#the altean colony just felt like… huh?

[motokeith]

my hot take is that they should’ve made lotor bitchier but not evil.

[corvus--rex]

So, I started this back in December, wrote about 25 words for it, and then it just sat there doing absolutely the fuck nothing. Until tonight apparently when I added 1k+ to it out of nowhere. To be totally clear, I have no idea where this is going, but figuring out cis swapped versions of everyone is interesting.

~*~*~*~

It happened gradually.  One by one they just disappeared.  All five Paladins, gone from the castle.  The Lions were still in their hangars, but neither Allura nor Coran could find any trace of their pilots.

Keith woke with a groan, uncomfortable on the hard floor.  Maybe that gladiator drone hit him harder than he thought.  He was immediately aware of a toe nudging him in the ribs.  Reflexes kicked in before rational thought and he grabbed the leg attached to the toe, throwing its owner to the floor.  His attempt to pin them was thwarted, their positions flipped, and he once again found himself on his back on the floor.  Keith felt like he was looking into a mirror, or more accurately, some hologram simulation Pidge might have come up with.  The French braid hanging over one shoulder didn’t particularly surprise him, he knew his own hair was getting long, it was the narrower jaw, softer lines, slimmer frame.  While the person pinning him to the floor looked like his clone, he knew that unless Zarkon’s witch had upped her genetic experiment game, she couldn’t be.  He also knew he didn’t have a sister, he’d had enough visions in the Quantum Abyss to tell him that.  So who the actual fuck was this girl that looked like his copy?

She released him without warning, getting up and extending a hand.  “Come on, I don’t bite.  Much.  I’m Keira.  And who the fuck are you, besides being my not-clone?”

Keith accepted the assistance cautiously.  “Keith.  And who the fuck are you?”

Keira rolled her eyes at him, the expression familiar even on a feminine face.  “I already told you.  Keira?  Let’s go, I know Lea’s going to want to meet you.”

“Who?” he asked, following her out of what looked exactly like the castle’s training deck.

“Lea.  Sorry.  Leandra.  My girlfriend.  What about you?”

“What?  Oh, right.  I have a boyfriend.  Lance.”

“Huh.  Even alt-me is gay.”

“Yeah.  Very much so.  Where the fuck are we?”

Keira turned around, gesturing to the walls as she walked backwards.  “This is the Castle of Lions.”

Keith stopped.  “And next you’re gonna tell me you're a Paladin of Voltron.”

Keira stopped as well.  “What else would I be.  But that means that you're one too.  Holy shit, I think you're from an alternate reality.  One where it’s very similar but slightly different.  I wanna know how similar.  How’s your dad?”

“He…died.  When I was-”

“Six?  That’s when my mom died.”

“And yours?  Your dad, I mean.”

“Blade of Marmora.”

“So’s my mom.  I think literally everything is flipped.  I think your girlfriend is the other version of my boyfriend.  Our parents are flipped.  Next you’re going to tell me that Allura and Coran are flipped too.”

“I need to find Lea,” Keira said as she turned around again, leading the way faster than before, “And who the fuck are Allura and Coran?”

Keith broke into a jog to catch up.  “Princess Allura, and Coran.  When we found them in cryosleep we thought they were the last Alteans.  Turned out we were wrong about that, but that’s an entirely separate story.”

“Oh, you mean Prince Allurant and Corranore.  Yeah, we thought they were the last Alteans too.  But then I took an accidental road trip with my dad and we found a secret Altean colony.  Met Romellus there.  He’s a little scatterbrained, but I like him.  Dad kind of adopted him.”

“Yeah, Mom basically adopted Romelle when we found her.  It sounds like all our events are the same.  Like, nothing is different except for this,” Keith said, waving a hand between himself and Keira.

“I think we should be able to figure this out with Pidge’s help.  He’s our tech genius, and probably yours too.”

“She is.”  He stopped again before following Keira.  “Goddammit, that means that Matt’s a girl here.  I don’t want to know what that looks like.”

Keira turned to walk backward again.  “Maddie’s a guy?  That dork?  But hold on, you didn’t call Pidge anything different.”

“No, she goes by Pidge and threatens to stab anyone who calls her Katie.”

“Yeah, that sounds like Pidge.  Ok, this was the last place I saw Lea.  She’s usually with Hana now.”

They were in front of the kitchen, and Keith could only assume that Hana was their Hunk.  Keith stopped short, suddenly realizing that Shiro had to have a female counterpart in this reality as well.  As much as Pidge liked to tease him about being the emo loner, he really didn’t know how to hide his emotions other than literally running, and he knew that this realization was written all over his face.

“What?” Keira asked.

“Your Shiro…”

“What?” she asked again, but the confused crease between her dark brows smoothed when she realized, “Oh…Shiro, Shirogane…yeah.  That might be…interesting…I’m assuming your Shirogane adopted sibling is a guy too?”

“Yeah.  Shirogane Takashi.  Six-three, built like a brick shithouse but is actually a massive dork, metal arm…”

Keira nodded.  “Shirogane Yukiko.  Or just Yuki.  Adalie, her fiancée back on Earth, used to call her ‘The Amazon’.  But that was before Kerberos.  Before Yuki, Maddie and Sam – Samantha Holt, Pidge’s mom – got captured by the Galra.”  She shook her head, clearing the memories of her last days at the Garrison.  “Anyway, we’re here to find Lea.  And probably Hana.”

Keira turned on her heel, soundlessly stomping into the kitchen.  Keith had met Lance’s sister Rachel before, and if he hadn’t known better, he would have thought it was her sitting on the counter, nearly knocking a bowl over with her storytelling.  Keith noticed the other girl moving around the space, Hunk’s twin sister if he’d had one.  He was distracted enough that he didn’t see the other two people at first.  Not until a familiar high-pitched shout of his name came through.

“Keith!” Lance yelled, leaping over the counter.  He stopped when he got closer, cautious.  “You are my Keith, aren’t you?”

“Probably?  As long as we’re still together and you still leave dirty clothes all over the floor.”

Lance made a shrill indignant sound.  “…Yeah, that’s fair.  Ok, you are my Keith.”

“Well, fuck, Lea, you’re the same in every reality,” Keira said, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend.

“Rude.  Laundry is not as important as good skin care.  Not that you’d know anything about that,” Leandra shot back, muttering something about shower soap not being anywhere near the same thing.

“What?  Soap is soap,” both Keith and Keira said at the same time.

Hunk and Hana just shared a look and sighed.

~*~*~*~

Links to the rest of the series:

1 | 2 | 3* | 4 | 5* | 6* | 7 | 8 | 9* | 10 | 11 | 12* | 13 | 14 | 15* | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19* | 20* | 21* | 22* | 23* | 24* | 25

[braincoins]

@breezycheezyart

“You’re sure you’ll be okay?”

“Takashi,” Ryou said, folding his arms and trying to give his twin the look his father - their father, he reminded himself, he was still trying to get better about doing that - would have given, “are you worried about me or the kid?”

“Both.”

He sighed and unfolded his arms so he could clap a hand on Takashi’s shoulder. “We’ll be fine.”

“I’m not used to you reassuring me,” he admitted.

Ryou couldn’t help chuckling thinly at that. “One of the first things I did when I got to the colony was look after the kids.” With help, but he left that out. He knew now that it had been a test, that the Alteans who had been helping him had been watching him as much as helping him watch the kids. They’d wanted to see how he treated them, what his base personality was like without the programming Haggar had done to him.

“It’s just that Alfor can be a handful...”

“We’ll. Be. Fine,” he said again. He patted his twin’s shoulder. (It was easier to think of Takashi as his twin than to think of shared parents or experiences, because that all just reminded him that he had this man’s memories, not memories of his own.) “Enjoy your quality time with your princess. You both deserve the break.”

“Yeah. Yeah, okay, you’re right.” A smile forced itself onto Takashi’s face. “You’re right, it’ll be... everything will be great. I hope you both have a great time tonight.”

“I hope you two have a great time tonight. Go spoil her rotten.”

The smile eased into something less tense and Takashi turned to leave, then half-turned back. “Remember what I said about the peanut butter.”

“GO,” Ryou told him with a laugh, making a shooing motion with his hand.

And Takashi left.

---

The Altean colony had been a perfect place to suggest for a “date night.” She still wasn’t sure why it was called that, but she wasn’t going to quibble over words when she had a night with her knight... well, paladin.

Hunk had packed them a picnic dinner, Keith had scouted out a perfect place to set it up: high up on a cliff, overlooking a valley lush with flowers, and Pidge had cobbled together a small speaker that played music Lance had selected for them from a list Coran had given him. It was a warm night with a breeze just cool enough to keep them from overheating, and the moons of Oriande were fat and lazy in the sky amongst the twinkling stars.

They ate and drank well, talked on matters both trivial and deep, and laughed together at inside jokes. Allura felt a peaceful contentment settle into her body, and made sure to share her happiness with Takashi through numerous nuzzles, cuddles, snuggles, and, of course, kisses. She almost didn’t want the night to end.

They took their time strolling back to the colony, hand in hand in companionable silence. She basked in the quietude: no screaming toddler or angry Coalition members to disturb her. Alfor should be asleep by now, she thought as they wound through the streets, so we should be able to just pick him up and take him back aboard the Castle and tuck him in. Then I can take Takashi to bed as well... She was looking forward to it.

The door to Ryou’s house opened upon recognizing Shiro - it did that sometimes, even when Ryou was already inside and the door systems should have recognized that; the DNA match was too close and it confused things - and the two of them walked in...

...to find Ryou dangling Alfor upside down by his ankles. The toddler was shrieking happily and his face was absolutely covered in what looked like peanut butter. His face and some of his onesie, for that matter. Toys were strewn about and the Black Lion plushie was on Ryou’s head.

He looked up as they entered. “Oh, hi. You two have a good time?” If he was aware of the chaos around him - or their shock at seeing it - he didn’t show it.

“What happened here?” Shiro asked.

“Huh? Nothing much. We’ve just been having a good time.”

“I told you about the peanut butter.”

“What? It’s not like he’s allergic to it. Let the kid make a mess now and then.”

“MESH!” Alfor declared.

Ryou responded by swinging his nephew around by the ankles some, causing more happy (and shrill) shrieking. After a few swings, Ryou swung him back upright, catching him up into a hug.The Black Lion plushie fell off his head and onto Alfor, who grabbed it up and promptly smeared peanut butter on it in the process of hugging it to him.

“We had fun,” was all Ryou said.

Allura exhaled and began to round up the toys they’d brought with them. “I had thought you would play with one or two toys and we were simply giving you an assortment,” she said as she gathered them into her arms. “I didn’t expect...”

“A toy-splosion,” Shiro finished for her.

“We played with ALL the toys.”

“ALL DA TOYS!” Alfor declared. Ryou blew a raspberry on the only clean part of the toddler’s cheek, earning more giggles.

“I’m surprised he’s still awake,” Allura commented mildly, depositing the first armload into the basket they’d brought.

“He’ll drop right off when you get him back to the Castle,” Ryou predicted. “I go for the ‘wear them out’ approach. Won’t you, Alfor?” he asked the boy. “You’ll go right to sleep!”

“SEEP,” Alfor repeated.

“See?”

And then Alfor opened his mouth and said a word that neither Shiro nor Allura had ever heard him say before. She stopped what she was doing to stare at her darling, innocent child.

“Please tell me he’s trying to say ‘fork’ for some reason,” Shiro said.

Ryou looked sheepish. “I... might have accidentally... I tripped and fell at one point...”

“Because you left toys scattered everywhere,” Allura commented.

“...and it just came out.”

Alfor said it again, because he was the center of attention when he said it, and he apparently liked that.

Shiro sighed. “I’m going to get a dishtowel to wipe him off.”

“You’re not angry?”

“I... don’t even know what I am.” He hurried to the kitchen area.

“We are grateful for your looking after our son tonight,” Allura rushed to reassure him. “But perhaps next time you should invite Romelle over to babysit with you?”

“Oh, that’s a good idea,” Ryou agreed. “She’d love the chance to spoil Alfor.”

“And maybe she’ll keep you from cursing around a toddler who loves to repeat words.”

Alfor said it again, louder.

“Sleep time, buddy,” Shiro said, reaching over with a toweled hand to start the de-peanut-buttering process. “Sleep.”

“SEEP,” Alfor agreed before thrusting the Black Lion at his father.

Shiro had to hastily put the towel between himself and the messy toy. “Yes, we’re going back to the Castle to sleep.”

“CASSLE.”

Allura looked up from her toy wrangling and couldn’t help smiling. Okay, so the evening had ended on... an unexpected note. But everyone she cared about was happy and healthy and if they also happened to be a bit peanut butter-covered, well, she could handle that.

[mermaider00]

The Black Lion’s Choice

(An AU fic)

“I can’t believe it. I just can’t! Can you guys?” 

In the hangar of the Black Lion inside the Castle of Lions, Lance spun around to his teammates and friends. He had his paladin’s helmet under one arm and a brightness in his eyes as he looked at everyone who was left waiting with him. Keith, Shiro, and Allura only stared back at him. 

Lance’s armor was freshly polished and his face held a gleam from a sheet mask applied that very morning. 

Keith, with his arms crossed over his own red and white armor, gave a shrug from Lance’s excited outburst. “I don’t know. Nothing’s happening.” 

“It’s gonna happen,” Lance argued with a determined nod. “Shiro said so.” 

Shiro held up his hands in defense. “I didn't exactly say what you think I said, Lance.” 

“I think we all heard you loud and clear, buddy. Today, Black is getting herself a new paladin.” He turned back to the Black Lion, sitting quietly and majestically and gigantically. His chest puffed up and he set a fist on his skinny hip. “And that paladin is gonna be Lancey Lance.” 

“I’m... honestly in awe by this news,” Allura muttered. Unlike the other two boys, she wasn’t dressed in her armor, choosing instead to wear her flight suit for comfort. Shiro was without his too, she realized, glancing over at him and frowning some. He was back in his civilian clothes, and seeing his usual vest zipped up against his chest was somehow a disheartening thing to her eyes. A vest he’d needed help to zip up, she thought sadly, considering he was without his prosthetic arm that had been destroyed, and a new one had yet to be built for him. 

After the battle with the clone of their Black Paladin made by the witch Haggar, Keith had told her that the spirit of Shiro was trapped inside the Black Lion, kept safe there by the beast machine after his body had been incinerated by quintessence. With the great power of magical Altean Alchemy, she had extracted that spirit and replaced it inside the body of his clone. The time waiting for that body to accept a foreign soul had been tense and painful, but they’d managed it. 

In doing so, his bond with the Black Lion had been destroyed, and Shiro could no longer pilot her. 

An end of a great era, Allura thought with sorrow. But perhaps it would make way for something new? 

Would the choosing of Lance as Black Paladin begin a great and glorious new era for Voltron and the Coalition? 

“I think we should go over it one more time,” Allura suggested, coming to stand next to Shiro. His new pure white hair would take some getting used to. “In case we’ve missed something?” 

“Good idea, Allura,” Lance said happily. 

“Yeah good idea,” Keith muttered with an unconvinced lift of his brow. “Because I’m having a hard time understanding it.” 

“What’s not to understand? Shiro said I’m gonna be Black Paladin.” 

“That’s not what I said,” Shiro grumbled out, sighing deeply and rubbing his temples with his one hand for a few moments before he went through all he knew yet again. “Let’s go through the timeline. All of your written and oral reports tell me there was an altercation with Lotor that resulted in a big misunderstanding between Team Voltron and the Galra Empire, which could've threatened our alliance with the greatest faction in the known universe. During this altercation, Keith takes out my clone, and Allura ultimately saves my life.” 

“You mentioned the Black Lion speaking to you,” Allura added, staring up the great head of Voltron before them. “When she was keeping your soul safely inside her. Would she speak to you in the same way the bond works between Lion and paladin?” 

“It was... something like that.” Shiro sighed again, softer this time. “The bond is like a voice in your head that isn’t a voice at all. The Lion gifts you with new abilities to unlock when the bond is strong enough, and they can sense you as if you were one being. Black has also been known to show me events of the past during an astral projection, but it isn’t a voice. None of those things are a voice, it’s all just deep emotional and spiritual connection. My experience with Black while she housed my soul was something else entirely.” 

“Still not understanding,” Keith cut in. “If she cared about you so much and had that kind of connection with you, why is your bond broken now?” 

“I don’t know,” Shiro admitted, finding the yellow eyes of the Black Lion and once again trying to feel something. He felt mostly nothing. “The whole time I was in there, it felt like she was waiting for someone. She took me, my clone, and even Keith to fly her, but the choosing of Keith to take my place only happened because I influenced it, and she temporarily agreed. I don’t know exactly why she’s not accepting you anymore, Keith, but I think it has something to do with her waiting.” 

Keith went quiet as he tried to think. Apparently, the only reason he was able to pilot Black was because Shiro made it all happen after he’d died and been absorbed by the beast machine. Black would not take him at her controls anymore. 

But the Red Lion had welcomed him back home. 

Allura crossed her arms over her chest. “This was all so much easier to manage when I just assigned you all to your Lions. Now you all have history with more than one of them that makes this predicament entirely too complicated.” 

“Black won’t take me or Shiro,” Keith began, seeming to speak his thoughts out loud now. “But Red took me back and won’t take Lance. I thought maybe the Lions wanted our original lineup but that’s obviously not the case, even more so since Blue still wants Allura.” 

“She’s waiting for someone,” Shiro said again. “It’s why she won’t let me fly her. I think she’s been waiting a long time, and she’s finally standing firm and getting what she wants. When I was with her, it wasn’t like the bond when you’re a paladin. I heard her voice. I heard her speak to me.” 

“What did her voice sound like?” Lance asked. 

“It’s... hard to describe. I felt it everywhere, in my ears, in my head, in my heart and even in my blood. It was unlike anything I’d ever experienced with her before. She told me her paladin was a boy she knew. One who longed to fly her, who was part of the team, and one who was as quick and sharp as the Altean blade he wielded. All of those things describe Keith,” Shiro continued, giving a rueful smile to his longtime friend. “But apparently Keith is not the one. And the only other person who meets all those requirements... is Lance.” 

“Yes!” Lance cheered, pumping a fist into the air. Not only had he polished his armor for the occasion, he had polished the armor of the Black Paladin, and was wearing it proudly. “I mean, it’s sad to leave Red. I’m definitely gonna miss that speed, and Blue has bonded pretty hard with Allura. Hunk doesn’t fight with a sword and in his heart we all know he prefers being with Yellow. I’m the only other guy left. And I’m a guy without a Lion now.” 

“It does make sense,” Allura said. “What doesn’t make sense is how the Black Lion is responding at the moment.” 

“I know, what’s up with her?” Lance murmured as he stared up at Black again. 

The Black Lion looked anything but receptive to a new pilot at the moment. With two former Black Paladins and one possible new one in the hangar, her safety shield was up around her body positioned in a sitting pose. A waiting pose, Shiro thought again, but the waiting should end any moment. When they had originally found Blue in that cave back on earth, Blue’s shields had been up as well even though her next paladin had entered the space with her. 

It had taken a little time for Lance to break through the shields, and carry them all off to their destiny. 

Keith then suggested, “Maybe Black doesn’t like the fact that you’re wearing the Black Paladin armor before she even lets you fly her.” 

Lance looked down at his chest and the black symbol of Voltron painted there. “That can’t be. I think I look kinda dashing. It just means I’m ready for her.” 

“Girls don’t like it when you’re presumptuous.” 

“Okay, stop before this turns into a thing,” Shiro interrupted before a spitting match between the boys could begin. “Lance, you’re the only one of us who makes sense based on what I know. Black has been waiting for you. Maybe it was solving the altercation with Lotor peacefully instead of resorting to emotional violence that couldn’t be taken back, or maybe it was you mastering the skills of two other Lions, I don’t know. But you will be Voltron’s next Black Paladin.” 

“You’re quiznaking right!” Lance said excitedly, setting his black and white helmet down onto the floor and approaching the safety shields around the Black Lion. “C’mon, girl, loverboy Lance will treat you like a lady.” 

Allura heard the entrance doors to the hangar whoosh open. Someone was entering. Probably Coran or Pidge. 

“Maybe...” Lance continued softly, narrowing his eyes in thought. “Maybe I’ll just do the same thing I did with Blue, huh? Maybe I’ll just knock.” The boy lifted a hand, fisted it before knocking with the exact same pressure he’d once used to knock on Blue’s shields. 

And just like that... the shields went down. Lance grinned in victory. 

“Princess.” 

Allura and all three men spun around at the sound of a familiar voice. Through the doors entered Emperor Lotor, the sound of his boots clicking along the floor and his hands placed gracefully behind his back. His eyes held no desire or appreciation for a quick break with Team Voltron and his mouth held no friendly smile. He entered the hangar with what felt like regret and obligation oozing from his skin, and he was quick to be rid of it. 

“Our meeting, Allura. Shiro,” Lotor added, nodding to the one man in the room that didn’t make his heart clench inside his chest. “I’ve anchored my flagship to the Castle of Lions, as you’ve requested. I don’t have much time to give you or your comrades. My Empire needs me.” 

After a woman named Romelle had been brought back from the Altean colony beyond the Quantum Abyss, she had accused Lotor of unspeakable crimes that ultimately turned out to be proven false, and nowhere near as heinous as she’d believed. It was a misunderstanding that had cost Team Voltron a lot, the biggest loss being the Emperor of the Galra’s trust in them. Blooming friendships had ended and Voltron was to return to Princess Allura’s castle instead of being given another home aboard the Galran Central Command. 

Not only had friendships and camaraderie been ruined... but any possible romances as well. 

Allura tried not to frown. The biggest mistake of her life had been made when she’d chosen the word of a stranger over their most important ally. 

The alliance between Voltron and the Empire, however, had survived the devastating fallout. 

Protecting the innocents of the universe from being threatened by another Zarkon was far too important to all of them. 

“We will be right with you and your subordinates, Emperor Lotor,” she said softly, folding her hands in front of herself and setting her shoulders back instead of slouching forward. “There is a quick matter we’re addressing at the moment.” 

Lotor’s eyes studied the scene before him. So much was different, he realized, staring at the new appearance of Shiro and the new armor the boy with the high-pitched voice and pointy chin was now wearing. The armor of the Black Paladin, he saw, his white brows lifting in surprise and maybe a little amusement as well. The armor of his father, and standing before the Lion his father flew too. Shiro, the only one aboard the castle Lotor did not carry any resentment for, was not in uniform at all, and held a very masked disappointment inside him. He would no longer be Black Paladin, Lotor realized. 

Without Shiro, Team Voltron had all but collapsed before the earthling solider had returned in the form of a clone. 

What would happen to them now? 

“You will fly the Black Lion?” Lotor asked Lance out of curiosity. He wanted to leave the Castle as soon as possible, but this was a very interesting thing to behold. 

“Damn skippy,” Lance answered proudly. He’d always known his day would come. “Look, she even dropped her shields for me, what a good girl. Hey, Allura, I might even be the first guy in intergalactic history to fly three Lions, huh? We should be writing this all down.” 

“Yes, Lance,” she uttered, trying to sound cheerful but it certainly wasn’t showing on her face. “Ah... Lotor, I think you should be here for this moment. Lance will soon be Black Paladin and the head of Voltron, though Shiro and myself will still lead. I think it’s best for you to be aware of any new developments within our group.” 

Lotor didn’t answer her. Instead, he stared up at the Black Lion. A spectacular beast machine, he thought, and one that came with an emitting warmth within her hangar. Could the others feel the warmth too? 

Deep inside his head, he heard a very soft calling that was somehow both familiar and unknown. 

“Well, it’s time to boot up my girl,” Lance declared, picking his helmet up from the ground and setting it over his head in preparation. “Once I get the hang of her controls, I think we should fly out in formation, just to see how it feels. And I’ll form the head!” he shouted with a dramatic deepened voice, doing a little jig before taking a few steps closer to the Black Lion. 

Lance then yelped when Black’s shields shot back down, sending him back a few inches before it could slice off his toes. 

Allura gasped, and Keith and Shiro straightened up in shock. 

“Hey,” Lance groaned, pushing himself up from lying on his back. “What gives! First you let me in then you throw me out? What’s wrong with her, Shiro?” 

“I... I don’t know,” Shiro said softly, his eyes quickly traveling all over Black for some foreign intrusion that had spooked her. “I don’t know what happened.” 

“Maybe she doesn’t like you,” Keith said. 

“Oh shut up, Keith!” Lance barked. “She likes me just fine.” 

“Something isn’t right,” Allura murmured. “What could have gone wrong?” 

“Shiro, you said she wanted me.” 

“That’s not what I said!” Shiro all but yelled, then stopped to take a breath. “I only told you what she told me and we’re coming to these conclusions ourselves with machinery we still don’t really know or understand. I could be wrong, and she’s waiting for someone else.” 

“But...” Lance lifted himself back to his feet, bowing his head a bit before shaking it and turning to them all. There was a slight redness in his cheeks right under his eyes. “I don’t have a Lion anymore. If I can’t fly Black then I don’t fly at all. It makes sense. You said it makes sense, Allura.” 

“These are magical machines, Lance,” Allura calmly told him. “I can’t possibly know what they want at all times. Perhaps my father could, but I cannot.” 

“This is the Black Lion,” Lotor then interrupted, taking a few steps closer to the beast machine, and quietly marveling over it. “The Lion that is the most skilled in combat and the one who takes the most energy from her paladin. Perhaps you do not hold enough energy to her liking, young man.” 

Lance scoffed at him. “That’s ridiculous, I have more energy than everyone in this room. Back on earth, I could go to school at the Garrison all day and then party with the ladies all night.” 

Nearby, Keith rolled his eyes. 

Lotor stared up at the Lion, continuing to feel that warmth. He’d once been inside it with Shiro, what felt like an eternity ago. Even then he’d been aware of its power and the great toll it took from her paladin. The Blue Lion was friendly and the Red Lion was picky, but the Black Lion took only the great leaders who could carry the burden and form Voltron. 

“There’s something,” Lotor murmured, looking straight ahead at the safety shields, the light reflecting in his blue eyes that were still shadowed from the fallout he’d experienced with those he’d once considered his friends, and more. He lifted a hand, claws pointed up. Warm, so warm. “She is... waiting.” 

All four paladins went still behind him. 

And when Lotor placed his hand on the shields of the Black Lion, they instantly went down again. 

Not only did they go down... but Black moved, and gave a great roar that rocked the Castle of Lions. 

Before, Shiro had felt nothing from Black. He’d tried, again and again, sitting in front of her or touching her or even climbing into the cockpit to take hold of her controls, hoping something would happen, that she would communicate to him again, or wisp him away to the astral plane for more answers about what she wanted and who she was waiting for. 

Now, the very last and dying embers of his connection to the Black Lion flared to life like a great inferno, and the knowledge he’d been craving crashed into him like a raging storm. 

I’ve been waiting... for the baby. 

Her voice, he was hearing it yet again. Shiro’s eyes widened, went as white as the hair on his head and as bright as Black’s as she celebrated the return of the baby she’d been waiting for. He saw it all before him, saw the past as it was instead of a simple story Coran could only repeat from memory. He saw the paladins of old, including Allura’s father and Zarkon before corruption. He saw Haggar, smiling and glowing as a younger woman. 

No, not Haggar, Shiro thought as he watched closely. Honerva. She’d once been called Honerva. 

And inside her was... a baby. 

A baby the Black Lion had waited patiently for. 

I felt his heart beat. I felt his heart stop. His tiny, tiny heart. I tried to save them all. 

Shiro watched as Zarkon offered Honerva to the rift out of desperation, his eyes zeroing in on her swollen middle covered by the baggy cloaks she wore to conceal her belly. Zarkon and Honerva had tried to keep their pregnancy a secret, knowing they would not be received kindly by anyone because of Honerva’s deteriorating condition in the pursuit of science that had come before her own unborn child. 

And they’d all died. All three of them. 

I have been waiting centuries for the child of Zarkon. I know him. I see him. I want him. 

Together, he and I will fly. 

Shiro suddenly gasped loudly, clutching his chest when the images were sucked away and the last of those embers fizzled out to nothing. The only hand he had left clutched his chest and only then did he realize he was being held. Keith had his shoulders, that worried line between his dark brows. Allura had a hand on his cheek and kept repeating his name, and Lance stood nearby for support. 

Lotor only stared back at him. 

“I’m fine,” Shiro breathed, rubbing back his white hair. “I’m fine.” 

“What did you see?” Allura asked him, taking a step back to give him some space. “Your eyes were glowing, and so were the Black Lion’s.” 

“She wants Lotor,” Shiro announced, knowing it to be true now without a doubt. “That’s who she’s been waiting for. She wants you,” he said to Lotor. “She wants to fly with you.” 

“What!” Lance exclaimed, even stomping a foot down. That slight redness on his cheeks turned into a frustrated blush. “But... I’m supposed to fly her. I changed my armor and everything. You said...” 

“I know what I said,” Shiro told him sternly. “This time, I know. Her paladin will be a boy she knew, and Black has known Lotor since before he was born. One who longed to fly her, who was part of the team, and one who was as quick and sharp as the Altean blade he wielded, that’s what she said. There must have been a part of you that wanted to fly the Black Lion of Voltron,” he then said straight to Lotor. “Every boy at some point wants to be like his father, to earn his father’s respect, even if that feeling is fleeting and he doesn’t deserve it. You’re also part of our team, whether you’re happy about it or not, and you’re an Altean swordsman. You meet all the criteria. You, Lotor, are the next Black Paladin.” 

What a thing to hear, Lotor thought as he looked at Shiro, ignoring the others staring open-mouthed at him now. Following in his father’s footsteps, just like Zarkon, he thought, feeling the pain in his chest as he heard the ugly comments in his head all over again. This is how he would follow in his father’s footsteps. This is how he was just like Zarkon. 

The Black Paladin, Lotor mused, glancing up at the great beast machine. She had been calling to him all his life, and he hadn’t known her voice or her warmth. 

The Black Lion then leaned down to him. He wasn’t afraid though she was a gigantic being, and the hangar was filled with the unmistakable sound... of mighty purring. Black gently set her snout against Lotor, and the purring increased. 

You are my cub now. 

He heard her, Lotor thought with wonder. He heard her clearly, as if she’d opened her mouth and said the words. 

Without thinking of the others, Lotor couldn’t help but place his hands on the Black Lion, his cheek against her metal, and close his eyes to feel that all-encompassing warmth he’d been without all his life. That intense love he’d never been properly given. 

And during these quiet and meaningful moments, he shared his thoughts with her, his emotions, his deepest of feelings. She had to understand. She had to know. 

The Black Lion accepted it, and would wait again. 

“Oh, so now she’s purring,” Lance spat out, ripping his helmet off and wanting to chuck it in great disappointment. “Blue or Red never purred at me.” 

“Lotor,” Allura began, needing to forget Lance’s feelings for now. There were more important things to discuss. “You must fly her. You must become Voltron’s next Black Paladin.” 

It would be hard to voice his decision, Lotor knew, caressing Black one last time before she eased away, and sat up straight. It would be so very hard, but his heart could only take so much in one lifetime. It had been one tragedy after the next, and now he was finally able to change this universe for the better and live without others constantly hurting him. 

Now, he would live without great hurt. 

“I appreciate the offer, Princess Allura,” Lotor began, then turned to them with the poise and calm of an Emperor. “But I would not join this team as is even if you all dropped to your knees and begged me.” 

Lance’s mouth fell open, Keith winced, Allura paled some. 

Shiro... couldn’t say he was surprised. Not even a little. 

Lotor gave the Black Lion one last look before gracefully making his way to the exit of the hangar. 

I will come back for you he told her, and knew she heard him through their bond. One day, we will fly together. 

I will be waiting, my cub. 

“Now that I have defeated the Fires of Purification, now that I am supplying the Galra with unlimited quintessence extracted humanely and have the last living population of Alteans under my protection and loyal to me after saving them from extinction, I must say that I do not need to form Voltron to defend this universe. Everything I have worked and bled for, everything I almost died for,” Lotor added, staring at each and every one of them, “is now well within my grasp. I will be awaiting you, Allura, and Shiro aboard my ship for our meeting,” he said, the doors whooshing open for him. But before he left, he turned to them one last time. 

“When it comes time to choose the next generation of Voltron paladins, I will answer the call to fly the Black Lion and lead them. She is waiting patently for me and I will not disappoint her. But I will not fly alongside this team who so quickly called for my death.” 

Lotor walked through the exit, held their gazes as the doors began to close. 

“Perhaps you should ask Romelle,” Lotor told them, and grinned as the doors closed. 

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Happy Lotor Appreciation Day! 

[ladyemberswrites]

“A Touch Is All I Ask”

- 

Summary: Allura and Company haul the Stranger to the Castle Ship.

Rating: T and Up 

Words: 3k 

Chapters: 2/? 

-

Can read here on my Ao3:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/20626235/chapters/49759931#workskin

- 

“This guy is huge!” understatement of the millennium. This man, this stranger, must be at least around 7 feet tall and weighs a bloody ton being all hard, thick muscle and equally hefty armor. Despite her altean strength and Keith’s galra it took everyone to fly him back to Blue, only for them to rinse and repeat as they had to haul him to the castle’s infirmary. Even with the aid of the hanger room’s emergency gurney, he’s still far too heavy for one person to carry.

However, that’s the least of her issues at the moment, as his sudden arrival causes a massive commotion among the rebels and the castle staff going about their day. Both morbidly curious and confused everyone wants to know what in Altea's name is going on. But, a bark from a very disgruntled Nanny has them all fleeing back to their stations.

“What in ancient’s name is going-” her hard eyes flicker to the Stranger’s unconscious body, her mouth clamping shut and her face scrunches in displeasure. Allura braces herself for a full-on scolding, but luckily, her governess held her tongue and left without a fuss to ensure that the staff isn’t lazing off on their duties in spite of the chaos. Doubtful, Allura thought, annoyed; by the time lunch comes around gossip and rumors would’ve been spread to every cranny of the ship, probably to every rebel base and colony, if she’s being generous. But, she can bet on it. Another headache down the line for her to deal with.

Yet, she'll just have to worry about it later as her patient upon moving seems to be agitated. His brows and lips twisting in agony and pitiful groans pour from his mouth as sweat billows down his temples.

"Allura!" Coran came scampering down the hall "Princess, your back! I-oh, dear" he halts eyeing the Stranger with a quiet wariness.

"-and whose this fellow?" he twirls his mustache in contemplation, inching a little closer.  

"Don't know" Matt offers, huffing "the Princess found him out in the middle of nowhere-she thinks he might've been spat out the rift."

"The rift!" Coran gapes "that's impossible-"

"Hey, um yeah can we like save the questions for later" Hunk butts in his tone straining, sweating profusely.

"Even with a gurney this guy weighs like a ton, and I think my arms are going numb" Pidge grits her teeth.

"Right, right"

"Coran, can you have the nursing staff prepare the examination room, please"

"Right on it, Princess!" He salutes and takes off down the hall.

"Here's an idea" Keith mutters through clenched teeth "can't we just have the cow tow him to the infirmary" he grunts.

"She has a name!"

"I am not getting into an argument with you about a cow, so do everyone a favor and shut up!"

"Straight from the O-so gracious hero's mouth everyone!" He retorts snidely "I'd clap sarcastically, but I'm afraid my hands are occupied at the moment"

“.....And here we go again….” Matt exhales. Hunk sends Pidge a pointed glance marred with annoyance, the young tech can only shake her head and roll her eyes into the back of her skull in exasperation.

"Oh, come on you two" Shiro chides his face falling flat “it’s way too early for this” but his pleas were dead to the wind "guys, come on…"

"Don't bother, Shiro" Pidge grumbles "you're just wasting your breath..."

"-you know what Keith you can kiss my-"

"Enough!" Allura barks her voice echoing off the walls, causing both men to freeze "if you two blockheads don't knock it off I will freeze your lips shut until they fall off your stupid faces! Now, shut it and help me get this man to the infirmary!" She hisses. Their egos wilt under her cold, boring stare.

Swallowing, they nod meekly in her direction "Yes, Ma'am" they murmur in unison. Regardless of their cooled fury, both men cast each other a poisonous glance before readjusting their grip on the gurney.

"Thank you." she spat dryly. The last thing she needs is in their petty squabbling they drop her new charge onto the floor. She had no idea what kind of shape he's in and didn't need these two buffoons making an already tense situation worse. If he is a high-ranking warlord and they accidentally kill him because of ineptitude, she could only imagine how lethal the ramifications might be.

~

It took another 30 minutes to haul him to the examination room. Thankfully, Keith and Lance kept to themselves to lick their own wounds and outright refuse to meet her line of sight, or one another's for the matter. She dislikes the tense air, but better them quiet than wasting time bickering with each other.

“Took you long enough” Fi taps her fingers against her clipboard, the lavender paint of her nails immaculate underneath the bright lighting of the exam room "the nursing staff has everything you need prepared. Although" a lilac brow arches, her head tilting downwards to eye their new guest with a dull glance.

"Nevermind" she sighs, placing a hand on her hip.

"Fi."

"I didn't say anything"

"Ah-huh" she chunters under her breath. Fi didn't need to say anything to make her point; Allura knew how the woman felt about the galra. Her cool yet taunt facade only emphasized her distaste for the situation. However, her gaze never returns to the stranger as her eyes kept on the Princess.

"In any case, Allura, you should probably inform Head Commander Hira of-this" she gestures with a wave of her clipboard.

Oh, right….

"I will. Later"

Fi simply sighs "your funeral then" she mumbles.

"Yeah, yeah" she turns her attention back to her patient "alright, let's get him on the table" she commands the others. They maneuver him through the door, huffing and panting, careful not to clip any part of his body against the threshold.

"We can use a little help here…." Lance grouses in Fi's direction, the woman only crosses her arms around her waist and moves out their way.

"What's the matter lover man? Can't handle the weight"

A vein pops alongside his forehead "I can handle the weight!"

"Lance…" Allura growls.

"Dude, you're making us wobble this guy"

"If that's the case you could carry this man yourself, hm"

"You really just love sucking the life out of everything, witch,  tell me how many gallons of children's tears did you drink to be this refreshed this morning?" Of course, Lance decides, no has to push it because he somehow feels the need to make a comment about everything anything.

Fi's face hardens but only for a minute "Well, aren't you just fine and dandy this morning as well,  lover man? Tell me how's that dry spell coming along?" A smirk curls her lips upon seeing his flushing, sputtering face “I mean we all know women just can’t help themselves around such a stud like you? OR” she taps her lilac lips “am I wrong?”

"I'll have you know, wench, I have dates lined up for the whole week! So suck on that!"

"Lance, shut up" Pidge smacks his shoulder.

“OW!”

"Knock it off the both of you" Allura grumbles "or at least can't you guys wait until we get him on top the table first before biting each others heads off."

"Yeah, yeah"

"Forgive me, Your Majesty, I seem to have lost sight of myself.” Fi curtses“I’ll go and retrieve fresh clothing for the patient and prepare him a room.”

“Thank you, Fi”

“No need for thanks, I am, but your humble servant”

“Oh!” Allura stops her just before she strides out the room “Summon, Lau for me as well. I need her assistance”

“As you wish” she bows again before pivoting on her heel.

"I can't stand that woman…" Lance gripes. Pidge just sighs.

“Dude, you started it…”

“Yeah, well-”

“Can we please put this guy on the table!?” Keith barks “Now. Today. My arms are about to fall off!”

Speaking of headaches….

It took a lot of awkward stirring, a lot more shouting before the Stranger’s fully and finally placed on the table. His groans of pain subside partially due to the fact that everyone isn’t carelessly swinging his unconscious body around.

“Boy, all that haulings got me starving”

“You had two helpings for breakfast”

“You ate just as much as I did, Lance!”

“I’m not the one with the gut….”

“At least I have a girlfriend…”

“Low blow dude, low blow”

“I thought you had piles of girls lined up literally thirsting for your body?” Pidge asks with an arch brow., her voice low and mocking.

"Y'know this isn't how I'd imagine I'd spend my morning" Matt sighs leaning against the wall in exhaustion.

"I think I have a crick in my back" Shiro mutters, massaging his neck.

“You’re way too young to be having back problems, Takashi” Matt heaves.

"-all I know is that I never want to carry another galra ever again, he’s got to be at least 3,000 thousand pounds, yeesh ” Hunk wipes his forehead.

"Speaking of which-" Lance starts "if this guy is some uppity, pompous rich warlord, like Allura said, do you think he'll compensate us for saving his life?"

"Way to keep it, classy, Lance" Keith scowls at him.

"Look I'm just saying we can do with some new perks-"

"Alright, out." Allura snaps her fingers, gesturing towards the door "out all of you I have work to do and I can't do it with you guys in the way.”

“I’m going to take a bath…” Matt stumbles out the room.

“All of yo-" the hiss of the door cuts her off and much to her annoyance the last person she wants to see comes drifting in with his trusty data-pad in hand with the look of utter delight written in his angular face.

Doctor Alibhe smiles, ear to ear "Princess" he nods. She squints at him.

"Ah, good morning, Paladins." The atmosphere darkens and the temperature of the room slowly chills as shivers run up everyone's spines. Keith visibly sweats up a storm and Shiro slowly turns as white as the tuff of hair that sat upon his head.

"Oh, Kogane. Shirogane" his voice is deep. Smooth, polite, but his tone elicits no warmth, just cold dread. The silence before the storm. Hunk's teeth chatters and Pidge’s spine curls, Lance tries to find shelter behind Shiro’s massive frame to avoid the Doctor’s line of sight. If it were possible, it seems that his smile grew wider, his teeth sparkling, startling against the backdrop of his dark skin.

"My favorite patients"

"Actually" he gazes back down to his pad,  pressing a curled fist against his lips "you two have been past due for a checkup-" Keith bolts, shoving himself right pass the doctor in a mad frenzy, while Shiro tries to skid away as calm as possible leaving Lance unguarded.

“Look at the time.” he grins awkwardly, the smile not quite reaching his eyes as his teeth clench together “Got things to do and-um-things to do” he slid away doing everything in his power not to brush against Alibhe on the way out before making a run for it. Allura never saw the former-gladiator run so fast.

"Yeah, I um got things to do. Date with Shay and all. Bye" Hunk took off along with Pidge and Lance following close behind. Alihbe watches them all go his expression never changing.

"They're in a rush," he says after a moment of silence.

"...Gee, I wonder why?" she whispers dryly.

“Hm, what was that?”

“Nothing-nevermind, what exactly are you doing here? You're supposed to be quarantining the Phos Colony”

“Oh, yes. That’s why I'm here. The epidemic has been contained and neuralized and the colony immunized. My work there is done, the doctors of Phos should be able to handle what’s left without extra aid.”

“Oh.”

“I placed the report in your study for review”

“O-oh, well good work than” creepy or not Alibhe is more than efficient in his work.

“Who’s this fellow?” Allura instinctively looks over her shoulder back at her masked patient.

“A new guest.” she snaps her head back around “and I’m treating him, so keep you slimy, shady hands off him,” she orders with a stringent glare.

“I was merely asking a question, nothing more”

“Yeah, right” she whispers walking over to the sink “but, the least you can do since your back is take some samples from him back to the lab. I need to make sure he isn’t carrying anything, we don’t need an epidemic on our hands”

“As you wish” he dips his head. After, she washes and disinfects her hands and wiggles on her gloves Allura approaches her new patient with bated breath. His sheer size overwhelming her, he completely dwarfed her tiny body, to think working alongside of the Mamora she would’ve grown use to their immense size and stature. Afraid not...shaking her head she brings herself back to reality.

“Get a grip, Allura” she murmurs to herself.  First things first, the helmet's gotta go.

Here goes nothing.

It's all or nothing.

She steers around to the head of the examination table, his helmet cold to the touch even with the biodegradable gloves. She cautiously searches for the latch. It took a few minutes of fumbling, but she finds it, her stomach clenches as she presses down on them. It hisses low, and strangely ominous as if she were unlocking some sort dangerous truth. It pops and she slowly slides it off-her breath stills-

-to be greeted by a rather handsome face. A pretty face.

Angular in shape, aristocratic nose, chiseled jaw, long snowy hair, long pretty lashes. Instantly, he reminds her of one of her favorite storybooks, the one about the sleeping princess silent to the world as she slumbers centuries away. Only it's a prince, with tense brows, smooth lilac skin and a face smothered with painful-looking bruises. Upon inspection, they look fresh and swollen, he'll need some ointment to soothe the inflammation. Briefly, she applies the lightest of pressure, his lips tighten in response, teeth click together. However, she can’t figure how the bruises were inflicted. It didn’t look like he was punched or struck, or anything and the skin isn’t scraped or scratched. Did he hit something-

The examination room door whirls open like a whip to the air.

“Princess!” the livid bark of Head Commander Hira has her reeling, her body jerking violently as the severe woman came crashing in unannounced with a cringing, sputtering Coran floundering behind her.

“Hira, please calm yourself this is a hospital! People are resting here!” he hisses at her harshly, holding a finger to his lips.

She shoves him away in irritation “What have you’ve done this time!?”

Allura frowns at the tone “I haven’t done anything other than rescue someone whose life was-is in danger” she replies defensively, folding her arms over chest. Hira's eyes flicker from her to the body of the man lying upon the table. At first nothing, a passive glance that quickly hardens, her thin lips pulling into a sneer.

“He’s galra!” she gestures at him, the disdain in her voice is not hard to miss.

“Wow, so you do have eyes, wanna medal?!"Allura mockingly rose both her brows and the pitch of her voice. She knew she's risking a smack, but she can't seem to help herself.

“If you have enough time to string together sarcastic quips you have enough sense in that head of yours to inform me about unauthorized passengers. Or has being knocked around in that lion of yours slapped the sanity out of you"

"I beg your pardon!?"

“Ladies, please” Coran begs.

“Oh, hush Coran. You're not my heeler”  

“Afraid I don’t have a leash short enough to reel you in” the man mutters readjusting the buttons of his summer coat.

“Let me reiterate, Princess" the commander folds her arms behind her back "you have not only endangered the citizens aboard the ship, but yourself as well by dragging in, not just a galra, but a galra soldier on deck without considering safety procedures. I know it's in your nature to try and nurture those you deem less fortunate, but you cannot keep doing this"

Allura opens and closes her mouth before pressing them together in a tight line; Hira's in tip-top shape today. She didn't know whether she wants to break something over the woman's head or snap, petulant she knew, it's bad enough that Hira and everyone else treats as though she's a child, a dumb, stupid child that needs to be reprimanded and guided or else she'll end up getting her hand stuck in the proverbial cookie jar. But, she knew, she knew that throwing anything at her whether justified in frustration at the condescension would just be used against her, and pretty much proving their point.

Breaking things.

The urge to break burns under her skin along with the quake of her fists. Doing so would at least abate the rage, but Allura knew better, most times, giving into her base emotions isn't going to get her anywhere. Steeling away the instinct to inflame conflict she takes a calming breath and casts Hira a frigid stare.

"I'm not a child, I know that." She's only half-correct, she didn't wake up this morning expecting to rummage an injured man off an asteroid, as did most things, trouble usually came crashing through her door unannounced and most times unwelcomed.

Her cold gaze falls back to the Stranger, well, most times they come in uninvited.  Maybe this time it might be different.

In any case, she rebuffs Hira, ignoring her protests,

"Enemy or not he’s in need of medical aid."

“I should have immediately been informed of this”

"It's not like I wasn't going to" she argues.

"Really?" The woman arches a brow her face and stature impervious, impregnable and to imagine Freya's much worse that Hira could ever hope to be. But, the Valkyrie general is a concern for another day.

"Maybe-Okay!" She relents, throwing her hands up,  her cold shell wavering in the heat of scrutiny "I forgot! Alright, I should have informed you, but it still doesn't mean you can't just barge into my examination room and talk down to me like a baby!" A second hangs and passes before the Head Commander, marginally, deflates. Her shoulders lower, her sneer less prominent and the harsh edge of her eyes soften.

She still isn't happy.

"He'll need to be guarded. No, buts"

"I've already summoned Lau"

"Lau?" The displeasure snaps right back onto her face.

"Yes, Lau. She's more than capable"

"Fine." Irritated the commander rubs the bridge of her nose in tandem "be stubborn if you will, but the moment the slightest thing goes wrong. This castle is under lockdown and he'll, whatever his name is, will be under my jurisdiction. Understood. Princess or not my duty first and foremost is your safety and the safety of Altean citizens. I will not go back on my oaths"

"Right…"

"Also, I want all his belongings confiscated. They'll need to be investigated, I will not budge on the matter"

"Very well"

"Thank you for being cooperative for a change"

Oh, those were fighting words, back to the condescension again. Squeezing her lips together, Allura refrains, it's not a battle worth dying for.

'Just let it go, Allura, just let it go'

'It's not worth it, it's not worth it'

"Rrrrighhttt…." She breathes out trying to reign in her temper. Hira is none the wiser as the woman just bled condescension.

"I'm returning to my station-" she pauses scanning her face for a long, long minute "....and there is nothing else I need to know?"

"Nope."

"Hm. In any case, I'll take my leave" with a bow the commander dismisses herself, the clatter of her heels is like a funeral march beating in her ear.

"Coran?" She snaps her head in his direction.

The man made a face before frantically shaking his head "Don't look at me, Princess, I said not a thing! It was Nanny who blew the whistle."

"Good grief…" she sighs. Truly, unbelievable.

"Nevermind" she pushes a strand behind her ear "As long as she doesn't put the Castle on totalitarian lockdown." Allura mutters under her breath "Coran, just make sure nothing else gets out. Issue a formal report that we have an Empire Soldier in Altean custody."

"Can do, Princess" he salutes "anything else."

"Just keep it vague enough that people don't start causing a fuss"

"This shall be done. No worries" he slips out the room leaving her to the silence. Which she appreciates, however she can't say the same for her pounding migraine. But, she'll worry about it later, returning back to her work. Luckily, the Stranger hardly stirs from his slumber. He's either in a coma or a pretty heavy sleeper; upon that thought, she gently checks his head to find an abrasion centered on the back of his skull. The hair there is tangled and crusted over with old blood, which is odd. The wound here is old while the bruises are fresh.

Frowning, she moves to his side to check his pulse. He's cold to the touch as she presses her fingers to his throat; his pulse is steady but shallow. Allura leans over the table to put her ear to his chest; his heartbeat is the same, steady, but shallow.

He might need a scan, she reaches over to unclasp his cape, the ornament that held it together is blank. She turns it over but nothing gave any hints about his identity. She places them aside to find her flashlight to check his eyes.

Amethyst. His pupils dilate without fail. She checked his ears to find dried blood caked in them, and down his jaw. Strange enough, she didn't find any damage to his eardrums. Infection maybe, she scraped a few samples from both ears.

Now the hard part came-just how did she get his armor off? She stood there albeit aimless as she eyes it with an arduous stare. Scanning him, her eyes fell upon his satchel. The one wrapped around his hip, the one she had forgotten about until this moment. Carefully, she's able to unlatch it. It barely weighs a thing and other than being woven out a material that she isn't quite sure is leather, there's nothing about it that's particularly fascinating, it looks like any old bag to her.

Or maybe it's not the outside that matters, but the inside. Curious, she unbuckles it to discover-

A pencil used to the very nub. An eraser that's seen better days, a rusted canister, and a sketchbook….a leather-bound sketchbook. Placing the rest down, she flips the book around. Nothing's written on the surface or cover, so she pops it open-The the first page nearly punches the breath right out of her, a gorgeous detailed image of a botanical garden all captured in black and white.

"...Amazing" seems her slumbering 'Prince' has some talent under his sleeves. She flips another page, the next being small in scale, various sketchings of planets, flowers, fruit, trees. They were no less impressive, but that isn't what starts to bug her, for whatever reason, there's an old familiarity about them that she can't quite place a finger on. She flips another page and here she finds renderings of people.

A mother and child, some children playing in what she believes is a town square, men of various shapes and sizes, and an old woman by a well.

She's absolutely gentle about turning the pages, but the next turn causes her to freeze. It-

It can't be?

She blinks for a moment unsure, for a moment she believes she's seeing things, that her mind's playing tricks on her again. She blinks and blinks yet the image stays the same.

There's no mistaken that sly smile. The white hair, the clothing, it's Honerva? One of Altea's greatest alchemists rendered so perfectly, so beautifully, drawn so...so real that Allura felt she could practically jump right out the page and transform into flesh and blood right there and then.

But-

Why does this man-why did this man-how could he have drawn her? Honerva's dead, she's been gone for years now, so how? Allura places the book down to squint at him.

"Just how old are you?" She leans over him, bracing all her weight on the table to loom and stare and stare until she realizes how futile the endeavor is "who am I kidding there's no way to know, not like this" she chides herself.

Just as she's about to pull away she sees his eyelids flicker, heard his claws clank against the table, she stills, pausing in her movements until she's met with amethyst again; only this time she's not prying his eyes open.

They open themselves, wide, dilated and centered completely on her.

"Eh….Hello?"

~ 

Comments and Reviews are much appreciated! 

[some-cookie-crumbz]

End of an Era

End of an Era - Kidge Month Day 9 Prompt Fill Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Pairing: Kidge Summary: A sort of “What If” scenario after S6E5, in which Keith takes longer to regroup with the rest of Team Voltron and the consequences are greater than he anticipated. TW: Grievous Injury to Multiple Characters, Disfigurement, Mutilation of Mechanical, Sentient Felines, Angst. Standard Disclaimer: If you read and enjoy this, please give it a like/ reblog so I know if I should write more.

Battling Shiro had been one of the worst experiences of his life, but he was grateful he’d been able to save him.

He was exhausted, but he knew he couldn’t let up. He had left the rest of the team to fight Lotor, and while he had faith in their fighting capabilities, he’d known they’d need Voltron. Black Lion seemed to struggle with creating a wormhole for them, though. He couldn’t get an exact answer from her outside of her being unable to reach the other Lion’s through the shared bond. He tried to reach out to the other Paladins’ but received no answer. That sent a red flag up for him but he reminded himself that he knew the others, that they could handle themselves and that it was probably just a matter of him being too far from them.

His first concern was getting Shiro to the Castle Ship safely, and then he and the team could deal with Lotor.

When they finally arrived to where the other Paladins were at, something felt… Off. It wasn’t far from where the battle had been held, but the only sign he had that the other’s had been there were bits of floating debris. Lotor and the Lions were nowhere out in the open and he was only able to locate the others because he ran a scan for signs of life. The Castle was settled on a sizeable asteroid but seemed to be powered down, given the bright blue lights along the exterior were out.

The inside of the Castle was also cast in a low glow, barely able to see anything. He wondered if the Castle was running on reserve power. Black settled into her usual perch in the hanger and he walked out with Shiro, spotting three shadowy figures converged at the other end. He hollered for help and was approached by a disheveled-looking Coran after a moment. Judging by height comparisons, he deduced that the other two figures he’d been talking to were Pidge and Allura. Coran exchanged a glance with the other two before heading over to take Shiro, barely even acknowledging Keith as he did. Reassured that the other man would be fine, he headed over to the two figures, squaring his shoulders in preparation for a briefing.

 His heart plummet when he saw the state the two female Paladin’s were in.

"What... What happened to you two?" He gasped, eyes shifting from one to the other. The two had clearly been in the healing pods recently, but there were scars left. Along the left side of Allura’s face, at the very corner of her mouth and disappearing down the collar of her bodysuit was the star-like scar he’d come to recognize from an explosion. Additionally, her Paladin armor was scuffed and soiled with scorch marks and blood stains. Pidge’s armor was in a similar state, but what got him was the damage done to her face. Pidge was without her glasses and was spotting a long, jagged scar across her right eye. He wasn’t sure if she could still see out of that eye but she was certainly still able to glare him down something fierce.

"What do you think happened? We got our asses kicked every which way to Sunday!" Pidge snarled, taking a step towards him.

"But... You had the Lions, and Lotor only had three ships," He argued weakly, looking between the two frantically.

Allura seemed a bit more composed than Pidge, but her own eyes were narrowed in a glare at him. "Lotor's ship is made of the same material as the Voltron Lions, and also has the ability to combine. He had all three parts necessary to form his Robeast, Sincline. We had four of the Lions; without the Black Lion, however, we could not form Voltron," She explained, her fists clenching at her side. "We barely managed to weaken him enough to gain us some time to escape. He will need time to recover as well, but how long is still a huge uncertainty."

Keith nodded slowly, letting his mind slip away from everything with Shiro and focus on the matter at hand. "So then we can try and get the jump on him while he's weak. What we need to do is regroup, form Voltron and go after him. That's fine, we can do that,"

"No, we can't," Pidge growled, "because we're down two teammates!"

"You mean Hunk and Lance? They’re just tending to business in the Castle, right?”

"They are in the healing pods now, but... We are unsure how long it will be before they are in piloting shape," Allura chimed in, eyes falling to look at the ground. "They took the brunt of it, given Red's speed and Yellow's defenses."

"Then... Then while we wait for them, we can get things in order. We can send word to the rebellion to be on high alert in case-!"

Pidge scoffed. "We already did,"

He stared at her for a moment before letting out a quiet breath. "Right. Of course you two thought of that already," He said. He should have known that in a dire situation like this, these two would have the best sense of prioritizing what needed to be handled first. "Let's jump ahead to repairing the other Lions then."

Another frustrated snarl came from the Green Paladin. "We can't! Lotor did a number on the Lions to the point I don't know how or where to even start with fixing them! Assuming that I even can!"

Keith flinched at her words, looking back at the darkened hanger. He could see the silhouettes of the Lions, but he realized that he hadn’t actually gotten a look at them. “What… What do you mean?”

Pidge looked over at Allura before nodding. With a sad sigh, the other clapped her hands and the hanger lights flickered on, though a bit dimmer than usual, affirming his suspicion that the Castle was running on reserve powers. In this silhouette, however, he could see the four other Lions, battered and broken. There were huge, gaping wounds on all of them, their eyes completely vacant. Even the parts of them that included exposed wires were no longer sparking.

He swallowed around a lump growing in his throat at the sight before him. "Then... Then we need-!"

Pidge surged forward again and shoved him, causing him to stumble back and turn to face her. "No! What we need is to have a leader who actually cares about what's at stake here! It's your fault all of this has happened!"

"What... How the Hell is it my fault?" He snapped back. There was a bit of anger in him, but it felt somehow false.

She squared her shoulders and met his gaze, sparking like a live wire of fury. "We needed Voltron but we couldn't form it without the head! You knew Lotor was a threat! Hell, you had more of an idea of what was going on than the rest of us, considering you found the Altean colony! And even knowing that, knowing how much of a struggle it would be for us even with Voltron, you took Black Lion and disappeared! Because you just had to go blasting through space to chase after Shiro, huh? No regard for the rest of us or how we'd handle! For fuck's sake, Hunk and Lance could fucking die, but do you care? No! Your first order of business was making sure we knew you brought Shiro back! You didn’t give a damn about what happened to the rest of us!" Her words cut deep, but her tone remained a subdued howl. A part of him wished she would scream and shout at him. He knew how to handle her when she was like that. But this? When she was cutting to the heart of the matter with cold, hard facts? It hurt. "A long time ago, you told me the lives of two people weren't more important than the rest of the universe. But that was a lie, right? The universe wasn't worth risking for the lives of those two people! But if it's for Shiro? The universe can burn the fuck up if it's to save Takashi Shirogane!"

"Pidge," Allura said, voice soft but urgent as she rushed over, settling a hand on the other’s shoulder.

She wretched free, not letting her eyes leave him. "No, it's the truth! Because he couldn't put his personal feelings aside to deal with a threat, the universe is doomed!" She gestured around her wildly at the mangled remains of the other four Lions all around them, lifeless eyes watching on like decaying corpses. "Do you see this? What Lotor was able to do to us without Voltron?"

He squeezed his eyes shut tightly. “This… This isn’t my fault,” He whispered.

Allura shook her head. "You are right. While your actions have contributed, there was more happening with this situation. Lotor had access to information about Voltron that is normally reserved for Paladins only. Thanks to Shiro," She said, a touch of bitterness in her voice, "and myself believing he was genuine in his desire for peace. We each had a hand to play in this as well, but to say you are blameless is naive"

Pidge stared him down before looking back at the Lion’s, gaze fixing on Green. "We'd need another comet to fix this amount of damage. Coran is making an attempt to see if we can track one down, but the likelihood of finding one is slim. Because you, as our leader, made the wrong call,"

His eyes snapped open and he wheeled around to look at Black Lion, still poised behind him. "We... We still have the Black Lion. We can figure something out in the meantime," He insisted, taking a cautious step towards her. "Right, Black?"

Through the bond between the two of them, he felt a swirl of emotion. She was focused in on the unresponsive four Lions, yowling and pleading for them to respond, to call back at her. However, she received nothing, and he could feel it swelling into an immense pain deep inside of her. Her attention shifted over to him and suddenly her form lifted, roaring at him before he was forced out of her mind, away from her thoughts and emotions.

He stumbled back and took in a sharp, pained breath, the force with which she was pushed him away from her feeling like a stabbing jolt to his ribcage. "B-Black...?" He stammered out, trying to reach out to her again but receiving nothing in return.

"Sounds like you've fallen out of her favor," Pidge commented, her tone extremely casual. She walked a bit closer and swiping the black bayard from him. "If you aren’t seen as a Paladin of Voltron, you won't be needing this, then."

 "W-Wait!" He stammered, reaching to try and swipe it back from her again. She growled and moved to block him with the hand holding his bayard.

And then, in a flicker of movement, the black bayard took the shape of her hookshot, pointed right at him.

[novarasalas]

Second Look Review: Shadows

I love a good villain origin story, especially one that doesn’t feature the heroes in any way, except mentioned in passing and with disdain. And this episode certainly delivers.

This piece is actually coming off as more meta than review. Also, there’s a lot about Honerva and Lotor that I’ve talked about in the past and reference here. Click through my “Honerva” tag and you should find all of it, mostly in the form of answered asks. (psst..is Tunglr still fuxing with links? I want to direct link to things, but...you know.)

This one's for you, Honerva anon. Please never change.

Let’s get started.

-

Bringing on the Heartache

Once again, I have to say, every time I see pre-corruption Honerva and Zarkon, it breaks my heart.

These two loved each other so much.

And Lotor was so wanted.

What a tragedy.

- -

Blood Sacrifice

And here we have flashbacks.

This whole sequence isn’t very clear, actually. It moves from the present and into flashbacks without much preamble. On my first watch-through, this threw me a bit, taking me out of the moment as I struggled to figure out what was going on.

Given this these disjointed transitions, and the fact that it’s never explained, it took me a bit to figure out what was happening, what Honerva was doing.

At first, I thought that as she was draining people’s Quintessence, she was getting glimpses of her past as Haggar, but now I've realized that the flashbacks were only for our benefit.

Her actions at the Kral Zera were twofold: she meant to undo the Empire by killing the remaining warlords vying for the throne, and also to gather enough Quintessence to connect with Lotor to find him.

And the last thing she needed for that, I’m assuming, was to sacrifice something that meant a lot to him.

Goddammit.

This is continuing with the idea that Honerva is willing to sacrifice everything to save Lotor. And entire planet, her husband, even her cat for god’s sake...no one is safe.

Also, I just realized that she’s taken the flame Lotor lit at the Kral Zera. His cat and his flame, then..the only two things left of him.

Also, we’re solidifying the fact that the Galra, or at least the Empirical Galra, are as vampires. And it’s still meant to contrast nicely with the Alteans, who are said to be “life-givers.”

…...that felt really bad to type out.

- - - 

Deification of the Son

Can I admit something?

I’d forgotten that the Alteans on the colony were said to have worshiped Lotor. It seems like so long ago at this point, and so much has happened in the meantime.

Romelle: And over time, the Alteans came to worship Lotor as their savior.

-

Romelle: [This was the world I was born into,] one of unquestioning devotion to a supposed messiah.

But this brought it all back to me.

Honerva:[speaking of the Galra] Your ways weakened a god.

Now this? This is interesting.

I get that the Alteans may have felt this way about Lotor. For generations they’d been told about how he’d saved them, protected them, cared for them. And given that he’s been alive all these years...yeah. I can see why they’d see him in a godly manner.

But why would Honerva feel this way? Why deify him herself?

Well...it’s not actually about Lotor. It hasn’t been since she entered the rift.

Lotor’s feats of alchemy are impressive, if you completely ignore the fact that he’s not the one performing them. He didn’t “pierce the veil”, Allura did. He didn't give Sincline it’s powers, Allura did. He only orchestrated it.

But by elevating Lotor to a god, she elevates herself further. In her speech to the gathered warlords at the Kral Zera, she says:

This flame represents Lotor, son of Zarkon, prince turned emperor, emperor that pierced the veil.

And my Altean blood coursed through his veins.

What a statement.

You see, Lotor is her’s. She created him. And if he’s a god, than she is the creator of a god. A flawed god, but one who’s best qualities he most certainly got from her.

Don’t get much better than that, huh?

And I feel like the Alteans of the colony agree.

Merla: We pledge our allegiance to you, Honerva, mother of Lotor.

And that statue was there in Lotor’s time. He knew that they worshiped him. I guess he had no problem wit that. Like mother, like son I suppose.

Ya know, it’s kinda weird watching an actual cult being formed.

Honerva: May the light guide you.

Yikes.

- - - - 

The Exile

It’s hard having the father that refuses to be happy with anything you do. When you grow up like that, you waste so much time trying to please them, to get them to love you. And it’s usually all for nothing.

We all learn this the hard way. It uh...it’s not typically as hard a lesson as Lotor learns here.

By all accounts, he’s done everything right. He’s done what his father wants, and exceeded all expectations. But he didn’t do it the way his father wanted it done, so he may as well have done nothing at all.

It’s..a familiar feeling. This scene got me real good.

The rush of adrenaline you get as you stand up to your asshole dad for the first time is nearly intoxicating. You know, deep in your heart, that you’re right. You know that he’s being unreasonable. And you’ve had enough, so you say your piece.

And then, as it all comes crashing back down, and you realize how much power this man still has over you, and how your retribution is swiftly coming...well, it’s enough to make you sick.

But it’s no good. The damage has been done. You face your punishment.

Yeah...this still gets me real good. Added bonus of enabler mother, too.

….I keep feeling like I’m telling you all too much, but I really want you to understand where I’m coming from.

I feel for Lotor, I really do. He tried so hard, but there was no getting through to Zarkon at this point - there really hasn’t been much of Zarkon left since the rift incident. He’s only base instincts at this point, all power mad and unfeeling.

And now I”m going to say a few things about Lotor because, well...he doesn’t really show up again, does he?

My first point is that I wanted so desperately to see him come back, to start making up for the things he’d done.

He’d obviously picked up on his parents worst habits. In season 3, he was very much a threat; maybe not as much as Zarkon had been, but he was certainly far more clever.

I wanted to see him acknowledge these things in himself and work to rid himself of them once and for all. It would have been cathartic for me, because that’s something that I had to work on myself.

So to that end, I’m very upset that I didn’t get to have that; that neither of us got to have that.

With that said…

Lotor did some terrible things. He wasn’t some soft, baby; a poor, helpless abuse victim. He’s been an adult for a long time now. And when you’re an adult, you have to begin taking responsibility for the things you say and do.

I spent so long with my bastard dad that, even though I tried very hard not to, I picked up some of his personality traits. For a while, I was just the worst. But eventually, I came to realize these things in myself and I had to decide to make the change. I found my own redemption.

When we meet Lotor, he’s conniving. He has no problem torturing Throk. He has no problem luring Voltron into a situation where they might be killed.

He killed Narti.

Now, I do have to say, watching him do that, I was thinking “I understand the impulse”. I was surveilled too. My father's been know to show up where I am when I’m out with friends. Cameras in the house were not an impossibility. It makes you crazy, being watched like that all the time.

But he killed Narti. That’s, ya know...not ok.

I don’t think, in the end, that he was just using Allura. I’m not ever sure that at the beginning of his time with them that he was just using her. But he was keeping secret the fact that he had an entire colony of her people out there. Her people that he was using for energy production, against their will if Bandor was to be believed.

These things are not ok. I’m not sure if you can truly be redeemed from some of these.

I’m not here to judge, though. I just wanted him to have the chance to realize these things and do better, just like I had to.

I say this because, as I’d mentioned, I’ve written quite a bit on Lotor. I keep seeing all these other posts about how he’s done nothing wrong, and as an abuse victim, he can’t be held accountable.

That...has not been my experience, and it’s not a good way to look at things.

I take responsibility for the things I’ve done and said. Occasionally, someone will try to tell me that I wasn’t so bad, not really. But I was, and accepting that is part of the healing process. You have to break the cycle, and there’s no other way to do it.

Lotor didn’t get that chance. Everyone should get that chance, should they need it.

- - - - - 

Well, that got needlessly personal. Let’s get to the stuff that didn’t fit elsewhere.

This guy is Macidus, Keith’s biggest fan.

I only noticed this time around because I have the subtitles on. This show really has a problem with that. Merla is named in the subtitles in this episode as well, even though her name is only spoken once, and in the second to last episode I think.

-

This is something I enjoyed.

Through the flashbacks, we see that it took a long time to build Zarkon’s base.

Here, before the scene with very small Lotor.

And here, with grown up Lotor.

-

I’d seen somewhere someone post about how Haggar was wearing the same cloak she was in when she was dead. I believe they said it was her funeral clothes, probably something about how metal that was.

Well, I’d like to offer a different idea: She’s been wearing her maternity clothes the entire time.

-------------

In Summary:

Well, that was an episode. Things got explained fairly well, and we got some good backstory. Honerva has gone off the rails and has convinced the other Alteans to follow her.

What did you think? Did I miss anything important? Was I amazingly wrong about some things?

Sorry for all the...personal stuff up there. I wasn’t going to write all that at first, but it’s been on my mind. And hey, what’s the point of having a blog I you don’t use it as your own, personal confessional?

Next Up: ….wait, that’s it?

[swiftwind3]

Finally

lance-centric but yall already know lmaoo

So anyway, season 7 is about to destroy all our hopes and dreams and i'm not ready so here i am initiating my last line of defense

also no translations yall die like men lmfaoo --- Samuel Holt receives a much better welcoming committee compared to Shiro's. Granted, his ship didn't hurtle through the atmosphere and crash near a school campus. But after quickly gaining the attention of not just the Galaxy Garrison, but the entire world, Sam Holt eloquently explains the situation. Governments and countries fall into a panic. However, it's their space exploration garrisons that pull them together.

They need to reach their humans up there, provide aid and ready and brace their planet for the worst. Intergalactic Garrisons all over the world begin contacting each other, forming tight networks and rallying their forces. Better to be safe than sorry, even with all their preparations, the paladins of Voltron inform Earth of their victory and of their return. The Earth welcomes them back with relief. Their Lions land on designated pads at the Galaxy Garrison in the United States, their pads labeled by color for their convenience. But before they can even relish the sun and earth of their own planet, they're quickly ushered into one of the buildings and the paladins whisper about themselves. "What, no welcoming committee?" Lance cries out. "At least let me enjoy the sun for a minute..." "You would think we'd get some press coverage," Keith mutters. "At this Garrison?" Pidge scoffs. "Yeah, right." "Security here's tight," says Matt, shrugging. "I think we're lucky not to have been shot down in our own airspace." "Commander Holt told everyone we were coming, though." Shiro frowns. "Apologies for the seemingly cold welcome," interrupts an officer. "Earth is still in a state of...uneasiness regarding your return." Another adds, "The sensationalizing of the return of our heroes can wait, of course. Right now, we need to gather further information from you." "Further information?" Lance echoes. "For what?" "For the record," Shiro answers. "Most likely on the probability of a Galra invasion sometime in the future." "Well, that's zero, right?" "There are still Galra colonies looking forward to another Kral Zera, Lance." Says Keith. "We need to tell them that." With a defeated hum, Lance looks ahead of him. They pass a board with signs pointing to the different factions of the building. A shudders clambers down his back when they turn an all-too familiar corner. "Dude, they're taking us to admin!" He clings to Pidge's arm. "Do you think Iverson's still here?" "Man up, Lance. I doubt they're going to give us lifelong detention for saving the very universe we all live inーlet go!" Hanging on to Hunk instead, he pouts. "Is lifelong detention a real thing or is it lifelong as in high school-lifelong? Like, we just have detention for as long as we're in this school and graduateー" "I'm kidding," she smirks over her shoulder. "My dad should have already told the captains and everyone what's good." "Yeah," Hunk nods. "I don't think Mr. Holt's going to advocate for us getting punished, Lance." "True," he sighs. "Commander Holt was pretty cool. I mean, he’s your dad." "Both those things, he is." Matt smiles next to Pidge, crossing his arms. "Yeah, and while you're all worried about detention or whatever," Shiro snorts. "I'm here worrying for any charges I might get for breakout and inferred child kidnapping." They all exclaim. "What, noー" "ーShiro, come onー" "ーThey can't call it a breakoutー" "ーIt wasn't even kidnappingー" "ーThey cannotー" "ーOh, yeah, they canー" "ーKeith, if Shiro goes to jail, I'm blaming youー" "ーShiro's not going to jail!" Lance lets out an odd squeal, clinging off Hunk as he backs away. Keith's voice had snapped loudly, his eyes glowing a truly concerning shade of yellow. He points a shaking finger. "What kind of Galra nonsenseー" Pidge giggles while Matt hides behind her. "He even has fangs..." Shiro puts a hand on his shoulder, shaking his head with a smile. "Relax, Keith. It was a joke. I think Commander Holt wouldn't advocate for me going to prison either." "I'll let him have it if he has," Pidge responds immediately, locking herself around his waist protectively. "No one's taking my Space Dad to jail." Shiro grins, ruffling her hair. "Space Dad, huh." "So, you replaced Dad while you were up there, Kate?" Matt blinks. "Had to project on somebody, Matt. He was all I had!" Shiro snorts into his hand, sounding a little bit like he was crying. Keith scoffs, smiling. Their walk ends in a rather empty lounge. With a huge, floor to ceiling window, they stare at the activity across the arid land. Cadets and Garrison-issued golf carts, as Lance called them, run across the terrain, kicking up sand into the air. "The legendary admin lounge," Lance smirks as Hunk swoons and whines. "Ugh, I'm craving Earth food. I'd so raid their kitchen, but if Iversonーor anyone really, walks inー" He gulps. "I'd rather not." "I feel ya, bud, I'm starving, too. Man, but I also feel for Allura. She had to come all this way with us and leave her kind behindーby the way, where'd they take her, Coran, and Krolia to anyway?" "Some officers are registering them as foreign allies, I think? And she'll get to go back," Pidge shrugs, plopping down with a tablet on the couches. "It's just for a few days and we'll be doing, what? Press tours or something? Then, she'll be off on one of the Lions to try and find a planet for the last of the Alteans." "Oh, yay. Publicity events." Keith slides down next to her. "Hey, you don't get to complain," she pokes his knee with a sneer. "You were lucky to be with the Blades of Marmalade while Coran had us dance like monkeys for the Voltron Coalition. It's your turn to suffer with us." "Marmora," Keith pouts. "Marmalaaade!" Lance and Matt chortle. "She said Blades of Marmalade..." "It even rhymes!" "I think she'll be alright, Lance." Hunk interrupts. "She seemed pretty stoaked about getting to see Earth." "Was she really?" "I still am, actually." Allura enters the lounge with a large grin on her face, two children hanging off her armor. Krolia, Cosmo, and Coran follow her in. "Ahoy, number three!" Coran calls. "Or should I call you number four now? Well, anywho, you have company incoming!" Lance's heart drops. Then it soars as the children sprint in his direction, squealing. "¡Tíííooo!" "What the cheeseー" They knock the wind out of him, tackling him to the floor. Cosmo scampers after them, a herding instinct. "What," he gasps. "Are you guys doing here? Cosmoーquit slobbering!" The kids laugh, and it's then Lance sees the tears in their eyes. Even after two years, he recognizes the chubby, round faces of his niblings. The boy, with his large grin, still has teeth growing in. The girl has a couple of bandages on her face, her eyes bright behind a few stray locks of her even-longer dark hair. With a whistle, Cosmo joins Keith and Krolia on the couch. Its tail wags as they all give the space pooch a good rub. The boy whines. "Aw, I wanted to pet it moreー"

“Don’t worry,” Krolia smiles. “You can pet him all you want.”

“Really一ow!” "Caleb," the girl elbows him, hissing quickly. "Lance is right here, you can waitーHi, tío!" "Welcome back!" They grin hugely. "Caleb, Andrea," Lance chortles. "What are you guys doing here? How'd even leave the island?" Andrea opens her mouth eagerly, only to click it shut as their faces to contort with fear when a voice at the lounge door commands their attention. "Where is he?" A woman with a Garrison Administrator uniform asks, eyes on fire. The children jump away from him, the boy wincing comically. "¡Ay, ahí va a morir!" Lance gasps. "Tití?" "AdminitratorーSelena?" Shiro gapes slightly. "Good to see you again, Captain Shirogane." She salutes. "Do pardon my demeanor. I just clocked out. And I have a rather pressing personal matter to attend to." "You're the personal matter," the girl whispers in Lance's ear, poking his side before bolting back to a safer distance. He winces, giddy fear tickling his stomach. "¿Pero quéーtúーhacesー" He yelps as Selena manifests in front of him, taking a tight hold of his ear. "Montandote en una nave extraterrestre sin permiso oficial? Did you not read the cadet handbook I gave you? It says clearly, that you nor any other cadet are not to board any foreign ships without superior and or administrative clearance!" "I know, I know!" He wants to cry and he wants to laugh. Her no-nonsense countenance was still sharp and mounted with rectangular frames. But it looked as if age and something else had touched her usually bright skin, a few grey hairs streaking through that floating cloud bob of hers. Meanwhile, she was right. It really was in the handbook. He had read every single leaf of it, from cover to cover. Not like he was heading off to one of the most prestigious piloting schools in the world, it was nothing to worry about. Of course he read it. Not reading it felt like an act of sacrilege when she first gave it to him. That's why he read it all in one night. And reread it again three more times for good measure. "Oh, you knew? Pues, ¡no parece!" From a teary eye, he sees Shiro trying to wrangle a smile yanking at his lips and Lance had never felt more embarrassed. But he was happy about it. The children snicker a little bit more loudly, giving him dark smiles as he suffers. "Please let go, tití," he tries. "I'm sorryyy, I swear!" "You should be grateful," Selena humphed, crossing her arms. "I'm giving you a fraction of the physical lashing your mother can't give you. Yet." The kids giggle. "She's gonna kick your butt." Selena caresses his cheek, eyes assessing his face. With a nod of satisfaction, she turns away, taking in the rest of the faces in the room. "You must be Princess Allura," she greets expertly, readjusting her glasses. "It is an honor." "Please, no need for formalities." Allura smiles, joining their hands in a firm shake. "I apologize for my rudeness. Iーmy family has been waiting a long time since we saw his video and I'm just about out of patience." "You saw my video?" The skin on his ear is hot. "Everyone back home saw it!" The woman cups his face firmly. "Broke our hearts all over again. If you don't call your superiors next time, ay, Dios mío..." He laughs, teary-eyed and pulling her into an embrace. "He's a crybaby! It really is him!" The children join them, locking like monkeys around his legs. They barely reached his knees last time he saw them. His throat stings harder. "You owe me ten pesos, Caleb." Andrea smirks. He whines. "Acho, manooo..." "Wait, you guys made a bet to see if I lived?" Lance pouts, his voice cracking. "And to see if you weren't some chameleon alien?" She adds. "Yeah? There was no way you could have just died when you disappeared." "He could have been killed in, like, an explosion or something!" Caleb argues. "Did you even see how that Lion was moving? Only he could drive it like that." Lance splutters. "Wow, okay, rude. I risk my life, fight a war, help save the universe and this is the thanks I get?" "Uh..." He laughs again. "I'm justー" "Oigan, respeten." The command comes from Selena and the door. They look to see a young woman walk in. She's in a short, sporty dress, the white fabric speckled with dirt. She's tailed by two large men, one tall like Lance, fair skin still intact and the other, large and stocky like Hunk. A freezing joy thrashes in Lance's gut, and he almost really does burts into tears. "VeronicaーLuisーMarco!" He chokes. "The minute we heard you were coming back, they hashed me to let them come with me. Not everyone got a pass," Selena smiles tiredly. "Abu wouldn't have been able to hold the trip," says the taller man, giving Lance the playful smirk he had learned to mimic. "Neither would Elo, but we managed." "Luis," Lance sniffles. "Do I know you?" The man grins and picks him and Andrea up, knocking their heads together. "Come on, man!" He laughs. Andrea growls and squeals. "Paaa, nooo! Cut it out!" "Oh, so you prefer getting squeezed to death? Okay, then. Marco, you take them." Lance's stomach drops delightedly as his largest, eldest brother gathers him and poor Andrea in a bone-crushing hug, cackling loudly at his own display of strength. With a quick glance at his niece, they let their bodies slack, ragdoll mode activated. "We're dead," they wheeze. "Come on, Lance, I know you're stronger than that!" Marco cackles. "But it's not like I was concerned for you or anything," his wide shoulders shrug and he puts the two down. "I mean, you did survive a category five huracán by yourself." Luis chuckles. "Oh, yeah, he did." "Well, I wasn't really alone," Lance rasps with a smile. "You got stuck in the shed at the end of the fence, Marco." "Still, I consider a child without an adult within five feet alone. You were very much alone." "Wait wait wait, when was this?" Veronica frowns, skeptical. She crosses the lounge, picking up Caleb with ease. The boy starts to twirl her long, dark hair, enthralled. "Hurricane Cobalt," they chorus. "You were at a dig in Europe, remember?" Luis says. "Way out of the way." "Oh," her face relaxes before morphing into a scowl. She shrieks, "Wait, he was alone?" Lance grins while rolling his eyes. "Noー" "Yes!" Marco takes Lance's head in his large hands and nods it. "Yes, he was." He struggles to shake his head, voice muffled. "Nup. Vasn. Fe vas in de shed!" "Doesn't count," Marco lets him go, grinning. Veronica's eyes are wide and she presses her fingers to her forehead. "Ay, Dios mío, este nene solo..." "Veronica, I'm fiiine! It was years ago!" "Doesn't change the fact that these idiots left a toddler by himself during a category five hurricane!" "He wasn't a toddler," Luis mutters, pouting at his daughter. "He was like, six. But, like you said, Marco. He's got to be even stronger now. After fighting in a war and everything." "A war," Veronica looks distant as she shifts Caleb on to her shoulders. Her gaze pins Lance and he shrinks, giving her guilty-dog eyes. He would be lying if he wasn't scared out if his wits even more now. "Vero, I'mー" he takes a breath. And it's a good thing he does. Otherwise, she probably would have broken something after slamming him into the floor. Caleb cackles on her shoulders, pointing a finger. "I'm doing you a mercy, leoncito. If we don't something now, your grandchildren are going to feel la chancla in their DNA." He whimpers into the floor, smiling. "Sounds good." Pulling him to his feet, she brings him into a hug, lifting him off the floor. Caleb hugs his head. "You have no idea how much we missed you." "Tell me about it, please. I missed you guys, too, you know." He runs his hand through her hair, holding her tightly and blowing a raspberry into Caleb's chest. Setting him down, the kid goes into his arms and he nuzzles their faces together. "No, but we really missed you a lot, tío. After you left, we all got so sad." He pouts. "They're lucky they got clearance from the board to even be here after you said you were coming back," Selena looks distant. "Those words made life start running back through the house." "That house, Lance," Veronica gestures vaguely, shaking her head. "That house was an absolute, unemotional wasteland. For months after you left. Luis and Marco had to learn to cook for everyone, to replace Ma, Abu, and Ela." "Whatーreplace?" "Abu, Ela, and Nina wouldn't leave their rooms. Neither would Papa Tío or Elo. They stayed shut up for a long time." "They wouldn't smile, they wouldn't laugh. None of us did, really. For a reeeally long time." Caleb adds, going back to his mother. "I was afraid the grief would take them eventually, but they pulled through. It got really close, though." "Abu stayed in bed for almost a week after you left." Andrea says from atop of Luis's shoulders, drooping over his head. "Elo stayed next to her while Papa Tío and Nina missed work a lot of days. They almost got fired." "If it wasn't for us," Luis gestures to themselves. "I really think they might as well given into the grief of losing you." "You're that powerful, leoncito. It took all of us to try and fix the hole you left behind. But, I don't why we're all talking about what's in the past," Marco shakes his large head with a pout. "Are we going to call them or what?" "We are. They're expecting us. And we have time to kill while the officers decide who's doing what," Selena rolls her eyes. She shares a glance with Shiro and Matt, who smile pleasantly. She nods then, taking out a device. "Let's make it fast. So, let's try now." With excitement, Lance shakes off the guilt in his chest, throwing a sheepish smile to his team. They smile back with understanding, finally grasping a bit of the caliber of their teammate's homesickness. He really had a lot of people to get back to. When the transmission reaches its target, the face of a middle-aged woman greets them. Lance inhales sharply. Her hair touches her shoulders, a few lines of age engraved under her eyes. Her eyes widen and shine at the sight before her, her own small intake of breath echoing in his ears. He keeps his cries at bay, sniffling and giving her a smile. His voice is strangely quiet. "Hola, mami." The woman's hands fly over her mouth, muffling her own noises. She almost seems to choke on her words as she tries to speak, chuckles and whimpers wracking her shoulders. "Nina, say hello to your son." Selena smirks, ruffling his hair. "Hola, mi amor," her voice whispers. The view shifts away from her and the feed presents them with a view of a living room. The image of a large built woman sitting on a couch with three other people sends more tears down Lance's face. "Ela," The children call. "Papa Tío!" "Elo!" "Abu!" Their heads turns around and their eyes widen. The eldest man grins widely and he hoots, clapping. His wife wipes at the tears on her face with a shaking hand and the broad woman stands, swinging herself around. Her apron flows about as she sings and hoots, clapping her hands loudly. "¿Qué les dije? ¿Quéーlesーdiーjeee? ¿El Señor es?"  "¡Bueno!" They cheer. "¿El Señor es?" "¡Bueno!" "¡Así es! Alejandro!" She takes the shoulders of the man sitting next to her, his eyes bulging as she shakes his shoulder. "Say hello to your son, for God's sake!" "Papa Tío一Pa, it's him!" Andrea says. "It's really him!" "We checked!" Caleb grins. Chuckling, the man taps on her wrists and looks forward. "I don't doubt you for a second. ¿Cómo haz estado, mijo?" Lance nods weakly. "Bien. Bendición, pa." "Dios te bendice, hijo." "If that's not the truth," Ela laughs. "He's finally come back to us in one piece!" "Me imagino que nos extrañó," the elderly woman smiles, tucking her white hair back with a trembling hand. She sniffles. "Look at his face. Says everything." "He's still a crybaby, Abu," Andrea smirks. Lance pouts at her for a moment, wiping at his tears before putting a sad smile back on his face. "I really did miss you, though." "Like your father said," Abu smiles. "I don't doubt you for a second. ¿Y tú?" She puts a hand on her husband's. He stares at Lance with the wisdom he feared he wouldn't get to see again. "Get your butt back here, young man. I want to hear every single last part of whatever story you have for us. I've told you so many stories. It's your turn to tell us some." "Elo wants to hear a story?" Caleb gasps. "No way!" "Lance, you luckyー" Andrea's mouth is covered by Luis's hand. "Lengua," he rolls his eyes. "I'll一I’ll tell you so many stories when I get back. So many一I promise,” he wipes fast arm  over his face. “You're一you’re probably going to want to send me back up there. I'm going to talk your ears off!" "We sure hope so, hijo." Nina speaks again, joining the frame with several tissues in her hand. "I would have talked more, but I was too busy crying." "It's okay, ma." He grins. "It's really not," she sniffles. "But it will be, now that you're back. Try and hurry, alright?" He nods. "I'llーI'll be back," he gives them a smirk while his relatives scoff and roll their eyes. "Ridiculo," Selena mutters with the same smirk she had given him. They wave and chorus a goodbye as the feed shuts off, leaving them just a couple thousand miles apart again. But, at last, Lance heaved a wet sigh. A weight falls off his shoulders. He really had missed his family. Granted, they weren't all here, but he would reach them eventually, and then, he would hug them, too. For now, he focused on the ones here, right next to him. Excitement rushed through again. His old family would get to meet his new one. It looked like being apart from his old one, for what seemed like a while, paid off. He'd actually been blessed with an even larger one. And he couldn't wait to introduce them a little bit more properly. But, as he hugged his aunt, niece, nephew, sister, and brothers, the nerves, the fear and anxiety in his mind silenced themselves in the sigh he had let go. His mind quieted. Finally. The doors to the lounge opened. "Welcome back, Defenders of the Universe!"

[riverlovesyou1]

Voltron: An evaluation(spoilers) pt. 1

Written: December 15th 2018 4:18 AM

Can I just say a few things?

This season was unbelievably bad. I’m not even sure how I’m supposed to feel. But there were so many good things that came out of this show. this season had good moments. We should not avoid those good things.

They really did us in huh? Endgame Allurance wasn’t real. Allura died. OUR Princess, our Empress, is dead. Can you really believe that?  I can’t. Klance that was given hints at and parallels for ALL 8 seasons. Lance is basically not allowed to e happy. He really went through Voltron with no arc. He really went through all of that for nothing. He got what? a romance that ended as soon as it started? Lotoura couldn’t even e redeemed. They could have done something. They really ended it in the worst possible way. Fuck the ships though.

Shiro, Kuro, Narti, Lotor, Ezor, Adam, Lance, Keith, Honerva, Zarkon, and Allura all either died, was willing to sacrifice themselves, or was brought back to life.

Shiro was tortured, mangled, traumatized. He had PTSD.  He was fucking cloned. I don’t get it. He already went through so much. Why did he have to DIE? And not only that! His soul was fucking captured by black and he probably had to watch the paladins suffer and he couldn’t do anything. His soul was transferred into a body that was his clone and IT STILL TRIED TO REJECT HIM. I’m sorry that the only openly gay main character couldn’t be fucking happy. He was gay. He was engaged to a man. He married a man(even if we know NOTHING about him). He was done so wrong. Shiro is such a good character but after his arc, after him leaving his position of the black lion, his character felt forced and didn’t really have a point to be there at all.

Kuro is a clone. There are so many Shiro clones but he got to live with the paladins. He got to grow as a true Shiro in his own way. Yes, he was never quite Shiro but he was apart of him. He loved the paladins. I truly believe this. He got to see them as a family. They were his family. And in his last moments, as he struggled to control himself, you could see him fight. He didn’t want to hurt them. He wanted to keep them safe. Hell black let him pilot her. I don’t get it. They killed him. He’s dead. He had to fight Keith. And that hurt the most. He tried so hard to connect to Lance but Honerva/Hagger stopped it. (refer to lance’s paragraph) His body was stolen to contain the real Shiro's soul. It’s devastating.

Narti is Lotor’s blind general that could only see through a cats eyes, not her own. Narti did nothing wrong. She was loyal to Lotor. She hadn’t rebelled against him, the cat did. It holds a deep sadness that she was killed. It wasn’t her fault, Lotor shouldn’t have killed her.

Lotor was put through the most crap(alongside Shiro). He was neglected by his parents as a child. He was abused by his parents. That’s hard to live with. He’s biracial and that made him struggle so very hard to try to find love. His Altean side leads him to his mother's things, lead him to find the altean’s and make a colony for them. Yes, he took them and used them for quintessence but he could have been redeemed. He could have been taught what true love was. And he was. That's the worst part. He had changed. He changed. The only reason he went into the quintessence and went mad was that the paladins began to distrust him. If Keith had never shown up and told them about the colony, would he have gone mad in the first place?

Ezor is not proven to be a lesbian but it’s quite obvious that she and Zethrid are together. The thing about her is that its confusing. We all thought she died. The way Zethrid began to talk about Ezor in season 8 made it seem like she died, but then moments later she comes out. She’s alive. I can not express my relief at seeing her. But she should have never been thought to have been dead. 

Adam. He is Shiro’s ex-fiance and had no significance in the series at all other then he was Shiro’s lover. It didn’t change Shiro’s character at all. All it did was make queer baiting happen and gave the LGBT+ false rep. This isn’t the first time that the #BuryYourGays trope has been shown but it is one of the first times that a fandom has taken it by stand and Stood their ground because it was unjustified. He wasn’t even in the series for a full minute. It’s just sad that they did this to a character that should have significance but doesn't.

Lance is such a sad character. I’m not just talking about how his girlfriend of less then a week died. I’m talking about his character as a whole. He starts off with a one-sided rivalry with this guy that barely acknowledges him and as he proves himself to Keith they begin to get close. They grow into being the closest friends. They have a bond so similar to one that would be romantically coded and yet, their friendship ends there. That's it. No advancements. Lance died for the team and was revived by Allura. I found this so odd. Why would they make him die all of a sudden just to have allura revive him and then never address it? He’s insecure. I love lance. He's relatable and he worries just as much as Hunk does but in a different way. He shows concern about allura throughout the series, talks to the mice about how he loves allura but when allura finds out, it's obvious she doesn’t feel the same way. She chose Lotor. She loved Lotor, not Lance. What worse is that other than the first season, the lions switch, and season 8, they never really seemed to communicate other than in battle. They never joked around. Nothing. The only reason he died was so that allura could save him and then they could have at least one thing that point to romance. But there is no chemistry there.

Keith is my favorite character. But I’m not gonna lie he was an asshole in certain parts of the show. I know he was going through a lot with finding himself and finding his mom, but that's no excuse for the way he spoke to the other characters. But his near death scene was stupid. You might be thinking “no it wasn’t” but it was. It was vital that he take the shot, sacrificing his life. But he didn’t get the chance. Someone else shot at Zarkons ship and he was let go. Keith tried to die. And then what? Nothing. Lance and Keith both nearly died. Both never got a chance to talk about it. It's really sad. 

Honerva is such an important character. Are you shocked she’s on this list? Well don’t be She was redeemed. She had a redemption arc. Her arc was bigger than Lance’s! Common now. In the beginning all she does is cast some spells and work with quintessence but then you meet Lotor and you can tell she slowly growing her memories back, slowly becoming Honerva and not Hagger any more. She’s the villain we all wanted Lotor to be. The only thing was: It was too late. she had already caused too much damage. Honerva wasn’t a bad person. She went insane. It wasn’t her fault. Yes, she ruined the realities but there should have been a spell to change everything back. Even if that spell required her to die in the end. It should have been her alone and not allura as well.

You might be even more surprised that I put Zarkon on this list. Zarkon was a very important villain as well. But honestly, in the end, he wasn’t the villain. In the end, it was Hagger. Zarkon was once good. He loved Honerva so much, wanted Lotor to live so much, that he took her to the quintessence. He knew it would save her. He never knew the price for it would be. They all died from quintessence. Zarkon, Honerva, Allura, and Lotor. They all died in quintessence. They died the moment they stepped in there. Zarkon was good and he went bad quickly. He was power hungry. He didn’t even know how he was meant to live anymore.

Allura is the one that hurt the most. She’s a beloved character. She did nothing wrong. She tried to keep her life on track and she did an okay job at being the Empress/Princess of a planet and race that(at the time)  no longer existed. It’s crazy to think that she died for no reason. She died for a reason, but she wasn’t meant to die. Not yet. Not now of all times. Why did they kill her? I asked this probably a million times after I watched it. I looked in the mirror after crying for hours over this and I’m asking myself, “why?” But its pretty simple as to why. They needed a reason to end it. They needed a way that made sense to make all the realities come back and to not have it all ruined, but at the cost of her life? It just made no sense to me why Allura had to die of all people.

Idk guys this series has kept me in high spirits till now, but Right at this moment, I feel dead. They killed me and I’m not sure how I’ll recover from this one. And don’t tell me it was “just a show” because it was more than that. This was a cartoon made for 7-year-olds and up and they’re going to watch this and they’re gonna think that most of that are healthy. They’re going to watch Lotor kill Narti and think stabbing your friends in the back is okay. They’re going to watch Lotor and Zarkon and see how Zarkon doesn’t acknowledge him for the good he’s done. There’s not going to be a good memory with this show. I wish I could remember the good in these moments, but it’s all numb. I’m sorry for everyone who suffered as they watched this show. I thought I was ready. I thought I could handle it. I was wrong. We were all wrong. Nobody got a happy ending.

I’m glad Zethrid and Ezor worked things out though. They’re the only ones I feel happy for with the last season.

[triscribe]

It was Matt’s second day aboard the Castle of Lions when his whole world got tilted on its axis.

He’d taken up Coran’s offer of a change of clothes, putting on a loose but comfortable Altean outfit when he got up rather than his usual heavy Rebel garments. It wouldn’t do to be so casual on a regular basis, as it paid to already be in uniform when the inevitable emergencies arose, but Matt felt like letting himself relax, just for a little while.

The young man had to wander a bit after leaving his newly assigned room, shuffling along the half-remembered route to the kitchen Pidge had shown him the day before. Eventually, he found it, and made a beeline for the food-goo dispenser. It took a quiet cough for him to realize the presence of another, sitting at the countertop.

“Did you have a restful night?” Allura asked, smiling and causing Matt’s heart to stutter.

“Oh, uh, yes! Sort of. I mean, I slept well, after I got off the bed and onto a blanket on the floor.” He chuckled awkwardly, rubbing at the back of his head. “Your mattresses are way softer than anything I’ve gotten used to lately.”

“I see.”

“Uh, what about your night? Get some good rest?”

Allura’s smile got a bit tighter. “As good as I can, in these trying times.”

“Right.” After filling up his bowl and locating a spoon, Matt scooted around to take a seat across from her. Perfectly content to eat in companionable silence, it took him by surprise when Allura’s hand suddenly shot out, seizing his wrist just before he could take a bite of goo.

The princess ignored his startled yelp in favor of staring intently at the purple words printed down his forearm, visible thanks to the short sleeves of his new tunic. “Matt - this soulmark - it’s in Altean script.”

He blinked. Then realization sank in. “But- I thought you and Coran were the only Alteans left...?!”

Allura met his wide-eyed gaze with one of her own. “So I thought. But whoever your soulmate is, Altean is their native tongue.”

Matt had to blink again. “That- um. Huh. Wow.” The shock of that revelation was making it hard for him to formulate a proper response. After taking a few seconds to try and reboot his brain, Matt gave it a second go. “Guess me and Shiro really do have the same luck.”

Instantly, he regretted his words, as Allura released his wrist with a flinch.

“...Indeed,” she said quietly.

Both of them tried to avoid thinking of the Shiro look-alike imposter sitting in a cell in the bowels of the Castle, one with no soulmark to be found upon his skin. They also tried not to recall the multi-hued words the real Shiro bore, once on his right arm and then on his left - Altean words, that translated to What sort of aliens are you people? - or the grey Japanese characters on Allura’s palm that read Confused ones.

They didn’t have much luck.

“...What does it say?” Matt finally asked. “We never could translate Shiro’s, when we were on Earth - what does mine say?”

Allura told him, and he spent the rest of the day hopeful in the knowledge that Pidge would meet and keep his soulmate safe for him.

-V-

Transmission from the Voltron team aside, it didn’t really strike Matt that the Castle was gone until his ship circled the little ball of rock and atmosphere that the five Lion sat on by themselves. As soon as he touched down, Pidge could be seen coming out of Green, running in his direction. Matt met her on the loading ramp with the warmest hug he could muster.

“Shiro’s in Black’s cockpit with Keith and Allura,” his sister told him. “But there’s somebody I want you to meet first, real quick.” Baffled, he let her drag him towards Green, and the slim figure standing just before her. Matt’s attention was quickly caught by the stranger, who had long blonde hair and a tentative smile that made his heart flutter.

“Matt,” Pidge announced when they came to a stop. “This is Romelle. She’s from a secret Altean colony that we’re gonna be liberating once we have a new castleship.” He sucked in a deep breath, hope flaring, before remembering his manners.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Romelle,” he said, offering a hand to shake.

Her smile grew bigger. “The pleasure is all mine - your sister has told me so much about you already.”

Warmth exploded along his arm where his soulmark rested, and it was all Matt could do to stare at her in mute shock. Romelle’s eyes, a brilliant shade of purple, were clearly laughing at him. He decided he wanted to see them that joyful every day for the rest of his life.

If I can’t escape the plot bunnies, then neither will all of you.

[mustlovelance]

SO.... THAT SEASON HUH.....

YUP. I HAVE A LOT OF THOUGHTS ON IT.

overall, i really liked it, which shocked me! i was so worried. 

Romelle

there’s so much i can forgive for her presence alone. 

i was ecstatic to see that she’s so similar in personality to her original. LM, you did good. 

she barely talked after she delivered her loto/r callout post (lol). i hope that changes in the next season. 

i’m bummed about bandor–i wish he had lived and avok had been the one to die–but i guess they didn’t want another person hanging around with the team. god, that was horrific though. he died in agony, and he was so young. 

i was totally right about the “boy from cuba” context and how the alteans had survived for so long. i’m very proud of myself ngl. 

yoooo but that huge list of names of alteans that had been “sent to the colony”??? god that made my heart sink just to look at. all of those people, and none of the alteans there knew that they were all dead. 

romelle is so alone now. she’s lost everyone. i really, really, really hope she befriends the paladins.

get fucked, loto/r. 

shiromelle, anyone? 

CAN’T WAIT TO COSPLAY HER!!! 

Kuron

i’m actually really sad?? i know he was an evil clone, but he was a person too. he understood what “i love you” meant, and he was “boring” but in a funny way that made him happy, and he wanted to confide in others when he was upset. he felt pain and sorrow and frustration just like anyone else. 

like, remember when the black lion only let him in after he agonized over his teammates’ suffering in battle? he was a good person! 

and you know how he always wanted to be a paladin and everyone mocked him for being boring? well. maybe he just really, truly wanted to be a hero... 

i just wish they could’ve saved him, or at least acknowledged him as his own person, someone worth mourning. he existed and he mattered.

oh, and him freezing up when keith said, “i love you”? fuck.  

basically it was thoroughly gut-wrenching, which was good, but failed to acknowledge kuron’s personhood, so i’m :/ about it overall. like, no one was sad to lose kuron, y’know? eh. 

Keith

KEITH HAS A PUPPY NOW!!!!

i’m glad that krolia didn’t die lol

i’m conflicted about the 2-year gap. on one hand, it was super convenient and got the job done. on the other hand, it was a lazy way to make him mature enough to be the black paladin again.

that showdown between him and kuron was intense, holy shit! 

“keith, you can do this. i’ll never give up on you. but more importantly, you can’t give up on yourself.” owowowowow. 

keith was way younger than i expected when he met shiro. like, shiro legit raised him. i thought keith had been 14-15 when he met shiro, but he looked like, 10 in those flashbacks. 

Hunk

suuuuper glad that he finally had some time to shine! he was smart and competent and clever and i loved it. 

that “pep talk” he gave the two galra soldiers was amazing. i’m so proud of him. i can’t wait to see his future diplomatic endeavors. 

Loto/r

death was too kind for him lol get fucked buddy 

i legitimately did not think he would be this thoroughly irredeemable. i thought the betrayal would come from loto/r prioritizing his own goals over the good of the universe, sure, but i thought he genuinely cared about all/ura at least. yikes. 

whoops @ haggar. i bet she’s gonna try to revive him and be a “proper” mom.

wtf is with the generals? i don’t understand them. they honestly just annoy me at this point. they’re only around to be whatever the plot needs them to be. 

Allura

man what i wouldn’t do to know what’s on her mind re: lance’s romantic love for her. 

she revived two people this season holy shit. 

i cannot imagine how disgusted and violated she felt when she realized who loto/r truly was. like, man, that kiss straight-up creeps me out. he did that knowing he’d slaughtered thousands of her people! what the hell!

yoooo ok but allura straight-up jumping out of her lion because she was worried about lance?? damn. 

also the way she fucking cradled lance while explosion stuff was happening? damn. 

and the way she said, “i owe you one”????? DAMN. 

i love when allura has FUN! she really enjoyed the dnd game, aaaaah! 

i’ve seen people criticize her for accepting comfort from lance after loto/r betrayed her which??? why wouldn’t she??? they’d had such a relationship well before loto/r showed up. regardless of anything else, they’re best friends who support each other! 

overall, i think the love triangle was a mistake. i’d rather allura have chosen lance before loto/r betrayed them. i know that lance isn’t the rebound or anything like that, but idk, i just wish their romance hadn’t needed to involve loto/r so thoroughly. 

Lance

i love love love the way he handled his emotions in this season. he never let his own jealousy bother allura. he confided in the mice. he comforted allura without saying, “i told you so” or trying to convince her to date him or anything like that. like, he’s so good. he’s so good. 

lance is consistently such a well-intentioned, kind person. his instinct to correct the puigians about the BoM’s role, his first question to lotor being whether he was going to liberate the enslaved planets… his heart is absolutely in the right place. 

oh and let’s not forget him checking in on kuron. ugh. and then he blamed himself for not understanding shiro on the astral plane??

why the hell did they build up lance being involved in saving shiro only to…show him crying for like 15 seconds over it? like, what the hell was that. waste of time tbh. 

LANCE LITERALLY DIED FOR ALLURA. i will never get over that, ever.

i want him to be besties with the mice, if he hasn’t achieved that status already. he’s clearly already besties with coran. 

hey where was my sword fight with loto/r??? the setup was right there, DW, wtf. 

since his “arc” with kuron went absolutely nowhere, i’m going to be pissed if his arc with allura amounts to, “no you gotta get your heart broken to learn a nice life lesson. that’s why we spent almost the entirety of your screentime in s6 involving your feelings for allura.” thus far, i’ve loved lance’s arc, but they’ve reached a point where they can make a serious misstep. 

i didn’t have that many complaints about this season. i’m pretty satisfied, but super nervous for the next season. 

[trivial-writing]

Op is right.

my hot take is that they should’ve made lotor bitchier but not evil.