#posting hippo every day until Christmas

[iplaydndandguitar]

Day 1 of this random hippo: this very cute Random hippo believes in you and is proud of you

[exhuastedpigeon]

Buddie Hiatus Fic Rec - Month 10 Feb 16 - March 13

Final rec list of the hiatus! Thanks to everyone who followed along while I shared my favourite fics from each month of the hiatus.

ONE MORE SLEEP UNTIL 911 IS BACK!!!

0-5k

adventures of firehose and eightpack by brewrosemilk / @gayhoediaz Mature | 1.5k Eddie stumbles upon Buck's old twitter account.

to turn my life around (today is the day) by fallingthorns / @fallingthorns Teen | 2.2k Eddie freezes, hands gripping the steering wheel again. Because Eddie loves him. And Eddie promptly flips the car into reverse and peels out of the parking lot before Buck gets to the truck.

in the meantime by oklahoma / @sunshinediaz Teen | 2.3k bad things happen bingo—intubated

a place where i feel at home by Tizniz / @tizniz Gen | 3.1k Sleepy Buck wants cuddles with his boyfriend.

Suit by DaniWib / @daniwib Mature | 3.6k How Buck and Eddie’s suits get ruined before the Madney wedding.

this lovesick thing by fleetinghearts / @shitouttabuck Teen | 3.8k buck is buck: best friend, klutz, star of eddie’s every lovesick daydream. which is to say, things are the same, except maybe what eddie’s willing to ask for

arms race by drh0rrible / @betanoiz Teen | 4.9k When Buck makes a change to his wardrobe, Eddie assumes the worst and won't rest until he gets to the bottom of the change.

5k-10k

Two, Three Times in a Row by Leslie_Knope Explicit | 6.2k “We could’ve gone again.” Eddie snorts. “I’m old. You expect me to get it up twice?” “Yes,” Buck says, like it’s a given, like duh. “I could get you to do it right now.”

lay your cards down, down, down by 42hrb Mature | 6.3k Buck and Eddie get drunk at Chim's bachelor party and wake up married.

And when I sleep on your couch I feel very safe by justhockey Not rated | 6.7k five times Buck sleeps on Eddie’s couch, and the first time he sleeps in his bed.

of laughter, loose tongues, and blurry snapshots of last night by brewrosemilk / @gayhoediaz Explicit | 7.2k Buck and Eddie get wasted, wake up hungover, and consult Buck’s camera roll in order to sharpen their blurry memories of what happened in between.

the devil's on the details by MonsterRae1 / @monsterrae1 Mature | 8.6k Eddie accidentally summons a crossroads demon who won't leave him alone until he signs his soul away. It's all tiktoks fault.

Give Us The Grown by fruitsdoesnotknow Teen | 8.6k Buck starts leaving notes for Eddie. Eddie writes notes for Buck right back. They were always going to end up writing their own love story.

Ace of Hearts by glorious_spoon / @glorious-spoon Teen | 9.6k the poker game was a date. It takes Buck a while to catch on, though.

10k-20k

For the rest of my life (for the rest of yours) by JamesPearce911 / @diazsdimples Gen | 10.6k Buck, Eddie and Christopher go to the zoo to see the baby hippo and Eddie gets all up in his feels about it.

Cooperative Species of the Southern Coastal Husbro by Mad_Lori / @madlori Teen | 11.8k In which Abby Clark attends Buck and Eddie's wedding.

And Life Rushes In by catwalksalone Explicit | 17.4k Eddie runs into Taylor Kelly in a bar and learns a surprising new fact about his best friend.

how this silence of love hurts by bptlmevyemtc Teen | 17.6k it starts when eddie starts leaving daily fun-fact post-it notes on buck's locker. it somehow ends with them kissing.

throw a bone, i’m finally home by fleetinghearts / @shitouttabuck Explicit | 17.9k home for the holidays is a person, not a place, and a puppy can be for christmas and forever

20k - 30k

Hinged by TazzySnow Mature | 20.3k Eddie and Buck match on a dating app.

The Shadows of Every Spark by devirnis / @devirnis Teen | 22.8k the 118 run a front restaurant for money laundering, and accidentally adopt the Buckley siblings

there ain't no turning back by 42hrb Explicit | 28.3k The Buddie healing road trip

A Family Favor by thea_zara / @theazara Teen | 28.7k Evan Buckley never expected to call in the favor he's owed. He also never expected for it to change his life forever.

30k +

Precious & Fragile Things by Daisies_and_Briars / @cal-daisies-and-briars Teen | 46.9k Buck is the Fallen Angel of Petty Temptation, who has been tasked with tempting human Eddie Diaz to sin and enjoy life, but just a little. He thinks the job will be easy - get in, get out, go back to Peru to continue messing around with eternity. But when Buck arrives in Los Angeles, he finds Eddie is harder to tempt than expected, and more compelling than Buck had hoped.

Month 1 (May 15 - June 15) Month 2 (June 16 - July 15) Month 3 (July 16 - August 15) Month 4 (August 16 - September 15) Month 5 (September 16 - October 15) Month 6 (October 16 - November 15) Month 7 (November 16 - December 15) Month 8 (December 16 - January 15) Month 9 (January 16 - February 15)

[oddsnendsfanfics]

Unraveling Over the Holidays

Genre: Fan Fiction

Pairing: Henry Cavill/OFC

Warnings: Fluff. Implied Pandemic world we live in

Rating: G

Length: Drabble

Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.  

A/N: Inspired by the need to write more Henry and Nell, along with Henry’s latest IG post and here we have it. 

Henry Cavill Master List

“Almost have it, Wild Boy.” Henry announced looking into the abyss of the computer they were attempting to build.  This was their second this year, a true feat. Rarely did Henry and Ivan get the time to break down and rebuild their own systems. It was a welcome hobby, keeping them busy when there wasn't much else to do these days.

They had been working away on the project since breakfast. Frustrated mumbling and grunting seemed to be the only sounds coming from the other room. Nell listened, checking in on them from time to time, waiting for them to finish. Today was the day they were going to finally trim their Christmas tree. After days of waiting, it would finally be a sight to behold. Or as much a sight to behold as they could manage. All in all Nell felt that she decorated a pretty damn fine looking tree.

It was shortly after lunch, when Nell began to get annoyed. When she'd brought in a plate of sandwiches and asked her husband and son if they would be done soon, both had told her that they needed ten more minutes. Three hours and one boasting Instagram photo later...

“Dad, I think I have this backwards.” Ivan furrowed his brow staring at the piece that he was attempting to put in.

“Let me look.” Henry moved to take a closer inspection.

Not wanting the break anything, risking a costly repair. Ivan was learning fast and enjoyed working with his hands. More than that, he really enjoyed the uninterrupted time with his dad. “Not backwards, but the next slot over.” Instructing his son how to put the piece in properly.

Neither of them seeming to notice or care that Nell had drug out their boxes of Christmas decorations. Outside, she and Henry had strung lights in a few bushes and around their garden early in the month. Wanting to get it done in case they got an unexpected cold or worse. Inside Nell had put up her favourite battery operated candles, the old fashioned looking ones that stood in the windows. Every window in the farm house had a candle display. The kitchen had lights and a few decorations, the sitting room, the office, and even the bathrooms were ready.

All they needed was to get the tree decorated. Presents under a naked tree was plain wrong.

“Henry, Ivan.” Nell tapped her foot on the floor, her arms folded across her chest. Huffing at the two of them. She should have known better than to let them tear apart that damn computer this morning.

“I think she saw.” Ivan wasn't doing a very good job at whispering, his mother could hear him on the other side of the room. Nell rolled her eyes. Of course she had saw the photo, over 3,000 people had saw that photo and it had only taken five minutes.

“What is it, darling?” Henry leaned back in his chair, glancing over his shoulder at his wife. Smiling sweetly, his usual trick when he wanted to attempt getting out of something.

“Tree.” She gestured to the tree behind her.

“What about it? Is it too dry? Ivan, didn't I ask you to water that this morning?” Shaking his head, Henry glanced at his son.

“I did, dad.” Ivan huffed, holding the light at the perfect angle to see inside the box.

“Guys, can we please decorate this tree? It's been here since Sunday.”

“We'll get to it.”

“When? It's already Friday. Henry, we have had this in here for nearly a week. A naked, boring, lackluster tree.” Lecturing, Nell rubbed her temples, “Christmas is in a week! A week! This is the latest we have ever left the tree.”

Setting down his manual, Henry pushed his chair away from the desk, standing to observe the tree. He hadn't thought it was that big of a deal, they had gone last week and picked out the tree, Henry wasn't sure that this would be the final spot for the Christmas icon. Something Nell would assume was an excuse.

He should have taken the photo from the other side, oops. Had he not mentioned the bare tree to the world, his wife likely wouldn't have been making such a deal about it. Until now, Nell had been avoiding it as much as him and Ivan.

“Do you want to do it today?” Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed the back of her head. “The wild boy and I are more than happy to let you take over.”

If she wanted to decorate the tree, by herself, it would have been done hours ago.

“Nice try, but this was to be a family activity.” Nell furrowed her brow, huffing. “Why can't you stop fiddling with that damn box for twenty minutes?”

“I love you, Mrs. Cavill.” He knew exactly how to win this battle.

“Not working.”

“Worth a try,” Henry shrugged giving her a kiss on the cheek. Squeezing his arms tighter around his wife, he groaned. Caving to her whim. “I'm going to make us some cocoa, then we can get this tree decorated. Wild boy, help your mum get the decorations out, please.”

“Uh, no.” Shaking her head, Nell escaped his clutches. “I am going to make the cocoa,” gently tapping the tip of Henry's nose she grinned, “You and Ivan can untangle the lights. I have been asking you all week, get to work.”

Laying on the floor by the tree, Kal boofed and yawned. He had heard her asking multiple times over the week, but what could be do about it? Stretching, he stood cautiously to keep his wagging tail from smashing the tree. Nell really hated picking pieces of Christmas tree from his fur. Following her to the kitchen, he hurried when her steps approached the treat cupboard.

“You'd help me, wouldn't you bear?” Spotting her shadow, Nell smiled, tossing him a biscuit. “Honestly, those two are more and more difficult every year. I feel like I'm raising two children sometimes.”

Oh lovely, here she was, in the middle of the kitchen talking to the dog. Whatever, at least Kal would listen to her gripe. Pulling down a mug and two tumbler glasses, Nell set the kettle to boil and then picked up the bottle of Johnnie Walker that had appeared on the counter a few days ago. Likely a gift from someone.

One candy cane hot cocoa and two whiskey and rosemary sours, at the ready. In the other room, Nell could hear Ivan and Henry singing along to I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. Loudly Ivan belted out the line about the hippo being a vegetarian, Henry swaying back and forth as he laughed and unraveled the lights. To Nell's credit, when she had put away their Christmas decorations the previous year, she had done a much nicer job than Henry.

“Looking good, gentlemen.” Complimenting their work, Nell smiled handing Ivan the cocoa. “Yours is on the tray,” she kissed Henry's cheek. “I decided to make use of the Johnnie Walker.” She winked.

Taking his drink, Henry smiled. “It's your bottle,”

“Mine? Did you buy it?” Nell sat on the floor beside Ivan, working at picking out more decorations.

“No, it came the other day. Some guy dropped it off, did you not read the card?” Henry laughed, joining his family on the floor. Nell shook her head. “Hold on,” He stood back up, groaning a little.

“Mum,” Ivan spoke pulling out another bundle of lights, “when the tree is done, can I watch a movie?”

“You don't want to help dad finish with the computer?” Sorting the other items in the box, Nell sat back on her heels reaching for her drink.

“I guess, but I think I'd like to watch a movie with you. If you have time.”

“For you, wild boy, I have all the time in the world.” Nell leaned over giving him a kiss on the head. Wrinkling his nose, Ivan brushed his hand over his dark curls, resetting them the way he liked them. “Which movie did you want to watch?”

“I don't know, we can find one.” Ivan worked away at the strand of lights, getting them ready to go on the tree, when Henry came back in. His mother wasn't tall enough to read the top, which meant his dad would have to start the lights.

Decorating the tree with his parents, the three of them, felt a little odd. For as long as Ivan could remember there was always a huge production to decorating their tree. This year was quiet, like most things throughout the year. They would be video calling family over Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning, instead of having them there in person. They were supposed to spend Christmas with the Stewart family this year, as sad as Ivan was to miss his trip he understood.

“Here you are,” Henry waved the small card around, crossing the floor to hand it to Nell.

One the outside was a fancy script, containing her name in gold lettering. Opening the small card, the kind one gets with a delivery of flowers, she admired the generic looking winter scene.

“To Nelly & Superman, Merry Xmas. May 2021 be better than whatever dumpster fire this is,” she read out loud, chuckling at the sentiment. “Love always, JPS. It's from Jordan.”

“How lovely, didn't he send one last year as well?”

“He did, but he sent that really nice Riesling.” Nell confirmed. Since Jordan hadn't been able to make it for the wedding, he'd sent the gift instead. “Along with the Ardbeg, for our wedding present.”

Henry nodded, he remembered drinking both vividly. Although he didn't get much of the Ardbeg, because Nell had deemed it off limits to anybody who wasn't her. Past and present gifts sorted and settled, Henry stood up with the first string of lights in hand. “I think it's time we get these on, what about you?”

“About time.” Sticking out her tongue, Nell pulled out the tinsel and a box of ornaments. “Gosh, Cavill, you have been taking forever.”

“Can't rush perfection, my darling.” Henry smirked, attaching the first string of soft white lights to the stout tree in the corner.

“Is that why we took so long?” Ivan teased helping his mother carefully lift ornaments from boxes.

“Of course.” Henry nodded, excusing his procrastination.  “You know, I do love this tree.”

“It is a lovely tree. It's the perfect size.” Nell agreed with her husband. “I'm glad that we didn't go with a monstrous tree this year.”

Henry and Ivan had a habit of going for the biggest tree in the lot. This year, Nell had put her foot down, demanding that they pick something reasonable.

“I thought you liked a big, thick one.” Snorting, Henry paused to watch Nell's reaction.

“You, stop.” She wagged her finger at him. “Wild boy, can you go over to that blue storage bin and get the crystal star, please?”

The tree topper had been a gift from Henry's parents, the first year she and Henry had “unofficially” lived together. Nell had used it every year since, upon Henry's insistence that she kept it. Their first Christmas married, last year, his mother had wanted to gift them a new one. Politely Nell had declined, saying that she loved the one they had. Although, she was more than happy to accept the matching ornament set that went with it, as a late Wedding present.

“I love this star,” Taking the carefully wrapped box from Ivan; Nell placed it safely out of the way of Kal and Cavills.

“Lights are on.” Henry happily announced, clapping his hands together. “What's next?”

“Tinsel and bows.” Ivan sprung up with a card of tinsel, waving it wildly at his father. “Can I help?”

“What if I put on the tinsel, while you tie on the bows?”

“Deal.” Ivan nodded grabbing the gold and silver bows that Nell had made. They would soon be in need of some new bows. “Mum, momma, mum.” he bounced, “Want to help?”

“Sure, you take the gold and I will take the silver?” Standing to join Ivan and Henry at the tree. Nell took the card of silver bows, carefully tying them on to the boughs of the tree.

Over the next half hour or so, their tree began to come to life. The soft colours adorning the vibrant green really stood out in the otherwise neutral room. Laughing and teasing one another, Henry grabbed Ivan around the waist, spinning him – a safe distance from the tree – while Kal danced around them barking excitedly. Nell watched them with joyful delight, after the year they had endured it was nice to see her husband and son still keeping their happiness.

[nightmareonfilmstreet]

Happy WALPURGISNACHT! What to Watch on the Other Halloween

You think you’re safe. The days are longer, the nights are warmer, surely the undead are at rest this far from Halloween. But you’re wrong. Turn on your lights, put away your Oujia board, and whatever you do, STAY AWAY from the forest.  Because tonight, all is not well. Tonight, you are in danger. Tonight…is Walpurgisnacht.

  What is Walpurgisnacht?

Still from November (2017)

Like Halloween, Walpurgisnacht is an evening for enjoying the darker parts of our cultures. It’s celebrated all across Europe and the Netherlands as a sort of “Witches’ Night,” a last chance for dark magic and evil spirits to have fun before Spring chases them away. The holiday starts tonight, April 30th, and goes until tomorrow, May 1st.

Like any holiday, Walpurgisnacht has a complicated history. In ancient Germanic cultures, the transition between winter and spring was a time of dark magic. Pagan custom mandated that people either ward off evil forces through bonfires and the playing of loud music (picture a medieval rave), or avoid cursed areas where demonic sorcerers would practice gruesome rites (picture a medieval White House Banquet). Eventually, the regions that observed these mystic times were Christianized. As with some other ancient pagan holidays (*cough* Christmas *cough*), the occasion was rebranded as a celebration of Christian virtue. Specifically, it was named as the Feast of Saint Walpurga, to whom Christians prayed in order to ward off witchcraft. Ironically, the rebranding didn’t quite work, and the date set as a commemoration for warding off witchcraft and evil spirits…became a night for celebrating witchcraft and evil spirits.

Countries across the world celebrate Walpurgisnacht in different ways. For example, people in the Czech Republic build massive bonfires. In Estonia, revelers dress as witches and set up carnivals. In Finland, college students get drunk. Well, more drunk. In North America, however, there really isn’t a way of celebrating Walpurgisnacht. And we here at Nightmare on Film Street think that should change. The best way to do that, we feel, is through that greatest of North American traditions: staying inside and watching something.

  What to Watch on Walpurgisnacht

Faust (1926)

You might recognize Walpurgisnacht from Goethe’s classic drama, Faust. In it, titular doctor and terrible bargainer Faust encounters a host of demons and other evil creatures as they’re celebrating Witches’ Night. Though Faust inspired many films, one is especially appropriate for today. That one is helmed by Nosferatu‘s own F.W. Murnau, and it absolutely bleeds Germanic folklore. The movie’s satanic spokesperson, Mephistopheles, is a creature straight out of an old-world superstition, a thing that belongs to campfire stories in dark, ageless woods. The film’s atmosphere, too, is a special kind of magic bleakness. Murnau creates a world in flux between light and shadow, a warning that the comforts of civilization are only a feeling. Just like in Nosferatu, the horror hinges on Murnau’s sensational imagery, just as powerful today as it was in 1926. So powerful is that imagery, in fact, that it inspired something else on this list…

  ‘Night on Bald Mountain’ of Fantasia (1941)

It’s hard to pinpoint the darkest thing Disney’s ever done (I mean, they made a third Cars), but this animated short comes close. Featured in the collection Fantasia and set to Modest Mussorgsky’s score of the same name, Bald Mountain‘s content is as horrific as its animation is spectacular. The Murnau-inspired winged villain Czernabog is equal parts Cthulhu and Satan, and the witchy celebration he begins is truly terrifying. Imps laugh and dance as they are tortured by fire. Naked banshees screech across a cursed landscape. Ghosts of executed murderers leave their graves by passing through the nooses that killed them. If that’s not traumatizing enough, remember that the Fantasia short played directly before this one is Dance of the Hours, in which a hippo attempts ballet. Springing Bald Mountain on audiences directly after that takes a special kind of evil, Disney, and we applaud you for it.

  Suspiria (1977)

If you’ve watched more than twenty seconds of Dance Moms, you know that nothing is scarier than ballet school. For real, nothing. Filmmaker Dario Argento taps into that primal terror in 1977’s Suspiria, and it’s a perfect watch for Walpurgisnacht. Set in a prestigious dance academy in Freiburg, Germany, Suspiria is about the lengths some people will go to keep dark traditions alive. It’s in almost every “Top Ten Witchcraft Movies” list and it’s easy to see why. Suspiria brings the fears of the past into a vibrantly modern world. Be sure to leave the lights on for this movie, it’s absolutely the scariest one on this list. Also, keep an eye on our site for news of the Suspiria remake, set for this year. And if you can’t do either of those but still want to face existential terror, seriously watch Dance Moms. You will not be the same.

  The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Michelle Pfieffer, Susan Sarandon, and Cher. I’m honestly tempted to just stop there, because if you aren’t already watching this movie after reading those names, I have to assume your taste in art is terrible. But I guess I can also tell you that this is a quintessentially eighties witchy delight, based on a 1984 John Updike novel of the same name. This movie is everything a horror-comedy should be. It is witty and charming but also genuinely spooky, and when you’re not wondering whether to laugh or scream, you’ll be doing both out of sheer joy. It’s a perfect movie of its time, as aware of Stephen King as it is General Hospital. And if you’re still unfathomably unsold on this movie, Jack Nicholson plays the literal Devil, which I’m fairly sure is his real personality. Either that or the Devil just acts like Jack Nicholson, both make sense.

  November (2017)

How many Estonian films have you seen this year? You’re probably thinking “none,” or if you were educated by the American public school system, you’re probably thinking “Estonian?” Well if you watch one Estonian film this year, make it on Walpurgisnacht, and make it November. This beautifully black-and-white film plays like a grim fairy tale, bristling with dark humor and equally dark magic. It’s the story of two hopeless romantics and the mystic lengths to which they go for love. It is tense and absurd, a story featuring relevant class commentary alongside a walking stick-demon. This is a movie for people who love lore, who think that fairy tales are for adults as much as anyone. It is atmospheric and brooding, making its occasional slapstick humor all the more shocking and funny. But don’t worry, this is not a movie lacking in terror.

  Now Have Fun!

That’s it for our list of what to watch on Walpurgisnacht. If you want to know more about this spooky springtime Halloween, visit ThoughtCo, which is where a lot of the research I found on the holiday comes from. If you or someone you know celebrate Walpurgisnacht, let us know on Facebook or Twitter, we’d love to hear some of your traditions! And even if you don’t, let us know some of your favorite pagan/witchcraft flicks, there are a lot more than what’s on here.

From everyone here at Nightmare on Film Street, have a very happy holiday. We hope you celebrate with good films, great booze, and the best friends. But even as you’re celebrating tonight, consider this: tales from the Witches’ Night have survived dozens of generations, thousands of years, and countless cultural & religious overhauls. Do we continue these traditions because out of respect for the past and a morbid fascination with the darkness? Or do we continue watching for witches and ghouls because, deep down…we know they’re watching us?

Happy Walpurgisnacht!

  Sill from Faust (1926)

The post Happy WALPURGISNACHT! What to Watch on the Other Halloween appeared first on Nightmare on Film Street - Horror Movie Podcast, News and Reviews.

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[maychorian]

Weekly Voltron Fic Recs #55

Merry Christmas! For some reason I thought I already did list 55, but when I looked back at my tags I hadn’t yet. So yeah, this one is extra long, but that’s all to the good, hopefully.

Rules: You can find past weekly rec lists here, and non-list recs in my general fic rec tag. Also follow @maychorianrecs for individually tagged posts, the easier to search and reblog. This is stuff I like, and I have a huge bias toward Lance, hurt/comfort, and general fluff, in that order. Gen unless otherwise noted. Please comment on the fics if you read and enjoy them!

Paper Patience by isabeau25 Words: 1,483 Author’s Summary: Someone is making paper flowers for Pidge, and it takes her a while to figure out why. *Takes place during the beginning of season 3, while Shiro is still missing.* My Comments: Sweet and lovely. Pidge’s frustration and fear is understandable, and it’s very kind of her teammate to make this effort to soothe her.

Space Jellybeans by YukiSetsu Words: 2,274 Author’s Summary: Lance has trouble sleeping and seeks out help from Coran. He gets something to help him sleep, but his body reacts negatively, leaving Lance with little time to get help before it got worse. My Comments: Another great whumpfic. I’m getting so spoiled this Christmas season.

No Place Like Home For the Holidays (But Sometimes Home Isn’t a Place)by WildWolf25 Words: 7,329 Author’s Summary: After a rough battle, Team Voltron decides to set down on a safe, deserted planet to rest and let the castle’s defenses recover. And if that planet happens to be covered in snow, well, there’s no harm in having a little winter fun while they’re at it. (Written for Lórien for the Voltron Secret Santa event on tumblr. Happy holidays!) My Comments: Cute, cuddly winter vacation with Team Voltron, including snow fights, ugly sweaters, and a cuddle pile under the stars. Implied Polydins but reads as gen.

for lack of advice columnists by againstmygreeleaf Words: 5,798 Author’s Summary: Hunk isn’t sure when he noticed the rock, doesn’t recall noticing it at all. The rock is within reach and his bayard isn’t. My Comments: Fantastic Hunk whump, and fantastic exploration of the consequences of war and how that affects Hunk in particular. I loved the team taking care of Hunk, all in their own ways.

Keith’s ‘Physical Contact’ Initiation Program by alisayamin (sh_04e) Words: 26,522 Author’s Summary: Keith didn’t move and neither did Pidge. It was a little awkward until Keith finally said, “Maybe we could officially officiate this..?” “What do you mean?” “Fist me.” Pidge recoiled and sputtered, “Keith, what the f-” She was cut off by Shiro’s bellowing laughter from the observatory deck.With his straight face unchanged, Keith lowered his left hand with the stopwatch and lifted his right hand, fisted. Pidge actually sighed with so much relief, “OH. You mean fistbump! Right.” She slapped her forehead to remove the very very wrong image her imagination drew for her, “Holy shit, Keith, we need to work on that but yeah sure, I’d be honoured to officiate your physical contact program whatever.” Or That one time Coran realized Keith was too distant and decided to make him undergo the 'Physical Contact’ Initiation Program which then led to –> 5 times the paladins realized Keith was an actual cat. My Comments: A little over the top and a touch OOC, but if you’re in the mood for paladin cuddle puddles and platonic cuddling and hugs and affectionate touches and all that good stuff, this is very much the fic for you. It’s incredibly indulgent and cuddly and really scratches that itch. Mentions of past child abuse.

Flu Season by YukiSetsu Words: 2,099 Author’s Summary: Lance comes down with the flu before a mission. And although he tries to ignore it to do his job, it turns out to be a bad idea once things take a turn for the worst. My Comments: Delightful sickfic plus whump. Poor Lance, lucky us.

Hippo You’d Better Come Home by pinstripedJackalope Words: 3,847 Author’s Summary: What if Keith had a little stuffed hippo hidden in one of the pouches on his belt, you ask? This is your answer. My Comments: This is absolutely adorable. Keith’s generosity bites him, a little bit, but it was so cute to see the whole team appreciating his precious hippo, and the ending was lovely.

Little Princess by Eastofthemoon Words: 7,488 Author’s Summary: “It was that weird bracelet,” Lance snapped as he struggled to keep his voice down. “I found it on the shelf, handed it to Allura because it was sparkly and I know she likes that stuff, she puts it on,” he pointed to her with his thumb, “and wham! Next thing we knew she was a kid!” “I still find it weird the clothes shrunk with her,” Pidge whispered. “Pidge, that’s the least of our concerns right now,” Hunk stammered as he cupped a hand over his mouth. My Comments: Wonderful deaged Allura with tea parties, makeovers, and various messes. I loved how much Lance and Hunk got into it, with the other paladins dragged into things with varying degrees of acceptance, and poor Coran’s heart got a bit of a workout. So good.

Varadero by 5557 Words: 2,109 Author’s Summary: While on Vacation at Varadero beach, a restless Lance cannot sit still and sleep when all the adults are away and having fun. Something is out there, calling to him. And it might just be worth the trouble. My Comments: Beautiful, vivid and lush, this story transported me back to the joy and curiosity of childhood. Lance is a cutie pie, as always.

Stranger Danger by YukiSetsu Words: 2,768 Author’s Summary: Lance makes a new friend at the school pool, and the others feel something is… off. And although Lance initially brushes off the warnings, even he starts to notice that his friend might be a bit more dangerous than he expected. But by then, it’s a bit too late. My Comments: Dramatic without being cheesy and whumpy without being unbelievable, just the right mix for me. Naive Lance and protective-everyone-else is my jam.

Coming Home by Vialana Words: 4,211 Author’s Summary: After the battle, Keith needs to decompress. So do the other paladins. My Comments: Absolutely beautiful. I loved the way every teammate checked on Keith, all of the hugs and cuddling and touches were just lovely and wonderful. And the tears, too. Very warm and soft and healing. I love this a lot.

Slippery Steps And Broken Cups by YukiSetsu Words: 2,062 Author’s Summary: Modern College AU. Lance had been busy planning a big Christmas party with Hunk, Shiro, Pidge, and Keith, only to go missing on the special day. Keith goes to check in on him, and ends up having to deal with way more than he expected. My Comments: Dizzy Lance with a high fever and somewhat grumpy but concerned Keith. Absolutely delightful.

déjà vu by mangotangerine Words: 3,501 Author’s Summary: Team Voltron finds themselves trying to convince a previously unknown planet to join the Coalition but they’re having trouble - these new aliens won’t do anything unless their God ordains it. Enter Lance, who knows a bit more than he’s supposed to and doesn’t know why. My Comments: Interesting little Star Trek fusion (no knowledge of Star Trek is necessary). I really enjoyed the mystery, and I would love to read something much longer with this concept.

Ghosts of Christmas Past by Swump (Zelan) Words: 1,841 Author’s Summary: Pidge crash-lands in the middle of a blizzard, where the others can’t get to her, and must fend for herself until help arrives. My Comments: Great whump, great Hunk and Pidge at the end.

Below Freezing by YukiSetsu Words: 2,495 Author’s Summary: The Blue Lion crash lands on a planet with extremely cold temperatures, leaving the team in a race against time to get Lance out alive. Shiro risks going down before the snowstorm subsides to get to Lance faster, but even he can only hold out for so long. My Comments: This fic REALLY hit the sweet spot for me. Lance with hypothermia, Shiro huddling for warmth with him, and just a touch of angst. Perfection.

Taste of Home by umbraja Words: 2,402 Author’s Summary: “I don’t know, Lance. I think Pidge is right. Waffles are superior to pancakes,” Hunk’s gentle voice drifted through the door. “Traitor! How could you say that? And after having my abuela’s pancakes,” Lance gasped dramatically. Hunk started to reply but Pidge cut him off, “Because pancakes are just flat disks of cooked batter no matter who does the cooking while Waffles are a masterpiece of culinary engineering with built in pockets for holding syrup and a crisp shell for the perfect crunch. It’s just a superior design, Lance.” The Paladins are all homesick and banter about missed food puts Keith in a talking mood, even if it’s just to Shiro. Somewhat of a character study. Or - I might have grown up on a farm in the Panhandle (that’s north Texas, btw) and every now ‘n’ then I get a mite nostalgic. My Comments: Warm, soft, and melancholy. I love how Shiro draws Keith out to reminisce about things long gone, and Allura was a sweetheart, too, surrounded by homesick paladins and trying her best to understand.

a grass in the beginning by coyotesuspect Words: 5,308 Author’s Summary: Pidge starts a garden on the Castle of Lions. Or: seven conversations Pidge has while standing next to a tree. My Comments: Lovely, rich, and touching fic. All of Pidge’s conversations with the others are just right, and the descriptions are vivid and entrancing. This was relaxing and warming to read.

Eat In Moderation, Kids by YukiSetsu Words: 2,013 Author’s Summary: Lance loves Hunk’s food, and for good reason. But when one Christmas cookie baking session gets out of hand, Lance bites off more than he can chew and his stomach suffers the consequences. Luckily, he doesn’t have to deal with it alone. My Comments: Sometimes it nice to have a problem that’s not that big of a deal, but everyone pitches in to help, anyway.

Rational Paranoia by TheQueen Words: 1,886 Author’s Summary: A story of Lance and Pidge, crashed on a hostile planet, waiting. My Starboy: A Lance Zine piece My Comments: Painful, but very well-written. I hope they get rescued soon. Tagged as possible romance but reads platonic to me.

Even Space Can Be Warmed Up By Christmas by YukiSetsu Words: 2,391 Author’s Summary: Lance leads preparations for a Christmas celebration on the Castle, only to be sidetracked by a bad fever on the big day. Nevertheless, he wants to continue with the party. My Comments: This has just about everything I love, fluff and team bonding and Lance getting sick and being cared for and loved. So very heartwarming. It was like drinking hot chocolate.

Learning Curve by psyraah Words: 2,498 Author’s Summary: The Galaxy Garrison has a name for training some of the best and the brightest. It’s rough, tough, and many would agree not an all together pleasant experience. Lance, Katie, and Hunk can all attest to that. The Paladins of Voltron are legendary, unmatched in their intellect and fighting prowess, and the only hope against the Galra Empire. Everything the Garrison should have trained them for. But Lance, Pidge, and Hunk know that there’s something that the Garrison didn’t teach them, something that took being light years from home for the three of them to understand: Heart. My Comments: Wonderful character study of Hunk, Pidge, and Lance and how they handle failure both at the Garrison in the past and now as part of the Voltron team. It’s great to see how much they’ve grown. And how much they trust each other.

What Keeps Him Whole by LightPinkTheColorOfMyAura Words: 6,398 Author’s Summary: Lance struggles in space. He knows that he is doing good by being part of the Voltron team, but everything is just constantly moving, difficult, and unrelenting. He’s tired. He doesn’t know what’s keeping him going anymore. My Comments: A little over the top and the writing’s a little rough, but this is a great scenario for Lance angst with lovely team comfort. Klance.

Five Stages of Grief by Sandyclaws68 Words: 5,058 Author’s Summary: There are five stages to the grieving process, but when you’re consistently lied to about your brothers’ “deaths” you might just get stuck in anger. My Comments: Great characterization and plot, and I loved the relationship between Pidge and Keith and Pidge and her mom.

Detonate by IcyPanther for heyheroics Words: 9,824 Author’s Summary: “Keith, please,” Lance pleaded, voice breaking. “They can’t lose you too.” / A routine mission takes a deadly turn. There are but literal ticks counting down until the end and Keith has a decision to make: leave Lance behind so he can escape or go down with him? It’s a good thing Keith is so stubborn. / Gen fic, Langst, whump My Comments: Excellent scenario, excellent whump, excellent protective Keith, excellent platonic Keith and Lance, it’s just all good. This one really kept me on the edge of my seat.

The Sound of Family by Anonymous Words: 8,623 Author’s Summary: As Keith swung the weapon in his hand, which he quickly realised was a bayard, it transformed. But instead of the usual comfortable weight of a blade, he felt the weapon tip forward, completely unbalanced. He made a noise of surprise, only to notice this voice was too high-pitched, too smooth to be his own. He looked down and saw blue armour instead of his black suit and in his right hand was a red rifle. “Keith?” he heard his own voice say. The figure tried to crouch but fell down with a grunt. “Keith, buddy, is that you?” His vision refocused and when he was able to see clearly again, he found himself gazing into his own… eyes? “Who are you?” he demanded. [When Keith and Lance accidentally swap bodies, hidden scars and wounds, both literal and metaphorical, are revealed and the two boys realise that there are some things that really shouldn’t be avoided any longer.] My Comments: I’d never thought about the fact that if a body swap happened, the brain chemistry would stay with the brain, not the mind. So what if there was a body swap and one of the bodies had depression? Great concept, explored very well. I love Keith and Lance’s mutual comfort and protectiveness. It was a fun scenario and a sweet fic. Ambiguous Klance, can be read as gen. Mentions of past child abuse.

each a perfect porcelain doll by panaili Words: 42,634 Author’s Summary: A new mission presents Team Voltron with the opportunity to get important information about Galra movements. Unfortunately, in order to successfully pull it off, Allura needs to be in two places at once: both shape-shifting to sneak into an alien server room and acting diplomatically as the Princess of Altea. Luckily, even though she is only one able to pull off the shape-shifting infiltration, disguising one of the paladins as the Altean princess should be much easier. [Set Season 2 at some point maybe] My Comments: This is everything I could have wanted from the premise of Pidge dressing up like Allura to fool an alien race. There’s bonding, fluff, whump, hurt/comfort, great action scenes and thrilling rescues, and, of course, Disney movies. This one grabbed me from the beginning and pulled me right along, and I loved it.

Earth, Meet Voltron by Gods_Writing_Fan Words: 2,181 Author’s Summary: What happens when the paladins try to warn Earth of an incoming attack? They freak out the entire population! Also, Lance gets to see his family again. My Comments: Packed full of emotion in not many words. I hope Lance gets to see his mom like this someday and give her a big hug and explain what he’s been up to.

What Not to Do in Chemistry Lab by Engineer104 Words: 2,458 Author’s Summary: Hunk’s to-do list for this semester consists of only one thing: making sure Lance doesn’t kill himself - and Hunk - in lab…and passes organic chemistry My Comments: Fluffy little modern AU in which Hunk is both amused and horrified by Lance’s shenanigans and Pidge mostly snarks from the side. Some hints of background romance of the college hookup variety, but the relationships on page are gen.

Interlude by LittleWhiteTie Words: 4,123 Author’s Summary: “Where are you going?” Keith asks, just barely catching Shiro before he collapses. “My room, or just… not here. Please.” Shiro should probably stay here in the infirmary where he can be monitored, but his eyes are pleading. “Alright,” Keith concedes. “But I’m not leaving you alone.” – In which Keith takes care of Shiro after The Journey. My Comments: So soft and indulgent and comforting to read, ahh, I love it, and something like this DEFINITELY happened in the gap between those episodes. Tagged as either romantic or platonic, but it did not ping me as romantic at all, just very intimate and brotherly.

Blood Brother, Space Brother by wingedflower Words: 4,826 Author’s Summary: (taking place around mid-season 4) Pidge has finally found her brother and Lance was happy for her, he truly was. But after filling the role of her big brother for so long, he couldn’t help but feel like he was… left out. My Comments: This fic literally made me cry, which is exceedingly rare. Lance’s feelings of loneliness and loss were so vivid that I felt them in my stomach as well as my chest. It’s all resolved beautifully, but yeah. Wow. This hit my buttons super hard. Going into my personal favorites.

Daily Interlude by Vialana Words: 1,540 Author’s Summary: “I need a hug.” Keith paused, spoonful of goo halfway to his mouth, and stared at Pidge. My Comments: Very cute and funny, with a touch of sweetness. Tagged Klance, but can be read as gen.

Previously Recced Fics That Updated:

Little Crystals (13555 words) As Color Fades Away (237268 words) The Purity of Sin (41134 words) Back from the Edge (5074 words) Taking One For The Team (38446 words)

[sasuhinasno1fan]

Treasure Hunt for the birthday boy

Finally official, it’s our fav red paladin’s birthday! After season 4, I wasn’t sure how I felt, the poor boy wasn’t there at all, but he did such a good job leading the rebels. This poor boy needs love and rest. So if you pay attention, you might notice this is in a sequal to the Lance birthday fic I posted.  I think there are very small details, Lance’s necklace the biggest thing. I even mentioned @fishwrites Watercast, I was craving an update when I wrote this. Again, this whole fic was inspired by PointlessBlog’s birthday that he and his girlfriend filmed. Ok, I hope you enjoy and fingers crossed I don’t mess up this fic. Edit-I tried posting this yesterday but it wouldn’t upload for some reason

Lance tried not to wince as the door to his and Keith’s room closed. Usually he would sneak out of the room to go and surf with Hunk down to the beach or to leave for any meeting but that wasn’t the reason this time. It was Keith’s birthday and Lance had presents to finish wrapping and hide.

The two had been busy all day yesterday and halfway from were Lance had been hidden in their guest room wrapping gifts, Keith almost set the house on fire when he forgot about a pot of veggies he was boiling. Home cooked dinner didn’t happen and then Keith remembered they were supposed to get the ingredients to the cats’ special birthday dinner, which meant a trip to the grocery store and dinner at Burger King as a pre birthday dinner for Keith. After finishing making the dinner for the cat, Lance was in no mood to be bending over to wrap presents. So he made sure to turn the alarm on Keith’s phone off and keep the cats out so Red wouldn’t try and wake her owner up. He had been tempted to stay just to watch Keith sleep more but then he remembered the really big gift for Keith and got himself up.

“Alright you two, I need you to keep quiet while I finish wrapping your dad’s presents. You can help but keep the noise to a minimum.” Lance told the Russian Blue and Somali cats that followed him as he opened the door to the guest bathroom and opened the closet door. Behind the stacks of towels and linens, Lance hide the finished presents and the ones still waiting, as well as the wrapping paper and tape. Lance coxed Red and Blue out of the tub and into the guest bedroom.

Lance laid out his first gift to wrap when Blue started to scratch at the floor length mirror. Lance had been focused on his blue furred cat when he looked at his reflection, eyes drawn to the blue chocker around his neck. Not even 3 months ago, Keith had gifted him with the promise ring in the shape of an Avatar The Last Airbender betrothal necklace. Their friends like to call them the Zutara ship that never happened. They didn’t get a long at first, to be honest, Lance thought Keith hated him. But eventually, as they got to know each other better, feelings started happening and they started dating. Lance had one of the best birthdays thanks to Keith and his friends and he wanted to repay him as much as possible.

“Blue stop,” Lance said, nudging her head away from the tape, before ripping off one last piece to finish the last present. “Perfect, now I need to write the cards.” Lance planned to hide the gifts, the last one the most spectacular so he needed to write the hints in a bunch of cards. Once they were all taken care of, Lance got to work. He hid the presents with their clue cards in the right place, making sure it was hidden but obvious enough.

He distracted the cats with breakfast so he could finally pull out his phone. He didn’t want to risk going back upstairs to grab his camera.

“Good morning everyone. It’s pretty early and usually I’d be surfing this early, but I’m up for a different reason. In case you don’t know, today is Keith’s birthday. October 23, Keith Kogane, turns 24. Yes, he’s older than me but I’m taller, so I can put things on higher shelves. Anyway, I just finished wrapping Keith’s gifts and I want him to find them before we eat breakfast, which I’ll be cooking. Of course, I’m really excited for him to see his last gift.”

Blue meowed at her owner when she was done with her food, making Lance look down to see Red licking at Blue’s bowl.

“Your girlfriend is really greedy Blue. Ready to go wake up dad?” Blue meowed back at Lance before trotting off towards the steps, Red following after a nudge from Lance. He filmed the cats going up the stairs and let Red start scratching at the door before he opened it for them, watching as they jumped up on the bed, where Keith was curled up. Red sat by the pillow and started to pat at the bangs of Keith’s hair, moving to his face when he didn’t move. Keith only twitched his face but still didn’t move. Lance was sure Red huffed in annoyance, while Blue pushed herself under the covers and the lump moved down to where Keith’s feet were.

Keith finally seemed to stir as Red started meowing up a storm. Lance tried to control his laughter from behind his phone as he filmed the whole scene. He saw Keith’s feet flinch away, no doubt from Blue’s rough tongue that had to be licking at his toes.

“What’s going on?” Keith asked sleepily, turning on his back, looking utterly adorable as he looked completely confused.

“It’s time to wake up.”                                                                                                  

Keith moaned in protest and he flopped both arms over his eyes. “What time is it?”

“Like 9. Come on, up. It’s your birthday.” Lance said, walking closer to the bed to poke on Keith’s stomach.

Keith just moved his hands to Lance’s arm and started tugging. “Doesn’t that mean I can sleep longer? Maybe with you as my pillow?” He opened his eyes finally to see a sea shelled case phone pointing down at him. “Are you filming me?”

“Yes. I could totally leave this in.”

Keith just moaned some more, still tugging at Lance. It was obvious to Lance just how tired his boyfriend was, if he wasn’t making a fuss about looking embarrassing on camera. He stopped filming and plopped next to Keith, who turned on his side and wrapped his arms around Lance’s waist, looking close to falling back asleep again.

“Keith, babe, come on. You can’t sleep the whole day away. We have to do stuff.”

“What stuff? We can’t have a proper party with Shiro and Allura out of town.”

“Oh, so you can’t do things with just me? Come on Keith, don’t hurt your boyfriend here.”

Keith let out an indifferent noise, dozing off again. Lance sighed, if his boyfriend didn’t look so cute, he’d be demanding Keith get up now. He was fine gazing at his boyfriend’s sleepy face for now. Didn’t mean he didn’t take a picture to upload to Instagram.

Finally Lance got Keith up and into a hoodie by playing “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” over and over again until Keith almost wacked Lance’s phone out of his hand. Lance planned to annoy him again with the song on camera.

“Can you film me on my camera? Or we’re you going to do it on your channel? Unless you wanted to merge the two together.” Keith asked, running his hand through his hair to flatten it. It didn’t help much. He let his hair grow even longer but he would constantly complain about how he had no clue Allura did it, he wanted it back to it’s regular length.

“I was planning on filming but we could merge them. I just really want to get your reaction when you see your last present.”

“Ok.” Keith looked intrigued, so Lance handed him his first card. Keith tried to open the envelope carefully but the paper ripped leaving Keith glaring down at it. “Every time.”

“Maybe you could use that knife your dads gave you yesterday.” Lance pointed out, looking over at the bedside table on Keith’s side of the bed.

“I think this video would get taken down if I showed that. Thanks YouTube.” It was no surprise Keith was not happy about new regulations YouTube had in terms of what videos could get ads on them.

Keith pulled the card out and opened it. “Should I read it out loud?” Lance made an affirmative hum. “Happy birthday samurai, you’re now older than me, your first present is in a tree. Tree? Lance you know I hate riddles.”

“There’s a hint, keep reading.”

“Not an actual tree, one we have in the house.” Keith looked confused before he looked over at the red furred cat curled up like a loaf on his pillow. “Oh, the cat tree!”

“There you go. See, not so hard.”

Lance got up and followed Keith down the stairs into the living room were the cat tree was. Lance saw the gift in the hammock part, but kept his mouth shut as Keith looked for it.

“Aha! I found it! And it’s covered in cat fur.”

“We haven’t cleaned that thing in like a month. Are you really surprised?” Lanced pointed out as Keith dropped onto the couch and started ripping the paper. In a thin box, Keith pulled out a blue phoenix suncatcher, the blue plastic hinted with iridescent.

“Oh wow, where did you get this?” Keith asked, holding the large wired circle that held the extravagant phoenix near the light that came from the window.

“Remember that online store I showed you the other day? The one with the dragons?”

Keith looked thoughtful before his eyes light up with recognition. “Oh yeah. They had earring of dragons’ wings.”

“I was extremely tempted to get you a hair pin.” Lance said, tugging at the hair that had Keith had been growing, its length falling down Keith’s back.

“It’s getting cut on Wednesday so thank god you didn’t. I can’t wait to cut it back again.”

“I like your long hair.” Lance whined, as Keith pressed the attached suction cup on the window and rescued the card from the ruined paper.

“Having to wait like half an hour for it to dry and brush it through so it doesn’t have knots, is not worth it Lance.” Keith opened the envelop with a bit more success this time. “It’s covered in fur but I hope you like it, the next present is where the mic is. I know that one.”

Lance followed Keith into the office where Keith stopped at the sight of a stuffed hippo seating in his chair. Like the cat one Lance had, it had a t-shirt with Keith’s channel marking on it and held a dagger in its stump. On its lap was another card as well as a small gift bag.

“What did you get me?” Keith asked, picking the bag up and opening it. “Face masks, sheet masks. Are you trying to tell me something?”

“Maybe something along the lines of I want more spa days with you.” Lance knew Keith could not stay still to do spas, but he wanted to share his favourite past time with Keith.

“I mean, we can do it tonight?”

“Oh, I am going to pamper you tonight samurai.” Lance said, almost seductively.

Keith turned red covering his face. “I’m cutting that out. You are so embarrassing.”

Lance just laughed, “Do you like it?”

“Well I know what I’m cuddling when you’re out of town. Is it like the one Shiro and Allura got you?”

“Yep, don’t be surprised if Hunk ends up with one next year. Open the next card.”

“Bet you didn’t expect that last one, tell me where you can find bowl of fun. Hint, my little sibling and nieces and nephews try looking for it. Is it the candy bowl?”

“So smart, this is my boyfriend everyone. Future husband.”

“Not yet. Do not start rumours!” Keith instructed as he went to the kitchen and opened one of the overhead cupboards and pulled down a large bowl filled with candy. Lance always made sure it had candy in there to offer to people no matter the time of year.

Keith moved candy around before pulling out a small jewellery box. Not ring sized but the size of a necklace. In the box was a feather pendant. What was different about this was down the middle and with a small ball attached was a blue crystal.

“Is this from that glow in the dark collection?”

“Yep.”

“Oh this is so cool. Did you get me the feather because of the new book I’ve been reading?”

Lance nodded behind the camera. Keith had been obsessing over a book about a mermaid and avian falling in love. There was official merch but Keith always seemed to miss it. Lance thought it was the best of both worlds.

“I love this. Thank you. Where’s the card?”

“It’s in there, it’s just smaller.”

Keith dug around some more and rescued the small card. “You really went all out on hiding these.” He pointed out as he tried to open the envelop.

“You should see me when mama puts me in charge of hiding Easter eggs. We can still find eggs a week later.”

“Dear god, I’m not waiting that long to get my presents. Ok, your eyes glow just as bright as this necklace, you sappy asshole.”

“That last part wasn’t part of the riddle.” Lance clarified, not even sounding sorry.

“Your eyes glow just as bright as this necklace, where do the clothes go to be speckless? Does that even rhyme?”

“Kinda. Do you know what it is?”

“The mashing machine, in the basement. Which I hate.” Keith moaned

“I can hold your hand.”

Keith didn’t even think about it before taking Lance’s hand dragging them to the door that lead into the basement. Lance laced their fingers together as Keith pulled them down the stairs and turned the light on. The basement was a bit scary with the exposed brick and overall unappealing appearance wasn’t the most exciting. Lance saw the gift and its card sitting on the washing machine but the container of Tide Pods seemed to block it enough that Keith couldn’t see it.

“Do you want me to get it?”

“Please.” Keith would separate the laundry and fold it, but he hated even walking anywhere near the washing machine.

Lance handed the camera to Keith and went over to take the wrapped gift and card, trying not to flinch at the sight of the massive cobwebs forming between the washer and dryer. He hated spiders. Keith hadn’t even waited for Lance to get back to him before going back up the stairs.

“We should really get down there redone.” Lance said handing Keith his second to last gift.

“Or we could move after the lease is up.”

Lance actually stopped filming to focus on Keith. “Would you want to move?”

“I mean, we’ve been living together for what? Year and a half right? I love this place but I would like my office space and we do want a better yard and we are the farthest from everyone. Not now though, but…”

“It’s on your mind?” Lance finished for Keith, who nodded in reply. “I mean, I wouldn’t mind it either.”

“Ok. We’ll talk about it later?” Keith asked. “I want to talk about this seriously when it’s not my birthday.”

“Alright. Come on, let’s go open your present on the dining table and then I can make you breakfast.”

Keith waited till Lance had balanced the camera on a candle that sat in the middle of the table.

“Ok, I think we’re good. I hope this doesn’t fall.” Lance said, hands still held around the camera ready to catch it if it toppled over.

“I think we’re fine. Here, hold this.” Keith ordered handing his boyfriend the card before demolishing the wrapping paper. He pulled out a white sweatshirt with a cat shaped pocket for his hands and at the end of the strings for the hood, instead of plain tied strings, they were black paw prints. “Oh my god.” Keith said before dissolving into laughter.

“Look at the back.” Lance instructed, looking too proud of himself.

Keith turned it around and looked at the single navy bow in the back where a tail would have gone if it had one. Keith couldn’t control himself as he let his head hit the table as he started dying of laughter. “Why?”

“Why not? I showed it to Shiro and he bet you’d never wear it.”

“I will. I just can’t believe you got this for me. Wait, does it have cat ears?” Keith asked rhetorically as he fingered the white cat ears on the hood. “God, have I told you how much I love you?”

“No recently.” Lance said smugly as he let Keith kiss him on the cheek. “Here, open the card.”

“Wear your new cat ears with courage, your last and best present can be found in the garage. Wait, we don’t have a garage and there’s no hint.”

“Your present is waiting in Shiro and Allura’s garage. But breakfast first.”

“What? Lance, no! Lance!” Keith complained as Lance disappeared into the kitchen.

“Lance is being a little shit.” Keith told the camera as they sat in an Uber over to Shiro and Allura’s house. The two weren’t even in the country because they went to England for Allura’s family reunion. He didn’t even understand why they didn’t take their own car over.

“No I’m not.” Lance said, not even looking up from his phone.

“You won’t tell me what the hell could be waiting in the garage or why we didn’t just drive over there ourselves. Case in point, your being a little shit.”

“Ok rude, just because it’s your birthday doesn’t mean you get to be mean.”

“You won’t tell me anything!”

“You have such little patience. It’s amazing you can do YouTube, I mean waiting is practically part of our job.”

“I hate you.”

“Love you too.”

Before Keith could throttle Lance, they finally got to Allura and Shiro’s house. Lance went to their mailbox and pulled out the remote for the garage out before going over to Keith who was waiting by the garage.

“Ok, here you go.” Lance said, filming the very annoyed look on Keith’s face. He knew all this waiting would be worth it.

Keith ducked down once the door started rising and almost toppled over once he shot back up, looking at Lance with a look of surprise.

“You didn’t. Lance, no you didn’t!” he sounded excited, bouncing in place.

Sitting next to Allura’s unused car was a red Ducati; the same one Keith had been dying for for the past several months.

Tears were in his eyes as Keith hugged Lance, who stopped filming to hug his boyfriend close.

“Do you like it?”

“Yes I love it. When did you even get this?”

“I bought it a while ago and it was delivered yesterday and I got Thace to help me drive it here.”

“What? Thace? My Thace?” Keith asked, finally pulling away but his face a mess of tears.

“Yeah, here.” Lance wiped some of Keith’s tears off his face and pulled out his phone and pulled up a video.

“Ok this is really quick but I’m at the gas station with Thace, Keith’s dad, one of them anyway, to put gas in Keith’s present.” The Lance in the video said, as he filmed Thace filling up the motorcycle. “Took a while to figure out, but Thace, think Keith will like this?”

“Keith will be in tears no doubt.” Thace stated before the video finished.

“I can’t believe he knew.” Keith said, hiding his face in Lance’s neck again.

“I didn’t tell him till 2 days ago. I’m glad you like it. Happy birthday samurai.”

“Thank you.” Keith pulled himself away and pulled Lance into a long kiss before he pressing a kiss to his cheek and pulling him into another hug. “Thank you.”

“Say hi!” Lance told all the people sitting around the burner. Their usual group birthday dinner lead them to a Korean bar-b-que place, Keith’s parents joining them in place of Allura and Shiro.

Keith had cried for a bit more before his excitement got the better of him. He wanted to ride, now. Lance had the foresight to get red and blue helmets and once they were on, they were on their way, driving all through town, Lance pressed against Keith as he sped through traffic. If Lance didn’t know Keith knew how to drive a motorcycle, he would have feared for his life even more. Keith insisted they get a table near the road where he parked his bike.

“Keith, am I losing you to a bike?” Lance asked pointing the camera at Keith, who still had his eyes trained out the window.

A hand gripped Keith’s chin pulling his gaze away from the window. “It would do you some good to pay attention to your boyfriend.” Ulaz, one of Keith’s dads instructed like Keith was still a kid who needed disciplining. The tall dark skinned man looked out of place between Keith and Pidge but his husband was opposite him.

“Yes, listen to your dad.”

“What, he’s already getting sex tonight anyway.” Keith said, not even paying attention to the camera pointed at him, though it slipped out of Lance’s hands at the statement.

“Keith, I have to edit that out!”

“Hmm?” Keith truly hadn’t been paying any attention.

Pidge dissolved into giggles at Lance’s red face while Ulaz and Thace rubbed their foreheads at their son’s obliviousness.

“I don’t think anyone is going to be able to get Keith’s attention away from that bike for a while huh?” Shay asked as she helped Hunk turn the meat when she saw Keith’s attention drift back outside.

“I hope Lance is fine with being ignored for a little while.” Hunk joked, just smiling at the glare Lance shot him.

Lance pulled out his phone and opened YouTube, typing in a familiar set of words. He hit the correct video and turned the volume up, making sure to pick up the camera to catch the moment. The first set of bars of “I want a hippopotamus for Christmas” started playing and Keith went from paying attention to his bike to full on glaring at Lance.

“If you don’t turn that song off right now.” Keith warned

“What, I’m sorry I can’t hear you over the soothing voice of Gayla Peevey. Maybe if someone would pay attention to their boyfriend.”

It was a miracle they hadn’t gotten thrown out of the restaurant when Keith tried lunging at Lance. Hunk yelled at them not to knock over any of the food if they wanted to be feed and Thace was able to smooth things over. It didn’t mean Keith didn’t whack Lance when they were leaving.

“I so can’t believe you did that in the restaurant.” Keith complained as he climbed into bed, Lance loosening his choker so he could sleep.

“Had to get your attention somehow.” Lance said as Keith crawled up to him and flopped himself down onto Lance’s chest, his fingers automatically drifting to the pendant on the necklace. He liked playing with it whenever he was close enough to Lance’s neck.

“Still though. Other than the scene in the restaurant, I did have a good birthday. I even really enjoyed that pampering session. Thank you.”

“Your welcome samurai.” Lance said, pressing a kiss into Keith’s bangs before letting his head rest on Keith’s.

While some people would complain that Lance didn’t make Keith’s birthday as extravagant as Keith made his, Keith was more than happy with his birthday.

[beatrice-otter]

What is Yuletide?

So here on tumblr I have a lot of people following me that I don’t really know.  o/  Hello, everybody!  And that means that unlike on Dreamwidth, where everyone I interact with is pretty much from the same fandom circles, I have NO idea how much, if anything, you guys know about Yuletide.  And since it’s going to be taking up quite a lot of my fannish attention between now and New Year’s Day, I thought an explanation might be of interest.  (And, hey, some of you might decide to participate!)

Short version: Yuletide is a fanfiction exchange focusing on rare/small fandoms.  That book you love?  That movie you grew up with that nobody else has ever given a second glance?  That TV commercial or song or whatever that makes you sit up and go “eh?  what?”  Any work that has fewer than 1,000 complete works in English on AO3 and FF.net combined is eligible.  You sign up on AO3 (between October 1 and 9 this year) with between 3 and 6 fandoms that you would like to receive fic in, and at least four fandoms you would be willing to write fic in.  You write a fanfic of at least 1,000 words, and you will receive a fanfic of at least 1,000 words.  You can specify what characters you want to have in it, and you will get those characters.  You can make other requests--prompts, etc.--and you may or may not get them, because Optional Details Are Optional.  Fics will be revealed on Christmas Day, and authors will be anonymous until New Year’s Day.  That’s the basics of it.  You can read more on Fanlore and the FAQ.

(Fandoms and characters have to come from an approved list, otherwise there would be no way to match people up, and nominations have already closed.  This year’s list of fandoms has over 3,000 fandoms, most of which have four or more characters, so you’ve got a lot of choices if you missed the nominating period.)  (You do have to have an AO3 account.  You don’t have to have a tumblr, an LJ, a DW, or any other account, but you do have to have an AO3 account.)

The thing is, though, that Yuletide has been going since 2003, and whenever you have something that more than a thousand people have done every year for a decade and a half, there are a lot of other things that get added on.  These are all fun, and you can participate if you want to, but you don’t have to if you don’t want.

Treats!  Treats are a big thing!  A lot of long-time Yuletiders, after their assigned fic is finished, go through the lists of requests to see if there are other interesting prompts they’d like to write, on the theory that More Fic Is Always Better.

Dear Yuletide Writer letters!  Optional details are optional, which means that your author is not required to do anything except write about the characters you selected.  HOWEVER, a lot of the time, people do like knowing a little bit more about your likes and dislikes, and any possible prompts you might have.  So you write a letter to your assigned writer.  They don’t have to read it, but they may want to.  ALSO.  You can post your DYW letter in a comment to this post, and it will get collected in a giant Google Spreadsheet, and people who are looking to write treats are more likely to see your prompt if it is there, so that’s incentive to write a letter.

Chat!  You can hang out in chat (either IRC or Discord) with other Yuletide writers.

Bears!  When you are stressed and don’t know if you can finish in time and HOLY COW THIS IS TAKING LONGER TO WRITE THAN YOU THOUGHT, you are being pursued by BEARS. 

Hippos!  Hippos are volunteers who hang out in chat with Hippo in front of their names and help match up people with beta-readers for their fic without breaking anonymity.  If you need a beta, you go into chat and ping the hippo on duty, and they ask the chat for you, and hopefully someone volunteers.

Misses Clause!  Dark Agenda!  Crueltide!  These are sub-challenges within Yuletide that you may participate in if you wish.  Misses Clause encourages people to write female characters, Dark Agenda encourages POC, Crueltide is for people who want to write really dark distressing fic.  (For Crueltide, you have to have someone who wants that sort of thing, you can’t just randomly decide to turn someone’s Disney Princesses fic into a Hydra Trash Party type thing without them saying they’re up for it.)

Candy swaps!  Card swaps!  Book swaps!  I’ve never participated, but some people mail candy, cards, and/or books to fellow Yuletiders on the other side of the globe.

[thewidowstanton]

Archive feature 2012: Pulling Strings, Frank Mumford, marionettist

To mark the unveiling of our friend Frank Mumford’s most famous puppet – Mademoiselle Zizi, with her accompanist Fyodor – as part of the Victoria and Albert Museum’s permanent collection in London, we are posting this archive feature about him and his wife Maisie, and their amazing showbusiness lives.

By Liz Arratoon

Flicking through my aunt’s Contact the Elderly newsletter, I noticed an old photo of an extremely stylish couple holding two extraordinary puppets. They turned out to be Frank and Maisie Mumford, who, from the 1940s to 1970s, performed with their internationally acclaimed marionette troupe. Though Maisie died in 1985, Frank – now in his nineties – is living in the same tiny London mews flat they shared since 1946. He has lost none of his charm or humour and, with perfect recall, he explains: “My nearest sister, the youngest of three, was ten when I was born, so I was a loner. I grew up with Somerset Maugham and HG Wells’ books and started to create a world of my own.”

Recovering from mumps when he was six, he converted a Maynard’s sweet box into a miniature theatre and, fascinated by cinema, saved up for a Pathe Kid projector and started making films. “I cut a proscenium in the front and had curtains and cut figures out of magazines with hairpins to hold them.” But it was when his English/drama teacher gave him the American puppeteer Tony Sarg’s book, Marionettes and How to Make Them, that his life’s work took off. Originally billed as Master Mumford and His Marionettes – he played London’s Wood Green Empire at 14.

“I had a stand of puppets at the School Boys’ Exhibition at Alexandra Palace from 1933-36. I got a job at Edmonds of Wood Green in display and had a permanent puppet theatre, performing afternoon shows and special ones at Christmas to bring people in. I learnt and learnt and learnt with a captive audience. At about 15 I began to have friends who were professional sculptors, painters and musicians. When I was 16 or 17 we formed the first Puppet Productions and played all London’s small theatres.” From opera to ballet, nothing was beyond their scope.

In 1938 Maisie Tierney joined the troupe, but it disbanded at the outbreak of war in 1939. They married in July 1944, and that September Frank was taken prisoner at Arnhem. “She thought I’d gone for good,” he says. But on his release he joined the Central Pool of Artists and created the two-hour touring show Stars on Strings. After his demob in 1946, they developed a more practical two-handed act. With Frank making all the puppets, hand-carving their wooden heads, their glamorous, fast-paced act was born. “The puppets we’d been using were fine for small theatres. They were about 18” high with seven-foot strings, but to play a place like Hackney Empire, they needed to be bigger, about two feet tall. I designed a bigger head and scaled the body down and it worked.”

They played the Moss Empires’ circuit, top London nightclubs – including Edmundo Ros’ Coconut Grove – and variety shows and cabarets around the world. From the Moulin Rouge to the Casino de Paris, and from the London Palladium to the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo, the Mumfords’ speciality act was there. Before a show the puppets had to be groomed and mechanically set. Roughly nine were used in a music hall or nightclub spot but between 12 and 30 might be needed for plays. Each of their four cabaret spots lasted about 15 minutes, “depending on the applause”, but the shows ran to an hour and 45 minutes.

Ideally the puppets had to be seen from about ten or 15 feet away. The lighting had to exclude the puppeteers’ hands and had to be very powerful, but Frank says proudly: “We had theatre craft, so people didn’t look at us. They applauded the puppets.” He worked constantly on improvements and even changed his shoes to black suede, to eliminate reflections.

A typical cabaret programme would include scenes of different pairs of puppets: two hippos doing a routine, two skeletons doing another, a bullfight, with a bull and a matador, a belly dancer with a man at her feet, Javanese dancers… and then there would be the delectable Zizi, their undoubted star. Introduced in 1947, Mademoiselle Zizi – modelled on Lana Turner and Gypsy Rose Lee – was an instant success. The diminutive chanteuse was always immaculate, with dresses – one designed by Schiaparelli and lined with her trademark shocking pink – made by Frank, who also made her jewellery. Her delicately carved fingers had painted red nails. “After a show in Juans les Pins, her measurements were given in a write-up as 36, 28, 36 and she was named ‘Miss Venus of the Cote d’Azur’,” Frank remembers fondly. But she was also labelled ‘Sex Appeal on Strings’ by the Manchester Herald, and later banned for kissing men in the audience at the Birmingham Hippodrome. Such was the allure of the Mumford puppets!

Indeed, those who fell under Zizi’s spell included another glamorous couple; the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Frank cites a private party for the Duke’s birthday given by socialite Margaret Thompson Biddle in Paris as their most prestigious date. “Our agent said, ‘We’ve got a booking and we can’t send just anybody. We want someone with style’. She had a beautiful old house on the Left Bank and we did the show in the garden. Afterwards, out of the darkness, the Duke’s equerry emerged and said, ‘The Duke wants to see Zizi again’, so we had to unpack her. The Duke always looked haggard in photos but face-to-face he looked fantastic. He was about 50. Mrs Simpson appeared, too, in a Balmain dress. She wasn’t going to be left out.” The Duke rebooked them six months later for a party he gave in the same house for the Norwegian ambassador.

And at Christmas 1961 they did shows for the royal family, their friends and municipal workers in Monaco. “We arrived on le Train Bleu at 8am and were met by a chauffeur in a Mercedes saloon, which was ours for the week. They had a bijou throne room at the palace. Princess Grace hardly spoke, but Prince Rainier was absolutely easy to chat to. He was the one I had to go to for Zizi to kiss but after about ten shows he got fed up with it.” Later someone asked what Zizi thought of Princess Grace? The answer came: “Well, she’s kissed a prince but I’ve kissed kings.”

I, however, was not the first to unearth the Mumfords’ glittering past. The award-winning film maker Richard Butchins was introduced to Frank by a mutual friend, and finding that he still had all the puppets in his attic – where they’d lain lifelessly for years – and roll upon roll of archive film of their shows and TV appearances, decided to make a documentary. He hopes to finish it by September, depending on finance – the money has come via crowdfunding campaigns on indiegogo – but it hasn’t been easy. Butchins says: “All of their performances on British TV have gone because nothing was archived until the 70s. Basically, the late 40s, 50s and 60s is the part I’m particularly in love with but I’m looking for stuff from Spanish TV in the 50s, and German and Japanese TV in the 70s. I discovered about 20 minutes of film in the French national archives from the late 40s or early 50s, this beautiful black and white film, but they want an absolute fortune to use it.”

Frank describes this as a “smidgen” of their story, which he is documenting in a book, and is determined Maisie should not be forgotten. “It’s come about that it’s all about me, but Maisie contributed an enormous amount. During the bad times you get in showbusiness she was always terribly supportive. She was very beautiful and had charisma in bucketfuls. She had a wonderful personality, like sunshine. We spent 24 hours of every day together and fortunately we were very good friends.”

The renewed interest in their work has, for example, given Frank the chance to see old films he shot for the BBC for the first time. He says: “It’s fantastic, but tiring having to deal with my Beethoven effect.” His hearing may be lost but, thanks to Butchins, Frank and Maisie’s important contribution to the UK’s variety heritage never will be.

Mademoiselle Zizi and Fyodor are on display in the Theatre and Performance Galleries at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London

Sadly, Frank died in 2014, and here’s his obituary in The Sunday Telegraph, also by Liz Arratoon

Pictures: Courtesy of the Frank Mumford Archive

This feature first appeared in The Stage in 2012

[iplaydndandguitar]

Day 9 of random hippo: this little darling is waiting to share their cupcake with you!

[iplaydndandguitar]

Day 7 of random hippo: this random hippo is busy with so many kids but smiling happily for a Christmas photo together and then they are going to a drive through light display later today to see Santa what do you think they are asking for?

[iplaydndandguitar]

Day 6 of random hippo: this little guy is ready to join you on your holiday shopping adventures he might need a lift getting into the cart though

[iplaydndandguitar]

Day 5 of random hippo:this hippo is adorable and waiting for a hug will you give them a hug?

[iplaydndandguitar]

Day 4 of random hippo : this random hippo brought some friends to help cheer you on as you do your best today maybe take some time for a break for a cup of something warm and a snack too

[iplaydndandguitar]

Day 2 of random hippo:this hippo is helping you find some joy today by singing some songs what song do you think he is singing?

[iplaydndandguitar]

Day 17 of random hippo: these lovely ones are having a staring contest I wonder who will win?

[iplaydndandguitar]

Day 16 of random hippo: this hippo is so proud of all your hard work today!!!