#im cooking up a species swap thing

[plaguedoctorjester]

Actually drawing Revali for once instead of MSPaint shitpost doodles what???

[tumblunni]

Misc thoughts of rambling development for my new yokai watch ocs family of hugs and sadness (blythe the Dimmy and amber the Gorgeous Ambassador)

* Amber was totally still Gorgeous Ambassador at heart even back when he was human. I feel like he probably dressed very plain and was very self concious for a long time, as well as also being poor as dirt so it wasnt really easy to be super fashion time. Perhaps the only way he was really able to be remotely flambouyant or pretty was just having a long ponytail that he was very proud of. It would have been easier to maintain a shorter hairstyle when you're struggling to even find somethibg to eat each day let alone a bath, but it just helped him hold on to a tiny bit of confidence. Even when he reincarnated as Gorgeous Ambassador he was still unconfident for a long time and it took all these centuries to fully embrace The Power Of Gorgeous. He was probably really shocked when he got his medal registered and heard his new yokai name, like uhh excuse me "must beautiful man who spreads beauty through the world with his smile" are you sure there hasnt been a mixup??? And nowadays he's become so happy with himself that he maybe dresses a little bit gaudy sometimes, but if you saw how he used to feel then you'd absolutely be cheering for him!

* he was probably worried that Blythe wouldn't recognise him when he finally managed to reunite with them, but i think the lil shadow ghost instantly knew it was their brother and ran straight into the biggest hug ever. "Im worried they'll think im all cringe and gaudy" NO UR LIL SIB IS IN AWE OF YOUR FASHION POWER AND HAPPY FOR YOUR CONFIDENCE

* I also think Amber would absolutely be proud of how much confidence Blythe has gained through travelling with the protagonist and co. Like "aaa the last time i saw you you were so tiny and shy!" "Yes, now i'm tall and shy!" "NUUUU STOP PUTTING YOURSELF DOWN"

* basically they are absolutely Shyness Fam, and Amber just approaches his anxieties differently with over-the-top fake boasting about his greatness instead of being honest about how bad he feels. So thats why itd be so heartwarming to see him genuinely making progress and genuinely seeing good parts of himself. ALL THANKS TO THE INTERNATIONAL GORGEOUSNESS ASSOCIATION OF THE AFTERLIFE, YES *cheesy makeover ads fly by in the background*

* Dimmy's fave food is rice balls not just cos ninja monster = rice balls, but cos for Blythe specifically it brings back happy memories of backstory ninja Amber in ye olden days packing lunches of love for his tiny friend. He was always broke in between finding bountys to hunt, so he was never able to cook anything too fancy, but those simple meals became associated with childhood in Blythe's heart. All the times this big strong human swordsman would have a moment of gentleness and offer his last bit of food to a useless little yokai like them. ("No!! You're a valued part of the team!! And growing children need this more than i do!! Besides, i'm so tough i don't need to eat." *stands up for a minute and blacks out*)

* Since this backstory took place before thee yokai watch was invented, you cant technically say Amber was Blythe's previous watchholder but like.. He totally was? Same formula of being a human you partner with and then go around fighting/befriending other yokai. I like to think that maybe before yokai medals became the latest trend and they set up the whole official regulated medal registration process, yokai would still give their human friends some sort of token of their friendship but it was just less organised. Like imbuing their soul energy into all sorts of shit like This Leaf I Found or One Shoe. Which could be used in the same way to summon them but obv was less conveinient, haha! I'm thinking maybe Blythe's bond object was just a neat rock, cos they were so young and didnt really own anything else to gift to this human. Like all they had was the coal from the hearth in the house they used to haunt, but thatd be too crumbly so they dug through to find the sturdiest and prettiest rock and Amber was like straigjt up crying from how touched this whole thing made him. I WILL TREASURE THIS PEBBLE MY TINY MONSTER CHILD...

* oh but just to rub salt in the wound i think he couldnt find it again when he woke up floating over his own burned corpse in the wreckage of his final fateful battle. There uhh..wasnt much of himself left, let alone anything he was holding. Itd kinda have to be that way cos if it worked like a yokai medal itd mean Amber could have instantly reunited with his friend and cut out all of these years of sad backstory, alas

* ok but imagine the cute and sweet emotionalness of then being able to swap medals when they see each other again, and have an actual magical guarantee of never losing their family ever again.

* I feel like Amber only initially agreed to join the Gorgeous Association because he wanted to get a job in the yokai world and save up to buy a decent house and decent level of income so that there would be a hapoy home waiting for his child whenever he finally found them. He didnt really believe that he had the potential to be a fashion icon, he just went along with it as an employment opportunity in his weird new ghost life. But OH NO, accidental self confidence!! (We are all very proud of him)

* oh and the Gorgeous Association doesnt work 100% identical to the anime version, i just like the anime's general concept. I feel like Gorgeous Ambassador is indeed a yokai species and not just a title, its less 'you were chosen by random lottery' and more 'you were chosen by destiny'...? Shy people who have potential to be fashion icons just tend to end up becoming the shy-people-with-potential-to-become-fashion-icons yokai, aka this. And the Gorgeous Association takes responsibility for finding all new Gorgeouses and training them to use their new powers instead of just staying in their shyness. Its more of a self help club? Oh and also the membership is full of other types of fashion yokai too, its not just Gorgeous Ambassadors. Just its only Gorgeous Ambassadors that get visited by the president as soon as they die and given a special invitation to join. So basically interpreting Gorgeous Ambassador as more 'this yokai is named that cos its powers are about encouraging people to be more confident aka introducing them to the world of fashion'. And less the idea that all Gorgeous Ambassadors used to be a different type of yokai and you can only become one by being picked by the club lottery. And also that its just a costume with no actual powers?? That was funny in the anime but i prefer if they actually could inspirit people and make them more confident and stuff.

* I FEEL LIKE IM EXPLAINING THIS BADLY, SORRY! Ok so uhh like yknow some clubs are all exclusive entry "you are not this thing til you join"? Like you cant be a country club member til you join the country club, and the sense of comeraderie there is just all being rich enough to pay for membership rather than having anything in common. But then there's stuff like lgbt groups or mental health support groups where youre all already the same thing and thats WHY you join the club. Anime version had Gorgeous Association be a country club and Gorgeous Ambassador be just a membership name rather than a real yokai form. Which, again, was really funny but i feel like it only works in a more gag focused series like the anime. Here i'm interpreting it that you can just be born in the species Gorgeous Ambassador, same as any other yokai like jibanyan or whatever, and it actually does have its own special powers and stuff. And its just that the Gorgeous Association sends out invites to any newborn yokai that have fashion related powers. So not all Gorgeous Ambassadors actually join the Gorgeous Association. Oh and Kageusuo is the actual yokai species name for those unaffiliated ones. The anime seemed to say that kageusuo was an unrelated new yokai that isnt in the games, that was just invented to have a form that Gorgeous Ambassador had before he became Gorgeous Ambassador. But i have Other Ideas

* i'll make it a new bullet point cos im getting all disorganized now aaaa

* ok so Kageusuo (or my fanmade eng dub name Shamshade) is Gorgeous Ambassador. Same thing. Same species. Kageusuo is a yokai personifying the idea of a fashionable beautiful person who never reached their potential in life due to social anxiety/bullying. Like an 'ugly duckling' story. Their default form is this shadowy looking depressed dude because their power is that they drain shadows from people, vampire style. This makes you 'less overshadowed", so you become more confident and people notice your unique style! But kageusuo cant use its powers on itself, so a lot of them stay in this shy form forever and just continue repeating the same overshadowed life they have as a human. The fabulous form that Gorgeous Ambassador has in the games is just simply the same yokai dressing differently- a kageusuo that managed to conquer its anxieties from its past life and take steps to embrace its true self! But theyre not actually any different in terms of powers, theyre still shadow vampires and their power to make people fabulous is just them eating your shadow. It was something they could already do before they became fabulous themself, now theyre just confident enough to match their powers, yknow? And also unrelatedly there's a club called Gorgeous Association that this particular kageusuo joined, which personally helped him in his journey of self confidence so he goes by the nickname Gorgeous Ambassador to advertise it. (Which is even more nicknamed into Amber cos he thinks it sounds cute)

* WHY ARE MY HEADCANONS SO OVERCOMPLICATED AAAaa

* anyway just imagine a vampire movie but its a supermodel lurching out of the shadows groaning "I VANT TO SUCK YOUR ANXIETY" and then when he bites you you become more confident. This is a Good Concept so i will somehow find a way to use it, dammit!! *b movie music* "OH NO THE MONSTER GOT TERRY" *terry suddenly wearing applebottom jeans*

* also imagine all of that but also the dude is a weird samurai being all "wow the wonders of the future" about thos applebottom jeans

* why do all my headcanons start as angst and end up as nonsense like this

[yellowmagicalgirl]

With The Distance Amplified Chapter Two

Light Years from You

Read on FFN

Fic summary: AU: After the battle with Zarkon, Katie disappeared from the Black Lion. A couple months later, the paladins receive a distress signal from the Black Lion, and find a group of prisoners that she rescued; one of them happened to have flown her to Kerberos. Background Kidge; Shiro and Keith are former foster siblings. Age Swap!AU/Paladin Swap!AU

Chapter Summary: Katie wasn’t able to reunite with her teammates, but she did leave a message.

Guess who finally updated! AU idea belongs to @sabertoothwalrus Chapter title comes from “Telescope” by Starset.

Dark purple lightning arced from the fingers of a Druid that Katie thought someone had shot, and then she felt an all too familiar push on her prosthetic. She was glad that most of her weight had been on it because at least then she could use her right leg to stabilize herself. She heard a crackle of static in her ear. Whatever spell the Druid had used, it wasn't an EMP. It had only affected her prosthetic; not her armor and definitely not her helmet.

"Katie? You there?" Lance said as she shifted her weight onto her left leg as best she could. So the Black Lion had finally found her. She frowned. Escape and home were so close, and yet she was firmly rooted to the ground with Druids fast approaching.

She yanked her helmet off of her head; there was information on it that could help the paladins. Maybe Matt and Hunk could decrypt what she hadn't gotten around to and find her dad. Too bad it also meant that they might hear the recordings that she had wanted to go back and edit so that her emotions wouldn't be on full display.

The tallest of the three aliens who hadn't turned on her and Keith was now specifically holding them back within the pod. Despite not having spoken in more than a year, he still knew her way too well.

"Use this to contact Voltron!" she said, kicking off with her left leg to give her helmet every ounce of starting momentum that she could.

"Kates, don't!" Keith pleaded as she threw the helmet. It was too late, though. She was already falling, the force of the throw too much for her unbalanced body. She hit the ground.

After the helmet crossed through the doors, the airlock of the ship closed. Katie lifted her head to see it fly away.

She was then yanked to her feet by bony hands. She bowed her head with a small smile, white and brown hair forming a shield between the world and her eyes. They would be okay. That was all that really mattered to her when the Druids teleported away.

She focused on that thought when the Druids alerted Haggar to their presence.

They would be okay. Whether or not she would be didn't matter. Keith would be okay, Shiro would have their foster sibling back, and the others would have closure. The rest didn't matter. She couldn't let it matter.

Especially not when Haggar once again called her Champion.

Keith looked up at Shiro slowly, the gold in their eye twisting, shrinking, and dimming until they were no longer heterochromic. In addition, some of the purple fur receded, but this only made them look paler. "Shiro?" they rasped before closing their eyes. Prior to today, it had been so long since they had heard their name. It had been so long since they had actually spoken rather than just make pained noises, and it had been a long time since even that. Their head began to feel hot with the feeling of being close to fainting or a panic attack, probably fainting. They hadn't had that much experience with shifting their body between human and galra, or at least not in their memorable lifespan. Now, especially with their recent blood loss, they were pretty sure the only thing keeping them conscious was a rapidly depleting store of adrenaline.

Shiro attempted to wipe away the beginnings of tears away from his eyes as he nearly ran towards Keith, but paused midway. They were injured, and given his poor ability when it came to medical situations he'd only make things worse.

"Um, hi, my name is Shiro," he introduced himself with a wobbling voice. "I'm the acting leader of Voltron, um, the guy with the mustache is Coran, he'll show you to our healing pods." Hopefully that sounded natural, and not like the kid who was playing at being leader like he still felt like sometimes.

The group began to walk away, though Lance lingered at the back. "Hey, Matt," he said. The oldest of their old lunch quartet hadn't started walking at all. "Are you going to be okay?"

Matt turned to him. "I'll be fine," he said with a softness that hadn't been there a year ago. "I just need some time alone right now. Call me when the mission briefing starts." Lance gave him a thumbs up and a sad smile before walking away.

"Are you kidding me, Katie?" Matt said to no one as he entered the ship, where several bags laid in the corner. "When will you learn that you're not an army?" As he walked into the ship, his foot brushed up against something. Matt looked down to where her helmet lay abandoned. He picked it up and cradled it in the place where it would be if she were hugging him.

"Since I don't know what the date or time is, I'm going to say right now is Day 1, time 00:00; I'll be using military time," Katie's voice said from the helmet.

Matt dropped the helmet, stifling a shriek.

Keith was half Galra. That was what the pod displayed on the diagnostics that were trying to calibrate for species. It wasn't taking as long as it had when Lance had been blown up, but it still was taking longer than Shiro had liked. He didn't really understand why they displayed that; was it possible that the Druids could change someone's species? Was that why Green had only said that Katie was 90% human? Then again, she had also said there were Alteans. Shiro would have to ask Hunk. Technically, Matt was better at bio stuff, but he was also more emotionally volatile at the moment.

Shiro gave one last glance at the timer on Keith's pod before exiting the room. They would be in there longer than the other aliens (all of whom had been able to fit, thankfully) due to prior blood loss, as well as any injuries they had received from both the escape and from fainting on the way to the pods.

"Hey, guys? Can you meet me in the lab?" Matt's voice said from the coms, sounding surprisingly chipper for someone who had been complaining about being somewhat tired prior to coming close to finding his sister, only to lose her again. Even if Shiro wasn't leader and already planning on checking up with the team, that would be good cause to check on Matt.

He arrived at the lab at around the same time as Allura, and had to practically shove his way through to see Katie's helmet hooked up to Matt's computer. On the screen, there was a line as well as a display for the time.

"Katie recorded a message, or rather, a series of messages," Matt said. "Maybe we can figure something out from them.

"I still need to land the ship," Allura said. "Let's end when we reach Olkarion."

After murmurs of agreement, Matt pressed play.

"Since I don't know what the date or time is, I'm going to say right now is Day 1, time 00:00; I'll be using military time since that's easier to keep track of. I set things up so that if anyone holds the face, er, opening of my helmet to paladin armor and either my head isn't in it or I'm in some state where I can't speak, the playback will start."Like I said, I don't know where or when I am, so I'm just going to start from the top. My name is Katie Miranda Holt, and last I checked I'm twenty-two years old. I'm from the planet Earth, and I'm the Paladin of the Black Lion of Voltron." She paused.

"So the last thing I remember is fighting Zarkon." A second pause, this time shorter. "Specifically, a giant robot version of Zarkon." Underneath the panic and awkwardness, she sounded incredulous, as if she still couldn't believe the event had actually happened. "Um, Robeast Zarkon? I unlocked the Black Lion's teleportation ability, and was able to steal the Black Bayard. Reclaim it? Is it really stealing when Black decided I was the better choice of Paladin?" Shiro winced; she sounded so confident in her bond (or at least the most confident since the recording had started) and what had he done? Usurped it in her absence. Black hadn't seemed to mind it, but what about her Paladin?

"Anyway, we were able to make a giant flaming sword when all five of us placed our Bayards in our lions, which im-" she said, before pausing. For a few moments, the only noise in the room was her shaking breath. "Zarkon's robot was stabbed," she said, sounding distant like she usually did after a flashback or while dissociated. "He tried to take me down with him by using the bond between him, me, and Black. I guess it was too much for me, because Black sent me to the astral plane, this time without a physical body as an anchor or anything. I don't know how long I spent there, but it was long enough to change me. Both in the way that Black meant I guess, and in a way that is way too similar to the last time I came back from space. A lot of my hair is white now, not just the streak. What I can see of it, anyways. It's still rather short.This planet has a breathable atmosphere and a nice and sturdy, erm I think that's a hollowed out tree that maybe Matt and the Green Lion will find me in, so I'm going to attempt to sleep. Hope the armor is bug repellent. You'd think that after not having a physical body for so long, you wouldn't be tired."

"Pause!" Lance shouted. Matt stopped the recording, and turned to look at him. "Sorry, but did anyone understand what she was talking about during that last bit? Like, before she started talking about whether or not she could survive. Or maybe the new body thing too?"

"While I wouldn't be surprised if the Black Lion cooked something like that up, I haven't ever heard of it," Coran said. "Things would certainly be easier if Black would just get rid of Zarkon's physical body."

"I'm sure she'll explain it later in the recording," Matt said as he turned back to his computer.

"And hopefully she doesn't cram her explanation with quantum theory," Lance grumbled.

"Day 1, time 09:42. I feel more rested than I did a few hours ago. Time to try and find food and water, since I don't know how long it will take Black to find me. I hope it isn't too long.

"Day 1, time 12:26. It's getting dark; the planet appears to have two lunar masses. I wish I knew the stars here. Even though I didn't know the exact constellations on Kerberos, I knew the stars and planets well enough to be able to find my way…" She trailed off, before speaking in a flatter, more monotone voice. "Find my way to Earth, even without just pointing myself at the Sun, despite it seeming like a perfectly valid option. Thanks, Keith.

"Day 2, time 07:58. Sunrise. I think this planet doesn't operate on a twenty-four hour system. So glad my suit has a clock. Still haven't gotten in contact with Black.

"Day 3, time 14:46. While I'm glad we stocked up on ration bars, half of one a day isn't cutting it as well as I thought it would. I mean, I'll be fine for now, and it's going better than I thought it would. Besides," She paused, and then said darkly, "somehow, I doubt they fed me well in the Arena. I survived it once, I'll survive similar circumstances.

"Day 4, time 02:54. I'm alive, and really want to edit this when I get home. Yesterday was uncalled for." And there was that old attempt at being a wise, totally-not-affected by her PTSD leader. Somehow, Hunk had thought that she had stopped that mindset.

"Day 4, time 21:46. For all that Black said that she wanted to protect me when she asked to modify my body, I really feel like I got punted onto a random jungle planet. Am I being too picky? Probably, but I'm hungry.

"Day 5, time 06:05. I found fruit. Well, since it looks like Earth fruits I'm calling them fruit. One's a giant blue strawberry, which is edible, but really bland. There's also one that looks like a banana but tastes like a pineapple. Well, at least I won't starve. Glad the suit has these bags," she said, referring to the bags Hunk and Shiro had used that one time to gather scaultrite.

"Day 5, time 7:92. Am I dying or is it just indigestion?"Day 5, time 15:37. Not dead yet. I'm going to try one fruit at a time."Day 5, time 17:28. I think I'm allergic to the pine-bananas. Quiznak.

"Day 6, time 12:39. If I ever get back to Earth, I think I'm going to go to therapy.

"Day 7, time 21:24. I think my near-lack of a sleep schedule is adjusting to this planet, which means that when I get back to the Castle things will be… hectic. Well, assuming that I didn't get dishonorably discharged for disappearing in the middle of battle. Already got that from the Garrison, I bet." Lance cringed, remembering the team's last twenty-four hours on Earth.

"Day 8, time 14:52. Is that a skyscraper? Or am I seeing mirages? I seriously doubt it's a flashback, given that as far as I know I spent the entirety of Hell-year either in the Arena, in a cell, or with Haggar and I really doubt any of those were on a planet.

"Day 8, time 15:34. I found a city, and it turns out that the skyscraper is a database for the Galra. I am so glad that there are easily-hacked maps. Maybe I can hack into it?

"Day 9, time 13:06." Katie's voice was shaking and fast. "Or rather, January 26, 2115, if I'm doing my calculations correctly. Quiznak, it's been three months. I really need to edit this; it's not like the team needs to hear all that." Matt gripped the edges of his chair. This had been recorded not even a week ago.

"Hunk, Matt, if you're hearing this then Happy Birthday. But that's… well, I guess it's important." A wince was shared by the two young men in question. "It's just not what I found in the Galra skyscraper. There were prisoner records, and -"

"Pause," Allura said. "I need to land the ship soon."

"Can she finish her sentence?" Shiro asked.

"Twenty ticks maximum." Everyone knew how Katie could get when she rambled.

"- I found Keith."

ed.

“- I found Keith.”