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tiny-opal-essence · 5 years

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Pocket Paladin Chpt 8

Training

“Good morning paladins! I hope you didn’t forget about training today. I expect to see you all on the training deck in 15 doboshes. Every dobosh one of you is late, that’s an extra 5 doboshes more training for everyone before breakfast.”

Lance groaned as Allura’s voice rang over the comms.

Why does everything have to be so loud from this perspective?

He sat up and groggily rubbed his eyes. The bed creaked behind him as Keith did the same. He climbed off of his jacket and onto the nightstand while Keith walked over to the wall. Keith pressed his hand against the hidden panel and the closet opened.

It is amazing how you wouldn’t even know the closet was there. There aren’t even lines in the wall giving it away. Alien technology is pretty cool.

Keith started taking off his shirt, causing Lance to let out a small *gasp* at seeing him shirtless.

Mmm, those back muscles…Not now bi thoughts!

Keith turned towards him when he heard Lance, giving him an even better view of his chest.

“Do you mind? Don’t be weird. Just turn around.” Keith said.

“Sorry!” Lance turned away from Keith while trying to get his face to cool down.

Like he said, don’t be weird.

‘You know he doesn’t like you in that way.’

I know he’s straight, but I can still appreciate how good he looks.

‘But what would he think of you if he found out about your little crush?’

That’s why he’s not going to find out.

While Lance was thinking, Keith was going through something similar.

Keith had almost forgotten that Lance was in the room with him before he had *gasped*. He didn’t know why Lance seeing him shirtless was making him feel so weird. His cheeks felt warm and there was an odd tightness in his chest. Was he feeling embarrassed? He’d never felt embarrassed about his body before. Was he worried about Lance somehow using this against him? No. Whatever it was, he couldn’t quite put his finger on it as he finished getting dressed in his paladin armor. He didn’t have time to figure it out, as both he and Lance had to get down to the training deck.

“Are you done?” Lance asked his back still facing Keith.

“Yes. Are you?” Keith responded.

“I don’t have anything else to change into, so yeah.”

“Didn’t Pidge say that your armor had shrunk too? She gave that back, right?”

“Not yet. She wanted to try to boost the signal from it since it got scaled down. So for now, all I’ve got is the healing pod outfit. Lucky me.”

Lance’s outfit was starting to look less pristine than the day before. He wished that some of his other outfits had been shrunk too, like his jacket or even just his jeans. It would let him feel a bit of normalcy. He was glad that the picture of his family hadn’t been shrunk. If it had and he had lost it, there would be no way he would ever find it.

“We should get going before we’re late,” Lance said.

“Good idea. Do you want to go on my shoulder again?” Keith placed his hand down in front of Lance who quickly climbed on.

“Yeah. I like being closer to everyone else’s eye level. Less looking up or down on both sides.” Lance sat down between the collar of Keith’s armor and his neck and grabbed onto his hair once more. “Onwards, noble steed!”

“Really, Lance?”

“Hey, do you want to be late for training? Less talking more walking.”

Keith let out a slightly annoyed *huff* and started heading towards the training deck.

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“I’m glad to see you’re all on time for once.” Allura glanced over at Lance when she said the last part. The others didn’t seem to notice.

Why does she have to say that? It’s not like I try to be late.

“Shiro suggested we do some more mind melding exercises due to the change in who’s piloting which lion. Everyone grab a headset.”

“What about me? I don’t think those come in my size.” Lance pointed out.

“Oh, that’s right. You can help monitor everything with Coran.” Allura decided.

“Ok.” Mind melding exercises may not have been Lance’s favorite, but he thought he could at least participate in them somehow like this.

“Don’t worry, my boy. There’s not much to it.” Coran assured Lance as he was handed over to him.

That’s not what I was worried about, but thanks.

“After breakfast, I can try to make one of these for you.” Hunk offered. “It might take a bit, but with some reverse engineering I should be able to figure it out.”

“I can help. I’d love to know more about how they work.” Pidge added on.

“That sounds like a good plan, but we shouldn’t waste any more training time,” Shiro commented.

Good to know my friends worrying about me is considered wasting time.

“Shiro’s correct. We should get started.” Allura stated as everyone except Coran went to sit in a circle.

“Alright paladins, you know the drill. Close your eyes and think about your connection with your lion.” Coran said.

Green and Yellow’s holograms popped up in front of Pidge and Hunk almost instantly. Blue appeared for Allura hardly a moment later.

“Excellent, Allura. Your bond with Blue has grown much stronger as of late.” Coran commented.

How come she’s so much better at this than I am?

‘You know why. It’s clear to anyone that Allura is the best choice for blue paladin.’

Well…Blue picked me first!

‘But she also abandoned you first, didn’t she? She cut you off as soon as someone better came along.’

While Lance was sorting through his thoughts, Keith was having a little trouble focusing. The lion in front of him kept switching between Red and Black. After a few seconds, Red appeared.

Shiro was having a similar struggle. Black would appear in front of him for hardly a moment before fizzling out in a burst of purple. It was obvious to anyone watching that he was trying to focus, but it had been so long since he remembered connecting with Black.

“Patience yields focus,” Keith said as the others felt Shiro’s struggle through the mind meld.

“I should have known you’d use that against me.” Shiro took a deep breath. Slowly, Black came into focus in all her glory.

“Well done paladins! It’s amazing how quickly you’re getting the hang of this new arrangement! Why I think you’ve done it faster than the paladins of old. Now, focus on Voltron.”

They’re better without me?

‘Of course they are. You were just holding them back.’

Slowly, the lions all moved towards the center of the circle. The arms and legs formed perfectly. As Black came closer to the others, her image shifted to form the head. Before it could connect with the rest of Voltron, the image became distorted and changed to something much more frightening.

Shiro ripped off the headset and stood up when he saw the face of Haggar appear. His breathing was heavy as the others removed their headsets.

“Are you ok, Shiro?” Hunk asked.

“To be honest, I’m not sure. Even though I’m free, it still feels like she’s holding me captive somehow.” He rubbed at his temples to try and get rid of his headache.

“That’s understandable. You were a prisoner for a while. It takes time to adjust back to normal.” Pidge said.

“There’s a part of me that feels like this is wrong, that it’s all some illusion she cast to trick me.”

“I assure you, this is real.” Allura grabbed Shiro’s hand.

“Yeah, if it was an illusion, do you think she would have had me be like this?” Lance gestured to himself.

“Haha, probably not,” Shiro responded with a smile.

“We’re here for you, Shiro.” Hunk said.

“We won’t let her get to you,” Keith added on.

“Thanks. I was hoping the mind-melding might help me get my thoughts together, or remember more of what happened, but it’s still mostly blank. I think I remember the second letter of the project name. It might be a u or maybe a double o. Definitely an oo sound, but that’s all I got.”

“Ok, so with that, we now have K or C followed by u or oo. So it’s a coo like sound.” Hunk thought out loud.

“Couldn’t it also be qu for the name?” Lance suggested.

“Maybe. Ok, so we’re a little bit closer to figuring out the name of the project.” Hunk added on.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t remember more,” Shiro said.

“You have nothing to apologize for, Shiro. Going through something like that and being willing to dig through the traumatic memories is a show of great courage.” Coran responded.

“It doesn’t feel very courageous.”

“It is. Courage cannot erase our fears, courage is when we face our fears.” Lance said.

“Where’d you hear that?”

“Newsies.”

“Of course your advice comes from a musical,” Keith commented.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“How about we all go get some breakfast?” Hunk stopped the argument before it could grow out of control. “Now seems like a good time for a break.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Allura added on.

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“It looks like he’s remembering more than we expected at this point,” Axha said.

“We’ll just have to move the time table forward then,” Lotor stated.

“But what if he remembers too much?” Ezor asked.

“That is of no concern to us now.”

“He seems to be having some doubts about being on the team. He is also acting slightly different than expected.” Axha pointed out.

“Not to worry. Any differences in his behavior will be written off as a side effect of being a prisoner. We need to keep monitoring the situation to make sure it stays that way for as long as possible.”

Kova *meowed* in agreement on Narti’s shoulder.

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After breakfast, Pidge, Hunk, and Lance had gone back to the training deck to get the mind meld headsets to bring to the workbench. They were eager to see how they worked so they could make one for Lance at his new height. Pidge had also finished boosting the signal in Lance’s paladin armor so the comms could reach as far as at normal height. Lance was just glad to have another outfit to wear besides the healing pod outfit.

Hunk was carefully taking apart one of the headsets while Pidge was digging through information in a book Coran had found for them in the library. Lance was sitting on the scale with Chuchule so they were out of the way.

“It looks like there should be sensors on the forehead, temples, and behind the ears.” Pidge looked at the blueprint in the text.

“I think I see them. Does it say anything about how to remove them?” Hunk asked.

“No, just information on who created them. Nothing on how they get an electroencephalography either.”

“What’s an electro-sif-ography?” Lance asked.

“Electroencephalography. It’s a way of measuring brainwaves. The sensors read the changes in the electrical field from the ionic current in your brain neurons.” Hunk responded as he reached for the pliers on the back wall of the workbench.

“Wait, brains have electricity?”

“Yep. There’s enough electricity in the brain to power a low-watt light bulb, though yours might only power a single Christmas light.” Pidge smirked at Lance before looking back in the book.

Was that a dig at my height, or my intelligence?

‘Both’

Hunk had the tip of his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth as he concentrated on removing one of the sensors with the pliers. He was so focused on the task at hand that he hadn’t heard the last bit of Pidge’s response to Lance. Slowly, but surely, the sensor was coaxed out.

“Got it!” Hunk grabbed the microscope and placed the sensor on a slide.

Hunk and Pidge started talking excitedly about the technology. Most of it went over Lance’s head because engineering wasn’t his forte. He decided to talk to Chuchule.

“How’s your day going?”

Chuchule gave him a thumbs up then pointed at him with an inquisitive look on her face.

“Mine’s going as good as can be expected. I’m still tiny, which sucks. No offense meant.” Lance was worried he might have accidentally insulted Chuchule since he was shrunk down to a similar height to her.

Chuchule waved one of her front paws and shook her head to show that it didn’t offend her.

“It’s just…yeah. How do you handle being this small?”

Chuchule shrugged her shoulders.

“I guess you always being like this makes it easier. Maybe you and the others can show me the ropes.”

Chuchule nodded enthusiastically before refocusing on what Pidge and Hunk were doing.

Pidge put the headset on the slide and looked at where the sensor had been. She and Hunk gushed more about the technology and what substitutes could potentially be used to make it in Lance’s size.

“It’ll have to be a helmet instead of a headset because of the size, but I think that will work.” Hunk said.

“We might have to visit the space mall to get some of the supplies.” Pidge thought out loud.

“Oooh! Can we go to the earth store when we go?” Lance was excited at the prospect of seeing something from home.

“Ummm. I don’t think you’ll be coming with if we go.” Hunk sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck.

“Why not? It’s just the mall.”

“You got into trouble at your normal height last time we were there,” Pidge said.

I remember you getting in trouble right next to me. Heck, we all got in trouble

“We all got in trouble last time-” Hunk began.

Thank you!

“-but there’s just too many people for it to be safe.”

“How is that any different from coming along on a recon mission?”

“For recon, we’re not trying to be seen and we would have our helmet comms. We can’t wear our helmets in the space mall. There, we would be talking to people, it would be loud, and if something happened, we might not realize until it’s too late.” Hunk replied.

“Don’t forget about the swap moons.”

“True, true. It’s just too risky.”

“Oh,” Lance said dejectedly.

“I can try to get a shark keychain for you if you want.” Hunk offered.

“Thanks.” Lance smiled slightly.

Hunk looked over at Pidge’s laptop and saw what time it was.

“We should go get some lunch before afternoon training starts.”

“Good idea,” Pidge said. Both she and Hunk placed a hand down in front of Lance as he climbed off of the scale.

“Uh, well, this is awkward,” Lance said as he looked between their hands.

“I want to carry him,” Hunk said.

“You already carried him here, I want a turn.”

“He’s my best friend.”

“Well, he’s my friend too.”

“Guys, please. There’s plenty of me to go around.” Lance had his hands up in a calm down fashion.

Pidge let out a snicker before apologizing.

“I’m sorry, I know I shouldn’t be laughing, but it’s just funny hearing you say that when you’re so tiny. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright, that’s why I said it. Gotta try to have fun with this situation, right?”

“I’m glad you’re feeling better.” Hunk said.

“Me too.”

“I’ve got an idea for figuring out who gets to carry you-” Pidge started.

Is it letting me decide?

“-Rock, paper, scissors.”

Of course not.

“How about winner gets to bring you to lunch, loser brings you to training?” Hunk suggested.

“Sounds good. Best of 3? Rock, Paper, Scissors!”

Every time their fists hit their palms, it reminded Lance of the close call with Shiro’s fist the day before. He knew that Shiro didn’t mean to do that, though he noticed that Shiro had been standing further away from him than the others after that event.

Shiro’s the only one who hasn’t held me like this. Is he worried that he might hurt me? Space-dad would never do that…at least, not on purpose.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard Pidge let out a *whoop* of victory.

“Yes! I won!” She pumped her fists in the air. She came close to hitting the workbench and knocking Lance over the edge in her excitement.

“Fine, Kaitlyn.” Hunk yielded.

“Closer, but still not my name.” Pidge put her hand in front of Lance and the three of them went to get lunch.

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Keith and Shiro were also walking through the castle ship to get some food.

“How’s Lance rooming with you going?”

“Fine.”

“Have you two built any bridges yet?” Shiro said with a slightly teasing voice.

“No. Maybe. He talked about his family a bit. They seem nice.”

“It’s good to know you’re getting along better with him.”

“It’s kind of hard to talk with Lance.”

“Why is that?” Shiro looked over at Keith.

“I think it’s partially how we butt heads so much and another part it’s hard to get a word in. He can be so frustrating sometimes and then he says something I don’t understand. I still don’t get why the chant can’t just be ‘Voltron.’ It doesn’t have to be complicated!”

“If it’s that frustrating, we could see about him rooming with someone else.”

“No!” Keith and Shiro were both surprised by how quickly Keith responded. “I mean, I’m the safest option for him to room with. And like you said, we could build some bridges. I want to get along with him.”

“That’s good to hear. I hope you’re willing to open up to him as well.”

“That might take a while.”

“I know. I still remember how long it took you to open up to me.” Shiro let out a small laugh.

“That was years ago, Shiro. You can stop bringing it up, you know.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell the others. Let’s go eat.” Shiro said as they walked towards the kitchen door.

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“Am I the only one that thinks it’s a bad idea to train right after eating?” Hunk asked as everyone walked from the kitchen to the training deck.

“I agree,” Lance said from his position in Hunk’s hands. “If you have to wait an hour before swimming, it should be the same with training.”

“Lance, that’s an old wives tale,” Pidge commented.

“The reason we are training so soon after eating is because we don’t know when Voltron will next be needed. We will not always have the luxury of time to prepare.” Allura explained.

“I don’t see how this applies to me since I really can’t participate in the training,” Lance said.

“You are not getting out of training just because you went and got yourself shrunk, Lance,” Allura said with a strict tone.

Hey, I didn’t “get myself shrunk”. I stopped the spell from hitting Keith, but she’s making it sound like I wanted this to happen to me. I mean, sure, there have been times I’ve wanted to get out of training, but I wouldn’t shrink to do that.

“Well, what can I do? My bayard didn’t shrink with my armor and I can’t exactly fight the gladiator at this height.”

“We will find a way for you to participate.” Allura snapped before apologizing. “Sorry.”

“Are you ok, Allura?” Shiro asked.

“Yes, I was just up late reading last night. I don’t mean to be so curt. I believe I am merely tired.” She responded as they made their way onto the training deck. “Let’s get started.”

Hunk brought Lance over to a raised section of the floor which put him at about chest height with the others. Allura began leading the group in some stretching exercises.

It seemed that Lance hadn’t lost any of his flexibility, which he was glad for. It was one thing that was still normal.

After 5 quintants of that, Allura switched gears.

“Today, we are going to face the gladiator. Coran has upgraded it with the help of Slav’s blueprints, so it should provide more of a challenge.”

“What about me?” Lance asked.

“You can work on your endurance by running laps on the platform.” Allura decided. “Strength and endurance are both equally important in subduing an enemy.”

“Don’t worry, the gladiator won’t target you. It’s already been programmed to not go after the space mice, so it should perceive you as one of them and avoid you.” Coran stated.

“Ok,” Lance responded.

Should I feel offended by that? I mean, I know I’m a similar height to the space mice, but is that really enough for me to be written off as not mattering?

‘Looks like you answered your own question.’

“I wonder if we could build a tiny treadmill for you.” Hunk thought out loud.

“Or we could avoid going through all that trouble and just get a hamster wheel. Haha.” Pidge suggested.

I’m not some kind of pet!

“As adorable as that sounds-“ Shiro tried to hide his smile “-that would be a bit demeaning to Lance.”

“What is a hamster? And why would it need a wheel?” Coran asked.

“A hamster is a type of pet back on earth. They’re similar looking to the space mice, but a bit bigger. A hamster wheel is a wheel that is held off the ground that they can run in place in to exercise.” Hunk answered.

“That’s a very practical piece of equipment,” Allura commented.

“It is, until you remember they’re nocturnal and are always running like crazy when you’re trying to sleep.” Keith’s tone let everyone know he was speaking from experience.

“Didn’t take you for the hamster type,” Lance said.

“I’m not. It wasn’t mine.”

“Well then whose-” Lance started to ask before Allura interrupted.

“We should focus on the task at hand. There’s still training to be done.”

Again with the talking over me. Why?

Allura got in her stance. “Whenever you’re ready, Coran.”

“Paladins in position?” Coran said from the control panel at the edge of the room. “Go!”

The gladiator-bot dropped from the ceiling and wasted no time in picking its first target. With every lap that Lance made on the stand, someone else was facing the robot. Pidge. Hunk. Shiro. Allura. Hunk again. Keith. Back to Shiro. Lance found himself slowing down as he watched the rest of the team train.

“Keep running, Lance. This is no time to be slacking off.” Allura called out.

How did she even know I had slowed down? She was facing the other way. Do Alteans have eyes in the back of their heads?

Lance picked up the pace, but still took notice of who was facing the gladiator-bot. Keith. Allura. Pidge. Hunk.

Ooo that had to hurt.

Lance winced as the floor opened up beneath Hunk. The room it brought those who fell in training to was actually right next door with a one-way wall/door kind of thing so they could still watch the others train and see ways they could improve. The bot continued fighting with its staff.

Shiro. Pidge. Allura.

And the robot just threw her across the room. Ok.

Keith. Pidge. Shiro. Pidge.

That might leave a bruise.

Shiro. Keith. Still Keith. Now Shiro. Back to Keith. Shiro once more.

Why is it looking at me? Shiro and Keith are both on the other side of it.

Lance stopped running and stared back at the robot.

And now it’s moving closer. Oh quiznak!

Lance backed up to the edge of the ledge. He knew he wouldn’t survive if he jumped off, but he didn’t have anywhere to go. That was the most distance he could put between himself and the gladiator that was now targeting him.

The gladiator raised up its staff and started to bring it down towards Lance.

There was a terrible *clang* as Lance dove out of the way on the platform. He looked up and saw that Keith had managed to get all the way across the room to stop the blow. He couldn’t see his eyes since his back was facing him, but given that Keith was growling slightly, he was willing to bet they were yellow.

In his hurry to protect Lance, Keith wasn’t able to get in a strong stance. The gladiator shoved him out of the way and the floor opened up around him. The robot raised its staff once more, but before it could strike, it was stabbed through from behind by Shiro's prosthetic. Keith’s attack had distracted the gladiator long enough for Shiro to get to Lance.

Lance covered his head with his arms as small pieces of the robot fell around him. The door in the one-way wall opened and the rest of the team ran over to him.

“Lance! Are you ok?!” Hunk asked.

“I’m still in one piece.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

“I thought you said that it wouldn’t target him?” Keith glared over at Coran.

“It shouldn’t have.” Coran was opening panels and looking at the wiring to see what had happened. “It should only target paladins, unless we’re doing a protection exercise. Why did it go after Lance?”

“It might be that the system still sees Lance as a paladin.” Pidge ran over to help Coran figure out what had gone wrong. “The tracker in his helmet still works even after it was shrunk, so it must be picking up on that. We might just have to erase Lance’s data from the system.”

“But I have the best score for the shooting range!”

“You can get the high score again once you’re back to normal,” Shiro assured.

“I believe now is a good time to be done with training. We’ve had enough scares for one day. We will continue this session tomorrow.” Allura decided.

“I could really go for a shower right now,” Lance said.

“That won’t be happening for a while. You might wind up going down the drain. That, and the water pressure would definitely knock you off your feet.” Pidge stated.

“Well, then what would you suggest?”

“…I think I’ve got an idea.” Hunk ran out of the room.

“Well don’t just stand there. Let’s see what his idea is.” Pidge said.

Pidge, Allura, and Coran ran after Hunk. Keith started toward the door.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” Shiro pointed to Lance.

“Can’t you grab him?”

“Why can’t you?”

“You’re the only one who hasn’t had a chance to carry him,” Keith responded.

“Yeah, and you should do it soon, cause I won’t be like this for much longer.”

I hope.

“I don’t feel comfortable carrying him. I still feel on edge and I’m worried something would go wrong. We’ve had enough close calls for one day.”

“Come on, Shiro. When else are you going to get a chance to carry someone in the palm of your hands?” Lance asked.

“I would rather not literally hold your life in my hands. What if my arm glitches and you get hurt?”

“Pidge checked for any glitches. You’re in the clear.” Keith responded.

“I have this nagging feeling that there’s something we missed.”

“If you’re that worried, I can just hitch a ride with Keith. It’s not a big deal. Let’s just go see what Hunk’s idea is.”

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“That was risky, Narti. If they had suspected tampering with the gladiator, they could have discovered our virus.” Axha commented.

Cova *meowed* on Narti’s shoulder.

“You have to admit, it was pretty brilliant,” Zethrid added on. “And watching them fall all over themselves to protect him was priceless.”

“Yeah, if we hadn’t been studying them so much, we wouldn’t have known they would blame it on operator error.” Ezor contributed.

“Nevertheless, it was a risky endeavor. If he had been killed, this would be all for naught. We must tread lightly in our spying.” Lotor reminded his team of what was at stake. “Everything depends on getting him alone.”

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Hunk’s idea had been a bowl. He had explained that since it’s what the space mice used, the same could apply to Lance because he’s a similar height to them.

It was kind of like taking a bath in a hot tub, albeit one without jets, but still nice. Having to have someone be in the room with him was annoying, even though he knew he was only there in case something happened.

Keith was sitting on the floor, back against the nightstand the bowl was on. He had only commented a little bit about how many different products Lance used. Shampoo, conditioner, face mask stuff, and a few other ones that Keith couldn’t identify for the life of him.

The bottles were set up on the edge of the nightstand to act as a wall to give Lance some privacy. There were small amounts of the different products on the edges of the bowl for easy access, small being a relative term. A washcloth was hanging on the edge of the bowl so Lance could get in and out on his own.

There was an extra set of the black under armor on the nightstand next to Lance’s dirty one. Lance hoped that Coran was right in that it would shrink to fit, otherwise he’d only have the outfit he was shrunk in and the healing pod outfit.

Lance looked down at his hands.

“*gasp* I’m pruning!”

“That tends to happen when you spend so much time in the water,” Keith commented.

“Hey, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to go swimming, so I’m going to enjoy this as long as possible. Besides, I still have a minute until I can rinse off my face mask.”

“It must be like an ocean to you.”

“More like a hot tub, but still better than the pool in the castle. How the cheese is the water like that? Water doesn’t float, things float in it!”

“We could talk to Coran and Allura about that.”

“Nah, I don’t want to bother them. We’ve got bigger things to worry about.”

“And smaller.” Lance could hear the smile in Keith’s voice.

“Oh my gosh, did you just make a pun?”

“I’m allowed to make a pun if I want to.” Keith had to resist the urge to turn around and glare at Lance’s face masked face.

“It just sounds weird coming out of you. You’re a hard guy to figure out.”

“Well, is there anything you want to know about me?”

“Yeah, I want to hear more about the hamster. Why did your family have one if you couldn’t stand it?”

“They weren’t my family. I just lived with them for a little while.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know.”

“Not a lot of people do.”

“Hey, my lips are sealed. So, about the hamster.”

“Mr. Fluffy Cuddles was-”

Lance started laughing. “His name was Mr. Fluffy Cuddles? That’s hilarious.”

“Anyways, Mr. Fluffy Cuddles was their daughter’s pet. She would put him in princess dresses and carry him everywhere. I was in the room furthest from his cage, but was the only one that was bothered by him running late at night. Apparently, I was the only one that heard it. I guess now we know why.” Keith pointed to his ears. “He kept me up so late some nights that I was falling asleep in class. One day, I got so annoyed, that I went over to his cage while he was sleeping and started banging on it saying ‘How does that feel? Huh?’ thinking that would get him to stop.”

“You actually thought that would work?” Lance asked.

“I was 8. And all that did was get me put in a different home and labeled as difficult, troubled, and potentially violent. They recommended against me being put in a house with other children and especially not in one with small pets.”

“You do good with the space mice.”

And me. Wait, would that mean I’m thinking of myself as a pet? I’m gonna stop that thought right there.

“Well, it’s mostly Plachu that hangs out with me while I’m training. I’ve caught him mimicking some of the moves. He’s actually pretty good.”

“That’s adorable!” Lance washed off his face mask.

“Yeah.” Keith chuckled slightly. “How long did Allura say it was until we reached Olkari?”

“I think we’ve still got a varga, maybe a bit less.” Lance climbed out of the bowl using the washcloth. He grabbed a Kleenex and dried himself off.

“Let me know when you’re done changing. My leg’s starting to go numb.”

“Will do.” Lance approached the bundle of clothing that was the black under armor.

Hopefully Coran is right.

Lance stepped into the head hole and saw the hole start to get smaller. It changed at a quick but gradual pace. Soon enough, the under armor fit him like a glove.

“I’m done.”

Keith stretched his arms over his head.

“Finally. I was starting to think you might have turned into a mermaid.” Keith turned around so that he was on his knees facing the nightstand.

“I wish. Then these looks would be all natural.”

“I still don’t get why you need so many of these.” Keith moved some of the bottles of products to the side and rested his chin on his hands on the nightstand.

“Hey, I take care of my body. If you love the skin you’re in, you need to show it some appreciation. You might want to consider using some of them.”

“No thanks.”

“Keith.” Lance approached Keith’s face and slapped his cheeks with his hands. “I can see your pores. They’re dying.”

“My skin is fine.”

Lance realized just how close he was to Keith’s lips when he responded.

Wow. If I took a few steps forward, it would be like he was kissin-

‘Don’t make it weird.’

Yeah, this is kind of close.

Lance took a few steps back and looked away while awkwardly coughing in his fist.

Keith hadn’t expected Lance to get so close. He had to cross his eyes slightly so he could see him clearly. When Lance hit his cheeks, he hardly felt it. He tried to not breathe too hard when he responded since Lance was right in front of him. That weird tightness in his chest was back.

Lance suddenly backed away from him and coughed in his fist. Keith wondered why he had done that. Was he doing the whole ‘no homo’ thing that every other straight guy did? He saw the slight pinkish tint to Lance’s face and realized he must have felt nervous. Keith knew that he could be intimidating without trying to be, but it was hard to imagine what that would look like from Lance’s perspective.

“Um…sorry I…um…” Lance tried to string his word together.

Why did I have to go and make things so awkward? All because of this stupid crush I have on his stupid self with his stupid hair and his stupid beautiful smile. Ugggh, I’ve got it bad. Why does he have to be straight?

“I’m going to drop you off with Pidge and Hunk while I go take a shower.” Keith stood up and offered his hand to Lance.

“Sounds like a plan. I hope the Olkari have the supplies they’re looking for.”

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Realities without a Lance: 69 (+15)

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#pocket paladin #voltron #vld #klance #g/t #giant/tiny #g/t klance #g/t writing #Stories #Keith #Lance #Shrunk #shrinking

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sol1056 · 5 years

Note

EPs: "we chose Netflix to explore things like sexuality" (nothing was explored or was explicit for even 2 seconds) "when they told us u cant kill Shiro, we knew we could push the reveal 4 later" (so nice of them to admit they stopped our rep just to be able to kill him) "when we found out about byg we knew we coulnt kill Shiro & we thought we'll find rep w another character. Then we learned we could go on w/ Shiro as the rep" (theres ANOTHER REP WE DIDNT GET?? Was it vague then erased? Whatt??)

I think these are two separate issues. One is related to who made VLD, and the other is related to the EPs’ ignorance of characterization. The second overlaps with a bunch of asks I’ve recently gotten about race and representation, so here I’m just keeping it to a general discussion of characterization, with Lance as example. And then about Shiro in particular, how the EPs’ statements reveal their lack of thought.

Behind the cut.

remember where these people came from

The team behind VLD is almost entirely formerly Nickelodeon. DreamWorks wanted to break into television on a much larger scale, and since they almost always promote from outside the company, they lured over Margie Cohn from her position as a Nick VP. As VP/exec levels tend to do, Cohn brought a bunch of people with her.

One of those was Mark Taylor, who’d been involved in both AtLA and LoK. Taylor, in turn, brought JDS, LM, and I think one or two of the other producers. Taylor also probably brought over Hamilton, Chan, and Hedrick, as known entities with proven track records.

These are people who — for for the last ten or more years — have swum in Nickelodeon’s considerably more conservative fishbowl. It’s entirely possible (given what people tell me about storylines in HTTYD, and DW’s open support of She-Ra) the former Nickelodeon team automatically downgraded DW’s “go ahead and explore these heavier/darker topics” to mean “maybe kinda mention in passing but don’t be too obvious about it.”

Now, to be fair, the EPs may have pushed for more LGBT+ rep, and their obstacle might not have been DW, but Taylor. It’d explain how the EPs could praise everyone (read: DreamWorks staff) as supportive, yet allso complain about pushback (read: Taylor’s Nickelodeon-influenced sensibilities). Two different parties were calling the shots.

It’s also possible what the EPs saw as ‘rep’ was still considerably toned-down from what DW execs (and the VAs) may’ve expected. After all, that one-minute scene in VLD might’ve required an act of god at Nickelodeon. VLD’s staff may have genuinely considered this scene landmark because even that tiny bit was far more than their previous employer would’ve allowed.

Cue the victory lap and excited chatter, and seeming blindness to Korra being long since surpassed by Steven Universe, Young Justice, Bob’s Burgers, Adventure Time, Gravity Falls, RWBY, Rick and Morty, Clarence, BoJack Horseman, Danger & Eggs, Big Mouth, and Summer Camp Island. Remember, it wasn’t until 2016 that Nickelodeon would have a married gay couple (in The Loud House), and they’re not even central characters. The VLD staff may’ve thought itself bold, and unprepared for the reality of modern (non-Nickelodeon) audience expectations.

No, I don’t think that absolves them. It just seems the most reasonable explanation. That is, short of seeing the EPs as so utterly cynical they’d pump up the audience for what amounted to a nothingburger in light of what else popular media now delivers.

and then there’s representation

VLD’s troubles can all be traced to one crucial detail: the EPs don’t understand that characters are the bedrock of stories. And as such, there are no shortcuts.

Ever had the misfortune to catch a home decorating show? Here we have a windowless basement: mock up a mantle from polystyrene, paint the walls gray, put up sconces with flickering lightbulbs… it’s still a basement. It’s just now desperately pretending to be something it isn’t. The bones of the structure are undeniably American Suburbia, not generic castle keep, and those bones are integral to how we experience the space.

The average person isn’t trained to be aware of those bones — the underlying architecture — and its subtle impact on our experience, just as most non-storytellers aren’t trained to see how and where and why characters create plot. I guarantee you, though, you will never mistake a late-century Kmart for the Centre Pompidou or the Forbidden City or Mount Vernon. Just as you would never mistake a beginner’s first novel for Lord of the Rings or Left Hand of Darkness.

That is, the dressed stone isn’t paint and plaster; it’s a core element informing (even dictating) height, width, and depth of a space. Characterization is the same: it must be structural. In turn, characters inform the breadth and depth of the story. If your characterization is shallow, wild swerves and dramatic reveals can make the story fun, but they will never make it deep.

I empathize with the (hopefully genuine) intent to avoid making Shiro’s sexuality a ‘reveal.’ The unfortunate truth is: waiting 60+ episodes to even mention in passing makes it a reveal. It wasn’t structural, or viewers would’ve been sensing it from the very beginning.

This isn’t a haircut or a pair of jeans. It’s a person’s identity, and that has crucial impact on hopes, fears, desires, and needs. It doesn’t start only once the audience is let in on the secret; it was always there. It should’ve informed the character’s actions and reactions all along.

If Lance is Cuban, and the story takes place in a quasi-future America, then to understand Lance’s perspective, we need to ask questions like: is Cuba still under embargo? Is it a free democracy now, or did Lance’s family flee at some point? Is he part of an exchange program, or is there a lottery that let him come to the US for his education? Did he leave his family behind? How young was he, when he left? What was his childhood like, and how does that differ from what he found in America? What was his parents’ relationship like, and how does that influence his expectations for friends and lovers?

Was he fluent in English when he arrived, or did he only become fluent later? Does his Spanish have a noticeable accent, and if so, has he felt isolated from other Latinx at school? Or is he the only Latino at the Garrison? Is he proud of his heritage, or ashamed of it? Did he get bullied for being foreign, and how did that change what he says/does? Even if America is joyfully multi-cultural, he’d still be an immigrant or foreigner, and that’s a different experience from a non-white community that’s multi-generation American. What was his impression of his new life? What compared favorably (or not) to his childhood?

It’s not just, “He’s a boy from Cuba.” You have to think about what it means to be ‘from Cuba’ and how this is different from, say, growing up next door to the Garrison (like Pidge probably did). If you put that much thought into it, if you talk to people who’ve lived that experience, if you push yourself to imagine as deeply as you can how Lance’s life would have shaped him?

By the time you’re done, Lance would never need to say a word.

His reactions, his assumptions, maybe a few mannerisms, his humor, a few throwaway comments about his family or things he did as a kid — and there would be Cubans in the audience going, “hey, wait a minute, he’s just like my cousin.” Or brother or uncle or friend. By the time someone asks at a panel? Half the audience would be saying, yeah, we were right, Lance is totally Cuban.

Or you don’t think about it, and you use stereotypes in hopes that’ll do the work for you. As @sjwwerewolf commented:

Man, I’m ready to rant about Voltron. I’m Cuban. Lance, oh boy, Lance. From season 1 on, he has been written as a huge stereotype. The flirtatious, passionate comic relief character who’s dumb. Like. He’s literally Antman’s sidekick. That character. All you need to make him a full caricature is like, “I have a gangster brother.“

The stereotype is a shortcut. It’s slapping on behaviors without thought for a real person’s experiences or perspectives. VLD is, sadly, full of them: the Latino (wannabe) lover, the big guy who likes food (with only the slightest twist to have him actually good at cooking), the boyish-girl who’s a brain and likes computers more than people, etc.

just pull shiro out of a hat

At some point early on, the EPs said (once again in an interview, not in the story) that VLD is a world without homophobia. The story itself contradicts that ideal, or at least, it emphasizes a certain level of heternormativity over an open embrace of diverse relationships. What’s in our face for six seasons is Lance’s lover-boy stereotype, Allura’s attraction to Lotor, Lotor’s attraction to Allura, Matt’s attraction to Allura, and so on… and the closest we get to anything resembling an alternate attraction is one blush from a servant in a flashback, and Kuron’s startled reaction to Keith’s return.

All VLD had to do was have Hunk mention his moms. Or Coran mention his late husband. Or Lance mention his sister’s wife. Something explicit to offset the heterosexual attractions going on. Frankly, for six seasons it was an open question whether homosexuality even existed in VLD: the absence of a negative is not proof of the presence of a positive.

That absence means we really have no idea how being queer in VLD’s world would affect a character — and it would, have no doubt. Our sexuality affects every single one of us; it’s just that straight people have the benefit of seeing the roadmap of their sexuality played out in a million books, movies, and television shows. If you haven’t given thought to whether this is also true in your world, then you don’t really know how a character could discover, define, and map their sexuality, or how they’d quantify or qualify relationships that overlap their sexual preferences. You don’t understand the structure.

That lack of thought means, nine times out of ten, the creator has said to themselves, “it’s easier to just say this character’s experience of their sexuality is exactly like the one I, as a straight person, vaguely recall having (that I never actually had to question because it was already mapped out for me, everywhere I looked).” That’s not a queer character. That’s a character with a label slapped on their forehead that says here be a queer character. It’s paint, because the structure underneath is straight person.

Which means that of course the EPs could consider making someone else “the rep,” because they really seem to believe this is as easy as removing the label from Shiro’s forehead and sticking it on someone else. And it’s not. People don’t work like that. Sexuality is no more a simple paint-job than race, gender, culture, or dis/ability. Each of these things is etched on our bones, literally or metaphorically, and that changes us all the way through.

The short version, then, is: no, we wouldn’t have gotten any other rep, just as we haven’t truly gotten any rep as VLD was delivered. Shiro has a label on his forehead, but unless and until the canonical story demonstrates this goes all the way down to his bones… he’s just a straight suburban basement with a mediocre paint job and some fake queer columns.

#vld #voltron #characterization #representation #sol thinks about stuff

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cacophony-eg · 5 years

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Sentinel Au (Inspired by Uraraaaaaaan)

@uraraaaaaaan Alright, after reading up more on this Sentinel AU I think I have a feel for how this would work for kidge. Just bouncing ideas at this point so feel free to add to it.

World Building:

Sentinels have super-heightened senses, (usually only one of the five, it’s uncommon to have two or three, but it’s not unheard of, on the other hand, it’s extremely rare for someone to have all five.) These height senses often lead to zoning out or becoming overly focused on one sense, and the only thing that helps them out of a zone-out state is their guide. Pretty much a Guide can help the Sentinel control his senses in ways they couldn't on their own, or help ground them when their abilities get overpowered.

Now I’m going to put a little twist on the Guides, they have their own needs as well, as they quite often have uncontrollable spikes in emotion, such as Anger, Fear, Joy, Sadness, etc. And the only one that can truly ground their emotions is their Sentinels.

The way Sentinels can recognize their connected Guide and vis versa, is that they can see each other's spirit animals (this may be a no Voltron AU but I'm going to fit the lions in any way.) Even though Guides can ground their emotions when around Sentinels, the Sentinels can still often see their Guides real feelings just by watching the guide's spirit animal as they don't hide anything.

Personally, I would probably go with a no Voltron AU, there are still aliens, like Galra, Altean’s and what not. Not all species have a Sentinel and Guides, Some even have a variation on the Sentinel and Guides, and I like the idea of Earth sort of being a galactic hub for a lot of different species. There are still waring planets but it’s usually a 1vs1 kind of thing, no huge Galactic level of war.

Galra doesn’t have Sentinels and Guides but is very intrigued by them.

Altean’s have the ability to make up to five spiritual contracts with others, that allows them to gift their charge with one enhance sense. (For example. Lotor’s four charges: Zethrid has enhanced smell, Ezor has enhanced touch, Axca has enhanced sight and Natri has to enhance hearing.)

For Human’s about 25% of the population is either a Sentinel or Guide, that makes them fairly common knowledge. Thanks to a breakthrough by Slav; made over a decade ago, there is now a biological way to detect if someone is a Sentinel or Guide, the best/easiest time to test on humans is when they are 15 years or older.

During the present day, it is common to get tested at this age, though because it’s an expensive procedure only those that show some kind of external sign or are request to be tested by an existing Sentinel or Guide get tested. Also because these people can be very dangerous, all the testing is done through military resources.

Pidge and Keith

Let's start with Keith.

This AU will have Mama Krolia and Keith's Dad alive and a part of his life.

Keith is very gifted but has a very hard time controlling his emotions, and thus has a lot of issues at school. Getting angry and in fights easily even though he has decent grades and has a lot of natural gifts when it comes to physical or quick reacting activities. He's often considered a troubled child. Krolia and Keith's Dad try to be as supportive and help Keith in every way possible, they are still limited with how they can help Keith.

At a young age, Krolia tries to help Keith with all his pent-up emotions by letting them out through training, to physically get his emotions out, but that only helps to a degree, but she is trying her best, to help her emotional baby. Keith’s Dad (I call him Trevor after his voice actor) tries to get Keith to talk about what happened why he feels this way, trying to get Keith to at least understand his own emotions so they don’t feel so out of control.

Then comes in Shiro, a world renown Sentinel that can heighten all five of his senses. Shiro sees the signs and personally request Keith to be tested. Keith hoping he's a Sentinel so he can be like Shiro but is sorely disappointed to discover that he's a guild. (he dreamed of doing cool stuff with heightened senses)

Soon after being tested, he is enrolled in the Galaxy Garrison and Shiro personally mentors him, he's not a guild himself but stills helps ground Keith better than anyone else can. All while the Garrison tries to match Keith up with a Sentinel, Keith and the Garrison staff spend two years looking for his match. Some students making fun of him for not having a Sentinel by now, and tell him he must be a broken Guide that no Sentinel would want. (that leading to quite a few fights on their own.) Worst of all Keith's starting to believe them.

Now Katie/Pidge

Katie is a Sentinel has enhanced sight, hearing and touch, she uses them unintentionally all the time, overhearing conversations she never means to, but other kids have accused and pick on her of being nosy and an eavesdropper since she was little, so she pretends not to hear a lot.

She can visually register so much at once, because of the combination of enhance hearing and sight she can listen to and watch multiple people at once and register what they're all saying and doing, this also makes studying easier as she can watch cartoons while listening to a lecture and reading a book at the corner of her eyes all at once, but sometimes it can be very overwhelming, so she made glasses to damper her sight to make things a little easier on her. Though she still has a hard time focusing and that often makes teachers accuse her of not paying attention or daydreaming during class.

Though the part that bothers Katie the most and finds the most overwhelming is the hypersensitive touch, she can tell so much that it often makes her freak out when other people she's not used to touching her; it always feels like a punch to her senses. She's been like this since she was very little so she has tried to avoid interaction with anyone outside of her immediate family.

Pidge is smart enough to see the signs and knows what she is, but Pidge doesn't want to go to the Garrison and have to share a room with someone she doesn't know; Guild or not she likes her own space. So avoids getting tested for as long as she can.

NOW THE KIDGE BEGINS

One day Matt calls Shiro when he's out with Keith desperately needing some help, his sister refuses to leave her room and go get tested. Matt hoping that maybe Shiro; a well known Sentinel, could help him convince Pidge to come to the test.

Since Shiro was out with Keith doing hoverbike drills. Shiro chooses to bring Keith with him, it’s Keith’s first time at the holt house. He has met Matt before and Mr.Holt a few times, but never Miss Holt or their Daughter.

As soon as they park Keith freezes seeing a green lion made out of leaves, vines and wood standing at the holt’s front door. Keith partially throws his helmet off and runs to the spirit animal, it's his first time seeing a spirit animal it's the first time he's ever gotten even a clue as to who his Sentinel is, and he is not going to lose his chance.

Matt opens the door to greet them, but almost gets run over by Keith as he runs through the doorway past Matt, into the house. He doesn't listen to Shiro or Matt calling to him, Keith is afraid this is his one and only chance to find his Sentinel.

Pidge is curled up in her room, wearing noise-cancelling headphones on, sitting under her soft bed blankets while watching a show on her tablet, when she noticed the light in her room fluttering through her blanket seems to have changed through her, she pulls the covers off to see what was causing the change. Pidge is awestruck seeing a red lion made out of flames and molten rock standing in her room. She gets out of bed just to try and touch the spirit animal. But it walks away from her before she can untangle herself from the blankets and walks through her bedroom door.

Keith rushing upstairs after the green lion seeing it disappear into a closed door, Keith's reaches to grab the door handle but before his hand can grip the knob, the door swings open.

Keith and Pidge pause looking past each other, Keith staring at the green lion standing behind the short girl with long brown hair, and Pidge looking at the red lion behind a dark-haired guy with soft violet eyes.

Pidge's mind is quick enough to realize what this person is to her, though she doesn't have the social skills to really know what to say. Keith knows it has to be her but doesn't know what to do what to say, his emotions are spiking fear of being rejected, thankful there really was a Sentinel for him, the overflow of relief he's not alone.

Pidge gets halfway through a squeaky 'Hi' when Keith lunges forward and grabs her hand. He needs the reassurance that she's real, that she won't disappear. Not expecting the calming sensation that washes over him, his own emotions finally feel like they won't drown him.

Pidge flinches when he grabs her hand, expecting her sensitive touch to punch her senses like they always did when it was someone she didn't know. But get's a pleasant shock when all she really feels is the warmth of his fingers and the slightly smooth surface of his fingerless gloves. Her fingers curl around his hand and held his hand tight cause he's the first person she can touch without worry.

Matt and Shiro finally get up the stairs, Matt going in protective big brother mode, Shiro holding him back, calming Matt down and assure Matt that Katie didn’t need to get a test anymore.

When they enter the Garrison

they are both inseparable, they have rarely seen more than a few feet away from each other at any given time which is not completely unusual with new Sentinel and Guild pair, but doesn’t stop people from teasing the lone wolf and the unsociably kitty Kat, being so close to someone. (and thanks to all the cat(Kat) jokes she starts going by Pidge one of her brother’s nicknames for her to stop the stupid jokes.)

They share a dorm room, but because their different genders bedroom parts are separated with a shared bathroom connecting the two rooms together.

Discovering Pidge can finally touch someone without being able to feel how many hairs they have on their knuckles and if they washed their hands before leaving the washroom, and countless other things. Pidge realizes how starved she is for touch, and will take every chance she can to touch Keith's hand or fiddle with his hair, cuddle with him, sit on his lap when they watch movies or shows or study.

Although Keith doesn't really know how to handle all this closeness, he honestly really likes Pidge snuggling up to him, when she touches his hair it's really relaxing and having her hold his hand reassures him that she's right there beside him and he isn't in some coma dream after a bad accident.

Though Keith is forever too embarrassed to admit it, so whenever she asked to hold his hand he just says sure, or when she asked if he's okay with her touching his hair, he says it's fine (forgetting Pidge can see his lion purring like a happy kitten whenever she does it, so she knows he likes it but still think it's better to ask, just in case.)

The two also become very protective of each other, someone tries to pick on Pidge because she’s one of the smallest students (and easily the smallest Sentinel (possible the record smallest but she refuses to check)) Keith makes sure anyone tries to physically push her around he makes them regret it, and thanks to Pidge’s presence, he can stop himself before going too far.

Pidge; thanks to her abilities, can hear all the things other students say about them behind their backs. She’s used to people putting her down, but hearing them talk down about Keith, she will not tolerate.

Keith always asks if she’s okay, noticing her green lion looking angry, but she always assures him she’s fine and gets back at those individuals through… creative means, whether it’s a malfunctioning food dispenser that makes food spray out when said persons ID card is used on it, or there's a strange mix up on the digital schedule that makes a certain group of people have to do the dirties chores in the Garrisons for multiple days in a row. None of it them able to track back to Pidge.

Even though Pidge is extremely smart, with her pilot skills growing every day and Keith is a very gifted fighter, along with the best pilot in their class. They both still get made fun of a lot because their roles should be reversed, usually the athletic one is the Sentinel and the smart calm one is the Guild.

And yeah even though they're both very gifted their both terrible at their special Sentinel and Guild base classes, they're constantly finding loopholes around their usual rolls and passing the requirements in their own way.

Though it infuriates many of their teachers cause they're not fulfilling their represented rolls properly. They got each other, they got Matt, Shiro and the rest of their intimidate family if everyone else doesn't like them, Keith and Pidge really don't care.

(though Hunk, Lance, and Allura will eventually worm a friendship out of them, I'm still figuring out their roles)

Bonus Matt and Shiro

Matt would be Shiro's Guild, and because Shiro can enhance all five senses, during his time before meeting Matt, Shiro would have to use sedatives and prescription tranquillizers to dull his senses enough just so he could function (probably injected through the thingy on his wrist) and still has to use them whenever Matt isn't around for long periods of time.

Timeline wise I would say Matt and Shiro crossed paths about a year before Shiro meets Keith.

Shiro's spirit animal would be a black lion with a mane made out of a night sky and dark red and white wings. Matt's I would picture be a large Owl made out of leaves, vines and wood.

#kidge #Shatt #Sentinal AU #keith kogane #Keith #Pidge #katie holt #Voltron legendary defender

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darkspellmaster · 6 years

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Voltron Theory: Why Shiro x Romelle might be endgame for Voltron Legendary Defender

Before I start I should note that when I say endgame I do not mean wedding bells and kids. What I mean is they will probably be at the start of some sort of relationship. Whether that is holding hands or an actual kiss is up in the air, but regardless, I do believe that these two will end up as a couple, or at least proto couple and here’s why.

One of the things I’ve seen mentioned is the idea that the staff intend to have slow burning relationships. Meaning that it would develop over time, ala Lance and Allura. Yet we do have time for something to develop given that Shiro probably will not be back in the Black Lion. His role is now becoming more like Sven’s from the original. There to help the team but not the leader of the group. That is falling on Keith as the new Black Paladin.

So how does one do a slow burn relationship with a character that was just introduced? Well given the way that LM and JDS are talking in interviews, it seems like there will be a continuation of the story, since they have a lot more to tell. So the use of the last seasons (season if you count it as a full 26 episodes) as a spring board for such a romance would be useful.

You already also have a great set up with these two in regard to several elements of common ground that could build up a friendship and a possible romance. Both Shiro and Romelle have suffered at the hand of the Galra through Haggar and her son. Both have seen what blind loyalty can do and how others have suffered for it. And both are the older sibling figure in their own relationships.

With Shiro you have a large case of PTSD brought on by not only Haggar’s actions, but also the actions of her husband. Then there’s the fact that he died and was in the lion for a long while, dealing with his own trauma from that is going to be hard. We know also that his hair is now white, which may mean that he has ties now to the Altean magic which will not be easy. Given the situation with Sendak still out there, I have a feeling that Shiro’s going to have to confront this fear, and that won’t be an easy task for him, as Sendek basically said they were the same.

With Romelle you have someone who grew up in a prison, another similarity to Shiro via the gladiator events he was in. It was a nice prison, but still a gilded cage is still a cage. Naturally she would be worried and nervous about the outside world and what could happen to her out there. On top of that she suffered from the fact that she knew the truth but no one would believe her. You also have to consider she lost her whole family and her brother died in her arms. This was not something that she could easily get over and would need someone to help her, just as Shiro needs someone to help him.

The reason, I personally think, that they’re going to go this route with them is because it makes the most sense for both characters. Shiro is the big brother type and Romelle is about his age, it seems, given her physical look and her height compared to Bandor when he was leaving. Both understand the role of being strong and mentoring their younger sibling (Keith for Shiro, Bandor for Romelle) and I think that if anyone can understand the feelings Shiro’s going to go through as he deals with Keith now spending more time bonding with his mother, it would be Romelle. There will be a sense of loss there because, while Shiro will be happy for Keith, prior to him finding Krolia, he was the only adult figure in his life that seemed to understand Keith and his actions. He looked out for him and Romelle will understand this.

On the flip side I think Shiro would be the only one to understand the idea of failing to save someone that they care about. When his friend and ally died Shrio had to deal with that, and none of the others could get that loss. But he can understand that feeling for Romelle, and probably get it just as well as Keith could or better. Keith was a child when his father died, so naturally there was nothing he could do about the death. Romelle was an adult and could have stopped the situation with Bandor, but she didn’t and couldn’t at the time. Shiro had the same situation with his friend and possibly felt the same way about Matt and Dr. Holt. He was there and awake in the moment when Zarkon first brought them in, he had some idea of where they were going, and he could do nothing to stop the Doctor from being taken where he was, but he was able to save Matt. This I think he’d show her in regard to doing something to help her people back on the colony. She may not have been able to save her family but she can save the other Alteans.

There’s also the fact that, both Romelle and Shiro have several things that Already bond them and could give them more of a bond. First there’s Keith. They both share being saved by him. For Shiro it was with Lance, for Romelle it was with Krolia. The fact that both can have a conversation about Keith for a starter is a good thing. Another thing is their shared understanding of how dangerous the Galra can really be. Shiro was experimented on, Romelle’s family was lost to it. Then there’s the aspect we see of bother of them as being both determined even in the face of fear and having their own PTSD. Romelle’s is a hell of a lot smaller but that doesn’t negate the fact of what she felt, and the fact that she had to carry that feeling on her own for a unknown period of time. Shiro’s is far more in your face, but he had to carry that too for a long while when he was the leader of the team to keep everyone from getting mad at one another.

Another aspect is that both felt they wouldn’t be able to tell the truth and be believed. Shiro when he came back to earth was going to be tested and possibly hurt by the garrison to see what was going on with that arm. They didn’t want to listen to him about the Galra. In the colony Romelle knew that she wasn’t going to be believed about Lotor and couldn’t explain to anyone until Keith and Krolia arrived.

The fact that they have that much to talk about and share in regard to their own emotional states with one another I would think would give a hint about them working together to find a way to become more peaceful regarding their status as they are right now. This is not to mention their connection to Allura. The white hair on Shiro, I don’t doubt, is a hint that he’s going to have some level of magic in him from the Alteans, and Allura would have to teach him in some way. Romelle may or may not know magic, but clearly she’s going to want to learn what she can from Allura so the two also have Allura as a way to bond as she teaches them things about what she knows about Altea and it’s magic.

You can throw Krolia now in there as a parental figure and helper. And possibly the others who would want to know things about her.

Romantically, it also makes sense seeing as both are in a very vunrable place at the moment. The others have people to connect to. Allura with Coran, Keith and Krolia, Pidge and Matt, Lance and probably his family back on earth, Hunk and his family there too, etc. Each character now has someone, and, where as before, Shiro and Keith had only one another since neither brought up their family, now the only one that doesn’t seem to have a family mentioned is Shiro. Given the fact that he seemed to take in Keith so easily as a mentee it makes sense that he may not have family either and can understand how Keith felt. Romelle lost all her family, she is alone in this world and has no one to trust right now.

You could say, “well what about Allura? She and Coran are Altean”. True but they’re ancient alteans by her standards. Romelle is coming from a world where there was no ruling family, no King Alfor, and only Lotor was the main worship there. So she may not be as connective to Allura on the same level as she may with Shiro. Allura lost her family, as far as we know, but she has Coran and now she’ll have the people of the colony. She also has the Voltron team, so while yes she’s going to understand Romelle’s losses, she’s also going to have a bit of a disconnect because the circumstances were different. Shiro, on the other hand was more recent with his issues with the Galra, and if he, like Keith, lost his family, unlike with Allura, it’s a more fresh wound not 10,000 years ago.

There’s also the fact that they seemed to have set it up pretty well for Shiro to have a connection with Romelle because of the fact that Shiro probably won’t be doing a lot of work with the Castle. What I mean is that given Pidge’s dad will probably be with Coran and Allura figuring things out for it. You’ll have Keith and Lance helping out with making sure there’s room for the lions and working with pidge, hunk and allura to do their things as a team. Not to mention that when Alllura is not working with Romelle or talking to her about Altea, she’s going to be doing other things. So that places both of them with a lot of free time and time to get to know one another.

Romelle also seemed to want to know how to fly the plane, and clearly will want to know about earth culture. Shiro is the most likely person to do that for her as we’ve seen him be a teacher before.

It’s not a huge leap in logic to assume that Shiro and Romelle will both be working for the release of the Altean colony, so I’m sure that that will lead to them learning more about one another and having fun. Given that Romelle is one of Lauren’s favorite characters I don’t see her passing up the chance to have these two interact. And, given that Sven and Romelle’s romance played a key role in helping Sven get better, as well as the two working as a team as part of the ground resistant fighters, it’s no small guess to assume something of a similar nature for this show could show up and allow their friendship that I’m sure we’ll see cultivated, growing closer.

Now we don’t know the ending of this. But given Shiro’s age, and I’m guessing Romelle’s a lot older than Allura because, like Lotor, she wasn’t put to freezing sleep, it’s not so hard to see them using that as part of the reason that Shiro may hang around with Romelle and could, potentially, stay with her to help train the other alteans in flying or other things.

Honestly it makes the most sense for that set up with him because, he can’t go back as the black pilot, it would advance her as a character as well, it fits within the aspect of the story, and is an easier romance to develop over a short period of time or at least start it, then say figuring out all the complexities of a Lance, Allura, Keith or Lotor, triangle that they may create with the characters.

That’s why I honestly think that it makes sense for them to be endgame in regard to being close at the end of the show and possibly starting off on a new sort of relationship.

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k8ie-h0lt · 6 years

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Everyone deserves a little precious time

Fandom: Voltron: Legendary Defender Pairing: Keith/Pidge Summary: Pidge’s eyes watered, “Please...don’t do it.” Keith didn’t know what she was referring too but nodded in half confusion and the other to ease her pain. “I... Okay. I promise” Prompt Used: Wish Upon A Star @kidgefest Additional Tags: Time Travel, Dimension hopping, Character(s) Death mention A/N: Or read on Ao3.

When he opened his eyes, he was met with a glaring yellow sun. The air felt heavier than he was used to, the sky was darker than Earth’s with no clouds in site. When he sat up he was a little shocked to be faced with snow. It was just as wet and cold as he remembered it when his father took him one time to play in it. All that was missing was the implication of Zarkon was defeated and his son Lotor, was ruling the remaining Garla with a kinder tone.

The fallen snow wasn’t what he expected, nor the way Pidge was a foot away from him with a look he couldn’t decipher. Her hair was tied into a high ponytail that reached down to her waist, (Was it always that long?) her eyes looked like she has seen too much. When he got up she put on her helmet and ushered him to follow her. His body was sluggish but he made do as he watched her talk into the com with a practice ease.

She was older.

Her voice was a little lower that came with age, he wouldn’t think about the way her body was definitely giving him hints that something was off. He was sure that time couldn’t have spontaneously speed up without raising some concerns. His own body was worn down, he took note of his body armor being somewhat intact from his legs but there were burnt marks around the edges, whereas his chest area was horribly cracked with one half missing. His helmet was completely crushed. When he opened his mouth, he winced instantly.

It was almost too hard to talk; his throat was tightening up. In panic Pidge turned around and pulled him closer to her. “Keith?! Keith! Shit.” She touched her helmet, “Lance, Allura I got him. Please hurry up before…. KEith!”

The next scene he woke up to was the castle. The pod was open with the team all looking at him with tears and a long heavy sadness covering their bodies. They were all older too, (well minus Shiro, who wasn’t there but instead Matt.) It was confusing because the last thing he remembered was that he was in the middle of a battle. Not in this snow planet with most of his team members being careful around his presence.

He could tell that they all wanted to say something to ease the tension. How Hunk and Coran were too close to wanting to give him a bone crushing hug or how Lance was strangely keeping quiet. Allura was smiling but it was obvious that it was hollow and diplomatic. Matt was awkward as he back off and gave him space to watch his surroundings.

He tested his throat, “Where’s Shiro?”

They didn’t say anything. He stumbled forward, “Where are we? Why do you all look…. what’s going on?”

He tried his best to level his head but with the quietness after his questions prevailed Keith was getting worried and scared. Was Shiro taken again? Had he been in a coma from the battle and now time sped up? But then it didn’t add up that he woke up in that planet alone with Pidge being there to locate him.

“Keith,” Pidge spoke up. “It’s been three years. Shiro is dead.”

“What?”

His veins grew cold, his hands clutched each other and digged into his chest. He was sure that somewhere in hell Zarkon was laughing at him as he allowed his feet to crumble. “What? That’s not possible. Shiro can’t be...he isn’t…. You’re all wrong!”

They didn’t touch him until he allowed himself to feel their bodies crying with him. The tears that swelled down to his cheeks were bitter because in the back of his mind he knew he wasn’t there to prevent Shiro’s demise. Keith had been out of action when it happened. He didn’t know when they all took turns to tell him that Shiro was able to stop the war. Inside his body, it was buzzing, the time in the pod gave him a better shot at reviewing all his conflicting memories. He noticed how all the facts that they gave him were too vague. Nonetheless, it still stung to hear the date, to see how his face was untouched by time.

“But then why did I wake up in this planet? If I was out of commission, then wouldn’t it have made sense if I woke up here first?”

There was another pause.

“Please, just tell me.”

Matt walked over to him with a small tablet, “Do you remember the time when you went to another dimension?”

Keith nodded as Hunk continued. “We had another reading of the same wavelengths and pressure where we found you. Pidge was the first to find you. We umm think…” he looked so worn down, “We think that wherever you were before you woke up here had a small slip of enough energy that it was able to transport you to our dimension and time. Three years into a possible future for you at least.”

He didn’t know what exactly he said next or where he went for the next few minutes after the revelation. The rest of the group was careful with their words as he roamed into the castle as he was aware of the ghosts roaming now. Dinner was somewhat lighter, but he knew that he would have to leave soon. He couldn’t stay with the thoughts of this future bearing seeds into his own. Two days pass quickly of him wandering and walking on eggshells as they all watch him with lingering sadness.

They didn’t have many stories that included him. Each of them gave off comments that it was nice to have Keith using the sparing deck like old times. He didn’t piece together the clues. He was too tired and scared of knowing what could lie ahead of him. The extra suite that was provided for him was the last thing he needed before Pidge whisked him off to where she found him.

A short ride from Pidge’s green lion and a few minutes of hiking later he found himself still studying this dimension’s Pidge. She had pulled off her helmet the moment they landed, giving him enough time to him admire the way her hair flew with the wind. Keith had always thought she looked pretty with her short hair but seeing this version and length he wanted to compliment her out loud. Her height wasn’t too drastic but it was nice to see she was now a few centimeters taller than his current height. With her beside him he snuck a glance at her eyes as she looked forward with her arm giving them the coordinates.

When it buzzed one of her arms pulled out into the thin air and watched how the energy was pulling them closer. She turned her head and opened her mouth before closing it again.

“So, this is it then?”

She nodded, Keith couldn’t help but feel horrible as he watched how Pidge’s eyes watered, “Please...don’t do it.”

Keith took a step forward to the portal opening. “Pidge?”

Her voice broke as her hands went up to cradle his face. He didn’t object to the intimacy that was hovering between them. He leaned in so that their foreheads were touching. Her tears fell one by one as she tried her best to memorize how warm he was and breathing still. He touched her hands when he opened his eyes. When she smiled at him for what was probably the last for her, his memories went straight to back to the first time he met this Pidge. Those eyes that engulfed him looked now reminded him of the pain of seeing an old ghost of the past.

Keith didn’t know what or when she was potentially referring too, but nodded in half confusion and the other to ease her pain. “I... Okay. I promise.”

She didn’t look convince but conceded. “Go. Before it disappears.”

Keith kissed her lips without thinking about the consequences and left. When he went in he didn’t see how Pidge’s heart broke once again as she remembered how he was dressed exactly the way how her own Keith died when Voltron was stuck inside the planet, Naxzela, and how he sacrificed himself by destroying the force field so they could win the battle and later the whole war. It had been three years since peace but with the cost of her father, Shiro and Keith...sometimes Pidge couldn’t help but wish on a star for a second chance to have them again.

He wasn’t her Keith.

He had the same hurt expression of being alone and being unable to express all his despair in the open, his sarcasm was still just as quick but she could still find the smallest differences that separated him from the Keith of this dimension. This Keith was just as confused about his heritage and place of leadership in the war but there was this fire in his eyes that refused to die out.

Maybe it was because of this unexpected trip that made him see how delicate the future was. That, or because this Keith had this extra something that her Keith didn’t. It would remain a mystery as she cleaned her face and went back to her lion. It wouldn’t do her any good of focusing on the past; she didn’t want to go back to those nights of her reliving that memory of watching his ship go out in flames. Not when Voltron was still in use for the smaller missions of maintaining the peace that many galaxies and lives fought for.

No, she would go back to the castle and go back to her team where her life was. She would in the privacy of her dreams would think back to the kiss and wish for that Keith to listen the clues they gave him and make a better future. Because she wanted to believe that she could save another Voltron from losing their paladins.

#kidgewinterevent2017 #kidge #Keith #Pidge #Voltron: Legendary Defender #lee attempt to write #Edalpt: Everyone deserves a little precious time #otp: the salty alien conspiracy theorists

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dark-unimaginably-stupid-kids · 6 years

Text

Not Dreaming of You [Ch 2]

(Because You Won’t Let Me Sleep)

Series- Voltron

Pairing(s)- End Game is Klancelot, with a heavy slight incline toward Keitor simply based on the set up.

Other pairs include minor Shallura, past Rolotor, one-sided Sheith. platonic Plance and even a hint of Heith if you squint real hard.

Characters in this fic in order of most screen time: Keith, Lotor, Lance, Pidge, Hunk, our Lovely Lady Generals, Kuron, Shiro, Allura, Rolo and Nyma

Synopsis: Keith has been tensely living with Lotor for about a year. They aren’t exactly friends, but occasionally they can get along. Suddenly with no explanation their neighbor Rolo moves out and two very noisy whack jobs move in. Somewhere between the loss of Lotor’s old fuck buddy and Keith’s sleep deprivation things start to get a little…odd.

“I’m telling you, there is something wrong with them!”

---

Chapter 2- Lotor’s favorite smell: Subtle and controlled Pine

When Lotor dragged himself out of bed that afternoon, a glorious day spent lounging in his sheets with his laptop and leisurely managing his online classes, he hadn’t expected to open his front door to Rolo attempting to make his way down the stairs; his meager belongings gathered up unceremoniously in his arms.

“Going somewhere?” Lotor had asked him.

His friend and old bed mate looked at him with crazed brown eyes and Lotor fought every instinct in him that started to scream in concern.

“Uhm. Moving.”

“...in with Nyma?” Lotor offered. Nyma was Rolo’s girlfriend, it made some sense. Well, as much sense as Rolo trying to move so abruptly.

“You know, you’d think that would be...” Rolo eyed the ceiling, sweat breaking on his brow, “I don’t know. I’m going to stay with my family for a bit. Actually...”

Lotor wanted to fight the growing concern more, he and Rolo had always kept shit casual and now Rolo has a steady and surprisingly wonderful girlfriend that Lotor was almost fonder of than him.

It was not his problem to worry over Rolo.

He had his own issues.

All that said, Lotor was extremely concerned.

“You don’t even like your family...?”

Suddenly there was a crash from inside Rolo’s presumably empty apartment as a small girl popped her head out of the front door, “Sorry! Sorry, I slipped, no big deal— oh. Oh, hello stranger. STRANGER who is NOT Rolo and has not yet spoken to LANCE.” Her last word was said like a call rather than the end of her statement.

There was another jumble of noises, a box falling, someone mumbling “ow-ow-ow.” Some thumping like they were bouncing on one foot, and then suddenly there he was.

Lance, presumably.

Lotor blinked at him, then at the small girl, then at Rolo.

“The new tenants? You already have new tenants?”

Rolo nodded.

“...I could live with this,” Lotor mumbled idly. Rolo was the only one who heard him, and he dropped his things and made to shove Lotor hard in the side.

“Hey!”

Because, to be fair to Rolo, he did in fact know Lotor rather well.

“H-hey, there...!” Lance started as casually as possible. The girl shoved him into the hall and shuffled about so only her eyes and the top of her head were visible beyond the apartment door as she stared at Lotor through bright hazel eyes.

Lance knelt and started to pick up Rolo’s things, gathering them into a neater pile than what Rolo had previously been carrying and he smiled warmly up at the other two men in the hall.

Lotor eyed him, kneeling on the ground, bright blue eyes reflecting the light in the hallway, gorgeous smile, broad shoulders and seemingly perfect dark skin so very visible due to the man’s baggy dark blue tank.

Ah, goodness, he looked good kneeling.

Lotor considered it for a moment and decided, then and there, he can never meet Keith.

“Do you rent 5A?” Lance offered as the awkward silence started to settle.

Lotor nodded, “I do, you pounced awfully quickly on 5B, I didn’t even know Rolo was moving.”

“Yeah well, Rolo and I are old friends so…”

“Really? Because I’ve known him for three years and he’s never mentioned you before.”

Rolo stood there quietly, twiddling his thumbs before remembering he was supposed to do something. He knelt beside Lance and picked up his things, “I have to take these downstairs, right?” He asked.

Lotor raised a brow.

Lance croaked, “Uh. Yeah. Silly. Of course, you have to take your things downstairs since you’re moving out and all. Ha-ha. Rolo, my man, once you’re done with that can you come straight back inside? Just so we can work out the subletting deal and all.”

He looked at Lotor and bless his pathetically beautiful face, Lotor let him have his crazy bizarre behavior.

Because Lotor wasn’t an idiot.

Dismissive, passive, disinterested maybe.

But he wasn’t an idiot and he was fully aware of the fact that something was very wrong with this picture.

Rolo nodded and got up to start down stairs again.

“And hurry back! No detours! I mean— you know Pidge, all kinds of impatient and I have to live with her, ha-ha...!” Lance called after him.

Lotor quirked a brow but reminded himself to not get involved. The girl at the door slammed her hand into her forehead and disappeared into the apartment.

“W-well it was nice to meet you!” Lance stumbled, getting to his feet. He was almost as tall as Lotor. Suddenly this made him less attractive if only because It meant he had roughly the same adorable height difference with Keith.

Definitely keeping him away from Keith.

If I sleep with him first he can’t have him. That’s a perfectly good reason to get into Lance’s pants, right?

...later.

Maybe.

Lotor offered his new neighbor a smile and took his hand, pressing a kiss to the back of his palm, leaving the door open for later.

“It’s been a pleasure, I look forward to your house warming.”

Or bed warming.

Whichever comes first.

Lance stood stock still for a moment as Lotor finished locking up his apartment door. When he turned back to face the stairs he offered the still frozen boy a dashing smile and a wave that he awkwardly returned and traveled down the steps to meet Zethrid and Ezor for lunch.

Lunch turned into standing around with Zethrid while Ezor shopped. Which turned into flagging down Narti who was finally calling it a night in regard to her studying. Acxa was the hardest to get out of the house but once they showed up at her door and Lotor used his patented, “don’t leave me with them!” As if he didn’t adore each of them individually and with all his jaded heart, she gave in and changed out of her pajamas.

Lotor did her eyeliner in the car, per Ezor’s request, and the rest of the night was spent idling around bar to bar as most every night the lot of them managed to get out. IF they were short one they usually ended up at Zethrid or Ezor’s house watching terrible movies while Lotor discussed how they could be done better.

He wasn’t a film major by any means, but it was far more fun to discuss than political science.

Acxa, the law student who Lotor occasionally considered was only his friend so she could get in with his father’s firm when she graduated, opted to be the designated driver.

“I have a quiz tomorrow, don’t want to be nursing a hangover.”

So, it was with Acxa’s continued sobriety in mind that Lotor allowed Narti to order the rounds and downed two glasses of something that tasted deceptively low on alcohol before considering why that might not be a good idea.

See, because Lotor wasn’t as put together as he liked to think he was. And when vaguely inebriated and at a certain level of comfort…

He starts to talk.

Not babble, he wasn’t that kind of drunk.

Just. Casual things.

Things that made him happy.

“Yesterday—Yesterday he really—he was wearing that gaudy red jacket I’m always complaining about you know the one that doesn’t belong on this planet…and he…” Lotor chuckled to himself, sipping at his drink while he tried to keep his conversation going with Ezor who simply smiled fondly at him from across the table, her head in her hands, “I have no idea how he does it but the boy gets himself stuck in the bathroom door. You’d think the jacket is short enough that would be particularly difficult to do. But no, no, my roommate is magical and he just…”

Zethrid rolls her eyes and Acxa taps away at her phone while Narti leans her head lightly on Ezor’s shoulder, a small smile on her face also though her hair falls over her eyes.

“Honestly I blame the jacket. It’s just asking for trouble and the world is trying to tell him to get rid of it.”

“Maybe you should buy him a new one,” Acxa offers without looking up.

Lotor almost spits out the sip of his drink he’d just taken, “What? Why would I do that? We don’t buy each other things that’s. Weird.”

“And going to fuck your neighbor every time the two of you spend more than twenty minutes together isn’t weird?” Zethrid scoffed.

Lotor darted his head back while Ezor giggled and Narti made a ‘tut’ noise.

“Is this the trial of Lotor? I thought we weren’t scheduled for that until next week.”

“Oh! He’s right, see guys that’s March second, Zethrid pull it back, save it for next week,” Ezor laughed, motioning towards nothing in lieu of a calendar.

Lotor rolled his eyes and leaned back against the booth they were currently sitting in, downing his third drink as it all started to dawn on him.

“…My neighbor moved out today.”

All eyes turned to him very abruptly and the mood sunk like a stone.

“Oh no,” said Ezor. Acxa bit her lip and Zethrid rested a comforting hand on Lotor’s shoulder.

“I guess you’ll just have to… I don’t know….” Narti said thoughtfully as she presumably peered through her long heavy bangs toward the ceiling, “Deal with your feelings for your roommate.”

Lotor glowered at her while Acxa chuckled through her nose, taking a sip of her Jamaican cola. She wasn’t Jamaican, but when she was designated driver she liked to try the more fun sodas. So far, this one was her favorite.

“I don’t have feelings for my roommate. He just. Happens to be attractive.”

“Lotor you’ve liked him since you almost crashed your bike into him freshman year.”

Lotor eyed Zethrid like she was really coming for his life, she was really going there tonight.

“Must you?”

She raised a brow.

“Must you attack me in this way, Zethrid?”

Her hand which hadn’t left his shoulder tightened its grip and shook him a bit, “Relax man, just admit it.”

“I don’t have to admit it, there is nothing to admit. I’m just. Going to have to find another easy outlet to sexual frustration. Because that’s all there is to it. Understood?”

Acxa and Ezor eyed each other across the table and Narti tapped on the table, her other hand lightly pressed to her cheek, “Whatever you say Lo.”

Lotor twitched.

Ezor grinned and shoved her friend playfully, “Nice one Narti.”

Zethrid’s hand dropped and she pointed a finger on her other at Narti, “Low blow N.”

“Yeah you know you can’t do that,” Acxa grinned over her glass, “That’s Keith’s name for Lotor.”

Lotor ordered and finished his fourth drink and decided that if the girls were going to play tonight this was his last one.

Two hours later found him suspiciously sensible as he walked up the steps to his apartment alone.

Maybe he should have had a fifth. Or perhaps had less water. It would certainly be easier to sleep with Keith down the hall if he were inebriated enough to just pass out the moment his head hit the pillow.

He remembered how Keith had said that was how he slept. Fast and easy and without a care in the world. It had been a discussion before Keith had signed on to be his roommate, when Lotor had explained to him that Keith would make a tolerable roommate however he would need to put up with Lotor’s late nights.

“Yo for the rent, even if I you woke me up, I’d handle it.”

“It’s a good thing you’re a beggar child.”

As it stood, Lotor was feeling far too sober. Nervous energy was ebbing at his skin and he wondered if Keith was wearing his boxers/t-shirt pajama combo or if he was doing the lounge pants and tank. Or, god help Lotor, was he doing that awful thing where he wore a robe and Lotor had no goddamn idea if he was wearing anything under it.

Not that it mattered. Keith would be behind a closed door at the end of the hall sound asleep and the odds of Lotor being up early enough to see his pajamas given how late he was coming in were slim to none.

Besides, why should he be thinking about his roommate’s pajama choice anyway?

The man was just.

He was.

Maybe Lotor was a little tipsy because then he could blame the little weak fluttering in his chest at the idea of his roommate’s ridiculous antics on the alcohol.

But then he was there. In the kitchen. In nothing but a towel with his damp hair sticking to his neck and pop tart crumbs on his lips and Lotor felt the exact moment his heart decided it no longer wanted to live in his ribcage and started to thrash about wildly demanding its freedom.

He had to fight it. He had to will it down. He forced the heat from his face and took full damn control of his body thank you very much.

“Good Morning, Red.” Nailed it.

As Keith proceeded to talk around the pop tart in his mouth Lotor reminded himself, this is it, this is the man who haunts his dreams.

Idiot.

Ah but damn if he didn’t look… Lotor caught himself eyeing him and realized if he was being too obvious he needed to play it off playfully or face the consequences. How could that even work? Play up ogling your roommate to detract from the fact you were definitely ogling your roommate?

“Darn, and here I thought you’d finally cracked and fallen prey to my charms, that I could have gotten lucky tonight after all. Perhaps there’s still a chance to convince you?”

…Whatever it seemed like it worked.

Then Keith, in all the sultry goodness of a baked potato responds to his playful jibe with, “You want to convince me?”

Goodness there’s still pop tart crumbs on his mouth.

Lotor wants to kiss them off.

Whoops don’t do that don’t.

Lotor forces the smirk to remain on his face and continues their little game. After a jibe about the food on his face he watches Keith clean himself off against the sink and Lotor realizes the flush on his cheeks is just all manner of frustratingly adorable. And maybe he’s a glutton for punishment because now he wants to be closer to Keith. Just a little. Just enough to feel his energy just within reach.

“Maybe I should eat something myself actually. Narti had me try something called a Dirty Bong Water. We had…possibly eight of them.” Lotor lies, trying to continue covering up his behavior while at the same time trying to distract himself as he brushes up against Keith’s bare back in their too small kitchen.

He smells like soap and Lotor’s own shampoo and were he feeling any more sensible he’d call the shorter boy out on it, but he was already well aware of the fact Keith’s shampoo had run out yesterday and hell if the idea that Keith smelled like Lotor even for a minute didn’t make him light headed.

Distraction. Distraction. Must find a distraction.

“We have to go shopping,” He mumbled. It would have been the perfect opportunity to remind Keith to purchase his own shampoo again but at the same time Lotor really didn’t want him to. Regardless, the following bumbled conversation concerned Lotor a bit to the point where he had to turn a sympathetic stare on his roommate.

Because, while not unlike the case with Rolo, Lotor couldn’t help but care when it came to Keith. He tried to tell him to go to bed. Keith agreed, but suddenly he was talking about the new neighbors.

Lotor wasn’t sure if he should be happy that Keith apparently wanted to continue their idle chatter or put out that the boy needed sleep and wasn’t getting it. And then there was the added issue of being reminded that Rolo had gone and honestly right now Lotor could definitely use him.

How long had it been since Rolo and Nyma started dating?

How long had it been since Lotor’s last tryst?

How long was he going to last without one if Keith was going to parade around the house in a towel?

Lotor placed both hands on Keith’s shoulders to push him into the hall, hopefully to sleep. He ignored the nagging in the back of his head that Keith’s skin, clean, pale, smooth and perfect, looked far too beautiful when the added contrast of his own dark hands came into the image. He briefly imagined what it would look like if he gripped the boy’s hips, thumbs pressing into his waist. Would he even like that? Or Keith’s hands against his skin. Small, shy, awkward…

STOP.

“I didn’t really like him anyway,” Keith explained, regarding Rolo. Lotor released him and tried to settle his breathing.

Besides, he knew that already. Rolo always told Lotor about how poorly his roommate treated him when Lotor wasn’t around. How the boy was rude and agitated and usually avoided Rolo like he was some kind of pariah. He wasn’t sure why Keith disliked Rolo this way, but he had his suspicions.

At least, it certainly seemed Keith was extra irritable whenever Lotor would come back from the other man’s apartment. But then again, it might have just been Lotor’s wishful thinking. For all he knew Keith might have just felt uncomfortable about the whole thing.

Lotor reaches up and releases his hair from the bun he’d tied it into earlier in the day and starts to rake his fingers through it, make it sensible. Keith was standing there looking gorgeous as ever so Lotor sure as hell wasn’t going to disappoint with messy hair.

Keith started to babble about the noisy neighbors and Lotor decided he didn’t need to be so self-destructive and went to brush his teeth. It was silent for a moment as he walked into the bathroom and he wondered if Keith had decided to call it a night. But, on the chance that he hadn’t, and they could continue this conversation for just a bit longer…

“Noisy?” Lotor asked him.

When he finished washing up he casually slipped Keith the mention that he’d gladly visit the new neighbors and he watched the boy’s cheeks flare just a bit. Judging by Keith’s immediate reaction, he must have smiled.

“Which one caught your attention…?” Keith grumbled, his eyes downcast, his arms crossed over his bare chest, his cheeks just the faintest pink. Lotor’s eyes trailed down from Keith’s cheek, past his neck where his damp hair still stuck to it, to his collar bone just ever so slightly protruding and giving Lotor just a little too much to stress over.

Put those thoughts away.

Lotor, again, the master of his person, continued the conversation with a casual lilt and a smile, “I don’t know what you’re talking about Keith.”

They only stood there a few more moments before Lotor decided it was time to call it a night. He needed to curl into his bed and release the tension digging into his chest from just being in such proximity to Keith.

And yet, he did it anyway.

He reached out and roughed up Keith’s cold damp hair. It almost felt like there was still a bit of conditioner in there making it extra soft. But that wasn’t the point. The action made Keith’s lips part slightly and his breathing come out a bit quicker in his surprise and really Lotor had no one to blame but himself for what that was doing to him.

“Nice chatting with you, we should avoid it in the future.”

Keith shivered beneath his hand, “We should. Agreed.”

Lotor removed his hand and made his way down the hall with a wave, “Night, Red.”

“Night, Lo.”

Lotor shut his bed room door quietly and pressed his back against it for a long moment, just breathing, reminding himself to do so. He had total control of himself, his emotions, his actions, his feelings.

And he absolutely did not want that awkward mess of a boy down the hall to be his.

Nope.

He covered his mouth with his hand and shut his eyes and imagined Keith’s trim waist in his grasp again. He imagined those eyes, thankful to the dark of their apartment for not allowing he be assaulted by those eyes just this once as he normally was, darkened and watching him. Those lips parted, the faintest whisper in his head.

He noticed his other hand was gripping his own thigh tightly and with an irritable groan he pulled himself away from the door and collapsed onto his bed.

This was fine. Being attracted to Keith was fine. Plenty of people were attracted to Keith, the man was gorgeous and fit and perfect. He could stick to this.

But when he finally fell asleep to the thought of crumbs on the corner of his mouth and stumbled flirting and petulant fits over neighbors and Keith’s slightly awkward voice saying stupidly, “You want to convince me?”

Well. Lotor sighed into his pillow. Maybe he was the one who needed more convincing.

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rachello344 · 7 years

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Introducing, for the first time in fic (I think), my newest rare pair! Hunk and Lotor!! @karamatsukid, this one’s for you!! ;D

This is part one, btw. Part two is in the works. ;D

Hunk sighed as he looked off into the asteroid belt. One minute. He needed them to wait one minute to take him to his lion. He set his bag down and sighed again. His comms crackled.

“—nk, Hunk, can you read me?” Pidge’s voice was muffled and distorted, but unmistakable.

“I read you.” Hunk frowned at the weird color the local sun was giving off. Was that some kind of storm? “What’s your ETA?”

“A lot more than a tick. I’m sorry, but with that storm, I can’t come get you and your lion. It seems like the electricity is messing with them. Yours is reading as out of commission, probably until the storm passes.”

“Will I be okay?” Hunk asked, grimacing. He pressed one fist to his sternum. “Pidge, that storm won’t kill me, right? It’s just the lions that are affected?”

Hunk waited for a response. And waited.

And waited.

Static.

“Great, just great. First my ride, then my comms, and now I’m gonna die here on an asteroid in the middle of nowhere!” He kicked a stone, stubbing his toe in the process.

As he was considering sitting down to wait it out (hopping on one foot and clutching the injured one), he heard a long string of what he thought might be cursing coming from the other side of a large outcropping of rock. He hesitated. It didn’t sound… directly threatening.

He released his foot and started to bite his thumbnail. Lance would go over and introduce himself. And if the alien was feminine, he’d flirt. The problem would be solved eventually, though Hunk was usually the one who actually tried first.

And they all wanted him to open up more. Be more trusting! Not everyone is out to get you! Give them the benefit of the doubt!

Hunk heaved a sigh and shouldered his bag again. He would give whoever it was the benefit of the doubt like they all wanted. If he was right not to trust anyone, he could rub it in when he got back. If he got back. He shook his head, trying to focus.

When he rounded the outcropping, he tried to understand what he was looking at. There was a fire, thanks to the oxygen-rich atmosphere of the asteroids they were on. There was an alien standing over the fire with something that resembled a frying pan, except for all the ways in which it was clearly not a frying pan. The alien seemed to be trying to cook.

Hunk took another step forward, his boot scraping against a rock, making a sound. The alien spun around.

He was about Hunk’s height, maybe a little shorter. He was wearing a uniform of some kind, something fancy Hunk had never seen before. He was also, most importantly, Galran. Large feline ears, yellow eyes, purple fur. Classic Galra.

They looked at each other for a long time, neither saying anything. Hunk considered running. There was no guarantee that this man knew who he was, but there was no guarantee he didn’t. He could be working with the rebellion, or the empire, or just a citizen. Hunk knew nothing about him, except that he was Galran and a poor cook.

He should run. But that would make him look guilty if he didn’t know. So he should stay, but it could be a trap to incapacitate Voltron. So he should—

“Do you know how to cook over a fire?” Hunk startled at the interruption. “It’s only that—well, I was never the camping type, you see. I can cook over a stove without much difficulty, but…” He looked down at the fire, frustrated and hopeless.

Hunk could feel himself give in. He didn’t seem like a bad person at first glance. And not all Galras were evil. He liked Keith most of the time, and that Galra commander had saved their lives twice, once at the cost of his own. He put on a smile and rolled up his sleeves.

“Hand me that, would you? I think you’re holding it wrong.”

The man frowned, but did as he was asked. “You think?”

“Well, I’ve never used one of these, exactly, but my planet has a similar tool. I think. They seem to function the same way, anyway. We’ll see.” Hunk glanced down at the contents of the pan. He grimaced. “Do you have any spices?”

“What?”

“This is going to taste really bland, whatever it is. What supplies do you have?”

The man took everything out of his bag, one thing at a time, and held them up for Hunk’s consideration. Hunk added a few things to the pan, and threw in his own spices from the local outpost’s marketplace.

All the while, they chatted about nothing in particular. This and that, things they’d seen in the area, the types of people they’d met. They skirted anything that might say too much and stuck to little things. The guy was pretty funny, and he laughed at Hunk’s puns as if they were hilarious and not absurdly lame. Hunk’s smile felt a lot easier than it had at the beginning.

Finally, Hunk declared the meal complete. He pulled the pan thing off the fire and glanced over his shoulder at his dinner companion. “Do you have anything to eat off of?”

The man beamed. “I have plates and cutlery.”

Everything was served up without any incident. Hunk took his first bite, closing his eyes to consider the flavor. Pretty good. A little too much of the spice probably. He’d have to remember how potent it was for next time.

When he opened his eyes, the Galra was looking at his plate like he’d just discovered some incredible secret of the universe. He took another bite and another. He looked like he was having a religious experience. He kept eating, eyes never leaving the plate. Hunk was about to ask if he was okay when his head shot up and his glowing eyes locked onto Hunk’s.

“This is the best meal I’ve ever had,” he said, earnest and intense. “You’re the best chef I’ve ever met. You made this out of some of the cheapest ingredients I’ve seen.”

Hunk smiled with an equal mix of discomfort and pride. His cheeks felt a little warm. He’d never been the subject of that kind of gaze before, powerful and just shy of too much. “Thank you? I like to cook, so I’m used to experimenting with foods I don’t recognize.”

“Wait,” the man frowned, “you didn’t know what you were cooking with?”

Hunk shook his head. “I usually don’t. Like I said, I experiment a lot. I’m something of a gourmet.”

The man seemed to melt, eyes going soft and warm, his posture going lax. He sighed. “You’re a dream come true. The perfect man.”

Hunk laughed, startled. “What?”

“You’re funny, handsome, a great chef—you helped me even though you have no idea who I am. You’re the best chef—no, the best person I’ve ever met.” He nodded to himself as if coming to a decision. “Do you need a job?”

“Do I—What?”

“Do you need a job? I’m in the market for a new chef. My current chef just can’t compare.”

“Oh, wow, I’m—I’m flattered, but I already have a job. It’s kind of important, but I really appreciate the offer.” Hunk smiled, scratching the back of his head.

“You really don’t know who I am, do you,” the man said. He looked inexplicably fond and amused. “How cute. Yes, I’m definitely going to keep you.”

Hunk felt dread settle at the pit of his stomach. “Excuse me?”

The man smiled, slow and threatening. “You heard me. I phrased it as a job offer, but I should be clear. That was my mistake. You’re going to come home with me and become my personal chef. I won’t allow you to refuse me.” He laughed a little, like the thought of a refusal was completely ridiculous, silly even. “Now, eat up. The storm should be dying down, so I’ll call my men here shortly. And then we can go home.”

Hunk stood slowly, frowning. “My home isn’t with you. My friends are going to pick me up, and then I will go home with them. It was fun talking with you, and I’m glad you liked my food, but I have a job to do. I won’t be leaving with you.”

The man’s eyes narrowed. He looked more and more dangerous by the minute. Hunk began to consider his options, running through different escape plans when he felt his lion come back into commission. Before he could say or do anything, he could feel it coming to him.

“Hunk, do you read?”

Hunk backed away. “I read you. My ride is on its way?”

“Sure is, buddy,” Lance said brightly. “You okay? You sound a little stressed.”

“That’s because I am,” Hunk said. The man was still watching him. He looked angry.

“Is that your friend?” he spat.

“One of them,” Hunk agreed. “It’s been… fun, but I’m afraid I have to leave now. Thanks for the food.” Hunk scooped his bag up and started to run. He was a little surprised that the man let him go without pursuing him, but Hunk decided not to think about that. Run first, ask questions later.

By the time he was in his lion safe and sound, he felt drained. As he flew away, he felt like he could sense the man still looking at him. He shivered. The one time he trusts someone and they turn out to be some kind of high level empire Galra intent on—on keeping him, whatever that meant.

He was never going to trust a stranger ever again.

It was what passed for several weeks later by the time they had their next run in with the empire. As the battle commenced, each lion still separate, Hunk couldn’t help but notice that none of the enemies were firing at him.

“Um, Hunk? Any ideas why they aren’t attacking you?” Shiro asked, voice hesitant.

“None. Is there something wrong with me? Am I still visible? Do I exist?” Hunk babbled. “I don’t know whether to be pleased that they aren’t trying to kill me, or offended that they don’t seem to consider me a threat.”

“I’d go with offended,” Pidge offered dryly. “It’ll make you more aggressive.”

“So, everyone hide behind Hunk?” Keith didn’t sound sure of the suggestion.

Hunk sighed. “Yeah, might as well use this, whatever this is.”

The battle went well, more or less. They pulled through victorious and even managed to capture one of the Galra for questioning.

When they were all back at the castle and their prisoner was conscious again, Shiro and Allura stood front and center, both radiating power and intimidation. Hunk almost felt bad for the guy.

They asked the usual slew of questions—why are you here, what do you want, who is your leader—but the man refused to answer anything. Finally, Shiro asked, “Well, maybe you’ll answer this. Why wouldn’t any of you hit the yellow lion?”

The man flinched, a full body shudder rolling through him and fluffing up the fur on his neck and ears. “We were following orders.”

“Orders from whom?” Allura snapped.

“The highest authority.”

Shiro closed his eyes, breathing deeply. “Which would be…?”

The man sighed. “If I answer your questions, will you drop me on a planet somewhere away from everything?”

“What? Why?” Allura asked, frowning. “It’s certainly possible, but won’t you just get back in touch with the fleet anyway?”

He shuddered again. “Working for Zarkon was one thing, but his son is… different. I’d rather bide my time for his father to return.” The man sighed again, slumping in his restraints. “His majesty is obsessed with the Yellow Paladin. We don’t know why, but he won’t allow any harm to come to him. The rest of you are, of course, fair game, but we’re forbidden from laying a finger on Yellow.”

Everyone turned to look at Hunk. Hunk frowned at the Galra.

“Why me? I’ve never met a prince before, let alone a Galran prince.” Hunk pursed his lips, thinking back. He hadn’t even met any Galra lately… Except… “Oh. Oh. Guys, I think I know when it was. I cooked for a Galra on that asteroid during the solar storm. He seemed to be pretty high in rank, but he never gave me his name.”

“So, do you know what he wants with you?” Keith asked when it became clear that no one else was going to. They all seemed too stunned to find the words.

“Uh, he wants me to be his personal chef, I think.”

“He wants you to be his consort,” the Galra corrected. “Your honor and courage in battle impressed him.” The man’s expression said that he didn’t want the information he held.

Hunk couldn’t quite process his words. A consort would mean…

Allura looked appalled. “He wants to marry him?”

Needless to say, after that bombshell dropped, they didn’t manage to get anything else done, and any other questions seemed moot. They eventually released the Galra on a small moon somewhere out of the way. He seemed weirdly grateful, but said nothing as he walked away.

Click Here to Continue to Part Two

#voltron #voltron legendary defender #hunk garrett #tsuyoshi garrett #prince lotor #my fic #hunkalot #huntor #whatever we wanna call it #;D #Hope you guys like it!#Lemme know what you think!

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