video;

[thegoofball]

Hey there, Vaikuntha, it's [ya boy] Lance - I don't know many of you yet, but still, check this out.

[The camera, which had been focused on - well, some kid who has to be this Lance fellow - pans over and up. It focuses for a moment on a black, mechanical lion that dwarfs the house next to it. By now, it and the yellow one next to it are probably familiar landmarks to anyone passing through Arito.

But! That is not the point of this video, the point is in the next one the camera pans to, that Lance pats fondly. It's hard to tell that it's smaller than the other two by a significant amount, but the red one lies in a crumpled heap.]

Found Red and Green a little bit ago; thought I'd show off to anyone who hadn't seen any of 'em yet.

[He sounds...incredibly smug. And, yes, there's a fourth one, also laying in a heap.]

Currently working on a way to get them back up and running again. Black and Yellow have power, at least, but... [He pats the snout of the Red Lion again.] It'll be fine! Once we get them working, again, you guys are going to be in for a treat.

[That...might be a little worrisome. Hm.]

Shame we can't form Voltron, but...still! They're pretty cool, right?

Comments

[keymemory]

Wow... that's the best you can do?

[thegoofball]

Hey, he hasn't told me otherwise!

[keymemory]

Uhhh... I'm just not buying this, man. Do you even speak their language?

[thegoofball]

We don't need to! We're connected. Through our brains.

[...He sounds mildly insane.]

[keymemory]

So, basically... that's the best you could come up with and they pity you!

[thegoofball]

No! They've had their names for thousands of years! If they had a problem, they could've brought it up to the person who made them.

[keymemory]

A thousand years ... and that's what they're sticking with? Man.. I'unno, maybe they're waiting for a hero to come along and save them from their name, I mean.. the originality of it is just..

Well, not there. What'd you call them then, if you could?

[thegoofball]

Maybe after that long they've accepted it's the best representation of themselves?

And I don't know. Red has always just... been Red to me, even before he picked me.

[keymemory]

Did you even ask if Red is Red? Or what..?

[thegoofball]

Well, no, Allura just kinda said "these are the lions" and I didn't question it. Red wasn't even the first one I bonded with!

[keymemory]

Well, if it works it works I guess! So you bond with these lions? Is it hard?

[thegoofball]

Depends on the Lion, honestly. Me and Blue got along really well, but things were rockier with Red. Can't really blame him, though, because of everything that was happening.

[keymemory]

Um.. so, like, what was happening then?

[thegoofball]

[oh boy]

It's kind of a long story - Shiro had disappeared, so we needed someone to pilot Black, and Black picked Keith who had been piloting Red, but Red is...

Red only picks pilots he feels are worthy of him, so it was a whole thing.

[keymemory]

[ He figured so, since Lance only mentioned the bare minimum prior this. Though he did a good job summoning it up -- at least he thinks so. ]

Wow, so... what I hear you saying is you're worthy!

[thegoofball]

I- I mean, I guess? Keith got picked to be our leader so it's not like there was much of a choice...

[There was Allura, Coran, and himself, any of which would have probably been better.]

[keymemory]

Hey! Don't sell yourself short! If Red didn't like you he'd ... she'd? They'd not have you, right?! These guys are gazillion years old and you think you can just get all settled with them like .. like that? Pfft, I bet not! You... you are the chosen one!

Well, probably.

[thegoofball]

There's five of us. Kind of hard to be a chosen "one".

[But he appreciates what you're trying to do, even if his voice and face are completely deadpan.]

[keymemory]

Well, evidently it is with Red, or you just mess'n with me?

[thegoofball]

I'm Red's third pilot.

[At least.]

But I guess you have a point.

[keymemory]

I wonder ... what it takes to have a good relationship with those .. guys? I guess it's like any other friend, right? Like, ... there's got to be something you both like about one another, huh?