Woof Sheith

tea - Today at 3:41 AM
now i keep thinking abt dog shiro like
it only happens every 3-ish months but it lasts like a WEEK. how elaborate is keith gonna have to get with the lies by like the third cycle
why does shiro keep getting this weird cold that means he had to just not be seen by everyone
whats been chewing the dining room chairs
Sashenka - Today at 3:47 AM
Look, I know that what you do is your own personal business, but whatever you're doing in the Paladin quarters late at night, you've got to tone it down a little, for Altea's sake it sounds like you've got a wounded animal in there
tea - Today at 3:49 AM
look I'm not saying that keith sneaking in and out of Shiro's room at all hours of the night for "top secret meetings" sounds like a very bad lie to cover them hooking up but.
thats at LEAST a little more believable than "shiro turns into a dog on occasion nbd"
Sashenka - Today at 3:50 AM
Allura gives him a very serious, very heartfelt, very awkward conversation about the bond between a Black Paladin and his second in command being special and She Supports Him But Please, a little discretion is all she asks
(Because Yes It Does Mean that Alfor and Zarkon had a thing going on and we all just have to deal with the reality)
tea - Today at 3:52 AM
(it Be Like That sometimes)
so now keith basically has two choices which is either deny it all and have to come up with a NEW lie for all the noises and secrecy and General Weird Shit. or
accept his fate
bc hes definitely not gonna Tell Them bc shiro asked him not to so hes bound to secrecy forever basically
Sashenka - Today at 3:55 AM
Can you imagine Keith stomping into the Black Paladin's quarters, Shiro's lying in bed sweating buckets and trying to keep all his teeth inside his mouth where they should be, one of his eyes has gone golden and he's having a rough go of it, right before Keith goes, "So, by the way, we're boning now"
And it's enough to distract Shiro from the pain of All His Bones Doing That™ that he just goes "................................. What"
Shiro.exe has stopped working
tea - Today at 3:57 AM
STRAIGHT TO THE POINT LIKE ALWAYS HUH KEITH
Sashenka - Today at 3:57 AM
WAS THERE ANY DOUBT
tea - Today at 3:59 AM
"everyone else was starting to get suspicious, unless you've got a better excuse we just have let our entire team think we're having weird, loud sex in the middle of the night"
that definitely wont make ANYTHING awkward
the stares will be merciless
tea - Today at 4:02 AM
also going on late night dog walks around the castle and having to shove poor dog shiro into random rooms and corners when someone is up at an ungodly hour for NO REASON
he needs his exercise okay
Sashenka - Today at 4:08 AM
I'm just thinking about
When he first shifts, Shiro is disoriented enough that he just turns into this big ol' ball of instinct
Just a gigantic Fuckoff Huge Dog
And I just want the first thing he does when he sees Keith is to POUNCE and sniff him all over, give him a nice thorough lick because he smells nice but needs to smell More Like Shiro so everybody will know That's His
And then I think about Keith giving him scratches if he's a Good Boy
Tail all a-wag and foot all a-thump
tea - Today at 4:12 AM
GOD the first time it happens Keith just has this split second of "I'm about to be eaten by a giant dog. I'm in space a million miles from earth and a big dog is going to be the thing that takes me out" because basically all he can see is Jaws and Teeth and then he's just being slobbered all over
and then of course hes gOTTA give Shiro scratches
Sashenka - Today at 4:13 AM
Woof Shiro sticking his Big Stupid Nose up Keith's shirt
And sneezes
tea - Today at 4:13 AM
RUDE
Sashenka - Today at 4:13 AM
IT'S NOT ON PURPOSE
tea - Today at 4:14 AM
Keith wants to be mad but. dog
how is he supposed to stay mad at a face like that?? its not fair
Sashenka - Today at 4:15 AM
Dog who makes it very clear that HE DOESN'T GIVE A FUCK how much Human Shiro is pining and how carefully he worked to hide it, woof wants what it wants and he makes it very clear that Keith is his Favorite Person
Follows him around everywhere
Cries when he leaves the room
Every single time he sees him is like it's been a billion years
If Keith stops paying attention to him, he noses around his shoulder and looks at him with those giant puppydog eyes and somewhere along the way this just turned into a callout for my dog but you know what, whatever
tea - Today at 4:17 AM
GOOD BOYS
SHIRO AND ALSO UR DOG
Sashenka - Today at 4:17 AM
It's a few hours before Shiro is back to himself again and when he finally does, it's awkward because those woof instincts are mad strong
HE JUST LOVES HIS BOY
SO MUCH!
And I imagine part of that's due to the fact that... Shiro's had nobody in this
He resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to deal with this on his own
Cope with this terrifying reality of what he's turned into on his own
Only now he has his Most Important Person on his side
Keith knows and he's not afraid of him and that means the world
It means the universe to Shiro
Anyway, they're in love, thanks
tea - Today at 4:19 AM
theyre in LOVE
Keith loves him so much like. It never even occurs to him that being afraid of Shiro is even an option, this is one more thing that they're dealing with and they're going to figure out together because thats what they do.
keith basically went ride or die on day one and this is just one more thing
also telling Human Shiro about Dog Shiro's antics is. An experience
shiro: you really don't have to do this
keith: tell that to the you that whines all night if i dont sleep in your room
Sashenka - Today at 4:29 AM
I'M CRYING
tea - Today at 4:30 AM
dog shiro has absolutely ZERO chill and keith loves it just a little bit
smooch his forehead and his tail starts wagging at 100 miles a minute
dont even get him STARTED on belly scratches
except that one time shiro turned back into a person halfway through
Sashenka - Today at 4:33 AM
Then that was SUPER awkward
tea - Today at 4:34 AM
just uh. pat his shoulder once. toss some pants in his direction.
keiths convinced that at some point he'll stopped being shocked but how Fucking Beautiful shiro is except uh. nope. still so attractive its painful.
one day he'll be immune
Sashenka - Today at 4:36 AM
Yeah, good luck with that
Guess the only way he'll know for sure is through... Regular exposure...
tea - Today at 4:38 AM
clearly the problem is that its only every few months... he should. stay more often. yknow so the team doesnt think anything suspicious
keiths very committed to keeping his secret
Thats What Friends Do
Sashenka - Today at 4:39 AM
He's just being a good bro, Shiro, god
That does bring up an interesting point, though!
Because I do think that they would try to keep their act to a minimum, and it leads (who else?) Lance down a suspicious road
He's a notorious gossip
How come Keith gets to be in a relationship with their stupidly gorgeous living legend of a leader?
There has to be some kind of conspiracy
tea - Today at 4:41 AM
clearly this is keith trying to one-up him in some way
hes gotta get to the bottom of this
at the very least find something he can make fun of Keith about
Sashenka - Today at 4:42 AM
Of course it is, because it always is, and wouldn't you know it, they seem to keep their distance for the most part, but it happens like clockwork that suddenly they're all over each other
That just doesn't compute for Lance
Plus, he's never even seen them do any of the traditional romantic goop and he's just supposed to take that they're boning???
Nuh-uh
tea - Today at 4:44 AM
GOD he's gotta keep an eye on them, see what's really happening here.
starting a conversation with "Lance is on to us." probably doesnt help much
he doesnt think shiros a dog yet at least
but they might have to, i know this sounds crazy to bear with him, they might have to pretend to be attracted to each other
yknow. for the secret
Sashenka - Today at 4:46 AM
GOD THIS IS TURNING SO CONVOLUTED AND I FUCKING LOVE IT
I LIVE FOR IT
THIS IS THE BEST THING THAT'S HAPPENED TO ME ALL WEEK
tea - Today at 4:46 AM
THEYRE SO DUMB I LOVE THEM
Sashenka - Today at 4:47 AM
FUCKING IDIOTS
HOW HARD IS IT TO BE HONEST TO YOUR TEAM
("Super hard," Shiro says, macking on Keith For The Greater Good.)
I literally just put up a prompt for fake dating and this is everything I could have hoped for
tea - Today at 4:48 AM
we're just gonna incorporate everything sooner or later
its just like
theyre so dumb. they could just tell the team. nobody will care. they can just make out with each other they dont need to create this whole narrative around it
and yet
Sashenka - Today at 4:49 AM
OKAY, BUT SHIRO HAS A REASON FOR THAT
He doesn't want to tell them because he's afraid that they'll assume (and he'll have to confront his own fear about) the Galra having the ability to use him as a weapon (not unlike the situation with his arm)
He's afraid they'll get rid of him
He's afraid they'll hate him
And it doesn't matter how much he tries talking him in circles, the simple fact is that he doesn't know for sure so he can't risk it
tea - Today at 4:51 AM
GOD i love him
Keith decided back in the Garrison that this was it, Shiro was it for him whatever that turned out to be. mostly because he's young and dumb and you think stuff like that when youre in love for the first time but. it stuck. he followed him out to the edge of the galaxy, he's following him into an impossible fight against the Galra empire, he's not about to turn his back on Shiro for something like this
(also yknow, he may have a bit of a blind spot when it comes to considering that the Galra might be able to use Shiro as a weapon. just maybe)
Sashenka - Today at 4:56 AM
It's... 5am and I am Very Tired but this is some GOOD SHIT so we'll do more tomorrow but in the meantime, I leave you with this:
"I love you, Keith."
"Hey, it's okay, there's no one watching us. You don't have to keep the act up anymore."
"I know. I'm serious."
tea - Today at 4:57 AM
GOD are you trying to kill him
Hes going to combust and it's all Shiros fault. Congrats you broke Keith
Sashenka - Today at 4:58 AM
Unfortunate but necessary, it was literally killing him having to pretend that it was all just a big cover story
He was so tired of keeping secrets
Sashenka - Today at 5:00 AM
He doesn't want this to be another thing he can't tell anyone
He loves Keith, wants the absolute best for him, wants to see him become his best self because it's what he deserves and more
Even if he doesn't feel the same way
Even if it was just a good friend doing what good friends are supposed to do
tea - Today at 5:02 AM
Well now Keith has to kiss him into next week otherwise Shiro will think himself into a circle. Direct Action(edited)
At some point there's an "I love you" said and it's followed immediately by more kissing. Just to really drive the message home. Make it explicitly clear and all that
Sashenka - Today at 5:03 AM
MMMMMM, now that's the good shit
And I think this is around the time where Shiro's just beginning to change so there won't be many outward signs for another day or two but he can feel that undercurrent of possessiveness, of knowing that this is all he's ever going to want
He has to stake a claim
tea - Today at 5:07 AM
Keith is his and he's Keith's and the whole galaxy needs to know about it.
It's bc theyre in LOVE
They just want each other to be safe and happy and loved and all that terrible emotional stuff. Keith just can't believe that Shiro wants all of those things with him
It takes a little getting used to
tea - Today at 1:11 PM
So I was thinking abt Shiro a few days before he turns and uh. After the truth come out does Shiro is gay. Possessive Shiro needing to stake his claim all over Keith by just covering him in hickies. Gotta be real clear about it
Also generally just draping himself on Keith like a dog who is very covertly trying to tell u he wants all of ur attention
Sashenka - Today at 3:51 PM
Like, YES absolutely
Lance gets a little too far into Keith's personal space when they're bickering and Shiro lets out a warning rumble from across the room
Sashenka - Today at 4:11 PM
You know something, I've been doing some thinking about Shiro shifting and I briefly mentioned how Shiro would learn to control his shifts with time and practice, and I feel like there was something that could be done about the fact that it takes so long to turn furry and so quick to turn back to human and that it's so painful for both, and I think I've got it in true Voltron fashion
Shiro spends all this time thinking that he was a failed experiment, that he turned out wrong and now he has to pay the price and nothing could ever make it better. He wallows in the knowledge that he's just another failure to be cast off and tossed aside. But why would they go to all the trouble of holding on to a dud as their prisoner, when it would have been much easier just to kill him and start from scratch?
The unwilling, excruciating shifts aren't a product of a bungled experiment, they're a product of Shiro's abject refusal to accept what's happening to him. He suffers for so long during the transition from man to beast because everything in him is resisting it, and the change back is so short because he's so eager to be back in his own skin, but neither is without its fair share of pain.
After the team finds out and everything is out in the open, Shiro has such a huge weight off his shoulders.
Nobody thinks he's a monster.
The only thing anybody wants to do is help him.
But there's still this mental block that Shiro fears breaking down, because what if this time it really does turn him into a mindless animal?
tea - Today at 4:44 PM
GOD I'M AT WORK AND I LOVE U
THOUGHTS 2 COME
Sashenka - Today at 4:45 PM
BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE
(I love you)
The solution in this is through his connection with his lion, where he digs down deep and finds himself in a place that's growing familiar to him. During quiet moments where he can't seem to turn his brain off, Shiro turns inward and accesses the astral plane, but unlike other times where it's just the vast emptiness of space or, worse, Zarkon, here is where Shiro finds
Himself.
His other self.
The wolf.
And he can tell just by looking that it's angry and hurting and in pain, just like he is, and when it advances on him with a growl deep in his throat, he knows what Zarkon would expect him to do.
Follow the Galra way.
Victory or death.
Use the weapons at his disposal to conquer the beast and master it. That was the object all along, and for a split second, he wonders if killing it here would free him of it forever.
But he can't do it. Instead what he does is stand his ground, takes a step forward, and offers his hand. "It's okay." He's proud when his voice doesn't waver. "You don't have to be afraid." That's the root of all of it, every moment of rage is threaded with terror, and he knows it's something they both have to grapple with.
Sashenka - Today at 5:03 PM
Instead of ripping his arm to shreds or attacking him, all his wolf does is breathe in his scent, bump its forehead against his hand, and sits. Waiting. When Shiro kneels and hugs it close, burying his face in its fur, he apologizes for rejecting it for so long. "You're not a monster. You're another part of me. It was Keith that helped me realize that."
(And all it takes is the mere mention of Keith's name for his wolf to perk up and his tail to go a mile a minute and Shiro just laughs and goes, "Well, there's one thing we agree about, huh?")
tea - Today at 5:43 PM
GOD I'M
Shiro for so long thinks this makes him a monster, just another one of the Galras failed experiments that should have been spaced long ago and hes afraid that if the team finds out they'll realize what hes sure is the truth and they'll hate him for it
And so Shiro spends so long fighting the change until its forced out of him, because the wolf doesn't want to disappear either, he doesn't want to be abandoned either
So they're constantly struggling against each other until they can both see that theyre not so different, until they can form a bond to overcome this just like Shiro had to do with the black lion
And Keith loves the both of them!
His dog and his boyfriend are the same person its fine
Also I.
Lance: Shiro did you just- did you growl at me?
Keith: what no of course he didn't shut up
Sashenka - Today at 6:49 PM
They're in love, thanks(!!!)
God I love them
God I love this
tea - Today at 7:03 PM
Theyre GOOD BOYS and they deserve each other okay
They need to stop being dumb idiots and just accept it
Sashenka - Today at 7:03 PM
They WILL
I think that once Shiro finally makes steps toward accepting his wolf in the astral plane, because this is Voltron and this is how Voltron do, the two of them are able to fuse and work together as a single unit, finally whole and no longer working against each other
It follows that the next step once he comes back to his senses is for Shiro to test this out, and it's easy
The transition is seamless, one breath to the next, and there he is with only a passing sense of discomfort
And he's SO proud of himself, because this doesn't have to be a curse anymore. It could end up becoming one of his greatest strengths