#the children in the voltron mines are entering the work force

[butchelves]

I personally cannot wait to see the cultural consequences of voltron legendary defender come to fruition

#the children in the voltron mines are entering the work force #and the consequences of this are immeasurable #Katie klanced will be a Supreme Court justice one day and we will all know #listen…I know in my bones that one day there will be a romcom that’s just #a blatant rip of dirty laundry #and the creator will be called on it IMMEDIATELY #and they are faced with the impossible choice of fessing up to having ripped the plot from a bad klance fic #or pretending that they are entirely unaware #and failing at that #and I think that’s delicious #as an anthropology major the cultural phenomenon of voltron is fascinating #miraculous.txt #vld

[lostwithspace]

Alteans, Quintessence, and spirituality - headcanons

The Alteans are a race of people who have worked their religion/spirituality into their life, including their sciences. The main general belief is that each person, creature, thing, is all connected with energy, which eventually became known as quintessence. Unlike the modern Galra, they didn't so much see this as a resource, but something inherent in each thing, and can be worked with to create amazing feats.

Quintessence comes from a space between universes, and pulled out into creatures upon creation, and can be imbued or come to exist in things and places. When it is put into a thing like this, it becomes its own unique force, mostly separate from the mass collection of which it came, although it still remains connected to the source. It can also take on forms outside of physical objects, pulled by a collective consciousness or group of ideas, given shape or form which is held by belief. Either one of these types of collected Quintessence can be wielded, as well as projected as though it had another form, like what some would call a spirit, ghost, kami, or familiar. A person’s particularly strong personal Quintessence can also take on the form of a creature, a part and aspect of their actual being given shape. It can also likewise be imbued into an object, although removing part of a living thing’s Quintessence can be just as dangerous as cutting off a digit or limb. With enough training, Quintessence can even be called upon from inside oneself or from an outside force to be used in various ways, although this practice was frowned upon as it took quintessence from its natural location and forcibly removed, thus depriving the original of part of what made it itself.

Someone touched by natural quintessence, have a natural affinity with it, or practice in using or manipulating it will gain marks on their body, which can differ based on species. This can be passed on through generations, as the children of these people are naturally disposed to be greater receptacle, although this can also be gained through exposure or use. Most Alteans, through their upbringing in their culture, generations of training, and natural affinity of quintessence have these marks under their eyes. If born without, they can be gained as normal, although generally triggered much easier, especially in the presence of natural quintessence.

Over the millennia of evolution and growth into the people that the Alteans were, there are estimated to be an innumerable amount of quintessence beings that have existed. It was theorized there might have been one for every aspect of life, idea or ideal held. Early Alteans believed in and so may have even created ancient gods, but as they grew as a species, came to understand it more, and while those ‘gods’ may no longer exist as they were, the Alteans respect for the power that each being has never truly went away. These spirits, as some call them, exist near the well of the raw natural quintessence, but able to maintain their own form, and view and even possibly enter to the Physical, although normally this is not visible to most people, or they can barely do anything other than exist. Stronger beings usually are able to do more.

The science of Alchemy on Altea is the ultimate form of science and quintessence together. When it was believed they were ready, the original practitioners were led by some of the mightiest quintessence beings to Oriande, a thin spot in reality and where spirits gathered freely, and shown how both physical and spiritual could truly be put together. Technology that responded with thought, or could connect with people in a way that allowed them to act as one, or change forms as needed, responding to the user. Religious figures became scientists, and life on Altea became a center of innovations and industry. 

The most well known and still existing technology that exists is obviously Voltron, and to a lesser extent the Caste of Lions. 

While the Castle was a bit less technologically reliant on Alchemy compared to Voltron, its main controls can be interacted with through Quintessence manipulation. Due to its age and housing the sleeping Allura and Corran for 10,000 years, the castle's quintessence itself has grown quite powerful, and is one of the oldest, strongest pieces of Alchemy that still exists. It was powerful enough so that it has created four physical manifestations, each with their own life, that it uses to interact with the world, as small mice. Even after it's destruction, the castle's mice still remained, for while all that existed that a crystal, the spirit still remained. Allura, having been of a greater wealth and connection with the castle’s quintessence because of her father, was able to even gain a psychic relationship with them, much like the lions with their pilots. A connection like this can also be manufactured as a connection with quintessence beings or the quintessence in an object or person, as Alfor did with Allura and the Lions before she was sealed in the Castle, although this would only have limited uses and not as strong as a natural connection. 

The Lions themselves, are not forms given life. With Alfor's work, five of the greatest quintessence beings which represent each of the 5 Altean elements were given a physical form. Each Lion is in fact a great sacred beast that has long watched over the Alteans and the universe. Sensing a great time coming where they were needed to protect those that they have come to watch over, they came together and created a comet. Launching it from deep in the quintessence well, they threw themselves out, and was able to land on Daibazaal. A small portion was placed into the bayards that each of the paladins use, to allow for greater connectivity with the Paladins, as well to allow the spirits to travel where their new giant forms did not allow. A similar event happened after the destruction of the Castle of Lions, it's spirit also allowed itself to be fused into a form, this time with the Earth ship Atlas.

Much like the castle, any quintessence grouping can survive after its destruction. In the case of people, their spiritual form combines on death, and they continue to exist, much as humans see ghosts, or the Galra have their ancestors (see previous headcanon on Galra holiday). They generally stay around if their emotions were strong enough to maintain their Quintessence from being drawn back again, following after a family lineage, or being dedicated to an ideal, person, place or being driven to remain for one reason or another. Once they're satisfied, their quintessence merges with the background of the universe, and to be reborn. Of course this last part happens if they’re tied or fused into a physical object to hold themselves. 

The Blades of Marmora were actually taught a small fraction of alchemy, which they guard to death greater than any of the secrets that they gather. In the final days of the Alteans, there were sympathetic Galra that hid the few remaining ones away to try and keep them safe, and stand against Zarkon's horribly militaristic control. One of these final Alteans, one who managed to survive a little while after the destruction of Altea, showed the Blades how to call upon a quintessence being, and fuse them into a weapon. Most Galra who do so have an ancestor which they request, to join with them in their fight against the perversion of the Galra. Using a metal that highly resonates with Quintessence beings, they are formed into the namesake Blades. This is why they are only usable by Galra descendants, as the ancestors inside can sense their deep connection.

The rift created by the fallen comet that was created by the lions arrival sparked much interest by Alchemists. It was a hole deep into the raw quintessence that makes up the area between mutliverses. With a joint investigation between Altean and Galra, they learned ways of harvesting and refining quintessence, as well as other source from inside their own universe. Great scientific advances were found, and allowed for a great prospering of both nations. Previous access to Quintessence had been localized to crystallized form created by the Balmeras and other similar creatures, which was usually a lengthy procedure that required sacrifice and ritual, or a lot of effort to mine

Unfortunately, exposure to and the absorbing of raw quintessence directly from the source causes major degradation in a person. Their own personal quintessence, which since birth has became its own being and different than the rest of the universe, doesn't hold itself when exposed, and will be worn away like sand against a current. Only the greatest of a person's emotions and desires can hold onto it's form, blasting away anything else that might exist in a person. This affects a person on all levels.

Deep inside the rift though, there weren't just benevolent or kind creations. As with any being in the universe, there can be malicious and malevolent thoughts, ideas and ways of life. These also exist deep in the quintessence well, and were drawn towards the bore hole. Trying to reach through, they attacked as soon as they were free, and eventually caused Voltron to seal the breach.

The discovery of refining quintessence allows for its use in many things. By stripping quintessence from its form (a person, place, or thing), it can be stripped of the uniqueness that makes up whatever it was pulled from, and moved to containers, to be used in many things, including ship engines. It even has the ability to be used in the medical field, as the raw quintessence seeps into a person or being, and allows their physical body to grow stronger or heal faster. Unfortunately, refined quintessence can also be used as a drug, as it can remove or replace parts of a person, much like raw quintessence. (See headcanon about Galra Quintessence)

With the destruction of most Alteans, and being bathed in the deepest parts of Quintessence, Haggar/Honerva learned of the ancient and previously taboo ways to manipulate it. Gathering a group of specially touched Galra, some that might have distant Altean ancestry, she started to train and create the druids of the Galra Empire. She taught them ways to wield these magics to cause the spread of fear across space.

After the guardian spirits that eventually were placed into the lions had launched themselves from the well of Quintessence, other spirits or beings started to have the same idea. Fortunately, this required a great amount of power that even the strongest being could not pull together to form out of nothing, so there was no risk of any fleeing without purpose. There was a small group though, that did have a purpose and a means. All sentient life has some sense of curiosity in them, and most if not all gain some kind of urge to explore or discover what is just around the corner, either locally or galactically. The beings of these came together, and set out to do exactly that. They threw themselves not just into space, but through spaces. To pass through and experience a wide range of universes. 

Unfortunately, one of these were also sought and bound by another living being, Lotor. Having studied any and all information on the Alteans, he recognized the possibilities with this comet, and harvested it to create his own ship. Built with 10,000 years additional technology from his Galra ancestry, and what he had learned, Lotor made a creation and enslaved a creation that could even challenge Voltron. Whether he was fully aware of what he was doing, is still unknown.

#Headcanons #Voltron #Voltron legendary defender #VLD #Allura #Lotor #Haggar #Honerva #Quintessence #Altea #Alteans #Alfor #spirituality #blade of marmora #Blades of Marmora #not RP #long post

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Caramel Skin Under A Red and Green Cloud prt 8 full draft

Keith was awake when Lance roused. His body was throbbing with a good kind ache. Blushing hard, the Cuban buried his face against his husband's chest as the memories of the previous night come flooding back. They'd had sex twice in the bed, then he'd been reduced to a a boneless mess as they'd accidentally stumbled their way into a third round in the shower. His shoulders felt a little sore from being fucked up against the tiled wall, so did his throat from all the crying out he'd done, but it was worth it for the deep feeling of happiness that bloomed in the pit of his stomach. His whole body felt warm from the feeling of being able to control his emotions and give himself to Keith. The way his husband reacted to him in lingerie made him blush even harder as he nosed at Keith's chest. He felt normal... The anxiety was there, it tendrils trying to sap his happiness, yet he was determined not to let them. He'd wanted Keith. He'd nearly lost his nerve when prepping himself because touching himself still felt dirty or more like a chore.

  "Good morning, Lance. Merry Christmas"

Raising his head, his chin dug into Keith's chest as he shyly smiled

"Merry Christmas, Keith..."

Hiding his face again, Keith kissed the top of his head

"How do you feel, babe? Are you feeling ok?"

"Mmm... happy... How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to clear three levels"

Lance hadn't even realised Keith as playing his game around him

"You're like a little kid. You couldn't stop yourself, could you?"

"No. Plus, I didn't want to wake you up when you were sleeping so soundly"

"Who's fault is that?"

"Yours. I never imagined you'd be wearing lingerie"

"Wanted to try and make it special for you. No drugs. No alcohol. Just you and me"

Keith hummed at him

"Wait, no drugs? You didn't take your injection?"

"I took it earlier so the high would be out of my system... I want to work on... sex with you. Happening more often"

"You know I'll wait for you to be ready. If you pushed yourself last night..."

"No. A little, but I've been planning this for a while now... it wasn't not what I wanted"

Keith kissed the top of his head again

"That's good. You looked beautiful. I mean. You always look beautiful... but last night... quiznak"

"You're so eloquent this morning. I'm happy you liked it"

"You've raised the bar in the gift department. I could give you the whole damn space mall and it wouldn't make up for what you've given me"

Nuzzling Keith's chest, Lance hugged him tight

"I don't want it. As long as I have you, I'm happy"

"Me too babe, me too"

   Spending the next half varga lazily nuzzling and whispering around Keith's game, which Lance had rolled over in Keith's hold to watch, things slowly became more teasing. When Keith died on the level he was playing, the game console was placed under Lance's pillow, revealing the condoms and lube Lance had hidden their the previous day. Moving his hand between Lance's legs, Lance moaned as his husband rutted up against him

"Babe..."

"Mmm... it's ok..."

It was more than ok

"Is this what being in a heat is like?"

Lance shook his head, moaning again as he nudged up against Keith's hand

"This... this I want... my heat. I can't think. It's need. Need to be fucked and filled... to be bred senseless... and it hurts so bad"

"Babe, I promise you won't have to go through them alone"

"Can we...?"

"Again?"

Nodding, his body was going crazy for Keith. Their bed still smelt of their sex

"Yeah... yeah, I want you... there's condoms... no mess"

  Nosing at Lance's nape, Keith pulled the back of his pyjama bottoms down, fingers moving to rub at his still soft and puffy opening

"You're so beautiful..."

Moaning around the feeling of his husband's finger breaching him. Keith had no idea how much it meant to him that he didn't simply push in

"Does it hurt?"

It did. A little... Keith's dick wasn't exactly small and despite how he wished to forget he'd taken much bigger things. It was a good kind of size. It wasn't a bad hurt, if it had been he would have said

"It's not too bad"

Keith nodded, nipping at his nape again. His husband was definitely a biter. If it kept up, he was going to have to get him a chew toy... Feeling Keith's teeth sinking into his nape, Lance wriggled away

"Hey you, no more biting. I want to kiss you"

  Twisting in Keith's hold, Keith's kisses were always the sweetest. He loved this man too damn much for his own good. Moaning into his mouth, his husband was certainly eager. He'd been pretty eager the previous night too... His husband's filthy mouth could do such soft and sweet things... For the emo teen he'd been, Lance kind of wondered how flustered he would have been if they'd been dating while part of Voltron. He could picture Keith blushing as he stuttered out what he wanted to do, then getting angry with himself over how he spoke. Keith was so quiznakking cute.

  Wearing condoms to lessen the mess, the sex was soft and gentle. Lance showered with kisses rather than bites, giggling at the way Keith's messy hair tickled beneath his nose as his husband fucked him slowly. He could smell in his scent how worked up Keith was, yet after the previous night Keith was being attentive to his every need, no pushing it too far out of fear of hurting him. This was what he'd expected sex to be like. Not just to be used and abused, held down and forced until he sobbed himself out of tears. This gentle sweet thing blossoming between them. When Keith had gone to touch his hair, he'd flinched before he knew it. Instead of making a fuss, his husband had simply moved to cup his face and kiss away the twinge of fear. They'd never kissed him. His mouth wasn't made for that. When Keith was over him, his smaller frame wasn't as heavy and crushing. His scent was intense, but so very Keith. Even from behind the feel of it was completely different. His arms and legs were free, his mouth never gagged, and he was never hit for not being good enough. He was scared for his heat, yet he wanted that with Keith. He wanted to be able to let his husband take the pain away. Sniffling softly, Keith stilled between his legs, bringing his up to sit back. Closing his eyes in shame, Lance bit his lip. His heart was pounding ridiculously

"Babe? Are you ok? You're crying..."

Nodding, he felt Keith's hands coming to his face. The pads of his thumbs wiping away the fresh tears

"I can pull out"

Shaking his head, Lance opened his eyes to find Keith's eyes filled with worry

"No... no... I'm really happy"

"You're crying"

"I was just... thinking about how gentle you are with me... and it all hit me. You're so good to me..."

"That's nothing to cry about"

"I told you, happy tears. I always wanted this... to feel this loved"

"Aw baby..."

"I mean..."

"I... wanted this too... with you. I love you"

Reaching up to take Keith's face in his hand, he leaned up and kissed him. Rolling his hips hard, Lance moaned as he left himself fall back against his pillow. Other than the morning breath, Lance couldn't find a single thing to fault Keith on. All his husband had ever wanted was to feel like he belonged. Dios. If he'd only known that back then... Keith would have been showered in so much love and reassurance he probably would have snapped

"You can be a little rougher... I'm close"

"Nope you gifted me yourself last night and I'm going to treasure this gift of mine"

"You're such a sap"

"Shut up. You love it"

"Mmm... I think you might be right, oh great husband of mine"

Keith grunted, picking up his pace

"You're a dick"

"You're the dick"

"I thought I was a great husband"

Lance would have rolled his eyes if Keith hadn't been hitting his sweet spot so perfectly. The jolts of pleasure through his body lowering his intelligence with each thrust

"What was that? No complaints, great husband of mine"

"Less talking and more moving"

Laughing at him, Keith kissed him on the nose

"I love you, you dork"

     *

When Lance and Keith were running late, it totally wasn't their fault. Kosmo had rolled in something dead before teleporting in and ruining their morning between the sheets. Between showering, scrubbing Kosmo clean, Lance's hips deciding that his legs didn't need to work, and trying to find clothes that hid the marks they left one each other, they were still trying to get ready when Nadia and Sylvio were sent to collect them. Lance had the suspicion that tio Keith had kicked him out of his position as top uncle as both kids hung off Keith's side. His husband holding hands with both children as they walked from the Telula down to the house. Apparently they were the last ones to arrive, according to Nadia, but Nadia didn't know Veronica was coming home.

  Entering the house, it smelt of all sorts of food that would be laid out down in the tent for lunch. Their teams were already in the living room with Marco and Rachel trying to reexplain the whole "Christmas thing" to them all. Letting Keith go, Nadia and Sylvio ran to throw themselves down with their presents from Luis and Lisa.

  "Mijos! Merry Christmas my loves!"

Shuffling out the kitchen, his mother wiped her hands on her apron as she approached. Once close enough, they were both pulled into a tight hug with his mother kissing both their cheeks

"Merry Christmas, mami. Sorry we're late. Kosmo needed a bath"

"Don't you worry about that. We planned for you to have all morning together. Oh my, is that a new hickey? I hope you've been treating my boy right"

Keith cleared his throat

"Yes, mami"

"Not you my love, Lance"

Groaning at his mother, Lance kissed her hair

"Mami, really?"

"I'm just saying..."

"No. No more just saying. This topic isn't open for discussion"

"Well I hope you're being careful"

Lance blushed, and he was sure Keith would be blushing too

"Now you're here we can do presents for the kids. Can I get either of you something to drink?"

"Yes please. Do you need a hand in there?"

"Lisa and Luis are in there with Juana. She's in quite the mood this morning"

Juana was adorable. She'd been so tiny when he'd left. Now she was up and running, claiming everything she could

"We'll watch her. She really liked Acxa. Speaking of that... has she?"

"She should be here within the hour. We're waiting for her before presents"

"Sounds good. Then Keith and I will get out your way. Merry Christmas, mami"

Keith softly echoed as they both gave his mother a hard squeeze

"Merry Christmas, mami..."

"Oh, I'm so happy you finally got together..."

  Letting them go, Keith looked a little out of his depth as Miriam walked away mumbling about how "nice it was that Lance brought home a good man". What else was he going to bring him? Someone like Sendak? His thought sent a shiver up his spine. Even as a joke, he wasn't ready to be joking about it mentally. He shouldn't be joking about it mentally. He knew better than to do that

"Babe, are you ok? Your scent's changed"

"Yeah... no. It's alright. I was... let's just say I was wondering what she'd think if I brought home someone from the past"

"I'm from the past"

Forcing they eye roll, Lance hated being a miserable arsehole. It was Christmas. He smelt of gingerbread from his mother. The house was filled with love and family. None of his past had a place here. Leaving Keith standing there, he walked around the sofa to throw himself at Rachel and Marco, the three of them going down in an uncoordinated mess causing laughter from both their teams and the kids. No. His past had no place here. His anxiety had no place here... Soon V would be there and it'd be present time. Exchanging Merry Christmas's with everyone, Rachel started teasing him for his being late, Keith not backing up story over Kosmo needing a bath very convincingly. Feeling like he was being "laughed at" rather than "laughed with" those anxieties threaten to spill free. He wanted a good Christmas and his family wanted him to be happy. He just had to keep smiling and hope that nothing happened.

  Veronica passed the varga mark, during which time Lance worked on keeping down his anxieties as he watched Keith holding a sleeping Juana. The toddler had claimed his husband's lap almost immediately, and look on Keith's face had been priceless. Grabbing Keith's face, Juana didn't seem to have eyes for anyone but Keith, even her stuffed bear was cast aside. Laughing at Keith, his husband looked far out of his depth. Gathering Juana up, Lance had sat her down between outstretched legs, as Keith passed her bear over to him. His mami was right, she was in a royally bad mood. The teddy went flying. Lance got smacked in the face as she started screaming and crying because her bear was now too far away. His nerves went from shaky to shot completely. When Rachel and Marco both tried to distract Juana, they were both snubbed in favour of the girl throwing herself face first on the floor. Not used to dealing with screaming toddlers, and having no concept of letting them cry it out, Keith tried to help as he lifted the cranky girl off the floor into his arms. Continuing to cry, Keith rubbed the small girls back, by some miracle calming her down. The moment Rachel to take Juana to put her in the porta-cot Juana started crying again. Refusing to be taken from Keith. Still nursing Juana, Keith didn't bother moving when someone knocked on the door. Rachel and Marco had given up and were now sorting out the Christmas presents under the tree, Lance watching as Keith's pile grew larger. It seemed like his whole family had added to the pile of presents he'd already placed there. Their teams had started discussing the differences in their own holidays and traditions, so with everyone else busy, he was the only one with the freedom to move

"I'll get it"

  Opening the door, Lance had approximately two ticks before Veronica had him in a head lock and his burning anxieties burst into a roaring fire. Confused as to why he was being so suddenly attacked by his sister, his breath caught in his throat as she turned it into a noogie. He hadn't been able to handle Keith touching his hair, much less Veronica damn near giving him friction burn with her fist

"You little shit! Why didn't you tell me you and Keith were married?! I had to read it in the galactic press!"

  Releasing him, Lance stumbled backwards, falling hard on his arse with a whimper. Veronica's noogies weren't uncommon when they were kids. It was the suddenness of it all that got him. Fear flooding his body as he curled in on himself, arms coming up to protect himself. Laughing, Veronica didn't realise what happened, her hand landing on his head

"It wasn't that bad... You totally had it coming. How could you not tell me you got married? Everyone is talking about it... Pidge says she ready to both of you"

Ruffling his hair, Veronica's voice merged with a gruff and heavy voice, a whimper of terror bubbling from him as he slapped Veronica's hand away.

 "You had it coming"

"You deserve this"

"Pregnant bitch"

"Useless whore"

 Their words came back. Crashing over him as his arse and hips throbbed, Lance whimpered again. The smells were wrong. He couldn't just smell Keith on him anymore

"Lance? Hey..."

Crouching down, Veronica wore an expression of alarm

"Lance?"

Curling into himself further, he couldn't move for his fear

"Por favor... por favor... no más... no más... por favor..."

  Coming up behind Veronica, Shiro moved her back

"Keith, we need help. Lance, it's Shiro. Can you hear me?"

Begging again, request wasn't listened to. Placing his arm on Lance's, Lance snapped. Launching himself forward, he tackled Shiro down. Shiro falling back in surprise as Veronica shrieked at him. Coming to his senses when he didn't find his blade his boots, his eyes widened at Shiro beneath him. He hadn't even heard him arrive. Looking up, he realised everyone was staring... in the background Juana was crying again

"Lance..."

"I... fuck..."

Scrambling back off Shiro, he turned to bolt. Veronica grabbing him as he did. Half tripping again, pain flared up his leg as he ran for it up the stairs. He'd fucked up. He'd fucked up so badly. He couldn't even run properly. His body hurt too much. The pain sending those fears back to the surface. Reaching the bathroom, he threw himself into the small room, slamming the door closed behind him as he clumsily tried to get the bolt to lock. He needed to calm down, but he couldn't calm down. He needed Keith, but Keith was on the other side of the door. All he'd had to do was be normal for one quiznakking day. One day. The most important day. Today was supposed to be perfect. He'd brought gifts for everyone.

 For Daehra a book on Earth herbs and an indoor herb kit.

 For Lucteal an impressive, if not rather vicious long black staff that had been hard to wrap to hide its appearance.

 For Zak four huge boxes of scrapped tech parts to assist in the building of his AI.

 For Tobias, he wasn't really sure so played it safe and picked up half a dozen games for the game console he knew was squirrelled away somewhere.

 For Ezor and Zethrid matching shirts that said "I'm with her", plus a box of pink gum for Ezor and a small sharp curved blade for Zethrid.

 For Acxa it'd been a little harder, he'd picked up a black shirt that said "my girlfriend could kick your girlfriends arse", and a model of the Atlas to remind her of Veronica when they couldn't be together. He'd found caps proudly labeled "Team V". V as in Voltron obviously, but given everyone called Veronica "Ronnie" or "V". Picking up two, he set one aside for Veronica, unable to resist cute couple items.

  For Keith... He'd gotten carried away shopping for his husband. He wanted Keith to experience everything he'd missed as child at a family Christmas. Socks and underwear. Soft toys. Bad toys. Stupid toys like the two big super soaker he'd picked up. A lunch box that wasn't exactly what anyone ever wanted for a Christmas gift but your parents thought it a good idea anyway, but it had Black and Red it, so that was a win. The embarrassment of more adult gifts to match puberty... also known as a condoms and lube, which his brother Marco had taken particular delight in gifting him when he was 14. The mortification still had him hesitant to accept anything from his lay backed brother.

 He'd ruined it all... He'd had a good morning with Keith. He'd had more than a good morning. He hadn't felt the same anxiousness that he'd felt sitting on the living room floor, trying not to think about anything... They had plans for this... plans for if something set him off. He couldn't think though. He couldn't remember the plan. As someone knocked on the door, he sank to kneel, covering his ears.

[ghostiedoesherbest]

Patches - IV

Trigger Warning: talk of abuse and abusive relationships

Of course, all good things must come to an end. Pidge had returned to the castle without her father and she was sad despite rescuing all of the other scientists that had been held captive. Mateo and Lotor had been sitting in the former’s room, enjoying each other’s company as they regalled one another with funny stories from their adventures, unaware of the offer that Zarkon had made to the Paladins in their absence. Lotor was busting his gut over the story Mateo was telling him about he and Lance finding a turtle while they were on vacation in Florida. Lance had always been afraid of turtles for some reason and that fear increased when the turtle had these loud squeaking noises. Lance immediately started screaming which only caused the poor terrified turtle to squeak even louder. 

“What happened after that?” Lotor was barely able to wheeze out as he held his sides. 

“I went back the next day with some strawberries and I saw that same turtle. I put one in front of it and it ducked into its shell. It took some patience but eventually it came out and started nibbling on it. I was going to leave it there with some strawberries but it started following me but it was so slow that it was pitiful. So, I got permission to take it home and keep it as a pet,” Mateo explained with a wistful smile. “I learned that he was male and named him Toby.”

“How long can these ‘turtles,’ live?” Lotor asked in concern, not knowing how long the human had been in space.

“Well it depends on the species. Small turtles can live for about eighty years and the big ones can live well over a hundred years - I mean deca-phoebs. So chances are, Toby might outlive me,” Mateo chuckled as he scratched his neck. “Lance’s older brother, Luis promised to take care of him since I couldn’t keep him in the barracks with me while I was in the Garrison.”

Lotor was about to delve into the story of how he almost adopted a flesh eating monster that used its cute appearance to lure its prey into a false sense of security when Mateo received a message from Shiro. Lotor watched as Mateo’s smile faded when his eyes scrolled over the holographic text that appeared before him. He turned to the prince with a grim frown, “We’re needed in the control room.”

Lotor quickly sobered and Mateo gave him the time to gather himself before they left his room. The brief walk was filled with tension and Mateo was trying not to show his worry for Lotor as not to worry him as well. There were even more grim faces upon entering the control room. Mateo ignored the glare that was leveled at him and the prince at his side from a certain Altean princess. “What’s going on?” he asked, taking in everyone’s resolute expression. 

He crossed his arms when no one answered as he patiently waited for them to answer his question. It was Shiro who finally broke the silence before Mateo could grow impatient. “Pidge wasn’t able to rescue her father but...we know where he is and how to get to him.”

Mateo blinked in surprise, his brow furrowed in confusion as he and Lotor shared puzzled looks, “Then why all the long faces?”

Shiro sighed in exhaustion, “Zarkon has Commander Holt and he’s willing to trade him for Lot -.”

“No.”

“What?!” Pidge shrieked in outrage. “What do you mean no! That’s my dad!”

“And this is Zarkon we’re talking about!” Mateo snapped back. “Do any of you honestly think that he’d actually hold up to his end of the deal even if you did go through with it?”

“What do you mean ‘if?’ This is my dad we’re talking about!” Pidge snarled,

“You have all of my sympathy but we have to think about this objectively. Our goal is to take out Zarkon and someone has to take the throne after him. After the first attempt, I’m pretty sure he gets that and he also understands that Lotor would be able to take over after him. If he gets Lotor then this would have all been for nothing. Zarkon wins because for all we know Lotor is the only Galra willing to work with us outside of the Blades of Marmora.” 

“Who -”

“Sh sh sh,” Mateo interrupted Lotor’s inquiry with a finger to his lips, “I’m on a roll here.” He returned his attention to an obstinate Pidge and continued, “We need to have a plan - multiple plans in fact because we can’t trust Zarkon.”

“But we can trust Lotor?” Allura scoffed. 

“More than Zarkon that’s for sure,” he retorted.

“What if they’re working together?” Pidge demanded. “What if this is all some big plan to earn our trust and betray us later?”

“Then it’s even more important to keep Lotor out of Zarkon’s hands. I know you want to jump at the chance to have your father back but we need to think this through.”

Shiro put a hand on Pidge’s shoulder, “Mateo is right. We need to be prepared.”

“My father has held the universe in a death grip for millennia, but he sees it slipping from his grasp because of your efforts and because of mine,” Lotor said, hesitantly resting a hand on Mateo’s shoulder to feel grounded. This will be one of the most difficult things that he will ever have to do. “With our forces combined, we would provide the greatest threat Zarkon has ever faced. He knows we could topple his empire, so this is his attempt to tear us apart. But united, we could forge a new path, open doors to new worlds, and crush the tyrannical ways of an old regime.”

“It’s a regime you ran! We can’t listen to him. He just wants to save his own skin! He shouldn’t even be out of his jail cell!”

“If you return me to my father he would surely see to my demise. And with his most legitimate threat to the throne removed he would only grow stronger,” Lotor admitted.

“One less threat to Zarkon and one less threat to us,” Pidge coldly retorted.

Lotor turned his gaze onto Allura and took a step forward to stand in front of Mateo, “Your father, King Alfor, once stood side by side with Zarkon and protected the universe from harm. There was no foe the paladins of old couldn’t defeat. Sadly, that time of peace has been lost, but, together, we can find it once more. Princess, imagine a new generation that could lift the mantle of peace. The children of King Alfor and Emperor Zarkon, you and I, a royal alliance between Altean and Galra.”

Lance grew defensive when he interpreted that as Lotor making a pass at Allura, “How ‘bout we don’t imagine that!”

“Lies! Every word is a lie!” Pidge insisted unwaveringly. 

“So suddenly Zarkon speaks the truth?” Mateo asked as he watched the very one sided exchange. “You’re still ignoring the fact that Zarkon is our biggest threat and he’s lining everything up so that either he or someone like him could be on the throne. Do you really think he’ll do as he says and return Commander Holt? You expect the corrupted leader of a ruthless empire that has murdered his friends, crushed civilizations under his heel, and ceaselessly chased us through the universe will honor his word?” 

“You think he’ll double cross us,” it wasn’t a question on Shiro’s part.

“I don’t think, I know, Shiro!” Mateo implored.

Lotor nodded in agreement. “I believe he would do anything to rid himself of me and claim the Lions of Voltron.”

Allura’s expression was troubled as she thought over this information, “An alliance with the Galra heir could end the war.”

“What?!” Pidge demanded in outrage. 

“It’s not ideal,” Allura said, trying to placate the volatile Green Paladin. “I don’t like trusting the Galra but it could be our best option.”

“No!”

“Pidge think of the lives we could save. Think of the countless worlds we could free,” the princess tried to reason.

“Think of my father!”

Mateo sighed in exasperation and approached the Green Paladin before bringing his fist down onto her head. 

“Ow! What the heck Teo!” 

Mateo regarded the younger girl with disappointment. “Pidge I don’t want to be that guy but shut your trap and listen. I’m gonna go slow so you can keep up. We’re at war, a war that will never end if we don’t screw this up. If we hand over Lotor everyone else is screwed because Zarkon’s place is secure and even if we did manage to take him down afterwards, the empire would have a power vacuum and we all know how that would turn out. We have the chance to end this war in our lifetime and giving Lotor to Zarkon might tip the scales in his favor in one way or another.”

“You wouldn’t understand, you never even met your dad!”

Lance and Mateo both took in sharp breaths for entirely different reasons. Lance, because he’d seen the murderous look in Mateo’s eyes for a split second and Mateo, to keep himself from throttling the petulant Paladin. He leaned down to glare into her hazel eyes.”I’ll let that go because you’re Lance’s friend,” he said in a deathly quiet tone. “But your voice and wants aren’t the only ones that matter. Hunk, you’ve been quiet. What do you think?”

Hunk flinched, surprised at being addressed. He began to twiddle with his fingers as he tended to do in tense situations, “I don’t know - I mean. If this dude here is on our like he says he is,” he turned to Lotor with uncertainty, “you are saying you’re on our side right? Then, couldn’t he lead the Galra toward peace from the inside like they’ve been saying?”

This was as much as Pidge could take as she rose her voice over Hunk’s, “We are turning him in and getting my dad back. We have Voltron to bring peace to the universe.”

Mateo scoffed, “Voltron is a weapon, not a miracle worker. How long would we have to fight if we turn Lotor in? Months? Years? All because you value your dad’s life over others? How many will die for this Pidge? How much blood are you willing to have on your hands for this?”

“That’s not fair!”

“Life’s not fair,” Mateo snapped at the Paladin’s weak response. “If we do this your way we lose more lives than necessary because of you and you better be ready to live with that because I’m not.”

“That’s enough, both of you,” Shiro scolded, getting between them. “We’re trading Lotor for Commander Holt and that’s final.” 

“But Shiro -” Mateo tried to protest, not noticing the way Lotor tensed or how his fists were clenched.

“That’s final, Mateo.” Mateo grit his teeth and glared at everyone in frustration. Lance, Hunk, and Coran avoided his gaze, Allura and Shiro gave him looks of resignation, and Pidge met his gaze head on with one of disdain and anger for not being on her side. 

“If you’re gonna send him to his death, then you might as well make him comfortable beforehand,” he grunted, knowing that he was outranked by the Black Paladin. However, he dared anyone to contradict him as he led Lotor away. Lotor followed in silence, unsure what to say about what he’d just witnessed. The tension in Mateo’s back set him on edge, until he stopped and let out a sigh that seemed to make him deflate. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry for what we’re about to put you through.”

Lotor chuckled in an attempt to reassure him, “I’m honestly surprised that you still defended me as much as you did. Although, I must admit that I didn’t expect the Paladins of Voltron to be so...”

“Impulsive?” Mateo offered him a bitter smile. “Yeah, it’s actually pretty amazing that we’ve survived this long. There’s only so much you can do when you put an insanely powerful super weapon in the hands of children. Someone’s gotta play devil’s advocate and often times that makes you the devil in some eyes.” 

Lotor hummed in thought as he continued to follow Mateo, recognizing the hall that they were walking in. Mateo stopped at a door and Lotor was met with the sight of the brunette’s room. Nothing had changed since they had last been there, but Lotor noticed with intrigue that Mateo had a little compartment that went unnoticed before. He watched the human tap that compartment and open it to take out a small touch screen device wrapped up in a long blue wire. Lotor sat on the bed next to Mateo when he absently waved him over while unraveling the wires from the device. 

“I don’t know what the Galra have for music, but this always puts me at ease,” Mateo said as he offered Lotor an earpiece. 

The Galra prince hesitantly took the earpiece and placed it in his ear. He watched Mateo scroll into a playlist, not recognizing any of the songs written using one of earth’s many languages. Mateo selected a random song and it began to play. Lotor was intrigued by the sound of stringed instruments and high hats filtering through the earth device, and glanced out the corner of his eye to see Mateo leaning back on his arms with eyes closed. His chin was tilted back, baring his vulnerable neck to Lotor as he lost himself in the music. The prince mirrored his position and closed his own eyes, letting the melody and words envelope him and set him adrift.

He felt weightless as the music took him away from his problems and tried to ignore the dread that came from the anticipation of coming back down to them. His eyes fluttered open when the song ended. “What was that song about? The singer sounded like they were in deep despair.”

“That’s because the singer is narrating the life of someone in a really bad relationship. He’s hurting her and lying to her, breaking her heart and then promising to never do it again only to repeat the cycle. She makes an effort not to set him off, thinking its her fault but nothing she does ever works. The one thing she finds solace in is the rain. It’s cooling and comforting for someone coming from such a heated place and it gets her mind off of her situation if only for a few moments.”

“Why is she still with someone that hurts her?”

“Because she loves him, and love can make even the most perceptive people blind sometimes. She wants to leave this man behind and get better but her heart is trapping her with him. She believes that this man loves her as much as she loves him despite the abuse and that’s what keeps her there. In the end, she does end up leaving him to start a new chapter of her life. She’s decided to put herself first because she knows she deserves better. This was one of my mom’s favorite songs,” Mateo sighed, not even flinching at the twinge his heart gave at the mention of her. He’d long gotten used to the ache. 

“Why would your mother love such a sad song?” Lotor asked in confusion, the phrasing not lost on him. Sure, he could appreciate the song but in his experience, most people favored more upbeat and joyous music than what he’d just heard.

Mateo chuckled, “You know I asked her the same question and you know what she told me?” Lotor gave him a puzzled look, queueing him to continue. “She told me that this song is a testament to strength. This woman wasn’t some great warrior with a legendary weapon. She was a tired woman who wanted more than to be beaten down by life, but she had the strength to be her own savior. No one came to her rescue because no one was going to come. She had to do the saving on her own and that takes a strength that I don’t know if I’ll ever have if put in her situation.”

Lotor stared off in thought, reminded of certain aspects of his own life, “I suppose I can see where she was coming from.” He returned to his previous position, listening to the next song that had already begun to play while they’d been talking.” 

Mateo watched him out of the corner of his eye and made up his mind. He reached into the still open compartment that held his phone. It didn’t take a genius to know what Zarkon would do to Lotor once they hand him over, so he took out the only possession he had that would at least allow the prince to put up a fight. Wordlessly, he slipped it into Lotor’s hand and the prince curled his fingers around it like it was a lifeline. Neither of them said a word as Lotor placed the knife in his boot and they tried not to think about his looming fate. This was the most Mateo would be able to do for Lotor and he hated it. They were supposed to be the good guys, so why were they doing something that felt so damn wrong?

Tag List: @starfaring-princelotor @motheroflittlelions@fandomsoffeelings@done-with-your-shit-shirogane @kirahhhh@legendofcarl @lotor-for-emperor@marvelheaux @yanderemommabean@lotorrential @planet-jumping-warrior

#lotor #prince lotor #prince lotor imagine #voltron #voltron fanfic #Voltron Imagine #emperor lotor #welcome to the lotor deserves better coalition #i hope you can't tell #that pidge got on my nerves this specific episode #have some goddamn empathy girl #the universe doesn't revolve around your problems #smartest #and most insensitive paladin

[kingofthewilderwest]

I can't stop thinking about how beautiful Lotor and Allura's children would be if they ended up being together

Oh goodness. Lotor is unfairly pretty, as is Allura. That’s quite a lot of way-too-pretty genetics all in one place! XD

Now… I don’t like raining on anyone’s parade, and I know you just want to have a friendly squee, but I hope it’s okay to bring up how Lotor and Allura have been written throughout the Voltron franchise. I want to write this as a fair warning in case people don’t realize what the issue with Allotor is. Now, technically, if we were looking just at VLD, Lotor and Allura’s interactions have been fine, so I can see why people who lack context to the full franchise would jump into a ship with these two. But the ongoing history of Lotor and Allura hasn’t been so innocent. It’s consequently why I personally would be uncomfortable to hook them up. 

The longstanding tradition between Lotor and Allura has been… Lotor lusting after Allura, and trying to force her into a romance. 

It’s not been pretty.

Beast King Golion (1981-1982) is the main source material from which the Voltron franchise developed. It set the stage for many things, including how Lotor (Prince Sincline) interacted with Allura (Fala). Even one summarizing paragraph from the Voltron wiki gives us an extremely unpleasant situation:

Sincline’s obsession with Fala was revealed that she resembles his mother and that his obsession was rooted in an Oedipus complex. Sincline’s infatuation with Fala is a constant motivation behind most of his attempts to defeat Golion to which even his father warned him to stop. Because of that obsession, Sincline kidnapped Fala’s identical cousin, Princess Amue of Heracles, rapes her, and attempted to execute her after she foiled his plans.

I own the entire Beast King Golion series on DVD, and I can confirm that Sincline does indeed try to pursue Fala and take her against his will. These screencaps all come from just one episode:

Fala is unconscious, Sincline steps over her, declares he’s going to make her his wife, and then picks up her up to kiss her. Obviously this is as “not okay” as you can get between Lotor/Sincline and Allura/Fala.

Voltron: Defender of the Universe (1984-1985) takes the animation of BKG but edits out and tones down its most disturbing content - avoiding deaths, blood, etc. - but it still keeps the concept of Lotor constantly pursuing Allura. This is the corresponding DotU episode from the BKG screencaps I gave you. “Give Me Your Princess” is also about Lotor deciding he wants to take Allura as his bride - something she obviously doesn’t want. And this becomes a recurring conflict throughout the DotU series.

Voltron: The Third Dimension (1998-2000) is part of the franchise I haven’t gotten to yet, but it’s written essentially as a sequel to DotU. Though I haven’t watched T3D, I have seen a few clips, and in E3 “Building the Forces of Doom,” Haggar shows Lotor his dreams and his fears. The dream he desires is… you guessed it… Allura…

The history of Lotor chasing after Allura makes its way into the comics and graphic novels. The Devil’s Due Publishing omnibus (2008), which retells DotU with more depth, grit, and maturity, is perhaps my favorite telling of Voltron. I’ve had my suspicions since S4 that VLD has been influenced by material within DDP, given as it contains a story where Sven (aka Shiro) is rejected from his lion, seems to get brainwashed by Haggar, betrays Voltron, and teams up with Lotor. There’s a point where Voltron and Lotor make a temporary alliance to fight against Yurak/Sendak. There’s a fight for leadership and power within the Drule (Galra) Empire. And it’s the only material in the Voltron franchise that seems to write a strong psychic bond between the Voltron pilots, their lions, and each other. Sound familiar?

So, one other thing that DDP brings up is the idea of Zarkon and Alfor initially being at peace, but then Zarkon capturing the planet Arus/Altea when Lotor and Allura were children. In this telling of Voltron, Lotor and Allura knew each other during childhood.

This gets slightly closer to what we see in VLD, but it also perpetuates the impure nature of Allotor. When Lotor reunites with Allura, he grabs her and says, “Now I’ve returned. And by rights, the spoils of war are mine for the taking.” This proceeds into a fight where Lance tries to stop Lotor from doing anything.

(Apologies for the terrible picture I took with my phone).

So what’s repeatedly, repeatedly, repeatedly been the case in Voltron canon for thirty years, starting back in 1981 and going well into the 2000s, is Lotor pursuing Allura and attempting to take her without consent.

The creators of Voltron: Legendary Defender have consciously cut away many of the franchise’s historic problems regarding issues like gender representation and misogyny. They’ve done away with the trope of one female character existing in an otherwise all-male team; Pidge, originally, Darrell Stoker, has become Katie Holt. They’ve written Allura far more favorably, with much less emphasis on her being the “pretty one” who’s not as good fighting because she’s “just a woman” (yes, this was in BKG). Instead of giving Lotor a harem (yes, this was in BKG and DotU, too), VLD has Lotor working respectfully with women generals. The writers have also intentionally promoted racial diversity by giving Hunk a Samoan background, Shiro a Japanese background, Lance a Cuban background, and designing Allura with a darker skin tone.

And VLD - praise God - seems to have consciously cut away Lotor lusting after Allura, trying to capture her, and trying to force her to marry him.

Now here’s the reason why I don’t like the concept of Lotor and Allura hooking up in VLD. In the DreamWorks show itself, there’s nothing wrong with Lotor and Allura’s interactions. That’s totally fine. If we look at it in a vacuum, it’s fine. And I like that it no longer writes that poisonous material between them. However… how disrespectful would it be for VLD’s creators to take a relationship that’s been written for 30 years as desired rape… and turn it into a romance? By writing an Allotor romance, they’d be acknowledging all the material that’s come before… all the very, very, uncomfortably impure material that’s come before. However you write an Allotor romance in the present day, there’s no way to deny that the firmly-embedded history of Allotor is non-consensual. 

I don’t like the concept of taking something that’s been so thoroughly written as unhealthy, and which is well-known within old time Voltron fans as unhealthy, and making it into a new healthy ship. It’s not that it would “legitimize” the old, gross Allotor stuff. But it would… sweep aside all the problems behind it. It’s far more respectful and less controversial to simply delete Lotor’s romantic interests in Allura altogether.

I mean… if you think about it in terms of real life… if you were someone who had been sexually harassed by someone in the past, and then people wrote a novel about you based upon your real life where your harasser was now a nice prince charming… wouldn’t that feel… disturbing and disrespectful… to you?

So it means that I don’t want VLD to write Allotor. The way VLD has set up Allura and Lotor, yes, it would be alluring on its own. But the problem is that it’s not on its own. And it also means that I’m not going to hop onto any fandom ships for these two, either. I don’t enter ship wars. I don’t. I always want people to have fun shipping! I’m happy with people shipping whatever they want, just so long as they don’t hit any of the following three points: incest, pedophilia, and inherent abuse/lack of consent. Allotor rubs me wrong because of point number three. 

So like you’re seeing here, if I see people hit upon one of these points, then I like to kindly inform people why I think it’s not the best ship to ship.

If VLD is going to write in a reciprocated romance between Allura and another individual (and they might not), they have some good options that also have franchise precedent, or at least franchise basis. Allura kisses Lance’s cheek several times in DotU, making him blush. Allura and Keith get engaged in Voltron Force comics, there’s a long Kallura plot arc in the Devil’s Due Publishing Omnibus, and Allura professes Keith as the one she loves in other DotU comics, too. And of course VLD always has the option of going on a new romance that hasn’t been done before, as I’m sure Shallura shippers would be quick to pipe up.

Again, I’m sorry to rain on your parade, since you’re so happily imagining how good looking Allura x Lotor children would look like! I know how much fun it is to imagine these things with our ships.

#skrillqueen #rape #rape tw #long post #Voltron #Voltron: Legendary Defender #Voltron Legendary Defender #vld #DotU #Defender of the Universe #Voltron: Defender of the Universe #Voltron Defender of the Universe #anit-Allotor #Allura #Lotor #analysis #my analysis #ask #ask me #Devil's Due Publishing #DDP #T3D #The Third Dimension #Voltron The Third Dimension #Voltron: The Third Dimension #Beast King Golion #BKG #Sincline #Fala #sorry for bursting your bubble with this when you just wanted to have a friendly squee <3

[dragbunart]

If You Ever Come Back Chapter 9

Chapter 9: I feel like I’m out of my mind, I feel like my life ain’t mine.

WARNING: Abusive behavior. mentions of implied rape

       Pidge tried not to flinch away from Lotor when he set his hand on hers. Her eyes were trained on her child. The commanders in the meeting room were passing her around like they were part of a family while discussing plans to retake over the universe from the Voltron coalition.

       “The Green lion no longer has a paladin, so the coalition won’t be at its strongest.”

       “Because of the lack of their savior, their moral will shatter.” Pidge tried not to listen to their conversation. All the hard work to take down Zarkon. Everything she had worked for alongside Lotor… Who he used to be.

       She could still remember their first date. Lotor had been so awkward. They had attended a festival the rebellion was hosting on Olkarion. Lotor had asked her to go with him. He also requested they go alone together. At this point, he wasn’t really to be trusted, so when he tried to make a move on Pidge, she tazed him with her Bayard.

       She broke from her thoughts upon Lotor standing her up. She seemed to have zoned out during the meeting. Pidge quietly walked over to the stroller and smiled at her baby

       “You spaced off during the meeting, what were you thinking about, Kitten.” Lotor secured his arm around his wife as they took a walk around the ship before returning to their privet quarters.

       “Our first date…” Lotor blinked not expecting that answer.

       “That’s right you shocked me!”

       “In my defense at the time, I didn’t exactly trust you. How was I supposed to know you’d attempt to put moves on me?” Pidge let herself pretend they were a happy couple for a bit. She pretended they were both happy. She pretended Lotor didn’t die only to be brought back with quintessence. She pretended that she wasn’t trapped here. Lotor stopped her on the bridge, they had a view of outer space.

Pidge placed her hand on the glass. Memories she had put behind her.

       Flying in Green. Finding Matt. Bonding with her team and discovering an entirely new family. The Olkari. Shay and the other Balmerans. Kaltenecker. She hadn’t realized she was crying until Lotor wiped a tear from her cheek.  Pidge stared up at him. She could see the subtle differences in who her husband was now, then who he was in her memories. He used to be more lively and young looking. Now he looked as though his life was taken from his body and something artificial was put in return, and he looked older somehow.

She stared up at him. If she closed her eyes she could pretend. She could pretend he was still the dorky troublemaker who had the best intentions in mind she fell for.

Lotor glanced at the baby stroller before kissing his wife deeply. Her arms wrapped around his neck. He wrapped one arm around his waist, the other hand played in her short hair. She leaned into the kiss. Lotor chucked and broke the kiss. Pidge opened her eyes and stared up into the loving, yet lifeless orbs of her husband. She untangled her arms from his neck and stepped back.

“You’re so lovely, Kitten~” He smiled and kissed her cheek. KitKat began crying. Pidge jumped away from Lotor and ran over to their child.

“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” Pidge asked picking KitKat up. She checked to see if the baby needs her diaper changed. Instead, KitKat reached towards her mother’s chest.  “Oh, you’re hungry, aren’t you?” Lotor wrapped his cape around Pidge’s shoulder blocking her from view while she fed KitKat. Pidge kissed her baby on the forehead. She hummed a lullaby while KitKat fed.

Lotor stared intently. He had such a lovely wife and such an adorable daughter. He couldn’t understand how his father let his mother become what she did. Lotor wrapped his arm around Pidge’s shoulders gently pulling her flush to his side. Pidge compliantly leaned on him, not wanting to disturb the feeding baby.

Pidge finally started burping the child. Lotor waited till she was finished to scoop them up and carry them back to their room. He’d order some servants to pick up the stroller later. For now, he wanted to spend time with his wife.

       He gently laid Pidge down on the bed as soon as he entered the room and took off his armor.

       “You don’t know what you do to me, Kitten,” Lotor said changing into more comfortable clothes. When he reached for their child Pidge instinctively flinched and held the infant closer. “Honey, hand me our baby.” When she refused Lotor sighed irritated and forcefully retrieved the child, careful not to harm her.  He gently placed KitKat down in her crib to sleep in the large walk-in-closet-turned-nursery. He quietly closed the door.

       Pidge stared at him frightened. As much as he used KitKat to manipulate Pidge, she knew as long as the baby was awake or near he wouldn’t try anything. Lotor tackled her onto the bed.

       “Now, let’s spend some quality ‘Husband and Wife’ time while the baby naps.” He ran his hand over her body. Pidge turned her face from him. Lotor used this as an opportunity to nip at her neck and jawline.

       “Please no…” Pidge cried. Lotor stopped.

       “What’s wrong?”

       “I…I’m… For humans, it’s not healthy to engage in… Activities like that so soon after we have baby…” Lotor climbed off Pidge understanding.

       “Alright, I wouldn’t want to hurt you.” She wanted so bad to point out the forming bruises on her arms. She wanted to mention the many times he got possessive and accidentally hit her head from throwing her onto things or into things. She wanted to yell at him, but she held her tong in fear. She had KitKat, her innocent little baby to worry about. She couldn’t risk KitKat in all of this. She could only try to figure out a way to escape with the baby.

       Lotor happily began gently caressing Pidge. He pulled her to his chest. She pushed him.

       “Not tonight…” Pidge mumbled.

       “Please, Katie? I just want to hold my wife.”

       “I don’t feel cuddly right now…” Lotor’s eyes narrowed.

       “You’re hiding something from me.”

       “It’s nothing.” He sat up and glared down at her.

       “Last time it was ‘nothing’ you tried running away with KitKat. In fact, you ran away with some traitors to the empire. The personally betrayed me. Don’t think I’ve forgotten about that.”

       “Please drop it.”

       “I thought married couples didn’t hide secrets. Tell me, Kitten.” Pidge stayed silent. “Katie, I said to tell me what’s on your mind.” She turned onto her back to face away from him. Lotor grabbed her and flipped her back onto her back. “That was not a request!” He gripped her shoulder tightly. “Tell me!” Pidge ripped his hand off, neither missing the fabric the left with his hand. She started to try and get off the bed only to be pulled back forcefully into Lotor.

       “Let me go!” Pidge elbowed Lotor in the face. Lotor dropped Pidge onto the floor and held his nose. They heard KitKat crying in the next room. Pidge started scrambling to go comfort her child. Lotor swiftly stepped on her forcing her to stop. He drug her by the arm roughly to the bed. Pidge struggled hearing her baby cry.

       Lotor reached into a drawer and pulled out a pair of cuffs, and swiftly attached one of Pidge’s hands to the headboard. He smirked and went to comfort KitKat.

       “I know you want your mommy, little Angel, but mommy need’s some alone time. It’s ok.” Slowly the cries stopped and she heard Lotor returning. KitKat was cooing over toy’s in her crib and Lotor crossed his arms at his wife.

       “Give me my baby.”

       “You said this was my empire, so Kitora is my child and my heiress.” He closed the nursery door. “Keep in mind where we are. If you want to leave this marriage so badly go ahead and attempt to escape. You’ll be locked up for treason against the Galra Empire. You won’t ever get to see our child except when she needs to feed.” Pidge stared at Lotor in disbelief. “I’ll strip you of your title, leaving you just as my consort. Consort means you won’t get any say in what happens when I get urges. It means you’ll be stuck in a room warming my bed in exchange for food and water. You won’t get to see our child. Or any of our children should you get pregnant again.” He stood just out of reach. “You’ll be mine no matter what you do. So, you might as well enjoy your life, behave and get to see our daughter. And never try to hide anything from me or fight with me, Katie, because I have your life in my hands. I can make it as happy or miserable as I want.”

       Pidge was stunned into silence. Lotor smirked and closed the distance between them. He grabbed Pidge’s free hand and nuzzled the palm.

       “I do this because I love you. I hurt you because I care.” He slowly started to edge his way onto the bed. “I can’t stand the thought of you unhappy, but if it takes that to keep you safe then so be it.” Pidge tried not to cry. “I love you so much, Katie. I’ll give you some time to think about it, but I do hope you decide to stay here willingly as my Empress. We could be so happy here. You, me, and our little angel.”

       He was soon draped over her.

       “I love you so much, my lovely Empress, my gorgeous wife.” He started rambling off and just repeating the word ‘Mine’ lovingly.

#lotidge #pidge #lotor #pidge gunderson #prince lotor #katie holt #If You Ever Come Back #IYECB #abuse #mentions of implied rape

[ask-the-phan-site]

The Lion Rider of Lust

>It’s time.

We’ve got some lions to ride.

I am really looking forward to this.

Our first space mission. Now or never, right?

Now, let’s carry out our plan.

>Mona and becomes our van and we head off to steal Daigo’s heart.

>The Castle of Lion at night. In the Bay room, the Voltron Force, former and currant, as well as future, were gathered around.

King Keith: Cadets Dudley and Daigo, tomorrow, you will undergo your final test. If you can pass it, then you shall raise up and take up the task Lance and Hunk will leave as members of the Voltron Force.

Queen Allura: We wish only that good fortune smiles on you both. If you both succeed, you will enter a new chapter of your lives. You will become Defenders of the Universe. Pilots of the Red and Yellow Lions.

Not to worry, Your Majesties. We won’t disappoint you.

And neither shall I.

King Keith: Good. Now get some sleep. You both will need it.

>With that, the Rulers of Arus head off... To their separate rooms.

Okay, you two. Tomorrow’s the big day. Are you sure you can do this?

Dudley: I hope so. I know I’ve done a lot of things that weren’t considered right and I know Daniel and the others are still cautious of me because of what I tried to do to them.

All water under the bridge now.

Just try not to go overboard if you don’t make it.

Dudley: Don’t worry. In case I do go overboard over how I failed, I’ve given Hunk my permission to beat me to my senses... Literally.

I’m not so sure about that.

I don’t know. He sounds serious.

Dudley: Believe me, I am.

Daniel: Okay.

Daigo: Vince, I look forward to working with you when I pass the test.

Uh, thanks.

Daigo: And Dudley.

Dudley: Yes, Daigo?

Daigo: I ask that you not worry. I’m sure... That the beating Hunk will give you after you fail won’t be so harsh.

Dudley: (sarcastic) Thanks, I feel so much better.

Hunk: You know you should be a little more nicer to your fellow cadets, Daigo. They might actually help you one day.

Daigo: Can’t I help it that the one with a dangerous obsession with Voltron will be joining us... Along with a leader with a dark secret.

Daniel: I’m not sure I should impressed about calling me that or offended.

Princess Larmina: That probably won’t last long. Especially after this morning.

Daigo: There is no guarantee that that calling card means anything. I do not fear mere thieves.

Lance: Alright, enough chit-chat. It’s getting late and we all need a lot of sleep. We’ve got a big day coming up.

Pidge: And I have some important guests coming in the morning.

Hunk: Good night all.

>With that, they separated for the evening. Daigo was half way to his room.

Daigo: It’s just the ramblings of some children. Nothing to be worried about.

???????: And this coming from another child?

Daigo: !

>A red wave passes and the scenery changes.

Daigo: Th- This is...

>However, this Forge was different. Instead of statues of the Krelshi, there were statues of Vince. And at the end, a destroyed statue... of Daniel.

?????: You look down on those you think have nothing to do with Voltron, yet Voltron has something to do with them.

?????: You have some effed up ideas about who is worthy and who isn’t. But that don’t mean you can decide for ‘em!

????: You claim that you have a right to become the Yellow Lion pilot just because your planet had something to do with Voltron, and yet you don’t act like it.

>A forge oven spits out fire. When it was gone, we appear.

Joker: Target: Daigo of Ariel.

You’re attempting to ruin the future of someone who dreamed his whole life of speeding to the stars.

You’re so focused on what Daniel is now that you have completely missed what he could be. And it’s certainly not an enemy.

You desire Vince so much that it’s putting a large strain on his friendship with Daniel.

Daniel may now have a darkness within him, but he can over come it, but only if you give him a chance.

But since you won’t, we came to make sure you do.

Fox: We won’t let you destroy the life of the leader of the Voltron Force before any hope can even come.

Skull: That makes you no different than the enemies Voltron fights.

Mona: Your distorted cognition will soon be defeated and no one will ever experience grief from you.

Joker: That’s right. Tonight, for the sake of the Voltron Force and Voltron himself, we will take your heart!

Daigo: Never! My intentions are pure. Daniel is not pure. He’s just some kid who go lucky to be on this ride.

Joker: Daniel thinks that, too. But did that stop him for doing what he loves? No. But you remind him in a way far too cruel and wish to replace him with someone who’s clearly better with the Green Lion.

Daigo: How would you know? You are but mere thieves. You seek only to side with some infected with Haggarium. The essence of the evil witch, Haggar. If you wish to side with him... That makes you enemies of the Voltron Force.

Queen: So you’re admitting that you want to get ride of Daniel even if you know how unhappy it will make others? And here I thought the people of Ariel were pure. But I guess when someone becomes obsessed with people with destiny, you lose all sense of reason.

>Daigo’s eyes were already yellow that we couldn’t tell if his Shadow had shown itself. However, the whites of eyes turn black. Now we know.

Shadow Daigo: Friends of the Unworthy One, you shall not take that what is rightfully mine. My place with the Worthy One.

Panther: Vince will only let you have a place with him if you share it with Daniel!

You’re just some perverted zealot who doesn’t know how heroes work!

Shadow Daigo: How dare you! You will pay for this outrage against me! The Foreman of the Forge!

>The Shadow then changes his shape.

Oracle: Time to check this out. Persona!

>Necronomicon scans the Shadow.

Oracle: Scan complete! Kumbhanda is weak to Ice.

Fox: Then I will fight. For the sake of Daniel. Persona!

>I change Personas.

Joker: Persona!

Noir: I’ll help, too. Persona!

Queen: And me as well. Persona!

Oracle: One more thing, guys. Don’t use any buffs. He’ll just negate them.

Noir: So we’ll just have to attack and defeat him as soon as possible. Got it.

Fox: Let’s hope we can.

Kumbhanda: You cannot defeat me. I have Voltron on my side.

>Kumbhanda uses Stagnant Air. Goemon uses Bufula. It knocks him down.

Fox: Now! Let us strike!

>After the attack, Kumbhanda was still up. Sui-Ki also used Bufula, but missed. Milady uses Tetrakarn on me. And Johanna uses Vajra Blast. It was a critical hit.

Queen: We can end this right now!

>After the attack, Kumbhanda was still up.

Kumbhanda: Is that really the best you can do? Let us see you can deal with this.

>Kumbhanda uses Wage War. Me, Fox, and Queen dodged it, but Noir became enraged.

Noir: Now you’re going to get it!

Fox: Not if I can help it.

>Fox uses Harisen Recover (fanless, of course) and snaps Noir back to normal.

Noir: Thanks. I let myself go there for awhile.

Queen: It happens to all of us.

>Goemon again uses Bufula, but Kumbhanda dodges it. Sui-Ki also uses Bufula again. But he dodged that too. Milady uses Psio and Johanna uses Freila. Both did significant damage. Kumbhanda uses Tempest Slash on me. It was a critical hit and I was down.

Fox: You'll pay for that one, lion boy. Go, Goemon!

>Goemon uses Deadly Fury. It made significant damage. I get back up and I have Sui-Ki use Bufula. But Kumbhanda dodges it. Milady uses Tetrakarn on me again. Then, Johanna uses Flash Bomb. It left him Dizzy. He tried to attack, but he missed. Goemon uses Bufula. This time, it knocks him down.

Fox: I will slice you to pieces!

>After the attack, Kumbhanda was still up, but now weaker.

Oracle: You're almost done. Keep going!

>Sui-Ki uses Headbutt, Milady uses One-shot Kill, and Johanna uses Freidyne.

Kumbhanda: I shall not... LOSE! Hear me, O Worthy One, grant me the POWER!

>The statues of Vince began to glow and they heal Kumbhanda and even removed his Dizziness.

Oracle: This looks bad. We’re going to have to deal with the statues before we can defeat this guy.

Fox: I shall deal with them. If they are art, then it should be no problem.

Queen: Right. We’ll try to buy you some time.

>With that, Fox runs off to deal with the Vince statues.

Joker: Let’s keep him busy!

>Sui-Ki uses Bufula. It knocks him down, but we don’t do an All-Out. Milady uses Psiodyne and Queen attacks. Kumbhanda gets back up and uses Hysterical Slap on me. Luckily, the Tetrakarn did its job and protected me, causing the attack to go on him instead. He didn’t go into a Rage. Then, Milady uses One-shot Kill. It missed. Then, Johanna uses Vajra Blast. Kumbhanda uses Hysterical Slap again on me. Luckily, I didn’t go in a Rage.

Fox: Now’s my chance.

>Fox moves a little closer to the front of the statues. Suki uses Bufula. It knocks him down.

Joker: Let’s do it!

>After the attack, Kumbhanda was still up. Milady uses Pisodyne and Johanna uses Freidyne. Kumbhanda uses Stagnant Air.

Kumbhanda: Try as you might, you cannot stop destiny.

Fox: (whisper) We shall see about that.

>Fox finally makes it to the front of the statues, his katana at the ready. Sui-Ki uses Headbutt. It didn’t make him Forget. Milady uses One-shot Kill. It took a lot of health. And Johanna uses Freidyne. Kumbhanda uses Hysterical Slap on Queen. She became enraged... But that won’t help him.

Kumbhanda: Wait. I thought there was four of you. O Worthy One, grant me more strength to finish this!

Not if I can help it! Be gone, fowl excuse for art!

>With one swipe of his katana, Fox destroys the Vince statues. This also causes Kumbhanda to be knocked down.

Joker: Now you see that Vince is no god. you want him so bad that you don’t even have real faith in yourself.

Kumbhanda: It... It can’t be! It just can’t...

Believe me. It can.

>After the attack, Kumbhanda was still up, but now weak. Sui-Ki uses Bufula. It knocks him down.

Kumbhanda: No! Vince is supreme! The Worthy One! Not that Daniel! He’s the Unworthy One! ... HE DOESN’T DESERVE TO BE THE LEADER OF THE VOLTRON FORCE!

Will you just SHUT UP!

>After the attack, the Shadow resumes his normal form and a light comes out of him.

Mona: The Treasure is ours!

>I take the Treasure. It was a lion statue.

You Arielians must really like lions, huh?

Daigo: Well, now we know why. Is Vince really not worthy?

Queen: (back to her sense) I’m sure he is worthy. And so are Daniel and Dudley. The Voltron Force is a team and a team needs to have faith in all of its members. If you focus more on just one member, you won’t know what the others are capable of.

Oracle: We know that Daniel is infected with Haggarium, but you shouldn’t give up on him... Some friends of ours are even coming to help Pidge find a permanent cure.

Daigo: They... They are? 

Noir: Yes. I know Daniel may seem like just some kid off the streets... But he can be way more than everyone sees him as. Just believe.

Daigo: ...

Joker: Have faith in your teammates, Daigo...

All of them.

Daigo: ... I... I will. I’ll try to have more faith in Daniel since he will be leader of all of our future missions... I wonder if the Yellow Lion will still accept me as its pilot.

Joker: That depends on you.

>Daigo smiles hopefully as he returns to his true self. With the Treasure now with us, we take our leave.

>It seems we’ve had another successful heist. We’d tell you if it worked, but we wish to keep this post as short as possible. But don’t worry... You’ll see soon enough.

#phantom thieves of hearts #heist

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Caramel Skin Under a Red and Green Cloud pty 8 full draft

Keith was awake when Lance roused. His body was throbbing with a good kind ache. Blushing hard, the Cuban buried his face against his husband's chest as the memories of the previous night come flooding back. They'd had sex twice in the bed, then he'd been reduced to a a boneless mess as they'd accidentally stumbled their way into a third round in the shower. His shoulders felt a little sore from being fucked up against the tiled wall, so did his throat from all the crying out he'd done, but it was worth it for the deep feeling of happiness that bloomed in the pit of his stomach. His whole body felt warm from the feeling of being able to control his emotions and give himself to Keith. The way his husband reacted to him in lingerie made him blush even harder as he nosed at Keith's chest. He felt normal... The anxiety was there, it tendrils trying to sap his happiness, yet he was determined not to let them. He'd wanted Keith. He'd nearly lost his nerve when prepping himself because touching himself still felt dirty or more like a chore.

"Good morning, Lance. Merry Christmas"

Raising his head, his chin dug into Keith's chest as he shyly smiled

"Merry Christmas, Keith..."

Hiding his face again, Keith kissed the top of his head

"How do you feel, babe? Are you feeling ok?"

"Mmm... happy... How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough to clear three levels"

Lance hadn't even realised Keith as playing his game around him

"You're like a little kid. You couldn't stop yourself, could you?"

"No. Plus, I didn't want to wake you up when you were sleeping so soundly"

"Who's fault is that?"

"Yours. I never imagined you'd be wearing lingerie"

"Wanted to try and make it special for you. No drugs. No alcohol. Just you and me"

Keith hummed at him

"Wait, no drugs? You didn't take your injection?"

"I took it earlier so the high would be out of my system... I want to work on... sex with you. Happening more often"

"You know I'll wait for you to be ready. If you pushed yourself last night..."

"No. A little, but I've been planning this for a while now... it wasn't not what I wanted"

Keith kissed the top of his head again

"That's good. You looked beautiful. I mean. You always look beautiful... but last night... quiznak"

"You're so eloquent this morning. I'm happy you liked it"

"You've raised the bar in the gift department. I could give you the whole damn space mall and it wouldn't make up for what you've given me"

Nuzzling Keith's chest, Lance hugged him tight

"I don't want it. As long as I have you, I'm happy"

"Me too babe, me too"

Spending the next half varga lazily nuzzling and whispering around Keith's game, which Lance had rolled over in Keith's hold to watch, things slowly became more teasing. When Keith died on the level he was playing, the game console was placed under Lance's pillow, revealing the condoms and lube Lance had hidden their the previous day. Moving his hand between Lance's legs, Lance moaned as his husband rutted up against him

"Babe..."

"Mmm... it's ok..."

It was more than ok

"Is this what being in a heat is like?"

Lance shook his head, moaning again as he nudged up against Keith's hand

"This... this I want... my heat. I can't think. It's need. Need to be fucked and filled... to be bred senseless... and it hurts so bad"

"Babe, I promise you won't have to go through them alone"

"Can we...?"

"Again?"

Nodding, his body was going crazy for Keith. Their bed still smelt of their sex

"Yeah... yeah, I want you... there's condoms... no mess"

Nosing at Lance's nape, Keith pulled the back of his pyjama bottoms down, fingers moving to rub at his still soft and puffy opening

"You're so beautiful..."

Moaning around the feeling of his husband's finger breaching him. Keith had no idea how much it meant to him that he didn't simply push in

"Does it hurt?"

It did. A little... Keith's dick wasn't exactly small and despite how he wished to forget he'd taken much bigger things. It was a good kind of size. It wasn't a bad hurt, if it had been he would have said

"It's not too bad"

Keith nodded, nipping at his nape again. His husband was definitely a biter. If it kept up, he was going to have to get him a chew toy... Feeling Keith's teeth sinking into his nape, Lance wriggled away

"Hey you, no more biting. I want to kiss you"

Twisting in Keith's hold, Keith's kisses were always the sweetest. He loved this man too damn much for his own good. Moaning into his mouth, his husband was certainly eager. He'd been pretty eager the previous night too... His husband's filthy mouth could do such soft and sweet things... For the emo teen he'd been, Lance kind of wondered how flustered he would have been if they'd been dating while part of Voltron. He could picture Keith blushing as he stuttered out what he wanted to do, then getting angry with himself over how he spoke. Keith was so quiznakking cute.

Wearing condoms to lessen the mess, the sex was soft and gentle. Lance showered with kisses rather than bites, giggling at the way Keith's messy hair tickled beneath his nose as his husband fucked him slowly. He could smell in his scent how worked up Keith was, yet after the previous night Keith was being attentive to his every need, no pushing it too far out of fear of hurting him. This was what he'd expected sex to be like. Not just to be used and abused, held down and forced until he sobbed himself out of tears. This gentle sweet thing blossoming between them. When Keith had gone to touch his hair, he'd flinched before he knew it. Instead of making a fuss, his husband had simply moved to cup his face and kiss away the twinge of fear. They'd never kissed him. His mouth wasn't made for that. When Keith was over him, his smaller frame wasn't as heavy and crushing. His scent was intense, but so very Keith. Even from behind the feel of it was completely different. His arms and legs were free, his mouth never gagged, and he was never hit for not being good enough. He was scared for his heat, yet he wanted that with Keith. He wanted to be able to let his husband take the pain away. Sniffling softly, Keith stilled between his legs, bringing his up to sit back. Closing his eyes in shame, Lance bit his lip. His heart was pounding ridiculously

"Babe? Are you ok? You're crying..."

Nodding, he felt Keith's hands coming to his face. The pads of his thumbs wiping away the fresh tears

"I can pull out"

Shaking his head, Lance opened his eyes to find Keith's eyes filled with worry

"No... no... I'm really happy"

"You're crying"

"I was just... thinking about how gentle you are with me... and it all hit me. You're so good to me..."

"That's nothing to cry about"

"I told you, happy tears. I always wanted this... to feel this loved"

"Aw baby..."

"I mean..."

"I... wanted this too... with you. I love you"

Reaching up to take Keith's face in his hand, he leaned up and kissed him. Rolling his hips hard, Lance moaned as he left himself fall back against his pillow. Other than the morning breath, Lance couldn't find a single thing to fault Keith on. All his husband had ever wanted was to feel like he belonged. Dios. If he'd only known that back then... Keith would have been showered in so much love and reassurance he probably would have snapped

"You can be a little rougher... I'm close"

"Nope you gifted me yourself last night and I'm going to treasure this gift of mine"

"You're such a sap"

"Shut up. You love it"

"Mmm... I think you might be right, oh great husband of mine"

Keith grunted, picking up his pace

"You're a dick"

"You're the dick"

"I thought I was a great husband"

Lance would have rolled his eyes if Keith hadn't been hitting his sweet spot so perfectly. The jolts of pleasure through his body lowering his intelligence with each thrust

"What was that? No complaints, great husband of mine"

"Less talking and more moving"

Laughing at him, Keith kissed him on the nose

"I love you, you dork"

*

When Lance and Keith were running late, it totally wasn't their fault. Kosmo had rolled in something dead before teleporting in and ruining their morning between the sheets. Between showering, scrubbing Kosmo clean, Lance's hips deciding that his legs didn't need to work, and trying to find clothes that hid the marks they left one each other, they were still trying to get ready when Nadia and Sylvio were sent to collect them. Lance had the suspicion that tio Keith had kicked him out of his position as top uncle as both kids hung off Keith's side. His husband holding hands with both children as they walked from the Telula down to the house. Apparently they were the last ones to arrive, according to Nadia, but Nadia didn't know Veronica was coming home.

Entering the house, it smelt of all sorts of food that would be laid out down in the tent for lunch. Their teams were already in the living room with Marco and Rachel trying to reexplain the whole "Christmas thing" to them all. Letting Keith go, Nadia and Sylvio ran to throw themselves down with their presents from Luis and Lisa.

"Mijos! Merry Christmas my loves!"

Shuffling out the kitchen, his mother wiped her hands on her apron as she approached. Once close enough, they were both pulled into a tight hug with his mother kissing both their cheeks

"Merry Christmas, mami. Sorry we're late. Kosmo needed a bath"

"Don't you worry about that. We planned for you to have all morning together. Oh my, is that a new hickey? I hope you've been treating my boy right"

Keith cleared his throat

"Yes, mami"

"Not you my love, Lance"

Groaning at his mother, Lance kissed her hair

"Mami, really?"

"I'm just saying..."

"No. No more just saying. This topic isn't open for discussion"

"Well I hope you're being careful"

Lance blushed, and he was sure Keith would be blushing too

"Now you're here we can do presents for the kids. Can I get either of you something to drink?"

"Yes please. Do you need a hand in there?"

"Lisa and Luis are in there with Juana. She's in quite the mood this morning"

Juana was adorable. She'd been so tiny when he'd left. Now she was up and running, claiming everything she could

"We'll watch her. She really liked Acxa. Speaking of that... has she?"

"She should be here within the hour. We're waiting for her before presents"

"Sounds good. Then Keith and I will get out your way. Merry Christmas, mami"

Keith softly echoed as they both gave his mother a hard squeeze

"Merry Christmas, mami..."

"Oh, I'm so happy you finally got together..."

Letting them go, Keith looked a little out of his depth as Miriam walked away mumbling about how "nice it was that Lance brought home a good man". What else was he going to bring him? Someone like Sendak? His thought sent a shiver up his spine. Even as a joke, he wasn't ready to be joking about it mentally. He shouldn't be joking about it mentally. He knew better than to do that

"Babe, are you ok? Your scent's changed"

"Yeah... no. It's alright. I was... let's just say I was wondering what she'd think if I brought home someone from the past"

"I'm from the past"

Forcing they eye roll, Lance hated being a miserable arsehole. It was Christmas. He smelt of gingerbread from his mother. The house was filled with love and family. None of his past had a place here. Leaving Keith standing there, he walked around the sofa to throw himself at Rachel and Marco, the three of them going down in an uncoordinated mess causing laughter from both their teams and the kids. No. His past had no place here. His anxiety had no place here... Soon V would be there and it'd be present time. Exchanging Merry Christmas's with everyone, Rachel started teasing him for his being late, Keith not backing up story over Kosmo needing a bath very convincingly. Feeling like he was being "laughed at" rather than "laughed with" those anxieties threaten to spill free. He wanted a good Christmas and his family wanted him to be happy. He just had to keep smiling and hope that nothing happened.

Veronica passed the varga mark, during which time Lance worked on keeping down his anxieties as he watched Keith holding a sleeping Juana. The toddler had claimed his husband's lap almost immediately, and look on Keith's face had been priceless. Grabbing Keith's face, Juana didn't seem to have eyes for anyone but Keith, even her stuffed bear was cast aside. Laughing at Keith, his husband looked far out of his depth. Gathering Juana up, Lance had sat her down between outstretched legs, as Keith passed her bear over to him. His mami was right, she was in a royally bad mood. The teddy went flying. Lance got smacked in the face as she started screaming and crying because her bear was now too far away. His nerves went from shaky to shot completely. When Rachel and Marco both tried to distract Juana, they were both snubbed in favour of the girl throwing herself face first on the floor. Not used to dealing with screaming toddlers, and having no concept of letting them cry it out, Keith tried to help as he lifted the cranky girl off the floor into his arms. Continuing to cry, Keith rubbed the small girls back, by some miracle calming her down. The moment Rachel to take Juana to put her in the porta-cot Juana started crying again. Refusing to be taken from Keith. Still nursing Juana, Keith didn't bother moving when someone knocked on the door. Rachel and Marco had given up and were now sorting out the Christmas presents under the tree, Lance watching as Keith's pile grew larger. It seemed like his whole family had added to the pile of presents he'd already placed there. Their teams had started discussing the differences in their own holidays and traditions, so with everyone else busy, he was the only one with the freedom to move

"I'll get it"

Opening the door, Lance had approximately two ticks before Veronica had him in a head lock and his burning anxieties burst into a roaring fire. Confused as to why he was being so suddenly attacked by his sister, his breath caught in his throat as she turned it into a noogie. He hadn't been able to handle Keith touching his hair, much less Veronica damn near giving him friction burn with her fist

"You little shit! Why didn't you tell me you and Keith were married?! I had to read it in the galactic press!"

Releasing him, Lance stumbled backwards, falling hard on his arse with a whimper. Veronica's noogies weren't uncommon when they were kids. It was the suddenness of it all that got him. Fear flooding his body as he curled in on himself, arms coming up to protect himself. Laughing, Veronica didn't realise what happened, her hand landing on his head

"It wasn't that bad... You totally had it coming. How could you not tell me you got married? Everyone is talking about it... Pidge says she ready to both of you"

Ruffling his hair, Veronica's voice merged with a gruff and heavy voice, a whimper of terror bubbling from him as he slapped Veronica's hand away.

"You had it coming"

"You deserve this"

"Pregnant bitch"

"Useless whore"

Their words came back. Crashing over him as his arse and hips throbbed, Lance whimpered again. The smells were wrong. He couldn't just smell Keith on him anymore

"Lance? Hey..."

Crouching down, Veronica wore an expression of alarm

"Lance?"

Curling into himself further, he couldn't move for his fear

"Por favor... por favor... no más... no más... por favor..."

Coming up behind Veronica, Shiro moved her back

"Keith, we need help. Lance, it's Shiro. Can you hear me?"

Begging again, request wasn't listened to. Placing his arm on Lance's, Lance snapped. Launching himself forward, he tackled Shiro down. Shiro falling back in surprise as Veronica shrieked at him. Coming to his senses when he didn't find his blade his boots, his eyes widened at Shiro beneath him. He hadn't even heard him arrive. Looking up, he realised everyone was staring... in the background Juana was crying again

"Lance..."

"I... fuck..."

Scrambling back off Shiro, he turned to bolt. Veronica grabbing him as he did. Half tripping again, pain flared up his leg as he ran for it up the stairs. He'd fucked up. He'd fucked up so badly. He couldn't even run properly. His body hurt too much. The pain sending those fears back to the surface. Reaching the bathroom, he threw himself into the small room, slamming the door closed behind him as he clumsily tried to get the bolt to lock. He needed to calm down, but he couldn't calm down. He needed Keith, but Keith was on the other side of the door. All he'd had to do was be normal for one quiznakking day. One day. The most important day. Today was supposed to be perfect. He'd brought gifts for everyone.

For Daehra a book on Earth herbs and an indoor herb kit.

For Lucteal an impressive, if not rather vicious long black staff that had been hard to wrap to hide its appearance.

For Zak four huge boxes of scrapped tech parts to assist in the building of his AI.

For Tobias, he wasn't really sure so played it safe and picked up half a dozen games for the game console he knew was squirrelled away somewhere.

For Ezor and Zethrid matching shirts that said "I'm with her", plus a box of pink gum for Ezor and a small sharp curved blade for Zethrid.

For Acxa it'd been a little harder, he'd picked up a black shirt that said "my girlfriend could kick your girlfriends arse", and a model of the Atlas to remind her of Veronica when they couldn't be together. He'd found caps proudly labeled "Team V". V as in Voltron obviously, but given everyone called Veronica "Ronnie" or "V". Picking up two, he set one aside for Veronica, unable to resist cute couple items.

For Keith... He'd gotten carried away shopping for his husband. He wanted Keith to experience everything he'd missed as child at a family Christmas. Socks and underwear. Soft toys. Bad toys. Stupid toys like the two big super soaker he'd picked up. A lunch box that wasn't exactly what anyone ever wanted for a Christmas gift but your parents thought it a good idea anyway, but it had Black and Red it, so that was a win. The embarrassment of more adult gifts to match puberty... also known as a condoms and lube, which his brother Marco had taken particular delight in gifting him when he was 14. The mortification still had him hesitant to accept anything from his lay backed brother.

He'd ruined it all... He'd had a good morning with Keith. He'd had more than a good morning. He hadn't felt the same anxiousness that he'd felt sitting on the living room floor, trying not to think about anything... They had plans for this... plans for if something set him off. He couldn't think though. He couldn't remember the plan. As someone knocked on the door, he sank to kneel, covering his ears.