oceans & gasoline

darkscaleswriter:

maychorian:

Okay, but can you imagine the reputation that the paladins of Voltron will start getting around the intergalactic bars nunvillaries after a while? Give it a few months, and there will be some aliens gathered around a table going like:

“Have you heard about the new Voltron pilots? Holy quiznak, do not mess with them. Any of them. I mean, yeah, the one in black makes sense. There’s a reason some people call him Champion.”

And multiple eyes widen around the table and there’s a whisper of, “Champion? Champion is a Voltron pilot?”

And the first alien nods and goes, “But no, don’t mess with ANY of them. I mean, the red one and blue one bicker like Trallarian hellcats, but if you mess with either one the other will blindside you so fast you’ll get whiplash.”

Another alien nods and takes up the tale. “It’s true, definitely. But don’t insult the yellow one, either. I mean, don’t even call him fat, which is true. ESPECIALLY do not call him stupid. Red and blue will FIGHT over which one gets to beat you harder.”

“It’s true,” an alien with a deep voice asserts. “I heard it with several of my earholes.”

Various assenting voices around the table. Then a tiny voice pipes up in a near-whisper, “But the worst one is the one in green.”

Everyone turns to look at the new speaker, eyes and eye-parts wide.

Tiny alien nods solemnly. “If you mess with the green one, all of the rest will come after you.”

Nods, shudders, fervent agreements. “Even the one with the mustache, the one who usually tries to hold them back, will just stand there and watch them do it.” “My cousin Vini died.” “DO NOT TOUCH THE GREEN ONE.”

And they all drink their nunvill and try not to cry.

 Okay but like what if this is how Matt and Sam Holt find out that Shiro became a Paladin.

Maybe they managed to escape by themselves and joined some sort of rebellion/resistance thing, or maybe they’re just wandering around the universe trying to figure out how to get back home.  Either way, one or both of them is/are trying alien alcohol and just listening to gossip, but when they hear the name Champion they probably do spit-takes.

(“Wait,” Matt says, “Champion?!”

Sam sputters and wipes nunvill off his shirt.)

The logical course of action is, of course, to track down these new Paladins of Voltron and see if the black one really is Shiro.  Except they’ve also been hearing all these terrifying rumors about the other four and they’re kinda nervous, like, Shiro what in the world have you gotten yourself into?

“It’ll be fine.  It’s Shiro,” Matt reasons.  “He wouldn’t be with them if they weren’t good people.  We’ll just… not mess with them.  Especially not the green one.”

So then they start trying to track down Voltron.  Problem is, thanks to wormholes, Voltron can hop from system to system exponentially faster than the Holts can.  To be honest, the only reason they manage to find the Paladins at all is probably by luck and coincidence.  Maybe they catch sight of the red and blue ones from a distance and realize that the others must be in the area too.  They start looking around, follow the trail of destruction (”They were right, the red and blue ones really do bicker like Trallarian hellcats”) and eventually find, wonder of wonders… Shiro.

But.  Right next to him is the green one.  Who still has their helmet on and appears to be discussing something with the yellow one, who really is as big as the rumors claim.  The red and blue ones join up with the rest of the group and the Paladins start moving, the Holts following behind as they try to figure out a good way to approach them.

And then they turn a corner and suddenly all five Paladins are gone, and they only have a split second to wonder what just happened before the red one yanks them into an alley, presses his sword to Matt’s throat, and hisses, “Why are you following us?”

There’s a shocked cry, a yelp, and then the green ones shoves the red one’s blade aside, throws themselves between the Holts and the other Paladins, and yells, “Stop!”

Shiro gasps.  “Matt?  Commander Holt?”

The green one yanks their helmet off and oh God it’s Katie, it’s Katie what is she doing here, how did she get here, what the in the name of all that is holy is going on.

“Wait,” the red one says, “they’re your dad and brother?  Shit, sorry.  I swear I didn’t know.”

The blue one laughs at him.  “Dude, they look exactly like Pidge.  I can’t believe none of us realized that earlier.”

None of the Holts notice any of this byplay, too wrapped up in each other- both literally and metaphorically; Pidge is holding them as tight as they can and probably won’t let go for a good long while.

(Until they register what’s actually going on and the older Holts realize, wait a second, Katie is the terrifying green one?!  A Paladin?!  What the quiznak.)

This is all good and pure and amazing.

But also, what about the less-true rumours that get spread around?? A mix of the usual exaggeration, and a dash of Galran propaganda, and there’s a mixture of awe and fear surrounding the Paladins.

“I heard the blue one can shoot off your head from a thousand throws”

“I heard the yellow one is indestructible!”

“I heard they’re all the top warriors from their planet, specifically chosen because of they killed the other candidates”

“I heard one of them breathes fire!”

This contrasts a bit with rumours of their kindness and how they fight to protect the innocent. Think like the Doctor (from Doctor Who, obvs). There are those that know The Doctor for his kindness and intelligence and love him, but there are also those who know him as a warrior who can and will destroy entire races.

Just think of the other rumours that go around in bars.