#so not only did i get disappointed by voltron once

[forkpigeon3146]

i need you guys to know that i am still very much in the voltron fandom and have infact gotten a very close friend of mine into it in the great year of 2023 (we have matching klance pfps on discord) with absolutely no shame at all about it

[ria-777]

There is not enough letters in the alphabet for me to tell you how much I love you

C - Cute

Keith has no idea why the realization even surprised him in the first place. But now, as he looked at her eating some sort of space watermelon on a beach situated on Étoilistia, wearing a two-piece swimsuit, he wondered how this wasn't his initial thought concerning the girl.

Pidge was adorable, pretty, gorgeous, mesmerizing. Whatever you want to call her kind of beauty.

Hell! He was sure even Lance would be able to agree with him. Maybe she wasn't as hot as the girls the blue paladin crushed on, she still had a lot going on.

Maybe it was her big eyes, or the way she carried herself, or how she stared at things that interested and fascinated her.

Maybe it was the way she would pout when something wasn't going how she wanted or the smile on her face when she had the last word.

As usual.

Maybe it was her cheeks, freckles adoring them that he now realized seemed to have gotten even more visible ever since they landed on this sunny planet.

Often, Keith thought he was the only one to notice the green paladin's adorableness. They were all too busy being blown away by her intelligence, like he was when they first met. He was proven wrong today, to his displeasure.

Upon seeing the sunlit beach when they arrived, Lance and Hunk had begged Allura to let them spend at least a complete quintant enjoying it. In need of a relaxed day off duty as much as the teenagers, the princess easily accepted.

Originally, Keith was enthusiastic about it too, but after witnessing more than one étoilistians fail at trying to flirt with Pidge, he just wanted to leave this place, as beautiful as it is.

Couldn't they realize she was very obviously uncomfortable with their wandering eyes!? Like seriously, who could think that someone as smart as Pdige would fall for cheesy and honestly bad pick lines. He heard a few that were so horrible that even Lance wouldn't be able to come up with. Some people truly had no manners.

The red paladin had managed to scare a few of them by standing protectively by Pidge's side, glaring at anyone who observed her the wrong way.

Maybe he was acting a bit jealous, or perhaps possessive, but did they really need to see more of her skin exposed to find her somewhat attractive? Creeps.

Thankfully, she hadn't told him off. Yet.

Keith hoped deep down that she'd let him protect her. She was already aware he thought of her as a strong person, which didn't mean he never felt the urge to keep her safe from perverts in a mostly unknown environment.

By the end of the day, everyone in team Voltron had complimented Pidge, all except one.

*******

It wasn't bugging her at all. That's what the girl kept repeating in her brain, over and over again.

Why should she care?

Upon stepping out of Allura's bathroom, the princess exclaimed how pretty she looked. Once they met up outside the castle with the rest of the team, the older girl hadn't wasted a tick before showing off her excellent choice in picking an outfit for the genius of the group. Dramatically explaining how she knew this was going to be the one from the start, ignoring the many failed tries before Pidge found one she liked and felt comfortable wearing.

They all said she looked beautiful. Except Keith, who only stared at her silently. Was he judging how she was dressed? The green paladin was aware that at some point in their life, people began wanting approval from others, regarding how they were perceived by their entourage. She just never thought she would be one of them. Was he disagreeing with the others in his brain? Once more, Pidge cursed his poked face.

So no, she wasn't disappointed in the slightest. It didn't bother her at all- Yeah, this strategy wasn't working. Who could have guessed telling herself she didn't mind would fail? If her twelve-year-old self saw how much she cared about some boy's opinion on how she looked, Pidge is sure she would get kicked in the knees. Hell, even the version of her when this whole adventure started would be disappointed. This wasn't what she was in space for.

"But it's Keith, not just any boy." That's what her brain kept repeating . Maybe he was planning on saying something later, when they were alone? She could only wish he would.

No matter how much Pidge tried ignoring how fast her heart was beating during the entire day.

Hope rose in her when he spent vargas staying by her side, driving away anyone who disturbed her. She prayed he did that in an "I like you and I don't want other people to eye you up and down way" and not "I care for you like an older brother would way."

Yep, she officially sounded insane.

Katie "Pidge" Holt was losing it because she had a stupid crush on her teammate and not because of how emotionally and physically battling against the Galra while simultaneously searching for her father and Matt was.

Currently, they were both seated a few metres away from their friends, appreciating the scenery by watching the impressive sunset.

She could feel his eyes on her. Should she ask him what was troubling him? What if it pissed him off? Would that be too intrusive? But what if it concerned her? What if he said the swimsuit didn't fit her? What if-

"Pidge." She turned her head to the side to be able to stare at him in the eyes, humming in response.

God, why did he have to observe her so intensely, her heart was about to tear itself out of her skin.

"You look cute today, but so do you most of the time."

Oh, she'd never recover from that one anytime soon, that was for sure.

If only she knew he wouldn't either, after seeing how her face flushed a pretty shade of red. Saying those few words had taken all the courage Keith had in store for the day.

"Thanks, uhm... so do you?"

If his face wasn't rosy before, it was now for certain, possibly even more than hers. But she was smiling and so was her.

Maybe he might actually have a chance after all.

*******

Note: For the name of the planet, I wanted something to go with space so I went with the word étoile which means star in french!

(Posted on ao3 and Wattpad)

[yarrayora]

Fic author interview!

tagged by @carriagelamp and immediately interested in doing it after seeing the questions

tagging people who will be mentioned at question 12 alongside @mickeymagpie @unexbellexreverie and @booksandberries

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

112 surprisingly!

2. What’s your total AO3 word count?

235,399 words which is actually lower than i expected it kinda annoys me

3. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

if i didn't delete my rise of the brave tangled dragons and my voltron fics it would be them but i did. i deleted them. now my top 5 are all bsd fics

A Good Enough Reason to Keep Meeting Up (1,055 kudos) is part of Stray Gods series where the supernaturals are all real and Abilities came from them. This specific fic is about Chuuya and Atsushi's budding relationship. Or rather Chuuya's budding crush on Atsushi with malnourishment and chronic pain as the vessel to get there.

Money Makes the World Go Round (939 kudos) BSDxOuran crossover that is part of a collection of crossover fics about Atsushi attending high schools from different fandoms in order to attain the qualifications to enjoy the employment benefits his workplace has to offer. You can tell I'm old when that's my worldbuilding for writing high school AU

Moral Compass (923 kudos) the first installment of the Stray Gods series set post Dead Apple where unlocking his repressed memories about Shibusawa let the actual god Byakko to finally communicate with his Champion.

Delicate Job (791 kudos) A case fic written to explore Atsushi's role as a detective and how he would handle a case while prioritizing the victim's feelings unlike popular depictions of detectives where they use facts and logic to trample over people because the authors think that's what makes intelligent people cool

The God of Destruction Wished For Naught (752 kudos) the third installment of Stray Gods and a continuation of A Good Reason to Keep Meeting Up where Chuuya's body is falling apart, which could lead to Yokohama's destruction via blackhole, forcing Atsushi to make connections with the Port Mafia

I was a bit disappointed at first that my most kudos'd fic hasn't broken 2k kudos yet but seeing how my top 5 fics don't have a huge disparity between the amount of kudos makes me happy

4. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

yes! i don't always know how to reply but i especially makes the effort for people who leaves paragraphs on my fic. sometimes if i know the commenter i just reply on their discord lmao

5. What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

oh that's hard. i have a lot of oneshots that are basically "and so, the cycle of suffering repeats yet again" and you'd think it would be the servampxbnha crossover where despite mahiru's best attempt to help deku get into UA even without a quirk so he will let go of his self-hatred for being born quirkless, in the end he receives One For All from All Might, undoing all the works mahiru-sensei has done to help deku but NO it's a bsd fic again that embodies this concept in the worst way possible as it's revealed that the event that happened in canon timeline was kickstarted by post-beast!atsushi who copes for his feelings for beast!dazai (both affection and hatred) by writing numerous worlds into existence to prove that dazai is a good man all along

wait. no. actually. the persona 5 fic where the phantom thieves deal with goro's sacrifice might be angstier considering this line

Akechi Goro was the only murder they ever committed, and in the years that follow never once would his name ever passed their lips. But he would always be at the edge of their vision, a ghost that they could never speak to.

or the birthday fic i wrote for the hunt twins where oz killed ewan who crawled back out of the cauldron to re-sacrifice himself so patchman won't survive???

or the big hero 6 fic where people are holding a funeral for personal health companion robots who carried a bunch of people out of a burning building??? repeating the word "Tadashi is Here" to people who never knew the man to comfort the terrified humans?

or the ben 10 fic where ben accidentally used too much force in his alien form resulting in his first murder and then repressing the memory??

it's impossible to make me choose

6. What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending?

d-do i have a happy ending posted

actually im choosing the dragon age fic where cole accidentally made him saving the inquisitor from the envy demon sounds sexual which leads to hilarious results

7. Do you write crossovers?

yes and my non-crossover fics are actually stealth crossovers

8. Have you ever received hate on a fic?

i dont remember ever getting one

10. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

this is the question that actually made me want to do this interview. SO. be kiddie yarra during ff.net era. i was writing persona 4 fic where naoto says goodbye to souji. it was romantic. someone left a comment on my fic saying my writing got stolen and linked me to a naruto fic which made me go??? huh??? and turns out it was Word By Word the same fic but with souji being replaced as naruto, naoto as hinata, and the train station into konoha gate. it was insane.

11. Have you ever had a fic translated?

not on AO3 i think?? someone DID contact me to ask for my permission to translate my fic to russian but i don't remember the details

12. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

stray gods is written alongside @faerynova while @katzkinder helped with children's war. oh and also the Not Posted smtiva series written with @gothamcityneedsme

13. What’s your all-time favorite ship?

impossible to choose but i can tell you the very specific criterias that attract me to my ships if you want

14. What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

usually when i abandon a fic i lose interest in it altogether

15. What are your writing strengths?

my bsd x ouran fic has been complimented as staying true to the characters even though im throwing ouran into a serious series like bsd and vice versa so i like to think it's my ability to keep the core of the characters true even when putting them in a different AU unrelated to canon. also writing convoluted political struggles that makes sense.

16. What are your writing weaknesses?

grammar. but apparetly im also somehow better than a lot of native english speakers???

17. What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

im writing in english, arent i? (lol)

18. What was the first fandom you wrote for?

persona 4. it was an talkshow styled interview fic

19. What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to?

don't have one as far as i can think of. i guess i want to write more of "how to make my notp make sense" and "characterxreader fic that doesn't sacrifice canon characterization" as a challenge for myself

20. What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

the hope chapter of Despair (and Hope) because i had fun writing mahiru fixing mikuni through a persona 5 palace-like challenges except with zero fighting and more puzzle-solving

[bladedalchemistreplica]

Valentine's Day is coming? Are there any plans for dates, romantic or platonic?

||●LONG LONG POST--

■Future valentines prompts ■Future refs

●Platonic Romelle&Regris

●Hinted N-7/Matt Holt

●beginning Keith/lance (this one's long)

●Alfor/Thace

"I'm planning on inviting Regris to one of those space malls! I've heard word of it from a few rebels and the paladins!" Romelle whispered excitedly as she cupped her mouth a bit.

It wasn't uncommon to hear of such luxturies the recently freed planets had to offer, and their newly gained independence allowed its citizens to take advantage of. So, and with the bit of lag of her responsibilities with the rebels, this was the chance of hers to take!

But of course-- the Blade of Marmora was ever so tough, and S T R I C T with its ways of life. So... how ever was she supposed to drag that blade with her? If he hadn't been so curious to the mall in the first place it may have been impossible. However, Regris was quite crafty in getting out of blade duties.

At least once in a while. As long as he'd be back in one piece and their other ranking members had enough numbers available, she was sure he'd be able to join her. And he was sure as well.

Matt shrugged. "I wanted to see if N-7 would like to go out and see some of the rumored meteor showers passing Olkraion. I think they'd enjoy that kind of view, they really haven't been out much, and Te-osh said they'd always wanted to see it."

The showers on earth were incredible, but so were the ones that happened on Kraydah on those clear nights, so beautiful and breathtaking. He always wondered how she never saw any, but then again, most of the attacks happened then; So now, with Voltron being back in action and with Kraydah being more secure, the possibility to see it with her was open.

Over time, he'd grown to enjoy spending time with her, not only for learning and sharing one another's knowledge on the systems and organization of files and charting systems in color code--

He really liked spending time with them.

"I never really did much on Valentines Day. The most I managed to do was catch a solar eclipse that one time when I was tweleve." Keith never saw much point to it, mostly since he never got much back from the holiday in question.

Beyond the force sharing of candy and toys for school and then the sharing of candy during hid time at the Garrison, and then that one time a girl got dared to ask him to that dance...

He felt bad for her. He really did. Even if it was a cruel prank, the more he reflected on it now, the more guilty he felt. He could have been nicer, but not many showed him much more than a casual wave or nod.

That was until he met Lance. Well, Shiro was the first to show him at least a surface level of kindness that wasn't forced or out of pity. But Lance was the second. The blue, Lover boy, paladin Lance. The one who was always in the middle of throwing compliments and smooth openings to anyone who caught his eye.

Almost everyone, but not him. He never saw anything directed at him or heard a single word directed at him.

Until he walked up to him and asked if he'd want to see a proformance on one of the days he'd be with the paladins once more. Lance seemed more, quiet and uncertain, less himself. Which just made him more suspicious to some prank being pulled by him or his fellow paladins.

But no, no Lance wasn't pulling some prank on him.

No, Lance was being truthful in his question and had been looking at him with a slowly turning frown of disappointment. He'd said yes almost soon after, maybe with a bit more excitement than he'd wanted to have be heard.

In the end, Lance walked off with some stupid stride and an even dumber looking smile.

"I have a little something planned for Al, if he doesn't mind a bit of traveling." Thace was proud of the plan for their night together. Plan everything out in a manner that ensured they'd be left alone and not disrupted for a good chunk of the night and possibly early morning.

Alfor never did seem to mind traveling around, even from the experiences told of his past endeavors the best had been ones where the paladins of old had traversed a planet to their next destination or discovery. One of which Alfor seemed determined to prove was either correct, or dangerous.

The ones he seemed to personally favor were those of which he was able to experience something of familiarity or to see some of nature's natural beauty. Thace had taken note of all of these.

And now was the perfect time for such an occasion. So, when Tavo was able to be watched over by his newly elected guardians, he would bring Alfor to that spot to watch a few of Olkairon's fauna make a great migration through the forest, and he could hope be unaware of their presence throughout it.

[they2aproblem]

Post #018: I got my tooth removed, and I kinda wanna talk about it... also Xenosaga trilogy.

I haven’t been posting here because my tooth was bothering me.  I got it removed the week before the 4th.  I’m better now.

Now in the interim after my previous post and before the tooth extraction, I played through the Xenosaga trilogy.  A trilogy I played in the years after I finished high school from 2004 to 2006.  At the time I found this series to be enjoyable then and I find it enjoyable now.  The series shows its age as it is a late PS2 era game, but it still scratches that RPG itch.

I did find it a bit ridiculous in the first game that I was not able to leave the dungeons to go to the one town in the game.  Once you enter a dungeon, you have to complete it in one run, and it is possible to soft lock yourself with low hp, low mp, and no items.  You can still return to the ship and rest there, but if you’re at a half way point in the dungeon at a save point, there’s no fast travel.  You have to go back 5 screens dodging enemies hoping you don’t run into an enemy with no way to escape from the battles.  Early on fights are a challenge because you only have two members in your party at a time; Shion/KOS-MOS or Ziggy/MOMO.  But then you get the 6characters and you’re able to mix and match your party how you want.  The game end game is broken when you get the Voltron Robot that does 9999 damage to everyone but you can only use it once per battle.

The second and third games were a bit weird with the inclusion of Shion’s brother, Jin.  The series was initially planned to be 6 games, but it was shortened to 3 so maybe over the course of 6 games Jin would have been admitted into the party.  Instead Jin just feels like he’s shoehorned in and we’re expected to accept him has one of the main party members.  The second and third games fixes most of the problems with the dungeons where it doesn’t feel like I was stranded in them with no hopes of survival.

I really would have liked to have seen this trilogy go the entire 6 games but much like its predecessor Xenogears, the story was cut short due to time and money constraints.  After completing the trilogy, I did the minimalist thing I talked about in previous posts and sold them because I acknowledge the fact that I won’t be giving this series a third playthrough.  Disappointing end to the series, disappointing end to the story, and it could have been and should have been treated better.

[raayllum]

Oh my god, I too was in the VLD fandom for two years. The show was a massive disappointment, you brought up extremely valid points in your reply. I wanted so much more for Shiro and Allura, didn't even watch the last season once I discovered the ending. Remembered how the show had many of their writers and artists leave to pursue other projects and such, it's how you knew everything was crumbling. The fact they were inspired by the Winter Soldier is another thing considering how Marvel treats their characters. The only good thing about Voltron was ending it all in the first place.

Oh yeah I never looked too much into production stories bc I veer away from anything that gets too conspiracy theory esque for my takes but like - almost half the crew walked away halfway through the project? I’ve never seen a writers’ room be so obviously on fire / at war with itself in a way that impacted the show so heavily like - I knew even before I did any digging. I’ve never seen Winter Soldier but it does seem like one of the more solid Marvel outings overall and like listen. one day I will take all the best concepts from my like 150k+ voltron fix it fic I never completed and repurpose it into an actual thing bc my worldbuilding and OC construction is genuinely some of my best work and I’ll stand by that

[jxsatlas]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐓𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐍 ⇢ keith kogane, ch. 3

keith kogane x gn! reader – previous

DISCLAIMER! this story does not originally belong to me, the author is @MaddieWolf37 on Wattpad. i have simply received permission to rewrite and continue her story. go and check out her profile for the original version!

SYNOPSIS! a story in which you are thrown into the middle of an intergalactic space war and have the undesirable weight of being a symbol of peace dropped on your shoulders. but maybe if you look past the constant danger and endless fighting, there's some good to being a paladin of voltron.

MATURE CONTENT! swearing, violence, gore, war, graphic descriptions, mentions of self-harm

You step into the tent, eyes wide at the sight of three unconscious scientists scattered around the ground. Straight ahead, Keith is carefully pulling Shiro off of the metal table and trying to sling Shiro's arm around him.

"Nope! No! I'm saving Shiro," Lance says and takes Shiro's other arm and tosses it around his shoulders.

"Uh... who are you?" Keith asks, furrowing his brows at Lance in confusion.

"The name's Lance?" your brother says, but Keith only blinks at him. Lance feigns a look of hurt and disappointment. How could his self-proclaimed rival not recognise him? "We were in the same class at the Garrison? We were like rivals. You know, Lance and Keith, neck and neck?"

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

"What? No! I'm a pilot," Lance frowns.

Keith narrows his eyes at Lance for a moment before it clicks. His face relaxes. "Oh... yeah, I remember you. You're a cargo pilot."

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

"Congratulations," Keith says in a low tone, not interested.

You roll your eyes at their interaction and place a hand on your hip. "Are you two just gonna sweet talk each other or are we gonna take Shiro and get out of here?" you ask.

Keith looks up at the sound of your voice, recognising it. He stares at you for a bit, unintentionally. It's been a while since he's seen you, and he could honestly that say he missed you.

You were the only person he truly got along with at the Garrison, so it's reasonable for him to feel that way.

"Well?" you ask, quirking an eyebrow.

Keith blinks, breaking his stare and bringing him back to reality. "Taking Shiro and getting out of here," he says.

You all rush out of the tent as fast as you can with an unconscious person in your arms. As the others make their way to Keith's hoverbike, You take a quick look to see what's going on with the Garrison.

"Oh, that's not good," you say and spin on your heel quickly. You scurry over to the hoverbike. "We should really get moving! The Garrison is coming back and they do not look happy!"

Pidge climbs onto the hoverbike. "Hey, is this gonna fit all of us?"

As Keith sits down at the helm, Hunk climbs onto the back, causing the back to drop downwards. "No," he grumbles.

But he doesn't bother wasting time when all of you are on and ready to go. He revs the engine and the hoverbike roars to life, lifting up into the air a few feet.

And right as the Garrison comes around the tent, Keith does a sharp 180 and heads in the opposite direction. He speeds away with the Garrison pursuing without hesitation.

To fight against the inertia, you grab ahold of Keith who you sit right behind. And you don't plan on letting go anytime soon, scared you'll fall off.

Pidge has his arms hooked under Shiro's. "Why am I holding this guy?" he asks, but he's left unanswered.

Lance looks at the Garrison behind us. They were getting closer by the second. "Can't this thing go any faster?"

"We can toss off some non-essential weight," Keith says bitterly.

"Oh, right!" Lance chirps and looks around to see what could be tossed off the hoverbike. But when he finds nothing and realises Keith was talking about Hunk, he rolls his eyes. "Okay, so that was an insult."

Keith shouts over his shoulder at Hunk. "Big man, lean left!"

Hunk does so and the hoverbike sharply veers left, quickly evading the gaining pursuers. The Garrison tries to match the sudden movement, but two of the vehicles chasing after you crash into each other.

"Aw, man!" Hunk whines. "Mr. Harris just wiped out Professor Montgomery!"

You look over your shoulder behind you and see the two vehicles rolling and flipping. You frown. You hope they're okay.

"Big man! Lean right!" Keith orders and Hunk listens to him again. As the hoverbike tips to the right, jumping over a canyon and to the narrow ledge on the other side, you make the mistake of looking down below.

Your body tingles with adrenaline as you watch the ground disappear for a second too long, not enjoying the sight at all.

"Not cool! Not cool!" You say and squeeze your eyes shut. You don't usually have a fear of heights. But it's one thing when you're piloting an aircraft, and a completely different thing when you're riding on the back of a hoverbike where falling off is a very prominent thing.

"Are you seriously scared of heights?" Lance asks, picking up on the reason why you suddenly got anxious. "You're a freaking pilot!"

"This is different!" you bark back at him.

"Wait! Guys! Is that cliff up ahead?" Hunk asks, pointing ahead. You turn back around and you squeak at the sight of the sudden drop getting closer and closer.

"Oh, no, no, no, no!" Lance shouts.

"Yep," Keith smirks and increases the speed, practically flying towards the cliff.

Everyone, except for Keith and Shiro, who is still very much unconscious, clambers and screams incoherently as Keith heads straight for the cliff and drives right off.

You feel your stomach fly up to your chest as you fall, your butt lifting off the seat. The butterflies make your entire body buzz with fear and you tighten your arms around Keith. If you fall off now, there's no doubt you'll be dead.

And flat as a pancake.

"What are you doing!? You're gonna get us killed!" Lance shouts, his eyes wide with fear. His grip is tight on the hoverbike. He doesn't want to fall off either.

"Just shut up and trust me!" Keith shouts back at him.

"I trust you!" you shout, squeezing your eyes shut once again. You truly do. Even though Keith was reckless and quite the trouble maker back at the Garrison, You know he wouldn't intentionally put you in danger without a way to get you out of it.

You fall for what seems like an eternity before Keith rolls the throttle all the way, maxing out the power of the engines. The hoverbike stops just before it hits the ground. Your butt hits the seat pretty hard and you wince.

That's definitely gonna be a bruised tailbone.

With the Garrison having no way to get down the cliff and chase after you, Keith drives off into the desert.

﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋﹋

Inside of an old cabin in the middle of what seems to be nowhere, the group lays about. Lance sits on the edge of a surprisingly soft sofa with you laying across the majority of it, your head in his lap. He has his arms hanging on the back and his head resting on his shoulder. The two of you snooze away.

Pidge and Hunk are across the room sitting on the floor, talking about tech and engineering. Keith is outside with Shiro.

When you were waiting for Shiro to wake up, you had a chance to catch up with Keith. You hugged him and conversed with him happily. He seemed to enjoy talking to me too again, a faint smile on his face.

Although Lance glared at you from across the room the entire time. The boys have a mutual dislike for each other, so Lance didn't take too kindly to you talking to Keith. But you think Lance feels the said dislike more. Keith doesn't seem to care most of the time, but Lance can and will get on his nerves.

Nevertheless, you genuinely missed Keith. You were pretty good friends with him. In fact, you think you were his only friend at the Garrison.

You stir awake when Keith and Shiro walk back into the cabin rather loudly. You rub the sleep from your eyes and sit up. You stretch your arms out with a yawn, accidentally smacking your brother in the face.

Lance jolts awake with a small yelp.

"Oh, sorry," you say. Lance grumbles under his breath and sits up. He yawns as well.

"What have you been working on?" Shiro asks slowly.

You turn my attention to the other side of the room. Keith holds a large cloth in his hands, having pulled it off of the wall. And on the wall are pictures of caves carvings and odd locations and maps of the desert pinned onto it with tacs and tape. Messy red arrows and circles are marked onto said maps, pointing out places in the desert. But not as much as an area at the center of the map, where a large, overlapping circle was scribbled down.

With curiosity overpowering your sleepiness, you rest your chin in your palm and lean forward with interest. "What's that?" you ask.

"It's... kinda hard to explain?" Keith says with a shrug. "After getting booted from the Garrison, I felt... lost?" he says with a somber expression.

Keith points to the large circle on the map. "But I was drawn to this place. It was like something, some energy, was telling me to search," he says.

"For what?" Shiro asks.

"I'm not sure," Keith answers. "But when I did search, I came across a cave system with all these ancient carvings. Each depicting a slightly different story about a Blue Lion, and some... arrival happening," he explains and points to the photos on the wall before looking at Shiro. "Then you showed up."

Shiro hums, a small, impressed smile tugging at his lips. He turns to you, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge, who are clumped together across the room. "I should thank you all for getting me out of there," he says.

Shiro reaches his robotic arm out to Lance. An awestruck expression takes over my brother's face. On the outside, he appears rather calm. But on the inside, he's most likely freaking out about the fact that his idol is wanting to shake his hand.

"You're Lance, right?" Shiro asks.

Lance nods with a wide smile, firmly grasping Shiro's metal hand and shaking it.

Shiro turns to you. "And... [y/n]?" he guesses your name and you nod.

"Yep! That's me!" you affirm and shake Shiro's hand as well.

"I'm Pidge, and the nervous guy is Hunk," the short ginger says and points to Hunk, who is pulling at his fingers, with his thumb. "Do you know if the rest of your crew made it?"

You glance at Pidge. He seems to be pretty hung up on Shiro's crewmates. You slowly get lost in your thoughts wondering why.

Could he possibly be related to any of them? Or at least a good friend to one?

Pidge gives you a strange look and you realise you're staring. You flash him an embarrassed smile and look away.

"I don't know," Shiro says after taking a moment to dig through his memories. "My brain is still pretty scrambled. But one thing sticks out. I kept hearing the word Voltron, over and over. It's some kind of weapon."

You blink. "That's what Pidge was hearing on the radio!" you point out.

Pidge nods. "Yeah, I picked it up on alien radio chatter when scanning the solar system," he rephrases.

"Maybe those were the aliens that captured Shiro?" Lance suggests.

"Well, we need to find this Voltron before the aliens do," Shiro says with a sharp tone of determination.

"But how are we gonna do that?" Lance asks.

He's got a point. "Yeah, we don't even know what Voltron looks like," you say.

"I got that doodle in my notebook?" Pidge says.

"Sorry, Pidge, but your artist's rendition isn't the best," Lance says. You smack his arm and he smacks yours in return.

Hunks smiles. "I don't think Pidge's drawing skills will be a problem," he says and picks up Pidge's backpack. "Because I was looking through his stuff–"

Pidge snatches his bag from Hunk and holds it away from him. "What were you doing looking through my stuff?" he asks sharply.

Hunk rubs the back of his neck sheepishly. "Looking for a snack," he says. "Anyways, I was looking through his diary and–"

"You did what?" Pidge growls. He seems to like his privacy.

"–and I noticed a repeating series of numbers that kinda look like a Fraunhofer line," Hunk quickly finishes talking before Pidge has a chance to interrupt him again.

"A frown-what?" Keith asks and you, him, and Lance give a quizzical look.

"Sorry, we have the brains of pilots," you say.

"That's fine," Hunk shrugs and proceeds to explain what he's talking about. "It's a number describing the emission spectrum of an element. But this element doesn't exist on earth, so I was thinking it could be this Voltron?"

You nod, understanding a little bit more of his engineer mind, but not really. He used too big of words.

"I think I can build something to track it, like a Voltron Geiger counter," Hunk says.

Lance flashes an impressed grin and crosses his arms. "Hunk, you big gassy genius!" he praises.

"It's pretty great," Hunk smiles bashfully at the compliment. He then reaches into his pocket and pulls out a sheet of paper with a sort of graph on it. He holds it up for everyone to see. "It looks like this."

Keith snatches the paper from Hunk and examines it closely. He furrows his brows and turns to one of the photos pinned up on the wall, something connecting in his brain. He holds the graph up next to a photo of rocky outcropping somewhere in the desert.

The line matches the shape of the tall, jagged rocks eerily well. You all share a look, concluding that that's the next place you need to go.

[panda-noosh]

Poor Little King {BotF Mini-Fic}

Words: 3.4k 

Summary: Takashi is ill, and you are determined to keep him in bed - meaning you have to take on the jobs he usually does himself. 

Genre: Fluff 

Notes: masterlist - well hello there everyone. 

+++

    Takashi groaned, rolling over as he attempted to bury his head in your skirts.

    Once again, you were forced to push the poor king away, folding your arms over your chest; you had work to get done. You had merely dropped by to check up on your ill husband before you were due to head out and, once again, get back to work with helping Coran sort through the trading agreements.

     Nonetheless, you couldn’t help but deny the slight flicker of disappointment that came with the realisation that you would have to leave Takashi like this. It had only been a few days since he had come down with the flu, and yet it was ripping him apart by the looks of things.

    “How are you feeling?” you asked, winding your fingers through his in your attempts to stop him grabbing onto your skirts again.

    He grunted into the pillow, answer enough for the question you had asked.

    “Oh, Takashi,” you tutted. “I wish I could do something to help.”

   “You can stay with me,” he suggested, voice muffled by the fabric covering his face.

    You smiled sadly, reaching down and gently running your fingers through his shock of black hair. A low grumble rumbled up from his chest at the sensation of your fingers brushing deep into his scalp, and you had to bite your lower lip to stop yourself from giggling.

    “I’m afraid I can’t,” you replied. Takashi frowned, finally turning his head to meet your eyes. “You’re ill. Takashi, but there’s still a kingdom to look after. Plus two children that need attention all the time.”

    “Coran and Esmay are fine,” he said. “I, on the other hand, am far from it. Which is why my lovely wife should-”

    “Oh, stop trying to charm me.” You swatted his back, to which he groaned and went back to burying his head in the pillow. “I’ll be back later on to make sure you’ve eaten, okay? You just stay bundled up and rest.”

    “I don’t sleep well without you beside me.”

    “You don’t have to sleep. Complete a crossword puzzle or something.”

    “Honestly, with how little you know of me, it’s amazing that we’ve been married for nearly six years.”

    You grinned, leaned down and pressed a gentle but risky kiss to the space just below his ear. He grumbled at the sensation, turned his head just enough so you could see the small and grateful smile that he had put on specifically for you.

    You smiled back, and with a heavy heart, span on your heel and exited the bedroom.

     You hated seeing him that way, so defenceless and weak. The illness had stemmed from a trip to Voltron he had taken with Coran Jr only a few days prior; apparently a bug had been going around during his trip, and it was only by the good grace of the Lions that Coran Jr hadn’t gotten the illness; it had instead went straight to Takashi.

    He had come home to you and Esmay Jr a few days later, sniffling, bones aching, barely able to hold himself upright. You had ordered him to bed almost immediately, despite his protestations and his insistence that he was fine. Anybody with two eyes and a bit of common sense could see that he was far from it, though.

    However, now that Takashi was bundled up in bed for the next few days, you had the added task of actually being Queen for a little while - a task which you did not see yourself being thrown into. Though you had legally been queen for a very long time now, the duties that came with the job were very rarely actually given to you - Takashi was aware that he had thrown you into the role of queen purely against your will, that you had absolutely zero knowledge of what it was like to run a kingdom. He had been nice enough to take the burden of royal life off of your shoulders, instead trying to make you as comfortable as possible.

    You were confident that you would be able to figure it all out in the end, though.

    You wandered into the office with your shoulders pulled back and chin held high; anything to radiate a confidence that you did not have. Coran Senior looked up when you entered, raised a ginger eyebrow as a smile of amusement pulled across his features; having been closer to you than a brother for the majority of your life, Coran could certainly tell when you were faking your emotions.

    You frowned at him.

    “Takashi hasn’t dropped dead yet, has he?” Coran asked, ignoring your faux confidence for now. You had no doubt in your mind that he would tease you for it later on.

    You sauntered up to his side and started shuffling through the trade contracts littering the table top. “Nope. He’s still kicking.” 

    “Kicking is a strong word,” said Coran. “Whenever I went to check on him, he was more rolling than anything else.”

    You hollowed your your cheeks, shaking your head slowly  “He doesn’t look like he’s getting any better.”

    “Because he isn’t letting himself get any better,” Coran pointed out, tossing a piece of paper onto your pile for later inspection. “He just complains all day and then goes to sleep. He isn’t even drinking the orange juice that Esmay told him to drink.”

    “He doesn’t like orange juice.”

    “Lions, my heart breaks for him.” Coran shot you a blank look. “I bet he likes having the flu even less.”

    “Well, yes, but-”

   “We’ve all got to make sacrifices. Honestly, the man is as stubborn as his father was.”

    You snorted, shaking your head despite your agreement to the statement. Akihiro had been a vile man, but he was still Takashi’s father at the end of the day - you would be a fool to claim that Takashi had gained absolutely nothing from his fathers side of the family - and the stubbornness was definitely that attribute.

    You and Coran continued working later than you had originally expected. Hunk had come in and asked if either of you wanted any food, but his offer was politely declined as the two of you got lost in a mountain of contracts that had long since started to jumble into one huge heap on the edge of the table; Takashi would have an aneurysm if he were to see the state the two of you had left it, him so tedious with his organisation.

    It was getting dark by the time Coran finally looked up and yawned. He glanced towards the clock in the corner, and his eyes immediately widened.

    “Oh, Lions!” he hissed. You started, hand clenching around the piece of paper in your hand with the suddenness of his exclamation.

    “What? What is it?” you demanded. He was bolt upright now, his papers thrown left right and centre as he struggled to remove his coat from the back of the chair he had previously been seated upon.

    He darted his eyes towards you. “I promised Thace I’d be home by dinner time.”

    You glanced at the clock; dinner time had long since passed.

    “Oh, right,” you said, calming down now that you were assured nothing was really wrong. “Well, get yourself off then. I’ll stay in here for a little bit longer.”

    Coran paused, his coat half on his body. You looked up at him, giving him what you hoped was a reassuring smile; you still had a fair bit to get done, and you weren’t prepared to leave it all until the morning. You had promised Takashi that you would have everything under control whilst he took his bed rest, and you were determined to keep that promise.

    “Y/N,” Coran said gruffly. “It’s nearly ten o clock at night. You need to go to bed and check on your husband.”

   You waved a dismissive hand. “He’s fine. He’s either reading to Coran and Esmay right now, or he’s asleep. Either way, I’m perfectly fine staying in here for another few hours.”

    It was clear in his hesitation that he was not fully prepared to leave you here on your own, but he had a husband to get home to, a family that you were well aware would always have his attention first and foremost.

    Once again, you waved a dismissive hand. “I promise you, Coran, I’ll get some sleep later on. I just want to finish a bit more of this and then I’ll go to bed.”

    Although he did not believe you, he left the room nonetheless. After giving you a comforting peck on the cheek and a final warning glare, he sauntered off and disappeared for the night, leaving you to your own devices.

    You would be lying to claim you weren’t exhausted. You had been up at six am that same morning, seeing to Esmay who had decided to climb up the bed sheets to check on her father, bright and early. She had recently turned two, and the phrase Terrible Two’s was really being proven in the way she refused to sit still now that her legs were strong enough to hold her up, now that she had finally figured out that she could indeed stand up and scatter anywhere she wanted to.

     But you refused to leave just yet; the work would be finished at the end of the night, and then you could curl up next to your ill husband and get some well-needed rest. But until then, you had duties to see to and a kingdom to care for.

    All on your own.

    +++

    You weren’t entirely sure what time it was. In all honesty, you weren’t even sure who was awake anymore. The inhabitants outside of the office had long since gone quiet; you could no longer hear the scuttling of maids outside the door, the happy humming of the cooks as they packed up the kitchen for the night. The outside world had seemingly gone silent, though you couldn’t quite complain. It gave you more room to concentrate on the very, very tedious task of filing away the trade agreements you had just read through.

    They were stacked in their hundreds, surrounding you in messy heaps on the desk. You had to read through each of them, label them with what kingdom they had come from, and then file them away into their appropriate place. 

     You couldn’t quite understand how Takashi had done this so quickly in the past.

    You grunted, slumping against the desk once and for all. Your vision was starting to go a little blurry, and you could barely keep your head up, let alone stand to read the papers around you. You closed your eyes for only a minute, allowing yourself that moment of solice until you would force yourself to get back to it and finish the job you had been assigned. If Takashi could do it-

    “Mummy?”

    Your eyes snapped open, motherly instinct immediately driving the exhaustion from your body. You hastily stood up, peeked your head over the desk towards the door where tiny little Esmay popped her own head of large black curls round the doorway.

    Your heart immediately lightened at the sight of her, and you couldn’t stop the smile forming on your face.

    “I’m here, sweetheart. Are you okay?”

    She slowly crept in, still teetering slightly but managing to close the door and clamber towards you nonetheless. You sat back down on the seat behind you, held your arms out just in time to catch her and scoop her up onto your knee. There, she nuzzled her head into your neck and started sucking deftly on her thumb.

    “Are you alright, Esmay?” you repeated softly.

   “Daddy’s ill,” she replied.

    You stiffened. “Yes, he is. Have you seen him today?”

    She shook her head. “Uncle Thace said me and Coran would get sick if we went and saw him, so we’ve stayed away. But I miss him, Mummy. I miss you, too.” She looked up then, grey eyes so like her fathers. “You look tired, Mummy.”

   You pursed your lips; coming from any other person, and perhaps you would have grown hostile. But Esmay was definitely telling the truth, and you knew that much simply from the drag your body was currently experiencing.

    You reached up and awkwardly patted down your hair, which was growing frazzled with the growing heat in the room.

    “So do you, baby,” you replied. “It’s late, you know. You shouldn’t be out of bed at this time.”

    “But you’re out of bed,” she shot back.

    You chuckled. “Well, i can’t argue with that. But you’re much younger than I am, which means you need all the rest you can get.” Slowly, you set her back down on the floor. She teetered on her heels, giggled when she finally caught her balance. “You go off to bed and I’ll come down and see you later on to make sure you’re asleep, okay? I’ll be in here if you need me - tell your brother that, as well.”

   Esmay nodded vigorously, overjoyed with the idea of having a task to fulfill. You watched as she darted towards the door, flung it open and fled the room, yelling out her brothers name as she did so. You chuckled, closed the door behind her and got back to your work.

    The productivity did not last for long, however, before the door was creaking open yet again. You sat still, waiting for the telltale name of “Mummy?” being called out into the darkness, but it didn’t come. 

    You frowned, glanced over the stack of papers - you didn’t need to stand up to see who was standing in the doorway, though. Not whenever he towered over the desk, leaning against the door frame with a frown pulling on his face.

    Your eyes widened and you hastily stood up. “Takashi! What are you doing out of bed?”

    “I could be asking you the same thing,” he replied, kicking the door quietly closed behind him. “It’s nearly one in the morning, my love. You should be in bed.”

    “So should you,” you hissed, completely hysterical that your ill husband had decided to risk his health, yet again, to come and check on you. “Oh, Takashi, what are you doing? How are you ever going to get better if you refuse to rest?”

    He raised a brow down at you when you finally managed to clamber over the array of files littered beside the desk. You grabbed onto his arm, attempted to pull him towards the door, but he was much stronger than you and the attempt was fruitless at the end of the day.

    You sighed in defeat, slumping against the wall and glaring at him through your eyelids. “You are a pain in the backside.”

    He didn’t grin like he usually did, but merely continued frowning. “Esmay came in and told me that you were still working in the office. She even added on that Mummy looked particularly tired.”

    You pursed your lips. “Well, you know how two year olds get. Exaggerating everything and -”

    “She most definitely was not exaggerating.” Takashi reached an arm out, inviting you into his embrace. Part of you wanted to pull away, to walk back to your seat and get stuck in the paperwork again - you had so little left to do. Another few hours would see you finished.

    But when it was a matter involving Takashi, you found yourself unable to resist. And so, you stepped forward and hugged him round the middle, him wrapping his arm around your back and gently rubbing his fingertips along your spine in that way that always managed to send shivers coursing through your entire body.

    “You don’t have to get all of this done in a day, you know,” he mumbled, lips pressing into your hair. 

    You cuddled closer to his warmth, inhaling the scent of cough medicine which was strongly radiating off of him right now. “I want to. Then you don’t have to do it later on.”

    He chuckled, the noise vibrating in his chest. “You do realise that it’s my job, don’t you? I’ve been doing it for a good number of years by now.” 

   “But you’re ill, and I-”

   “And I’m extremely grateful for your help, but I’d much rather have a wife who is well rested and healthy than a free schedule.” He pulled away then, keeping one arm on the small of your back as if afraid you would scatter back behind the desk if he let go.

    You looked up into his grey eyes, a slight pout on your face; you were disappointed. You had wanted to get things finished for him, to clear his schedule so he could rest up without worrying about the tasks awaiting for him when he was finally at full health again. Even looking at him now, his grey eyes were sunken with illness and his skin was pale, his black hair sticking up from where he had laid funny on the pillows; he didn’t look like himself. 

      “I know I say this all the time,” he whispered suddenly. “But I truly am confused as to how I got so lucky with finding you. And then finding you again.”

    You closed your eyes, laughing breathily at the memories of your and Takashi’s extremely wild love story - how you had gone through a forbidden romance for a while, before you were exiled from the very country you now ruled over. You had broken the law to come and see Takashi be crowned king, only for him to find you and wed you then and there.

     “I think I’m the lucky one,” you replied. “I could have easily been imprisoned on the day of your coronation.”

    He scoffed. “You think I’d allow that to happen?”

    “I don’t think the kingdom would have given you much choice.”

   He shook his head slowly, continuing to stare down at you as if you were the stars and the moon and he was holding you in his hands so tight and safe. You felt safe, tucked up against him despite the heaving of his chest and the slight rattle to his breathing, the stuffiness in his voice.  

     He sighed and leaned forward, pressing dry lips to your forehead. “I don’t want to get you sick. Just come to bed so I don’t have to drag you there myself.”

    You closed your eyes, leaning your head on his chest. “I only have a few more-”

    “Are you going to make me drag you?”

    “Takashi, if you-”

    “Well, if you insist on being stubborn.”

    Your eyes snapped open, panic darting through your system as Takashi immediately swept his hand by your knees and scooped you up bridal style. He grunted with the effort, his weakened body straining, but he still managed to pull the door open and start down the hallways towards your bedroom.

    If it weren’t for the sleeping children in the other room, you would have been making a fuss. Instead, you had no choice but to wrap your arms around Takashi’s neck, whispering curse words in his ears that did nothing but make him grin and chuckle.

    He kicked open the door to your shared bedroom and set you down upon the double bed, kicking the door closed again behind him. You landed on the mattress and continued to glare up at him as he made his way towards the bed again, undoing the top buttons of his night shirt as he did so.

    “See, that’s better, isn’t it? You can get comfortable now, if you like.”

    You shook your head slowly. “Once again-”

    “You are a pain in the backside,” he quoted, raising his voice in mock impersonation of you. He grinned at your glare, tossing himself onto the bed and wrapping his arms around your middle. “Truth be told, my love - I also just can’t sleep without you beside me, and I’m getting very tired.”

     You grunted, trying to squirm away from him. Despite his illness, he managed to hold onto you until you finally gave up and slumped back against the pillows. He hummed in approval, laying his head on your stomach and nuzzling his nose into the fabric of your shirt.

    “Much better,” he whispered. “I might just be revived back to full health after tonight.”

[appleb18]

Why Modern Cartoons is Not Great as it Used to be in this Decade

As 2010′s draw near to the end and begin a next-generation, cartoons have changed from being a fun episodic adventure with a meaningful message and can get dark sometimes to a story-driven show with deep messages. While cartoons have a great start in early 2010s such as Adventure Time, Regular Show, Gravity Falls, and My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, however as time passes cartoons are becoming less interesting and not many aren’t talking about it. So what the hell happened with modern cartoons? Let’s get to the bottom of what happened to this decade of cartoons and why isn’t anyone talking about it anymore 

The Animation Quality 

The quality of the animation of cartoons back in 2000′s were amazing, so many variations of animation styles that look very appealing such as 

Samurai Jack 

Avatar: The Last Airbender 

Fosters Home for Imaginary Friends 

Recess 

Proud Family and so many more

But now in modern cartoons, most cartoon shows are using a similar style of animation which many people called it “Calarts style”. Most cartoon shows are using because it’s cheap however it takes away creativity, more detail nor being organic. Look at Infinity Train, compare from the pilot to the release 

It looks very boring having most cartoons look the same. Then there’s artistic freedom where creators let them draw whatever they want such as Steven Universe and OK KO. That sounds good but really though it just looks lazy and unprofessional. This is very distracting that most characters go off-model every scene like why Rebecca and Ian-Jones Quarry think it was a good idea! 

Great to Below Average

So now let’s talk about the three shows that were once popular Steven Universe, Voltron, and Star vs The Forces of Evil. The trope I’ve been seeing as of late about these shows that it was pretty hype and they deliver on that. All they need to do is conclude it and call it a good cartoon but then crash and burned in later seasons. 

Steven Universe didn’t get popular until “Jailbreak” and that was when everyone was watching it. It had character development, an interesting world of gems, a gorgeous background and has one of the best soundtracks. This isn’t surprising because the creator is the same person who wrote Marceline episodes in Adventure Time which was Rebecca Sugar that created the series. Then season 4 and season 5 happened which the show drop in quality like mostly the show prefer showing filler which makes the plot go too fast and made arcs underwhelming, crystals gems and Lapis Lazuli and Peridot aren’t being used that much in the show and having each villain being beaten by simply talking to them. While there is Steven Universe Future but that hasn’t gotten interesting in my opinion. 

Star vs The Forces of Evil is a show used to be interesting for the two seasons and “Battle for Mewni” arc but then shipping drama got out of hand and that resulted to fell from grace 

Then there’s Voltron and we all how that turned out for the last two seasons

What these three have in common that they set up this interesting premise and world in the first few seasons but they all went downhill. Awful character writing, insane plot twist, and terrible pacing. I did wish that those shows would get better like how Adventure Time and Regular Show had one bad season but after that, they both got better but they didn’t and it went from being great to disappointingly average. 

Comedy Over Messages

Now that’s got the most hype shows, let’s talk about shows that not many people talk about because the premise and world aren’t engaging enough to watch and which they are We Bare Bears, Craig in the Creek, Clarence, OK KO, and The Loud House. While I’m not saying they aren’t bad but it is just not interesting to watch, it's just that it’s too tame and too comedic. The main issue I have it doesn’t really teach viewers like they used to anymore 

OK KO was about to talk about gun violence but they turn it into a comedy. In “Let’s Not Be Skeletons” people overuse the gun and resulting everyone to turn skeletons and KO tries to stop it but fails. By the end of the episode, it was a dream and calls Congress to stop it from happening. I really hate how writers of this episode of making a serious issue turn into comedy and that’s a pretty awful way of doing it. 

Look at Static Shock and Fat Albert, instead of making Gun Violence a joke, they talk about how serious it is by having someone shot and that devastated the characters a lot 

Then there's Hey Arnold, it really dives into serious issues such as 

“Pigeon Man” showcases that some people are meant to be with other people while others like Pigeon Man are just different and can’t be with other people. 

“Helga on the Couch” showcases Helga's anger issues and those issues manifest because her family ignores her because of her sister. Never truly cares for like no makes her lunch for school and no one brought her to school when she was a young girl. The only person that cares for was Arnold.

Then there’s my personal favorite, “Arnold Christmas”. Mr. Hyunh is always sad at Christmas and this episode revealed that he had a daughter and all he wanted was to see her grow up but there was a war coming near his village. In order to do so, he had to give her up so she can have a better life. It took 20 years to get out of the country and he almost gave up hope to find her until Helga helped Arnold to search for her and be reunited with her father. 

Modern cartoons don’t show those kinds of messages anymore and there’s something worse than that and I hate how cartoon shows keep doing this. 

Today’s Villains

I” ve been seeing a lot lately that the main antagonist isn't handled well in cartoons as of lately. Most villains have been getting redeemed lately and not paying their crimes. While show creatures try to make them sympathetic and the victim however it doesn’t excuse them for their crimes. 

White Diamond who caused multiple mass genocide on worlds, brainwash any gem that stands in her way and shatter gems gets easily defeated by simply getting talk to and just not gonna do it anymore because Steven said so. 

Mina Loveberry and her Mewni soldiers wanted to destroy monsters. When her and her army magic depleted, she just goes in the wilderness and no one stopped her. 

Moon Butterfly helped Mina create her soldiers so she can retake the throne from Ecipsa. Instead of having the monsters and her surrendering the throne that she was attending to do, however, her plan backfired when Mewni Soldiers and Mina wanted to kill all the monsters. Why didn’t Moon saw that coming, they were clearly racist against them. Then by the end of the show, she never once apologized for what she has done. 

Starlight Glimmer created a cult that no one has cutie marks until the mane six defeated her in “Cutie Map” She returns and her revenge on Twilight by going back in time and making sure Rainbow Dash doesn’t perform the Sonic Rainboom. After multiple going to multiple timelines, she finally catches up to her and then her tragic backstory been revealed and it was very disappointing. The reason she caused all of this because her friend moved away and that’s it. That’s not all, instead of her facing her crimes like most villains such as Tirek or Queen Chrysalis, she gets off the hook and she became friends with Twilight in a matter of minutes 

A good example of a good antagonist is Aku from Samurai Jack. When he first appeared in the show, he’s pure evil, destroying anything that stood in his way and ruling over the weak but as the show progresses, the serious villain became more comedic villain but that doesn’t mean he’s a silly character, he’s far from that. He’s still all-powerful and should be taken seriously. This is what I want from a villain.  He’s powerful, he’s truly evil and has a personality. 

Villains can be sympathetic and relatable however shouldn’t be forgiven so easily. When a character crosses the line by taking multiple innocent lives should never be redeemed, even if they have a sad backstory 

Cartoons lately have become less popular in this past decade, the glaring problems about cartoons are its animation, comedy over messages, messy plots, and terrible villain. People will only talk about cartoons from the late ’80s to 2012. I’m afraid that this day of age that it isn’t appealing anymore than in previous years. The only animation that people will talk about is anime shows which I can’t lie, is far superior to cartoons as of now. I feel that the only way it can make it back on top is it needs something like Adventure Time or Gravity Falls moment that reinvent it more relevant and view to modern audiences. I really do like to watch cartoon shows for animation, message, and characters but I keep seeing issues in modern cartoons and I hope that it will change in the future. 

[im-definitely-not-trash]

Here’s day three, thankfully on time. :) I tried to do less dialogue because my stories usually rely on dialogue a lot and I wanted to try something different.

Prompt #3: “Who did this to you?”

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender

TW: referenced self-harm, infected injuries

Word count: 1536

Lance and Pidge were chilling playing video games. As they laughed at a characters death, Lance elbowed Pidge’s left arm playfully. She winced, quietly enough no one would hear, but Lance saw her face scrunch up in pain. He dropped the controller and pulled up her sleeve to her shoulder, Pidge protesting the whole time, trying to wiggle away. There were three long scratches on her upper arm, scabbed over and starting to scar, but Lance could see that they had been deep.

“Who did this to you?” he asked.

Pidge went quiet, shuffling away and pulling her sleeve down. Then she just stood up and walked out of the closet. Lance called after her, but she didn’t listen.

~~~

Over the next few days, Lance noticed that Pidge was treating him differently. She was fine around literally everyone else, but she hung out with Kosmo more than him. It was as if he’d done something to offend her, not worrying about her and what happened to her arm.

He tried several times to confront her again, wanting to find out why she was treating him like a disease and also to figure out what had happened and who had done it. But every time, she just ignored him and locked herself in her room so he couldn’t get to her.

Lance considered talking to Shiro about it, but ultimately decided against that. He wouldn’t have a clue what was going on. So he decided to leave her alone until she came back to be friends again.

~~~

His waiting time was cut short after about a week when Pidge showed up to breakfast looking exhausted and kind of green. She left her arm hanging by her side while she ate breakfast goo with her right hand. Her hand shook as she ate and Lance had to bite his tongue to not mention it in front of everyone. But after she excused herself without eating even half of her bowl, he knew something was way worse than it was before and he couldn’t just leave her to her own devices anymore.

He followed her out of the kitchen and snuck into her room with her (what a mess). She went into her bathroom, and Lance tried to watch through the crack in the door and the mirror what she was doing.

Pidge pulled her arm out of her sleeve, biting her lip to avoid making noise as tears spilled over. The three cuts in her arm had seemingly grown bigger, and they were discolored and oozing. Lance couldn’t take it anymore. He threw the door open, making Pidge jump.

“Come on, Pidge, who in the quiznak did this to you?? I’m going to kill who did this, I can’t believe anyone would hurt you! And why didn’t you ask for help at all?! It’s been at least a week that you’ve been hurt, and I know you haven’t said anything to anyone, and it’s pissing me off!”

Pidge was sobbing now, lightly grabbing her arm to curl up in a ball.

“Pidgey, I want to help you! Everyone does! Who did this?! We can’t just let someone like this to roam free to hurt anyone else. Just tell m—”

Pidge cried. “It was me!”

Lance shut up very quickly.

“You?” he asked in a whisper.

The tears wouldn’t stop streaming. “It distracts me, and I didn’t mean for it to get this bad, but I can’t stop thinking about Matt and my dad and my mom whenever Zarkon is going to make his way to Earth to hurt her and anyone else, and I can’t keep pretending that I’m not worried because I am but if I was worried, it would distract me from being a Paladin and so I needed to distract myself from getting distracted and when I distracted myself by my own terms it made it easier to fulfill my tasks as a Paladin, but it got bad and now I don’t know what to do because I can’t let anyone know and I’m still upset that you know and—”

“Pidge.”

She shook while looking at Lance. “What?”

The way her voice sounded, crackly and tired, made Lance want to cry too.

“We can help you. You don’t have to keep anything a secret from us. We can find other ways to distract you to focus, if that’s what you really need. But please, please, don’t hurt yourself as a distraction.”

Pidge sat stiff for a second, then just broke down crying again. Lance gathered her into a hug, carefully avoiding her arm.

“Can I tell the others, please?”

Pidge shook her head.

“Then can you tell them?”

She shook her head more frantically.

“They need to know, Pidgey.”

Her voice was muffled in Lance’s shirt. “They’ll think I’m not a real Paladin. I’m not worthy for it.”

“Shut the quiznak up, Pidge, you just told me you were doing this to be able to focus in the first place! And apparently it worked, at least until recently because of the infection. Now, call me a psychopath, but I’m glad the cuts got infected.”

Pidge went quiet again, stifling her sobs, but still shaking against Lance.

“Pidge, can we at least tell Coran? We need to treat the cuts.”

She was silent for a minute, then finally said, “Okay.”

“Okay. Good.”

Lance felt her grab onto him. “Can we stay here for a minute though?” she asked.

“Of course.”

~~~

When she told other Paladins as a group, they refrained from smothering Pidge because they could see how ashamed she was. But that didn’t stop them from individually going to talk to her.

Hunk was the first who showed up. He knocked on her door and came in when invited. They talked for a long time, Hunk telling her he somewhat knew how she felt but he wasn’t invalidating her experience. He asked if making foods from home would help, or make it worse, and she laughed, saying it would help and be delicious. His helpful distraction was food.

Allura showed up next. Once invited in, she simply asked if she could give Pidge a hug, and they sat together for a while. They talked about random things while always touching, and made plans for just the two girls to follow through with, no boys allowed. Allura’s helpful distraction was physical comfort.

Coran came in without permission, but he thought it was okay because it’s technically his castle. He joked with Pidge about anything he could think of, and sincerely asked where milkshakes came from if not from Kaltenecker herself. Pidge laughed at almost anything he said, and tried her hardest to explain how cows (and mammals in general) work. Coran’s helpful distraction was his natural humor.

Lance had already gone in several times, in between everyone, trying to not leave Pidge alone. If she wasn’t alone, she’d be distracted. Pidge understood the real reason why he was spending so much time with her, to prevent her from going back to her unhealthy distraction, but she appreciated it anyway. They played card and video games, talked, had spa nights, and did basically anything at anytime. His helpful distraction was quality time.

Keith came in and just sat on her desk while she sat on her bed. Pidge occupied herself messing with some gadget, and Keith awkwardly sat, waiting for the right moment. When he finally started talking, Pidge almost jumped. He explained how after he was left alone, sometimes his mind would run wild and he wasn’t able to focus on surviving. Even in the space cadet program at the Garrison, he had to distract himself so he could focus on being a pilot. He had chosen the same way, and he thought for sure that it was helping. Keith showed her his scars on the back of his wrists and the inside of his elbow. He told her how he lost sleep over it because his arms always hurt and his attitude got worse until he got kicked out. He had to distract himself more to avoid thinking about how disappointed Shiro would be and how he would live by himself. It wasn’t until he had gotten invested in finding what turned out to be the Blue Lion that he had stopped. He offered his help in the way that she could ask for literally anything, help cleaning her room, someone to talk to, anything that he didn’t have in that period. Keith’s helpful distraction was himself.

Shiro was the last to confront Pidge about anything. And confront her he did. He didn’t offer any distraction, only a listening ear so she could face what was always on her mind. Shiro understood more than anyone, because he was with Matt and her dad, and he left someone on Earth. And because of how he knew that, he knew that she needed to face it as well as distract when it was appropriate. He was helpful by not offering her a distraction.

And with all of these people around her, so willing to help, Pidge knew she’d be okay and she’d be able to work harder and in turn, defeat the Galra.

She can do it.

[violethowler]

The Heroine’s Journey of Sora

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks writing out my thoughts on Kingdom Hearts and the way the series follows the framework of the Heroine’s Journey. Rather than a bunch of drabbles or a single long-winded post, I’ve decided to break up my explanations of the Heroine’s Journey and the way Kingdom Hearts fits into it as a series of ten essays posted weekly. I will put up a masterpost once all of them are finished, and in the meantime I will have all of them on my blog under the tag ‘Kingdom Hearts and the Heroine’s Journey.’

Due to the length of this essay, I will be putting the full thing under a cut. 

What many Kingdom Hearts fans do not realize is that while Tetsuya Nomura does sometimes make up the details as he goes when it comes to the writing of Kingdom Hearts, he does do things with a plan. 

In the KH3 Ultimania [1], he talked about how he’d had the conclusion of the Dark Seeker Saga outlined by the end of Kingdom Hearts II’s development. In an April 2012 interview [2] with Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, he indicated that he’d had a general framework up to Kingdom Hearts II planned out when the original game was first announced. And in a 2004 interview after the original Chain of Memories was released on GameBoy Advance, he mentioned that he’d already come up with the “last scene” that would serve as the definitive ending of the entire series[3]. 

So while some details may be hard to predict because Nomura comes up with lore and backstory details as he goes, he does have a plan in mind where the overall story is going. And the central arc of the series is entirely predictable once you understand the framework that the story fits into. 

Since the late 1800s, scholars have been studying the common patterns that repeat in stories, legends, and myths across different cultures around the world. One of the most well known templates developed from such research is the Hero’s Journey. In his 1949 book The Hero with a Thousand Faces, literature professor Joseph Campbell published a 17 step formula of storytelling. Campbell held up this framework as the monomyth, an ultimate narrative archetype from which all other stories are derived, and in discussion of his work expressed his view of The Hero’s Journey as a universal framework that showed how people grow from youth into adulthood.

However in the 1980s, Maureen Murdock began work on her own narrative framework. Believing that Campbell’s view on the universality of the Hero’s Journey did not encompass the experiences of every identity like he claimed, Murdock developed what she called The Heroine’s Journey as a critique and response to Campbell’s monomyth. Other authors have shared their own variations of the Heroine’s Journey, but for the purposes of this analysis, I will be focusing on Murdock’s model. Hers is both the oldest one I know of, and the one that I personally have the most familiarity with. Though originally conceived as a therapy tool, the core concepts of Murdock’s template have resulted in its use in storytelling for narratives about protagonists overcoming the ingrained biases and preconceptions of society. 

Some notable examples of stories that follow the Heroine’s Journey template, albeit most with different formulas, include 

Beauty and the Beast

The Hunger Games trilogy

The Princess and the Frog

Tangled

Howl’s Moving Castle

Labyrinth 

Star Wars Sequel Trilogy*

Voltron: Legendary Defender*

*Note: Voltron: Legendary Defender and the Star Wars Sequel Trilogy are examples of 3-act narratives that followed the Heroine’s Journey framework in the first 2 acts only for behind-the-scenes conflicts to result in the formula being abandoned in the final act. 

Despite the name, it is possible in theory to have a male protagonist follow the Heroine’s Journey, much like how you can have a female protagonist in a Hero’s Journey.  While nearly every story I know that follows the Heroine’s Journey template has a female protagonist in the lead role, Kingdom Hearts is the first example that I’ve discovered of a male protagonist following this formula. Sora’s arc across the series follows Murdock’s framework so precisely that I was able to correctly predict the broad strokes of how Re:Mind would go three months before the DLC was released. 

Part I: The Beginning

While the Heroine’s Journey mimics the Hero’s Journey in its early stages, it ultimately goes in its own direction. I plan to go into further detail about the differences between the two in a later essay, but for now I will say that while Campbell’s monomyth describes physical plot points and the themes they represent, the Heroine’s Journey formula focuses on the emotional conflict of the narrative and the psychological development of its main characters. The pattern of the Hero’s Journey is fluid and doesn’t have a fixed central theme, while the core element of the Heroine’s Journey is a protagonist coming of age in a society that consciously or not regards them as lesser because they do not fit in with the expectations of the dominant social group. 

I know that some people who decide to read further will be put off by the fact that the names and descriptions of the Heroine’s Journey feature gendered language and focus on discussions of masculinity and femininity, so allow me to explain. The reason for this is that in a Heroine’s Journey, the protagonist is attempting to conform to a set of traits that the audience’s culture values. In pursuing this external validation, the main character has to suppress a vital part of who they are, cutting themselves off from achieving their full potential. The traits they are suppressing are the ones which are often regarded as feminine, while the ones they are trying to conform to are typically associated with masculinity. We see this pattern frequently in movies where the female lead tries to succeed in a male-dominated career field, only to feel lonely and unfulfilled when she finally gets what she wants because she sacrificed the parts of herself that made her who she is along the way. 

Now that I’ve given you a relatively brief summary of the Heroine’s Journey, I can get down to business and walk people through the steps to this template and how it fits with the story of Kingdom Hearts. Note that this is only a basic rundown of the steps of the Heroine’s Journey and how it relates to these games, and I will be posting additional essays shortly which go into greater detail on the themes, character archetypes, and other different layers of the framework that are present in the series. 

Murdock’s version of the Heroine’s Journey begins with the “Separation from the Feminine”. This is the stage where, as mentioned, the protagonist suppresses a core part of themselves in pursuit of external validation. It often takes the form of the protagonist sacrificing their emotional strengths and focuses exclusively on proving themselves in the physical sphere. Sora has demonstrated again and again that his greatest strength is his empathy and his willingness to make connections with others. It makes him a strong unifying force because of how well it complements the people around him. But because this isn’t something tangible in the same way that physical strength is, he doesn’t see the value of it, believing that without the strength of his friends he’s nothing. 

From the way the other kids on Destiny Islands talk about their competitions, Sora’s focus is on trying to prove that he’s just as strong and capable as Riku is. But he’s so focused on proving himself in physical challenges that he doesn’t notice the signs of Riku’s jealousy that lead his friend into the arms of Maleficent. And we see through Anti Form and Rage Form that Sora is still repressing his own negative emotions in Kingdom Hearts III. His narrow focus on external skills has cut him off from achieving the full potential of his internal ones. 

When Sora awakens in Traverse Town after the destruction of Destiny Islands, we come to the second stage of the Heroine’s Journey, “Identification with the Masculine and Gathering of Allies”. This is where the main character chooses to align with the traits and roles that the dominant social group sees as desirable in order to achieve their goal, and where they acquire the allies who will help them in their quest. With the adults around him focusing on his ability to destroy the Heartless, Sora latches onto the Chosen One status that implicitly comes with having a Keyblade. His interactions with Phil and his disappointment with the status of Junior Hero in subsequent games paint Sora as being focused on heroism in the sense of overcoming obstacles with force. Even Donald and Goofy, in the beginning, are focused on Sora’s value as a Keyblade Wielder in terms of how their fight against the Heartless can lead them to King Mickey’s location.

By setting off with Donald, and Goofy, Sora embarks on the “Road of Trials” stage of the Heroine’s Journey. This is one of the few points of similarity between the Heroine’s Journey and the Hero’s, corresponding to Campbell’s “Tests, Allies, and Enemies” stage. This is where the main character faces the initial obstacles and challenges of their quest. In the first few Kingdom Hearts games we have Sora face off against Maleficent, Ansem, and the Organization, before reuniting with Riku and Kairi in The World That Never Was. The final stages of Kingdom Hearts II correspond to the “Finding the Boon of Success” stage of both the Hero and Heroine’s Journeys. 

Part II: Interlude

In a Hero’s Journey, the Boon of Success is the end of the story. They slay the dragon, save the princess, and go home to live happily ever after. I suspect this is one reason why a lot of gamers in the KH fanbase tend to think of Kingdom Hearts 2 as the best game of the series - because in their minds Sora’s quest had been completed now that he had found Riku and Kairi like he set out to do in the first game. His journey, as far as they were concerned, was done. 

(This may also have an affect on how some fans reacted to Kingdom Hearts III, expecting it to be a grand epic finale that wrapped everything up with a bow and left a completely blank slate for the future of the series)

But in a Heroine’s Journey, the Boon of Success is not the end of the main character’s story. They have achieved their external goal, but they have not addressed their internal motivations for seeking that goal in the first place. And as their story continues, they find themselves facing challenges that their attitude thus far has failed to prepare them for. Finding The Boon of Success typically occurs early during the second act of the story. Usually it is achieved in the second half of Act II, but can sometimes happen as early as the end of the first act. For Sora, this was of course finding Riku and Kairi so that they could all go home to the Destiny Islands together.

But because the protagonist of a Heroine’s Journey has not addressed the underlying insecurities which set them on their current path, they “Awaken to Feelings of Spiritual Aridity”. 

They begin to learn that the conflict they find themselves involved in is not as clear cut as they previously believed, and the challenges that come with this new knowledge are ones that their current way of doing things has failed to prepare them for. They may have found their boon of success, but things quickly begin to go wrong until they are ultimately forced to sacrifice their reward. 

The first game already showed through Riku and Mickey that Sora was not the only person able to wield a Keyblade, but because of his heroic deeds the story still framed him as the Keyblade Master and treated him as having a more significant role to play in important events than anyone else. It’s only after he hears from Mickey of the Keyblade Wielders who came before him that it begins to sink in for him that being a Keyblade Master is not a special Chosen One status. He thinks that because of all that he’s accomplished, he doesn’t need the recognition that comes with the official title, and because of that he’s careless and almost gets himself Norted at the end of DDD. 

His failure in the exam is a blow to his self confidence and shows that despite what he had said at the start of the test, deep down he really does want that kind of external validation. His insecurities and doubts continue to eat at him over the course of KH3, culminating in his breakdown at the Keyblade Graveyard. Outside of battle, we see him bottle up his doubts and other negative emotions because his friends (Except for Riku. More on him later) brush his concerns and problems aside. It is very much like Joy from Inside Out doing everything to keep Rylee happy and refusing to let Sadness take the controls. 

When their current way of doing things ultimately costs them their boon, the protagonist tries to go back to the way things used to be. To return to a simpler time and avoid the pain of the present. When literally going back to where their journey began isn’t possible, a Heroine’s Journey story will use this stage symbolically. The main character will cling to a person, object, or relationship that they associate with a simpler time. But as comfortable as the sense of familiarity they get from that is, it ultimately cannot truly address their inner pain in the long run.

This is reflected in the Re:Mind DLC, where Sora goes back in time in order to find the pieces of Kairi’s heart and bring her back. One of Kairi’s most consistent character traits is her fear of change and desire for things to remain the way they were. 

At the end of the DLC, Sora compares his connection with Kairi to the bond between Ventus and Chirithy, a friendship explicitly strained by distance, time, and Ven’s amnesia. In an interview at E3 2018 [4], Nomura commented about Kingdom Hearts III tying into a theme of childhood friendships changing as one gets older, a plotline that Merlin calls attention to after Sora’s visit to the 100 Acre Wood. And in a 2006 book titled Character’s Report Vol. 1, Nomura specifically calls attention to Kairi’s anxiety about growing apart from Sora and Riku as they get older. [5] All of these details combined frame Sora’s quest to save Kairi as an attempt to symbolically recover the innocence he lost when he began his journey.

But while he is able to find a way to renew his connection to Kairi, it can never be the same as it was before, and attempting to go back to how things used to be is ultimately doomed to failure. By the time he brings her to The Final World at the end of Re:Mind, Sora has realized that he and Kairi cannot stay on the same plan of existence anymore as a consequence of his actions. So he takes her on a tour of the worlds to re-establish their connection before fading away at the end of KH3. Thus, we come to the final act of the Kingdom Hearts narrative. 

Part III: The Future Story 

It is at this point that the protagonist of a Heroine’s Journey begins the “Initiation and Descent to the Goddess” stage. Having failed to achieve meaningful success through their old way of doing things, they must look inward and examine the cause of their insecurities and accept that in order to move forward they need to heal themselves. In this step, the main character travels to either a dream world or a physical location that is closed off and forbidden to them, like the West Wing of Beast’s Castle in Beauty and the Beast. In Jungian psychology, this metaphorical dark cave represents the main character’s subconscious, and entering it triggers a dark night of the soul for our protagonist as they are forced to confront the parts of themselves they’ve been keeping locked away.

While Sora knows in his head that darkness is not inherently bad, he continues to rely entirely exclusively on light, on his connections to others, and has not properly accepted it in his heart. In order to truly finish his coming of age narrative, Sora must learn to balance his inner light and darkness the same way that Riku has. And to do that, he needs to look inside himself and figure out why he feels so badly that he needs his connections to others in order to be strong. And in order to achieve that level of understanding of himself, he needs to understand his Animus. 

Derived from the psychological theories of Carl Jung, the Animus in a Heroine’s Journey is an external representation of the protagonist’s masculine-coded traits in physical form. While not every Heroine’s Journey features an Animus, many of the stories I’ve seen that follow the formula do. Usually the Animus appears in the form of a deuteragonist who often functions as the protagonist’s Shadow, an archetypal character that embodies the aspects of the main character’s personality that due to their immaturity they either aren’t aware or don’t want to acknowledge that they have. 

In order to complete their character arc, the protagonist must symbolically integrate with their Shadow by learning to embrace the parts of their psyche that the Shadow represents. In many stories the protagonist has more than one Shadow figure, all of whom challenge the protagonist by forcing them to become faster or smarter to stay one step ahead, giving their interactions with the main character a push-and-pull dynamic as they drive the main character to grow. Shadow figures who fill the role of the Animus also challenge the protagonist to look inside themselves and examine their own emotional needs. With an Animus, the push to grow runs in both directions, with the main character motivating their Animus’ growth just as much as the other way around. 

In these types of stories, every aspect of the character is tailored to make the Animus and the protagonist fit together like Yin and Yang. In visual stories such as film, television, and video games, the Animus’ entire look is designed to complement the main character and they are framed in the narrative as the protagonist’s equal physically, intellectually, and spiritually. This serves to emphasize that despite their surface differences, much of the conflict between the protagonist and their Animus comes from the ways in which they are fundamentally similar. While their circumstances may have led them to drastically different lives, the characters are ultimately two sides of the same coin, and their character development is driven by learning to balance their contrasting traits.

And within the structure of the Kingdom Hearts series, there is only one character who fulfills all of these qualities in relation to Sora’s journey. 

The same character who Testuya Nomura said in the KH1 Ultimania was designed to balance Sora; [6]

Who series producer Shinji Hasimoto said was part of the core of the series alongside Sora [7], as has been repeatedly emphasized by the number of games where he is given a major focus and is a playable character alongside Sora. 

[Image Description: Riku walking towards a door to light in the opening of Kingdom Hearts III. End Description]

While Sora and Riku have addressed some of the latter’s behavior in the first game during their conversation on the dark beach at the end of Kingdom Hearts II, they have yet to truly dig deep into why Riku felt the way he did in the first game. Riku has not told Sora about how he felt like he was being left behind and forgotten. And since that conversation, Riku has gone to the opposite extreme, dealing with his emotional problems on his own instead of lashing out at others like he had done at the start. Likewise while Sora has accepted that darkness is not inherently evil he has yet to apply this to his own negative emotions, as seen in Kingdom Hearts III. Neither character has truly achieved an ideal balance yet, and they cannot until Sora completes his journey. 

After the protagonist returns from their spiritual journey, they experience an “Urgent Yearning to Reconnect with the Feminine.” As the main character recovers from their period of soul searching, they embrace the parts of themselves that they had neglected in their pursuit of outside approval. Their Descent allowed them to recognize their value as a person and an individual outside of their ability to fulfill the role that they were expected to fill. Following this realization, they go about “Healing the Mother/Daughter split”. Reclaiming the aspects of their personality they’ve been repressing gives the protagonist the clarity necessary to gain a different perspective on their old way of thinking. This new understanding is what will allow them to find the inner balance needed to truly complete their journey. 

The Japanese version of the “My friends are my power” mantra often repeated across the series is “Connected hearts are my power.” For Sora, who has long relied on his connections to others as a source of strength, he should come to realize that these connections go both ways: that his friends draw strength from him just as much as he draws strength from them. This should help him come to accept that he is still strong and worthy all by himself. Ven’s version of the mantra from the English version of BBS summarizes it best: “My friends are my power. And I am theirs.” After he accepts this, Sora will finally be able to use the full extent of his emotional abilities.

After achieving that new perspective, the protagonist’s next step is “Healing the Wounded Masculine Within”. This is the stage of the Heroine’s Journey where the main character, having come to understand themselves, reconciles with their Animus, thereby symbolically integrating the aspects of their psyche that the Animus represents and permanently healing the rift between the two characters. This will be where Sora and Riku need to have a longer, more in-depth conversation than the one they had on the Dark Magin at the end of KH2. Where they talk about why Riku acted the way he did and finally address the underlying reason for why he was so jealous of Sora in the original game. 

The final stage of the Heroine’s Journey is the “Integration of Masculine and Feminine”. This is the point at which the main character and their Animus finally achieve a perfect balance between them. They are united both internally and externally. There are no more secrets between them, and they are now free to move forward and overcome the main antagonist together. 

Part IV: Conclusion: 

While there’s too many different possibilities to completely predict every twist and turn of the series’ lore in future games, once you understand how Kingdom Hearts fits into the framework of the Heroine’s Journey, the broad strokes of how the story will go in terms of Sora’s growth and character development are entirely predictable. When Re:Mind first released and the rest of the fandom was reacting on Twitter, I was sitting back with a smug smile on my face thinking:

[Image Description: Emperor Palpatine in Star Wars: Episode VI: Return of the Jedi sitting aboard the Death Star II with the caption ‘Good, Good. Everything is going according to plan.’ End Description.]

While I didn’t expect the precise mechanics of how Sora went about saving Kairi, Re:Mind was exactly what I expected it to be in terms of themes and its place in the Heroine’s Journey framework, and then the Secret Episode came along to reinforce that the next game is going to be Sora’s Descent.

While there isn’t a complete guarantee that the series will continue to follow the formula, I find it extremely unlikely that it won’t. Kingdom Hearts follows the stages of this framework too precisely for me to ever believe it happened by accident. So as long as there is no corporate interference from Disney like what happened to Voltron, I’m confident that Nomura’s plan for the finale of the series will be exactly what the Heroine’s Journey predicts it should be, no matter how unexpected future additions to the lore may be.

Special thanks to @dragonofyang and the rest of Team Purple Lion for everything I know about the Heroine’s Journey. I wouldn’t be as enthusiastic about analyzing the story of Kingdom Hearts if they hadn’t taught me the vocabulary to realize the kind of story that Nomura has been telling right under my nose for the last 18 years.

Sources:

[1] “Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania interview with Tetsuya Nomura”; March 12, 2019

https://www.khinsider.com/news/Kingdom-Hearts-3-Ultimania-Main-Nomura-Interview-Translated-14763

[2] “Iwata Asks: Nintendo 3DS: Third Party Game Developers, Volume 12: Kingdom Hearts 3D [Dream Drop Distance], Part 3: Square’s Intentions”; April 2012.

https://iwataasks.nintendo.com/interviews/#/3ds/creators/11/2

[3] “2004 GMR Nomura Interview 2004!”; Translation by Kingdom Hearts Insider posted May 5, 2012. 

https://www.khinsider.com/news/GMR-Nomura-Interview-2004-2563

[4] “E3 2018: Tetsuya Nomura on If Kingdom Hearts 3 Is the End of Sora's Story”; June 14, 2018.

https://www.ign.com/articles/2018/06/14/e3-2018-tetsuya-nomura-on-if-kingdom-hearts-3-is-the-end-of-soras-story

[5] “Character’s Report Vol. 1 Translations”; Jul 16, 2014

https://www.khinsider.com/forums/index.php?threads/characters-report-vol-1-translations.195560/\

[6] “A Look Back: Kingdom Hearts Ultimania Gallery Comments Part 1″; August 30, 2019;

https://www.khinsider.com/news/A-Look-Back-KINGDOM-HEARTS-Ultimania-Gallery-Comments-Part-1-15519

[7] “How Kingdom Hearts III Will Grow Up With Its Players.” September 24, 2013

https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/25/how-kingdom-hearts-iii-will-grow-up-with-its-players

[X] “The Heroine with a Thousand Faces”; June 13, 2019;

https://www.teampurplelion.com/heroine-with-a-thousand-faces/

[X] Murdock, Maureen. The Heroine’s Journey. 1990.

[X] “Maureen Murdock’s Heroine’s Journey Arc”. The Heroine Journeys Project. https://heroinejourneys.com/heroines-journey/

[curiosity-killed]

"wish you'd write a fic thing" it's VLD cause I don't know anyone in your new interests ;_; buuutt, a fake summary for a fic I wish you'd write (or that I think you'd have fun writing): Ambush predators lay in wait for their prey to come to them. Some use venom; one sting and the fight is over. For others, it's endurance. Run and run, prey can't rest because the hunter is always on the horizon, always closing in. The universe is big, but is it big enough to escape? The lions are hungry.

send me a summary for a fic you wish i’d write and i’ll write a tidbit

“Alteans have always been diplomats,” Allura says with a smile that warms her eyes and hides the sharp points of her teeth, “spreading peace throughout the universe.”

Shiro’s eyebrows twitch briefly, something flickering in his eyes. It shows up here and there, most often after a fight, when they’re all still running a little high on adrenaline and the beyond-body thrum of being something bigger, something other: a sharpness that slips dark and watchful in his gaze.

“I bet Voltron makes peace hard to resist,” he says, dry, and Allura cants her head a little, as if questioning or hurt by the implication.

“Of course planets were eager to join the alliance with Voltron,” she says, “but Voltron has always been beyond politics. The lions were made to protect everyone, not just those who joined our side.”

Her tone is one of gentle admonishment, soft and a little disappointed. Shiro’s lips thin, but he looks away and doesn’t say anything. His gaze skates down and to the left, as if listening to someone, before he straightens into easy, blank repose. Pidge watches, picking at her thumbnail.

Peace is always political, she wants to say but doesn’t. The words press against the backs of her teeth, caged by frustrating necessity. Amusement skitters up her veins, foreign and metallic. It’s not hers, doesn’t come from the same place as the irritation and skepticism that’s lodged in her chest. This dances sour on the back of her tongue, ozone and copper, the thin threads of the universe coiled into a toadstone in her throat. Peace and politics; antidote and poison—the lines have grown blurred recently, until they’re all the same faceted glass only viewed from a different angle.

At the Garrison, they always talked about peace. Exploration, discovery, first contact—all funded by the military’s open wallet. She remembers railing against Dad about it once, when he was working on a contract he couldn’t tell them about. He’d been pulling long days, coming home after she was supposed to be in bed, and brushing aside her questions with assurances that his work was too boring for a clever kid like her.

She’d started researching contracts open at the Garrison, following the lines of black redactions and grand euphemism to a weapon, the longest-reaching of its kind. With that kind of technology, they could sit in Garrison headquarters and pinpoint targets as far off as Jupiter’s moons, to say nothing of any potential enemy on Earth.

She’d yelled then, chewing him out for being a hypocrite, holding a hand over his own eyes as he accepted money that dripped blood down his hands. How could he talk about peace when he was making a gun for them to hold at the heads of every nation, every adult and child on earth and across the solar system?

He’d pulled off his glasses, a rare show of frustration and fatigue, and rubbed at his eye like he was warding off a headache.

“Katie,” he’d said, patient still even as the hint of sharpness slipped in, “we don’t always get a perfect choice. Sometimes, you have to work with people you don’t agree with for the greater good.”

She’d still been fuming when she went to bed that night, but now, Pidge looks at Allura’s soft eyes and feels the curl of amusement around her wrist and she wishes she could apologize. The greater good had seemed so straightforward back then, the right path the clearest of them all. Now, metal teeth prick at the back of her neck, and she can no longer tell if they’re the frontline of freedom in the galaxy or the first sacrifices to an ancient and hungry war.

Death is a kind of peace, after all.

im sorry did you say sentient eldritch cosmic beings and also space colonialism or—

[whyqueerbaitingisbad]

movies & shows

cracks knuckles* alright this is going to be more of a rant than an analysis because i’m basing this on both my research, but also how it felt to personally be baited by these shows. there are obviously more pieces of bad (almost every horror movie) and good ones but these are the ones i’ve watched.

please keep in mind that i am but one queer and everyone has different opinions.

Supernatural (CW) 2005

This show is 15 years old and just ended. From season 5 till 15, there has been tension between two of the lead characters. They were constantly shipped together and not only did the entire fandom know about this ship but so did almost all of Tumblr. On top of that, the actors and show runners knew about it as well. Which is why it makes it ridiculous that it was constantly pushed aside while the romantic coding  kept happening, even after show runners dismissed it as being intentional. The Destiel (Dean x Cas) case has been going on for years, and as the show came to its end, many fans had hope. But N O P E. Instead, we got a love confession from Cas where Dean looked like he was near constipated and the Cas was killed and sent into a fiery place that was not hell but s u p e r  h e l l.

… w hy.

Sherlock (BBC) 2010

Just like Supernatural, this show was renown on Tumblr for not only how good it was, but its hinting at a potential relationship between Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. But again, like Supernatural, the intentional tension between the two characters was denied by producers. This caused an uproar within the fandom, and even left some people believing that, after the last season aired, it had been a joke and the producers were hiding a “secret, unaired season” because they had felt so robbed by this show that had implied something and denied it.

The 100 (CW) 2014

We got lesbians. We got background gays. We were happy. Then, all of a sudden, one of them is killed for no reason. Did it advance the plot? No. Was she fighting and died in battle? lol no. She was doing literally nothing and got shot and died. And then the producers kept bringing her back once a season in the form of a ghost or illusion because why? Because she was a fan favourite queer character. ✨bury your gays and sparingly bring them back for profit anyone?✨

Voltron: Legendary Defender (Netflix) 2016

*deep breathe* This one is a special disaster. Not only was there romantic tension and romantically coded scenes for 7 seasons, but producers, voice actors and artists working on the show repeatedly said “don’t worry klance (Keith x Lance) shippers, you’ll be happy”

. … w h e r e??? You code one of their scenes with a sunset in the background while they talk about love and then one of them goes on a date with someone who has declined his advances for 7 seasons but now in season 8 decides to do a full 180. Not only that, but you announce at a Comic Con (a convention) that a character is gay and has a fiancé, only to kill off the fiancé and never make it explicit in the show except at the last second of the last episode where he marries a no name character. 

Personally, i’d like to say a big fuck you to the show that strung me along for 2 years and never stopped saying we’d be happy to then pull the rug out from under us and call us crazy for thinking anything from the past 8 seasons was intentional.

Scooby-Doo (2002) 

While not being outwardly queerbaiting, this movie’s filmmaker has just revealed some shocking news, which wasn’t at all shocking to the gays who had watched this movie over the years. In July of 2020, James Gunn, the filmmaker of Scooby-Doo, revealed in a podcast that, initially, Velma was explicitly gay in his script, but then the studio watered it down until it became nothing. This isn’t an example of baiting as much as it is changing a character’s initial design to “better fit an audience”. The worst part of all this is that with Velma’s character having been written with a l i t t l e queer subtext, people had been theorizing about if since the movie came out, but were always yelled at by the internet for “imagining something that isn’t there”. But now, even with it being said that the initial point was for her to be gay, people have no objections to still refusing to accept it. Why?? So we can’t get the subtext gays OR the confirmed gays?? Make it make sense.

Brooklyn 99 (NBC) 2013

To have the queer characters firstly introduced without mentioning their sexualities and have it brought up naturally was so goddamn nice to see, because no one does a big deal about it unless they ask for that. This show is amazing in general but the way they show their queer characters is *chefs kiss*.

She-ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix) 2018

This. Show. My heart SOARS. It's just a remake of an old show so absolutely nothing was ever expected, but then it was sprinkled in and ENDED WITH A BANG. And it was so beautiful and real to see the struggle of two friends who care for each other and want to be together but have different visions of the world fall in love. And they also had characters with disabilities, a non-binary character and jUST SUCH A GOOD SHOW.

Kipo and The Age of Wonderbeasts (Netflix) 2020

This is a case where you go into it not expecting anything and are BLOWN AWAY by the bare minimum. And not because it’s bad!! It's mind blowing because this is the simple representation we need!! Not something over the top, but an every day relationship. It’s just two boys falling in love and going on dates and being nervous around each other, yet i was so stunned. Because it’s not shown enough. I should not be this excited over something that should be this normal. 10/10 though this show is so good for all kinds of representation.

Steven Universe (Cartoon Network) 2013

This show did so much for queer representation with its general message of loving everyone and loving who you want. Especially since it was aired on Cartoon Network, a channel for kids, it was able to help normalize something so looked down upon in some circles. It made it easy to watch for s o m e people because it's a cartoon but it's so beautiful to see these ladies so in love with each other, both platonically and romantically and we see them have a family dynamic that isn’t a “nuclear family”. Rebecca Sugar (creator) really said “lemme just break all stereotypes real quick”.

Adventure Time (Cartoon Network) 2010

It's the “knowing a fanbase shipped something so hard that the creators made it canon” for me. This relationship had been theorized by fans for years, but it had never been explicit in the show. When the finale episode came out and the two shared a kiss, it was a moment of celebration. The producer of the show said that it had not really been planned but when the episode was being made, the choice of what happened was given to one of the artists (bless your soul Hanna K. Nyströmthe). And as the show releases little bonus episodes, its latest was centered around Marceline and Bubblegum and their relationship. AND WE LOVE TO SEE OUR DOMESTIC LESBIANS BEING HAPPY AND IN LOVE.

Yuri on Ice!!! (anime) 2016

The fact that an A N I M E gave us a love story between two men is mind boggling and it makes me so happy!! Especially because it's a Japanese show and they’re very conservative about these things just makes it more emotional. The creators said they wanted to make the anime take place in a world where gay/straight isn’t a thing, it’s just love (ladies, you’re going to make me cry). So as the weekly episodes came out and fans start speculating, THEY GAVE US THE LAST FEW EPISODES FULL OF ROMANCE AND EMOTIONAL SCENES BETWEEN THE TWO AND THEN THEY GET R I N GS?!???!! You watch for the figure skating, you stay for the figure skaters that are in love.

Shadowhunters (Freeform) 2016

*insert me being frustrated that the actors are straight so we can move on from that disappointment*

This show really said “let’s name a whole episode after this couple because they deserve it”. But seriously, they gave us two characters whose entire plot does not center around their sexualities while still showing us the differences in a relationship between someone experienced and someone new at this. They were both powerful and amazing characters apart from each other, with their own story lines and goals but they loved each other so much omgs. SO MUCH. 

It was so great to watch.

Love, Simon (2018) 

There’s a lot of disagreement on whether this movie is good representation or not. However, we need to take into consideration that this was Hollywood’s first movie with a main character that was gay, where the story’s focus was on Simon’s love story. The biggest problem, for me at least, was that the actor playing Simon is a straight man and not queer. My problem is not with him, but the fact that there are other actors that are gay and that could have played Simon just as well. (the love interested was however played by a queer actor so ✨progress✨)

All in all, this movie does represent what a lot of queer kids have to go through: being outed at school, how they then come out, the bullying and doubt they go through.

The book is also really good.

Call Me By Your Name (2018)

This movie is so aesthetically pleasing and was able to capture the confusion and heartbreak felt by a boy who’s struggling with his own feelings towards a man. His inner conflict and joy and l o v e he feels but doesn’t know how to deal with is so well communicated through the screen and just breaks your heart because it feels so real.

But again, they could’ve gotten gay actors to play gay characters…

through having this list here, i want to show you that it’s not hard for creators to give good queer representation. the LGBTQ+ community isn’t asking for much, we just want to be well represented on screen as just a regular character, not some token queer kid there for the diversity points. having been exposed to so much queerbaiting and just not seeing any representation on screen, i always get over-excited when i see a queer character, and that’s not how it should be. it should be a normal thing, something you can find in most pieces of media, just like there’s a straight white cisgender person in everything.

and they seriously need to start casting queer actors for queer characters...

[icypantherwrites]

Announcement: Changes Coming to Icy’s AO3 and Patreon

About a year and a half ago I wrote an open letter addressing the steady decline of not just the Voltron fandom but how my own history with fanfiction in general has changed. I said then that I wasn’t sure of my direction entirely, but given my relationship with these two things I wanted to try to still be here and still engage and share my stories and, in part, that still remains true.

I’m in a very different place than I was back then, and a lot of things have changed both with myself and with the fandom and even with the world with a lot of personal things cropping up these last few weeks. And I have been mulling this over for not just weeks but months, always shoving this thought away because I didn’t want to disappoint anyone, didn’t want to hurt anyone, didn’t want to come off as being entitled or uncaring or unkind. But the fact of the matter is this:

Posting fanfiction no longer brings me joy it once did. 

Years ago, fanfiction was my outlet. The Voltron fandom community was so welcoming. It gave me a sense of purpose, a sense of belonging, restored my love of writing I’d previously buried, and it was a ray of sunshine and hope. I wrote and wrote and wrote and posted and posted and posted because I loved hearing from readers, engaging with fellow fans, and having the opportunity to share my works and stories and to connect with others and even, in some cases, to help promote healing and those are still my favorite works of them all ♥

But as we’ve all seen, these days the fandom isn’t like that anymore. There are less readers and those that are still here are on the whole less engaged (not all, absolutely not, and I thank those regular readers, those that leave such kind, uplifting, detailed comments so so so much for still being here). I knew that. I know that. And I’m not looking to cast blame on anyone or anything. But as any creator knows, it is hard to post a story you’ve poured heart and soul into, that you’re so excited to share, and the response is not what you had hoped for.

This is where I tend to get the anon messages telling me I’m entitled, I should be happy with the comments I get, etc. etc. and to that I say look, I get it. But this isn’t about you. It’s about me and how I feel and my feelings are my own. It’s hard to look at older fics of mine and see the love and attention they got and then at newer ones that have barely a few hundred hits. It’s hard to see the sheer amount of subscribers I still have (over 1,300 author alerts on AO3) and not see that reflected anywhere else (not even in kudos xDDD). And it’s hard for me to put myself before others because I am a people pleaser and I value others’ happiness above my own, but that is what I have finally decided to do.

I love writing. I absolutely love writing. And I still want to share it, I still want to connect with people through it. But I can’t keep doing what I’ve been doing knowing how excited I get and then how crushed I am following the post. I’ve tried in the last few months posting different character features, different types of angst (physical and emotional), fix-it fics, even a softer fluffier one, posting one-shots and chaptered fics and hoping some work out there would give me just that glimmer of response and engagement, but nothing has really seemed to click with readers. 

So I’ve decided, that starting January 2021, I will no longer be posting the majority of my works on Archive of Our Own. Instead, going forward, the majority of my works will be posted exclusively to my Patreon. And to be clear; this is not about a financial component. This is for my mental health as while I can’t say I won’t still struggle with engagement issues on my Patreon, it’s a lot easier a pill to swallow when there are only ~100 possible readers instead of an unlimited number and only a handful pop in. 

And I’ll also say I did not want this outcome. I tried so hard not to make this thought into reality. But once I finally committed to this decision… it’s like a giant weight has been lifted off of me and I’m finally able to breathe. I’ve had this feeling several other times in my life — with work and boyfriends and friendships — and in each of those cases I finally made the decision that was in my best interests and not theirs and the relief that came from it was so freeing. I’m still sad it came to this, that my relationship with fanfiction and this fandom has changed so much, but I’m proud of myself for finally being able to take that step towards helping myself. 

All of this said, I will still be posting a few fics a year on my AO3, (maybe one a month-ish? Which is still quite a lot ;p) perhaps personal favorites or ones I would love to give a second chance at viewership, but all of those fics will be one-shots. Any M-rated fanfictions that I also choose to share will be posting exclusively on AO3 due to the fact my Patreon is not rated 18+. This is also really only applying to Voltron; in the chance I have more ATLA or BNHA to share I may still post those on AO3.

I will also finish posting all currently chaptered fics on AO3 and perhaps even my Voltron Fix-It Fic Series (6 fics total for it, 3 posted so far) so please rest assured no in-progress fic is going to be abandoned. That would be cruel ;p But otherwise, going forward in January 2021, all chaptered fanfictions and the vast majority of one-shots will be posted exclusively to my Patreon.

As such, my Patreon will be undergoing a few changes too. 

Starting in January 2021 I will be discontinuing the Chai Tea Tier.  Anyone currently in Chai Tea, breathe please ♥ You will still have access to all of your current benefits AND all new content coming in that would originally have posted on AO3. But given the large influx of new content and in fairness to those who have been here, that tier will be unpublished then and anyone wishing to join the page after that will want to subscribe to Hot Tea to access content.

There will also be a new tier called Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (SCHC) (I am running out of hot drinks xD)  that will allow early access to one-shot fanfictions as well as the early access to chaptered fanfictions. More details on that will come, but it will be a higher priced tier given the fact early bonuses do already exist for the White Hot Chocolate Tier and I can’t keep frontloading earlier tiers and then passing those bonuses on to higher ones ^^; But on that note: I’m hoping if there is an influx of subscribers to SCHC to take those pledges and apply them monthly to a charity of choice — likely either one dealing with animals or mental health ♥ I still want to give back (and Patreon members, psst, start thinking of some Gofundmes or charities you’d like to support for December as I’m planning a massive give-back event for the month ♥) because that is very important to me.

But to be clear, for current Patreon members, there will be no changes to content you are able to access and starting in January you will get more exclusive content than previously as it will be posting on Patreon instead of AO3. The only change you will see is probably some tagging changes as the ‘Patreon Exclusive Fic’ tag is going to be a bit redundant ^^; 

I’m very grateful for all the support you have shown me, be you a reader on my AO3 or Patreon supporter (or both!), and I will forever be thankful to the VLD fandom for giving me my love of writing back. No matter what happens I will always remember that ♥

If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to post below or message me :)

♥ Icy

[artsy0wl]

He Needs You (A VLD fic)

I don’t care if I was late to the Voltron train, but I did enjoy most of it.  I finally got around to it around the time season 8 had been released.  This was a fic that I had written back when I had finished season six and then rewritten a month or two back.  

It’s basically a post season 6 au addressing where Keith's mind may have been.

Since getting settled back on Earth, everyone started getting into a routine. When not forming Voltron or assisting new recruits, each Paladin found hobbies to keep their minds and bodies at ease. And with it, thoughts and emotions were finally beginning to sink in. Unfortunately, they were not all positive as fatigue and anxiety settled. While three of the Paladins were settling in well enough, over time, one had became noticeably absent.

It had been a few days and Keith had refused to make an appearance. He may have been known to withdraw when needed, but now, it was getting into concerning territory. And for those who were observant enough, the last time he was seen, he appeared exhausted. He never stuck around for questioning, so whether or not it was physical or emotional, it could not be determined.

Shiro was the first to really get concerned. The others, though uncertain, weren't too sure if it was as concerning as Shiro was. And while he couldn't blame them, Shiro seemed to be the only one who could affirm that this was a problem. Keith's sudden disappearance heightened the need to deal with concerns that have progressively been building up in Shiro. He entered the lounge area, hoping to find him hiding there. Unfortunately, it appeared to be a dead end. However, since Coran was in the room, there was a small amount of hope that he might have seen Keith.

"Have you seen Keith?" Shiro asked.

"Oh, Shiro." Coran greeted approaching him. "I was just about to ask you the same thing." He let out a sigh. "I'm starting to worry. I know he can get quite sullen, but never for this long."

"I know, that's why I'm worried." It was disappointing that Coran did not know, but it was a possibility. "I'll keep looking. If you see him, tell me immediately."

"Of course. You have my word."

~

The doors to the kitchen slid open. It had been a few hours since Shiro had spoke to Coran, and Shiro still wasn't having any luck finding the missing Paladin. He soon realized that he wasn't alone. Krolia was in the kitchen, sitting on the counter, snacking on some of Hunk's leftover lasagna. She was in a tank top and a towel was draped around her neck, clearly indicating that she had recently finished some training. Shiro grabbed a glass of water, frustrated by the lack of progress.

"I think I saw a red bundle go into the dark room." Krolia stated.

Shiro nearly choked on the water. T He was both shocked and intrigued by the statement. This was one of the few times she referred to her son in such a soft way. On top of that, this was the break he needed.

"And you're just bringing this up know?" Shiro choked.

"Well he's been staking out in the infirmary, the armory, and the library up until today." Krolia admitted. "With how often he was there, I thought you were aware. But based on your reaction, I guess not. I bring this up now because photography doesn't quite seem like his thing."

Shiro couldn't deny her observation. He was usually spotted in those places along with the training room. Keith must have been shuffling it up recently, so that no one knew which place he was in at what time in an attempt to hide from everyone. The dark room was initially added as a recreational space for some of the crew and to show Allura and Coran an old, but still enjoyable, way to develop photos. That said, photography wasn't really Keith's strong suit, so it was the perfect hiding place when he finally did disappear. Not that he was open to being photographed much.

"He's become a bit of a recluse these days." Shiro explained, setting the cup down. "At first we thought it was Keith being Keith. But I started to notice that it got progressively worse the last few days and he pretty much disappeared yesterday."

"He does seem to have a lot bothering him lately."

It was good to know that she seemed aware of the situation. However, her tone signified that she hadn't talked to him about it herself. Shiro wasn't sure if that had to do with her unable to get to Keith before he hid, if she tried and he shut her out, or if she was still catching up on all of those years of being absent and was unsure how to approach this kind of situation.

"And you haven't talked to him?" Shiro curiously inquired.

Krolia set her plate down and hopped of the counter so she could give Shiro her full attention. She clearly had something on her mind and might have known something that Shiro didn't. She leaned against the counter for a moment, thinking of how to word it.

"Well, I think I know what's troubling him, but I don't feel like it's my place to intervene." Krolia explained.

Her reason was a little confusing. She knew, but why she didn't want to get involved was a curious thing. Shiro didn't believe it was a Galra way of parenting, given how she wanted to be in his life compared to Zarkon, but it was still a little weird. Was it because they had only been reunited as recently as they were? Or was there more to it? Krolia noticed this and knew she had to elaborate.

"Keith's shook up about the whole clone incident." Krolia stated. "Part of him did fall for it, not wanting to believe that they truly lost you. However, when your clone went A.W.O.L., it wasn't the kindest experience to him." Krolia flinched slightly as she recalled what her son told him about the incident. "In short, he ended up having to fight you, someone he cares deeply for. And you weren't exactly the nicest person to him in that moment. Quite the opposite in fact." She recalled the pain in his eyes not long after that fight. "Your clone fought him, degraded him, and even tried to kill him. He still has the burn mark to prove it. Permanently at that." Krolia stood up, a little disheartened. "He's confused. Scared that such a prominent figure in his life turned evil and tried to kill him. I bet that image hasn't fully gone away despite your return." Krolia sighed, looking at Shiro with concern. "As his mother, I want to do what I can for him. I want to help him get through this and tell him that everything's okay. However, I think he needs you to help him with this. He needs to talk to you. I know you were not the one that did this to him, something I'm sure he's aware of in some part, but it was a physical copy of you that caused it. It's your image that's imprinted on the memory. I can't talk him through something that I know you would be better handling."

Krolia began walking towards the door. One quick whiff of her shirt was all she needed to tell her she needed a shower. She looked back at Shiro, urgency in her eyes.

"I'd hurry of I were you." Krolia emphasized. "Who knows how long he'll be there."

~

The red tint of the dark room was enough to make the search for Keith difficult. Shiro could manage once his eyes adjusted, but it was still a bit of a challenge. When he didn't see Keith out in the open, Shiro began opening the cabinets. He eventually found Keith hiding in one with his kneels held against his chest. Kneeling down, Shiro got as good of a look as he could at Keith. Hair blocked Keith's face for the most part, denying Shiro access to a visual of his face and expression even more so than the already hindering lighting of the room did. Keith wasn't moving outside of shifting whenever he breathed.

"Hey Keith." Shiro greeted.

Keith didn't acknowledge Shiro's presence. Or at least he didn't appear to. Keith still didn't move either. Shiro thought about what to say next.

"Mind if I join you?" Shiro asked. When he didn't get a respond, he tried to think of something to lighten the mood. "You're right, even with a levitating arm, I still couldn't fit in a cabinet like this. I'm a little too husky."

When Keith ignored his attempt at, albeit dark, humor, Shiro knew he had to do something. His arm reached inside, aiming to grab Keith's right shoulder and nudge Keith out. The motion startled Keith, causing him to panic. He started writhing in the grip, wanting to get out of it.

"Let me go!" Keith gasped.

Shiro refused Keith's demands, not wanting Keith to disappear again. Once he managed to nudge Keith out enough, Shiro wrapped his other arm around Keith and yanked him out and set Keith on his lap. The movement caused Keith to start kicking his feet out. Not hard enough to hurt Shiro, as even in his panic, Keith didn't want to hurt Shiro, but enough to try fighting back. Shiro didn't care, tightening his hold. He didn't say a word, wanting to wait for Keith to calm down. Shiro didn't have to wait long as Keith's exhaustion took over and slowed his movement down. Once Keith stopped, Shiro finally gave Keith room to move.

Keith almost bolted, but Shiro's prosthetic arm was already behind him, stopping him. Keith gave up the option to run as he locked eyes with Shiro, silently letting Shiro know he wasn't leaving. Shiro's arm returned to his side, accepting Keith's admission of defeat.

The duo got comfortable, sitting on their knees. Shrio began inspecting Keith for damage, lightly brushed Keith's bangs aside. The first thing Shiro noticed was the dark circles under Keith's eyes. From what Shiro could tell, Keith hadn't slept in days. If he had to guess, at least four days by his estimation. However, exhaustion wasn't the only problem. Keith was clearly suffering physically. Not only did Keith have noticeable dark circles under his eyes, but he also seemed thinner. It wasn't at an absolutely terrible state, but Keith's cheekbones were starting to show through, which was a sign that Keith had been starving himself.

Unfortunately, this wasn't the only reason why Shiro was there. These were just the physical symptoms to a much larger problem. Keith's emotional turmoil. Shiro knew he had to address the anxiety and stress. As much as they both were going to hate it, for Keith's health, it had to be dealt with.

"Talk to me." Shiro requested. "I can't watch you suffer like this."

The room went silent. Waiting for Keith to speak up, Shiro hoped that Keith knew that he would always be there for him. Keith's pride may have prevented him from opening up as easily as the others, but his isolation was not the way to go about fixing the issue.

"I didn't give up on you." Keith whispered. "I knew something was wrong. I knew you wouldn't hurt us. They were suspecting something was wrong, but I knew it wasn't like you." Keith bit his lip, shaking slightly. "The next thing I knew, I found myself having to fight my closest friend. And no matter what I said, he wanted to kill everyone. To kill me."

Shiro was relieved that Keith wasn't being difficult. Be it due to his exhaustion or knowing he couldn't run forever, Shiro welcomed Keith's honesty. However, hos honesty was not painless. Hearing Keith go from hopeful to confused, from calm to near death hurt Shiro. It was a lot to put on Keith, and he hated that it was his own imaged that caused it. Keith flinched slightly, almost closing his eyes. His body was trying to speak to him, but Keith refused to listen.

"You need to sleep." Shiro advised.

Keith shook his head in refusal. The thought of sleep seemed problematic. An enigma that was undesirable to Keith.

"Every time I close my eyes I see you trying to kill me." Keith stated, picturing the fight. "I see glowing eyes and a voice demanding for my death." Keith's breath hitched. "I know everything's fine, and that it wasn't really you, but I can't let it go. I'm terrible."

Shiro had no response to that. He knew Keith was demeaning himself out of grief, but he did not wish to speak incorrectly. Keith repositioned himself, bringing his knees to his chest. Shiro may have been able to get through to Keith and help save everyone, but he wasn't able to prevent this. The pain of losing Shiro. Realizing that a fake was in their midst and led the team while Keith was away. Having to fight someone that Keith held close. Keith's stress and emotional baggage had to be through the roof. it was a lot to process, but Shiro didn't blame him for any of it.

Looking at the scar on Keith's face put something else entirely on Shiro, guilt. A hand gently traced along it as Shiro thought about its cause. All of this was caused by Keith's dedication and an outcome that wasn't deserved.

"I'm sorry." Shiro apologized. "I'm sorry you had to suffer because of a manipulative witch and a clone. You didn't deserve what you went through."

"No I'm sorry." Keith argued. "You did everything you could, died even, to make sure everyone was safe. I just took over for you and failed as their leader."

Shiro's hand stayed on the side of Keith's face, wanting to give Keith a sense of security. A sense of reality, letting him know that Shiro was there. Shiro hated that Keith was blaming himself for the situation. While maybe not perfect, Keith did so well with the Paladins and Marmora, and he deserved credit for it.

"That's not true." Shiro disagreed. "You did so good with Voltron and the Blades of Mamora. You led the Paladins so well and I'm impressed with how well you took control of situations given to you. I just wish you didn't have to suffer to the extent you did. I am so proud of you Keith."

Grabbing Keith's shoulders, Shiro brought him in for a hug. Keith didn't have the strength to really fight back, but he did attempt to squirm away to no avail. Keith just accepted the embrace, actually wanting it deep down. He wanted that feeling of comfort in Shiro's arms.

"It's okay." Shrio reaffirmed. "I'm here now Keith and everything is going to be okay. Those dreams aren't real, and the clone no longer exists."

Keith rested his head against Shiro, soaking in his surroundings. Being with Shiro, the real Shiro, was surreal. The black and grey uniform, Shiro's voice, the smell of Shiro's aftershave, all of it was familiar. And none of it threatening or fake. This was real. Shiro was real. Tears sprinkled down Keith's face. He didn't want to cry, but he couldn't stop.

"It's okay." Shiro whispered, gently rubbing the back of Keith's head. "Everything's going to be okay."

~

Several hours later, Krolia went looking for her son and Shiro. Figuring that Shiro successfully made it to Keith in time, she entered the dark room. Scanning the room, a dark lump on the ground caught her eye and caused her to grin softly.

Shiro was sitting on the floor with his back against one of the cabinets. His eyes were shut and he was softly snoring. In his arms was Keith, who was comfortably sitting in Shiro's lap. His head was resting on Shiro's chest and he too had his eyes closed. Keith was finally sleeping, and Krolia was glad that he was. Based on their position, she knew they must have talked it out and Keith must have accepted Shiro's comfort. She knelt down, softly patting Keith's head. He unconsciously shuffled slightly, loving the affection.

"Good night." Krolia whispered.

She exited the dark room, not wanting to disturb them. She got the answers she wanted and her son got the peace that he deserved. In the back of her mind, Krolia was thankful for Shiro's help. everything was going to be okay, and that was all that mattered.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 202

202

Keith knew Lance was skilled in the art of cleaning, yet the shack felt like a whole other house in comparison to what it had been the previous day. Yes, dust still hung around and the floors hadn’t been vacuumed or mopped, and yes there were towels and dishcloths piled up near the front door, but unlike the previous day, Keith could now picture the house as a home. Krolia had made a discovery of a few video tapes that’d been stashed in a box in his dad’s room. Shiro would have been trying on his dad’s shirt, despite the filth if he’d been there. No memories were flowing back, yet they seemed to be rewriting the memories he’d made the day before. He really shouldn’t have lost his temper with Lance. He’d been hurt and lashed out, and couldn’t take it back.

Taking photos of the house’s interior, he was drawn to what had been his bedroom. Glow in the dark solar system stickers laying on the floor where they’d peeled off with age. Paper clung to the walls, once childhood drawings. His room not the cleanest, but very lived in. He’d totally over reacted and would take a dick punch if it meant taking his anger back. Krolia ended up taking more things than the day before, now that she could see what she was taking. Keith didn’t think old video tapes had much use, but his mother cried over them, so he’d kept his mouth shut.

With all the rotten bedding and fabric stuffs, Lance had bagged it all up near the front door. The work would have taken all night, meaning Lance understandably needed a nap after putting so much effort into things. When Keith discovered a photo of him on his dad’s shoulders, he’d hit a new low of self hating. The frame had been cleaned up. Mould in the corner meaning the photo was stuck to the glass, Lance not trying to seperate it, instead placing it on the wooden coffee table where it’d be safe... and he’d gone and blow his top at him. He was still kind of mad Lance had taken it upon himself to clean the shack alone, but his fiancé’s heart had been in the right place. He only wanted good and happy memories for Keith.

Driving them back to the hotel, Keith’s stomach knotted with anxiety as his mother parked beside the bronco. They didn’t have phone reception out at the shack, Keith checking his phone in between taking photos with the hope that miraculously he’d catch some thin sliver of signal... He didn’t... though he did finally get his coffee when his mother decided to fuel up Shiro’s car after all the driving she’d done. It tasted barely better than dishwater, lukewarm and oily, but better than nothing. Knocking back two coffees gave him a little of courage. Temper settled by his beloved caffeine and able to human that bit more.

Heading up the stairs to his and Lance’s room, Keith was prodded along by Krolia. His mother wanted to talk about what’d been in the files that Lenny had gifted them, having not read them, Keith could only shake his head at her. He’d so desperately wanted to sit down with her, but first there was the need to apologise to Lance, then the need fo shower. Alcohol sweat would forever be gross.

Letting them into the hotel room, the door unlocked, Shiro sat on his side of the bed with Lance’s head on his leg. Keith jumping to angry all over again, and probably would have yelled if Lance hadn’t been sleeping. “Awing” over the scene, Krolia’s steps were light as she moved carefully. Sitting herself down, she placed her hand on Lance’s hip, Keith wanting to tear her hand off

“How is he?”

Shiro sighed at Krolia’s question. Sighing wasn’t good

“Pretty devastated. Very apologetic. He had a panic attack in the car, so I got him on the phone to Coran who managed to get through to him. He’s been out for about an hour now”

Krolia nodded, Keith hugging himself. He’d caused Lance to panic, and made him feel unwanted. If he sniffed the air, he could detect notes of Lance’s sweetness along with something sour that seemed to also belong to the man he loved

“Did you talk to Coran?”

“I called him back once Lance was sleeping. He’s worried about him. I don’t know why, but I know he was talking to Coran about Veronica... and Nyma and Rolo”

“Veronica‘s the older sister right?”

“Yeah. And Nyma and Rolo were the pair that turned him. He was really upset that’d upset Keith”

Shiro’s gaze turned to him, Keith dropping his head in guilt

“Keith, you and he had a fight. Do you want to talk about it?”

Ugh. His family would be so disappointed if they knew... He knew and he was disappointed enough in himself for all of them

“Not really. I scared him and I didn’t mean to...”

“I don’t think it’s just you. He did say his ego was a mess and he was exhausted. He kind of stopped making sense as he started rambling”

“He does that when he’s tired”

“You’ll be happy to know you’ve got a monster cock. And that he loves your monster cock”

Keith closed his eyes as he let out a long breath. Sleepy Lance had no filter

“Should I ask why you know that?”

“Oh, apparently drunk Keith tore his shirt and bra when he was trying to clean you up. His hips are still sore from your monster cock”

Fucking drunk Keith

“He shouldn’t be sore still. He’s had a fair bit of blood”

“That’s what I thought. Coran said to keep an eye on him, and if they’re not feeling any better by the time we’re ready to leave, then to swing by VOLTRON on the way home. He had me mix some Panadol and blood for him”

“Did he say anything else?”

Shiro shook his head

“Yes and no. Just bits of pieces. Mostly he was apologising for going missing and upsetting you by cleaning the shack up. It seems he really likes the idea of coming to stay around the anniversary of your dad’s death... He wants to make good memories here for you. Then he swapped to Spanish. I don’t know much, but I did get that he wanted Miriam”

Maybe Keith had been way too aggressive. Normally their fights ended with them both realising they’d meant the same thing but were coming at it from different angles, instead he’d taken all his fear out on his fiancé who was having a hard enough time as it was

“I don’t need to come here to make happy memories. I... um... shouldn’t have started yelling. I was worried... He can’t just... He just go disappearing like that!”

Though it hasn’t come to him before, he now realised Lance very well could have been kidnapped again... Keith knew he was not mentally strong enough to ever go through that again... Absolutely anything could have gone wrong. His mate should have been by his side! Sighing, Shiro patted Lance’s hair

“He knows. He was mid-apology for the umpteenth time when he started spiralling. He’s also very sorry for worrying us after yesterday was so fun. Also, his car needs to be cleaned up. Do you want us to handle it, or do you want one of us to stay while you clean it up? I don’t mind, but I think he’d prefer you or Curtis”

Leaning down, Krolia kissed Lance’s hair affectionately. Seeing his mother so motherly tugged at his heart. He didn’t want to start yelling or making his scary face again

“Shiro, you and Keith can take care of Lance’s car. I’ll pop down to the restaurant and pick us up some food. Curtis, you stay with Lance. Given he’s so sleepy, he probably can’t control his ego very well right now. I know you’re sorry, Keith, but give him a little while to come back to himself”

Keith didn’t want to go away. He’d already been forced apart from Lance by Lance coming back to the hotel

“I’m supposed to be with him. He’s my goddamn mate...”

Shiro shook his head, his brother looked sympathetic but Keith didn’t know what that sympathy was directed at. He didn’t deserve sympathy for being a douche canoe

“Kiddo, he needs some rest. He knows you didn’t mean to fly off he handle at him...”

“I still need to apologise to him”

“And you will. Just let him sleep for now. We’ve got a car to clean out. He had a bit of accident during his panic attack, I’m not sure he even noticed”

Krolia sighed softly

“I remember those days. One wrong sneeze and I’d wet myself. Best we not bring it up, he’d be embarrassed. He’s already quite embarrassed over being afraid. He called me the other day, I don’t think I was much help”

“He called me too. To check in. I think I upset him”

Krolia pulled herself away from Lance. Standing to stretch herself with a smile

“That means an extra special lunch is called for. I wish I could cook something for him”

No. Nooo. That’d probably do Lance in

“He likes fruit, and maybe some pancakes... he had a craving for them the other day”

“Don’t you worry, I know what I’m doing”

Krolia thinking she knew what she was doing was what worried him. Wisely Keith kept his mouth shut about that

“I’ll take a shower and meet you at the car... I stink”

No one disagreed, Keith annoyed they hadn’t... and annoyed his family were such a bunch of weirdos... even if he loved them.