[Open] Fuck superstitions tbh.

[padadin]

Who: Shiro and you!
Broadcast: Nope, but you can still reach him through the communicator if you want.
Action: On the planet + the asteroid field.
When: First two weeks of the month, before metaplot hits us.
This got longer than I expected, sorry for all the cuts!

A. The fortune tellers

[Shiro doesn't believe in superstitions or fortune tellers, and whatever amulets he may've had at home was kept because they were gifts, not because he thought they would give him good luck. But he also knows the importance of respecting other cultures and not judging others for their beliefs - that's key in diplomacy. Besides, there are so many races with varied powers, who says they can't actually predict the future?]

TWENTY-NINTH?! [A particular reader exclaims after Shiro mumbles his birthday - February 29th.] You're living a cursed life! A kid trapped in an adult body!

[Shiro is used to leap baby jokes, but this is new. Keeping his poker face is getting more and more difficult right now, and anyone can see his eyebrow twitching...]

Let me see your hands, I beg you, sir, we must determine if--

[The alien screeches when he sees his metal hand, and Shiro is just DONE. He steps back, bumping into you. Help please? The reader is following him...]

B. Exploring + zip-lining

[He's been avoiding the city as much as possible after the fortune incident, so exploring it is! He loves space and all, but he has to admit, it's nice to see some real nature again, especially when it's so similar to Earth.

He visits both Yanti Rock and Eynewa’s Bow, climbing those "thousand steps" and going through the ravine with a smile on his face and barely sweating. Considering how buff he is, it shouldn't be surprising, now is it? Obviously he likes exercise.]

Are you okay there? [If he sees you tired, fellow explorer, he'll offer you his own water bottle, or even an arm to rest against to carry you somewhere when you can sit and rest. That's important too! While his expression during the exploring has been relaxed and content, that changes to very excited when they arrive to the zip-lining area.] Nervous? It can be done in pairs, if you want company.

[The company of a tall, beefy man that who knows how much he weights, yep...]

C. Job: bodyguard (bar area)

[A bodyguard job? Why not! He's patient enough for this, and safety of citizens is important to him. So he puts on his armor from home (sans helmet) and stands by some curtains at the back of the most popular bar in the city. If someone tries to get in, he's quick to put an arm in front of them.]

Sorry, VIP only.

D. Astronomy

[Oh yes, this captain is getting his chart updated, thank you. But he doesn't leave after he's done with that, no. He stays and talks with the scientist, definitely showing knowledge of the subject himself - passion, too. This is his element, and it shows. He waits patiently for his turn at the amazing, giant observatory telescopes, and handles them like a pro. He'll offer his help too if you need it, fellow space nerd or curious tourist!]

I'm glad places like this exist across the universe, [He comments with an eye on the lens.] I don't want this reality show to ruin people's interest in space.

[There's a raw honesty behind that statement. His own interest hasn't died even after space has broken him, after all.]

E. Asteroid field

[Shiro is wiping the floor with the locals.

And honestly? He doesn't feel bad about it. Well, maybe a liiiiitle bit. But mostly, he doesn't. This is his skill, his training, his years of work, his element. He won't apologize for being good at what he does. Shiro doesn't stop grinning and there's a gleam in his eyes - ask him for a race or a game of chicken. He dares you!

Or maybe you're just in the audience? That's fine too, because he has too many prizes and he doesn't need them all. He's doing this for fun.]

Do you want this? I don't need it. [He asks with a raise of his eyebrow as he hands you an amulet for "bad karma". Ugh, he doesn't want to be anywhere near this thing.]

F. Stargazing - closed to Kate

[He asks her on a whim.

It's not even a proper "asking her". He just mentions where he's going, and tells her she's free to come along. She accepts and well, if he smiles like an idiot then, that's just a coincidence. Yeah.

He finds the tour incredibly interesting, even the ghost stories. Sure, he doesn't believe in superstitions, but he likes old legends that tie in how people in the old days tried to understand space. The local story of the moon being the huntress guardian of the planet/prince definitely touches a fighter like him, especially when he's enjoying the company of someone he wishes to protect with every limb of his.]

Did you enjoy that? [He asks when they finally reach break time, getting comfy on the ground of the outskirts. He looks pretty content with the experience, and she definitely has to do with it.] Or was it too much space talk for you?

Comments

[padadin]

[Ah, but he likes those good-natured grips. He chuckles as he lays down on the grass, hands on his belly, head a bit to the side so he can look at both her and the stars. A great combo.]

There can't ever be too much space talk? I've been doing my job wrong. I hope you aren't challenging me, co-captain.

[He can throw a grip or two too. Especially now - he's in a pretty good mood. Just like the day of the wedding - it's getting easier and easier to relax around here with every day that passes. There was a moment when he thought he would lose that, with all the creepy dreams going around and the annoying fortune tellers, but thankfully that has quickly passed.

(Well, her world is different, he would tell her. There is magic and stuff. He can buy ghosts there.)

Big smile for the starry view comment!] I'm actually glad to hear that. I'm pretty sure many people in the show are sick of the stars after they became the only view for so long.

[ladybro]

Maybe. Probably. I can see why they might get sick of it.

[ her head turns and she smiles at shiro instead. ] But if I try really hard then the stars remind me just a little bit of New York at night. Especially when you see her from high up. A penthouse view.

[ i see sodium lights burning against the darkness and i feel like i'm falling in love. that's what she told a man, once, that she'd met at one of her father's parties. and by contrast he'd been dark and dour and spoke of a hellish childhood. it was the sort of fire she shouldn't have been playing with; she knows it now. ]

[padadin]

[The sky, her, and now her smile, her eyes on him. The combo just got better.]

I can tell you the name of every single star above New York, but I've never been there. What is it like? Are the stories about the big apple all true?

[He's been to Tokyo, which (from what he's heard) can be similar, but it's different when the story comes from a native. Especially from someone like Kate, that as a hero, probably knows every dark passage and every abandoned alley.]

[ladybro]

I think that depends a lot on what stories you've heard.

[ she scrubs a hand into her hair before draping arms over her knees. maybe they'd come out here to watch the sky, but she can't help but turn her attention more fully onto him so long as they're talking. it's the polite thing to do, right? ]

[padadin]

[Indeed, they're here for the stars. And maybe with another person, Shiro would've reminded them of that, would've told them that they can talk and star gaze at the same time. But he likes having her attention - she's good at making him want to be a bit selfish for a change, so unlike his usual him.]

I've heard that the city never sleeps. That you can find anything there, no matter what you're looking for. That it can be insane in both a good and a bad way.

[ladybro]

True, true, and definitely true.

[ she ticks them off on her fingers. ]

Best pizza, best theatre, best sports teams. Best nightlife.

[ and with that, she slumps back onto the ground -- finally stretching out a few feet away to bask under the stars. ] But you don't see this in New York, [ she points at the sky. ] Not with the city putting off enough light of its own.

[padadin]

Some things don't change in the future then.

[Because Newyorkers claiming the best of those four definitely are still a thing, yep. His eyes follow her every move, and it isn't until she points at the sky that he looks up. (Keith would probably make fun of him, he thinks, for taking so long in looking at his dear stars.)]

I actually understand that. The first time I visited the Tokyo Tower I was excited about the view I would get up there, but I had the same problem with the city lights. This is why the Galaxy Garrison is in the desert.

[ladybro]

All the better to learn'em, huh?

[ she pillows her head under her arms, then, once she's done with pointing. kate has seen worlds and catastrophes and the prettiest stars she's ever seen (likely) are those punctured into existence whenever america punches or kicks at those hairline fractures between realms.

looking at the stars makes her think of her, too. ]

When I was little I used to find it eerie: a big inky sky twinkling with impossible lights. I'd only see it now and then when we went to the country house. Or summer camp. I got over it, though.

[ got over a lot of things. ]

[padadin]

Little Katherine wasn't wrong. Space can be eerie too- it can be many things, and they're all valid.

[He's always believed that, and jumping from galaxy galaxy with Voltron, plus now all the different systems with the fleet, have only made that belief stronger. Space is either a bunch of nothing, or everything at once.]

Did something special make you get over it? Or you just grew it out?

[This time his eyes stay on the sky, but the interest and curiosity in his voice is still quite obvious.]

[ladybro]

[ he calls her katherine and at first she only crinkles her nose. it's odd to hear after so long.but she doesn't refuse it -- it's not grating like some other names. ]

I got used to it, I guess. As scary as the wider universe can be -- and, oh, God, it gets scary -- there's nothing like familiarity to ease a bit of eeriness.

[padadin]

[Familiarity eases eeriness - a totally fair thought, and Shiro finds himself thinking about his situation with his arm... but it's only for a second, because he quickly sends those thoughts away. Not tonight. He's having a great time with her, and he's not gonna let those issues of his get in the way of this lovely conversation and the bright sky above him.]

Getting an alien boyfriend also helped, right? [His tone is teasing, his tone amused.] I must say-- if there's one good thing to come out from calibrations, it was being able to give you a ride in Black. The universe isn't the same after you see it through her eyes.

[ladybro]

[ -- he brings up noh all on his own. and kate laughs, wondering why she'd felt so uncertain about mentioning him in the first place. ]

I mean, it didn't hurt. [ not on that front, at least. ] There's something pretty magical about waking up and looking out the 'window' and seeing the Earth down below. Sure.

[ intended one night stand or otherwise. ]

You get what I mean.

[ she doesn't need to ask; she'd felt it. ]

[padadin]

[--ah. He made her laugh! Shiro feels so proud of himself right now. Just like when she said his lion was better than what she had ridden at home. So yes, they can talk about her ex, he doesn't care. He's an ex for a reason.]

I do. [Excuse him for a moment while he nerds out--] "I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small." Neil Armstrong. The first time I was up there, I did the same thing. He was absolutely right.

[ladybro]

[ and the first time she was up there, she -- uh, well, it's not important what she did. what is important is that the quote is heartening, endearing, and she leans up on an elbow to watch him while he recites it.

it's a serious thought, though. and she shies away from it. instead, she teases: ] Kinda tough to imagine you ever feeling small.

[padadin]

[He turns his head when he hears her move and-- yeah, he can't help blushing a bit. Which makes him mad at himself in his usual fashion because wow, Shiro, she's just paying attention, not big deal.

Then her comment comes and-- welp, his turn to laugh. Thank goodness.]

Which speaks highly of the power of space, right? No, I get it. Back on Earth, I didn't get to meet many people bigger than me. But then I met the Galra race - they are purple but also very tall and strong. It's a weird sensation.

[He isn't sure how much she remembers from his calibration - Sendak had been inside the capsule when he messed with his mind after all.]

[ladybro]

But that's, what? Apples and oranges? [ humans to galra. ] I mean -- it would be like trying to draw comparisons between you and me and an Asgardian. It's, like, why bother?

[padadin]

I know. But you said it was hard to imagine me feeling small, and it does happen. A lot since I joined Voltron. When I'm in Black, too. [Gosh, he misses piloting his lion, and it shows in his voice, in his eyes that are now looking beyond the stars.] But with her it's a good feeling small, not like with the Galra.

[ladybro]

I don't know if I've ever felt it. That kinda small. [ the humbling kind -- not even watching the earth from outerspace. the closest she might have come was in witnessing the scope and span of the avengers, their powers, their mission. ]

Maybe I'm an egotist. Maybe that's why.

[ she jokes. she injects levity into the moment. ]

[padadin]

[He does laugh at the joke, a strange sounds that escapes him, a mix of a chuckle and a snort. It's easy to tell that the idea of her being egotist is absolutely ridiculous to him, and he decides to say exactly so.]

Now that's an adjective I would never use to describe you. [He somehow manages to shrug while still lying down on the grass.] You grew up in a world filled with magical things. Maybe it's just more difficult to make you feel like that.

[ladybro]

No, [ she clarifies, ] it's fair. You can't exactly call yourself the best sharpshooter known to man without having a very healthy ego.

[ a beat, then: ] One of the best.

[padadin]

There's a difference between being an egotist and being aware and proud of how good you're at something. Especially when you admit you share that title.

[He realizes then, this is the first time he slips into that whole leader-brother-protector tone with her. Or more like, for her, because he's sure he must've talked about his team like that before. It's a good thing, something that makes him relax even more: he can still be himself even after Keith brought his little dilemma to his attention.]

[ladybro]

Down, boy.

[ kate huffs. it's sweet, really -- the serious tone he takes, and the way it reminds her of a few certain others. but she knows she doesn't need it and that's the only reason it doesn't actively comfort her. ]

Cross my heart. I didn't say it like it was a bad thing. We could all do with being an 'egotist' now and again. Just not 24/7.

[padadin]

[He should probably be a bit embarrassed, considering her "command", but honestly? He's just amused at her huffing, his smile growing. She doesn't need it, but she isn't offended by his trying either, and that's enough. She's okay with him being so... leader? To call it something.]

So not like Lance, then. [Although there's a big difference here, since Lance uses it to cover insecurities. But a joke is a joke, and what happened during calibrations stays between Blue and Black Paladin.] I'll be careful not to step on any sharpshooter's ego then.

[ladybro]

He's a good kid, but -- yeah. Beyond being thrillingly charismatic -- [ there's a beat for humour ] -- and a great shot? I'm not sure he and I have that much else that overlaps.

[ which isn't a bad thing. diversity makes the world go round. kate would never want to surround herself with other-hers. how dull would that be? ]

[padadin]

They're all good kids. [It's not a correction or anything, he just blurts it out because-- well. They're talking about being proud, and he's damn proud of his "handful", alright? The leader lives on.] Not much, no, you're right. You both do like looking good, though.

[His own beat for the teasing, and then--]

And I know I can count on both to have my back.