I Think This Is Normal

Alpheus is my favourite character in this series because I love purple and villains who are at least slightly unhinged.

And you have to be unhinged to consider making a 12 year old your nemesis as an 18 year old. Possibly also lied to and manipulated into considering it a valid course of action by someone you know might not have your best interests at heart but is also the only solid adult figure you have in your life because the A.I. who runs your ship doesn’t count despite her sapience.

Anyway I love him and I’ve been goth for as long I can remember so here’s a cybergoth WIP inspired by his amazing concept art. Maybe he’s having a rebellious phase after his near death experience.

“Shiro. Shiro. Shiro. I have important information. Shiro. Shiro.”

“Yes, Keith. I’m listening.”

Shiro looks at his dumbass little brother patiently, setting down his knitting. Keith is staring at the space slightly to the left of where Shiro is sitting, eyes unfocused. Shiro lets him sit in the silence for a bit, knowing the meds made him a little slow and loopy. He’ll get there.

He can’t tamp down a fond grin. It happens so often it should be boring, now, but loopy Keith will always be funny. It was like every bit of jadedness he’d picked up over the years melted away, leaving only the awkward, loveable dork Shiro knew and loved.

“I have — I have important information,” Keith repeats haltingly.

“I got that, buddy,” Shiro encourages. “Want to share that info? I’m listening.”

Keith hums. He blinks a few times, gaze finally locking onto Shiro’s, who smiles at him.

“It’s — it’s about Lance.”

Shiro fights to keep his smile from getting mischievous, to keep his expression pleasantly neutral. Oh, this was going to be good.

“Yeah, bud? What about him?”

Keith blinks again, his expression grave. “His tongue peeks out a little when he smiles real big, Shiro. A real smile. The one he gets when he talks about his family.” Keith takes great care to enunciate every word, tone completely serious. “That’s — it’s Very Important, Shiro. Okay?”

Look, Shiro’s a disciplined guy. He has a lot of internal strength. Really. But keeping a straight face as his baby brother looks him dead in the face, eyes as serious as a heart attack, and starts talking smush about how much he loves his crush’s smile?

C’mon. Come on. Of course he laughs a little! It would be weird if he didn’t!

“Shiro!” Keith scolds. “I’m serious! It’s important! We have to make sure Lance smiles like that. He gets sad sometimes. We gotta remind him he’s important, so he smiles.”

“You’re so whipped,” Shiro says fondly.

Keith goes back to staring at the wall, just as serious as before.

Shiro wonders if he’s thinking about Lance’s eyes, this time.

It won’t be the first time Shiro heard about them, that’s for damn certain.

———

“I did what.”

Keith’s face is so red that it’s concerning. Or, well, Shiro would be concerned, if he wasn’t so busy losing his shit.

“‘We have to protect his smile, Shiro’,” he mocks between wheezes. Keith wacks him full-force with a pillow.

“Fuck off,” he says hotly. “There’s no way I said that.”

There’s a moment of pained, contemplated horror, before Keith looks at him aghast. “Did I?”

Shiro laughs so hard he goes silent. Keith hits him again, but it’s weaker.

“Oh my god, I did fucking say that. I fucking — oh my god. Oh my god!”

Keith collapses back on his bed. He puts his pillow-weapon over his face and screams. Shiro finally gets ahold of himself, forcing his laughter down. He pats Keith on the shoulder, trying very deeply to be supportive and understanding even though literally all he wants to do is laugh and laugh and laugh.

“There, there,” he says, voice shaking.

Keith removes his pillow just to glare at Shiro. “Fuck off,” he says again, but this time it sounds resolved. “God. Do I — do I like him?”

Shiro blinks. Is he — is he serious? “Are you being deadass with me right now?”

“I mean, I know he’s hot and everything.”

Shiro cannot believe his fucking ears. He feels like that stupid Spider-Man meme. ‘Do you see this shit, Daisy?’ -type beat. Because there’s no fucking way. No fucking way this boy does not know.

“Like I’m attracted to him, sure, who wouldn’t be —”

Holy shit.

“— but, like. I don’t like him, do I?”

Holy shit.

“I mean, he’s my rival! How can I like him?”

Holy shit! Holy motherforking shirtballs! This little dumbass has no idea!

“Like, yeah, sure, he’s occasionally funny, I guess. And I guess he’s kind of sweet — did you know he checks on all of us before bed every night? Yeah! That’s kind of cute. And, god, there’s all those little gifts he makes, and he’s so protective —”

Shiro just stares at Keith with a quiet kind of awe. There’s no way his brother is this much of a dumbass. Is that even possible? For someone so smart to be so fucking dumb?

The sigh Keith lets out can only be described as dreamy. “ — and shit, Shiro, you should see him kick ass in training, he’s been working on this insane triple flip maneuver…”

All of a sudden Keith trails off. For the first time since Lance was brought up (by Keith, Shiro might add), Keith is silent.

“Oh my god,” he says, shooting up straight and looking at Shiro with wide eyes. “Oh my god, Shiro, oh my god. I’m in love with him! Oh my god!”

Because Shiro loves his dumbass little brother, he holds himself back from saying ‘no shit, Sherlock’.

“Congratulations, doofus. You’re officially the last to know.”

Well. He mostly holds himself back.

Kind of.

He holds himself back a little, okay? That counts for something.

Keith gapes at him. “Everyone knows?”

Shiro nods, because even the allies they’ve only met once know.

“How can everyone know? I didn’t even know!”

“Well, you’re kind of oblivious,” Shiro says.

“Hey!”

“Sorry, bud. It’s true. I mean, you didn’t even know you liked Lance until a couple minutes ago.”

“Of course I didn’t! It’s not like it’s obvious!”

Shiro decides it’s in his best interest to keep his mouth shut. Keith tends to get a little stab-y when annoyed. He’s easily provoked, like a particularly skittish kitten.

“Oh my god. Is it obvious? I thought you were exaggerating!”

“Uh, no. Anyone with a basic understanding of human behaviour knows you’re absolutely down bad for Lance, bud.”

Keith makes a kind of squeaking noise, which is hilarious and also makes Shiro wish he had recorded it.

“Holy shit! Does Lance know?”

Shiro can’t quite hide his grimace. “Well, he doesn’t… not know, per se.”

“That’s so embarrassing, god, I am going to eject myself into space —”

“Well, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. Lance likes you, too, so I imagine it all evens out, yeah?”

“Lance fucking likes me?”

Shiro needs some shut-the-fuck-up practice. Seriously. He clears his throat.

“Um, yeah. He regularly complains about you being too chickenshit to ask him out.”

“He regularly — I’m too — if he knew I liked him, how come he didn’t ask me out?”

Shiro shrugs, although he’s pretty damn sure he knows why.

“Maybe you should ask him,” he says.

Keith’s eyes narrow dangerously. “Of course I’m going to talk to him. In fact —”

He throws his legs over the side of the bed with a pained grunt.

“Woah, there, Casanova,” Shiro says, pressing a hand to his shoulder. “Back down you go.”

“Absolutely not, Shiro,” Keith argues as he lies back down, “I need to talk to that dumbass. I need to tell him —”

“And you will have your big gay moment,” Shiro promises. “I’ll send him over, okay? After you nap. No need to rip your stitches.”

“I don’t want to nap,” Keith says petulantly, crossing his arms like a six year old.

Shiro pats his brother’s head as he tucks him in. Shiro can’t help but grin to himself. He remembers doing this for a much younger little kid, half the size but just as grouchy. He pushes Keith’s bangs back, pressing a quick kiss to his forehead. Keith grumbles about germs, but allows it.

“Talk to Lance later. Heal for now. Love you, kiddo.”

Keith rolls his eyes, but the corners of his mouth twitch. “Whatever.”

Shiro shakes his head with a grin, flicking Keith on the nose before heading for the door. Just as he’s closed the lights and steps out into the door frame, Keith stops him.

“Shiro?”

Shiro freezes. Yeah, his voice is a little deeper, a little more grown, but it’s the same little kid who woke him up in the dead of night because he had a nightmare and wanted Shiro to tuck him back in.

“Yeah, Keith?” His voice cracks with emotion, but Keith doesn’t comment on it.

“…Thank you. For staying with me. For, uh, your advice, too, even though it kind of sucked.”

Shiro laughs quietly. “Anytime.”

“And, um. I love you too. Even if you’re a dweeb.”

Shiro smiles so wide his eyes crinkle, and turns back a bit to look at Keith.

“I know, you little goober. I love you too.”

Ao3 does not need an algorithm, you're just lazy

Ao3 does not need a 1-5 star rating system, you just want to bring down authors writing for FREE

Ao3 does not need automatic censorship, it is an archive, therefore anything can be posted

Writing or reading about something illegal does not mean the author nor the reader condones it, if that were true, you could never read a story involving anything negative

Purity culture is ruining fan culture and you all are fucking annoying

Just found out I was thirsty not by receiving a signal from my body about it but by dozing off and dreaming about cold water from different alluring angles. This is great. I think all my wants and needs should be revealed to me this way

Remus: and when all seemed lost, I had an epiphany

Remus, earlier that day: I’m going to throw myself off a bridge

tomarry is when god complex meets saviour complex send post

Probably

this is stupid but why are they wearing the same outfit. like that's the exact same outfit right? down to the elbow patches. how did this happen. did fiddleford take half his wardrobe in the divorce

Imagine being this person. How would you react?

I have a lot of respect for the guy who did the study about wolves, the one that came up with "alpha wolves". Because normally when you fuck up science, it just causes some delays and occasional pop-sci nonsense.

Dude fucked up science so badly he invented an entire new genre of pornography. I can only dream of being so influential.