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the-bat-collector · 3 years

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SUPERBAT Rec List!! AU NO POWERS ish PART 1

I love NO POWERS NO CAPES AUs but its been so hard to find them!! so decided to make this list to help y’all in your search :D

The length varies, but I prefer long fics so most of these are 10-20k up to 200k

Heart and Soul by Pandamomochan

E - 150,044

Clark Kent used to be a renowned composer who was said to be able to write masterpieces that were designed uniquely for each individual player. Famous musicians around the world would flock to him in hopes that he would write for them because his pieces were always said to bring out any player's crowning performance. That is, until one day Clark loses his wife in a tragic accident and decides never to write again.

Years later, Clark's son, Jon, gets admitted to the famous "Gotham School of Performing Arts". It is there that Clark meets Bruce Wayne, a strict, uptight, by the book piano instructor who is said to be able to craft the best musicians around the world.

this is one of my favorites. I'm not really into Hurt/Comfort but this is so beautiful!! highly recommended I'm biased cause I play the piano

Seeing Bruce Wayne by Evilpixie

E - 15,089

Clark Kent is the only male midwife working in Metropolis General. Bruce Wayne the residential pediatric surgeon.

I'm so into medicine/doctor AUs this is also one of my favorite fics!if you have to pick one from this list, pick this one!!!

On The Cusp by vesper_house

E - 47,378

Clark's life isn't going so well. He's in his thirties, he works at a coffee shop run by his old crush, his journalism career is going nowhere, and he's broke. It takes only one tall, dark and handsome stranger to change everything.

COFFE SHOP AU COFFESHOP AU!! We need more of these, the dynamic between Bruce and Clark is Great!!!!

A Game You Can't Win by NightFoliage

T - 78,328

Injustice is the hottest MMORPGs available to play! Set in a world where superpowers exist, players can become civilians, heroes, villains, and anybody in-between. Designed by Hiro “Toyman” Okamura, and Timothy Drake-Wayne, Injustice was created with the best Wayne Industries technology available and has the most human NPCs. The game is beyond it's time and is planned to be at the top of the charts for a while.

By accident, Clark finds himself pushed into the spotlight and new found fame. To him, Let’s Plays are a means to stay in touch with friends and to make money. He never got into LPing to become famous.

Bruce, who funded the game after Jason’s accident, is irritated (not jealous) that a video game player is such a big topic among the kids. After the nth time they mention him, Bruce decides to take matters into his own hands and see what all the fuss is about.

link to art

ONE OF MY FAVORITE SUPERBAT FICS OUT THERE!!!!!! this is great and fun and Clark is the best!

As We Grow by butterflyslinky

E - 23,451

Clark Kent is a farmer deep in debt to Lex Luthor.

Bruce Wayne is a billionaire with seven children and no luck in love.

But their families have a scheme to get them together and hopefully make life a little bit better.

Modern Medicine by BuckinghamAlice

G - 5,208

Pediatrician Dr. Clark Kent becomes beloved to his patients, the Wayne boys... as well as to their doting father Bruce.

ABSOLUTELY lovely and adorable, you get the feels!

Hellooooo, nurse! by weirdraccoon INCOMPLETE WIP

T - ?????

Clark enjoys his job at the Free Clinic. He loves helping people and tending injuries. Saving lives. But this man... Bruce Wayne is going to kill him if he doesn't get killed first.

Bruce is still Batman on this one but HERE ME OUT, Clark is a nurse! is incomplete but looking forward to the following chapters!!

Two Cities by EllenD

E - 96,152

Clark Kent, is simply Clark Kent, junior reporter for the Daily Planet who moved to Metropolis from Smallville with big dreams. Bruce Wayne is a billionaire playboy from Gotham, who also happens to be Batman. They meet, date, and fall in love, though not without hurdles because mild-mannered Clark is also socially awkward as heck. But when the most dangerous criminals in Gotham are gunning for Batman, Clark gets caught in the middle of it all. (He's basically Batman's Lois Lane) Meant to be set in the Dawn of Justice movie universe, but also draws inspiration from video games, comics, and those awesome Batman cartoons.

This is part of a series, but this is the main fic of it. Love this trope of Clark is just a civilian and Bruce is Batman. Warning this fic does contain disturbing topics so read the tags.

Here Comes the Sun by batsy_rocks

T - 18,815

Clark Kent is a kind-hearted reporter working in the big city. Bruce Wayne is a stressed dad of four with no idea of what he's doing.

Then they meet.

Seasons of Love by littlechinesedoll

G - 4,603

Clark Kent took over that farm at the edge of the Town of Smallville. He likes Smallville's resident doctor, Bruce Wayne.

The best gifts for Bruce are ginger ale, salad, coffee, and any kind of flowers. He hates gems, and bars of copper, silver, and gold.

Petals and Ink by drunkraiinbow

T - 12,976

With a new kid joining the family, Bruce tries a new tattoo artist to continue the tradition of adding them to his sleeve, but he won't trust just any artist. Clark manages to win him over with his incredible talent and his farm-boy friendly demeanor, and he may even have begun to win Bruce's heart. However, Clark might have a few things to learn first.

FLOWER SHOP TATTOO PARLOUR AU! what else is there to say, this is extremely cute and a fast read! :D

Faceless Killer by Batsymomma11

E - 51,519

Detective Bruce Wayne from the GCPD and detective Clark Kent from the MPD have been asked to create a joint task force in an effort to catch the John Doe Killer that has been ravaging their sister-cities. Aside from their long-standing animosity towards one another, it should be a breeze to work together. Besides, lives depend on them getting along.

They never expected they'd trip headlong into a romantic entanglement that feels a lot more serious than even the killer they're chasing.

The Tailor by maderi

E - 16,026

When Clark is assigned to cover the Wayne gala, he finds himself in need of a professionally tailored suit. His tailor though is drop dead gorgeous, which brings up a lot of awkward situations during their appointments.

Heroes of the Squared Circle by Mithen

M - 226,687

They've gone by many names: Billionaire Brucie, Country Clark, the Kryptonian, the Dark Knight. But no matter what their stage names are, one thing has always been true: Clark Kent and Bruce Wayne are the world's finest wrestlers.

Six's a crowd by Untoward INCOMPLETE/ABANDONED

G - 10,133

When Alfred has to make an emergency trip back to England, Bruce soon finds out he can't manage running a business and taking care of six kids all alone.

He turns to a nanny agency for help, and is astonished when he finds Clark Kent, who seems like he can handle anything.

Clark not only can take care of the kids incredibly well but seems to be breaking Bruce's walls down rather well too.

After Hours by ????

E - 3,175

At the end of a long semester Clark can't hide his attraction to Professor Wayne any longer. Grad School AU.

This is practically a one-shot, not really my type of fic but worth adding!! Haven't come across this professor trope in Superbat so if you got any recs, send them my way!

Wings and Fangs by DanielleN3

E - 17,224

Clark thought he could never fall in love with anyone, especially not after being alone for such a long time… but all of that changes when he encounters a sexy vampire in Gotham.

TECHNICALLY they both have powers in this one but there are soooo different from cannon that I think this fic still qualifies for this list

thirteen by CapnWinghead

T - 22,890

Drowning in student loans, Clark Kent takes a summer job as the Wayne family nanny.

OKAY. so this is not entirely NO POWERS, but I mean Clark is a NANNY so this is great! TRUST ME

Kiss me, take my breath away by J_Jubilee

E - 37,934

There were legends about Gotham Reef. Legends that said it was haunted by a beast of foul temper. Stories told of a ravenous sea beast that feasted on the flesh of men, and was said to be more hideous than Satan himself. Others told of a woman with eyes that glowed like gold to lead sailors to their death. Some even spoke of a witch that cursed men and wreck their ships, taking all their treasures with it. When Clark’s catamaran is wrecked by a terrible storm, he learns that the stories were oh so far from true.

Baby Bats by AlmondRose

G - 4,003

this is a short series of adorable and simple domestic fluff

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Haven't read this one but heeey the art is sooo pretty soo decided to add it anyways

Dragon Heart by Hells Angel 921

T - 27,660

Kal wants to make up for his past.

Bruce tries to move on with his future.

They eventually meet in the middle.

link to art

I didn't know that Dragon/DragonSlayer was a thing but hey... apparently it is, so here it is.

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hehe and so my rant ends here! let me know if you know fics that fit any of these tropes! I’m all ears

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weatherman667 · 2 years

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Favourite Mecha

5) VF-1 Valkyrie / Macross

This is one of the first Mecha, and the proving ground for all others. That was one of the ones that created the genre, and in contrast to Gundam, it actually did it well. The VF-1 Valkyrie is still one of the best Mecha AND space fighters ever created, notably having an intermediate model between upright robot and fighter jet. This allowed it to essentially perfect pretty much every mode of combat before anyone else had even entered the ring.

4) AV-98 Ingram / Patlabour

There is such a thing as being overdesigned, and the AV-98 Ingram is NOT. In the Patlabour world, civilians start using Labours.

For the record, the military typically uses the much more sensible spider tanks.

Anyways, Humans being Humans, and eventually someone starts using these cargo loaders as weapons, and the police need a way to take care of it. Because of this, the Ingram was born, to be a POLICE mecha. Even better, it was designed to do everything a Human can do, but Humans can do A LOT. You don’t really need to improve on perfection, afterall, just mimic it. It’s primary weapon is an oversized revolver, because that’s all you really need. They work in teams of two, and if you need more than 12 shots, you’d be better off to call in the military.

3) Titan / Titanfall

People have trouble fathoming that Titanfall is one of the most realistic First Person Shooters ever created.

2) Powered Armour / Starship Troopers

While he created the very concept of Powered Armour, the Powered Armour from the Starship Troopers book is close to the modern use of Mecha. The suits supposedly made the Mobile Infantry look like mechanical gorillas, which NO portrayal ever gets right. These ones even have the Y-rack, which is an important part of the suit, that almost everyone ignores. The Y-Rack carries all the weapons they aren’t currently using, and these suits have weapons up to an including “Peewee” (sub-critical mass) Nuclear Weapons. They have Jump Jets that let you travel at 60mph in leaps, and were fine enough tuned to dance a jig, (assuming you could before putting it on).

The photo is from the 1988 anime THAT I JUST LEARNED EXISTED! It’s created by Sunrise, the very Sunrise that gave us Mobile Suits, which are 100% mecha, but named after the Mobile Infantry from Starship Troopers.

1) Garde / Knights of Sidonia

The most thought-out space fighter mecha ever created. It goes into ridiculous depths in it’s attempt to portray not just space combat realistically but also space movement, and just space survival. Shown in Clasp formations, which can go from 2 to 256, (or maybe even higher), and allows the units to link together for long-distance travel. Even when the primary and secondary power is exhausted, they are designed to last for a couple months, drifting in space. They are designed around a primary thruster unit, with vernier clusters giving movement and control in all directions. What looks like the head is actually a particle cannon, with the pilot protected in a sloped-armour chest piece. Even the pilot suit has thrusters to give them some control in space, and can even form it’s own life pod, while also taking the biological necessities of living in space into consideration.

HM) Jehudy / Zone of the Enders

Not the most practical unit created, and is in fact basically a god-machine, Jehudy is still one of my favourites.

HM) Para-mail / CROSS ANGE

Part Mecha part Jetbike. Notably, despite how Gundam it looks, it avoids most of the usual Gundam idiocies, like 100,000 weapons while constantly trying to out-Gundam each other.

HM) Gunmen / Tengan Toppa Gurren Lagann

Despite the fact that the in-universe laws of physics are powered by masculinity, heads seems like an idiotic weakness. it makes much more sense for it to be secured below the shoulders.

HM) Van-type “Vanguard” / Vandread

While no where near as agile, (or beautiful), as the female Dreads, the Vanguards are extremely durable, and once again practical to work in any environment.

HM) Shagohod / MGS

Not exactly your standard mecha, and that’s the point. It was instead a hackjob of a bunch of existing technologies to mimic the capabilities of Metal Gear REX. The front has Archimedes Screws that can float on water, or thick mud, and drag the vehicle through every terrain. The variable suspension actually works wonderful as legs. The rear section is a static hovercraft body fitted like a rocket sled. Together they can act as the primary stage of a rocket.

The only reason it’s not on the list is that i’s not really a mecha, kind of .

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oksana-moods · 3 years

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Supernova

Summary: As the seasons passes you by, it is inevitable for you to watch the fall.

A/N: This is an AU requested by the darling @multi-muse-transect and you might find it in here. This request filled me with joy and worries at the same time, because it was hard to create a visible story in my head before trying to write it down. But I really enjoyed all the research about Nova Corps, hence it took me a little more than intended.

Warnings: Language, marvel’s canon violence… if there is any other that I should mention, please, let me know.

“You take my breath away. You're a supernova and I'm a space bound rocket ship and your heart's the moon.”

#not my pic

Carol is at a window looking at the sculptures and other buildings of Hala, she’s just arrived from a mission against Kree insurgents. ‘They're like weeds’, she thinks. No matter how hard she fights or fights back, they always come back and never learn that against the Empress they will never succeed.

The lights are beautiful in Hala, but they will never compare to the lights of the Old Earth. She takes a look at the latest reports of her home planet's reconstruction on the table beside her and sighs, knowing that New Earth will soon be ready.

Years ago, Ronan attacked Earth with the intention of destroying Carol and he did, in fact, destroy her heart. Even though she could absorb and redirect energy, she failed to destroy all the missiles before they hit the ground and then it was over. And the beginning at the same time.

Completely possessed by the grief of losing her home and loved ones, Carol went hunting for the Kree and, more importantly, for the Supreme Intelligence and, one by one, Carol brought down her tormentors until she became the Empress of Kree, residing in Hala.

Her patrols to different galaxies have been reduced as she monitors the Kree group responsible for rebuilding the Earth, chases mutineers and still rules the Empire. Her Empire. There's not even time for karaoke, she thinks, as her eyes follows a shooting star across the night sky of her capital.

Her eyes narrow when said shooting star seems to take a route, rather than a random path, because it is a celestial body without navigation. This shooting star is, in fact, very different, she observes. And, almost a second late, she notices that someone is heading right for her.

Taking her by surprise, you hit the balcony glass as if it were nothing and saw Carol's body hurl against the wall with the impact of your body. Not even spending a breath, it's your turn to be hurled against the wall when Carol fights back even harder than you.

You fight, exchange punches and blows. You notice that she's slightly surprised to find a worthy opponent, something that's still unheard of. Until today. Until you.

And that intrigues her, how could someone be so powerful without her knowing?

"Did the Kree insurgents send you?" She asks after you collide on Hala’s sky, the noise and vibrations being felt even in buildings far away from the fight.

"No." You answer. “I was sent by Nova Prime to deal with you” You barely finish your sentence, and you attack Carol again, but she's confused. She had heard of Nova Prime when she was still a Kree soldier. When she fought for the wrong side.

She then looks at you once more. She takes in the clothes you're wearing and your helmet, which covers your eyes with a blueish light but leaves your chin bare. The symbol that resembles a star painted in red on your golden helmet indicated what you are. Nova Corp. You are a corpsman.

A bright, gold insignia in a form of three circles linked in your chest shines even in the dark, showing her that you’re not an ordinary corpsman, but a Centurion. You are Nova Corps’ Commander. Okay, that explain why you’re so powerful.

"What do you want with me?" She asks without the slightest pretension to continue fighting and for the first time you don't attack, you stop and look at her. Wow, the reports of her strength and agility were consistent with what you see, but there was nothing about her beauty. Shaking your head, you answer it.

"Justice." Seeing the confused expression on Carol's perfect face, you continue. "You are crushing the democracy that existed for the inhabitants of this planet, the countless reports of an empress overthrowing entire communities have crossed galaxies."

"Justice, you say." You see her eyes flash with anger and hatred. "And what justice does Nova Prime intend to give Earth?" She approaches dangerously and you have to remind yourself to not cower under her glare.

"The Kree have destroyed my home, so I won't give them one until the New Earth is rebuilt and populated." The threat in her gaze, in her posture, was tangible. "And nothing and no one in the universe will make me concede freedom to this barbaric species."

"Being a barbarian yourself?" You turn your head to the side in a questioning tone, but she takes it as irony. Maybe it was. “An eye for an eye, as earthlings are fond of saying. Or should I say, used to like?” A kind of roar was the only warning before her fist collided with your face.

"Wash your mouth before you talk about Earth, soldier." She patched up a string of blows you couldn't get out of. "Nova Empire has always fought the Kree, why they want to protect them now?"

She was strong; you've already figured that out, but like many other very powerful beings in the universe, they tend to think they're the only ones with powers. Absorbing most of the blows and directing the energy against the empress, you use your power blast and with that, once again, Carol is hurled against the wall of her palace.

As an automatic response, Carol uses the powers of her fist and you feel the force of a thousand cannons throwing you backwards into space, grunting right after with the impact of Carol's body, engaging the fight once more.

You could tell that she was angry and, according to your studies, humans tended to be guided by such frivolous feelings. And that was something you intended to use to your advantage.

Being two beings bestowed with stamina, the fight would go on for hours until someone got tired, but if she uses her powers erratically and drenched in rage, she will be drained quicklier.

“I am the Empress of the Kree Empire! Answer me!" The tone of voice in which she addresses you makes it clear that your goal of getting under her skin is working. With a smirk, you respond.

“Nova Empire takes care of the galaxy and has balance as its main goal, your highness. To overpower other species is not our intention.” Your response seems to enrage her even more and the only reaction you got from her was more blows and more blasts in your direction.

You dodge, you block, and you realize she's getting careless then letting her guard down. And that's where you come in with quick jabs almost powerless, only to enrage her more and more. Just to remind her that even an Empress has weaknesses.

You hit the ground and certainly the people throughout the city felt like it was an earthquake. Something was off and before you could react, Carol hits you with a blast right in the middle of the chest, throwing you meters and meters into a random building.

This time, you start feeling the impact on every wall you hit. You feel dizzy, your hand is shaking, and you find yourself bleeding. ‘What's going on?’ You think as you watch Carol's figure to grow in your field of vision.

The smirk on her face is ridiculously sexy, but you barely have time to make any comments before her voice reaches your ears. "Apparently, you're not that tough without your helmet on, are you?"

You look at her hand that is carrying what was once your helmet, now just broken shards and she drops it into your lap. Without your helmet you are ruined, as is your mission.

The smirk and one last punch were the last thing you remember before she knocks you down cold.

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Your head was about to explode inside your skull, and you blink at the light entering your cell. All that brightness was not helping your headache at all.

It's been a few days since you've been taken prisoner by Empress Carol Danvers and whether Xandar knows or has noticed your disappearance is something you have no idea of. And when Nova Prime sends reinforcements after you it won't be pretty.

Before proceeding on your mission, you had already been informed that all diplomatic avenues had been tried but completely closed by the Empress. That way, Xandar wouldn't try negotiations to try to get you back. Perhaps this would trigger a new war.

A war you couldn't afford. Certainly, you didn't want the weight of being the trigger or the spark in a cold battle of inflated tempers on your shoulders. Carol had a very short fuse, as you witnessed firsthand, while Prime could be an slayer when the situation called for it.

Days passed, becoming weeks and your monotonous existence is only interrupted by the Empress's daily visits. Visits that you don't know why she still keeps, when it's pretty obvious that you have no information to provide.

You are a member of the Nova Corp and have been sent on a solo mission to "dissuade" the Empress from continuing to rule her own empire with an iron fist. There were no ulterior motives, no espionage or reinforcements waiting in the moon not far from Hala.

You were a single, last resource. There was nothing but you and your broken form. A failed soldier.

You were standing, watching the sun shining on buildings across Hala through the small window in your cell, admiring the dots circling farther down the street, almost forgetting that each dot was a person. You wonder if Carol forgets who they are.

"Um, admiring my city, I see." You spare her a brief glance before you return it to the window. She was in a red robe with local designs, and you can't shake off your head at how beautiful she is. How beautiful she looks in red. Or any other color.

You don't exactly know why Carol still comes to your cell, but you can't lie to yourself that you don't like it. You do. But you convince yourself that any company is better than the solitude of these walls, just that and nothing else.

She is an empress after all. A Sovereign, considered by many to be evil and tyrant. But each gentle gesture towards you reminds you that her hands are stained with blood. Like yours. Your conscience doesn't seem to know which side it should be on.

"Forgive me if my boredom is exacerbated, your city is the only thing I have left to admire." You answer still looking ahead, afraid to look at her and be mesmerized. The Empress was a mystery that captivated you, as her answers were never what you would expect them to be. Just like now.

“I could end your boredom. Hala’s Summer Trade is famous across the galaxy, have you ever tasted Pluot Fruit?” Your head swivel towards her so fast it feels like a whip.

"Summer?" Quickly you do the math in your head, in this solar system the days and seasons were longer than in Xandar, so... "How long have I been kept in here?"

"Too long, Nova." Nova? What kind of nickname is this? Shaking your head, you question her. "Nova? This is not my name." She giggles and moves closer to the energy field that makes up your cell door, she’s one yard away so you can smell her perfume. White jasmine.

“I know it isn't. But I decided to abbreviate the title of Nova Corps to Nova, besides, I own this place…” she opens her arms to emphasize what she's talking about. "I can call you whatever I want, prisoner."

You decide to play her game and with a smirk on your face you respond. “Prisoner? Now, seconds ago weren’t you inviting me for a walk, your highness?”

You lick your lips when you see her face contorting in a mix of anger and something else, but what, you don't know. “You abuse my benevolence too much. Your precious Xandar never tried to open a ransom deal, you are of no use to them or to me.”

Her words crash into your chest, and you feel your heart break a little more. Months have passed and there was no sign of another corpsman coming to your rescue and now she tells you that Nova Prime didn't even try to negotiate your freedom.

You close your eyes and with small, defeated steps you walk to the window. A lifetime dedicated to Nova Corp and Xandar, to be abandoned like a stray dog lost from its owners. Like someone worthless.

Defeated and hopeless, you ask Empress Carol why she still keeps you alive. Standing in the hallway leading to the dungeons hall she smiles triumphantly and speaks. "For my entertainment, prisoner."

"What do you think of the Pluot?" Carol's voice breaks your train of thought.

"Strangely delicious." You respond by referring to the strange appearance, as if it was a dried fruit and not completely juicy right after tasting it.

As with the fruit, such was your surprise to see Carol's interaction with her subjects. Many of them kept their distance, paid their obeisance and respects to the Empress, and continued on their way with their heads low.

However, a reassuring number of people seemed to genuinely like or even admire Carol and not out of obligation. Doing a 180° turn in the opinion you once held of the Empress, she was extremely adorable when interacting with children.

Who knew the fearsome tormentor of the Kree empire would be so… human? How can someone, who keeps a prisoner just for her own pleasure, be so kind? You wonder if they were the same person at all.

She smiles in response to what you said and you smile back, completely unsure of the reasons why you do.

After the Hala market tour went without incident, that is, without any attempt to escape on your part, Carol has granted you the right to stroll through the inner gardens of her palace. As much as you want to hate the way she plays as if you were a puppet, you can't.

You try to hate her, but each day you spend in her company makes it harder for you to deny the feeling that, gradually, grows in your chest. Then, you find yourself desperate to hang this passion before it's too late.

Your morning walks allow you to see autumn slowly approaching, little by little, with each leaf touching the ground. And if you used to enjoy Carol's garden alone, over time, the Empress's company became part of your routine.

"Why are you still keeping me alive, Carol?" You rarely addressed her by the title of empress or nobility, and she never forced you to use it, she seemed not to care whether you recognized her power or not. Nor did he seem to mind when you used it ironically.

"I like your company." She answered and that made you look directly into her eyes. "It isn't every day that I find a match." Her answer made something boil in your chest and you had to force your heart to understand that she was probably referring to the fight.

"I'm not a match for you, your highness." You spoke. "Everything special about me came from an enhanced helmet." A sad smile danced on your lips, remembering how powerless you felt when you saw it broken in her hand. You remembered how broken you felt yourself.

“Everything special about you comes from your heart, Nova.” Her tone was low and as much as you wanted, there was nothing to grasp in it. She spoke this sentence as if she were speaking about the weather but for you it just set your heart on fire.

Between stories from a lifetime ago, when Carol was only a human being without a single clue that the universe was bigger than her world and stories from her time adapting and training in Hala, you felt yourself slowly but surely falling for her.

The change for you was visible and you prayed it would be visible only to you. If before you thought she was beautiful, now she’s extremely attractive in your eyes. Even when choosing simple robes, Carol was always dressed impeccably.

After spending so much time together, it was only a matter of time before you realized that the Empress was possessed of vast intellect and knowledge about many different things.

But what strike you most was how funny and mundane she could be, yet, she still had that special something in her eyes that never failed in make you weak. You were a prisoner, indeed. A prisoner of her eyes.

Unlike many extremely powerful beings, Carol was humble enough to listen to your stories, and even encouraged you to tell more details about yourself. She never quite understood, but something about you drew her as if you were a magnet.

The sparkle in your eyes as you spoke about your homeland, friends, or your passion and honor in serving Nova Corp thrilled her. There were many things in you that stirred emotions in her, as well as aroused feelings that she thought she was no longer capable of feeling for a long time.

And so, without realizing it and at the same time fully aware of what was going on beneath her skin, the Empress fell in love with her Prisoner.

Winter at Hala marked when your quarters were no longer a cell but a room in Empress's palace. Larger than your home in Xandar, the room was beautifully decorated with art, and you could discern some Xandar artwork. You wonder if it was coincidence.

Despite being as warm as a star, Carol suggested that both of you should trade your walks in the garden for spending time in the library available at the palace. And that's how you began to be the Empress's company during her meals.

It started with lunch and then evolved into dinner and now Carol finds herself waiting for your presence before even touching her plate. ‘I shouldn't allow myself such weakness’, she thought. However, she couldn't bring herself to change or to avoid the need of your company.

"I beg your pardon?" You speak, barely able to avoid spilling your soup. The increasingly warm but shy rays of the sun and the many animals strolling in the courtyard tell you that spring is just around the corner. And that's exactly what almost made you spill the soup, in first place.

Carol cleared her throat, promptly speaking again, as if you had not heard her from the first time. “I’d be delighted if you grant me the honor of your company for the Spring Ball due in two weeks.” She looked at you expectantly.

Your mind was swirling as to why she would want you as her company, out of all people. She was the Empress; she could have anyone she wanted by her side. Yet, here she was, asking you to be her date.

The time in Hala flew slower as it did in Xandar, but it felt like the opposite, for the Ball came faster than you thought it be possible.

And here you were, walking down the entrance stairs in a beautiful golden gown with Carol’s arm locked with yours. Her deep green dress was marvelous and when you saw her welcoming you with that pretty smile of hers you thought you could melt.

Much to your dismay, Carol could sing just as she’d told you she could, but you never believed in her. It wasn’t hard for you to realize that you were free falling in love with her even more than you already were. If it was possible, you fell in love again. You’d be her prisoner, forever.

As the night went on, you were mesmerized by the ball, the music, and the way of life in Hala. It felt like a different life, one that very much resembled prince and princess’ tales that you heard when you were a kid.

A life that didn’t quite belong to you but looking into her eyes it made it feel like everything was possible, reachable, as if her power could create a different world. Just as she did. As ruler of the Kree empire, she created a new kingdom.

Standing in the balcony, you welcomed the cold air hitting your skin that was inebriating your senses, previously flooded by the Empress. The stars illuminated the sky of Hala making the city bellow you even prettier.

A soft touch in your hand brings your gaze back to its owner and a small gasp scape your lips when you see how close she is, even more so when you wish she were closer. “I never told you how beautiful you are tonight.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.

“You flatter me, your highness. You’re flawless yourself.” A small smile creeped up her lips and you forced yourself to keep your eyes locked with hers, proven to be a hard task when she started to lean into your ear.

“There is something that I wanted to tell you for a while ago.” Her hands on your waist made it difficult for you to pay attention to her words, along with the feel of her cheek touching your cheeks made your knees weak.

“You’re no longer a prisoner and you can leave Hala if you want to.” Her thumb drew patterns where it touched you and you could feel your skin burning. “You’re free, but I wish you’d stay here.” She backed down and now her eyes were boring into yours.

“I wish you’d stay here with me.” She stressed.

Your heart and head were running thousand miles per hour in completely opposite directions. The rational part of you wanted to take your freedom and go back to Xandar, even though you should find it suspicious that, almost after a year, she’d let you go. Specially after you’d learned so much about Hala. About her.

However, your heart’s been slowly giving itself to this woman right in front of you, and there was nothing that you wanted more than to stay here with her. Surely, you felt left behind by Nova Prime, but it still stings in you that no one came after you. Not even a fellow corpsman.

‘Not one that you know, for that matter.’ You shook your conscience’s voice away and gave in to your heart. The rational part of you broke at the exact same time as did your helmet.

“Carol, I…” You begin but she interrupts you by placing an oh so soft lips on yours and there is no voice to hear anymore. Nor rational, nor emotional. There are only her lips pouring her heart into a kiss and you do just the same.

Right in that moment you felt as if your heart was about to melt, maybe it would, if she hadn’t broken the kiss and rested her forehead in yours.

“Tell me you’ll stay and rule by my side.” Before the true meaning of her words could sink in, the sky of Hala suddenly shone as if thousands of stars appeared right in that moment, drawing the attention of you both.

Not long until you realized that it wasn’t stars, but thousands of spaceships painting the night over your heads, and you’d recognize those ships anywhere. Xandar was here. And a voice that you’d never forget was heard above all noise.

“I am Nova Prime and Xandar declares war to Empress Carol, accused of murdering Nova Corps’ Commander.”

‘Why are they accusing her of murder?’ You thought to yourself. It does not make sense that she’s being accused of killing you when you’re alive. Unless…

“Carol, what did you do?”

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coolnerdyandalone · 4 years

Text

on FIMQ deleting her content and COVID-19 (and a gratuitous larry fic rec)

@freddiesmyqueen first of all queen i hope you’re doing ok although i know some shit must have gone down for you to delete/private list all your videos and i hope you know that the larry community supports you always. Also your talent is TRULY unmatched in the world of video editing - no one makes edits quite like you and that’s why your loss impacts the community so profoundly.

secondly, i know at least i was hoping to turn to rewatching all of FIMQ’s videos while i’m being quarantined due to the coronavirus. and i’m willing to bet that i’m not the only one. this is a scary time and for people like me who feel profoundly alone right now, the only way for me to calm my nerves and fears is by reverting to the content and community that helped me feel not so alone when i was in middle and high school. For me, that looks like watching FIMQ videos and reading my favorite larry fanfics (which i will also link below). because of this i thought it might be helpful to repost some links that were posted by @bluemoonlarryandkaylor for a signal boost (if my teeny-tiny account can be called a signal boost).

link to a google drive with FIMQ videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1ONwfLOd_IYvAL5OUDqDb_LLgQsDpd9il

link to an acct with some FIMQ re-uploads: https://www.youtube.com/user/Joana3961/videos

link to FIMQ vids with spanish subtitles: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIouodFhArMkQhOHxv2t2NgxTwl6KvXAT

and now if you want to look at some good old fashioned larry fics that are my ABSOLUTE faves and could 100% be actual novels/movies, keep reading:

And Then A Bit** by @infinitelymint aka the best fanfic ever written (basically larry fakes a relationship for publicity with each other and it could be cannon if you really wanted to hope upon hopes): https://archiveofourown.org/works/1415272/chapters/2972746 (159k)

“We’d like to give the fans what they want.” Magee states, placing his hand on the table in front of him and leaning forward. “We want to give them Larry Stylinson.”

Or, take a parallel universe where Louis and Harry were never together, mix in a two year hiatus and an impending comeback, pour in a dash of lost fans, two tablespoons of strong friendship and a Modest! employee with a good idea. Add a squeeze of pretending to be a couple, lots of kisses and a tattoo or two. Stir. Serve: the mother of all publicity stunts.

(aka Harry and Louis fake a relationship for publicity. Eventually it becomes a lot less fake and a lot more real.)

Escapade** by @haydolce aka the Jack McQueen fic: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4034197/chapters/9071932 (146k)

In the grand scheme of things, finding a date for a wedding should be no problem for Louis Tomlinson. He's rich. He's handsome. He's reasonably well behaved. But when the wedding is for his lifelong best friend (and former boyfriend), and is happening in under a month, finding a date for the ceremony and accompanying festivities becomes more of an adventure than he ever could have planned for.

California Sold** by @isthatyoularry : https://archiveofourown.org/works/5157680/chapters/11877494 (123k)

Notoriously closeted boyband member Harry Styles is famous on a global scale, meanwhile Louis, as his best friend, is back home in Manchester, living the typical life of a 24 year old. When Harry needs Louis with him in LA, a publicity stunt gone wrong changes their friendship forever.

A fake-relationship AU between two lifelong best friends.

Bring Your Body Baby (I Could Bring You Fame) by @theboyfriendstagram : https://archiveofourown.org/works/4263903/chapters/9652944 (84k)

Eighteen year old Harry Styles just graduated high school and landed a summer job as a waterboy for his favorite football team. His job description is simple: be ready to hand water and towels to players if needed. That didn’t seem to include Louis Tomlinson though, a twenty-three year old, recently transferred Paris Saint-German player, who seems to like making Harry’s job much more difficult than it has to be.

A self-indulgent AU that takes place over the summer of 2015. 18 year old Harry hates pining after people he can't have, and 23 year old footballer Louis loves flirting with people even though it never means anything.

Pull Me Under** by @zarah5 : https://archiveofourown.org/works/870766/chapters/1672104 (140k)

AU. As the first British footballer to come out at the prime of his career, it helps that Louis Tomlinson is in a long-term, committed relationship. Even if that relationship is fake. (Featuring Niall as Louis' favourite teammate, Liam as Louis' agent, and Zayn as Liam's boyfriend, who just happens to be good friends with one Harry Styles.)

You You You** by @isthatyoularry : https://archiveofourown.org/works/846690/chapters/1617212 (137k)

“Infamous boybander leaves club together with unknown,” read the headline. Underneath were pictures of a boy with dark curls, green eyes and very tight pants. They both studied the article for a moment, reading it through quickly. “Is that…?” Louis frowned. That guy almost looked exactly like... "HOLY FUCKING SHIT!" "Louis," Niall said, looking absolutely fucked over. "You just fucked the most wanted guy on earth. You just fucked Harry Styles of One Direction."

Or, the one where Harry and Louis meet at a club and Louis takes Harry home, only for him to realize that the boy who just made him breakfast half naked is Harry Styles from One Direction.

Like an Endless Summer by @horsegirlharry : https://archiveofourown.org/works/11365494/chapters/25442085 (87k)

“You just wanna go fawn over Styles as soon as possible,” Zayn grumbles.

“I do not. Plus, he probably got ugly this year. Eighteen is an awkward time...I bet he’s got acne and one of those terrible fuckboy haircuts all the hipsters are getting these days, with the shaved sides? Just watch, the first year we’re gonna get any time together is gonna be the first year I don’t have a stupid crush on him.”

---

Or, Louis is a riding instructor at a summer camp, and Harry is a fellow counselor who he’s been successfully managing his crush on for the last two summers. That is, until Harry shows up this year leveled up and lethal, and all Louis’s formerly perfected veneer of nonchalance melts like a popsicle in the sun.

Three French Hems by @100percentsassy and @gloriaandrews : https://archiveofourown.org/works/3064493 (20k)

In which Louis is a designer at Burberry and Harry spends December wearing Lanvin… and Lanvin… and Lanvin.

The Dead of July aka the Marvel Fic by @whimsicule : https://archiveofourown.org/works/3594570/chapters/7928520 (117k)

Being an Avenger means continuing to be Captain America and smiling and being honorable for the public and Harry does his best. But it doesn’t give him time to figure out who he is supposed to be once he takes off his uniform and puts the shield to the side. Just being Harry had always involved Louis, and Harry fears he doesn’t know how to exist without him.

or: Harry is Captain America, and Louis’ been dead for 70 years.

Gods & Monsters by @mizzwilde : https://archiveofourown.org/works/2090982/chapters/4550871 (201k)

The instructions were simple: seduce and destroy Harry Styles. Not once did they discuss the option of Louis actually falling in love. So, naturally, that's exactly what he did.

Love is a Rebellious Bird aka LIARB aka the orchestra fic aka dont hum bolero by @100percentsassy and @gloriaandrews : https://archiveofourown.org/works/1162438/chapters/2362331 (135k)

AU in which the boys still make music. Louis is the concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra, Harry is the New! and Exciting! interim conductor/ex-cello prodigy who "has made Mozart cool again" according to Esquire Magazine (Louis hates him immediately, which is definitely why he internet stalked him in his dark bedroom late at night that one time), and Niall is the best. Zayn and Liam are around too.

Don't hum Bolero.

My English Love Affair** by @isthatyoularry : https://archiveofourown.org/works/1873962 (19k)

The thing about sleeping with a member of a famous indie band is that the inevitability of having a song written about you is most likely a hundred percent. The second thing is that in the end, nobody's supposed to find out it's about you.

The one where Harry writes a song about his English love affair and Louis sleeps with someone in White Eskimo and all he gets is a stupid song written about him.

Soft Hands, Fast Feet, Can’t Lose by @haydolce : https://archiveofourown.org/works/5799241/chapters/13366498 (113k)

American Uni AU. Harry Styles is a frat boy football star from the wealthy Styles Family athletic dynasty. A celebrity among football fans, he knows how to play, he knows how to party, and he knows how to fuck (all of which is well known among his legion of admirers).

Louis Tomlinson is a student and an athlete, but his similarities to Harry end there. Intelligent, focused, independent, and completely uninterested in Harry’s charms, Louis is an anomaly in a world ruled by football.

A bet about the pair, who might be more similar than they originally thought, brings them together. Shakespeare, ballet, Disney, football, library chats, running, accidental spooning, Daredevil and Domino’s Pizza all blend into one big friendship Frappucino, but who will win in the end?

Wild and Unruly aka the Cowboy fic by @100percentsassy and @gloriaandrews : https://archiveofourown.org/works/2723093/chapters/6099611 (124k)

Harry is a cowboy sitting on the biggest oil reservoir in Wyoming, and Louis is the paralegal assigned to pressure him into selling his land.

For As Long As I Can Remember (It’s Been December)** by @greenfeelings : https://archiveofourown.org/works/15051122/chapters/34892210 (128k)

After recovering from a severe accident that causes Harry to lose his memory of three years, he moves to London to start his life over as a star chef. Little does he know that when he falls in love with Louis at first sight, it’s not the first time they meet.

Featuring an unintentional game of hot and cold, Harry chasing memories that won’t come back, Louis burying himself in work to try and forget what he can’t forget, Liam being torn between two of his best friends, Zayn as a moral compass and Niall saving the day with good music and brutal honesty.

the boys of fall** aka the american football fic by @godgavemelou : https://archiveofourown.org/works/5443037 (21k)

“And everyone, this is Harry Styles. He’s going to be our starting quarterback this year.”

Louis looks at him, the tall and lanky Harry Styles, and takes it all in. He’s got hair to his shoulders that curls at the ends, tattoos all down his arms, and a bright smile on his face as the team cheers him on. He’s lean and fit, and absolutely beautiful, and Louis hates him to the core.

OR an american football au where the boys play for the university of tennessee, and harry and louis quite hate each other.

** indicates that the fic is a log-in required fic, but if you want the pdf i can send it to you

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poweredbydietcoke · 3 years

Text

Favorite books of 2020

This is normally a January or February thing...last year it was November, so May seems fitting in 2021. You can find the last few years here and here...

2020 book totals: 23 audio books 14 Kindle books 10 tree books

47 books total

I shifted a lot more of my reading this year to audiobooks, which I think is a combination of the baby (a lot of time that I could use my ears, but not my hands), more ranch work (got a nice set of ISOTunes bluetooth ear protection for running saws etc), and more solo travel time during the pandemic. I also read a lot more tree books, mostly as a result of some out-of-print titles and some baby-related gifts. And overall my reading dropped a bit, unsurprisingly.

[Reminder: these are all affiliate links, and it all goes to charity at the end of the year]

How to Have Your Second Child First: 100 Things That Would Have Been Good to Know--The First Time Around by Kerry Colburn and Rob Sorenson

When I told Bryan that we were expecting our first child, he insisted I read this book. It was fantastic, as far as parenting goes (targeted audience, obviously). But the basic message is chill out, it's going to be fine. Think about how many people do this multiple times. And all of the things you worry about for the first kid, like making it perfectly quiet for them to sleep aren't going to be possible for the second kid, so why don't you just treat the first kid the same way--it makes everybody more flexible. We've tried to put a lot of this to work with Cooper and at least so far is making our lives easier. No promises how he turns out yet. :)

Age of Ambition, Chasing Fortune in China by Evan Osnos

I’m pretty sure Scott Cannon recommended this to me a while back, I think after some of his time in China, and I really enjoyed it. I've been trying to read and understand a lot more about China these days for obvious reasons. I've started reading Sinocism by Bill Bishop. It's a lot, you have to skim it every day, or just disregard it some days, but it's got a lot of really interesting insight (at least to me) on how China is operating these days. At least I'm trying to build some sort of understanding because it feels as if it's going to be important at some point in our lives. The highlights of this book, for me, were probably starting to understand some of what are apparent contradictions in the dynamism of the entrepreneurial economy there combined with pretty aggressive state control. Sort of the way that the party is different from the state but isn't in many ways; it’s often the same thing “functionally,” at least as I understand it. The other interesting takeaway was the total aversion to a loss of control and the single overarching directive that seems to grip the party, which is no social unrest. I also read China’s Vision of Victory this year, but Age of Ambition was a better read. I’m currently working on Blockchain Chicken Farm, and while the title is better, Age of Ambition still comes out on top.

Expecting Better by Emily Oster

Love this book, and the second book by the same author, called Crib Sheet. This was given to us when we told some close friends that we were expecting and they said “Oh, this woman we worked with at University of Chicago (she's now at Cornell, I believe), wrote these books and they're very scientific, data-driven books on pregnancy,” which obviously appeal to both Lizzie and I. This one was great because it goes into the research and the studies on things like can you drink alcohol during pregnancy or not? What do you think about sort of deli meats vs sushi vs whatever in terms of how it's going to affect the baby? How much should you worry about different prenatal tests, which are the really important ones, which are the ones that have a lot of false positives, and so on. I highly, highly recommend this and in fact, have sent it to a number of friends who are now expecting kids. It really simplifies things in terms of what you need to worry about and not.

Honeybee Democracy by Thomas D. Seeley

I don't remember who recommended this, but I absolutely loved this book. It's a really fascinating (if pretty in-depth) overview of the science on honeybees. Obviously, part of this is appealing to me because Lizzie keeps honey bees here at the ranch. And we love their honey and love learning about them and seeing them in operation. But the thing that just blew me away about this book, in addition to just the detail on the explanations of how these things actually work, was how they did the study design. They would find a big offshore island that had no bees on it and actually go out and do these experiments in a “pristine” environment. Eg how did the bees decide where to set up their new hive? How did they lead or follow a swarm or anything else? And it was just brilliant...as an example, they figured out that bees like to establish hives of a certain volume, not too big, not too small. And so how do honeybees measure volume? It turns out that there are two measurements they frequently do: one is they walk around the circumference of the potential hive site, and two is they fly across it and kind of measure their flight time. And so somebody actually went to prove this and built a hive they had a “treadmill” on one wall, that they could speed up or slow down to change the perceived volume, and that did in fact change which hives were chosen by the bees. Really, really amazing book!

Educated by Tara Westover

Lizzie read this first and really loved it, and has been on my list for a little while. I finally read it and thought it was fascinating. This single story of a woman who's raised in, I think, Idaho in a very Mormon community. Fundamentalist and very conspiratorial/out there on the fringe family. And she ends up going to BYU and then studying in London and doing a bunch of stuff that kind of breaks the mold. But she talks about it as kind of an escape, and rationalizing/understanding how her parents shaped her and both the positives and negatives. One of the biggest things that was interesting to me was, and I've heard it in many ways, but this passage stuck with me: at some point, she made a little bit of money, maybe $1,000 in a single chunk rather than getting paid for a day of work. And she made the point that all of a sudden she'd never felt like that before, because she didn't have to worry minute to minute about where the money was and was going and whatever. Just an interesting reminder of the costs of all these things that many of us are lucky enough not to think about at that level. Year by year, sure, but day by day or minute by minute is a different thing.

Fire on the Mountain: The True Story of the South Canyon Fire by John N. Maclean

I think this one was recommended by Zuni, one of our neighbors. It was another post fire disaster investigation, this time for a fire in Colorado that ended up turning and claiming the lives of a bunch of Hot Shots and Smokejumpers. It was a really well researched book, very descriptive, pretty fast moving, not excruciatingly detailed, but a little bit overly detailed unless you understand this stuff, which I don't claim to. But worth reading if you live in a wildfire zone, as many of us do these days!

The Haywire Heart by Chris Case

Mark Gainey recommended this to me. It’s about how endurance athletes can develop heart conditions, from training so hard and bringing their hearts to such an unusual level in different ways, and the various arrhythmias that come from it. Also how blood pressure can be off because your heart gets so strong at pumping during anaerobic exercise, develops really strong muscles, and then your heart rate goes way too low when you’re resting/sleeping and then loses rhythm. Really interesting. I listened to it in an audio book, which wasn't quite the right format for it because you have to be really paying attention to some of the science. But it was fascinating and made me a little more thoughtful about paying attention to heart rate monitors as I get older.

Twelve hours' sleep by 12 weeks old by Suzy Giordano

A couple of people recommended this to me, Rick Morrison and Ashley Carroll were the ones that I remembered. For us it was the canonical sleep training book. It was really interesting and really good, but I don't think it works for everybody (seemingly different things work for different people, especially per Emily Oster’s research). But this is how we ended up getting Cooper to sleep well (he was largely sleeping through the night by 8 weeks, but I think that was mostly him and not us). Most of it is simply structured feeding and making sure that you can extend the time between feedings so that they can sleep longer periods of time without being really hungry. There are a bunch of really easy summaries on the web of, and the book itself was pretty tedious. I listened to it on Audible on my bike, and the number of examples like “every four hours, eg, 8a, 12p, 4p, 8p” ... I can do the math, thanks. But the method was two pages and really good. Obviously, again, doesn't matter if you don't have an infant.

My heart is Africa by Scott Griffin

Dennis Pilarinos recommended this book about a Canadian Doctor who goes and flies through Africa in his Cessna 185 (and even more adventurously, he actually flies it *to* Africa from Canada and back). Really cool fun book, some crazy stories like the usual kind of bush plane drama. Only available in paperback. I did order it somewhere random, but it was totally worth reading. Super fast and fun blending aid to Africa with flying and totally worth it. Very, very quick read but great for pilots.

The Billion Dollar Spy by David Hoffman

Alex Yakubovich recommended this to me and as always, his book recommendations are fantastic. This one was about Oleg Tolkachev and his work with the CIA while the Cold War was still going on. And all this crazy interesting information he passed and why he did it. And it was fun. It was like a spy novel that was real and exciting, but not over the top James Bond style.

Flatland by Edward Abbott Abbott

This was actually recommended by Sonia Wong at Sequoia in an interview I read with her. It's really quick and interesting, basically a story about living in two dimensions and trying to understand three- and one-dimensional worlds. How do you think about dimensionality, represented by the rules of these different, theoretical societies, if you will, that live in one or two dimensions. It's hard to describe well, but it was a really fun, interesting book, a very quick read. Even fully understanding the math of N space it was still really entertaining. I don't know if it'd be a good or bad thing for a kid to read, probably pretty good for a mathematically inclined kid. Really interesting.

The Storm Before the Calm by George Friedman

I read a lot of his work through Geopolitical Futures. I find it really interesting, just as an intellectual pursuit of understanding how the world works and how countries interact on a geopolitical level. And I've always thought his analysis is pretty insightful. He's a Polish immigrant to the United States, and a huge “patriot” in the unfortunately anachronistic sense. He writes about the four cycles he sees in US politics (institutional and socioeconomic, most importantly). And his primary argument is that in the 2020s, they're all going to end at the same time. And usually, when one of them ends, there's a little bit of pain and dislocation in the US. Historically, the US grew stronger out of it. It can grow, or it can obviously implode and cause a revolution. He thinks it'll grow stronger, and he thinks it'll largely lead to a decentralization of political power because the United States and its organizations and institutions have gotten way too complex to run centrally. Interesting parallel here to China in terms of the complexity of that organization and country, that's 4x, 5x the size population wise.

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somethingusefulfromflorida · 4 years

Text

13 Keys to the White House: UPDATE

The original post can be read here, I wrote it a day before George Floyd was murdered, and the political landscape has shifted SO MUCH since then.

There are 13 questions that define which party will win the presidential election based on how well the incumbent and challenging parties have fared over the last four years. The incumbent party needs 8 out of 13 to be true to win, while the challengers need 6 or more to be false. As of May 25, it stood, in order of severity

FALSE

Almost certainly false

Probably false

Maybe false

Unclear

Maybe

Maybe true

True as of right now

TRUE

Biden and Trump both has 3 solid keys in their field, with three more teetering on either side, and one tossup in the middle. It was anybody’s game, though Biden had a slight edge because he only needs 6 to Trump’s 8.

Not everything has changed in the last week, but just enough to solidify some of the less certain keys

Party Mandate: After the midterm elections, the incumbent party holds more seats in the U.S. House of Representatives than after the previous midterm elections. FALSE (Democrats won more in 2018 than Republicans won in 2014)

Contest: There is no serious contest for the incumbent party nomination. TRUE (Donald Trump faces no real challengers)

Incumbency: The incumbent party candidate is the sitting president. TRUE (barring the coronavirus, or a heart attack brought on by all the fast food he eats, Donald Trump will be the nominee this November)

Third party: There is no significant third party or independent campaign. TRUE (Amash has dropped out, and the Libertarians have nominated a nobody who chose an even smaller nobody as her running mate. But then again, the election is 5 months away, which in 2020-months is approximately 9000 years away; a lot can change between now and then. I mean, just 5 months ago the coronavirus hadn’t spread outside of China yet. Maybe a conservative spoiler will gain traction. Maybe some disillusioned republicans will rally behind a write-in candidate. Maybe an asteroid hits and we all have to move underground and evolve into C.H.U.D.s to survive. Anything goes in 2020. Blow on them dice, LUCK BE A LADY)

Short-term economy: The economy is not in recession during the election campaign. FALSE (The Great Shutdown, the second once-in-a-lifetime economic collapse in less than 15 years. We’re only four months into it right now; things are going to get so much worse before they get better.)

Long-term economy: Real per capita economic growth during the term equals or exceeds mean growth during the previous two terms. Almost Certainly False (Unemployment continues to rise at record breaking levels. Civil unrest is widespread in all 50 states, several territories, and even international cities in solidarity with the cause. The pandemic is far from over, and we are on the verge of a second wave.. There’s no chance in hell the economy will grow this year. 2020 is the Spiders Georg of years; it is a statistical outlier, it’s so low it’ll bring down the rest of the whole term, wiping out all growth since 2017. I mean, Republicans wanted trump to run the country like one of his businesses, and he’s giving them exactly what they wanted. This is his MO; run it into the ground, declare bankruptcy, don’t pay anyone, move onto your next failed project. Same shit as always)

Policy change: The incumbent administration effects major changes in national policy.Unclear (He hasn’t kept many of his campaign promies, but he has enriched himself and his colleagues, abusing the power of the executive for personal gain, which is a pretty major change. This key will come down to the Supreme Court decisions on his tax returns; if they decide in favor of the president, they are saying that he doesn’t have to obey subpoenas anymore, expanding the powers of the president and getting rid of legislative oversight, checks and balances; this would be a HUGE policy change akin to declaring him a king, as it would mean he is no long capable of being held accountable for anything. If they decide against him though, a lot of skeletons will come bursting out of his closet, which may or may not damage him politically. Let’s be honest, they won’t. Nothing ever does. The tax returns could reveal that he has been paying a Russian company called “WE MEDDLE, YOU WIN, GUARANTEE” for thirty years, and he and his cronies will still spin it as a positive thing. Nothing ever hurts this guy, so I wonder why he even gives a shit about hiding his taxes anymore. All we know is that he has to be hiding something BIG if he’s going this far to try and cover it up, Could this take him down? Probably not, but fingers crossed.)

Social unrest: There is no sustained social unrest during the term. FALSE (I made this post before the George Floyd protests began, but there’s no ambiguity about it now. The cracks in the system have been expanding for years, and now the dam has finally burst. And rightfully so; riots are the language of the unheard. My only concerns are that if the protests continue into November, a bunch of republican lawmakers are gonna use it as an excuse to stop people from voting. ”Curfew begins at 8PM, anyone still in line at their polling places will be arrested and/or shot”)

Scandal: The incumbent administration is untainted by major scandal. FALSE (there’s only so much you an handle before you drop all pretenses and say “this is no longer subjective, this is objectively scandalous.” Everything they do is designed to get as big a reaction as possible, they pick the objectively worst people and take the objectively worst positions on everything because they’re trying to stoke controversy. Russia, Ukraine, carrots and potatoes. The real meat are all the domestic scandal. Turning off the White House lights and hunkering in a safe space underneath it like PUNK ASS BITCH? Mobilizing the National Guard around the country? Teargassing protestors so he can pose with a Bible he’s never read in front of a church he’s never attended, holding it up like it’s some annoying obligation of his, “see? See, I like the Bible. Look, I’m holding it up. Why would I be holding it up if I didn’t just LOOOOOVE it? Can everybody see? I’m holding it out at arms length and waving it back and forth just to make sure all the cameras know, I want then to get a good shot of it. I will shortly give it to an aide and be taken home in my limo, at which point I will forget the Bible exists because my brain is turning to jelly and I’ve lost the concept of object permanence.”)

Foreign/military failure: The incumbent administration suffers no major failure in foreign or military affairs. Maybe (on the one hand, Iran didn’t retaliate when we killed their general, but on the other hand we retreated out of Syria, let thousands of ISIS fighters go, and aided the Turks in a Kurdish genocide. The tit-for-tat sanctions against China threatened to crash the global economy, but then the coronavirus came in and did that all by itself, so it’s unclear whether we’ve “failed” or simply “not succeeded.”)

Foreign/military success: The incumbent administration achieves a major success in foreign or military affairs. Maybe false? (for the same reason as above, it is hard to judge what is or isn’t a success. USMCA is unpopular and small potatoes. The North Korean talks are all show with no substance; Kim will never get rid of his nukes. We’re still caught up in W’s endless wars, and I don’t see an end in sight, so I’d say this is definitely not a success. I have no doubt in my mind the October Surprise is gonna be another bombing in Iran to kill the ayatollah. The Iran War will start on November 3, same day as the election, there will be the first draft since Vietnam, a bunch of POCs will be forced into the military as cannon fodder; it’ll be a bloodbath for both sides)

Incumbent charisma: The incumbent party candidate is charismatic or a national hero. FALSE (Trump is revered as the Second Coming of Christ by his base, but they make up less than 40% of the total country; other Republicans tolerate him at best, and all Democrats hate him. He has never had majority approval, he will never go down with the likes of the universally beloved Washington, Lincoln, and the Roosevelts. The most surprising thing of the last six months has got to be the emergence of the Lincoln Project, a coalition of Republicans who have finally grown spines, guts, and balls to stand up against trump and actively campaign against him. He doesn’t have total party control anymore, the Republicans are eroding, though to be fair the Democrats eroded a long time ago; the Republicans are a crumbling cairn, longstanding but now weakened and in danger of falling over, while the Democrats are a nice gravel walkway that everyone steps on and complains about even though the walkway is a nice addition to the park; it really ties the negative space together, linking the tennis courts with the pull-up bars. I’ve lost the thread of this analogy)

Challenger charisma: The challenging party candidate is not charismatic or a national hero. TRUE (Joe Biden is the Walter Mondale of Al Gores. Republicans hate him, even though he’s a moderate an would almost certainly try to reach across the aisle to compromise with them. Which is exactly why about half of Democrats don’t really like him; he’s too moderate and would work with Republicans. He’s old and senile, he keeps making gaffe after gaffe after gaffe, and doesn’t seem to know how the game is played anymore. Someone needs to find Grampa a nice home so he can retire and talk to his nurse about how he used to get into fist fights with ne’er-do-wells, “buncha malarkey, I tell ya”)

This gives us, from best to worst:

FALSE

Almost Certainly False

Maybe false

unclear

Maybe

TRUE

Incumbent Trumps needs 8 true to win. Challenger Biden needs 6 false to win.

Biden definitely has 5, he only needs 1 more to claim it, and there are two good keys that are leaning heavily in his favor; trump’s long-term economy is in the tank, and he hasn’t had any victories overseas. Biden has this one in the bag [don’t grow complacent, there’s still plenty of fuckery to be had from here to November]

Trumps would need to flip four keys to win, only one of which leans in his favor, one is unclear, and two are in Biden’s court. The economy is in ruins, he hasn’t set up any real domestic Trump Doctrine, and the military has neither succeeded nor failed in any meaningful way these last four years. He’s going into November with a major disadvantage, perhaps the only time in his life he has ever not had an advantage.

But then again, there’s always the possibility that it could be a 2000/2016 repeat, where Biden wins the popular vote but Trump ekes by with the electoral college victory yet again. This model doesn’t take that into account because the popular vote winner almost always wins the EC too.

Trump is not more popular today than he was 4 years ago. He’s never had majority approval. While his base loves him more now than ever, they represent a minority of voters, and pretty much everyone else hates him. Anyone who was on the fence in 2016 is definitively over the fence in 2020. If he “wins,” it’s not going to be a 1972/1984 blowout, that’s just not gonna happen, too many states hate him too much. It will be very close; I will not rule out the possibility of a 269-269 tie in the electoral college, triggering a contingent election where the House of Representatives has to pick the president. Democrats have a majority in the House right now, but in contingent elections they don’t vote as 435 individuals, they vote as 50 state blocs; even though there are more Democrats than Republicans, they’re packed together into as few states as possible, giving Republicans over 26 stateside majorities, enough to ensure they would pick Trump in a contingent election.

It’s a bullshit system, and I pray it doesn’t come to that.

#allan lichtman #13 keys to the white house #13 keys #white house #election #presidency #2020 election #joe biden #biden #donald trump #trump #biden 2020 #predictions #political

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tenebraetrash17 · 5 years

Note

how exactly are ravus and lightning alike? I think they're too different from each other since ravus was evil :/

W e l l, yeet, you have a point, Ravus was kind of “evil” but it was more of a necessary one? He was doing what he could to protect his sister and wanted to make sure she wouldn’t suffer too much.

But ok! Onto the points! I’m going to be looking at this with FACTS AND LOGIC and not a ship standpoint, so I remain a neutral ground!

Ok!

APPEARANCE.

So first off, we can go into design choices, I’ve made joke posts about this before, but the manner of dress these two have is actually quite similar.

Lightning’s theme is consistent with mostly white collared tops, other than her “Knight Of Etro Garb” and in her “Savior’s Garb” she adorns a strange armored piece-shield on her left arm, which looks more fancy than practical tbh.

On the flip side we have Ravus, who is only ever seen in one costume, Tenebrae Raiment, which consists of a white collared coat-thing and a gauntlet on his left arm

Interestingly enough! If you happen to put them up side by side

You can kinda see a bit of a theme here, not to mention thigh high boots and apparently battle undies.

We’ve got the gray-black, the white, and the coloring! Which the purple and red are pretty close on the spectrum too I suppose, or are a bit of complimentary colors?I guess it depends on points of view!

Ok, but slightly similar clothing is not enough to convince anyone, I hope.

So here we go:

STORY.

Revolves around their sister.

M O V I N G O N-

okok just kidding!

But this is honestly the truth of the matter, Luna/Serah is the end goal. Serah/Luna is why they did all this. The reason they sacrificed everything? Why they gave up their childhood? The reason why they were willing to, and in Ravus’ case, give their life away?

It was all for Serah and Luna.

Stories can often be boiled down to a single point.

Motive.

And the motive behind Ravus and Lightning? Saving their sisters from fate.

Although…in Ravus’ case, he didn’t succeed, but that will be touched upon later.

PERSONALITY/CHARACTER TRAITS (?).

Ok, so, here we go!

Two stone cold soldiers, born and raised lacking in parents, their only weakness is for their sister, yet they slowly learn to trust others.

Well that was oddly simple.

Although I feel as if I should go more in depth because I’m trying to explain…so…

Ravus and Lightning both became emotionless out of necessity, Ravus out of need to let the Empire think his loyalty remained only to them, and Lightning because she felt the need to be more mature. And since they were both young, they decided that was the best way to do it.

They both have, in a sense, a pretty fancy way of speaking, or at least talking too much. Because, alright, let’s admit it, Ravus is a chatter box who rants and Lightning vents a lot because the world is going to shit for both of them and DAMNIT THEY NEED THIS.

Also, a little thing which kind of amuses me!Sister has a fiancé? HATE THEM WITH EVERY FIBER OF YOUR BEING, THEY ARE IDIOTS AND THEY ARE UNDESERVING OF YOUR PRECIOUS LITTLE LIGHT OF YOUR WORLD, HIT THEM, CHOKE THEM, A N Y T H I N G. But, y’know, eventually grow to have a begrudging respect and not hate them nearly as much as you once did. Friendship is wild yo.

The enlisted in the army part isn’t really a “character trait” and Square likes that theme, so you know, perhaps not the strongest thing going for them.

RANDOM/STUFF I DIDN’T KNOW WHERE TO PUT IT.

I had no idea what to call this section.

Ok, so I’ve seen a few people talk about how “Versus XIII″ was supposed to be, in a sense, an anti to 13. While XIII was meant to be about “Change your fate”, Versus XIII and XV are about accepting it.

VERSUS [vur-suh s, -suh z]

Against (used especially to indicate an action brought by one party against another in a court of law, or to denotecompeting teams or players in a sports contest):Smith versus Jones; Army versus Navy.As compared to or as one of two choices; in contrast with:traveling by plane versus traveling by train.Abbreviation : v., vs.

Versus XIII was to contrast XIII, and it carried over in XV as LITERALLY NO ONE decides. “Hey, you know what? I know it says this, but let’s do this instead!”

Ravus remains as the only person to keep this mentality, his ffbe profile even goes as far as to have him speak about slaying the gods. SLAYING THE G O D S.

He tries multiple times to save his sister, willing to tear apart the prophecy and basically insist that she won’t die. He won’t allow it. He says follow your calling, but in reality he meant for himself overturn it. He raced through Altissia hoping he wouldn’t be too late!

And even in the end, his death is nigh, it’s probably foretold, but he believes he can win. He believes he can see it through to the end. Only he can’t. Because he’s not the protagonist. He can’t defy fate.

An interesting thing to note is that it’s Ravus who screws over the prophecy in the Episode Ignis ending, making it so Noctis doesn’t die. So I guess in a sense, he does overturn fate, although it wasn’t the outcome he wanted because Luna is still dead.

Ok, that was a bunch of rambling about the whole fate thing, but it is interesting since Ravus is the only one who had that mentality in cannon throughout the game. While the same could be said for Ignis, keep in mind that it was only the Alternate ending where he decided he wouldn’t let the gods have their say.

Oh yeah, not to mention that he’s the only one with the “Daemon Transformation” but it looks more like a Cei’th one. Just a little thing I’d throw in because I forgot this was talking about how alike Raves and Light are and not another one of my “last connections to versus” rambles oops.

ANOTHER POINT

Lightning: Serah! Wait, don’t go! Please! Don’t leave me alone!

Ravus: Oh sister, please don’t go! Please don’t leave me….

Like, sure, it’s probably a basic plea, but it’s almost word for word?

If you want to talk parallels, let’s talk this!

Let’s also get into how Lightning was considered holy as “the Savior” while Ravus comes from the holiest bloodline? Which in fact, purges the darkness from one’s body and soul while Lightning….YEP, saves them souls! Gets them gains! whatamItalkingabouthere?

Ok, back on subject, remember how I said I would address Ravus loosing Luna again?

Well, I actually wonder if Ravus is Lightning but led astray in a sense, it might seem crazy, but his story apparently hasn’t changed since the Versus days from what most sources say. So given that he still has a stronger link with XIII, would it be so crazy to assume that Nomura would want to explore that possibility? Because rumors have it that Ravus was also going to be another ‘chosen one.’

Ravus could very well be considered as Lightning, but he never could achieve victory. Because unlike Lightning, he still lost his sister, the world still fell into ruin, and he still lost his life. And he even went as far as to fall into the chaos scourge.

Yeet, it’s a far stretch, but given the somewhat strange and weirdly specific personalities, I wouldn’t leave anything out.

But one thing to note is that while, despite similarities, they are different characters, so they will not be exactly alike!

I do realize that despite my previous posts, this isn’t an attempt to convince anyone to ship them, just kind of take note of just how many similarities the two have because it kind of is an interesting study! Especially considering the shared universe background they started out with!

This all sounded so much better in my head, it’s like, I had thoughts that were all super factual but I couldn’t write them ????

Oh well. Hope this satisfies you!!

OH YEAH, I ALSO FORGOT THAT THEY BE STORM RELATED!! SHOCKY SHOCKY BANG BANG!

#ravus nox fleuret #lightning farron #ravus #lightning #yo it ain't shippy #just so we're clear!#ffxv #final fantasy xv #ffxiii #final fantasy xiii #final fantasy 13 #final fantasy 15 #YOU KNOW #I HONESTLY LOVE IT WHEN MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS KIND OF HAVE PARALELLS #Final Fantasy Versus XIII #Versus XIII

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darthkvznblogs · 5 years

Text

I wrote a Voltron: Legendary Defender X Steven Universe oneshot!

It was supposed to be, like, a 1k word cute little blurb, but it ended up at over 5k because I have absolutely no self-control. Also posted over at:

https://archiveofourown.org/works/17733932

https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13203652/1/Close-Encounters-of-the-Gem-Kind

Also, this is technically part of a larger gamut of crossovers, but this isn’t really connected to those, so feel free to enjoy this on its own!

It’s kind of funny, how much of a backwater the Milky Way is considered to be. Pidge likes to think so, at least - how many humans throughout history have proclaimed Earth to be the center of the universe? It couldn’t be further from the truth, of course, but that certainly didn’t stop them.

The reality is that galactic civilization is practically nonexistent around these parts. There’s nothing like the ancient Alteans, and certainly not like the universe-spanning Galra Empire here, and it shows; the Milky Way lacks any kind of hub worlds, or even designated hyperlanes. It’s the Wild West out here - or, more accurately, the galactic equivalent of an empty Denny’s parking lot at two a.m.

Still, it’s nice to almost be home again. She didn’t expect to be headed back so soon - heck, part of her didn’t expect to return to Earth at all - but it seems Allura found herself a heart, and is allowing the Paladins of Voltron a brief, week-long window before they really take the fight to the Galra for them to let their families know they’re, y’know, still alive.

For how much longer, Pidge has no idea. They’re Public Enemy No. 1, but like, on an intergalactic level. That certainly doesn’t bode well for their continued well-being.

In any case, they’re a few thousand light years out - they’re doing short jumps, so as to avoid leading the Galra back to Earth - when they catch an urgent sounding alien communication, one that makes Allura frown, and summon the other Paladins to the bridge.

“What’s wrong, Princess?” -Shiro asks once he gets there, all armored up - first as always, if not for the fact that Pidge was already there, analyzing star maps with Princess Allura - confused at her expression.

“The Castle’s short range sensors have picked up what appears to be a repeating distress signal. The language is...familiar, but I can’t quite place it.” -she admits.

Shiro crosses his arms. “Familiar how?”

“Yeah, we’re super far away from ancient Altean space.” -Pidge points out.

“Altean civilization became space-faring almost a hundred-thousand years ago. We explored most of the universe.” -she says, as if it should be obvious. “We may not have colonized much, but we did visit.”

Pidge deals with this mind-boggling fact the same way she deals with most things regarding Altea or the Galra. “...oh.”

Allura looks smug, but only for a second, because Coran pipes up after only absently following their conversation. “Oh! That’s Gem code, Princess.”

Allura raises an eyebrow. “‘Gem’ code?” -she asks, on the verge of recognition.

“Yes! I guess it makes sense that they’d still be around.” -he says, eager. “Gems are inorganic life forms - they don’t eat, sleep, or drink, so they are effectively immortal. They were one of the last intelligent species we discovered before the war.”

The Princess snaps her fingers - a gesture picked up from Pidge herself. “That’s right! I remember my father leaving to meet with their diplomats.”

Shiro interrupts the nostalgia train. “Then let’s take a detour and see if we can help them out. Earth can wait just a little longer.”

Allura doesn’t seem like she appreciates the commanding tone, but she clearly agrees, immediately bringing up the Castle’s controls. “Generating wormhole now.”

Lance, Keith, and Hunk come together into the bridge as the starship accelerates into the rift. Seconds later, they re-enter realspace, only to find themselves staring at an ongoing space battle some two thousand kilometers in the distance.

“Well, that can’t be good.” -Lance says, helmet under his arm. He doesn’t sound particularly worried.

“What the hell are the Galra doing so close to Earth again?” -Keith asks, crossing his arms. He, in turn, does. Angry-worried, at any rate.

Lance cringes. Pidge is fairly certain he didn’t put two and two together. “Oh, yeah, that too.”

Allura immediately takes command. “Coran, jam their comms. Paladins, to your Lions.”

The five of them grimly fall into place, taking the chute to their respective giant mechanical familiars. The Paladins burst out into the void, supernatural roars audible even in the oppressive silence of vacuum.

“What are we looking at, here?” -Shiro asks everyone.

“Hands, mostly.” -Hunk says drily. “It’s not just me, right? Everybody else can see the multi-colored giant hands shooting at the Galra fleet?”

Hunk has a knack for summing up the crazy situations Team Voltron usually encounters, and this is no exception. Indeed, a fleet of massive, human-accurate, hand-shaped warships is trading blasts with a Galra dreadnought and about a dozen cruisers. They’re about half the size of the Castle of Lions each, which means they’re all dwarfed by the Galra capital ships. Pidge can make out green and yellow ones, mostly, but there’s a couple blue ones in there, too. She also notices that, while they’ve obviously suffered some damage, the hand ships are all still more or less intact, while a couple Galra cruisers have already become superheated chunks, slowly falling towards the planet, caught in its gravity well.

Judging by the fleets’ positions - the Galra are sandwiched between the planet and the Gem warships - the Galra got here first, and the hands are reinforcements for the Gems below.

“It doesn’t matter what they’re shaped like. They’re outnumbered and we’re here to even those odds.” -Shiro finally says. “Allura, can you contact the Gems? We don’t need them shooting us, too.”

“I will try. I’m not sure the Castle’s translator software includes Gem language.”

“It included human, didn’t it?” -Lance asks rhetorically. “Er, I mean English.”

“No, it did not. English was just relatively easy to decipher. Gem language, on the other hand, seems to be a combination of computer code and spoken word. We’ll whip up a message, but there’s no telling if they can even recognize it for what it is.”

“It’ll have to do.” -Shiro says as they enter firing range for the Lions’ main cannons. “Lance, Keith, focus on the fighters - try to draw them away from the Gem fleet. The rest of us will take out the Ion Cannons. Stay on your toes, everyone.”

The Paladins split into their respective groups - Pidge feels a bit awkward going with the heavy hitters, but her and Green are probably second worst at dog-fighting, so she gets it - and get to work. The Galra immediately begin attacking them instead, completely ignoring the Gem warships, likely overcome by their desire to please ol’ Zarkon with a nice, Voltron-themed gift basket.

Pidge is pleasantly surprised; they’ve only been at this for about a month - just last week, they saved the Balmera and its rocky inhabitants - but they already fight like a coherent unit. Part of it is the Garrison’s training, sure, but this newfound success is largely owed to the mystical link they all share as Paladins. She’s aware that Keith just melted down a squad chasing Lance, that Shiro just took a Jaw Blade to the dreadnought’s main battery, and that Hunk just spotted a cruiser’s Ion Cannon targeting her. Pidge simply dodges out of the way at the last second, letting the overwhelmingly powerful blast tear through the cruiser behind her and Green.

With the final Ion Cannon disabled, the Castle of Lions moves in. Particle blasts pepper the Galra fleet, which wastes no time in retaliating, but these bolts come from point-defense cannons - they’re meant to take down fighters and other such small ships, like the Lions technically are. The Castle’s barrier holds steady against this attack.

“I am detecting a significant Galra field presence on the planet.” -Allura says. “Several hundred Sentries, at the very least, possibly some Galra officers. They seem to be attacking a major Gem installation.”

“Then we better finish this up quick.” -Shiro says. “Everyone, regroup! Let’s form Voltron!”

The Lions roar in unison, flying towards a relatively safe point in space, and begin the morphing process. Pidge has studied it before from the Castle’s recordings, frame by frame, but in the heat of the moment, she can’t quite tell what’s going on - only that she’s now not quite just Pidge Gunderson, or Katie Holt, but a vital component of the immensely powerful whole that is Voltron. There are no longer five Lions and their respective pilots, there is the titanic warrior and their collectively melded minds.

Well, that’s what it’s supposed to be like, she instinctively knows. Eventually. But they’re all still rather new at it, so they still speak up like they’re separate individuals.

“Form Shoulder Cannon!” -Shiro commands, and Hunk immediately complies. The Cannon materializes, targets the remaining cruisers, and fires, swirling ribbons of deadly light tracing wild paths for a second or two before reaching their marks, burning through thick hulls and the decks within. Cataclysmic explosions tear some of the vessels apart, while those that survive are left like wounded beasts, venting atmosphere and spitting out plasma.

The dreadnought is mostly undamaged still, and its repair crews have managed to get the Ion Cannon somewhat operational again - they probably should’ve ripped it off instead of just slicing at it - and so it fires at them.

Before Shiro can call it out, Pidge is already forming the shield. It’s just in time, too, snapping into place as the beam reaches Voltron. Purple energy flares out around them, dissipating into harmless, free-floating ions a couple dozen miles out.

Voltron’s wings return to their original position, and Shiro bellows: “Form Sword!”

“Wait!” -Allura calls out. “Incoming energy signature!”

They turn, and sure enough, a massive shape warps into the battlefield. It’s a complete yellow right arm, a little longer than the Galra dreadnought, and its fist is clenched. It zips past Voltron at ramming speed, completely heedless of the fact that the dreadnought is charging another shot.

“Why aren’t they dodging?” -Lance asks the question on everyone’s mind.

The answer is apparent as soon as the beam washes over the yellow hull, and does absolutely no damage.

“Jesus.” -Hunk says. “What the heck is that arm made of?”

The arm then smashes into the bow of the dreadnought, sending it backwards in spite of its powerful engines trying to compensate. Voltron boosts towards the two warships, but stops in its tracks just as they’re about to reach them, as what looks like a large, yellow bubble - about the size of Black’s protective particle barrier - sprouts from the arm’s surface.

“Is that a woman?” -Lance asks, dumbstruck, as the bubble disappears, leaving behind its single occupant.

Pidge is not as impressed by the person’s apparent gender, as she is by their sheer size - they’re about as tall as the Black Lion while sat on its haunches. Their skin and helmet-shaped hair is the same yellow shade as the arm ship, and they’re wearing what looks like a short tailcoat, olive pants, and brown boots. A square, equally yellow gemstone about as tall as Shiro protrudes from their chest - and, strangely enough, it’s the only part of their body showing up on Green’s sensors.

“I...I guess that’s a Gem.” -Shiro says, his usual stoic composure broken up a bit by the sheer awe this being provokes. Judging by the off-the-charts telemetry Green can make out on them, Pidge is more inclined to label them as some kind of pseudo-divine being.

The giant person spares a brief look for the stunned Voltron, before becoming enveloped in a crackling electric aura, raising their left hand, and blasting the Ion Cannon.

The superweapon briefly becomes incandescent, then explodes, and so does the superstructure beneath it. The Gem then leaps, seemingly unaffected by the lack of gravity, and smashes into the burning wreckage of the Cannon, plunging into the dreadnought’s innards.

“Should we help?” -Keith asks, uncertain.

Lance scoffs. “Help!? Let’s throw her at Zarkon!”

Shiro shakes his head as small, fiery holes begin to violently blow through the warship’s hull. “Let’s leave them to it. I know for a fact the Galra don’t have anything inside that can actually put up a fight. Split up and head to the surface, instead.”

Voltron breaks apart into its constituent Lions, which begin the descent into the Gem world. Pidge notes, somewhat uncomfortably, that the hand ships have moved in, literally grabbing onto the wrecked Galra warships. It reminds her of Facehuggers, which, now that she’s an intergalactic traveller on the regular, she can only hope exist solely in movies.

The planet below isn’t really one to write home about; it’s a lifeless rocky world, not unlike a large Mercury, its thin atmosphere is primarily nitrogen-based - but the mixture is unbreathable for most life forms, humans included - and its soil is rich with aluminum oxides. Why the Gems would choose to settle here, Pidge has no clue. Maybe they like inhospitable worlds? They’re inorganic, so...maybe they’re not all that bothered by them?

The atmospheric burn doesn’t last long, even with the added challenge of dodging the falling debris caused by the battle above, and soon they’re diving through the thin cloud layer. Several artificial structures dot the landscape on the way to the battlefield - enormous columns beaming with light, intricate spires reaching towards space, and colosseum-like buildings floating between the clouds. The ground battle is taking place near a massive canyon network, inlaid with Gem machinery. This is where most of the Gems on the planet are concentrated, if sensor data is to be believed. Then again, their sensors can only pick up the individual gemstones on their bodies, so it’s really anyone’s guess.

“So, what’s the plan? A bombing run, maybe?” -Lance suggests.

“Negative. Some of the Gems seem to be fighting hand-to-hand with the Galra.” -Shiro says. “We’d be risking hitting them, too.”

“So, let’s join them. Let’s fight on foot.” -Keith says. Of course he does.

Hunk groans. Pidge winces to herself, too. Neither of them are too into the pedestrian portion of Paladinhood. “Let’s land nearby and try to find their commanding officer. They’ll probably know where we’ll be the most useful.” -Shiro says, finally.

The Lions come in hot, dust blowing as the massive mechs trot to a stop. Pidge readies herself, manifesting her bayard and hoping against hope that she won’t have to use it.

She runs out of Green’s mouth, meeting up with the others. All their weapons are out already. Shiro leads the way, approaching a small outpost from which a dozen Gems seem to be observing the nearby battle. None of them have anything she can identify as a gun; she spots some spears, a warhammer, several swords, and a bow and arrow. The weapon selection seems highly paradoxical, given their apparent technological prowess, but, then again, Keith’s bayard turns into a sword, too, and that’s über-advanced Altean techno-sorcery.

The next thing she notices is that the Gems are...eerily similar. Even the Balmorans were easier to tell apart; there are three types, all completely different from the last. The smallest are a head shorter than her, all colored in similar shades of red, with thick but stubby arms and legs, and a sort of blocky afro for hair. Their gemstones are all over the place - back of the hand, knee, chest, forehead, nose. Same goes for the other two kinds; one is about as tall as a full grown Galra, their stone an upright rectangle in the middle of their chest, with a poofy head of cheddar-colored hair, orange skin, a red jumpsuit, white gloves and boots, and a glittery yellow-red cape, and a green colored Gem with a triangular gemstone for an eye, a perfectly square head of light yellow hair, and odd, free-floating fingers manipulating some kind of hard-light screen.

“Greetings. We are the Paladins of Voltron.” -Shiro announces, following protocol because he’s, well, Shiro. “We picked up your distress signal, and have come to help.”

Pidge half expects to hear gibberish back from the Gems, but when the tall, orange one replies, it’s in perfect english. “Oh? Is that so?”

Their tone takes all of them aback. It’s the condescending ‘it’s cute that you think you know better than me’ kind of voice Pidge knows very well from years of...overachieving in academic endeavors. It’s also far from the way you’d expect a Commander in trouble to sound like. “Uh...yes? We’re at your service. Where do you need us?”

They languidly turn to the green Gem. “Peridot, where do we need the Paladins of Voltron?”

Pidge vaguely remembers something about the mineral peridotite coming from the Earth’s mantle. Peridot’s voice is kinda nasal, and she sounds...bored. “Ruby squadron theta is requesting assistance, my Hessonite.”

Judging by the way the small, red Gems worriedly fidget at the mention, they’re Rubies, too. Now the colony makes sense; aluminum oxide forms corundum, a mineral real life rubies - and sapphires, which Pidge is guessing is another type of Gem - are found in.

Hessonite hums. “Well, there you go. Go, go! I’d love to watch.”

The Paladins look at each other in confusion, but silently decide not to think about it too much. They rush towards the nearest fight, which is definitely going in the Gems’ favor.

The Rubies may lack any sort of projectile weaponry, but they don’t seem to be fazed much by the Galra Sentries’ laser blasts. They wince and yelp when hit, but otherwise continue charging. They’re also surprisingly strong, taking down the drones in a single punch more often than not. Still, the Paladins join in, blasting and slicing away at the robots. Again, their teamwork has experienced a marked improvement. They’re hardly commandos, but they cover for each other’s weaknesses fairly well. Most of the Rubies ignore them, but a couple of them cheerfully greet and thank them - with the absolute cutest voice ever - before moving on to the next skirmish.

That’s when the first Galra tank pops up over a nearby ridge, points at the departing Rubies, and shoots.

The plasma burst explodes at their feet, and when the smoke clears, one lays groaning face-down, while only a circular, soot-covered gemstone remains of the other. “Lance, Hunk, cover fire!” -Shiro barks out. He dives to cover the Ruby with his body, while the Paladins distract the tank. Pidge and Keith follow suit, bringing up their particle shields, since a squad of Sentries has taken aim at them.

“I’m...sorry about your friend.” -Shiro says, gravely. A large, striped, yellow-orange Gem with a mane of white hair roars past them, and absolutely demolishes the Sentries shooting at them. It’d be funny, if someone hadn’t just died before her eyes.

The Ruby - her gemstone is on her right knee - seems very confused. “What? She’s fine, she’s right there! Not even chipped or anything.” -she says, all earnest and adorable, pointing at the gemstone on the ground. “Haven’t you guys ever seen a Gem poof before? It happens to us Rubies all the time…”

Ah. Pidge thinks she gets it, now. That’s why Green’s sensors and her armor’s onboard systems can’t make out anything but the actual gemstone: the humanoid body is some kind of light construct. The gem is the Gem.

The Gem blanks out for a second, then looks at them with guilt. “Um, listen, I have to go.” -she say. “We’ve been ordered to defend the western entrance to the Kindergarten.”

Keith balks. “You have children here!?”

The Ruby doesn’t seem to understand that word. “No? We have a vein of potential Sapphires, though, so we can’t let the organics anywhere near there.” -she explains, then grabs the other Ruby’s gemstone from the ground and hands it to a very surprised Shiro. “We’re supposed to leave poofed soldiers behind, but...she’s my friend. Just...take care of her until she reforms, please?” -she pleads.

Knee Ruby doesn’t wait for an answer, just bolting - well, more like hup-hup-hup-ing - towards the western side of the canyon network. Hunk and Lance return, fresh from taking out the Galra tank. “Oh cool!” -Lance says, catching the glint of the scarlet gemstone. “That’s gotta be worth like, a cool million.”

“This is, apparently, a person.” -Pidge says, rolling her eyes.

“Wait, what? I thought they were just really into body mods.”

Keith shakes his head. “Were you not paying attention to your Lion’s sensors?”

Lance scowls. “Don’t sass me, Kogane. I’ve got Earth on my brain right now and not much else.”

Shiro puts his flesh and blood hand on Lance’s right pauldron. “We all do, but we need to focus for now.” -he says, understanding, rising as he cautiously pockets the gemstone. “Let’s try to find the Galra commander.”

Pidge pipes up. “Oh, let me.” -she says, then closed her eyes. She finds that thread in the back of her mind and pulls on it, grabbing Green’s attention. Their connection is nowhere near as good as it could be, one day, but this is more than enough for now.

Green is more in tune with life than any of the other Lions - as in, she can sense living organisms better than any of the others - so Pidge asks her to scan the horizon for living Galra combatants. Green roars, and a quick scan later, the actual Galra on this world are marked, and their location relayed to the Paladins. Disturbingly, Green detects none in orbit.

Shiro takes a moment to strategize. “Okay. There’s three groups of Galra soldiers. One seems to be established at their FOB, and lightly guarded - Pidge and Lance, you take those out, and see if you can figure out why the Galra are so close to Earth in the first place. Another squad is establishing static defenses nearby - Keith and Hunk, that’s you. I’ll join the Gems in taking down the ones fighting alongside the remaining Sentries.”

Pidge grimaces. She’s no stranger to taking lives by now - Galra warships may be mostly crewed and defended by robots, but there’s still an organic element in command, and she’s taken down several - but killing up close is an entirely different matter. Something tells her that her mantra of ‘one less Galra is one less obstacle between me and my family’ probably won’t cut it this time around.

Goddamn it, she’s fifteen.

Lance winks at her. Pidge doesn’t think much of it, considering he flirts with pretty much every being that could be argued to be sapient. “Think you can keep up, Pidge?”

“Doesn’t sound like I have much of a choice.” -she replies, deadpan. Pidge turns to Shiro. “I might not be able to interface with their tech without your arm, just so you know.”

“Try it anyway. If you can’t, just destroy their outpost.” -he says.

They split up, and head towards their targets. It’s a short hike, made only a bit sluggish by the debris from the battle. Pidge spots several dormant gemstones among the broken Sentries.

“So, why do you think they all look like girls?” -Lance asks.

“Let’s not assume their gender.” -she says. “We don’t even know if they have one.”

“No, I get that. I’m just saying, they do present themselves as feminine, more or less.”

“Well, it’s not like we’ve met them all. Maybe those Sapphires the Ruby talked about look different.”

Lance hums. “And the big one? What kind of Gem do you think she is?”

Pidge jet-boosts past a Galra hovertank that looks like it’s been physically crushed. “A Topaz, maybe? I don’t know that many yellow gemstones. Could be a Yellow Diamond too, I guess.”

“Yeah, that sounds pretty regal.” -he says. “She’s gotta be like, their queen or something, right?”

“If they’re the leader of Gemkind, fighting on the front lines would be a very poor judgement call. There’s a reason Zarkon’s lived to rule ten thousand years. He just spits out orders from his throne room.”

“Well, that plus magic, right?”

She sighs. As much as she’d love to say that ‘magic is just really fancy tech they don’t understand yet’, she’s seen enough weird Altean and Galra bull to recognize that the phrase is worthless in reality.

“...yeah, that too.”

Her HUD flashes red in warning, just as they’re about to crest the hill overlooking their target. She looks up, and sees a fragment of burning Galra hull falling towards their general vicinity.

“Uh...Pidge? Is that headed for…?”

“Us, yeah!” -she screams, grabbing his arm and punching her thruster pack to the max. They zoom away just in time, as the artificial meteor slams into the hill, the shockwave sending both of them careening across the landscape. The come to a tumbling stop a couple hundred feet away, groaning. The Paladin armor takes the worst of it, for sure, but Pidge is already dreading the bruises she’ll find when she hits the showers later today.

“Are you okay?” -Lance asks.

She shakes her head, more to check for concussions than to say no. “I’m alive.”

He steps into her field of view, offering a hand. She takes it and rises. “Are we still keeping score after this? I’m pretty sure the save is worth a lot.”

Lance smirks. “No, no, I’m pretty sure this just makes us even.”

“What? For what?”

“Sendak, remember?”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess that’s true.” -she says. If not for his clutch save, the cyborg might’ve taken them out, instead of the other way around. “I’m pretty sure the game is over anyway, they’re probably all dead by now.”

Lance raises an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”

“The fragment that almost hit us, it exploded in midair. The other piece should’ve landed right on top of the Galra base.”

As if to confirm her hypothesis, an explosion shakes the ground on the other side of the hill. Lance winces. “Alright, let’s go check it out.”

They nearly crest the ridge, before they’re stopped in their tracks. A Galra soldier pops over the hill, running towards them. Pidge brings her bayard to bear, but it’s ultimately unnecessary. It’s the briefest of moments, and the most terrifying sequence of events she’s witnessed in this little space opera she’s on: a blinding light appears behind the Galra, catches up to him, and consumes him. As in, when the glow subsides, the alien has completely vanished. Disintegrated, presumably.

“Oh my God.” -Lance says. Funny, Pidge didn’t peg him for a God-fearing man. Teenager. Yikes, she’s already rambling.

The Galra’s killer soon becomes apparent, as the massive yellow Gem they’d seen in space nonchalantly walks toward them, each step shaking the ground beneath their feet. Pidge can’t quite nail why it’s so different from staring up at the Lions; the height is similar after all, but the approaching Gem is so much more intimidating. Maybe it’s the humanoid shape. Maybe it’s their irritated frown.

It’s probably the fact that their electric aura still crackles as they approach.

“I had not realized that humanity had achieved spaceflight.” -they say. Their voice is definitely feminine, their tone that of someone who knows themselves to be superior. There’s an undercurrent of weariness, too, but Pidge is all but certain it’s not of the physical kind - they move like they’re on a leisurely stroll, as if they hadn’t just dropped from orbit and atomized someone. “With the amount of technology Homeworld left behind, it’s a wonder it took so long.”

The being squints at them. Pidge notices that their irises - yellow, of course - have diamond-shaped pupils.

Ah. Yellow Diamond, then.

“Then again, that armor is hardly of Gem make. Too...flimsy. Much like the rest of you organics.”

Well, that certainly sounds like an insult.

“Not just any organics.” -Lance says. He’s afraid, and covering it up with bravado. Classic Lance. “We’re the Paladins of Voltron, ma’am.”

Yellow Diamond seems...unimpressed. “Is that what you call the waste of quintessence I saw in orbit, Blue Paladin?”

“What do you mean waste? Voltron is like, the most powerful weapon in the universe!” -Pidge says. So she’s feeling defensive of Green and her little found family. So fear makes her lash out a bit. Sue her.

“I mean that the amount of quintessence powering your so-called Voltron would create enough Gems to conquer every planet in every galaxy. And yet, its makers chose to concentrate all that power into five vulnerable little puzzle pieces, and then put them in the hands of humans.”

“Jesus, lady. Calm it down, will you? We wouldn’t even be here if not for your distress signal. We came here to save you from the Galra.” -Lance says. Pidge isn’t sure if it’s intentional, but he’s protectively stepped in front of her. Not that it’ll do much good once Yellow Diamond tires of this conversation and vaporizes them, but it's, y’know, a nice gesture.

“I assure you, your assistance was neither needed nor wanted. These Galra may be a threat to your kind, but as you can plainly see, they are mere annoyances for Gemkind.”

Pidge grabs Lance’s arm. “It’s okay, Lance. Maybe we should just go back to Shiro and the others.” -she suggests, rather urgently. “We’re obviously not welcome here.”

“Good. I thought perhaps I was being too subtle.” -Yellow Diamond says, disdainful. “Take your mechanical pets and leave my world, Paladins of Voltron. Return to that doomed mudball you call the Earth.”

The Gem’s aura subsides, and they turn to leave. Pidge breathes a sigh of relief because yeah, Yellow Diamond was definitely considering offing them. Green and Blue fly towards them as the massive arm ship pokes through the clouds above. The Gem matriarch leaps onto its palm, and disappears into its depths. The ship then points towards the sky, elongates impossibly, and disappears in a vortex of warped space-time.

“Yikes.” -Lance says.

“Yup.”

“That could’ve gone better.”

“Could’ve gone worse, too.” -she points out. “We’re not exactly great at diplomacy.”

“True.” -he says, as their two Lions land beside them. “Hey, what do you think she meant by calling Earth doomed?”

Pidge shrugs. Her nerves are a bit too frayed to really think about it. “Global warming? I dunno, Lance. I just hope we never get to ask her. At least, not in person.”

“Yeah, no argument here.”

They board the Lions, and head towards their fellow Paladins. They’re already taking off, and it’s not hard to figure out why.

“Gems are nuts, you guys.” -Hunk says when they join them. “Like, not even the fact that even their tiny Ruby guys could toss me around like I weigh about half a Pidge…”

“Hey!”

“...they turned on us the moment the Galra were done! We didn’t even have a chance to give them their buddy back!”

Pidge’s eyebrows shoot up. “You kept the Ruby!?”

“I did.” -Shiro says, gravely. “Which means this won’t be the last time we deal with the Gems. We’ll have to figure out a way to approach them safely, now that we know that they aren’t exactly friendly.”

“Earth first though, right?” -Lance asks, hopeful, then amends himself. “I mean, I don’t know about you, but I desperately need some strictly human comforts. Pizza, videogames, beautiful human women…”

Pidge laughs to herself. Trust Lance to ruin a somber moment, even if it’s his own. The internal laugh is, admittedly, a little hysterical - they did just meet a space goddess, after all.

Shiro smiles. “Earth first, Lance.”

#voltron #VLD #steven universe #ruby #hessonite #peridot #jasper #(but not our jasper)#squaridot #lance mcclain #takashi shirogane #keith kogane #pidge gunderson #katie holt #allura #coran hieronymus wimbleton smythe #fanfic #crossover #yellow diamond

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mygirlblossoms · 6 years

Text

Greatest Parts of the Coalition Handbook

Okay I'm writing these bullets as I read it so its all gonna be under the cut (it’s gonna be long and have spoilers)

Also this is both greatest parts and a low-key summary

“In Memory of the Castle of Lions”

Pidge is a GOD at tic-tac-toe

“Well, what are you waiting for? The dark threat of the Sincline beast is upon us! Might as well start reading, eh?” -Coran

Picture of all the paladins

Especially Blaytz in there my daddi

PIDGE’S DRAWING OF HER, KEITH, HUNK, AND LANCE

brb crying its so cute

Pidge commenting on how she's #1 in Coran’s heart

Coran missing helping Alfor with his socks

LANCE TELLING CORAN HIS AND ALFOR’S SHIP NAME WOULD BE CORALFOR

Also coran calling it a celebrity friendship name

Hunk’s comments on Shiro’s page

“Shiro always makes sure that everyone around him feels comfortable. Except for Zarkon. He didn’t really want to make Zarkon comfortable. I mean, I don’t think anyone wanted to make Zarkon comfortable. Zarkon was the worst.”

Sheith

What Lance misses about earth “Hanging with my niece and nephew and eating garlic knots”

HANCE BECOMING CANNON

Keith’s comment on the bottom being about the bonding moment and Lance not replying

That being the only comment Lance didn’t reply to

“Lance is an integral part of the Voltron team. Do not let his wisecracking behavior deceive you. Lance is fully equipped with the intellect and physical prowess to handle anything that comes his way.”

We love Lance being validated and praised in this house

what makes allure happy being seeing her fathers legacy continue

and drinking milkshakes

me too

I love allura

Lance saying Allura says his name like a rich person

Allura’s mom name reveal

its melenor

King Alfor, Queen Melenor, and Princess Allura

Kallura is canon

HALLURA IS CANNON

Tsundere vibes from Keith

LANCE SAYING HE LIKES KEITH’S MULLET

The entire team supporting Keith tbh

Pidge’s fucking dog is named Bae-Bae

PALLURA IS REAL

Allura emphasizing that Pidge is always valued and loved

“on earth you never feel alone” HUNK BABY I LOVE YOU

“I fear loneliness above all else” HUNK BABY DIUGHSDJKNSFGDHJK

Keith saying Hunk is so much more than a leg

Hunk getting the love and validation he deserves tbh

Why does kaltenecker have so much bio

Everyone being uncomfortable about the fact milk comes from cows

Lance being the designated milker

SPACE MICE

They have names!!!!!!!!

Platt (the chubby one), Chulatt (the smallest), Plachu (the blue tinted one), and Chuchule (the purple tinted one)

The mice outing Lance’s love for Allura again

The little section for the fallen blade members ):

Thace, Ulaz, Antok,and Regris

MY SUGAR MAMA KROLIA IS IN HERE

the spread of the rebels with Matt I love matt

why the fuck is slav in here

PIDGE’S DRAWING OF SLAV

can we have a pidge artbook

“There is a 99.9 percent chance you don’t want to be around Slav.”

The 2 pages on Ozar and Te-Osh :’)

HIGHLIGHTS OF MATTS PAGES

him being a supportive af brother

him thinking he’d never see his family again :(

“he was all buff and stuff” -pidge

THE SPREAD ON SAM DJHFKSJ

“What I miss most about home: having the family all together. I worry we will never do that again”

“Something I’m not afraid to admit: I think Colleen is going to yell at me for not taking the kids back to Earth with me. Sorry, Colleen. If you ever read this, I love you, sweetie.”

Sam is such a family man I love him so much

Lance’s favorite planet being “the mermaid planet”

Hunk’s is a nacho planet

Side note: pidge knows that Lotor killed Narti???

MORE PIDGE DRAWINGS

this time, clouds

Keith wants to record all the names of the brave fallen warriors on Marchanda :(

Theres a whole page on the space hospital I'm

Idk who is writing - Coran I think - but he brings up NYC? How do they even know what NYC is (the writer says they’re Altean)

PIDGE DREW BIBO BII

Okay, coran is writing this. How tf does he know about NYC bagels

Coran saying that Allura and Lotor “Romantically linked” and pidge saying they kissed and then Coran saying “We all make bad decisions sometimes!”

“Honerva and Haggar are two different people. Haggar is a twisted version of what was once so beautiful and pure”

Zarkon is afraid of cats

[About Ezor] “The Galra value honor, and camouflaging yourself isn’t exactly honorable” -Keith

DAMN

EVEN MORE PIDGE DRAWINGS

you know what I’m going to make a separate post about pidge’s drawings

She drew a smiling Voltron if you’re wondering

I love Keith for his lil comments

“The [black] lion believed in me before I believed in myself” -Keith

[Keith about Red] “I’m going to be honest. I was surprised with how fast Red responded to Lance since she nearly let me die, but he totally deserves to be flying with her.” “Aww, thanks, Keith. That might be the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

Klance is cannon king

ALLURA WIRITNG “IM A LEG!” ON BLUE’S PAGE I LOVE HER SHES SO CUTE

Okay so at the end of the book theres a letter from Coran saying look out for Lotor and the Sincline beast because they’re bad news and to call Voltron if you see them basically

THEN THE BACK OF THE BOOK HAS LIKE 5 PAGES OF A LETTER FROM LOTOR

ITS LIKE BACKWARDS TOO LIKE THE PAGES ARE FLIPPED YOU HAVE TO TURN THE BOOK AROUND TO READ IT

So highlights/summary from his letter introducing himself in ‘his own words’

“Through my leadership - and not Voltron’s - we can create an empire that even my father, Zarkon, would have been fearful of. Together, we can do this. Together, we will fight on. If you are with me, please keep reading. These pages will include an insider’s look at MY empire and why we need Quintessence for ALL of us.”

Okay this whole thing is petty I'm - I love lotor

“To enter HQ you need to come through the landing bay. There, you will meet with a phalanx of sentries. These banners show that I am not, in fact, as bloodthirsty or cutthroat as the PALADINS have made me seem.”

You tell em bby

He also mentions the “cool” sentry. He also mentions their cool cafeteria you can use if you join him. God, I love Lotor

Introduces all the Galran contenders for the throne

Known Pervious Galran Rulers

“Zarkon: powerful, yes. Flawed? Also, yes.”

There’s one of the stills from when Zarkon (?) was having flashbacks of the OG paladins and its of Alfor and Zarkon shaking hands and I love them so much Blaytz is there too

Basically says that if you join his empire they will take down Voltron and bring real peace to the universe

“Now doesn’t that sound BETTER than some measly coalition led by a bunch of weak Earth people? I thought so!”

“I am afraid I don’t have much more to say, other than thanking you for reading my letter. Together, with the Sincline beast, we will end Voltron and bring about peace to the universe.”

“How’s that for your coalition, Voltron?”

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applegelstore · 6 years

Text

Fic: The Magic Flute, Violin, Viola, and Clarinet

Tales of Zestira, Gen

(what else)

Summary:

Little Rose makes friends with some other kids in the orchestra. She then proceeds to incorporate her new friends into her business plans.

AO3 Link here!

Or hit the cut to read on tumblr!

Hey look it has pictures. If you’re ONLY here for those, check out the post with the isolated pictures! (also because tumblr fucks up pictures within posts)

CREDITS:

@jadeluminescence wrote a few lines; namely, she fueled me on tumblr with ideas for the weird magical girl powers that little Sorey comes up with; I really wanted to include her ideas because it warmed my ice cold heart with warm and fuzzy feelings to see somebody else adding to my ideas on their own volition.

@pengiesama was so infinitely kind and beta’d for me to make my sentences 100% better readable. All remaining mistakes and bad decisions are my own. She also wrote me two one-shots from that same universe earlier, so if you enjoyed this, I highly recommend you check out her take on the theme! Here’s the AO3 Links: One Two

Rose was about nine-something years old when she met Sorey and Mikleo. They played in the same junior orchestra that she recently got into, and soon they’d go to the same school together in Marlind, so it was in everyone’s best interest that they’d get along. It was additionally in Rose’s best interest to get along with Alisha.

Alisha Diphda was the latest addition to the junior orchestra, and clearly needed Rose’s guidance. What else would you expect from the illegitimate daughter of some filthy rich dude of old noble ancestry? She’d been raised in some big fancy mansion and, up until recently, had been homeschooled by private tutors. She was very lost in this world, and Rose was the one who would have to teach her social skills. But that was okay – Rose had already planned to sit behind her in every class so she could drop frogs down her blouse, as needed. She’d simply draft up some paperwork to take her share of the Diphda family’s business as compensation for her hard work.

It aligned with Rose’s business plans that neither Alisha nor the boys were particularly hard to get along with, and they seemed to share her ambitious plans for the junior orchestra (such as playing with the adults some day, and patiently explaining to them that it was very cool to play the opening song from your favourite show on your clarinet even though you were supposed to practice that Mozart piece whose name you forgot because usually they were all just named “etude in G major” or whatever.)

However, despite the easy familiarity, the boys were profoundly weird. They were both able to remember with terrifying accuracy which piece was part of which opera, or oratorio, or symphony, and which composer had written the particular “etude in G major” that they were currently playing. Sorey didn’t really mind if you pointed that out to him – he would just grin at you, and continue to blabber about what you had previously pointed out as weird. Mikleo did mind it, but he brought it upon himself, really. It was one thing, and plainly a fact, that some people needed glasses – but it was another thing to wear blue-rimmed fat spectacles that covered almost half his face, screamed “I sit in the first row at school,” and looked like they were pulled straight out of a cartoon.

Alisha was. Well. Alisha.

They had gathered at Mikleo’s house in the (terribly tiny and irritatingly quiet) town of Camlann to practice their parts for their first orchestra performance together – mostly because they were out of other options. Sorey’s house was next door, but his parents were basically never at home, and he might as well have lived with Mikleo and his mum. Rose was an orphan and lived in a crowded little place with a friend of her late father and various members of his rock band. In the same house lived Dezel, whom she valued as the only person who could counter her throwing kazoos – as every good adoptive big brother should be able to do. However, there was no way Alisha’s father would allow her to come to a place like that, so it wasn’t even worth discussing.

The downside of Mikleo’s place was that it was Sunday, and they never really got much practice done there on Sundays. Sundays meant that Uncle Michael was at home.

(Uncle Michael was, of course, only Mikleo’s uncle – but since Mikleo shared basically everything with Sorey, why shouldn’t they share Uncle Michael as well? This was why Rose only ever heard of him as “Uncle Michael”. The first time she had come to visit, Michael brought a tiny reconstruction of an ancient hydraulic organ. The boys had been so fascinated with it that they wouldn’t do anything unless it involved the organ. She had to admit that it had been fun to play with the pipes, and to see what happens if you blow into them, and to annoy Mikleo because “that’s not how you play an organ”. Sometimes Mikleo’s mum would come in, smile at everyone, bring them waffles with whipped cream and maple syrup, ruffle Michael’s hair, and leave again. All of this without anyone batting an eye or making a comment.)

Michael burst into the living room and yelled: “I brought new samples!”

Sorey and Mikleo visibly lit up, and promptly dropped their instruments, so apparently this particular scenario of Uncle Michael bringing home “samples” took place on a regular basis and needed no further explanation. The “samples” were a whole assortment of smaller items, presumably more reconstructions of ancient instruments, and a big one wrapped in cloth that made it look like a tube.

Michael arranged the smaller ones on the floor for the children to see. Rose really liked the ancient harp because it was made of bones and a turtle’s shell. Alisha, however, was clearly disgusted. She idly plucked the strings on the wooden lyre, though.

Another item looked like a fly swatter without a net, except it had interesting metal pins stuck through its sides. They looked like spoons, but Rose figured they would still make decent spikes if need be. She gripped one of them between two fingers, but was stopped in her tracks.

“I think you’re supposed to rattle it,” Sorey whispered.

Rose shot him a glare. She fully expected some weird curse to fall upon them when they used the rattle, or a dragon to fall from the skies and eat them up for breakfast. She greatly preferred the latter option because she disliked ghost stories and disapproved of curses that were laid upon her without her being able to physically touch and punch the culprit.

“Rose, you also play winds, don’t you? This one should be more to your liking,” Michael said and unwrapped the big package.

It looked like a wooden cannon, and had white and red animals painted on the outside, which Sorey and Mikleo clearly appreciated if Sorey’s little squeals of delight were anything to go by. Rose expected him to start discussing which cave painting this reminded him of.

“It’s called a didgeridoo,” Michael announced and gestured the children to sit still, watch and listen. “They’re still used in folk music in Zaphgott Moor, so this is a new one, fresh from the man who built it. But they’ve been in use for at least three thousand years. I’ve been thinking about investigating their relation to the woodwinds used in Hyland at that time.”

“What does it sound like?” Mikleo asked.

Michael brought the mouthpiece to his lips and blew into it to demonstrate. The didgeridoo made a deep, deep humming noise that sounded distinctively different from any instrument used in a modern orchestra. It piqued Rose’s interest for being exotic, and potentially exploitable. If all else failed, she could surely just drop it on people’s heads if she didn’t like their opinions.

Alisha and the boys stared at Michael with wide eyes. Rose could have sworn there were sparkles in them.

“Who wants to try?” Michael asked them and handed over the didgeridoo.

Mikleo sat in the middle, so he stretched out his hands to take it. It wasn’t as heavy as it looked, but it was unwieldy. This didn’t keep the other kids from clinging to his back and shoulders. Rose peeked into the mouthpiece to check for any curses or dragons.

“Don’t lean on me,” Mikleo complained, which earned him a pout from Sorey that he didn’t see. “I wanna try this and you’re in the way.”

The didgeridoo was bigger than any of the kids were tall, so Mikleo opted to stand on the sofa to blow into it. The sound it made wasn’t exactly what any of the children expected. Because it didn’t sound anything like what Michael had just done with it, and instead sounded more like what happens when you pout and then blow through your closed lips. Except with a loud echo.

It wasn’t what Mikleo expected to come out of the things he usually blew into at all, and he backed away from the instrument with a slightly disgusted face. Sorey fell over and rolled with laughter.

“I’m still figuring this out,” Mikleo grumbled.

“See how big it is and how large the mouthpiece is designed?” Michael explained with admirable patience. He wasn’t usually patient enough to deal with anyone (child or not) who couldn’t immediately follow his university-level lectures on additive rhythm in music composed during the Temperance of Avarost. People had reported first-semester students leaving with headaches. Luckily, he had more empathy for a lack of air in a tiny boy’s lungs. “There’s no way you could make high-pitched sounds with this like you would with a C-tuned standard Hyland concert flute. It also means you can’t purse your lips the same way you do with your flute. See?”

Mikleo nodded in understanding.

Rose nodded in a different kind of understanding. She drew Sorey and Alisha close and mumbled low: “Do you think the people in Zaphgott Moor would pay good money to see their traditional giant music cannon thingy on a big stage?”

“There should be a movie with those!” Sorey decided. “A musical! To show how the magic in the instruments works.” He waved his hands around to explain. Which didn’t help at all, but he wasn’t bothered by such trivialities.

“Magic?” Alisha piped up.

“Yep! Like, the didgeridoo would be used as a cannon in ancient days. It’s the heroes’ secret weapon which can only be used if they all combine their magic powers into one to create the force of void!”

Rose didn’t dare to ask which powers, but luckily (or unfortunately?) Alisha did it for her. Even Mikleo let the didgeridoo be for a second and turned back to them with one eyebrow raised in curiosity.

“So, imagine if we could all summon magic with the songs we play? Like the heroes in the ancient myths?” Sorey babbled on. “You know what happens if you wear one of these cheap sweaters and then rub Oysh’s fur and get an electric shock? Imagine if I could send shocks like these from my violin strings!”

“What’s my power then?” Mikleo inquired.

“How about you can control the flow of water if you play your flute? And when you play staccatos, the water freezes!”

“And what does the piano do?”

“That one can make the water dance! The louder you play, the bigger the drops!”

This was going into a direction Rose could get behind. “Well, what’s my ability?” she asked.

“Rose, you can… uuuuuh, shoot knives out of your clarinet.”

Rose narrowed her eyes. “That’s not magic.”

“It would totally be magic if you could fit knives into a clarinet’s mouthpiece,” Michael pointed out, but he was ignored.

“I’m still thinking!” Sorey retorted. “Alisha can make magical sound waves!”

Mikleo raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t we just establish that we all have magical sound waves? You should make up your mind how the song magic works before you assign any powers to us.”

“You wanted me to make up powers for you!”

“Excuse me for assuming you had thought ahead then. I should have known better.”

Sorey opted to tackle him and throw him off the sofa to tickle him. The resulting scene resembled kittens at play – always going for the necks but miraculously always being left unharmed in the process. Alisha looked down at them in shock. Clearly she had never been in a good old pillow fight brawl. Rose had so much yet to teach her.

Michael silently gathered his “samples” to get them out of the way of harm, so all of this was presumably normal. He waited until both boys were out of breath from laughter and leaned their backs on the sofa. Michael crouched down in front of them and tousled Sorey’s hair. Mikleo was already busy fixing his own (and his glasses).

“So, to get back to the topic. What’s your expert opinion? How’s the tuning?”

“The flutes all sound weird. Like half a note off,“ Mikleo mumbled.

“More like three quarters,” Sorey added. “The lyres were also three quarters. All of them.”

“I liked the sistrum,” Rose chirped.

“Well, they’re modeled after instruments used roughly two thousand years and some ago, so naturally they must be tuned differently than your modern standard Hyland concert tuned instruments. Thank you, guys. I knew I could count on you.”

He left the children alone to play. Or to continue practicing; whatever they’d fancy. Except Sorey couldn’t concentrate for the life of him. He picked up his violin and glanced down at it with longing.

Sorey usually only looked that sad when you tried to take Mikleo-time away from him for some reason. And making Sorey sad was very much like kicking a puppy. Rose would never kick a puppy, even if Dezel wasn’t there to scold anyone who’d dare, but she just knew that she wouldn’t be able to bear the guilt of doing it. It was the same with trying to imagine making Sorey sad on purpose. You just didn’t do it. There were evil people, and there were people so wicked to the bone that they kicked puppies and made Sorey sad. She would never be one of them. She was a good girl, after all. She understood the gravity of the whole situation.

“You know… it would really be cool if we could summon magic with our music. We could make it rain if it’s too dry in the summer, or summon wind to make the old windmill run, and save kittens from trees,” Sorey mused.

Mikleo wiggled close to him again and silently guided him to lay his head on his shoulder. Sorey accepted with a dramatic sigh. There was a minute of silence.

“I would love to know how you save kittens from trees with music,” Alisha eventually offered.

Cute, but Alisha still wasn’t seeing the full potential of things.

“I would love to see you show a bit more business sense!” Rose scolded. “It would make a great show, don’t you think? Captain Sorey and his merry music friends saving the world with the power of music! Every week! But we still have to add some murder and mystery and a giant space monster who was banished from the realm of giant space monsters to earth as punishment for enraging the queen of the elves, otherwise it’s boring.”

Sorey beamed. “I don’t know about a show, but we could make it an opera! Then we can make Lailah sing the part of the queen of the elves.”

Rose nodded gravely and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Leave it to Rose Sparrowfeather. She’s got big plans. If she’s to stay in this orchestra, she’s gonna make it big. I’m gonna give your old Gramps a hint that it would be a cool birthday present.”

It took a little longer than little Rose would have anticipated. More than eight years.

But now, she was finally basking in the feeling of seeing the final product of her production on stage. It was surprisingly high quality for an opera whose plot was the product of a nine-year-old’s vivid imagination, and which dealt with a bunch of kids saving the world from evil forces with the power of music and also friendship. It had been a bit of a challenge, since Zenrus’ orchestra was a bit peculiar. It wasn’t a full in-house orchestra with contract-bound musicians and a choir; it was a hobbyist orchestra. A good hobbyist orchestra, mind you. You had to audition to get in. But you were not bound to stay, and you weren’t paid either. People moved. People got new jobs. People lost interest. And Zenrus was only a good natured professor emeritus who didn’t want to fully retire yet, and he had little funds to compensate his people for what they were doing. Ticket sales went to an allowance for special expenditures. Many of the people stayed for years (Sorey and Mikleo had pretty much been born into it. It was probably okay that they had had little say in the matter as infants because they never complained). It was great, in a way. It was refreshing, and welcoming, because you got to know many different people who all actually wanted to be there.

It was fun, but it wasn’t ambitious enough yet to support the dreams of a bunch of nine- or ten-year-olds.

Zenrus had insisted on writing the music himself – anything for little Sorey (Nevermind Sorey was no longer little.) That was the easy part. The part that actually took Rose eight years was growing up, and letting her ambitions grow alongside her.

She procured a loan from a source she didn’t tell anybody about to get some top-notch solo singers. The light show was a sight to behold. Milla had offered to provide some special effects for the magic music that the protagonists would be producing, but Zenrus had gently but insistently argued against real fire on stage, or a landslide. But he granted that a bit of rain and wind wouldn’t hurt, as long as the orchestra wasn’t in range to get watered like a bunch of flowers, or have their sheet music blown away by the fans.

By now, Zenrus was living his dream of adopting a collection of small kids who may or may not need actual adoption by mentoring a ten-year-old named Laphicet (or Phi, for short.) Phi would have jumped a cliff for the chance to conduct an opera (if his aunt didn’t stop him in the process), so he stood next to Zenrus during all the performances to learn what he could. Since little Phi was already taller than him, and also had such an obnoxiously wide smile on his face that it visibly lit up the entire orchestra hall, it was hard to overlook him. The main difficulty for the orchestra was following what Zenrus was doing with his baton, not what Phi was doing (He tried his best to copy Zenrus’ movements, and he did a good job on it, too, but it was still distracting to see this little kid stealing the entire show.)

It was worth the effort, though. Phi’s presence added to the performance. Nobody even dared to think of talking him out of the idea that the singers on stage were his chosen holy warriors and he was the god of the conductor’s baton.

Rose basked in the spotlights as they highlighted her during the applause, stepping in front of the stage, ready to (more or less) humbly accept the cheers that were due for her job as producer. And oh dear, did she bask in it.

Two weeks after the premiere, Rose counted the sold tickets. A broad grin split her face as she waved a sheet with the final count in front of Sorey’s face.

“So? You happy with your own personal little opera?” Rose said and tried to rest her elbow on Sorey’s shoulder. “Tried,” because he was like almost a head taller than her, and she had a nagging suspicion that he wasn’t even done growing yet. But she was athletic and always up for a challenge.

He beamed. “I love it! My favourite thing is the light effects and the waterfall scene with the rainbow.”

“No shit. I was talking about the sales, but okay. Good old Zenrus sure knows his craft. And I bet Lailah’s aria alone would have been enough to squeeze that applause out of the audience every damn time. I told ya the minute you slap classical music over it, the people eat up everything as high culture. Shakespeare. Offenbach. Just everything about the Magic Flute. I mean, our plot isn’t much dumber. See what I mean?”

“Well, I do. But Shakespeare’s plays were the Renaissance equivalent of soap operas, and nobody took Schikaneder’s libretto seriously even after Mozart had written music for it…”

“Ksh. Ksssssh. We’re no longer friends if you keep talking.” Rose punched him gently in the shoulder when she couldn’t keep up leaning on it any longer. “So. What next? Phi told me you made friends with his aunt and her metal band…”

#Tales of Zestiria #orchestra AU #granny’s first fanfic yay!

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mythaura-blog · 6 years

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Hey all! Welcome to our monthly development update, apologies for (another) late post! Here is what lies under the cut.

What’s new?

New Special - Python!

The Dashboard - Your home page.

New Monsters and New Item Patreon Illustrations.

Community spotlight - Lorehounds.

What’s new?

February has been a busy month for us behind the scenes - We had hoped to launch an updated version of the Beast Demo along side this update, however we have found some significant bugs that need to be squashed before release. Our talented front-end coder is working hard to get the updated demo into your hands soon, some of the features you can read about in our last development update. But here is some good news - A new Special marking has been created and is ready to be played with on our current demo! The Python Special was created thanks to our lovely Patreon supporters who voted on the topic and design, thank you guys! The design of the special itself is the work of our resident artist Gelly. Python applies a marking similar to that of a Python snake, and works quite well with it our other reptilian inspired Special, Skink. I can’t wait to see what new designs the community comes up with.

Python is now live on the current demo! -> Click here to play!

Other game play elements are progressing this month - right now we have a focus on building social elements of Mythaura which includes the forums and their related functions. We’ll have more to share on that by March. We’re also developing and conceptualizing the Dashboard..

The Dashboard - your home page

* note that the above image is conceptual and subject to change!

Upon logging into Mythaura, you will land upon what we are currently calling the Dashboard. The Dashboard will contain all the current events and snapshots of current events happening within the game. Each container will contain clickable links that will bring you to the updated areas.

The upper container will show the latest news updates, clicking on this will take you to a news post on the official forums where you can read the entirety of the news as well as share your comments or read comments by others.

The containers below the news will contain different topics depending on what is new or recently updated. For example they could show lore updates, current faction leads or status, or new items.

Below those containers again will live four others. Here there will be a randomly featured Beast from the community, trending forum topics, site tickers or current status and custom bookmarks. Custom bookmarks are any page on Mythaura that you can save to your dashboard to make it easier to navigate to your favorite pages. They can be changed at any time.

We are still thinking of other ideas and features for the Dashboard - if you have any ideas or what you would like to see, please don’t hesitate to voice them!

Mythic and Artisan Patreon rewards have the opportunity to work with the artists to create their own Monsters and Items that will appear in-game. Here are the illustrations that have been created this month. Many thanks to our incredibly creative supporters! Mythaura would not exist if it wasn’t for your amazing support. Monsters: Avakiru - Created with Malis! Armored Dale Wanderer - Created with Fizzywits! Celestial Stalker - Created with Mezzo!

Items: From left to right: Black Moonlily - Created with Keith Winn! Fish Spirit Pearl - Created with Sungmin Kim! Magic Obsidian - Created with Kirkeyressa! Geode Locket - Created with TwinFishies! Dunkleosteus Skull - Created with Frillshark! Red Rose - Created with Aku!

Community Spotlight

There are so many awesome creations that the budding Mythaura community create every single day, I really wish I had more room to include every piece here! In the future, there may be a separate post showcasing both the art talents and the writing talents. For now, this month’s community spotlight will be directed upon the incredible lorehounds. Check out these fantastic head cannons and pieces of fiction inspired by Mythaura!

Created by Discord user Fimbrethil - A map of their own Port Damselfly built near Dawn Ruins and the Sleeping Waters.

An inspiring piece of writing by Discord user kevin!

Feathers blessed by the stars, one often finds the beast conjuring charts between her claws. Those who hold the galaxy on their bodies are often found in this manner, the female being no exception. Much like the celestial bodies that drift from their pelts, the hippogriff's wings can't seem to take her close enough to the skies above. Mapping the marks on her wings sates the need to take on the sky, as even the dullest birds know that the universe is too vast for one chart. Yet this doesn't stop her from trying, eyes longingly gazing from her deep blues and blacks to the light-constructed diagram. Someday, a perfect map of the painted dome will be complete.

Discord user BettaSenpai’s poetic head canon on Hippogriffs! A beast of bird and steed: noble, graceful, and strange. A wing beat and the galloping of hooves. Never a day goes by I wonder if they live here, in this land filled with magic and dreams. Perhaps somewhere I am in my bed asleep, and my mind and soul found this place. Maybe I am daydreaming about magic and adventure strong enough to see this beautiful place. And yet, dream or not, the reality is I have never felt more alive to see their grace and power before me. I am humbled. Mighty beast, if you may hear me, know that I admire you. Know that I wish to understand you and that if this is a dream, I pray to return to you. To this world. Fly now dear beast; I shall awaken, and remind the world of your beauty again. There they are again. This time they soar and dive above me in some acrobatic show that dares you to look away. They move through the sky so effortlessly. Such fantastic beasts... They are closer now as if they have become used to me being here and now as they slowly get more comfortable with me I realize how much I admire them. Before I might have just looked on in awe but now as I return again and again it gets harder for me to leave them. I can hear them call, perhaps they are saying my name? If only I could decode such a melodic sound. Would it lose its magic if it was understood? Could it still be a mystery? Whatever they may be saying as I feel myself leaving their world I find it harder and harder to go. Rest now beasts of land and sky, noble, fierce, and graceful. I remind myself of who I wish to be.

Discord user and Mythic Supporter Fizzywits description of the Armored Dale Wanderer Monster!

The Armored Dale Wanderer is what appears to be a peculiar cross between plant and animal. This hybrid of sorts has been known to consume insects of every shape and size, but evidently can also survive exclusively through photosynthesis. Armored dale wanderers are heavily dependent on intraspecies symbiosis, and will inevitably perish if separated from others of its kind for at least half a season's worth of time.

These strange beasts are named (rather uncreatively) after their characteristics: they possess tough scales that serve effectively as armor. Composed primarily of bark and chitin, these scales are difficult for insects to chew through. Furthermore, they often reside in or along valleys - though they begin their lives as sedentary creatures, when they mature a few years after birth, they migrate seasonally in massive herds from one side of their local valley to the other. They dig deep holes to lay and bury their eggs in; they stop to dig only when confident in the quality of the surrounding soil. They breed in the summer, and healthy saplings tend to emerge come early autumn.

Little is known as to how these blind creatures are able to navigate - despite possessing what appear to be a heads, each wanderer has at least one pair of orifices and one mouth-like structure per head, none of which serves as a sensory organ for sight. They will lie dormant in the spring and autumn until a dramatic shift in temperature instigates movement. Although they are not hostile creatures, they will travel without rest during migration period, and feel no remorse for trampling anything that happens to be serving as an obstacle between themselves and their destination. As much as they depend on numbers for survival, groups do not seem to exhibit any defined social hierarchy with the exception that the eldest wanderer is the first to wake and thus leads the rest in migration. Skirmishes with these beasts are rare. They are neutral to other organisms who decide to inhabit their bodies.

Anatomically, armored dale wanderers resemble hydra. They are hermaphrodites and boast flowers and vines decorating their bodies. These floral arrangements may differ depending on region.

The official Discord has added some fun little emoticons of our favorite faction leaders - Esris and Reine. Click here to join in on the conversations!

That’s it for now! Thank you all for being so patient, we will have more exciting things to share very soon.

❤ Grif

#mythaura #virtual pet #virtual pet site #virtual pet sim #petsite #gamedev #development update

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fantroll-purgatory · 6 years

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@silenteko

So up top it looks like you’re doing this for an AU in which:

there are trolls that have not yet fully matured who live on a sister planet called Tronia

sister planets have “princesses” who presumably retain local authority to govern, though the Heiress’s and the Condesce’s authority would presumably supercede it

the canon trolls still exist and interact with your trolls (indicating interplanetary communication) but presumably haven’t played SBURB yet

mutantbloods are automatically assigned the Cancer sign

That’s all I can glean so far? So apart from those rules, I’m going to review your character as though she’s Alternian, since it takes place in the same universe.

Name: Sallva Spiral

You don’t really mention why you gave her this name, but since she’s a self-insert I am going to assume that the first name is at least somewhat related to your first name. The last name could do with some obfuscation though; ow about Xilleh, which is just “helix” backwards and with an extra ‘l.’ It’ll also help hammer home the “mutated DNA” theme I’m hoping to include. I also like it because now both her first and last name have two l’s side by side, which kind of looks like a strand of DNA that has unwound before replication!

Strife Specibus: woo! I am unsure if it’s an actual weapon or not, but before the game she doesn’t have one. Her Strife Specibus consist of two mini scythes (she got the code from a friend of hers), connected to chains that cuff to her wrist. That way, if one gets knocked out of her hand, she doesn’t have to jump all over the place to retrieve it in battle

I think that’s still a specibus; it’s just scythekind. In the meantime, I’ve had a look at you and your co-author’s profiles on deviantArt, and I think y’all may be interested in the mechanics of the Spiral Knights MMO since it links your names together! In light of that, maybe you wanna try swordkind, given that it’s the iconic Spiral Knight weapon? You can still keep the concept of a weapon that’s cuffed to her wrists.

Fetch Modus: I am unsure of what to give her. As if I’m going to be honest, she’s more likely to use a bag than a Fetch Modus

How about we split the difference with a BACKPACK MODUS, with 4 compartments that have limited space?

Blood Color: Gold! Haha

So here is where I’m trying to hammer home the mutantblood concept bc you’ve made a goldblood with very very obvious seadweller ears, and those two generally don’t…mesh…

I may lose the ears, but I’m gonna take a page out of CD’s book for an “aquablood” mutant we got a while ago and make her a polyblood to preserve some of the interesting aspects of this character. I’m thinking cerulean, since there’s overlap there both in the symbol visual and in eye-weirdness. Also lets me keep one of the colors in her initial color scheme with easy design justification.

She could be a polyblood who was basically assumed to be a “pure” goldblood because of her eyes, but whose true abilities lie in being a latent ceruleanblood.

As for why she wasn’t culled as a baby: this yellowblood doesn’t really look like a mutant, and even if her weird cerulean eye is an indication that she is, look at the other one. She’s got partial voidrot! She’ll be dead soon anyway. So the reason Sallva is still kickin’ is because, as a gold/ceruleanblood, her cerulean side generates enough energy to temper her voidrot, while her gold side dampens her psychic abilities by feeding off the energy. No telekinesis.

Symbol and Meaning: Her Symbol is actually from the Extended Zodiac, so I am unsure of it’s meaning.

It’s Gemsces, sign of the Prudent! A quick rundown: overbearingly smart, restless and skeptical, and always looking to take care of others. Also, prudence means showing careful thought and planning for the future.

Troll Tag: spiralLights! It’s a reference to her original last name that I had given her before I found out about the 6 letter thing.

Quirk: she replaces her ‘s’ with ‘5’, her ‘a’ with ‘@’, and her ‘o’ with ‘0’

While this dovetails with canon, we’ve also found with Hiveswap Friendsim that quirks needn’t necessarily be all that complex! We’ve been operating off the quirks of a bunch of real dramatic trolls for a while now. But maybe that’s who your troll is! If we go specifically with the polyblood redesign, the “too many quirks” could also just be a reflection of her inner self, which is a soup of contradictions.

I think I can make up sufficient reason to keep these quirks; Sallva can swap her s’s out for 5′s because of the 5 nucelotides we commonly see in DNA and RNA. She can swap a for @ because it’s a spiral. As for swapping o with 0, I have I think a sufficiently interesting backstory for her that’ll make that work.

Actually let me just add another one, for fun, if you’re keeping the new last name: Sallllva doublles allll her ‘l’s. The quick br0wn f0x jump5 0ver the ll@zy d0g. Give5 her @ nice llittlle dr@wll, and overdramatic to boot.

Special Abilities: She’s a Gold blood, so it’s obvious she has some sort Psychic ability. Hers is Strong Empathic abilities. Sometimes they can be so strong she gets confused as to which emotions are hers, she can also guess a person’s thoughts sometimes.

Goldblood abilities are typically telekinetic in nature, not psychic! But I really really like this concept, so I think this gets folded into the polyblood mythos; she’s heavily empathetic because of the psychic abilities that ceruleanbloods sometimes get!

To make things interesting, let’s make it so she has stuttering resistance to psychic attacks; sometimes active resistance, and sometimes an even lower resistance than usual depending on her mental state.

Lusus: Her Lusus is a mix between a Snake and an Eevee. Why? Because I like Snakes and am a Proud Slytherin and my favorite Stuffed animal is an Eevee. Her Lusus is Deceased

Also works for the polyblood theory, since polyjuice potion uses snakeskin and Eevee is like, the Pokemon for taking a generic base and turning it into whatever you want.

Personality: She’s paranoid. It doesn’t really affect her often, but she was one of the few in her session who was Skeptical about SGRUB. She’s loyal though, as well as possessive. She’s actually killed trolls who picked on her friend, who’s a mutant blood. She gets most of her traits from me. She’s my ‘True Sign Troll.’

Interest: She loves Art, her cat Frisk, Writing, Snakes, Plants

Iiiiiii don’t know that trolls can have cats as like…pets? But let me sell you on a different idea: when Sallva’s yellowblood lusus was killed, she despaired. Her mental health went downhill. She was unusually prone to psychic manipulation. Until…she was found by a ceruleanblooded lusus who had lost its charge. It is highly unusual for a lusus to bond with an adult troll, but it had just lost its troll at a very young age, and was mostly acting on instinct to find the nearest unbonded ceruleanblood. Most ceruleanblood lusii seem to be bug-like, but we could argue for something like the Catbus from My Neighbor Totoro:

Picture that version of Frisk in a kernelsprite!

Title: Mage of Life - She actually uses her ability over Life to control plants to help her fight, or to talk to animals to get help. I am unsure all of what a Mage of Life can do, but I do know they make brilliant doctors, especially if they reach God Tier, which Sallva does. After ascending to God Tier, she refused to kill another Soul, mostly because she can feel their pain. The only exception being her Ex-Matesprite, Adrium.

Hmmm. Once again, since this is a self-insert I’m loath to change stuff like names or signs or titles since people usually come to it after a great deal of introspection. Makes more sense to retrofit the character abilities so…

Let’s consult my co-mod’s write-up on what a Mage of Life is!

I don’t know that she’d be able to control plants or ask animals to get help, but it makes a lot of sense to me that she’d be able to encourage nearby creatures to help just by broadcasting her distress. Also I really like the touch that she’s essentially railroaded into the Hippocratic oath after god-tiering because of overblown empathy. I would be most interested in seeing how Adrium’s death would affect her, since her anger wouldn’t supercede his pain.

D/Ancestor: I am unsure, I haven’t actually come up with them quite yet.

How about the Inklling? Unlike her descendant, this troll was mistakenly assigned as a ceruleanblood. She was most famous for having devastatingly accurate hunches when solving mysteries, much to the chagrin of the tealbloods below her. In reality, this was her empathetic abilities manifesting themselves, though they were deeply tempered by her partial voidrot, and therefore not detected by her fellow caste.

Land: Land of Jungles and Deserts - *Snickers* I most put her here because I wanted to be able to make her complain about being a Sea-Dweller in a Desert and stuff.

So since we’ve made it so she’s no longer a seadweller, how about we subvert this here by submerging her in water? Maybe Land of Corals and Chorals to really hammer home an almost mermaidy theme?

Dream Planet: Derse - My baby’s a proud Derse Dreamer. Anyway this is relevant in the way the Derse Dreamers are Blue Team, and Prospit Dreamers are Red Team.

History: Sallva actually blames herself for her Lusus’ death, why? Because her Ex-Matesprite killed her. Adrium (Ex-Matesprite) is a violent troll, but Sallva overlooked his faults until it was too late. She gets revenge during the game and kills Adrium, though she looses her eyes and a piece of her horn to the fight, she reataches her horn with a vine though. She currently only has a Moirail (which I might upload later.) Her Sprite is Frisksprite, who jumped in the orb thingy (I forgot what it’s called.) They live on a sister planet to Alternia called Tronia, and have in fact met the Cannon Trolls a few times when Tronia’s Princess went to visit her fellow Princess, Feferi. They haven’t been there since Alnaya (Princess) got in a fight with Feferi. Though a few of them remain friends with the Cannon trolls, for example; Sallva and her Moirail Nellie still being friends with Nepeta and Equius(did I spell his name right?)

(And did I do this submitting thing right?)

Yep, you spelled his name right and submitted the character correctly! Let’s move to the redesign!

As always I try to keep self-inserts in particular as close to their original design as possible. Credit for the outfit goes to naphal.

Hair - just added stuff here and there to give it volume!

Horns - I gave her a second set to match with goldblood norms!

Visor - changed to match new eye colors

Mouth - added teeth since both ceruleans and yellows are a toothy bunch

Shirt - so USUALLY you’re not really allowed to display your symbol in anything other than your blood color, but I thought keeping it black was a nice nod both to the voidrot and to her polybloodedness.

And that’s it! Hope my feedback is useful.

#silenteko #sallva spiral #sallva #spiral #sallva xilleh #xilleh #goldblood #yellowblood #mustardblood #violetblood #seadweller #ceruleanblood #mutantblood #review #redesign #tr review #submission

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i-write-shakespeare-not-disney · 6 years

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Fragile Hearts chapter 1: Like We Never Lost

Click the OP is the READ MORE link does not show up.

Vegas was incredible. Maybe it was just this specific tourist area, but wow, it was amazing. There was so much to see, even in broad daylight. Katie couldn’t imagine what it would look like at night. Maybe once Matt came home from work, he’d walk with her through the Vegas Strip so she could see. She’d wanted to visit since she saw Miss Congeniality 2 with her college roommate.

Sure, she’d seen other planets and galaxies and had fought in wars with aliens, but Earthly sights were fun to see too. The cold air was similar to that of Massachusetts, so she didn’t mind it too much. Besides, she really needed a break from the intensity at MIT. This many tour sites and colors and people were exactly what she needed, especially after last night’s nightmare.

God, the nightmares. Katie had woken her roommate several times during the semester already because of them, and while her roommate understood, it was a lot better with Matt around. He knew what she’d seen. He had his own nightmares.

Still, seeing a giant M&M mascot, and miniature replicas of the Statue of Liberty, the Pyramids of Egypt, and the Eiffel Tower. It was incredible to listen to people speak in Hindu, Chinese, Spanish, and a variety of other languages. She hadn’t been able to speak Altean since they’d returned to Earth to lead normal lives. It was the only other language she knew aside from English and a bit of Italian.

The street was crowded with people and Katie was thankful for the distraction. She had earbuds in if only to not seem like an awkward loner as she walked through Vegas… well, alone. She was getting a little too far from Matt’s apartment though, and she knew she should turn back. The majority of the people going the other way were across the street, so she stopped and neared the edge of the sidewalk, looking both ways before she stepped off the sidewalk.

That’s when she saw it, a little ways further down on the other side of the street. It was a bakery, she assumed. It had bright colors, swirled together in a way that seemed oddly familiar. Unsettling and yet comforting at once. She furrowed her eyebrows and stepped off the curb when she heard a loud, angry honk. She jumped back, gasping as a taxi driver sped past, waving his fist at her. She struggled to catch her breath for a second, vaguely wondering how that guy would’ve felt if he knew she had helped save his life and that of the entire universe.

She swallowed down her panic and turned the volume of the music up a little more to mute her thoughts. When her heartrate returned to normal, she crossed the street without almost getting run over and started for the bakery.

On display were several, beautiful, irregular-shaped cakes with swirling colors and intricate designs. Some of the cakes were made into spheres, held up in a way that Katie desperately wanted to know. They looked like planets. Planets Katie had visited before. Planet Arus, the Balmera, the Olkarion, the Taujeer. Places Katie hadn’t seen in almost four years, if not more. Other cakes were built to look like lions. They were all different colors. But Katie noticed there was no black, red, blue, green, or yellow. And there were some normal cakes that were simply decorated with frosting in the most detailed way Katie had ever seen.

She pressed her fingertips against the glass as though it would let her touch the cakes. She looked up at the sign, realizing her eyes were watery from memories of the friends she once had.

Fale o Liona Bakery

Katie gulped and ran a hand through her hair, removing her earphones as she walked in. She looked around and saw the expanses of purple hues, light blue, and the hidden colors of the lions that had once formed Voltron. She noticed the cakes had names that sounded Altean and that some seemed to use a form in intricate technology. She couldn’t imagine how much these cakes must cost.

As she walked around the bakery, taking in the familiar scent of baked good and sweet frosting, she heard a laugh.

A very familiar, deep, hearty laugh. A laugh she hadn’t heard in years. She turned and felt her chest constrict the second she saw him.

Hunk.

Her goofy roommate in the Garrison, her partner in crime in Voltron, her best friend. The guy she hadn’t seen since they’d landed on Earth and gone their separate ways. She stood, frozen in shock as she took him in. He had a light, clean-shaven beard, a chef’s coat, and apron tied around his middle, and tattoos that reached 3/4ths of the way down on arm. Very little was visible under the folded sleeves of his white coat. It had two rows of buttons, each painted either red, blue, green, or yellow, and one remained black.

He was still tall, still covered in muscle that came from fighting, training, and war. Hunk had always been big, but he seemed to have grown into it over the last handful of years. He wasn’t wearing his headband anymore. Katie figured that’s what was wrapped around his wrist on his tattooed arm. Still, his hair fell in the same, messy tufts over his forehead and curled at the ends near his neck.

He was smiling at a customer, using his hands to communicate. Katie walked toward him slowly, wondering if he’d want to see her or if she’d only remind him of the struggles and trauma of war.

She couldn’t bring herself to speak, but she stood a few feet away from the counter, everyone else milling about, pointing and complimenting the designs and cakes, while she remained still, staring at her old best friend. The memories began to resurface.

Finding Shiro, finding Keith, the lions, Hunk fixing the space goo, going to the Space Mall, flying Green, losing Shiro and geeking out with Hunk when they were given a technological task. He’d caught on quick with all the time he spent watching her work and talking about nothing and everything.

Then all of a sudden, his eyes were on her. Confused at first, and then the recognition began. He furrowed his eyebrows and waved someone over to the register without taking his eyes off her.

She wondered if he’d recognize her. She knew she looked different. One side of her head was shaved, the other side had light brown waves of hair that fell in layers just under her ear, and she didn’t have her glasses. She wasn’t in her usual green jacket and she was a little taller, a little more filled out. She had just turned twenty when she saw him last. She was almost twenty-five now.

But he walked over to her, as always looming over her, his eyes skimming her face frantically.

“Pidge?” he whispered.

It had been so long since she’d heard that name. She let out a small laugh and threw her arms around him. “Hunk!”

“Oh my God. It’s you. It’s really you!” He hugged her tightly and lifted her off the ground in a bear hug. Those hugs had comforted her and the others so many times before, and she had missed them terribly. Nobody hugged like Hunk.

He let her down and pulled away, one arm at her shoulder, the other barely touching her cheek. She managed a smile, hoping he understood that her tears were fueled by happiness. “It’s been so long, big guy,” she breathed, her voice breaking slightly.

“I thought I’d never see you again, Pidge.” He chuckled and pulled her into another hug. “God, I missed you!” He pulled away and gently pulled her along with him. He led her behind the counter and to the kitchen where a few other people were baking and mixing. “I do the actual designing,” he explained. “It’s all Voltron-based. It’s kind of how I cope. I create the things in my dreams and memories and… I make them prettier. I make them smaller.”

“They’re beautiful,” she murmured, inspecting a cake with a battle ship depicted. Hunk had been tinkering with it, but she wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. “So, you’re in Vegas now?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’ve been here for a few years. Originally, I tried to open a culinary school but I had no certification. So I started this. It was just a few cakes at first, birthday parties for friends. Then it sort of exploded.” Katie raised her eyebrows in surprise. “What about you? What have you been doing, what are you doing in Vegas?”

“I’m at MIT. I started going by Katie again. I had to do therapy for a while first, and get my GED before they let me in. Apparently fighting an alien race isn’t sufficient excuse for dropping out of school at fourteen.” Hunk snorted. “I’m in my last year as a grad student. I’m graduating early thanks to summer classes, but I’m on winter break now. I’m staying with Matt at his apartment.”

“How long is your break?”

“About a month,” she answered. “Have you… heard from anyone else?”

His expression sobered and he shook his head. “I know what they wanted to do. But I don’t know if they’re still there.” He ran a hand through his hair and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry I called you Pidge. I didn’t know you were going by Katie now.”

“No, no, no!” she protested. “It’s okay! Really. You and the others are the only ones who called me that. I don’t mind it. It’s just been a while since I was called that.” She shrugged.

He smiled and punched her shoulder lightly. “You look good, Pidge. Still working out?”

“Old habits die hard. You look good too. I’m loving the beard,” she laughed. He rolled his eyes and smirked. “I also like the ink.”

“Oh thanks,” he said, pushing his sleeve up. “I incorporated a lion. You know I named this place Castle of Lions.” Pidge raised an eyebrow. “It’s in Samoan. It just sucks that no one knows about Voltron and everything we did, you know? So I sort of bring it to life here.” He took her hand and pulled her over to a line of cakes, his eyes bright. “Oh, and look! Remember when we had to reboot the ion cannon?” Pidge nodded and crouched over to inspect a cake. “Well, I decreased the intensity levels and minimized it, so….” He pressed a button on top of a cake decoration. Small blast appeared on each corner of the cake in pink beams of light. The name on the cake began to glow, the sound of a lion’s roar rising from the pastry.

“Holy crap,” she said, her eyes wide.

“And I can reset it, look.” He tinkered with the blasters and tugged on a decoration, resetting it. The rest of the cake remained intact and unaffected. “That’s thanks to you. You taught me a lot. And I sort of put a little into each cake. The physics, the technology, even the names for the cakes.”

Pidge smiled at him and crossed her arms. “This is so impressive, Hunk. You should have your own TV show.” He smiled gratefully at her and leaned against the counter, rubbing his face. “God, I just can’t believe you’re here.” She turned to him and smiled wider. Her cheeks hurt, but it had just been so long since she’d seen or heard from her friends and there were so many emotions that came from it. “Hey, I close up in like an hour. Why don’t I take you on a tour around here while you wait on Matt? I’d love to say hi to him too.”

“Yeah, that sounds great! We’ve got years to catch up on. Do you mind if I just hang out here meanwhile?”

“Not at all,” he smiled. “I’ll be right back, I have to go get this cake into someone’s car.” He gave her a two fingered salute and disappeared past the double doors. Meanwhile, Pidge took the time to look around the kitchen marveling at the designs in the middle of being cut into their designated shapes.

Hunk was taking orders and talking prices and designs while Pidge peeked through the circular window on the doors. The place was packed even as it neared closing time. Once Hunk ushered the remaining people out and closed the doors, he returned to start cleaning up. He threw a rag at Pidge and gestured to the counter. “Come on, Shortstack, make yourself useful.”

Pidge stuck her tongue out at him and walked over to wipe off the flour and food coloring that dusted the counters. Hunk was sweeping and cleaning out the oven, going on and on about baking methods. Pidge had missed these talks. He would always talk about cooking and food when she tinkered with gadgets and the castle’s systems. It felt nice; it felt familiar.

When they were finally done, Pidge sat on the counter and swung her legs waiting for Hunk to discard his uniform and change into some other clothes in the utility closet. When he came back, he was dressed in a short sleeved shirt and Pidge could see the dark, swirling ink on his arm going up his arm in intricate patterns.

“Did those hurt?” she asked as he pulled on a jacket.

“Nah. Not really. I mean… I guess I’ve had worse, so it felt like nothing.” Pidge nodded in understanding. “Ready to go?” She nodded and hopped off, immediately jumping onto his back like she used to back when they were part of Voltron. And just like before, Hunk didn’t even falter. He just chuckled and hefted her up so she could properly hold onto him.

“Where to first, big guy?”

“Have you seen Caesar’s Palace yet?” he asked.

“From the outside,” she answered. Hunk nodded and walked out, with Pidge latched onto him like a baby Koala. “Do you live nearby?”

“It’s about a half hour from here, but it’s good business, so… worth it. Cab fare sucks, though.” Pidge hummed and looked around. “We could check out the pirate show at Treasure Island! Oh man, they have some of the best margaritas there too. And the Bellagio has this really nice water show along with lights that are insanely pretty at night.”

“D’you go to all these places alone?” she asked, feeling a twinge of sadness at the idea.

“Yeah, but it’s okay. I mean, it gave me time to think, I guess. Besides, you’re here now. And instead being pathetically lost, I can guide you through.” Pidge smiled and wrapped her arms a little tighter around him before letting go and patting his shoulder. He acknowledged the sign and stooped a bit so she could hop down.

They fell into step with each other as they walked to the hotel and Pidge managed to snap a few pictures with the Greek statues. She took a few selfies with Hunk and looked at some of the souvenirs. They were crazy expensive though, so she didn’t even bother trying to buy anything.

“Oh hey, we should head back to the apartment. Matt should be back soon.” Hunk nodded and they hailed a cab to go back to the apartment. Matt was already there, towel drying his hair while he scrolled through his phone.

He looked up when he heard the door, peeking over his glasses and smiled. His face was marred from a Galra attack, and Pidge hated the reminder of what they’d done to him. But Matt always said they were more of a reminder of his brave little sister who never stopped looking for him.

His eyebrows went up, and he had to fix his glasses. “Hunk? Holy crap what are you doing here?” he said with a smile, walking over to hug him. Matt had helped a lot in the remaining missions after Pidge had managed to find him. He’d gotten very close to Hunk through his sister and seeing him must have been as wonderful for him as it had been for Pidge.

“I live here, buddy. I didn’t know you did too!”

“Hunk runs a bakery on the Strip. I’m surprised you haven’t seen it,” Pidge said.

Matt blinked in surprise. “Wow. I’m surprised too. Well, it’s great to see you man. Katie, have you eaten?”

After being called Pidge for the past few hours, it was a bit of a reality check to be called Katie again. She shook her head and smiled. “We got a snack while we were walking around. Hunk wants us to check out Treasure Island and the Bellagio. We were just waiting on you to get home.”

Matt looked between them and smiled kindly. “Why don’t you guys go ahead and catch up? I’ll join tomorrow. I’m pretty tired anyway.”

Katie frowned and furrowed her eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

“Katie, you’ve got a whole month here. It’s okay. I’m kind of in the mood for take out and Netflix, so….” He shrugged and kissed her forehead affectionately. He turned to Hunk and put a hand on his shoulder. “Hunk, big guy, take care of my sister.”

Hunk gave him a lopsided smile and glanced at Pidge. “She can do that just fine herself, but I gotcha.”

Matt turned and gave his sister a hug before she left. “Be good,” he called after her.

“I’m twenty-four, leave me alone,” she said waving as she left. He chuckled as the door clicked. She turned to Hunk as they left the building and shrugged. “So what now? We have time to kill.”

“Ever gambled?” She furrowed her eyebrows, eyes narrowing into suspicious slits. He laughed, a full, honest sound and nudged her. “Come on, it’ll be fun.” She shrugged and followed him as he hailed a cab and they arrived at the strip again. He led her to the casino with an Eiffel Tower in the front. Paris Las Vegas.

They went inside and Pidge watched with amusement as Hunk spent his money at slot machines and watched a confusing game of roulette which Hunk seemed to understand just fine. He managed to gain back twenty of the hundred dollars he spent.

“I gotta admit, it was pretty fun watching you lose.” Hunk rolled his eyes at her.

“Okay, Miss High and Mighty, why don��t you give it a go?” Pidge snorted and sat at the roulette table.

“Reds or blacks?”

She gulped and set forward a few chips of her own. “Blacks.”

There was spinning, there was shouting, there was the ping of slot machines. But Pidge focused her thoughts on the familiar pressure of Hunk’s hand on her shoulder. It made the anxiety go away. And then suddenly cheering and Hunk had her in a tight, boa-worthy hug. “You did it!” he cheered. Pidge blinked and chuckled.

A half hour later, Pidge was flaunting 800 dollars’ worth of chips in Hunk’s face. He chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Beginner’s luck.”

She snorted. “Don’t be a sore loser. Come on, drinks are on me.” They walked over to the bar and Hunk started with a whiskey and coke while Pidge ordered an amaretto sour. “You ever think about the others?” she murmured.

“All the time. I always wondered if you got into school like you wanted. If Keith ever found whatever the hell he was looking for. If Shiro’s okay still being up there. If Lance is happy where he’s at. If any of them think of me.” He shrugged. “There’s all these social media outlets, and I tried them if only to find you guys, but… no one had them. And I deleted mine because it just… seemed so stupid, you know? Hearing this stupid discourse over the Kardashians, over Taylor Swift, over the newest American Horror Story season. They’re all so small compared to the war we were in that I couldn’t stand seeing people so ignorantly obsessed over them, you know?”

Pidge ran her finger over the sugar around her mason jar. “Yeah. That’s why I didn’t bother keeping my social media around that long either. I think maybe Keith and Lance may have done the same.” She bit her lip and tossed back half of her amaretto before taking a breath. “It sucks that those two had to break up. They were good together.”

Hunk hummed and used a tiny black straw to swirl his ice. “Yeah. But they both wanted different things. Keith wanted to see the world, and Lance was rooted to Cuba. To his family.”

Pidge nodded. “Maybe one day they’ll meet up again and-” She brought her hands together and apart in a mock explosion, widening her eyes. “Bam! They’ll fall in love again.” Hunk chuckled and nodded.

“Well, what about you? Any dating? Boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever back at MIT?” he asked.

She groaned and placed her chin in her hands. “Ha! Nope. For one, I’m a bit older than most people in my classes. Not by a lot, but still. And… you know not everyone understands the traumatic effects of intergalactic war.” She sighed and swiped more sugar off with her finger before licking it off. “First boyfriend laughed in my face when I tried to explain. I kicked him out. Literally, just a roundhouse kick and he fell back against the door,” she laughed.

Hunk’s eyebrows went up and he laughed with her before sobering a bit. “I’m sorry, Pidge.” She shrugged and sipped her drink.

“What about you? Do you miss Shay?”

Hunk grimaced and groaned. “I think she’s just a big what-if. I knew her for maybe a total of three days while I was up there? Not really long enough for a decent relationship. I wonder sometimes, but… it’s not like I’m heartbroken about it.” He drank his soda and scrunched his nose at the strength of the liquor. “To being war vets no one knows about,” he said, holding up his cup.

Pidge clinked her glass to his and smiled as she finished her drink.

“Hey sweetheart,” she heard a low, smooth voice say. She only turned when she felt the hand on her arm. “Can I get you a drink?”

“No thanks,” she answered, turning back to Hunk.

“Ah, come on, pretty face like you-”

“I said no,” she snapped, turning back to him.

He chuckled and bit his lip. Pidge knew this kind of guy. She’d met plenty at MIT. Guys who thought a smoldering look would have the world wrapped around their fingers, guys who felt the girls they hit on owed them something. He fixed her with dark eyes and a cocky smirk. The worst part was that he was attractive. He didn’t look like a creep, and he was young. If he hadn’t been such a jackass, he might’ve been a nice guy.

“Come on. What are you drinking?” She refused to answer, narrowing her eyes at him. “Bartender? Another of whatever she’s having on my tab.”

Pidge turned to the bartender and let out an angry, strong, “No.” The bartender hesitated and moved away to deal with another customer.

The guy scoffed and leaned against the counter. “Look, sweetheart, this hard to get act is fun, but it gets boring real quick. You made your point, now let me get you a drink, yeah?” He tilted her head up by her chin with a condescending smirk and a wink.

Pidge blinked and stared at him in shock. She took a calming breath, stood, sharing a look with Hunk and looked up at the guy who had to be nearly a foot taller than her. Within seconds, she had his arm pinned behind his back and his face slammed into the counter, rattling every drink as she pressed down on the side of his face and twisted his arm a little more. “Ow! What the fuck?” he shrieked, no longer sounding like a smooth talker.

Hunk smirked and shrugged, sipping his drink. “She said no. You should’ve listened.” He winked and the guy seemed to struggle against Pidge’s hold. The bartender was staring, the other people along the bar were murmuring, and even onlookers were hesitating, anxious to see what the small woman would do to the tall man she had pinned to a bar counter.

“Leave me alone. I won’t be so nice next time,” she hissed before releasing him.

He stepped back, stumbling over a stool. “Freak!” He ran off and Pidge rolled her eyes as she sat down.

Two more amaretto sours were placed in front of her. She looked at the bartender in confusion. He smiled in a way that reminded Pidge of Lance for a second. “One’s on the house. The other one was bought by the group of ladies over there.” Pidge glance over to the end of the table where a trio of girls were giving her a thumbs up.

She chuckled and nodded. “Thanks.” She glanced at Hunk who was smiling at her with a proud little smirk. “What?”

“Same old Pidge,” he said. He ruffled her hair and she punched him lightly as she laughed.

“Can I ask you something?” she asked as she started on her second drink. He hummed as he finished his first. “Why didn’t you try to stand up for me?”

He bit his lip and looked at her seriously. “I know you. I knew you didn’t need me, you do just fine fending for yourself. And I know you knew I was here. That if you needed me, you’d ask for it. I’m sorry if it came off as insen-”

“No, don’t apologize,” she interrupted. She smiled and leaned against her cheek. “I’m a big, tough girl, and I’m glad you know it.” He laughed and ordered another drink before Pidge spoke again. “Do you ever miss being part of Voltron?”

Hunk sighed and took a large gulp of his drink. “Sometimes. I miss the nights we’d stay up talking. The space mall. I miss you, Lance, Keith, Shiro, Allura, and Coran. I miss my boy, Yellow. But I don’t miss the fighting. The killing. The fear.” Pidge nodded in understanding. “Do you?”

She shook her head. “I don’t. I miss Green, yeah. But I feel I wouldn’t miss the other stuff if we’d just stayed in touch. I went up there looking for one brother and… I gained four more and a crazy uncle.” Hunk laughed ran a hand through his hair. “Then… we just sort of drifted apart. I mean I guess I get it. We’re all reminders to each other of the things we went through. We all have those scars that remind us of the worst battles. Maybe there’s a small part in each of us that wants everything about that life gone. But I also wish we could’ve started over here, you know? We could’ve gotten a giant apartment and lived all together.”

“We’d have to deal with Lance and Keith screwing like bunny rabbits, though,” Hunk pointed out. Pidge laughed and tugged on her light brown hair. “But we’d eat awesome food.”

“Rent would be easy. Split with the five of us.” She frowned and shut her eyes. “Do you get nightmares?”

“Yeah,” he whispered.

“If we stayed together, we would be able to help each other through them. Instead of having roommates look at us like we’re nuts.”

“Or waking up alone.” Pidge looked at him sadly and nodded. “Can you promise me something, Pidge?” She arched an inquisitive eyebrow. “Don’t you disappear on me again. I got you back. I don’t want to lose track of you again and spend another four or five years wondering if you’re okay.”

She smiled, feeling her eyes water and placed her hand over his. Her skin seemed paler against his dark, tanned skin. “I promise. If you can promise the same to me.” He nodded and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her in.

“Want to get out of here? The show should start soon.”

She nodded and drank her last amaretto sour quickly. “God I hope that doesn’t hit me too fast. I usually drink those slower.” Hunk laughed and nudged her along after she paid.

They walked down the street, already coming alive with colors and music and more people. Hunk took her hand to lead her without losing her in the crowd and she struggled to keep up without jogging. Finally they reached a place with two large boats and people dressed as pirates holding on to masts and shouting. People were standing, looking up at the boats and cheering as the show began. “Wait here,” Hunk half shouts in her ears. She nods and hugs herself. Despite the amount of people, it was still cold. Then Hunk was back with two yard glasses filled with frozen margaritas.

“Holy shit, I can smell the tequila from here,” she laughed as she took hers. She took a sip and her eyebrows went up. “Wow, that’s good. Super strong, but good.” She sniffed and looked up at him. “So what’s the story here?”

“Just a pirate battle with singing and dancing and cannons,” he answered, leaning down so she could hear him. “Can you see?” he teased. She hit his arm and rolled her eyes before sipping her margarita. Somewhere along shouting and swinging from ropes, Pidge felt pleasantly lightheaded and giggly. She felt her limbs loosen and the alcohol let warmth flood her veins, making the cold a little more bearable.

She had to drink her margarita slowly if she didn’t want to be a stumbling mess by the end of the show.

“Hunk, I’m cold,” she shouted.

Hunk looked over at her, her pale cheeks tinged bright red along with her nose. Her eyes were wide, and she was giving him a lazy smile. He suppressed a smile and leaned down. “You drunk already?”

She shook her head. “No. Getting tipsy though. I’m cold.” Hunk chuckled unzipped his jacket, pulling her into it. She was still so small in comparison to him. “Jesus, aren’t they freezing?” she hissed as she huddled into the jacket, sipping her margarita.

Hunk looked up at the half dressed pirates as some fell into the water without hesitating. It made him cringe. “They must get paid well.” He rested his chin on her head, just barely feeling the difference between the side that was shaved and the side that had light waves falling just below her pierced ear. Pidge jumped slightly at the sound of the canons before erupting into laughter inside his jacket.

She turned around and buried her face in his chest. “Okay, I’m tipsy now.” Hunk felt his own slight buzz as well and nodded looking up at the show. “Listen,” she said, tugging his jacket. “If I get drunk, don’t take me to Matt’s. He’s never seen me drunk, and I don’t care if I am twenty-four I will not let him see me drunk. Kay?”

“M’kay,” he agreed, sipping his margarita. “You okay with taking a cab to my place?” She nodded. “Well let’s check out the Bellagio before we go. I need you to be a little sober for that.”

“Okay!” She zipped the jacket over her and smiled goofily up at Hunk. “Let’s go!”

Hunk snorted and struggled to walk away from the performance with Pidge literally zipped up into the same jacket, their feet stubbing over each other’s as they laughed down the street. A few people stared or whispered as they looked at them, but neither of them really cared.

It had been too long since either of them were able to be themselves without secrets or hiding. They’d known each other for years, and they’d experienced things that naturally bonded a group, like almost dying. So it didn’t matter that people gave them annoyed or confused looks because they were best friends and they were finally together again.

As they reached the sidewalk facing the curved hotel, Pidge waddled them closer to the edge and stood on her toes to look down at the expanse of water.

“Ooh my God, ducks!” she shrieked. “Hunk, there’s ducks!”

“If that excited you, wait till the water show starts,” he chuckled.

She sipped from her margarita absentmindedly as she looked up at the hotel casino. “Oh, fuck, brain freeze,” she gasped. Hunk laughed at her and she frowned up at him before unzipping herself from him and pointing at his yard glass. “Go ahead and chug it. Give yourself a brain freeze!”

“I don’t get brain freezes.”

“Bull shit,” she said, narrowing her eyes. “Come on, big guy. Chug, chug, chug, chug!” Hunk indulged her and discarded his straw, tipping the last half of his margarita up and squeezing his eyes shut at the bitterness of the tequila and the coldness of the drink. Pidge whooped as he finished and scrunched his entire face up, feeling the beginning of a brain freeze.

“That’s gonna hit me real soon,” he breath, holding his head.

Pidge giggled and sipped on her margarita which was still a little under half. Then water shot up behind her and she turned, her eyes bright as she looked at the spectacle, lighting up with colors as the water tried to reach the sky. “Oh my God,” she breathed. “Oh my God, it’s incredible!” she shouted as she started jumping. She looped her arm through Hunk’s and smiled out at the view. “I can’t believe you live here.”

“I still can’t believe you’re here,” he answered. “I feel like if I look away too long, you’ll disappear.” She frowned and clung to his arm. “It feels nice to have my best friend back.” She hummed and they stared in silence as the water and lights performed their elegant dance before Hunk suggested getting a ride back to his place. Once the margarita was done, Pidge was definitely in the early stages of being drunk and she kept talking about different things all at once, but the hum of her constant voice was reassuring and familiar even if Hunk wasn’t sure what she was talking about.

So he hailed a cab and managed a conversation that made the ride seem way shorter than it was. She held onto him to remain steady as they went up two flights of stairs and down the hall to Hunk’s apartment. As soon as they walked in, Pidge began inspecting each little thing.

It wasn’t much. Hunk kept his walls bare for the most part, unable to stand the idea of being rooted here to an unfamiliar place forever. Despite living there for a few years, it never felt like home. Now, with Pidge walking around, it felt like it could be. Like part of his family was back. “Of course the kitchen is stocked,” she called. She leaned over the bar area and gave a mischievous smile. “Look what I found,” she sing-songed as she waved a bottle of scotch.

“Are you trying to get drunk?” he asked.

She thought for a moment before nodding. “It’s been a while since I’ve been around anyone I trust to be drunk with. But you have to get drunk too. It’s no fun getting drunk alone.”

“Okay, okay,” he said. “But let’s make it a drinking game.” He turned on his television and opened the Netflix app before reaching Friends. “Because I don’t want to get totally trashed right now, this is what we’ll do. Take a shot any time you hear one of these phrases or this thing happens.”

He grabbed a pen and started writing them down hesitating, pondering and writing again. “You’ve watched this show a lot haven’t you?” Pidge noted.

“Oh yeah.” He finished and handed the paper over.

Oh. My. God.

How you doin’?

Ugly Naked Guy

Can you BE any more (enter verb or adjective)

Chandler makes an analogy to his shitty past

Rachel cries

Phoebe sings

Monica nags about cleaning

“We may still get trashed,” he said.

“I’m holding you to that,” she said, looking over the list as she grabbed two shot glasses from the counter. “Alright, let’s do this. Do I have to watch from the beginning?”

“We don’t have to. I’m rewatching and I’m on season six.” She nodded and sat beside him, bringing her feet up under her while Hunk started the show. She poured the liquor into the shot glasses and asked him to tell her who was who.

He gave her a rundown of each character and their quirk and she nodded, prepared for the drinking game.

Except she wasn’t. She totally wasn’t. It wasn’t long before she was a bubbly, giggling mess, laughing at every little thing on the show while Hunk laughed more out of a need to sleep because each time he got drunk, he just wanted to sleep. Pidge stood and tugged on him, urging him to wake up.

“Hunk. Hunk. C’mon we’re playin’ a game! Hu-unk!” She lost her grip and fell back erupting into laughter. Hunk stood, wondering if she was okay before bursting into laughter at the sight of her curled on the floor, face red from intoxication and laughter.

“You look like a roach,” he snorted. Her eyes widened and she swiped at his legs, missing terribly before falling victim to endless laughter again.

“I can’t get up,” she snorted.

“Okay, okay, one. Two. Three!” He pulled her up but he lost his footing and she ended toppling over him, rolling over to keep laughing.

“Dude. Your ceiling sparkles,” she giggled.

“S’popcorn ceiling. Dunno why it had glitter. My room had glowing stars too.” They stared at it for a while. “Why are we on the floor?”

“I dunno,” she answered.

“I’m sleepy.”

“I’m dizzy.”

“You gonna puke?”

“Dunno.” He huffed and felt his eyelids get heavy. “Hunk! Wake up! I wanna talk!” she whined, nudging him.

“I’m ‘wake!” he gasped as he sat up. “Whoa. Uh-uh. Nope.” He grabbed his head and sniffed. “Mkay. Talk. I’m listening.”

And he did. For a while at least. Pidge was talking, her words slurred and slow as she rambled about trivial people from college, but still comforting. It was like a drunk lullaby. Hunk wasn’t sure when he’d fallen asleep.

But he woke up to his name being called in a hoarse voice. He blinked, surprised to find himself on the couch. The memories of the day before came flooding back along with the sharp pain of a hangover’s headache. “Oh, God,” he groaned. “Pidge?”

“Hunk. Why. Am. I. On the floor?” she grumbled.

“I don’t remember.” She sat up and leaned her head against the couch’s armrest looking at Hunk. Her hair was a frizzed mess, her eyes puffy with sleep, pale with the sickness of a hangover. “Well you look like a little angel after drinking, don’t you?” She glared at him and he chuckled before groaning at the throbbing in his head.

“Oh God, I completely forgot to text Matt that I wouldn’t be home. He must be worried sick.” She pulled out her phone and frowned when she found it was dead. “Mm. Great.”

“Go ahead and charge it with mine. I’ll make us food so we can maybe not die.”

He stood as Pidge stumbled up after him. “God, can you imagine? Defender of the universe, died of alcohol consumption.” He laughed at her and shook his head. She sat on the stool by the mini bar and watched as he started taking out eggs and spam. He stopped for a second to give her water and some aspirin. “Oh thank God. Thank you,” she said, taking the medicine gratefully.

She watched him cook, her head on the counter, too tired to talk. He set a plate with her food out for her and sat beside her. “I can’t even pinpoint at what point I decided to just pass out,” he said.

“You were half asleep since we got here, you lightweight.”

“I’m the lightweight?” he asked incredulously. “You were giddy off of three amaretto sours and less than half of that margarita.”

“All consumed within a short span of time,” she pointed out. “Besides, I wasn’t really drunk till that second shot of scotch hit me during our game.” She finished her food and pushed her phone towards him. “Number. I’m not losing track of you after today.” Hunk smiled and put the number in her phone and saved it. “I should get home. Matt’s gonna kill me, even if I am an adult.”

Hunk nodded and walked with her to the door. “Hey,” he said as she pinned her hair back to tame the frizz. “It really was great to see you again. And I really hope it’s not the last time.”

“It won’t be,” she promised. She threw her arms around his neck and he lifted her off the floor as he hugged her. “There’s no way I’m losing my best friend again.” He smiled and sighed and he hugged her tighter. He didn’t want to lose her again either. “I’ll text you when I get to Matt’s, okay?”

“Okay. Be careful.”

She held up her arm in an arch, making her bicep flex. “Come on. You know me.” She smiled and waved before disappearing down the hall. Hunk really hoped he would be able to see her again. And that maybe this meant they could be able to find the others too. He missed Lance.

The drive to Matt’s seemed excessively long and incredibly awkward. The drive hadn’t seemed so bad the day before but it was almost twice the distance this time. When she finally made it back, she opened the door and found her brother watching TV leisurely. “Hey,” she said timidly.

“Katie, young lady, where have you been?” he demanded in a stern voice.

“Matt, I’m so-” She faltered when he turned and gave her a shit-eating grin. “Ugh, you jerk.”

“How was the walk of shame? Didn’t he have the decency to at least bring you home?”

Katie frowned and discarded her jacket before leaning over her brother. “What are you talking about? There was no walk of shame. We went to his place and got drunk watching Friends.” He raised an eyebrow. “Matt, it’s not like that with Hunk. He’s my best friend.”

He hummed and shrugged. “If you say so. Still he could’ve brought you home.”

“I’m going to take a shower,” she said with a roll of her eyes.

“Hungry?”

“No,” she called back. “Hunk made breakfast before I came back.”

“Well, you sure know how to pick ‘em, Katie.” She stopped and turned back to her brother who was watching the television with a smirk.

Click here for Chapter 2

#hidge #future #au #pidge #hunk #matt #voltron #vld

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