#i was doing some research into Paladins because I feel like Sunny would be one if I ever play her in bg3

[revoleotion]

What would Tsubaki's paladin oath be?

OK HERE'S THE THING

@pinkestlittlebutterfly is the local Paladin expert and I am TRYING my best but I will never get it(tm) as much as she does, so that's who you should really ask.

HOWEVER! As far as I understand Paladins, you have SOME freedom when it comes to your oath, maybe not in the game but in general I feel like he has a Oath of Devotion going on but the way he does it is not what you'd expect. He's devoted to his subclasses and will do EVERYTHING to keep them save and happy. I think his original oath might've been towards his creator but now he pledged loyalty to those he wants to protect. Even if they hate him. Even if they resent him. Even if they try to betray and harm him at every turn. He swore to protect them and that's what he'll do.

For all his many..... can of worms, I think he would never be tempted to break that oath either!

[chaoticevilbean]

Voltron Humans are Weird 3/?

Lance tugged at the suit he wore, hating it with every fiber of his being. Ever since the Alteans found out humans are mostly water, they insisted that the Paladins wear special suits that covered from their necks to their ankles to avoid a catastrophe. Allura and Shiro were to explain the situation, and arrangements would be made to let the Paladins wear normal clothes if possible. They'd been lucky so far that no one had died from something like a handshake. But the suits were skintight to avoid any water escaping too early, and Lance hated it.

It was sunny as well, so Lance desperately wanted to be free from the fabric that regulated his temperature. It made him feel constantly at a neutral point, and he just wanted to feel the blaze of heat from sunlight and bask in the warm glow. It took nearly half an hour to even get past the pleasantries and another two hours to get the arrangements set up. The humans were escorted to an open pavilion, like a gazebo, where there were several pitchers of water for the Terrans to drink, and every diplomat that came with had full-covering clothing to protect their skin. The Paladins were given a place to change, and Allura made the mistake of saying that they could wear whatever they wanted seeing as they worked so hard protecting the universe that the diplomats did all the safety work.

It wasn't a mistake to Lance, but it was to the aliens.

Lance forwent the shirt and jacket, instead putting them with his suit. He was glad he had managed to find some old Altean clothing and make shorts out of a pair of blue pants. He slipped the shorts on and sprinted back to the gazebo to find his fellow Paladins in much different attire. That is to say that they were wearing their normal clothing and Hunk was the only one to not wear the full outfit. All he'd done was take off the vest.

"Lance, what are you wearing?" Allura seemed perturbed by his lack of covering, but the Cuban ignored her, instead finally leaving the shade and flopping down on the purple space grass. It was softer than regular grass, like silk or one of those really soft blankets.  The teen hummed at the feeling of sun warming his body, soaking up every ray like a lizard.

His peace was interrupted by the screams of the diplomats and Allura. He wondered why until a guard ran forward with some sort of umbrella that held a shield all the way around the being's body. None of the aliens had been in the sun. Coran had mentioned in the briefing that the sun was out for only about a quarter of their year, meaning they had no natural adaption for the heat and radiation. The guard had almost reached Lance when the Paladin launched to his feet and took off running away from the shade. He was a Cuban boy, and he loved the sun. Humans were already terrifying, what was one more thing like this. It wasn't even that weird considering the solar cycles of Earth.

As Lance was being chased down by now several severely concerned and mildly fearful guards with umbrella shields, Pidge managed to get the diplomats to calm down by saying she was a scientist and could explain it all. Although some looked stunned that she said she was a scientist. Maybe they had social castes or something? They wouldn't understand being both a warrior and a scholar. Research for another time.

"How is the Blue Paladin handling the heat? Not even the adaptive nature of the Alteans can adjust from the shade to the scorching temperature."

"Earth has several climates. Lance is from one that is more hot and that's why his skin is darker as well. He can handle the heat just fine because he grew up with a similar temperature. Next question."

"How can he also handle the cold of the shade then? Even if he could withstand it temporarily, he should be stiff from the lower temperature, and he spent over two vargas in it."

"Humans can handle temperatures ranging from -40 to 50 degrees Celsius, which Allura can calculate better for you. We prefer the 0 to 30 degree range, and many humans can live in most climates on Earth. There aren't many places that aren't inhabited at this point, and part of that is due to our ability to adapt to new environments with relative ease. Next."

"How many climates?"

"Hundreds, next."

"What are the worst? To give us a better view of your extremes."

"Some places have active volcanos, so we have to be careful of the molten rock they spew. We have tectonic plates, which cause earthquakes and can bring down entire cities. Our Poles are extremely cold, under -60 degrees at least. Next."

"Some of you live near active volcanoes?"

"Yeah, and we swim in the nearby groundwater because it has good minerals for us. Next."

"Your planet has earthquakes? And they can level entire cities?"

"Yeah, but that's our fault. We built them on fault lines. Next."

"Did you learn your lesson?"

"Yeah, when the buildings fell down, we built them back up better than ever. Next."

"You rebuilt the cities in the same spots?"

"Yes, next."

"How did you find out your Poles were so cold? From what our scientists know of Terra, it's rather undeveloped comparatively."

"We sent people. Before you ask, yes, the first few groups died, and yes, we sent more with only slightly better equipment. Humans are curious about our world, and we'll do a lot to discover more. Next."

"Why is the Blue Paladin refusing the shade if he can handle the cold?"

"We live on the Castle, and only get a simulated version of sunlight. It's not often that we get to relax a bit and enjoy our surroundings. Lance misses the sun and its heat, so he doesn't want the shade. He wants to sunbathe, like a snake or a cat or something. Call the guards off and you'll see." The diplomats, somehow managing their fear of and for the humans and their planet, did just that.

"Lance, you're free to tan!" Hunk shouted over. Lance, trusting his bro, skidded to a halt, then let himself fall backwards. He wasn't too far from the group in the gazebo, having had to run circles around the guards. Hopefully Allura didn't notice that the guards were rather undertrained. They could barely maintain the chase! And they couldn't turn very well.

The diplomats and Allura watched with fascination as the Terran boy simply laid on the grass, eyes closed and letting the sun shine directly on him.

"Feeling better, buddy?"

"Mi hermano, we better get these allies! I'm not giving up this chance!" Hunk laughed, especially when Shiro received questions as to what Lance meant.

"He's saying he's glad you have sunlight and it's another reason that we should be allies. Mostly a joke."

"But why?"

Lance paid the conversations no mind. He only moved when Hunk yelled, "Turn!" at him. It was something they came up with so Lance never got close to burning. He would flip over whenever the call went out. The Cuban laid through the entire peace talk and treaty signing and whatnot, and groaned in displeasure when he was told it was time to go.

He was up on his feet in a second once Pidge said she'd taken some time while waiting for Allura and Shiro to finish up calculating how to fix the fake sunlight that gave them Vitamin D on the Castle. More sun, whenever he wanted, and it wasn't the weak sauce of the giant Altean ship? Yes please!

Feeling much better than before, Lance ran over to the group, refusing the shirt Hunk tried to give him. It was a halfhearted attempt, given that the Samoan knew his bro wouldn't want it in the first place. The team of Terrans headed back to the Castle, this time taking the sunny route. The diplomats and Allura remained in the shade, discussing some less political topics. One in particular came up.

"Is there any way to obtain more information about Terrans? We would never have known that the Paladins were so adaptable and biologically dangerous if you and the Green Paladin had not told us."

"Actually," Allura smiled warmly, "my advisor and I are compiling a log. 'A Guide to Humans', we titled it. I can give you viewing access, although, I must warn you. Almost all of our information is in the preliminary stage. We know next to nothing about humans and their planet, and we may find that some of the data is false. An example that recently happened was that we found Terrans have strong tolerances to quite a few poisons. But we had to update the log a second time after investigating further and discovering that only some of them have strong tolerances. Most have mild tolerances, but only a few can handle some toxins in larger amounts."

"Which poisons?"

"I believe it would be better if I simply sent you the log."

A varga later, Allura and Coran were adding a few new sections to their guide.

Due to the many different climates that somehow coexist on Earth, humans have a large range of temperatures they can tolerate, along with having the ability to adapt to a new temperature very quickly. On the Terran scale labeled 'Celsius', humans can handle temperatures from -40 to 50 degrees, with their comfortable range being about 0 to 30 degrees. Some humans prefer warmer temperatures and some prefer colder, depending on where they were raised.

To elaborate on the different climates Earth sustains, there are a few extremes that should be made known. Some populaces live near active volcanos, occasionally submerging themselves in the dihydrogen monoxide found nearby the deadly formations. They claim to do it for the beneficial properties found in the substance. Another climate is the freezing cold of Earth's poles. They are, at their warmest temperatures, 0 degrees or less. Humans, with their still young technological advancements, deemed their curiosity of the poles a worthy cause to send groups of their own people to the frozen locations. After the deaths of their initial teams, they sent more.

Earth also has tectonic plates, and earthquakes are common enough that Terrans often pass off the tremors as normal. Some cities are built on fault lines, and are damaged by larger quakes. Humans, instead of doing what most races would and relocating, rebuild their cities in the same places with better foundations.

Be receptive to suggestions a human may give about how to handle a new climate. They likely have a good knowledge of how to withstand different temperatures and how to handle the unfamiliar conditions. If a human requests specific equipment for the trip, it would be best to supply. Most Terrans will never risk the safety of themselves and others to extort the goodwill of another being. The younger a Terran is, the less likely they are to be greedy in those situations, unless the Terran is not fully matured, in which case they will not understand the circumstances well.

[allhailqueenpidge]

Julance Day 5: Sharpshooter

Lance had his sniper rifle trained at the shadowy figure that was barely visible on the rooftop he was perched on. His mission was simple: investigate this new guy on the scene and steal the data from him. Pidge was watching the target through the security cameras she hacked and Lance was poised to shoot if she gave the signal. 

Four months ago Lance was scouted by Voltron, an elite agency that works to bring down famed CEO of Galra Enterprises and his gang known as the Galra Empire. Drugs, money laundering, murder, you name the crime Zarkon’s committing it. Allura had approached Lance and offered him the position of the Blue Paladin; to be the teams sharpshooter. Lance jumped at the opportunity and left his day job as a simple cop to be a sniper. Apparently Allura was searching for someone to fill this particular position for awhile and to scope out potential paladins she looked at the highest scores for the shooting part of his testing which he earneda perfect 100 in. Lance never missed a shot. After seeing his scores she puts tabs on him and watched him. One month later he had moved into the agency’s buliding otherwise known as the Castle and was introduced to the other paladins.

Pidge was the Green paladin and her specialities were hacking and recon missions. She was their eye in the sky. She joined team Voltron in the hopes of finding her father and brother who were captured by Zarkon’s men. Hunk (along with Pidge when she had time) created all their gadgets including Lance’s rifle and he updated Shiro’s arm. He was a fanastic engineer with a sunny disposition to match his role as the Yellow paladin. The Black paladin and leader of the group was Shiro who witnessed first hand the cruelty of the Galra. He along with Allura came up with all their plans and he was the decision maker. Allura, or the Princess, assembled the paladins to put a stop to Zarkon’s reign after he destroyed not only her father’s company but took his life. Allura vowed to avenge him and thus the idea of Voltron was born. She enlisted her father’s oldest friend and long-time business advisor, Coran, to help her. Coran’s role was mainly feeding the paladins, taking care of the castle and just generally helping where he can. He also assists in subtly dismantling some of Zarkon’s business ventures and other things along the same vein.

What Voltron was missing however was the Red paladin. None of the paladins bar Shiro were great at hand-to-hand combat and they needed a close combat fighter for missions. They made do in the meantime but it limited them.

Lance was polishing his gun when Allura had walked into the break room to announce a team briefing for their next mission. Hunk had immediately stopped tinkering with his latest gadget -a gun that could be split into two smaller guns- and followed Lance out the door. When they arrive at the briefing room Allura and Shiro were already there waiting for them. Once Pidge arrived from her lab and everyone sat down the meeting began.

“While assessing our next mark we discovered that someone was trying to beat us to the chase. Last week while Pidge was examining the data we collected on the mission in Daibazaal she uncoverd where the Galra held all the records of the people they imprison. It’s a privately owned by one of Zarkon’s cronies Sendak. To get the data Pidge needs to find her father and brother we’ll have to infiltrate the building. The last few days Pidge has been researching the building, finding weak spots, checking the building’s security and things like that. According to Pidge we’re not the only one’s with our eye on this target and in two day’s time he’ll make his move. I don’t feel confident enough to attempt our own data extraction mission in the next two days with little to no plan but we will not let this matter rest. Lance you will be stationed near the building and if this person has stolen the data we need you wil take them out and retrieve the data from them, understood?” Allura unloaded a lot of info on them all at once and Lance was glad that Pidge was making some progress towards freeing her family but Lance felt a bit unsettled by the thought of outright killing someone that could be just trying to achieve the same goals as them.Lance tried to voice these concerns with Allura but she didn’t listen.

“Lance, just think of how many lives we could save with this information. We may not get another chance to find Pidge’s family and save all the other innocent people taken by the Galra,” Allura reasoned. Her speech did its job and Lance was guilt tripped into doing the job for Pidge, for family. God forbid something like that could happen to his own familia and Pidge was staring at him with her sad puppy dog eyes he was weak for. He sighed and agreed to do it.

“Here is all the info we have on this guy,” Pidge muttered as she threw a brown folder at Lance. He emptied the contents onto the table and images of what appeared to be a young man with long dark hair, pale skin and a hideous red cropped jacket. The rest of his face was obscured with a maroon bandana.

“You have two days to prepare for the mission. Shiro will explain all the logistics to you and Pidge updated your com and she will be in your ear the entire mission,” Allura left after those parting words and Hunk and Pidge thought to do the same. Once Shiro had run through this mission’s protocol Lance decided to get in some practice with his gun. Even a pro like him needs to train once in awhile so his skills don’t get rusty.

Two days later Lance had his rifle pointing at the exit Pidge assured him was the one the guy would take. He was bored out fo his tree just sitting up on a roof waiting. The only thing that distracted him was Pidge’s updated on the guy’s position.

“Okay so he currently has the data and he’s 30 feet from the exit point so be prepared to shoot in the next few seconds Lance,” Pidge warned through the coms. Lance looked down his scope, focused his line of sight on the door and placed his finger on the trigger. The door burst open and their target ran out. As Lance watched the scared guy that looked to be only his age run from a guy twice his size he couldn’t do it. His bandana was nowhere in sight so his face was visible and what a nice face it was too. He turned around and began to fight the guy with a knife he had well concealed behind his back. The small guy could really hold his own in a fight.

Lance made up his mind and refocused his gun. He pulled the trigger and he went down like a sack of potatoes. After all Lance never missed a shot. Lance’s original mark glanced up trying to find the origin of the gunshot but he quickly sped away to avoid being the next victim.

Lance smirked, looks like he just found the red paladin. Allura can thank him later. All in a day’s work for the Sharpshooter of team Voltron.

__________________________________________

In case anyone was wondering why Keith broke in and collected the info it was to try to find Shiro and Shiro didn’t recognise Keith because it has been many years since he was captured and Keith’s face was mostly concealed.

If you want to read my other Julance stories you can find my master list here

[royal-writer]

Cuddly Serpent

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Sulhadur spun the band around in his fingertips, examining the delicate piece of jewelry. The single sunburst gemstone set in the ring of gold appeared to be amber and the longer the Dragonborn stared, the more his mind played tricks on him. It appeared as though fire was moving within the swirling fiery colors, matching the flames that encircled the artifact and seemed to swirl into a point around the band.

It was beautiful. A lovely piece of craftsmanship by a talented maker. He wondered if Adela would have a good concept of the maker. But something nagged at him, the strangeness of it. He had blasted that mage with a full aura of fire, and this strange trinket, almost appeared to be…

He sat in silence for the duration of their time at base camp, studying the ring as his mind clawed for the answer to its meaning. How in the name of Bahamat was someone able to trap such magic in such a mundane creation? He would need to research this further.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The breezy winds carried away the misty clouds of puffy air expelled from their lungs before it could be made visible. Everyone was shivering.

Sul studied his hand, marveling in silence at the band part of the way down his pinky digit.

He should be cold. Even with the padding and clothing beneath his armor, it was a brisk day of howling winds and blistering cold. Even as the fire in his bloodline burned, he should feel something.

He didn’t.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“I’m not coming out,” Essätha mumbled, her voice groggy into the pillow. Her entire body shivered as the walls and ceiling around her creaked and groaned beneath the surging storm. Snow was beginning to swirl frantically and the door that lead outside just down the hall audibly fought to stay upon its hinges.

There was a quiet chuckle, and a hand came to rest at the edge of the bed. Imprinting digits into fabric, the springs of the mattress gave a little to the weight forced into it. She peered out, catching sight of a wolfish toothy grin and yellow eyes.

Her own pair of soft butterscotch narrowed.

“What if I offered you coco?” Sulhadur teased.

“Abernathy already offered, after struggling to keep Rava from snatching it.”

“She likes her sweets about as much as you do.”

“I don’t want sweets,” Essie grumbled, pulling the blanket over head. “I just want to stay in my warm bed and not go outside.”

It was silent. She waited hopefully for the dragon boy to leave, but instead a hand urged against her side, shaking her.

“Ssssstop.”

Ignoring her whining, Sul insisted gently, “Here. I found this, fighting that wizard a few days ago. I wasn’t sure what it was, then. I think it’ll help.”

Screwing up her mouth, she poked her head out from the blankets to stare blankly at the ring offered in the scaly palm of the paladin. His clawed fingers curled outward further, encouraging her to take it.

“What is it?” she inquired cautiously.

“A magic ring. I thought about how the wizard seemed so unaffected by my flames, and it came to me: this is the reason why.”

He pushed it closer. “It’s a warming ring. I don’t know what it’s really called, but it keeps the biting cold away.”

“Is this one of those placebo things?” Essätha muttered with distrust. Despite herself, she reached out to carefully pick it up from his hand.

Sulhadur chuckled. “No.”

Not really believing him, she flipped it around her fingers, frowning.

“I’ll give you two some time to get acquainted,” he jested playfully, smiling broadly once more. “Take some time with it; feel its magic. I’ll let the others know to leave you be a while. When you feel comfortable, we can head out.”

Comfortable? Right. Like this thing was going to make the snow outside feel like a tropical paradise. She could slid on her shorts, walk out into the blowing snowstorm, and hold a margarita while taunting the others how it felt like a sunny summer day.

As she looked up; either the express thanks or snap at Sulhadur for his trickery, she spotted his shadow at the door, as it clicked shut behind him.

She stared down at the ring. A sneer curled her lip.

She slid the ring on her finger.

The sneer evaporated slowly, into curiosity, then wonder, as she felt the hum of the arcane whisper along her flesh and in the back of her mind.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Pri’cha vibrated against her side as the wagon lurched along the winding road. The storm had passed, and the horses struggled against some of the snowbanks. As they jostled and bounced on another particularly large roll of snow gusted up against the treeline, Penimra and all his furs, blankets, and cloaks like a king’s favorite concubine fell over nearly into her lap, sniveling.

“We’re going to die!” he moaned, his voice stifled by the apparel swaddling him.

Grunting as he pushed and shoved the cart from behind to aid the steeds, Sulhadur let out a tired grunt. “We’re almost there, hold on!”

Beaming like a ray of sunshine, Essie reached out to squeeze the bug closer. She warbled a chirp like a late-night bug, singing to the moon.

She was warm.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Warmth of spring was coming. She was grateful for the thaw; the springs running once more, greenery, the smell of nature coming to life once again. It had been a brutal, raw winter of skin peeling and ashen. A terrible season to endure so far north where it felt like the blizzards never wanted to cease.

They clattered along south along paved roads flattened with time and lined with fencing. Many of the group were dozing uneasily in the early light of the morning.

Essie inhaled and exhaled happily, clutching her hands together over her chest. The outline of the ring dug into her skin, imprinting the vague impression of its sculpted design into her faintly.

She hardly recognized the difference between the seasons, but the extra rays added another layer of heat across her bronze skintone. The major difference now; and the best one, was the lack of slush to slip in and ice hazards. But it was a remarkably lovely day, and she was going to embrace the coming change in the season with open arms.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The frost was beginning to disappear, leaving comfortable days and nights. It was a particularly balmy night as Essätha stepped over some of the party members lounging around the campfire for a meal, and made her way over to where the vast majority of them sat. She sank to her rear quickly, finding the nearest person to lean into.

With Sul on one side, Abe on the other, and Rava angled behind her, the trio exchanged a look.

“It’s a nice night, Essätha,” Abernathy observed, hiding a smile.

“Yep.”

“How are you feeling?” Sul inquired politely, taking a big bite of his juicy leg flank.

“Cold,” she mumbled reflexively. She stretched; flopping over to lean into Lord Amon as he tended to the flames. He made a soft noise in the back of his throat in response with some surprise.

The entire surrounding group locked eyes on her suspiciously.

“Aren’t you still wearing that ring of warmth?” Adela smugly piped up with a tone of mockery sass, curling her tail triumphantly into the air.

She locked her jaw firmly together.

“Essie, just admit you want to cuddle,” Ravamora taunted.

“Never,” she hissed. “I’m chilly. I’m only using you all. It’s my reptilian side.”

“But the ring-”

“Chilly,” Essätha reaffirmed, a flush of heat spilling onto her face that she awaited to fib and blame on the nearby fire. She was absolutely in no way going to admit she wanted to snuggle up with any of these noisy bastards out loud. Just because they made nice family comfort cuddles didn’t mean they needed to know. They were already getting a good laugh out of it now; snickering at her expense.

Having finished prodding the logs into a position that aroused the kindling into a healthier fire, the nobleman leaned further back with a sigh. His eyes slid over to her, and he cleared his throat. His adam’s apple bobbed as he placed an arm around her carefully, offering an open spot against his side for her to curl into with a sigh. His face was flush now, too.

Her companions let her little white lie slide, going back to routine bickering and chatting as she nuzzled up into the warmth of Amon’s side. The fragrant notes of the wilds on his skin as she lulled into a drifting, lazy sleep.

[tarralin]

MorningAfter

Fox Hunt, Chapter Six

Enjoy!

(Board gifted by @under-sengoku-skies)

Find my Master List, Ao3, and Ko-Fi in blog bio!

Thank you again to @tsundere-mitsuhide for all your help and beta reading.

~*~

RM planted her boot atop the shattered stone monument as she gazed up into the clouds. The Kyoto weather forecast called for clear, sunny skies and the sudden storm rolling in sent those around her scurrying for cover in nearby restaurants. She would be too on any other day… but not this day. Nope.

This day she needed those clouds.

After finally recovering from the horror of her best friend’s disappearance, RM tracked down all of Sasuke the Science Kid's research. She had been appalled at the lack of safeguards on such documents with the only means of protection being kept away in his locker in the Science labs of the university he attended. Yeah, like that would keep a trained mercenary out. No wonder someone had reported his findings... the kid practically begged for the eyes of the government!

It took a great deal of Google’s help to translate the more spacey-sciencey terms and concepts of the research but RM was at least able to pin down the basics. The algorithmic calculations were both a breeze and a blessing that allowed her to calculate the next several occurrences. As the world’s best sniper, she prided herself on being a living, breathing graphing calculator.

RM straightened her backpack straps once more at the first rumble of thunder. She could feel the flash of goosebumps ripple across neck and down her spine. She wouldn’t lie to herself. She was terrified; afraid of the effects her trip could cause, afraid of landing somewhere further out of reach from MC, afraid of being stuck when she got there. Even with all of Sasuke's research keeping her rifle company in her bag, she knew that was what she should fear most but no… Her worst fear was losing MC, part of the only family she had left.

A grateful smile crossed RM's features when the lightning struck her.

~*~

Sunlight.

Cursed sunlight.

With a moan, MC pulled the covers over her head and turned away from the windows in attempt to quell the pounding pulse behind her eyes. What I wouldn’t give for an aspirin and a Gatorade right now… At least I have today off.

It took an entire carafe of water for the headache to subside to a manageable level. Or, at the very least, one that allowed her to pretend she didn’t have a hangover from Hell. The kitchen was the first place she found herself once venturing from her room and immediately regretted her existence.

“Lass!” Masamune bellowed out as he caught sight of her. “Good morning!”

Her hand came up immediately and landed softly on his face to keep him at bay, no doubt he would try wrapping her in a suffocating hug just to annoy her. “Can you… not shout?”

Confusion flitted over his eyes. “This is how I normally speak…”

“Well, then… don’t?”

He laughed at that but continued about the kitchen with a noticeable effort on keeping silent. She fixed herself a light breakfast and headed to the one spot of the palace that she knew none would find her.

The majority of the garden received at least a cursory attempt at maintenance. The farthest corners were a different story altogether. Due to the on going war effort, the darkest parts of the garden were left to themselves and now grew feral in the absence of would be gardeners. Shameful, really. Through the moss, MC could see signs of two wisteria trees flourishing in spite of the wilderness surrounding them. Almost as if they were the last standing paladins against an army of invaders.

MC inspected the sky above and determined she still had the whole day to herself while scarfing down the last of her breakfast. If last night revealed anything, it was the fact she had let her hormones get the best of her and she had a lot of thinking to do. She always thought best while working anyway.

She allowed her thoughts to stray freely as she climbed the first tree and began plucking clumps of moss from the branches. This wasn’t her time. She was going home in eight weeks and she shouldn’t be trying to form permanent ties or giving into temptations. Tipsy or not, she had always remained in control of her hormones; anyone who landed in her bed had clearly voiced their mutual interest before and after drinks. She hated admitting to it but Mitsuhide was right. She hadn’t been thinking clearly.

And casual encounters were out of the equation entirely. Hell, is casual even a thing here?

Have you met Masamune? Have you seen Hideyoshi and Angel Boy when they’re in town? Please! They’re practically the inventors of casual! MitsuWho? Nope, sorry, don’t know him. MitSINari on the other hand... And let’s not get started on Mr. HOEbunaga before he gave up and turned into Big Bro Nobu.

MC giggled to herself as she continued to clear away moss and weeds. By noon, she was smiling with pride. She had fully demossed both trees single handedly as well as cleared their immediate vicinity of all overgrowth. Quite a feat, if I do say so myself. She also had a game plan for the next two months to avoid a certain-

“You really can't sit still, can you?”

Well, that was over before it began.

With a sigh, MC looked up from her crouch to the familiar golden eyes and quickly ran through her options. One: she could snap at him to leave but he would take too much joy in that. Two: she could leave the garden herself, effectively giving him the cold shoulder, but that felt too much like surrender.

“If you’re going to state the obvious, could you at least make yourself useful while you do?” She quickly turned back to the weeds awaiting her attention regardless of how much she really wanted to watch that smirky smirk fall right off his face. There, a third option. Although, throwing the ball into his court wasn’t a part of the initial plan of avoiding him. Too late now!

“Please, don’t stop singing on my account. You have such lovely expressions when that guard of yours comes down.” A chuckle rolled from his chest as he crossed the garden.

“I wasn’t singing.” Was I? Shit, I probably was! I don’t even know what song he heard!

“You seem to favor that particular one,” he continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “I’ve heard it in the halls when you focus on your tasks. Though I have heard others from your voice, that one comes up the most. Don’t know the words of course, since you only sing in what I assume is your native tongue but…”

He’s whistling? It was such a care free action from his normally pensive features she could only watch. As stunned as she was, it wasn’t until he got to the tune's chorus did she recognize the song and hummed along. Ah, yes. Try by Colbie Calliat. RM always catches me with that one, too.

Mitsuhide was still whistling when he finally came to stand at her side. His shadow loomed over her a moment before something dropped to the ground in front of her face.

“You… brought me gloves?” She glanced up again to find Mitsuhide pulling on a pair of his own. MC raised a brow as she slipped the gifted gloves over her grass stained hands. “How-”

“Please don’t say sweet, I don't think my teeth would be able to handle it.” He teased with a sneer.

“Convenient. Must be some kind of hangover I have going on...” She paused, eyeing the beautiful man before her as he crouched and began yanking invading parasites from the earth. She should shut up now and continue with operations Avoidance and Cold Shoulder… but here she was, evaluating new options so soon after deciding it was best to stay away from him. But, then again, this was Mitsuhide and her usual rules of detachment seemed to fly out the window with him around. And he did always seem to find her. And it was just so tempting to see him squirm! Although, going the path less traveled meant giving up pieces to gain pieces.

But they'll be new pieces.

Okay. Fine. Decision made. I surrender to the universe!

“Must be some hangover I have going on because, normally… I’m aware of your voyeurism…”

[smorsh]

Long Voltron au storyline thing

Alright so this is really long and probably has more information then really needed plus I'm not the best writer so be warned. I just wanted to get my ideas down somewhere and I thought y'all might like to read them. The crew has a mixture of their own and the characters traits and I had to move some stuff around in Canon to make it work so enjoy! (Also minor spoilers for Voltron so beware) • Flitz is an exploration pilot for the Garrison (a school that teaches students about space travel and trains them to go into space). He accompanies Keith leak jr and Matt raub to a mission to Kerberos, pluto's moon. As they collect the samples needed for their mission, the galra (an evil alien species) captures them all and takes them prisoner. Since they never returned to earth from their mission they were all declared as dead do to pilot error. Matt raub was sent to a work camp and Keith and Flitz were forced to fight as gladiators against other aliens for Zarkon, the emperor of the galra. After about a year when they were originally captured by the galra, Flitz escaped and made it back to earth with little memory of what happened on the Galra's ship and a metal arm. The Garrison found him and set up a place to investigate how he got back and what his new arm was. There he was rescued by Shayne and the others and taken away from the Garrison and to a much safer place. Flitz is a calm, caring, and patient leader that struggles with a little memory loss and PTSD. He is a very fun and positive energy with a gift for giving people amazing pep talks and blowing their mind with philosophy. •Shayne was a close family friend of Flitz and before Flitz got captured he was attending the Garrison to become a fighter pilot. Since he was orphaned at a young age Flitz was the only person he had left. After Flitz was declared dead, Shayne started to act out. Soon after, the Garrison expelled him and he went on to living alone in the desert. While he was there he noticed something was fishy about the area and he started trying to put all the pieces together. After a long time he notices something crash down from space. He immediately goes to see what was happening and makes a distraction so that he could go inside and investigate. Upon seeing Flitz he immediately breaks him out with some unwanted help from damien and his friends who were there investigating as well. Shayne is loner who is impulsive, intelligent, and an unpredictable guy that can be a tad hot headed at times and he jumps into situations with no plan in mind. He can be extremely funny when he's comfortable with the people around him and is very passionate about things that interest him. •Damien was good friends with Shayne when they were younger. They were always very close but when Shayne joined the Garrison he felt people always compare them. Shayne was always the better pilot so Damien would always feel as if he was second best. This only got worse when Flitz disappeared because Shayne was meaner and he started to separate from damien causing their friendship to end. During this damien got a new roommate named Wes. Him and Wes became very close friends. After Shayne got expelled, Damien got moved up from cargo pilot to fighter pilot. He also got put into a team which consisted of Wes and Boze. The three were not very well at working together so they failed many space exploration simulations.  After one very rough simulation he decides to take Boze and Wes out to bond and become a better team but it was interrupted when they saw a ship crash nearby. As they went on to investigate they figured out it was Flitz who was the one who crashed. Since Flitz was always a hero in Damien's eyes, he wanted to help him out. Once he saw Shayne sneaking in he decided he wouldn't let Shayne one up him again thus fueling their rivalry, so he and his team went down to help free Flitz. Damien is a free spirited, adventurous, brave and friendly person who though at times can be cocky he's actually very self conscious and incredibly homesick. •Wes is Damien best friend and roommate. He and damien met at the Garrison because he wanted to become an engineer. He is big softie and the voice of reason to the incredibly energetic damien and the headstrong Boze. He accompanies them when he sees Flitz's ship crash because he doesn't want Damien or Boze to get into trouble. he always seems nervous but he loves the adventure it's the main reason he applied to the Garrison. He helps his friends and Shayne get Flitz out of the Garrison's hands and to somewhere safe. Wes is the powerhouse and the heart of their team. He wows the other with his incredible cooking and engineering skills. Sometimes he could be a little single minded when it comes to protecting others and jumps into harm's way to help them.He does have the tendency to try to hard and blame his tech is he does something wrong. •Ericka is the sister of Keith and daughter of Matt raub. Once they went missing and the Garrison reported them dead she refused to believe it so she started searching for any signs that her family was still alive. After she kept hacking into the Garrison to find proof of what really happened they caught her and banned her from going near the Garrison again. She still wanted answers so as a result she cut her hair,put on glasses, and applied to the Garrison as a cadet under the name Boze. Once she was accepted she was assigned to Wes and Damien’s team. She never really socialized with them because she was always on her homemade technology looking for her family. When she would search for her family, some of her equipment would pick up an alien language and the word Voltron over and over again. One day Wes and damien followed her to the roof and damien demanded her to hang out with them so they could learn how to work as a team. Once they saw her equipment they asked what was she doing and she explained what her tech was picking up. Though skeptical they didn't have much time to question her since they all saw Flitz’s escape ship crash. Hoping it was her family she went with the other to go check it out. And when she saw it was Flitz she helped the others break him out of the Garrison. She knew Flitz worked with her family so she wanted to ask him about what happened to Keith and her dad. Boze (as she still prefers being called) is an excitable, hard headed, and determined tech genius that can at times be head strong and persistent if it means she can find her family. She is always in awe of all the new alien things she finds. Boze is a high energy,loud, and at times standoffish person that will kick your ass even though she's very tiny. Once Flitz wakes up he tells them a story about a weapon called Voltron (which they find out is a giant robot made up of mechanical lions) that can defeat the evil Zarkon. They locate the blue lion on Earth with help from shayne’s research, and Wes and boze’s smarts. When they finally find it they realize that damien is connected to the blue lion mentally. Everybody goes inside the lion and Damien pilots the it for a bit until the lion goes on autopilot and takes them into space. It lands onto an alien planet in front of a castle and they search inside until they found two aliens who were asleep in pods. After letting them out they meet Princess Mari of altea and Uncle Joe (her royal advisor). Mari and Joe find out that they are the last of the alteans when they remember that Zarkon destroyed their planet. Mari’s father ,king Sunny, put her and Joe into pods and sent the castle to a safe planet while he sacrificed his life in order to save them. Mari explains to them that her father had created 5 lion robots to be piloted by 5 paladins, that when they combine form into Voltron the defender of the universe and with Voltron they could take down Zarkon and his empire who have taken over and destroyed many planets. She explains that they are the new paladins of Voltron and each of them control their own lions now(Flitz is the leader and is the black lion paladin, Shayne is the second in command and is the red lion paladin, Damien is the blue lion paladin, Wes is the yellow lion paladin and Boze is the green lion paladin). As they all find their lions they start training to become the defenders of the universe and stop the galra empire together as Voltron.

[blschaos3000-blog]

Its 6:38 pm warm/sunny/fake doctors,real friends

Welcome to “8 Questions with……”

   Okay,I am going to admit something here…..for the first time,I have hidden something from a guest. So now I can see you shaking your head and saying “What???”    So I’m trying to broaden the blog and my friend Rebecca encouraged me to start using LinkedIn more. I told her I thought that was just a job seeker network site and she explained it is but its so much more now. You are encouraged to not only network but also promote yourself and since you are a writer,you should promote your blog.    So I have been slowly doing this and that is how I met our guest Jason Bourque.  I was posting on LinkedIn when I saw a post about Jason’s new film “My Wife’s Secret Life” being promoted by Lifetime. So not only did I not follow Jason but I asked him for a interview. He very generously agreed and I was pretty stoked.    Of course since I had pretty much cold asked Jason,I knew I had to do my research so I could ask some good questions. As I scanned over the movies he directed,I suddenly stopped cold. It seems like Jason and I had a “history” between us.    When I first started film reviewing with Paladin,I really knew zero about what I was doing,I would watch the movie and then express my opinion. I didn’t know anything about the process about filmmaking,I just knew if I liked it or not.    The second film I ever reviewed was a made for SyFy disaster film called “Seattle Superstorm” and I thought it was pretty cheesy and bad. I’m not defending nor changing my POV about it but I have learned a lot about films since then….how they made,budgets,casting,special effects,indie vs. major studios,IFC vs. A24,etc……   I know that today I would write my review differently,I wouldn’t change my opinion but I could understand the constraints that Jason was under and that he was trying his best with what he was given.    He won’t know any of this until I post this interview,I didn’t tell him that I had reviewed “Superstorm” in only my 2nd review. I like to think just as he has grown as a director,I have grown as a writer and I hope he will understand that.    With that said,Jason Bourque is director that can slide behind the camera and create magic – be it feature films,hard hitting documentaries or helming Hallmark and Lifetime Channel movies. He was won awards for both his documentaries and his feature film work. I am very happy to introduce you to Jason as he answers his 8 Questions…

  Please introduce yourself and tell us a little about your current project. 

   Thanks Patrick. As a working indie director, writer, producer, I usually have about a dozen projects on the go in various stages of development. I love collaborating on feature work in between television movie gigs. So in a quick snap shot I have two features I produced in post-production – rom com “Godfrey” starring Nick Thune, Cleopatra Coleman and Iliza Shlesinger and the family drama “When Time Got Louder” starring Willow Shields, Lochlyn Munro and Elizabeth Mitchell. A Lifetime movie I exec-produced “My Husband’s Deadly Past” aired last week. As a director, my lifetime movie “My Wife’s Secret Life” just got a Leo nomination (Excellence in BC Film and Television) for Best Director and Best Lead actor. It’s my second year in a row for a nomination. This year I also had my movie “Hotwired in Suburbia” released (on most VOD platforms) and the Hallmark flick “Amazing Winter Romance”.  I know it sounds like a lot but I’m admittedly a workaholic when it comes to filmmaking – It’s my passion.

How have you been handling the pandemic? What have you done to keep busy?

   It’s such a horrible global curveball we’re living through and it’s been heartbreaking. Personally I’ve found solace focusing on family and health. I’m also a writer so I’m used to long stretches cooped up balancing my laptop on my pug’s head (she’s a lap dog) as I write 🙂 I’ve been very prolific over the last three months – series development, contracted script polishes and applications for my company www.goldstarprod.com I’m also overseeing a couple writers as well. I love to mentor new writers and directors and I give back when I can.

When did you know you wanted to become involved in the film industry and was directing always your goal going in?What makes directing so appealing to you?

  For as long as I can remember I’ve always been a natural storyteller and artist. I knew I wanted to make movies since I was fifteen, after watching “Evil Dead” and “Alien” back-to-back and since then it was always my goal.  I dived pretty quick into movie-making, starting out with zombie shorts with the local kids in the neighbourhood.   Directing is my first love and I totally prefer it to writing (that can be a lonely existence sometimes) and producing (lots more stress, personality management and sometimes factors out of my control). For me, directing is all about teamwork and it’s such a massive collaboration with creatives which I love. I’ll never take a “Film by Jason Bourque” credit – I simply don’t believe in it.  

You are the rare director who walks both in drama and sci-fi and yet have also done several award winning documentaries,can you share your mindset  when you work on a documentary versus a fictional film? What was working on “Shadow Company” like? Were you shocked at what you discovered? How much of “Shadow Company” influenced the making of your film “Drone”?

   Hey thanks for doing your homework and asking about my docs! As a storyteller, I’m totally at ease jumping from dramatic features to docs to scripts for other directors. I find the process of making documentaries more fulfilling /important than the final product. They allow me to travel with a small crew, meet incredible people and create a dramatic story sometimes on the fly. It’s very liberating. “Shadow Company” was co-written and co-directed with my friend Nick Bicanic. I had a huge learning curve on that one and it came at a time when little was actually known about private military companies. It’s heavy material, sometimes disturbing, sometimes heartbreaking yet we also infused it with lots of entertainment value to make it palatable for the general public.         Ultimately it was used as a teaching tool for the US Senate which I’m very proud of. Making “Shadow Company” was a huge journey and time commitment (a couple years) but well worth it. It influenced “Drone” a little when it came to writing the script with creative writing partner Paul Birkett. Having a character as a private CIA drone contractor was born out of “Shadow Company”. It also allowed us to stay away from the glut of military drone movies that had recently come out like “Eye in the Sky” and “Good Kill”.

How did you get asked to direct Lifetime and Hallmark Channel movies? What was the process like? We know actors have auditions but do directors have to audition as well? 

   As directors we do sometimes audition through creative calls. Our agents submit us and we’re on that magical list that gets cut down to whomever finally gets the job.  Luckily I have a track record with some producers who offer me the gigs. The majority of the television movies I work on feel like indie filmmaking. Sometimes they’re sold to Hallmark or Lifetime afterwards. If they don’t sell to those broadcasters, they can also be sold to Netflix or other platforms. So many ways to sell product out there! With the “The Chronicle Mysteries: Recovered” I was hired by the creator and star Alison Sweeney because she wanted the pilot more stylish / cinematic than the usual MOWs and she was a fan of “Drone”. I was then approved by Hallmark.

What is it like as a feature film director with a lot freedom to suddenly being asked to direct TV films with a much stricter format?   What do you do to leave your footprint on the movie?

  I don’t mind the MOW (Movie Of the Week) sandbox at all. I’m constantly looking at ways to raise the bar and I’m always learning, even after 18 years of directing. I also direct for a company that gives me lots of freedom on set. They’re shot fast though – usually 13-15 days so it’s all about the planning / prep.

If you could remake 2 of your films with a 100 million budget,which three would you choose and why?

“Termination Point”!  It’s a very cool time travel disaster movie I directed for SyFy starring Lou Diamond Phillips and Jason Priestley. The script by Peter Sullivan is truly excellent – the hook is a jaw-dropper and it has a huge scope to it. The plot is too twisty to explain briefly but it’s well worth checking out.  I love this movie but the VFX company went bankrupt half way through post and I had to shoot it in 15 days.

“Doomsday Prophecy” is another SyFy movie I would love to re-make. I co-wrote the script and again, had to shoot it in 14 days but it’s a fantastic premise with excellent characters. The Moai heads of Easter Island are an alien defence mechanism against a dark star about to eat our planet.

You subscribe to the Jack Webb idea of using a lot of the same actors for your films,what are the advantages and disadvantages of using the same actors? How do you approach a film that is cast with a lot of rookie performers?  Do you like to be involved with the casting process?

   I’m hands on with all casting. Honestly, as an indie filmmaker having to shoot quickly, I sometimes can’t afford to take chances. I need actors I can trust, are incredibly prepared and can sometimes handle eight pages of dialogue a day with only a couple takes. It’s why I’ve used actors like Matthew MacCaull in 5 movies. We have our own shorthand. With rookie performances it’s all about helping them connect to what makes their performance honest. Sometimes it might be a simple one line of direction – “Play it like you’re talking to your mother” for example. After years of directing I’ve found it’s best to avoid mapping out the emotional landscape of a character for an actor. Rookie actors can sometimes be overwhelmed and that relationship always needs to stem from a foundation of trust. 

I’m going to put you on the spot here……but what three actors and three actresses have you enjoyed working with the most and why?       Pick one relatively unknown actor do you think will break out within a year.

I gravitate towards really good people I genuinely like. No ego. Hard workers. Big hearts. 

Sarah Butler. She always goes the extra mile and is a perfectionist. Sarah is extremely well prepared, the crew loves her and she doesn’t shy away from physically demanding work. And she’s a dog person like me so we bonded instantly 🙂

Josh Byer. He’s an incredible character actor and he always makes unique choices, whether its as a supporting lead or as a day player. There’s no one else I can compare him to in the Vancouver acting pool so he’s my secret weapon for elevating a scene. I’ve had him in a dozen movies. Josh is also a close friend and a triple threat.  Besides acting, he’s an accomplished artist and musician. 

Matthew MacCaull. Excellent on all levels and very versatile. I’ve directed him in thrillers as both the villain and also the romantic lead. Matt smashed the lead role in my “Black Fly” movie out of the ballpark and he’s been my favourite lead ever since.

Which three genres  are the most challenging for you as a director? What is more important- a good story or a big budget?

   I’m comfortable with all genres but thrillers come very naturally – I love exploring the dark corners of the human condition and I have a knack for creating tension. Comedy can be challenging sometimes – Hallmark walks a fine line with their comedy and they shy away from belly laughs or big physical comedy. it’s the art of the “soft chuckle” 🙂 I love sci-fi but there’s an extra level of prep involved due to storyboards, animatics etc… due to big CGI action sequences. The challenges are the usual ones since the dawn of filmmaking. There never seems to be enough time or money. Luckily the general audience never knows the majority of compromises made by the indie director.  A good story worth telling is always the most important to me. “Black Fly” cost very little to make.  I’ve seen so many big budget movies fail to engage an audience due to a poor script or it’s an an overblown sequel no one asked for. It’s usually because the big budgets also mean “filmmaking by committee” due to the stakes being so high. Too many producers with their hands in the creative decision making can create chaos. A camera operator I work with has a great saying – “Tweak it till it sucks” which I suspect happens a lot with big budgets.

What is your current dream/passion project and can you share a little bit about it?

   I have three I gotta make – “Iris”, a contained horror that takes place in an ER during a hurricane. “Fourteen” – an action movie about a murdered hitman who gets reincarnated as a fourteen-year old boy and tries to take down the crime syndicate responsible for his death and finally “Claw” – a contained sci-fi / home invasion about a robotics engineering student who builds a medical robot that kidnaps her and her boyfriend.

The cheetah and I are flying over to watch to you shoot your latest film but we are a day early and now you are stuck playing tour guide,what are we doing?

Vancouver is beautiful. We have the world’s best sushi, tons of coffee shops, Stanley Park for great hiking and bike trails. I always recommend Granville Island for a visit – an awesome artistic hub with a vibrant market. Our restaurant scene is world-class along with micro-breweries.  Hopefully everything settles soon and you can drop by for a visit. If all goes well I’ll be directing again this fall. Thanks Patrick!

  I like to thank Jason for agreeing to do this interview with me. The cheetah and I have a copy of “Drone” and we’ll be taking a peek at it very soon.  And you already know we’re going to get his Hallmark Channel films as well because that is how the cheetah and I roll.

There are various ways to keep up with Jason and his career:

You can follow his film company Gold Star Productions Check out Jason’s newest projects by following his IMDb page. You can follow Jason on his Twitter page. Visit Jason’s personal website. Follow Jason on his InstaGram page.

Feel free to drop a comment below.

  8 Questions with………..film director/writer Jason Bourque Its 6:38 pm warm/sunny/fake doctors,real friends Welcome to "8 Questions with......"    Okay,I am going to admit something here.....for the first time,I have hidden something from a guest.