#also that show is why the new voltron tripped me up so bad

[faerynova]

changed my blog title, now to properly make it true im going to finally watch the secret saturdays cause thats one of the only cartoons from the 2000s that ive never properly sat down with

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.78

Werewolves sucked. Werewolves sucked and Lance had had just about enough of them at their first meeting... He felt personally attacked for being mocked as bat. He’d tried turning back. Willed it so hard he’d nearly peed on Keith trying. All he got was a headache and Keith asking if he needed to go potty. He wasn’t even that upset anymore. Not when Keith came to find him, though he had been in a fair bit of pain before Blue had decided he was her new favourite toy. As his cat, she really should have known it was him, or maybe her claws were revenge for all the times he’d been late with her wet food. That was likely. She’d scream at him for hours if he dared be late.

Three days as a bat, meant three days of briefings perched up on Keith’s shoulder. He didn’t like this James werewolf. His ego so big that he barely fitting in his boots, and he smelt like he’d just been dragged out of swamp. Matt didn’t like the new werewolves either. His ego was still harder to manage, being turned for only a few months, he needed practice at things like reining in his scent and not letting poxy werewolf hierarchy get to him. It didn’t help matter that James practically pranced around in his Blade of Marmora uniform like it was a gift from god that somehow elevated his worth above mangy mutt. James seemed to have made it his mission to continually make snide remarks Keith’s way, leaving Lance furious. Maybe that’s why he’d taken so damn long to change back.

Not at impressed with his inability to regain human form, he’d turned to Coran. Coran seemed to think he was stressing himself too much, worrying about things beyond his control. Yeah. Of course he was. Keith and Krolia hadn’t talked outside of forced briefings where the Blades made it very clear they didn’t want help from VOLTRON. Pidge wasn’t making things easy either. She now insisted she wanted to work at VOLTRON... Lance was against it. She and Hunk were only human, and even if she just wanted to work in the tech labs side of things, Lance worried himself over her safety. She was also more adamant than ever over catching proof of ghostly existence on camera, convinced having her own private vampire would help things. The amount of memes she’d sent trying to bribe him were ridiculous.

Having friends that knew his secret wasn’t all bad. Sure, Hunk and Pidge were still scared of him and sometimes he wondered why they’d still talk to him... then Pidge went and upset Keith over something he probably should have expected. His birthday. His actual birthday. The day on which he was pushed screaming into the world. Now. Lance kind of knew it was coming. He couldn’t forget it if he tried. July 28th came rolling around every year. But what he didn’t bother keeping up with was the countdown. Birthdays were depressing. A reminder that he should look older than he was. Two weeks out and he didn’t want to think about it or talk about it. Birthdays were days he spent with his Mami. He might do something with Pidge and Hunk, but he never put the same effort in of his birthday as he did for everyone else.

The problem was Keith. His little anger loaf was stressed. When Lance said he didn’t want to do anything for his birthday, his boyfriend had asked if maybe he wanted to go on a date. Pointing out that they didn’t know what was going on with the Blades and their stubborn refusal of help, Keith seemed to take it personally. He wanted to help celebrate Lance’s birthday. Lance overthinking things on his default setting. Dinner would be nice. A quite dinner with Keith... Maybe they could get a hotel room and block out the craziness of the world around them. Lance couldn’t commit to it because Keith couldn’t commit to it. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, only for something to happen. Keith promising to make it happen would only stress his boyfriend if he couldn’t.

That’s how he ended up at the nursing home with his Mami. Mami wasn’t feeling up to going out, Lance feeling as if she didn’t have much time left and determined to have as much time with her as he could get. Snuggled up against his Mami, he wished time would stop. He’d promised Pidge and Hunk that he’d move back home soon. Only soon didn’t have a set date and with James around, Lance didn’t want to abandon Keith. Keith was good at his job. He knew what to do as proved by the 8 weeks of work he’d gotten in before the murders were taken from him thanks to it being a Blade member. They hadn’t talked about Antok, Lance feeling he’d missed that window of opportunity. Now Krolia was in town, he felt like he needed to stay, despite missing his house. Keith was having a tough time, so it was only natural he’d stay, but if he went home, it’d give Keith somewhere else to go that wasn’t just hiding out in the staff quarters at work.

“Mami, what do you think I should do?”

He’d had word vomit. Telling Mami about Krolia again, and that Keith seemed to be having a tough time

“I think you should head home, mijo”

Yeah. He thought that too... but Keith

“I want to support him”

“I know. Keith is a fine young man. I couldn’t have asked for more than you finding someone who understands you. You have no idea how much it has soothed this old bird to know you have someone there to love you”

He didn’t talk to Mami about his birthday. Mami always loved his birthdays, but they really did get repetitive. He was 18 for the last 26 years. As long as Keith had been alive...

“I want him to know I’m there for him”

“And you will be. Garrison isn’t that far away. Though I’m beginning to forget what your house looks like”

A subtle dig that she hadn’t been back to the house in ages... months...

“It’s big and it’s crowded now. I feel like leaving is like telling him I’m not going to be there”

“That’s not it at all. Keith wanted you to be safe. Only he and Krolia can resolve their issues. That’s on them, no matter how much you want to help. You’ve always had a big heart. That’s why I worried so much for you. You’re not leaving him forever. You’re only saying goodbye until next time. He’s a grown man. As hard as it is, you can’t coddle him. All you can do is love and support him. And you have your own life to think about. What do you want to do? Do you want to practice law, or do you want to be part of that hunter world”

Now, that was unexpected. Lance didn’t feel cut out for a hunter’s life, but he had been focusing more on Keith than on work. He didn’t quite know how to find that “work life” balance. Being set in his ways had left change a hard thing to negotiate. Plus, he kind of spent way too much time thinking about Keith

“Mami. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a hunter”

“I don’t mean going out and hunting. I mean supporting Keith. Maybe what you’re looking for is a way to help Keith with his work? That’s what it sounds like to me. That at this moment in time, you’re struggling to make the right choice as you don’t know enough. I was always so relieved you didn’t wish to be a hunter. That you found something you wanted to do and pursued it as hard as you could. It’s okay to find something new you want to try. You’ve always lived so carefully. It’s okay to live for yourself more”

“How did you and papi do it? Manage things and still take care of us”

His Mami laughed, kissing his hair. He’d never grow out of cuddles with his Mami

“That took team work. Growing together to unite against you bunch of ferals. A lot of long nights. Many trips to emergency. And quite a number of arguments. Everything we did, we did for all of you. You and Keith, you’re still learning and growing. These things come in time”

Lance sighed. He could spend 40 years making up his mind and not age a day as he did... but he’d loved being a lawyer... He wanted to be a lawyer. He wanted to help people and make a difference. Keith didn’t have 40 years. He might not even have 4 in the line of work he did...

“I have all the time in the world. Keith doesn’t”

“No. But you’ll have years together. I feel it in my bones”

“You don’t know that. Being a hunter is dangerous”

“Just like being a vampire. Or being a normal human being in the wrong place at the wrong time. What you do next is firmly in your hands. No matter what you decide, I’ll always be proud of my little Lance”

“I don’t know what to do and that’s the problem. I want to be with him. I want to be there when he has a bad day, but I miss my house and if I go home I feel like all I’m going to do is spend my days missing Keith”

Lance knew he was pathetically hopelessly in love with Keith. He wouldn’t be so worried about Keith if he wasn’t... which was a lie. He’d worry just as much if they were only friends. Keith had so much going on.

Gently his Mami smoothed his hair. She really was his biggest supporter, even when he was being a “negative Nancy”

“That’s because you two are in your honeymoon phase. Right now you want to be with each other. Everything else falls aside. Your grandmother gave me quite the hiding for skipping out on chores to be with Jorge. I would have spent every second I could have with him, but gradually we grew and it was okay not to see him every single day before we wed. Our boy Keith has a good head on his shoulders”

“I know... I know. Ugh. Emotions are so complicated”

“They are. But remember, you have him, but you also have your own life and your own ties to Garrison. You have friends who know your secret and still remain by your side. Don’t neglect the ones you love”

Lance nuzzled into his mother. He’d spent too much time away from her of late

“Is that your way of saying I should just move in here and annoy you all the time?”

His Mami chuckled. Give it 10 years and he’d qualify for a 55’s and over lifestyle village

“Not at all. You move in here and I’m cutting you out my will. This old duck is happy here. I don’t need all my friends fawning over my hot grandson. I get that enough”

“Mami! I’m not even hot...”

“You’re my son and you’re beautiful. Now. Go face your problems head on. My shows will be on soon and I don’t need you ruining them with your crying”

His Mami was ruthless and he loved it

“Fine. But if I die, I’m coming back as a ghost and every time you try to watch your shows I’m going to steal all your tissues”

His Mami smacked him lightly

“You’re a horrible son. Now get out of here, and don’t come back without Keith”

“Mami... you’re supposed to love me”

“I do when you’re not interrupting my before show schedule. I’ve got just enough time to find my chocolates...”

“You’re not supposed to have chocolates on hand!”

Mami wasn’t supposed to have chocolates because Lance worried for her blood sugars when she ate too many. Zero restraint. She’d eat a whole family box if left unchecked

“Pish. They were a gift from Coran. Now shoo!”

Frowning at the world for being evicted in favour of soap operas. Lance nearly doubled back when he saw Keith leaning against his car. He didn’t want to get into another argument. Not today. He was already smarting from his harsh eviction by his mother. Normally they watched these things together. He wouldn’t have minded watching her shows with her... They could have both binged on chocolates with her elbowing him in the ribs if he started crying... not that Mami should be binging on chocolate. He would have had to save his mother from herself and do his job as good son by eating her chocolates... Okay. He could see why he’d been evicted. Comforting eating was his weak spot. And he’d had Mami cuddling him in bed for like two hours... so maybe she did deserve some kid free time...

“Hey...”

He’d been seen. Keith’s voice reaching his ears despite the low tone and the fact he was still on the garden path where Keith was a good 10 metres away by his bronco. It’s not like he would have really left Keith there, but fighting was only going to make both of them depressed. He should be happy Keith was out and about, but honestly he was confused as why his boyfriend was there... Fuck... Lance felt himself starting to jog. Keith opening his arms as he approached. Keith wasn’t mad. That was good. That meant they weren’t going to have a silly little fight again. Reaching his boyfriend, Lance let himself stumble into Keith’s hold, breathing in his lover’s scent

“I’m sorry we fought”

“No. I’m sorry I pushed”

“I don’t get it but I’m not very good at this boyfriend thing. I had Shiro drop me off”

“How’d you know where I was?”

“Allura told me. She gave us a call to let us know not to come back for now”

That was a pretty big tick for the move back home side. This whole being careful with scents so he didn’t go into heat was taxing. Lance constantly waiting for someone’s inflated ego to set him off... so kind of a double tick

“Loturd or Sendick?”

“She didn’t say. Only that we might want to stay away for a bit”

“Oh. Okay... Mami just threw me out”

“I was wondering if I should come in... but thought... I kind of thought you’d still be mad at me”

Fuck. Feelings were so fucking complicated. He wasn’t mad. He was... struggling a lot and trying to do what he thought best for Keith because he didn’t want to see Keith upset like when they’d missed their dinner reservation.

“I’m not mad. I talked with Mami and stuff... and I guess... my birthday... I know you want to do something for it... but it’s hard for me. I’ve looked 18 for so long that it’s kind of a reminder I won’t grow old. I get too sensitive about it. More than...”

Lance swallowed hard... saying their names always made him feel sick

“More than I do about Nyma and Rolo turning me. I shouldn’t have acted like that. I shouldn’t have shot you down without an explanation. We haven’t been communicating well since James and the douche squad rolled into town and I’ve been avoiding talking to you about things properly because I know how much you’re stressing. I’m really sick of us snapping at each other”

Keith nuzzled into cheek. His boyfriend was being brave showing up in the first place. Now he was being brave putting up with a topic that made Lance as broody and uncooperative as a satchel of yeast at the wrong temperature. Mumbling, Keith was being unintentionally cute

“Me too. I was... excited. Like... I don’t love my birthday. So I think I was pushing that on to wanting you to have the best birthday the way you wanted. Half the time my birthday was forgotten and I wished someone would notice. Shiro always tried to make a cake. They were awful but he tried. He didn’t let Adam help him and if we weren’t home he’d get me a cupcake”

If they’d managed to find those words a few days ago, then they wouldn’t have kept snapping over the dreaded “B” word

“See... God. We care about each other too much. We’re stepping on each other’s toes trying our best to be good boyfriend’s. I don’t want a night where things happen and we miss our reservation. I don’t want you to be sad or angry. Plus, we don’t know what’s going on with Lotor, or Honerva, or the Blades. You can tell me I’m overthinking but we both are”

Keith kissed his cheek again

“You’re right. We’re idiots. I didn’t get why you wouldn’t want to go on a date with me. I thought maybe it was because I fucked up last time and then I felt all stupid inside. Shiro’s not home, you’ll never believe it but Curtis asked him on a date. I’ve got to pick them up later... so maybe we could go back to the apartment? Kosmo misses you and Curtis convinced Shiro to buy a heap of dodgy horror movies”

He knew it. He knew Keith was thinking about that

“You didn’t fuck up our last date. It was perfect... maybe not the shooting part when I wasn’t expecting that and neither was the poor target who got his bits shot. But it was good because I was with you”

“I wanted everything to be perfect... I felt like... like it had to be. I want you to like me”

“You really are an idiot. I do like you. I mean, I could go back to putting you outside and not letting you back in the house... would that make you feel better?”

“Not really”

Maybe it no longer felt as great as he remembered it to be at the time. He’d been so frustrated with Keith not listening. They both did dumb things when they didn’t listen to each other

“I’ll just save that for the next time we fight. Let’s go back to the apartment... as long as Shiro’s okay with it”

Keith snorted. Lance didn’t find it snort worthy. He was trying to respect Shiro and not risk triggering bad memories of Adam for him

“Shiro is totally getting laid tonight. Tomorrow he’s going to be limping around all smiley”

That he didn’t want to think about

“They might not...”

“Curtis totally will”

If they were going to go there... then... ugh. Maybe Shiro could stand to get laid. He was as stressed as Keith at the moment. Lance had the feeling Shiro’d not been sleeping well

“Wanna bet on it?”

“Ten bucks says he gets laid”

“And twenty says making out before Shiro gets picked up”

Because Curtis was secretly a romantic like him. Curtis would do the rose petals on the bed and insist on showering. The foot smell part of his curse was no joke. Lance knew. He’d clipped Curtis’s toe nails for him... giving him a pedicure in an attempt to help figure out some kind of way to hide the smell of dead cheese

“You’re so on. Want me to drive?”

Keith would get directionally misplaced. Having him drive would be easier... though Keith hadn’t exactly confirmed he was allowed over... fuck it... He had nowhere else to go. There were worse things to do other than avoiding making life decisions because Keith totally needed him

“Nah. I’ve got it. Just don’t forget to put your seatbelt on”

“Yes, Dad...”

“Ugh. Don’t call me that. I look 18 and there’s 18 years between us. I feel like a creep”

“You are a creep, but you’re my creep so it’s okay”

Keith would never know Lance’s soul tried to escape on the spot. His boyfriend didn’t have to so readily agree. He better be getting some good cuddles out of this because his ego had taken a critical blow and nothing but cuddling would soothe the damage.

[emperorsfoot]

Kon-el for the character ask thing

Why I like them

I have a special weakness for characters with daddy issues. Extra points if they have dark hair, and more extra points if they’re non-human or part non-human in some way. Kon-El hits three of my buttons. 

Why I don’t

My complaints about Kon are not so much about him, but about how the writers treat him. Constantly swapping from one adult guardian to another. First a sleazy media agent, then Red Tornado and a group of his peers, then the Kents. In the Young Justice cartoon he didn't even get the sleazy media agent, he was just given right over to a group of his peers for supervision with only the occasional check-up from Red Tornado or Black Canary. Kon-El has never had a stable home. 

That’s bad enough, but then they also keep pairing him with terrible love interests. Knock-Out who’s an adult woman and a seasoned warrior, while at the time he was still fresh out of the tube. Tana Moon was another adult and was mostly using him for the media exposure (although, for a long their ‘romance’ was just a one-sided crush on Kon’s part that Tana did not reciprocate, so, actually, Tana’s probably one of the better love interests he’s had). But the worst, the absolute worst love interest they ever gave him was in the Young Justice cartoon, M’gann M’orzz. Whom manipulated him, used him, groomed him, and mentally abused him! 

Favorite episode (scene if movie)

It’s a really tiny one panel moment. But Tim has just made fun of one of Kon’s shows and Kon gets mad. But whatever inker or colorist was in charge of that issue didn't give him pupils, so it looks like Kon is going white-eyes feral at someone ragging on his fandom. That’s very relatable to me. 

Favorite season/movie

I liked the mid-late 90s run of the Young Justice comics. They tackled serious  issues like school shootings and processing trauma, but paces it. Breaking up the serious issues with trips to Hell the Disco Inferno. 

Favorite line

I actually don’t have one. Kon is kinda cheesy. Even back in the 90s when he was new and his slang was relevant. He tried too hard. Poor boy just wanted some attention. 

Favorite outfit

original 90s Super suit with the V-wait, the leather jacket, the rose-colored glasses, and the earring on his left ear! 

OTP

Tim Drake/Kon-El

Brotp

also, Tim/Kon

Head Canon

When Kon isn't wearing any kind of “Super” branded clothing, Bruce Wayne cannot tell him apart from any of his other adopted children. There’s just another dark haired, blue eyed teenager having breakfast at his table. 

Unpopular opinion

Kon deserves better! Every writer that’s handled him has done him dirty. 

A wish

Would be amazing if Kon-El got his own TV show with the level of story quality and emotional depth as the DCAU shows (Justice League, Justice League Unlimited, Batman Beyond, etc.), but with the art of he new Voltron. 

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen

I do not want to speak it into reality. 

5 words to best describe them

Fresh, Cheesy, Energetic, Angst, Icon

My nickname for them

I don’t think I have one. 

[riskeith]

HIIII hope you have been well my dearest last airbender hehe. i have so much exciting things to share <333

so first off, i did two wish rolls the other night and guess what? on one roll i got BOTH bennett AND qiqi!!!!!! (the other one was just weapons but 🤷🏽‍♀️) i love them both so much i literally ascended them the second i got them. i still can’t believe my luck. so now my team looks like: traveller, noelle and those two. i’m having a little issue bc i don’t have a long range combat character but i love them all too much to change anything. which means i struggle sometimes maybe if i roll for someone else in the future i might change but rn i’m LOVING them. have you ever had luck like that?

AND i started watching haikyuu again and i forgot how funny it is. i usually don’t laugh out loud while watching things but i was literally chuckling while watching some moments. i’ve only watched 10 eps-ish but i fell in love with it again at the first ep already. i cant believe i dropped it before i’m so stupid.

ok that’s all the updates i had hahaha ! i was like buzzing waiting to tell you lmaidhdhdbd 🥺

oikawa is SO pretty it’s insane. when he showed up i was like yeah.... that’s him. that’s the pretty boy. but then again pretty much everyone is pretty in haikyuu who the hell are we supposed to focus on hehdhd the art style is just that good yk?

ships that have silent (+ points for angry) yearning are just superior. and usually they fall in the enemies/rivals category which is lovely. nothing is finer than watching people struggle with their feelings like mmmmmm... tasty. also as good as rareships can be, popular ships are popular for a reason yk? like canon content isn’t everything ofc but if canon can back it up in some way more people tend to be interested heh

wanna know something super weird? when i consume content i always fall for the stotic bois with angst backstories first but after i finish the shows i always miss the cute happy babies and that makes me obsessed with them? idk it’s crazy like voltron for example keith is literally my favorite character of all time but when i finished voltron i was literally bawling bc i missed lance so much help

well i guess we’re talking about voltron now HAHA 😭 dude s3 was a fucking blessing i can’t believe we got that and they just cut it off cold. the leader and his right hand man dynamic makes me yell to this day 😭😭😭 remember all the scenes where they continuesly reassured each other 😭 the ‘leave the math to pudge’ scene lives in my head rent free no joke dhdnhdbdud... s3 was just them loving each other tenderly and dw stole it from us.. ALSO PLEASE WRITE THEM AGAIN LITERALLY BEGGING 😭 pls 🥺

dude our government doesn’t give a shit we literally have politics traveling around and chilling without masks. they don’t care at all we barely have any restrictions so people don’t care either. it’s a mess here ngl.. :/

can’t wait to hear from u again... mwah!

hi hi!!!! is this gonna end up being 2 replies in one day for you again HAHAHA i’ll try not to disappear after

!!!!!!!!!! QIQI AND BENNETT??!!?!!!!!!!! oh my goodness… oh my goodness!!! i can’t believe you got a 5 star before me fjskskkdd but big deserve 😭😭😭😩😩😩 i’m so happy for you nejdnskamxlxmm holy shit!!!!! that’s so cute tho that’s such a cute team… and big mood!! who cares about team dynamics/fighting styles all that matters is that you like them 😩 but also does that mean you currently have 3 sword users and 1 claymore on your team jdjsndnsm. i also used to not have a ranged fighter on my team but it just got so inconvenient lolol. and no my luck is actual ass :( so often i only roll weapons, and when i do roll charas it’s like. all the base free ones djdkskdk

haikyuu is SO funny!!! everyone’s humour is so >>>> omg they’re just silly boys… are you restarting it from the very first ep? and it’s all good if you dropped it before bc you’re coming back to it now and that’s what matters 😩 keep me updated tho! i’m so excited to hear what you think

HFJDNSKSN sorry i went mia and made you wait chksjs WHICH REMINDS ME!! omg i’ve been meaning to tell you and keep forgetting but i downloaded genshin on my phone last week for my trip and it’s so??? difficult? like mad mad respect to you for being able to play on mobile omg… maybe it’s just bc i was used to pc already but damn.. djsjjs

HAHA yeah just admiring the visuals instead of focusing on the story.. we’ve all been there 😩 sometimes you just gotta rewind and take 48394993 screenshots of the one scene you know? who let them be so gorgeous..

yesssss the mutual oblivious pining is so good.. like they’re enemies to lovers but they’re also IDIOTS to lovers… or my fave headcanon which hurts so bad… the one person (keith) pining for their rival (lance) but it’s unrequited and they’ve just accepted that and are kinda resigned to it but. they just want them to be happy above all else :’) :’(

and honestly you are so right like if the popular ship are foils and have all these parallels between them and a deep backstory and stuff that’s so good too there’s so much food AHAH

omg that’s kinda cute tho.. like once you’re done you enter the honeymoon phase w bubbly outgoing charas.. (speaking of honeymoons when’s ours 🤪) speaking of lance he deserved everything lmao.. he deserves everything PRESENT TENSE!!! wow we are really talking about vld in 2021 huh

LEAVE THE MATH TO PIDGE!!! I AM SCREAMING JUST THIBKING ABLIT THIS TOO!! WHAT THE FUCK DOCYOUCMEAN KEITH. WHY DIDNYOUCSAY IT WITH THAT SMILE. LANCE WHY DIDNYOU SMILE LIKE THAT IN RETURN. LEAVE THE MATH TO- KEITH EXPLAIN??? WHA WERE YOU WDOIDJGNDKDNSKFKDKFNDNNCMS the way that lance went from ‘despising’ keith and hating being beaten by him in everything to SEEKING OUT HIS ADVICE AND COMFORT???? IF THAT ISNT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT I DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS like their relationship progressed so so so so so so so so SO much in that one single season… like. i cannot BELIEVE that was real???? no fucking way. like. we were literally so close.. SO FUCKING CLOSE!!!!!!!! my god the trust they had in each other..… LANCE SEEKING KEITH OUT!!! lance accepting keith as the leader before even keith accepted himself EVEN WHEN LANCE HIMSELF SO DESPARATELY WANTED TO BE THE BLACK PALADIN bUT RECOGNISING IT WASNT WHAT THE BLACK LION WANTED AND i have to stop or else i’ll literally never stop typing chskdkdkndcuksncjxjskcoskosnaksj

hhhhhhh i wanna write them sometimes i get hit with the feels SO SO BAD (like just then? LOL) but i haven’t properly written them in so long i feel like i don’t even know how to anymore D; but anyway do you have any prompts? i have so many wips (i have one fic that i said was gonna be my Final klance fic but lmao i’m never gonna finish it at this stage so i guess i’m also not done writing klance? lmao) but after a while i just. have no desire to go back to them anymore fjdjjx so something new might spark my motivation! but also no promises sorry i always say i’ll do shit but never do JEKSKS altho i will try!! i’ll try bust out at least a drabble even if it ends up as an unfinished wip as well lol 😩

oh fucking rip that’s so horrible i’m so sorry you have to deal with that :((( legit it’s so upsetting to see so many governments just. complacent and not caring about this issue at all like?? this is your job? you’re literally meant to be doing all these things to help us right now and you’re just not. which i guess unfortunately also makes sense bc they’re the ones who would suffer least. it’s so frustrating lmaoooo >:(

:***** i’ve stayed up again bc i am Not intelligent fjskdk but i’m looking forward to your response!! goodnight and sweet dreamssss (for when you next sleep LOL) 💗😘

[donatello-writes]

TMNT x Reader - His Favorite Thing

Spending time with your turtle bae couldn’t be more fun, and he is beyond excited to share the enjoyment of his favorite activity with you.

Donnie 

-You go to a local Sci-Fi convention -It's his first time going to one...obviously -And he is beyond excited -Has the whole day planned out, knows each table and event that he wants to hit -He is pretending to be in costume -Elated that he is able to walk around amongst humans freely without causing a panic -‎Also, sooo much Sci-fi! -‎He is geeking out big time -Points and gasps at pretty much everything, eyes filled with pure joy -‎Holds your hand, squeezing it a little due to nerves -‎His enormous green hand swallows yours up -Draws A LOT of attention, he was expecting this -‎Gets stopped by everyone and their brother for pictures -Tries hard not to laugh when people compliment him on how realistic his "makeup" and "prosthetics" are -‎He's a terrible actor -‎His ruse would be transparent -‎If not for the impossibility of there actually being giant mutant turtle men -‎When asked what he is, he says that he's an OC -‎Came up with an elaborate backstory for his "character" -‎He's part of an alien turtle race from Voltron -‎Had Mikey draw a picture of him to show people as a reference -‎You're both exhausted by the time you get back to the Lair -‎But god do you look amazing in your Princess Allura costume -‎Pulls you into a kiss -‎It only escalates from there -‎You're the perfect Princess Allura -‎Costume stays ON

Leo -Sword fighting -Using bamboo swords...because safety first -‎Insists you wear padding as well -‎Gives you a quick overview of the history of sword fighting -‎Has a chalkboard with visuals depicting various stances -‎Mikey helped with drawing them...he did most if it -‎There's one drawing that looks especially wonky -‎That's the one Leo did -‎After a while you're feeling confident in your new sword fighting abilities -You tell him to show no mercy -Psssht, he's not doing that -‎Agrees, but is definitely holding back -‎He wants to teach you to do his art well, but not at the cost of hurting you -‎You call him "Sensei" -Hoo boy, does he ever like that -You pin him to the ground, he raises his hands in surrender -‎"I have been defeated, failing my master...Now there is nothing left for me to do, but end it all!" -‎He says, purposefully mismatching his words and lip movements -‎*Kill Bill siren goes off* -‎Proceeds to commit bamboo sword seppuku -‎You drop to your knees -‎WHYYY??? He was so young! -‎You cling to him -‎"Leonardo...you will never know this, but...I was never your enemy. The truth is...I've always loved you!" You exclaim, clutching him as tears roll down your cheeks. -‎You also commit bamboo sword seppuku -‎Collapsing dramatically on top of Leo -‎HYCCK BLARGH -‎Mikey and Raph were your audience -Erupt into uproarious applause -‎A single tear escapes Raph's eye -‎End scene -Raph and Mikey leave -‎But what's that?! It turns out that you faked your own deaths! Plot twist. -‎Time for some fun on the tatami mat

Raph  -You take him on a midnight trip to your 24 hour gym -Lock all the doors, cover the windows, and put up a sign that reads: "Closed for Renovations" -Just in case -You also bring along a memory wiping device graciously provided by Donnie -To take care of those pesky security cameras -Raph is so pumped to get pumped -‎All he has at the Lair are free weights and a bench press -Sooo many new toys -‎Doesn't know where to start -Like a kid at Christmas -Loads up a machine with a ridiculous amount of weight and tells you to lift it -Doesn't understand why you can't do it, that's nothing...for him -Perhaps it's best you workout separately -‎You're doing squats -‎Houston, we have a problem -He was in the middle of doing heavy bicep curls -‎Almost dropped the barbell on his feet -‎He's too distracted, needs to wait until you're done before he continues -"Staph wit tha squats, I'm havin' a problem concentratin' ovah here!" -Fitspo selfie time -At first, he wants nothing to do with that -But after you take a few pictures -Suddenly he's mister Arnold Classic with the cheesy flexing poses -‎You ask him if he wants to do cardio, maybe the treadmill -‎He offers a different suggestion for cardio -‎You both adjourn to the shower room

Mikey -Initially wanted to teach you how to hoverboard -‎Took some convincing from Leo and Donnie to go with a safer option -‎Surfing it is -‎On a secluded beach -‎Because the whole giant mutant turtle man situation -‎For once, his terminology is appropriate to the activity -‎Offers to rub lotion on you -‎Less about sun safety, more of an excuse to grope you -‎Majorly beefs it on a big wave while trying to show off -‎Sea turtle encounter -‎"Sup, cuz!" -The animal does not know what to make of him, and swims away in fear -Wants to be buried in the sand -Aiming to recreate that "sand guardian" vine -You reenact is with perfect precision -Never actually taught you how to surf -You don't mind, you still had a great time -You sneak into a hotel on the beach -A friend of yours who works at the hotel scored you the keys to the deluxe suite -Pillow fort time -Just like in that Katy Perry song -‎He starts singing "Teenage Dream" completely out of key -Undeniably bad at singing, but still somehow manages to be utterly adorable while doing it -Time to raid the mini bar -"I feel like a giant with these tiny bottles of booze" -The mini bar has been cleaned out -Drunken revelry ensues, along with kisses -You both retire to the pillow fort for some amorous activities -Hangs "Do not Disturb" sign on it

[fanfics-that-shouldnt-exist]

The editor and the designer

Chapter one: move in day

Our story begins with a 24 year old girl, Katie Vasquez, on the way to a new life, though she did not know it yet. Katie sat in her car driving down to L.A to visit her family friend, Noah, in her 1967 Volkswagen 21-Window samba bus as the late May wind blew through her hair. The two had been friends since they were young, as their parents were friends from college they got extremely close do to seeing each other every holiday. He had invited her from her home in chicago to visit his family all the way in sunny California. Katie had heard about the famous Noah and his great work for years, if she had to hear about it from her father when he was mad at her then she would step in front of a truck. She didn’t blame Noah for the way her father yelled at her expecting more, he had always been like a big brother to her. He had even given her her nickname, pidge, after the voltron character they adored to watch. Katie smiled as she drove down the highway remembering how they had found that very car in a junkyard and he helped her fix it up when he came to chicago with his family for christmas their junior year, the same year they had dyed her hair midnight blue in an act of rebellion against her father. Her growing up was not happy. But the times she spent with her best friend, Noah were.

When he joined smosh she watched every video with pride as he never failed to help her feel better. When she got a text from Noah to join him in L.A for the summer she immediately said yes. But I’m getting ahead of myself. After college where she majored in costume design, her father pressured her into moving back home and she took a job sewing costumes for off broadway shows. Noah insisted she come visit when her show closed to spend some time together outside of family vacations. She was just excited to get out of her father’s house. The road trip had been long and even though Noah offered to fly her out, she enjoyed the drive over.

She got off the highway and made her way through the streets until she finally pulled into the driveway. Katie was barely done parking when she saw Noah run out of the apartment complex. She stepped out and was immediately pulled into a hug.

“I’ve been waiting for you all day. I hope you don’t mind but i um…. Well i might have gotten you an interview with smosh, well that is if you want it.” he said pulling her into the building.

“Hello Katie! How’s it going Katie? How was the drive? Oh hi, Noah! Okay, and not too bad. How are you?” she mocked stepping into the elevator.

“Good but seriously, I’m really excited to bring you in. I was showing Ian those amazing costumes you made for your senior production of Indecent and for the Little Mermaid and he thought you’re good at making ridiculous stuff on short notice and after everything with Defy, we’re missing some key crew members, so he asked if you were looking for a job. What do you think?”he said, by the time he was done he was already in front of his door.

“I’ll think about it, I mean I barely got in the state and you’re already trying to get me to move here,” She responded not really knowing how she felt about it.

“Just think about it, it could just be a summer job or a whole job, Pidge no more living in chicago with your dad. Now I did invite some friends from work over to help bring stuff in and give you a little welcome party.” He said unlocking the door.

“You did what no-” Katie was cut off by a chores of “Surprise” from the living room. She fully stepped in to see the entire cast and crew of smosh in Noah’s apartment.

“Welcome to L.A BABY!” Courtny yelled in a high pitched voice, due to the helium she inhaled proven by the balloon in her hand. The room laughed at her voice as Noah walked Pidge to introduce her to everyone. They all seemed nice and welcoming, which was good since she were considering working with them for at least the summer. After getting to meet them, Wes suggested going to get her bags. And this made Katie smile, not yet knowing quite why. Katie insisted she could get them all herself but everyone just walked out ready to help.

The group reached Katie’s car. Upon seeing it, Wes yelled “This is your car! It’s beautiful!” And our Katie could help but smile at the silver haired man-child. She shook her head and opened the trunk.

“Wait this looks like your whole closet.” Noah looked at the bags piled in the trunk. Katie looked in at the bags in the trunk and shrugged.

“If this is your whole closet than we gotta take you shopping.” Mari said.

“Well, I recently cleaned out my closet and got rid of a lot of stuff and I realized it wasn’t enough for the whole summer but with the show closing and packing, I haven’t really had a lot of time to shop, so this is almost everything I own, and plus a tailor doesn’t get paid much so. Some of this isn’t even clothes, it’s just food from the trip over.” Katie explained. Seriously, guys, pay your crew fair wages.

“Katie.” Noah said sternly.

“Yes” she replied, trying to be innocently. Keyword there friends, trying.

“Think about what i said and we can go shopping later. I’ll even take you to Target if you want.” Katie gasped dramatically. I mean can you resist a good deal.

“Stop, you know that’s my weakness.” she said. The group moved everything up and put them in two areas, the spare room and the bathroom. Katie had seen every smosh video, even on the other channels, so she felt like she knew everyone, though she knew they played up their personalities on camera. Yet, she still awkwardly talked to them, thanking and apologizing way more than necessary. She really has to stop that. How midwestern? She was setting a box of clothes on the bed when Wes came in with a box labeled ‘oof’.

“Hey where should oof go, Pidge?” he said pulling her out of her thoughts. Startled, she turned around and bumped into him, knocking both of them and the box onto the ground. The box opened sending stuffed animals everywhere, but what Katie noticed was that they were face to face.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry….. Sorry. I should have not gotten so scared.” She said to embarrassed to look down to see him. She felt his laugh underneath her and she looked up to meet his eyes.

“You really need to stop apologizing for little things. You’re proving the stereotype about us Midwesterners.” Hey, I said that. ”I shouldn’t have scared you. Also is that a cat bug plushie?” He said not leaving her eyes for a second. Katie blushed, seeing the position they were in. She scrambled off of him and over to her catbug plushie. Wes almost looked sad to have her off.

“You never saw what was in this box. This is my secret stash of plushies, they are my children and if you laugh i might just cry.” she said holding onto as many as she could reach.

“I didn’t mean to laugh at you because i thought it looked funny, I laughed because you are adorable. And i love bravest warriors, I even have a cat bug of my own.” Wes placed a hand on hers hoping to calm her. Katie smiled and got up, then held out her hands to help Wes. they group finished unpacking. On the drive home, Wes couldn’t stop thinking of the girl with dark blue dyed hair. And Katie couldn’t help but smile thinking about how she could feel his heartbeat against hers just hours before. It was weird for the both of them. This person came out of nowhere and made them feel awkward around each other. And that dear readers, is where this chapter ends.

[shirohcsbecausewhythehellnot]

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Prompt: HI! Can I get a Shiro x female reader please. The plot will be that they are both actors for Voltron and that they're secretly dating. The whole cast of Voltron went to a convention and a bunch of fans during that convention asked if Shiro is in a relationship. Of course, since both Shiro and his girlfriend keep it low key he didn't respond because his girlfriend inst there. But then he talked to her about it then they revealed it during the convention meet up. All the fans go wild (1) Hey Hey! Can I request a Shiro x Female reader. Both of them are visiting his mother. And Shiro knows about reader and Shiros love for each other (and their married) but both of them are they to tell her news. Me personally, I think Shiros mother was a single mom so it can be like that in the story. So Shiro and reader during the day take his mother out where ever she wants to go. But after lunch, Shiro and reader reveal that reader is pregnant. Shiros mom gets emotional and happy for them. (2) So its about Shiro x Fem reader actor AU and how both of them are a couple and his mother approves of reader. In my opinion I think Shiro's mom was a single mom so can that be included in the story? Anyways since Shiro and reader are back from acting scene for Voltron, Shiro wanted to visit his mother in Japan and he wants to surprise her with something. Of course his mother is exited to see her son and her daughter in law so she clears her schedule to see them. The first week shiro,reader and his mother go out eating and do what ever she wants, becuase shiro and reader respect her and love her. After the first week, Shiro goes out with his mom and tells her that reader is pregnant. His mother is in shock and starts crying joyish tears. Once they get  back home she hugs reader and tell her she happy for them. You can change the ending or whatever but It needs to be cute! THANK YOU (3)

Okay so this was a long-ass prompt and it was requested to me literally months ago. Not even kidding. ANON I’M SORRY! So I think that the person who requested me this was the same who DM’d me to add more detail (The last prompt) and so I just added the two together. If not, I’m sorry whoops. I guess you can request again once I open them. Also, this isn’t the first AU that I was requested but it was the first one I completed WOOT WOOT! *gives self lame high-five* Anyway, enjoy!

Fandom: Voltron Legendary Defender

Pairing: Shiro x Fem!Reader

Genre: Actor!AU, Fluff?, Slice of Life

Word Count: 9,642

Warnings: I’ve decided to remove swearing as an official warning so no

  “And… cut! That’s a wrap, guys! Great job!”

You heard applause from the staff as you and the rest of the group walked off the set. You had just finished filming the pilot season of Voltron: Legendary Defender that will air on Netflix not long from now. Being advertised on such a huge platform was going to give you a lot of street cred. This was going to be your first big break.

  “This is going to be a hit, guys! I just know it!” The director enthusiastically walked up to all of you with a beaming smile on her face. You returned her smile before taking a sip from your water bottle. You noticed your boyfriend, Shiro, walk up to you. You smiled at him as well.

  You two had met before briefly during auditions for previous roles but the relationship never went further than that. He was just the “hot dude in auditions” amongst you and your friends. That is until you were both cast for this show. You played as the stowaway engineer while he played as one of the Paladins. You were also each other’s romantic interests. Although, it was only hinted in the first season. And it wasn’t even intentional. Your chemistry was just so great on-screen that everyone agreed it would be a good idea to add a bit of romance to the, otherwise, action-based show. However, what the crew didn’t know, except for the cast who had their suspicions, was that the on-screen chemistry was a direct result of your off-screen chemistry after months of quick glances, flirting, and blushing. Neither of you was entirely sure how it started, you were just glad that it did. You two were just rehearsing a newly added scene between your characters in Shiro’s apartment which then lead to the day ending with the two of you naked and in his bed. You grinned slightly at the memory before locking your gaze with Shiro’s.

  “Hey, you.” He said fondly. He had already removed his scar makeup and fake prosthetic, although his white patch of hair was still there.

  “Hey.” You replied. You looked at your surroundings to see if anyone was watching before you reached up and planted a quick kiss on his lips. He looked at you amusedly before he grabbed your hand and sneakily brought you two behind the Black Lion prop that hid you from the eyes of others and kissed your lips deeply. You sighed softly as you wrapped your arms around his neck and brought him closer to you. You slowly parted from each other with a small smile and stared lovingly at each other.

  “So I was thinking…” He trailed off with a grin.

  “Yes?” You inquired.

  “Well, we’ve been dating for a little over a year now…”

  “Uh-huh.” You urged him to continue.

  “And we’re going to be so busy once the pilot airs…” He said dramatically. You rolled your eyes.

  “Get on with it already, Shirogane!” You said teasingly. He let out a quiet chuckle.

  “I was thinking, while we’re free before the pilot airs if maybe we could go visit my mom? She’s been dying to meet you.” Your mind went blank for a split-second before it flooded with thoughts. Aside from what Shiro said about his mother being an angel, a part of you was nervous about meeting your boyfriend’s mom for the first time. Although, the bigger part of you couldn’t deny that you were happy Shiro wanted to show such an important part of his life to you. You squashed down your fears of the worst-case scenarios and beamed at him.

`    “I would love to meet your mom, Takashi. I can’t wait.” A breath of relief left Shiro’s lips before he bent down and kissed you once again.

  “That’s great.”

  A week had passed since then and you were repacking your suitcase yet again for your trip to visit Shiro’s mother in Japan. You had just closed your suitcase when you heard the door to your bathroom open. You turned around only to be faced with a wet and nude Shiro. The only thing covering him was the towel wrapped around his waist. You didn’t even try to be subtle as you admired your boyfriend’s physique.

  God damn, I’m the luckiest woman on earth. You thought.

  “Take a picture, it’ll last longer,” Shiro said smugly. You only hummed in agreement. Your eyes trailed his form until they rested on the top of his head. His previous white patch of hair now replaced with a black one. Your eyes widened in surprise.

  “Oh, my god! What did you do to your hair!?” You asked in shock. Shiro raised an eyebrow in confusion.

  “I dyed it?”

  “But why?” You inquired.

  “Because it’s my natural hair color, Y/N.” He stated. You let out a little pout.

  “But your floof…” Shiro sighed affectionately before he went up to you and lightly pinched your cheek.

  “It’ll come back when we film the next season, don��t worry.” You sighed softly.

  “Fine.” You grumbled. Shiro could only chuckle. You turned around to zip up your suitcase. It was then that he realized that you had just finished packing. Shiro wrapped his arms around your waist and hugged you to his chest as he rested his chin on your shoulder with a confused pout.

  “You just finished? I thought you were halfway done before I got in the shower?” You rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly.

  “This is probably the fifth time I’ve repacked, actually.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know. I guess I’m just nervous about meeting your mom.” You sighed softly and leaned into his embrace. “I don’t want to give a bad first impression. It’s bad enough that I won’t be able to have full conversations with her due to the language barrier.” You averted your gaze from his. You heard him sigh before he gently turned you around to face him. You slowly looked up and met his tender gaze.

  “You don’t have to worry about anything, Y/N. She’s going to love you. And you can’t blame yourself for not knowing the language. You weren’t raised in an environment where you had to and she gets that.” He gently rested his forehead against yours. “You’re going to do great and everything is going to be just fine.” You let out a deep breath to calm your nerves before you nodded in agreement.

  “Right, you’re right. I got this!” You said enthusiastically. Shiro smirked at your reply and stroked your cheek affectionately.

  “That’s my girl. Now come on, we should go to bed. We have an early flight to catch.” You nodded and huddled under your covers as you waited for Shiro to dry himself off and get dressed. He soon joined you in the bed and immediately wrapped his arms around you in another comforting embrace. You snuggled into his hug with a sigh.

  “Night, Kashi.” You whispered.

  “Night.”

  It was a little after 4 in the afternoon when your plane finally landed at the Narita Airport. Your nerves once again resurfaced and you even felt a little nauseous from it. You felt a big, warm hand gently wrap around yours. You turned to face Shiro.

 “Relax.” He said softly. You slowly nodded your head and forced yourself to calm down.

  Relax, Y/N, relax! You’re just meeting his mom, you don’t need to get worked up over this! What’s the worst that could happen? She doesn’t accept our relationship? She makes Shiro choose between us and obviously he has to choose his mother because come on, it’s his mother! Or maybe- You mentally shook your head to stop the pessimistic thoughts from filling your brain. Shiro told you everything was going to be fine, so it’s going to be fine. And besides, Kashi literally talks about how much of a sweetheart she is. Also, since she raised him by herself and he turned out this great, she’s bound to be just as great. You were too caught up in convincing yourself to calm down that you didn’t even realize that you and Shiro had exited the airport and was headed toward the bullet train to Osaka. You two entered the train and found your seats. You looked out the window as the train started to leave to soak in the sights of Japan. You felt Shiro’s hand lace between your fingers and you looked over at your boyfriend who was smiling at you softly.

  “We’re really lucky we were able to get here right before the cherry blossom season started in Osaka. I really wanted to show it to you.” You beamed at him.

  “Really? I can’t wait! I’ve seen the pictures online and they look so beautiful.” Shiro let out a little chuckle.

  “Trust me, the pictures pale in comparison to the real thing.”

  “I have no doubts about that.” Shiro hummed softly in agreement and brushed some hair behind your ear.

  “I’m really glad that you’re here, Y/N.” You looked into his dark eyes that were filled with love and you gave him a warm smile as you squeezed his hand.

  “Me too.” You murmured.  Everything’s going to be fine. You thought.

  After a few hours, you finally got off the bullet train and stepped out of the station. You took a deep breath of the slightly chilly air and noticed a hit of salt from the sea. But what was most significant, was the mesmerizing aroma of the street vendors holding various types of delicious foods.

  “Everything smells amazing.” You said in wonder to Shiro. He smiled at your reaction in amusement.

  “Osaka is quite known for its food. We even have a saying here, ‘kuidaore’. Basically, it means to eat until you drop.”

  “Oh, I intend to, don’t worry.” He let out a little snort at your response as he hailed a taxi.

  You finally made it to his mother’s house. It was a small two-story house wedged in between two others that faced the beach from a distance. You noticed the laundry that was hanging from the second story balcony and the flowers that decorated the fences and front yard. It looked very homey. You were admiring the exterior of your boyfriend’s childhood home when you heard the front door open. You quickly focused your attention to the petite woman exiting the house and unconsciously straightened your posture.

  Shiro’s mother reminded you of him. She might be a bit short and her dark hair might be greying slightly at the roots but she had his warm smile and dark eyes specked with silver that was filled with the same strength. Her hair was tied back and she had an apron wrapped around her waist as a delicious scent came from the house. She was probably preparing dinner when you two got here. She walked up to the two of you, beaming, with her arms spread wide.

 “Takashi.” She said lovingly. Her voice shook a little and her eyes were filled with unshed tears.

  “Kāsan,” Shiro muttered before he dropped his bag at his feet and quickly walked up to her, engulfing her small frame in a hug. Your heart warmed at the sight of him being reunited with his mother. Her arms were wrapped firmly around his back and she patted it lightly before slowly parting from him. She placed a hand on his cheek with a smile filled with motherly affection before her eyes glanced to you. You again straightened your back as you held your breath.

 “Is this her?” She asked, a hint of excitement lacing her voice.

 “Yes. This is my girlfriend, Y/N.” He replied looking back at you with a small grin. You only stood there and smiled nervously as you wondered what they were talking about. Shiro’s mother fully detached herself from her son as she walked up to you and cupped your face with both her hands. She tilted your head from side to side as she looked at you with a scrutinizing gaze and you sweating anxiety bullets before she smiled yet again and hugged you firmly.

  “Arigatō.” She whispered into your ear. Even though you lacked greatly in your Japanese skills, you were at least able to understand the meaning behind those words. Your body relaxed immediately and you returned the hug. You looked over her shoulder and smiled at your boyfriend who was staring at the two of you lovingly. Eventually, she let go of her embrace before she bent down to grab your luggage.

  “Oh, ma’am. That’s fine, really. You don’t need to-” You stopped yourself short, remembering that she didn’t speak English and looked at Shiro with pleading eyes. He looked at you amusedly before he turned to his mother.

 “Mom, you don’t have to. Y/N says she can carry it.”

  “Nonsense! I’m perfectly fine. You two just had a long trip, you must be exhausted. I just finished dinner. I made your favorite.” His mother didn’t even bother to stop as she continued to walk into her house. Shiro sighed as he glanced at you and shrugged his shoulders.

  “She’s stubborn.” He said. You grinned slightly.

  “It must run in the family.” Shiro rolled his eyes and muttered for you to shut up before he bent down to grab his luggage and follow his mother into the house. You giggled slightly and moved to follow him before you stopped abruptly at the sudden wave of dizziness that washed over you. You pinched the bridge of your nose and took a deep inhale of air as you tried to steady yourself.

  “Y/N, are you okay?” You looked up and saw Shiro standing at the entrance, his mother behind him, both looking at you with concern. You smiled warmly and waved your hand.

  “I’m fine, just a little tired. Probably from the lack of sleep.” You reassured. Shiro sighed slightly in relief before he turned around to explain to his mother. She said something back at him while glancing at you and he turned around to translate.

  “She said that it’s probably best if you take a nap to regain some energy.” You shook your head softly and looked at her gratefully.

  “I’m fine, really. Thank you for your concern. I’ll regain energy from eating your food. It smells delicious.” You smiled gratefully at his mother. Shiro smiled as well while translating for you. You grinned at the moment where you assumed Shiro was complimenting your mother’s food for you when you noticed her raise her head in pride. Shiro’s mother spoke again with a grin as she entered the house and you and Shiro followed. “What’d she say?” You asked as you caught up to him. He glanced at you and smirked.

  “‘Damn right.’”

  “The food was delicious- uh, babe, how do you say that in Japanese?” You said quietly, reminding yourself, once again, of the language barrier.

  “Oishī” He whispered back.

  “Right, yes. Oishī, Shū…tome?” You said hesitantly, glancing at Shiro for confirmation that you said mother-in-law (after his mother insisted) correctly. He nodded at you with a smile and you returned it. Of course, the two of you weren’t married, yet. Let alone, engaged. But you couldn’t deny that you have been thinking about it recently. You were taken away from your thoughts and hopes for the future when you noticed Shiro’s mother stand up and begin to pick up the empty dishes. “Shūtome, I can take that-” You stood up quickly and stopped yourself mid-sentence when another wave of nausea washed over you. You leaned against your chair slightly and pinched the bridge of your nose.

  “Y/N!” Shiro quickly stood up and rested his hand on your forehead. “You’re a little sweaty, are you sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine. I guess I just stood up too quickly.” You tried to settle his nerves with a smile but he still looked worried. You sighed and placed a hand against his cheek. “I’m fine, honestly. Don’t worry.” You looked up to see Shiro’s mother walk up to you too. You smiled at her reassuringly. “Daijōbudesu.” You muttered and turned to look back at your concerned boyfriend. “I’m just gonna go use the bathroom and splash some water on my face, okay?” Shiro’s eyes scanned your face before he relented.

  “Alright. You know where it is, right?” You nodded and turned your back on the two of them as you headed to the bathroom as calmly as you could. When you turned a corner and was certain that you were out of sight, you quietly bolted to the bathroom, covering your mouth with the back of your hand. You had just barely made it to the bathroom before you coughed up your recently eaten dinner into the sink. You turned on the faucet to wash it away and to drown out the noise as it continued for a few more minutes. Once you were sure it was over, you washed your mouth with water and washed the sweat away from your face. You leaned over the sink and groaned quietly.

  “Not again…” You muttered. This had been going on for the past few weeks. You’ve hidden it from Shiro because you didn’t want him to worry and because you needed to finish shooting the final episodes of your show. You were sure that it was just a stomach bug at first but they shouldn’t last this long. Your eyes snapped open. “Oh shit.” You whispered as you hastily pulled out your phone and checked your menstrual tracker app. You gasped silently in shock as you read the screen. You were over two months late. At first, you chalked up your first late period to stress from the shooting but by the time the second had been missed, you completely forgot about it due to the show. “Oh shit.” You said again. You looked up at your pale reflection as you tried to calm yourself down. “Okay, don’t stress over this, Y/N. This isn’t the first time you’ve missed more than a month. Finals week was always brutal to your cycle.”

  ‘Yeah, but you weren’t having sex during finals week.’ A little voice in your head replied.     “That’s true.” You responded out loud. You started to panic. I can’t be a mom. Not right now. I don’t know if I’m ready! Plus, what’s Takashi going to think about this? Worst-case scenarios started popping up in your head before you mentally cut yourself off. “Okay, I think that we can all agree that we shouldn’t be freaking out over this until we take an actual test first.” You said to no one. You nodded to your self in agreement as you walked out the door and into the living room with a smile.

  You entered the living room with the view of Shiro and his mother talking. They noticed you right away and Shiro’s mom walked up to you and cupped your cheek.

  “You… okay?” She asked in hesitant English. You felt touched at the effort she was putting in to communicate as you nodded with a soft smile. She smiled back and grabbed your hand as she lead you to the couch. Confused, you allowed it at sat down next to Shiro. He put an arm around you and squeezed your shoulder lightly.

  “Are you sure? I can take you to the doctor’s if you’d like.” You gave him a quick peck on the lips in response.

  “Thanks, but I’m good.” You heard Shiro’s mother softly clear her throat and you returned your attention to her. She raised up both hands, fingers spread apart and made a small gesture.

  “Wait.” She said. You nodded to let her know that you would before she walked off again. You glanced over to your boyfriend and he just shrugged his shoulders as you both waited for his mother’s return. Not long after, she re-entered the room with a couple of photo albums in her hands. You sat up straighter in excitement while Shiro groaned.

 “Mom, we don't need to show her these.”

  “Well, why not?” She asked.

  “Because…” Shiro trailed off.

 “Because?” She urged him to continue.

  “It’s just embarrassing.” He muttered. Shiro’s mom rolled her eyes.

 “Oh please! It’s just pictures of you as a child! Worst-case scenario, she sees a picture of you in the bath but what’s the big deal? She’s definitely seen more than that.”

  “Mom!” Shiro gasped, mortified. You sat quietly in between the two of them bickering as you tried to stifle your laughter. Despite not knowing what was being said, you had a pretty good guess based on the photo albums before you, your boyfriend's flushed face, and his mother’s triumphant one. While the two of them went back and forth, you quietly picked up one of the photo albums and opened it. You started flipping through the pictures of Shiro’s childhood with a smile on your face. Shiro and his mother both noticed and Shiro sighed in defeat and reluctantly started looking through them with you. You landed on a picture of Shiro, no older than ten, in a baseball uniform, a band-aid and a little dirt on his face, and a wide smile with a gap from a missing tooth. Shiro’s mom pointed at it with a fond smile and held up nine fingers to tell you his age. You smiled in response as you continued to look through the album. You closed it and picked up another right away, the teddy bears on the cover indicated that these were his baby photos. You quickly opened it and let out a small squeal in delight.

  “Oh my god! Kashi, you were so cute!” You turned to see your boyfriend with slightly flushed features as he averted your gaze.

  “Kawaii ne?” Shiro’s mother asked. You nodded enthusiastically and continued to look through his baby pictures fondly.

  I wonder if our kids will look like this? You asked yourself. You mentally shook your head at the thought. You intended to not think about it until you were certain and dammit, you were going to. You finished looking at the final page of the album and reluctantly closed it and picked up the last one. Most of the pictures were of him in middle and high school. The pictures of a younger and smaller looking Shiro being goofy with his friends made you smile the most as Shiro pointed them out to you and gave you a brief introduction on them. You remember a few of them that you and Shiro met when they visited you in LA, but most of them were strangers to you. You flipped the page again and another picture caught your eye. It was old. The faded colors and grainy filter told you that. And in the picture wasn’t Shiro but a young woman with a slightly older man. You instantly recognized Shiro’s mother for she barely aged a bit. She was probably in her early twenties and she was looking up lovingly of the man who was clearly of European descent. He met her gaze with a similar look.

  “Hey, babe, who’s this?” You pointed at the man in curiosity.

  “Who?… Oh.” You felt the mood drop instantly. You looked up and saw that both Shiro and his mother looked a bit grim.

  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to-” You were quickly cut off.

  “No, it’s fine. That’s just… my father.”

  “Your father?” You repeated softly. You looked at the man closer and noticed a bit of resemblance between him and Shiro with the facial structure. Shiro never talked to you much about his father. All you knew about him was that he was from Sweden and Shiro’s never met him. Other than that, he basically didn’t exist. You felt a small hand rest over yours and you looked over to Shiro’s mother. She was smiling sadly as she spoke to you in Japanese. After she finished speaking, you turned to look at Shiro for a translation. He looked over at his mother for confirmation that it was okay to repeat it and she nodded.

  “She said that he was a professor at her college. And that they had a secret relationship with one another and that they were doing really well. But when she found out that she was pregnant with me and told him, he quit his job and left the country almost immediately because turns out, he was married and had a family back in his country. He’s probably somewhere in Sweden, the bastard.” He added angrily with a hint of hurt in his voice. You laid a hand on his shoulder and turned to look at his mom with an apologetic look. She smiled and patted your cheek.

  “Daijōbudesu.” She said with an optimistic voice. She looked over to Shiro and looked back at you. Even though she wasn't communicating to you with words, you understood what she meant. ‘In the end, I got Takashi out of this so I don’t regret a thing. If anything, he’s missing out.’ You grinned and nodded in agreement.

  Shiro’s mother tried to stifle her yawn as she glanced at her watch. You checked the time as well and noticed that it was around 11 o’clock at night.

  “Hey, Takashi, it’s getting late. We should probably try to sleep and fight off this jet-lag.” Shiro seemed to have snapped out of some trance and nodded automatically. You got up from the couch and turned to Shiro’s mom. “Oyasuminasai, Shūtome.” You said hesitantly, praying that you bid her good night correctly, before walking up the stairs with Shiro.

  “Oyasuminasai.” She replied.

  You closed the door behind you after entering Shiro’s childhood bedroom. Bits and pieces of his past were shown through the things that he had in them. You looked over to see Shiro staring out the window silently. You frowned slightly and walked up to him. You hugged him from behind and rested your cheek against his broad back.

  “Hey, you okay?” You asked. You heard him let out a big sigh.

  “Yeah, I’m fine. I just… bad thoughts.” He muttered.

  “Sorry for bringing up those bad thoughts.” You replied, guiltily. Shiro sighed again before he turned around and returned your hug.

  “You didn’t do anything wrong. If anything it was him. I mean, how could somebody do that? How could somebody just leave a pregnant woman who was carrying his unborn child alone without a good reason?”

  “I don’t know Takashi. I don’t know why or how people do it. There are just some people like that in this world, unfortunately.”

  “But still. If it were me, I wouldn’t leave. There is no way in hell I would leave. And yet, he did.” You felt yourself let out a little breath of relief that you didn’t even know that you were holding. You were glad to know that if you did find yourself pregnant, he would be with you.

  “You’re not like him Kashi. You have a heart. And you do what’s right.” You felt Shiro hug you a little tighter.

  “But… why didn’t he care?” He asked in a whisper. You felt your heart clench at the hurt in his voice. You pulled back slightly and cupped his face in your hands.

  “Because he's a coward, Takashi. He’s a coward who doesn’t even deserve to know you anyway. You’re a better man in a day than he will ever be in his life. You’re better than him.” You repeated firmly as you tugged on his chin to look you in the eyes. “And he’s worse off without you.” Shiro stared into your eyes deeply and in silence, processing your words. He parted his lips, preparing to speak before he shut them. Finally, he let out a breath.

  “You… you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, you know that?” You grinned slightly.

  “That’s a given.” Shiro gently shook his head in amusement as he bent down to brush his lips softly against yours.

  “I love you.” He murmured against your lips.

  “I love you, too.” You replied. You two continued to softly caress each other lips before slowly parting from each other.

  “Let’s get ready for bed. As you said, we should fight off this jet-lag.” Shiro said before leaving your embrace and unpacking both of your toiletries.

  “Okay.”

  It had just past 4 A.M and you still found yourself unable to sleep. Shiro had managed to doze off a few hours ago, hugging you close to his chest. However, you didn’t even feel the least bit tired. And by keeping to yourself in the quiet, the unwanted thoughts of a possible pregnancy started to resurface. You tried to block out the thoughts by shutting your eyes and trying to force yourself to sleep but eventually, you gave up and let out a silent groan in frustration. You slowly started to get up from the futon when you felt Shiro’s arms tighten around you.

  “Babe, what are you doing? It’s the middle of the night.” He mumbled, sleepily. You turned around slightly and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.    

  “I can’t sleep. I’m going to take a walk around the neighborhood.” You whispered.

  “But you don’t know the area. I’ll go with you.” He replied as he started to get up. You quickly stopped him and gently pushed him back down to the futon. Luckily, he didn’t put up much of a fight.

  “I’ll be fine. If I get lost, I’ll just use Google Maps.” Shiro cracked one eye open and looked at you curiously.

  “Are you sure?” He asked.

  “Positive. Now go back to sleep. I’ll be back within an hour.” You said as you kissed his lips gently. Shiro hummed in acknowledgment before his breathing quickly went back to a slow, steady pace. You smiled softly and ran your fingers through his cropped hair before getting back up and putting on a pair of jeans and a hoodie. You quietly walked down the stairs, hoping that you don’t wake up Shūtome. You sighed in relief when you reached the door. You slowly opened the door and picked up your shoes from the shoe-rack outside and slipped them on. You put the hood on over your head and started to walk off in a random direction.

  You continued to walk in whatever direction you felt like before you halted in front of a Lawson. You noticed that it was still open so you decided to walk in and grab a quick snack. You nodded politely at the cashier who welcomed you before you started walking down the different aisles, grabbing snacks that you thought looked appetizing along the way. You were about to walk into the next aisle when something caught your eye. It was a small, pink box. You couldn’t read the words written on it but you could swear that it was a picture of a pregnancy test on the box. You quickly pulled out your phone and opened up Google Translate just to be sure. When the words on the screen matched the label on the box, you quickly reached out for it. Just before you were going to grab it, you hesitated.

  Should I really be doing this? You asked yourself. I don’t know if I’m ready to know the answer.

  ‘It’s better to know now than having a random baby popping out of you and ending up on I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant.’ A voice replied. After a swift internal battle with yourself, you steeled your resolution and picked it up. You headed over to the counter and pulled out your wallet from the pocket of your hoodie. You quickly exchanged your money for the items and muttered a quiet “Thank you” in Japanese before heading out again.

  You quietly entered the house again and tip-toed up the stairs. You placed the snacks in Shiro’s room before heading to the bathroom with the pregnancy test in hand. Once you were finished, you placed the test on the counter near the sink while you washed your hands. You set a timer for two minutes on your phone and turned away from the test. Seconds seemed like hours as you anxiously waited for the result. When you finally heard the soft chime from your phone, indicating that the timer was done, you slowly turned around with your eyes screwed shut. After some attempts, you picked up the test.

  “Okay, Y/N. You got this. Just open your eyes on the count of three. One. Two…” You slowly opened your eyes and looked at the test. At the end of the stick, you saw two lines. The moment those lines hit your vision, every doubt, every fear or concern or hesitation flew right out the window. You were pregnant. And it was with Shiro’s baby. You were going to be a mother.

“…Three.” You whispered with a smile. Tears started to prick at your eyes as you let out a watery laugh. “I’m gonna be a mom.” You still couldn’t believe it. You rested a hand on your stomach, it was too early for a bump to be visible but you stared down at it lovingly. “Hello, little baby.” You whispered. You felt a tear slip down your face. “I’m your Mama.” It felt right having those words leave your lips. “I know you can’t hear me yet but I hope you know how much I love you already and I can’t wait to meet you. Wait until your Papa hears the news. I can’t wait to see the look on his face.” Happily, you left the bathroom and headed down the hall to Shiro’s room. You glanced out the window and saw the faintest hint of sunlight. You checked your phone and saw that it was ten minutes to six. You knew that you were defiantly able to sleep with this news so you decided to go for a walk on the beach in front of the house. You entered the bedroom and knelt down to look at Shiro’s sleeping face. You smiled warmly at the thought of the future before you reached out and gently shook his sleeping frame.

  “Mmm.” He groaned sleepily.

  “Hey… hey Kashi. Wake up.” You whispered.

  “No.”

  “Come on. Let’s go see the sunrise.”

  “We can see the sunset. Let’s just stay in bed.” He muttered as he grabbed you and brought you down to him. You let out a little squeal of laughter as you playfully pushed against him.

  “Please?” You asked cutely. When he didn’t respond you sighed and continued. “Please?Please? Please? Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease-”

  “Alright, fine. You win.” He groaned as he regretfully pushed himself off of the futon. He slowly dragged his feet and changed into some jeans and a hoodie as well before you two set off for the beach.

  You walked against the tides hand in hand, your shoes in the other. The chilly seawater tickled at your feet as the sun continued to rise, slowly, over the horizon. You two stopped walking soon after and sat down at the edge of the sea. You sat side by side as you watched the sun ascend.

  “This is beautiful.” You said in awe.

  “Yeah. You were right.”

  “I always am.” You said with a grin.

  “Shut up.” Shiro chuckled. You did as well as you continued to stare into the distance.         Alright, Y/n. Now or never. You thought. You opened your mouth to speak, your eyes still set on the rising sun.

  “Hey, Kashi?” You said. When you heard him hum in response, you continued. “I’ve been thinking.”

  “About?” He asked.

  “You know, about us. About our future.”

  “Is it a good one?” He asked. Even though you weren’t looking at him, you could hear the smile in his voice.

  “Obviously.” You snorted.

  “So what is it that you saw in our future?” He asked.

  “Oh… you know. The basics. Engagement, marriage…. kids.” You added softly. Shiro didn’t respond.

  “Do you… do you want kids?” You asked hesitantly, daring not to look at him. Shiro softly cleared his throat before he answered.

  “I mean, of course, I want kids. And I especially want them with you. Eventually. But with the show going on right now and our schedules, we can't possibly-”

  “Takashi, I’m pregnant.” You blurted out. Everything was silent again. You held your breath as you waited for a response.

  “…What?” He said in disbelief. You sighed softly and turned to face him. His face looked like if the word ‘shocked’ was created for just this moment.

  “I’m pregnant.” You said again, quieter. You didn’t think Shiro’s eyes could get any wider but they did.

  “You…” He took in a shaky breath and stood up and took a few steps into the ocean. The water soaking the ankles of his jeans. He didn’t seem to notice or care. You followed suit and walked up behind him. You placed a gentle hand on his shoulder.

  “Are you upset?” You asked. You knew that he wasn’t going to leave. His declaration from the previous night confirmed that for you. But you still couldn’t help but feel scared at the thought that he doesn’t want this baby. When his reply didn’t come, your heartbeat quickened. “Takashi?” You asked hesitantly.

  “How long have you known?” He asked quietly.

  “I had my suspicions but I just found out. When I went out for a walk, I bought a test and took it.” You replied.

  “How far along are you?” You took a moment to think about it.

  “If I’m correct…. then a little over two months.” You heard him let out a quick breath.

  “Takashi? Are you upset?” You asked again, quieter now.

  “Of course I’m not upset.” You heard him whisper. He slowly turned around and looked into your eyes with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen. His eyes glistened with unshed tears. “How could I ever be upset. We’re going to be parents!” He said with a watery laugh as he picked you up and spun you around. You let out a little scream in shock before you laughed with him. He eventually stopped and slowly put you down, still wrapped around in his embrace.

  “But you just said-”

  “Forget what I said. I meant it theoretically. But now that I know that you- we,” He corrected as he placed a hand on your stomach, the bump still invisible. “are going to have a baby, I wouldn’t have it another way.” A single tear slipped down your face as you hugged him tightly. He returned the hug and let out a dreamy sigh. “I am so, so in love with you, Y/N.” He whispered into your hair.

  “I’m in love with you, too.” You replied. You two gently pulled apart from each other and stared lovingly into the other’s eyes before you both slowly leaned in and kissed deeply.  He slowly slipped his tongue inside your mouth and twirled it around yours. You let out a soft moan in delight as you pulled him closer. After a few minutes of loving kisses, Shiro’s body tensed and he immediately pulled away.

  “Ah, shit.” He muttered. You looked at him curiously.

  “What?” Shiro let out an exasperated sigh.

  “I left it at the house. Had I known… wait here.” He said before quickly jogging towards the house. You stood there in shock as you watched his figure get smaller.

  “O…kay?”

  You waited for your boyfriend’s return, your feet splashing the water slightly. He couldn’t have been gone for more than a few minutes but it felt like hours. You soon heard footsteps and you quickly turned around to see Shiro running up to you, a little out of breath.

  “I was going to do this when we went to go see the cherry blossoms, but I guess now is better than later.” You raised an eyebrow at him.

  “What are you talking abo-” Your voice left your lips when you saw Shiro kneel down and pull out a box from the pocket of his hoodie. The sea water was basically soaking all of his jeans but his only focus was on you.

  “Y/N, you didn’t know this, but I’ve been set on you for a while now. Even before we were official. When I saw you for the first time at one of our previous auditions, I knew that you were going to be a special part of my life. And when we got cast together for Voltron, I knew that I had to get to know you. And then after our first night… I knew that I was done for. That you were the one for me. I fell for you hard and fast and I couldn’t wait to ask you to be mine forever.”

  “Oh my god.” You whispered. You felt your heart swell at his words.

  “Every time I picture my future, you’re there, Y/N. You’re always there. And I know that we’re a little young and that we just got our careers off the ground but hey, we’re going to be parents now. Life is unpredictable.” He said with a chuckle. You laughed as well. “So what I’m saying is…”

  “Yes?” You whispered.

  “We’re going to have a baby soon…” He trailed off.

  “Uh-huh.” You replied. Your smile widening at the familiar scene.

  “And you’re the love of my life…” He said dramatically. You giggled slightly as you rolled your teary eyes.

  “Get on with it already, Shirogane!” You teased, your voice shaking with tears. Shiro hummed in amusement before slowly opening the box and revealing a gorgeous ring. In the center, it held a round carbonado diamond that sat on a band of white gold. An intricate pattern was carved in the band and held smaller carbonado diamonds along with miniature crystals within. You let out a quiet gasp.

  “Marry me?” He asked. His voice was soft and loving as he stared deep into your eyes. The dam finally broke and the tears spilled down your face. You couldn’t speak so all you could do was nod frantically before you finally found your voice.

  “Yes! Yes! Yes! Of course, I’ll marry you!” You sobbed. Shiro let out a small breath of relief before he stood up and gently grabbed your left hand.

  “You have no idea how long I’ve been waiting to do this.” He whispered as he slipped the ring onto your finger. You laughed in disbelief. You looked up and saw that a few tears slid down Shiro’s face as well before you quickly grabbed his face and crashed his lips against yours. You soon parted and stared at each other lovingly.

  “We’re going to get married!” You squealed. Shiro softly kissed the tip of your nose.

  “I know. And we’re going to be parents.” He reminded you as he looked down onto your stomach. You gently rested a hand over it and Shiro rested his hand over yours.

  “I can’t wait.” You muttered happily. Shiro hummed in agreement. His eyes still focused on your unborn child.

  “You’re going to be so spoiled, you know that?” He said to the baby with a smile. You giggled at his interaction with the baby.

  “You’re going to be a great dad, Takashi.” You whispered. He finally looked up and smiled at you.

  “And you’re going to be a great mom.”

  “Speaking of moms, we should tell your mother.” Shiro gently shook his head.

  “Not yet. Let’s surprise her.” He looked back down at your stomach. “Your Baba is going to spoil you rotten as well.” He chuckled.

  “Baba?” You asked.

  “It’s short for Obāsan. It means grandma.”

  “Ah.” You understood. You looked out into the horizon and noticed that the sun was fully up. You checked the time and saw that it was a little past 7 A.M. “We should head back. We don’t want your mom worrying about us.” Shiro nodded.

  “Yeah, okay.” You started to walk off when you felt a little tug on your arm. You turned around just before Shiro pulled you close and kissed you passionately. He slowly parted his lips from yours and smiled.

  “I’m so happy.” You smiled back.

  “Me too.”

  You entered the house with Shiro and was greeted with the smell of steaming rice.

  “I guess your mom’s up.” You said. He shrugged his shoulders.

  “She’s always been an early riser.” You noticed his mother poke her head out of the kitchen and walked up to greet you.

  “Ohay-” She stopped abruptly in her tracks. Her eyes focused on you. Or more specifically, your hand. She quickly ran up to you and brought your hand up to her face as she examined the ring. She looked up to Shiro with questioning eyes. When he nodded his head with a smile, she let out a squeal of delight as she crushed your body to her small frame. You let out a little laugh in surprise before you returned the hug just as forcefully. She removed herself from you and held your face in between her delicate hands. “Welcome!” She said gleefully. You felt yourself tear up again at her kindness.

  “Arigatō.”

  It was the last day of your two-week trip to Japan. You spent a lot of time with Shiro and his mother. You also got to meet some of his relatives and childhood friends. You and Shūtome had gotten really close over the past two weeks despite the language barrier. You had managed to get by with your minimal Japanese, her limited English, Shiro’s translations, Google Translate, and a whole lot of hand gestures. You silently vowed to yourself to become fluent in Japanese as soon as possible after what could possibly have been the thousandth time you or Shūtome called over Shiro for translation help. During the trip, you and Shiro sneakily went to the doctor who confirmed that you were nearing the end of your first trimester of pregnancy. You, along with Shiro and his mother decided to have a picnic in the park where the cherry blossoms were. Even though you and Shiro knew that it was probably best to share the news after your first trimester, you both agreed that you wanted to be there in person when you told her the news. And plus, you were going to head into your second trimester within the next week.

  After you had found a decent spot to sit, Shiro set up the picnic blanket while you and Shūtome pulled out the food that you had made together earlier that day. You glanced up and admired the view of the cherry blossom trees that surrounded you.

  “You were right, Kashi. The pictures pale in comparison to the real thing.” You said in awe.

  “I know, right? You don’t see things like this in LA.” You hummed in agreement before pulling out your phone and snapping a few pictures. You noticed from the corner of your eye a pair of kids running around and playing with kites as their parents sat nearby. Your thoughts were once again brought back to the baby that was currently resting in your womb and you absentmindedly rubbed your hand against it with a smile. Shiro noticed your gaze and gave you a knowing smile. You returned it.

  “So when should we tell her?” You whispered. Logically, you knew that she didn’t understand what you were saying but you couldn’t help but be secretive. Shiro rolled his eyes amusedly at your actions.

  “We’ll tell her later. Let’s just enjoy lunch. You especially, since you’re eating for two.” You grinned slightly as you picked up a plate of food that Shiro handed to you. Ever since you told him about the news, he has even more attentive than before. Sometimes, you even woke up in the middle of the night to find him talking to the baby in hushed whispers. And now he will only sleep with his arms around you and hands resting protectively over your stomach. Sometimes you think that he’s being a little too cautious but you couldn’t deny that you found the whole thing really cute. You silently took a bite into the delicious food, glad that your morning sickness has been wearing off.

  “Oishī?” Shūtome asked you. You turned to face her and smiled.

  “Hai.” You replied. She returned your smile and continued to eat as well. You, Shiro, and Shūtome engaged in a limited, but lively conversation throughout the meal.

  You all had spent most of the day at the park. Taking pictures with one another and admiring the cherry blossoms as they fell around you and into your hair. The sky was now bright orange and you turned over to look at Shiro with a knowing look. He nodded in agreement and turned to his mother.

  “Mom?” Shiro called out.

  “Yes?” She replied.

  “There’s something that Y/N and I need to tell you.”

  “Really? What is it?” A curious look appeared on her face as she turned fully to face the two of you.  “Well…” He trailed off and glanced over to you. You smiled and gently grabbed Shūtome’s hand and rested it against your barely-visible bump. She looked at her hand that was over your stomach questionably before recognition flickered in her eyes. Her head quickly shot up as she turned to look at you then at Shiro.

  “Takashi?” She asked. Her voice laced with hope. He nodded slowly with a smile.

  “Yes, mom. Y/N’s pregnant. Nearly three months.” Shūtome gasped at her son's words before she turned to face you. She grabbed your other hand with her free one tightly.

  “Baby?” Her voice was barely a whisper.

  “Hai.” You responded. Shūtome’s eyes immediately filled with tears before she pulled you and Shiro in close for a hug. You both returned the hug and smiled at each other over her shoulder.

  “That went well,” Shiro said happily.

  Nearly three months had passed since your trip to Japan. The release of Voltron: Legendary Defender was a month prior and, like your director said, was a big hit. You had informed the cast and crew about the pregnancy and engagement and everyone congratulated you. You even noticed Lance hand Keith a twenty dollar bill in defeat. You grinned at the memory. You and Shiro were preparing to appear at Comic-Con. Your bump was extremely noticeable now so you wore an oversized sweater, despite the heat, to hide it.

  “You ready? We don’t want to miss out flight.” Shiro asked. You turned and saw that he was heading towards you. You stood on your tip-toes and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

  “Yup. Let’s go!” You said excitedly.

  When you and the rest of the cast showed up for Comic-Con, you were all immediately swarmed by fans asking for pictures, autographs, even to just shake your hand. It was all very hectic. And you loved it. You couldn’t believe that in less than a month, your show had this much attention. Surrounded by fans, you looked over to Shiro who was surrounded by his own and smiled. The fans started to ask you and the cast questions and theories about the show. You were trying to be as discrete as you could when you felt a warm hand on your shoulder. You turned and saw Shiro smiling at the crowd.

  “We would love to answer these questions for you. However, you’re going to have to ask at the panel. Where we have to be soon.” The fans all let out a collective sound of disappointment and you had to hide your smile behind your hand.

  “See you later.” You said as you waved at them. You and the cast walked away from the fans and headed off to the panels.

  “Hey, guys!” The director said as she walked up to you. “Did you see the fans? We’re swarming with them!” She exclaimed happily.

  “We just experienced it first hand.” You giggled. The rest of the cast nodded in agreement.

  “Well, anyway. We have to get ready. Our panel starts in an hour.” The director replied. You all went your separate ways to prepare.

  Your panel finally started and the room was filled with fans. There was barely any room left for any of them to sit. You and the cast and the director greeted the fans enthusiastically while the fans returned it with the same energy. You all had a lot of fun talking about the future of Voltron and making the fans laugh with your bickering. Finally, it was time for the cast to ask the fans questions. A bunch of fans stood in a line, waiting for their turn. There were some questions that you could answer, couldn’t answer, could answer vaguely, or just made you laugh.

  “Alright, next question!” The director called out. A bubbly girl, no more than 16, walked up to the mic.

  “Hi! First of all, I just want to say that I’m a big fan! Especially, Lance’s character!”

  “Why, thank you,” Lance replied smugly.

  “So my question is: Do the cast know about the big shipping wars going on? Especially Klance?” Lance’s smug look quickly turned to one of embarrassment and you had to stop yourself from nearly spitting your drink from laughter. You heard squeals from the audience and you and the rest of the crew stared at Lance and Keith with amusement before you reached over and picked up a mic.

  “Trust me, they know. We’ve read the fanfictions and we were all very amused, surprised, and a bit disturbed.” You said with a laugh. The rest of the audience laughed as well. “Maybe next time we should have Keith and Lance reenact some fan fiction.” You said teasingly. The whole audience erupted in excitement at the thought. Keith quickly grabbed a mic as well.

  “Nope. Not gonna happen.” He said.

  “Oh, come on! Everyone wants to see it!” You replied. You glanced back at the fans. “Isn’t that right?” You asked, holding your mic in the direction of the audience. A series of screams and agreements were heard as you glanced back smugly at the two actors, the rest of the cast stifling their laughter.

  “N-next question!” Lance said in mortification. To his, and Keith’s relief, another fan walked up to the mic.

  “Hello! I love your show!” They said enthusiastically.

  “Thanks!” The director replied. The rest of the cast nodded in agreement.

  “Adding on to the last question on shipping,” They continued. “Many have noticed the sparks happening between Y/N and Shiro’s characters. Will there be any more development in the future?” Now it was Keith and Lance’s turn to grin at you mischievously. You rolled your eyes and gave Shiro a playful look.

  “I don’t know, Shiro. Will there be more development?” You asked dramatically.

  “Well, I don’t know myself, Y/N. What do you think?” He asked back, just as dramatic.

  “I think….” You trailed off, keeping the suspense. “That you all will just have to wait and see in the next season.” You said with a grin. You heard the audience let out a collective groan in mock-disappointment which only made you grin wider.

  “Although,” Shiro quickly piped in. The audience’s focus was back to him. “that next season might take a while.” He said as he looked at you. The crowd immediately erupted in a commotion. Your eyes widened slightly before you smirked.

  So this is how he wants to tell them? You thought. Alright, I’ll play along. You brought the mic closer to your face, your eyes never leaving his. When you were sure that you had most of the audience’s attention, you started to speak.

  “Really?” You inquired. “And why is that, Shiro?”

  “Well, we couldn’t possibly film the next season right now. Not with the baby and the wedding coming up.” The room got so silent you could hear a pin drop. It sounded as if there was no one left on Earth. Suddenly, all at the same time, the audience exploded.

  “WHAT!?” You heard one say.

  “ARE YOU SERIOUS!?” Said another.

  “OH MY GOD, I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT THIS IS HAPPENING MY REAL LIFE OTP AGH!”

  “I KNEW IT! I KNEW THEY WERE A THING FOR REAL!” You glanced back at the audience before you returned your attention to Shiro. He shrugged his shoulders with a grin and stood up from his seat before pulling you up as well. First, he held up your left hand, showing off your engagement ring. Then he looked into your eyes for a silent question. When you gave him the okay, he slowly lifted up your sweater and revealed your very visible bump. The audience was destroyed at this point. You heard a series of congratulations and applause from the fans and you beamed at them with pride. Shiro bent down slightly and picked up the mic from the table.

  “And I think that concludes the end of this panel. We hope to see you all again soon. Maybe even with the baby next time?” Said teasingly. The entire audience squealed at the thought. You rolled your eyes at his actions before you and the rest of the crew walked off, waving at the crowd.

  “Wow, way to make a scene, Shirogane.” You said as you walked backstage. He shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

  “What can I say? I’m an actor. I have a flair for the dramatics.” You snorted and shook your head in amusement before you pulled him down for a kiss.

A/N: She lives! For like a day lmao. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE YOU GUYS ARE HONESTLY THE GREATEST HUMANS!!!

~🐼

Masterlist

[castlestormed]

Substitute

SUMMARY:

When Keith rejects the responsibility and Allura is rejected for it, Lance steps up to the plate.

Or at least, he tries to.

(an exploration of Lance as a potential Black Lion pilot candidate.)

[ bittersweet, genfic, au, canon divergent from s3 ]

CHARACTERS:

Lance, Black Lion

w/ Allura, Keith, Pidge, Hunk

Read elsewhere: [A03] [FFnet]

---

Filling in. That’s what Lance is good at, or so he thinks.

So when Keith rejects the responsibility and Allura is rejected for it, Lance steps up, jabs a thumb to his chest and says, “I’ll do it.”

He’s being totally serious about it too. Shiro’s been missing long enough for his return to have gone from certain to uncertain to questionable bordering on indeterminable. He’s had a lot of time to sink his thoughts into this, a lot of time to think about the consequences of a missing teammate and what that meant for Voltron and their ongoing battle with the Galra empire.

It’s weird how simple it is. The team needs the Black Lion, a leader, a good pilot. He’s not sure about the other two but if there’s one thing he’s confident about, it’s that he’s a damn good pilot.

“Let me try,” he says into the silence because everyone, it seemed, was too preoccupied with staring at him.

“You’re kidding, right?” Pidge pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose and the frames catch a beam of light that momentarily obscures her squinted gaze. “You?”

That hurts a little but Lance brushes it off. Sticks and stones.

“Why not? Keith doesn’t want to step up —”

“That’s not—! It’s not that I—” Keith stutters, uncharacteristically flustered. There’s a good two seconds of him trying to push out words before he folds in on himself and bites out a stilted, “I just… can’t. Won’t. Sorry.”

Lance smothers a spurt of irritation — and pity, though he'd be loathed to admit it. Keith looks... lost. More closed up than usual. If this were about anything else, Lance would have maybe tried to muster up some sympathy. Maybe.

But this was about survival. This was about saving the world.

Keith’s name had rang out the loudest when discussions about who would take over the Black Lion began in earnest. The Red Lion was Voltron’s sword arm and literal right hand, after all. The princess pointed out that the previous Red Paladin — her father — had been something like a second-in-command, and that Keith had been filling a similar role.

Aaaaand as if the universe couldn’t be any more pointed, Keith reluctantly revealed that Shiro himself gave him his blessing (if he was to be believed).

Yet despite all the brightly-lit signs pointing his way, Keith was determined to stay out of the running because… because he didn’t want to? Because he was afraid of admitting that Shiro isn’t around anymore?

Lance doesn’t get this at all.

Thing is… yeah. Shiro isn’t around. There’s no skirting around that, and the motionless Black Lion in its hangar was the most critical sign. Keith was hot-headed, sure, but wasn’t he also sort of military-practical, to a fault?

If I were Keith, he’d said to himself when he was musing over his options, then what I need to do is obvious. The universe needs Voltron. Voltron needs a Black Lion. I can pilot the Black Lion. So ba-da-bing, ba-da-boom, I pilot the Black Lion.

It wasn’t even a matter of ego anymore; it was a matter of necessity. It was a matter of the universe’s safety.

If I have a skill that can be useful, I use it.

Not using it? Kind of a dick move. And also kind of a questionable move because why wouldn’t you help people if you had the power to do so?

He didn’t always understand where Keith was coming from but he'd never pegged him as selfish, until now.

“Like I said,” Lance says, turning away from Keith with a roll of his eyes, “he doesn’t wanna do it. And our next best option couldn’t make Black budge at all today.”

The princess’s arms tighten around herself and Lance can identify with the feeling she so openly projects.

“Yes, unfortunately the Black Lion has chosen to reject me,” she says, somehow managing to sound gracefully upset. She hasn’t worn any of her usual dresses since Shiro’s disappearance. In her pink-accented spacesuit, she would have fit right into the team. If anyone truly deserved to pilot the Black Lion, it was her — not Keith.

She turns tired eyes on Lance and gives him an equally tired smile. “I don’t see why you shouldn’t try, Lance.”

Warmth bursts through his chest — until she turns that tired smile on the whole room.

“And if Lance doesn’t work out, I believe the others should attempt it as well. Just in case.”

Hunk makes a startled squeaking noise, Pidge lets out a grumbled Ugh, and just like that, his carefully considered plan of solving everyone’s problem by volunteering to be the responsible one was downsized into a group effort. Nice.

Lance is quick to pick himself up though. This is good. Even if it were Hunk or Pidge and not him, at least they would have a Black Lion again.

Pidge goes first — “To get this over with,” she says tersely — and lasts a minute before tagging out. Her dismissive attitude doesn’t bother Lance. The youngest and smallest member of their team is more useful (and safe) behind the scenes anyway.

Hunk goes next, anxious energy tensing up his shoulders. Hunk has never spoken about wanting to be a pilot but Lance compares his friend’s broad frame to the sturdy bulk of the Black Lion and thinks that maybe Hunk would be the better match if it came down to the two of them. Shiro’s absence had been a blow; maybe Hunk and his big heart was what the team needed right now to fill that void.

(Better than Lance who could get stuck in his own headspace sometimes and went overboard with the jokes when a lighter touch was more appropriate...)

But not that many minutes later, Hunk exits the Black Lion, unsuccessful and somewhat relieved.

“Guess we saved the best for last?” he says with a sheepish grin, and Lance gives him a hi-five for that before taking his turn.

 ---

 It is quiet in the cockpit, so quiet that he can hear the thrumming of the castle from outside. He takes a seat and drums his fingers on the armrests, surveying a dashboard not unlike the one in Blue.

His nerves ramp up as the silence settles around him. Blue's response to him had been instantaneous and intuitive, like picking up a new sport and making the happy discovery that you were naturally adept at it. The Black Lion's continued stillness didn’t bode well.

—but this was the Black Lion after all. The leader of the pack. Of course it wouldn't be that simple. He had to prove himself!

How though?

He coughs into the curve of a hand. “Hey, big guy. It’s Lance — you know, Blue’s pilot?”

There. Friendly but not too friendly; he figures that if this Lion was anything like its missing pilot, it probably wouldn’t appreciate an overly casual approach.

“Normally I’d try to sell you on my good points but I think I’ll just cut to the chase.” He clears his throat. “We, uh, we kind of need you out there. Think you have it in you to give me a shot?”

The silence stretches over his question. Lance swallows his unease. He reaches for the handles on either side of the chair, gingerly curling his fingers around the hand grips. He had hoped that the contact would spark something, build a connection like the one he had with Blue but… nothing. Of course.

Well, the show must go on.

“C’mon,” he says. “I’m not that bad. I can do it; and if I can’t, I’ll figure out how. Just ask Blue! She can totally vouch for what an awesome pilot I am!”

Nothing again. That last part might have been a bit much.

Okay, okay. Maybe a slightly different approach.

This time Lance closes his eyes and reaches with his mind.

Black? Uh, Black Lion. We need you, man. Look, I know I’m no Shiro but I’m here, I’m ready, and I’m… kind of all you’ve got right now. You turned down everyone else--

/ n o t  t r u e /

The response comes so quickly that, at first, Lance isn’t sure if the words come from his own doubts or from the Lion. A sequence of images seem to come into focus all at once in his mind's eye, all with an undercurrent of red and a burst of emotion that he doesn’t immediately recognize. He feels a strong  pull towards them but they move too quickly. He reaches out, grasping in vain — then vertigo clenches around his stomach, quickly replaced by pain as he trips over his own feet and crashes into the metal floor.

Lance lays on the ground for a good minute, gritting his teeth.

Also painful? What Black is trying to say.

“He doesn’t want to do it, okay?” he snaps. “He didn’t even want to try. There’s no talking to him once he’s made up his mind. That’s why I told you — it has to be me.”

His vehement declaration rings strongly (confidently, he thinks, with pride) in his own ears.

But following the pattern of this attempted conversation, it too is swallowed by the stillness of the Black Lion’s cockpit.

Lance bites down resentment as he picks himself up from the ground. It's tempting — so tempting — to kick that stupid chair. He doesn’t, though. Instead he glares at his dark surroundings, like he is staring down the great beast itself.

A guy could take a hint… but seriously?

This whole thing was stupid.

“I don’t even want to be your pilot,” he mutters, and there’s a stir in the air, like a chuckle, which gets on his nerves. “What? I don’t! And guess what, dude? Neither does Keith. But which of us is standing here right now, trying to take responsibility for it?”

(He deserves some credit for showing up and trying, right?)

(He deserves some credit for caring, right?)

“Maybe Keith really is the best guy for the job, but as I’ve told you a million times, he doesn’t want to be here. I am and I do— I mean, I know I just contradicted myself there, saying I didn’t wanna be your pilot, but...”

His gaze drops to the ground as he awkwardly rubs the back of his neck. But the quiet now is different from the stillness of before. It gives him some courage to keep going.

He clears his throat again and says, “I figured I could just... fill in, you know? ‘Cause we kinda need you. The universe needs you. And we can’t get you up and running without a pilot, right? So I can do it, until he’s ready. Okay?”

Lance is a little surprised to find that he means it, too. Like, real talk, he can’t imagine himself leading Voltron, de facto or otherwise. Keith, though… Keith could probably do it. When he finally grows a pair and learns how to put his personal shit aside, anyway.

“O-or, Allura,” he adds hastily, uncomfortably aware that he is just babbling now. “I still think it’s weird that you didn’t pick her, but I guess you have your reasons, huh? Just. Yeah. This’ll be a temporary partnership, you and me. Because we need you. And I’m your best bet right now.”

He opens his arms and tries a smile.

“So… partners?” he asks hopefully.

And he waits.

And waits.

And waits.

...it’s excruciating. It’s worse than the first time he ever confessed his feelings to a crush. At least the girl had been nice enough to put him down gently. Today he learns that giant metal lions are not nearly as kind.

Enough time passes that it’s become too tiring to keep up the smile. He drops it, shoves his hands into his pockets, and finds his way out.

 ---

 The whole team looks as tired as Allura when he drags his failure of a self over to them.

“Black’ll come around,” he says, eliciting a few wan smiles. They scatter to do their own thing not long after that.

Lance should have gone straight to his room but he finds himself slowing down and waiting till he is completely alone before retracing his steps. He stares at the Black Lion from the entrance of the hanger. It stares back with blank, dead eyes.

There’s a war going on, he wants to tell it, and you can do something about it. But here you are, sitting on your metal claws, for dumb reasons I can’t understand… kinda like Keith.

Huh. Maybe you two are meant to be.

That wasn’t the point though. He was here so that he could fill that spot — a spot that was necessary but unwanted. That’s what he’s good at, or so he thinks.

But of course it wouldn’t be that easy.

Getting into the Garrison wasn’t. Enduring as a cargo pilot wasn’t. Making it to fighter pilot wasn’t. Leaving Earth and fighting this impossible-sounding war with impossible-sounding technology certainly wasn’t...

So. Not easy? He was used to that.

He reenters the still, metal cockpit, and says, “Let’s try this again.”

[novarasalas]

Second Look Review: The Prisoner’s Dilemma

I had some trouble with this episode, which I’ll detail a bit at the end. Unfortunately, I ended up being a lot more negative about it than I would have liked. I’m hoping it’s not a trend, but...

Well.

Let's get started.

-

First off, a bit of history on the term “The Prisoner's Dilemma”.  Maybe you've heard of this,  but it was new to me.

The prisoner's dilemma is a standard example of a game analyzed in game theory that shows why two completely rational individuals might not cooperate, even if it appears that it is in their best interests to do so.

[...]

The prisoner's dilemma game can be used as a model for many real world situations involving cooperative behavior. In casual usage, the label "prisoner's dilemma" may be applied to situations not strictly matching the formal criteria of the classic or iterative games: for instance, those in which two entities could gain important benefits from cooperating or suffer from the failure to do so, but find it difficult or expensive—not necessarily impossible—to coordinate their activities.

So there's that. I was a bit weirded out by the term “prisoner” used on the context of the episode. I had a feeling that it meant something else.

- -

Here's one reason I can't just write this episode off: we're shown what the crew are doing as part of their “liberation mission”.

Also, note what they say here:

Officer: We’ve suffered little to no casualties, but half the fleet has been rendered inoperable.

They make a point to state that there are little to no casualties. It contrasts the previous season, where we see Keith actually kill several people. Now we’re back to no deaths.

Remember this; I’m going to bring it up again in later reviews.

All in all though, I wouldn't’ really call this a mission liberation. It’s more of a take over.

Warlord Lahn would rather die, either way.

Lahn: You’ve attained victory and I accept defeat.

Keith: It doesn’t have to be victory or death.

Also, I wanna bring up something here.

Lahn makes a dig at Keith (and his mom). Keith’s reaction is important because...there is no reaction. He just takes it.

I bring this up because one of the first complaints I saw about season 8 was that Keith, or even Shiro, didn’t tear this guy a new asshole for his insult.

If you didn’t know, that’s not how you do diplomacy. They just took over his base, let him be upset. A younger Keith might have flown into a rage over this. But he’s much more mature now, and with maturation comes not giving in to the urge to fight at every provocation.

The people who complained about that have obviously never worked retail. You wouldn't last a day.  

- - -

So Warlord Lahn's lost fleet comes with a surprise.

It's...that thing!

I'd forgotten about it. Remember when we were all theorizing what it was?

Well...we still don't really know what it is. But we do get this explanation:

Keith: Ranveig found the creature in the Quantum Abyss and experimented on it with Lotor’s Quintessence. He trained to to take out his Galran enemies, but...

(Lance is very concerned…)

This struck me as odd. It felt as if we were being told information we already knew. Maybe I forgot?

Let's check Season 5, Episode 5.

Krolia: Warlord Ranveig intercepted an undocumented shipment of quintessence travelling through his territory. He took it for his own and began experimenting with it. It’s more powerful than any quintessence we’ve received from the empire, and it has some very unexpected effects.

Hmmm….not really.

Also, I miss you, Krolia...

I suppose we can take this as confirmation that Ranveig only considered other Galra his enemies, but it's still a bit off.

Once again, to me it feels as if this is being presented as something we already know, and is just being reviewed. But it’s the first we’ve heard of it, save for Krolia’s very vague explanation transcribed above.

It really makes me believe that they intended to do much more with it. Maybe it was supposed to show up again in seasons 6 or 7, but it was cut out for whatever reason.

It really bums me out. This had potential, and I had been looking forward to it.

- - - -

The episode ends on the best possible note: Lahn accepting the Paladins and joining the coalition. This is in no small part thank to Keith, who very obviously saved him, but also Allura.

Yoink!

They saved him even though he yelled at them and said mean things. And for that, the Voltron Coalition are one step closer to legitimizing their status as saviors of the universe.

There’s a lesson here: A true display of kindness and patience can change hearts.

In the end, Team Voltron and the Coalition split up, which is what maybe the should have done in the first place, their motivations not being the same at this point.

And so Voltron leaves behind the Atlas, which is the Castleship replacement. The Castleship replacement being the reason they went back to Earth in the first place.

Hm.

-------

And here I have some general positive things, cause that’s my whole M.O.

First, I couldn’t GIF it so you’ll just have to watch for yourself, but Keith’s solo encounter with the creature is beautifully animated. Check out that sexy, sexy frame rate!

Second, Keith gets a boomstick.

Third, my man Ryan is here.

He doesn’t say anything, but it’s ok, I love him anyway.

And lastly, major props to Ray Chase as Lahn. I never recognize him in anything, and that’s some amazing range.

- - - - - 

In summary:

Hey, this ones not so great, I know. Not only did real life get in the way of writing this, I just wasn’t feeling it. I always try to present the facts of the story, then move one to my own thoughts, but dammit...try as I might, I got hung up on one thing and couldn’t really move on from it.

The episode is supposed to be about working through your personal feelings in order to pursue the greater good. It has a second smaller plot of dealing with the creature, and an even smaller point of showing us how the Coalition is running its mission.

But, guys...I don’t like the whole “liberation” thing.

This has everything to do with me and the fact that I came of age during the Bush era “watch out or we’ll bring democracy to your country” mindset. Seeing my faves taking out bases and calling themselves the good guys brought back some thoughts I haven’t had in a long time.

I couldn’t let it go.

So, it’s quite possible this was a well done episode. I just didn’t like watching it. I kinda don’t want to watch it again, either.

I do think that the creature is a big waste of opportunity, though.

So what did you think? Am I out of my mind for feeling like this? I haven’t seen anyone else talk about it, so I’m prepared to be the odd one out here.

Next up: 

Pidge has a bad trip.

[subtlehysteria]

I’m busy watching the Jeremy stream so here’s a “basic” summary as I go along

Question 1: What would each of the paladins get Lance for his birthday?

Pidge - a new video game

Shiro - something practical like a new weapon

Allura - handmade Altean necklace

Hunk - he’s birthday cake duty because he’s the best chef in the universe

Coran - some weird disgusting Altean treat

Keith - “not really affectionate” so his presence would probably be enough

Question 2: What would Lance and the paladins do for his birthday? 

Lance is “all about himself” so probably throw a big-ass birthday bash, maybe go back to the mermaid planet and hang out there, or any water-related planet because Lance is a surfer/beach boy. Overall just have a beach party

Question 3: Do the paladins ever wash their clothes seeing as they only have one outfit each?

Yeah, they have to have had some kinda washer/dryer on the castle or maybe they just have seven copies of the same outfit, or maybe Altean tech is so advanced your clothes are washed and dried in 2 seconds. But yeah, they don’t have a change of clothes

Question 4: If Finn (Jeremy’s other character from Adventure Time) and Lance had to switch places what would their reactions be?

Finn would kinda be like woah, what is happening but then pick up a sword and go for it because there’s evil that needs to be dealt with. Lance would probably deal with it worse because he wouldn’t like things changing suddenly and things being out of hand for no reason. He’s comfortable with his life and the people he’s around so he’d probably be a little more freaked out.

Question 5: Which character would Lance play as in SuperSmash Bros and Mario Kart?

For SuperSmash: Link (that’s also who Jeremy plays as) and for Mario Kart: maybe Mario. (Jeremy likes playing as Toad)

Question 6: (this is a long one so gonna try to condense it) What’s the sitch with Lance’s dad and did Lance try and step up as a role model for his younger siblings? How did this affect his interactions with the rest of the team?

Jeremy is “pretty sure” Lance’s dad is still in the picture (welp) and that he probably has a lot of little siblings/nieces/nephews who looked up to him. He’s always wanted to try to be responsible and seen as a role model. This also affects how he treats everyone else as well as his personality, how he's always like “Hey, look I can do it!”.

His definite character arc is him starting out as a little immature and wanting to be The GuyTM but throughout the show, we see that Lance is capable and does have a sense of responsibility. He ends up being very loyal and realises that other people are better leaders at times. He’s learning to know when to follow and when to lead.

We’ll get to see how Lance interacts with his family in season 7 and 8 (!!!). We’re gonna see another side to him. We’ll get to see another side to a lot of characters, their more fun, sensitive and casual sides around their families and loves ones.

Question 7: What was your favourite thing to do at comic con?

The Adventure Time and Voltron panels were scheduled at the same time so Jeremy pretty much Naratu ran to the Voltron panel halfway through. He enjoyed seeing the Star Wars stuff and also riding around San Diego on a moped (whilst trying not to knock people off the sidewalk. Jeremy please honey, wear a helmet)

Question 8: How would each Paladin react to Lance’s birthday. Would he even mention it?

The team takes the small moments to chill. Off-screen there’s probably been a lot of downtime being spent in boredom. They’d probably have a party, cake the whole shebang. It also depends on whether they have a mission. Keith would probably say happy birthday. They don’t have a bad relationship, they’re all friends, practically family. “Probably get a little Keith nod like hey, happy birthday” (imagine Jeremy attempting a Keith impression its adorable). That’s all that Keith would say. He’s “a man of few words”.

Question 9: Lance has always kinda been the second choice, starting with only bumping up to fighter class when Keith got expelled. Will he ever get the chance to be someone’s first choice and not a rebound?

In some areas, Lance has been the first choice e.g. the first paladin of new to pilot the Blue Lion. As he grows as a person he’s become more dependable. Going forward, people would choose him for different types of missions. “I think he’s gonna be somebody’s first choice, not just a rebound. He’s a funny guy, a good-looking funny dude, he’s got lots of skills so yeah, he’d be someone’s first choice. Heck yeah!” (insert adorable smile)

Question 10: if the members from Make Out Monday (Jeremy’s band) were paladins which lions would they pilot and why?

Zack - Black Lion, he has a good vision for everything, the backbone, creative and smart, “the leader”

Jeremy would still pilot red. He’s the right-hand man kinda guy

Seth - probably pilot yellow, he’s the drummer, he holds everything together

John - maybe the green lion. He’s smart, has to be precise with his guitar solos

Question 11: We’ve seen Lance isolating himself a lot by playing video games and training alone. Will he have some time to bond with any of his teammates like Keith or the Real Shiro? And will there be any Garrison flashbacks for Lance like there was for Keith in season 6?

This season as they’re travelling back, there’s gonna have to stick together. They’re gonna be cramped and having to spend a loooot of time with each other whether they want to or not, so some of the comedy will come from that. There’s a lack of resources since they no longer have the caslte, so they need to bond with each other and become a tight-knit group again. There’s gonna be interactions “with Real Shiro, Keith (now that he’s back), Allura, pretty much everybody.”

As far as flashback go, there are a lot of flashbacks with Shiro and Keith. There are flashbacks with a few of the characters, whether they feature a lot or a little Jeremy can’t say. Jeremy can’t really remember off the top of his head. You will at least get to see Lance with his family a lot when they get back to Earth.

Question 12: Out of everyone on the team, who takes Lance the most seriously? Who would give him the strength and room to grow into who he truly is? Who do you think is the best person to help him realise his full potential?

Shiro is a good leader and can see potential in all of his teammates, even if they and others don’t see that themselves. He would be a good candidate to help Lance see his strengths and hidden abilities and help him grow. And as Keith becomes more of a leader, he’ll start getting some of those leaderly qualities as well. Allura as well will also be a really close friend to help Lance reach his full potential and visa versa.

Question 13: Have you learnt more about Cuba since voicing Lance?

Jeremy’s tried to expand his knowledge on Cuba. He thinks their food is awesome and loves the culture.

Question 14: What drew you to Lance as a character and made you want to be his voice?

He’s a very fun character, to have funny one-liner’s and be the comic relief somtimes is great and its a blast to make the rest of the cast/crew laugh. He was attracted to the project because it was Dreamworks, Netflix and also the makers of ATLA and LoK which he loved watching. He looked at the profile and was like “Yeah, I can do this. He’s basically Space Sokka soooo”

Question 15: What would Lance’s favourite meme be?

“Lance is like a living meme.” “Probably anything that has stupid flirty cheesy humour”, or the Drake meme (that’s Jeremy’s favourite as well)

Question 16: What song would Lance sing to impress a significant other?

One of his favourite songs is Sexy Back by Justin Timblerlake (Jeremy why), but he would probably sing something more like a serenade song. All Of Me by John Legend is a great song, so if he tried to impress someone that would be it.

Question 18: Seeing as the paladins have been in space for at least a year, do you think Lance’s family have stopped looking for him/think he is dead? How did Lance and Hunk’s family find out they were missing? Did the Garrison send them a message or was it through a newscast?

People have definitnely noticed they’re gone. Both Hunk and Lance’s families are very loving and caring, so they’d continue to search for Lance and Hunk until they got a definite answer, they probably don’t assume they’re dead.

They probably would have gotten a message from the Garrison.

Question 19: What was your favourite song you wrote for Make Out Monday (Jeremy’s band)?

His favourite to write was Bullet For Your Sweetheart and Kissaphobic (both are really awesome, they’re definintely worth a listen!)

Question 20: Have you watched Voltron in any other langauge? Seeing as every voice actor for the different dubs has their own version of Lance, if you had to meet any of the other Lances, what would you ask them?

Voicing the character, you have to have a good understanding of them and what they would like/think of things so that when you peform the lines they feel more natural. You also work with the writing team and creators because they also have their own ideas of who the character is, its very much a collaboration.

Jeremy’s never met anyone who’s played the dubbed versions of his characters. He heard a Finn dub the one time and its interesting to hear how they interepted his voice.

He thinks the most interesting question to ask would be what their first impression was when they heard his performance.

Question 21: Would you associate any Singing At Last songs with Lance? What songs would you attribute to Lance?

Jeremy’s favourite song is Turning Page. He doesn’t really know any other songs so he asked the questioner what she would reccomend. She answered Venus and Mercury (she was really sweet). 

Question 22: If you were stuck out in space without a fast way back to Earth, what would you do on your trip back?

First off he’d panic, but hopefully try get some communications device to let people know he’s alive like, “Houstin there’s a problem, I’m stuck in space.” If he couldn’t figure out a way to get home, he’d make the best of it, settle down on a nice planet, enjoy the local delicacies. He reccomends trying to crash down on a beach planet and hand out with the locals. 

FINALE - everyone from the livestream sang happy birthday to Lance (there was a bit of a time delay but its the thought that counts!)

Jeremy’s parting words: I never cease to be amazed by the passion and love you have for all the shows I get to be a part of, the characters and me as a person. I’m really thankful to have such great fans and that you love the work that I do. If it was not for you guys I wouldn’t be able to do the work that I do. So I’m very thankful for you guys and I think you guys are just awesome. You guys make me happy and put a smile on my face and you guys are just a great bunch so thank you.”

[rainbowpaladins]

Untitled ABO Fic pt5

Lance was walking through some marketplace a dozen light years from where he'd last seen the team when the news broke.

Ding dong, the people cried in a growing wave, the wicked Zarkon is dead.

At first, Lance hadn't believed it. It had only been a month and the team had defeated Zarkon? But then he'd seen the source of the news: a propaganda video, made by the team themselves. In the video, Shiro and Allura took turns informing the viewer that Zarkon was dead and now was the time to rise up together to take down his empire. They were forming a coalition; a Voltron Coalition.

Lance had stood there, staring at the screen unseeing, even after the recording was over. His emotions were all over the place, ranging from happiness over Zarkon's defeat to the hard, heavy weight of the knowledge that removing him from the team had resulted in them accomplishing in a month what they'd been unable to do in the year and a half he'd been with the team.

It wasn't that he'd hoped they'd fall apart with out him. Nothing so dramatic or deadly. It was, just, thinking they'd been better off without him had been one thing. Seeing fairly good evidence it was actually true was another entirely.

Nehelo, the large bird-creature who'd been gracious enough to give him and Izzy shelter, had picked up on the downward swing in his emotions. Not that it was likely hard. He'd barely ate or drank anything, except what was necessary to keep producing milk for Izzy, since he'd seen the news.

"You should go to the party tonight."

Lance rolled his head to look at them, not wanting to move under the guise of letting Izzy sleep. "One: who's going to look after Izzy? And two: I'm not up for a party."

Nehelo narrowed their eyes at him, the equivalent of a glare. "You, Lance, are a social creature. You crave interaction with other living beings." They ruffled their feathers in a shudder. "Molina knows why."

Lance smiled, the first in days. "If I wasn't, I wouldn't have met your lovely self."

A snort was the response, along with a wing wave of dismissal. "My point still stands. I'll watch your youngling while you go out and have some fun. Get yourself out of this mood you're in."

A grin slowly spread over Lance's face. "You'd do that? For me? But you hate children!"

The dark look Nehelo gave him was magnificent. "Yes, I do."

And yet, the former(?) Blue Paladin had never had to ask for a baby sitter. Lance joked deep (so very deep) down, the Rutennan secretly liked children. Nehelo argued that the only spawn they liked was Izzy and their fondness for her was the only reason they put up with him.

Lance let the Rutennan off the hook this time without further teasing. He knew going out and socializing wasn’t going to cure his depression, but he hoped it would at least lift his spirits a little to be surrounded by people just enjoying life. He even decided to go the extra mile and wear one of the more fancier outfits he’d usually reserved for those special nights the team took a night off for some down time.

The party was already well under way by the time he got there. There was a buzz about some ‘special guests’ arriving later for the ‘main event,’ but Lance didn’t pay it any attention, throwing himself into the crowd. The dancers brave enough to take to the crowd were diversified, few even having a humanoid shape, making for an interesting experience.

About an hour in, a light tap landed on his shoulder, followed by: “May I have a dance?”

Lance blinked, turning from his current dance partner (a lizard being he was only 80% certain might have been female). He blinked again when he found himself staring up at a figure who that looked quite a bit like Allura and Coran, except for the purple skin and yellow sclera. He even had the long white hair and pointed ears.

Unlike Allura and Coran, however, there was something about the guy that put Lance on guard. Maybe it was the fact he shared similar appearances with the Galra?

The Cuban teen put the unease aside, chiding himself for judging someone based off of their looks. For all he knew, this was normal of the guy’s people and it was a total coincidence.

Smiling, he reached out and took the hand the man was holding out in offering. A matching smile crossed the man’s face, making his already handsome features even more so. Lance was tempted to ask for beauty tips, because if this guy was using anything, the teen really wanted in on the secret.

Any questions were sent to the back burner once the next song picked up, a fast one at that. What happened next was like something straight out of a movie as it turned out that the mysterious purple man was a very good dancer, resulting in two talented dancers partnering up to take the dance floor by storm. Lance laughed with delight as he was matched toe to toe and it had been a while since he had really been able to let loose with a partner and he found himself pulling out some more difficult moves. By the song came to it’s climax, they were both out of breathe and grinning from ear to ear.

As the next song started, the man pointed to the refreshments, raising an eyebrow in question. Feeling a bit thirsty after the exertion, Lance nodded, allowing the man to take his hand as he led the way through the crowd. Once there, he released his hand to snag a glass and a ladle from the juice bowl.

With the dance going on behind him, Lance was reminded of those old prom movies his older sisters really loved. As he was handed his drink, he opened with: “You’re a very good dancer. Did you take lessons?”

The man smiled, finishing pouring out his own drink. “A very long time ago, yes.” He eyed Lance over the lip of his drink as he brought it up to take a sip. “You’re not a bad dancer yourself.”

“Multiple older sisters that all did dance.” Lance gestured to some tables off to the side that would allow them to chat and stay out of the way of anyone else wanting refreshments. The man followed him over, going so far as to pull a seat out for him. Lance thought it was a little over the top, but didn’t try to hide his amusement.

“If you don’t mind my asking,” Lance asked as the man took his own seat, “What brings you to Rutenna?”

The man hmm’ed, the sound barely audible over the music. “Nothing exciting, I’m afraid. My mother was a scientist, but never got the chance to finish her research.” He placed his cup down on the table, eyes distant and fond. “I decided to try and finish her final project, which led me here.”

Not really Lance’s thing, but he had to give the man credit. Curiously, he prodded, “What was her topic?”

The man looked almost shy. “Quintessence.”

The Cuban teen raised an eyebrow, not expecting the response. “The life force of the universe stuff?”

His drinking partner raised his own eyebrow at him. “You know about Quintessence? Not many people know about it.”

Lance shrugged. He knew of it, sure. As a Paladin of Voltron (former or not), there wasn’t really any way that he could not know about it, but any time Coran or Pidge had tried to explain it in more detail, Lance found himself tuning out, so he’d missed any deeper explanation. “I had friends who know more about it then I did.”

The man nodded, as if this was within the realm of what he expected of a conversation partner. “And you?”

Lance took a sip of his drink to buy him a few minutes to compose himself. He’d had a little practice with his cover story, but it was always a little stressful whenever he had to lie and pretend he wasn’t on the run from what was supposed to be his family. “I decided to take a bit of a road trip with my daughter.” He paused on cue, as if realizing how odd that might sound. “Just with less road and more space.”

The man smiled indulgently at the attempt at a joke. He opened his mouth, perhaps to carry the conversation onto another topic of small talk, when the music came to a close, allowing the host of the party to come to the mic. 

“Thank you everyone who came to show their support tonight!” The host adjusted their collar, looking somewhere between excited and terrified. Lance wondered if it was from stage fright or another cause. His answer came when the host held out a wing-like appendage to open the stage to someone off stage.  “And because we all know who you’re really here for: let’s give a warm welcome to our guests.”

Lance felt like the blood in his veins had turned to ice as the first of several very familiar figures walked out, accompanied by the introduction: “The Paladins of Voltron!” He was too stunned to take advantage of the fact that right then would have been the time to make his escape while he was still unnoticed. Instead, he could only sit there, frozen in horrified shock as a pair of grey eyes met his own blue ones.

Time seemed to freeze as Lance and Shiro stared at each other from across the room. All noise was drowned out by the pounding of his heart in his ears. Lance might have sat there indefinitely, staring dumbly, if Shiro hadn’t taken a step towards him, lips moving in the shape of his name.

As if electrified, Lance jumped to his feet, wanting to look for the nearest exit, but unwilling to take his eyes off his former leader. “I’m sorry, I have to go!”

His dance partner glanced back and forth between him and the people on stage and the cuban teen. Without question, he also got to his feet, reaching across the table and tugging Lance towards him. "There's an exit this way."

Lance allowed himself to be pulled along, his last glimpse of his pack being Shiro going for the edge of the stage as he shouted, "Lance! Wait!"

To a degree, it broke his heart to run, to not stay and be reunited with the pack he so desperately missed, but Lance couldn't - wouldn't - allow them to deem Izzy a mistake.

So he ran. Ran like he'd run a month ago. Ran like he'd do again and again for however many times it took to protect his daughter.

"This way." As they took to the streets, Lance pointed in the direction of Nehelo's place, not giving much thought to why the strange man was still running with him, only grateful for his help. "Oh, Dios, Nehelo is going to be upset when I leave abruptly."

They rounded a corner, officially completely out of sight of the party. "Do you need transportation," the man asked.

Lance nearly stopped in the middle of the street to stare at him. "I can't ask you to get involved. Aren't you here for a research project?"

The man looked like wanted to shrug, but running wasn't conducive to it. "I can do my research anywhere." He reached out and briefly put a hand on Lance's shoulder. "Something tells me you are a good person. I would be honored to help you."

'Honored,' as if helping Lance - someone he'd just met and didn't even know the name of - was such a noble thing. But Lance was desperate, and he could fix one of those things. "Lance."

"What?"

"My name." He came to a stop near Nehelo's place, checking their surroundings. He didn't hear footsteps following them, but he didn't know if that was because they'd lost Shiro or if he simply hadn't followed.

The man also stopped beside him, studying the area to get his surroundings. Upon doing so, he turned back to the young man he'd just fled with. "Ah, forgive my poor manners." He reached out and took hold Lance's hand. Lance's eyebrow shot up as his hand received a slight kiss to the knuckles, the man grinning up at him far too charmingly as he did so.

"My name is Lotor, and I look forward to traveling with you."

-tbc

[blue-likethebird]

Vee El Dee: The Good The Bad and The Ugly

If you’ve ever been on this hellsite, you’ve probably heard of Voltron: Legendary Defender. You’ll find the characters and the ships (and the discourse. Dear God the discourse) in tag after tag and on blog after blog. Now that the show has officially come to an end, I’m reviewing the whole damn thing. Talking about what I think worked, what didn’t, and what exactly the show did to make even the fans look at it so harshly now. (Just a warning “The Ugly” section discusses racism, and homophobia so if any of that triggers you I’d suggest you skip it)

Review under the cut

The Good

The Character Potential:

   Voltron’s characters had so much potential at the beginning. Their motivations, potential subplots, and clues to their arcs the first crew left us were actually interesting. How did Coran know Allura before they were frozen? What happened that caused Shiro to lose his arm? Is Lance going to reunite with his family? The show didn’t answer all of these questions mind you, but at the time they were introduced, those questions felt like they were worth sticking around to hear the answers.

The First Season:

   The first season is the only season that genuinely sticks out for me, way back in ye olden days when Voltron was a character driven show as opposed to plot focused. In season one, the plot took a backseat and the characters were what held up the show, and it’s probably not a coincidence that most of the character development and more emotional/memorable scenes occurred in season one, when there was time for the characters to develop. Likewise, the character focus allowed for everyone to get their day in the limelight -not just the characters who were valuable to the plot at the moment-.

The Balmera and The Return to The Balmera:

     I am never gonna be shy about my opinion that the Balmera arc is one of the strongest arcs that Voltron has had. Allura using the story of her people to inspire others and using Altea’s ancient connection to the Balmera to save an entire damn civilization! The goddamn adorable chemistry between Hunk and Shay! Believable suspense! Unlocking Lion Powers! The Balmera arc had it all and I was fed. Plus, Balmera gave us the introduction of the most blessed couple in Voltron history, hunay.

The Bad:

The Timeskips:

In theory, there’s nothing wrong with a timeskip. But you’ve gotta be able to show that the characters and show’s universe changed in some way during that timeskip and you can’t use them just to avoid actual story and character development. Take season six (? Or was it five? I don’t remember and I don’t wanna) when Keith and Krolia take a two year camping trip on a space whale while Voltron is off doing God knows what. Presumably during that time they developed some sort of mother-son relationship but we don’t get to see that development happening, or how that new relationship changed them, or really any proof that the timeskip happened at all besides Keith getting Galra marks and a teleporting space wolf. That particular time jump felt more like a cop-out to avoid writing Keith bonding with his mom.

Pacing:

To put it plainly, the pace is way too fast for anything to stick. The writing cycles from one season's worth of plot twists and WTF? moments to the next at the speed of light, leaving no time to address how the previous events affected the characters involved or not the show’s universe as a whole. So Lotor was actually evil all along and was using Allura to achieve his goals? Well there’s no time to mention how Allura feels about that, we’ve got three more surprise twists and a magic robot to shove into the plot! On the flip side however, the pacing is slower than a geriatric snail during fight scenes. The giant robot fights are usually the most exciting part of anything, but in Voltron, the fights are so formulaic that they just kinda… blur together into a boring fog. Lemme know if you can name this Voltron fight scene: the team’s fighting some random baddie, there’s a lot of yelling, someone gets a power up just big enough to defeat the current baddies when a bigger, eviler baddie appears who’s more powerful than the power up they just got, new baddie whoops Voltron’s ass, the support team watches in horror, someone else gets a power up that’s powerful enough to defeat the new bad guy, Voltron reins triumphant. What fight scene was that?

The Filler Episodes:

The fast pacing also means that they need to set aside breather episodes just to allow characters to interact besides in battle. That’s all well and good and there’s nothing wrong with filler episodes, if done right they can be some of the most memorable episodes a show can have (The Tales of Ba Sing Se anyone?) that is, if done right. But Voltron filler episodes don’t have that going for them. Filler episodes in vee el dee are an oasis of mud in the desert that is canon, they’re a generally unhelpful standstill point amidst a constantly changing series. I’ll admit that they can be funny at times but for the most part filler episodes are bizarre, unnecessary, and more often than not, poorly timed. If we just heard about a millenniums old empire folding in on itself and we’re just about to see a major character attempt suicide do we really need to see Coran go batshit while planning a space Disney On Ice?

The Ugly:

Racism:

#justiceforallura

I must confess that I am whiter than a polar bear in a snowstorm, but even I know that killing off a black girl (or black coded as the case may be), constantly torturing the Japanese guy, reducing the Samoan guy to food and fat jokes, and having the latino guy flirt with everyone before turning him into a farmer isn’t the best way to handle writing characters of colour. Denying said characters of colour arcs and screen time in favour of giving your white characters the same story in a different hat over and over again is also not the best treatment you can offer your poc characters. That’s not even mentioning other horrible treatment and stereotypes you’ll see the Voltron characters of colour experience. Let us also recall #notallgalra, the “what if the genocide victim was actually the bad guy” au mess in s3, all those “lol lance is stupid” jokes, the black character Kinkade speaking mainly in grunts, Allura dying to redeem the two genocidal dudes responsible for most of her trauma, and Hunk’s (half black half Samoan) family being enslaved at a fucking concentration camp like goddamn what the hell were you thinking Voltron that’s like hetalia levels of fucked up when we remember what kind of genuinely awful shit this show’s done to it’s minority characters.

Homophobia:

If you’re reading my review in the Voltron tag, and you watched the whole series, then there’s no way in hell that you haven’t heard about Adam dying and the backlash against Voltron for it. If you are somehow the .000001% of people who don’t know, Adam (a gay moc) was Shiro’s (another gay moc) fiancé who got a grand total of forty five seconds of screen time before dying when the Galra invaded earth. Meanwhile, L*tor and Allura’s relationship got almost triple that despite being abusive as fuck. But Shiro got married at the end of season 8! In a credits scene, to a guy in the background of a couple of scenes Shiro was also in. When lgbt fans expressed outrage at their rep being hyped up despite having no bearing on the plot or even Shiro as a character outside of one scene, instead of owning up to their mistakes, the crew of Vee El Dee said (or implied) that it was the fault of lgbt fans for hyping ourselves up. Yeah okay. Except after that we got confirmation that Ezor and Zethrid were a couple! Yay! Clearly a win for us El Gee Bee Tees right? Well… not really considering that both of them were depicted as psychotic torturers who also died a couple minutes later. Gotta love those crazy dead lesbians amirite?

Klance:

But why is klance in the “ugly” section!? You cry, I thought you were a klanti! I am an anti and I did ship klance but that’s not what I wanna talk about right now. When I put klance under ugly I wanted to discuss two things, the crew and the shippers. First let’s talk the crew; several folks on the Voltron staff have at the very least, not reacted negatively to the omnipresent ship that is Keith and Lance. I’m sure you’ll also remember that Lance’s VA Jeremy Shada was considered a KICK icon before that went south. The crew was also purposefully misleading when they talked about possible romances for Keith and Lance, the language they used was ambiguous enough that shippers interpreted it as proof that klance would become canon. When it inevitably didn’t and shit hit the fan, the staff backpedaled again. Stating that klance was never meant to be interpreted as romantic and we were all fools for thinking otherwise. That’s happened in the past so it’s a reasonable defence, except for the fact that scenes with Keith and Lance tended to contain unnecessary parallels to canonically romantic relationships, (the bonding moment paralleling an allurance scene in season six and their talk at the start of season eight paralleling two scenes, hunay in season one and l*tura in season five). So it’s not unreasonable to be a little suspicious there. Klance was huge on the internet, it’s impossible for the crew to have been completely unaware of what they were doing.

Next I wanna talk shippers. I’m not saying that being disappointed that a ship didn’t become canon is a bad thing. But when you act like that’s the worst thing Voltron did amidst the sea of ableism, racism and homophobia it gets a little tiring. The fact that so many klancers rushed to demonize Allura after season seven and eight and add on that I saw more people complaining about klance not becoming canon king than Allura dying a completely unnecessary death to redeem L*tor of all people was the final straw. I washed my hands of klance and Voltron as a whole.

———————————————

So that’s my review of V*ltron. I was gonna do a separate review of season eight but I didn’t even finish s8 and to be honest it probably wouldn’t have been any more than the words “Fuck Vee El Dee, Allura Deserved Better” in big pink letters. And I know I probably made someone angry with this review but if you actually managed to stick around my ramblings all the way to the end then I salute you regardless of whether or not you agree with me.

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 111

111

Lance had Keith tucked up in his lap, Coran way ahead of him by sending through the ultrasound video. Technology was scary, he’d recorded it, yet in the time it took for them to get home, he’d already received the photos with the measurements and a copy of the video like it was nothing. Keith want to hold him, but Lance was happy with the three blankets over his shoulders between him and the sofa, plus he was doubly happy having Keith there kind of as a protector between him, their baby, and the rest of the world. Pidge and Hunk wanted to make plans for the camping trip, more like snoop if they asked him for the truth, Lance banning them from driving over to see them in this weather, he’d head down tomorrow if things cleared up. Yeah. He was paranoid. Keith hadn’t pried into his paranoia, Lance holding back telling him that stemmed from a nightmare he’d had over losing his two best friends to the snow. He’d tell Keith, but only if he asked.

Watching the ultrasound on repeat, Lance couldn’t get used to the background noises. There was something not quite there, his heart telling him it was the racing heart of their baby. He felt the same as Keith did, that fear that lingered like the fear that lingered after that near miss. With his chin on Keith’s shoulder, he could watch the scan all day now that he was needing to pee

“You okay?”

Keith hadn’t said much, watching the screen as intently as Lance

“Yeah... I still... it’s... wow”

His boyfriend was so eloquent

“You know, we need a name for them so we stop calling them “it””

“People name them? Like before they come out?”

“Some people even have names picked out before they fall pregnant. I suppose “squirt” is the obvious one”

Keith hummed, mind more on the video than the conversation

“Not squirt. That’s how we got them in the first place”

Okay, maybe he was paying more attention than Lance was giving him credit for

“Lots of people go with “bean”. I don’t know...”

“Let me think about it”

“Yeah. That’s probably the smartest idea... ultrasounds look so weird. Like what’s all the grey? I mean, obviously is like inside me and all, but it looks like we’re watching a bad fish film”

“I was thinking the same thing but thought I must be stupid”

Lance melted, nuzzling into Keith

“You are not stupid. This is new territory for both of us. If anything I’m the stupid one for not realising I was pregnant”

Keith leaned his head back against Lance’s shoulder, looking to him with a soft smile

“You’re not stupid. Maybe... we could name it something like “Macaroon”? I mean... if I’m an anger loaf and you’re an idiot crumpet... I don’t know what a crumpet and a loaf make together”

Lance didn’t know why he found Keith saying “Macaroon” so funny. His big bag boyfriend definitely had a hidden sweet tooth

“You’re laughing at me”

“I’m laughing at the word “Macaroon”. There’s a macaroon floating around in my stomach”

His boyfriend snorted

“Okay, point taken. Not “Macaroon””

“Noooo. Let me have this... it’ll be like the longest I’ve kept down food in 37 years”

“You are pretty bad at keeping food down”

“Don’t blame me. I have no control over this body. Sometimes even water gets thrown back up, other times it doesn’t... it’s weird”

“It’s fine. You should eat though”

“But the baby”

“The Macaroon needs food... the idiot crumpet needs food to feed the Macaroon”

Lance snorted at his boyfriend

“If I’m feeding something, then shouldn’t it be like an animal. Like a guppy in all those fish?”

“You’ve been spending too much time on the internet”

“I can’t deny that... alright, I know you’re going to be bossy until I eat. I’ll have a shake now then a nap with my macaroon maker”

“Do you want to try blood in the shake? See if that keeps it down longer?”

Lance tensed. Keith was trying to be sweet, but he didn’t want him going out his way, or making him uncomfortable with his dietary requirements

“I... uh...”

“It’s okay... I’ve been thinking about it a lot. I’m not going to be grossed out”

“It’s blood”

“Babe, you drink blood all the time. I might not like the taste, but it’s something you need”

“I never really... I’m still getting used to being able to feed without hiding it”

He’d drank a few times in front of Pidge and Hunk, before overthinking about how they’d be uncomfortable watching him eat. Keith, Shiro, Curtis, Matt, and Rieva, were all different because they were used to this world

“Let me make you a shake. I’ll use a little of my blood...”

Not this again

“Babe. No”

“Not a lot...”

“You can’t”

“Lance, I want to. You’re scared over my blood, so I think maybe we can try just a bit in your shakes and see if that helps them stay down longer”

Keith broke his heart bringing up his jealousy over a strangers blood in his system. To Lance it was food now. He’d fed for so long on blood bags. Nameless blood bags. Sources responsibly, without the donor being harmed. They were of course compensated well too... He honestly feared too much fresh blood in his system would make him an arrogant arsehole. Yeah. He’d fed on Keith... when he’d had to. Keith’s blood was... easily very addictive. He didn’t taste like blood bag blood. He wanted Keith to feel connected with their baby. Not feeling inferior, like Lance was cheating on him repeatedly. He didn’t want to say yes, but for Keith... he couldn’t deny him. He couldn’t deny him anything... the words stuck in his throat... He wasn’t that kind of vampire...

“Lance, let yourself rely on me”

“I do. I need you understand who hard it is still to accept blood from you. Bags are like eating a well seasoned steak that’s cooled enough to lose its tenderness. Humans are like eating that steak while it’s still part of the cow... and knowing you can have the whole thing if you really want it. My teeth cut your lips when we kiss to much... so it’s not I haven’t tasted your blood a lot. Your blood tastes good... You are good. Good not food”

“You sound like you’re deflecting”

“I’m not trying to deflect. Fine. Think of it as having too much coffee”

“You can never have too much coffee. I don’t mean like a lot of blood, just a little bit, and just to see if it helps keep food down for you and the baby. I’ll use some from a bag if you’re going to be this upset”

“I’m not upset. You being hurt would upset... and we don’t know how I’ll react to the scent of blood... If you’re so set on trying this, then wait until Shiro is home”

Keith’s safety was his priority. As the pregnancy progressed he feared he’d need more blood to keep up...

“Fine. But you’re having your shake”

“Only if you finally show me what this secret thing is”

“Deal”

Well fuck. Keith agreed far too readily.

*

Keith secret turned out to be a letter from Krolia. Though Lance liked to keep things neat and tidy, he respected that there were certain things he shouldn’t be touching or moving, the things on Keith’s desk being one of those cases. He also never touched his boyfriend’s phone or laptop with Keith’s nagging, respecting his boyfriend’s privacy. He knew Keith sometimes messaged their friends privately, and Lance like Keith feeling comfortable doing so. He wasn’t going to be that kind of controlling partner who had to know everything and didn’t trust their partner enough to let them have their own secrets.

Keith forced him into his lap this time. Sitting on the sofa again, Lance sipped his shake slowly, trying to do draw out eating in the hopes if he kept eating it’d take longer to come back up. The blood with the vanilla wasn’t the best flavour combination, Lance didn’t really know how to describe it. Blood lasted like blood to him, but it wasn’t gross tasting like it was to humans. It was only gross tasting now thanks to the vanilla flavour in the shake powder. Opening the envelope, Keith’s hands were shaking

“Babe, it’s okay. We don’t have to rush”

“I’ve had this for like a month now... I need to face it... before Krolia finds out we’re having a baby”

Honestly, if Krolia told him she knew, Lance wouldn’t be surprised. Allura had probably noticed the change in his quintessence... Though Krolia didn’t have fae powers, she was at VOLTRON a lot. Like a whole lot. She easily could have snuck into Coran’s office and found out, or intercepted lab results. Heck, the Blades had 4 werewolves who were probably smarter about this than Matt and Rieva

“We can still take it slow”

“I’ve been thinking about it for weeks... She... I don’t know...”

“Maybe you don’t dislike her as much as you thought?”

“She’s not the same here as she was in Rome”

“That’s good. Noticing that, that’s okay. I’m not trying to pressure you, but if you’ve been thinking it’s time for a while now, maybe it’s time to read this letter?”

Krolia usually tried to say hello to Keith, or to him if she saw them. She wasn’t shooting him, a good sign that he was still in the clear with her, although it could be thanks to the Blade’s being busy. Lance had tried to forget the briefing room board and all the scraps of information on it, trying not to cross the lines or belittle their work... even if it solving the question of where Sendak was would be great. He’d loved to be able to rub in their face as revenge for not telling them about Antok.

Dropping the envelope into his lap, Keith separated the pages, photos falling out. The letter from Krolia was roughly two pages long, Lance noticing immediately that Krolia had enclosed a copy of the photo she’d shown him on his birthday

“Dad...”

The letter was no longer important. Lance taking them from Keith as Keith tried to hold both the letter and the photo at once resulting in the page crumpling. Turning the photo over, Krolia had written on the back

“Keith aged 5 months”. She’d stayed longer than Lance thought. Keith seemed to think it was more a “pop and run” kind of deal. Turning the photo back over, his boyfriend’s tears started soaking into Lance’s borrowed long sleeve shirt

“I think that’s my dad... and my mum”

Lance stared at the photo. Keith’s parents couldn’t have been much older than Keith when the photo was taken. Damn if Keith didn’t have some good looking genes in his family tree. Lance nearly pointing out that Keith’s dad was as hot as his son, then stopping himself him short thanks to thinking of how Keith had lost his father in a fire

“I... I forgot his face... I had a photo at some point but... God. What kind of a son forgets his dad’s face?”

“The kind of son who loses him far too soon. What are the other ones?”

Keith sniffled loudly, his hands shaking harder as he took three attempts to pick up the the other two photos

“God... is that me?”

Young Keith was holding his hippo, the photo older and taken from a distance... Hanging off his dad’s arm, Keith was wearing the biggest smile Lance had ever seen. Both hands holding around the arm in the photo, with his hippo barely gripped as he hung in the air. Lance wasn’t sure for sure it was his dad’s arm, but an educated guess would say it was

“Yeah, that’s you. I’d recognise those knobbly knees anywhere”

“I don’t remember this at all”

“Check the back”

The back read “Keith aged 5”. One of Krolia’s friends must have taken it, or one of the Blades, or even of one Lance’s father’s friends.

The third photo was a photo of a photo. The photo used when Keith’s father had died in the house fire. Keith’s dad really was very good looking, especially in his fancy firefighter uniform

“How did she have these?”

“She said she never stopped wanting to know you. She probably had hunters or friends take photos... I know you’re probably not going to be happy, but she showed me that one of you guys together. She says it’s her good luck charm. She’s proud of you... I’m not trying to interfere here, but I don’t think there was a time that you weren’t in her thoughts”

Keith sniffled hard, Lance moving to kiss his cheek

“Hey, I’m here for you”

“I... what do I tell her? I didn’t get it. She and Shiro tried to tell me and I didn’t get how you could leave your baby behind... and now you’re pregnant, I finally fucking get it. I wasn’t brave enough to read this sooner... she... she’s been respecting my boundaries more and more...”

“You kind of wanted to talk to her before you found about the baby and now you’re worried maybe she’ll only be concerned with listening to what you have to say about it?”

“I couldn’t have faced her if I hadn’t come here. You helped me so much... and she... she walks all over everything. She butts into my life. She shot you. She gets on with everyone else... but she’s... at the Blade of Marmora Headquarters she was terrifying. Like... a walking statue made of gold. Something you shouldn’t be approaching. I felt like she was always looking down at me... I hated it. I fought so hard to carve out my own space but that didn’t matter with her there. She didn’t even come when I nearly got killed. I was pretty desperate, hitchhiking and trying to get to the cabin. Caught a lift and it turned out someone let slip Krolia had a son. No idea who or how they know me. They tracked me down, assuming I was running back to dad’s shack. They were so nice that I thought I was being careful. Shiro was tracking them tracking me. I nearly became dinner. He shot out the windows, flooded the place with light and took me away... I didn’t even know I was in danger until they showed their faces and fangs...”

“You’re both lucky”

Keith would have been lunch. There was clearly more to the story, which Keith had left out

“He knew what he was doing. I had no idea. I thought I was a freak of nature that maybe deserved it. I can’t believe... dad...”

He got what Keith was saying. He tried so hard to find a way back to his dad and now he had part of him returned

“He looks so much like you... You even have that same crease in the corner of your eyes when you smile”

“Do you think so?”

“Babe, yeah. You two against each other photo wise, people would think you’re brothers”

“I can’t believe she had these”

Lance wasn’t sure Krolia had had them. He was secretly sure that out there there would be a file on Keith filled with photos and reports on Keith growing up

“I think she probably always wanted to show you... but that’s okay. Because you weren’t ready before. You made to feel worthless by worthless people instead of being confident enough to see how much you are truly loved. I know it’s hard. When so many people are mean to you, you feel like people complimenting you are only doing so because they’re either lying or laughing behind your back at how dumb you are for believing them. I get paranoid like that too”

“I don’t know what to tell her. You saw me today. I panicked at the idea of Kolivan knowing. I panicked at the idea of be treated differently... I don’t want to be given special treatment...”

“You’re not as weak as you believe you are. If they still see you as weak, then they’re morons. You were in a fucking accident and still cared more about your bike than you”

“I think that just makes me slightly stupid”

Keith bike was still at VOLTRON. Lance assumed it was being fixed, but Keith seemed pretty down about it still. His boyfriend would probably be working on it more if he didn’t have him to worry about

“Nah. I’m shitting myself over you getting back on that death trap, but that’s what you want to do. Your brave. The world hurt you, and lately you’ve showing your face more. I really like it. You keep moving forward and that makes you strong. Your father was so proud of you. I can see it in his eyes. He loved you so much babe. He’d be even prouder if he’d got to see who you grew into. That stuff in the middle, that doesn’t make you a bad person... in his last moments I’m sure all he was hoping for was your safety and your happiness”

“I’m sorry... I think maybe I... I think I need to talk to Krolia”

“You don’t have to be sorry for anything at all. You talking with her is what you need. Again, I’m not pushing, but when we talked... she’s desperate to know you. She loves you. You’re loved very much”

“I want to see the others too...”

Lance nodded

“Tomorrow. If the snow let’s up we’ll head there tomorrow. I miss them too”

“I didn’t think I’d ever miss a bunch of people”

Lance chuckled at his boyfriend

“That’s because we know the coolest and weirdest bunch of people. You’re in with the cool kids, babe”

“And you’re sounding like Shiro”

“Hey, it’s not my fault. I’m totally allowed to be lame when I feel like it”

“You feel like an ice block again”

“I’m thinking of taking a trip to the fridge just to warm up”

“Or we could go to bed”

Lance blinked half a dozen times. Keith didn’t mean that... like that...

“Yeah. More blankets and snuggles sound good”

“Who said anything about snuggles?”

“Me, right now”

“I suppose that can be arranged. I want to make copies of these photos. I don’t ever want to lose them”

“We’ll work that out... like we work everything else out”

Keith kissed his hair

“We make a good team”

“That we do”

[thechillicount]

{Omegaverse} Shouto Todoroki x F!OC

This was written back in July LAST YEAR. I'm sorry, that was not funny. It was a time where I couldn't stop reading omegaverse stories and I had an unbelievable thirst for Shinso.

I also just want my OC to see the light of day. Even though this is a one shot, it connects to my mighty 3 chapter fanfic that I started last year. Right now I'm focusing more on my original work that I want to convert into a comic somewhere in the future.

The first one shots I ever posted were on Wattpad 3 years ago. Plus they were in my native language so they weren't that bad and I'm actually proud of them. The very first english one I ever shared with people was a KeithxOC one shot for Voltron Amino and Wattpad. It was quite bad in my opinion. If anyone recognizes it then good, I guess? I doubt someone does. Long story short, I don't think my english story telling is great. It doesn't flow as nice as some other one shots or fanfics you may read. Plus my works may have errors due to the fact that english isn't my first language. Mainly grammar errors.

Enjoy it anyway!

Word count: 3015

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was no surprise to anyone that at the second year of middle school it was known that Mizuhi Yamakaze was an omega. Her strong smell has been radiating all over the school even before she knew her second gender. The beautiful scent of air after the rain, it was so calming yet so sharp. It all depended on the omega's mood, but usually the smell was calling of home to any known alpha. One of the alphas that she's attracted was Hitoshi Shinso, her classmate and best friend since their first year. The boy himself was thought to not have any distinguished smell. Some have said that they smelled coconut, others said pine. Yet his real smell was a relly light scent of cocoa and cinnamon. Those who were patient and curious got to experience it when Hitoshi got a little angry at some upperclassmen trying to lure Mizuhi in for themselves. His fragrance spread across the hallway making some omegas turn their heads in disbelieve. Many have believed that those two would be mates one day, since they already seemed to click with each other. None of them knew that some other alpha had a huge attraction towards that aroma of air after the rain. Shouto Todoroki from a neighbouring class was never fond of the whole alpha/omega/beta system. Coming from a family of an abusive alpha and an abused omega didn't really help either. When he found out to be an alpha, his world flipped upside down. His father wanted him to start looking for a suitable omega right away to already secure the future. It got worse when he found out about Mizuhi, his old high school friend's daugther, and her second gender. He was more than happy to encourage Shouto to mark her as his own before someone else did. But his son had a different opinion on this matter. Yes, he did want to make Mizuhi his own, but not from an order of his abusive alpha father. He's decided to wait for the moment when both of them would be attracted to each other's scents. His being a sharp yet gentle spearmint like his mother's. Something that he despised and loved at the same time. Throughout the entirety of middle school, no mates were found at the graduation. Everyone who thought that Shinso would be with Mizuhi were left disappointed and curious as to why they took that course of action. After both Hitoshi and Shouto got into U.A. it was now just a matter of time for both of them to once again meet face to face with the omega that smelled like an after rain air. Shinsou managed to get his spot in Class A of the hero course. His amazing showcase of control of his quirk left teachers hoping the best for his further development. Shouto finally managed to get his hero license after all of his supplementary classes. It didn't mean that he wouldn't have any more work to do. He was finally at his father's agency working full time, it was never bound to be easy. Especially when your father has his eye on you and tries to make some positive contacts after years of only negative ones. From him Shouto found out that Mizuhi changed schools. She's decided to transfer to U.A.'s hero course instead of the one that she was currently in at a different school. That was met with Shouto's heart racing at an incredible speed. The person that he's wanted to mark as his would be right beside him, with that amazing scent of hers. It all seemed true after all. When Shouto walked in to the dorms he found his classmates circling someone on the sofa. He could only imagine what all of those alphas were thinking. He quickly stepped towards the group and poked his head up to see. It wasn't necessary as his nostrils were hit with a light breezy smell, one that he knew all too well. Without moving the group apart he put his hands in his jeans's pockets and took a deep breath.

"Mizuhi." He breathed out which was met with his classmates' confusion. The said girl happily stood up from her spot on the sofa and made her way to the bi haired alpha. Her scent got only stronger to him. It seemed as other alphas in the room weren't bothered by it. Shouto thought that maybe her scent was too light for them and it didn't call out anything, but to him it was the most comforting of aromas that he's ever knew.

"Sho, I missed you." She quickly wrapped her small arms around his figure and smiled gently under her nose. Shouto patted her dark fluffy hair and whiffed her scent once again. He knew he was going to get intoxicated pretty soon so he pulled away after a brief moment of hair ruffling. The female smiled when her nostrils were hit with a strong spearmint. The scent that got her weak at her knees so many times before, was so close now. She only hoped that her heat wouldn't come too soon or else it would be an interesting yet embarassing first impression. After some talking and getting to know all of the new classmates the dorm door opened and shut close right behind the rest of the class. Some automatically spotted their friend Izuku Midoriya, some spotted a new set of hair and new guy to flood with questions. Mizuhi stopped what she was doing and almost stormed towards the purple haired man in the hallway.

"Hito!" She quickly jumped on him which made him almost lose his balance.

"Mizuhi, stop it. It hurts. Ow. I'm dying." He joked and pushed the female so that he could see her face to face.

"I'm so glad you got in! You deserved it!" She nodded her head and got her hair ruffled by Shinso to mimick his own one. The guy smirked under his nose and only then noticed his new classmates looking all confused. He cocked his eyebrow up and tried to find an answer.

"You know him too Mizuhi-chan?" Mina Ashido was more than confused. She liked some good gossip and from the looks of it, the omega Mizuhi had two alphas wrapped around her fingers. That called for some more questioning.

"Yes. Me and Hito were in the same class in middle school and Shouto was in a neighbouring one actually." Mizuhi explained which made some of the classmates go 'oohh' which for the dark haired female seemed odd. Hitoshi ruffled his own hair even more and sighed. He started walking towards the elevator. "I'd like to stay and talk but I have to unpack my stuff. See ya." He said with a monotonne voice and disappeared behind metal doors. Almost every girl's eyes went onto Mizuhi and the happy smile plastered on her face. It was clear that her scent was still strong as Mina had to stop herself from doing something bad and Bakugo stormed off to his own room muttering "bullshit" and "fucking extras" under his high up nose. No one was really surprised though. They were just happy that they have some interesting new classmates.

It's been 2 weeks of hard and extra, for some poeple, work. Mizuhi has cleared out any misunderstandings with her new friends. She's stated that she doesn't have a mate and Hitoshi as well as Shouto are just her childhood friends. But that sparked even more controversy in the class. Who is Mizuhi going to pick from those two? That was the question. Aizawa-sensei's speech about focusing on hero work instead of mates didn't help the situation. For students it seemed as if he was curious himself, but couldn't show it due to his position. To everyone's surprise the rumoured omega has stayed in her dorm room throughout the entire day. Ochako Uraraka explained to class that Mizuhi wasn't feeling very well. That could mean two things for the present in class alphas. Or she was really sick and couldn't come or, the more possible one, Mizuhi was in her heat. Just the thought made some of the alphas in class boil with emotions. They tried to keep it down, not to disturb the rest of their classmates. Kaminari even had to excuse himself in the middle of english class with Present Mic. The pro hero only shook his head and muttered something under his breath in english instead of yelling it out like usually. That whole situation didn't feel right to Shouto at all. They were all gossiping about him and Shinsou who he quickly recognized from his middle school days as Mizuhi's friend and some kind of guardian. Half of them were rooting for him and the other half for the brain washer, but they were getting excited over some news that could be untrue?Unbelievable. Todoroki decided that it would be best if he was the one to see what's wrong with Mizuhi. He was still thinking of her as his own mate, just not marked yet due to his problems with physical contact. The trip to the dorms along with his classmates seemed like a pilgrimage straight out of a nightmare. They looked like zombies trying to find a way to please their unexistent needs. It was sickening to him. As soon as they stepped into the dorm territory the air got chilly and it smelled like...spearmint? They all looked at Todoroki who was clearly nervous but most of all, angry. The smell that he was giving off was sharp as to scare the other alphas away. None of them experienced something like this before, especially coming from someone as calm as Todoroki. The said male took the fastest way of going to his room. He put his bag on his desk and took a deep breath. He had to mentally prepare himself for what was about to come. He didn't want to ruin anything or worse, hurt the one he was attracted to. Shouto quickly made his way to the opposite side of the floor. He was so gald that Mizuhi's room was on the same one. But is also seemed like a punishment, her scent flying all over. He noticed two figures being really near the omega's door. He relaxed when he saw who it actually was. Both Izuku and Ochako made their way to Mizuhi's room before Todoroki got a chance to. Both of them were betas that instantly clicked not too long ago during Valentine's Day. With them being betas Shouto could let out a breath of relief.

"Are you sure you want to come in? She is-" Ochako wanted to explain her friend's situation but was cut off by the ice and fire user.

"-I know. That's why I'm coming in." He said bluntly and knocked on Mizuhi's door. Izuku decided to get Ochako away and asure her that Todoroki would take a good care of someone that is actually precious to him. They both noticed his unusual behavior in school. His eye would unusually twitch whenever someone mentioned Mizuhi, his quirk even randomly activated during lunch which made Bakugo almost start a riot. "I think he was actually protective. He didn't really like when someone mentioned Yamakaze-san. And that's quite unusual for him." Izuku took a last glance at the hallway and saw his friend coming in and closing the door behind him. He smiled under his breath and went with Ochako to the common area. What Shouto smelled after he came in was a calming scent, his favorite, the air after the rain. But it was so strong that he had to put a hand over his mouth and nose. Mizuhi has just finished swallowing a scent masking pill and some another one for her unbelievable pain. 

"I'm sorry. J-just...give a minute. You can...wait outside if it's too much." She smiled despite the pain that she was in. Shouto only shook his head and swallowed roughly the words that were caught in his throat, the ones he wanted to speak out. Just then he noticed her open closet. It was clear to him what was kept in there. All of it was now on her bed hugging her body all around. Shouto was happy to know that she had enough time to build herself a nest where she could comfortably rest. The feeling of protectiveness has washed over him a long time ago. He wanted Mizuhi to be safe and happy. He had to be her mate, no questions aksed. Just after a minute the intoxicating smell went off and Shouto could let go of his mouth. He got closer to the omega and sat on the edge of her bed.

"Was it hard?" He asked and looked the female in the eyes. She blinked a few times and shook her head.

"I managed to calm it down just in time. I decided it would be best to just stay, safety first." She chuckled lightly and hugged her pillow closer to her tired body. Shouto nodded his head and got closer to her form.

"Is there something I can do?" He asked with the most calming voice Mizuhi's ever heard from him. The smell that he was giving off was waving over her like a gentle ocean. She's noticed it and despite her flushed and embarassed face she opened her mouth to speak.

"Y-you could...um...because it's so calming and I am...w-well...anxious...you could..." Mizuhi swallowed the lump in her throat and looked at Shouto from behind her pillow. She then shoved it into the alpha's hands.

"...scent it...for me?" What left her mouth wasn't a request or a wish, it was a question. She was so embarassed about it. He wasn't even her mate yet she asked him to scent her pillow! Shouto on the other hand thought that it was adorable. Her flushed face and shining eyes only made him want to do it more. He gladly accepted the pillow much to Mizuhi's surprise. He scented every single corner of it making sure that every bit would be able to calm the omega down. He took her hands by her wrists really gently and placed the pillow between her arms whispering simple "done". Mizuhi hugged the pillow and was met with an amazing calming smell of spearmint. She closed her eyes and let out a heavy sigh. She then felt two strong arms picking her up and placing her onto a pair of laps. Shouto decided to calm her even more by hugging her from behind, even though he was no expert in those kinds of things. The smell radiating from Todoroki made Mizuhi weak at her knees despite her still sitting on a bed. She wanted to be eveloped in this smell forever, have it close to her whole being. "I'm sorry. I'm not good at...you know." Shouto's quiet voice reached Mizuhi's ears. That was the trigger that set off her omega instinct. She felt as if she'd melt from the tone of his voice and the breath on her skin. Literally due to her quirk. Her face flushed at the idea of this request, but she decided to say it nonetheless. Mizuhi breathed out the alphas name quietly. This brang his attention as he looked down to see her face better. 

"Shouto...mark me." The said male's eyes widened. Only then he realized how close he was. His cheeks were just a few shades off from his hair. He couldn't believe that she'd say something like that, especially since he wanted to ask it first. But he noticed that she actually demanded it, it wasn't even a questionike before. Plus it was so sudden. Shouto decided to be bold and blew air at the omega's mark place. She whimpered quietly and looked the alpha in the eyes. They were glossy and ready to cry from embrassment.

"Quickly. Please." 

Shouto didn't waste any time. He lightly nibbed at the spot only to fully bite and mark it a few seconds later. This seemed to trigger Mizuhi's heat even more as her scent filled the room once again. It didn't last long because of Shouto's own one. It completely overpowered the air breeze with it's delicate sharpness. He pulled away to see his masterpiece. A beautiful mark was left. Shouto couldn't be more proud. Mizuhi panted slightly from her heat suddendly taking over her body. She closed her legs tightly.

"Thank you." She felt at home now with her new mate. His smell calming her down and reminding her that she's being cared about. Shouto licked the spot once again and hugged his omega closer.

"I'll take care of you, now and forever." He left butterfly kisses all over the mark and his mate's neck. The he quickly recovered from his sudden bliss and pulled away. His cheeks being red as ever.

"I have to go. I won't be able to control myself." He said calmly as he took Mizuhi's hand in his. She only nodded her head and let her hair fall onto the scented pillow. 

"I understand, I'll be okay. I'll come to you once I feel better." With that said, Shouto smashed his lips onto the ones that left those words. He nibbed delicately on her lower lip and pulled away soon after. This small kiss was enough to leave his mate craving more and running wild in her fantasy. He looked deep into her dark blue eyes and smiled under his nose.

"I love you." Was all he said. Quietly but with full on confidence. Mizuhi returned the expression and whispered lovingly.

"I love you too." 

Shouto left one last kiss on her forehead before exiting her room. He didn't want to do something that she wasn't ready for. He didn't want to make his new, amazing mate hate him right off the bat. Even if it meant waiting a long while. Shouto didn't mind though. He just got an amazing girl as his mate, he couldn't be more happier.

[nomadicism]

Double Standard Setting

Regardless of antagonist or protagonist, villain or hero, and the tropes used to characterize them: it doesn't sit well with me for a story to present a character whose goals (which we are told are noble/good) are impossibly high given the setting and challenges that face them, and then for that character to be held to an incredibly high standard (relative to the setting) by other characters that the narrative has expressly given the easy path to by virtue of possessing the one thing that makes this impossible goal obtainable while those characters also benefit from the work of the one being held to the high standard (again relative to the setting) who is also paying the price.

Within the confines of VLD’s setting—a hellscape where there are no good options to change things for the better unless one has ultimate power—Lotor pays a heavy karmic price for a setting-imposed “no good options” decision; while also paying the price of a future lost with the one that we are being told outside of the story that he genuinely loved (while the show itself both tells us that he was using Allura and also implying love), in addition to failing to realize his impossible goal of peace.

Meanwhile, the protagonists (excluding Keith and Shiro to an extent) have been coasting through on easy mode while reaping the rewards of Lotor's work without paying the karmic price that he did in order to reach the point where his work could make the impact that it did. Additionally, Lotor’s work was centuries (thousands of years even) in the making, and Allura and Voltron slept right through it.

Examples of Lotor’s work: (1) put the Empire in a heavily weakened position by preventing the destruction of Naxcela which could have destroyed Voltron in the process; (2) killed Zarkon; (3) was right about Kral Zera, and beating Sendak kept Haggar away from the power of the Empire; (4) took Allura to Oriande (she would not have been able to save Lance or Shiro without her new powers). One could extend this list further, but these are the highlights.

Voltron and the Coalition would likely be at a stalemate (or potentially worse) if Lotor hadn’t taken action against Zarkon. Lotor didn’t have to do any of that. He didn’t have to return from exile. He could have set up some additional defense for his Altean Harvesting Utopia and remain hidden there, never leaving, and been worshipped until the end of the time (pretty sure that Zarkon would have given no fucks about that). It actually cost Lotor more (and in the end, everything) to pursue the impossible goal of bringing peace to the universe.

Easy Mode:

Voltron shows up, 10k years after the fact, with game-changing power in hand, and their victory really isn’t all that unassured. Their victory was a matter of when (and how many more lives are lost in the process) and not if. Strategy, diplomacy, and team-work are necessary to use Voltron’s power wisely. So yes, it’s not just a matter of Voltron itself, but who is in command of it. But they are still moving through the setting on easy mode because having Voltron means that they do not have to make terrible choices by having enough power to nearly always avoid being placed in a no-win/no-good options situation.

The few hard challenges (nearly no-win situations) that the protagonists have faced where death (for themselves) was imminent, were either avoided by another character’s in-the-nick-of-time action or sacrifice (Thace, Ulaz, Lotor, etc), or were remedied by Allura’s magic (healing the Balmera, trapped on Naxcela, healing Lance, healing Shiro). Thus, “easy mode” still applies.

Keith and Shiro are the only ones who have had to make some hard choices imposed by the setting and circumstances, but even then, neither were put into a situation where the only choices where “sacrifice these hundreds to save these millions—and no—self-sacrifice is not an option”. The closest we get is during Keith's work with the BoM, we see him (thanks plot armor) skirt a version of this kind of choice when he runs back for Regress and manages to save both Regress and the data they were after. While the fight between Keith and Kuron amidst the all the clones definitely counts as “welcome to the hellscape!”, Keith’s options were to either leave or try to save Kuron at risk to his own life. That’s a hard choice, but still not on the level that I’m talking about here.

Choices Have Consequences For Thee But Not For Me:

By destroying the gate, and then attacking Lotor, and then leaving him in the Quintessence Field; Voltron has lost the chance for peace, plunged the universe into even deeper uncertainty, and without the Castleship they cannot protect those who depended upon them (e.g. the Coalition).

Surely some aspect of this is going to come up?

Can't have it both ways and be convincing.

Now that Lotor is gone…what is going to prevent Sendak and/or Honerva (now that she is no longer Haggar) from taking control of the Empire and putting things nearly right back where everyone started before Lotor showed up?

No Castleship equals no zipping around the universe to aid the Coalition or prevent the Empire from rebuilding itself under the rule of someone just as bad (or worse) as Zarkon.

Destroying the Castleship was a choice: close the reality tears, or maintain possession of a vital weapon and mobility resource.

In a setting that applies logic evenly (e.g. realistic outcomes/consequences and challenges for BOTH antagonists and protagonists), the destruction of the Castleship should have serious consequences for Voltron, as—logically—the war or other events regarding the Empire and the Coalition should continue without them being available. Hypothetically, Voltron's return trip to Earth is going to take a lot of time.

The following questions are raised:

How is the Coalition supposed to defend against Sendak or Honerva without Voltron?

Who from the Empire is going to take that Coalition intel that was synced by Kuron at Galra HQ and make use of it?

Is Sendak going to wait around to make good on his threat (in S1) to go after Earth?

Will the protagonists finally have to make a hard decision to protect one planet that is under attack versus another?

And when they make that choice, surely, the other planet will be a smoldering wasteland when they arrive too late?

Will it be Earth or Olkarion?

Without the Castleship, Voltron can’t arrive at the last minute to save more than one planet. The fact that this hasn’t even come up yet (b/c even with the Castleship Voltron still can’t be in more than one place at one time) has bothered me, but it’s going to be an even bigger problem if this kind of challenge (one that is logically demanded of the setting) isn’t set before the protagonists while they do not have access to wormhole transport (Castleship-generated or otherwise).

And while the protagonists do not have access to wormhole transport, Honerva does.

Is she really going to wait around till Voltron catches back up to challenge her?

10k Years of Consequences:

Assuming that Honerva doesn’t get there first…what happens when the protagonists go to The Colony?

Will Allura and Voltron be welcomed and celebrated?

Will the Alteans care (or even know) that Voltron attacked their god-king-savior and left him for dead in the Quintessence Field?

In a setting that applies logic evenly, those Alteans should be angry when the protagonists arrive. From their sheltered/socially-engineered perspective, it seems highly incongruous that the protagonists would be seen as heroes or saviors as they are seen when liberating planets from the Galra. The Alteans should be angry either from the death/disappearance of Lotor (their god-king-savior), or just the simple fact that Allura (and thus Voltron) slept for 10k years while the Alteans were hunted and had to be hidden away while the rest of the universe was conquered by Zarkon.

In a setting that applies logic evenly, are the Alteans really going to be ready to throw a parade for the daughter of the king who may as well have abandoned them?

Within this context, Alfor’s decision to divide and hide Voltron (and his daughter) doesn’t reflect well on him. Presumably he must have ordered some evacuation of Altea, but he still made the decision to prioritize his daughter, friend, and Voltron by dividing and sending them far away and put them in stasis indefinitely. If the right people hadn’t chanced upon the Blue Lion then how much longer would Allura and Coran have been asleep? The Galra found the Red Lion and nearly got the Blue Lion, great plan Alfor.

Alfor had the power—the ultimate power that allows the protagonists to coast through the Hellscape of No Good Choices—to do something and he didn’t use it. He made a choice that left his people defenseless, and still ended up creating a risk that the power would fall into the hands of Zarkon (or even someone worse). There is also the ethics of binding Allura’s quintessence to Voltron to consider.

If anything, that sets up Alfor's decision to be similar to Lotor’s decision, in that sacrifices had to be made for what either perceived as the greater good.

To recap: why is there this dark and terrible setting that left Lotor with no good options for bringing peace but somehow that setting never forces the protagonists into a corner where they have to make a legitimately terrible choice with no better options?

Especially with antagonists like Sendak and Honerva who—by any reasonable logic—would be in a position and mindset to create situations in which there are no options other than terrible ones that carry a karmic/moral price.

We’ve already gotten a hint of this with what Honerva did with Kuron and Keith, and with what Sendak did with the Arusians.

Clearly, the reason that this setting is inherently more punishing for the antagonists (and anyone who isn’t the protagonists) comes down to who has Voltron in their possession (regardless of strategy and team work). And that’s believable to a point.

In a setting that applies logic evenly, if the difference between Lotor not being able to make a better choice within the confines of the setting really boils down to Lotor not being Allura (with her magic) nor having Voltron at his disposal then…it seems like that choice was already made by Alfor, and the consequences of that choice have been felt by the universe for 10k years, and someone should call that out in-story.

So will the writing continue to gloss over consequences and/or never place the protagonists into a moral choice trap?

I’m not holding my breath. The plot armor within this double-standard setting is very heavy, and should that continue, it's going to kill what little desire I have to finish out the series.

[sage-nebula]

I caught up on Miraculous Ladybug a couple days ago, so I thought I’d jot some thoughts down now that I’ve seen every episode and have a clearer scope on the series and characters as a whole.

First and foremost, let me just say that I think people take this show way too seriously. As I mentioned before, all I saw before I actually sat down to watch the second season for myself was hate and negativity. People bashed the show, the creators, and so on and so forth left and right. The thing is, sure, there are concepts in this show that could be taken deeper if this was meant to be a serious, deep show. But it’s pretty clear that’s not the case. Miraculous Ladybug is a bit like a ‘90s action cartoon, albeit one with a shoujo flavoring. It’s meant to have about as much depth as, say, Jackie Chan Adventures. The characters do learn lessons and develop, sure, but the creators don’t hold true and fast to those lessons because their main objective is to entertain via monster of the week battles and the occasional plot movement here or there. That’s not to say that there aren’t areas where the show could be improved, but it is to say that this show isn’t meant to be a sprawling epic and is instead just a shallow, fun show to watch and unwind with. But regardless of what it’s meant to be, I think that people in the Miraculous Ladybug fandom should remember that no one is holding a gun to their head, forcing them to watch. If the show isn’t to their tastes, if they’re not having fun, if all it does is make them angry and miserable, they should stop watching. That’s what I did with Voltron: Legendary Defender. Of course I still hear things about it that make me mad, but I’m far less devastated than I would be if I had to watch the nonsense unfold in front of me (not to mention that I stopped feeling stress leading up to new season releases because I stopped watching the show). This is a cartoon about teenage superheroes. You’re not obligated to watch. If it’s not fun for you, go do something else. Find a new series to get into. I promise you, your life will only improve if you do.

That said:

Aside from the above, probably the most unpopular opinion I have about this show is that Gabriel Agreste is hands down the most interesting character. It might be because I’m an adult rather than a teenager myself, but I’m not that interested in the high school romances the show has to offer (and when I am, I prefer rarepairs that will never happen, lol), but I am interested in Gabriel’s history, what led to him becoming Hawk Moth, and how he continues to deal with that in the present day. Romance-wise, I think that Gabriel/Nathalie has the potential to be the most interesting ship on the show. I think that episodes that focus on the Agreste family and their history are the most interesting ones. And while Gabriel is clearly a villain and has done some awful things, I’m interested to see if they’ll successfully make him a tragic villain, because I feel the groundwork has already been laid out for that to be the case.

I’m crossing every finger I have that when Emilie Agreste is awoken from her coma, it’s revealed that she’s ten times the villain Gabriel ever was. Part of this is because I heard it said somewhere that Mayura was Hawk Moth’s boss, and yet we know that’s not the case with Gabriel and Nathalie; part of it is also because I’ve seen so many “OMG I WANT EMILIE TO GET FULL CUSTODY OF ADRIEN!!11!!” posts that give off the vibe of “mothers could never be abusive” and that rubs me the wrong way. (Same with “Nathalie needs to adopt Adrien” posts; she clearly doesn’t care about him half as much as she cares about Gabriel, stop acting like she’s a better parent than Gabriel just because she has a surplus of estrogen.) We know that Adrien has fond memories of Emilie and that she took sweet pictures of him, but: a.) If she was nice to Adrien, that doesn’t mean she wasn’t a villain to everyone else, and b.) She could have easily been the type of abuser to guilt trip and manipulate rather than neglect like Gabriel, meaning that Adrien might not have recognized her abuse for what it was and might have instead felt that any time she was upset, it was his fault, and c.) It’s entirely possible that Gabriel would have taken the brunt of whatever abuse was doled out in order to protect Adrien, with Adrien being none the wiser Any one of those possibilities could be true, but the fact that people don’t even want to acknowledge that Emilie could be terrible to reeks of “she’s his mother, of course she wouldn’t abuse him,” which I just don’t vibe with at all. Gabriel is an abusive parent as well (though we can see that he does care about Adrien, though not enough to stop what he’s doing), but that doesn’t mean that Emilie is great. The fact that Gabriel’s love toward Emilie is so unhealthy speaks to the fact that there was more to her (and their relationship) than meets the eye. (And yes, Gabriel’s love for her is unhealthy, and severely detrimental to his quality of life. Since losing Emilie, Gabriel has: - Not gone outside even for a moment, instead staying locked up in his manor all day. It’s noted several times in both “Style Queen” and “Queen Wasp” that his appearance in the latter episode was the first time he’s shown his face in public since Emilie disappeared. - Cut off practically every relationship he has and socially isolated himself from everyone else, including those who would show him any sort of love or affection, to the point where it catches him off-guard when someone---even his own son---does. - Neglects any other kind of needs in his life outside of those that are either necessary to support his family (his work) or bringing back Emilie. We never see him having fun, spending time with others, or even taking time to relax and recuperate. - Become extremely paranoid and mistrustful of others, keeping secrets from just about everyone and casting a suspicious eye on anyone he comes across. He’s also paranoid about the safety of his one remaining family member. Particularly with regards to how Gabriel has isolated himself from practically everyone save Emilie, I would argue that Gabriel’s abuse and neglect of Adrien is continuing a cycle from what Gabriel himself has experienced as a result of Emilie’s “disappearance,” and possibly even beforehand. Which of course DOES NOT excuse what he does to Adrien, but it might explain it. All in all, the relationship we see between Gabriel and Nathalie is far healthier than what we’ve been given of Gabriel and Emilie, and I’m curious to see if this continues in later episodes.)

I love Luka, and I really hope that we see more of him. Additional thoughts:

Upon watching “Captain Hardrock,” I got the vibe that Luka might be on the autism spectrum somewhere. I hesitate to say this because the last time I made an autistic headcanon I was screamed at for it and deemed a horrible person, but particularly with how Luka said that it’s easier for him to communicate through music rather through words, how he often looks down at his guitar instead of right at people (though he does make eye contact sometimes), how he tried to joke around with Marinette but ended up hurting her feelings and looked genuinely panicked / upset that he did so . . . I don’t know, I just kind of got that vibe from him. Like maybe he’s on the autism spectrum and music is his special interest, particularly because it’s a lot easier for him to convey what he’s feeling / thinking through music rather than through words, particularly without upsetting other people (because most people don’t get angry or upset when they hear music, whereas they might with his words). I think it’s be really neat to have the cool, suave character on the autism spectrum, anyway.

I don’t understand why people say Luka has no personality when he has about as much personality as any other character on the show, particularly the classmates. How does Luka have less personality than Nathaniel, or Rose, or Max? I think the real reason why people want to say Luka is “cardboard” and therefore a bad character is because he “threatens the love square,” which is nonsense. All Luka is doing is living his best life. (And the same goes for Kagami, tbh.) Let him live.

On that note, though, I prefer Luka/Marinette to Marinette/Adrien at this point. Marinette/Adrien has had some really sweet moments as well, and I still ship it (and know it’s endgame anyway), but at the moment the way Adrien behaves when he’s Chat makes him feel like he has a Nice Guy complex toward Ladybug, and I’m not here for that. “Glaciator” was one thing, but how he behaved in “Frozer” was unacceptable. I don’t hate the ship, but I much prefer Luka/Marinette, particularly since Luka has genuine interest from Marinette and has never been afraid to treat her like a princess, but at the same time will encourage her to go be happy when he realizes she has stronger feelings for someone else.

I wish that Luka would get the Dog Miraculous instead of the Snake Miraculous, but at least he’s getting one regardless, I guess.

I do think it’s an issue that all of Marinette’s love rivals are antagonistic in some way or another. Chloe is . . . Chloe, Lila is a compulsive liar who’s addicted to evil butterflies, and Kagami . . . honestly didn’t do a single thing wrong, but she was still characterized as being somewhat forward and antagonistic rather than sweet and perfectly nice like Adrien’s love rivals. I feel that this show has a bit of an issue with pitting girls against each other over a boy, and since Adrien’s not even that great of a boy (I like him fine, but he’s honestly not worth ladies fighting over), it rubs me the wrong way and I hope that, in season three, Marinette and Kagami can become friends.

Rose’s English voice (in season two, at least) is literally the worst thing I’ve ever had the misfortune of hearing. She sounds like a chipmunk that sucked helium. No teenage girl actually sounds like that, what in the honest hell.

For that matter, Juleka’s English VA had a real bad day in “Zombiezou.” I’ve never heard more emotionless voice acting in my entire life, and for a zombie apocalypse parody episode, that’s a real issue.

For the most part I think that most of the “omg why can’t they recognize each other!!1!!!!111″ nonsense that I’ve seen around the fandom is just that, nonsense, because being unable to see through a paper-thin disguise is a superhero staple, and this show has even gone the extra mile to explain it’s the magic of the suits protecting their identities. That said, there have been a couple instances where I felt like Adrien and Marinette should have gotten suspicious or had questions, and most notably in “Frightengale.” Both of them had great reasons for not wanting to put on the Chat Noir and Ladybug masks, but what they both failed to consider or question is why the other person had such an issue. Like, Adrien knows that he doesn’t want to put on the mask because he’s the real Chat Noir and people will recognize him. But didn’t it strike him as odd that Marinette had similar objections to putting on the Ladybug mask? And the same is true in reverse. Marinette knew why she didn’t want to dress up as Ladybug for the video, but didn’t she ever wonder why Adrien was reluctant? I guess they were both too wrapped up in their own drama to consider it, which makes sense if you consider they’re teenagers, but it’s still something you’d think they’d ponder over later.

On that note, Plagg and Tikki are the real heroes for having to put up with this love square nonsense in-universe. Pour one out for them.

Adrien being a Nice Guy while he’s Chat Noir is an issue, but I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with what he said in “Malediktator” or “Chameleon”, and here’s why:

In “Malediktator”, Adrien was upset that the only person who provided him any company or friendship was leaving the country for an indefinite amount of time because she was upset, and he never even got to say goodbye to her. Note that (at least in the English version), Adrien never says that Marinette or the others can’t celebrate; he just says that he, personally, finds Chloe leaving to be awful, and objects to Marinette calling Chloe useless (which is a reasonable thing to object to, because in honesty saying someone is useless is pretty harsh and terrible). He then goes and sits quietly by himself, waiting for the party to be over. People have grown angry with him for this because Marinette was bullied by Chloe for years and they think that he should see her side of things, but the fact of the matter is that the people who make those claims aren’t seeing Adrien’s side of things, which Marinette herself realized when he left to go sit by himself. Here’s the thing: Neither Marinette nor Adrien were in the wrong. Marinette is perfectly entitled to be ecstatic that her bully is leaving forever, particularly since she’s Ladybug and said bully akumatizes people all the time and this will make less work for her. She wasn’t doing anything wrong by celebrating Chloe leaving, although again, saying that someone is useless is crossing a line (particularly since, as we find out later in the episode, Chloe already believes she’s useless because of her mother’s emotional abuse). Marinette didn’t do anything wrong. But Adrien is also perfectly entitled to be upset that his childhood friend---the only person who gave him companionship during his incarceration in his own home---is leaving on a bad note. If Chloe was leaving perfectly happily, I think he’d feel differently. He’d be happy for her. But he’s seen a side of Chloe that no one else has, and moreover, Adrien tends to be rather compassionate for other people’s struggles (something Kagami calls him out on). It’s perfectly understandable that he’s upset that his oldest friend is leaving on a bad note, and that he didn’t get to say goodbye to her besides. Moreover, since it was a shock to him, it’s natural that he didn’t realize how his words might have sounded to one of Chloe’s victims, especially since Marinette herself didn’t bring up the fact that Chloe had bullied her, but instead just said Chloe was awful and useless (which, as her friend, Adrien naturally rankled against).  This isn’t a situation of one being right and the other being wrong. This is a situation of two people coming at a situation from different perspectives, and feeling differently as a result.

As for “Chameleon,” as I believe I’ve explained elsewhere, Adrien was looking at the situation from the perspective of Chat Noir. If they upset Lila, she’s going to get akumatized again. This is something he knows for a fact, because it has happened multiple times now (at least twice that he knows of). Akumatizing Lila over and over again isn’t going to accomplish anything meaningful. All it’s going to do is create more work for Chat Noir and Ladybug, which Adrien wants to avoid. Adrien is looking at the bigger picture, which is hoping that perhaps Lila can become a better person, and if not, it’s better to pick your battles so that you can ultimately win the war rather than picking a fight every other day. He wasn’t wrong, and I strongly feel that people who insist he was are those that are projecting onto Marinette and just want to live through her as she stomps her bullies into the dirt.

Which, on that note, I find it really funny how people who claim to hate Chloe are the same people that like fan content where Marinette is being “petty” and “salty” and no better than Chloe herself. I agree that Marinette’s friends (sans Adrien) didn’t have her back in “Chameleon,” and that Alya’s behavior was especially out of character (and kind of funny at the end, because . . . yes, Alya, we do think you’d let your best friend sit alone, because you already did that, lol), but to imagine that Marinette Dupain-Cheng would suddenly take every single opportunity to insult and tear them down is completely missing the point of who Marinette is and why she’s a better person than people like Chloe (at present) and Lila. Again, I can only imagine this is self-projection of the “I wish I had been able to do this” variety, but I still find it really ironic that the people who hate Chloe and Lila make Marinette act almost exactly like them. (Also, it says something if you think Alya being a jerk once makes it all right for Marinette to treat her like dirt. For two seasons Alya was the best best friend someone could ask for. She made a mistake in one single episode, and you think Marinette should turn on her? Should say she’s no longer worthy of the Fox Miraculous? Please. That’s not how relationships work. Sometimes there are bumps and low points, but you communicate, work through, and apologize when you make mistakes. No one is perfect, Alya included.)

The first time Gabriel akumatized the baby it was funny because it was clearly an accident and he was just working with what he had (and it was a struggle). The second time I suppose it just happened because of all the akuma that were out at the time. But why was the baby akumatized again in “Weredad”? What purpose did that serve? What were you doing, Gabriel? Why this, again? Part of me feels like it was done because the writers needed a giant akuma, but like . . . there have been others . . . why the baby when he didn’t even want to akumatize the baby in the first place, I just . . . why.

Chloe’s transformation sequence has a similar grace to it that Adrien’s does (and tbh I like it a little more, especially with the toe tap and whatnot), and it makes me think that she’s secretly as much of a weeb as he is and they probably watched Sailor Moon together.

I like the unique transformation phrases in the English dub, but I wish that there was a bit more variety. Three out of five are “on/off” variants, and I like it when they’re a bit more creative like “claws in/out” or “let’s pounce.” Hopefully the transformations for future Miraculouses will be a bit more creative.

There are probably other thoughts but this is all I have for right now. Curious about the upcoming episodes and I’m surprised we got season three so soon, but also I imagine the release schedule might not be consistent, so there’s that, too. In any case, this is a cute and fun show so long as you don’t take it too seriously. I’m enjoying it, at least, and as far as I’m concerned that’s all that matters.  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯