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binart · 1 year

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Space Ranger Partner's Adventures Chapter 1

(First) (Next)

A marriage proposal from a complete stranger in the middle of a top-secret alien spy base was, surprisingly, not the strangest thing to happen to Lance in the past 24 hours.

The strangest thing was probably that he was even here. He'd been proposed to a handful of times after his part in the war efforts largely ended; Adoring fans, of course. But in under a day he'd been flown from his family home in New Altea, introduced into the very secretive very select ranks of the Blades of Marmora, got his ass handed to him by some cat alien who was currently standing 10 feet away and therefore very likely his new teammate, and—possibly most surprising of all, realized he was going to have to ask his buddy keith out because apparently he'd gone off and gotten hot in the past three years.

"No, no. I told you no proposals." From beside him, the very same Keith Kogane—his ex-teammate turned leader—lurched forward and extracted Lance's hand from Torat, one of his new teammates. Though the alien stood well over a stocky 8 feet, he had dropped to one knee before asking Lance to spend the remainder of his apparently short life with him. His large hands had all but encompassed his own, but were shockingly gentle.

"Have I.. conducted myself improperly within the ritual..?" Torat questioned in a small voice, much to Keith's clear chagrin.

"You forgot a ring!" Kestin, another of Lance's new teammates—their pilot—helpfully supplied.

"Not supposed to do it in front of a crowd unless the other person says you can!" To the right of Kestin, Hedrox joined in. They'd met yesterday, and the blade seemed all too happy to join in on the fun.

"...Yh.." The lanky cat alien, En, stood stiffly next to Hedrox, slightly turned away from everyone. He'd been that way since he and Keith entered the room just moments before. "You cannot simply ask a h-hu-human being to join into such a pact! T-There are numerous prerequisites—to say nothing of the time needed to be spent with the other individual—before such a momentous proposal can be made!" They turned their head to look directly at Lance—Or so he assumed; All members save for himself and Keith wore masks covering their entire faces. Then they gave a human soldier salute. "Lieutenant, Sir!"

Lance had no idea how to respond to any of this. "Y-Yeah. Uh.. Uh. Yeah. Sorry." Man, he really hadn't been around anyone except for his family for a while. He felt rusty. He gave a weak salute in return, before a memory from the evening prior bubbled to the surface of his mind.

"I will do my utmost to familiarize myself with human naming and title customs-"

"It's fine, man."

Oh. Maybe that was related.

"Okay, guys, enough." Thankfully Keith cut in, and pinched the bridge of his nose. "We're not here to—propose to Lance, alright?!" He wiped a palm down his face as if to try and banish the redness creeping in. "We're here to see all the time and effort we've been putting into this project finally see some results."

The room quieted, and everyone stood tall, and tense. Hedrox, however, seemed excited.

"That we are, Commander!" There was a table with a digital surface separating Keith, himself, and Torat from the other three, and Hedrox slapped their palms down onto it. Immediately, several large rectangular screens coated in Galran projected into clear view. The room automatically darkened. "I'm very pleased to say I've been at the helm of this—which, er, Commander? Do we need an explanation for those who are new?" His voice held a pleasant watery lilt to it, and if it weren't for the horn protruding from their forehead Lance would have guessed they were a half-Galran half-merperson or something.

Keith crossed his arms and gave his throat a quiet clear. "I've only briefed him on the basics. Floor's yours."

"Excellent. Gather 'round, team. Here's what we're doing." With deft hands they tapped away at a console and began pulling up several images, as well as additional Galran text Lance struggled to quickly translate. He'd all but mastered Altean since he retired (thanks mostly to Allura teaching him, but sometimes he wondered if the marks she gave him when she thought she was going to die contributed to how effortlessly he learned), but he'd only just started learning Common Galran half a year ago. Frustratingly it was way more context based, and very, VERY heavy importance was placed on sound emphasis. There were also over three hundred individual characters to memorize, whose meaning could vastly differ depending on what other characters were next to it. He was actually pretty glad to have something else to fill his time now; A great excuse to avoid slamming his head against the language every day. He could make out.. Eta-17 pa-facilty..? Facility? Facility. He squinted. Why was that familiar?

"..For the last year, we've been surveying a Galran anti-coalition outpost at the edge of the Ornitier System, which we know is serving as a key point for filtering and channelling intel. I've been doing what I do best and systematically replacing tiny components of their communication terminals with the tech the green paladin and I co-designed.” There was something strangely human about the way he spoke, despite the mild alien accent.

“And now, we stand nearly ready for a seamless takeover.”

Hedrox held up two small devices. "These. Are my baby children. Months of hard work. Cleared—and might I add complimented—by the green paladin. When both are installed into the facility's internal security network and main processing core respectively, they're undetectable. We'll be able to spy on enemy intel with them none the wiser." The ground beneath them gave a weak lurch. Lance could feel the familiar pull of motion, even if he couldn’t confirm via a window; No one paid it any mind, so he assumed it was normal.

“So that's why we're here today. They're too complex for my little helpers to remotely install.” Tiny clicking erupted then spilled from Hedrox's hood; At least thirty floating mechanical looking creatures no bigger than sunflower seeds circled his head. “I've altered the security rounds the sentries take to facilitate an easy infiltration and installation, and as long as they haven't gone and scrambled their normal routes, this should be an easy in and out.” The blade then motioned towards Lance. “The commander had research and development outfit a sniper rifle with a scrambling code that will temporarily freeze any sentries it hits and reroute them in case there's any hiccups in the plan, or someone's about to get caught.” Among other things; the knife and pistol in their respective holsters reminded him of their weight.

“Their monitoring and sentry patrol systems ‘refresh’ once an hour—so, that’s our time limit—and we need to get in so I can upload a new set of instructions to a pre-existing program that will facilitate—That is, uh. It’s—It’s a virus? The green paladin called it a virus. Am I using the term correctly?”

Keith nodded, scratched the back of his head and turned to Lance. “Basically, we need to get in so Hedrox, En, and Torat can upload a virus that’ll make it so we can track down their headquarters eventually.”

From the other side of the table, En growled. “The malignant remnants of the accursed empire and their cowardly tactics..! Always on the run, attacking colonies before fleeing. They’re filth, and we will find them, and cut short their worthless excuses of lives..”

The room grew quiet, and stuffy. There was the whir of machinery and motion from all around. Keith cleared his throat.

“Right. So, the security network room and main processing core are in different locations, but the area where Hedrox and En need to work together will have more foot-traffic. You'll be giving them cover.”

Hedrox brought up additional panels, this time with a 3-D map of several alien-looking floors. He traced what Lance read as “entry-point” labelled in Galran all the way over to the right. “Here's where you'll be stationed with the Commander—route A. First, Kestin brings us in. The Commander and Lieutenant follow route A and get into position and provide cover fire as needed. Torat goes through route C, and En and I head to B. Easy!”

Lance smirked. “That's it? I take out sentries from afar while the hacker blades do their thing? Just like old times?” With a fond smile, Keith let out a puff of air from his nose.

“Just like old times. I’ll be there next to you since—uh, I was originally going to take your spot.”

Lance blinked at him. “Huh? I didn’t know you were good at—“

“I’m not. Just, making due with what we had. Things’ll go much more smoothly now that you’re here watching our backs, and I can focus on troubleshooting if anything comes up.” Keith’s complete faith in him left Lance light on his feet, and he hung his head and chuckled nervously.

“Cool, that doesn’t actually sound all that bad. ‘Think I can handle it.” Keith gave a surprisingly gentle nudge with his arm against Lance’s own.

“You got this, Lance.” He turned to the rest of their team. “ETA?” This time, Kestin spoke up.

“Approximately 20 minutes, sir.”

—

Pre-mission anxiety, long forgotten, made its unwelcomed return.

Lance sat pressed against the dark wall of an unsecured entry duct alongside Keith, Hedrox, and En; Though the tallest of them gave him a wide berth likely due to the events of the night prior.

Good. He might have acted the bigger person, but Lance very much did not like having his ass handed to him. He’d get a rematch from them at some point.

His stomach gave another uncomfortable lurch, and he pressed a palm to his abdomen to will the discomfort away. They had to wait for Torat’s initial sweep of the place before they could advance to their own spots; Surprisingly he seemed to be the stealthiest out of all of them despite his size.

“You alright?” Keith’s quiet voice filtered through the internal comms system in his suit. Though now masked, Keith tilted his head back to glance in his direction. He gave a weak thumbs up.

“Nerves. It’s been a while,” he quietly admitted. Three years of therapy had made it surprisingly easy to talk about his feelings, even if years ago he would have balked at the idea of showing weakness to Keith. But things were different now.

Keith reached a gloved hand over, and rested it on Lance’s forearm. Firm, but comforting, somehow. “Hey, you’ll be okay. I’m right here beside you the whole time, right?”

Things really were different now; Even his voice was doing things to him. “Y-Yeah. Yeah. Thanks—We got this.”

“In position.” Torat’s whisper of a voice interrupted the singing in his chest, and prickles of anxiety returned to gnawing deeper into his stomach. “Sentry patrol routes seem randomized.” Hedrox gave a light click of his tongue.

“..I knew they’d start doing it to all their bases eventually, but I was hoping we’d have more time before it got to the ones we compromised..” The blade brandished from his thigh pouch a strange, tiny black capsule that was barely the size of Lance’s thumb. “Guess there’s not enough leeway to sticky our fingers a bit, huh?” Lance furrowed his brows.

“Uh, what?” Keith made a dismissive gesture towards him.

“Pidge’s new tech. They’re tiny, but we use them to collect huge chunks of inorganic matter—usually servers or data storage. Not today, though. Come on, clock’s ticking.”

“Yes, Commander.” Featherlight and silent owed to their suits, the four advanced. En and Hedrox split off into the seemingly endless halls, while Lance trailed behind Keith. Weapons were a last resort, but if anything went wrong; Lance felt the pistol’s weight heavily on his right thigh, and his knife on the left. He’d dealt with sentries hundreds of times before now, and so despite how queasy he was starting to feel, the idea of potentially fighting some of them left his pulse surprisingly steady.

Keith took a sharp turn left to a dead-end, then motioned for Lance to use him to boost up to the small maintenance shaft in the corner. Right, the nest was up in there. Despite himself, Lance felt his cheeks flush and was grateful that they were hidden while he sat on Keith’s shoulders for the short time needed to remove the panel. He slid in with plenty of room to spare, and the other man soon followed.

After half a minute of near-silent upwards crawling, the shaft opened up into what would be Lance’s vantage point. There were seven large, curved window like panels punched out of the metallic dark purple walls, with a dimly shining object rested off to the side on a wall. He made his way over and picked up what was clearly a blade issued rifle, shockingly alike to the one he had practised with the day before. Adjusting to it wouldn’t be an issue, then, other than—

“This doesn’t shoot bullets, so—no kickback?” Lance turned to face Keith, who was now peering through the open panels into the massive facility below; From Lance’s precursory glance he saw walls upon walls of wires and oblong towers lit up in Galran code. The hood on Keith’s head bobbed in affirmation. From behind, he could see just how broad his shoulders had gotten..

“Got you in my sights, Hedrox.” Keith looked around. “Where’s En?” With that, Lance realized he should be doing what he was brought there to do and got into position. He raised the sights and took in the area below, scanning for the wayward blade.

“Eight o’clock, Commander.” He couldn’t hide the satisfaction in his voice, and Keith followed the point of his rifle until he spotted them emerge from a small maintenance shaft. Another pleased half-laugh.

“Good eye, Lieutenant.”

“‘S what I’m here for.”

“Uh, do you—“ Lance turned his sights toward Hedrox working to pull apart the base of one of the strange techno-towers while he spoke in a jovial watery tone. “We have a private line on our comms, Lieutenant, in case you and the Commander want to—Y’know what nevermind.“

“Focus.” Keith crossed his arms and looked away. “Torat, how’s that upload?”

”Forty percent, Commander.” His already quiet voice was a hush of a whisper. Then, “..Patrols have necessitated my heavy cloak function for five dobos—minutes and counting.”

Keith's masked view immediately shot to his wrist with a quiet hiss. Their regular cloaking built in to their exo-suits dampened sounds and turned the outer coating into something like a mirror, but the heavy cloaking function removed any and all methods of detection that the Galra were currently known to use, Keith had explained on the way there. But the power cost was enormous, and could only last fifteen minutes when drawing from the suit’s internal battery. Best used in short bursts, since completely depleting the suit’s power meant no oxygen, and no protection from the ravages of space if they had to be jettisoned out in an emergency.

“Hedrox, anything you can do to help speed it up from there?” Immediately tension shot through the air, and Lance listened with a growing sense of helplessness. “Lance, your left.”

A sentry getting too close to the others, quiznack! He held his breath, took aim, then fired. The rifle didn’t flinch, but the sentry’s head immediately bent at a strange angle, it twitched while standing upright, then turned around and began heading back in the direction it came. He got too caught up and Keith had to bail him out, he realized shamefully. He readied a quick apology on his tongue, but voices buzzed back into his mask.

“Working on it. Not great at multi-tasking though. En, gimmie a hand.” Hedrox’s normal ease had sharpened into something else. The cat-eared blade made their way to his side and took the panel passed to them before typing away nearly as quickly as their partner. “Couple yottabytes of code to implement Commander, this is gonna take some time on both ends.”

Quiznack. Another two sentries from either side. Inhale, hold. Position, fire. Position, fire. Another sentry turned the corner just as soon as the other two turned away. Exhale, inhale, position, fire.

“Torat, are the sentries letting up?”

”Forty-two percent. ..No, Commander.” Inhale, position, fire. Lance spared a quick glance at Keith, now clearly growing more tense. He returned his focus. Man, there were so many! Three more marched in a group to Hedrox and En’s flank, and there was only a narrow gap of space to get them as they approached. Exhale, inhale, position, fire, position, fire, position, fire. The sentries turned away, and so did Keith.

“We may have to call this.” Keith's tense body language betrayed the even way he spoke. Inhale, position, fire.

Lance could hear En’s breathing pick up as they typed furiously away beside Hedrox in between shots. There was a shocking number of sentries, and Lance couldn’t help but wonder if having less bases to work within meant the anti-coalition Galrans could stuff the ones they did still have full of them. “An entire Deca-Phoeb worth of operations, wiped away..?! Commander there must be another way.”

“No. Torat, abandon the upload when your suit gets down to two minutes. I’ll extract you.”

Inhale, position, fire. Silence.

“Torat.” An authority from Keith Lance hadn’t witnessed before emerged from his suit. “Is that understood?” Harsh. No room for further discussion.

“….Yes, Commander.”

In between breath after dizzying breath, the seconds and then minutes ticked by as everyone worked in frantic silence. He watched as Hedrox and En practically glued themselves to the small walls of the gutted tower, hands flying over keys faster than even Lance’s eyes could keep up with. Distantly in his ears, Torat updated the upload percent every sixty seconds as he, too, typed away. Sweat beaded then dripped down his neck as stiffness crept up it. His rifle smeared and shifted until it looked like his old bayard, and Lance ignored it and continue to fire.

Thirteen minutes in, it was clear to everyone there wouldn’t be enough time. Keith’s steadying presence had knelt next to Lance by that point, intently watching the battery of Torat’s suit drain and pause, then continue draining via a small screen on the underside of his wrist. He stood up, and shook his head.

“I’m calling it. Torat, abandon the upload, rendezvous at the extraction point.” A muted, miserable sound. En? Inhale, position, fire, position, fire, position, fire, exhale. No, Torat.

“We must succeed, you have worked too hard, Commander.”

“There’ll be other outposts. Now, soldier.” Again, silence. Inhale, position, fire, position, fire.

“..Failure here, for a life that may not even see il’E’s newest sun.. No, black paladin sir. For this I would gladly go without its warming rays.” Keith froze. Lance glanced at him, then back to his scope. Shit, shit, what was happening?! Inhale, position, fire, position, fire. “If ever you are able to retrieve my capsule from the vent below, have my family bury it under the spire by our sea.”

Before Lance could even register what was said, he was pulled. Keith vanished from his view and he felt a hand grip the back of his suit’s chest piece before being yanked very quickly from the room. It happened so quickly that he nearly fumbled and dropped the rifle, but managed to keep his hold. He was then hoisted up by—he realized now it was Keith—and manoeuvred until he was then sliding down the shaft he and Keith had crawled up before. “En, Hedrox, heavy cloaking, now. Keep your work out of sight. Abandon mission when I give the signal.” Steady, clipped.

“Yes, sir.” Keith was sliding behind him now even though he couldn’t hear or see him; The heavy press of his palm against his side to keep him steady nearly burned. He felt pressure lift his hand and press down on his palm—oh, right, the button to cloak himself. Then, in through his mask,

“Get your pistol ready, set it to stun, follow me.”

They shot out from the end of the maintenance crawl and Lance tore after the back of Keith’s head.

“The upload will proceed as planned. It’s been an honor, sir.”

Keith did not respond, only sprinted and twisted down the endless hallways as they dodged around sentry after sentry. Lance had strapped the rifle to his back and readied his small pistol as commanded, even though he didn’t understand. Were they going to extract Torat? He tapped the side and slid a piece into place to ensure it was set to stun. He trusted Keith, he knew what he was doing, and he could—he wanted to help in whatever way he needed him to.

The sound was different, somehow, but Keith’s voice once again came into his ears, panting with exertion. “He’ll have to uncloak for at least half a second for the capsule to recognize and capture him. When you see him, I want you to shoot him in the forehead where his eye is, Lance.”

The capsule? The one for.. inorganic matter? If organic matter like a person was compressed into it—wouldn’t that definitely kill them? Through the adrenaline, it distantly clicked what Torat was intending to do, but he couldn’t waste time thinking about it. “O-Okay.” Lance hooked his arm against a corner and pulled, narrowly missing a towering sentry as he caught up to Keith. Half a second to make a shot when he was practically wheezing though; Hesitation crawled up his spine. “How far—until we—get to him?”

“End of the hall, dead left.” Keith showed no signs of slowing, and Lance through the haze of it all wondered if he was cut out for any of this, and what would happen when he failed. If he failed. He was going to mess this up. He was going to get Keith killed somehow, wasn’t he?

Their feet silently pounding against the neon lit floor came to the end of the hallway. As they did so, Lance took in the most even breath he could muster, prayed his pulse wouldn’t throw off his aim, whipped his pistol up to the left, and aimed. Keith jammed his palm against their open com channel and flashed back into view.

“Torat, look at me—That’s an order!” The blade in question materialized suddenly in front of them, holding the same thumb-sized black capsule in front of his chest. Time slowed. In that millisecond of a moment, Lance realized he didn’t have a clear shot of Torat’s third eye. The capsule glowed a clear enough target, easy to shoot out of his hands, and his thumb was still hovering over the button on the top. Time moved another inch, and the hulking blade twitched, then could not help but turn his head towards his commanding officer.

“Forgiv—”

Lance took the shot.

—

Debrief was quiet.

No one spoke except for Keith. Lance, foolishly, felt like he was eight years old again and in trouble, for some reason. A memory of something his therapist said to him once drifted into his mind as Keith grumbled out a report. Lance couldn’t even remember the exact wording, but it was something to focus on while he ignored the ache in his entire body, and his pounding headache, at least. What was it, again..?

Hyper aware of mental states of those around him.. Discomfort around emotions regardless of where it was directed..? He couldn’t really remember. While he was reflecting, he decided to explore the room they always met in back in New Altea; Two o’clock sharp every Friday, warm room facing the sun, post-modern in decoration and very comfortable. Photos of her family on the desk, two dogs. Always enough tissues when he went there because he couldn’t cry around his family who would worry, but he could cry around a stranger who didn’t matter.

A stranger he would outlive, since she was fully human.

Torat swayed next to him, but soon righted himself.

“Understood. You have completed your mission, if nothing else.” Kolivan’s ever serious visage stared down at them from a bizarrely massive screen. Did it need to be that big? If he had nose hairs Lance would have been able to see them. “Dismissed.”

They were supposed to meet in the rec room after showering and, if needed, a trip to the med bay; A Keith mandate since his team was supposed to set an example that it was normal and good to relax after a mission, but.. was that still okay to do?

Lance probably had some of the best aim in the universe, if he was being honest, but with that aim he had just shot one of his teammates in the head not even an hour ago! The suits obviously had eye protection, but Torat dropped like a rock back in the facility, and they only managed an evac without being seen thanks to Keith’s ridiculous half-galra strength. While he dragged the unconscious Torat, Lance covered them with the rifle, and somehow En and Hedrox finished up on their end without being seen.

They did everything they set out to do, but it really felt like they failed.

The silence was broken with a soft clearing off Hedrox’s throat. “Wellll, I’m beets. Time for a shower, then uhm. Whoever feels like it meet up at the usual spot..?”

En pointedly kept his sharp gaze toward Torat, who did not look up from the ground. Sneering displeasure was evident on his now unmasked face, but he eventually turned to face his horned companion. “…The correct term is being ‘beat’ as in ‘beaten, and exhausted.’” The taller blade pressed his palm to his other set of fingers and stretched his wrists as he began to walk away. “But yes, I shall await you in the showers.” Hedrox jumped comically before slapping En’s arm.

“Don’t say it like that, shh!”

Lance blinked as he watched the two aliens saunter away, with Kestin soon to follow after giving Torat a sympathetic look. How was it Hedrox seemed like the most human out of all of them? Lance felt awkward, and guilty, and didn’t know what to do with himself.

He looked over at Keith, who ripped his furious gaze from Torat and regarded Lance with an unreadable expression. His eyebrows furrowed, and he looked like he wanted to say something; He only shook his head, turned, and marched off, leaving only Lance and Torat remaining in the room. Lance peered up at the blade and saw he couldn’t entirely hide his trembling.

“..Hey man, is your eye.. Did I—hurt it?” He wanted to apologize, even though he knew he’d done the right thing. Keith must have realized the only way to keep Torat from.. killing himself was to knock him unconscious, and he needed Lance’s arm to make sure the job got done correctly. Lance wasn’t sure how he felt about that, but there was still guilt shining through. Above all else, he really didn’t like hurting people.

Torat gave a nearly imperceptible twitch, then brought his large palm over his masked eye. “Bruised, but unruptured. I will be fine, Lieutenant, thank you. Please excuse me.” Quietly, the larger blade nearly tiptoed away through the opposite door of Keith.

Lance wanted to go after him, even if he wasn’t sure what to do or say.

There’d been times back in the castle of lions where he used to catch his teammates sulking alone, or when Silvio was upset and would hide in his garden, and he always went after them to at least make sure they didn’t feel alone. He could only crack stupid jokes, and maybe he annoyed them more than he helped, but it still felt like something he needed to do.

A shower, first, Lance decided. Then, he’d track down Torat and—at least make sure he went to the med bay or something. After that, if there was time, rec room with the others.

He wanted to spend much more time scrubbing the sweat and grime off of his aching body in his shower, but tingling urgency didn’t allow a long stay. Lance popped into his most comfortable hoodie and grey sweatpants, slipped on his sneakers, then began his search.

First, he went to the obvious location, Torat’s room. No one was in, so he went to the med bay next (after signing a few autographs from some fans on the way) and once again did not find his teammate. It was at that point Lance realized that despite how the mission turned out, Torat might have just gone to the rec room. Maybe Keith was trying to foster a more tight-knit team unit thing, but before all that, and even now, Lance was pretty sure death in the Blades was a very common occurrence.

Approaching the hallway connecting to the rec room, a loud slam sent Lance a foot into the air. A sharp cough came from just around the corner before he heard a growl that undoubtedly belonged to Keith. Was he in trouble?!

“—That was the whole reason I even formed this unit in the first place!” Keith hissed, and there was another grunting cough. Lance sidled up against the wall and tried to figure out if he was needed.

“Your work is—ghh—more important than my life, Commander..!” That was Torat’s strained voice. There was some shuffling, and Lance could at least piece together that they were having an argument.

“You don’t get to call me that. My work, is showing the rest of the blades that we can do our job without throwing away our lives for the sake of—knowledge. Understand?! No matter the mission, you keep yourself alive.”

Quiet pulsing buzzing from the blue-tinted lights above hung in the air. “..I-I.. If—this is what you wish, Commander.. I shall.. try.”

A dull thud, then footsteps. “No, you’re off the team. I’m not risking keeping someone on who’s fine with killing themselves if it means the mission succeeds.”

Torat gasped. “Commander, please..! Allow me to stay—I shall make up for my transgressions, this I swear..!”

Should he leave?! Lance felt like he shouldn’t be hearing any of this.

Boots scuffing on the waxy floor. Keith turned back towards him? “Make up for it by staying alive on a different team.” His clipped footsteps faded in the opposite direction. Lance needed to leave, right now. His throat was feeling hot, and it was getting too hard to focus.

He couldn’t help Torat at this point, that was becoming obvious to him.

The muffled sounds of the rec room and even quieter alien cries faded from Lance’s fuzzy mind as he stumbled back into his room and hid under his desk.

Breathe. Deep breaths. In through the nose. Count to—how long? He couldn’t remember. Okay, okay. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t focus. Try to breathe.

Keith flashed into his vision, an impossible view of him in the cockpit of a tiny cruiser as Lance watched him try and fly into the barrier at Naxzela. His death in exchange for the mission succeeding. They never talked about it.

Allura in the Blue lion, about to be killed; A split second decision to trade his life so Voltron could go on with its heart intact.

Keith was a hypocrite.

No! People could change their minds. It had been years since he pulled that stunt. People could change. Lance mushed his soggy face into his palms and shuddered.

Stupidly, all he could think about was how terrifying it was for Keith to be so close when he shot Torat with the stun round. With Keith’s armor, even if he had somehow accidentally missed and hit him, he couldn’t have killed him. There was no way. But his dreams were always so vivid and he was always accidentally killing Keith. To be there next to him in that situation felt—surreal.

Lance managed to get his breathing under control. It took a few minutes, but eventually he calmed, and shuffled over to the bathroom to wash his face.

He thought for a second about going and meeting up with the rest of the team, but shut that thought down almost immediately. Instead, he slipped into his pyjamas and slid into bed.

The empty ceiling greeted him without his familiar stars.

And Lance thought back to Torat, holding the small capsule in front of his chest, ready to ensure the blades could eventually track down and eliminate the remainder of the empire with his tiny sacrifice in the grand scheme of things.

And Lance realized he didn't disagree with Torat's decision.

😳👉👈

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#klance #vld lance #vld keith #voltron #vld #keith x lance #srpa #bina's writing

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boundlessdaisy · 26 days

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Klance The Prince & Me AU if it hasn't already been done yet hear me out

Lance McClain, Crown Prince of Altea, enrols himself at Garrison University to flee the press and escape his royal duties.

On his first day in town as a commoner, he meets parttime bartender Keith Kogane, drunkenly hits on him by quoting shakespeare, and gets rebuffed. It turns out he has no rizz, and he was only able to pick up ladies in the past on account of him being a prince. This realization devastates him.

Desperate to redeem himself and to pay for living expenses after his parents cut him off, Lance somehow gets himself employed at the bar where Keith works, but instead of healing his ego, Lance makes an even bigger fool of himself in front of Keith because he literally cannot do anything. Can't clean. Can't make a sandwich. Doesn't even know how to use a meat slicer.

Lance reluctantly asks Keith for help, Keith is about to say fuck off and die but then he recognizes that horrible pickup line that Lance tried on him the other night as belonging to the shakespeare play he was supposed to make a whole report on by the end of the semester.

They strike a deal. Shakespeare lessons in exchange for lessons on how to do laundry, how to use a vacuum cleaner, you know... commoner stuff.

Despite their constant bickering, it's a wild success, Keith gets an A- in the shakespeare report, and in the heat of the moment, he invites Lance out to his hometown for thanksgiving.

Well, every single person in the small town of Marmora assume they're an item and they keep denying it despite being clearly smitten with each other. Eventually, Keith realizes how much Lance has changed from that arrogant brat who came to town and quoted him shakespeare to the charming, curious man helping out at their family's garage all day without exhaustion -- who also quotes him shakespeare.

They kiss. Lance hesitates, wary that he'd been lying to Keith this entire time, but in the end, couldn't resist.

The very next day, Lance receives a call from his mother that he should come home, he refuses, they get into an argument, and he hangs up just as Keith wakes up.

They form a playful romance, fooling around at work, between classes; each time Lance tries to find a way to tell Keith about the truth but fails to do so.

Then, of course, the tabloids find out.

Keith is understandably furious after learning about the truth and refuses to speak to Lance, who is again being called home by his mother. He finds that he has no choice but to fly back home since the press has made it impossible for him to resume his life at the Garrison.

Before leaving, Lance writes Keith a long letter apologizing for everything and assuring him that what they had was real, and that he loves him. Inside, he encloses a plane ticket to Altea.

Back at the palace, Lance learns that his mother was the one who sent the press to his door because it was the only way to get him to come home. Before he could even get angry about that, she reveals why he absolutely had to come home and resume his duties at once: his father, the king, was ill; and he was to ascend the throne imminently.

Meanwhile, Keith tries to talk himself out of taking Lance's invitation to fly to Altea because he's a liar isn't he Keith pull yourself together man he's a lying bastard but while answering questions at his Shakespeare class, Keith comes to the realization that if he didn't pursue what he had with Lance, he would regret it for the rest of his life.

Keith flies to fucking Altea. Royal staff greet him and take him to the palace which unnerves him a lot but every other emotion fades away once he sees Lance again, in his official royal attire, looking every bit like the Prince Charming he was. Keith was so so so in love.

They're in each other's arms in Lance's massive bed when he tells Keith about the real reason he's been called home, and that he's scared to be king, but having Keith around gives him confidence. He eventually musters up the courage to ask Keith to stay, to be his partner - not exactly a royal title but that's only because the monarchy is a million years old. Altea has since become more accepting of other identities...

Before Keith could respond, Lance is called away to some important princely duty, allowing Keith some time to think about Lance's proposition. It's only now that he realizes how much this will actually change his life. Move all the way to Altea, away from his friends and family, what does a royal partner even do? He wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to do with his life yet but... he needed at least to try and find out. Keith knew he had to turn Lance's offer down.

Keith leaves the palace and goes to explore the city. Lance finds him at sunset and he looks heartbroken because he thought Keith had run away, spooked by his proposal.

Keith sits him down on a bench and explains his decision. He needed a year. A year to find himself or whatever people say. A year to rid himself of any and all regrets so that when he commits to Lance he will have none of them.

Keith takes out a book he bought from his excursion this morning. As You Like It by William Shakespeare, bearing the story of lovers Rosalind and Orlando who, despite being separated, found each other in the end. Keith asks Lance to marry him when the time comes. Lance says yes.

After Lance's coronation, he sees Keith off at the airport and tells him to send pictures from every stop on his trip. Keith says of course and gets on the plane.

#I WENT INSANE WITH THIS FOR NO REASON REALLY #i havent thought about klance in years #the floodgates opened #klance #keith #keith kogane #lance #lance mcclain #voltron #voltron legendary defender #vld #au #au ideas

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justaz · 9 days

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lance who always wanted to be a fighter pilot would NEVER be a farmer and we can throw hands if you disagree. anyways au time. allurance happens or doesn’t happen doesn’t matter but they aren’t together now. allura is queen of new altea with her advisor coran and close “friend” romelle. shiro is retired on earth w his husband adam. pidge also stays on earth and works with her parents on advancing earth’s technology. when they make breakthroughs, they relay it to matt when he pops by earth and then he takes it up into space to the rebellion who spreads it to planets that are behind on the galactic scale. hunk travels planet to planet with his moms and they connects all these different cultures and essentially does what he does in canon.

keith sort of takes over the blade and (since the war is over) turns it from a hidden rebellion group to a public aid and relief organization. they go planet to planet and help rebuild the worlds as much as they can. lance is on earth with his family but is Torn. he longed to be a fighter pilot since he was a kid, but being in space was almost unbearable bc of how bad he wanted to come home. when keith is visiting earth and talking about his travels to different planets, theres this flash of envy within lance and he comments about it. bada bing bada boom lance is joining keith into space once he leaves (he really has no idea how he gets into these things). he tells his family who are hesitant but ultimately supportive.

lance joins keith with the blade and finds himself greatly enjoying his time back up in space. he isn’t sure why until he mentions that he forgot something back of earth and keith asks if he wants to go back and grab it. lance has a choice now. he can go home if he wished and he can go up in space if he asked. when they were all kidnapped by the blue lion and jumped thru a wormhole, lance hadn’t been expecting staying up in space, away from his family, for years. the last bit of unease in lance settles and he thoroughly enjoys his time with the blade. by the time he’s set to go home, he barely even noticed time passing but he’s glad to be back.

he happens to return right as summer kicks off and he joins his family down in varadero. by the time august rolls around, he’s growing antsy again and staring up at the night sky with longing. his parents join him one night and encourage him to chase his dreams, to make younger him proud. lance says he doesn’t want to be away from his family like last time. they reassure him he won’t and point out how he could come home whenever he wished.

lance now spends end of august to beginning of june in space with keith helping planets, then june to august with his family on earth. its a good balance and makes everyone quite happy. eventually, keith starts to spend a bit more time on earth. he stops by toward the end of july and happens to catch lance’s birthday but that’s definitely purely a coincidence. keith spends a week in the states with shiro and adam then a couple of days with pidge and her family before going back down to cuba to spend the rest of august with lance before they fly back out.

rachel is the first to notice when lance and keith begin to share a bed when he stays. his mother catches them wrestling out in the water and chuckles to herself. veronica watches their hands linger against one another while doing the dishes after a family dinner that keith had attended.

its not long before keith’s time on earth extends until he’s practically following lance’s schedule. it’s not a surprise to anyone when marco walks in on lance and keith making out. he accepts responsibility as he did not knock before entering. his father had instructed them all to do so. thats on him.

#vld #wow its been a while #hi #voltron legendary defender #lance mcclain #bby they could never make me think ur a farmer #keith kogane #klance bc obviously #mcclain family #fanfiction #fanfic #fic ideas #headcanon #head canon #hc #canon divergent au #happy ending #yippee

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klaissance · 2 months

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nobody asked but here is my pitch for a princess and the pauper klance au

Princess Allura of Altea generally likes her life. She lives in a palace with her father, King Alfor, her quirky tutor and longtime friend Coran, and her lady-in-waiting Romelle who she definitely is not in love with. Don't worry about it.

Her being totally not in love with Romelle is something to not worry about at all because actually, as of fairly recently, Allura is engaged! To a man (ew) she's never met (double ew): Prince Keith of Marmora. Their matrimony is to solidify an alliance between Altea and Marmora which, if everyone's being honest, is mostly to haul Altea out of its recent troubles. The kingdom is floundering and its people have been suffering for too long; this alliance with Marmora offers a fresh start and a royal wedding promotes economic stimulation, etc etc politics politics

Allura loves her people and her father so she's gonna suck it up and do this. But she can't and won't be jazzed about it all the time. Sometimes she wishes she could be anyone but herself, with the freedom to make selfish choices.

Anyway down in the town there is this boy named Lance McClain and he just so happens to have a vaguely similar facial structure to Altea's princess (rip this has to be a blue-eyed Lance story to work, huh) and he works at the dress emporium under Monsieur Iverson who is, frankly, an abusive boss. But Iverson is funding Lance's sister's education. The McClains need this, and so Lance pricks his fingers and works every waking hour for pennies that he never even gets to see. Lance loves his family so he's gonna do it but he can't and won't be jazzed about it all the time. Sometimes he wishes he could be anyone but himself, with the freedom to make selfish choices.

do u feel me on this guys

also Allura has five cats named Onyx, Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire, and Topaz and she loves them very much. But Sapphire has been acting strange recently...

Lance has this cat that he calls Blue that he doesn't actually have but she shows up night after night at his window and he feeds her and she lays on his lap while he works and he loves her very much

......it's the same cat *hold for applause*

anyway Romelle takes Allura into town to "run errands" or something but really it's just a date and one of Allura's last tastes of freedom before she gets hitched to whoever this Keith dude is

and Sapphire slips away and dashes through the streets and Allura chases her down and finds her perched on a windowsill in an alley being fed by a stranger who looks a little familiar and oh--

Lance and Allura finally meet and look at each other and are like woah we could definitely be siblings genetics are so weird

Bonded by their shared cat they get along splendidly and have a nice and surprisingly deep talk about their respective plights, and Allura promises to call on Lance soon

The next morning Coran and Romelle go to the princess only to find her bed empty save for a note that says she's taken the cats and run away...

The note is sus and then Sapphire shows up (from spending the night at Lance's.) Coran and Romelle know Allura would never leave just Sapphire behind, so they're immediately Not Buying It but they don't know who they can trust, and also this is a disaster because Prince Keith and his entourage are literally coming to visit today so they need to fix this asap

Romelle remembers the boy from the village who looked weirdly like Allura and she has the best/worst idea of all time...

Cue "To Be A Princess" as performed by Coran and Romelle at Lance, who by the end of the song is unclockable he's so good at princess cosplay

When "Allura" appears at dinner as scheduled, Alfor's advisor Zarkon and his shitty son Lotor are shook but they stay quiet

you guys lotor as preminger is so funny pLEASE

AND THEN KEITH SHOWS UP

Keith and his diplomat friends, The Holts, and his captain of the guard Shiro, pull up to dinner to meet Keith's future wife

Keith's a gay man he's not thrilled about this. She's certainly a handsome woman, if her portraits are to be believed, but there's nothing to be done about it. Lifelong bummer for Keith. Such is princedom.

So Keith and co. show up in Altea and they meet the princess and Keith swears she's a little broader in the shoulders and sharper in the jaw than he'd expected but chalks it up to shitty portraiture. He'll hire the court painter from Marmora when they're married.

Lance in his princess costume is like "oh lord he's fine" but then they go on a bunch of weird dates and mostly bicker a bunch because Keith hates that he's forced to be here and Lance is just sort of like that

meanwhile Allura's like busting her own ass out of the mines and lotor sings how can i refuse *hold for standing ovation*

and since Sapphire didn't get kidnapped with the other cats she's still around and Lance talks to her in the bath and is generally just being silly goofy and Keith happens to walk by and hear Lance talking in his normal tone to somebody named "Blue" and the door happens to be a little open and Keith happens to peek--he doesn't even know why he literally doesn't even like women--and wait just a fucking second that is a boy and a wig on the floor and Keith to himself is like 'um should i complain about being lied to, something wack is going on here' and then he's like 'wait I'm gay and he's hot let's see how this plays out' and says nothing LMAO

but then their little dates get way more interesting because Keith is trying to tease out this secret and also is like,, actually interested

maybe they do a horseback riding date where Lance gets to wear pants and have the big platinum wig tied back and he feels a little more like himself and he and Keith hardly even bicker anymore they just sort of have a great time together and Lance feels a little insane for this whole thing but he really likes him but he has to tell him the truth and he's literally about to admit it

but then Lotor comes back from checking on Allura in the mines and knows the princess at the palace is a fake so he calls Lance out and rips the wig off, the whole thing, and Lance is thrown in the dungeon when moments ago he was literally a hair's breadth away from kissing Keith on the mouth UGH life is so cruel

Lotor and Zarkon convince Alfor that Allura is dead and they plot to strike and stage their coup during her funeral or something idk

But meanwhile Romelle and Allura and the cats are power-lesbianing their way out of the mines, and meanwhile meanwhile Keith busts Lance out of jail and they go also to the mines to try to save Allura

just four gays and their cats standing at the mines like ok what now

they bust into the funeral proceedings and wreck Lotor's shit, Allura definitely throws him over her shoulder and skips him like a rock and they explain everything to Alfor

Lotor and Zarkon go to jail and Altea is saved even without the marriage alliance because Allura and Romelle found extra stores of quintessence locked in the geodes in the mines or whatever

Lance is now so thoroughly sponsored by not one but two royal families that his family will want for nothing ever again--his siblings are put on royal scholarship to any school of their choosing in either Altea or Marmora. Lance himself has always wanted to travel, so he does, and he writes letters to Keith the whole time and when he returns Keith is waiting for him and they do a big gay double wedding with Allura and Romelle just like in the Barbie movie <3

the end

#THIS ONE GOT AWAY FROM ME YALL #i think i cooked #somebody tell me this isnt perfect #oh wait u cant #klance #klance ficlet #sort of #my writing #princess and the pauper au #like am i nuts for this #maybe #vld au #i just think this has all the pieces #lance and allura as besties #allura and keith as disaster gays #klance spiced with mistaken identities #chefs kiss

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chocopbwafer · 1 year

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[ general dating headcanons with fem!human!reader ]

Pairing : [m!voltron!chars x fem!reader]

TW? : None

Word Amount : 836

Originally Posted On : AO3

When Shiro gets stressed out he just likes to rest his head In your lap, or In the crook of your neck while he wraps his arms around your waist.

He finds your presence very comforting.

When you're worried or stressed out, he catches on Immediately.

Will give you a glass of your favorite beverage, maybe some snacks and hold you close to him, and you just bury your head In his chest enjoying the comfort.

"Want to talk about It?"

If you don't want to, then he'll respect that, he'll just try to keep whatever's bothering you off your mind.

If you do want to though, he'll definitely listen to whatever you want to vent about.

He's been In a few past relationships so he's decent In experience

He gives great hugs.

(Sometimes he likes to be the little spoon.)

Idk why but he gives me the vibe of somebody who can cook good waffles

He likes to kiss the bridge of your nose.

If you have freckles then he's definitely kissing each one he can find.

Kiss his forehead while playing with his hair If you want him to melt Into a puddle

(♡)

You and Hunk have your own little cooking class with each other.

One part of you Is paying attention to what he's saying while he's cooking with you and the other part Is just smiling cause he's smiling too and his happiness Is so contagious???

He's been on a few dates before but this would be his first time In a serious relationship so he's kinda awkward at first

He eventually warms up and gets closer to you

He's a really good singer, like, you come home one evening and just hear him In the shower singing his lungs away

If you've had a nightmare he'll hum and sing to you while holding you close, and he sounds so nice you end up dozing off.

Kiss his cheeks and he's just gonna grin at you like a goof

(♡)

Self-care for Lance Is a very big deal, and If he notices that you're not taking time out to care for yourself he's putting that to a whole stop.

Ask him for face masks and moisturizers cause the boy stays stocked up

He'll definitely wash and braid your hair (If you let him that Is!)

Pampers you with love and affection every chance he can

He's clingy and needs kisses every five seconds

"Lance, I JUST kissed you"

"I want another one though!"

Despite his constant flirting he actually has never been In a relationship, let alone a date

So when he asks you out and you accept he's kinda confused

"Now what?"

Very sweet boyfriend

He likes to nuzzle his head Into your neck and sneak a peck or two there.

His jaw Is kinda ticklish but he certainly won't complain if you pepper a few kisses there

(♡)

Both you and Shiro are the only ones that can calm Keith down when he's agitated.

Just pull him aside and talk to him for a little bit

He'll calm down

Eventually

He's never been In a relationship before and he's kinda emotionally constipated so the whole dating and love thing Is kinda awkward for him

So when he asks you out, flowers In hand, his head averted and cheeks a dusty pink you already know he didn't do It on his own

Shiro, Hunk and Pidge helped him out

Coran helped too, but Keith was pretty sure the courting methods he was talking about probably only worked on Altean women

Goes to Shiro for advice occasionally

He does not understand flirting

He'll just look at you confused and then like, ten hours later he's like "oh"

He really likes to hold your hands, and just idly rub along the lines of your palms

He likes to kiss your knuckles

His shoulders are kinda ticklish

(♡)

Sometimes you'll tag along behind Coran when he makes improvements on the castle-ship.

While you help him with chores and whatnot he might talk about what Altea was like

He'll apologize for babbling but If you encourage him to keep talking about his home-planet and he will not hesitate to just talk about what It was like, and you end up smiling cause his eyes are literally sparkling the whole time

Tell him about earth dang it

Poor man doesn't know what snow is

If you and the rest of the crew ever make It back home you promise to yourself the first thing you'll do Is show your boyfriend how to make a snowman

Has been In a few relationships and dates before but with Altean women

He has no clue on how to pursue a human woman

Gets advice from both Pidge and Shiro

He's oddly warm

Like, If you cuddle or hug him he just feels like a fricking furnace

Very overprotective and sweet boyfriend tbh

He likes to sneak little kisses at the tips of your ear

fin.

#voltron x reader #shiro x reader #hunk x reader #lance x reader #keith x reader #coran x reader #headcanons #originally posted on ao3

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autisticlancemcclain · 6 months

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wip tease number god knows, truly

The phone doesn’t ring for more than two seconds. Which is crazy, because New Altea is an unfathomably huge number of lightyears away and also Lance’s phone signal is perpetually garbage.

“Ahoy,” greets Allura when the line connects, because she is strange.

“Ahoy,” Lance greets back, because he loves her.

They sit in silence. He can hear, vaguely, the clicking sounds of compacts being opened and closed, and the particular humming noise she always makes when she’s putting on eyeliner.

It occurs to Lance, for the first time, that they have known each other so long and so closely that to the outsider, their relationship might be quite strange. The thought makes him smile widely.

“So,” he says.

Allura hums again. Deliberately, this time.

Lance takes another long time to answer, digging the toe of his boots into the ground. He spies a worm wiggling in the newly churned dirt and bends down to pluck it, writhing, out of its hovel. He quickly snaps a picture and sends it to Pidge with the caption, ‘didn’t know you were on Earth today.’ She responds with a grotesquely realistic custom clown emoji.

“There is a possibility. Perhaps. That I do not actually want to be a farmer.”

“No shit,” replies the Queen of New Altea And Also Lots Of Other Things Lance Can’t Remember, blithely.

Lance sniffs haughtily. “This is quite the revelation, you know. I’ve had four panic attacks about it.”

“You have an anxiety disorder. You had a panic attack about malevolent gut bacteria last week.”

“…This is true.”

“Also, whenever I feel you need to be humbled, I ask your mother to send me stuff from your childhood. There’s a video in particular I enjoy of you sobbing about the prospect of being anything but an astronaut. You looked at a cornfield and threw up. You were four, I believe.”

Lance does, actually, vaguely remember that. Well, he remembers Luis writhing on the floor, weeping with laughter, and kicking him in the shins. He also remembers the cornfield, if only because he distinctly remembers lobbing a piece of corn at Luis’ head, also.

He was a very expressive child. Also, Luis is a turd.

“I am entitled to a period of self-reflection,” Lance says primly.

“It has been an Entire Year, knobhead.”

“I needed time to collect my thoughts in peace and on Earth. I died, you know.”

“Oh, did you,” says Allura drily. “I wonder how that went.”

Lance’s smile widens. He lets her have this one. “Fuck farming, okay. I’m bored. I love my family to pieces but I need to be closer to drama. Give me a job.”

“That is a garbage application, Leandro.” He hears the distinct sound of a nail polish bottle being shaken. “I should hire someone more qualified.”

“How about you hire deez nuts.”

“Hm,” she says, and he can hear her grinning. “On the other hand, I need a second in command who is unafraid to challenge me. You know, in case I grow corrupt with power.”

She pretends to deliberate for a moment.

“You’re hired. I’ll send someone to come pick you up tomorrow.”

“Is that someone going to be a hot, tall Altean in a slutty outfit?” Lance asks hopefully.

She can’t help a laugh. Lance grins triumphantly. “You’re fired.”

“Is that a yes?”

“I’ll think about it.”

She hangs up.

#this is going to be diplomat lance bodyguard keith post canon divergence no one let me forget to write this #vld #voltron #lance #lance mcclain #allura #princess allura #lance & allura #i simply love them #post canon #canon divergence #pre klance #pining lance #diplomat lance #wip tease #my writing #fic

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electricsynthesis · 1 month

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vld sexuality headcanons

allura: bi (has no concept of human sexuality) (altea did not delineate sex and gender the same way we do) (they aren’t, like, progressive though. It’s more complicated than that. But allura doesn’t see any difference between male and female physical attractiveness thus making the human word of the most equivalency bisexual)

keith: if asked will say he’s bi but in actuality he’s probably something more like demi or grayromantic because he gets a crush like once every 20 years and it’s always earthshattering embarrassing world ending intense & makes him want to punch their lights out

lance: gay. Hes gay. He looooves girls and he thinks that’s attraction for the first 18 years of his life because girls are cool and he wants to be around them. Everytime he sees a man he thinks has pretty hair and eyes and mouth he wants to piss them off on purpose and it doesn’t register that this is a repressed urge to fuck them until he’s an adult

hunk: bi. He realized when he was 12 and thought a boy was pretty. the fastest way to annoy him is to ask if he’s ever had a crush on lance. the answer is actually that yes, he has, when they were 13, but he will take this fact to his grave

pidge: I just don’t think she cares quite honestly

coran: altea’s equivalent of a refined gay man. a size queen. Pillow princess.

#shiro not included because it isn’t a headcanon. he is gay. as we are all aware #voltron legendary defender #voltron #keith kogane #lance mcclain #pidge holt #hunk garrett #vld coran #vld allura

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discordiansamba · 5 months

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was rotating the beta concept for cosmic dust while making dinner and somehow I rotated it too hard and came up with a concept that I basically like to call. oops! all Galra!

(well, except for Allura and Coran)

Keith is half-Altean, half-Galra and grew up on Altea as Allura's childhood friend. His mother Krolia worked as an ambassador to Altea, and ultimately sided with King Alfor over Zarkon. Keith was sealed away in a cryopod alongside Allura and Coran, while Krolia left before Altea's destruction to ensure that a rebellion against Zarkon would remain among his people and founded the Blade of Marmora.

They wake up on their own and have to figure out where to go from here. They know Keith has the potential to fly the red lion, but they'll need to find the rest of the lions and the rest of the paladins if they're going to have any hope of defeating Zarkon. They concentrate on finding the lions first, since perhaps they can use them to find their paladins.

Pidge is a low-ranking Galra working at a work camp for prisoners. She's not fond of the Empire, half because she's a runt and they treat her poorly- ignoring her talents and forcing her to work a terrible job that no one else wants instead. But half because she's used her talents at hacking to see things the Galra Empire doesn't want it's citizenry to see, and she's horrified. She strikes up a small friendship with a human prisoner named Matt, and when rebels come raid the prison, she helps bust him out.

He in turn asks if she wants to come with him- a chance which she seizes. She becomes a rebel, working alongside Matt who gradually becomes like a big brother to her.

(Matt holding up Pidge under the arms: hey mom. hey dad. I adopted a little sister while I was in space. hope you don't mind.)

Hunk is a low ranking Galra foot soldier stationed on a Balmera, but the lifestyle of a Galra soldier has never sat well with him. He's inherently kind, something which the Empire has tried and failed to stamp out. He sneaks extra rations to the Balmerans, doing what little he can for them, even though it's not much.

(Also there's a cute Balmeran girl named Shay he kind of has a crush on? He wishes he could do so much more for her, though...)

Lance is a member of the Blade of Marmora... in training. He has years to go before he can actually have a shot at the trials, even though he's got a burning urge to go out there right now and do something. Understandably, when he meets the literal son of their founder and he turns out to be a hotshot pilot who was personally trained by the Krolia, he feels the brewing of a rivalry.

(Keith still does not notice. Some things never change.)

Shiro was raised to be one of the Galra Empire's elite. He was promoted to Lieutenant at a young age, and served Zarkon loyally- until he was sent was sent on a mission to help locate the four remaining lions. He crash-landed on Earth and lost his memories, but was found by Adam. Without his memories, he became a kinder, gentler person- and falls in love with Adam in the process.

When a second scouting party arrives two years later, he's forced to confront his past- and vows to do better. To be better. He reveals himself to the Galaxy Garrison and works with them to strengthen their defenses. The true purpose of the Kerberos mission was to set up deep space sensors that would alert them of any incoming ships into the system... they were successfully installed, but what a bitter irony it was that they were too late for the Kerberos crew.

#adam was the one who gave Shiro the name 'Shiro'#Pidge is a nickname given to her by Matt #do Hunk and Lance have Galra names? maybe.#Keith is still Keith. because it's really funny that his parents managed to land on a human name #allura voice: is this a superweapon or a metaphor for the Galra's ability to redeem themselves as a people #allura: just kidding. it's both #oops! all galra au

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xxmiracle · 2 months

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Here's the preview of "Dragon Heart" that I said I would post. This is the only part of the Voltron crew I have written so far. I hope I have every one written correctly as how they are.

~~~

“How is a person the Heart of Voltron?!” Pidge, the shortest and youngest in the room, asked the Princess of Altea, Allura.

Allura looked at them and she held a positive expression compared to earlier expressing her sorrow for the family and civilization she just found out is dead. But of course she couldn’t let herself mourn just yet, there are things in the way currently that won’t allow her to do that. Assigning everyone's roles in the team they must form to perform their duties to protect but she was missing one person. Voltron needs five paladins and a Dracaneon of a specific lineage, specifically born with the ability to fulfill the duty for Voltron.

“Our last Dragon Heart is from Planet Dracaena a species that are known for their magic and dragons-” Before she could finish she was interrupted by the big one named Hunk choking on some food that her advisor just advised her to eat after their ten thousand deca- phoebe sleep. Allura looked at him worryingly as the same brunette that attempted to flirt with her patted his friend in the back. “Is he okay?” She asked worriedly to Shiro who only shared the same worried look.

“Sorry! But Dragon?!” Hunk blurted out his coughing fit had passed. “Yeah, aren’t dragons a fake animal or something?” Lance’s question followed up.

“Mythical creature.” Pidge corrected which earned a “Same Thing!” from Lance. Perhaps it was but to Pidge they had the better word for it.

Allura understood the creature was foreign to humans but she didn’t know they would be known as fairy tales in their home planet. As far as she’s aware the only dragons in the universe are from Dracaena. “Dracaena is where Dragons are born and raised alongside their riders. It’s extremely common for most Dracaenas to be bonded with a dragon or dragon’s.” Coran her advisor decided to explain for her.

“What about a dragon with no rider?” Keith suddenly asked silent and mostly away from everyone else since they’ve arrived here. Coran pointed his chin out, smoothing his mustache between his index finger and thumb. “Well, that would be considered a dragon free to bond or a wild. Does that answer your question?” Keith just nodded in understanding.

Allura clapped her hands together activating her computer. “We now need to find the new Dragon Heart. Thanks to the help of the previous heart, we'll easily find her. The hard part is convincing her here.” She explained the show of the universe map right in front of them moving it till it stopped on Dracaena. “It’s obvious with Zarkon’s tyranny things have changed a lot, not for the better. Dracaena must be far from the old Dracaena we knew.”

Then a beautiful woman popped up on the screen gaining everyone's attention to who the new Dragon Heart will be. And like Allura said it was easy. “This is the current Empress Khuzaimah of Dracaena '' The princess announced her name.

Keith’s eyes widened at the picture that appeared before them. She looked recognizable to his older sister, the same pale complexion, the same white and shiny locks of hair that was held in a hairstyle that made her look elegant like a real royal that she was supposed to look like. But, it didn’t ‘look’ like his sister. Though everything else was different, what seemed to help him identify her was her expression.

“She's pretty.” Lance whistled, Keith was quick to glare and give him a not-so-soft kick to the leg. “What, Dropout!” Lance glared back at him. They both stopped seeing the warning glare from Shiro.

Keith only let out a scoff and looked back at the hologram picture of the woman. “Keith, you’ll go to Dracaena to bring the Empress here.” Allura said. Lance looked at him skeptical as if doubting he could convince one person, how would he convince an Empress of a nation of dragons. “You? Convince that hottie?” Keith looked at him annoyed. “I can convince her!” Allura had tasked Lance and Hunk to get the Yellow lion and for Shiro and Pidge to get the green lion. Since the red lion is nowhere to be found he’s the only one free to do this. But as much as Lance annoyed him he had a right to be skeptical about him. He’s not good with people, always keeping his walls up to keep them out.

“Uh, Princess, how do I get there? She’s an Empress, so it must be hard to get to her.” Keith asked the princess, he watched as her eyebrows furrowed a bit. “Unlike the two planets, the green and yellow lions residing in Dracaena were the most dangerous out of them. And the princess wasn’t sure how they would treat Keith once he arrived there and she wasn't sure after ten thousand years if they would treat him with aggression or turn him away. Allura was gambling one of her paladins-to-be for the Dragon Heart.

Princess Allura nodded at Coran. “Please show them the Capital.” He nodded a hologram of the Giant palace. “It’s huge!” Hunk commented. Pidge glasses shined as she pushed it up the bridge of her nose. “It’s bigger than the one we are in now.” They commented in Amazement. Coran made a face at them, he looked proud earlier when they were amazed by the castle but perhaps they found something more amazing. He looked deflated now. “The Dracaena Empire is much older than Altea. This is the last dated picture of the capital where the Emperor and Empress reside, it is heavily guarded with guards for both combat and magic users including their Dragon Riders. I am unsure if it’s guarded with Galran too.”

Shiro looked at Keith worryingly, if it is true then it would be unsafe for him to go. Especially if there’s Galra, if he is caught who knows what they’ll do. “Princess, if it is dangerous send me to go-” Shiro volunteered but Keith quickly declined. “You just got out of their hands, you can’t risk going back just for me!” He objected. Even for that reason Shiro wasn't stressed enough about letting his brother-figure out to face that.

And Keith understood the fears his brother may be facing now, it’s been obvious their whole trip here. “I’ll be fine.”

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