#like don’t get me wrong gay keith and bi lance is great!!

[autisticlancemcclain]

i know the fandom is obsessed with them being gay and bi respectively but pan keith and gay lance is something that can be so personal

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt.51 prt.1

Luis was a douche. Luis was a douche and Lisa was sick of his shit. Taking Keith with him to see Miriam, Luis tried to intercept the pair of them, Lisa not having it as she towed her husband away from the doorway, hissing at them both not to make a scene. Lance could only roll his eyes mentally at it. Luis had tried taking him off his Mami’s visitors list, it sucked for Luis because unlike him, he’d never pulled that shit and treated the staff with respect they deserved. Having bought flowers the day before, today’s gift was himself and Keith. Luis going through the five stages of grief as he realised Keith was with him. Hooked up to a nasal cannula and BP machine, his Mami looked tired but thankfully awake, her face lighting up at the sight of them

“Mijos!”

Keith froze in the door. Maybe he should have mentioned Lisa to him. Honestly, after breakfast, he didn’t feel like bringing the mood down. Taking him by the hand, he tugged Keith along and over to his Mami’s side. Leaning down, he kissed her on the cheek

“You’re looking beautiful today, as always”

“And you’re a terrible liar. I see you brought your boyfriend along”

Lance wasn’t sure if Mami had forgotten Keith’s name or was teasing him

“Yep. Keith spent the morning being harassed by the gang, so we escaped to Platt to see the most beautiful woman this side of the equator”

“Keith, don’t fall for his bullshit. He’s a sweetheart but he’ll never make for a good liar”

His Mami started to cough, Lance’s heart ached at the sound. He could hear the congestion in her chest

“I’ve noticed. But he’s alright”

Keith’s voice trembled. He wasn’t used to this. And needed an out

“Keith, this Luis and Lisa. Lisa is Luis wife. Lisa, this is my boyfriend Keith. He knows, so we don’t have to skirt around the whole evil bloodsucker thing”

Lisa flashed Keith a very tight smile

“Nice to meet you”

“Yeah, you too”

And then it was awkward again. Recovering from her coughing, his Mami wiped at her lips with her handkerchief

“Don’t you four start fighting. I might be sick, but I will yell if I need to”

Lance snorted

“Mami, the only fighting going on here today will be Keith fighting to steal me away from you”

“He can have you”

Ouch. Mum burns were the worst, but he smiled wider

“I’m wounded. Your youngest and you kick me to the curb like that. Good thing Keith’s a good man”

“I know. I wouldn’t trust my mijo with a hunter if he wasn’t. Now, Keith, tell me honestly, how hopeless is he?”

“I don’t know I can. Coran’s my boss now, and he seems to like Lance... gotta keep the peace”

“Ah, Coran. He popped by again. Him and that lovely young Allura. Then sourpuss came”

Mami glanced to Luis who did not look happy

“You’re my mother. I’m worried for you”

“I seem to have raised a family of worriers. Marco called, then Veronica. She’s bringing the girls for a visit, Rachel too. She seems to be doing better”

Okay. So maybe Lance hadn’t told Keith that he wasn’t the only gay in the village... well, family. Though Veronica was bi, and Lance was kind of certain she had a girlfriend right now, Lance kept his nose out of it. It hurt less being on the outside when he didn’t know everything he was missing

“We’re allowed to worry. I’ve spent 44 years perfecting my worrying. Keith will tell you that I am a grade A worrier. Honour student and all that jazz”

Keith squeezed his hand

“You really are”

“Pfft. Like you aren’t”

“Shiro’s worse than me”

“Fair point”

His Mami started coughing again, Lance trying not to step back into Keith’s arms. Trying not to show anyone he was terrified. From the other side of the bed, Lisa fussed over, straightening up the nasal cannula and pulling the quilt up higher. As his mother regained her breathing, Lisa grabbed the glass of water off the bedside table, holding it and the straw so their mami could take a sip, before collapsing back against her pillows

“Now, who’s Shiro? And is he as cute as you?”

His mother was unstoppable

“Shiro is Keith’s older brother. He hunts too. He lives at a like a Hunk level of worry”

“So he’s a sensible worrier?”

Keith sighed

“No... He’s... complicated”

“I’m sure he is dear. Family is a complicated thing. It’s a warm and loving thing, and it’s a hard thing. I can you love him”

“He’s like my only family”

Lance’s heart melted. Pulling Keith closer, he then let go of his hand before wrapping his arm around his boyfriend’s waist

“I think someone’s trying to tell you you’re not alone. My son does have good taste, at least as far as looks go”

This was true. Keith had been ogled as they sighed in. He’d made the day of more than one old aged pensioner

“You should have seen when we signed in. thought I was going to have to have to steal a walking stick and start smacking kneecaps to keep them back”

“Jokes on you, most of us have had knee replacements”

Mami liked to joke that having a teen looking son kept her young and “on top of the lingo”. Lance blamed the lunchtime soap operas for being a bad influence. And Pidge. Definitely Pidge

“Then walkers are going to have to go walking. You should have seen Mrs Pennox. I think her teeth literally fell out. Is that a courting thing here? Taking your teeth out and giving them to your crush?”

“At our age it’s all about the pills. The better the pills you have, the more sway”

“Mami!”

Luis sounded angry as he scolded their mother. The wanker was jealous. Maybe if he’d been around more, he would have been able to joke like this

“Stop being as stiff as a toilet brush. You tell him, Lisa”

Lisa didn’t want to get involved. Lance didn’t hate her for being a protective mother bear to their kids

“Now, now, Mami. They told you not to get too excited or exert yourself”

“Phooey. My boys have come to visit. Now, Lance, you take good care of this man. Poor dear looks ready to faint”

Keith was all peopled out for the day. Hopefully Lisa would convince Luis to leave for a few hours

“Pidge asked him about his intentions this morning. He got the full experience of her crazy”

“She certainly is energetic. And Hunk? He’s such a good boy”

“Yeah. He was happy Keith came to see me last night. He’s totally worrying though. Filled my fridge with enough food for a week”

“You be sure to thank him”

“I have. Though, I’ve got the feeling my fridge will be literally full when we get home again. Even with two... guests under the roof, Hunk manages to keep them fed”

His Mami looked confused. They’d talked about this more than once. It probably wasn’t smartest to talk about living with werewolves

“Matt and his girlfriend, they’ve just come back from being in Rome. He’s the whole reason Pidge was sleeping on my sofa”

“Oh. Yes. Yes, that’s right”

Mami was upset that she didn’t remember. She was covering, but Lance knew she was. Old age was so fucking cruel

“Enough about them. Wanna hear how Keith came down to surprise me? I had no idea he was coming. But Coran went and gave him the whole weekend off. So he was already there by the time I got home last night”

“That was certainly a very nice thing of you to do. I hope he isn’t giving you too much trouble”

Lance wondered if his Mami had another UTI she’d been really muffled the last time she did. He’d have to check with the staff over it. Keith probably didn’t have any idea why they were going there again

“No, ma’m. I mean, he’s trouble and you can’t help but wonder how he’s managed when he’s been left alone, but he’s been fine”

“I’m very happy to hear that. He talks so much about you. I seem to remember he said you’re living here now”

“With my brother. It’s nothing like Lance’s house”

“That must be nice. Family is important. These two are always butting heads, but deep down they still care about each other. They seem to inherited their stubborn streaks from me”

“Pfffft. You, stubborn, no way, Mami. I simply can’t believe it”

“There he goes again. Tell anymore fibs like that and you nose will grow”

“It’s been the same way for long enough that we both know that’s not going to happen”

Luis scoffed

“Must be hard never aging. You can do what you want to who you want, then skip town when things get hard”

Greeeeeat. Here they went again

“Yep. Being a bloodsucker will do that. No cares. No responsibility. No growing older than looking like jail bait, oh let me count the ways that this isn’t a great life”

“You’ve never taken anything seriously, have you. You’ve always had everything you wanted handed to you”

Lance bit down a groan. Goading his brother would only upset Mami

“Yep. Had my boyfriend delivered to my house. Only cost me a hole in the wall and a new coffee table”

Luis couldn’t admit he was to blame for bringing Keith into Lance’s life. His brother clenching his hands into fists... like that was supposed to scare him or something. His Mami started coughing again, and Lance kicked himself for being petty. Luis just knew how to get under his skin and push all the wrong buttons

“The new coffee table is nicer”

Lance smiled at his boyfriend over his shoulder, Keith smiling back. Thank god for Keith changing topic

“I know right. The new toaster is pretty sweet too. Curtis hasn’t killed it, so that’s nice”

“It must be a nice life not working for everything”

Nope... he wasn’t going to take the bait... And Luis could go jump for making Keith’s happiness shift like that. His boyfriend didn’t deserve to put up with Luis

“Don’t talk about your brother like that. He was in court not that long ago”

Damn. Mami had had enough. Wiping her lips again, her coughing fell between her words

“It’s okay, Mami. It was just a custody and restraining order thingo. All sorted now. Mum got full custody and the dad got his arse handed to him by the judge”

“There you go again, making a joke about those people’s lives”

Lance rolled his eyes mentally. If the father could put down the bottle and straighten himself, and maybe not threaten his ex, then they wouldn’t have ended up in court

“Look. I don’t know why we have to be like this when we’re all here to see Mami. I’m tired of fighting with you. I love Mami. I’m here for Mami. Can we stop fighting?”

“And now you’re weaselling your way out”

Lance sighed. He wanted more time with his Mami, but this was only going to stress her out when she didn’t need it

“Keith and I are headed out to lunch, is there anything you’d like us to bring back?”

“Just some soap, dear. And something to read, if you don’t mind. I don’t want you going out your way for me”

“Mami, I could walk around the whole planet to see you, and that still wouldn’t be an inconvenience. I love you, and I’ll be back after lunch”

The hug goodbye he gave his Mami, really drove home how frail she was at the moment. He was terrified of squeezing her too hard, but he really didn’t want to let go of her, despite the fact he was trying to look all adult and responsible. Mami wanted a hug from Keith, who obliged, barely holding her because his poor boyfriend didn’t know how good a hug from a mother could be

“I’ll take care of him”

“I know you will. He’s got a good one in you”

Keith blushed, and Lance’s mood picked up for all long enough to leave the room.

Then Luis followed them out.

Lance didn’t need to turn around to know his brother was standing behind them. Counting to ten, he turned to face him

“Do you need us to pick you up something too?”

“I can see what you’re doing. It’s disgusting playing on Mami’s guilt like that”

“Look, Luis. Ya hate me and I know it. I ruined our whole family by being turned. I know. I watched it all happen. I heard every single damn fight. I begged god to kill me off when trying didn’t do anything. Mami is sick. Mami is sick and we’re all fucking scared that this could be it. We all love her. We’re all worried about her. I know you hate me, but I still care about you. I’ve always cared about you. You were my big brother and like the coolest person I knew when I was a kid. We’re past all that now. I’m the nasty family secret. But I have never, ever, wanted to harm any of you. I know having brother with PTS ruined things. I know I scared the fuck out of you with my fangs and fucked up face. But this isn’t about us. This is about our mother. She’s not well. I think she’s picked up another UTI too. So while you hate me, I’m going to use my energy trying to be there instead of sharing that feeling. I’m done with you making me feel like this”

Luis looked furious, switching to Spanish so Keith couldn’t understand

“You think you have everyone fooled, but I know you. You can’t be trusted. You bring pain to everyone you know. You lie to them. Manipulate them. Then throw them aside. I won’t let you do that to her. She’s pretended she’s loved you all this time, but you have no idea what she’s gone through because of you. What she’s had to sacrifice for you”

“I know. I know all of it. And Mami knows I know. I’ve always been your dumb kid brother, no matter how little I mean to you now. I loved you Luis. I loved all of you. I’ve never stopped. I won’t hurt you, so can’t we get along? Even Lisa isn’t laughing anymore”

“You scarred our fucking kids. You and those fangs. Stop pretending you’re something you’re not. You’re not human and God has no love in his heart for your type”

Keith took his hand

“I don’t know what you two are saying, but we’re going. We’re here for Miriam. I don’t know how two brothers can be like this... My brother is an arsehole and he’s done some messed up shit, but I love him. I could never treat him like this. If you keep this up, Miriam will die with none of this being fixed”

Keith made himself a target of Luis’s rage

“What do you know? You’re dating a monster. You’re as sick as he is”

“Don’t you dare turn this on Keith. He’s human. He’s not like me. He was supposed to kill me and after everything he’s lost at the hands of vampires God knows he still deserves to. Vampires, witches, werewolves and demons all exist. And how many of do you think want to be this way. I was attacked. I was tortured. I screamed for someone to help and they never came. I’m stuck in this limbo watching everyone I love grow old and die. Leaving behind friends. Moving and changing my name. I’m sick of it. I never dated. I never felt allowed. I let you drive me away because I know what I am. Keith isn’t like me and I won’t stand for you standing there bullying him because your hearts racing with fear. Never have I told Mami what you did. And I intend to keep that secret for the rest of my life. Even my 22 year old friend has more brains and tact in her little gremlin fingers than you do in that head of yours. Now go back to Mami. She’s worried we’re out here fighting”

Lance considered the conversation done. He hadn’t cried and he hadn’t yelled. He was just so done with this. Fucking Luis. God. He wanted to grab him by the shoulders and shake him until he saw sense. This wasn’t about them. This was what’s happened with Papi all over again. He’d never been able to say everything he’d wanted to tell him towards the end. Kept on the outside until it was too late... The things left unsaid were always the hardest. Tugging Keith, Keith insisted on being a good boyfriend. Wrapping his arm around him, he kissed Lance’s hair

“I’ve got you. Let’s get out of here”

*

Lance was off in space. Keith didn’t know where to take him so they could talk. He wanted to take him to the apartment, but Lance would protest over Shiro “not wanting him there”. There wasn’t a whole lot of places he knew around town for this kind of conversation... So maybe it was for the best that Lance was driving and he was keeping his mouth shut, offering support silently by was of his hand resting on Lance’s thigh as he drove.

Pulling into the underground parking of the shopping centre above, Lance remained silent until he finally cut the engine. Letting out a long groan, his boyfriend slumped forward to hug the steering wheel

“I know. I know I shouldn’t provoke him. I know it and I do it and then this shit happens”

“Lance...”

Keith wasn’t quite sure what to say. He’d never really talked to old people and Miriam was not old only but sick. Her memory not working as they repeated pretty much the same conversation

“It’s okay. I know. You’re wondering what to say right now. It’s just... god. God knows I get it. But Luis has no idea how much I want to be a normal human”

“He’s a dick”

“Kind of. Maybe. Okay, yeah. But he’s my brother... I’m so tired of fighting. It’s like, what does he want from me? To bare my god ugly teeth so he can scream “Monster!” at the top of his lungs? And where does he get off judging you? He doesn’t even know you! You’re like the best dude out there, and he’s all like... ugh. Argh! I’m sick of this”

Keith undid both their belts, sliding over to wrap his arm around Lance

“Don’t let him do this to you”

“I can’t help it. I hate that it hurts Mami. And you. Today was bit over your head wasn’t it? Mami’s memory is a bit... so we have the same conversations again and again. I really do think she’s got another UTI. Then again, she’s sick... Anyway... I guess we’re getting lunch. Thanks for putting up with me... and everyone at breakfast”

Keith had enjoyed breakfast. He’d gotten to learn more about pretty much everyone there. He wasn’t sure he’d enjoyed Pidge and Hunk climbing into bed with them, but breakfast was fun

“Breakfast was fun. It was nice feeling included”

“That’s because we all like having you around, idiot”

Keith didn’t think he deserved being called an idiot, but Lance’s version of idiot didn’t always mean what everyone else meant. Yeah, he had next to no social skills, but being with the others he found he didn’t need to, they just... seemed to accept him

“I’m not the idiot. You’re the one who chased the cat for pats”

Lance sighed at him

“It was a cute cat. So fluffy... Blue would be disgusted”

“She wouldn’t like you cheating on her with other cats”

“Luckily this was before her. My poor princess. Her whole house has been invaded. I should get her some treats for being such a bad parent”

Seeing he was dating Lance, Keith guessed that kind of also made him a “cat dad”. He loved Blue, secretly jealous when she’d make a fuss of Matt or Curtis, because he’d never gotten to have a pet of his own. He, Shiro, and Adam, proved hopeless. They’d had goldfish for all of three weeks before they’d turned belly up and Adam had flushed them down the toilet

“I don’t think she cares as long as she gets her wet food”

“That’s true. If she had opposable thumbs I’d be useless. Still, she’s my baby”

Keith knew that, even before Lance had spammed him with photos of Blue and “her precious toe beans”

“I know. Maybe we could find something for her together”

Lance tilted his head to look at him, glasses skewed by the angle

“I’d like that. I know you’re not keen on shopping, but this place has the soap Mami likes best. She probably doesn’t need it, but extra won’t hurt anyone”

“I don’t see the point of walking up and down each isle. It’s like, go in, get what you need, then get out”

Lance smiled at him, and Keith’s heart gave a flip

“Remind me not to bring you when I go with Hunk and Pidge. Pidge likes touching everything, and Hunk can never make his mind up”

“Shiro makes puns. The worst puns you’ve ever heard”

“There’s no such thing as a bad pun”

“He bought a vampire bobble head for our car because we’re dating”

Lance snorted

“I kind of want to see that now. So we’ll go in, get the soap, get some lunch, then hit up the pet store? And you’ll tell me if this gets too much?”

“I should be saying that to you with your super senses”

“It’s fine. I know that it’s only for a short while and when someone’s with me, I can focus on them. Which means you have my full attention”

Keith felt himself blush. Having Lance’s attention sounded awfully like a date, but this wasn’t a date

“Don’t say it like that”

“Why not? It’s true”

Keith wasn’t sure if he wanted his first date to be a shopping trip. Maybe if thought of it as a practice run for the real thing... What if Lance thought this was a date? Nah... His boyfriend would have called it that to begin with

“Just don’t. You ready?”

“As ready as one of two men casually going shopping can be”

Keith opened his mouth, before promptly shutting it. Sometimes it was like Lance was in his head

“Keith, I’m teasing you. It’s okay”

“Shut up. I’m not used to this”

“I know. Let’s go”

*

This wasn’t a date. This was not a date. Not at all... unfortunately. Keith was the perfect distraction as they shopped, and fuck if Lance wasn’t kicking himself for reassuring Keith this wasn’t a date. Sure. He had huge plans for the first time they went on a date. He knew where he wanted to Keith, what he wanted to show him, how he’d surprise him with a hotel room at the end of the night, not for sex stuff but for cuddles and room service in bed... but this not date... was kind of a perfect dry run for the real thing. Like how they’d gone on Hunk’s practice date with Shay.

Buying soap for Mami, and the guest bathroom, and a few other things that Lance thought Shay and Rieva might appreciate, they’d ended up in the food court... being ridiculous. Snagging one of the too few booths, Keith was to blame. Lance had felt like sushi until Keith had bought himself a burger... with wedges that were begging to be be shared. Keith didn’t want to share. Lance didn’t want to buy his own when Keith’s were right there... His sushi looked sad in comparison. Stealing a wedge, his boyfriend glared. Stealing a second one, he moved it away, Lance “forced” to reach past him. The hunter was totally hinting he needed to be hugged into cooperation. Clinging to Keith, Keith tried to ignore him until Lance slung his leg over his boyfriend’s legs. Groaning at him, Keith finally gave in, stabbing Lance in the nose as he tried to feed him a wedge without turning to face him in defeat.

So yeah. They were definitely being that gross couple. When Lance had to throw lunch back up, Keith kept watch on the bathroom door for him. His boyfriend even kissed him when he finally emerged, regretting his choice of wedges and sushi. Sure, the kiss was on the cheek, but Lance damn near swooned on the spot. He wanted to kiss him more, but that’d have to wait until they were home again. Keith’s touch was like a drug to his body. A spark of life that soothed him, no matter the situation. He wanted to fool around with him more. He wanted to touch him more, but they couldn’t do that at home without an audience. Hell, he wasn’t even sure he didn’t want to keep waiting to take that next step. People did dumb things when they were in love, and Lance was fast falling head over heels for Keith. Not that he’d tell him. Forcing Keith into his mess of feelings wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted to nurture and grow this thing between them... but it was hard when he could still remember the last time they’d been intimate so vividly. He was ashamed of how good Keith made him feel. He wasn’t sure he would have protested if Keith had slipped and something more had happened. Yeah. He was stupid and he knew it. He wanted that first time to be special, and with Keith, he knew it would be. Spacing out in his thoughts, he’d come back to reality when Keith tried to wipe his mouth for him. He might be stupid, but his boyfriend was an idiot.

Not for the first time that day did their good mood slip. This time it happened in the pet store. Looking at collars for Blue, Lance found he was watching Keith more out of the corner of his eye, than he was at the actual collars. He knew Keith had a shit childhood, but he hadn’t thought about the fact he’d probably never grown up with a pet. In the crowded store, he couldn’t reach out and kiss Keith until he felt better. Instead he followed his gaze to the display box where the puppies were. Despite the countless number of kids, that Lance personally thought should be in school even if it was the weekend, there was this one puppy no one was paying any attention to. He might have mentally referred to Keith a big dog himself, but Lance could see how the neglected pup was something Keith could see himself in

“Wanna go say hi?”

Keith jumped, Lance hadn’t meant to scare him

“No... it’s okay”

“You’ve never had a pet, have you?”

“We had goldfish for a bit, but they died. A couple of homes had dogs... but kids would get jealous”

“Let’s go say hi. I won’t even tell Blue you were fawning over a puppy”

“I’m not fawning over it”

Keith grumbled, crossing his arms as he glared at the floor. Wrong choice of words on Lance’s behalf. Everyone loved puppies, there was nothing to be embarrassed over

“Sorry. I mean... If you want to look at the puppies, I won’t judge... I’m making this worse. I’m sorry. I’m just saying that puppies are cute. I’m going to grab some catnip treats for Blue”

Separating from Keith, Keith wandered around seemingly lost until he ended up near the puppies. The same little puppy was trying to get Keith’s attention, Keith wanted to give in. Lance could see he wanted to give in. The puppy was as drawn to Keith, as Keith was to the little longer with big paws. He was caving. He was caving and he knew it was a terrible idea... but all the puppies and kittens were rescues. Maybe if Keith could cuddle the puppy, both of them would be happier. Yep. He was about to do something very stupid.

[rangoatemybabynsfw]

In an alternate universe the team would go to a pride parade to support Shiro and Keith (theyre not together theyre just both gay obvi) and I think thats where Lance would come out. He'd be so in his element and seeing people being happy with who they are and he'd get so empowered and inspired and loudly yell, "Im bilingual and bisexual!" Before he would grab Keith's shirt and plant one on him for good luck

CUTE (I adjusted it a bit for fun, hope you don’t mind.)

It’s new years and Pride. What could be better than that? Celebrating the old year and entering the new year with a sense of self stronger than it’s ever been. 

Everyone gets together for the new year’s Pride parade. They have their own float that’s a charity of sorts started by Shiro himself. The whole group is there in support wearing their different shirts. Allura in her Pansexual ‘Love Wins!’ shirt, Pidge and Hunk in their ‘Asexual in the streets and still asexual in the sheets’ shirts. Shiro and Curtis with their big ole sleeveless rainbow shirts with plenty of rainbows painted on their faces and biceps. Keith with his ‘I’m here, I’m queer, get used to it’ shirt and half a dozen glow in the dark bracelets and necklaces, of which he’s tossing out to the crowd. 

They were worried Lance wasn’t going to show. They thought he felt weird about being the only straight guy there and he looked so uncomfortable with the ‘Ally’ shirt in his hands at their last get together. Like he was uncertain. But he arrives just before the float gets moving.

“Lance! You made it!” Hunk cheers and the others follow suit. 

“Sorry, I…I had to do some thinking,” Lance says with an awkward smile. 

“Worried you didn’t belong?” Pidge guesses and Lance looks shamefully at his feet.

“Something like that,” he admits. 

“Lance,” Keith tells him, hand on his shoulder. “You’re our friend. You’ll always belong here, no matter what.”

“Thanks, Keith,” he smiles, his cheeks warm.

“Come on! Time to get moving!” Shiro urges them onto the float, handing them things to toss into the crowd.

They make it down several streets, seeing several people cheering and reaching out for them. They give high fives and toss out toys and gifts to the crowds. Lance nudges Keith with his elbow to get his attention. 

“I wasn’t late because I felt like I didn’t belong,” Lance tells him over the crowd. “That was last week. I was having a crisis of identity.”

“Crisis?”

“But I’m not now,” Lance says. “I know who I am and I’m not gonna be ashamed of it.”

“Okay?” Keith says, not sure what Lance is saying. He was ashamed of being straight before? Of being an ally? But isn’t now? 

“Can you hold this?” Lance asks, handing his bucket of goodies over to Keith who takes it with a quizzical look. “I have to do this now or I’ll never do it.”

Lance strides up to the front of the float and whips off his ‘ally’ shirt. Underneath it is another shirt. It’s got three thick stripes of color: pink, purple, and blue. Lance throws the shirt off the float and cups his hands around his mouth to shout.

“I’m bilingual AND bisexual and today I’m PROUD to let everyone know it!” he calls out into the night. 

The crowds respond with great loud cheers and whistles and party poppers. When Lance turns back to everyone on the float he’s swarmed with hugs and laughter and cheers by his friends. Hunk lifts him on his shoulders and Allura passes up a bi-pride flag up to him to wave. He gets hugs from everyone on the float.

The float finally comes to a stop at the end of the line and they all get out to go to the main square. That’s where they’ll all watch the ball drop. Luckily within the square they’re allowed to have alcohol and Hunk makes sure everyone has a little champagne to toast to the new year. They do their toast a little early and gather close for the final countdown.

“Hey Keith?”

“Yeah?”

10…9…

“You…you’re the reason I came out tonight,” Lance tells him. “When you handed me the ‘ally’ shirt last week and thanked me for being your friend…it felt wrong and I didn’t understand why.”

“But you figured it out?” Keith asks and Lance nods. 

6…5…

“I didn’t want to be your friend…or rather…I didn’t want to just be your friend,” he admits with a flush. “That’s when it hit me…I wanted more than that…which is why I felt so wrong before.”

“And now?” Keith smirks and takes Lance’s hand in his for a squeeze.

3…2…

“Now, here, with you…I feel right,” Lance beams. 

1…!

Lance and Keith both lean in at the same time when the fireworks go off. But they aren’t looking at the sparkling explosions. They’re getting their first lucky kiss of the new year. Happy and unapologetically themselves for all the world to see.

[braincoins]

“Wait, is that a pan flag?”

“Yes? Why are you so surprised?”

He blinked. “Sorry, that’s what I get for assuming, I guess.”

She laughed. “You thought I was straight?”

“Well...”

“Everyone in the office thought you were gay,” she pointed out.

He sighed and held up his hands. “You got me dead to rights. A product of my heteronormative upbringing.”

She grabbed one of his hands - his right one - and said, “Come on, we need to take our places.” She tugged him along. “And you said I could pick you up and carry you over my head in a few spots, right?”

“Right,” he said. “I trust you not to drop me.”

She chuckled but then grabbed for the ends of his “cape.” In actuality, it was the bi pride flag; he’d just tied it around his neck as a cape, much as she had done with the pan pride flag. “It’s coming undone.”

“Ugh. The material is so slick, it doesn’t want to hold a good knot.” 

“It should melt well enough, if you’re careful.” She tied a knot.

He raised his hand and closed it over the knot. She watched it glow a little and fanned the air as the smell of burning polyester rose up. 

He coughed and choked and fanned the air, too, when he was done. “I hope this isn’t carcinogenic.”

“If you get cancer, we’ll stick you in the cryo-replenisher,” she told him. She took his hand again, gave it a squeeze. It wasn’t any warmer than any other hand; you’d never know it had just been glowing hot. “Come on.”

------

“I really appreciate this,” Lance said for easily the fourth time. He’d lost track.

“Yeah, I got that the first three times,” Officer Ward replied. 

Lance leaned down and yelled, “Thanks for the great seats! And the snacks!”

“No problemo!” the chef - Hunk - called up. “Any friend of Keith’s a friend of mine!”

They were sitting on top of Hunk’s food truck. With the blessing of a friend on the force - Officer Ward - he’d gotten a good spot near the center of the parade route. And with a word from Allura and Shiro, Lance got to sit up on top of the food truck with his camera (well, his phone). He didn’t remark on the officer joining him. 

“I’m surprised you’re not working the parade,” he commented, getting the settings just right.

“Asked for it off.” 

“Oh?” he asked, adjusting the lens.

The only answer he got was the officer’s wrist thrust forward next to him, displaying one of those cheap rubber bracelets that people had for cancer awareness or whatever. This one was rainbow-colored.

Lance blinked down at the rainbow bracelet and then up to Officer Ward’s face, which was blushing slightly. That’s when it clicked for him. “You’re gay? I mean, I noticed the bracelet before, but I thought you were just showing support.”

He dropped his arm. “I don’t like coming out to everyone I come across. I don’t think it’s necessary. Most people don’t need to know who I’m interested in.”

“No, that’s cool. Does your mom know?”

“Of course she knows. I tell my mom everything. She keeps trying to set me up with guys though.”

Lance laughed. “Moms will be moms. Oh, the parade’s coming!” He started getting some good shots. It was a nice day, sunny, hot but with a cooling breeze, thank goodness. “These are gonna be a great slideshow on the website!” He took a moment to reach for his drink.

His hand encountered another hand and he blinked and pulled his hand away, turning to see the officer doing the same. “Sorry, wrong cup,” he said quickly. His blush had gotten worse.

Lance smiled. “No problem. It happens.” He picked up his cup - Hunk had helpfully put a big L on it - and took a big sip, then set it back down to resume shooting. “So, question?”

“You can ask.” His tone filled in the rest of that sentence: I may not answer. Which was fair enough.

“If you took today off for Pride, why are you hanging out up here with me?”

The officer was quiet for a moment. “I can leave if I’m in the way.”

“You’re not,” Lance told him. “So long as you’re not between my camera and the parade, you’re not in the way. And I wouldn’t have gotten this great seat and awesome food without you. So, y’know, thanks.”

“You’re welcome. But it’s not a big deal.”

“I owe you one,” he insisted. “My boss is gonna flip over these shots.”

The officer went quiet again. He wasn’t really much of a talker to begin with, but there was a difference between Officer Ward not speaking and Officer Ward Being Quiet. This was the latter. “If you’re serious about owing me one...”

“I am.” Snap snap snap.

The officer muttered something.

“What was that? Sorry, I can’t hear over the parade music.” Which was true enough: the float going past right now was blasting “It’s Raining Men.” Plus, everyone lining the street was cheering and yelling.

“I said...” Pause. “If you want to make it up to me, we could go out to dinner.”

Lance whipped his head around to stare at the very red-faced cop next to him. 

“I mean,” he said, “I don’t even know if... It doesn’t have to be a da-... Forget I asked.”

Lance could feel heat in his own cheeks that he couldn’t blame on the sunny day. “I’d like that. A dinner date,” he clarified. “With you. And me.” He cleared his throat.

“Really?” 

“You know, for a hardened cop, you look awfully adorable right now.”

He got redder. “I’m still a rookie,” he protested.

“And you seem like a good guy.” Shit, the parade. He went back to taking photos as he talked. “I feel I should clarify: I’ve only ever dated women. I thought I was straight as a steel bar. But when you came by the office that day, I started to think maybe that wasn’t quite right.”

“Really?”

He was getting repetitive but it was cute. “The hairs on the back of my neck stood up when I saw you. And that’s never happened before. So... I don’t know much about dating guys, but I definitely know I’d like to date you.” He paused to look over. “You okay with that, Officer Ward?”

“I’ll be okay with it if you call me Keith.”

Lance smiled. “Okay then, Keith.”

And then, from below, he heard Hunk hollering. “GOOD JOB, KEITH! I’M PROUD OF YOU, MAN!!”

“SHUT UP, HUNK!” Keith roared down at him, face still bright red.

Lance was blushing, too, but he felt pretty good, all things considered. Plus, he still had a job to do. “Oh, hey, look, there they are!” He made sure to zoom in.

Allura’s information had been right on the nose: Starlight and Paladin were marching in the city’s pride parade! She was wearing a pan flag as a cape and Paladin was wearing a bi flag. The parade paused for a moment; Lance swapped to video just in time for Starlight to pick her fellow superhero up and hold him over her head with a single hand. They both waved at everyone. Paladin teleported around for a few quick selfies with people, Starlight blew kisses, Lance caught it all. Then the parade restarted, Lance went back to still shots, and the city’s superheroes continued on, with more floats coming in behind them.

“Incredible,” Lance said with a grin.

“Yeah,” Keith said. When Lance turned his head, he found Keith was already looking at him and smiling. “Yeah, it is.”

{The Adventures of Starlight & Paladin}

[bazzledazzled]

I’m not going to lie to you I am 100% pulling these headcanons from the spam of messages i sent @waywardpadaleski​ but I saw Voltron Hogwarts AUs floating around and I decided to make headcanons because I love this idea ive also doodled stuff and may post some or write something just not rn

OKAY SO

pretty much the houses just go with their lions— but lance is special snowflake im sorry i know i sound like one of those uber annoying lance stans that shove da boi down everyones throats i cant help it i love him but bare with me this makes sense

Okay so Keith is in Gryffindor because ofc he would

Pidge is Slytherin

Hunk is Hufflepuff

Allura is totally a Ravenclaw

What about Lance, you ask? Well u know how JK Rowling said that there’s things called “Hat Stalls” where people took longer than 5 min to get sorted???

Ye well Lance is one of THOSE

It would work with canon if you think about it because he kinda is stuck between the red lion and the blue lion and like-- I know keef is the same way with the black lion but shush

SO ANYWAYS

the sorting hats dilemma is that he’s smart and has the means to excel in Ravenclaw, but at the same time he’s outrageously brave like a Gryffindor

(MY BOI IS SMART FITE ME)

So the hat doesn’t know what to put him in

Then the sorting hat comes to the conclusion that while he could do great in Ravenclaw, he wouldn’t reach his full potential unless he was a Gryffindor (*COUGH* LIKE CANON)

Sooooo-- Pidge is like a year or two behind Hunk, Lance, and Keith because y’know, shes younger and stuff and she kinda gets into the group because of her older brother

THATS RIGHT MATTS HERE

So Matt is a Ravenclaw and him and Shiro are besties ofc

(Shiros Gryffindor sorry I forgot to mention it)

Matt was also a Hat Stall because when i was thinking about his house i couldn’t decide between Ravenclaw, Slytherin, or Gryffindor

But he’s Ravenclaw cuz it fits in with an Adashi thing im gonna bring up later

ANYWAYS

Shiro is also Keith’s older brother, they’re not biological siblings, its just Keefs dad was friends with shiros parents and when he passed away the Shiroganes adopted him 

Shiro is ANNOYED because Keith and Lance are always fighting with each other in the commons and he just wants to read his book in peace

Now here comes the Adashi

Okay okay so Adam is Ravenclaw

I know we barely know anything about Adam (*glares at s7*) BUT based on stuff and how the fanon Adam is, I’m saying he’s Ravenclaw

So anyways

Let’s get to Quidditch because that’s part of the Adashi part of this AU

Keef is a Gryffindor Seeker because like-- he go vroom

I lowkey am making Lance a Keeper not only cuz he would be good at it but also cuz of those cheesy shirts that say things like “He’s a Keeper” and “She’s a Catch” 

Shiro is a Chaser

Pidge and Hunk I think would be Beaters???? Idk

OH! James Griffin is also a Slytherin Seeker byeeee

Adam is the Ravenclaw Keeper

Headcanon is if theres one thing Lance and Adam have in common, its that they can make people flustered very easily 

So ya know what Adam does, much to Shiro’s annoyance???

He flirts with him

Whenever they have games that are Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor Adam will flirt with Shiro, winking at him, yelling stuff across the field, making Shiro so flustered he can’t throw straight (pun intended)

One time Adam gets Shiro so flustered he drops the ball

Matt, a Beater, high fives him

OH! Also Allura is a Chaser and she’s like the best Chaser in the school FITE ME

Okay thats enough of quidditch 

Okay so as for family lineage and stuff

Shiro, Lance, and Hunk are muggleborns

They just are

Shiro’s parents knew about Magic because of keef and were surprised when they found out Shiro was a wizard

Lance is the only wizard in his family and he gets homesick a lot because he’s the only one who goes to Hogwarts and he misses his siblings and stuff

But he always brings niece and nephew home stuff from Hogsmade that he thinks they’ll like 

Hunk, Lance, and Shiro meet because Hogwarts started a club during the summer for Muggleborns where they can meet and talk about concerns with Hogwarts and magic and stuff with other muggleborns that are older

So Lance and Hunk soon become really close friends and Shiro is kinda their advisor and stuff

Anyways

Keith is a Halfblood, which makes sense because i mean he’s half galra on the show so

His mom was a witch, and idk if im going to have her run away for something or die?? I mean I kinda want her to run away cuz of something so they can be reunited but i have no idea what it would be unless this was during the time of harry potter and it had something to do with Voldemort but i kinda want to stay away from all that so ye

Pidge and Matt are purebloods

But they’re not the stuck up purebloods

They’re literally the Weasleys 

Sam has a fascination with muggle technology that Pidge and Matt share

So like, they have a lot of fancy tech

Pidge and Matt snuck a DS on campus and play Zelda at meals

Allura is probably a Pureblood but shes way less snooty, maybe even compared to her parents

As for teachers

Coran is Herbology teacher or something???

Alfor is Defense against the Dark Arts maybe??? I don’t know either him or Zarkon 

Haggar is obviously the potions teacher

ANYWAYS

Everyone hates Lotor cuz his parents are teachers and he’s a teachers pet

But back to Haggar in potions

So she’s like the slytherin head thing or whatever they were

so yknow she’s biased

and it doesnt help that her son is also slytherin

(also Zarkon is a Gryffindor sorryyyyy)

(This also could play into keith or lance’s story by them being compared to Zarkon or something and it unsettling them)

(This just in-- I think Zarkon should be the voldemort)

(oh shoot im getting sidetracked with imagining zarkon as voldemort and lance as harry potter)

(help)

ANYWAYS

So ofc she sees that Lance and Keith are always at each others throat

and makes them potions partnets

because it makes it easier for them to get in trouble because they keep fighting and then she can take points from gryffindor 

ANYWAYS

The one day they are tasked with making Amortentia, right??

Oh god this is so mcfreaking cliche im sorry

So Keef and Lonce are there, both tired from studying or something so already they’re cranky and half asleep

So they’re making the potion right?

And lance just coughs, a look of disgust on his face

“What?” Keef says. Lance plugs his nose.

“U stink, Keith.” And throughout potions class Lance keeps complaining that Keith smells really bad or something or he used too much cologne idk

Ofc like Pidge is in that class and shes snickering

Lance turns to her like “WHAT IS IT PIDGE” 

She asks him if he knows what the potion is supposed to do

He’s just like “It makes people fall in love with u.”

“Yes but what else?” Both keith and Lance stare at her blankly. She explains that when u smell it you smell what u love most

Both keef and lances eyes widen

For the first time in forever they’re quite the entire period

Keith has a gay panic

Lance has a bi panic

they are disasters

Shiro confronts pidge after that day

“Pidge what did u do to keef and lonce they’re broken”

Pidge is all like, “Excuse me????”

“They’re being nice to each other.” 

Hunk, who is also there, just snorts

“Pls explain this to me,” Shiro says, exasperated

Pidge explains the Amortentia scene

Shiro just laughs because of course they were in love with each other

(it lowkey reminds him of him and Adam)

(okay now i have theories that the reason why they made Adam shiro’s boyfriend is because its meant to mirror OTHER ships in voltron *cough* KLANCE and its foreshadowing or something i mean adam does look like lance and shiro and keith are sorta similar)

(shut up candy back to the AU)

Hunk admits that Lance has had a crush on keeth for like ever but he keeps saying its just a rivalry thing

Actual conversation between the two:

“And what’s up with his hair?? It’s like straight out of the 80′s and he has all the bangs over his eyes like an EMO like why is he trying to hide his eyes?” Lance blushes because he’s thinking about how beautiful Keefs eyes are. “Like why? Why is his hair like that i dont understand?? And what does he do to it why is it so soft???”

“You’ve touched his hair?”

“Yeah I was trying to see if I’m taller than him yet” Hunk was just confused but then Lance kept talking about keiths hair and he let it slip when it was like, almost 3am that keiths hair made him look pretty and lance would never be able to make that look good on himself, then immediately said something about the one time keef blew something up in first year because hes an idiot as a coverup

So hunk has known for some time

Even when lance didn’t know

So for the next couple weeks keith and lance act kinda weird around each other

because they don’t know how to handle feelings

they mostly avoid each other, standing on opposite ends of the room and glaring at each other

but of course that doesnt help them at all because for some reason they share a room

(oh my god they were roommates)

The rest of the boys in the room are angry because of all the sexual tension its giving them anxiety and they started sleeping in the commons

I actually have no idea who the other three boys would be because one of them couldnt be shiro because hes older and everyone else is in different houses so

At one point keith just blurts “Whats wrong with you?”

Lance gets all defensive because he takes it in a different way than Keith meant and thought Keith was saying he was flawed or something and he was broken and...

heres the langst

Lance just starts to get upset and is yelling saying nothing is wrong with him and he almost starts to cry because he’s just so confused and doesn’t know whats going on and he feels like hes not good enough for Gryffindor and

He has a lot of emotions

And he says all this, starting to ramble through tears, pouring all of his emotions out

Keef is shook

he doesn’t know what to do Lance never acted like this in front of him before and he’s never seen lance like this, so self conscious and doubting himself 

Keith doesn’t know how lance could even think these things because in his eyes-- lance is perfect

Lance has always been so much better at magic than he was

and He’s so confident and such a good Keeper 

He gingerly touches Lance’s shoulder. 

“Lance I--” Keith doesn’t know what words to say, but apparently he doesn’t need to say any

Lance wraps his arms around him, burying his face in his shoulder, sniffling

Keith is surprised at first because u know keef

He doesn’t know how to react when someone hugs him

He gently hugs lance back, resting his head on Lances and running his fingers through his hair

Lance calms down, his breathing slowing and seeming more relaxed

when he does, keith tries his best to tell him how great he thinks lance is and how hes jealous and all that

Lance pulls away, rubbing his eyes. 

“You mean it?” Keith nods solemnly, not looking at Lance. Lance touches his cheek, causing him to look back up, his brows knit together in confusion

Lance doesn’t know why, but he kisses him

(*klance fangirl in me starts screaming*)

and just??? the moment feels perfect to both of them? This was someone they always thought of as a rival, were always jealous of, and were always thinking about. They never truely understood their feelings for each other, until now

Shiro doesn’t comment when they walk into the dinning hall the next morning holding hands

But Pidge sure does 

Okay im trying to think of more headcanons involving people other than Shiro, Keith, and Lance because i love all the characters and they deserve attention

Hunk makes friends with two other Hufflepuff girls 

he he he yall know who it is

SHAY AND ROMELLE

MY GURLS

Shay and Romelle have been friends since they were first years and Shay yelled at Lotor for making fun of Romelle

they’ve been besties ever since

Hunk meets Shay and Romelle in Herbology because in like maybe 5th year or something Hufflepuff house was taught Herbology with the Slytherins. Every year before that it was either with Ravenclaw or Gryffindor so he would pair with Lance, Keith, Allura, or Shiro

Pidge was a year or two bellow him so they didn’t have classes together in case u were wondering

For the specific thing they needed a group of three and even though Hunk is a pretty nice guy and can make friends with everyone, everyone sorta had their trio

Because ofc he can find a PARTNER that was left out of their group of three, but suddenly they’re paired off in threes and there’s no sad loner who has no friends. 

Shay and Romelle have an opening in their group

Hunk goes to work with them

They’re honestly the cinnamon roll squad and when Hunk introduces them to his friends Lance and Pidge immediately nickname them that 

Hunk quickly falls in love with Shay

Like deeply in love

He’s always complimenting her and laughing at what she says

Romelle keeps trying to tell Shay that he likes her but Shay just goes “he’s just a nice person, Elle”

The Yule ball comes around ofc

and at this point Lance and Keith are dating

This is probably around.... Sixth year I want to say? 

So here’s the line up 

Keith and Lance go to the dance together

Shiro asks Adam in like this grand way and Adam is just like “wait we weren’t going together before??”

Matt doesn’t have a date but he invites Pidge because she threatened him (she wants to take pictures of Klance and Adashi acting cute and coupley to use as blackmail and Matt supports it)

Hunk starts freaking out because he really really really wants to ask Shay but he doesn’t know how

Lance gives him a pep talk, saying that she obviously likes him of course she’ll say yes

Hunk is still nervous

Lance is all like “C’mon asking your crush out isnt that bad if she says no she says no, but if she says yes then you get an awesome date.” 

“Says the one who had a crush on his boyfriend since second year and covered it up as a rivalry.” Lance looks offended.

“You need to stop hanging out with Pidge.” 

Lance decides to be Hunks wingman and starts asking Shay things like “You planning on going to the Yule Ball?” and “What do you think of Hunk?” He sees that she is very much interested and repots this to Hunk

He helps Hunk come up with a way to ask her

And its like the sweetest thing Romelle is in on it and she gives some stupid excuse as to why she cant study for herbology with them 

then her and lance hide behind a bookshelf, giggling

Hunk gets super flustered

But he manages to ask her

Shay also gets really flustered

But says yes

oof okay thats three of my big ships canon now for the fourth. 

When Hunk first introduces Allura to Romelle, her first thought is “Her. I want to date Her.” 

Now Lance and Allura have already come out to each other as bi disasters

It actually happened when Lance got with Keith and they were talking about him, doing facials (they take care of their skin with each other fite me) 

And Lance is just like “Yeah so I guess I like guys and girls” and allura is like “YOU CAN DO THAT” and lance is like “yeah????” and hes not sure if shes being biphobic or what and hes scared for like 0.1 second

and then allura just goes “Oh my god lonce i think i like guys and girls too”

And then they just start laughing

I guess I should also mention that they dated at one point too???

I don’t think it would’ve been super long, but probably around 3rd year they dated and thats actually probably how Allura got introduced to the Squad??

Lance first saw her when he finally joined the Gryffindor Quidditch team 

He got picked to be a Keeper the second year

So their first game is against ravenclaw

And he’s pretty good for the most part

And then all of a sudden he sees allura flying towards him and she looks so beautiful and how can she be so beautiful and--

She just scored a goal

and he was staring dumbly at her

So Lance and Allura’s relationship kind of developed like it did in the show with Lance flirting with her and Allura being annoyed to them becoming friends and eventually mutual crush

Allura’s actually the one to ask Lance out

They date for a while and theyre actually a really cute couple

(I may be a hardcore Klancer but I do find Allurlance cute on the occasion)

But after a bit... it kinda fades away?? I don’t know they just start to feel like when they kiss its not... not how they thought it would be??

They slowly start to realize that they kinda just want to be friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend

It just adds stress that they don’t want and they want to be able to tell each other anything without having to worry about stuff

so they break up soon after they start dating

sadly

but they dont?? feel too broken up about it???

The feeling was mutual

Plus they like each other much more as friends than romantic partners

They’re like the ultumate brotp 

Now they give each other facials every thursday

anyways

so allura finds out that she has a crush on Romelle

and who does she go to?

Ofc its lance hes a successful bi with a boyfriend

So he pretty much teaches her how to flirt

like seriously he teaches her how to flirt

And Allura makes it her duty to flirt with Romelle at every possibly oppertunity

Making Romelle freak out because how is she supposed to read this does she want to date Allura or????

They don’t really go any further for a while, its just allura slipping in little things every now and again or blowing kisses at romelle in the stands as she scores a goal

When the Yule ball rolls around, both Allura and Romelle dont have dates (Lotor asked Allura to the dance because they kissed one time in a game of spin the bottle and she responded with judoflipping him)

But they have fun

Everyone has fun actually

Its amazing and fluffy

(i feel like i should write a snapshot of this so i can finally write a fic that isnt centered around klance)

And a slow song comes on

Hunk and Shay awkwardly dance with each other, blushing brightly

Lance and Keith have their heads pressed together, Lance kissing Keith’s nose as they dance and making keith so flustered he stumbles and they both fall to the floor laughing

Adam and Shiro are that couple everyone is jealous of because theyre so perfect?? Like they have matching outfits and they dance gracefully and they kiss at just the right moments??

Pidge and Matt are god knows where probably videotaping the whole thing

And Allura kinda jokingly goes, “Well I guess then we should dance too.” And Romelle surprises her by taking her hand, pulling her onto the dancefloor

and freaking allura is actually really flustered and she’s blushing, having a hard time looking at Romelle

(romelle is having a hard time looking at her to fsajndvjhaio)

They’re both blushing. 

At the end of the song theyre much closer to each other than they started

They look up at each other

And then Romelle squeezes her eyes tight and kisses allura

It barely lasts for a second

Allura is shook

Romelle is in Lesbian Painc

Allura is in Bi Panic

Nobody seems to have noticed

but both girls are dying

And then allura just timidly asks, “Can you-- can you do that again?”

Pidge walks up to them kissing and just goes, “Oh thank god I thought I was going to have to force you two to kiss”

Because pidge oversees everything and knows everyones crushes that theyre too stupid to see

I feel bad for pidge i don’t really know what big moments she should have???

I feel like shes a trouble maker though

Not like cruel pranks or something 

But she likes to play jokes on people

A lot of the times that person is Lance

A lot of the time Keith is in on it

I also feel like eventually Allura and Romelle start to join her??

She recruits them for some big thing

Idk what

Its probably like a surprise for either Klance’s anniversary or Adashi’s 

And they love this way of life

Romelle betrays the cinnamon roll squad and goes to the dark side

Also a little more about pidge

She was almost a Hat Stall

Her two houses were Slytherin and Ravenclaw

But at like 4 min and 43 seconds the hat announced slytherin

her family is actually a mix of slytherins and ravenclaws

her dad and brother are ravenclaws

her mom is slytherin

OH AND BEFORE I LEAVE

Lances rivalry with Keith started because Keith bought the last of the candy he wanted on the train

And during like 7th year when they’re cuddling or something and Keith is like “why did u start this rivalry” and lance says it’s because he took the candy and Keith is SHOOK and goes “I would have shared if u asked”

and yeah i may add but heres most of the headcanons i came up with

[blayzez]

I'm sorry, I know I don't usually post discourse on my blog. I'm just... really hurt right now.

At the age of 24, after spending my entire childhood forcing myself to believe I was straight because that's what my family and religion said I was supposed to be, I finally acknowledged that I was bisexual. Even then, I was still second-guessing myself: What if I only think I'm bisexual because the internet/social media makes it seem like the "In" thing? What if my sexuality is just a mask and not who I really am? What if, what if, what if. It was hard.

Then I saw Voltron. Lance seemed to have a bisexuality arc laid out for him, and it was obvious that he didn't quite know he was bi and/or wasn't emotionally ready to acknowledge it.

That was just so validating. It made me happy to know that being confused about your sexuality -- not being sure if you're the sexuality you think you might be -- was common enough to include it in a kid's show and it made me feel so much better! I was so happy, and with Lance's help (and the help of my friends and therapist), I was able to finally accept my sexuality for what it was. And I'm an adult. Think about how many kids his arc could have helped! Kids who were questioning, kids who were unsure, kids that might not being surrounded by a good support system and have to hide who they are. Lance was shaping up to be someone kids could really look up, admire, and in turn accept themselves for they are because of him.

And now that's washed down the drain. It meant so much to me, perhaps meant so much to a lot of kids that needed that role model, but it clearly meant nothing to the writers and that is just so disheartening.

This isn't even about shipping. I love K/ance with all my heart, but I would be okay with any endgame ship so long as it was written well. This includes keeping the characters in-character and allowing the romance to help in their character development. Keith was the most likely candidate -- he really did make Lance a better person and vice versa -- but if someone else filled that role and filled it well, I would have been perfectly fine with that! But that's not what we got. Instead, the boy who has been insecure ALL SERIES has to spend his only romance building up his partner and have that not be reciprocated. That most-likely-candidate boosted him up more than Lance's actual romantic partner, and that is just bad writing. That's not a good relationship. Relationships are two-way streets; you can't have only one of the partners be supportive -- they have to be EQUALLY supportive. And A//urance was not that. A//urance was rushed, did not help the characters develop in the slightest, and took away TWO great role models.

I don't like Allura. I think I've made this clear before, but I really don't like her. I was neutral to her in s1, then the whole Not-All-Galra arc happened in s2 and my opinion of her started going down at that point.

But she didn't deserve the hand she was dealt. She was the only woman of color in the main cast, and they KILL HER??? WHY????? I may not have liked her, but that doesn't mean she was a bad character! On the contrary, she was a great role model and I'm sure many girls of color looked up to her. And then they just kill her? First they take away the great role model Lance could have been as a confused bisexual character, and then they take away the only woman of color on the main cast. WHAT. THE. FUCK. You can't just do that! I feel so horrible for the kids who looked up to those characters only to have it all ripped out from under their feet.

Oh, but there was a random gay wedding at the end, so that makes it alllllllll better~

Except it doesn't. Adding in a gay wedding/kiss with little-to-no build-up is more likely to cause confusion than anything else. And it doesn't erase how dirty they did Lance and Allura. Both characters deserved better.

On the topic of shipping, yes, it was queerbait. I refused to believe the showrunners were doing that -- I absolutely refused because I trusted the showrunners completely. Surely they wouldn't have ALL OF THESE ROMANTIC PARALLELS between K/L with other canon romantic couples for nothing. Surely they wouldn't have developed K/L's relationship more than any other relationship unless there was a really good reason for it. SURELY THEY WOULDN'T BE OKAY WITH VAGUING ABOUT THE SHIP MULTIPLE TIMES AND BEING OKAY WITH DW USING K/L FOR MARKETING PURPOSES IF IT WASN'T GOING TO HAPPEN.

But nope. All of the media techniques to subtly hint at a romance used specifically for K/L meant nothing. It was just bros being bros nothing gay here.

And that is BULLSHIT.

Honestly, the whole season just screams, "SHOCK VALUE," to me. They wanted to shock people, but I don't think they really considered the repercussions of how they were doing it. I get shock value, bringing up the interest and encouraging audiences to rewatch the series to understand why the shock was actually built-up from the beginning, but there's right way to do it and a wrong way to do it. Voltron took the wrong way and screwed it up royally.

To be clear, I am not against straight ships. Far from it, some of my favorite ships are heterosexual. Nor do I fetishize mlm relationships -- K/L is only the second mlm relationship I've come to really love (the first being Hau and Gladion from Pokemon Sun & Moon). It's just that K/L really struck a chord with me and with so many other people, and to take that away for the sake of a straight ship and some shitty shock value? Dirty thing to do to the show's audience. Don't build up proper LGBT+ rep UNLESS YOU ACTUALLY FUCKING HAVE IT. The only rep? Shiro, and a hastily-added Zethrid/Ezor ship. Blaytz, too, but that was glossed over tbh and I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of the audience (not on tumblr because we analyze everything to death lol) completely forgot about Blaytz's interaction with that make Galra. That's not proper rep. That's throwing it in and thinking, "It exists so our job is done."

Media in general has being doing LGBT+ rep dirty for SO LONG. Even when we had positive LGBT+ characters in media, they were still characters based off of gay stereotypes. They were good positive characters, but were still perpetuating a certain bias against LGBT+ by displaying these stereotypes as fact. Times are supposed to be different now. We're supposed to be progressing, making it BETTER. I really thought Voltron was going to be part of that progress, that it would give us a well-written, well-developed, well-loved LGBT+ representation for kids of this generation to look up to and admire and learn acceptance -- about themselves and about others -- from. Instead, the showrunners three half-assed, tacked on LGBT+ reps and called it a day.

THAT'S NOT COOL.

This isn't about ships. This is about proper media representation for the LGBT+ community -- something that is really scarce, even now -- and how it affects the LGBT+ community when it's done badly. This also goes for racial rep. You can take two misrepresented groups and treat them horribly and then call it good rep. IT ISN'T. The poor representation of the LGBT+ community has proved to be detrimental in society's view of them. THIS DOESN'T HELP.

*sigh*

Off the topic of that, can we talk about how shit the writing was? Because it was really shit.

I'll admit that while I like s7, it wasn't written amazingly-well. Still, it wasn't bad and did have plenty of interesting episodes. Even with all of the asspulls we got in the last episode, it was still awesome because we got to see Shiro back in his element after losing almost everything in prior seasons. It was a mix of good writing and bad writing, but the good writing made up for the bad.

The seasons previous to that were well-done. Maybe not s4, but the other seasons were well-written and really enjoyable! There's a reason the show took off; the plot maybe standard, but the characters, character dynamics, and relationships were fantastic and were the true driving force behind the series and its success.

So why was s8 so all over the place? Why were plot threads that had been hinted at or outright confirmed left hanging or tied together hastily? So many things were alluded to in previous seasons only to lead to NOTHING. WHY???

Why did everyone BUT Lance get an arc?

What was the point of Lance getting a sword if it was never going to be brought up again?

Why was Keith's arc suddenly thrown to the wayside?

Why did Allura have to DIE for her arc to reach its conclusion?

WHY?

So many people complained about bad writing in Voltron, but I had always believed that the writing in Voltron was relatively good. Sure, it had its problems (like the entirety of s4, and the MFEs being boring as shit), but it was mostly a well-rounded show with well-rounded characters.

And s8... just threw all of that away.

All of that potential, all of those good arcs -- wasted.

The writing went downhill SO fast, and it's just such a shame. Something that meant so much to me has dissolved into the mess s8 was. It's disheartening.

I also want to apologize to all of my followers who followed me because my K/L optimism and metas. I'm sorry if I got your hopes up; I really thought K/L was the logical conclusion -- everything was building up to it, right from the first episode and even continuing in s7 (hell, even s8 added to it) -- and I truly thought the writers were going to follow through with all of the logical conclusions the previous seasons built up. I had faith in them, but I was wrong. For that, I apologize. I know it's just a cartoon show, but I also know how influential and meaningful media can be -- especially for marginalized groups -- so if my hype bringing you up made your fall harder when s8 was released, I am so sorry. You didn't deserve that; nobody in the fandom did.

I'm so jaded and disillusioned right now. Voltron has been a major inspiration for me; I originally decided to be a cartoonist to bring LGBT+ representation to children's media because of Steven Universe, but it was Voltron that really motivated me to reach that goal. I looked up to Voltron -- it was my muse, my main inspiration. I've learned so much about writing -- writing character arcs, relationships, etc. -- from Voltron and all of the analyzing people did. Seeing it devolve into what it did is upsetting. Something I loved so much has let me down, and I'm hurt and disappointed.

But more than ever, I want to create cartoons that don't do this; cartoons that tie up its loose ends, follow through with obvious character relationships, puts the main characters through complete arcs, and give proper development to them all. Cartoons that have proper LGBT+ and racial representation -- with LGBT+/characters of color that can be admired, that won't fall flat, that will teach the children of the generation about acceptance of others and acceptance of yourself regardless of sexuality, skin color, gender identity, etc. Voltron failed in that aspect; it was a compelling show that failed in everything it needed to succeed in. I refuse to make that same mistake.

With that, let's all look ahead to future and enjoy the fanworks that do these wonderful characters justice. Let Voltron's failure inspire you to create and make something better, something that will be much more impactful, much more meaningful.

Don't let it get you down; let it bring you up.

[storiesbeyondthestars]

Let’s talk shipping *insert sarcastic yay here*

I said that it was my personal belief that this season was going to lay the foundation for relationships. I honestly expected this season to be more character-driven than it was. There was actually a LOT of action, so it tooka bit away from that, in my opinion. I can absolutely see why they say they have a problem with too much plot (which I said in my first post about my s7 thoughts).

They did lay ground work for many potential ships, though none of them were overly successful in my opinion. These are the ones I saw:

Hunk/Romelle - Hunk was actively bragging to her about the lions and there was a bit of a connection there. I think this one was kind of tossed aside by...

Hunk/Shay - She tackles him into a hug, okay. This one was very obvious and very last minute. (Also they brought the whole balmera to earth lol RIP ocean tides.)

Keith/Shiro - same stuff as always with Keith wanting to protect him and clearly idolizing him, though seeing little Keith with older Shiro...yeah...

Hunk/Pidge - Some people could argue that Pidge choosing Hunk was super sweet and proof of this. I personally think it would actually be kind of cute if Pidge’s first crush was on Hunk, because who could blame her? That’s harmless.

Keith/Hunk - Keith being the most impressed with Hunk. Being so supportive and going with him. Yeah. I could see it.

Ezor/Zethrid - I can get behind this. Out of nowhere but hey, go be evil lesbian space pirates together. That’s fine. 

Krolia/Kolivan - I don’t even know what to say to this but Krolia told Keith ‘i’ll never leave you’ then left him for Kolivan (and the mission) so, you know. I mean, she spent like 20 years in space after leaving Keith’s dad so like, all the power to her?

I’m going to talk more about these three:

Keith/Acxa  This one I can see where it’s coming from but it’s still a little weird to me if this is the route they’re going for. Ezor and Zethrid certainly think that this is the case, so they’ve probably talked about the fact that Axca doesn’t want to hurt Keith before. 

There’s still a small chance that they’re related, though Krolia didn’t bring that up (though maybe she didn’t feel like she had to because there surely would have been some kind of flashback or flashforward to something). 

Outside of that, lets picture this from Acxa’s point of view: you’re in a welbum, probably think that you’re going to die there, then this Paladin saves her life, realizes she’s Galra, still thinks she could be a person, works well with her, turns out to be half-Galra himself, and is hot as shit. Can you blame her? I mean, come on. That side of things absolutely makes sense to me. 

Keith, less so. He saved her life once, and then recognized her. She saved his. Then she let him go and didn’t kill him. So he could be repaying that. The only other explanation I’ve got that would work from his side was if he saw something in the future. 

Though Keith’s reaction to the whole ‘love’ this being ‘let’s just fight’ is fucking funny and describes him so well. He’s not devoid of emotions, surely he would have shown something if this was the case? 

Oh well, she showed up at his father’s grave. She also decided to wear a crop-top jacket like him so yeah. 

I genuinely don’t like this, because outside of those moments there’s no development. 

Lance/Allura

Firstly I have to say, Allura having feelings for Lance is NOT a rebound by that point. Sam Holt went back to Earth and a month later, Voltron had vanished. The were gone for three years. Then in the flashbacks it said it was 4 years on Earth. So they’ve been traveling for a year. That’s a year to get over Lotor and develop feelings for Lance. It’s not rebound.

From my point of view, my opinion only, it is bad writing though. If there were more moments of them together, small little things like smiling at one another over comms or getting along during the gameshow or stuff? Then I’d be all ‘that’s fine’. 

It came out of nowhere though. No hints. No hints. Then feelings. What the heck? I hope someone can point out something I missed in my mass binging of S7 to fix this. Like, I can grasp the Keith and Acxa thing more than this one.  Lance and Allura definitely had more development in general, but in this season it’s not there until it is. That’s NOT good writing. That’s shoe-horning it in. Especially with Veronica teasing him.

(Though Allura entirely shedding off the title of Princess certainly does sort of put them on the same playing field.)

Look, Lance and Allura could be very cute together. They really could. It just isn’t written well this season. 

Keith/Lance

I actually did like their dynamic for the most part this season. Why? Lance didn’t feel useless here. Keith genuinely treated him like a space ranger partner. He didn’t belittle him for the most part. Not when it counted most. Their actions show an extreme amount of trust in one another. 

Lance shows no hesitation in calling Keith their leader, no hesitation in following his orders. When they were floating in space, their words were all cutting and terrible to one another. It’s clear that there’s some hurt for Keith leaving, which is totally fine. I wish they had actually addressed these issues more. 

I mean, in the gameshow, his reasons for picking Keith were arguably the sweetest (along with Pidge’s for Hunk). Leader, part-Galra, and the future? 

That’s really odd word choice right there people. Not to mention his expressions. He looks goddamn love struck.

In what world is calling someone ‘the future’ (when you’re not speaking in a sense of the children are the future) a platonic thing? Look, Lance can go with Allura in the end, but this boy is bi and Keith was his awakening. 

Of course, there was Keith being a little turd a few times. In the gameshow where Lance is sweet and then, for some reason, the host skips over Pidge and goes to Keith next? For some reason? Only for Keith to pick Lance. Look, maybe Keith was genuinely annoyed because Lance kept getting the answers wrong so he was being a shit. It happens. I don’t think so thoug. They thought they were picking someone to save. Either he trusted that Lance would be able to do something to get them out, or he wanted to save Lance. 

Optimistic side of me: Keith had a gay panic when he heard what Lance said.

Pessimistic side of me: Being an ass.

A weird in-between part: Keith’s been alone with his mom for two years and became worse with social cues.

Honestly, Lance looked all dreamy-faced when Keith picked him until he realized what he said. I think maybe that Keith’s aloofness was a bit off-putting to him, since he was getting over his heartbreak over Allura. It’d make sense that he’d jump on the fact that Allura might like him.

Keith’s other moment with him was when he said ‘don’t miss’ and I think he was teasing but it came out a little rough. The thing is, we know Keith didn’t mean it because he still ran forward as the distraction. He KNEW Lance was going to succeed. 

It’s not much to go on but the trust is still there. The delivery is rough on Keith’s end instead of Lance’s now (two years away will do that to you). 

Shiro/Adam

...I am so sorry that this fandom got Dumbledored. 

Look, I am super happy that Shiro is canonically gay. That’s amazing! People can point to him and say ‘he’s amazing in every sense and he’s gay’ without hesitation.

Except, you could look at those scenes and think that they were, in fact, just roommates. The only reason we know this isn’t the case is because we were told. This is the exact same thing JK Rowling did with Dumbledore. Mind you, in her case it was after everything had been published and she got her paycheck for it. Small, barely there hints and then verbal confirmation. Dumbledore was a super-respected person and yeah it’s great that he’s gay. 

So why couldn’t you show it. I sincerely doubt that they’ll go into depth about it in S8. If they do I will be surprised. 

There’s...no way I can even make headcanons about what they were like together. I’ve seen more of Keith/Acxa than this!

So that’s my point of view on ships this season. What does it mean? It’s all up in the air until the last episode of S8 but they left many different paths open. I am very curious to see where they take it, even if it means everything is completely open in the end. 

[fangzeronos]

SDCC 2018 wrap up

Ok now that SDCC is over, I feel like I should do a little wrap up for the weekend. I got to sit and wait for all the trailers and news to come out since I couldn’t afford to go, so this is gonna be strictly from the “Nerd on the Couch” perspective. I’m putting a read more in case anyone wanna skip this.

 Titans: The trailer was alright. Robin’s in a bad place because of Batman so his “Fuck Batman” line is justified. Starfire and Beast Boy could still use some work, but it was only the first trailer, so we’ll have to reserve judgement until the show comes out. I’m looking forward to it anyway.

 Young Justice Outsiders: It’s actually real. I thought for the last two years we’ve all been thinking it’s not coming and that we’ve all been living in a dream about wanting it back. I was in the middle of the store when I saw the trailer and my heart stopped. Two minutes of Season 2 recap, including Wally’s ‘death’ (HE ISN’T DEAD ALRIGHT!? HE’S JUST IN THE SPEED FORCE AND NOBODY CAN CONVINCE ME OTHERWISE DAMMIT!!!) before we get the new footage. The new characters look amazing, Geoforce looks like he’s going to be a good character, hopefully we’ll get Terra since she’s “been missing for two years”. Still waiting to see M’gann, Kaldur, Beast Boy, and the rest of the season 2 cast, but I’m excited for this one more then Titans.

 And since both shows above are going to be on the DC Universe Online service, I can see paying $75 a year for it if we’re going to get more Young Justice. With all the shows coming out on DCUO, like Harley Quinn, Stargirl, Swamp Thing, Doom Patrol, and all of the older shows like Batman The Animated Series, Wonder Woman, the older DC movies and the comics, I can justify paying that much for a yearlong subscription.

 Supergirl: Season 4 looks like it’s going to be interesting. Agent Liberty seems like a decent antagonist, but with the way this show has done in the past, hyping a villain for the first half and then swapping it with a generic bad guy for the second, I don’t have much hope. It looks like they’re toning down the relationship drama from season 2 and 3, which is good. I’m honestly thinking they’re going to screw Lena’s character development and have her go evil Luthor judging by how season 3 ended with her “We can begin phase two” line and having the Harun-El made up that she gave to Alura. A few quick shots of Alex as Director of the DEO sporting a new haircut, nothing too revealing except for the Supergirl spacesuit at the end. I saw it and my mind went to the first Injustice 2 game trailer from 2016 with the armored look. I’m looking forward to the new season, not keen on it being on Sundays before the Charmed reboot but have to get the viewers for a remake somehow.

 Arrow: Oliver Queen in prison. That’s a hell of a concept for the season. We know something’s going to change and he’s going to be out by the fourth or fifth episode, possibly earlier. Decent shots of the other characters, Dinah wearing SCPD riot gear was a nice touch, Laurel-2 denouncing vigilantism makes for an interesting idea considering what the hell she’s done in the last seasons. Diaz is fine, not enjoying having him around again but since he didn’t get killed at the end of the last season, it’s fine. Longbow Hunters might make for interesting fodder, but we can’t be sure until the show starts. I’m sick of Felicity, but that arguments been done to death. We all know it was Roy in the Green Arrow suit in the end of the trailer. If it had been Diggle, we’d have seen his face and since we know Roy’s back, it doesn’t really give us many options to choose from. I’m glad it’s on Mondays now so I can watch it and keep up instead of being behind.

 Legends of Tomorrow: It looks great. This one has become one of my favorites on the network and I’m glad to see they’re getting more episodes. Hopefully this season doesn’t get shafted and end up getting thrown to a different night or time or cut in the middle for a different show. Bringing Constantine back for a regular spot is a good move considering what they’re going to be dealing with thanks to the fallout from killing Mallus. Dragons, demons, all sorts of magical and mythical creatures. “Couldn’t we be heroes just a little longer?” made me laugh and it’s that sort of thing that makes Legends stand out to me. It can be dark and gritty but still lighthearted and fun. It’s what Flash started to be and it’s what Arrow needs to be. I’m glad it’s going to be on Mondays along with Arrow.

 Flash: Coming off of the reveal that Mystery Girl is actually Barry and Iris’ daughter (which I’d had a feeling about anyway since she was so giddy at the wedding in the Crisis crossover), Nora seems to be a fun addition to the cast this year. I’m honestly looking forward to seeing what she messed up, why she came back, and why didn’t she learn from Barry’s mistakes about screwing with the Timeline. Cicada looks to be interesting, and I hope he’s going to be the main villain for the year. I want to know more about how Caitlin was Frost before the Accelerator and Flashpoint happened, or is it a side effect of Flashpoint two years later? Guess we’ll find out in October.

 Aquaman: The trailer looked amazing. This might just be part of what the DCEU needs to get its shit together and stop being so grimdark. Wonder Woman proved DC movies can do fun and lighthearted and still hit some dark themes and notes, and this looks like it’s going to do the same thing. Jason Mamoa looks as badass as he did in Justice League, Amber Heard is beautiful as Mera. Atlantis looked amazing. I’m thoroughly excited and December can’t come quick enough to see this.

 Shazam!: One of my favorite DC heroes, man. Zachary Levi just killed it in this trailer and I was laughing the whole way through. If the movie keeps that same energy up, I’ll be damn happy. March release for this one and I’m ready to go!

 Godzilla: King of the Monsters: It’s frigging Godzilla, fighting his own list of bad guys. Mothra, Rodan, King Ghidorah, all classics that should have been in the first one instead of the MUTO. I’ve always been a Godzilla nerd, so when I saw this trailer I was geeking the fuck out. I’m definitely excited for this one.

 Now, you’re probably wondering, “Hey, where’s Voltron in all of this?” and you’d be right that I haven’t talked about it yet. I have spent three days milling over the reveals from the Voltron panel and been trying the right ways to word things, so I don’t seem like I’m being an asshole and damning myself with what I’m going to say. Now, with that out of the way.

 The season 7 trailer looked good. We’re going back to Earth, so who knows how much time really has passed since the only indication we’ve had was the week that Kuron was in the Galra fighter before Keith and Black found him back in season 3. I’m sad to see that season 8 is going to be the last of VLD, but I can understand why, since they were only approved for so many episodes. Going back to a 13-episode season is the best thing they could have done. Keith piloting Black still kind of irks me, but with Shiro only having one arm, I guess it makes sense. I would much rather have Allura in Black, put Lance back in Blue, and give Red back to Keith, but that’s a whole other post.

 The big thing people took away from the panel was “You’ll meet Shiro’s significant other, Adam.” When I saw that on Twitter, I was…. I’m not gonna lie, I was disappointed. You’ve had six seasons of moments between Shiro and Allura, the Hand Touch, the way she looked at him when he said “You found me” at the end of the season, how adamant they are about saving each other every time they’re in danger, Shiro’s resolve to get her back in Season 1 after she threw him into the shuttle and got taken by the Galra. And now it’s all thrown out of the airlock?

 No offense to the writers, Josh Keaton who gets mad credit for keeping this close to the chest and not revealing anything, the fans that are a fan of this plot point for the next season, but I’m not a fan. Don’t get me wrong, LGBT representation in animation/kids’ media has come a long way in a few short years. Look at Steven Universe. One of the main characters is a literal fusion of two she-pronoun using space rocks. I just feel like this is shoehorned in like a checkmark on an RPG character creation. “PTSD? Check. Missing limb? Check. Male POC? Check. What else can we check to make people happy? OH! Gay! DOUBLE CHECK!!” is what it feels like to me. To me, this feels like the writers have been shadow stalking Tumblr, AO3, FF.net, everywhere else Voltron is big and made their choice but what the popular ships were in the search results.

 Make Shiro gay, fine. Make him bi, that’d be a better option because then we can ship him with whoever we want and not get comments that say that shipping Shiro with Allura or any other female member of this show is gay erasure. By saying “Shiro’s gay”, you’re shooting all of the other Shiro ships in the face. Shieth shippers are over the moon, Shallura shippers are sitting in a corner, Klance shippers are looking between the two going “WTF”, and the rest of the internet’s like “Why is it a big deal?”

 I feel like I should stop there about this. This is already more then a page in my word doc.

 SDCC 2018 was fun to watch from a distance. CW brought some good trailers, DC killed it with 8 trailers, and Voltron is what it is. Now begins the countdown for SDCC 2019.

[klance-is-my-oxygen]

My Thoughts On Season 7 In A Rush

I’m tired. I’m emotionally and physically tired. I pulled an all nighter and I rarely do those. Anyways this season left me mixed. There were MANY and I mean MANY moments when I was smiling my ass off and just really happy. There were also multiple times I was bawling my eyes out. Really emotional season that’s for sure. I’ve been seeing some posts going around with how they’re upset on the advertisement of the show and marketing and such. Frankly I agree. Now I would’ve been fine if klance didn’t become canon, i’m alright with that I always got fanfic and others to give me the OTP moments i wanted, but are they really doing this? Are they gonna sell the quiznak out of possible klance only to have allurance and kexca become legit? I love me some good romance whether it’s straight or gay but the way they’re doing these it’s just feels weak and wrong tbh. I get that it was an action packed season and that was really cool but I would’ve liked to see some more moments or sit down and think about them moments to help me get on board with the ship. I’m afraid i’m not buying Keith being straight, he’s 100% gay to me. Lance being Bi is pretty legit too although if it doesn’t show up at all i’ll be peeved but i won’t being blowing my house up or anything. Here’s how I allurance might end up it’s either going to continue being shy and maybe feelings towards a confession and kiss or whatever or it’s gonna be Allura likes him and is intrigued in the idea and wants to be with him but Lance got closer to keith to maybe not have an interest anymore. Who knows anymore, the vld crew could pull anything by now. I really liked the bonding they had going on this season and while i’m saddened that the show looks to be turning away from klance i’ll still support it. Another thing, ADAM. Now I wasn’t going crazy about shiro being gay and with adam, but i was definitely happy that Shiro had someone there and could be happy and it was just the most perfect closing for him. No they couldn’t do that, they kill adam off when they were so close to reuniting. I’m aware their romance was recently added and not that flushed out but if they weren’t going to interact much and he was gonna die why give it so much hype? vld crew upset many with this and i was just excited to see them reunite and possibly have a cute scene between them. THEY WERE GOING TO GET MARRIED, AND THIS HAPPENS. I wanted more of them tbh that’s all. All the family reunitings were beautiful and I loved them. There was a lot of good Keith this season and I liked the idea of the paladins going mad and seeing things and such, it added another level of stress and fear  and they could’ve done so much more with that in my opinion. I liked how a bunch of older stuff got brought back in and had the loose strings tied up. Gosh so many amazing and funny moments. SO MANY HEARTWRENCHING SCENES AGH. I LOVED COLLEEN SO MUCH.everybody was great this season and i think i really like Hunk a lot more now. We got to see the paladins messages to the families and just GAH SO GOOD. I’m curious to see what season 8 will bring. I have no clue what could be the main drive for the newest plot other than perhaps taking out haggar. That last mech guy who showed up though. It seemed so random i said out loud “are you serious?”. The atlas was really cool too. I’ll possibly make a list of all the pros and cons but i literally just finished the entirety of season 7 and these are just my jumbled thoughts. In the end I really liked this season and was upset a few times but i’ll live. I wish that if Klance doesn’t become canon that they’d stop baiting so much. I won’t accept deep down that Keith is straight and Hunk is more beloved than before. Season 8 better be damn good and finish what the crew started that’s for sure. Also i want more Lance and Keith bonding plz, doesn’t have to be romantic but i want one to comfort the other or something like the Hunk and Keith scene (LOVED THAT). Alright sorry for this and it’s almost 8:30 am so i’m going to sleep now. Respect to you if you read all of this lol. <3 Also i don’t know how to make this a read here text so you’ll have to expand R.I.P.

[pastamic]

Okay vld rant time

I really don't care what ships end up canon. I mean

There are ships that I like and want to end up canon. I'm a huge klance fan and a sucker for red/blue gays but like I understand why it rubs a lot of people the wrong way??

But for fuck's sake I need at least half of the team to be LGBTQ+. Like gimme gay shiro and bi lance and pan Hunk and trans gay keith or any other amazing lgbtqa+ headcanons like fuck. I almost broke into sobs about Shiro guys.

Y'all know I'm big into SU and the fucking gay wedding/on screen kiss had be bawling my eyes out.

I understand why people ship allurance I totally do. Personal preference? I'd love to see Allura end the series without a romantic end game because she was literally nothing more than a romantic piece for male characters in the original and Allura is sooooo much better than that and an amazing character with amazing power and potential beyond romance. Not to say that the others aren't and like. Allura is absolutely deserving of romance, but with her predecessors history of being reduced to a love interest/obsession object I think it would be great for her to have something beyond that especially after being hurt by Lotor.

But like my point is that LGBTQA+ representation in cartoons is so fucking important to me. ESPECIALLY something like Voltron. Fucking space heroes. Something done by DREAMWORKS one of my favorute animation companies growing up. I never thought I would see a day where the cartoons I loved so dearly had queer representation and I desperately crave it. After being shown by SU and now by Shiro (a character I identify a lot with) I'm seeing how possible it is for me to get these things and 13 year old me needed this and honestly??? I still need this.

So like have a problem with klance shippers all you want like I FEEL it y'all shippers get crazy but like. Some of us just want some queer rep. Hunk could marry Slav for all I give a shit I just would really like more queer rep.

Edit: I love Shiro especially being the LGBTQA+ rep bc he's a respected leader but like I can totally understand Shallura shippers pov's bc they're both hot as hell? I just really love that Shiro being gay is canon bc quite frankly I am a gay and thirsting for rep okay

[historical-fictioneer]

Klance Con-Man AU

Keith used to be a part of a robbery gang called the Blade of Marmora

Was the getaway driver

Can drive/hotwire any vehicle known to man

Police too scared to chase them because he goes 80 mph in the school zone and take turns sharp enough to flip a car

“KEITH! There are children here!” “They should know to look both ways, then!”

“DOG!” “Tell it to run faster”

Will only stop if there’s a cat in the street

“Why’d you stop?” “There’s a cat,” “Are you serious?” “YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT HE/SHE’S BEEN THROUGH!”

Best in hand to hand combat

 Can disarm you in a flash

Was trained in the martial arts

Knows the Vulcan nerve pinch

Often used as the manipulating distraction because he’s too beautiful for his own good and is great at playing hard to get/being aloof

“Remember Keith, you’re a single socialite, whose parents own a prosperous net corporation and you do yoga in your free time,” “I’m a rich boy who went to MIT, whose good in bed and my name’s Kevin- got it.” “… that’s not what I said” “It was in the subtext”

Can still be blunt AF and fast with his work- “$20 says I can give you the time of your life” asset spits out drink “I-if you say so.”

 10 minutes later- “Asset is down and out, and we’re looking for a weapons dealer named Jeff”

 Very persuasive

“He admits to stealing 30% more of the cut than promised” “You were only in there for five minutes!” “It was either the truth or his daughter,” “He had a daughter?!” “I could see it in his eyes,”

 Is often the one to screw up the plan because he’s being impulsive

 Has a knife tucked in his boot, pocket

Wears biking gloves unironically

Lance met Keith when Keith decided to be on his own (then got restless) and fell hard at first sight

 Lance was working with analyst/tech wiz Pidge and strongman Hunk on a gig- but needed a getaway driver

“You Keith?” “Yeah…” whispers “Fuck he’s hot” Keith blushes “What?” “Nothing!...” whispers again “…holy shit”

Keith eventually becomes part of the con-fam

They all use color code names- invented by Hunk

Lance is the stealth man who goes on the inside

Refuses to let Keith help until a gig goes wrong

“What took you so long? You’re 2 minutes late for depart- HOLY FUCK ARE YOU OK?” “JUST DRIVE ON” “HOW DID YOU GET SHOT?” “DRIVE, RED” “THAT’S IT FROM NOW ON WE’RE BOTH GOING INSIDE” “WHAT??!!”

 Has doubts at first until Keith proves he can, in fact play according to plan- but only when he feels like it

“Everyone stay down!” person gets up to run to phone “HEY!” Keith grabs Lance’s gun and shoots five feet in front of person- person drops to floor in fear “WHAT’D I SAY??!!-” “Red…” “WHAT’D I SAY??!!” “Red!” “I SAID STAY DOWN, ASSHAT!” “Jesus fucking Christ”

Lance is the sharpshooter and uses sniper rifles for long distances- and checks out on Keith undercover

Zooms into Keith’s backside “God, I’d tap that ass” “Sorry, couldn’t read you- what’d you say, Blue?” Pidge and Hunk suppress laughs on the comm “Yeah, Blue- Speak up so we can ALL hear what YOU said!”

Keith is oblivious AF

Loves impressing Keith by sniping assets by the center of their forehead- Every. Single. Time

“Hey, Red- see that?” “Yes, he did, Blue- WE ALL DID”

Keith is impressed by it, but doesn’t admit it in public or aloud until he and Lance are alone

Has perfect vision and excellent hearing

Red, did you hear that?” “…hear what?” quietly waits for a few seconds before turning the corner and shooting three thugs in the head “Them” Keith.exe has stopped working

Lance NEVER misses

Has a step sister (Allura) who works for FBI

Causes a whole bunch of problems

“So, Lance what’ve you been up to?” “Eh- nothing much, a few jobs here and there. You?” “Oh my god, you’ve no idea how busy I’ve been tracking down this gang- they call themselves Voltron. Heard of them?” Lance sweats “Y-yeah, I’ve heard of them.”

 Lance introduces her to Keith- she ships them so hard and makes fast friends with Keith’s sassy, sarcastic self

“So, Keith… what are you interested in?” “I’m gay??” “OMG, I’m bi!” “Thank god!” “Let’s go gossip about boys!” “Isn’t Lance also bi?” “He is, but thinks it’s weird when I gush about relationships” “In that case- Girl… Spill.” Lance whispers quietly “What the fuck….”

Honestly, they become best friends and Keith wastes no time in making sure Allura is okay with him liking her brother- when she gives her support he opens up like a knife sliced him open

 Lance is lowkey terrified of the things she’s possibly saying about him

“So, Keith… did Allura say anything about me?” “Lance, we talk about boys and jiu-jitsu, not the most probable suspects of the gang she’s assigned to take down.”

Also lowkey hopes Keith is gushing about him, though

Both Keith and Lance are pining messes- but don’t know how to confess without it messing up their operations/friendship

(Probably make up some more stuff)

[amorremanet]

In celebration of @blackpaladinweek — some Twinganes (i.e., Shiro and his twin brother Ryou) headcanons from the punk band/university/modern setting hot mess AU of But boys spring infernal (as of now: Mature, ~300k, 17 of 21 chapters; main ship is Keith/Shiro, with several past ships & side-ships; this AU’s previous Ryou + Twinganes post) (also dedicated to Saki @bishiro ​):

Q: Which one of the Shirogane twins loves Legally Blonde more? / A: Trick question, they love Legally Blonde more or less equally

That said, Ryou doesn’t love Mean Girls as much as Shiro does. Or very much at all, really

It’s not that Ryou minds the movie? But he’s tired of it, and too many Mean Girls references at once will make Ryou want to scream

Shiro may never let Ryou live down his t(w)eenage celebrity crush on Christina Aguilera, but to be fair, Ryou isn’t going to let Kashi live down his still very much alive celebrity crush on Sir Ian McKellan, either

Unlike Ryou, who took some time to arrive at his Bi Awakening, Shiro has known that he’s gay since they were about eight and he got a kiddie-crush on a boy in his class.

Their Mom heard about this when she asked if they had any special Valentines in mind in their class, and while Ryou just said the name of the first girl in class who he thought of as a friend but was mostly non-committal about it, Shiro was very into Cameron Levesque.

Mom and Dad Shirogane talked to Shiro about this first, basically explaining that they love him no matter what and there is nothing wrong with him being gay, but that he needs to be careful because there are, unfortunately, several people in the world who disagree and could try to hurt him

Ryou’s nine-year-old opinion on this was, “Well, if Kashi is gay, then duh, obviously there’s nothing wrong with anybody being gay. How could there be? My brother is the best and anyone who says otherwise is probably just jealous, I will fight them if they try to say that he’s wrong for wanting to kiss other boys”

Excluding snowball fights, Ryou has been in five physical fights in his entire life. Four somehow involved the desire to stand up for his brother. The fifth one, on the other hand, involved Ryou standing up to said brother, and it ended in him and Shiro hugging each other while crying.

From the age of eleven until they were almost 24, Ryou and Shiro had an ongoing debate about which fictional aliens would be the most fun to get abducted by. After Shiro’s time “living with” (read: being effectively held hostage by) Sendak and Haxus, though, that whole discussion stopped being one that he could find any humor in.

Like, if Earth made first contact with the Vulcans tomorrow and Shiro was offered passage back to their home-world, he’d have a hard time saying, “No”? But he’s really lost his taste for, “abducted by aliens” fantasies

One of the biggest disappointments of their childhood was that their Mom and Dad never let them get a cat, but in fairness? Tiny Ryou could be kind of a space cadet sometimes (in that he gets absorbed in things very easily and sometimes needs to be reminded that the rest of the world exists), while Tiny Kashi was either trying way too hard to be Perfect or a mischievous, rambunctious handful who fancied himself a prankster, with very little middle-ground between those two options

—so any cats they adopted likely would’ve been loved by the twins but cared for by their parents or grandparents, instead of functioning as a Lesson in Responsibility That Is Shaped Like A Pet for the twins

One of Ryou’s current disappointments is that he is a financially stable adult who could totally adopt a cat…… but he isn’t sure how Slav and a cat would get along with each other, and as troublesome as Slav can be, Ryou does love his friend/roommate, and he wants a cat? But not enough to risk a situation that could be Not Good for Slav

Ryou is responsible for turning Shiro on to Steven Universe, and Hunk is responsible for introducing the show to Ryou.

The character Ryou most identifies with is Connie (and Shiro can see it but would also peg Ryou as having a lot in common with Sadie).

The characters Shiro most identifies with are Pearl and Lapis Lazuli — and Ryou agrees kinda but he doesn’t like it, especially because:

1. he knows that the episode “Lost At Sea” is a big reason why Shiro loves Lapis as much as he does, and considering that episode really isn’t subtle in portraying Lapis’s fusion with Jasper as an abusive relationship, Ryou’s Protective Brother Instincts get pricked up hardcore;

and 2. Ryou can’t help but be suspicious and concerned about how Pearl and Lapis have character designs that emphasize thinness and physical delicacy, given that Shiro has an eating disorder and body image issues

(which okay, Shiro understands where Ryou’s coming from here, but this is sort of a sticking point because Shiro isn’t sure how he can put Ryou’s mind at ease without risk of accidentally sounding like he’s devaluing his problems

—also, he knows from experience that, apparently, “Duly noted, but I never wanted to be that kind of skinny and that isn’t the real problem with me anyway” is not the right answer)

Neither twin will argue that Hunk is the resident Steven Quartz Universe, like…… They don’t see a case to the contrary, really. And Hunk is totally cool with that.

When they were sixteen, Shiro passed his driver’s test on the first time out while Ryou failed it twice before finally getting it right. These days, though, Ryou is the twin who actually has a car and ever drives it. If you ask Shiro why he’s so averse to driving, he will tell you, “Trying to drive a car in Chicago after barely having my license for six months” and leave it at that.

Anyone who tries to tell you that either Shiro or Ryou is the, “calm, level-headed twin” while the other is the, “temperamental, reckless twin”? ……Yeah, either they’ve only just met the twins or they are lying to you.

Like, it’s fair(-ish) to join Shiro in saying that he is the, “genius twin” while Ryou is, “the twin with common sense” — in D&D stats terms: Shiro has more Intelligence than Wisdom, while Ryou is about even on both but isn’t as off-the-charts in Intelligence as Shiro is

—but… ahaha, no, both of them can be either the, “calm, level-headed twin” or the, “temperamental, reckless twin” at different points and in different ways. Both of them are easily outraged by abuses of power and/or on behalf of other people, but even that, they do differently.

A lot (though not all) of Shiro’s outrage could be summed up as, “People who have power don’t use it responsibly and it hurts the people who have less power, or who rely on them, or similar, and Shiro has no idea why he has to explain that you should care about other people, but he is angry and offended that some people think this is optional, what the Hell, how do you just not care about other people”

However: for all Shiro will (usually) let himself be openly angry about other people’s abuse, pain, suffering, etc., he usually tries to deny, repress, or ignore the anger he feels about things that hurt him. He’s getting better while working on all this with Ulaz, but he has a history of letting that anger build up until he snaps, or only come out in his music and/or when he’s angry on someone else’s behalf.

His typical interactions with Slav aren’t even an exception that prove the rule here. It’s an easy mistake to make, given how short Shiro’s temper is with Slav… but fact is, he simply hits his breaking point with Slav faster than he does with most people.

In the opinions of several people, Shiro’s pronounced bleeding-heart tendencies might very easily be the death of him someday if he doesn’t learn to get better at managing them. Like, most people agree that his compassion, his level of concern for other people, and his desire to help people are at least some degree of admirable — but Shiro has a problem of giving too much of himself to other people.

He also has a problem of getting angry about things that he can’t really do anything about (sometimes genuinely and sometimes because he doesn’t really want to deal with any of the things he can affect any meaningful change over because they’re messy and tangled and being Complicated at him, especially when they’re emotionally complicated)

On top of those problems, Shiro also has the problem where he has trouble with insisting on some of his boundaries and asking people to respect them — and he can sometimes be really, really bad at remembering where his boundaries are when he’s faced with people who need help, or issues that he cares about (though Shiro fixates more on the people affected by those issues than on the issues themselves), or the pain and suffering of other people in general

—Because Shiro wants to help. Shiro wants to make people’s lives better. Shiro is the sort of person who endures horrible pain and trauma and comes out the other end of it, wanting to be the sort of person who would’ve helped his past-self when he was in deep shit (and one of his biggest motivations as an artist/songwriter is wanting to make music that really reaches people and affects them somehow, even if it’s “just” reminding them that they aren’t alone). Which is all great?

……But when it comes to helping people, Shiro has all the chill of a broken freezer (which is to say, “none whatsoever”), and he often shoves his own problems down or to the side in the name of trying to help other people instead, despite how this has gotten him into trouble so many times before

The list of people who have expressed concern about these tendencies of Shiro at one point or another includes but is not limited to:

Ryou

Keith

Lance

Pidge

Hunk kinda sorta, he waffles about it

Matt

Ulaz sometimes

Iverson despite the fact that he also admires Shiro’s capacity for hope and compassion

Shiro’s old roommate Mark and their friend Trevor

Shiro’s old friend Laura (whom he fake-dated when they were in high school so her parents wouldn’t find out that she’s a lesbian)

Acxa (including one incident where she was like, “Look, Lotor is my best friend and has been since we were nine — but he’s a disaster, you two are not working out together, and I know that you want to help him…… but you are probably going to kill yourself if you keep trying so hard to help him”)

Ezor

Zethrid

Narti (through the conduit of Ezor because she didn’t feel like talking to Shiro for herself)

Shiro and Ryou’s Mom

Shiro and Ryou’s Dad

Grandfather Shirogane

Grandmother Shirogane

Sendak (but he meant this less out of real concern and more as a way of going, “Why don’t you give in and just come revel in being a monster with me”)

Slav (but he expressed the sentiment to Ryou because he felt like Shiro wasn’t listening to him, which was accurate)

Shiro’s A.A./N.A. sponsor Robin

David And Miranda From Group

and Lotor, even though he has directly benefited from Shiro’s bleeding-heart tendencies more than pretty much anyone else in Shiro’s life except for maybe Sendak

—Allura only hasn’t expressed concerns like this yet because she only just met Shiro recently

So……… yeah. This is a Thing. People become aware of it pretty quickly, when dealing with Shiro.

Ryou, on the other hand, has some trouble admitting that he’s angry on his own behalf but nowhere near as much as Shiro. In general, he’s far more likely than Shiro to acknowledge that he is angry and then either try to push it aside because “there is something more important to deal with right now,” or start giving people the cold shoulder

(—this happens even if he isn’t angry with them or anyone in particular: Ryou is very much a person who feels a need to tinker with or work on something when he gets angry. He also tends to want space from other people, and unless someone is comfortable enough with him to know better, his cranky tinkering tends to look like he’s shutting people out)

When Ryou gets outraged for other people, it tends to be in a way that’s focused on their boundaries or sense of agency, or things that were taken from them. While Shiro’s outrage tends to be more centered on the pain and suffering and wanting to find some way to alleviate it (usually by doing something and finding some kind of silver lining or a purpose to dedicate oneself to), Ryou’s outrage is about the specifics of what was done unto other people and how it tried to take away their sense of power in their own lives, and then what to do about moving forward (with an occasional side of vengeance and a serious vindictive streak once roused)

He’s also much more likely to get angry about people whom or issues that he cares about personally, rather than emotionally bleeding over everything he doesn’t really enjoy about the world — like, yes, he can get upset about injustices that he has no personal relation to or stake in, and it bothers him that many people in positions of power are manipulative assholes who care more about themselves and their own security than about the people beneath them on the different hierarchical ladders?

But unlike Shiro, Ryou looks at those things and goes, “I don’t like them, but there largely doesn’t seem to be anything I can do to directly change them, and as much as they upset me, I have other issues and troubles that I need to focus on because I actually can do something about them. I’m only human, I only have so much energy and so many resources, and I care about those things? But I have no idea how to affect any meaningful change, so I’m going to go put more energy into something that I can actually do anything about”

Basically, just…… Ryou and Shiro can both be temperamental and they can both be reckless. They can also both be totally calm and level-headed. It depends on the context, since they can get upset about different things, and

True, there are other factors in play as well, but Shiro’s mental health is the biggest reason why Ryou has a longer list of times when he’s gone, “Kashi, NO” than Shiro’s list of incidents requiring a, “Ryou, NO.”

Specifically, Ryou has had to go, “Kashi, NO” more often than Shiro’s done the opposite…… because Shiro has a history of disregarding his own well-being or outright not caring about it, whether this meant, “trying to climb a precarious-looking tree to save his friend Laura’s cat when they were all about ten” or, “mixing up a ‘cocktail’ that is equal parts tequila and cherry-flavored liquid Vicodin, then chugging six of them on an empty stomach”

(disclaimer: please, for the love of god, DO NOT DO THIS. it is a miracle that Shiro lived through doing that to himself, so please, please, please do not do this thing.)

Shiro doesn’t get what Ryou’s deal is about Sven. None of them gets why people think Sven looks so similar to the twins, but Shiro’s bigger sticking point is, “Seriously, why do you act like Sven is such a life-ruiner? He’s a decent guy, just kind of a goofball, and apparently he sounds like the Swedish Chef in bed? Which is a mental image you can thank Lance for, but??? Come on, are you really that jealous of Slav having another friend”

(to answer Shiro’s question: ……well, yes, Ryou is jealous? But it’s more that he thinks that Slav may have oversold this friendship and that Sven thinks of him as a work friend only and doesn’t really care about his problems… but in fairness, Ryou gets to that conclusion by conveniently ignoring certain pieces of evidence about Sven and Slav’s relationship that he doesn’t want to acknowledge because he is jealous of Sven, so……… yup.)

At this point, whenever the twins show off any old childhood photos, they make the jokes comparing themselves to the Sprouse miscreants before anyone else can. They’ve heard it so many times, and it’s always some kind of variant on the same thing — “Wow, you guys looked practically the same until you were about twelve, then Ryou started getting fat and Shiro didn’t” — and they’re fricking tired of it

While the brothers enjoy both Star Trek and Star Wars, there are some party lines here. Ryou infinitely prefers Star Wars (and he will fight people over both the validity of the prequels and whether or not the different Expanded Universe stories are still canon in light of the new trilogy)

Shiro meanwhile thinks that Star Trek is the superior sci-fi franchise (and he will fight people who think he should’ve dressed up as Kirk or Picard or anyone but Uhura for his past Trek-themed Halloween costumes. Because…… what. He wanted to wear TOS!Uhura’s red mini-dress and Mirrorverse!Uhura’s outfit, so he did, what is your point)

That said, there are some photos of the Mirror!Uhura outfit that Shiro would rather not be reminded of. They’re old selfies from around Halloween 2012, he was dangerously unhealthy, and and he sent them to Ryou and Laura for opinions without even thinking about the possibility that their reactions might focus less on how he looked in the costume and more on the fact that: 1. Shiro had amended the costume in certain suspicious ways; and 2. he looked like he was going to pass out at any minute

“Certain suspicious ways” here means: Shiro tried to cite the fact that it was a chilly October as a reason for putting a long-sleeved black t-shirt under the red-and-gold-trimmed bra part…… except Ryou and Laura both called bullshit, because Shiro had worn the proper costume in colder weather before without caring, and they had reason to suspect that he was trying to hide something

Ryou zeroed in on the possibility that Shiro might’ve been trying to hide injuries from Sendak. Laura focused, instead, on the fact that Shiro looked particularly thin and thought that he might’ve been trying to throw people off from noticing this. Both of them were right.

Two weeks after those selfies, Shiro had a fainting spell at work — which would eventually become a huge sticking point for Keith, because he thought said fainting spell made Shiro take his well-being more seriously and made him give more of a fuck about how much his self-abuse and relationship with Sendak were wrecking him…… but Keith was other than right.

I mean, the fainting spell scared Shiro, and it briefly made him take things more seriously…… but that didn’t last

Aside from Ryou and Laura, the only people who’ve seen those selfies are: Sendak (poking through Shiro’s phone without his consent); Ulaz (specifically asked to see them for therapeutic reasons); Lotor (didn’t believe that Shiro had ever worn said outfit for any reason and unfortunately, Shiro realized too late that the first pics he’d found were those ones); and Lance (walked in on Shiro low-key moping and obsessing over those selfies after he’d shown them to Lotor and endured the ensuing awkward conversation*)

*: said conversation was largely awkward because Lotor was concerned and did want to help, but unfortunately, he has very little idea what to do with genuine emotions, which out of a lot of things in his life

—but the biggest cause is the fact that Lotor was raised by a frigid, cruel, emotionally abusive, high-functioning alcoholic chemistry professor and her ill-tempered, bigoted enabler, who is every bit as emotionally abusive as his wife (who is the only person in the universe who he loves, including their son), constantly acts like a character from a Greek tragedy, and high-key hates the fact that certain major social and political events of the twentieth century stripped his family of their ruling position in the territory formerly known as Daibazaal, which means he will never be the King or Emperor of anything

Shiro feels like he would also show the pictures to Keith, Hunk, Pidge, Matt, and maybe Allura, but only if he knew that they were in emotionally okay enough places and if he felt stable enough to deal with how they might react

If Ryou ever challenges you to a snowball fight, you probably shouldn’t accept. He plays to win and he plays dirty. Shiro pretty much only goes along with this because he doesn’t mind when Ryou plays dirty; he thinks it’s adorable and endearing.

“For the love of God, Kashi, just tell him that you like being the little spoon and let him cuddle you. It’s literally that simple. You will feel so much better if you let yourself have this bit of comfort already” — Ancient Ryou Shirogane Proverb.

A lot of Shiro’s inability to keep his cool around Slav has to do with the fact that Shiro is a very compassionate person and tries so hard to understand Slav’s perspective, only for Slav to (generally) refuse any and all attempts at compromise.

A lot it has to do with how Slav has a tendency to treat Shiro’s known stressors and triggers as buttons he can push just to see what happens.

(The usual answer to this is some variation on, “Shiro realizes what Slav is doing, grumpily calls him out on it, and then gets upset because Ryou has asked Slav not to do shit like this and Shiro has opened up to Slav in ways that made him feel deeply uncomfortable, all in the hopes that helping Slav to understand some of Shiro’s problems and struggles might get him to stop pulling stunts like this

“—and yet, Slav continues to do these things and ignore simple requests like, ‘Can you please not kick Shiro in his eating disorder just to see what happens and/or make some kind of point to him, no matter how important you think that point might be”)

And still more of Shiro’s dislike of Slav has to do with how Slav reminds Shiro of himself in ways that Shiro does not particularly enjoy (especially because both of them have some pretty huge and difficult to manage issues with control).

All up, it’s probably a miracle (or possibly a testament to how much he loves Ryou) that Shiro hasn’t given in to his petty impulse to call Slav by his full, given name because well hey, Slav insistently calls Shiro, “Takashi” when he wasn’t given permission to do so (and the only reason he doesn’t use any of the overly familiar abbreviations like, “Taka” or, “Kashi” is that he thinks they sound silly)

—so, if he’s going to do that, then in Shiro’s humble (albeit very biased) opinion, it’s only fair that he gets to call Ryou’s best friend, “Miroslav” even though he knows damn well that Slav hates being addressed by that name and only hasn’t done away with it legally because the paperwork sounds very tedious and Slav doesn’t feel like it

Ryou desperately wishes that his brother and his best friend could get along, but he also understands why they don’t and since Shiro has made an effort while Slav doesn’t get how nothing he’s done constitutes, “making an effort,” well…… Ryou’s solution is to just do what he can to minimize the amount of time Slav and Shiro have to spend around each other

This is going to make Christmas 2017 mildly complicated because Ryou is bringing Slav with him to the Shirogane family Christmas out in California (because he visited Slav’s family last year, and…… uh, no, Ryou is not sending his best friend back to deal with that, especially not alone, and Slav can’t go to Norway with Sven due to a recent failure to renew his damn passport)

But, uh…… at least Slav will have more targets than Shiro?

Also, he will be more tolerable after dropping acid, but that just raises the question of why he thought it was a good idea to bring LSD to Christmas (and Slav’s answer is pretty much, “……Well, I wanted to do it, so I did”)

Another thing that Shiro will not let Ryou live down, ever: the time when they were kids and went to Disneyland with their parents and cousins, and Ryou asked where Anastasia was and come on why had he seen every princess but her.

Shiro is still kind of Not Over the fact that Ryou is a Pottermore-Sorted Slytherin, because Shiro was totally expecting both of them to end up put into Ravenclaw (in fairness, it was close for Ryou. Not so much for Shiro, but Ryou was a Ravenclaw/Slytherin hat-stall).

On the other hand, Ryou is still kind of Not Over the fact that, when he made Kashi get a Pottermore account, Shiro didn’t see his own Sorting into Hufflepuff coming from a mile off (—and okay, Ryou will totally admit that he likes Harry Potter more than Shiro does, but still, Kashi. Come on. How did you think you would ever be Sorted into Ravenclaw).

As much as Ryou means that question rhetorically, he does suspect that there is an actual answer to it and frankly, he doesn’t like it Mostly because he suspects that the answer involves Shiro defining himself as a list of academic and/or creative accomplishments instead of working harder on applying that pesky little, “You need to have a more holistic view of yourself and appreciate who you are as a complete person instead of zeroing in on tiny pieces of yourself as if they alone define you” idea to himself

In fairness to Shiro here: most people do not think, “Slytherin” when they think of Ryou. He’s most often misidentified as a Ravenclaw (whether they get thrown off by the fact that Ryou is an obvious nerd who has a Physics PhD, went to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for his undergrad, and always did well in school, or by the fact that Ryou genuinely loves learning), or maybe as a Hufflepuff like his brother (Lance is one of the people who thought so).

The list of people who have correctly guessed that Ryou is a Slytherin is: Hunk (but he’d been thinking Hufflepuff until Ryou heard about a then-recent disagreement Hunk had had with Shiro and went, “Ugh, don’t listen to Kashi, go get Pidge and slash the tires on Lotor’s Maserati, I’ll keep my stupid genius brother distracted and you can go give his pet asshole exactly what’s coming to him”)

Ezor (Ryou’s ex-girlfriend, herself a Slytherin, who most loved the moments when Ryou joined her in being all kinds of petty, judgmental, vindictive, spiteful, grudge-holding, snarky at the expense of people they disliked, and openly frustrated with the things that exasperate them — but who was also like, “But why are you objecting to some of my behaviors so? I don’t think it’s mean to tell this other local band that I think their music sounds like a funeral dirge sung by a chorus of sick cats aspirating on their own vomit. Their music does sound like that. If anything, those pathetic idiot hipsters should be thanking me for messing with their equipment before their set. I made them sound better”)

Slav (who actually doesn’t really care about Harry Potter and only picked Slytherin for Ryou because he knows that Ryou’s favorite color is green)

and Pidge (literally the only member of Galaxy Garrison who guessed Slytherin within a few minutes of meeting Ryou)

Neither of the twins cusses that much, largely as a result of their parents and grandparents raising them not to. Shiro does so more than Ryou, but it’s still not a very common occurrence and more often than not, Shiro is either quoting someone else or using some variant of, “fuck” as a way to differentiate between different approaches to sexual intercourse

That said: Ryou is more comfortable talking about sex than Shiro. To be fair, Shiro can discuss sex perfectly fine when he has some kind of emotional distance with it (like when it was casual sex that didn’t mean that much to him or when he’s giving Lotor recommendations on which weird niche-interest erotica to get Zethrid for her birthday)…… but he gets flustered very easily as soon as he’s emotionally invested in the sex

Ryou, on the other hand? Just doesn’t?? see??? the point???? of that kind of attitude????? Like, if you ask him, sex is best when people are on the same page, and it’s easier to get there if you don’t waste any time on shame and tell people what you like, what you don’t, what you want, and so on

Shiro would like to point out that it’s not an issue of shame, to him?? It’s an issue of, “Feelings are complicated and difficult and often messy, and when sex with someone is important to Shiro or happening in the context of a relationship that is important to Shiro, he puts a lot of pressure on himself not to screw it up”

Sexual shame largely enters the picture whenever Shiro talks about Sendak, but those discussions are messy for reasons that include but also go beyond the sex, and Shiro’s sense of shame there doesn’t really from the sex itself or from the role that BDSM played in his and Sendak’s relationship. It comes more from things like, “Sendak was abusive, and Shiro knows this, but part of him still loves Sendak and he hates this and he feels like he never should’ve loved Sendak to begin with, so yeah, the fact that part of him still loves his abuser is something Shiro is very deeply ashamed of”

This is another of the points where Ryou and Ezor worked really well together, to the surprise of… pretty much everyone but Shiro, Acxa, Zethrid, and Narti. Because neither of them has that much of a sense of shame about sex, both of them were comfortable just telling each other what they wanted or didn’t, and neither of them got embarrassed over things like accidentally knocking something over or awkward about laughing at each other during sex

Lotor was left off of that list for a reason. He really didn’t get what Ezor saw in Ryou at all, much in the same way that Ryou didn’t see what Shiro saw in Lotor. For the most part, Ezor was fine with letting Lotor fail to get it and then periodically vent his feelings about things by being some degree of petty and obnoxious about Ryou

—until the time when Lotor was coming off an argument with his Mother and went, “Honestly, I know that incompatible orientations are an issue for you and Shiro, but how can you even stand dating the objectively less attractive twin? Never mind the boring twin since that is a subjective matter, but why would you settle for the twin who is clearly nowhere near as good-looking as his brother? I don’t get it, does he give you the best cunnilingus that you’ve ever had in your life???”

Yeeeeah, that incident ended with Lotor being held in a very painful headlock until he apologized and promised to back the Hell off and just let Ezor be happy

He was very displeased that Shiro and Zethrid ignored his cries for help, but Shiro was just like, “I’ve told you that I’m done bailing you out when you insult my brother and Ezor has asked you to stop. You earned this”

while Zethrid’s opinion was, “*shrug* She told you to stop. You didn’t. You dug your way in so you can dig your own way out. Plus, watching you struggle was funny :)”

The last conversation that Shiro had with his Grandfather Namesake was before he left for school on the day Grandfather Shirogane died of an unexpected stroke. Grandfather Shirogane’s central point boiled down to, “I know that I have not always made it as clear as I should have, but I do love you, I am proud of you, and it kills me to see you pretending to be someone you are not so that you will earn the approval of your ignorant so-called friends. Your brother, his girlfriend, Laura, and Keith are the only peers of yours I have seen treat you as friends are meant to treat each other. Always remember who you are, and remember who truly matters in your life.”

The last conversation that Ryou had with Grandfather Shirogane was shortly after Shiro’s. Their Grandfather stopped Ryou on his way out the door and the gist of what he had to say was, “Yes, the older brother is usually supposed to look out for the younger one, but… Keep looking out for Kashi. If that boy doesn’t slow down and take stock of his priorities, he is going to destroy himself over the opinions of people who do not matter.”

Neither of the twins particularly enjoys reminiscing about their last conversations with their Grandfather. They have some mixed-but-loving-even-though-they-also-criticize-him feelings about the man in general, but those last chats with Grandfather Shirogane have stuck with them.

It’s been almost 12 years since he passed, and his grandsons still periodically think about those conversations, sometimes rather off-handedly and sometimes in ways that are fairly emotionally intense because maybe they’ve grieved for Grandfather Shirogane more or less healthily, but they haven’t completely made their respective peaces with those last Talks, especially because their Grandfather Shirogane’s points have become recurring themes in their lives

Another thing that Ryou is never going to let Shiro live down: when they were kids and their Dad first introduced them to Star Wars on VHS? ……Yeah, Shiro thought that Han/Leia was just a middle-of-the-story distraction romance before Leia eventually got with Luke, then got his little five-year-old mind completely blown when they got to Return of the Jedi and George Lucas dropped the, “FYI, they are twins” reveal on everybody. Shiro refused to acknowledge ROTJ for three years because he didn’t want Luke and Leia to be twins, he wanted them to get married

Ryou has (half-jokingly) threatened to include this story in his best man speech whenever Shiro finally finds his Prince Charming and gets hitched

About four weeks before Shiro finally got away from Sendak (August 2013), Shiro attempted suicide by taking too much Vicodin with tequila. He survived because Sendak happened to come home early and Haxus, being a doctor, had taught him how to administer naloxone in the event of Sendak’s sweet boy ever overdosing (since Shiro’s drugs of choice were alcohol and opiates, and naloxone would counteract the opiates at least).

Before Shiro swallowed the pills, he called Ryou, hoping that Ryou would have something to say and could talk him out of it. When Ryou missed the call, Shiro took it as a sign and left Ryou what was essentially a suicide note in the form of a voicemail.

Before that incident, Ryou was already worried, but that message scared him more than anything else he’d ever encountered. The next little while of calling and texting Shiro without a reply — the only other time in Ryou’s life that comes close to being a horrible as that was hearing that his parents were dead. He held it together remarkably well while waiting to hear from his Kashi, then cried in relief when Shiro called him back again

—and then the relief turned into more fear and frustration and pain because Sendak was breathing down the back of Shiro’s neck while he called Ryou, and between how Shiro forced himself to keep his voice controlled (and still sounded like he was about to shatter into a million pieces) and the way that Shiro was talking about what happened, Ryou could tell, but it felt like there was nothing he could do to help his brother, the person who Ryou loves most in this world

Ryou hasn’t told Shiro so, but he still has the voicemail. He has saved it despite upgrading his phone a few times since then; any time he gets a new phone, he makes sure to never lose that one. There’s a lot of other stuff on his phone that he doesn’t want to lose, but Ryou’s biggest priority is saving that voicemail

If anyone asked him why, he wouldn’t even be able to tell them. He just feels like that voicemail might be important for reasons other than, “reminding him to keep looking out for his brother.” Ryou isn’t sure when or how or why it’s going to prove to be important, but he is completely certain that someday, he is going to need to have that voicemail

Even though Shiro is in a much better place now than he has been and even though most of the unknown numbers that call Ryou end up being spam, Ryou still freezes a bit whenever he sees one come up on his phone because he’s terrified that someone’s calling him to tell him that something terrible happened to his Kashi

Iverson is a member of the physics faculty at Kaltenecker University, and he so did not intend to become a father figure to a set of loser nerd twins…… and yet, here he is, usually seeing Shiro at least once a week (at their Tuesday night A.A. meetings) and seeing Ryou pretty regularly, despite the fact that Ryou finished and defended his dissertation already, isn’t Iverson’s student anymore, and isn’t working on any projects that fall into Iverson’s area of expertise.

Ryou isn’t yet used to the fact that he has Iverson’s permission to call him, “Mitch” now, despite how he’s had said permission for a little over a year. It still makes him get a bit giddy and giggly, like a twelve-year-old looking up cuss words in the dictionary, because alsjskshsk, this feels so special and borderline taboo.

Shiro, on the other hand, constantly forgets that most of the other characters who know Iverson do not call him, “Mitch” because they don’t use surnames at A.A., so Shiro has literally never called Iverson anything but, “Mitch.” Shiro didn’t even think that his Mitch could be the same guy as Ryou’s, “Dr. Iverson” until Ryou wanted to introduce them and the twins went, “Wait, you already know the cool older guy I respect and admire?”

Iverson, for his part, just kind of sighed and facepalmed and has himself some coffee while the twins got their head around this, because he figured out that the new “Shiro” guy at meetings was the same as Ryou’s troubled but beloved brother Takashi…… the very first time that Shiro came to one of the Tuesday night meetings at the LGBTQ community center.

Shiro and Ryou agree that there is something about Iverson that reminds them of their Grandfather Shirogane (the one after whom Shiro was personal-named), but they have different opinions on what, exactly, that something is.

Ryou, personally, thinks it’s the way that Iverson is blunt and to-the-point but it generally comes from a well-meaning place (if not always a place of concern).

Shiro, on the other hand, can never quite pin down what his answer is because it ends up changing pretty regularly, but either way, he thinks it’s more important for him to remember that Mitch is his own person, not Grandfather Shirogane 2.0

Generally speaking, Ryou feels like he has a pretty good sense of humor, and he isn’t wrong. But he gets pretty sensitive to the “jokes” that his Kashi sometimes makes about death and dying, or that even remotely sound like Shiro devaluing himself, or that feel “too morbid.” Considering Shiro’s struggles with mental health, Ryou is far from the only person who takes some degree of issue with these “jokes,” but he’s one of the people who’s had the most success in going, “This makes me uncomfortable, I know that it’s one of your coping mechanisms, but it’s frankly a pretty concerning one, whether you mean for it to be or not”

At this point, Ryou is the only one of the Shiro-Ryou-Sven triad who Lance has never done anything physical with. Lance has platonically made out with Shiro and has had sex with Sven, and although realizing how in love with Hunk he is has largely helped Lance on from his desire to do something with all three of them, “For Science,” Lance is still kind of annoyed that Ryou never made out with him, “for science.”

Which is totally fine with Ryou, Lance. You can be as annoyed as you damn well please, because Ryou is annoyed that you ignored him telling you, “No” and kept asking until Shiro told you to back off and let it go.

The fight where Shiro and Ryou actually got physical with each other happened in early October 2015. Shiro had stayed clean for six months that time, and getting there had been an Ordeal for him — and then Lotor’s parents wanted to meet their son’s boyfriend. It had taken enough time to get Lotor to listen and accept that, “I am an addict and an alcoholic, for the love of god, my sobriety is important to me”

—and then Zarkon and Honerva offered Shiro a crash course on where Lotor had learned most of his incorrect attitudes about substance about and addiction. They did not listen when Lotor tried to go, “Please stop offering my boyfriend nunvil, I know that it is a cultural thing with Mother’s side of the family but he is an alcoholic” or when Shiro said similarly. Zarkon intimidated and terrified Shiro until he accepted two glasses of the stuff, and Shiro thought that he could have that one forced slip and then keep things under control afterward

Except that things did not shake out that way. He held it together for about a day-and-a-half before he got overtaken by the feelings like, “What does it even matter, I already slipped up, everything’s easier and it hurts so much less when I’m drunk anyway, who even cares” and so on. He ran down his phone’s battery on purpose, playing Candy Crush while out at a bar — which is where Lotor found him

Despite the mutual distaste between Lotor and most of the other people in Shiro’s life, they collaborated on trying to find him. Lotor, Lance, Acxa, Zethrid, and Matt went out searching, Hunk, Ezor, and Ryou were waiting at the Shiro-Hunk-Lance apartment, Narti was waiting at the Lotor + Gal Pals’ house in case Shiro went there, and Pidge was checking her phone for updates all through that week’s meeting of the Neurodiverse Student Union

So, when Lotor got Shiro back to his, Hunk, and Lance’s place, he, Hunk, and Ezor got asked to please clear out so Ryou could Have A Talk with his brother (—which they mostly did, but “mostly” means that they awkwardly waited in the hallway outside of the apartment, in case the “Talk” started sounding like it might need intervention)

Yes, Shiro was drunk, but he wasn’t completely off his own head just yet, and he assumed that this Talk was going to be Ryou being Disappointed in him for slipping up, which made him preemptively frustrated, and he started projecting his own feelings onto Ryou as if they were actually what Ryou was feeling and what he wanted to discuss

—but Shiro was so completely off-base that he might as well have been playing a different game entirely

See, Ryou didn’t like that Shiro had slipped up, but what he really wanted to call his brother out about that night was, “Where the Hell do you get off letting your phone die like that? You always have a charger in your bag. You have one of those spare battery jackets for it. Your phone’s battery doesn’t die like that unless you let it get that low on purpose, so what in the Hell were you thinking, Kashi”

—which Shiro really didn’t want to talk about, so he threw out a mostly bullshit answer about how he genuinely just didn’t notice now excuse him, he’s going to go shower until he quits feeling like such a failure or drowns himself, whichever happens first

Ryou only meant to hold onto him to keep Shiro from going… but he yanked too hard and Shiro took it the wrong way… Being drunk is the biggest reason why he shoved at Ryou but didn’t actually hit back… The physical part didn’t really last that long, given that Shiro was drunk and Ryou was trying to restrain him rather than hurt him

—but both of them wound up on the floor and managed to land a few hits on each other before Ryou successfully pinned Shiro’s wrists and shouted at him that they were talking about this NOW, Kashi, so tell Ryou what the Hell you were even thinking

Voice cracking and eyes tearing up, Shiro snapped back, “What does it matter, what d’you even care, you have a class to teach in the morning, go do that—”

“No! I am doing this, you’re more important than Iverson’s bunch of undergrads—”

“No, I’m not! That’s your life, Ryou, quit throwing it out and over nothing—”

“Says you! How can you of all people right now tell me anything about throwing your own life out!”

“Yours is worth something—”

“So is YOURS!”

“Stop lying!”

“Why would I lie about that, Kashi!”

“You’d be better off without me, Ryou, we both know it! Your life’d be perfect if you didn’t have to take care of your hopeless, fuck-up big brother—”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, you idiot! My life would be miserable without you! I have no idea what I’d do without my brother, no matter what you’re dealing with—”

“……Let me go, Ryou.”

“No! I’m not letting you up until you understand that I love you and I care what happens to you! Even if you don’t give half-a-damn what happens to you, I do! You’re my brother, Kashi. My only brother. I will pin you to this floor until the others pull us apart, I will fight them off to pin you down again, I will keep us here until you get it through your stupid, genius head that I. am not. letting you. fall. the Hell. apart!”

“But why, why keep putting yourself through this when you could have it so much better, and don’t say we don’t both know that—”

“None of that so-called better can replace you, Kashi! Do you get me yet!”

—which was where things very quickly devolved into crying (which turned into ugly crying almost as soon as it started) and incredibly clingy hugging, and Shiro lost most of his capacity to do anything with words for a while. Once he got it back, it was mostly in the form of choking out apologies while sobbing on Ryou’s shoulder

—after Shiro accepted some water and went to take a shower, Ryou called Iverson (for both of them, since Ryou’s idea was to call in sick for the next day and although Iverson isn’t actually Shiro’s sponsor, he is one of the strongest relationships that Shiro has forged with anybody else at meetings).

Once Shiro got out of the shower, he flopped on the kitchen table and talked to Iverson about what had happened while Ryou put the kettle on. Then, Ryou slept over (and swallowed his Sven-related pride to ask him to please go make sure Slav was okay and not trying to burn anything down)

—and that’s the story of the one real physical fight that Shiro and Ryou ever had

One of the many ways that Shiro might have reconnected with Keith a lot sooner than they do in the fic itself: If Ryou had been the TA for Keith’s section of Iverson’s intro physics lecture, then he would’ve recognized Keith and gone, “Kashi, what is your Keith’s last name” (which Ryou has never remembered without prodding; sorry, Keith), and then debated how much he wanted to tell Shiro that his One Who Got Away is the freshman who’s being an unholy terror for Ryou and Iverson both.

Additionally, Keith would have recognized Ryou’s name — because he only knows one Ryou Shirogane, and he’s pretty sure that it’s not the most common name to find in Massachusetts — and tried to corner him after class to go, “What happened to your brother, is he okay, what’s going on, where is he”

Instead, Iverson didn’t have Ryou manning any classes during Keith’s freshman year, so Ryou only heard horror stories from his fellow TAs, about the nightmarish prodigy who doesn’t actually give a fuck about physics (despite being in the intro lecture for STEM majors, not the intro lecture for humanities and social sciences majors) and has apparently developed a personal vendetta against Dr. Iverson

That worked out okay at the time, because it meant Ryou didn’t have to miss a week-and-a-half of teaching at the start of a new semester while he went out to Minnesota to meet Shiro and his old roommate from Chicago, helped talk Shiro into going to an inpatient rehab clinic for a while, and then went with him for the admission because he (correctly) suspected that Shiro might be something of a little shit while checking in

(—and because Shiro wasn’t saying, “Having you there with me would make that process easier,” but mostly because he already felt like a burden. He was definitely feeling that loudly, and getting him to admit that he needed help was enough of a big deal that Ryou was fine with not pushing his brother on the, “Admit to your feelings and admit that you want me to be there with you” point)

……But at the same time, it’s probably better that Shiro and Keith haven’t made this connection yet? Because they already know of enough points where they missed each other instead of reconnecting again, and obsessing over that is really, really not good for either of them

Also, as far as Sendak is concerned, Ryou was teaching freshmen at that time, rather than periodically offering advice when some of them asked for it but mostly handling things like photocopies, mail, proofreading proposals and drafts (which Ryou took to mean, “also please offer constructive criticism,” which Iverson hadn’t meant but was willing to put up with, since Ryou usually asked questions and made points that were actually helpful), and talking to people who Iverson didn’t want to deal with himself

Not that this necessarily matters, because at present, Sendak is out of the picture. But Shiro and Ryou collaborated on a bit of truth-stretching in the bit of time leading up to Shiro getting out of Sendak and Haxus’s place, and according to the not-quite-lies they spun, Ryou was teaching freshmen

Said truth-stretching was necessitated (if you asked the twins) by the fact that Sendak would read Shiro’s texts and emails over breakfast most mornings, and listen to new voicemails if he had any.

The twins figured that if they switched to only talking over calls (and only when Shiro wasn’t in the house, because he was terrified of Sendak potentially putting bugs or monitors around the house), then there were two likeliest outcomes: 1. Sendak looks at the call-log and wonders why Shiro is talking to Ryou only during certain times, and possibly concludes that Shiro is Up To Something;

or 2. Sendak doesn’t look at Shiro’s call-log and it seems like the twins have stopped talking altogether — which would’ve definitely seemed like a sign that something was up, whether he took it to mean that the brothers had had a falling-out or a fight (which Sendak would’ve had mixed feelings about), or that Shiro is very possibly Up To Something and he might well have gotten his brother in on it (which could’ve meant that Ryou had ideas about Sendak and Haxus that could’ve gotten the two of them into the trouble they deserved to be in)

—either way, it would’ve been suspicious for Shiro and Ryou to seemingly stop texting each other. But they also couldn’t text about anything that might’ve tipped Sendak off to the fact that they were definitely Up To Something (namely, planning the eventual escape with their Aunt Satomi and Mark, Shiro’s old roommate)

……so, one of the things that they fake-texted about was the freshmen that Ryou was allegedly teaching

Still another thing that Shiro isn’t going to let Ryou live down: when they were nine, he spent six weeks convinced that John Mellencamp and John Cougar Mellencamp were completely different people

Another HP thing that Ryou has made Shiro consider: the shape that a Boggart would take when facing him. Both of them go back and forth a bit on their answers, but there are some recurring themes.

Shiro’s different hypothetical boggarts generally involve any of the people he love (especially Ryou, their Mom, and Keith) denouncing him as a broken, irreparable monster, someone who’s even worse than Sendak because he tricks people into thinking that he’s a good person when he isn’t, utterly incapable of doing anything good for anybody else ever in his life, and undeserving of love or community or companionship — and well, everyone would be so much better off without you, Shiro

Ryou’s hypothetical boggarts, on the other hand, tend to be more based on things that he’s actually seen or heard: Shiro, looking the way he did right before he checked into rehab, all sick and painfully thinned out and physically wrecked; Shiro, looking how he did the night that they had their full-on fight; Shiro, drunk and soaked through and ugly-crying, like the night when he first slipped off the wagon after rehab; Shiro, looking like he does now but then he opens his mouth to speak and Ryou has to hear the suicide note voicemail that Shiro left him all over again — and then, because this isn’t enough, there’s at least a tacit accusation that this happened to Shiro because Ryou somehow failed him

Yet another thing that Ryou isn’t going to let Shiro live down literally ever: after they first saw the Peter Jackson movie adaptation of The Two Towers when they were twelve-going-on-thirteen, Shiro’s teenage crush on Elijah Wood really kicked into high-gear, and he spent six weeks making a collage out of all the ElWood pictures Laura would let him have from the teenage girl-aimed magazines she was done reading

[brunettereader]

Klance fic recs

Just a collection of some of my favorite Keith and Lance fics. I’ll probably add to this as it goes.

Bold - Favorite Fics ★ - VLD Verse but knowledge of specific details of canon plot is not required

calling me to come back by aknightley Teen and Up | 50,464 | 1/1

Keith is a witch who owns a shop where he breaks curses on both magical items and people under spells. Love spells, family curses passed down generations, cursed heirlooms lurking the attic -- he can handle them all. But one day a boy named Lance walks into his shop, and his curse is darker and more difficult to break than anything Keith has ever seen before: the curse is draining his magic, and without his magic, Lance will die.

the universe has moved for us by aknightley General | 6,850 | 1/1 | Sequel to calling me to come back

Keith carefully waits until the bell stops ringing and then makes his way to the back of the shop, into his office, where Lance is slumped over the desk with a dozen books spread out in front of him. A huge red and white cat is laying on top of the keyboard of the laptop shunted off to the side, her tail flicking back and forth. They both appear to be asleep.

it’s all in my head by aknightley ★ Teen and Up | 7,660 | 1/1

"Uh," Pidge said, "Lance? Buddy? What's the deal?"

"That's Lance?" Hunk shouted, somehow still ramming ships away from the castle; Keith felt like bubbles were bursting in his head, effervescent pops of giddy fear mixed with conviction. Lance, he thought, Lance feels like this. "Thank God, I thought I was going crazy for a second."

so why don’t we fall by aknightley ★ Explicit | 8,218 | 1/1

Five times Lance used a pet name for Keith, and one time Keith used one for Lance.

Keith has no basis for having a relationship with someone, so he's trying to follow Lance's lead.

the stars are bound to change by angstinspace ★ Teen and Up | 50,828 | 9/9

Both paladins turned to their new, small alien companion. She lifted her head to look at each of them in turn, her eyes round. Keith laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“How about you, Zola?” he said. “Are you ready to go?”

She didn’t answer right away. Then she hesitantly asked, “Where are we going?”

As he made eye contact with Lance over her head, Keith could have sworn he felt something electric in the air: a simultaneous resurgence of determination.

“We’re going to take you home.”

Keith and Lance rescue a little alien girl from a hostage situation and bring her home ... and learn a few things about themselves and each other along the way.

pepsicola by corydalis ★ Teen and Up | 10,328 | 1/1

It starts like this: Lance looking up at the scoreboard only a few days into his Garrison training and muttering to himself, “What the hell kind of a name is Keith?”

-- Or, Keith and Lance fall in love. Eventually.

phlogiston by corydalis ★ Teen and Up | 2,101 | 1/1

When Lance was eight years old, his abuelita sat him on her knee and told him; love is a leveler.

At the time, Lance had no idea what she meant. Love was still a rather far-off and foreign concept, but he was enamoured with the general idea behind it, even if it seemed a bit confusing. The phrase stuck with him, but had ultimately been pushed to the back of his mind when he couldn’t figure it out.

Now though, his back arched against the wall and Keith burning caustic kisses into his skin, he thinks he might get it.

nothing’s quite as sweet by dimpleforyourthoughts Teen and Up | 50,369 | 1/1

Keith is a barista who hates his job. Lance works at the cat shelter across the street.

For the Soul by kali_asleep Teen and Up | 4,835 | 1/1

Her eyes are glued to the glowing screen in front of her as she, with surgical precision, cuts straight to the muscle of the matter: “I'm a scientist, not a love life counselor. Tell Lance to quit being a baby and drag his congested ass to a healing pod.”

Lance is sick. Keith isn't sure how to help.

left on read ✓ by lancemclain Not Rated | 35,509 | 17/? (not completed :( )

(bi)tter: allura i love you marry me right now lesbean: you know if i wasn't so gay (bi)tter: [white girl voice] all the hot ones are gay edgelord™: why thank you lance (bi)tter: shut up, my chemical romance

(OR, once upon a time lance created a group chat and things didn't exactly go as planned)

Today, anew by MemeKonVLD ★  Mature | 5,910 | 6/6

“Lance.”

Lance’s eyebrows furrow in concern for a second before his whole face goes gentle and open.

“Hey buddy, everything okay?”

Keith nods. Then shakes his head, then opens his mouth to let out a noisy sob before he’s hugging the air out of Lance, grip vise tight.

Lance hugs him back. That’s one of the great things about him— he doesn’t— he doesn’t need explanations for things like this. He doesn’t make Keith jump through hoops, the way other people might— he’s just— he just knows what Keith needs in times like this. No façades, no posturing.

(Or: the one where Keith is trapped in a time loop. A time loop from hell.)

How to Steal a Prince by Ms_Towa Teen and Up | 20,295 | 1/1

“Your eyes just—they just light up whenever you see Lance though!” Hunk argued. “Let’s compare how many times you’ve been in New Orleans Square back when you were working attractions and now. I’m pretty sure the numbers have definitely skyrocketed. You’re totally seeking out Lance, man.”

“I am not,” Keith tried. “They have good churros there.”

“Keith, they have good churros literally everywhere,” Hunk quipped. “You cannot walk three steps in Disneyland without seeing another churro cart.”

Or, an alternate universe where, come summer, most of Keith's pining happens at the happiest place on Earth.

The Six Gun Sound (Our Claim to Fame) by Mytay ★ Mature | 13,403 | 1/1 | Part 2 of Trouble’s Making Everything All Right (NOTE: This is my favorite part of this series, and it can be read as a standalone.)

“We’re not robbing the bank of the biggest crime lord here, Lance. Do you have a death wish?!”

“Let’s just do our damn best to not die. I am too gorgeous to expire this early, dude — I haven’t even hit my prime yet.”

Six weeks after crashing landing on this miserable world, the Red and Blue Paladins are on the verge of losing everything. This is how Lance and Keith turned it all around and earned their badass reputation as The Two McClains: Mercenaries That Get The Job Done.

Where the Lions Roam by Mytay ★ Teen and Up | 7,002 | 1/1

“ ... tell me why Blue is making the moves on Keith.”

Pidge stared at him, a touch incredulous. “You really haven’t figured it out?”

“Pidge. I am very intelligent, but I am not a genius,” Lance said patiently. “Spell it out for me.”

“Well, you just sort of answered your own question,” Pidge said, snorting. “Your Lion is making the moves on Keith — and by ‘moves’ I mean responding to your abject terror whenever Keith is in danger.”

Cuddle Puddle by nothingwrongwiththerain ★ Teen and Up | 46,782 | 6/6

Unexpectedly, Shiro’s hand landed on the top of his head. Apparently with Lance and Hunk taking up all the shoulder real estate, Shiro would settle for ruffling Keith’s hair.

Keith was fairly certain his soul was about to detach and abandon his shaking body on the couch. He was surrounded, in the complete and total sense of the word, by other people. Not once before, not in his whole life, had he dealt with a situation like this one.

Or, five times Keith found himself too close for comfort and one time he couldn't get close enough.

Though he be but smol, he is fierce! by Reader115 ★ Teen and Up | 16,827 | 1/1

It started like this. One second, he was shooting at sentries, and the next second he was on his ass on the cold metal floor of the Galra base due to an extremely rude shove from Keith.

Of course, from his new horizontal position, he got a front row seat to the shiny purple beam — that had previously been aimed for his chest — hitting Keith directly instead.

And then Keith disappeared.

Sort of.

I mean, he's not the science guy, so disappeared is probably the wrong word. Regular-sized Keith disappeared anyway. And Lance was left staring wide-eyed and open-mouthed at a tiny, oh so very smol Keith unconscious on the ground beside him.

We’ll Be Counting Stars by southspinner Teen and Up | 2,958 | 1/1

Keith's just trying to navigate the collegiate mine-field of tests, social circles, and sleep-deprivation while still maintaining a fragile grip on his sanity. The last thing he needs is some snapback-clad fraternity president making him re-evaluate his entire existence, but of course, because the universe hates him, that's exactly what he gets.

As If by surveycorpsjean ★ Mature | 6,924 | 1/1

The five times Lance was his impulse control, and the one time he wasn't.

Like Devo by surveycorpsjean Explicit | 8,371 | 1/1

As rival jammers, they're rough, skating around the rink, giving bruises, bloody noses, broken ribs and snapped fingers-

But when the cops show up, Keith grabs his hand and yanks Lance into the storm drain.

And that’s how they start dating.

Nightmares by Trashness ★ Teen and Up | 14,864 | 1/1

Lance's nightmares are getting out of control. It's effecting his and the team's performance, but he's at a loss for how to fix this.

Apparently sleeping next to a warm body helps.

it grows stronger by tylerproposey Teen and Up | 8,979 | 1/1

College campuses are a cesspool of awkward encounters. Some more unnerving than others, as Lance comes to find. He thinks it's important to note that in all those instances, Keith is there to witness them. Actually, that's unfair. Admittedly Keith happens be useful in getting him out of those situations. Affection, as it goes, grows stronger when you're constantly being "saved" by a protective rival – but mostly friend at this point.

Or 5 times Keith helped Lance out of a situation and the 1 time Lance tried to pay back the saves.

No Greater Gift by usernicole ★ Teen and Up | 20,062 | 1/1

Keith gets a cat, learns the True Meaning of Family, and falls in love. In that order.

your favorite ghosts and planets by xShieru Teen and Up | 16,664 | 1/1

In hindsight, an asthma attack in the middle of the day wasn’t such a terrible way to give up the ghost.

Except this isn't how he imagined afterlife.

An AU about being dead.

call me, beep me General | 85,591 | 1/1

(00:31) Do you think she gave me the wrong number on purpose? (00:31) Or was it a genuine mistake? (00:32) Like maybe she writes funny and I misread it? (00:32) Some of the numbers do look a little dodgy... (00:33) Cause, you know, her threes could very easily be poorly formed eights? And maybe she writes her sevens like her ones? (00:45) What (00:46) The (00:46) Fuck??? (00:47) Oh good, you are awake!

where lance messages the wrong number and things kind of snowball from there

[marmoraskeith]

If this is too discoursey just ignore it!! But i was wondering for reasons you see keith as bi? Im gay and love keith and relate to him for several reasons thats a big reason i like the gay keith hc. I want to learn to like bi keith though to enjoy a potential romance he might get with a female character. Just wondering why you see him as bi? Again if this is too discoursey just ignore it

It’s not too discoursey, it’s okay! I guess I have a few reasons. When I first joined the fandom all I saw was gay Keith headcanons everywhere so I kinda went along for the ride but it never really sat well with me. It was still just one season and we hadn’t seen much of his interactions with anyone and I felt like the reasons the fandom pushed the gay headcanon at Keith weren’t all that great. 

So I stepped back from it and seasons 2 and 3 came and Keith’s character arc opened up a lot more and I’m sure it was my own self-projection too but bi Keith just made sense to me. As much as 99.4% of this fandom hates it, Keith and Allura had a few moments in season 2 and in season 3, I personally started shipping Kacxa (Keith/Acxa) while still liking Klance so I was like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ bi Keith confirmed.

He’s had Moments™ with both male and female characters throughout the three seasons and even if you have your own personal ships etc., there’s literally no denying that Keith has had connections in several scenes with guys n gals n aliens alike so. Bi Keith it is. Also I think this is cheesy but I saw a post saying that bi people just have twice the capacity to love and that hit me hard and I see Keith as having a huge heart even though he’s scared to be open about it because of his past, so it resonates with me that he has twice the capacity to love too. 

This also isn’t to say that I’m saying the gay Keith headcanon is invalid or wrong or anything like that. It just isn’t for me. Obviously we all have our headcanons and ideas, it just makes me :/ that the fandom is so obsessed with gay Keith that they don’t give any other sexuality headcanons for him room to breathe, to the point that when I made a post about bi Keith, someone made it about bi Lance, which. just. no!!!!! I’m just trying to talk about how I support and wish I could see more content for bi Keith. That’s all. 

I don’t know if that helped at all or was just me rambling but I’m always happy to talk about it! Sorry this is so long skdjs

[blueheroicpaladin-blog]

SEVEN MINUTES

17 - Suddenly cry.

So, he had a bad day. All across the board. After a mission where it seemed like all he managed to do was fuck up, and after trying to suggest many an idea for the team to be talked over and ignored, Lance’s patience was wearing thin as he fought to be tolerant against his insecurities as they crept up every time he screamed as an enemy dragged him along, every time that Shiro chose to listen to Pidge and Hunk and Keith over the input he already decided to speak out. And then, against everything else, a friendly party with him and his Garrison buddies somehow lead to Pidge and Hunk pranking his bi ass and Keith’s gay ass and sticking them both in a closet. 

“Wh–?! H-HEY!!!” Cut him some slack, he was distracted by Keith’s chest being against his own.“GUYS, COME ON!!” 

“We’re not letting you out until you guys get some action iiinn~”

“WHAT?!?!” Okay. Closeness with Keith be damned. With a grunt, Lance was able to turn himself back around against the crowded space that was the closet, banging his hands against the metal door.

“Yeahhh, so just go ahead and get out all that sexual tension. Me n’ Hunk’ll be back in a bit. See you guys after your seven minutes in heaven!!” 

“PIDGE!!! HUNK!!! COME ON, DON’T DO THIS TO ME!!! I TRUSTED YOU!!!” 

… Seconds passed, and all Lance was met with was silence. The blue paladin let his hands slide from the cold, metallic door, his shoulders slumped as he sighed. 

Pidge and Hunk had picked the wrong day to stick his ass in a closet in order for him to get rid of his sexual frustration. Because, yeah, it was to get him to finally do something about this crush of his, that he’s had for fucking forever at this point, but with everything he had seen today? After everything that had happened to him? 

Yeah, Keith was with him, but it felt like… all they wanted to do was get his ass out of the way. So much for hanging out with Lance, lets just chuck him in a closet! He’s too insecure to be told to fuck off, just dump his ass in a closet with Keith! Great! Wonderful! 

… Though, if it was so wonderful, how come his face was wet? Oh. Oh, why his face was wet was obvious. He stood there, head held low as tears went ahead and slid down his cheeks as his head had made himself feel like being left behind was his true purpose on the team. The true giveaway to how Lance felt, to his teammate who hated his guts far as he knew, was the loud sniffle the paladin let out, before with a whimper, he found himself able, with his spindly limbs, to sit in front of the door with his arms, legs, and head against it – staying as far from Keith as possible. 

“Just… yeah. This is p-… perfect for me. Thanks, guys…” 

[danreblogsstuff]

rip these ships for me: klance, tony/loki, cloud/sepiroth, luna/ginny

You did the thing!! Yay!

Okay, so I’m gonna answer these in the order of what I have to say, from least to greatest. Everything’s under the cut for anyone who wants to skip, and of course everything is based off my interpretation of these characters. If I shit all over a ship anyone likes, just tell yourself I just don’t get it and move on with your life.

Luna/Ginny: Aside from my usual disinterest in F/F ships, I don’t really have a problem with this one. I like Luna, she deserves to be happy and treasured and if Ginny is the one who does that then great. Plus, it keeps Ginny away from Harry and leaves him for one of the fifty thousand fictional males I ship him with.

Cloud/Sephiroth: *screeching keyboard smashing* I LOVE THIS SHIP. It ticks so many of my boxes. Size difference? Check. Dangerous dominant top? Check? Cute blond bottom? Check. Cut blond bottom that’s actually a badass and can kill you without even trying? Check. Hero/villain ship? Check. Happy endings requiring liberal changing/disregarding of canon? CHECK. I especially love this ship when it’s approached from the perspective of a young, pre-canon Cloud trying for the SOLDIER program who idolizes Sephiroth and, through various circumstances (*coughZackcough*) gets close to Sephiroth and lures him away from JENOVA and the events of canon with his sweet tight ass unconditional love and affection. My biggest problem with the ship isn’t really anything with the characters themselves, but with how the fics are written. FF7 is an old ass fandom, and at its height was mostly populated by young teenage girls who just discovered fanfiction in general and slash in particular. The tropes and cliches sometime will not end. And don’t even get me started on how everyone wants to rape Cloud because that’s what happens in yaoi and, hey, we’re writing yaoi!!1 So yeah, great ship, but filled with too many relics of bygone years at times.

Tony/Loki: OKAY. So. I...don’t really get this ship. I mean, superficially I can understand. Hero/villain, right? Plus Tom Hiddleston and Robert Downer Jr are hot. Really, that’s all you need. But from a character standpoint...they have no chemistry? I mean, they talk twice in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, and there’s never really anything between them. Tony is fighting him because he’s the bad guy, and Loki is fighting Tony because he’s just one of the many good guys. They have no history. They don’t do anything to each other. They don’t even really fight. All they really have in common are daddy issues, and Loi’s are more brother issues than anything else. Plus, in my daddy issue ships I prefer only one of the guys to be hung up on their fathers. The other one should help them work through it, or, sometimes, turn it into a daddy kink. Loki has more of a reason to be fixated on the Hulk than he does Tony. Personally, I think, as far as M/M ships go, Steve/Tony and Thor/Loki make way more sense. Or, if the step-sibling incest bothers you too much, Loki/Bruce or Loki/Hulk. Even better, put that sad, angry ice boy in a crossover. I’ve read really good Loki/Thranduil and Loki/Harry Potter. And yes, I’m well aware that I like Loki crossover ships when the main reason I’m not a fan of Tony/Loki is because they barely interact. Deal with it.

Klance: HOOOOOOO BOY HERE WE GO LADS! Okay, so, disclaimer first, I never really had much of a problem with Klance when VLD first started. I never had much of a problem with Klance when I started shipping Shieth. I never had much of a problem with Klance when I started getting irritated by Lance’s character. No, my friends, the thing that turned me into the Klance hater I am today was the fucking Klance shippers. I don’t even think I need to go into detail here, but fuck dude. Klance has everything I hate about the Steven Universe and Rick and Morty fandoms, with the bonus of doing that shit to a show and creators and actors I actually like. Fucking Josh Keaton is a goddamn saint for how he deals with these people, I swear to god. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get into why the ship doesn’t work.

Lance is straight.

No, really. Lance is straight and he doesn’t belong with a guy, end of.

But, what’s that you say? Lance isn’t any less gay than Harry Potter or Cloud, and you ship them with guys, kill yourself you fucking hypocrite. Well, yes. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m being a bit hypocritical here, but I do have my reasons. Harry Potter and Cloud and most of the other guys I ship with guys have one thing in common that is very much missing in Lance: almost all their most meaningful relationships, the ones that crackle with chemistry and meaning and feeling, are with other guys. Lance’s are not. The way I see his character and the way I interpret his relationships with other people, his most meaningful contact is always with the opposite sex. It feels weird to put him with Keith. Especially since all of Keith’s most meaningful moments are with Shiro. I mean, Keith and Shiro are basically written like childhood friends-to-lovers in canon as it is, just without the actual lovers follow through. A follow through that, I’m well aware, will never happen in canon, in case anyone feels the need to point that out. Lance doesn’t need to be gay or bi. He is a straight male character and there’s nothing wrong with him staying that way. If the only way you can like him is by making him like dick, then you’re an idiot who probably shouldn’t be consuming media.