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the-ferocious-kittyrose · 3 years

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Rewriting Haggar/Honerva’s redemption arc

One of the many things that bothered me about VLD S8 is Honerva’s redemption arc. While I was never fully against the idea of Honerva getting a redemption arc, I just didn’t want VLD to do it because I knew that they would fuck it up if they tried. And low and behold, I was right!

But yeah, I wasn’t against the idea of her being redeemed. And I don’t mean “redeemed” as in “all is forgiven and she’s just a good guy now,” but more like a Darth Vader, “the things she did were inexcusable and she would never be able to right all her wrongs but she goes out on one good act to show that there was still good in her deep down and she at least had the potential to change.”

I know a lot of people don’t like the whole, “redemption=death” thing, which I understand, but I personally never had a problem with it.

Ok, so why didn’t Honerva’s redemption work? Well there are a few reasons but the one that baffles me the most is that, instead of trying to make her more sympathetic, season 8 seemed to go out of its way to show her being more evil and vile than ever.

And because I have nothing better to do, I’m gonna go through Honerva’s story in VLD and explain what I would change to make her redemption more believable.

(Keep in mind I am not a writer, this is just me ranting about my favorite character and how I personally would’ve written her.)

1. Realizing she’s Altean

I always thought it’s was weird that when Allura said “you’re...Altean!?” In the S2 finale, Haggar didn’t seem to react at all, she just kept attacking. It’s as if she didn’t care or already knew, which doesn’t make sense considering in the S3 finale and S8E2 it’s established that Haggar has no memory of who she was before she died. And in S4E3 she seems shocked by her Altean face (which also doesn’t make sense because her blue skin isn’t camouflage that’s just how she looks after the rift) so it seems like she didn’t know.

Wouldn’t it have made more sence if after Allura said “you’re...Altean!?” Honerva looked confused/shocked? If she became defensive and said Allura was lying/trying to insult her? There’s def anti-Altean propaganda in the empire so it would be considered an insult.

After that she starts questioning Zarkon. And when she looks into his mind, it’s out of genuine curiosity and desire to know the truth, not because, “the empire needs him” or whatever that meant.

And isn’t it a bit odd that she doesn’t seem betrayed at all when she finds out Zarkon has been keeping all this from her? She’s just like, “oh, you’re my husband? Cool.” Wtf???

2. Her past relationship with Zarkon

Okay, I love Zonerva, but if we’re being honest, Zarkon was not the best husband. He enabled the shit out of Honerva, even when it was obvious that the rift was doing serious damage to her physical and mental health. To me, it seems like Zarkon was so blinded by the power the rift gave him that he didn’t realize/ignored the negative effect it was having on Honerva. In the same way he downplayed the negative impact the rift had on the planet.

I think that should’ve been explored more. Maybe Honerva notices that she’s been acting differently and is worried somethings wrong (think S5 Kuron). And Honerva tries to tell Zarkon that she feels strange and Zarkon just brushes it off.

And later, when Alfor visits Diaibazaal years later. Things are pretty much the same except when we sees Honerva, she is very obviously pregnant and Alfor’s there when Honerva falls and goes into labor (instead of a random quintessence seizure). Alfor and many Galran doctors try their best to save her and the baby but she dies in childbirth.

Zarkon goes ballistic. He’s yelling, throwing doctors across the room, and Alfor turns to the doctor holding Lotor and tells them to get the baby to safely, fearing Zarkon will take his grief out on the baby.

Zarkon turns on Alfor, blaming him for Honerva’s death and accusing him of letting her die so that he could get his way and close the rift. He lunges Alfor and roars at him to leave.

He spends the rest of the night grieving at Honerva’s bedside, when Kova jumps on the bed and starts gnawing on her finger trying to wake her up. This is what gives him the idea to bring her back with quintessence.

3. Her current relationship with Zarkon

I think it’s pretty safe to say that they’re relationship didn’t get better after the war began. Zarkon hid her identity and her child from her for 10,000 years and essentially used her as a tool of war. It’s pretty fucked up.

I know it’s pretty well established that Zarkon treats Haggar with more respect than his other underlings, but I feel like it would be interesting to see that change overtime. We see that after Voltron comes back, Zarkon becomes very obsessed with Voltron/Black, and he and Haggar start disagreeing more and more.

Remember the moment where one of Haggar’s druids told Zarkon Haggar said he needed to rest and Zarkon hit them with his bayard and told them, “remember who your master is”? What if, instead of a random druid, it was Haggar who he hit?

I feel like that would be a good way to show Haggar and the audience just how much Zarkon’s obsession with Voltron is affecting him, and make the audience feel a tiny bit bad for her.

Then later in season 4, when Zarkon wakes up from his coma and finds out Haggar brought Lotor back to take his place he gets pissed. He puts a price on Lotor’s head and has Haggar arrested for treason. She steals a ship, escapes, and later on meets up with Lotor’s generals.

Her and Zarkon are officially broken up and her quest to reclaim her identity and get her son back begins.

4. Oriande

I never liked the concept of chosen/sacred Alteans. The idea that some Alteans are just born more powerful than others just feels iffy. My idea of Oriande is that it’s an Altean holly land, any Altean can enter it just depends on whether or not you can pass the White Lion’s trial. Passing the trial proves that your intentions are pure and and the White Lion will bless you with power.

I didn’t like how Honerva seemed to force her way into Oriande, I think it would be more effective if she had gone through normally because, at this point, her intentions were pure. She was going there to purge herself of the dark magic corrupting her and reclaim her memories so she could go get her son back.

I also like the idea that Oriande is a sorta link to the Altean after life, and you can speak with people you’ve lost. Allura gets to speak with Alfor, and Honerva speaks with her mother.

You could also have her be confronted by the spirits of the Alteans she helped destroy. Have the weight of her past actions bear down on her. An important part of any redemption arc is acknowledging the terrible shit you’ve done in the past, and that was severely lacking in Honerva’s arc.

Another interesting thing you could do is have Honerva talk to her younger self. The one that died 10,000 years ago. This kinda thing actually happened in 80s Voltron, young Haggar appearing in Haggar’s head trying to convince her to be good again.

5. Her relationship with Lotor

Now this is where the redemption arc really falls apart. I forget who, but one of the writers said after S5 that Haggar/Honerva was motivated purely by love for her son, but man did they do a bad job of showing that.

And it would’ve been so easy to fix that problem, just have her not be horrible to him. Have them have actual civil conversations, have her protect and defend him. Don’t have her reject him as a fucking baby!

Imagine if, after Zarkon destroys Lotor’s planet, instead of immediately deciding to

exile him, Zarkon says that this is the final straw and he’s going to have Lotor executed. But Haggar speaks up to defend Him. There’s actually a scene in DOTU where Zarkon tries to kill Lotor and Haggar gets on her knees and begs for him to be spared. (Though the scene was mostly played for laughs.)

she asks for mercy and justifies it by saying it would be unwise to kill his only heir. It’s a weak argument, Lotor’s a half breed and couldn’t realistically take the throne, but Zarkon does concede, he still loves her after all, and has Lotor exiled.

And Haggar isn’t spying on him because she doesn’t trust him, but because she’s concerned for him. When Lotor confronts Haggar about sending her cronies after him, she says she knows he’s hiding something. Lotor asks if she’s threatening him, thinking she’s going to rat him out, but she says no, she’s not threatening him, she’s just trying to warn him against doing anything stupid because, with Zarkon seemingly on his death bed, the empire needs Lotor’s leadership.

At this point in the story, Haggar is questioning her loyalty to Zarkon, so I feel like it would make sense for her to be silently supporting Lotor from the shadows.

Then at the Kral Zera in season 5, It was weird to me how she was helping Lotor through Kuron while also telling him he couldn’t be emperor and trying to put Sendak on the throne. I feel like it would’ve made more sense for Sendak to just show up on his own without Haggar.

Haggar wouldn’t even be at the Kral Zera, she would just watch through Kuron.

And then we get to S6 when she actually reveals to Lotor that she’s his mom. This scene was just so poorly done. She never actually apologizes to him, she’s just like “yeah I forgot you were my kid and I never loved you, but were cool now right?” I remember when I saw S8E2 and it shows her after Lotor rejects her and she looks like she’s about to cry, I was just thinking, “this would be very emotional and sad IF she had actually apologized and made it clear that she genuinely loved him.” But she didn’t and I don’t know why!

And then we get to season 8, and of course everything in S8 is bad but Honerva’s story is particularly bad. She’s supposed to be motivated by love for Lotor yet she doesn’t act like she actually cares about him at all.

She manipulates his corpse and when she sees his gross melted body, she doesn’t even react that much. When a mother sees her child’s mutilated corpse, how do you think she reacts? Screaming? Crying?? Hurling??? But no. She’s just like, “...”

And then when she goes to the alternate reality and meets baby Lotor and he rejects her, her reaction isn’t disappointment or sadness, it’s anger and entitlement. She immediately decides, “ok, fuck this kid. Let’s destroy this reality.”

It just doesn’t make sense! This is the season you’re trying to REDEEM her! Why are you going out of your way to make her so vile?

6. Her S7-S8 plan

(Keep in mind I haven’t watched S7/S8 since they came out and barely even watched S8 to begin with, so I don’t remember some things and I can’t be bothered to rewatch them.)

Okay, starting with S7, she’s not in this season at all but in “The Ruins” the druid dude says that her final order was to hunt and destroy the Blade of Marmora. I guess it makes a certain amount of sense because she saw that it was Keith who brought Lotor’s actions to light, but that whole plot was really pointless in my opinion. (Was anybody really hoping for a rematch between Keith and that one random druid?)

If you want us to forgive Honerva for her crimes, you really shouldn’t keep adding more unnecessary crimes. It’s established that there were a lot of Galra war lords vying for power and pirates looking for money, just have it be that Kolivan got kidnapped by one of them.

Then you have her season 8 plan and I’m gonna be real with y’all, I have no idea how to fix this mess.

I feel like the basics of her plan could work. She tries to get Lotor and Sincline out of the rift but when she gets him he’s a melted corpse so the plan then becomes to use sincline to go to another reality to find a living Lotor, but opening all these rifts causes problems and the paladins have to stop her.

But all the shit with manipulating the colony Alteans, killing the White Lion, desecrating Oriande, and destroying Olkarion and entire realities, it was all so unnecessary.

Personally I would cut the colony Alteans from the story all together, there are other ways for Lotor to betray the team. It was a lazy way of making Lotor 100% evil and having Honerva manipulate them is unnecessarily cruel, especially in the season you’re trying to redeem her.

Here’s a very basic outline of how I would do this plot.

If we’re going by season 8’s logic that she needs a sacrifice to bring back Sincline, I would’ve had the Galra she killed at the Kral Zera be the sacrifice, not the White Lion. She stands on the pyramid and talks about how the empire stole her life from her and she wants revenge as she absorbs their quintessence into herself and then uses that to bring back Sincline.

Then when she finds Lotor dead she takes Sincline and uses it to go to another reality where she can be with her family.

The danger comes when she opens rifts to the other realities and rift creatures start coming out and causing damage. The paladins fight them and follow her into the rift to stop whatever evil plan she may have. Because the paladins don’t know that Haggar is now Honerva and all this is just to get Lotor back. They think this is all some plan for multiverse domination or some shit.

Meanwhile Honerva has just been rejected by little Lotor and seeing Voltron show up pushes her over the edge and they fight.

But when they find out the real reason she’s doing all this they start trying to appeal to her and convince her to give up and close the rift peacefully. And similarly to how the paladins had to sacrifice the castle to close the rifts created by the fight with Lotor, Honerva has to sacrifice herself to close the rifts.

In the end, I feel like a Honerva redemption arc could’ve worked if the writers were actually competent and actually made an effort to have her be sympathetic, but In canon, her reasoning, “If I can’t indulge in the simple joys of life, why should anybody else?” just doesn’t cut it.

It’s disappointing. VLD had so much potential. I’m thinking of just rewriting the entire series from the beginning. Hopefully putting all my thoughts out into the universe will help me move on.

#voltron #voltron legendary discourse #haggar #honerva #Lotor #prince lotor #Allura #princess allura #vld #vld critical #Altean #voltron season 8 #zarkon #emperor Zarkon #zonerva #Galra #redemption arc

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corvus--rex · 3 years

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So, to start off with, these are a little rough. Mostly cleaned up for spelling/grammar, but there are things that are more like placeholder notes in exposition form that would be written out if I went back to it.

This one's working title is Quantum Fracture, is "in universe" non-canon compliant, and is set both near the end of s.2 after ep.9, and a few years post s.8. It's also only semi-abandoned. I like it and want to keep going with it, but I've hit a wall and just can't do anything with it right now. It has (sort-of) time travel and "Galra genetics are weird" resulting in Klance kids. It does also switch between times, but those sections have punctuation separators.

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

“Lance, Pidge, keep watch on the area. Keith, Hunk, and I will go down to check it out,” Shiro said over the comms.

“Got it.”

“Copy that.”

Green and Blue split off from the V-formation, flying over the asteroid while Black, Red, and Yellow landed on its surface. Lance and Pidge kept a visual track on their friends while keeping their scanners active for anything in the area. Team Voltron had been on their way back to the Castle after liberating another planet from the Galra Empire when Pidge’s more finely-tuned scanners picked up on what looked like an abandoned Galra base embedded in an asteroid. Shiro made the call to check it out and let Allura and Coran know what was going on, keeping Lance and Pidge on watch. The Black Paladin took point, with Keith right behind him. Hunk brought up the rear, man-portable cannon ready for whatever might try to sneak up on them. The facility was powered down, a layer of dust on every surface.

“Looks like it really is abandoned,” Keith said, “I don’t think there’s anyone or anything left here.”

“Agreed, but I want to complete a sweep of the facility. Never know what might have been left behind,” Shiro replied.

They continued on, not making any real effort at stealth, but only made it about another 20 feet before a side door creaked and flew open, Keith finding himself blown out into space, despite Hunk’s effort to prevent it. Keith tried to use his jetpack to redirect himself and head back to the facility, but there was just enough gravity generated by the density of the asteroid field to pull him toward the nearest surface. He bounced off the next asteroid, damaging his jetpack in the process. It sent him away from the asteroid field and into open space.

This isn’t how this was supposed to go, Keith thought as he floated in the void, then realized just how much Lance was rubbing off on him. His back hit a second, smaller asteroid, and he bounced off into the nothingness. Come on, Red. Where are you?

He felt the shift in the vacuum an instant before the sensors in his armor picked it up. The short chirp announced the sensors’ findings, bringing it up on the HUD. The display’s minimal capabilities showed the slight variant, a faint ripple in the fabric of space.

“The fuck is that?” he asked the void of space.

He hadn’t expected an answer, and didn’t get one. What he did get was the familiar mental pressure of the red Lion, immediately followed by the equally familiar golden glow of the robotic cat’s eyes. Red swallowed the paladin’s free-floating body, and he rolled through the slowly pressurizing corridor before the artificial gravity activated. He had only just taken his seat in the cockpit when he heard Pidge shouting across the comms.

“Keith! Are you ok? There was a spatial-temporal fluctuation right next to you.”

“Yeah, I felt it, but I'm ok,” he answered, exhausted from the mission and subsequent launch into space.

Green came up alongside Red, guiding them back to the Castle, Blue right behind them. Once the three Paladins were back aboard the Castle of Lions, Pidge insisted that Keith go to the medical deck, just in case.

“Ok, fine, Pidge. But I'm fine. Really,” Keith protested while simultaneously giving in.

She didn’t trust him to really go, but she was also concerned with the anomaly she found, so didn’t question it when Lance volunteered to make sure Keith went.

“Keith, what were you thinking?” Lance asked when they were alone.

“I don’t know what happened. It wasn’t anything I did and Hunk and Shiro will figure it out. Pidge is more worried about the space-time ripple we encountered. But I'm fine. Really.”

Blue’s Paladin stopped in the middle of the empty corridor. “You scared me, cuervo. I saw you get ejected into empty space without Red or any of us nearby. Pidge said she was going after you, but still…it scared me.”

“I don’t think we should hide anymore. I think it’s time to let the team in on our secret.”

The pair had been dating secretly for a month at that point, intentionally keeping their relationship from the rest of the team. Keith didn’t think they would have been taken seriously to begin with, and Lance agreed. After a late-night talk, they both decided to give it time and let themselves settle into their budding relationship. But it was beginning to make them behave differently, especially on missions. They became focused on where the other was and it was causing mistakes. This last mistake could have been deadly, although Keith was right, he hadn’t done or not done anything that led to the deserted Galra base’s small side door opening and pulling the Red Paladin into the cold vacuum of space.

“Yeah, I think you might be right,” Lance admitted.

Keith took his boyfriend’s hand, linking their fingers together, and headed toward the medical deck. Coran met them there, no doubt having been called by Pidge. Keith was thoroughly checked over by way of the Castle’s scanners, and as far as they could tell, not a molecule was out of place. After finding out that Keith was at least partly Galra, Pidge and Hunk had thrown themselves into a reprograming project to the medical deck’s scanners, integrating human biological standards. They were surprised to find that the scanners were already programmed with Galra standards, and that was when Coran told the entire team about the original Paladins, Zarkon included.

Instead of the lounge or one of their bedrooms, Lance and Keith instead went to one of the Castle’s many observation balconies. Once they were alone, Keith let himself crumble, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend and holding on as tightly as he could. Lance gently returned the physical connection, understanding that the events of the morning had affected him more than he would let on in front of anyone else. He waited until he could feel the tension drain and knew that Keith was just sneaking middle of the day snuggling.

“You better now?” Lance asked.

Keith sighed softly against Lance’s neck. “Yeah, I think so. We should probably go see what Pidge found before anyone wonders where we went.”

“I don’t wanna,” he protested, holding on tighter.

Keith laughed and pulled away. “Well, if we stop keeping all this a secret, we won’t have to worry about where and when anymore.”

“Ugh. I guess.” Lance’s tone was overdramatic as usual, but his blue eyes sparkled with excitement at the idea of being open about his relationship.

Stepping backward out the door, Keith led the way toward the Lions’ hangars and Pidge’s lab. Halfway down the second to last corridor, Keith tripped over the smooth floor. He caught himself mid-stumble and stopped completely.

“Keith?” Lance asked, “Mi cuervo, you ok?”

_~*~_~*~_~*~_

“Keith! What the fuck was that?” Lance called over the comm.

“Dunno, but my speeder’s sensors caught it. Heading back now,” Keith answered from inside his modified speeder.

Modified, that was, by Pidge, who had retrofitted all of the Lions’ speeders to be able to fly in space. They were still fairly short-range, not capable of straying far from the Lions. It meant that Keith was still in visual range of Red when the Lion’s sensors spiked with the anomaly’s fluctuation.

Lance was waiting at the door to the cockpit when Keith came in. The tail of the raised French braid that normally ran halfway down his back was draped over his shoulder. Lance had insisted on braiding his husband’s hair that morning. Keith had groaned and asked why, seeing as it was just a simple recon mission. “Because you’re pretty, the twins are at school, we have time, and I felt like it,” was the list of reasons Lance rattled off as he made Keith sit. He didn’t mind it, but they usually saved more complex braids for diplomatic missions, not “drive down the street for space readings” missions.

Keith had had his second puberty while in the Quantum Abyss with Krolia, and it ended up being a good thing she was there. Alone, he would have assumed that the abdominal cramping, chills, fever, nausea, and full-body pain meant that he was dying. Krolia, however, recognized the symptoms of the shift in her son’s body to that of a Carrier and becoming physically capable of conceiving and carrying a baby. She told him that his half-human status may well have rendered him infertile, but they didn’t have the resources to look into it at the time, and the middle of a war wasn’t the time to worry about it. So it surprised both Keith and Lance when he found himself pregnant not long after the war ended, and they welcomed their twins Andra and Ori five and a half months later after a normal Galra-length pregnancy. The twins birth records had their names down as Andromeda Artemis and Orion Fenris Kogane-McClain, names that were called with increasing frequency now that the twins were five.

Keith sat himself in the pilot’s seat, pulling up the sensor readings from both Red and the speeder. They looked the same to both himself and Lance, but Pidge would be able to make better sense of them. But something about the anomaly was bothering Keith. It took a good minute of staring at the readings to realize that it was similar to how spacetime behaved near the core of the Quantum Abyss. And something about thatbothered him even more.

“You ok, cuervo?” Lance asked, leaning against the edge of the display panel.

“Yeah,” Keith sighed, “Just something about that anomaly reminds me of the Quantum Abyss. We’ll get it to Pidge and figure it out.”

The trip back to the new Castle was short, Red bypassing the reconfigured IGF-Atlas and heading directly for his hangar on the original Castle of Lions. After the end of the Galra War and the brief, but intense, war with Honerva, the Voltron Coalition needed a permanent – and mobile – base. The Atlas reshaped itself, wrapping around the Castle like the defensive walls of an ancient castle around its keep. Its completed size rivaled that of Galra Central Command, now the seat of the newly-formed Galra Collective.

Team Voltron’s power couple – beating out Shiro’s marriage to Adam – crossed the distance to Green’s hangar, where Pidge still maintained her personal lab. They found her buried in her multi-screen setup, one screen dedicated to the call she was on with her long-distance Olkari girlfriend Malyn, the others covered in technical readouts, diagrams, and blueprints.

“We’re back,” Keith announced when they walked in.

“Oh good. Anything weird happen out there?” Pidge said, taking Keith’s comm.

“The anomaly is behaving like the core of the Quantum Abyss.”

Pidge shoved the device into her computer a little harder than she intended. Except for her ongoing call, she wiped everything off the other screens, replacing what was on them with the readouts from both Red and the speeder. Her amber eyes flicked from screen to screen, already analyzing.

“I’m really sorry, Malyn. I have to call you later.”

“Of course. Is everything all right?” Malyn asked, concern laced in her voice.

“I’m not sure yet. We found a spatial-temporal anomaly, but it’s behaving differently from anything similar I’ve seen. Maybe…there was one…nah, that was different…”

Malyn laughed, she always found her girlfriend’s analytical mind adorable. “I’ll let you get to that. We’ll talk later.”

“Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm sorry, Malyn. We’ll talk again later, promise,” Pidge apologized again, but Malyn waved her off, still laughing, and cut the call.

“So, you'll let us know when you’ve found something?” Lance prompted.

“What? Yeah. Right. This is weirder than anything I've ever seen like this…”

Lance and Keith shared a look, knowing that Pidge was fully invested in the data and that she wouldn’t leave her computer unless she was physically removed. Deciding on the tactical retreat, they left her to it, heading back to their apartment on the Castle.

The Atlas hadn’t been the only thing to be reconfigured. The Castle of Lions had undergone its own renovations, the old single rooms turned into apartment-like suites. Shiro and Adam maintained Garrison positions onboard the Atlas, but retired to the Castle at the end of every day. Lance and Keith settled into their apartment after their two month long honeymoon. Hunk was splitting his time between the Castle and Balmera, sharing his space with Shay when they were there. Pidge mostly used hers as an excuse for more tech and a separate workspace, but Malyn stayed there with her when she could get time away from rebuilding Olkarion under Ryner’s guidance. Coran had decided to keep his old room the way it was, and Allura felt that her own rooms didn’t need the upgrade. The rest of the rooms stayed the same for the new Altean crew running the ship at a proper capacity.

It wasn’t until they got back that Keith realized Pidge still had his comm. “Well, shit. I’ll be back,” he said, heading for the door.

Lance decided to follow him out into the corridor.

“Why?”

“Because,” Lance answered, “I have nothing better to do and I can watch you walk away all day.”

“What the fuck, Lance?” Keith groaned in mock frustration.

“No, that’s after we get your comm.”

Keith turned, intending to call Lance out on exposing him like that, but stumbled, relieved that Lance was close enough to catch him.

“You alright, cuervo?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just tripped,” he said, but stopped. Something was wrong. He could feel the braid hanging over his shoulder from when he stumbled, felt the strength in Lance’s arms. No, this was wrong. He looked up. There was a small scar he didn’t remember being there, and the blue Altean marks were definitely new. His own body felt foreign. It was shaped differently, taller and broader than it should be. His voice was different, a little deeper, a little huskier than it should be. “Lance?”

“Keith, love, are you really ok?”

“I…I don’t know.”

Lance helped him to stand, leading him back to their apartment. Once inside, he sat Keith on the couch. “What happened? Exactly,” he asked.

“What does – is this about the anomaly? I told you before that I'm fine. We had Coran check me out. There was nothing wrong. Where are we anyway?”

“We didn’t have Coran check you out. There’s an entire medical crew for that anyway. We’re home, on the Castle. What do you remember from this morning?” Lance’s entire tone was cautious. Something was very wrong with his husband, but he wanted to have at least some answers before bringing it up with anyone else.

“We were coming back from a mission and stopped to check out an abandoned Galra base in an asteroid field. One of the side doors opened and I got blown out. There was a ripple in space-time, and I got close to it in nothing but my armor before Red came to get me. But I'm fine. I told both you and Pidge that.”

Lance remembered that mission. Overall, it was unremarkable. The base didn’t have anything useful. But there hadn’t been any temporal fluctuations. Yes, Keith had ended up floating through the void, but nothing happened other than that. The only reason he remembered that mission in particular was because that was when they decided to tell the team that they were together. It had been ten years since that mission.

“Ok. I do remember that. But, that was ten years ago. That was when we decided to tell the team that we’d been dating for a month.”

Keith’s face flickered between shock, bewilderment, and terror. Ten years? There was no way that could be right. But the evidence was right there. His own body and voice were different. He could see and feel how long his hair had gotten. And then there was Lance. He was beautiful as ever, and it certainly seemed that they were still together, but he was different. The scar, the Altean marks – how and when the fuck did that happen, and why? – and there was the fact that he was broader, more muscled, not slender and willowy like he had been. He processed everything in real time, not saying a word in that time. It had apparently been longer than he thought, because Lance was looking up at him from where he’d tilted his head to the side.

“Keith? Mi cuervo? What is going on?”

“You…you still call me that? It really has been ten years?”

“This has to be related to that anomaly,” he muttered. “Yeah, it’s really been ten years. And, yeah, I do still call you that. A lot’s changed in ten years, but not that. Stay here. I need to show you something. It might help.” Lance stood, leaving the room for their bedroom, coming back in less than a minute. He extended his free hand, bringing Keith over to the table where they both sat. Lance placed a ring of smoothly twisted and woven silver metal and carved crystal that shifted between blood red, cobalt, and vibrant violet on the table between them. “Do you remember this?” he asked softly, “Do you remember when I gave you that?”

Keith stared at it like if he could untwist it mentally, he could remember what it was. But he couldn’t, because Lance had never given him anything like it. It was definitely something he could see Lance picking for him, but as far as Keith knew, he never had.

“No, I don’t,” he had to admit.

Lance sighed, a tinge of sadness to it. “Ok. Something happened with the temporal anomaly we found earlier and that Pidge is still analyzing. I know you’re really Keith, but I don’t think you're my Keith. What you said happened this morning happened ten years ago for me. We need to go check in with Pidge and see if she’s figured anything out yet.”

“Ok,” Keith agreed, rising to follow Lance, “I shouldn’t know anything else. Not yet. But at least I know we’re still together.”

“We certainly are,” Lance agreed, taking Keith’s hand, “We’ll figure this out. That anomaly might have fucked with your memories somehow, but we’ll figure it out.”

_~*~_~*~_~*~_

“Yeah, fine.” Keith stood on his own, suddenly realizing that they shouldn’t have been a corridor and a half away from Green’s hangar, they should have been close to their apartment in a completely different part of the castle. Everything seemed ever so slightly bigger, except for himself and Lance. His braid was gone, and he was wearing clothes he hadn’t seen in years. And Lance looked so young. This was the thin, wiry boy he’d fallen in love with more than ten years before. The one without the Altean marks he’d gotten when Allura revived him after saving her from an energy blast. But he heard Lance call him by that familiar pet name. That alone left Keith with more questions.

“We need to see if Pidge’s gotten anywhere with that anomaly,” Lance said.

“Yeah,” Keith agreed. When had his voice gotten higher?

Keith stopped when they walked into Pidge’s lab. It wasn’t what he was expecting. This was the lab of a decade earlier. The one with the laptop she’d brought from Earth along with the equipment she had either repurposed or built from scratch. It startled him, and he froze in place.

“Keith, seriously, are you ok?”

“I…I don’t know anymore. Everything is wrong. Where is everyone else?”

“Hunk and Shiro are heading back from the abandoned base now. That door just malfunctioned after going so long without maintenance. And there was absolutely nothing important there,” Pidge answered, still focused on her computer screen. She realized part of what he said and turned around. “Wait, what do you mean ‘everything is wrong’?”

“You’re looking at a spatial-temporal anomaly, but it didn’t happen now. There shouldn’t have been one here. I…I think I might be from your future. Or, at least, sort of. I don’t look any different to you, do I?”

“No. You don’t. Get back to the part where you think you're from the future.”

“I don’t know how much I should tell you. I don’t know if it could upset the timeline. But I know when I am now.” He turned to Lance. “It’s been about a month now, right? And we had that talk?”

Lance nodded, trying to understand just what his boyfriend was saying about the future. “Yeah, and we did talk about it. Just a few minutes ago. But if you're from the future, I don’t know if talking about that now will help. It also doesn’t answer the question of if you’re Future Keith, what happened to Present Keith?”

“I don’t know. Best case, he switched places with me. He’ll be confused and probably a little scared, but I know he’s in good hands there. Fuck it feels weird talking about myself in the third person. Have you found out anything about the anomaly here?” he asked Pidge.

“Well, I think so, but I've never seen anything like this before.”

Keith came up behind her, looking over their temporal disruption. It was identical to the one he’d found in his time. He had no question now that he had switched bodies with his 18-year-old self. But at least there were a few things he didn’t need to worry about hiding. He knew he was at least partly Galra at this point. He wouldn’t meet Krolia for a little while, so he would have to keep that one to himself. But it also meant that he hadn’t been through the Quantum Abyss yet. There was no way he could tell them about that without explaining everything. He would have to be subtle with asking about the war.

“I have, but I can’t tell you anything specific. Like where, why, or how. And even knowing what it is, I don’t have your science brain, Pidgey. I have no idea how it works.”

Both Pidge and Lance were staring at him. Not because of what he said, but how he said it. He’d picked up a lot of linguistic quirks from Lance over the years, and no longer gave it any thought at all.

“You sound like Lance,” Pidge said finally.

“We’ve all spent a lot of time together over ten years,” Keith replied, avoiding the real question.

“Sure. What canyou tell me about this?”

Keith pulled Hunk’s usual seat over, sitting beside her. Lance perched on an empty spot of desk space, suddenly wanting to be closer to his boyfriend, or whatever he was at that point.

“It’s specific to a single point in space, but not this one. But that’s the problem. I can’t tell you anything about where it is or what it is because you haven’t gotten there yet. All I can say is that space and time work very differently there due to massive fluctuations in gravity, which is why this doesn’t make any sense.”

“Because there’s something there that affects the gravity in a way that it doesn’t where we found it.”

“Basically. It’s more like what affects gravity there doesn’t exist anywhere else, especially where this anomaly was found. It’s also far smaller here than it should be. Like the difference in scorch marks between Lance’s rifle and Hunk’s autocannon.”

“So, this anomaly is a precise shot, and where it should be is a huge mess,” Lance said.

“Pretty much,” Keith agreed, “But I really can’t tell you about it because there’s something vital to the war there and I don’t know how it would change things if you found out about it now. It wouldn’t be good. There are other players you don’t know about yet.”

Pidge continued typing away at her laptop, the 3D render of the anomaly rotating on the screen. Lance wanted to watch the progress, but he couldn’t focus on it. His attention was solely on Keith. Except for his earlier phrasing, he didn’t think Pidge had picked up on just how different he was. Body language, mannerisms, almost everything had changed in some way except for his physical appearance. And there was one thing Lance had noticed almost immediately after Keith started talking about the anomaly. He was pretty sure Keith wasn’t aware of it, but he had been running his left thumb across the ring finger of the same hand, like there was something missing. Lance thought about bringing it up, but decided not to, heavily suspecting Keith would just say that it was something else he couldn’t talk about.

~*~*~*~

Links to the rest of the series:

1 | 2 | 3* | 4 | 5* | 6* | 7 | 8 | 9* | 10 | 11 | 12* | 13 | 14 | 15* | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19*

#my writing #abandoned wips #Klance #vld #voltron #omegaverse #sort of #keith x lance #keith kogane #lance mcclain

14 notes · View notes

the-lightning-strikes-again · 3 years

Note

Hey, I saw your post about a head canon world where Lotor becomes the black Paladin, and it made me wonder how you feel about a different head canon, one that I personally don’t really have but find very interesting- the head canon of Lotor as a Blade of Marmora agent. How do you think that would change the plot of Voltron, and what do you think would happen with that? Just curious.

P.S. When’s the next chapter of Adrenaline Rush coming out? I love it so much and I’m at the edge of my seat waiting to see what happens-

Hi, anon. Thanks for the note! I’ve definitely thought about Lotor as a Blade before, and a while back last year, I posted a little drabble called The Awakening introducing that plot bunny. You can read it here as well as access links for other BOM Lotor stories!

Outside of that drabble, I do think transitioning Lotor to be a Blade pretty heavily shifts VLD. There’s probably a million interesting ways a person could write such a VLD AU, but I guess my initial thoughts would be something like this (heads up, this is a monster outline for a whole series rewrite):

After the disastrous end of the mining colony, Zarkon doesn’t just exile Lotor. He imprisons Lotor with the idea that Lotor either submit to “remedial training” or death.

When Lotor chooses death over kneeling before his father again, the Blades are convinced that Lotor is in fact truly different from Zarkon. Kolivan moves in to save him, offering him a secondary life in the shadows as an operative.

Lotor rises to the rank of Lieutenant within the BOM and helps establish a surviving Altean colony. In doing so, he discovers the legends of Oriande. He spends his time convincing the Blades that there is deeper knowledge of the universe they could use to defeat Zarkon and his witch.

The Blades share that they are aware at least Blue Lion survived the destruction of Altea, and they suspect that more Lions still exist. Kolivan orders Lotor to stand down from pursuing Oriande in favor of uncovering the location of the remaining lions.

Lotor ends up working with Krolia to better understand how she came to find the Blue Lion on Earth. He grows to see her as something of a mother figure or role model and is aware that she had to leave behind a mixed-race son of her own to ensure the war would never reach Keith.

Lotor warns that the pull to know one’s own heritage is significant, and that her half-human son will likely go to dangerous lengths to know the truth, especially if his more Galran attributes arise.

Krolia assures that her son’s father would keep the truth a secret and that Keith had no known signs of Galran blood.

Krolia missed that her son could sense things a normal human couldn’t.

All of that would be background information to be revealed in time.

VLD s1 would still pick up with Keith sensing the energy of the Blue Lion.

Lotor has by this time identified the location of the Red Lion, also following legends of a Lion Goddess upon Arus to suspect that perhaps more may exist on that planet. But Sendak has also picked up coordinates for the Red Lion.

Kolivan orders Lotor to stay hidden and send out squadrons to extract Red Lion, only for the extraction to fail and for the Red Lion to fall officially into Sendak’s hands.

At this time, Shiro crash-lands back on Earth. Sendak’s squadrons were also trailing his escape. The witch Haggar turns her eye to Earth and senses ancient power—the Blue Lion.

Kolivan is at a crossroads to determine next best steps. Lotor convinces him that it’s better to let Red Lion go temporarily than to lose even more to Sendak. Lotor argues that an elite squadron be sent to Earth to extract Blue Lion, and that he receive approval to pursue his lead for a possible lion on Arus.

Kolivan approves Lotor’s plan and realigns assets to Earth and to Lotor’s extraction team. Some Blades on Lotor’s extraction team are in fact Alteans and other survivors of other planets they have rescued over the years. Backup teams suit up for battle.

Krolia volunteers to lead the Earth squadron. She fears that her son and his people may be in danger.

Hunk, Pidge, and Lance follow Keith and Shiro to the Blue Lion. But at this time, the Galra have already discovered the Blue Lion. Krolia is desperately attempting to fend them off, but the Galra had taken out several of her squadron members, and she herself is injured.

The Galaxy Garrison recognizes that alien squadrons have landed on Earth, endangering several cities with their warfare. In fear that Earth is under invasion, they activate various militarized assets to contain the problem and capture any aliens, dead or alive.

Keith, Shiro, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance all panic, realizing they’re about to be caught in an alien war, the firepower of their trigger-happy superiors, and the biggest national security breach in human history.

Krolia meanwhile, desperate, tosses some weapons over to the humans and begs for their help. She tells them that keeping this Blue Lion out of the hands of Emperor Zarkon is imperative to universal safety.

Keith and Shiro move in to assist Krolia. Pidge is trying to contact Galaxy Garrison about the situation, panicking in an attempt to explain that not everyone in the fire zone is an enemy. Hunk is hesitantly like, “Is this a real thing? Am I actually seeing aliens right now? Omg, is this actually a weapon? I don’t think I’m trained for this!” And Lance meanwhile is distracted. He’s sensing Blue Lion, and it’s responding to him, because out of everyone, he’s the only with the tenacity to actually get in this thing and fly it out of harm’s way.

Shiro realizes if they don’t get Krolia and her team out, the Garrison might not be so kind to her either. Once he sees Lance is able to operate controls, he agrees best thing to do is to get Blue Lion off Earth entirely.

The instant Krolia gets a good look at Keith, she realizes that he is her son and panics when she realizes she willingly begged for this boy to get involved in the battle.

Long story short, the future paladins + Krolia and the surviving Blades operatives escape through a wormhole using Blue Lion, which takes them back to the Castle of Lions on Arus. They narrowly escape both death at the hands of Galra and capture by Galaxy Garrison.

Galaxy Garrison is blaring alarms that Earth has experienced what appears to be its first true alien invasion. It recognizes that several cadets were caught up in the crossfire. They assume those cadets and Shiro to be Missing In Action and feared dead. Earth leaders convene to discuss defense strategies, in fear that this will not be the end.

Meanwhile, Lotor has already landed on Planet Arus with his team. But he soon realizes that this isn’t just the location of the Castle of Lions—it’s also housing the Black Lion’s energy force and the long-lost Princess Allura, the “Lion Goddess” that Arusians had seen through the glass of her pod.

Lotor makes the decision to wake up the princess and her Altean advisor, Coran. In fear that he would scare them as a Galran, he keeps his face mask on. He begs the princess to fly the ship to safety, as he does not know how to use a teladuv but understands what they are.

Princess Allura is very confused for a time, demanding to know who he is and what exactly is going on.

Sendak hears from Haggar that she senses new energy on Arus.

Lotor is distracted, attempting to reach Krolia and strategize a full, double-wormhole back to BOM headquarters with the Castle and Blue Lion in tow. The fight on Earth temporarily distracted Sendak, but with Blue Lion gone, Sendak is now racing his way back to the Castle’s position. Time is very limited.

Lotor stumbles a bit at the sight of Allura, who is very beautiful.

Coran is flailing about that Alfor’s plan to hide the lions is ruined—

At this time, the paladins + Krolia and team land on Arus via wormhole.

Keith is helping his mother to rush into the Castle of Lions for cover, as she is still injured.

Princess Allura is beginning to realize that Altea had been completely destroyed, and she is very distraught that Emperor Zarkon has become an unstoppable tyrant, killing and enslaving millions.

Lotor kneels down beside her and convinces her that if she can operate the castle for just a very short time, then they can save the entire galaxy and take back a Lion from Zarkon, together.

The princess senses his goodwill and agrees, pulling herself together. She admits she knows where the other lions are, as Alfor had tied her life-force to all of the Lions.

Allura is surprised to realize that Blue Lion is just outside.

Lotor’s squadron guides the paladins and company into the heart of the Castle. Princess Allura is surprised again to discover that a human named Lance had bonded with the Blue Lion so easily. She begins to search out the bond ties of the other lions and realizes they are attempting to sort through options for new paladins.

Allura helps Keith with placing Krolia in a healing pod. She senses the energy between them is quite similar, and that they are perhaps related.

The Blue Lion and other Lions communicate to Allura that they need a fresh team that can function as one immediately. A team with new perspectives, a desire to protect, and without the painful history or conflicts of interest that resulted in Alfor’s leniency with Zarkon. They hone in on the humans, and Allura sees their auras as clearly aligned with their respective lions.

She communicates to the larger team that they are in desperate need of paladins for the other lions—and that the lions have chosen these humans who were willing to defend Blue and their home world.

Lotor hesitates, having had plans for those lions that didn’t involve humans. But he acknowledges that alchemical magic is above his understanding. He glances over at Keith, catching that his scent is similar to Krolia’s—and that his prophecy of a family reunion has come true in the strangest of ways.

Princess Allura quickly sets to revealing the location of the other lions and activating wormholes for them to retrieve them.

Meanwhile, the Castle has experienced 10,000 years of rust and degradation of lesser systems. Coran and Lotor team up to fix the particle barrier, anticipating that they may need to provide backup for the new paladins. Coran and Lotor bicker over many things, and Coran warns that he can see Lotor making cow eyes at the princess even beneath his mask. Lotor vehemently denies it.

Krolia, stubbornly moving her way out of a healing pod, pleads with Allura that Keith not be chosen to pilot Red Lion—that he might find a way to go back and be safe with his father.

Allura apologizes that she is not in control of the lions and that they choose their paladins. “If Red Lion chose your son, it is because Keith can save the universe. That it’s his destiny to be a part of this fight with us.” But Allura is unsettled too, as she’s actively trying to test systems with Coran and this mysterious, masked Blade whose name she doesn’t even know yet, except that his title is Lieutenant. Meanwhile, she’s also trying to keep the wormholes open for the paladins.

The new paladins return in time for the arrival of Sendak, who still has Red Lion in his grasp.

The newly minted Team Voltron make a stand with the lions they have available to reclaim Red Lion and activate Black Lion.

The BOM forces assist in the overtake and attempt to suppress the battle from affecting locals on the planet of Arus.

Lotor realizes that Keith is in significant trouble, as Sendak is moving in protect Red Lion himself. Lotor runs to activate his own ship as backup, knowing Sendak’s fighting weaknesses.

The battle ends up with Keith struggling to connect with Red Lion while Lotor fights off Sendak.

Sendak manages to knock Lotor’s face mask loose and startles in surprise to see Zarkon’s supposedly dead son.

Lotor uses the moment of surprise to critically injure Sendak, escaping up to the Red Lion that Keith has taken command of.

All lions and teams retreat back to the Castle of Lions, which wormholes out before Sendak’s forces can catch them.

Sendak haltingly conveys to Emperor Zarkon that his son yet lives, fighting in the armor of an unknown rebel group.

Zarkon whips into a rage that his darkest shame is still alive and fighting against him.

The witch, Haggar, promises to end Lotor’s life once and for all, and to reclaim the lions for Zarkon’s glory.

Team Voltron meanwhile celebrates their first win in a panic-relief that they were able to form Voltron.

Various Blade operatives take off their masks. Some are revealed to be Alteans, including a grown Bandor and Romelle who were rescued long ago and now fight as part of Lotor’s squadron. Princess Allura and Coran are comforted greatly to know that many Alteans yet live, and that there is a colony where juniberries grow too.

Princess Allura still wants to know who the mysterious Lieutenant is who woke her up and managed to fight off Sendak.

Bandor, a big Lotor fan, nearly breaks the truth that “Lieutenant Lotor is—” and Romelle nudges him to be quiet, interjecting that their lieutenant is a very private person and that no one knows much about him.

Meanwhile, Kolivan is incredibly unhappy that Lotor has revealed himself on an active battle field.

Lotor argues that he did it to protect Krolia’s son, who was chosen to be the paladin of Red Lion—and isn’t that the more important objective?

Kolivan reassigns Krolia immediately to ensure that her ties to Keith do not interfere with Keith’s new mission. Keith still doesn’t know Krolia is his mother.

Kolivan then grounds Lotor from engaging in an active battle again, and admits that it is best if Lotor remain with Team Voltron in his own stylized armor.

Lotor asks if this is a demotion for insubordination.

Kolivan hesitates and says it’s possibly a promotion, if he can help to keep these human children alive long enough to save the universe. If all goes well, then the Blades will back Lotor’s bid at the resulting Kral Zera after Zarkon’s defeat.

Lotor hesitates, then adds, “And my secondary mission, to search for Oriande?”

“…Approved.”

Lotor then asks if it’s in fact cruel to hide from Keith that Krolia is his mother, but Kolivan convinces him that sometimes, the consequences of knowing outweigh the consequences of ignorance.

Kolivan knows that Haggar is Lotor’s true mother, but corrupted.

He fears what Lotor might do with that information.

Lotor, meanwhile, designs new armor for himself that is separate from that of the Blades.

He appears to Princess Allura, offering to help train the new paladins in the art of war if she can assist them with the spiritual aspects of connecting with Voltron.

Princess Allura accepts, but corrects him to say that she knows quite a bit about the art of war, thank you very much.

He searches her curiously and asks to see what she can do—as it is imperative she remain battle-ready herself.

The princess very casually grabs for his own sword and holds it to his throat, in a challenge for a duel.

Lotor’s lips split wide in a smile of delight. He likes this princess and her spirit.

He discovers that the princess really can hold her own, and it’s at that point he realizes he will struggle to remain objective about her in his missions.

Allura is not entirely unaffected either, fighting to maintain a level of professionalism around him.

At some point, Lotor’s cat Kova sneaks in from Lotor’s ship to the Castle of Lions. Kova is a lazy, happy cat who likes to hold a mouse in his mouth but doesn’t actually try to eat it. Princess Allura’s mice get used to be carried around in this way. Chulatt often rides atop Kova’s head.

Kova is something of a therapy cat for the whole team. He likes lots of scritches and the way Pidge rubs his belly. He often steals Hunk’s burritos and sleeps on Allura’s comfy pillow when she is busy.

Dayak, Lotor’s old governess, hears through the grapevine of Galra High Command that Lotor is in fact still alive. Kolivan and other Blade operatives track her, debating if she could possibly be turned to their side. They believe she can be a very valuable asset for future missions.

Meanwhile, it’s been a long time since Lotor had to train children.

The Castle of Lions still ends up with everyone in a food goo fight at least twice.

Shiro is suffering significant PTSD, and the reality is that this is something Lotor fights as well from his time under his father’s command. He tries to help when he can and forms a deep bond with Shiro too.

Lotor mother-hens the paladins because he made a promise to Krolia that he would keep her child safe, but soon, they all worm their way into his heart. He feels very protective of them, and of the princess, who has not yet had the opportunity even to see the colony of her people, safely tucked away in the Quantum Abyss.

Lotor activates Romelle and Bandor for their assistance in tracking down leads on the existence of Oriande or other helpful relics worth having or keeping out of the witch’s hands. Allura argues that Oriande is just a fairy tale, and Lotor argues in return that Alfor simply had to have advanced knowledge to build Voltron as he did. He begs Allura to at least be open to the possibility that more exists about Altean heritage than she ever thought possible.

Allura pauses, then quietly confesses that she is quite sure she’ll never be the alchemist her father was. That he had a gift no one else had ever seen.

Lotor grows impassioned to say that neither of them have to be limited by what their fathers did or accomplished. That they can be so much more, something different—he can feel it. He gets a little too close in saying this. Coran jumps in, noticing that Lotor’s usual strong command of Altean etiquette slips when around Allura.

In thanks for listening, Allura leaves a little juniberry flower for Lotor.

He spins it in his fingers, face in a flush over what it could mean. But he tries to stifle his emotions, knowing that the Princess of Altea would not accept an exiled son of Zarkon in such a way.

Occasionally, Lotor feels like Black Lion is watching him. He can’t tell if it’s because he’s paranoid, or if it’s because Black Lion actually knows his true parentage. He struggles to be in the same space as it, often unsettled.

Princess Allura and Shiro both notice this.

Meanwhile, Haggar uses a significant barrage of robeasts to distract Voltron while she completes building the Komar and perfecting other means of quintessence manipulation.

Haggar convinces Zarkon that Lotor is better to them alive than dead, and that if they could simply capture him again for a short time, she could turn him into Zarkon’s most loyal soldier, and undo Voltron’s advantages from the inside out.

Zarkon hesitantly approves. He demands that Lotor still be killed immediately upon fulfilling such a role, as Lotor would no doubt attempt to dethrone him.

Meanwhile, Princess Allura often catches Lotor reading up voraciously in the library of the Castle of Lions while the paladins complete their assigned training. At first, she thinks this activity has to do with Lotor’s fixation on the legend of Oriande. But then she catches him reading a book about Altean cuisines and asking for Hunk’s help in reproducing them—and she starts to suspect that Lotor’s not entirely Galran.

Occasionally, Lotor assists in BOM side-work, whether it’s breaking from the paladins to assist on an Oriande lead or helping Kolivan to unravel Galran records and codes.

Lotor has incredibly strong opinions about modulation.

Lotor is also very good at acting as a representative while Earth flails over getting in contact with its lost cadets and aliens.

He remains in communication with Krolia often, reporting on Keith’s progress. But Keith is starting to ask questions as well, about how the dagger he found in his father’s stuff one day has the same exact symbol as that of the Blades.

Krolia helps to continue funnel lost people of mixed heritage toward the Blades. As Team Voltron grows more confident in their abilities, Lotor is called away to help train new recruits named Acxa, Zethrid, Narti, and Ezor.

Keith joins along briefly because he wants to learn more about the Blades themselves and why his father would have a Blade dagger.

Lotor discusses Keith’s application for the Blades with Shiro, who tentatively agrees that training with the Blades could be a good way to start ramping Keith up with leadership skills and advanced tactical knowledge. Lotor agrees that the boy is more capable than what his mother would allow him to be.

Shiro was trained to always have a line of command in place in case someone falls. He knows he could very well fall, and Keith as his right-hand is the most worthy in the group to take on the mantle of Black Lion in that case.

Lotor and the Blades agree to train Keith as a Blade, in preparation for a future where Shiro might not be able to fulfill his duties.

Keith sees this as a serious honor and doesn’t want to screw it up.

Meanwhile, Princess Allura discovers a journal from her father, with one of the final notes mentioning that Zarkon had declared he was to have a son soon, and that his chosen name would be Lotor—his day of birth to be on the fourth quintant of the 11th phoebe.

Allura shakily realizes that Lotor’s eyes are Zarkon’s eyes even if they are blue. She keeps her discovery to herself, in surprise that Lotor had so firmly denied his father, and out of respect that he has not willingly shared this history.

Meanwhile, Lotor keeps eyeing the Black Lion, then Shiro, wondering exactly why Shiro is so insistent about a replacement.

Shiro hesitantly admits that Black Lion has started sending him visions—that something is wrong on the astral plane, and that it will likely take everything Shiro has to burn it out.

Lotor, fearful, goes to Allura and demands to understand more about the Black Lion, admitting that he’s felt watched by it.

Allura hesitates to admit the old history that Black Lion was once piloted by Zarkon, but that it should not be affecting Shiro’s connection with the lion…unless Zarkon were still somehow connected.

Lotor recalls that Shiro was missing his bayard—that this could be significant if it were still in Zarkon’s hands.

Cue a wild crash of shenanigans involving Haggar crashing in with Komar to drain Voltron while Zarkon attacks the Black Lion to take it over, while various forces of Sendak hone in on Lotor as an asset to capture for Haggar’s experimentation.

In the insanity, Lotor is captured.

Princess Allura, fearful that her team is breaking apart, unleashes a level of alchemical power that digs deep into her connection with Voltron and far outpaces any retaliation Haggar was expecting.

The Komar powers down, and Zarkon loses his connection to Black Lion, with Shiro overpowering him.

Haggar digs deep into Lotor’s mind, attempting to plant a dark entity within him. She extracts memories of his attempts to find Oriande.

Lotor might not have magical abilities, but his cheeks begin to glow with his Altean marks as he concentrates deeply on Blade and Altean practices for preserving the mind. But Haggar is relentless, and evermore curious about his marks.

He realizes he might have to die to protect Oriande and Team Voltron, in the way some Blades have gone before to protect the whole.

His fears do not pan out, as Team Voltron and Allura rescue Lotor from imprisonment, with help from the Blades. Allura is carrying Lotor out as the paladins provide cover. Zarkon is roaring that he will ensure his son dies the worst death possible for his treason.

Lotor is genuinely shaken for the first time since the Blades recovered him from Zarkon all those years ago. His secret is out for the whole of Team Voltron. Allura tries to comfort him that it’s alright, and that they would never leave him behind.

He looks up, and Allura confirms that she knows and accepted that he’s a son of Zarkon a long time ago, and that if he ever tries to kill himself again, she’ll kill him herself. She embraces him.

He as an emotional moment because she is the first outside the Blades to accept him upon discovering his parentage.

Meanwhile, Shiro regains the black bayard in a sneaky trick beneath Zarkon’s nose, cutting off any of Zarkon’s remaining connection to Black Lion. But the team discovers in their retreat that Haggar has all the pure quintessence it’d harvested from Voltron—and that she hasn’t used it yet. Pidge also had hacked into the mainframe to discover that the Galra had located a transreallity comet.

During the breach into Zarkon’s flagship, Bandor and Romelle stole what they could of Haggar’s things, to keep power out of her hands. They grabbed a strange stone as part of their loot.

Cue another stream of shenanigans where Team Voltron attempts to keep the comet out of Galran hands unsuccessfully. But in the midst of that defeat, Allura and Lotor discover that the item found by Bandor and Romelle provides a map directly to Oriande.

Plot twist that Haggar had still managed to possess at least Kova and use his eyes to access insight into Team Voltron’s movements. She sees Oriande’s location and leaves for it immediately.

It’s Narti who senses something is deeply wrong with Kova and tries to alert the team.

They realize too late that Haggar has probably already reached Oriande.

They desperately wormhole to reach it, while keep Kova locked up, which is a painful thing for Lotor but necessary. Allura promises that she’ll help find a way to purge Kova of Haggar’s influence.

Lotor’s Altean marks light up just as Allura’s do as they reach Oriande.

Upon arriving at Oriande, the landscape has been corrupted entirely by Haggar. Its defense systems had degenerated over the years since no one had visited in over 10,000 years to bond with the larger life force keeping it intact. Because Haggar infused it with her own life force, it took on her personality and interests.

The White Lion is glitchy, sending both Lotor and Allura in circles around the island.

Allura and Lotor both see unnatural visions and experience harrowing dangers in an attempt to reach the summit with the temple.

Allura isn’t sure that she can gain anything from Oriande if it is so truly corrupt by Haggar. Lotor tells her that he trusts her ability to see through all things, and to discover something that could end the witch’s reign.

Oriande is haunted by phantom beasts.

Lotor chooses to remain behind to fight off those beasts while Allura climbs into the decayed temple and completes the mission. The glitchy white lion is watching him and struggles in some way to assist Lotor before its power wanes. Lotor mourns its loss as a valuable fighting partner, even if it glitched at odd times.

Allura discovers the art of healing and of infusing objects with power, but she also discovers that at the heart of Oriande, Haggar had left an imprint of some of her own self behind.

Allura realizes with a startle that she sees some of Honerva of Altea’s own memories mixed in with Haggar’s imprint. She realizes quickly that Honerva was Lotor’s true mother, 10,000 years ago.

Meanwhile, Krolia has appeared alongside various other squadrons of the Blades, in an attempt to help Voltron hold off increasing numbers of Galran forces from attempting to enter the white hole entrance of Oriande, which has gone dark.

Krolia sees Red Lion take a critical hit. She breaks rank to place herself directly in front of Keith, to protect him while he recalibrates.

In doing so, she reveals that she is so proud of what he’s capable of doing—but that he still needs to learn to watch his six.

Keith is surprised for a few ticks, but then moves to help protect Krolia too, saying that he has a lot of questions when this battle is over, like why she mothers over him so much.

Krolia cannot believe her son is actually this oblivious since she’s been trying to send him messages that she is his mother, but she agrees to talk.

Haggar has at this time returned to Zarkon’s flagship, infusing it with alchemy and the pure quintessence, coaxing the transreality comet to do her bidding to melt into molten ore and cover the flagship. This converts it to a massive transreality mecha, with Zarkon at the helm.

Voltron is at a disadvantage against the much larger, much stronger mecha.

Allura, in a last-ditch desperation, drops her hand to Oriande and activates its stone, begging Oriande to respond to her need for a second defender. The temples begin to adjust. She realizes that because Lotor had subconsciously infused part of himself in Oriande too, the resulting mecha is actually of his own design—Sincline.

The interface is slightly glitchy from Haggar, and Lotor affectionately calls it the White Lion, sensing that his friend is still somewhere in the stone. And even deeper, he senses the memories of all the Alteans who’d infused their lives into stone—resulting in him feeling a few uncorrupted memories from Honerva, before she became Haggar.

He isn’t quite sure what to do with that, but shoves the emotions down for now.

Allura and Lotor pilot the mecha out of Oriande. Because the stones are connected to the Life Givers and the Ones Who Came Before, it is interdimensional in a way the other mechas are not, even if it cannot take a heavy hit. Their addition levels the playing field

Zarkon accesses the quintessence field, discovering he can do so, and Voltron quickly follows behind.

Lotor and Allura follow to stabilize the rift before it can upset the space-time continuum, calling upon the Life Givers for help in holding the threads of the universe together.

Team Voltron manages to successfully beat back Zarkon within the quintessence field, with Allura and Lotor using Zarkon’s own energy against him in a moment of distraction.

The distraction happens because the rift creatures possessing him realize that they are back in their natural universe.

The rift creatures call in their buddies, who begin to cannibalize the great source of power in Zarkon’s mecha.

The paladins take the opportunity to fry Zarkon out of existence, taking a large chunk of rift creatures with him.

Meanwhile, Haggar is on a small ship trying to escape in the regular universe, slipping between Galran factions and Blade squadrons.

Team Voltron return and pick her up before she can run away.

The battle ceases without Zarkon to provide orders—Sendak orders a full retreat upon seeing Voltron return without Zarkon.

Post-battle, Allura performs something completely novel with quintessence. After being in the rift, she realizes she can see different motivations within quintessence. In doing so, she searches out Kova and purifies his mind of dark alchemy. Then she goes to the imprisoned Haggar and purifies out the rift creatures possessing her, who disappear on the material plane the instant they are outside a host body.

Honerva wakes up, fully confused and largely unaware of what she’s done or how much time has passed. She is very convinced that she should be pregnant with a son named Lotor, and that she needs quintessence to stabilize her pregnancy.

It takes Honerva quite some time to realize that it’s been 10,000 years, and a grown Blade named Lotor is in fact her true son.

Lotor is very hesitant with her but sees she was not in control as Haggar. He still can’t look at her. Honerva promises to find some way to make up for her past.

Allura gets to see the Altean colony, returning Honerva to it in hopes that maybe a larger group and some normality could help her recalibrate and reconnect somehow. Bandor oddly takes pity on her, his parents having died long ago. Lotor cautions to Romelle to keep an eye out on his mother, and Romelle promises she will do so.

Allura works with several others to heal and rebuild Oriande to its former glory, as a place of open learning for any who have a deep enough spiritual connection with reality to grasp its secrets. She realizes that most things in Oriande appear as gibberish otherwise to the unmagical.

The Blades and Team Voltron back Lotor for the Kral Zera, and Lotor becomes Emperor.

The human paladins get to go home and celebrate that everything is okay now. Their voices make the human governments stand down from actively firing on alien ships.

Lotor disbands his father’s enslaved planets from the empire, offering reparations and working with Kolivan, the Blades, and Team Voltron to provide assistance to those planets as they rebuild.

Some Galra remember Lotor mostly as a traitor to his father and a bad overseer of a mining colony. The Fires of Purification rise, in time with increasing concerns over how the Galra will sustain its reliance on quintessence without conquering and enslaving.

Princess Allura—now crowned Queen of the New Altean Colony—works on the strange, quite sentient Sincline mecha that she and Lotor had built. She removes any glitch left over from Haggar’s influence on Oriande and realizes that she has a mobile, self-protecting entity that is a direct connection to the Life Givers.

Allura makes a deal with the Life Givers through the Sincline mecha, that it will open the rift twice a movement for the leader of any planet, so that quintessence can be collected from the rift. In exchange, it would have the right to judge the heart of the leader and enact justice against any who abused such a position. And that its older sibling, Voltron, would continue to ensure that no one else abuse the power either in a way that would harm others.

The mecha agrees to the condition on the astral plane. Voltron softly chimes in, agreeing as well.

Lotor approaches as the first leader to test this new system. He tears up when he hears the voices of the Life Givers sing to him through Sincline and offer him a well of quintessence for his people. They ask that he one day return to Oriande so that they can embrace him.

The Galra grow to accept Lotor and his strange ways of doing things.

Lotor finds himself oddly in the same position that began his entire journey—leaning on Kolivan for guidance. But Kolivan is no longer his only ally in a sea of enemies. As a matter of fact, Lotor has deepened several bonds and made many friends.

Lotor goes to Allura and says they make a pretty good team, and that he’s feeling cute, how about they marry.

Allura says yes.

The paladins cry happily at their wedding, and for once in 10,000 years, the galaxy is united and at peace.

Dayak reappears in time for the wedding, and Kolivan reveals that she had been giving the Blades tips for how to operate in the background to get around Zarkon’s defenses, and that she had even been instrumental in Shiro retrieving the black bayard from Zarkon.

Dayak is emotional about seeing Lotor again after all this time.

She’s not the only one.

Kolivan’s eyes are twitching during the ceremony. He’s fond and protective of his operatives, but there is a lot of space dust in the air as he watches Lotor marry, remembering that fateful day he’d saved Lotor from imminent death.

Lotor one day tries to give his BOM dagger back to Kolivan, recognizing that he has not been in the field for a long time—and that managing a planet and helping with New Altea is quite a lot of work.

Kolivan gently presses the dagger hilt back into Lotor’s hand. “Once a Blade, always a Blade.”

Lotor tears up because Kolivan is probably the closest he has come to a true father figure.

Somewhere, Coran is still crying of space dust, and the paladins crash the scene to demand a beach party. Because once Team Voltron, always Team Voltron.

Krolia and Kolivan are watching over the group.

There are gratuitous laugh scenes with two mechas standing guard in the distance, gleaming in the sunlight.

The end!

(Ahhh yeah, so this was yet another unexpected and extensive rewrite of VLD, loll. I hope these long outlines don’t bother anyone asdljfsa. But I enjoyed the ask, thank you for the prompt! Also I’m still steadily trying to work on Adrenaline Rush in the background. For some reason, I’m just having some writer’s block with it. I hope to update it soon, though!)

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calligraphist-artemisia · 3 years

Text

Finding Courage

Written for the Kidge Spring Event!

Prompt 6: Edelweiss | Courage, Devotion

Summary: AU - Canon Divergence. Five years after the end of the war, Pidge finds herself wanting to go back out and see the universe with her own eyes. Luckily, she knows someone who can help with that, but only if she can find the courage to ask.

Also posted on AO3 under the username Kishirokitsune

❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀ - ❀

The time had come.

Pidge looked in the mirror as she ran her hands down the sides of her shirt, trying to smooth out the few wrinkles that had accumulated. She wanted to look nice, but not too nice. Lance and Hunk would notice if she was trying too hard and they would poke and prod until they were satisfied with the answer she gave, and that wasn't something she really wanted to deal with. (Shiro was likely to notice as well but at least he would be polite enough to keep it to himself.)

Which was why she'd selected a pair of jeans, her signature green shirt (at least according to Lance), and her nicer lab coat that didn't have oil stains all over it. And while for most of their Team Voltron get-togethers she would forgo the lab coat for something nicer, she had plans to drop by the hangar where Project Lionheart was in the works to grab a few things from the lab she shared with Matt.

Text appeared at the bottom of her glasses.

Matt: I leave in 10 minutes if you want a ride.

Pidge pressed her finger to the right side of her frames. “Send message: I'll be down soon.”

Her new glasses were a labor of love that were nearly five years in the making. She'd spent countless nights trying to link it to her computer and then to get the voice recognition to work and then to devise a lightweight battery that would both hold a charge for a minimum of twelve hours while also having the capability of being wirelessly recharged. She'd wrangled Matt and Hunk into helping her, which sometimes involved 2 am conversations when she couldn't sleep because an idea wouldn't leave her alone, but she needed someone's brain to pick and see if she was crazy or on the right track.

She still had a hundred new ideas to try out for it, but for the moment it was the perfect way for her family to contact her when she was eyeballs deep in some new project. (Not to mention, it was also remarkably helpful in displaying measurements and any other schematics when she needed them.)

Pidge slung her bag containing her laptop over her shoulder and then headed downstairs to join Matt and tell her parents they were headed out.

Colleen pulled her in for a tight hug, her eyes glimmering with unshed tears. “I'm so proud of you!”

“Mom, I haven't even asked him yet,” Pidge complained, her voice muffled against her mom's shirt.

“Oh, please, like he's going to say 'no'?” Matt remarked from the doorway. He grinned at the glare his sister cast in his direction. “I'm just saying that I talk to Shiro a lot. And you know who else talks to Shiro? Keith does. Trust me, he'll be tripping over himself to agree to let you join him.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. The very idea of Keith being anything other than composed and unshakable by something she had to say was silly. Maybe it would have been different when they were younger and just starting out as Team Voltron, but not after all of their experiences during the war and throughout Reconstruction.

“You're all getting way ahead of yourselves,” Pidge said as she extricated herself from her mom's arms. “And making way too big of a deal out of this. All I'm doing is asking if I can go with him and help with the Outreach Program.”

With Kolivan serving as the interim Emperor of the Galra until he either stepped down or Reconstruction reached its ten-year mark, it had fallen on Krolia to lead the weakened, but not fully depleted, Blade of Marmora. She split the Blade into two separate but equal groups – one to continue their undercover work and root out any insurgents before they could cause too much trouble and the other a much more public branch dedicated to reaching out to affected planets and offering aid in whatever way they could.

Pidge, who felt like she was stagnating by staying on Earth and doing the same thing day in and day out, thought that going back out and seeing the universe with her own eyes was exactly what she needed. And sure, she could ask Hunk if she could tag along with his crew and he would gladly welcome her on board, but she wasn't sure she'd really find what she was looking for on a ship devoted to the culinary arts of the universe. Pidge had thought about it for a long time and, in the end, came to the conclusion that asking Keith was the way to go.

That was months ago and she'd seen him twice since then. She'd chickened out both of those times.

Because maybe she had a second motive for wanting to go with him. Something beyond wanting to explore the universe and even more of a... personal desire.

“Leaving already?” Sam asked, poking his head into the entrance hall.

Matt nodded. “Yeah, I have a few things to check on in the lab and Pidge wants to get to her meeting on time, so I figured we should head out.”

Pidge and Matt wrapped up their goodbyes and then set off to the Galaxy Garrison, where Matt dropped her off close to the Voltron Memorial before continuing on his way to the parking garage. Pidge watched him leave before she began making her way up the gleaming white stairs, which led to the top of a hill where a massive stone sculpture of Voltron stood watching over the land.

Normally the area was crawling with tourists, but once a year it was reserved for a group of 7 as they celebrated the day they first met.

As Pidge reached the top of the steps, she saw most of her friends were already there and seated at a round patio table. Shiro was smiling as he listened to whatever story Lance was enthusiastically telling, while Hunk leaned back and occasionally interjected. Lance paused his story as she approached.

“You're on time!”

“Like you haven't been late a time or two,” Pidge shot defensively shot back. Seriously, she was late once or twice (or a lot) because she got wrapped up in something she was working for and the man would never let her forget it.

Lance grinned at her. “I was just telling Shiro and Hunk about the time you came out to visit the farm.”

“A memory I'd rather forget,” Pidge said with a wince. She sat down between Hunk and Shiro and gently set her bag down on the floor at her feet. “Where's everyone else? I figured Allura and Coran would have come with you, Lance.”

“Dropping the twins off with Romelle. She agreed to babysit,” Lance responded.

“Even after last time? Brave woman,” Hunk joked.

Pidge couldn't help but smile. The twins were Lance and Allura's 3-year-old children, Alfor and Maribel, and were a handful even for the most experienced and patient people. Romelle was practically a saint for being able to watch them on her own and Pidge wished she could know how she did it. (Maybe then she wouldn't end up covered in mud or running from bees or locked in the attic, all of which had happened during her first and last visit to the farm and was undoubtedly the story Lance was telling when she walked up.)

“You could have brought them along. I would love to see Alfor and Maribel again,” Shiro said.

Lance shook his head. “No, trust me. This is the better option. If we take our eyes off of them for even a second they'll have climbed to the top of the Voltron statue. Somehow. And good luck getting them down.”

Shiro made a sound to indicate his disbelief. “They're not that bad.”

“Yes, they are,” Lance and Pidge deadpanned in unison.

And honestly, they were sweet kids, but the amount of trouble they could get into was staggering and, in some ways, only reinforced Pidge's feelings that she never wanted to have any of her own.

Lance soon launched into a series of stories of the more interesting antics of the twins, which Allura and Coran backed up once they arrived. Pidge found herself laughing over some of the ones she hadn't heard before and because of that, she completely missed Keith's arrival via one very special cosmic wolf. He easily inserted himself into the conversation as he took a seat between Shiro and Coran – directly across from Pidge – and it was like he'd been there the whole time.

They soon branched off from stories about the twins so everyone could describe what they'd been up to since the last time all seven of them were together.

Lance and Allura, of course, had the kids and their farm on New Altea, which they ran with the help of Lance's family. In the beginning, Allura tried to split her time between them and trying to rule as Queen, but it eventually became too much and she turned to Coran for help, who suggested a council of trusted individuals to run the day-to-day duties that were necessary for the new planet to flourish. No one was surprised when he was elected Head Chancellor of the Council.

Even once things calmed down, Shiro retained his role as Captain of the Atlas, if only for the fact that he was the only one the ship responded to. The big, bulky ship didn't have much use outside of exploration and assisting with Reconstruction (sometimes by providing extra muscle for goods, sometimes just for transporting more sensitive or bulky materials), but Shiro spoke of his job and crew with pride. He even mentioned that he started seeing someone, though he wouldn't say who.

(“It's still new to both of us,” he said in response to Lance's begging. “We want to wait and see where things go before we start telling everyone.”)

Hunk had a myriad of new stories about all of the new recipes he created, as well as some of his worst failures. He had them all laughing so hard that it brought tears to their eyes at some of his descriptions. He then spoke of future plans and how he was looking to hire more chefs to help with the increased demand for their food before turning the conversation over to Keith.

“There isn't much to say,” Keith said with a shrug. “It's not like anything has changed since the last time we talked. You all know what I've been doing.”

“Are you really going to sit there and say that nothing interesting has happened to you? You're traveling with Zethrid and Ezor and yet you have no stories?” Lance asked incredulously. “Nope. I don't believe it.”

“You don't have to believe it, but it's true.”

Some things never change.

Pidge tried not to laugh as the two bickered. They only stopped because Shiro stepped in to put an end to it and then it was her turn to gloss over what she'd been working on. Project Lionheart was largely still a secret, though they'd be ready to announce its existence in a few months.

Hours bled together as the seven friends sat and talked and laughed together. Eventually, the sun began to set and Allura and Lance stood to say their goodbyes and go collect the twins from Romelle. Shiro followed soon after, giving the excuse that he had a “hot date” to get ready for, and then Coran and Hunk left together, talking about food supply and whether or not Hunk was willing to make a stop by New Altea during his next round trip.

That left Pidge with Keith.

Alone.

With no one else around to watch her make a fool of herself.

“Are you alright?” Keith asked.

Pidge jerked her head up to stare at him with wide eyes. “Y-yeah, of course! Why wouldn't I be? Everything's great!”

Keith raised an eyebrow. “You've been more quiet than usual.”

Pidge opened her mouth to protest and then immediately shut it. He wasn't wrong. She'd spent most of the afternoon trying not to blurt out her question in the middle of someone else talking and she was dying to get it over with. Finally, they were alone and it was the perfect chance, but everything she wanted to say had suddenly fled her mind.

It was ridiculous!

Keith was her friend!

Her rather handsome friend who she'd developed a large crush on, but her friend nevertheless. Talking to him was easy. She just needed to keep it simple.

“I was wondering... If I asked to go with you the next time you head out, what would you say?”

She watched as Keith sucked in a breath as her words registered in his mind, his eyes widening slightly, and then...

“I'd say that I'd be lucky to have you by my side. You're welcome to come along whenever you'd like.”

#voltron #kidge #kidgemas #kidge spring event 2021 #fanfiction #canon divergence

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lxiewrites · 4 years

Text

Marry Me

ao3

Keith stabbed through the heart of a bot, nearly tucking and rolling to dodge any laser fire to slice through the legs of another bot.

His team's war cries echoed around him, slowly overtaking the flight hanger they were holed up in. In the corner of his eye he spotted Allura using her whip to fling the Galra droids into each other, herding them into groups to take them out faster.

Behind her the disembodied torso of one of the bots she cut through with her whip aimed, the sound of the blaster melting into the background.

His luxite sword hit its mark just as the blaster was shot out of its hand.

His heart stumbled as he heard the loud whoop in his ear.

"Keith! Babe! We are so in sync. Go grab your blade, I got you."

Keith didn't bother to respond, his heated cheeks saying enough as it is. And if there's literally no way for Lance to see how much he's affected... It's not his problem.

He could hear the sounds of droids dropping around him, could practically hear the sound of Lance's smile from his sniper perch. Stupidly proud to have his back.

Never mind that Keith's stupidly proud to have him at his back.

He grabbed his second sword and swiped his way through to Pidge to give her some cover. Duel-wielding his two swords with practiced ease, leaving behind mangled robots in his wake, their circuits and wires spilled out of them like blood.

Pidge made a small sound of victory as the last of her code infiltrated the Galra ship, infecting it like a virus. Their ships shutting down and overloading, sparks flying through the air.

The ship wouldn't be able to produce any more droids so they just had whatever was left to deal with. Simple enough to defeat the rest and take out the rest of the supplies, the sole captain already in the hands of the BOM.

He lets Pidge and Allura take out the last of them, turning around to see if he could spot Lance only to find him right behind him, smile blinding, hands reaching and—

Lance was still smiling when he broke the kiss, Keith's helmet somewhere on the floor along with Lance's.

His hands were in his hair, stroking and gentle on his scalp. Keith couldn't help but lean into the touch, the barest smile on his lips as Lance grinned at him like a fool.

"You're beautiful," he said, "marry me."

Keith snorted. "Let's get back to the castle. I'm not marrying you on a Galra ship."

"Ah! But you will marry me!" Lance crowed, smug. Ignoring their friends' groans and complaints to hurry.

Keith could only roll his eyes and tug him along.

Keith was used to Lance's pranks and jokes. Some were received with a few good laughs. A much-needed break from the Herculean task of saving the universe. A lifting of spirits.

Most were met with rolled eyes and groans and a "really, Lance? Really?" But still as needed and valued along with the others if not more so. Less of a release of tension and more of a gentle reminder that they're young. Barely adults and still cringey in the way only youth can be.

Lance asking to marry him was no exception.

Except, the more Keith heard it the more he wished it was.

The first time he said it it was during training.

It was the exercise where they had to cover each other’s backs. All grouped up back to back in a semi-circle as little droids surrounded them from all sides. For the most part, they’ve all been through so much together that developing that sixth sense of where your teammates were became second nature. Some otherworldly instinct far beyond his capacity to explain the gut feeling of diving in-between your friend and laser before it even left the bot.

Even with the lion switch and Allura’s more prominent presence out in the field didn’t hold them back for long. War didn’t allow for such luxuries.

While that instinct was there for everyone on his team, strong and stable and solid as steel from the constant drills, it had nothing on the synchronization he had with Lance.

If he was grasping at straws to try to explain the strange connection he had with the rest of the team then it was completely hopeless trying to describe the link he had with Lance.

Maybe it was because of Lance being his right-hand man or some mystical magical Altean magic. Maybe the lions or how often they were in those mind meld things but somehow whenever they were on the battlefield they just slotted into place. Their bond, forged by circumstance and fine-tuned and beaten by understanding, friendship, and eventually love, made whatever they had come naturally as if they were an extension of the other.

It was because of that connection that he was able to tackle Lance out of the way of a laser, leaving him on the floor winded while Keith was crouched above him shield up and ready.

Because of that one instance that Lance looked up at Keith with something indescribable on his face. That he— almost subconsciously, breathed,

“Marry me.”

He obviously said no.

Well…. Not no. Just not a yes. They were still kids, and had an entire war yawning off into the distance in front of them. It wasn’t the time or the place.

Though, for a while, he worried if he just threw away his only chance at saying yes.

He didn’t have to worry.

There were so many countless times Lance asked him to marry him. He would need the entire coalition’s various appendages to count them all.

He asked during training, when they were eating, after a nap, before a mission, after a mission, whispered before bed, loud and dramatic relaxing with the team. Really, any time it suited him. Random and spontaneous. Every time it was a little different but there were still patterns.

Keith noticed he would get more proposals during mundane activities. He could just be hanging out with the team or eating leftover food goo from the fridge and there would eventually be a “Keith, marry me” coming a second later.

He noticed that Lance would be louder and more dramatic when they came during team bonding time. Loudly declaring his love and proposals when it best suited him or whenever Keith agreed with him, drawing out laughs and eye rolls alike-

His favorite proposals were then they were by themselves. When the night was quiet and Lance looked at him with an intensity in his eyes that Keith almost forgets they’re jokes. Whispered, declared, reverent, demanding, each time silencing the voice in Keith’s head telling him not yet not yet not yet.

He desperately asks back, when?

The last time he said it it’s like this.

He was kneeling on one knee and had a ring.

That’s all he’s got. He can’t remember much else besides that Lance was kneeling. And that there was a ring. Just those two bits sent him into information overload, the rest of the details filter in later.

“Keith,” he said, with a little laugh, tears already budding in his eyes. “Babe, please, look at me.”

He didn’t even realize he closed his eyes. He could still see him clear as day in the center of his mind. And there’s the rest of the details. Something in his mind doing its job, some vague order registering where they were and what it felt like because it was somehow important so he remembered everything that was happening.

The desert sun purpling around them, stars slowly winking into existence, right in front of his run down and falling apart shack. Lance in the center of it all with a teary grin and a diamond ring. His heart beating out of his check and up into his throat.

He squeezed his eyes tighter, refusing to let any tears escape. He relented when a gentle hand grasped him and two drops slipped out, the rest threatening to follow when he saw Lance’s eyes overflowing. He tried to glare. “This better not be a joke, McClain.”

Lance laughed again, eyes spilling again and mopping them up with a sleeve. “It was never a joke. Not with you. Ever since the first time I meant it, every single one.”

Keith could barely say his name, choking around the syllable, cracking in the middle, a mangled version of his favorite word. ”La—ance.”

He got up, hand cupping his cheek, thumb wiping away the tears. Keith’s breath hitched at the gentle pressure of Lance’s forehead against his, at the warm breath fanning over his lips, at the revered words whispered into the space between only for him. “You are it for me. You got that, Kogane? You are it and I knew that years ago. And ever since I asked you to marry me, so one last time, yeah?” His breath was shaky but his voice was steady like it always had been. “Keith, will you marry me?”

Swallowing hard, he nodded, almost like he was nuzzling his head against Lance’s. “Yes.”

#keith #lance #klance #vld #proposals #fluff #lexwrites

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midnightlie · 5 years

Note

Hey love, where is that deleted scene from desert rain??? The link no longer works, and I need it to survive.

oh here it is 💕

“Oh, yeah,” Lance says out of the blue while they’re taking a lunch break one day. “I died.”

Keith goes still beside him on the paw of the red lion. Lance glances over in surprise to see a blank look on his face, absolutely rigid, his hand clutched white-knuckled around a water bottle.

“What?” It’s more of a demand for an explanation than a question to be answered. Keith’s voice sounds sandpaper raw but his expression betrays nothing, which is interesting. Lance’s pulse becomes uneven.

“It’s not a big deal.” Lance shrugs. “I got hit by some scary energy thing when I pushed Allura out of the way during a mission. I don’t really remember what happened. I was there, and then I wasn’t. And when I opened my eyes, Allura was in the cockpit with me and I was okay. She saved me.”

Keith doesn’t respond, just turns his face away to stare down at the ground, his blank look turning into that pinched, closed off expression that Lance recognizes well.

“Why didn’t anyone tell me?” Keith asks quietly.

Lance takes a bite of his sandwich. “Wasn’t important, I guess.”

Keith’s head shoots up and turns angry eyes on him, his eyebrows furrowed so severely that the crease between them becomes deep. “Wasn’t- Wasn’t important?”

“Dude, we’re in the middle of an intergalactic war. It happens. People die. Allura was there, so it was fine.” Lance tries to keep his voice calm to ease Keith’s flaring anger but it doesn’t seem to work very well.

“Fine?” Keith grits out. “You should have told me.”

“Why? What good would that have done?” Lance challenges. “Keith, I’m alive. I’m here. It doesn’t matter anymore. This was supposed to be a fun little fact not -”

“Lance.” Keith’s voice is icy hot, blistering, and he’s never ever spoken to Lance like this before. It draws Lance up short with surprise and steals his ability to form words. “You don’t have to - fuck - you don’t have to brush this off. I wish- I wish you wouldn’t. You died.” He sets his water bottle down and rubs at his face. “I can’t believe no one told me.” He scoffs under his breath. “Wasn’t important. Fuck.”

It hits him like cold water to the face on a hot day, that maybe it had been a big deal. That maybe, it would have been, if Keith had been there when it happened. “I’m...sorry,” Lance says, feeling small and almost out of place.

Keith takes a deep breath and slowly turns his face back to Lance, his voice still burning hot. “Sorry? You’re sorry? For what?”

“I...don’t know,” Lance admits, finding that he’s way out of the realm of comfort here. This kind of conversation is deeper than any other conversation he’s ever had with Keith and it’s kind of terrifying. The force of Keith’s emotions are stronger and wider than Lance had ever known; he feels exposed sitting here with him, watching as he becomes angry over something that happened to Lance a long time ago, something that can’t be changed.

Keith sighs. “I’m not mad at you. Don’t apologize.”

“You are mad, though.”

“Yeah, but not at you,” Keith replies, and he sounds a little more restrained now. It sounds like he wants to say something more. That familiar tension is back and Lance feels it pressing against him like a physical touch. “I should have been there.”

Keith says it so quietly, full of so much self-directed hatred, that Lance almost misses it. Tenderness curls around his heart and he can feel his own expression softening as he looks back at the black paladin, who studies him, face unreadable.

“You’re here now,” Lance says and his voice is soft, so soft, way too soft, but it doesn’t seem to deter Keith at all, who remains as steady as ever. A swell of affection rises up inside of him, endlessly fond of the unwavering way Keith has inserted himself into this conversation, at the way that Keith stays, even though his instinct is to run.

“I should have been there,” Keith says, this time to Lance. “I couldn’t...I couldn’t pilot- I couldn’t be the leader without you, Lance.” His gaze is intense, the tension growing stronger. “I should have been there.”

“You’d have managed, I’m sure,” he says with a wave of his hand.

“Lance, Red chose you, because you chose me.” Keith says firmly, harshly. “Do you understand?”

“Keith, someone else would have stepped up. You would have been fine; I wasn’t the only one who accepted you as our leader. Why are we still talking about this.”

Keith lets out a wild noise of frustration and runs a hand through the ends of his hair with anxious fingers. “You aren’t listening to me.” He takes a couple of deep breaths, his expression turning alarmingly vulnerable, even accompanied by the heat of his anger. “You’re such an idiot, Lance. Listen. Listen. I, personally, could not do this without you.”

Lance’s heart stops altogether, and he can feel his own eyes growing to the size of teacup saucers. “W-What?”

Keith has his scary face back on. “I could not lead Voltron without you. Get it? I, Keith, could not lead Voltron without you, Lance. I-” he stops, shakes his head, and continues. “It’s not because Red would be empty, it’s because you wouldn’t be there. Okay?” Keith looks away, though he does that angrily too. His over exaggerated way of getting the point of across might have been insulting if Lance wasn’t still trying to wrap his head around it. Still...

Lance wants to kiss him. Lance really, really wants to kiss him. He’s wanted to before, maybe, in theory; an idea that occurred to him while sprawled out in the dark storage bay inside the belly of his lion over the past few months. A brief moment of curiosity upon seeing Keith damp with sweat, the ends of his hair curling against his neck just so, after pulling off his helmet. He never felt it like this though, never like this.

A physical desire that festers like a sun under the surface of his skin, turning him hot, hot, a desperate sort of urge that asks, pleads, begs for relief. Except Keith is his friend, his battle partner, his leader and Lance cannot kiss him.

“Okay,” Lance says quietly.

Something in the air shifts. Changes. It’s palpable, pressing against his skin like a dense, morning fog. Keith slowly lets out a breath he is holding and then murmurs, “Good.”

#fun fact: this snippet like single handedly inspired lad #the more u know lol #ask #writing #klance

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patientfocusly · 4 years

Text

major canon divergences

( i don’t expect anyone to read this because it’s a lot lmao. this is more so for me to have a reference because i forget things about my own muse / canon rip. if we’re rping together we’re probably also talking ooc so anything important from this post will be mentioned to you at some point. )

( please note that by canon, i’m referring to my general main verse which includes no interactions with other muses. each interaction with a muse is put into its own verse. new interactions can come into the main verse at any point of the timeline and then diverge from that point. )

does not marry curtis. they noticed each other because they worked closely as part of the atlas crew and maybe if the time and place were different there might’ve been a chance for them to get to know each other and form something but for shiro, there is a lot weighing on his mind that he needs to wade through

( a ) shiro has been thru Sum shit and he has an endless list of reasons to be sad but i just want to make it known that shiro’s no. 1 source of guilt and just general mind-anguish is the fact that he is living in a borrowed body, that he took from someone who had to die for him to live.

( b ) at this stage he is also coming in touch with his feeling for keith which have been with him for a while, so even if he was aware of other potential interests . . . he’s not actually interested back.

adam is alive. he was critically injured in the first wave of attack by sendak and recovered enough only to provide ground support for the second wave. he remains an officer of the garrison and heads training and recruitment. he does not fly again. he’s happily married and reaches out to shiro. they’re amicable, but not close friends. maybe eventually they will be. ( this will obviously not be the case if i’m writing with an adam. )

allura is alive – i need to rewatch the end of season 8 to figure out how, but she’s alive.

after a year or so of captaining the atlas, the need for atlas to be an offensive military ship decreases and shiro consults sam and pidge for their thoughts on deweaponising his prosthesis. The new arm is still powered by allura’s crystal but looks more similar to the galra arm ( except it starts at the shoulder since his bicep??? disappeared magically ), but it’s coloured white and light grey, and the lit up areas are aqua ( same as the crystal. )

speaking of the crystal . . . the original arm was designed to operate via a balmera crystal, because that’s what most of altean designs are based off of. however they didn’t have a crystal to use, and sam says the remaining energy required for the armto work would be drawn from shiro’s own electromagnetic field. he tries it for the first time and . . . his body rejects it, in what looks like an incredibly painful and potentially fatal way, if it hadn’t been for allura stepping in and replacing the original energy source for the arm with the crystal from her tiara. we don’t ever find out why shiro’s body rejected the first energy source but here are 2 theories:

( a ) shiro’s body is actually kuron’s body, a clone, manufactured by haggar, using ~space science~ and likely some form of quintessence. the electro magnetic field coming off of the clone’s body would vary to that of a human’s, which is what sam would’ve based his calculations on. balmera crystals have incredible properties that aren’t really explained in great detail but we know how powerful they can be, regardless of size.

( b ) because it’s kuron’s body, maybe the connection to haggar didn’t completely shut off when keith cut off the arm. that flash that happens when the arm connects and shiro’s body starts rejecting it is very similar to the flash that happens when haggar starts controlling kuron earlier ( better explained in this headcanon piece. ) my only issue with this headcanon is that it implies haggar may still have some degree of control over shiro, and I just………….it’s been so overused, i just don’t want that for shiro anymore, so i’m most likely sticking to theory a !!!!!

still on the subject of the crystal, let’s talk about what shiro says after allura places the balmera crystal in his arm ; “i feel strange . . . i feel – great !” strange, as in he’s feeling something he’s never quite felt before. this is in contrast to what he feels when the first energy source is used in his arm ; “i feel . . . good,” but he sounds hesitant, like he doesn’t feel good at all, and obviously we see why moments afterwards. the great part is emphasised. he almost seems excited, like he really does feel great, and the scene cuts off with him trialling his arm by making a fist, and smiling. again, the properties of the crystals are pretty much undefined, but they are an immense source of power – what allura’s tiara contains is likely more than enough required to power shiro’s arm, and going back to how allura operated the castleship, and how shiro is able to operate the atlas, i’m loosely headcanoning that the crystal acts as a link between “captain” and “ship”, though obviously, allura herself channels quintessence and has so much more capabilities as a “captain.”

what does the crystal providing an energy source for not only the new prosthesis, but also shiro’s body mean for shiro? an external boost of energy and human-compatible quintessence is probably the first dose of anything resembling treatment shiro has had since the kerberos mission. i don’t see the balmera crystal nor altean healing pods having the power to edit genes but as far as healing goes, it must have some effect in alleviating pain and / or fatigue for shiro to exclaim, “i feel great !”

( a ) sometimes it’s difficult to write in a universe set in the future because things of our current reality ( social injustices, shit politics, technological limitations etc. ) may not be a reality say 100 years in the future, and add space and alien technology to the mix and you’re sort of left with a lot of potential for creation and imagination and progression but also hindered by the reality of present day and representing present day. i wouldn’t want to “magic” away shiro’s disease or magically come up with a cure, but at the same time i don’t want to take away the possibility for him to be potentially cured ( which is what the “i feel great !” line hints towards ) just because of the limitations of today ???????? i’m just having an inner conflict over this - i will update what i decide when i decide !!

major fanon divergences

does not qualify as space dad. it simultaneously infantilises the other paladins and takes away from their own journeys of being forced to grow up too quickly and take on the responsibility of fighting in a war, and puts undue stress on shiro who is only ~25 himself responsible for his team only in the role of their commanding officer at best

his prosthetic arm is not a sex toy, it’s a prosthesis ( refer to this post on arm related bed time activities )

shiro did not have a romantic connection with keith pre-kerberos. if anything the earliest signs of anything resembling a romantic connection would be late into season 2, but that is pending heavy plotting

shiro came from a happy family . . . he just lost almost all of it very early on. he grew up loved even though he learnt about loss too quickly ( please refer to this headcanon. )

shiro cannot sing lol . . . i dont know where this headcanon came from, but it’s sticking

i think it’s popular headcanon for shiro to have a little sister, or a big family; i wrote his backstory with his older sister before i came across this, so i’m sticking to my original headcanon because his bond with his sister is so strongly formed in my head

shiro is not afraid of death . . . but he doesn’t want to die. i feel like his relationship with death needs its own post but the tl;dr version of it is that he had a timer put on his life when he was around 17 years old. life goes from seemingly endless to suddenly very very short ( not just in the sense that his lifespan is predicted to be shorter, but that his body will soon restrict him in movement and opportunity. ) and then kerberos happens, and the arena happens, and voltron and zarkon and he’s reminded that life is short regardless of whether they give you a timer at 17. any moment could be his last and shiro has had a long time to come to terms with this. it makes him incredibly grateful for the present, and of what he’s had in the past. it also is potentially why he prioritises a mission that will take him to see the stars, over a relationship with adam ten years down the track.

if anyone makes it this far . . . ur the real mvp, thank u for reading my brain ramblings <3

#━━ ⋅ ✰ ⋆ merry crisis ! ⋮ ❛ headcanon ❜#( headcanon. )#━━ ⋅ ✰ ⋆ aw fuck ! i can’t believe you’ve done this ! ⋮ ❛ ooc ❜

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shirophantomvox · 3 years

Text

A Heart to Heart Talk- Lotor and Allura

Author’s note: What’s up y’all? Here is something I came up with when I was supposed to be paying attention in class. Yes, I was that bored. I am thinking about putting this on A03 but, I don’t know yet. Once I do, I’ll post a link. I have a question, if you were trying to develop a portfolio or have a career in screenplay writing, would you continue writing fanfiction or start in your own story? I am scared that someone will steal my idea so that is why I write fanfiction. Let me know in the comments!

Trillions and Trillions of miles deep into space, one has to get used to it, or else it will drive you mad. Sure enough, you’ll get restless and annoyed that you cannot leave the ship until you’ve landed on a planet, but you learn how to manage. Could you imagine being exiled by your father and have to provide for yourself as a child?

While his generals were practicing attack tactics and even sharpening their blades, Lotor decided to wander off down the halls to clear his mind. He had so much on his plate, sometimes it was hard to cope through life. When you’ve been around people who told you to “just get over it” or “it has been a long time”, you suddenly feel like you’re alone. Is there anyone that could relate to him? All of these thoughts began to cloud his mind again, and this time he was determined to not let it bother him again. This time it was going to work because he had the comfort of Princess Allura and Shiro, the paladin of the black lion on his side. Both Shiro and Allura could understand Lotor’s pain to an extent, and since he was an ally to Voltron, it’s about time they’d get to know each other on a more personal level. Allura was used to spilling the beans about herself, but for Shiro and Lotor, it didn’t seem that way. To his left, was a room full of comfortable furniture in different shades of white, yellow, and purple. As the door opened. He cracked open a somber smile which was obvious that he wasn’t feeling it. It’s about time that he takes off his mask and throw it away.

He sat down comfortably and smiled as he picked up two pieces of paper and threw them down on the table for absolutely no reason, just for effect.

“I know you two are quietly sitting here rather awkwardly wondering why I’ve called you here.”

“That’s exactly what we’re wondering,” Shiro said sipping from his Altean look-alike of a latte.

“Is there something you want to talk about,” Allura said batting her eyelashes rather nonchalantly.

Lotor released a satisfied chuckle, stretched his collar, and cleared his throat.

“Yes, there is something I’ve wanted to talk to you about. Although your human, Shiro, Allura, you’re full Altean, and I’m biracial, we have something in common here. We have all been through...life-changing experiences that have turned us into better people.”

“If you count being experimented on by the Galra life-changing, then yeah. I am as strong as it gets.”

Shiro asked the robot server to get him another latte. This would have been his third one. With the little knowledge Allura had about coffee, she knew he would go into a caffeine rush and destroy the training dummy for the millionth time.

“When Altea was destroyed, I didn’t know if I could live with myself. All I had were Coran and the mice.”

Lotor gently placed his large hand over hers in comfort.

“I’m just as disappointed as you are, Allura. That is why I am pleased about us being allies in the war against the Galra. If our life-changing events didn’t tell us anything more, I think the main lesson is to keep fighting and to never give up hope.”

He said all of this while slowly stealing Allura’s personal space. He’s taking advantage of making it obvious that he had more than “friendly” feelings for her. Shiro on the other hand knew what was about to happen and what happens after. His eyes squinted and blushed faintly as he cleared his throat loudly.

“Uh...Lotor? Can we get to the point again or is this meeting just for you to flirt with Allura?”

“Huh,” she said in confusion. She was so occupied with taking down Zarkon, that she never paid attention to Lotor’s passes.

“What are you talking about, Shiro? Lotor suddenly turned into a stern mother who was ready to grab his child’s arm with a hardness and watch them wince in suffering. He knew how he felt about Allura but he always wanted to keep a secret until the time was right.

“Because I am not a third wheel.”

“Why do you sound tougher than usual?”

“I’ve had too much caffeine. Please, get to the point.”

“What in your life-changing event had to motivate you to continue this fight? I have to be honest...sometimes I quickly lose motivation.”

“Well, after I was done fighting the beast, Haggar took me to the infirmary and concluded that I had a disease that was running rampant through my arm. I guess that was my reward for destroying the beast. She did remove it but she only did it for her selfish gain. She thought I was going to be a human soldier working for the galra and sell out my planet. When I refused to do any of her dirty work, that’s when I was placed in a cell. When they took off my arm, they didn’t numb me or anything. It was pure torture. When I realized how ruthless and selfish the Galra were, I knew they had to be stopped. By any means necessary.”

“And for you, Princess? How did you react when one of your paladins was half Galra?

Allura took in a deep breath. Lotor indeed wanted to know because he was curious. I mean, they destroyed her home planet and people. But he also wanted to know to if she was willing to date him. On another note, he did care about her safety but could the same be said about her?

“I cannot tell a lie but when Keith revealed that he was half Galra, I was very upset. I felt like I had been taken for a fool. Who do I look like trying to defeat the Galra and I have one on my team? Pretty contradictive, I know. But once I met other Galra including yourself, I thought about it with an open mind. I know when to let my guard down and when not too.”

He smiled and brushed some of his hair behind his ear. The young prince felt more confident in his approach to wooing the Altean princess. Shiro has been made aware of Lotor’s plan, he was there for backup. You’d think a 10,000-year-old suave prince could woo any girl he wanted...at least in the human world, he can. For centuries after being told that you’d be nothing and countless encounters with abuse, that stained his ability to achieve anything.

“Before you go, Princess, I want to give you something.”

Zarkon’s son reached beneath the table and pulled out what seemed to be a Juniberry flower on an elastic band. Do you remember how during prom season the guy would give his date a corsage? Same thing. This Juniberry band was alive; bursting in color and smelt delightful. Allura’s eyes widened in surprise and smiled happily. She gasped as she attempted to grab the flower from his hand.

“Ah, ah, ah,” he said tauntingly, shaking his index finger. “ Allow me.”

He slid the band onto her hand and glanced into her bright purple eyes. “It fits perfectly. Your measurements were right Shiro.”

“Huh?”

“Nothing!”

“I can take a hint. I’m going to go back and see what the team is up to. Be safe...I’m serious.”

Shiro exited the room and Lotor gently placed two kisses on Allura’s hand. This indeed was a heart to heart talk after all. A talk was long overdue.

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makorragal-312 · 4 years

Text

Void (Part Three)

Here’s the (hopefully) long awaited part three of the Void series. I really hope you guys like it!

Man, was getting permission always this stressful? Lance was currently pacing around the Garrison, avoiding the confused gazes of Garrison personnel and visitors alike. He had just come from his "sit-down" with Coran to get his permission to take out Allura on their date; which had only proven to be one of, if not THE most stressful conversation he has ever had in his entire life. Usually when a guy gets the dad's permission to take out their little girl, there's nothing more than the cold stare, telling him to bring home his little girl by a decent time, and the infamous "if she comes home crying, I'll break your kneecaps" line, or at least something to that effect. He didn't expect to come out of it having to scurry around the Garrison with his head down because of him wearing the equivalent of Altean courtship armor for just a simple date.

And now he found himself here. Aimlessly walking down another hallway in the Garrison to calm his nerves, which was somewhat difficult considering the metal bucket that was weighing down on his head.

"Lance! Are you okay?"

Lance raised his eyes to find Shiro walking towards him holding papers, a look of concern on his face. The red paladin gave him a small, reassuring smile.

"H-hey, Shiro! Don't worry about me! I don't wanna keep you." Shiro stopped in front of him, a smirk making its way on his face.

"Really? Because you look like you want to make a mad dash for the dorms. And besides, I can make some time." Lance sighed. He should've known Shiro would see right through the facade. He was always able to tell when something was wrong with him or anyone else on the team and he never hesitated to stop and listen to anyone's problems. That's what made him great to Lance, and something he definitely missed when Shiro was gone for all that time.

"Yeah. I'm just worried that Coran is gonna kill me if he finds out I took this stuff off." Lance replied. Shiro leaned back and took in the boy's attire. Aside from the VERY visible and VERY mangled bucket, he had on two metal pots that served as shoulder pads, each with a corresponding cape and a link of sausages around his neck. Honestly, it's no wonder why the sharpshooter looked like he wanted to run for the hills.

"I'm guessing this has something to do with Allura? Like a date?" the former paladin inquired. Lance snapped his fingers and pointed at him, signaling that his guess was correct. This caused Shiro to widen his eyes.

"Wait, really?"

"I know. I was shocked, too. But she said yes and we're gonna just go with the flow, y'know?" Lance stated, a blush creeping up on his cheeks as he looked down at the ground. Shiro looked at him, only to feel a tiny ping in his chest. As happy as he was for the red paladin, he couldn't help but be reminded of his brother, the one who had bared his soul and fears to him not too long ago. Who was worried about this kind of development happening. But despite that, his friend was happy and he needed to support him.

"Wow. I'm happy for you, Lance." Shiro finally responded with a small smile. Lance smiled back at him.

"Thanks. At least

someone

has the decency to say that with a straight face!" Lance yelled. Shiro raised an eyebrow in confusion, prompting the red paladin to keep going.

"No, listen! I went to tell Pidge the good news earlier! But guess what? One look at me like this and she was on the floor laughing for a good two minutes! Hell, I could still hear her when I was walking away!"

"Hunk laughed at you, too?"

"No, Hunk was cool. He at least had the decency to try and hold it in and gulp it down and give me some tips." Shiro nodded in acknowledgement. He expected this kind of reaction from Hunk and Pidge, but he knew that they came from a good place and there was no malicious intent behind it. Lance stilled for a moment.

"By the way, where's Keith?" he asked. With everything that had been going on the last couple of months, Lance couldn't even remember the last time he even talked to the aforementioned black paladin. He was still somewhat looking forward to finishing their conversation from several moons ago, but with everything going on with Earth they barely had time to acknowledge it. He honestly wouldn't be surprised if Keith ended up forgetting.

"He said he was going to relax with Cosmo. Knowing him he's probably outside." Shiro answered. Lance, unbeknownst to himself, exhaled in relief.

"Okay. Thanks for listening, Shiro!" Lance said as he began to run past his friend, starting his search for his friend. Shiro smiled and waved at him.

"No problem! Have fun!" the former paladin shouted back. He watched as the Cuban boy ran, attracting more attention from his mere apparel alone. Once he was out of sight, Shiro sighed softly, a conflicted frown on his face. Lance was going to get his happy ending, but at the cost of his brother's own happiness. The captain began his walk to find Iverson, mentally saying a silent prayer along the way.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

It only took a few minutes before Lance was able to spot Keith, atop of the black lion. He was sitting next to Kosmo, staring out at the sunset. Like it was going to be the last time he would ever get to enjoy such a beautiful sight with such content. Lance couldn't help but to stare at his leader in awe, like he shouldn't be disturbed. But given since he was already here, he might as well go all the way. And so he started to climb.

"Man, you can be a real hard guy to find when you wanna be." Lance said, exhausted.

"Hey, Lance. Whoa!"

Through his exhaustion, he was a able to spot Keith's second take at him before looking up at him in utter shock. Slight embarrassment took over Lance as he looked down.

"What are you wearing?" Lance sighed, slowly walking towards the half-Galran and sitting down..

"Coran made it for me for my date with Allura." He heard Keith pause before he went on.

"A date with Allura?" Wow! Well done, Lance." Okay, that was something Lance didn't expect to hear. Sure, Keith isn't the type to tear someone down when they got a sliver of good news, but he usually isn't one to sound so...

happy

about it. The most he would do is just shrug and mutter out a little "Good for you" or "Congratulations" before walking out. The red paladin thought back to the conversation when they were saving Shiro after he crash landed back on Earth.

Oh, wait. I remember you. You're a cargo pilot.

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

Well, congratulations.

"Thanks. But it could be our last. I can't keep all these Altean customs straight." Lance remarked sadly, taking off his heavy metal bucket in the process. He's not going to lie and say he didn't feel any pressure going into this date. This wasn't just any regular girl. This was a princess from another planet. One who he actively died for so that they could have this moment in time. So, naturally, it came with the territory that he had to follow some customs the same way he would've had he still stayed on Earth and never found Shiro. And it didn't really help that he spent all that time trying to get her attention only for her to brush him aside and reject him, even going as far as to fall in love Lotor. But considering that he was now out of the way, Allura finally noticed him. But he couldn't help from asking himself, "Why though?"

Keith saw Lance's internal struggle and tried to form the proper words. As much as the situation itself upset him, he couldn't leave Lance looking and feeling this forlorn about the future.

"Listen, if she's going out with you, it's because she like you. The annoying, stupid, Earth version of you." Keith responds with a smirk. Lance, still looking down, released a slight laugh. Keith felt his chest release at the sight. He was hoping that he hadn't said something to make the object of his affection crawl back into his shell of self doubt, but seeing him smile and laugh relieved him to no end. He watched as Lance raised his head out and looked ahead, savoring the sight of the sunset. The black paladin turned his head in the same direction. He had always been fond of sunsets ever since Shiro came into his life. Every time after they raced each other, they'd just stop and take a moment to watch. And now that Lance was sitting right next to him, it was nothing more than perfect to him.

"You watching the sunset?" Lance asked after a moment.

"Yeah, might be a while before we get to see it again."

"Man, I'm really gonna miss this place." Lance said somberly. It didn't take long for the bittersweet feeling to consume both of the paladins. This was their last day on Earth before they went back up into space to stop Honerva. If they learned anything from their time in space the first time around; it was that even though time in space might be slow, the time on Earth will remain the same. While they hadn't aged (with Keith being a unique exception), their families and loved ones did. There was a good chance that once they came back this time around, their loved ones might be older, or heaven forbid already gone. So they knew they had to get this done as quickly as possible, so that they can come back to making more memories.

"That's why we've gotta end this war." Keith paused, thinking carefully about what to say next.

"And we're gonna do it with the Lance that's the Paladin of the Red Lion, the Lance that's always got my back, and the Lance who knows exactly who he is, and what he's got to offer." Keith finished, turning his head to smile at Lance. The blue paladin paused in surprise of what was just said to him, but smiled soon afterward. A small smirk soon started to grace his features.

"You know what, mullet? You've gotten a bit better at motivating! Normally, you would say that I look flat out ridiculous." Lance joked. Keith rolled his eyes and shoved him, turning his head to the side chuckling. He did think Lance looked ridiculous, but he couldn't help but to find it endearing on how absolutely

done

he looked. How

cute

he looked.

"You do. But I'm just being supportive, I guess." Keith replied honestly. Any other time, Lance would be at least somewhat offended, but at this point he saw how much Keith had changed since he had left the team so he knew he was telling the truth and wasn't being sarcastic. That wouldn't stop him from trying to at least somewhat annoy him. Lance looked past him to look over at Kosmo, who was looking down at the ground.

"Hey, Kosmo? What do you think? I'm as handsome as ever right?" Lance asked in his flirty tone, oblivious to the fact that Keith facepalmed at his question. The space wolf turned his head to the red paladin in intrigue, only to sneeze and teleport back into the Garrison as if the question was never asked. Lance scoffed in fake offense as Keith tilted his head back in laughter.

"Seriously?!

E tu

Kosmo?!" Lance wailed in defeat. He quickly looked back at Keith who was still laughing at the site.

"It wasn't that funny, mullet!" he yelled. Keith's laughs slowly began to die down as he wiped his eyes of possible stray tears, chuckling to himself lowly.

"No. It really was." Lance grabbed the bucket next to him and proceeded to hit Keith in his shoulder repeatedly, not enough to hurt him but to teach him a lesson. Mid-hit, Keith took the bucket from Lance's grasp and placed it back on his head in retaliation, laughing some more. Little did he notice that the Cuban boy had begun staring at him. He couldn't help but to take in the way the half-Galran's shoulders bounced with every chuckle. How he attempted to wipe his bangs out of his face. How much harmony his laugh brought to his ears. How his smil-

"You good?'

Lance was startled out of his stupor with a confused and slightly alarmed Keith staring back at him, his ears slowly starting to turn red. Lance, himself, began to get flustered.

"Y-yeah. Just, um- Man, is it just me or is there some weight on my shoulders?" Lance asked aloud, moving around frantically and trying to lose the collar of his uniform. Keith looked him up and down, scooting a little closer to his flustered comrade.

"I mean, you ARE wearing pots for shoulder pads." Keith stated with amusement. He watched as Lance's eyes widened and looked at his shoulders, almost forgetting that he had them on to begin with. He then watched as Lance began to remove the sausage link and attempt to remove the pots. He succeeded in removing the pot and cape on his left shoulder with ease. But when he attempted to remove the pot form his right shoulder, the handle ended up getting caught on his uniform. In a rather on brand chain of events, the movement of his arm caused the cape that was attached to the pot to fling over his head, blinding him. The red paladin put up a valiant struggle to remove the cape, but alas it was to no avail and proceeded to fall onto his back and squirm in defeat, still struggling. Keith could only look at the scene, utterly dumbfounded. He chuckled before deciding to put Lance out of his humiliating misery.

"Okay. This is just getting sad." Keith chuckled, leaning forward to pull up Lance. He reached over and grabbed the cape off of Lance's head, not realizing how close their faces would be once it got pulled off of him. All Keith could see in this moment was blue.

To say that Lance was also taken aback by this new development was surely an understatement. One minute, he sees nothing but blue cloth on his face and the next he comes into contact with his friend's gleaming purple eyes. Just the sight of them had the Cuban boy entranced. Somehow, he couldn't help but to think back to when they were on that planet after they brought Shiro back. That same sense of tranquility and slowed urgency present as it was back then. Only this time it was different. He knew he didn't have time to savor this. He had things to do, a date to go on, a princess to see. And yet he couldn't bring himself to look away.

"Lance?" Keith asked breathily. Lance leaned in an inch closer to him, as if he wanted to hear him say his voice again. He noticed the way Keith took a quick look as lips before he looked back up and tried to keep his gaze.

"Keith, I-" he started. At least, he

wanted

to.

"I gotta go change." He said finally. He slowly but urgently grabbed the pots, capes, and bucket and stood up, ready to begin his descent down the lion, but not before looking back at Keith.

"Thanks for listening, Keith. It meant a lot." Lance said with a nervous smile. Keith gave him the same smile before looking back out to the sunset, or at least what remained of it. With the bucket filled with pots and capes on his arm, he climbed down. As he went, he began chanting phrases to get him ready for the date before him.

You got this, man! Show her a great time, sharpshooter! Give Allura the time of her life! Get yourself out of these clothes! He's your friend. Right?

#klance #klance vld #klance voltron #vld keith #vld lance #keith kogane #lance mcclain #voltron s8 #voltron fanfic

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dreams-of-kalopsia · 4 years

Text

Snowball Effect

Summary: Lance may have been the one to throw the alien snowball that set off the snowball war between him and Pidge, but it was Pidge’s alien snowball that ended it by incurring Allura’s wrath. Now the two were stuck in a planet blanketed entirely by snow, forced to make up and work together. Could it get any worse? Yes. Yes, of course.

Second half of the @voltronsecretsanta2k19 fic for @nessajjewell, who requested a snowball fight.

Read it on AO3.

----

Part 1: Snowball War

Part 2: Snow Fight

The dwarf planet came into view on the bridge’s screens. It was almost entirely white. Even though they were exempt from the punishment that awaited Pidge and Lance, Coran and the remaining Paladins felt themselves shiver. This seemed too extreme.

“A-Are you sure about this, Princess?” Coran asked.

“Do it, Coran.” Allura’s voice lacked hesitation. “But monitor their vitals and keep the comm links open. We want them to reconcile, not die.”

For a moment there, though, everyone else hadn’t been too sure.

Coran swallowed audibly. “Understood. Approaching drop-off in five. Four. Three. Two. One.” He opened the airlock where Lance and Pidge were detained. “Blue and Green Paladins successfully dropped off,” he announced over the two’s screams.

Shiro approached the main screen, worry lining his face. “This is the turning point in their relationship.”

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed. “They could return a couple.”

“Or they could hate each other forever,” Keith countered.

Hunk slowly turned towards him, eyes narrowed. “Aaare you trying to start a bet, Keith?”

Keith smirked. “Why, are you up for it?”

* * *

“Oof!” Pidge cried over the comms, though Lance couldn’t see her in the meter-tall snow. He shook off the dizziness from the drop and the snow that made it under his armor before trudging to shallower depths.

Pidge emerged eventually, very much disgruntled. “They deactivated everything,” she said darkly.

Unable to follow her train of thought, he asked, “Who did what?”

“Allura and Coran!” she answered, looking up at the Castleship hovering above them. “They deactivated my scanners and sensors—we’re literally lost in here!”

“Not forever,” Coran’s pleasant voice—turned unpleasant by the situation—reminded. “Accomplish Allura’s tasks, and we’ll be right down to get you both.”

“No! Get us out of here right now! I apologized to Vir already!”

“No can do, Number Five.”

“When I get back there,” Pidge growled, “I’m going to make you pay, Allura.”

Allura met her aggression with calm assertiveness: “I’d like to see you try.”

“Uhh, Pidge?” Lance called from behind Pidge, but she couldn’t be bothered to spare him any attention when she was still busy scowling at the Castle.

“What?”

“Are you up for another snowball fight?” he asked.

Preoccupied as she was, she missed the apprehension in his voice. “How could you even ask that? That’s exactly what got us in this position!”

“D-Do you want to fight a snowman, then?”

“I don’t think that’s how the old classic film goes!”

Lance groaned. “Stop retorting!”

“Then stop trying to get smart with me!” She turned to redirect her glare at him, but all her fuming anger dissipated when she saw what had him spouting nonsense. Numerous creatures were running towards them, snow-white and menacing. Suddenly, his nonsense made absolute sense.

Pidge summoned her bayard as Lance started shooting. It took only three shots from his bayard for them to realize that these creatures were made entirely of snow and were thus, basically, invincible.

For the second time in ten minutes, they both screamed, sprinting and fighting their way to higher ground.

“We’re gonna die! And not even because of Paladin stuff!” Lance whined.

Pidge scoffed at him. “Technically, they can’t harm us and we can’t harm them.” She released her grapple at an elephant-like snow creature. It reverted to its original lifeless form, hopefully permanently.

“They can bury us in snow! Our suits can’t regulate freezing temps for too long… we can die of hypothermia even if we don’t get wounded!”

“Stop overreacting, Lance. We just have to lose them and find a place to wait everything out.”

“Or—” Lance paused to evade a pouncing creature. It looked like one he’d seen in Syrma, although very malformed. “Or we could just do what Allura said and talk.”

She didn’t respond. He thought she was just finishing off the last few creatures attacking her. When she still hadn’t spoken after they’d been running for some time, he brought up his suggestion once more.

“Look, the sooner we do what we have to do, the sooner we’ll get out of here.” He caught a few breaths before continuing. “Don’t you want to go back?” he baited, if only to get a reaction out of her.

She shot him a glare. “Of course I do.”

“But…?” he encouraged, but she’d clammed up again. “What’s stopping you, Pidge?”

“I just—” she began. Her next words were interrupted by growling noises and sounds of many, many things lumbering and plodding through the thick layer of snow.

Lance and Pidge moved in sync to protect each other’s backs. Their training and survival instincts kicked in no matter how upset they were with each other. The creatures circled them hungrily—or as hungrily as their snowy features allowed.

Everything stilled in that one instant before the first of the pack leapt at the two.

“Go on,” Lance said as he shot at a three-headed alien snow creature.

“What?” Pidge asked, glancing over her shoulder.

“You were saying something.”

“Seriously? Now?”

“You said these things can’t wound us! So let’s get this over with!” More slashing sounds but no response from Pidge. “Pidge, c’mon!”

“I’m scared what you’ll say about me!”

Now he was the one to fall silent. Some alien snow Yeti charged at him. He slammed his shield into it, hearing Pidge do the same behind him.

That move seemed to keep the other creatures at bay. They circled them again with bloodlust and wariness. Lance and Pidge watched, ready for another wave of attack.

“You can go first,” Lance said at length, eyes following the wolf-like snow at the forefront of the pack.

Pidge almost whirled to face him but caught herself at the last second. “What?” She felt rather stupid having to ask the question twice within such a short period of time. Usually she was the one answering it, not the one asking. She really was out of her element in this odd situation in this unknown planet.

“You can go first,” he repeated, then shot at the snow-wolf just at it lunged at him. The others followed suit, and the fighting resumed.

His offer left her immobilized for a few moments—long enough to let a weird alien rat snow to get past her defense. A timely kick did the job, but it didn’t get rid of the sudden increase in the tension she felt.

“Pidge,” Lance grunted as he wrestled a creature near his size. “Are you… gonna do it or—?”

“You always let girls compromise our missions,” she blurted out, launching the bladed tip of her bayard to stab the snow creatures in its path.

He knocked down his current enemy before replying. “Hey, that was one time!”

“Is it?” Her doubtful tone made him reconsider as they finished off the remaining enemies and started running again.

“Okay,” he conceded, “maybe a couple times. But it’s not always!”

She moved on as if she hadn’t heard him. “Two. You act like you know everything.”

They were making their way up a hill now, jetpacks aiding their hike, Pidge watching their front while Lance guarded their back. His steps slowed at her words. “I had to. It’s the only time you correct me and I actually learn stuff.”

Pidge remained silent for a few minutes. She really didn’t want to do this. Not because she was scared of confrontations—she could deal with those—but because she didn’t want to hurt Lance and be hurt in return. She didn’t want to lose one of the only friends she had, and this talk was like the shortcut to losing one if they couldn’t work things out. At the same time, she felt the necessity of all this, for reasons yet unknown to her.

So she continued: “Three. You always protect others at the cost of your own safety.”

She heard a huff over the comms. “That’s what a Paladin does, Pidge!”

“No, Lance. That’s what someone who thinks they’re replaceable and unimportant does.”

The ensuing silence allowed them to catch the light crunching of snow to their right. Judging from the lack of obvious shuffling noises that bulkier snow creatures announced themselves with, Pidge expected this group to be more agile on average. She and Lance regained their breaths as they prepared for the next round of fighting.

Lance still hadn’t rebutted her. That fact made her uneasy. Very uneasy. “Do you… Do you think you are?”

“Just get ready for those creatures,” he replied, but his non-answer was a clear answer for her: yes. And she hated that more than his notorious self-sacrificing habit.

“I’ll change number three, then.” The first of the snow creatures showed themselves. Pidge planted her feet to the ground, lowered her posture, and re-centered her balance. “I hate that you think you’re replaceable—” She slashed at a distorted griffin-like creature. “—or unimportant—” Then garroted a six-legged creature with her bayard’s cord. “—or whatever it is you think of yourself.” Assuming he wouldn’t respond to that, she kept talking. “Four, you keep bugging me even if I want to be alone.” Another winged creature fell as snow at her feet. “Especially when I ask you to leave me alone.”

“I just can’t leave you alone.”

She frowned in confusion. “Why?”

“Because…” A few shots went off behind her. “Nobody really wants to be alone when they say they do.”

Her frown deepened. “That doesn’t make sense.”

“Does to me,” he said so nonchalantly she actually heard him shrug.

They lapsed into contemplative silence as they crested the hill.

“Five,” Pidge huffed once they did. “I hate… that whenever Hunk and I run off to do something fun… I’ll turn around and not find you there.”

Lance had stationed himself atop a slab of ice a little farther in front and to her left, on the lookout for incoming enemies and a possible hideout, so she couldn’t see his reaction. She couldn’t hear anything other than his heavy breaths over the coms, either. Thinking that she’d done her worst, she sighed.

“I always thought you didn’t want me to follow.”

She jumped a bit. Both at his sudden reply and its meaning. “Why would you think that?”

“Because whenever I try to go after you guys, you’re already gone.” His voice sounded neutral and blasé, as if he was used to the fact. As if he’d already resigned himself to it.

Her heart sank at that. She made to move towards him, but her eyes caught something dark in the distance. It looked like… She gasped. “Lance, look!”

His gaze followed the direction she was pointing at, then directed the scope of his blaster for a better view. He gasped, too. “It’s an opening to a cave!”

They looked at each other with hopeful eyes and were about to set off when another pack of snow creatures emerged from the snowy woods to their right. They groaned.

“Don’t these things ever run out?!” Pidge complained as she slashed a creature in its chest.

“Guess not!” Lance shouted back, parrying a three-tiered snowman’s snow arms with his blaster.

She growled. “This is getting exhausting!”

“Here, let me rile you up,” he said, and she could tell what would come next.

Adrenaline rushed throughout her body. He’d already riled her up with just his preface; she wasn’t sure she could hear the rest without being distracted. She knew why, of course. She just didn’t ever want to admit it.

Lance took a deep breath to calm his nerves and regain his focus. He needed to keep what was left of his cool in order to fend off these annoying things and say his piece. “First thing I dislike about you…” He blasted two creatures in the head. “You never explain anything.”

The slicing noises from Pidge’s side grew aggressive following his words. “I do explain stuff!”

“Not to me,” he retorted, glaring at the next creature to attack before decimating it with a tad too many shots from his bayard.

“But you never ask anything!”

“You didn’t really—” He kept shooting even as more creatures appeared. “—make it easy for me.” Snow piled at his feet as the creatures turned back to snow. He heard her indignant huff but preempted her protest. “That’s why I always act like I know everything when I don’t know anything at all.”

It was Pidge’s turn to fall silent again. This alternating routine between them was getting funnier with every repetition. Add to that their current situation and the event that started all of this, and Lance would’ve died of the ridiculous hilarity of it all. Now if only he wasn’t one of the two exhausted people being chased by alien snow creatures.

Through a mix of strategy and luck, Pidge opened a gap for them to escape through by releasing her grapple to pierce a group of similar-looking snowies that had lined up to attack them. And they booked out of there, sprinting down the hill in the direction of the cave.

“Next,” Lance panted. Pidge didn’t react; he supposed she was too tired to respond. Understandable. He’d rather not speak when his lungs were already working overtime, too, but he knew that the only way to get back to the Castle was to have this uncomfortable discussion. And right now, he wanted nothing more than sleep in his bed cocooned in lots of blankets and pillows. “You… always run… off somewhere… I couldn’t follow.” He was still running at full speed when Pidge suddenly decreased her pace. He maneuvered mid-stride so he wouldn’t crash into her. “Hey! Why’d you—”

“Is that why you’re… not there when…?” she asked between puffs, turning towards him.

He was reluctant to meet her eyes, what with guilt and comprehension coloring her tone, so he waved a dismissive hand in front of his face. “Let’s keep running.” They could talk more later in safety. Continuing where he’d left off once they were on the move again, “Three. I hate that… you close yourself off… when something bothers you.”

All he got for that was a grunt, making him release a heavy breath.

“Yup. My point exactly.”

“My problems aren’t… your business.”

“It is if… they affect… someone important to me.”

They approached the foot of the hill with speed and caution. The cave waited for them just a hundred meters ahead, the shadowy silhouette of its mouth stark against the white blanket of snow, beckoning for them to take refuge. Get past the horde of snow creatures between them and the cave, and they would be safe in the meantime. Lance hoped that he and Pidge wouldn’t be sharing the hideout with another living thing out to get them.

A strategy formed in his mind while he studied the terrain and the rabid creatures before them. “Pidge,” he said, holding out his arm to stop her advance. “I’ve got an idea.” He felt her eyes on him, indication that he had her attention. “Let’s blast our way through their ranks. You go ahead and check if the cave is safe. I’ll clear a path for you and follow right after.”

Pidge nodded. “It’s a plan.” And she crouched, getting ready to sprint on his mark.

“I hate that you get all grumpy and violent whenever I talk about girls,” he squeezed in at the last moment. He didn’t want to dwell on it—at all. Hopefully she’d be too distracted and wouldn’t dwell on it, either. Much better if she’d ignore it completely.

“W-Wait, what?” she sputtered.

“Ready?”

“Lance!”

“Three, two, one. Go!”

Despite his blindsiding, Pidge set off without missing a beat. Quick recovery as always. That’s Pidge for you, he thought in admiration, summoning his bayard to start shooting at the creatures at the vanguard as he and Pidge charged by their twosome.

The creatures from this horde were larger than the previous ones, more agile and well-formed. It had taken Lance a rather long time to clear a path for Pidge. But the moment he did, she launched her grapple at the cave’s entrance and prayed it had something to hook to. Prayer answered. Using her jetpack, she jumped over the remaining distance that separated her and Lance from safety.

Pidge examined the dark interior as fast and thoroughly as she could with the limited light of her suit’s flashlight. She felt ill at ease having all her upgrades—developed to be useful for any contingency—overridden and deactivated on Allura’s command. Well, she could exact her revenge for being unnecessarily endangered like this later. She shone the light on every corner. Ground: devoid of snow. Walls: clear. Other end of the cave: covered with the same rocky walls surrounding her. Most importantly: no other living thing in sight. “Clear!” was her verdict.

She heard Lance’s whoop over the comms, accompanied by the crescendo of rabid growls and crushing snow. He was near; waiting on standby by the cave’s mouth to cover his entrance and get rid of the creatures hot on his heels would be best.

There was one thing she couldn’t wait about, though.

“Also, I so do not get violent or grumpy!”

“That right?” he huffed out, tone dubious. “So ‘accidentally’… hitting me when I… used to… talk about Allura—” Shots and whimpering sounds. “—and ignoring me for days… after fans ask for photos with me… are not violent and grumpy?”

Pidge fell into a sulky silence. She’d finally gained a visual on Lance’s helmet, so she directed a glare at it. It wasn’t like she could rebut anything he said, anyway.

“Like what, you jealous or something, Pidge?” he asked off-handedly, but even the comm-link couldn’t filter out the nervousness in his voice.

Her body returned to its fight-or-flight mode, and not because of creatures aiming their fangs at her neck. “Why don’t you answer your own question?”

“Don’t wanna… make a wrong answer.”

“You’ve got a fifty-fifty chance. You’d have to be unlucky to make the wrong one.”

He didn’t reply for a few moments. “Then… wild guess…” He was now close enough to the cave that she could probably lasso him if he neared the entrance a little more. “You’re jealous?” he hazarded in a hopeful tone, one he seemed to be trying—and failing—to keep away from his voice.

Pidge’s cheeks heated up at being found out. Nonetheless, she admitted to it with a very quiet “So you know.”

A shocked “—What?” went over the comms immediately after, but there was no time to elaborate. Lance had reached the effective range of her bayard. With snow creatures still close behind him, she determined that lassoing was the fastest way to get him to safety.

“I said…” Pidge activated her bayard, calculating the amount of force and timing needed to pull Lance away. “I’ll lasso you now.”

“What?!”

She aimed her bayard at him and released. Its cord wound around him a few times before the grapple hooked itself under his breastplate. Then she gave one hard yank, Lance screaming as her bayard powerfully reeled in the cord—and him—towards her.

After an instant release of his restraints, a sweeping survey of his surroundings, and quick thinking on his part, Lance shot at the hanging slabs of rock near the cave entrance. The rocks fell piece by piece, boulders sealing the creatures out and trapping the two of them in, at least until they were done with Allura’s tasks. The tasks were getting more embarrassing and difficult to do as they progress; he wasn’t sure he could go through this without the distraction of shooting at snowy things.

He could estimate Pidge’s position beside him based on the glowing marks on her armor, though he couldn’t see the expression on her face. Maybe that was why she wouldn’t turn on her suit’s flashlight or allow him to light his. Maybe that was for the best.

The silence would’ve been deafening if not for the scratching, shuffling noises outside the blockade. Neither of them spoke for a long time.

Unable to bear the tension anymore, Lance cleared his throat, which had suddenly become dry. “So… do you get jealous those times? Is-Is that why… you do what you do?”

“…I thought you already made a guess.”

“Yeah, but you have to explicitly confirm if it’s right or wrong, or it’ll stay as a guess.”

Pidge huffed. “Can’t you just infer? Why do you need explicit confirmation?” The glowing marks on her shoulders moved—probably to cross her arms.

“B-Because!”

“Yeah?”

“Because it would make it easier to say the last thing I dislike about you.”

She heaved a sigh. “Fine. You guessed right. Happy?”

His face flushed with heat and heart picked up its pace again. Physical exertion a few minutes ago and now emotional exertion? Man, he was being pushed to his absolute limits. As Pidge suggested, he inferred the rest. The happy giddiness that came with his conclusion sent his heart in a frenzy; he worried that it might burst if this went on longer, so he continued their talk.

“No, because that means you think I prefer someone else’s attention over yours.” He didn’t miss the quiet gasp that escaped her, and he couldn’t stop the grin spreading wide across his face. “I hate that you’ve convinced yourself that you’re not girly enough to be beautiful. Just being a girl is girly enough. And just because you don’t do or like what other girls do doesn’t make you any less beautiful.” Pidge’s confirmation had dispelled most of his hesitation, allowing him to be as honest and open as he wanted. “Do you even know how amazing you are? Have you seen your eyes when you’re intent on making everything go your way? Wait, of course you haven’t. But it’s like they’re alight with fire. If you saw them, you wouldn’t want to look a—”

“Wait, stop! Stop!” Pidge cut in with a flustered voice. “Can you even hear what you’re saying?!”

“Of course I can! I have ears! So please let me finish and don’t make me say all of this again!”

“No, no! I’ve heard enough—”

“But I haven’t said enough—”

“No, you have!”

“Pidge—”

“Just tell me one thing you like about me!” she cried out, finally silencing his protests. Even the shuffling sounds outside had paused at her outburst. “That’ll be enough. I’ll do the same.”

* * *

“I’ll do the same.”

“I don’t think we should be seeing this,” Keith said, face the same color as his Lion. His hand moved towards the main panel of the bridge, but it was pushed away by Hunk.

“Allura said we should keep an eye out for them—or ear. Right, Allura?” Hunk threw the question over his shoulder to where Allura stood watching from the center of the bridge, deeply engrossed with the video feed and hands clasped to her chest.

“Hunk’s right,” she replied. “But we should send Blue and Green out to fetch their Paladins.”

Coran quietly followed her command so they could all hear the rest of the conversation over the comm link. A glance at the panel screens showed that the Lions had left their hangars.

“Okay.”

* * *

“Okay. Let’s say it at the same time,” Lance suggested.

“But our answers will overlap,” Pidge argued.

“But it’s less embarrassing than saying it one at a time.”

She hummed in thought. “That’s true.” Her hands began to sweat beneath her space suit. “On three?”

“Three.”

“Two.”

“One.”

“You.” “You.”

The universe stilled when she uttered her answer and heard his voice blend with hers with the exact same answer.

“Then… Then why…” she breathed out but couldn’t continue. Her lungs were short on air. Her heart thundered in her chest. Her whole body felt hot despite being in a planet frosted over with snow, breaking the rules of thermoregulation.

“Why what?” Lance asked. He sounded as breathless as she was, and the fact that she wasn’t the only one calmed her just enough to get more words to pass her lips.

“Why did you throw that first alien snowball?”

“Because… some Syrmi was getting too friendly with you, and I wanted to return your attention to me and keep it on me.” Lance knew that Pidge couldn’t see him, but he looked away in shame, anyway. All this was, in all actuality, his fault. He prepared himself for some reprimand, but Pidge’s reply caught him off-guard.

“You can just ask for it, you know?”

“I-I can?”

“…Yeah.”

“Well, can I have it now?”

“S-Sure.”

“And can I keep it?”

“As long as you want.”

Every question and answer grew more hushed than the exchange before them, until they were mere whispers, barely audible even to Pidge and Lance. Unconsciously, their hands sought each other in the dark, guided by the faint glow of their armors. With their hands intertwined, the rest of their bodies moved to follow, their heads closing the inches, centimeters, millimeters of space between them.

But then the ground shook, knocking their helmets lightly together.

“What the—?” Lance began, but Pidge shushed him.

“Listen!”

Silence from outside the cave. The shuffling noise of the snow creatures had stopped.

The ground shook again, and their hideout’s barricade of rocks crumbled. Light poured in, momentarily blinding them as their eyes readjusted. Despite their temporary loss of vision, they could feel two familiar presences waiting for them beyond the cave’s entrance. They knew exactly who those were.

Pidge and Lance grinned.

“Our rides are here, Lance!”

“Finally!”

* * *

“Alright! Lance and Pidge are a thing now!” Hunk cheered. “Which means I’ll be prepping a feast, Allura will be prepping for Pidge’s revenge—”

“I’m ready,” Allura interjected confidently and all too happily.

“Good to know, Allura. Pidge is merciless, as we’ve seen.” He turned from Allura to Keith, who was sulking in the Red Paladin’s seat with his arms crossed. “And Keith will be prepping himself to follow my command as the loser of our bet.”

“Do your worst,” Keith replied. He trusted Hunk with his life, but not so with his pride. And judging by the gleeful gleam in Hunk’s eyes and his love of pranks rivaling Pidge’s and Lance’s, there was just no telling what the guy would make Keith do for two whole months.

“Okay. You ready, Keith?” Hunk asked, chuckling in excitement. “Oh boy, this’ll be fun.”

Keith tried not to panic.

“For the next two months, I command you to…” There was a pause. It was too long for comfort. “…hang out much more with all of us.”

The penalty was so light and unexpected that it went over Keith’s head at first and didn’t sink in for a long time. It took Hunk’s huge grin, Shiro’s kind, lopsided smile, Allura’s gentle smile, and the welcoming expression on Coran’s face for Keith to succeed in processing Hunk’s command.

And once he did, he couldn’t help smiling back.

“I think I can do that.”

* * *

Lance had been hanging out with Pidge in Green’s hangar after a suspiciously celebratory dinner when he remembered something they’d missed. “We’ve never actually worked out five ways we can meet halfway,” he noted.

Pidge stopped tinkering with a prototype of an Altean version of Rover. “You’re right. It’s a good thing Allura forgot about it and let us back in.”

“Maybe she didn’t see the need for it anymore.” When she looked at him in confusion, he clarified, “Because we don’t hate each other anymore?”

“Huh.” She shrugged. “Guess it doesn’t matter now.”

Lance sat up in his chair, rolling it closer to her. “Wanna do it anyway?” he asked.

Pidge put down Rover 2.0.1 and faced him. She couldn’t really say no when he looked so eager. “Fine.”

“Okay. I won’t let girls compromise missions anymore. Unless you’re compromised. Then that’s a different matter.”

She rolled her eyes even as heat rushed to her cheeks. “I’ll make sure to explain stuff to you. But I can’t always tell when you don’t get what I’m saying, so you’ve got to ask me, too.”

“Got it. Hmm, what’s next? Oh.” He gave her a serious look. “Please try to open up when something bothers you, Pidge. You’re not alone. I won’t annoy you if I can help it,” he promised, and she believed him.

“I promise to wait for you. I won’t leave you behind again.”

“And I promise to always follow you.” He held out a pinky. She raised her brows at the childishness of it but humored him nonetheless. “Pinky promises are the real unbreakable vows.” They laughed.

“Last one,” Pidge said as her laughter faded into somberness. “You’ve got to stop putting yourself in harm’s way for others all the time.”

Lance averted his gaze. He made to turn away from her, but she’d already read his intention and so had gently cupped his face with her hands to stop him. His eyes remained adamantly trained elsewhere. Fine by her; he just needed to listen to what she had to say.

“Let’s state the facts here,” she said. “Out of billions of humans on Earth, Blue chose you. She’d waited for ten thousand years just for you to chance upon the cave she was hidden in. She could’ve chosen any of us, but she still chose you. Do you know how small your chance was? Almost nonexistent. And yet here you are, Paladin of the Blue Lion. Just from that you’re already irreplaceable.”

His eyes slowly met hers, and a thrill ran down her spine. She hadn’t known that they were this shockingly blue up close.

When did we even get this close? she wondered vaguely, too mesmerized by his eyes to give it any more thought.

“Also, as of today you’re the only person in the universe who holds my attention. You’re the sole keeper of it. If you go, all my attention goes with you.”

He released a quiet chuckle, his breath mingling with her breath. “Is that how it works?” he whispered, but she heard him loud and clear.

They were much closer now, she absently noted, and much closer when their noses touched. Her eyes fluttered shut.

“It is to me. You’re important, Lance. I can prove it.”

“Okay, prove it,” she felt him say.

She pressed her lips to his—slowly, gently but with no hesitation. Never hesitation. He kissed her back eagerly and just as gently.

The moment was brief, but it was warm. It thawed the uncertainties that had frozen her decisions and melted the fears that ran her blood cold. Somehow, she knew that she’d be okay. She knew that her path forward would no longer be as bleak.

“Believe me now?”

“Yeah.”

Pidge smiled.

Spring was on its way.

#voltronsecretsanta2k19 #voltron secret santa #nessajjewell #voltron #plance #sorry for the double tag!#writings

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voyager-into-the-unknown · 4 years

Text

The Dumb One

By PlanceGardener21 on AO3

Lance allowed Red to fly on autopilot as the Paladins soared through the void on their long journey home. He leaned back in his pilot’s chair, listening to his teammates’ comm chatter, but saying nothing. Allura was having a discussion with Pidge and Hunk about quintessence conversion efficiency and the necessity of allowing the lions to recharge. They would have to find a habitable planet to land on soon. Keith and Allura had some ideas about which one would be suitable for their needs. Pidge made some quick calculations which she sent to Black Lion, and Keith adjusted their route towards Earth, which they apparently weren’t going to reach anytime in the near future.

Lance sighed. What could he contribute to this conversation anyway? It was like they had forgotten he was even there. He thought about their recent encounter with the mysterious alien entity known to them only as Bob. The dumb one, Lance thought. That’s what he called me, and that’s who I am. Everyone seems to agree on that. He closed his eyes. He just wanted this war to be over. He missed Earth. He missed his family. He could feel the moisture welling up beneath his eyelids. He just wanted to go home.

“Lance!” Hunk practically shouted over his comm. “Are you with us, buddy? You’ve been really quiet lately.”

“Sorry. I must have been napping for awhile.”

“Are you sure you’re awake back there?” Keith asked. Red, the normally the fastest of the lions, had drifted to the rear of their formation.

“Keep up, Lonce,” Allura chided. “You don’t want to get left behind.” After all this time she still pronounced his name incorrectly. At first he thought it was cute, but now it was beginning to get on his nerves every time she said it. Lance pulled a face that he was glad the princess could not see.

That’s just great, he thought. Now, I’m the slow one, too.

“Lance?” Pidge’s voice was more gentle than usual for some reason. “Would you like to play Killbot in tandem with me? It would be a great way to pass the time.”

“How can I play when I’m over here? The game console is with you, Pidge.”

“I’ve downloaded the game’s code into one of Green’s auxiliary computers. I can send a copy of the program to one of Red’s auxiliaries and broadcast a signal link that will allow us to play together in real time. It’ll be fun.”

Lance was impressed. “That must have been a lot of work for you. Why did you go to so much trouble?”

Pidge hesitated. “Well...you did go through a lot to help me get the game in the first place. And even though it’s fun to play alone, I’ve always thought that it’s even more fun to play Killbot with you.”

Lance smiled crookedly in spite of the gloomy mood he had been in a few moments before. “Well, what are you waiting for? Send me the program!” He then grinned broadly in anticipation of another gaming session with Pidge. Somehow, She managed to bring him out of his foul mood with just a few words. He noticed that she did that a lot lately.

“Ugh, can you two put all of your gaming talk on a private channel.” Allura sounded annoyed.

“Will do!” Pidge replied cheerfully. There was a brief burst of static, and then he heard Pidge’s voice on a different channel. “Lance, you there?” He activated his viewscreen.

“Your favorite Paladin’s right here, Pidgey,” he said with a smirk while pointing finger guns at her. “I’m cuter than a yelmor, and I smell better than one too!” He really didn’t know what made him say that, but it made her giggle, so it must have been the right thing to say. It may have been his imagination, but he could have sworn that Pidge blushed a little as she smiled at him.

She typed quickly, then pressed a button. “Sending now. Let me know when it’s finished downloading to your auxiliary terminal. It will take several minutes.”

“Thanks for doing all this for me, Pidge. I really missed gaming with you.”

“l missed you too,” Pidge declared absentmindedly as she studied one of her data screens. “And it was the least I could do for you after what happened on board the pirate ship.”

“What do you mean?”

“Zethrid and Ezor were gleeful about the idea of torturing me, but you wouldn’t let them take me. Even though you were restrained, you fought to defend me, to keep me safe. What you did was selfless, reckless, and very brave. For the longest time I just wanted to say...” Pidge’s voice cracked. Her eyes were shining. “Thank you for that.”

Lance’s mouth fell open in stunned silence. After a long pause, he softly murmured, “No problem.” He watched as she wiped her eyes quickly and swallowed. Lance stammered, “I...uh...I really didn’t have time to think. I just reacted. Someone I care about was in danger, and something inside of me just...snapped. I had to protect you. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if I hadn’t done something. Pidge, if they had taken you, if they had hurt you, I—“

She gave him a watery smile. “But they didn’t hurt me. Ezor beat you up instead.” Tears streamed down Pidge’s cheeks, and she wiped them away with the heel of one hand. “If Coran, Acxa, and the mice hadn’t arrived to rescue us, no telling what they might have done to you.”

“It’s all right. I only had a few bruises. I’m fine, really. And if I had to do it all over again, I would.” His face suddenly felt very warm.

She looked at him in astonishment, and then smiled shyly. She was definitely blushing this time, and looking at him with what could only be described as admiration. Selfless, she had called him. Brave.

“I guess you’re my hero, then.” The look she gave him was the softest he had ever seen from her. He was speechless.

It had occurred to him, and not for the first time either, that Pidge was growing up. She was taller now, her hair was longer, the subtle curves of her slight figure had become more obvious recently. There was no way she could pass for a young boy anymore. She’s too pretty to be a boy, he thought, and then suddenly felt warm all over. Where had that thought come from? Pretty. Delicate. Graceful. Brilliant. Sweet. Courageous. Determined. She was all of those things and so much more. And she saw him as a hero. He was her hero.

Hero...How many times had he hoped that he might be regarded as a hero by some attractive young woman? How much time had he spent in idle daydreaming about rescuing a fair damsel in distress who would fall in love with him? How long had he fantasized that one day a girl would look at him the way Katie Holt was looking at him at this very moment? Well, it was time to be really brave then. He looked back at her and said aloud what he had been meaning to tell her for the longest time.

“You—you’re my hero too, you know. You saved me. Remember when Bob put me in that vat of acid?”

“Don’t remind me. That arrogant little creep could have killed you, Lance. I was furious!”

“Yeah, I am not a fan of that guy either. I was so nervous that I couldn’t think straight. Every time I got an answer wrong I felt like I was letting the team down, and I could never forgive myself if we lost because of my stupidity.”

“You’re not stupid, Lance. Don’t ever call yourself that.”

“Why not? Everyone knows that I’m the dumb one. Bob kept saying it over and over, and he’s some kind of ancient being with godlike knowledge and power, so it must be true.”

“That is absolute nonsense. Bob doesn’t know what he’s talking about. And you’re not dumb! I can prove it to you.”

“Good luck with that,” he said skeptically.

“Are you familiar with Howard Gardener’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences?”

“No. Wait, multiple? Are you saying that there is more than one way to be smart?”

“That’s exactly what I am saying. Even before we became Paladins, I hacked the Garrison’s computers several times when I was searching for Matt and Dad. I saved nearly everything I could find that was classified, including data about Shiro, who was missing too, and Keith because of his connection to Shiro. I researched you and Hunk also, since the three of us were training together as a flight crew. I wanted to know everything there is to know about you two. I made a dossier on each member of our team.”

“Yeah, you told us. I mean, normal people do scary stuff like that all the time.” He rolled his eyes.

She glared at him. “Lance...”

“I’m just saying! Look, you got angry at Hunk for being nosy when he tried to get a peek at your diary. In a way, this is even worse!”

“I’m sorry! I was desperate to find my family, okay? And I wanted to know more about you and Hunk. I wanted to know if I could trust you. I entered the Garrison illegally, under a false identity, and sooner or later one of you would figure out that Pidge Gunderson was an alias. If Iverson found out that I was really Sam Holt’s daughter...”

“Okay, okay. I’m sorry too. I know you were probably in a constant state of anxiety back then. I honestly thought there was something very weird going on with you all the time, even though I was too dense to figure out that you weren’t really a boy.”

She paused, looking thoughtful for a moment, remembering their time together as cadets. “You kept trying to be friends with me, and I kept pushing you away. I felt terrible about that, you know. I really wanted to be friends, but I was afraid you and Hunk would figure out who I really was.”

“It’s alright, Pidge. I understand why you did it. And I hope you noticed that we didn’t give up on you.”

“I know. You and Hunk were the first real friends I’ve ever had.” She smiled again, her eyes shining.

He smiled back at her. “You and Hunk are like, my favorite people in the entire universe, okay? You’re both so brilliant I often wonder why either of you would want an idiot like me around, unless it’s for comic relief.”

“Lance! Stop that! I already told you, you are not dumb, so stop saying it.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop. What was it that you were saying about multiple intelligences?”

“I have all of your files from our days at the Garrison: standardized test scores, pilot trainee stats, physical fitness data, psych profile, and MI survey results, as well as everyone else’s. We both scored pretty high in Visual/Spatial Intelligence.”

“You have to in order to be a pilot trainee.”

“And to be so great at video games. It’s also necessary to be a skilled sharpshooter,” she grinned at him. “I may be a genius in Logical/Mathematical, but your score in Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence is much higher than mine. You also scored really high in Linguistic, Musical, and especially Interpersonal Intellligences. That last one is my weakest area.”

“Wait a tic, are you saying that I’m smarter than you in some areas?!”

“Yes, without a doubt. The data is right here. I can send it to you...”

“No, I...” Lance looked shy all of a sudden. “It’s enough just to know that you think I’m not dumb. I mean, you’re one of the most intelligent people I have ever met, not to mention that you’re one of the people I love most in the entire universe, so your opinion means everything to me. I guess what I am trying to say is...thank you.”

Wait, did he just say love? Out loud?! Oh no, she heard that. That’s why she isn’t saying anything. Idiot. There was an awkward silence between them.

The computer console chimed softly, signaling the download was finished.

“You’re welcome, Lance,” she said carefully. “And I think you should know that even though you are dense as a neutron star about some things, you are brilliant as a supernova in many other ways.” She paused again. “I guess that’s why I love you so much, you Goofball.” She said all of this with a dazzling smile that made his heart beat faster.

Lance’s heart was racing for quite some time, and he could not stop smiling for the next varga or so. He and Pidge became absorbed in excitement of the video game, but in the back of his mind Pidge’s words reverberated through the cavern of his memory, echoing again and again without diminishing in intensity: Selfless. Brave. Hero. You’re not dumb. I love you.

I love you...I love you...I love you. His mind replayed those words over and over as they battled digital monsters. With each victory he felt more confident, more sure of himself. He whooped with unbridled joy when their teamwork took down one foe after another.

He loved her. He knew that now, and he had already wasted so much precious time flirting with girls who really didn’t matter to him. He vowed he wouldn’t do that anymore. They were fighting in an interstellar war that had been going on for thousands of years before they were even born. Who knew how much time they had left? Days, months, years, a lifetime?

A lifetime. He realized at that moment that he could spend a lifetime talking or gaming or just growing old with Pidge. He wanted that, if they survived this endless war. He wanted her.

When they finally landed on the planet that Keith and Allura were talking about earlier, he might be able to walk around with Pidge for a bit and enjoy the fresh air of a planet with a breathable atmosphere. He would try to hold her hand, of course. And, maybe, if he could find a place to be alone with her, he could tell her face to face how he really felt about her. He wondered if she would let him steal a kiss...

“Team, look alive!” Keith’s voice over the main comm channel broke Lance’s concentration. Pidge paused their game. “There’s a renegade Galra battlegroup straight ahead. Incoming!” Galra fighters swarmed around Keith, Allura, and Hunk like a hive of angry hornets.

Quiznak! Well, it was time to put that Visual/Spatial Bodily/Kinesthetic Intelligence to use. Red soared ahead with Green right behind him and Lance opened fire on the fighter drone who was tailing Black Lion. It burst in an explosion of color and light in front of him.

“Nice shooting!” Hunk exclaimed.

“Way to go, Sharpshooter!” Pidge cheered. “That was a genius move.” Was she teasing him?

Lance grinned as he bullseyed another fighter.

#plance #pidge #lance #katie holt #lance mcclain #vld #plance fanfiction #voltron

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hiuythn · 4 years

Note

sorry to ask, but i saw u shared hc for the sick anon, im going thru a rough patch and ur fic rly cheered me up. Can i get some hcs as well?

this is how keith asks lance to marry him:

so we all know how from the beginning, from the moment things got resolved at the end of tnahp, that keith’s been upfront about never leaving lance. everyone knows he’s going to put a ring on that. he’s said it to lance’s face. “what else am i gonna do with you?”

it’s not until six years later that he actually does anything though. mostly bc of the war and the aftermath.

the team are in a meeting with the coalition, boring stuff, routine stuff, and the mind link is closed, bc sometimes keith and lance need breaks. he’s lucky that it was, though, because what happens next in his mind would’ve been enough to make lance fall out of his seat and ruin the meeting and coran would’ve killed them both lmao

lance is paying attention even though he looks just as bored as keith. diligent, as always. he’s even got a holoscreen projected, taking lazy notes. there are faint little sketches of the coalition members and the team. one is of shiro, snoring, comical Zs above his head. keith bites down on his cheek.

lance is twirling the pen in his left hand.

keith looks at that and thinks, loud and clear, there should be a ring on his finger.

he sits back.

huh.

it should be a surprise, he decides after a quiet minute. lance deserves that. it should be at the right moment, the right words, the right place. it should be soft and genuine and such a sweet shock that it takes lance seconds to reply. it should make his blue eyes fill with tears, it should make him curl into a ball before keith, who’ll still be kneeling, ring box open and laughing at him because wow, that’s nice reaction, lance. it should be a proposal so perfect that it makes lance kind of mad, makes him shove keith, makes him pout that frustrated-loving-happy pout.

(bros, as a gay, this is kind of really fucking gay)

keith spends the rest of the meeting laying out proposal plans. lance gets exasperated when he finds out keith remembers nothing of the meeting. “dude, you--tell me again, who’s the leader of voltron, here?” “it’s allura.” “....okay, but who flies bl--”

and some people might ask, what’s the point, if you’re already levertan-married? if you’ve mind-linked and basically achieved the pinnacle of ‘joining hands in holy matrimony’?

keith’s answer would probably be something like ‘fuck off, i love him that’s why’

(ngl that’s hella romantic. no? just me?)

the long answer is that he knows lance is a romantic. that he really likes gestures of affection, that his face gets all rosy and he always tries to bite back his smiles, and he gets so pleased and flustered and also adorably angry every time keith does anything for him. keith’s in love with that. he goes absolutely dumb over making lance happy, he’s fucking obsessed with it. every neuron in keith’s stupid head is devoted to lance like 24/7.

(it’s a given that lance is the same, if not worse. how tf do they get anything done?)

plus, levertan-married doesn’t really mean the same as human-married.

so keith--somehow--manages to pull off thinking up proposal plans without closing the link, without lance knowing--maybe bc his thoughts are purposefully fragmented like ‘white chocolate? milk?’ or ‘speakers? mic?’ or ‘beach sand feels sandy’ and yes it sounds absolutely dumb but it’s clever because after a while lance tunes it out. though, at the beginning, it really fucking worried him because it sounded like keith was having a stroke LMAO

over the next couple months, keith steadily puts his plan together: get the ring, figure out what to say, speak to allura about detouring to earth for some r&r, speak to shiro about not fucking things up for keith because i know you’ll do that somehow shiro no are you serious of course you would you’re evil do you even remember that time i said no to inviting people for my fourteenth birthday and you did it anyway even though i was looking forward to just playing video games for the whole day??? i had to deal with james griffin in my goddamn house you ass--

the day keith asks, everything--surprisingly--goes really well? like suspiciously so. like keith’s really glad but he’s itching to reach for his knife by the end of it, bc he was prepared for shiro to have done sth by now.

but nah, keith and lance have a lovely day hanging out, doing activities keith planned and things lance spontaneously suggests. the weather is a perfect breezy, sunny day. when the sun sets they wordlessly head for the beach. lance chases keith though the surf. they throw clumps of wet sand at each other. keith hoists lance in his arms, listening to him yell as keith spins them around. lance picks him up and tosses him into the shallows, that fucking jerk. lance gets keith to forgive him. lance gives keith his shirt, goes half-naked for keith’s shivering form. ‘i’m going to get a cold,’ lance says. ‘and i’m not?’ keith snorts. they walk down the beach and lance tells him stories, pointing to this rock or that spot and saying oh i broke my arm there or dude i saved a baby turtle from a seagull that day and keith soaks it all up like he’s the sand and lance is the ocean waves, coming back to him every time.

lance hops onto a rock, demonstrating to keith how he used to pretend he was a sea prince looking for mermaids. the winds play with his hair, the setting sun brushing golden against his bare chest and the grin on his lips. like this, he’s a foot or two taller than keith.

keith gets down on one knee.

it’s lance’s fault that the ring box is damp, but he’s lucky this thing is olkari-made, because when keith opens it up, the ring shines just as bright as lance. almost as bright. it tries its best but keith really only has eyes for his soulmate.

keith says:

every day, i want to choose you. every day, i want to get to choose you. every day, growing up like i did, was spent learning what i needed to live, what food or drink or mantra was needed to make it another day alone. my body forced to me to focus on its needs, on the bare essentials. if i went a month without a caring touch, it didn’t matter, because it hadn’t killed me yet.

before i fell for you, i don’t think i knew what it meant to want. i never had a chance to think about it, a second to indulge. if i wanted a home, a family, it was a weakness, a distraction, and i couldn’t let myself admit it. so i never learned to want.

the only other thing that comes closest to what i feel for you is probably flying. it’s that addiction to diving through the clouds, it’s free-falling, it’s soaring with my heart in my throat. and even then, even now that i know you, it doesn’t quite compare. it’s a poor substitute.

in this world we exist in, where some force out there knows exactly what we need, who we need, it’s kind of a miracle that i still got to choose you. i’m glad i got the moments where it hurt to think of you, because i wanted you so bad i couldn’t stand not having you. i’m glad i got to slowly realize that you were everything to me, on my own time. it was my own conclusion, my own resolution to love you because you were you, and not because you were someone i was supposed to love. the universe kind of tricked us, but i think she meant well.

and now i know, that even in a world where soulmates didn’t exist....i know i’d still want you.

i want to want you, every day. i want to wake up wanting you, every day, fall asleep wanting you every night. i want to leave for missions wanting you, want to stay behind watching you go, wanting you to return faster than you can. i want you to want me, too. i want a ring on our fingers, reminding me that you do, that you feel the same and you always will.

i want to marry you, lance mcclain.

will you marry me?

#klance #tnahp #tiwlll #fuck what the fuck #what the actual fuck that's so romantic #can someone check my head for me i think keith possessed me #holy god #ummmmm #i don't know how to explain this i've literally never been in love sjdfhksdjf #?????????????????#anon i hope this helps you!!!!! ily 💖💖💖#ask #my writing #y'all i really think i need an exorcist....#keith [reaching thru 15 dimensions to wrap his hands around my neck and wring it]:#tell them why i love lance kogane-mcclain!!!!! tell them!!! fuck!!#Anonymous

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somethingmorecreative1 · 4 years

Text

Renegade Dawn, Chapter 2 [klance fic]

the klance pacific rim au

Here’s Chapter 1, if you haven’t read it yet! And here’s the AO3 link if you’d rather read it there.

Stay safe, stay healthy, and take care of yourselves xoxo

;;

Chapter 2

September 2029—Year 22 of the Kaiju War

The Kaiju roars in agony as the plasmacaster blows through its chest and destroys the heart cavity. Its empty screams echo off of the buildings and the partially destroyed Wall of Life in Los Angeles as it collapses.

“Great job, beautiful!” Lance exclaims, moving into a complete standing position on the gyro-stabilizers, the elliptical pedals that hold him in place in the cockpit.

“Are you okay?” Allura asks, looking over at him through her helmet. She looks tired, but her eyes are bright, just like they are after every Kaiju kill. Clawtooth, codename for the Kaiju that attacked Southern California early this morning, had gone down after a long fight. Some of the coast was destroyed in the battle, with a large piece of the completed and supposedly indestructible wall torn to shreds.

Lance nods, surveying the Kaiju’s body where it’s scattered in pieces around them. He says, “Yep. I’m glad we were here. This son of a bitch would have ruined L.A.”

“Riptide, get back to the coast and prepare for pickup,” the voice interrupts from the comm system, speaking over the heavy noise in the cockpit of their Jaeger. Lance and Allura don’t recognize the voice, but that’s probably because there are only a few officers left at the Shatterdome. Even Lance, Allura, and their Jaeger, Sunshine Riptide, had been only half an hour from being relocated to Hong Kong when the Kaiju was tracked heading toward L.A.

Through the drift, Lance can feel how angry Allura is about them being relocated. He hums along with her, equally as pissed, and they start walking back toward the coast, crushing the skull of Clawtooth for good measure. Fuck Kaiju.

“It’s bullshit that we’re doing this,” Allura grumbles aloud, even though she knows Lance can feel and hear everything in her head. She must be really angry to vocalize it too. “The only reason L.A. isn’t in ruins is because of us.”

“I know,” Lance agrees, tapping at the control panel hanging from the roof of the cockpit. “I thought the Wall of Life was supposed to be indestructible and keep everyone safe, but this bastard tore through the wall in less than twenty minutes. Cutting the Jaeger Program is a bad idea.”

Allura hums in agreement, and they trudge toward the coast.

The first time that Lance met Allura was one of the most embarrassing and best things to ever happen to him. After the Garrison, Lance received his placement at the Shatterdome in Los Angeles. It was a miracle really; L.A. had been his top choice because it was close to his family and it was still one of the more active bases on the Pacific Rim.

Lance had been brought into the Jaeger Program, the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps, with a dozen other new candidates from across the world, including Allura. Lance had spotted her first, standing in line with the other cadets, all beauty and grace. She hadn’t even glanced his way, which obviously meant that she was just his type. After the briefing from their superior officer (that Lance had barely listened to; he had been fantasizing about his future with Allura, whose name he hadn’t even known at the time), Lance had walked up to her, smirked, and said, “Are you religious? Because you’re the answer to all my prayers.”

Allura had stared at him for half a second before slamming her knee into his crotch. She’d left him curled up on the ground, moaning and biting back tears as the other cadets laughed.

Later that day, when they were being paired up for physical training, one of the officers paired him with Allura, and she had frowned at him before throwing the first punch.

Lance dodged, sweating nervously. His voice shook more than he wanted to admit when he said, “Listen, about earlier—”

She threw him on the ground and smirked, “Do you believe in doctors? Because you’re going to need some serious medical attention when I’m done with you.”

Honestly, the heart eyes that Lance had for Allura just got worse after that.

His training from the Garrison finally kicked in, and after a few minutes of her thoroughly kicking his ass, he was able to get back into the fight. Once he was paying attention, he discovered that they were somewhat evenly matched. She was good, but Lance could keep up and hold his own too.

They drew a decent sized crowd. Eventually, Lance thought that their superior officer came over to watch as well, but he was so focused on the fight and the energy between him and Allura that he wasn’t paying attention to anything else.

Allura had him pined to the ground, and Lance was fighting his way out of it when a sharp whistle broke his concentration. Then, a voice barked, “Enough!”

Both him and Allura turned to look. A few officers were standing there, along with the Marshall. Lance immediately rolled to his feet, face burning, wondering what they had done wrong.

“Interesting,” the Marshall had said, raising an eyebrow. “It seems as though the two of you are drift compatible.”

And the rest had been history.

Lance and Allura started their training together then, since they were ahead of the other pilots in their program who hadn’t found a co-pilot yet. The Marshall and their commanding officers all kept a close eye on their training, and after two years, they started building Lance and Allura’s Jaeger, a Mark IV angel, if Lance was honest. He and Allura had fought with the engineers over her name and design for weeks.

They became best friends somewhere along the way. The first time that they had done a drift test, it had been so different from the last time, the time he had tried with Keith. With Allura, he had all the training that he and Keith hadn’t had. He understood exactly what the drift was and how it worked; he knew what he needed to give to make this work with Allura.

He wasn’t even worried about drifting with Allura. It had been as easy as breathing.

Now, as he thinks about it, he can feel Allura going through his memories with him, smiling at several of the times they’ve had together so far.

Lance wonders what they’ll do if the Jaeger Program is completely decommissioned.

The tone in the drift shifts enough for Allura to speak again. She says, “That won’t happen. The Wall isn’t a good enough defensive tactic. Jaegers are the only thing strong enough to fight the Kaiju.”

“What if we’re moved over to Hong Kong and they ground us?” Lance asks.

Allura is worried about it, he can tell through the drift, but she says, “I don’t think that will happen. Sunshine Riptide is the most successful Jaeger that’s still operational. The only Jaeger that had stronger pilots and more drop-kills than us at the time was Black Paladin.”

“Yeah, and that worked out well for them,” Lance mutters, voice bitter and sad at the same time.

Allura prods at the feeling gently, but Lance guides her away from it. Even though it’s been three years, he’s still not ready to share that aloud with her. She’s seen everything, of course, but drifting with someone is different. There are things that Lance has seen in Allura’s memories that he would never dare ask her about. This just happens to be one of his.

“That was a freak accident,” Allura challenges him, secure in it now, after years of thinking about it, worrying over it, regretting it. “It was before the new system for categorizing the Kaiju was developed. If they had known that Kaiju was a Category 3, they never would have sent Black Paladin in without backup.”

“I know,” he sighs. He doesn’t argue with her, mostly because she’s right, but also because he’s tired. They’d been deployed at 2:45 this morning, and it was well past 08:00 now. Lance needed a nap.

They walk the rest of the way in silence. As they leave the city, it starts to wake up behind them. There are several helicopters zipping through the skies, getting close enough to film them as they walk. Absently, Lance hopes that someone has gotten their kill on camera so it will play repeatedly for the next couple of days. It would be a good thing for the world to see. Despite the destruction of the city and the potential lives that had been lost, the United Nations needs to know that defunding the Jaeger Program is a terrible idea. If Sunshine Riptide hadn’t been here, all of L.A. could have been destroyed.

The helicopters and the loading ship are waiting for them at the coast, and as they make their way over to it, Lance grins at Allura and says, “You wanna wave to the crowds?”

She laughs, bright and easy, and they both turn and lift their arm to wave in the direction of the city.

“Please proceed onto the loading dock, Riptide,” the voice from base replies, probably completely aware (and unhappy, if Lance has to guess) at their publicity stunt.

He smirks over at Allura, and they follow orders.

;;

“Prepare for drop,” the AI hums through the cockpit, and Lance and Allura jerk as the helicopters release them. They drop to the ocean, hitting the water and seafloor with a sharp thud. They’ve been dropped far enough out that they can barely see the coastline because the impact from the drop can often cause a small earthquake if they are too close to any fault lines. In a fight with the Kaiju, it doesn’t seem as important, and the Wall does help avoid damage to the city, but the Jaegers have to be careful when being transported.

Which means that Lance and Allura have to walk all the way over to the Shatterdome now.

Once they’re standing upright, Allura picks up her right foot, and Lance echoes her immediately. They walk through the water, and the coastline gets closer and bigger with every step.

Through the drift, Lance can see that Allura is thinking about the last time they were here in Hong Kong, when they fought against the Kaiju with two other Jaegers: Metal Lipstick and Black Paladin.

It had been a legendary battle. It was the first time that there had ever been a double event—two Kaiju coming through the breach at once. They had lurked down the Pacific and descended upon Hong Kong hour after their arrival. Sunshine Riptide had been deployed from L.A., journeying across the ocean to join the fight with Metal Lipstick and Black Paladin.

Both were mythical Jaegers. In fact, with Sunshine Riptide there, they were the three most powerful Jaeger teams in existence, all fighting together at once. Metal Lipstick, piloted by a set of twins from Australia, had some of the best defensive tactics in the world, and Black Paladin—well, Black Paladin was the most successful Jaeger to have ever been built. Its life was young, having been built specifically for its pilots, but its power couldn’t be defined by age.

Lance can still hear the echoes of the other pilot’s voices in his memories, but he blinks hard. The last thing they need is to get caught chasing the rabbit in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

They don’t talk as they make their way over to the coast. It doesn’t take long to get there; the Hong Kong Shatterdome is built on an island off the coast of the city, where the Jaegers have easy access to the water so they can stop the Kaiju before it reaches the coast. The massive building sticks out against the rest of the coastline. Shatterdomes are easily the biggest structures on the planet, and to house Jaegers, they have to be.

Up ahead, the base has a loading tank prepared for them. It’s designed to roll the Jaegers into the Shatterdome to avoid hurting the pilots in such close quarters. Even though the Shatterdome is big, it’s not big enough for a Jaeger to just walk inside with its pilots.

“Sunshine Riptide,” a distinct voice, heavy with an Australian accent, filters through their communication system. “Welcome to the Hong Kong Shatterdome!”

Allura grins immediately and reaches up to hit her speaker. “Hello, Marshall. It’s nice to be here.”

“Under unfortunate circumstances, I’m afraid, but we’ll have to take what we can get in these times I suppose, eh?” he asks, voice still bright. “Please be careful on the loading tank and removing yourself from the Jaeger. A team will be out to assist you and bring you into the facility.”

“Copy that, boss,” Lance says, smiling at Allura. Even though they might be getting the plug pulled on them, he guesses that it’s worth it to see Allura this happy. She doesn’t get to see her uncle, Coran, very often anymore, not since he took the Marshall’s position. At least she will get to spend some time with him while they’re here.

They trudge forward, continuing up onto the loading tank easily and carefully climbing up out of Riptide. When they open the top hatch, Lance is blinded by the sun. It glints off Riptide’s sharp metal, flickering different colors in the light.

Coran’s team helps them climb down to the ground, and Lance shakes himself, blinking to get the haze of the drift to fade. Staying in the drift for a long time takes a toll on the mind, and it still makes Lance a little dizzy and overwhelmed after they’ve been in for a long time.

Allura grips his arm and jostles him softly, “Wake up.”

“I’m awake,” he says, batting her hand away.

Groups of officers and military personal are standing around them and their Jaeger, looking up at Sunshine Riptide in all her glory. She stands tall, so tall that she’s blocking the sun. She’s a Mark IV, rebuilt for Lance and Allura when they finished their training. She was decommissioned after being torn to shreds in one of the very first Kaiju battles, but they rebuilt her, loaded her up with a new neural interface, and slapped on a bright orange coat of paint. She has two plasmacasters, one in each fist, built to destroy the Kaiju in close combat, which she’s designed for. To Lance, Sunshine Riptide is one of the most beautiful Jaegers in existence.

Some of the people around them are also looking over at Lance and Allura, and their expressions are too close to awe and amazement. Any other day, he would be preening under the attention, smirking and flirting his way through the crowds, but today, he’s too worried about their future.

Allura glances over at him when one of the officers gives them the go ahead. The Shatterdome’s bay doors are opening a few hundred yards ahead of them, and there are people everywhere. Every Shatterdome has been pulled and moved to Hong Kong, so everyone in the Pan Pacific Defense Corps is grounded here now, well, what’s left of them.

Lance removes his helmet, tucks it under his arm, and steps up to Allura’s side. She nods, and they step out in front of the tank where their Jaeger has been loaded. It’s a brisk walk, but it’s something that Lance always takes pride in. People in front of them clear a path, parting for them, and they enter the Shatterdome bay to a round of applause because of their most recent victory.

The base is full. There are soldiers, mechanics, and scientists crowding the floor, and there are even more people on the higher levels as well. In this bay, there are a handful of Jaegers—probably the last ones in the world. Only three have made it this long and this far; Crystal Venom, Omega Shield, and Razor Edge sit in the Shatterdome already, and now that Sunshine Riptide joins them, that means they have four Jaegers left in this fight.

Within the last few months, Kaiju activity has increased exponentially, more than it has over the entire length of the war. More and more Jaegers have been defeated because of the growing number of attacks and strength from the Kaiju. Now, there are only a few remaining.

It’s why the United Nations pulled the funding for the Jaeger Program. Jaegers were dying so fast, and the Wall seemed like the only other option. Jaegers are expensive to make and run and investing money in something that seemingly doesn’t work does seem like a waste.

But Lance knows that it’s not. Jaegers are the only things that stand in the way of the Kaiju destroying their world. If there’s anything he can do about it, he’s not going to let that happen ever.

“Ah! And here’s a friend you may remember. Sunshine Riptide, welcome to Hong Kong!”

Lance hears Coran’s voice before he sees him, but when a crowd of soldiers clears out of the way, there he is, standing in the middle of the base, gesturing up to their Jaeger. He’s standing with two other people. The person on Coran’s right is short and looks young. She’s dressed in a navy-blue military uniform with a pair of round, large glasses on her nose. On Coran’s left, there’s a tall man, dressed in a leather jacket with a duffel slung over his shoulder. His black hair hangs down to almost his shoulders—

“Pilots!” Coran calls excitedly, “Join us!”

Lance feels Allura hesitate at the same time as him. Normally, she’s very excited, not at all hesitant, to catch up with Coran. But this time—this time is different.

Because Keith Kogane is standing on Coran’s left, and he’s looking over at Lance like he’s just come back from the dead.

;;

After the Garrison, Lance hadn’t heard anything from Keith in almost two years. He never really forgot about him, never forgot the feeling of drifting with someone and almost being destroyed by it. He thought about it a lot actually, especially as he trained with Allura. He thought about what could have been different, what they could have done to make it better, to maybe have not tried to kill each other and destroy any semblance of a chance at being co-pilots.

In the end, Lance always reminded himself that it never mattered because they weren’t drift compatible and they never would be.

The first thing that he ever heard about Keith after the Garrison was in an online interview. He had been checking his tablet, scanning through the news, when he saw it.

Jaeger Black Paladin takes down largest ever Cat 2 Kaiju in Hong Kong last night. Pilots Takashi Shirogane and Keith Kogane famed for victory.

Allura had found him later, obsessively looking through the internet for more information about Keith.

As it turned out, Keith had found drift compatibility with someone else too—Takashi Shirogane, an older and more experienced pilot from Hong Kong. Staring at his face on the tablet, Lance had a vague feeling that he knew this man, and he finally he realized that it was because of the memories he got from Keith when they drifted together.

Keith and Shiro were placed in a Mark IV Jaeger, Black Paladin, in Hong Kong. Keith had even finished his training almost six months early so they could put them in a Jaeger. The fight with the Cat 2 Kaiju in Hong Kong had been their first battle together, and they quickly ran through the ranks of all other Jaeger pilots in the world. Their drop-kill numbers were so high, accuracy so amazing, that they were deployed for every Kaiju attack they were physically close enough to.

Lance and Allura were finally deployed for the first time eight months after Keith and Shiro’s first victory, and Sunshine Riptide ripped through the Kaiju just as quickly as Black Paladin did. It made Lance smug, and he often wondered if Keith kept up with him as much as Lance watched the headlines for Keith’s name.

Almost a year later, the first ever double event happened in Hong Kong. Lance and Allura were deployed from L.A., and Metal Lipstick was sent over from Australia to join Shiro and Keith in the fight. It wasn’t the first time that Jaegers had teamed up to fight the Kaiju, but it was the first time that all three of the most powerful Jaegers were fighting together.

Lance remembered it like it was yesterday. He and Allura had physically jerked when he had heard Keith’s voice for the first time since they were eighteen.

“Prepare for drop,” the AI hummed just as the helicopters dropped them in the ocean, right on the other side of the Kaiju.

“Nice to meet you, Sunshine Riptide!” the voice from Lance’s memories—Shiro’s voice—said, echoing in the cockpit of their Jaeger.

Lance smirked and hit the button on his comm system, “Same, we’ve been waiting on a chance to save Keith’s ass.”

Shiro laughed a little, but Keith was back, growling, “Fuck you, Lance.”

Allura and Lance joined the fight then, putting aside everything else. It was harder than any other fight so far, even with all three Jaegers. Allura and Lance led the first one, codename Diablo, while Black Paladin and the Australian Jaeger, Metal Lipstick, finished off the other.

Diablo had Lance and Allura around the waist, crushing them slowly as the plasmacaster powered up. Then, they shoved their left fist into its chest and fired.

“Empty the clip!” Lance shouted through clenched teeth, his ribs aching, as they kept firing into the Kaiju. “Empty the clip!”

Finally, Diablo fell into the ocean, just as Black Paladin and Metal Lipstick were turning to aid them.

Allura grinned, reached up to the comm, and said, “Thanks for the help, but we’ve got it.”

Lance was laughing, grinning at her too because holy fuck, she was the best thing to ever happen to him.

After the battle, they were all stationed at the Hong Kong Shatterdome for a few days to get repairs done on their Jaegers. Sunshine Riptide was so damaged that she wouldn’t make it home without the important repairs completed first.

Lance met Shiro officially for the first time, but when they shook hands with each other, he felt how weird it was. He already felt like he knew Shiro from seeing him in Keith’s memories, even just the little that he had, and Shiro was looking at him the same way, like he knew him too.

Keith had stood off to the side with his arms crossed, glaring in their direction.

“This is Allura,” Lance said to Shiro, reaching out for her arm to pull her forward. “She’s my co-pilot.”

Shiro smiled at her softly, and Lance grinned while they shook hands. She was being uncharacteristically nervous now, meeting Shiro. Lance would tease her about it later.

“You guys were impressive,” Shiro said, looking between both of them. “We’ve been keeping up with your deployments, so we were excited that you were coming for this one.”

Allura started to thank him, but Lance interrupted. His grin widened, and he shot a look over at Keith, “Oh yeah? Keith’s just been waiting for a rematch.”

Keith rolled his eyes, not at all friendly, “Whatever. I’d still kick your ass.”

He laughed and winked at him, relishing in Keith’s glare and how he couldn’t take his eyes off Lance’s frame. Sure, they hated each other and were rivals in every essence of the word now, but who said Lance couldn’t have a little fun with it?

It wasn’t the only time that they had seen each other since the Garrison. They spent a couple of more days at the Hong Kong Shatterdome, and when Allura took to hanging out with Shiro, Lance and Keith had no other option than to be around each other too.

It worked out, mainly because of how much Allura berated and begged Lance into being nice to him so she could talk to Shiro. He listened to her, only because she was his best friend and loving co-pilot, so when they all went out to a dive bar where no one would recognize them to celebrate, Lance called for a truce.

“I’m just saying,” Lance’s voice was a little too loud because of the last couple beers he’d had. “This is stupid. You’re stupid.”

“Wow,” Keith had crossed his arms over his broad chest. “What a great way to talk to someone you want to be friends with. Really, has anyone ever told you how good you are with people?”

Lance scowled at him, “I’m not giving up.”

The other man had shrugged, “Whatever, Lance.”

After that night, things between them became a little better in terms of the limited amount of times they had to deal with each other. There were only a handful of times and places where they were deployed to fight together, and even fewer times where they got to see each other outside of the Jaegers and the Shatterdomes.

Which is right about the time that Lance developed a huge fucking crush on Keith. In all actuality, it hadn’t developed—Lance had finally become aware of it.

He had been working on a plan to get Keith to start talking to him again. In fact, Allura was even talking to Shiro, which was good for him too. If Allura could get Shiro on their side, then they would all four have to spend time together and—

Then the accident happened.

Black Paladin was deployed to defend Hong Kong from a supposed Cat 2 Kaiju, codename Knifehead. They were already sent out to meet Knifehead in battle when the Marshall and techs realized that the Kaiju wasn’t a Cat 2—it had been the first ever Cat 3.

And Black Paladin was unprepared for it.

Lance can still remember watching the video feed of it the next day. Seeing Knifehead tear off their Jaeger’s arm, then, completely rip out the right side of the Jaeger—Lance thought he was going to be sick while watching it.

Sunshine Riptide hadn’t been close enough to help. Even if they had been deployed at the same time, there wasn’t anything that they could have done.

That morning, Lance and Allura had received the report at the L.A. Shatterdome. Shiro was dead, and Keith—Keith was in a coma. He had killed the Kaiju on his own, controlling the Jaeger by himself, and effectively killing his brain with the amount of strain on the neural bridge. He had even gotten the Jaeger back to the coast on his own, lasting almost a full hour in battle by himself.

It made sense that they thought he wouldn’t make it.

So Lance and Allura—they didn’t know what to do. It was like their world had been ripped away from them. Black Paladin—Shiro and Keith—they had been the strongest and most successful Jaeger pilots ever.

And the Kaiju had taken them away. Just like that.

In the time that Keith was in a coma, there was another Kaiju attack, another Cat 3 along the coast of California. Allura and Lance had begged the Marshall to deploy them, and when they went, they were both so angry that they ripped the Kaiju to shreds, hoping every last helicopter got it on camera so it would play it, as if it would justify all the wrongs the Kaiju had already done to them.

It hadn’t.

Lance and Allura did their best to deal with it. Allura was so sad, and Lance was practically distraught. When they drank too much one night and stumbled into bed together, Lance didn’t regret it because at least he had felt something for a little while.

A few weeks later, Keith surprisingly woke up from his coma, but before Lance and Allura could get over to Hong Kong to visit, he left the hospital, left the Shatterdome, and disappeared without a trace.

And it’s been three years since.

#rachel writes stuff #rachel writes klance #klance #klance pacific rim au #renegade dawn

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neven-ebrez · 4 years

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The continuing saga of narrative betrayal...

Back when SPN S13 aired I compared it a lot to Star Wars: TLJ. So I was very interested to see specifically how hand holding and touch would correspond to the final Star Wars movie. And OH BOY is the new movie a lot like SPN S15! There’s only one problem. The final Star Wars movie made a HUGE narrative betrayal. I’m on mobile so I can’t put a read more here but STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER SPOILERS BENEATH THIS PARAGRAPH!!

Touch as healing was a very important part of SW:TROS. Touch is about forging connections and mending that which has been broken. Touching, taking someone’s hand, is choosing them and choosing to care for them. We see it when Finn takes Rey’s hand in chapter 7. We see it when Rey doesn’t take Kylo Ren’s hand in chapter 8. And we see it when Rey puts her hand over Ben’s when he heals her near the end of chapter 9. At the heart of this entire series is how students become teachers. The past becomes the present then the present becomes the future. So onto narrative betrayal.

Using the Force to heal was visually introduced this week in The Mandalorian. And we now know why the episode was released early, because this ability would play a key narrative role in the final movie. Rey showcases this ability early in the film. She is rewarded when she does. Then she showcases it again after fighting Kylo Ren. She stabs him fatally then decides to save him. Two things are established: 1.) Healing is good and positive, and 2.) healing does not cost the healer their life. This is important. In typical student becomes the master format, structurally Kylo Ren (as Ben Solo/Skywalker) must then use it to save Rey. In TLJ they each saw a different future for the other. This vision of the future is experienced through the touching of hands. When Rey and Ben reach for each other a profound connection is made.

In TLJ Snoke says he forced their connection, but in TROS we see them maintain it. It’s much of the focus of the final two movies. They find each other with it. This living Force connection is said to have not been seen in a very long time. Rey teaches Kylo everything he needs to save her and then he does. And here is where our narrative betrayal comes and fortunately there’s enough of the ghost narrative here for me to make a solid enough guess why.

I believe when Carrie Fisher passed away unexpectedly that the final movie was forced to rewrite several key structural things. And one of those things is why Ben Solo had to instead die. In Dark Youth/Light Youth tales, the Dark Youth is usually saved by learning something explictly from the Light Youth. The LY is positioned to teach and the DY is positioned to redeem themselves by learning the lesson. This is sadly not what Star Wars executed. Ben touches Rey, heals her, then he kisses her and dies. It’s not *quite* as bad as what VLD did (at least Ben gets a heroic moment and we see him learn) with Lotor and Allura, but it’s the exact same relative betrayal. Ben was supposed to revive Rey in sacrifice, (maybe not kiss Rey, it doesn’t matter there one way or another; saving/redeeming =/= romance), and die temporarily but then get resurrected by all the dead Jedi. Instead we only hear the dead Jedi in one sequence when Rey fights Palpatine.

Since Leia doesn’t disappear until Ben disappears, this structurally links the change in narrative and gives it context. I think the kiss probably wasn’t in there originally but was added after the edits were made. Everything between Finn and Rey also feels edited as a result. The red flag for this is when Finn tells Rey he has something to tell her before they (almost) die in the quick sinking pit. He doesn’t get to tell her in time tho. Then! They survive. Rey prompts Finn to tell her what he was about to say but he says he can’t in front of Poe. This is never bookended. Rose is also sidelined without a real reason why. If originally they planned to continue the Rey/Finn romance on Finn’s part then this would make sense. In TLJ Rose’s structural purpose was to make Finn fight for more than just Rey. He never stops prioritizing her tho. The lack of bookend to Finn’s silenced confessional to Rey in TROS is a dead giveaway something was dropped/altered there tho. I can only guess this fragment of the final film’s ghost narrative remained in due to the fact that filming was likely already complete for this scenes and that suitable redubbing could not be made out of the plot situation they were currently in.

I just finished watching TLJ and we see Rey’s reaction to Finn caring for Rose’s injuries and she gives this a sad smile. I think originally Rose’s affection for Finn was probably more resistance hero worship and that her own arc was about learning to be her own hero. I think the romantic angle there was probably supposed to remain one sided. All this clarification seems to be dropped. Finn’s pursuit of Rey, to mimic Ben’s physical pursuit still shows up in several places tho. With the other ex-stormtrooper, Finn follows Rey across the dangerous water as she fights Ben. I think in the original script this character was likely Finn’s sister. Rey is seen protecting Finn from Ben but otherwise Finn’s physical pursuit of Rey here makes little sense unless we consider that originally it was supposed to emotionally lead into something else. Finn was always gonna be left behind whether he was on the shore or beside her.

Another thing that struck me as odd were the final bows. We see several romantic pairs. Some are unions (first queer onscreen SW kiss) while Poe’s is a story of rejection (bless). Then Poe and Finn are suddenly back in scene together for when Rey approaches. Since Poe was just left with his old flame in the shot before, this union should initially just be between Finn and Rey. Where Poe stopped, Finn kept going. So Poe being there again so quick makes no sense.

Both Finn/Rey and Ben/Rey are the last series’ key structural relationships. Equally important is Poe become a leader, a position he goes onto share with Finn. Of Rey’s two relationships one gets resolved structurally, while the other... does not. And the only good explanation I got for it is that I believe Carrie Fisher’s passing facilitated a rewrite that was unavoidable. In legacy, I believe the series decided to rewrite a good chunk of the final movie in order to focus more on Leia’s overall impact in the series as the past defined it.

For Voltron: Legendary Defender, Lance had a similar arc in the original S8 ghost narrative. Lance pursued Allura, then he was supposed to give her up to let her choose (and save) Lotor. Now. If you ask me if TROS did a better job with their editing than VLD S8 did I’d say YES. By a MILE. That doesn’t change the fact that each of these narratives ended up changing the exact same story now. And like with VLD, traces of the original remain and just couldn’t be removed at key points. If I had to guess, I’d say some Lando and Leia stuff was also removed, likely because filming never made it to that point. The awkwardness of Lando alone talking to the ex-stormtrooper girl feels strange, like some context there is otherwise missing. Earlier Lando tells Finn to give Leia his love and Finn tells Lando to tell her himself. Then he never gets the chance. It’s another missing bookend, dropped. When all the fighters are gathered for the final fight, it seems like maybe originally Leia was supposed to have gathered them through using the force to speak to them and convince them to fight. And Leia was supposed to do this by traveling with Lando.

I think originally Leia was probably supposed to teach Rey the healing, too. There is otherwise a focus on Leia as a fully trained Jedi and also on Leia as teacher. Having to drop and repurpose these plot elements, focusing on a Leia legacy narrative, over a full and complete “dead Jedi come together” narrative is reflected in the movie, again, still retaining both storylines. I think originally more dead Jedi should have appeared alongside Luke at different points. This conclusion comes from looking at the framing of Luke against unaccounted for narrative space.

And I’m going to be rewatching this movie tomorrow so I’ll try to get some photos about what I’m talking about. It’s clearly there tho. Finn being force sensitive is also dropped.

The comparison here to what VLD S8 did is uncanny. Unlike with VLD, I don’t think the narrative betrayal here was malicious. Just unfortunate and sad. Unlike with VLD, I think TROS managed to save most of itself tho. I at least enjoyed it. The trend of not letting the Dark Youth learn and redeem themselves and LIVE is a disturbing one, however. All this is just my theory btw. I knew Carrie Fisher managed to film some of the movie and I was curious going in as to how they were going to keep her in and maintain their original story. Well, obviously they couldn’t. I like all the movies, but I wouldn’t say I have a favorite character tho (except the porgs). So all of my opinion here comes without trying to see things a certain way. I have no shipping lens here. I just have an eye for things that lack narrative symmetry and/or thematic follow through.

Anyway. If you found parts of the movie to be strange or missing in some way, I think my explanation here may help fill in some blanks. And regardless of the reason the storyline exists the way it does, the trend of killing off the character that is supposed to be redeeming themselves isn’t a good look.

[EDIT] As soon as I wrote this I went looking for other opinions on this and found this Polygon article! This explains so much and explains why Leia didn’t have a new look for the movie. Her footage is repurposed from footage from Chapter 7/8. Considering everything, it’s amazing they salvaged as much of the original storyline (Leia as teacher) as they did.

I’m going to rewatch the movie assuming all this should have happened to see how much sense it now makes. This is just what I picked up on by watching one time.

[EDIT2] Okay then there’s this. It confirms what I thought. A person in the thread below this tweet mentions how Finn’s Force connection here could explain why other storm troopers put down their weapons in their respective village raids. Like, they could hear Finn’s distraught inner voice when it was all happening. It’s why Kylo Ren slowly turns and looks at Finn in chapter 7. Finn frees other stormtroopers in other words and the movie drops this off his storyline completely. First Finn runs, then he learns to be a rebel, then he frees his fellow soldiers. I still think Finn’s pursuit of Rey was originally supposed to also be romantic, but more than that she is ultimately his teacher.

I actually think the original script was probably more Finn/Poe friendly, with Finn ready to help Poe (using the Resistance) to free more stormtroopers. Poe learning Finn’s secret: his Force sensitivity, after all, is also cut, against the entire start of the movie showing them as a team. Poe was essential to Finn’s initial escape. They needed each other. Then Poe is essential to Finn’s new mission. They choose each other, completely. I believe that’s the proper bookend we should have gotten there. And it explains Oscar’s PR commentary on Disney company.

I’m.... there’s little they could have done here to salvage what I’ve pieced together of the original script. Not without Carrie. It would have looked great tho. Without her as (continual) teacher to Rey, much of the movie, the original script, sadly fell apart. Seeing how Finn/Poe as a narrative thread didn’t rely much on Carrie I think the editing here is a bit more malicious. I can’t prove that tho. I can only tell some of the outline of what originally should have happened. Finn gives up pursuit of Rey for choosing a mission with Poe. If TROS is to be compared to VLD S8, this feels like the equivalence of editing out Sheith.

[EDIT3] My bow commentary here is off. I remembered things wrong there. I’ve struck several things for my original post. I have a lot of screenshots now tho so I’ll write something more on this later once more time has past. Maybe JJ Abrams will talk about the rewrite process tho. I doubt the Finn/Poe stuff will be discussed, but I also don’t think it was ever intended to be textual, just subtextually coded. The repurposed Leia as teacher stuff tho, that may get discussed publicly. That one Hobbit actor looks to be written in to cover Leia’s intended plot explanations for why certain stuff is happening. Maz’ involvement, along with Rose’s was much regaled to this as well. Whatever their original storylines were, I believe they unfortunately got axed in the rewrite.

#zerbe discusses things #star wars the rise of skywalker #sw: tros #spoilers #star wars spoilers #TROS spoilers #the ghost narrative of TROS #reylo #at this point... when it comes to identifying ghost narratives... im like AH SHIT HERE WE GO AGAIN #hopefully if SPN finally does themselves right we should see this storyline of touch and healing done RIGHT #here’s hoping anyway #im tired

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