#but one of them is referencing klance and one is referencing shiro or whatever his name is | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

blayzez · 5 years

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Welp. This got out of hand quickly.

Relationship: Klance

Word Count: 1,890

Rating: Teens & up

Keith is walking with Acxa; they're only going over plans to help the Blade with a mission -- Keith is too gay for the two of them to be anything more than friends.

Movement catches Keith's eye, and he looks over to see Lance laughing with Allura. Keith jerks his head back to Acxa, though he's not listening anymore, a ball of jealousy wringing his insides. He knew this would happen, knew Lance and Allura would end up together at some point, but knowing didn't make it less painful. He had tried and he had failed; either Lance didn't notice or didn't reciprocate. Either way, Keith was left out to dry and Lance was free to do whatever he wanted. He just wished the rejection didn't hurt so much.

It's too bad Keith turned away as quickly as he did, or he would have seen the look Lance gave him, similar feelings to Keith’s brewing in his own stomach.

He had wanted Allura for so long, so why wasn't he happy now that he has her?

----

Keith is leaving for the mission he and Acxa had planned. Earth is doing relatively well, so Team Voltron can do without Keith for a bit. This mission is looking to be dangerous, too; they're going to infiltrate the main Galra ship to gather intel and maybe weaken Honerva's crew. Keith has already come to terms with the fact that he may not return.

And that's why he does what he does, why he pulls Lance aside when everyone is seeing him off.

"What's wrong?" Lance asks, concern -- so much of it that it makes Keith's heart hurt -- coating his voice in its warmth.

"Nothing's wrong," Keith corrects, avoiding eye contact. Why is this so hard? Taking a deep breath, he begins, "Look, this is going to be a-- a pretty tough mission--"

"Yeah, but you're you, so you'll be fine," Lance's confidence is not strong, the waver in his voice giving away that he's seen the dark implication behind Keith's words.

"Let me finish," Keith huffs. He sighs, closes his eyes for a moment, then opens them and locks them onto Lance's. "There's something you need to know."

Lance looks like he wants to stop Keith, but he stays quiet -- out of curiosity or something else, Keith isn't sure but is no less grateful.

"Lance, I--"

Lance breaks. "Keith, stop it. Whatever--" he sucks in a deep breath when his voice shakes and cracks, steeling himself up. "Whatever you have to say, just tell me when you get back."

"Lance--"

"Because you're going to come back, okay?"

"Lance, liste-"

"Keith, no, don't do this--"

"LANCE!"

Keith surges forward and grabs Lance's hands, pulling Lance close. They're so close that if Keith leaned towards the other boy just a little more, their lips would meet. Keith pushes that thought away.

"I'm in love with you," he says, voice considerably quieter.

Lance falls silent, his eyes as wide as they can go.

"I just... I needed you to know that before I left."

More silence. Keith takes that as the rejection he had expected. He removes his hands from Lance's and steps back, looking away.

"That-- That was it. I'll be going."

With that, he turns on his heel and leaves, Lance staring after him in shock. Keith is already in the Galra cruiser by the time Lance manages, "Wait..."

----

That stupid mission that stupid Keith had planned with stupid Acxa had been a trap. Because of course it had. As a result, Team Voltron is now on a rescue mission led by Lance.

After they found out that Honerva had captured Keith, the Black Lion was insistent that Lance be its new temporary pilot. Allura ended up taking over Red in Lance's place and Shiro took over Blue in her place. It was a mess, but once they got Keith back, everything could go back to normal, Lance hoped.

So he led them straight to Honerva's ship, naming Pidge and Hunk as their MVPs since it was their intel on the ship and its surrounding fleet that allowed Team Voltron to infiltrate mostly unnoticed.

Once inside, Lance ordered they all split up; Pidge and Hunk in one direction, Allura and Shiro in two other directions, and Lance down a long hallway. The sooner they found and saved Keith, the better.

Lance was the one who found him, but the not the way he had expected.

"Keith!" he shouts, jubilant that Keith is alive and well and... not imprisoned, apparently?

Keith's back is to him, and when he looks over his shoulder at the Blue Paladin, Lance's stomach drops; Keith's eyes are a vicious, glaring yellow, and his grin is terrifying to look at, not at all suiting Keith's rugged face.

"Lance."

The voice is almost mechanical, corruption and malice dripping from Keith's mouth at the name. Lance has never been more afraid.

Keith turns around and steps forward, his Galra blade activated as he prowls towards Lance.

"... Keith?" Lance's voice is much softer than he intended, and it breaks halfway through Keith's name, but emotion is engulfing Lance like a wave and he can't control it right now.

Keith raises his blade, his grin becoming a smirk. "What's wrong, Lance?" he asks smoothly, and a chill runs up Lance's spine at the sound of it.

"Keith, don't do this," Lance pleads, begs really, pulling out his own sword to ready his defense.

Keith says nothing. They circle each other for a moment before Keith rushes forward and swings his blade expertly at his opponent; Lance lifts up his blade and blocks Keith's attack just in time.

"Keith!" Lance cries out, hoping against all odds that Keith will wake up, will return to him.

No such luck.

Quickly, the room is filled with the sound of clashing blades, of grunts and groans, of Lance's pleas and Keith's cruel taunts.

A loud klang sounds as the two blades meet harshly. With a burst of strength, Lance manages to push Keith's blade away, stunning Keith momentarily with the force of it. Lance sees his opening, and he takes it.

Grabbing Keith by his free hand, Lance pulls him close and presses his lips to Keith's, like Keith had desired before this all started.

But Keith isn't Keith right now and this isn't a sappy romance novel. This kiss is not enough; rather, Keith takes this as his chance and, while Lance is distracted, runs Lance through with his blade. Lance cuts off the kiss with a choked sound.

The sight of Lance severely injured and in pain stirs something inside Keith, and he shouts in anger, "Why don't you just give up?!"

When Lance's answer comes, it's soft but firm, "I'm not giving up on you," and a memory of another battle with a loved one, a loved one that said those exact words to him multiple times when Keith needed to hear them most, swims into Keith's mind. And he's jolted out of his trance at that, at the realization that he is on the other side of the battle this time, is the one hurting the loved one this time, and the pain of that knowledge hurts Keith so much he can't stand it, so much that he's suddenly awake and catching a slumping Lance in his arms.

"Lance!" he chokes out. Lance's wound is gaping on his abdomen and realizing that he's the one that did that causes grief to rip through him. He falls to his knees and cradles Lance to his chest.

Lance smiles feebly, which sends needles into Keith's heart. "Welcome back, Team Leader," he manages hoarsely. Keith presses his forehead to Lance's, eyes tight with pain.

"Stay with me, Lance," he begs in a whisper, voice cracking. "You're stronger than this, just stay alive until Allura gets here, okay?"

"Hey," Lance says softly, ignoring Keith's pleas. "I didn't get the chance to tell you before. I love you, too."

Keith has to work very hard to keep from crying. "Don't do this. Tell me later, when we're back on Earth."

Somehow, Lance chuckles. "Shoe's on the other foot now," he jokes weakly. "How's it feel?"

It takes Keith a moment to figure out that Lance is referencing the last time they spoke, when Keith was leaving on this mission. He gives Lance a small smile, though it doesn't reach his eyes.

"Honestly? It sucks."

Lance chuckles again, his laughter turning into coughs. Keith holds him closer. They quiet after that, Lance eventually slipping into unconsciousness.

"Lance?!" Keith exclaims, panicked. He presses his ear to Lance's chest, lays a hand on Lance's stomach, and breathes a sigh of relief when he hears the heartbeat and feels Lance's lungs filling and emptying. Keith can only pray Allura gets to them soon.

Luckily, she does. She stops moving the moment she sees the situation before her.

"Allura," Keith begs, voice breaking. "Please, he's dying." And suddenly, he can't keep the words from spilling out, "I did it, I didn't mean to, didn't want to, I was forced to fight him and I hurt him, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please, I don't want to be the reason he dies, please, Allura--"

He cuts off when Allura places her hands on his cheeks and pulls him in for a small hug.

"I understand," she tells him quietly, soothingly, before pulling away and looking solemnly at Lance.

Reacting to the unspoken command, Keith lays Lance down onto the floor and backs up slightly, crouching on his knees. The rest of the time is watching from the room's entryway, but Keith pays them little mind.

Allura's hands begin to glow as she places them on Lance's head. The color is a beautiful blue, a shade of blue that Keith has come to associate with Lance and only Lance, and Keith realizes belatedly that that's Lance's quintessence. Moments later, Allura is retracting her no-longer-glowing hands, and Lance is blinking his eyes open.

"Lance!" Keith bursts out, leaning over the blue paladin.

Lance's eyes find him immediately, and once their eyes lock, Lance smiles -- tired, but big. "Hey."

"Welcome back, Sharpshooter," Keith says fondly before enveloping Lance in a hug.

Lance wraps his arms around Keith's shoulders, tucking his face into Keith's neck. He can feel wetness against his own throat, where Keith's face is pressed into and where a few tears have spilled from Keith's eyes. He pulls back and uses his thumbs to wipe the tears from Keith's cheeks, smiling affectionately at Keith and getting a matching one in return.

Then, under some unspoken agreement, they move as one to close the distance between them, their lips pressing together gently but almost desperately.

Allura looks shocked at first, but her expression melts into something warm and happy; Lance deserves this happiness, and she wants him to have it.

Shiro watches the boys with a mixture of relief, pride, and happiness; Keith deserves this, and he's glad he won't have to hear Keith's constant stream of complaints over how annoyingly attractive and charming Lance is.

Hunk is bawling with happy tears, a teary-eyed Pidge hugging him in comfort.

After a moment, Lance and Keith break apart and look at their team, satisfaction and contentment softening their features.

They have their family, and finally, they have each other.

#voltron #klance #lance #keith #acxa #allura #fic #fanfic #fanfiction #my art #my post

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bluewonderer · 5 years

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Like Water Pt. 2 (Voltron)

Pairing: Klance Summary: There was nothing special about the day that Lance was taken from them.

Or: Shortly after the last battle with Sendak, Lance is captured and taken from Earth. Keith and the other Paladins tear apart the universe to find him. Warnings: Referenced/implied torture and violence, but there is a lot of fluff and hurt/comfort and happy endings to make up for it ;)

Part One on Tumblr

AO3 Link

Team Voltron leaves Earth while Veronica is still unconscious at the Garrison’s hospital, leg in a cast and hooked up to various machines. She's, ironically, in the same room Lance was in just a couple of weeks before. The picture Keith glimpses is the same as only a few weeks before as well--except this time it's Veronica instead of Lance, surrounded by her family, all shell-shocked and white-lipped.

Keith and the others don't have much time to sympathize with the McClain's. They spend as little time at the Garrison as possible after Lance's capture—only long enough to debrief, regroup, pack, and run for their Lions. Still, it’s hours before they can launch, and that's hours too long in this vast and endless universe. Lance's trail is cold before they can even leave Earth's atmosphere. It doesn't help that there is no signal from Lance's armor to track.

They decide to leave Coran and Romelle at the Garrison, though both fight hard to go with them. But they both were needed for final repairs to the Atlas, and to try to get more information from Luca, the Altean they’d recovered from the battle. There was also no one else they trusted more to watch over their home while they had to leave it abruptly.

The biggest roadblock actually centers around Shiro. There was no question that he was going to fly with them to find Lance. They all felt it in their bond with each other, where Shiro still resided with them even though he no longer operated a Lion. It was an instinctual drive to go, to hunt together as a pride, to recover their lost member and make themselves whole again. So, after the mission reports, Shiro was packing alongside the rest of them.

The Garrison had other ideas.

As captain of the Atlas, Shiro’s been re-trenched in military protocols and red tape while the Paladins remain on the fringe of the command structure. The Garrison higher-ups pull this red tape, try to lay a noose around Shiro’s neck. They call Shiro, along with Iverson, to a private meeting, barring the Paladins from entry.

Shiro is gone for precisely eight minutes before he bursts into Keith’s quarters, red-faced and out of breath and scaring the ever-loving hell out of an already on-edge Keith.

"Are you--" Shiro wheezes through heaving breaths before he visibly swallows. "Are you done packing--Keith, what are you doing with that pillow?"

Keith blinks, peeking from around his bed pillow shield and dropping his bayard back on his bed as he relaxes out of his fighting stance. "What the hell, Shiro. Did you run here all the way from Command? Why? Isn't your meeting now?"

“About that," Shiro says, grabbing Keith's bag from the foot of his bed and stuffing whatever was within reach into it. "We have to go. Now.”

“What the hell, I don’t need that pillow, Shiro, it’s going to take up too much—that umbrella won’t even fit—give me that!” He exclaims, snatching the bag back when Shiro picks up the nightstand with the apparent intention to try and put it in Keith's duffel.

“Great!” Shiro says, grabbing Keith by the shoulder and pulling him out. Keith barely manages to snatch his bayard in the whirlwind. “You’re ready. Let’s go. Guys, you hear that?” He says, pulling out his communicator. “We gotta go now.”

“What is going on—Shiro, I didn’t finish putting on my armor!” Shiro doesn’t break stride, grabbing Keith’s boot with his robot arm as they explode out Keith’s door.

They break right, but Shiro skids to a halt when six MPs round the corner at the end of the hall with bullet-proof vests and their weapons drawn.

“Takashi Shirogane—” one of them shouts.

“Shiro…?” Keith says, wary.

“You’re under arrest—”

“…Shiro?!”

“Wrong way, sorry!” Shiro says, pulling on Keith once again to turn around and sprint in the other direction. Keith has his bag tucked under one arm, his bare foot slapping on the floor drowned out by the thunder of the men rushing after them. “This way is much better.”

“Shiro!” Keith says, still confused, but his pop didn’t raise no fool. If someone was chasing you, you either fought them to make them stop or you outran them. They didn’t have time for option one. Lance didn’t have time. Besides, he trusted Shiro.

Shiro tells him later that the Garrison had tried to get Shiro to stay behind. Tried to get Shiro to convince Voltron to stay behind. Without Lance.

“You can’t abandon your home planet for the fate of one boy. If you go, you’ll face a court-martial. You could be stripped of your rank!”

But Shiro’s never been good with ultimatums.

“Then I guess you're finding someone else to pilot the Atlas. Good luck with that.”

And when the guards had moved to arrest Shiro, Iverson stood between him and the officers.

“For the record,” Shiro had said with one foot out the door. “That boy is Lance McClain, and he’s a savior of the universe. What will happen to Earth if we don’t save him?”

He and Shiro take one quick detour through the Garrison's hospital on their way out—it has nothing to do with throwing the MPs off of their trail, though it’s an added benefit. That’s when Keith manages to see the McClain family crowded around Veronica. Lance’s mom is in a chair on the corner, her fingers pressing her own cross necklace to her chest. She stares at Veronica, through her, and her lips are moving minimally like she’s singing a song to herself.

Or maybe this is what someone looks like when all they have left is prayer.

That’s all he sees before a man is filling the doorframe. He’s tall like Lance, taller than Shiro, with similar features but broader in the shoulders, skin sun-worn and leathery, cheeks flushed dark with anger. Keith’s not sure if it’s Lance’s father or an uncle or what he could possibly be to Lance or Veronica, but the fury in his face is so raw that it makes Keith flinch. In front of that anger, in front of the pain and worry in the room, Keith feels childish standing there with one bare foot, clutching a half-opened bag with his friend clearly carrying his shoe while they’re on the run from the Garrison. What reassurances could he possibly offer as he is?

The man in the doorway seems to question the same thing. “Haven’t you done enough?” he grouses, accent thick, before closing the door in their faces. He doesn’t even slam it, just closes it gently, but the click of the door shutting echoes like a gunshot in the hall.

Shiro’s breath shudders and Keith reaches out, gripping Shiro’s upper arm in a bruising, grounding grip. “It is not your fault,” Keith hisses. “It’s not. Don’t even think it, Shiro.”

Keith can see Shiro swallow. He’s pale. There’s a scabbed-over wound on his jaw and chin from the explosion that separated him from Lance all those hours ago. There’s still ash and dust in his hair, and Keith hasn’t failed to notice how he’s favoring his right side.

Shiro finally meets his gaze, and his expression is complicated, his eyes wet and tired, but the set to his jaw tells Keith just how angry and desperate Shiro is. “It’s not your fault, either,” Shiro says, just as fiercely. “And we’re going to find him. We’re going to get him back and end this war.”

They sprint out of the hospital, garnering hisses and glares from nurses and doctors alike. Shiro looks back toward the closed door because he won’t stop thinking that Lance’s family was right, that it was his fault. Keith doesn’t look back, for Shiro’s sake.

Keith plans to let Shiro ride in Black while he takes Red, but Red won’t let anyone in. They don’t have time to waste cajoling and pleading with her, so Keith pushes Shiro in Black and they take off, prepared to leave Red behind. Prepared to face the upcoming battles unable to form Voltron—there wasn’t a guarantee that they would be able to, even if Black did let Shiro fly her again.

But when the team breaks the atmosphere, Red is there in their formation, flying herself. Allura gasps in wonder at it, but it gives Keith a fierce sense of hope.

Red won’t give up until she gets Lance back. She might not let him in for a while as some sort of petulant payback for abandoning her after she does retrieve Lance, but she won’t stop flying until Lance is hers again. He's not sure if these are Red's thoughts or his own, he just knows it to be true. Knows it like he knows how to breathe.

Voltron blazes across the universe, chasing down Lance and his captors like eternal comets arching across the heavens. Keith thinks to himself and then later out loud to Hunk that they seem to run after Lance with more ferocity than they raced home to Earth just months before. Or maybe that was only Keith.

To him, Lance is home, like ShiroRedAlluraHunkPidgeBlack is home. But Lance with his soft morning smiles and biting wit, with his quiet but unshakable faith, his tangle of insecurities and his loud boasting, the startling moments of vulnerability sandwiched between his easy competence and confidence, his skin care routines and the way he curls up and falls asleep in any position…

Lance is more home than anyone else.

And Keith knows about home. He never had one, not the perfect TV kind of house and family with a dog and a cat he used to dream about, but that’s what made him sure he knew was home was supposed to be. Keith had spent years chasing after one—chased it across galaxies, immersed himself in an entirely alien culture, worked himself to the bone, bathed himself in blood, exiled himself only to realize home was behind him. He knows what home looks like for him. He’d never, ever stop until he had it again.

Usually, the presence of the other Lions was felt but muted in their bond. Like knowing someone was in the room but not seeing or hearing them. But ever since Lance was taken, Red made her presence known to Keith, some days even louder than he felt Black. She seemed to move at all times, restless and sleepless and relentless, a wildness about her that was almost manic. Keith had the infinite impression of her pressing up against the cage of his head hole, all sinew and muscle, fang and claw. An eldritch dread straining to just break free from their formation to run and run until she had Her Paladin Her pilot Her boy mineminemine.

Red sang until Keith’s nerves burned under his skin. She sang until her song was the only thing in his head.

Kosmo pace-teleports frequently during the first several hours of flight. He noses about the cockpit, which is really too small for him to be moving so much, his shoulders and haunches constantly jostling Keith’s elbows. He nearly knocks Shiro down with a clumsy turn. And then Kosmo starts wandering further and further out—blinking out with a flash of blue space dust for a few minutes before blinking back.

More time stretches between teleports and Keith starts to worry about Kosmo may be getting in to.

“Anyone seen my wolf?” He asks over their public comms. Behind him, Shiro sighs, clapping the back of the pilot's chair twice before wandering off to see if Kosmo snuck in Shiro's bed again.

A chorus of negatives answer him, and Keith frowns in confusion.

Then a blinking notification pops up on his screen, and he accepts. It’s a video feed of Red’s cockpit. The pilot’s chair is still achingly empty, the harness swinging over the side, the lights dim.

“Red?” Keith asks, feeling chills crawl up the back of his neck. “Is that you?”

And then Kosmo shoulders past the camera.

"Kosmo!" Keith calls.

Kosmo reappears back in the frame, ears perked as he looks around the cockpit in a confused manner, apparently trying to figure out where he heard Keith's voice.

Keith rolls his eyes. "Kosmo! Come back here!"

Kosmo gives no indication he heard, bending his head to sniff at the pilot's chair and the console, the microphone picking up his wet sniffles and snorts. Keith glimpses blazing blue markings before Kosmo is shoving his nose directly against the camera lens, blacking out everyone's view.

And then he sneezes. All over the lens.

“Nice,” Keith sighs, unamused.

As if Kosmo is aware of the camera, which Keith honestly doesn't put past him, the wolf backs up enough so Keith can see most of his face. His tongue lolls out of his mouth in a dumb doggy grin.

“Gross,” Pidge says. “Your dog is super fluffy and cute, but I’m not cleaning that.”

“What’s he doing in there?” Hunk asks as Shiro returns behind Keith and leans over his shoulder to watch.

“Hey, boy,” Keith says, gently, smiling tiredly when Kosmo cocks his head. “What are you doing there?”

Kosmo’s ears tilt forward, and he whines once, small and short, before turning around and disappearing out of the frame.

“…do you think he’s looking for Lance?” Pidge asks, voice small.

Kosmo passes by the frame again, head bent down and nose to the ground, following a dizzying circle of a trail before falling out of the screen once again.

“Yeah,” Keith says, throat tight. “I think maybe he is.”

There’s a flash of light at the corner of the screen, and then Kosmo is gone, continuing his vain search.

They push themselves to their limits. They’re low on supplies, morale, and patience when they land on the planet Haj'dha several weeks after Lance is taken from them. They usually only stop briefly at Coalition planets or swap moons for supplies, but this time they decide to stay a full day and night for more rest. The Adit, the local people in the region Voltron lands, generously offers them accommodations. Though the call of a real bed is tempting, they ultimately turn it down. No one on the team, including Allura and Hunk, is good company right now. The thought of being surrounded by strangers as well as confining walls after weeks of being cramped in their Lions is enough to suffocate Keith. The Adit seemed to understand and were quick to organize provisions, though they were still recovering from Galra occupation and were probably low on rations themselves. However, the Adit didn't hesitate to overload the Paladins with food, clothes and blankets, and medical supplies.

Most importantly, the Adit promised to report in if they heard any news about Lance.

They camp that night just outside of the Adit's capital, dragging their mattresses from the Lions so they can lie by a real fire under the stars, comfortable in the lush blankets and pillows provided by their hosts. The Lions form a protective perimeter around them, standing sentinel against the press of night. A canopy of stars arcs richly above them, eternal and breathtaking.

“OK,” Hunk sighs from Keith's left. “I’m going to say it, even if it makes me sound crazy. But does everyone hear Red or is it just me?”

Keith spends too long blinking up at the riot of stars above them before he realizes Hunk’s voice was outside of his head. With Lance gone, everything had been still and quiet, life with the sound on mute, with everyone not having the energy to talk much outside of planning and strategizing. As a result, the made-up voices of his team that he grew used to on the space whale resurfaced once again as he desperately wished for someone, anyone to break the unbearable silence.

“Thank God,” Pidge breathes out, turning on her mattress, so she’s up on her elbows and staring at Hunk across the fire, squinting against the warm light. “I thought it was, I don’t know, hallucinations from the lack of sleep.”

“I thought it was because I was her Paladin once,” Keith admits.

“Even I hear her,” Shiro says. “It goes on and on, even in my dreams.”

“I hear her, too,” Allura agrees. “But after the events on Earth, I hear all the Lions.”

“Me, too,” Pidge says. “Something must have happened, I’ve only ever heard Green before.”

“Man, everything was so crazy I don’t even know when it started,” Hunk says. "And I should be way more worried about it than I am. I mean. Multiple voices in your head, right? Has to be the lack of sleep. Honestly, though, totally not the weirdest thing, you know?"

“It has to be because you guys bonded with your Lions so well during those last days on Earth—like calling them from Saturn,” Shiro muses.

“Or piloting them from Sendak’s ship like some wacky virtual reality platform,” Keith adds.

“We certainly opened up our consciousness to the Lions in a way that we hadn’t accomplished before—in a way the First Paladins didn’t accomplish, either, I believe," Allura says. Her next words are quieter like she's contemplating more to herself than to them. "I’m beginning to think that there are no real limits to what Voltron and the bond between Lions and Paladins can accomplish.”

“I don't know if it's because I spent so much time with Black in the Astral Plane or maybe because the Paladin bond never goes away, but it seems I’m along for the ride,” Shiro says, sounding unsure of how he feels the situation. "At least when it comes to Red."

“Yellow is still the loudest to me, I can hear her clearer than anything,” Hunk says. “But the others are like voices in another room, you know, but like comforting. Like waking up in your room and hearing your parents talk while they make breakfast, but not being able to hear the exact words they're saying.”

“Yeah, there’s that’s,” Pidge says, thoughtful. “But it’s also creepy.”

“And invasive as hell,” Keith adds moodily, frowning when Shiro's arm flops over the space between them to nudge his shoulder.

And above them, roaring the loudest, was the Red Lion. Her consciousness pressed on them at all times, unrelenting, never giving her mourning-tinted rage a goddamned break.

“Kind of don’t blame her,” Hunk sighs, sitting up on his mattress and wrapping a blanket around his shoulders, rapidly losing interest in sleep in favor of gazing at the fire. The stew he’d made for them still sits next to it, it’s rich scent floating over the campsite though none of them had felt like eating much of it. “If I could scream for eternity, you know, without having to sleep or lose my voice, I would.”

Keith thinks about some sort of pep talk, maybe. Shiro might have done it if he were the Black Paladin still—except Shiro is here, but doesn’t offer his voice. Instead, he sits and stares at the hands in his lap. The guilt Shiro wears is a cloying, visceral thing that haunts their fragile little circle and climbs coldly up their spines. Keith presses his lips together, fighting down another wave of frustration and tangled anger he has no room to process between Red’s never-ending song and the pile of worries and horrific what-ifs. The fact is that words aren’t Keith’s thing. He wishes he had them. For Hunk. For Shiro. For himself.

“I would, too,” he ends up blurting out and feels oddly relieved at the admission of weakness. “I would, too. It’s all I’ve wanted to do for… a long time now.”

“Maybe Red’s screaming so we don’t have to,” Pidge croaks. No one voices that Red may be screaming for Lance, because he can’t, because he isand his friends can’t hear him. Maybe Hunk and Pidge and the others haven’t thought about it. Shiro’s probably thought about it.

“It means he’s not… you know, dead… right?” Hunk asks, voice small and wavering. “It’d be different if he was gone, right?”

“She’s been getting louder over the past few weeks,” Allura says, her complexion sallow and tired even in the glow of starlight and fire. “I think she’s honing in. Maybe we’re getting closer. I don’t think she’d be driving us forward like this if he was—if it was… different.”

“Yeah,” Hunk says, relieved to latch on to something hopeful, no matter how much of a stretch it is. “Maybe she’s got a radar. A Lance-dar.”

There are some weak, crooked smiles at that.

Keith realizes it’s the first time they’ve said Lance’s name out loud in weeks. He wonders why that is if they’re trying so hard to find him. Maybe it’s a superstition thing like if they speak Lance’s name out loud, they’ll bring whatever dark luck to bear on him.

Keith’s not sure who’s the first one to move, he thinks it might be Pidge, but all of a sudden Shiro’s mattress is bumping against his left side just as Allura pushes hers against his right. They slide all of their beds together, rearrange blankets, and then all of a sudden they’re a messy dog pile of limbs. However it happens, Pidge’s head digs into his stomach, and Keith curls against Shiro with Kosmo plopped over them, the heat of his body too warm but also too soft and reassuring for Keith to shoo him away. Hunk and Allura curl their fingers into skin and clothes, anchoring the whole mess of them down as if one of them might disappear into space as soon as they closed their eyes.

It was the first night since Lance was taken that any of them got any real sleep.

***

It takes way too long to find Lance. Days turn into weeks, weeks into months. They probably wouldn’t really keep track of time at all if they all weren’t aware of the time crawling by where Lance wasn’t here. The great irony is that Voltron’s past effectiveness was now hindering their search for Lance. The Galra Empire was dissolving into incohesive fragments. Even Voltron’s three-year disappearance was not enough for the Empire to stitch itself back together again. Now it was a patchwork of pirates and factions, riddled through with tyrants and rebels and revolutions, eating itself from the inside out. Warlords still conquered planets, but even more civilizations threw off the yoke of Galran rule.

This is a problem. Before, when the Galra were a homogeneous war machine under the guidance of Zarkon, the information, while sometimes hard to retrieve, was at least accessible and up-to-date, militarized and codified.

With the Empire so splintered, with the balance of power ever-shifting as one coup and revolution piled on top of countless others, with secret alliances and whispered backroom meetings and pirate dealings with warring factions, things shift and change too much for Pidge to hack. Half of the time there isn’t even an electronic trail to follow. And though Kolivan and Krolia have done much in a short amount of time to shore up the tattered threads of the Blade of Marmora’s intelligence network, the fact is that they are not what they once were. The Blade's spies aren’t as many, and their communication lines are just as disrupted as the Empire's.

They stay three steps behind the Galra who took Lance for far too long. Red takes them to their first real lead—a ship graveyard orbiting a massive, uninhabited red gas planet.

“Red?” Keith asks out loud, temporarily stupid as to why she would lead them here of all places. A sharp gasp comes from Shiro, who scrambles to stand up behind Keith and lean over his shoulder to peer at Black’s view screens.

“Oh no,” Shiro says, lips pale and Keith feels himself go numb. “Pidge? Can you—I think that’s—”

“What?” Hunk says, echoing Keith’s own thoughts. “What is it? Tell me.”

“Are you sure?” Allura asks, devastated.

“Scanning now,” Pidge says at the same time.

“Scanning for what,” Hunk says, voice rising in pitch. “Shiro.”

“It’s the ship that took Lance,” Pidge’s voice cuts through the rising chatter.

It goes deathly quiet over the comms. Keith doesn’t have to hear Hunk to know the tears are sliding down his cheeks, doesn’t have to see Pidge to know her knuckles were white on her controls. He could feel an echo of an echo of Allura’s abject horror through the bond.

But Shiro’s in Black with him, so he feels it when Shiro’s forehead rests on Keith’s shoulder, catches the reverberation of a full-body shudder in his own bones. “Keith,” Shiro whispers, voice thin and strung out. “I’m sorry.”

Keith is going to be sick.

And then Red’s thoughts break the suspended moment of dread, thrums in Keith like a heartbeat of hope.

Not here. AliveAliveAlive.

“Did anyone else feel that?” Keith asks. Shiro raises his head from Keith, grips the back of the pilot’s chair until it creaks under mechanical fingers. The Lions don’t speak in words. It’s images and thoughts and instinct and sometimes, most of the time, it’s hard to parse out what is Lion and what is your own wishful thinking. “Did anyone else feel that?”

“Yes,” Hunk says, his sobs taking on a note of relief. “Yes, oh my God, yes.”

They spend precious hours digging through the ghostly ruins of the battlecruiser to find clues. But even though they hardly know where to start, to think Lance dead and then realize he’s alive, to feel the resonance of his life force in the marrow of their bond with each other, they’re almost giddy with relief.

“Nothing here—hey, it’s sort of like we’re the Scooby gang looking for clues,” Hunk muses over the comms. He's beside Keith, all of them having evacuated their Lions and split into groups to explore the remains. “Find anything in the databanks, Pidge?”

“Shiro is Fred, clearly,” Pidge says. “Because he's so freaking wholesome. Also, systems are blown to hell. I’ll try to get what I can, but it may be too corrupted,” she cautions.

“If I’m Fred then you’re Velma, Pidge,” Shiro joins in.

“A vertically challenged super genius with questionable fashion sense and neverending snarky comments?” Pidge asks. “Sounds about right. Allura’s Daphne.”

“Who?” Allura asks, understandably wary from being pulled into obscure human culture references in the past.

“The queen of the show,” Pidge supplies while Hunk hums in agreement.

“Oh, well, that’s acceptable. Who is Hunk?”

“Shaggy,” Hunk answers promptly. “Because I get scared like he does and also I really love food.”

Keith bumps Hunk’s shoulder with his own—a real feat considering they’re floating without gravity outside the hull of a busted cruiser.

“I don’t know, big guy,” Keith says. “Sometimes I think you’re the bravest of us all.”

It’s the first real smile Keith has seen from Hunk in too long, and it’s a shame that it fades as soon as it blooms.

“Lance would say that he’s Daphne, too,” Hunk says tightly. “Or Daphne’s twin. Because he’s pretty enough to be and has better a fashion sense than all of us combined.”

“He’d call me Shaggy,” Keith whispers.

“Because of your mullet,” Pidge adds, just as quietly.

The comms go silent.

Sober and aching with a silence that is harder and harder to bear, they gather what they can from the wreckage, but it’s not much. Evidence of more Galra, but it could be anyone—a competing warlord, another faction, or even pirates like Zethrid and Ezor.

(Keith finds himself sort of hoping it’s Zethrid and Ezor because they’ve escaped them before, they’re an enemy Keith knows. But then he thinks back to the scars Zethrid wore, he thinks back to their manic desperation when they looked into each other’s eyes, and Keith thinks that maybe he doesn’t want Lance to be with them, after all.)

***

The deeper into space they go, the more they have to fight. Mercenary pirates at first and then, as they encroach into old Empire territories, warlords vying for power. They run when they can, but engage when there’s a threat to a planet, the rebels or Coalition, or any potential innocents. Even as his blood sings during each battle, Keith chafes at them. It feels good to fight, to let his battle cry mingle with Black’s roar. But every moment spent in war is a moment that Lance is gone.

The warlords are the worst, especially ones that still have a large fleet at their disposal. Fighting without Voltron means long, grueling hours of battle. Pidge gets hit, badly, in one such conflict and is sent crashing to the planet they're protecting. She spends two days in the pod they brought with them, and it takes three days more for Green to be strong enough to fly again.

In the end, it’s his mother and Acxa who finally turn the tides with two pieces of intel gained at different times.

Krolia sends him a message about the Iktauel, a rising political party that had consolidated significant power in the Galra systems. “Iktauel” did not have a direct translation into English, being a derivative of an ancient Galran language, but it roughly meant “sun star.” As in, the Iktauel’s unifying message was that the Galra was the sun of the entire universe, around which other galaxies and lifeforms revolved. The Galra had unified the universe, whole systems knew nothing but Galran rule and culture, they had a right to power.

Reading over Iktauel propaganda Krolia and the Blade collected makes Keith ill, causes an icy weight of ice to sink in his bones. He starts to suspect that no matter how strong Voltron is, no matter how much they fight, no matter what they sacrifice, the war will never be over. There’s no winninga ten-thousand-year-old war.

“But how is this helping Lance?” Keith asks, bewildered, as he chats with his mother via vidphone while he skims through the files she sent. They’ve landed on another planet, hoping to gather supplies and intel. Keith had wandered off several yards from their campsite to talk to his mom.

“The Iktauel is relevant,” Krolia insists when Keith just gives her a politely impatient look. “To you, to the Coalition, and to Voltron. It could be the next enemy you have to face, after Honerva. And,” she emphasizes when Keith’s attention starts to wander. “The Ikteye, the militant arm of the Iktauel, was reported to have encountered a Galran battlecruiser on the outskirts of the Darinell system.”

“That’s where we found the remains of the ship that took Lance,” Keith says, eyes widening as Krolia nods.

“The Ikteye are the ones who destroyed that ship,” Krolia confirms. “The Iktauel Party broadcasted heavily edited footage of the battle across several systems, claiming that Sendak’s army were traitors because they ran from battle instead of towards it and that they brought shame upon the Galra because they were defeated by a backwater planet.” Krolia pauses, making sure that it sinks in before continuing. “The broadcast was a show of how the last of Sendak’s army was decimated for their cowardice. Reports are vague after that, but I am pretty sure evidence points toward the Ikteye retrieving an important prisoner of war from that battleship before it was destroyed.”

“Lance,” Keith breathes. Krolia presses her lips together, solemn.

“He would be the most sought-after prisoner of war at this point—Keith!” Krolia barks, startled when Keith leaps to his feet and sends the camera for the vidphone topsy-turvy as he crashes through the small copse of trees separating him from the rest of the campsite. “Keith—what are you doing?” Her voice mixes with the sound of his boots thudding on the ground and wind rushing past his ears.

“I’m going to get the others!”

The data they gathered from the remains of the battlecruiser Red found was destroyed or corrupted, as they had feared. But Pidge was able to recover enough logs to confirm Krolia’s intel. A prisoner of had been taken from Sendak’s soldiers shortly before it was destroyed.

On the heels of this information came Acxa, who could not infiltrate close enough to the inner workings of Iktauel to verify Lance’s location on such short notice. However, she did relay that there was a very high-profile trial scheduled within the next three movements. There were no details on who was being put on trial, but when connected to Krolia’s information, it wasn’t a stretch to guess that it could be Lance.

When Acxa’s intelligence showed that Iktauel only planned for a farce of a trial, that they were going to very publicly execute their hapless defendant no matter what, then their conjectures that it was Lance was only strengthened. Iktauel were going to get what information they could about Voltron and Altean magic from Lance before making a demonstration out of him as a display of Iktauel’s divine power. They were going to destroy what Zarkon couldn’t, what Lotor couldn’t—a Paladin of Voltron. With such a thing accomplished before the eyes of the Galra, it was unlikely that any of the other factions and parties would be serious contenders for sovereignty.

”Let’s go be heroes.”

Lance always wanted the parades and the thanks, but more than that he wanted to help people, to stop the war and bloodshed, to support and protect his friends. He tried to give whole civilizations he didn’t know and had no investment in a real shot at freedom. Now Lance was going to be a martyr. Now he was going to be reduced to a mere piece on the chessboard, used and cast aside, a crutch to uphold something he would probably despise.

But Keith remembers that morning on the rooftop with the sun woven into Lance’s skin, giggling with Keith until he was breathless, looking at him in the morning light until Keith was sure he was going to sink into those eyes like water. He thinks of the cross glimmering around Lance’s neck, the faith and family and hope it embodies, the way Lance sometimes brings the cross up to his lips for a kiss like it’s a wordless prayer.

Lance wasn’t a hero or a martyr or a villain to be publicly humiliated and executed for the Iktauel. He was Lance, and Keith was going to save him before the Galra erased the boy with the sunshine smile and stars in his eyes.

***

The day they save Lance, much like the day they saved Shiro from the Garrison, is a surreal experience framed with blurry edges.

First, they try diplomacy. They are still Voltron, and Voltron is trying to stop a war. Keith doesn’t ignore Allura’s request that they try like he would have a few years ago, mostly because he has Lance in his head telling him that he can’t abandon the team, can’t leave them vulnerable by rushing in headfirst. This time, unlike the time back with Lotor, Keith listens.

It takes too many long, sleepless hours to coordinate, but they bring the plea for Lance’s release to the Iktauel not as Voltron, but as the Coalition. The freed planets are quick to come to the aid of one of their saviors and form a united front.

The Iktauel don’t give their calls for correspondence the time of day. The Coalition gets shoved through a line of pencil pushers and politicians so far down on the totem pole it’s insulting. In other words, their call for diplomacy and negotiations go straight to voicemail, and the Iktauel’s inbox is full. Which is fine with Keith, in the end.

Voltron attacks twenty minutes after the failed attempts at diplomacy.

Their plan had been set before the peace attempts even started, knowing they’d have to act quickly if diplomacy failed in case the Iktauel sped up the timetable of Lance’s trial and execution in retaliation. In the minutes leading up to their attack, Keith finds himself so wired it feels like his feet don’t touch the ground when he walks. Time passes by in long, miserable stretches punctuated by confusingly short bursts leaving Keith checking his watch to re-orient himself. This day is what Keith and the others have wanted for months now. This day is what they dreamt about, and now that it’s here he doesn’t know what to do with himself.

He doesn’t know if it’s pre-battle numbness, a sort of distancing from oneself even as his senses hyperfocus, but Keith can’t bring himself to be afraid. He won’t lose Lance or anyone else today. They’re going to win.

Voltron, aided by volunteers from the Blade and the Coalition, breaks upon the Ikteye stronghold like a hurricane. Team Voltron rushes into the prison in perfect formation. Battle is a well-worn armor to them, so much so that it almost feels like any other mission. Hunk takes the lead—it’s not the first time, but it’s the first time he dared anyone else to do it. It’s almost comical how the Ikteye soldiers sort of balk and collapse under the steady barrage of Hunk’s bayard. His gun mows down the first wave, disperses the deluge of Ikteye, so it’s not just one single-minded monster surging at them but soldiers, incautious and weakened. Shiro and Keith flank Hunk, meeting head on the streams of soldiers that split from Hunk’s frontal attack. Pidge and Allura guard their backs.

They all know that without Lance they’re vulnerable in a way they aren’t usually. Lance is their eye in the sky, their support, picking off threats before they’re even close enough to cause harm. Still, they work together in a way they have never accomplished before.

Ever since the battle for Earth where each of them essentially leveled up on a spiritual level with their Lions, the bond between the Paladins themselves changed as well. There’s no way for Keith to describe it except that he feels like he’s part of Voltron even when Voltron is not formed. Even when they’re not in their Lions. ShiroHunkAlluraPidge are extensions of his own body. They don’t have to speak to know how to split up—Pidge and Hunk and Allura to the control room so Pidge can find Lance and they can retrieve any important information on the Iktauel. Shiro and Keith break off toward the prison cells, slicing through soldiers and guards like the weapons they are. They hurl themselves upon their enemies with a dream-like quality, like Keith is elevated above the battle even while he is all too well aware of its physicality.

The hits don’t matter, though. The burn of laser fire, the sting of a claw, the raw cold of an edged blade slicing past Keith's armor’s defense. He feels it but moves around each blow like he’s water. Because for the first time in too long Keith can feel him. He can feel Lance. A pull in his bones, and hook in his mind, drawing him forward against the tides. The soldiers and guards surround them, but Keith sees them as if they’re underwater—stupid with slowness and telegraphing all of their moves. Only Shiro seems to match Keith’s pace.

They’re so close. And then the soldiers are at their feet, and there’s a vacuum of soundlessness and his own breathing ringing in Keith’s ears as they step into the prison hall where Lance is. They’re close now.

“Turn left,” Pidge’s voice crackles with manic frenzy through the comms, the sound of ongoing battle raging on in the background. “Turn left! He’s there! He should be right there! We found him!”

They’re so close. And then, finally, they’re there.

At the tableau before them, Shiro makes a broken, wounded sound at the same time Keith lets out a pent-up, hoarse scream of rage. He runs forward to where Lance is hanging from the ceiling by swinging chains. He takes one moment, a small eternity, to loop one arm around the back of Lance’s thighs, brace Lance’s hips against his upper body, before Keith swings his blade and cuts the chains.

All of Lance’s weight falls on him, too high in his arms. He feels his spine overextend dangerously backward, and he stumbles and almost topples on legs that are suddenly too numb to hold himself up, much less Lance. But Shiro is there, bracing Keith with his metal arm and steadying Lance with the other. Together, they lower Lance to the ground, taking moments they don’t have to assess the situation.

Keith feels that he splits into two. One part of him, the fighter, catalogs the injuries and the barriers between them and escape. He carefully unwraps the chains from around swollen hands, hovers shaking fingers over Lance’s red and mangled feet, the skin split and bleeding from swelling. That part asks Pidge when they should expect the next wave of combatants and how much time they have to get Lance out.

The other part of him is the panicking child, spinning in place to the endless and wordless internal scream.

He helplessly gives in to that voice for a moment. Keith lets out a terrified, frustrated sound as he sits back from his knees and carefully pulls Lance over his lap. He curls his arms around Lance, choking on another aimless cry when he feels how light Lance is and swears out loud to Lance that he’ll never let go again. Lance’s head lolls weakly against Keith’s chest, his matted hair fanning against his armor.

The body in his arms doesn’t even look like Lance. The hands and feet are so split and swollen they don’t even look like hands and feet. He’s always been lanky, but in a way that is healthy and strong. Now he’s thin and skeletal, gaunt and sickly. He's flushed and clammy with fever. His beautiful, soft skin is pale and scaly, riddled with bruises and cuts, dried blood and unidentified filth. Both Shiro and Keith’s hands come away from his body dirty with dark blood. It’s like the Lance in his arms is a grotesque scarecrow of the real thing, a horror shop mannequin, hollowed out and unreal.

And Lance is muzzled. Muzzled with a gaudy and bulky iron contraption that takes up the entirety of his lower face. Muzzled like—like a dog. Like a beast. Like he’s not worth any goddamned dignity.

Shiro gags—at the sight and probably at the smell, Keith isn’t sure, but he’s stumbling away, crab crawling backward before getting to his feet. His eyes are wide and wild, lips pinched white, and it takes a minute too long for Keith to realize that Shiro is furious.

“I’ll clear you guys a path,” Shiro says, voice deadened, face falling into an eerie blankness that is chillingly reminiscent to that of the clone Keith faced down all that time ago.

And then Shiro is gone, his armored legs thundering down the corridor, crescendoing with a yell before the distant sound of battle resumes.

“Lance,” Keith whispers, tries to clear the tight vice in his throat, tries to talk past it. “Lance,” he says louder. “Lance, Lance, please. Are you awake?” Are you alive? “Can you move?”

His eyes flutter open, long lashes clumped with dried tears. Blue eyes rove around the room, foggy and unseeing.

“Lance,” Keith tries again, voice cracking. “Lance, it’s me. It’s us. We’re taking you home. Lance.”

And then those blue eyes finally focus in on him, and framed with bruises and cuts, eyes red from crying and screaming and who knows what else, Keith still finds himself sinking into those eyes—into Lance—like water.

Keith feels a small smile pull at his lips, bitter and terrible and relieved, because they have Lance. He’s here, he’s back, and Keith is never, ever going to let anything like this happen again.

He feels a vibration, so gentle he almost believes it’s his imagination, against his gloved hands. Air whistles out of the pitiful excuse for ventilation etched into the metal that covers Lance’s nose.

Lance is trying to talk. Trying to say something to Keith. Maybe he’s trying to cry.

To scream.

Keith’s not crying, he’s not, he barely feels anything past the tightness in his throat and the weak, hollow-boned shudder of Lance in his arms, but still hot tears slip quietly down his cheeks. He brushes Lance’s hair, longer than Keith has ever seen it, from those eyes before pulling Lance further into him, the goddamned fucking muzzle clanking against the shoulder of Keith’s armor as he rocks Lance slowly back and forth.

“I got you,” he says, inanely. “I got you. We’re here. I’m here. I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I got you.”

He tilts his head down again, searching Lance’s gaze, and is surprised to find something lucid in it, something entirely Lance. The corners of his eyes crinkle, pronounced by the dirt and dried blood embedded in the creases and the dark half-moons under his bloodshot eyes, and Keith gets the impression that Lance is smiling, maybe even laughing, at him. Keith lets out a rushed breath of relief. Because this is Lance, not some horror shop wax mannequin taking on the shape of his teammate. He’s alive. Muzzled, beaten, and still the softest, kindest little jackass this side of the universe.

This is, of course, exactly when Lance goes horrifyingly boneless in Keith’s arms and what little light is behind those eyes blinks out of existence as he goes unnaturally still.

Keith screams. He lays Lance’s head down, scrambles at Lance’s chest, ready to give compressions.

“No,” he says, in sudden realization, fingers scrambling along the smooth metal of the muzzle. There’s no buckles and no hooks, no seams. It’s like the metal was welded together on Lance’s head. It's like it was made for him.

And with it, Keith can’t breathe for Lance, can’t save him.

He shucks his armored gloves, bare fingers sliding along the muzzle, desperately hoping to feel a more nuanced locking mechanism, anything.

It’s still smooth except for a welded vein along the back. Impossible to open.

“No!”

He’s found Lance only to lose him and—

“Keith!” Hunk is there, on the comms but also on the other side of Lance’s body, filling Shiro’s vacated spot. He kneels across from Keith, armor scuffed and dented, blood trickling down the left side of his face, eyes blown wide in a look that probably mirrors Keith’s own. But Keith can only spare him a split second of regard before he returns his attention to Lance. The tips of his fingers sting and bruise, his short fingernails bend back as he keeps skidding uselessly over an impervious surface. The metal has gone hot beneath his hands. He leans over Lance, face hovering over where his mouth is should be.

“Keith, stop! He’s alive! He’s alive, but we have to go. Stop!” Hunk grabs one of his wrists, forcefully placing Keith’s bared hand against Lance’s throat.

Keith hears something then, a wounded and pitiful outcry, and has the distant realization that it’s probably him and struggles to swallow it down. At first, he can’t feel anything, and he’s ready to throw Hunk off and pry apart the unyielding metal of the muzzle with his hands. But Hunk doesn’t let up, and Keith feels it—thready and faint, like the distant and weak thrumming of bird wings against a cage, but there. He feels Lance’s lifeblood beneath his fingers and Hunk’s warmth and life on the back of his hand, wide palm enveloping his, and he feels it—the hum of their bond, the one between them and the one with the Lions, Voltron, rise in his mind. For the first time since Lance was taken, he feels their bond as whole again. Wounded, fragile, but whole.

“Keith,” Hunk says. “I’m scared, too.” He doesn’t sound scared. His voice is hard, his face set with determination. Keith suddenly recalls when they were all floating in space without their Lions all those months ago, tethered together but lost and increasingly hopeless, and Hunk was so brave. Talking about fear like it was matter-of-fact like it wasn’t anything to be ashamed of but something to embrace, something to use. In this moment Hunk is Earth, he’s the leg, holding up their weight, immovable, indomitable. “I’m scared, too. But it’s almost over, we have to keep going.”

“Okay,” Keith croaks, not even managing more than a whisper. “Okay,” he repeats, louder this time, the familiar anger-tinged determination settling like sharpened steel in his bones. “You’re right. We can deal with this later. We have to go.”

“That’s our boss,” Hunk says but doesn’t smile.

“I’ll carry Lance—”

“I will,” Hunk interrupts, already gently working his arms beneath Lance’s body. “I can carry him for longer, and I trust you to get us out of here.”

Keith licks his lips, fingers itching to keep cradling Lance against him, to keep feeling his pulse, the little movements of his chest. To feel Lance there. But he knows that Hunk is right.

“I trust you, too,” Keith says, taking a step back and drawing his blade.

Hunk smiles then. It’s small, just a weak lift to the right corner of his mouth, but it’s full of relief and tender hope. At least, Keith thinks so. It’s what he feels, anyway.

“I know,” Hunk says.

Keith steps forward, Hunk and Lance at his back, and refuses to look down at the bloody footprints he makes on the floor.

“Let’s go home.”

tbc

#vld #klance #vld: lance #vld: keith #langst #paladins #blue writes

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hunterguyveriv · 6 years

Text

An Old Voltron Fan’s rant

A Voltron-Old Timer’s unapologetic rant on certain factions of fans:

So it has been a week since Season-7 dropped and as a fan of the original Voltron since that fateful day in September, I have grown to love anything Voltron that is made and grow sad to see it’s inevitable end looming on the horizon. That being said some factions new fandom members have gotten really tiresome and annoying to the point that they need to grow up. Somethings you all may not agree with, but this is my view of the fandom.

I normally don't do anything like this but seeing nasty posts, posted to voice actors *referencing a particular Klance fan*, and to @bext-k and anyone else associated with Voltron: Legendary Defender who may be on Tumblr, I want to apologize for that part of the fanbase, you should not be hassled or have to write a letter apologizing for “apparent queerbaiting.” but I have to speak my mind, on the whole, the issue. As an old-time Voltron Fan, that person and his friends/supporters DO NOT speak for me! And if you are one of those who does happen to be in the LGBT Community and still loved everything about the season or disliked it but didn’t go to such extremes like some have, then this need not apply to and for that, sorry you have to see such ugliness from this post.

Over the seasons I have heard of the nastiness fans have had about certain things “needing to appear in “Voltron: Legendary Defender,” but then I saw it after Season first hand from a fan who proudly posted his nasty posts to a Voice Actress of the show. To that person and people like him, who the hell do you think you are? I understand that you are “UPSET” about many things reading through your childish “look at me” posts.

First let us take a look at the definition of “Queerbaiting:”

Queerbaiting, according to a definition I found is: “the practice to hint at, but then to not actually depict, a same-sex romantic relationship between characters in a work of fiction, mainly in film or television. The potential romance may be ignored, explicitly rejected or made fun of.”

Besides Shiro's flashbacks where else are these hints in the series? Can you list each and every instance which hinted to 2 male characters or 2 female characters hooking up? So a male character hugs a male character repeatedly so what? So male characters smile at one another, or hug, or cradle an injured person in their arms. We as humans do that in general because we are an affectionate race. That has nothing to do with "queerbaiting." Some may source “well Keith and Lance are always paired together on missions.” Yes, it’s to get them to quit getting at each other’s throats an congeal as team members both in and out of combat. Those are instances and occurrences that does not certain characters are or will be gay.

So you didn't get what you and so many others wanted, that doesn't mean you have to be a little child about it and be nasty about it! I wanted Keith to be Native American, even civilly requested it, because my people need more representation in the media, but you know what? It would be nice, even though it doesn't seem like it will happen, I still enjoy the series. Which by the way, speaking representation, did the LGBT community request or demand representation for the Native American community? How about the mentally handicapped, Jewish, Muslim, or countless others? When is too much representation too much that it damages the show?!

If you want all the representation or headcanons you want in the world start writing your own fan fiction and post it on websites like Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction.net, or even DeviantArt. Just don't act like a pathetic little child and throw a hissy fit because you didn't get what you want. It’s called life, you don't get what you always want.

I admit I was a bit perturbed that they, the showrunners, first revealed that they made Shiro gay. Mainly because it seemed like the LGBT representation was being forced down everyone's throats just to appease those who “ship” him with male characters. But you know what I for one am glad we got what we got from Shiro & Adam. And I know some of you are going to and have said before “But we deserved to see Shiro and Adam reunite!” NO WE DON’T!

1, Shiro and Adam were broken up, because Shiro went on a mission that he needed to prove to himself that he can do. Adam even said so himself!

2, Adam dying is something that happens in war, especially war where a less prepared race goes up against a more advanced civilization. And if you take issue because him dying because he was involved with a primary character then you might as well stop watching a bunch of series, because it happens ALL THE TIME!

3. It showed that Shiro even though they were broken up was regretful and still had to focus on liberating Earth from the Galra. He had no true time to mourn yes, but in times of War, you generally don't have that luxury to do so. You have to continue the fight until it is over.

4. As some have even suggested, his death helped focus Shiro during a time he himself wasn't sure about himself.

Another thing, yes representation of Native Americans would be nice, but what would it have to do with the story before and after the reveal of a Native American character? NOTHING! What does Shiro/Adam or even Zethrid/Ezor have to do with the story from the 6 previous seasons and anything made after Season 7? NOTHING! What would having a Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, mentally handicapped character have to do with the story before and after the reveal? Once again NOTHING!

The whole drive of the show is “War is Hell.” Hell on those oppressed, hell on those fighting it, and hell for those left behind, and hell for those who survive. Sure some budding romances will result from it which I am about to go into, but this, in a cartoon about a giant robot beating the shit out of monsters, other robots, and evil alien ships, should be the ONLY representation that should be focused on. Not ones to make you feel all hunky dory on the inside or accepted. The showrunners know what they are doing, but if you think you can do better then please, by all means, purchase the rights to Voltron and make your own version. War is not a sugar coated thing where everyone lives happily ever after if you want to continue believing that then go back to watching your anime shows made for kids like Pokemon, Dragon Ball/Z/Super and leave the more thoughtful series to the adults. ANd if there are some fellow old timers here with me, they are more than likely to agree.

And if you think I am being homophobic I’m not. I have been questioned my own sexuality since 1992 but had to keep under-wraps because of family or where I live. I am happy they - the LGBT community, got their representation for what it was, but I am just fed up with the whole issue being forced down our throats.

Now onto the couples thing… pairings/couples/ships WHATEVER!

Now this whole “ship/shipping” thing... it's nice/new/bizarre/and downright stupid to me. Back in my time, we didn't call potential couples “ships” or went batshit crazy over something that looked like a character was crushing on another when there is nothing there. The fan fiction and fan art is spectacular and in most cases breathtaking, but in recent seasons it has really gotten out of hand with Voltron. The whole Sheith issue, only “shipping Keith with other male characters, praising pairings while condemning others.

Speaking of which, why is it okay to “ship” Lotor and Allura together even though he used her, but it's not okay to ship Keith and Acxa together or Keith and Romelle together? And don’t you dare say its because “Keith is clearly gay/bi” or that “shipping him with anyone else besides Character X is toxic” excuse - because those excuses have gotten stupid, old, and annoying. But I’ll wait for you to give me one nice solid instance...

So he smiled at Lance after they captured Sendak and Lance said: “We make a good team” that doesn't mean anything, so he smiled at Rolo that could very well be a reference to The Walking Dead because both VAs at the time were from TWD, so he hugs Shiro... So what! Speaking from experience Brother-Friends do this. He and James looked at each other when he returned to Garrison Base - and your point is? They never really liked each other to begin with. “He hasn’t shown much interest in the opposite sex,” um excuse me have you watched Season 1 episode 3? He was always smiling towards Allura. Plus have you ever took into consideration that maybe because he was secretly struggling with inner demons, demons Shiro only knew about, that maybe he just didn't want to get involved with anyone until he feels ready too or that maybe those he knows just doesn't interest him?

For all, we know Acxa maybe that one character that interests him over Allura, Romelle, Pidge, Nyma, Olia, or any other character with the exclusion of Krolia for obvious reasons. Let's state the obvious, she is the first person he meets face to face (eventually) who is a Galra-Hybrid, someone like him who he has the potential to connect with better than his Galra Mother, the Blade, or even the Paladins. And believe me, being a mixed blood myself sometimes it is a lot easier for us in this situation to connect more, we know things that those who aren't in the situation feel. They seem to be looking out for each other, regardless of whether it goes against their current allegiances at the time. And I for one support the idea of him hooking up with Acxa or even Romelle for the sake of argument over the Paladins for my own reasons. And yes that is coming from an old-timer who used to believe “If it is ANYTHING Voltron then it has to be Keith and Allura. That is the way of it, the way it has been, and should always be” up until Season 2.

Now really address the whole claim “Keith isn't interested in women, so he is gay" or “when confronted by the former general taunts he says ‘Can’t we just fight!’ means he is gay” posts when taunted: Have you ever considered that during an intergalactic war, that maybe if he were interested in someone like Acxa, he wouldn't want the enemy to know? Best way to cripple your foe is to target and exploit his or her weakness, and there is no greater weakness to someone than those who hold their heart. Whether it is lovers, parents, siblings, and so forth. Season 6 is a great example of Haggar exploiting it because Keith loved Shiro as a brother. Zethrid and Ezor knew Acxa had a thing for the flippity hair paladin and tried to exploit it and nearly succeeded.

Exposing your enemy’s one true weakness is one thing that is a constant in shows like this, you all should know this and shouldn't have someone point it out. Guyver-I and Mizuki Segawa, Batou and Motoko Kusanagi - since he clearly has a thing for her, Raphael and Mona Lisa of 2012 TMNT series, Superman and Lois Lane, Shiro Amada and Aina Sahalin, Krolia and both her mate & baby Keith, Swamp Thing and Abby Arcane, and so many others! Even Sonic the Hedgehog’s weakness prior to all the Sonic Adventure tie-in comics was Sally Acorn. Each of their enemies has tried to and have exploited this weakness in an attempt to achieve victory. So just because someone doesn't react to taunts like “Oh it must be true love” the way others may have, DOES NOT mean they are gay. Especially if they are part of a warrior class, they may exhibit some feelings for one another out in public or with friends but when they are alone they are free to be themselves.

Now I am not saying you can't “ship” characters with who you want, but if you see things you don't like just don't post things against it. Dial it back a bit for crying out loud. I don't like the idea of Sheith, Klance, or LoKei, Huneith but you don't see me bashing it or saying “Keith is obviously Heterosexual” or some shit like that. I scroll past it. To my understanding from scrolling through Tumblr, Twitter, and Facebook - before admins started to crack down on them, making a post like that is just as bad as posting hateful comments on posts supporting a particular pairing.

And to say things like “Well if Ship-X or Ship-Y becomes canon I am done with the series!” Well, you know what I say to that or those who think they are entitled to something? There’s the Voltron Door, don’t let it hit you on your way out! The series has lasted 30 plus years and will continue to do so without your entitled ass. Sure there are things that were done that I didn't like, but it is not worth sending blackmail/death threats to those involved or being nasty to those involved that it prompts the showrunners to issue an apology letter just to make you feel good about your nastiness.

In my opinion they, the showrunners, should never have apologized in the first place for all your hurt little feelings. The one thing THEY SHOULD apologize for, in my own opinion is ending the series (WHICH WE ARE LUCKY TO HAVE AFTER EVERYTHING NEGATIVE THAT HAS HAPPENED) so soon if indeed Season 8 turns out to be the final one! I’d have like to see it go for another 5 more seasons while bringing in the Vehicle Voltron now that Earth has literally become part of the “Galaxy Alliance,” and is now a prime target with Voltron there. Yes, I say Galaxy Alliance because Earth and the Galaxy Garrison are now part of the Voltron Alliance/Coalition.

Anyway, sure I had my frustrations and joys with Legendary Defender as an Old-Time Voltron fan but I still enjoyed it immensely. And regardless of what happens in the next season (whether it continues or not) and after I look forward to anything Voltron. And for those who keep in mind: there is ALWAYS the next series! 2011’s Voltron-Force was well received for a time but faded into the distance for Voltron: Legendary Defender. But with the nastiness of certain fans, we ALL must prove we deserve any more seasons, a newer series 5 to 10 years down the line, or an animated or live-action movie.

Well this is the end of my rant, like don’t like, applaud or get offended by it I don't care, this is how I see the actions of a certain few of this fandom effecting the rest of us who enjoy the series for what it is and not what we want it to be.

#Voltron #voltron legendary defender #shiro #keith #lance #pidge #hunk #allura #coran #mentions of lotor #mentions of kacxa #mentions of komelle #romelle

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littlespacestars · 6 years

Text

Shallura Fic Rec #3

Time for another Shallura fic rec list! (categorized to the best of my ability)

Shallura Rec List #1

Shallura Rec List #2

Mulitchapter/Long Fics

(I’m including fics that have been updated/concluded since the last fic rec list)

Into the Woods - (3/3) - @andtheblueberrymuffin

Something wet and cold splatters against Allura’s cheek.

A moment later, a second drop lands on her forehead, and she groans, raising a hand to rub at her face. She feels… groggy, as though she just woke from a long, deep sleep. The wetness on her face makes no sense. She cracks her eyes open and finds that she is staring up at a gray sky, full of storm clouds, heavy with rain.

This is not where she last remembers being.

Or: The one where Allura and Shiro end up lost in space.

Slow burn, hurt/comfort, plot, huddling for warmth, mystery, feelings, gore related to hunting

The Princess and the Pilot - (5/?) - @ashesandhoney

In an alternate timeline, Shiro gets picked up by the Galra before the war starts and eventually ends up being given to the Princess of the Alteans as a joke or an attempt to start a war or as a mistake. Whatever their motive was for sending him, Allura is now left trying to figure out what to do with him.

Alternate universe, slow burn, prisoner Shiro

The Space Between Stars - (6/?) - wordswithdragons ( @shiroallura)

Stranded across the galaxy, Shiro and Keith must survive the cold blooded creatures that lurk upon the planet they crash landed on. Pidge, Hunk and Lance find themselves caught up on a Galra infested planet of winged aliens, while Allura and Coran face coming to terms with their greatest hope and sorrow: Altea. // A rewriting, fix-it fic of season two, featuring families, backstories, aliens, loss, and love. More info inside.

No Need To Say Goodbye - (1/1) - @smolsarcasticraspberry

The juniberry tree blossoms every seven years, and when it does, a gateway opens up to another world - a world that Shiro first explores as a child. There, he meets Allura. They do not speak the same language, but children do not need words to play. Every seven years, when the gateway opens again, Shiro steps through to visit the girl he knows on the other side. But the gateway only stays open as long as the juniberry flowers bloom...

AU, angst, childhood friends, reunion

Masks - (1/5) - @braincoins

Shiro screws-up and Allura has to cover for him by pretending they're married. This means Shiro is now involved in the negotiations with an alien race rumored to have sent the Galra packing. They could be a great help to the Coalition, so long as they're not offended or insulted in some way. So it's Allura's job to convince them to sign on, and it's Shiro's job to be her consort. Neither of those should be that difficult... right?

Fake/pretend relationship, semi-au, Fluff & Politics, pining!Shiro, the other paladins & Coran are here too but not as much

When We Were Young - (8/8) - @ashesandhoney

When they were young they had hidden under tables at embassy events and eaten stolen pieces of cake. They had climbed up onto the roof at school and made up stories about the teachers walking to their cars at the end of the day. They weren’t the same species but that had never stopped them before.

It’s been tens years since he last saw her.

Childhood friends, AU - canon divergence, marriage proposal, alien culture, no Voltron

Find Me In The Night - (2/2) - @smolsarcasticraspberry

"Ah, yes. Charged particles from your local star interact with the magnetic field of the planet in areas where the magnetic field lines are close together."

Shiro laughs, in spite of himself. She's the nerdiest princess he's ever met. Not that he's met many, of course. Or any at all, before her.

"We call it an aurora. It's beautiful, isn't it?"

***

When aliens land on Earth looking for a mysterious weapon under the Arctic ice, Captain Shirogane of the Galaxy Garrison is tasked with accompanying an alien Princess in her quest.

Mature, Shallura Holidays Month 2017, Pre-Kerberos Mission, Earth AU, winter fic

Touch - (3/3) - @ashesandhoney

The Sacred Alteans could bend quintessence to their whims but wielding that much power couldn't be consequence free.

Allura loses her sense of touch and has to learn to function without it.

A fic with scenes including: nearly bleeding to death, some angst over being the last of a species, fancy ballgowns and space pirates, tickling, sparring practice, Shiro being really into Allura wearing track pants, blow job jokes, quite a bit of pining, Allura glowing, some smut.

Explicit, mutual pining, fluff, mild hurt/comfort, AU - Canon Divergence, light angst

Of Small Talks and Forget-me-nots - (6/6) - Part 1 - Opl_Mor

Shiro has been chasing Allura since he was six and she stumbled into his land of make believe- his escape from the strain between his parents. A misfit pair with no one but each other try to navigate an often cruel and unforgiving world. Unfortunately, fate isn't always kind and sometimes pairs are pulled apart. This is a story of hardships and heartbreak, but more than that, it's about the power of mending those parts of life. This is about a modern princess saving a lonely boy in more ways than she could possibly know.

Childhood friends, friends to lovers, bullying, divorce, Shiro’s got a lisp, Allura is a ballerina black belt

Woman King - (20/20) - @juniperallura

Queen Allura rules over the Altean court, in the company of her young cousin Lance. As the bloody war with the Galra drags on, she searches for unlikely allies- including a supposed defector dwelling on the edge of the palace village. A Shallura historical/fantasy AU (with side Klance).

AU - historical, AU - fantasy, side Klance, light angst, slow burn, pining, mutul pining, secret relationship

When the Sun Sets - (4/?) - rainingWolf

Out of everyone in the entire galaxy, Shiro just so happened to chance upon Allura on a starry night. Set in a zombie apocalypse AU.

Zombie apocalypse, Zombie AU, romance, drama, action/adventure, angst, Altea, alien planet

Across the Universe - (2/?) - saintgenevieve

Allura takes a deep breath. “Pidge…what is a soulmate?”

“What?”

“Shiro told Keith I was his ‘soulmate,’ but I don’t really understand what that word means.”

Mature, Pining, serious pining and angst, Allura’s relationship with the paladins, friendship, love confessions, true love, grieving, some Klance

Loving the Alien - (3/?) - hatandgoggles

The story takes place in 1954, in a town in New Mexico. Roughly seven years after a mysterious object crashed into the nearby desert, a woman Shiro met that night returns to his diner when he needs it the most. Or will she only drag him into an adventure he never asked for?

AU - 1950s

Let Go Darling - (1/?) - evelyn_hayes

Allura blinks. She's suddenly outside, the pale moon shining down on her and the old house behind her. There's a man gripping her hand. Tall and shrouded in a peculiar jacket. His hood shadows his face, but she makes out a scar across his nose and a patch of white hair dangling from the front of his head. She searches his face and sees-

Black eyes.

Witch!Allura, Hunter!Allura, Demon!Shiro, alchemy, magic, crossover, feat. the IMPALA BABY, but in white, guadian demon, self-harm, road trips, true names, vassal and liege, angst, klance fluff, Shiro has PTSD, protective Shiro, implied/referenced abuse/torture, businessman Lotor

There is Love in Your Body (But You Can’t Get it Out) - (1/1) - @andtheblueberrymuffin

In the end, it doesn’t matter how exactly Shiro falls in love with Allura. He just does and it’s… Not a problem, exactly, but a consideration that lurks in the back of his thoughts. He doesn’t plan to do anything about it. They’re in the middle of a war. This isn’t the time for love. And even if it was, he is what he is and she is…. Beyond him.

Or: The one where mistakes were made and Shiro has to crash a wedding that shouldn't be happening in the first place.

Angst with happy ending, feelings, wedding crashing, emotional trauma is the real villain here

Duties of Heart - (1/1) - anglmukhii

They were both Jedi, but she was also a Queen. There were worlds of differences between them, yet they can only find peace and solace in each other. But between an Order that forbids it and her position that demands that if she marry, it must be for the good of her people: is there truly any hope for them?

AU - Star Wars Setting, break up, making up, angst, fluff, one fight scene, Jedi Shiro, Allura’s a Jedi too but she’s a queen as well, mentions of Keith, Shallura Secret Santa 2017

The Lost Kingdom (1/?) - littlewinterwonderland

"…in a single day and night of misfortune, the kingdom of Altea, perhaps the greatest civilization on earth, disappeared into the depths of the sea. It left behind only mystery, gloom and a boy with a heart made for the unknown"

Atlantis AU, Shiro is a nerd

Day to Day - (7/7) One-shot Collection - TKipani

Seven days when Shiro and Allura were a little more than paladin and princess. Series of drabbles/oneshots for Shallura Week 2016. These drabbles are sequential and connected.

Shallura Week 2016, sequential, the whole gang makes an appearance, drabbles and oneshots, connections, vague Klance if you squint

Lose It - (1/1) - viiisenya

Shiro is a decent enough hitman sometimes doubling as a thief, when the occasion (and payout) called for it. The last person he thinks would call for his services is influential businessman Alfor Altea of Voltron Inc., and what Shiro thought would be an easy job turned out to be a little more complicated thanks to one company heiress. He's usually the one that does the stealing but he didn't think he'd be the victim of a theft himself.

Hitman/thief AU, implied Klance, one-shot

We Were Young Once (We Are Young Again) - (1/1) - @andtheblueberrymuffin

They win.

In the aftermath, Shiro can’t quite wrap his mind around it. The war consumed every thought he had and every bit of his energy for so long that its sudden absence leaves behind a gaping hole. He expects to wake up, to find that Zarkon and Haggar are still out there and that the victory was just some cruel trick executed by his mind.

Or: The one where Shiro and Allura learn how to live outside of the war that's defined their lives for so long.

Slow burn, mutual pining, domestic fluff, post-war, recovery, some angst, arguing, emotional glowing

Throughout the Ages - (11/11) - MinnieTheMoocherDA

Shallura modern au where they've known each other since kindergarten. A collection of various one-shots depicting events in their lives as they grow up.

AU - Modern Setting, AU - High School, Keith and Shiro are adopted brothers, Allura and Lance are cousins

Fluff

Snooze Button - @alteanrituals (thesoulsikeep)

Mornings are the worst, especially after a battle.

Fluff, cuddling and snuggling, lazy mornings, established Shiro/Allura

Have a Magical Day - nayanroo ( @teslatricity)

The universe is mostly at peace again, and so it's time for its defenders to take a vacation. What better place to do that than Disney World?

Disney World & DisneyLand, established Shallura, minor background Klance, background Hunay, Allura doesn’t want any Mickey ears, she wants the right Mickey ears, and to kiss her boyfriend as much as possible

Compatible - thir13enth ( @ahumanintraining)

"I wonder what marks you would have, if you were Altean."

Fluff, exploration of a headcanon, beautiful beautiful fluff and cute humor

De-Stress - TKipani

Politics and battles are difficult, but Allura finds ways to de-stress. And Shiro is happy to help.

One-shot, battle sequences, fighting sequences, the couple that kicks ass together stays together, takes place sometime within season 4, ignores clone theory

Ice Deck - @ebonynightwriter

The Paladins awake to a chill in the Castleship – and a very different training deck.

Fun/Humor, ice skating, ship repairs, friendship, one-shot, canon universe, Shallura Month 2017

Just You and Me (Or Thank the Stars the Kids Aren’t Home) - thir13enth ( @ahumanintraining)

Domestic fluff, actual parents Shiro and Allura, ft. starrycove’s shallura children!

A Matter of Time - nayanroo ( @teslatricity)

The war's over, and the universe is starting to rebuild. As Allura leads the charge in forming new alliances, looking to the future, Shiro considers the kind of future he wants for them. But being a paladin means that your plans tend to go awry and your timing is never the greatest...

Shiro’s parents, engagement, Shiro is a bit of a disaster, he loves her so much y’all

“Shallura Fanfiction” - @clairelutra

Mutual pining/feelings, humor

Something Sparkly - @pensversusswords

“I’d love something sparkly,” Allura says.

Shiro is powerless when it comes to giving Allura what she wants.

First kiss, getting together, fluff, misunderstandings, Altean traditions

Contagion - @andtheblueberrymuffin

Based on my week, have some Shallura + paladins fluff wherein all the earthlings come down with the space flu and are not great patients.

Learn By Heart - @braincoins

It's Allura's first semester teaching, and she's prepared for anything ...except Takashi Shirogane.

Modern AU, Shallura Secret Santa 2017, College/University AU, hot for teacher, pining, fluff

Autumn Wishes - @juniperallura

For prompt "hold my hand/shooting star"

Shiro & Allura spend a day at the farm

Fluff, fluff without plot, Earth AU, Modern AU, fall vibes

Shiro and Allura Both Can’t Sleep - mckinlily

It is a generally held assumption that Shiro and Allura, both being unable to sleep, met up in the quiet of the night, and over the course pouring out their hearts to each other, fell in love. And while it is true neither Shiro nor Allura is very good at sleeping and they have met up at god-forsaken hours in the Castle, the heart-wrenching conversations are more a fiction than reality. This is due to the fact that—despite all attempts to appear otherwise—Shiro and Allura are actually both very young adults and just as susceptible terrible 2am ideas as anyone.

They do fall in love though. But it goes like this:

OR How Shiro and Allura got a lifetime ban from Hunk's kitchen and other fun stories.

Caught in the Act - @andtheblueberrymuffin

Established relationship, fic prompt, stuck in the elevator

Once Upon a December - RukiaG ( @rukia-g)

One-shots for Shallura Holiday Month. Some may be AU, some post-canon.

Shallura Holiday Month 2017, AU - bodyguard, Protect AU, AU - modern setting, AU - fairy tale, post-canon

Lost in Your Light - Cyan ( @vehicroids)

It hadn't been long at all since they found the blue lion, since they were all forced into an unknown part of the universe. Shiro struggled to sleep, thinking on it all. Thankfully, he wouldn't be alone that night.

Tooth-rotting fluff, fluff, traveling, post-canon, post-series, mutual pining, secret santa

Snow Angels - @bosstoaster (ChaoticReactions)

Advent Challenge, warm and fuzzy feelings, snow angels

Peace - @plumeriafairy14

Many decades in the future after team Voltron defeated the evil plagues of the Galra Empire, Allura sits in the palace gazebo with her husband, Shiro. They go through the photo albums they have collected over the years and Allura savors the intimate moment as the former Black Paladin holds her in his embrace while narrating the memory of each photograph.

Allura basks in his love and takes what she can; her time is running out, after all.

Future fic, Illness, bittersweet ending, Shiro and Allura as emperor and empress, minor Klance, reminiscing

The Aftermath - Rosey_Vasilia

After a particularly rough attempt to rescue a planet from Galra occupation, Shiro decides to try and help Allura stop blaming herself.

Background Klance, literally Shallura being soft, short fluffy one-shot, a mission goes wrong so Shiro comforts Allura

Basorexia - 13Vivacious13

It was ridiculous. Completely, utterly, inexplicably ridiculous. No one should want to kiss the back of someone's neck as much as she wanted to right now.

Movie night, space family time, fluff, pining

In a Snap - KatherineKatie ( @kittykattykatherine)

AU - Modern Setting, First dates, wingman, Keith means so well, snapchat, texting, light angst, flower shops, carnivals, humor, comedy, fluff

The Day Of - thir13enth ( @ahumanintraining)

in which Shiro tries to propose, but Allura is too confused to figure it out.

Definitely fluffy, marriage proposal, AU, Shiro’s parents

Artist’s Block - befuddle

Allura's suffering from artist's block, and Shiro just wants to help.

Artist and model AU, Modern AU

Sparkles - Meli_writes (@meli-writes)

Shiro wants to get out of the castle for a bit. When Allura agrees to go out with him he decides to get her something sparkly.

Space Mall, sparkly things, date, kisses, space dad, space mom, human vocab lesson, fluffy, cute, silly

Flight - littlespacestars (the shameless self-promo)

“Dad, I’m going to fly Blue!” A little girl speeds into the hangar with her arms out at her sides, triumphantly making a beeline towards the lions.

“Wait, wait, wait.” Shiro lifts his daughter away from the blue lion and props her on his hip, holding up a finger. “Just so we’re clear. I said Uncle Lance could fly Blue with you in his lap. This isn’t like you and me in Black.”

Lance strolls up behind them and leans against Blue, grinning from ear to ear.

“With a safety belt,” Shiro enunciates. “Lance.”

Tooth-rotting fluff, overprotective Space Dad, actual space parents, Uncle Klance, star babies, Shallura babies

Birthday - littlespacestars (the shameless self promo)

“Uh, Allura?” He doesn’t move an inch, only side glances at her and then back at the plump mouse standing upright on its hind legs. “There’s a giant—”

“Oh, don’t be alarmed, Shiro!” Allura sets aside her watering can and quickly scoops the stout mouse into her hands. She strokes the top of its head and gives it a fond smile. “This is just Platt, no need to worry.”

“Platt,” he repeats, still a little dumbfounded. “Okay, so it’s normal for you to have a yellow and green mouse. Noted.”

AU, minor angst, hurt/comfort, Shiro is human, Allura is still an alien, Shiro wants to celebrate her birthday, fluff, Shiro’s a dork, space mice, Shiro likes Lord of the Rings, Allura’s been stranded on Earth for six years now

Angst

Try Your Best (And Don’t Succeed) - mckinlily

Grief/mourning, Shiro has PTSD, Allura is a mess, Shiro is a mess, everyone is a mess but they’re trying the best they can, angst with a hopeful ending, set in season 2, gen or pre-slash, Allura-centric

Things Will Turn Out Fine - distinctive_pineapples (@obscure-sentimentalist)

“Would you mind telling me a story?” he asks, brushing a hand against the back of his head as if embarrassed by the request. “Maybe an Altean folktale, or something about your family. I… I’d just like to have something to remember you by.”

And oh, does that make her want to weep.

Future fic, Shallurangst, inspired by another show, angst with a happy ending, hopeful ending

Past and Future - @ebonynightwriter

During a Rebel training mission, Shiro and Allura are cut off from the group, and stranded on an unknown planet. Pushing to reunite with their team, they move forward, unaware of the dangerous forces around them…

Drama, tension, fighting, space battles, PTSD, psychological drama, mind control, mind games, developing relationship, feelings, one-shot, canon universe, season 4, Shallura Month 2017

S5 Shallurangst Drabbles - wordswithdragons ( @shiroallura)

this is a series of shallurangst drabbles posted to my tumblr over at shiroallura. do not all follow the same timeline, although many of them do fit together, the bottom three each individual takes of different possibilities set after s5. enjoy and maybe have tissues if you're weepy like me

Protect AU: I Have a Princess (and she has me) - killashilla

After a royal Altean gala is violently interrupted, Princess Allura and her bodyguard Shiro wait out the chaos alone while testing the boundaries of their strict roles in each others lives.

Shallura Protect AU, AU - bodyguard, AU - Real World, angst with feels, pining, mutual pining, blood and injury, undressing, forbidden love

I Miss You - SirFangirl

The princess who lost everything managed to lose something once more.

Angst, spoilers for season five, Allura knows a fake Shiro when she sees one but won’t admit it, the white lion knows what’s up, Shiro misses his friends and doesn’t deserve to suffer like this

Home (It’s in Her Hands) - palladioaigis

She's the light at the end of the tunnel, his everything, his home, and his love for her transcends time and space.

[[ Written for the Shallura zine Stars Aligned, Issue Two: Onwards.]]

Shallura Zine, Shiro needs therapy or a hug dammit, reunion

Stay With Me - nachseon

It’s not fair. It never is.

Angst, heavy angst, emotional hurt/comfort, mutual pining

Checkmate - rainingWolf

Shallura, Klance, drama, angst, action, romance, remix, VLD Fanfiction Remix 2017

Kintsukuroi - 13Vivacious13

Shiro is still coming to terms with the past. Allura notices and tries to help the best she can.

Emotional hurt/comfort, angst with a happy ending sorta, mentions of non-consensual body modifications, nothing too serious happens, I promise, mostly just reflecting on the past, established Allura/Shiro

Only Human - @bosstoaster (ChaoticReactions)

Collection of whump fics, tumblr prompt, leaning against walls to hide needing support, injury, hurt/comfort

Kuron/Clone Theory

Exchanges - thir13enth ( @ahumanintraining)

no returns, no refunds.

Clone theory, some angst

The Return of the Real Shiro - Meli_writes ( @meli-writes)

The real Shiro returns to the castle and finds a man with HIS face pretending to be HIM.

In his search to find a paladin he runs into Allura and he's so relieved because that last he heard from her she was screaming in pain.

Now, he has to explain that he is the real Shiro not that phony walking around the castle.

Shallura hugs, the real Shiro, Shiro returns, from wherever

Gravity - @braincoins

He looked at the clone. Monster, he thought. You didn’t mean to be, didn’t even want to be, but that’s what you are. He couldn’t help thinking that perhaps he and this clone had more in common after all.

Shallura Month 2017, angst, emotional hurt/comfort

Clone - littlespacestars (shameless self-promo)

Kuron is aware he’s a clone. He tries deciding whether or not to come clean to Allura about it, or let it surface on its own.

Shallurangst, One-sided attraction, Kuron wishes he were the real Shiro, angst

Like Real People Do - (5/5) - @andtheblueberrymuffin (Part 1 of Like Real People Do)

“Shiro knows this is wrong. Everything is wrong. But they need him. Keith said so, and Shiro knows, he knows, that if they need him he has to help them. It’s what he would do. It’s what he does. (Everything is fine.)

Or: The one where something is very wrong with Shiro after his second escape from the Galra.”

Tragedy, Post-Season/Series 03, Speculation about Shiro post season 3, ‘Shiro’, Implied/Referenced mind control, mind control aftermath & recovery, clone Shiro, prepare your tissues and cry deeply

Survivor's Rites (3/3) - (Part 2 of Like Real People Do) - @andtheblueberrymuffin

The Paladins have suffered losses before, but nothing quite like the one they're dealing with now. It's difficult to find the time to grieve when dealing with betrayals and Lotor's continued attacks. None of them are well-equipped to move on, in any case.

Or: the sequel to 'Like Real People Do.' Now with more misery.

Past character death, grief/mourning, post season 3, lion swapping, angst

Heartlines (8/8) - (Part 3 of Like Real People Do) - @andtheblueberrymuffin

After months of searching, Shiro has finally found his way back to the Castle of Lions, but nothing is quite how he remembers it. Everyone looks at him like they're seeing a ghost, for one thing....

Or: the conclusion to the 'Like Real People Do' series, where the fallout from the Galra Empire's experiments with human cloning nearly destroys everything the team has worked so hard to build. Takes place directly after the end of 'Survivor's Rites.'

Angst, emotional hurt/comfort, normal hurt/comfort in later chapters, clones, lion swapping, trauma, grief/mourning, plot, slow build, post season 3, implied/referenced underage drinking, original character death(s), attempted sexual assault, DOES NOT GET FAR

NSFW

Unconventional Piloting Methods - Pixie_rings ( @materassassino)

Flying a giant robot lion while having sex isn't the best idea.

Unsafe flight practices, do not attempt at home, vaginal sex, vaginal fingering, higher than the mile high club

Make You Feel Pure - sublimation ( @667-darkavenue)

“After all he’d been through, it couldn’t be clearer that universal forces had bent themselves backwards to pull him into the orbit of someone who cared for him, who trusted him, and who needed his care and trust just as much...”

Pool sex, breast play, outercourse, oral sex, praise kink, attention kink, praise kink, body worship, existential crisis midsex, stumbling upon all the embarrassing kinks you’re into midsex, sex with your girlfriend so good it opens your third eye, soft dom Allura

Playlist - befuddle

“If there’s anyone to blame for cockblocking, blame your shitty taste in music!”

Domestic AU where Shiro tries to get his groove on, and Allura just isn't having it.

Sex in public, car sex, fluff

Infomercials - befuddle

“We need it! We can’t keep replacing my bedframe at the crack of a new quintant to avoid suspicion. This will solve all our problems!”

Not graphic, suggestive content, humor, Shiro and Allura keep breaking the bedframe, this is the Shallura discord’s fault, the Shallura discord’s legacy, shitpost

Incandescent - CalicoTomcat

Shiro and Allura share an intimate evening and morning together, savoring a peaceful moment on the Castle of Lions.

Established relationship, oral sex, vaginal sex, genital piercing, fluffy and adorkable

Belong To You Alone - sublimation ( @667-darkavenue)

“Smile back, ask questions about him, go along with his suggestions. You’ve seen me do it.”

He thought it over. “Isn’t that… We have to leave in a day, with or without the army.”

“Oh, Shiro.” Allura smiled. “He’s not trying to ask for your hand, he just thinks you’re nice to look at. It’s harmless.”

“Well. I’ll give it a shot.”

When Shiro gave something a shot, he didn’t hold back.

Space politics, throwing Shiro under the bus as sexy leverage, blow jobs, frustration, jealousy, smut w/ plot, attention kink, praise kink, misunderstanding & miscommunication

Dirty Talk, Dirty Thoughts - Meli_writes ( @meli-writes)

Allura has always wondered what The Paladins meant when they shouted things like: "Fuck you!" or "Suck my dick!" in the middle of a fight against Zarkon's army. One night she asks Shiro what it all means and he tries his best to explain. ;)

Funny, sexy, dirty talk, dirty thoughts, angst, smut, embarrassed Shiro, flirty Allura, sexy Shiro

Alien Anatomy Altean - FeyduBois

Shiro and Allura's first time does not go as planned due to differences in biology.

Alien sex, alien biology, anal fingering, crack, smut

Une Petite Mort Thermique - pixie_rings ( @materassassino)

The one sexual taboo Altea had, and she is about to break it.

Anal sex, alien biology, kink meme

Just So I Can Feel Something - @smolsarcasticraspberry

Sometimes you can't sleep and the only thing that helps is fucking your co-worker in the break room cos you haven't been kissed in 10,000 years.

OR: that time after Crystal Venom when Shiro and Allura hooked up on the sofas and tried to act like it didn't mean anything.

"Allura took a sip of her tea, hoping the hot steam would hide her blush, and leaned over to put her mug down on the coffee table. Her body shifted with the movement, and her hand drew away from Shiro's. To her surprise, his fingers tightened around her own. As if he didn't want to let go.

She glanced down at his hand where it gripped hers, and then up at his face.

"Sorry," he said. "I just… I haven't been touched in a long time. It's nice.""

Smut, fluff, flut, porn with feelings, post Crystal Venom, canon compliant

Reunited - bittergoldilocks

Before Shiro disappeared they had been at the beginning of a tentative relationship which had amounted to stolen kisses, secret meetings, hushed affections, and one adventurous encounter in a supply closet. When “Shiro”- the clone- had “returned”, Allura thought it was over. Not only did the meetings stop, eventually even the kind words did too. She had been devastated. And Shiro seemed to somehow understand this now.

Reunion sex, praise kink, crying, slight angst, Real Shiro, love confessions

Relinquish - @braincoins

The Coalition's newest allies are annoying and picky and Allura's on the verge of losing her cool with them. Shiro steps in to give her a night away from responsibility and decision-making.

softdom!Shiro, oral sex, fingering, how to be sweet and loving while also fucking someone senseless, and also still be goofy dorks

She Still Pulls on Me - nayanroo ( @teslatricity)

some nights, shiro can't sleep. on those nights, allura sets aside her crown.

Mention of nightmares, throne sex, shallura exchange

To the New Morning - babyfairy ( @babyfairybaekhyun)

Morning showers are often Shiro’s favorite kind of showers.

PWP, smut, shower sex, fluff

Relaxing - head_and_heart

Shiro has an idea of how to help Allura relax after a long mission

Porn without plot, oral sex, vaginal fingering, sex, no excuse for this just smutty smut

Silk and Tongue - Meli_writes ( @meli-writes)

“I have something in mind that I think you’ll enjoy, want to try it?,” he asked her again. She was flushed and her pink body marks glowed a little brighter from her arousal.

“What did you have in mind because I kind of like it here,” she said while she rocked her hips to grind against him.

He smirked and brought his hands to rest on her hips. “I like you there too, but I was thinking you might like doing that against my mouth,” he said.

Allura’s hips stopped, but Shiro noticed her breath quicken in excitement.

Pure smut, silk robes, hungry licks, porn without plot, Allura tries something new, shameless smut

Galaxies Collide - @smolsarcasticraspberry

Shiro and Allura take a joyride in the Black Lion. IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

Mind Link AU, flut, smut, some plot, dom Shiro, not super dom, but like a lil bit, soft dom Shiro, they’re gonna bang in the Black lion okay, it was inevitable

Please support these lovely writers and give them some kudos and a comment! I actually discovered a lot of fics I haven’t gotten around to fully reading yet, so I need to go back and do the same! Thanks for the lovely fics, guys! <3

#shallura fic rec #shallura #fic recs #shiro #allura #takashi shirogane #princess allura #vld #voltron #I would put a READ MORE thing on this but when I do it screws up the text??#fml #idek guys #i'M SORRY

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rollipolli-yoli · 7 years

Text

Happy Birthday Keith!

(A little late, but) To celebrate I’ve decided to compile a list of my favorite Keith-centric fanfics! Full of well written Keith!

Hound by Story_Monger

Chapters:11 Status: Complete Ships: None Rating: General Audiences

Tags: Horror, Team as Family, Past Child Abuse, Character Study, Platonic Relationships, Suspense, Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort

Summary: Keith has a lot of practice being alone; you might almost say he's good at it. When he finds himself seriously injured and stranded on an unknown planet, he knows he's not alone there. And here's the worst part: even after rescue and after things return to normal, Keith gets the distinct sense that whatever was on that planet has followed him. He doesn't have proof. But he knows it's there. He knows it's not going to stop until it gets what it wants.

Hound is incredible on all levels. It is an artistic, gorgeously written character study, full of suspense and horror that had me on the edge of my seat at all times. I loved the transitions between THEN (the sections of the story that take place the year Keith was alone in the desert) and the NOW. Keith’s backstory is a real mystery still, and this story uses it’s head cannons to the fullest, never feeling out of character or out of place. The wonderful platonic affection the paladins shower each other with is adorable and refreshing between the bits of heart wrenching angst and spine tingling horror, and all around this fanfic seems to know Keith even better than the show writers. It’s not only one of my favorite fanfics, it’s probably one of my favorite pieces of fiction I’ve ever read, period.

WARNING mentions past child abuse but it stays away from graphic details.

Recoil/Release by Cheshyr

Chapters: 13 Status: Complete Ships: None Rating: Teen and Up

Tags: Team as family, Anxiety, Insecure Keith, Panic Attacks, Past Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Sketchy Science

Summary: When Keith is bitten by an alien creature with venom that causes your dominant emotions to be amplified, the team is ready for a day of dealing with an incredibly angry paladin.

Which means they're not ready at all for what actually happens.

As a person who suffers from panic attacks and anxiety, this one really hits close to home. Keith’s insecurities and fears, amplified to an impossible measure thanks to the alien creatures venom keeps the stakes high, and is backed up with solid writing, dialogue, and character interactions (seriously I LIVE for best friend Pidge&Keith). The angst is heartbreaking, the humor will have you laughing out loud, and the heart felt moments between our favorite space team will leave you feeling warm and cozy for days. It’s not always perfect, but it’s definitely a worthwhile read.

WARNING: As someone who suffers from panic attacks and anxiety I did have to take a small break from time to time. The panic attacks and anxiety are very VERY well written. The child abuse is barely mentioned and more implied than anything (never really described or shown ) but I’ll still put a warning.

Running Flat by SKayLanphear

Chapters: 2 Status: Complete Ships: Klance Rating: Mature

Tags: Romance, Thought-Sharing, Pining, Longing, Silly Boys

Summary: Lance, like all the other paladins, is finally getting used to the “mind meld” they all have to indulge in when controlling their lions. Until someone’s uncontrollable crush comes in and knocks them all back in surprise. It’s a crush that circles persistently through their thoughts and only gets stronger as time goes on, until they begin to realize this might be a bit more serious than the term “crush” implies.

Meanwhile, the unfortunate paladin behind it all is trying desperately to bury the feelings away, yet failing at every turn.

-I find SKayLanphear to be a master of character, and while this fic is not completely Keith-centric (since it’s sometimes told in Lance’s POV) I believe Skay has a wonderful grasp on Keith’s voice, and who he is as a person. I love the way this story takes the interesting concept of mind melding that was introduced in season 1 and fully explores it. Add in some angst and romance,and you got yourself a great fic. Skay’s A+ writing and interesting premise makes for a short and sweet story with a hefty emotional punch, and it will most definitely leave a mark on your heart.

You can also find @skaylanphear here on tumblr

Nothing Can Breathe in Space by Idrilka

Chapters: 4 Status: Complete Ships: Sheith Rating: Explicit

Tags: Backstory, Pre-Canon, Canon Era, Mutual Pining, Unresolved Tension, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, First Time, Friends to Lovers

Summary: The truth is: what Keith wants or doesn’t want won’t bring Shiro back.

The truth is: nothing can breathe in space.

(Or: the story of how Keith and Shiro come together, come apart, and come together again.)

I desperately want to know about the back story of Keith and Shiro when they were at the Garrison and this fic is a good way to scratch that itch. While the story is obviously told through a more romantic lens then it probably will in canon, it doesn’t feel overly sappy or out of character. Filled to the brim with angst, this story of discovery, loss, and re-discovery (told in Idrilka’s fantastic interpretation of Keith’s voice) will probably make you cry. But it will also fill you with hope, and an excitement for the day we get to see Keith and Shiro’s actual backstory in canon.

WARNING: There will be feels. Also, PTSD. And some adult shows of affection. All very tasteful in my opinion, but just be warned that it’s there.

Call Me, Beep Me by Orphan_Account

Chapters: 10 Status: Complete Ships: Klance, Minor Shallura

Rating: General Audiences

Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Wrong Number AU, Texting

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

Where Lance messages the wrong number and things kind of snowball from there

This fic is hilarious. Written almost completely as an epistolary novel (the chosen form text messages) this fic has as much fun with itself as you do reading it. It isn’t always easy to keep the essence of the characters the same when placing them in alternate universes with new alternate lives, but this fic does a fantastic job. The character dialogue is fast and smart, their interactions funny and relatable, the romance is adorable and slow-burning, and the plot is great with a satisfying conclusion. BONUS: If you love Pidge and Keith as best friends the way I do, you'll love them in this fic. It is one of my biggest disappointments that I will never know who actually wrote this.

WARNING: You may die of laughter

Fragile: Handle With Care by EchoResonance

Chapters: 7 Status: Complete Ships: Sheith Rating: Teen and Up

Tags: Abuse, Child Abuse, Physical Abuse, Past Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Trauma, Soulmates, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Heavy Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: Shiro's heard all sorts of stories about soulmates. He's seen the stories in action. He's seen his father knock his hip against the corner of the counter and watched the bruise bloom on his mother's. He watched his friend get a tattoo and seen another friend with the fading remnants of that very same mark. It was a magical moment for some people.

Shiro and his soulmate were not those people.

An AU in which the marks that one person receives, the other also bears temporarily. And although Shiro has had few accidents and has never been struck a day in his life, it is very rare that his skin isn't a painting of reds, blues, and purples

Although this story is actually written mostly from Shiro’s point of view, Keith is just SO Keith in it, that I had to include it in the list. I have always had an interest in Soulmate au’s, and while marks from your skin appearing on your soulmates skin isn’t exactly new, the added feature of your soulmate feeling the pain you feel kind of is (at least to me). I wanted to know how someone as private as Keith would react to this, and this fic delivered.

This fic is beautiful. Full of all kinds of emotions, beautiful writing, an interesting premise, and a good grasp on the characters. Seeing the characters we know and love play out in this new world they’ve been put in is an emotional roller coaster that I never want to get off of.

WARNING: There is definitely sensitive and triggering material in this fic. Please read the tags carefully. While the abuse is never grossly graphic or shown in great detail, do not continue to read it if you feel it will have an effect on your mental/emotional well being.

A Horse To Water by SKayLanphear

Chapters: 3/? Status: In Progress Ships: Klance, Minor Shallura

Rating: Mature

Tags: Romance, rivals to friends to lovers, cowboy keith, city-boy Lance, deals with controversial subjects, Racism, Homophobia, Horses, Angst, Violence, Mutual Pining, Misunderstandings

Summary: Lance moves to the country and meets a hot-headed cowboy intent on being as difficult as possible. Despite his efforts, however, Keith merely inspires Lance to wonder at the pros of saving a horse and riding a cowboy.

If anyone was going to make it onto this list twice, it would be Skay. Back with another Klance fic (once again with rotating POV), but this time in it for the long haul. This fic is so much fun and drama so far. Great premise, fresh setting, excellent writing and grasp of character, and horses. FREAKING. BEAUTIFUL. HORSES. But don’t worry, the angst is there, bubbling just underneath the skin, and I can’t wait for it to come in full (which it will just you wait). I am really excited to read this fic as it continues, and see how the characters we know and love interact in these new (but fitting) roles they have been given. Plus come on guys, it has cow-boy Keith. COW. BOY. KEITH!

WARNING: Although the fic is still in its early chapters, according to the authors tags it has been tagged mature for a reason. So all you guys who shouldn’t be meddling around in the mature tag...stay out of this fic.

#voltron legendary defender #keith (voltron)#happy birthday keith #vld fanfic #vld fanfic compilation #keith fanfic #keith kogane

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littlespacestars · 7 years

Text

Shallura Fic Rec (#2)

Shallura Rec List (#2)

I previously made a list of my favorite Shallura fics, and decided to pull together a new one for you guys!! Hopefully you find something you haven’t read yet. There’s a bit of a lag in Shallura fics lately (and content in general), but there’s absolutely still some good ones! Again, these are categorized to the best of my ability, since some of them can apply to more than one group!

Shallura Rec List (#1) is here

Fluff

Like an Eagle - Revasnaslan

“It turned out that explaining trust falls to an alien was a little bit more difficult than Shiro thought it was going to be.

Written for Shallura Week Day 3 (Trust / Growth)”

Sharing Earth culture, trusting, Allura scares TF out of Shiro

Wingman - thir13enth

“Coran is never subtle. Shallura.”

Supportive Coran, protective space uncle, wingman Coran

She’s Like the Sun - sdd_writes_things

“In which neither Shiro nor Allura can actually sleep at night and they're super thirsty for each other, turning tentative hand holding into nearly making love on the floor which then somehow turns into seventy miles of blankets and then sleeping in front of a window.”

Almost smutty content, shy handholding to violent necking, insomnia, pining, not explicit

Nighttime - butimnotinthefandom

“Shiro sees to his crew and spends some time alone with Allura.”

Shiro’s POV, space family, minor Klance/Klangst, flirting, domestic, stargazing, pining, sharing stress, “Innocent Shallura massage”

Where Sleep Will Be Peaceful ; Unharried by Terror - gallantrejoinder

“Four times Allura and Shiro slept side by side and it didn't mean anything - plus the one time that it did.”

Insomnia, four times plus one, sharing a bed, nightmares, sleep, gentle and soft things, misunderstandings, pining, happy ending, slight mature content

At 2200 Hours - braincoins

“It's the end of a long day aboard the Castle ship. Time to relax and unwind.”

Shallura Sundays, prompt, domestic, fluff, background Klance, space parents, playful flirting and teasing, tired Shiro

Sock Sliding at 2am - mantharay

“Allura and Shiro are distraught and stressed after the events of Crystal Venom (S1x09). Through the power of sliding down dark castle halls like children, they learn that to be a leader, you can't be serious all the time.

Oh, and there's some Emotions™.”

Fluff and angst, comfort, PTSD, panic/anxiety attacks, comfort, platonic relationship, sort of, possible pining

Moments of You - Seliphra

“When Allura gets injured saving the day, Shiro can't help but try to take care of her.”

First kiss, love confessions, canon-typical injury and violence, minor injuries, BAMF Allura, nervous Shiro, hurt/comfort, Shiro is in awe and Allura is amazing,

Come Down to the Water Where the Sky is Blue and Yellow - armouredescort (Part 1 of A Long Road to Courtship)

“Allura convinces Shiro to go to the beach.”

Day at the beach, beach episode, tooth-rotting fluff, space family, water fight, slow burn

Working to Relax - IHaveNothingToDo

“Allura's tense and her hair is a mess. Shiro helps.“

Soft, Shiro plays with Allura’s hair, it’s the mice’s fault, short fic

3 AM - jaztice

“Shiro and Allura are hanging out in Allura's room around 3am.”

Shiro is ticklish, kissing, tickling, hickeys, short fic

Ancient - juniperallura

“For prompt "Shallura, ancient. The universe can be very heavy and make you feel very small.”

Fluff, angst, comfort, playful banter, short fic

A Matter of Time - teslatricity (nayanroo)

“The war's over, and the universe is starting to rebuild. As Allura leads the charge in forming new alliances, looking to the future, Shiro considers the kind of future he wants for them. But being a paladin means that your plans tend to go awry and your timing is never the greatest...“

Engagement, Shiro is a bit of a disaster, but he loves her so much ya’ll, background relationships, but only if you’re looking for it, proposal-blocked, supportive Keith, gorgeous scenery, nervous Shiro, Shiro’s parents, new home

Angst

As You Wish - SippingThatTea

“Every time Allura asked something from Shiro, he merely responded 'As you wish'. Allura does wonder if there was more to that.”

Fluff and humor, angst with a happy ending, short fic

Betrayal (2/2) - YoGrossDude

“Shiro is turned against Team Voltron. Allura must stop him. A life and death struggle, and what comes after.”

Dark Shiro, characters fighting, major character injury, angst, possession, aftermath of possession, aftermath of violence, mind control aftermath & recovery, panic attacks, PTSD, suicidal thoughts

Crown Another - carrotycake

“‘And for every king that died

Oh, they would crown another...’

Allura struggles with accepting the mantle of Black Paladin.”

Angst, black paladin Allura, cool lions doing mystical things, Allura is sad, grief/mourning, Keith is a good friend

Multichapter

Watch Me Lovely (7/?) - realityisiron

“‘What exactly did you think you were agreeing to?’

- - - - -

Shiro could pretend to be Allura’s concubine for a week. After all, concubines were for behind closed doors. There’d be no reason for them to have to do anything crazy.

Except Shiro may have made a huge translation error, one that will come back to bite him in rather… unexpected ways. And places.”

Explicit, eventual NSFW, porn with plot, mutual pining, romance, fake/pretend relationship, comedy, hurt/comfort, Shiro angst, alien culture, alien biology, alien sex, exhibitionism, femdom, world building

Like Real People Do (5/5) - andtheblueberrymuffins (Part 1 of Like Real People Do)

Or: The one where something is very wrong with Shiro after his second escape from the Galra.”

The Princess and the Pilot (2/?) - ashesandhoney

“In an alternate timeline, Shiro gets picked up by the Galra before the war starts and eventually ends up being given to the Princess of the Alteans as a joke or an attempt to start a war or as a mistake. Whatever their motive was for sending him, Allura is now left trying to figure out what to do with him.”

AU, prisoner Shiro, slow burn, misunderstanding, strangers to lovers

Jealousy (3/3) - juniperallura

“As the team forges a new alliance, Shiro must confront a figure from Allura's past, a new challenge, and his own feelings.”

Jealously, pining, mutual pining, light angst, fluff, confessions, Shiro is moody and hopelessly in love

Shallura Babies/Children

We’re All Just Stars With People Names - babyfairy (babyfairybaekhyun)

“The space parents become legitimate space parents.”

Post-war, star babies, inspired by art, pregnancy, FLUFF, twins, birthing scene, space family, Coran is going to spoil them

Three Merging Currents - pixie_rings (materassassino)

“One quintessence, two quintessences… and then three. Allura and Shiro have made something unique, but Altean pregnancy is its own special thing.”

Space family, alien biology, dropping the pregnancy annoucement bomb, new parents, Allura is strong AF and has cravings

Creating Constellations - stratagem (stardustandrobotlions)

“Allura and Shiro weren't expecting parenthood to start off with such a bang, but they have to improvise when Allura goes into labor during a space battle.”

Childbirth, space battle, space pirates, shallura baby, space family

Like Bringing Color to Children - distinctive_pineapples

“'Lance,' Shiro started, his 'dad face' already at a maximum (because holy crow, he actually was a dad now, and Lance was about to be very, very dead). 'Is there a reason why you just called my daughter an animated lion?'”

Lance ends up nicknaming Shiro and Allura's newborn daughter after an animated lion. It's met with mixed reactions, but at one point or another, everyone caves.’

Future Fic, Shallura baby

Who Tells Your Story? - after_midnightmunchies

“‘Do you think history will remember us?’

Allura has some doubts and Shiro quickly dismisses them.”

Brief mention/view of children, Shallura Week 2017, Prompt: Legacy, Future Fic, married life, canon compliant, established relationship, minor Uncle Klance, one-shot

A Wonderful Night...? - ebonynightwriter (Part 5 of Shallura Week 2017)

“Returning to the ship after a night out, Shiro and Allura find two very important things are missing.”

Fluff, fun/humor, star babies, space family, love, Shallura!kids, one-shot, future fic, established relationship, Shallura Week 2017

Two Front Teeth - stratagem (stardustandrobotlions)

“Remember that time that Shiro forgot to tell Allura that human children lose their baby teeth, and that might happen with an Altean-Human child, too? Yeah, good times.”

Little humans lose their teeth and that’s disturbing to Alteans, tooth fairy, adventures in child-rearing, Altean-human kids are SO confusing, Allura and Coran are horrified, space family

Shallura AU

Lead me Home - distinctive_pineapples

“The universes may change, but there's always a familiar face to help Shiro move forward. [Takes place post-season 2 or outside of canon continuity]

My contribution to Shallurazine's "Stars Aligned" issue 2.”

AU, but not really, canon universe, post-season 2

Hold Onto Me (1/?) - killashilla (shalluravoltron)

“The prestigious Garrison Academy welcomes two royal exchange students from Altea. Whirlwind romances and harsh realities unfold as Allura, Lance, Shiro, Keith, Hunk, and Pidge navigate love, life, and high school.

The first day that Princess Allura and her cousin Lance arrive in a different galaxy, thousands of light years from Altea. They'll have to finish their educations here, on an unfamiliar planet with unfamiliar people. Luckily, these royals are quick to find allies...very close, very dreamy allies.”

Don’t Be Scared - thi13tenth

“there's still time.

—shallura. au. (for shalluraweek 2017, day two: hands; names.)”

Beach, fluff, established relationship, flirting

That’s How You Know - Bleusarcelle

“It takes a while but then the sun sets, the terrace get brighter and Shiro can only stare fondly as Allura keeps talking, eyes wide with excitement and arms flying around vividly at every word coming out of her mouth.

He’s entranced and he doesn't want to look away but his phone beeps besides him, letting him know it’s a quarter before midnight.

He voices his new discovery and he’s met with a confused arched eyebrow and a soft gasp.

‘What? Already?’

Those gotta be his new favorite words.”

Modern setting AU, getting together, established Klance, BG Klance, first meetings, awkward flirting, first dates, pining Shiro, smitten Shiro, mutual pining, marriage proposal, adoptive siblings Keith and Shiro, cousins Lance and Allura

Wedding - juniperallura

“For prompt "Shallura + Wedding"

The young officers are excited for a gathering outside the Garrison”

Garrison AU, fluff, dancing, BFF Matt and Shiro, mutual pining, short fic

Mentor of the Month - RoknRollPumpkin

“Allura is ready but Shiro isn't. And that's ok.”

Engineering/bodyshop AU, mentor Allura, fluff, soft sexual content, mature

Drabble Collections

Shallura Week 2017 (7/7) - hatandgoggles

“My prompt fills for Shallura week 2017

Day 1: Dancing

Day 2: Gender/cisswap

Day 3: Roleswap

Day 4: Wedding

Day 5: Cooking

Day 6: Romantic date

Day 7: Free day (Roswell)”

Genderswap, cisswap, rule 63, roleswap, rolereversal, human Allura, Altean Shiro, 50s au, 40s au, wedding, proposal, single dad au, dancing

Shallura Week (3/?) - juniperallura

“A collection of drabbles based off the 2017 Shallura Week prompts.”

Fluff, angst, Hands/Names, Trust, Lost/Found

Beyond Fading Stars - RukiaG

“Series of one-shots for Shallura week 2017. Some may be AU, some not.

Chapter 1: Time & Space. In a different reality, Shiro and Allura meet at a hospital.

Chapter 2: Hands & Names. Allura teaches Altean to the Paladins and Shiro tries to control his crush on her.

Chapter 3: Trust & Growth. Team Voltron does trust falls.

Chapter 4: Potential & Free. Fullmetal Alchemist AU in which Shiro is a veteran from the Ishval Civil War and Allura is an alchemist. (WARNING: may contain some references to the manga and Brotherhood’s ending).

Chapter 5: Lost & Found. The mice are lost. Shiro helps Allura find them.”

Shallura Week 2017, AU - modern setting, canon universe, language lessons, pining Shiro, trust falls, PTSD, team bonding, FMA universe, mice washing

Hurt/Comfort

She Stops My Bones From Wondering - pixie_rings (materassassino)

“Some nights, Shiro can't sleep. On those nights, Allura reminds him he isn't alone.”

PTSD, weird imagery, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it-sex, not enough for a M rating Shiro-centric, introspection, please let space dad rest, short fic

And We Hold On - ebonynightwriter (Part 3 of Shallura Week 2017)

‘“It’s not your fault.” // “How do you know?”’

Drama, Hurt/Comfort, injury, recovery, dark sides, one-shot, canon universe, post-season 2, Shallura Week 2017, this got way more “Avatar state” than originally intended, Allura’s quintessence, magic

Acceptance - rainingWolf

“Shiro couldn't be whole if she just fished his right arm out of the garbage compactor. The Castle had alerted her, as if sensing that she needed to know exactly what was going on within the confines of the pristine whiteness that had never been dark. Allura had reached in, expecting something else, anything else, maybe one of the Mice had been trapped- but then her hand touched something foreign, something familiar, and she pulled, pulled…

She never knew her heart could hurt this much, could twist this sharply at the sight of a material object.”

Shalluraweek, Lost/Found, angst, stressed Shiro, Galra arm, short fic

Comfort - coralreefskim

“...The moment was so delicate, gentle, that she didn’t dare speak. Both of them didn’t. Their breathing was soft, shallow even, warm brown eyes meeting kaleidoscope ones, and they just stayed there. Stayed there, until they both fell asleep, unconsciously, comfortably, like how it hadn’t been from since the war had been declared.

The paladins found them the next morning, still sleeping, her hand still on his.”

Fluff and angst, mental instability, character study, nightmares, emotional hurt/comfort, could pass as platonic, mutual emotional support

Something Like Anthrax - pixie_rings (materassassino)

“What started off as a diplomatic mission quickly turns into a 1950s B-movie sci-fi cliché. The Paladins and Allura end up on a planet of amazons for negotiations. Things don't go quite to plan.”

Emotional hurt/comfort, plot, science fiction cliches, unwanted sexual advances, nonbinary Pidge, flashbacks, PTSD, space family, mission, banquet, established Shallura, also Shiro gets the top bunk bed OKAY

Little Talks - Revasnaslan

“Fascination with Shiro's hand leads to some conversations about names and anxieties about the past.

Written for Shallura Week Day 2 (Hands / Names)”

Hurt/comfort, sharing culture, insecurities, short fic

Again and Again - TKipani

“Nighttime is for tears, memories, and comfort.”

Hurt/Comfort, Post-episode 9, Shiro comforting Allura, crying, Allura tries to stay strong and hide her emotions, some fluff

NSFW

Don’t Need Anything Else, Just Need You - babyfairybaekhyun (babyfairy)

“She turns to him and her eyes are glowing stars that call to him from behind her helmet. He wants her, he wants her badly, he wants her now.”

NSFW, slight plot, BAMF Allura and Shiro, turned on from the heat of battle, doin’ it in the Black Lion, dom!Shiro, oral sex, post-sex fluff, they are cuties, for littlespacestars

The Edge of Something - ashesandhoney

“In which Shiro has some kind of magical ability and Allura has some kind of Altean mating cycle and there are jokes about Hogwarts letters and bowling and a very slow building, cuddling and self indulgent sex scene.”

NSFW, Slow self-indulgent sex scenes, resolved sexual tension, sex magic, porn w/out porn, Shiro has magic, mating cycles/in heat

Build Your Castle Into Me - nayanroo (teslatricity)

“The night before Allura's coronation, she tells her husband how nervous she is, how worried she is that she won't be a good queen. And, being a good husband, Shiro helps her relax.”

NSFW, Oral sex, throne sex, marriage, established relationship, porn with plot, Allura really likes seeing him on his knees in front of her, but who can really blame her

Sound - Braincoins (Part 1 of the Senses series)

“Allura has an overabundance of quintessence. Who knew that could even happen?! Worse still, the best and quickest method for reducing it to normal levels requires... assistance. But it's ask Shiro for help or resign herself to not sleeping. Desperate times call for desperate measures.”

NSFW, casual sex, sort of, convenience sex, contrived excuses, Allura’s trying to make this PWP, not sure if she succeeds, hint of voice kink, language, pining

Sometimes the Wild Gorlax Rides You - Nary

“"Look," he said, "I promise I'll take a break if you will. Deal?"

"Perhaps... It would be nice if we could take a break together," Allura suggested. Her hand ran lightly up his arm, settling on his shoulder almost playfully, in a way that made Shiro confused and more than a little bit warm. "After all," she continued, "with what's facing us, who knows when we might have another chance..."

Non-graphic sexual content, implied sexual encounter, first kiss, first time, before battle, stress relief, a little bit of shovel talk, nervousness, cuddling, Shiro finally gets some sleep, advice from Coran, Voltron Positivity Exchange

Distraction - madamebomb

“Shiro is Allura's biggest distraction.”

NSFW, trying to deny their feelings, pining, Shiro’s bed is way too small

The Man and the Moon - cupofdaydream

“A place where I’m intermittently going to dump my Shiro/Allura smut.”

NSFW, Porn without plot, pillow talk, some fluff

3:23 AM - RoknRollPumpkin

“They did the thing (AU)”

NSFW, Voltron AU, Shiro’s birthday, established relationship

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