no room for personal feelings when the fate of the universe might be at stake.

[saratogaroadwrites]

Promise

promise | saratogaroad rating: G wordcount: 1913 characters: Shiro, Keith, Reader (GN-OC) relationships: Shiro/Reader other tags: Grief/Mourning, reunions warnings: None.

You sigh against his shoulder, but he pulls away to look at you. His eyes are warm, filled with love that makes your heart grow in size. He puts his hand on your cheek.

"Hey." He kisses your forehead, your nose. "I'll come back. I promise."

---- What if Shiro left behind an S/O when he left for the Kerberos Mission? A year is a very long time to wait. (Written pre-Season 2, and long before we knew Adam existed. Tried to keep it gender-neutral all the same.)

--

You've been dating Shiro--Takashi Shirogane but he really does prefer Shiro--for almost a year when he's assigned to the Kerberos mission. Pluto's fourth moon, you can't even see the thing from the telescope you've dragged up onto the Garrison's flat roof. The fact that it's too cloudy to make out even Mars doesn't help, but Shiro smiles at your attempts anyway.

"Hey," He says as you plop down beside him, frustrated, "It's only for a year." He reaches up to run his fingers through your hair, rubbing your shoulder as you lean against him. "I'll be back before you know it."

"A year's a long time, Takashi." You say in response, the rare use of his given name turning his smile wry. He pulls you in closer until you're almost smushed together, the pulse in his neck strong beneath your ear.

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder." You can hear him grin, sure and confident. You love that about him. Barely graduated with last year's class and already taking a science team to the outer reaches of the system. Sure, it's just a science mission and they'll be back within a year, but it's not just any prodigy that gets chosen for this. "Though you're pretty fond of me already."

"Oh," You laugh, "I'll show you fond!"

There's a certain heat to the kiss, a certain heat that pools in your belly every time he kisses you like this, and you run your fingers through his short cropped hair to pull him close, his hands on your back to do the same. You kiss until you're both breathless, flushed and leaning on one another. Below, the Garrison calls for lights out in ten minutes. You sigh against his shoulder, but he pulls away to look at you. His eyes are warm, filled with love that makes your heart grow in size. He puts his hand on your cheek.

"Hey." He kisses your forehead, your nose. "I'll come back. I promise."

----

He lied. He doesn't come back.

----

Life goes on like it always has after he's gone. The Garrison has a moment of silence, both for Shiro and the Holts, but nothing changes. Classes, assignments, internships and training...it's all the same. Only the color's been leeched out, you think to yourself, drained through the Shiro-shaped hole in your chest. He was gone for so long that his dorm was already long cold, his scent faded. His things are boxed in your dorm where he asked you to keep them, clothes and accolades and personal effects. There's no next of kin, family long gone and buried. There was just you, Shiro, and Keith.

Keith, who gets himself kicked from the Garrison within a month of Shiro's death. Shiro was his anchor, his best friend, his reason to be better, and now Shiro is gone. There is just you and Keith now, and you're not an anchor. Not the kind he needs, anyway. You spend what free time you have with Keith, trying to keep him from collapsing in on himself like the star you and Shiro knew he could be, even if in the desert the only thing that'll come down is the ramshackle hut he calls home. You don't talk much--the only connection you had was Shiro--but you think he appreciates you being there anyway.

"Do you think he's out there?" He asks you one late night, when everything is pitch dark except for the moon and stars. Trying to find Kerberos through the viewfinder of a telescope, you don't look up even as your heart skips a beat and your stomach knots itself up again. You know who he's talking about, know the Shiro-shaped hole in your chest with its still throbbing edges.

He has one, too.

You sigh, sitting back on your hands. Stars glimmer overhead, as they always have. As they always will. Shiro's hands ghost through your hair, grown out since the last time you saw him. Everything's the same, everything's changed. You swallow hard.

"...I don't know, Keith," You say, unable to voice the words you know to be true. That Shiro really is dead and gone, not just trapped somewhere like in those novels you used to laugh over together. "I don't know." ---

Months pass. A year since Shiro left comes and goes without fanfare, without mention. Classes are ongoing, graduation for your year next month. Cadets wash in, cadets wash out. Life continues as it always has.

Until, one night, it doesn't. Keith calls you in the dead of night, the hour so late it's early. He tells you to come to the shack, that he needs your eyes. He never calls, not without a good reason, and so you go. He picks you up at the edge of the Garrison property, hoverbike eating up the desert like it's so much paved road. The shack stands, his notes and diagrams and charts pinned to the wall. You've been out here doing this before, helping him look for whatever calls him to those cliffs and canyons, but there's more to work with now.

"I've almost got it," He says to you as you tack a photo to the wall, uncaring of your eyes wanting to close and stay closed for a few hours. "I just..." He rakes both hands through his hair, the bags under his eyes thicker than before. "I...Shiro would have figured it out by now."

He's right, you think to yourself. Shiro would know what to do. But he's not here anymore. He'll never be here again.

You still can't bring yourself to say it. It's been a year, but you can't bring yourself to say he's gone. There's a new name on the marker the Garrison has, for those lost to the stars and space in the name of Progress, three new names and a small memorial ceremony the day they were revealed, but you still can't say it even to yourself.

"...Yeah," You finally whisper, smoothing wrinkled papers just to do something with your hands. "He would have."

Keith's next words die in a wash of fire. You both rush to the window as it lights up like daylight, like sunrise. Only it's not. It's a fireball. He's a step ahead of you to rush outside, heat like summer cooking the desert sand as a fireball lights the sky. You watch it go, the shape irregular, metals gleaming in the light of re-entry. It's not a meteor. It's a sort of pod, black even against the flames that chase it down. Thoughts of a missile, of an attack on the Garrison, pass through your mind before they go up in flames as the thing, whatever it is, crashes into the desert with a plume of dust, not smoke and fire. Not a missile then, but what?

Keith is on his bike before you can turn to ask, calling that he's going to check this out, and he's gone before you can react or even hope to stop him.

Again, you are alone.

You hope the Shiro-shaped hole in your chest doesn't add a Keith-sized addition to it tonight, but he has your only ride out of the desert. There is nothing to do but wait, tidying the tiny shack and stacking boxes. There's some of Shiro's things here, clothes and books that make your heart jump to your throat even though you knew they'd be here. For the thousandth time, you wish he was here, back with you, back after the mission was completed with flying colors.

For the thousandth time, he is not here.

The roar of Keith's bike jolts you away from the sadness, throaty and heavier than before, as if carrying a weight it's not meant to carry. You throw the door open, step into the desert wind, and stare. There are five on a bike meant for two at the most, Keith and three faces that you know, sort of. They're in a younger year, faces passed in the hallways and names passed in gossip. They aren't your focus. Your focus is on the man between Keith and the lanky one as they jump down, on a familiar face you thought you'd never see again.

Shiro.

Your voice has left you, heart pounding as they stumble past. It's Shiro. His face is different, cheekbones hollowed out and skin pale in a way you've never seen him before, a shock of white in his overgrown hair that was once all black. But it's him. You'd know him anywhere.

"What happened?" You ask, following them inside, though it's more of a shriek because how is this possible? He was gone and there was a memorial and there was nothing but loss and now he's here again! You want to shake Kieth for answers, but you know that he has as few as you do.

"Sedation," Keith finally grits out as he and the other boy set Shiro down on Keith's cot, the blanket folded neatly in your need to do something. "He'll wake up soon."

And then he's rounding on the others, all bluster and growling and shoving. But your focus isn't on them. It's still on Shiro as you drop to your knees beside the cot, unsure if any of this is real or just an elaborate dream. He's breathing, chest rising and falling beneath the odd black bodysuit and torn purple shirt. He's thinner than before, muscles stark lines along his tall frame, a dark scar across his nose. Slowly, you reach out to touch him. He doesn't disappear, doesn't decay or anything like you'd expect a corspe to do, and you muffle a sob behind your other hand.

He's real. He's really here. You take his hand, squeeze it hard, and don't let go.

An hour passes. Two. Three. Sunrise comes as the silence grows awkward, Keith sitting on the edge of the cot like a hound on guard. The other three huddle in the corner together, unsure and insecure, but you don't lift your gaze from Shiro's slumbering body. You wait, wondering, hoping, praying. He's home he just has to wake up and then--

And then he does. A soft noise, a blink at the ceiling, before he stiffens. His hand in yours goes sweaty, clammy, and he jerks his head to stare at you, eyes wide and face carved into something like terror. Your heart skips a beat even as Keith moves, ready to pull you back if this goes bad, but Shiro stops. Stares at you, pulse racing beneath your fingers. His breath hitches as you hold yours, daring to hope nothing's wrong and he remembers you, daring to hope that he's still Shiro, the man you loved. 

The man you still love.

The tense silence stretches. You stare at each other, his eyes meeting yours. But then, slowly, he pulls his hand from yours.

"You're..." His voice is hoarse, raspy from disuse. He stares at you, drinking you in like you're the first person he's seen in a year. Maybe you are. "...You're real?"

You smile, just a little, as your breath catches in your throat and your eyes fill with tears. He reaches up to put a hand on your cheek, gasping as he feels warmth beneath his fingers. Shiro's not a crier, has never been a crier, but in that moment you think he might start. You take his hand in yours again, feeling his pulse racing still.

"I'm real. You're home."

[agena87]

Kerberos and his cute (and completely unhinged/murderous; also sexy AF) girlfriend, Gory (her real name is actually "Glory", but as I said, she's pretty bananas, so, she changed it).

I felt like experimenting a bit with my editing here, so no cohesiveness whatsoever, but who cares because: T I D D I E S (with Ker having the bigger knockers of the two of them)(but if I get flagged, it won't be because of his...)

(click for HQ - hopefully)

[anxiouspotatorants]

A non-comprehensive, highly spoilery list of questions I have after season 1 of 1899 because I refuse to believe this show won’t go on in some form.

Is the spaceship and 2099 real or a simulation? If it’s real, how is the space voyage connected to the simulation project? What’s the purpose of either of them?

Is Maura just a pawn in Ciaran’s game who was manipulated by her wish to be with her son or is she the mastermind behind it all who made herself forget? Is Ciaran part of her psyche?

Were the simulated traumas of the passengers based on their real life traumas or were they (like Maura’s) used as distractions from what they’ve really been trying to forget in their lives?

Is Daniel real or a rogue program fueled by his love for Elliot and Maura? Is he dead or dying like Elliot? Is he actually alive and healthy but trapped by Ciaran and in need of saving? Or alive and ready to help? 

Who was in the already opened pod before Maura woke up? Daniel? Elliot? Ciaran? Ada?? Someone else?

Is Elliot still dying or already dead? What’s the cause of his death? Is he an unknowing part of Ciaran’s psyche? A knowing part?

Did Sebastian and Daniel know about each other? Is Sebastian a mere assistant to Henry or a bigger player in the grand scheme of things?

Is there a special reason for Eyk being the captain of the Kerberos in the simulation? Was he manipulated through loss as well, or was he an active partner in crime in creating the simulation(s)? Is he Ciaran, or rather an unknowing part of his psyche?

Did Henry try to use Maura’s situation for his own gain and accidentally get trapped or was he never trying anything before he was put in the simulation? Did he genuinely think his 8-day loops could do something or was he just punishing his daughter?

How many simulations did Maura and Daniel make together? What was their initial purpose? How much of a role did Daniel play in Maura’s project to keep some version of Elliot alive? What were their lives like before and when everything started to go wrong?

Speaking of what was any of these people’s lives like before they entered the simulation? Who entered willingly and who were forced? Was forgetting their real lives purposeful or a mistake or a devious act from outside?

Does being put down in the simulation affect any of the characters in real life? Will Eyk, Krester, Yuk Je, Lucien, Olek and/or Ángel still be down? And what are the real life consequences of touching the weird geometric fungi-ish stuff for Virginia?

What’s with all the parallels between the characters, like Maura and her mother forgetting their children? What about Daniel and Eyk losing their families? Or Ling Yi, Lucien, Ramiro and possibly Olek killing someone prior to boarding the Kerberos?

[emoaliien]

im back from artfight time for selfship art

[marshallporter-cogs-inc]

Mr. Carn E. Val (funny name btw)! Kiss, Marry, Kill! SVP, Ursula, and Kerberos

uh…thanks…*he blushes*

u….uh…hmm….kiss…..kerberos….

marry….allan……a…and…s…sorry ursula…

id say kill ursula….

*ursula stares him down*

u…uh…

*she just starts tickling him*

AH STARDROP-

STINKER STRIPES I THOUGHT WE WERE ON GOOD TERMS

WE ARE- *he laughs*

[cabinboy100]

1899: Season 1: Reverse-engineering the sim…

Beware: Season 1 spoilers! If you have not watched all eight episodes of 1899 season 1, get thee to your streaming device and watch! Then come back for some boring rambling and probably way too many occurrences of the words "sim" and "simulation". =)

In the 1899 season 1 finale, we see a "survival ship", the Prometheus, in the year 2099. If the destination coordinates provided define a point in the sky on Earth, then it the ship is built for interstellar travel, as the point does not correspond to a body in our solar system.

When Maura wakes in 2099, she sees 16 total sarcophagi, fourteen with familiar faces from the simulation, her own, and one more empty one. She doesn't seem to be restrained in any way when she disengages from the sim and steps out of her coffin. Based on this and some familiar science/science fiction conventions, I am going to assume that all the people aboard the 2099 Prometheus voluntarily went into some form of induced hibernation to retard the aging process while on a possibly lifetimes-long journey to a planet orbiting another star. At the same time, to maintain their mental health while their body slows its functions, their consciousnesses enter a shared simulation.

Based on what we see of the travelers and their experiences aboard the 1899 Kerberos and Prometheus, I'm going to try to piece together how the simulation is designed to run, before any modification or corruption of its code.

WHY A *SHARED* SIMULATION?

A shared simulation, as opposed to 1423 + 550 independent and perhaps customized simulations. I do not have a great answer that clicks into place for this. Some possibilities…

1. A single shared simulation is less taxing to maintain than almost 2,000 individual ones. I doubt this, but depending on the scope and allowances of the simulation/s, the nature of the simmersion tech, and the limitations computing power, who can say?

2. The social interaction between living minds is vital to the mental health of the travelers.

Honestly, it may very well be that each 2099 sleeper is the star of their own simulation, but for the purposes of this ramble, I'm assuming they are all in a single shared sim.

WHY SET THE SIM ON A CRUISE IN 1899?

Using a cruise ship as a setting means the sim only needs to manage a closed and finite environment. The ship's simulated crossing is an elegant substitution for the actual voyage of the travelers, and is a perfect pretense for having almost 2,000 strangers share the same space for a time. Simulating the technology of 1899 requires less power and processing than that of a more advanced era and also restricts travelers' exposure to and ability to communicate with and travel to the world beyond the ship.

WHAT IS THE BASIC SIM EXPERIENCE DESIGNED TO BE?

The simulation is of a transatlantic cruise set in 1899, from England to America. By design, it runs for eight days and does not include the departure from London or the arrival in New York (unnecessary complexity/processing of cities, people, shorelines, weather, etc). It begins when the ship is already at sea, perhaps with the passengers and crew waking on the second day of their journey, and ends with them going to sleep on the second to last day, still at sea. Every traveler enters the simulation as a first class passenger. Every crew member enters as an officer. All service and labor roles are assigned to NPCs (unless a traveler has specifically requested such a role — why not, right?).

WHY A LOOP OF LIMITED TIME?

The simulated voyage of the 1899 Prometheus covers eight days. That means that the most time a traveler can experience, the greatest duration of new memories they can create during a single loop run, is eight days. At the end of those eight days, the ship is archived and a new one is launched with rebooted passengers and crew who have no memory of the previous run. (No one aboard the Kerberos except Daniel, Elliot, and First Mate have any awareness of previous simulation runs.) This prevents the minds of the 2099 travelers from living every minute of their journey between the stars. I hypothesize that in the show's world, the creation of memories that amount to a lifetime or more (the duration of the 2099 space voyage) of experiences would result in damage to or malfunction of a person's mind.

THE TRAVELERS CANNOT KNOW THEY'RE EXPERIENCING A SIMULATION…

Awareness that the world of the simulation is virtual invites irresponsible behavior, ranging from abuse of the environment to violence against other travelers to self harm. To avoid this, the travelers' 2099 knowledge and memories are blocked/suppressed and replaced with backstories and memories that fit the 1899 setting and as much as possible, reflect their own personal characters and histories.

These backstories are adapted from their real lives to help preserve within the simulation their already developed personalities and natures, as well as established relationships with other travelers if they have them. Their real life data might be collected via interview and/or memory scan. Adapted 1899 memories are conjured via AI and implanted via a kind of technological hypnosis and suggestion. Within the simulation, at least one backstory "cut scene" is built for each traveler to experience, providing scripted dreamlike experiences and a sensory touchstone from which their minds can extrapolate the details of the rest of their implanted memories.

I think that the nature of the induced hibernation and simmersion technology put the mind into something similar to a natural dream state, and minds in the simulation cannot truly dream within the pseudo-dream of the sim, so when travelers do sleep in the sim, the scripted backstory cut scene is played for them in the worlds connected to their cabins by the hatches under their beds.

TRAVELERS ARE GIVEN A CHOICE…

Before being immersed in the simulation, each traveler is given the option to remove or preserve certain traumatic life-defining events. Removal is allowed if the predicted effect on the traveler's experience is judged to promote better mental health and decrease stress, anxiety, conflict, and/or depression in the simulation experience. If a traveler has experienced a traumatic loss that pains or haunts them at the time they enter the simulation, imagine the impact on their mental state if they must live with it in an almost arrested state in loops for decades, or even centuries, while in hibernation?

HOW IS THE SIMULATION DESIGNED TO CHANGE…?

One simulation loop consists of eight days aboard the Prometheus at sea, traveling from London to New York. The ship travels with many empty cabins (perhaps all first class cabins are full, but second and third class are empty) and carries very little cargo. That amounts to a lot of unused and uninhabited space. It is in this space that the simulation constructs the backstory worlds of each traveler, within the bowels of the ship itself.

Travelers spend their time doing whatever they wish, enjoying the sea air, dining, relaxing, and socializing. The voyage is meant to be a pleasant experience and the AI running the simulation monitors brain activity to gauge whether that is true for each and every traveler. If it discovers that a traveler has had a suboptimal loop, it makes adjustments to the traveler's memory and environment to improve their experience in the next loop. Over time, it's possible that this iterative optimization process can result in radical changes to some travelers' backstories and even their relationships with other travelers.

SO, WHAT HAPPENED…?

If the sim is designed to be a pleasant journey, how did it transmogrify into what we witness in the eight episodes of season 1? I have several theories, and almost all of them build on the idea of an original benign purpose and design of the 1899 simulation that is ultimately modified and/or corrupted. Yes, the 2099 that Maura wakes up to may be a simulated world as well, but the above notions of the 1899 simulation still work. These 2099 travelers voluntarily entered it.

Will try to put some of my theories into posts soon, but wanted to get this Out There as a starting point.

Wake up 🜃

Keep on keepin' on~

[scientistkerberos]

thinkin abt Them...

[centrally-unplanned]

hi there Ash! after the recent posts about the 60s-70s leftist background of Miyazaki, Takahata and Oshii, which pulled in some specific details new to me... I was wondering if also you happened to know anything about the background of Hiroyuki Okiura as well?

i wonder mostly based on the different spin he put on Oshii's Kerberos franchise in Jin-Roh - Oshii wrote the script but the film has a very different emotional tenor to his live action films and even the manga. but it's quite hard to find a lot of sources on Okiura's life in English outside of the films he worked on!

('course for all I know it might just be all "put nose to the grindstone and animated intensely from age 5" lol, there's no reason there has to be a story like "the protest scene in jin-roh draws on xyz real experience")

I don't know too much about Okiura, honestly - but that maybe isn't my fault, he is I believe not an interview guy, and is not one to go off-the-cuff on any and all topics at a moment's notice (a requirement for being a member of 1968 Kids club). Still, from what I know I would definitely not slot him into that category?

Trivially, he was born in 1966 - too late for the gen. More substantially, he is one of those guys who is just obsessed with the craft of animation - reading any and all manga as a kid, dropping out of highschool at age 16 to work at Anime Earl, not really going to college or having any other kind of exposures that would radicalize someone of that era. Every interview I see with Okiura is one like this; extremely detailed discussion of animation frame rates, cut counts, color choices, reference material, etc; even the plots of the projects he has worked on don't come up very much, let alone the themes.

I think realism is absolutely an obession of his - if you did the opening of Knocking on Heaven's Door it sort of has to be - and that realism is what made him so good on project's like Oshii's, key animation on Akira, yadda yadda. But I view that as an artistic obsession, the aesthetics of realism and grit and all that. Obviously he may just be very private about his politics, and I am not saying he like doesn't 'understand' these things, of course he does. I just don't see any indication that its a passion of his. I view him as card carrying member of the 80's "apolitical otaku" that grew in popularity at the time, and probably one of the more prominent members of that diffuse group. Real "Simulacra vs the Database" vibes, he is that second gen where anime exists for its own purpose.

And I think that commitment shines through in his work- his realism is very focused on the humanity of the subject, its a 'camera' devoid of judgement if that makes sense. It works just as well in Jin-Roh as in say Your Name for that reason.

Though funnily enough his uncle is Okiura Kazuteru, a Japanese marxist sociologist whose career was spent documenting the ethinc minorities of Japan and advocating against discrimination, and when he was at University of Tokyo in the late 50's was a member of the Communist Party and possibly, debately, tried to assassinate a journalist? He is absolutely one of the Anpo Generation, so it is in the blood!

...also when looking up interviews I did find the opening quote from an interviewer: "Hiroyuki Okiura is a thigh man". I take it all back, this is the only politics that matters in the end.