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#i know a lot of guys exactly like lance and they’re all the coolest
storm-driver · 5 years
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For the ask meme: number 8 and 9! And for 8 specifically, top 5 FFXIV characters (bc I can only think of 1 but I know there's more lol) 💖💖💖
gonna put the top 5 FFXIV characters last because a few in there are spoilers for the new expansion
as for a tattoo i might want? i dunno, i’ve never been big on them because i myself don’t exactly like them. but there is one particular tattoo i have wanted since i learned about them
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this is the legacy tattoo for FFXIV. It’s a marking that appears on in-game characters that played during 1.x. And while I myself didn’t get the legacy sub (I did have an account back then, I just never played afterwards), I wish I had. And maybe a tattoo would make up for it?
As for the favourite characters, below the cut for sake of Shadowbringers spoilers!
1) Thancred
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This boy has been through so damn much in this entire stay in the FFXIV story. His story starting when he took in Minfilia and watched over her as she grew up, working himself ragged to make up for the absence of his leader, and then persevering through his aetherical handicap through the rest of the story. Getting yoinked for Shadowbringers and being forced to adapt yet again to the new world. And then moving past the death of someone practically family to him, and finding a new life to nurture and care for?? Holy shit??? What a guy!!
2) Ardbert
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I COULD GO ON ABOUT HIM OH MY GOD
Ardbert was that one character everyone had questions about since Heavensward because he was introduced!!! And then immediately left the screen until SHADOWBRINGERS CAME AROUND AND OH MY GO
The crap he went through, doing everything right? And STILL failing? And his endless grief of having to watch his world crumble into madness completely alone? Unable to even take his own life to end his torment? god the angst
But his unending care for anyone he found to consider a friend. The lengths he’d go to just to be there for someone else. HIS FINAL ACT AT THE END OF SHADOWBRINGERS??? heavens take me
3) G’raha Tia/Crystal Exarch
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this is story telling done right.
G’raha Tia was a side character, A FUCKING SIDE CHARACTER, DIDN’T EVEN HAVE A VOICE ACTOR, for the Crystal Tower storyline! AND HE LOOKED UP TO THE WARRIOR OF LIGHT SO MUCH, SAYING THAT THEY WOULD BE THE STAR TO CHART HIS COURSE IN THE FUTURE.
and when he woke up?? and found out the world had turned to hell??? HE TRAVELED ACROSS FUCKING TIME AND SPACE TO UNDO EVERYTHING. AND MOST ESPECIALLY, HE WAS GOING TO LET HIMSELF DIE FOR THE WARRIOR OF LIGHT.
his identity being hinted at so heavily through the teasers and the game itself, only to have it be revealed in such a tear-jerking way. his animations when he realizes you remembered his name and the music and voice actING WAS SO FUCKING GO-
and just... the way he gets overwhelmed when you use his old name. he believed no one remembered that name anymore. AND THEN YOU COME ALONG AND
i could go on, but morti would do a better job so-
4) Nael van Darnus
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the white raven herself.
“Nael” was always a character I was super interested in since he became a prominent part of 1.x’s Sixth Astral Era story. Ever since he was introduced, he was the one that seemed like a God. All the Garleans are powerful and menacing, but the sheer destruction Nael was willing to forgo to achieve his goals are downright terrifying. 
Not only did he have one of THE BEST SONGS EVER during his final boss fight, he had it in one of the COOLEST arenas ever. and all this amazing story telling behind Nael is further revealed in the ultimanias for FFXIV.
The real Nael van Darnus has been long dead and rather his sister, Euela Darnus, picking up the lance that Nael’s fiance killed herself with, took Nael’s blood-stained armor from his corpse, and went under his name to further pursue his dreams of upholding the Empire. 
And as “he” obsessed over bringing Dalamud down, he slowly fell to the influence of the dragon sealed inside the damn moon. And just.... that’s such a tragic tale, but a good one, too.
5) Alphinaud+Alisaie 
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I’m not sure what it is about these twins, but I can’t pick between them. From Alphinaud’s stead-fast determination to right the wrongs of the world, and Alisaie’s stubborn will and courage pressing her into matters that a child certainly shouldn’t be in, they’re both just a charm to watch interact with the world. Not to mention, the two who have gotten quite a lot of character development since their first appearances as “privileged” children to Scions fighting the safety of the worlds. 
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abracadora-archived · 6 years
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Blindspot
This small fic was inspired by the #greasykeith movement started by @baeyards. 
Pairings: Keith/Lance
Word Count: 3004
When a cute boy with lots of piercings and the coolest jacket Keith has ever seen walks into the mechanic shop where Keith works, Keith is… really gay. And slightly confused by how friendly said boy seems to be. 
Featuring Mechanic! Keith and Punk! Lance
(Sha/adins don’t interact!!)
Read on AO3 [Although reblogs are appreciated :) ]
The door of the lobby tinkles as someone walks in, bringing in a swoosh of heat from the outside and a burst of noise from the street outside. Keith, in the kitchenette attached to the lobby, ducks his head down and busies himself with the coffee. He briefly considers adding cream or sugar to the dark liquid, and then decides that he can’t be bothered. 
He scurries out of the small room, weaving his way through the lobby. He catches a snippet of the conversation between the lady at the front desk and the man standing in front of it. Keith’s eyes flit to the side and he nods shortly at the lady (he’s pretty sure her name is Lilian). The guy, who’s currently leaning with his arms rested on the top of the desk, is slightly taller than Keith but looks to be around his age, and Keith frowns, because this means that he’s most likely here for some car repairs, and that means that he’ll be going to one of the other mechanics.
Keith goes through the lobby and the lounge and pushes past the door that leads into the actual garage. There, he is met with mechanical sounds of metal clanging and tools squeaking and scraping- all of which is familiar and comfortable to Keith. He sees Rolo, an older coworker of his (that Keith is pretty sure he had a crush on in the first few weeks of working here) with half of his body disappearing underneath a car, and Hunk, a coworker of Keith’s age who is pulling out the dents from a recently crashed SUV. 
Keith goes over to Hunk. 
“How close are you to being done?” he asks. 
Hunk glances up at him and frowns slightly. “Half an hour, maybe? Why?”
“There’s this guy at the front desk,” Keith replies monotonously. “He’ll probably need one of you.” 
Hunk is observant, and he’s probably known Keith long enough to detect the frustration in his voice. He clucks sympathetically, and then takes a look at the coffee in Keith’s hand. “That thing has no cream or sugar in it, I’m assuming.”
 Keith shrugs, and takes a sip of it. Hunk makes a face. 
“How,” he says, before turning back to his work.
Keith leans against the wall, not bothering Hunk as he works, but just lazing in his company. Sometimes Keith wishes that he had been hired as a car mechanic instead of a motorbike one- he knows how to work with cars pretty well- but Keith much prefers bikes to cars. Keith He barely scraped by his actual driving test in high school, and nearly got arrested the last time he tried to properly drive.
Customers that need bike repairs aren’t common as those who need car repairs, for understandable reasons. That leaves Keith, who always needed something to do with his hands, with a lot of impatient and jittery energy.
He bounces his leg up and down as he glances back into the lounge. The guy from before leans against the wall of the lounge. He’s dressed in a dark jacket, one of those with the body made of denim and sleeves made out of leather. 
People don’t usually pull those off, Keith muses. The jacket is dotted with multiple pins, which Keith can’t describe from this distance, but what Keith can see are the multiple piercings that line his ears. Something akin to envy spikes up within Keith.
“Who’s that guy over there?” he says offhandedly. “He looks legit.”
Hunk’s head pops up from behind the car and his eyes follow Keith’s gaze over to the boy in the lounge. Inexplicably, Hunk barks out a laugh.
“Who? Lance?” he asks.
Keith looks back at Hunk with an expression in his eyes like Hunk just said that tomorrow the sun would turn green. “Who the fuck is Lance?” 
“That guy over there.” Hunk ducks back down to the car but continues talking to Keith. “His name’s Lance.” Hunk pats the car and stands up. “He’s a friend of mine. You think he looks legit?”
“Well, I mean.” Keith isn’t sure why he feels flustered. “I like his piercings.”
Hunk clicks his tongue. “Yeah, you would, they’re cool. He has that whole aesthetic going for him, you two could get along. Although-” Hunk pauses, and he eyes Keith outfit. “Your clothes are…a bit less put together than him. And he thinks that fingerless gloves are tacky.”
Keith scowls at him but doesn’t argue. Someone calls his name from near the front building and Keith’s head whips up. The manager of the place stands there with a clipboard in his hands. Keith says bye to Hunk and walks off in that direction, eager for something to do. 
“You have someone here for you,” the manager says when Keith approaches. 
“For me?”
“Well, for his bike. We brought it out back, it’s a basic gas tank repair. He’s in the lounge right now. He’s Lance McClain.”
Keith’s heart jumps, and he wonders why. A gas tank repair isn’t the most interesting, but Keith is itching to use his hands for something. He nods and heads into the lounge.
The burst of cool air when he walks in is almost a relief to him. He rubs the back of his hand against his forehead, rather uselessly, in an attempt to wipe off the sweat, and then looks at Lance.
“Are you Lance?” he asks, even though he already knows.
Lance turns to him with an eyebrow raised. Keith (for some reason) counts exactly four piercings on each ear of his, each pair carrying a different set of earrings. The lowest hanging ones on his earlobes glinted silver, and Keith’s stomach dropped. 
And then Keith notices the stud screwed through the right side of Lance’s lower lip. The realization vaguely feels like someone punching him in the stomach and then releasing butterflies.
Lance snaps his fingers just a bit away from Keith’s face. “Hello? You said my name.”
Keith winces, feeling his face flood with warmth. “I- yeah, sorry.”
Lance peers at him with eyes the colour of the ocean depths. “You good bro?”
“Yeah, I-” Keith fumbles over his words. He never was the best at talking to people, especially not with someone like Lance. “I like your piercings,” he says rather gruffly.
It wasn’t a lie- Keith is hot with envy- but Keith probably isn’t admitting the full truth, even to himself. (At least he’s self aware?)
“Oh.” The corner of Lance’s mouth curls up. “Cool, me too. You’re here to fix my bike.”
Keith clears his throat, quickly redirecting his mind back into business mode. “That’s right. What’s the issue with it?”
Lance lifts one hand up to scratch at the back of his neck, and Keith’s mind supplies, That’s so hot.
Shut up, Keith thinks in response.
“I kind of got into a crash, like, a week ago?” Lance scrunches his nose and Keith feels short of breath. “I punctured my gas tank, I think. I’m pretty sure.”
“Oh. Were you okay?” Keith asks automatically, glad that he can keep a semblance of politeness while his mind feels like it’s short-circuiting.
“Yeah, I just got a bit scraped up,” Lance says in a casual way that Keith can respect. “I haven’t even ridden my bike again.”
Keith nods. “Okay, we can… head to your bike then.”
They leave the building together and Keith tries not to be hyper-aware of Lance’s proximity to him. He scolds himself and tells the back of his mind that he’s being unprofessional and ridiculous.
He finds Lance’s bike pretty quicky since it’s the only one the garage. It’s sleek and looks pretty new, with a black and blue colour theme. 
“Wow,” Keith says, legitimately impressed. 
“It’s a Honda CB500,” Lance says with pride thrumming through his voice, as if Keith doesn’t have three motorcycle catalogs sitting on his desk at home as they speak. “It’s the 2017 model, too.”
“Nice,” Keith says. 
“Thanks,” Lance says genuinely, and the sideways smile he gives Keith makes Keith’s heart want to jump out of his chest. 
“I’m going to take a look at it.” Keith gestures towards the bike and he urges himself to get focused. Repairing motorcycles was something he was familiar with, and he shouldn’t let himself get distracted by some (admittedly cute) guy.
He wheels the motorcycle over to his station and starts to crank it up. He’s vaguely aware of Lance strolling up behind him. Keith forces himself not to glance over, and continues on with his work. 
“So… do you have a bike?” Lance asks. Keith pauses for a moment in the middle of taking out the tools he needs from his toolbox. 
“I don’t,” Keith answers. He goes on with the work; he doesn’t mind the attention, at least not from Lance, but it’s surprising to him that Lance would say anything. “I’m actually trying to save up for one right now. I’ve been interested in them since I was a kid.” That was the sole reason why Keith didn’t have more piercings or any tattoos right now; his desire to not have to walk to work in Miami’s heat and humidity was greater than his desire for an aesthetic, currently. 
“Really?” 
“I had, like, a collection of like 50 toy models when I was a kid,” Keith explains. His hands move, almost by instinct, over the different parts of the bike, making sure to handle everything with care.
Lance makes a noise that could be a laugh. 
“What?” Keith asks. 
“Nothing.” He hears Lance shift behind him. “Just. It’s different from my childhood, I guess. My siblings and I always played those make-believe games.”
Keith hums. By the time he was adopted, Keith’s own brother was already  starting college, so he was never given a chance to do anything of that sort. 
“Is that why you’re a mechanic?” Lance sounds curious, and Keith, for the life of him, doesn’t know why.
“Kind of.” Keith’s tongue pokes out of the side of his mouth as he concentrates- it’s an involuntary habit he developed, probably after a year of working with Hunk. “My older brother’s also a mechanical engineer and was interested in this stuff… I kind of learned from him, too. He’s getting his PhD this year,” Keith adds necessarily, feeling a warm glow of pride for Shiro.
“Cool, tell him congratulations for me.”
From anyone else, Keith thinks, that would have sounded sarcastic, but somehow Lance makes them seem like the most truthful words ever spoken. It’s an odd trait for someone that has spiked rings stuck in his ears. 
“I will.” Then Keith frowns and sets his tools down, turning around on Lance. “Why are you talking to me?”
Lance blinks, clearly offended. “Excuse me?”
“That came out wrong.” Keith resists the urge to massage the bridge of his nose with two fingers. “I mean, you know, customers don’t usually talk to the mechanic while they wait.”
Luckily, Lance doesn’t seem to be angry (Keith usually has no qualms about riling someone up, but it seems unfair to do it so someone as uniquely nice as Lance). He reaches up and tugs at a stray piece of hair that peeks out from the front of his black beanie. Keith’s stomach does a flip.
“I don’t know,” he says, and he almost sounds sheepish. “I was just. Making conversation.” 
“Oh.” Keith feels nonplussed. “Well, you can get coffee and lemonade in the lounge. And like, cookies.”
They stare at each other for a moment, and Keith is sure that neither of them have any clue what exactly is going on right now. 
“I’ll leave you to it, then.” Lance holds two fingers up like a salute, and then contorts his face into a look of half-embarrassment, half-confusion. He walks off, leaving Keith also half-embarrassed, half-confused.
With his distraction gone, Keith is able to throw himself fully into his work. He works swiftly but meticulously, and by the time he looks up and realizes that an hour has passed since the manager spoke to him, the gas tank is already fixed. 
He sends a last, longing look towards the bike and then turns around and makes his way towards the lounge. His fingers are sticky with drying grease and dust, so he drags his fingers over the denim of his jeans, thankful that they’re black and will, for the most part, cover up the multiple stains he gets during the work day.
He actually breathes a sigh of relief as the air-conditioned air hits his skin, feeling the sweat on his skin cool instantly. The fans installed in the garage are literally never that useful during the peak of summer. 
“Lance?” he asks, searching with his eyes for that friendly smirk. Keith hopes that he didn’t grow impatient and leave, or they would have to store the bike for him and it would be another hassle. 
“I’m here!” says Lance’s voice, and he comes in through the door from the lobby. “I was having a chat with our lovely receptionist.”
Keith finds it a bit hard to swallow. “Right. I’m done with your bike.”
“Sweet.” Lance looks pleased, so that’s a bonus. “She’s all fixed up?”
“Good as new. They’re taking her to the front right now.” Keith tries for a smile, but he’s realizing that Lance will now leave forever, and for some absurd reason, that’s making him feel down.
“I can’t wait to ride her again,” Lance says mournfully. “It’s been a whole week.”
“I can see you’re attached to her,” Keith says, half-jokingly.
Lance smiles. “I named her Hermosa.”
“Nice,” Keith says, for lack of anything better to say.
“You know,” Lance says after a beat, lowering his ocean-blue gaze to meet Keith’s eyes. “If you’d be interested, I wouldn’t mind taking you on a ride one day.”
Keith’s brain isn’t able to comprehend Lance’s words. “Wait, what?”
Lance takes a step forwards, and the smile on his face transforms into (if Keith isn’t horribly, horribly mistaken) something that he could almost call flirtatious. “I mean, don’t think I didn’t notice that you’ve been flustered around me.”
Is Lance hitting on him? Is that what this is? There isn’t a possible way that Lance can actually be interested in Keith. Keith isn’t exactly the most appealing person in the world, as shown by his stained clothes and slightly matted hair and generally closed off personality. “I- wait, just- what?”
The confident looks falls off Lance’s face faster than Keith can blink. “Please tell me I’m reading that correctly. Holy shit, this is really fucking awkward if I’m not.”
Keith’s mind moves in fast forward, his thought process zipping forward to catch up with the situation that surrounds him. “No!” he splutters, taking a half-step forward. “No, I- I’m pretty sure you’re reading this exactly correctly.”
Lance’s face lights up, which makes Keith’s heart feel like it’s running a sprint in his chest. “Oh, really? I mean-” He clears his throat. “Yeah. Of course. I saw that.”
“I just didn’t assume that you would…” Keith’s voice is rather flimsy and he makes a vague gesture in an attempt to get his point across.
“Think I liked guys?” Lance grins, a whole wide smile with his white teeth showing, and his eyes crinkle up with something like amusement. He points to something on his vest and Keith follows the direction to a pin with the bisexual pride colours, resting over Lance’s heart next to a pin of the Cuban flag.
“Oh,” Keith says faintly. “Obviously I didn’t notice.”
Lance lets out a laugh that’s half a snort, half a giggle. Keith finds that it does inexplicable things to his heart. “Clearly.” His expression, looking nearly shy, and the change in demeanor gives Keith whiplash. “Do you think… maybe we could meet up something? To be clear, go out sometime.” He grins again and gives Keith a small wink of jest.
“Uh.” Keith coughs and curses himself for being so stilted. “Yeah. That’d be great.”
“Awesome.” Lance starts to speak so fast that Keith can barely catch what he’s saying. “I know this amazing Cuban bakery that we can go to. Actually, it’s owned by my aunt so I’m biased, but I promise you that the pastelitos de guayaba there are to die for. I’ll ride you there.” He whips out a Sharpie from his jeans pocket and grabs Keith’s hand, pulling him forward to scribble down a number on his skin. “Don’t forget to save the number before it rubs off.”
“I will,” Keith promises, feeling his cheeks warm up. It’s a good feeling, Keith decides.
“Cool.” Lance’s eyes are bright and Keith feels a faint rush in his chest and something like butterflies hatching in his stomach. “I gotta go pick up my bike, but I guess… I’ll see you around.”
“For sure,” Keith answers, and he tries to press down the oddly nice nervousness that bubbles in his stomach.
Lance squeezes Keith’s hand for a brief moment and then starts to walk away. Before he completely turns away, he looks back and Keith and gives him an impish grin and states, “I hope you plan on wearing cleaner clothes when we next meet.”
Keith glances down at his own grease-spotted shirt and looks back up at Lance, then rolls his eyes. “Yes, Lance, I do.”
Lance laughs, and to Keith it sounds like sunshine. “See you around, Mullet,” he says, and Keith is sure that he imagines the fondness that lies over the teasing nickname. Keith touches his own hair in mock offense and Lance shoots him a last smile before exiting the lounge.
Keith turns back to the garage and resists the urge to sigh like a lovestruck middle-schooler. Before he steps outside, he makes a mental reminder to save the number on his arm in his phone when he gets home, and when that thought brings a fluttery feeling to his stomach, Keith welcomes it.
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sasuhinasno1fan · 6 years
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A trip worth of Birthday Grimlin
So I never wrote a bday fic for Pidge last year, I had no time, and I want to keep the YouTuber AU train going with the bday fics. So I was trying to think about what they’d do for their birthday, since a lot of my ideas have come from other video’s I’ve watched, and then I remembered in Japan, there’s a place called the Robot Restaurant in Shinjuku and I was able to find a video of one of their whole shows and I thought, “would Pidge make all their friends get on a plane and fly to see this show? Probably.” So I mixed together two different shows, this and this. The first link is more of what I described. Also these shows are from two different years so if by any chance you did want to go to this resturant, the show won't be spoiled because they have new shows each year I believe. I know there's was a new one last year. So here we go, please enjoy.
Pidge was scrolling through their twitter feed when they felt their brother lean on them. They looked up to see their vlogging camera attached to what looked like Lance’s selfie stick, extended just far enough to get them both in frame
“So Pidge, my amazing younger sibling, where are we?” Matt asked, looking down at Pidge, who smiled unapologetically back at them.
“At the airport.”
“Right and what’s coming up?”
“My birthday. I’ll finally be 21, so I can legally drink now. Even though I’ve already had beer before.”
“You hate beer though. Anyway, why exactly are we at the airport with your birthday so close?”
Pidge stared the camera down. “We’re going to Japan to go to the Robot Restaurant!”
“Now anyone who knows me knows I’d usually be pretty scyed to go to this but Pidge,” Matt asked, the smile on Pidge’s face turning from unapologetic to embarrassed, “what else did you do?”
“I might have misbooked the tickets I got everyone? Ok but seriously, the whole time zone thing confuses the hell out of me. I know Japan is 3 hours ahead of us but I somehow forgot that Japan is also a day ahead of us.”
“No joke, they were googling and texting Shiro like crazy and yet they still managed to mess up the tickets and the reservation for the Robot Café.”
“I thought we’d be getting in on the 2nd still.” Pidge tried to defend
“Pidge, it’s the fact that Shiro texted and called you to remind you about this. He’s from Japan and talks to his parents all the time. I’m extremely tempted to make you read the gigantic text Shiro sent you reminding you about this.” Matt said, as Pidge hide their face on his arm.
“Shh, I feel bad enough. the good thing is the Robot Show isn’t until 4 and we get to Tokyo at like 12 pm so we have time to go to the hotel, shower and change, maybe eat something, even though I want to buy things at the place.”
“Oh yeah, the original plan was to do one of the dinner shows but those end near closing and where the Restaurant is, can get really crowded. besides, Shiro was like, after the show, we should hang out maybe a bit long until like it’s 8 and then go to sleep because our bodies will still be like, jetlagged.”
“An 11 hour flight and some of us aren’t surviving so far.” Pidge told the camera, taking the selfie stick and fiddling with it a bit to extend it even more before turning and lifting it so the whole Voltron crew could be in shot. Keith and Lance were next to Matt and using each other as supports as they snored away, Shay was passed out on Hunk’s lap and Hunk looked like he was following. Allura and Shiro were still awake, no doubt used to what they had to do when they went to go visit Shiro’s parents in Japan. “Only 4 of us are left if Hunk gives in.” Hunk woke up more at the sound of his name and waved sleepily at the camera. “I think we’re losing him. Thankfully we have like half an hour left until boarding starts and we all have first class tickets so we can go on early and pass out. It might be hard for me because Grassbomb usually comes and purrs next to me when I’m trying to sleep but Matt suggested I record her and listen to it on the plane.” Pidge explained shortening the stick so they wouldn’t whack any other tired passengers. “I don’t really think I’ll be recording on the plane and – oh Coran!”
The orange haired man had gone to get coffee since he said even in first class, airplane coffee was abysmal. Pidge didn’t care, coffee was coffee.
“Yes number 5? Is that Lance’s selfie stick?”
“I stole it from his bag.” Matt said, not sounding sorry
“Don’t expect help when he comes after you or worse, sends Keith after you. But, yes Pidge?”
“You’ve been to the Robot Restaurant right?”
“Yes I have and I can promise you one thing, there isn’t any other kind of show like it.”
“Sweet. Well, we’ll see you guys in Japan.”
The Voltron crew was able to sleep most of the flight away. Recording Greenbomb, Pidge’s cat, purring helped the youngest member pass out, almost missing when Keith and Lance got in trouble for trying to share the same pod seat to sleep. Pidge also wasn’t sure how their brother managed it, but he got the flight attendant to announce it was Pidge’s birthday during the announcements to landing. It was 12 pm, April 3rd, which made filling out customs forms hard.
Borrowing Lance’s selfie stick, Pidge was able get them all in the shot so they could all announce to the camera, “We’re in Japan!”
“And we have our entire luggage so we need to go and find our hotel’s shuttle driver because we have to get to the hotel, possibly change if we have time and then get down to Shinjuku because we have a reservation to make. Let’s go!” Pidge explained while the others grabbed their stuff and headed out to hopefully find their ride.
Luck was on their side as the driver found them easily and after playing Tetris with everyone’s bags, they were off. Almost everyone had either their phones or cameras out to take footage of the passing scenery, Pidge testing her Japanese on the driver. They got to the hotel and into their rooms before being given a small tour by the staff. It killed time before they got changed and were able to get a taxi all the way to Shinjuku where Coran told them to look for the sparkly dinosaur.
“Um, I found it.” Keith said, as Lance videoed the sparkly dinosaur as well as two robotic women, which the Holt siblings immediately ran to. “This is gonna be a weird evening isn’t it?” Keith asked rhetorically
“Pidge told us that we were going to Japan for their birthday just because they wanted to come here. Trust me, nothing about this day will be normal.” Lance said, giving his boyfriend an answer anyway.
Once they got enough pictures with the moving woman robots, they headed inside the narrow hallway and went down the stairs with strange and crazy themes for each floor, the bedazzled elevator being the groups favourite. They finally reached the front desk, where Shiro got them signed in and they were directed to get their drinks before being lead into the stage area to get their seats. Pidge was willing to admit they spoiled things a bit by looking at videos but they wanted to figure out the best place to sit. They got most of the whole third row on one of the sides reserved for them and while most stayed to save the seats, others went back to where they got their drinks to get bento boxes for everyone.
“Ok, so ready?” Matt asked, Pidge’s video camera in his hands, pointing it at his younger sibling.
“The mic is on right?” the room wasn’t fully packed but it was already loud from the excitement. At Matt’s nod, Pidge focused on the camera and waved. “Hey guys, so we’re finally here at the Robot Restaurant. Getting down here was weird because of all the crazy themes they have for each of the floors, not really up my ally but I was warned that there’s no other place like this, except for maybe the Monster Café Matt wants to go to.”
“It looks so cool!” Matt said from behind the camera
“Well, we’re here for a week, so we have time. Anyway, coming here gets you a free drink and if you wanted to, you could book tickets that also get you access into restaurants who work with this place, which was the original plan, but they’re mostly for dinner shows and Shiro suggested an early night, so most of the others are getting us bento boxes so we can eat. They do have a gift shop that we’re gonna visit later because I told everyone I want them to buy me something each from there.”
“There’s 8 of us here and only about 10 items I remember from the website, you’re just getting the whole store.” Matt said, Pidge not even looking the slightest bit concerned.
Pidge and Matt had set up cameras to film the whole thing and no have to worry about constantly messing with it while they watched.
Finally the show started, first with clown hype men getting the crowd excited while the master of ceremonies welcomed everyone and explained the rules. Pidge was glad they didn’t reserve front row tickets since those in the front row had to practise leaning back to avoid any passing robots. Soon the stage was clear and Pidge could see two moving stages come onto main stage and they started bouncing in their seat as the taiko drummers started their performance, the stages lighting up and moving as the drummers got very into their performance, the separate person on drums and percussion also rocking out before they were joined by a yokai dressed guitar player.
“Having fun?” Matt asked, watching the huge smile on Pidge’s face
“This is the coolest birthday ever!”
Before they knew it the stage was filled with performers and the performance was over as all but one stage of taiko drummers went off stage before they were joined by dancing fan girls, yokai dressed warriors and ninjas, who fought as the music surrounded them before the master of ceremonies invited new floats and robots to parade in front of the audience, the floats seeming to become filled with each round they made before a large silver robot with outstretched hands joined. Pidge did notice the floats seemed to all be pushed along by men in black with strange looking hats that covered their face. They leaned around their brother to poke Shiro, who sat next to Matt.
“Who are the guys in black?”
“They’re called kuorko, servants who hid in the shadows. They’re kinda like the backstage crew that moves stuff in the dark.”
After the performance, they were once again joined by the clown hype men who danced for the audience before announcing they were giving away a free popcorn to a lucky winner. Pidge stared at the screen, hoping their seat number would be picked. They had finished their bento and half of Matt’s but they were still hungry. The winner turned out to be Shay, who poured some in her empty bento box and passed it down for the others to do the same, but it never made its way back up once Pidge got a hold of it.
“Are you going to be able to eat dinner after this?” Allura asked as the lights were dimmed and the sound of chains filled the room.
“I don’t know. I didn’t eat anything yesterday because I was editing all day.” Pidge said stuffing more popcorn in their mouth.
“Pidge!” Allura scolded, to which Pidge shrugged
“I got busy. Besides that McDonalds breakfast from wasn’t exactly filling.”
The next show was a battle royal between robots, though Pidge could tell there were just costumes, it made them even more excited to see the one that actually looked more like robots. They show wasn’t as entertaining as the others and when it ended, they were given an intermission to go to the bathroom. Matt used it as an excuse to grab food and also somehow get the master of ceremonies to know it was Pidge’s birthday.
When he got back and the master of ceremonies came back to the stage, they first made sure everyone had been given a light stick and introduced the performers. Pidge had been focused on eating that they didn’t pay much attention to the start of the happy birthday song until their name was called.
“Happy birthday Pidge!” Pidge looked up, a piece of tempura hanging from their mouth as the master of ceremonies was able to get to the stairs to get to Pidge. They looked over to see a line of vlogging cameras capturing the moment.
“What did you do?” they demanded to know, but wasn’t given an answer as they were handed one of the robot plushes from the Restaurant’s store.
Once that was over, it was announced that the last show was about to start before LED lighted people came out on skates, segways and the coolest circular motorcycle Keith ever saw.
“No you can’t get one.” Lance teased seeing the look on his boyfriend’s face.
“Screw that, I’m making one!” Pidge announced
The stage was soon filled with two DJing dressed robots as they danced along while two robots, similar to the once that Matt and Pidge darted to at the entrance came moving on with bikini clad girls cheering on them. It was like a rave on steroids. When the rave ended, the one thing Pidge had been waiting for finally walked or in some cases was rolled onto the stage, the people in the more robotic looking costumes.
“Do you think we can make this?” Pidge asked their brother as the music started and the robots started dancing as the dancers came out to join them.
“As long as mom and dad don’t find out.” Matt replied
“Don’t encourage them!” Shiro said, already seeing the plans forming in the Holt sibling’s minds.
The last part of the show involved a plane that was covered in bikini clad girls, who’d switch with the girls on the LED tank that came towards them on the opposite side, a girl on a Tron looking bike and two other girls on barrel shaped robots making their rounds around them.
It all seemed like it ended too soon for Pidge but the whole crew of dancers and performers came on the stage one last time before disappearing into the wings. With their skill of putting video equipment away quickly, the group was able to gather their things and start exiting early so the store wasn’t as crowded as it would be once everyone was out. When they were finally on the street again, Pidge sat themself’s down on the robot again so their brother could film them.
“So what can you say about the show?” Matt asked, knowing the look from Pidge’s face had to tell the audience all
“Like Coran said, can’t find a show like it. Guys, I did record this, but watching the recording and seeing it for yourself are two different things. Trust me, if you have the chance, book a ticket and get down here! Now we need to get food because I couldn’t book the dinner combo tickets without it dragging on too late. I think I might end it here. Thanks everyone for your birthday wishes I would have read by the time this video goes up. We’re getting on a train in the morning to get to a prefecture that has a dog amusement park, because why not love both cats and dogs? This is your HackingGrimlin signing off and I’ll see you later, bye!”
Pidge didn’t survive the trip back to the hotel though. For the first time since getting their cat, the rush of adrenaline knocked Pidge out without the need for purring. Matt had to piggy back them back to their room, where they slept until 1 am and had to kindly ask the front desk if they could still order room service, since no one left after that.
Pidge was right about one thing, this had been their coolest birthday ever. It did make the others just slightly concerned with what Pidge no doubt had planned for the next year.
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