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[ video -> voice | un: keith ]

[The video was brief, kind of like that moment when you activated the camera on your phone and forgot it was in selfie mode. The omni shook and rotated, leaving the viewer with a dizzying array of scenery that was kind of blurry and hard to make out. It was dark, though, like the person broadcasting was in a closed room with no lights on.

As the video shifted, glimpses of a person could be seen. A hand... the fingernails-turned-claws bitten down short as if trying to cover the transformation... a burn scar on the right side of a face... dark, almost black, hair with a purple tint, long-ish, shaggy looking, a thin white streak with a extremely slight violet hue to it near the left temple... pale skin... deep cobalt eyes that looked exhausted with dark tired bruises underneath from lack of sleep...]

Shit-...

[And the video was gone. It was just voice now, Keith's voice, but raspier than usual, worn sounding, loaded with regret and guilt and just... sad.]

I um... [He was hesitant. Unsure.] I wanted to... apologize. [His tone faltered, like he was searching for words, having trouble forming them and getting them out.] I... I did a lot of stuff last month. Just um... Yeah. The Reckoning took care of it.

But... if you still want... you know. Fine. I understand. I won't stop you.

[And then the feed shut off.]

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Yeah... last time, it was some mirror thing. If you made eye contact with your reflection, then a mirror version of you took over your body. I was pretty conscious for that inside myself, just watching everything it was making me do.

This time, it was something with The Good and The Evil. Some people got possessed by The Good. Some got possessed by The Evil. I got The Evil.

[Keith sounded almost resigned about it, like he felt like he was just doomed to be possessed by every malevolent spirit that showed up in this place, and they would just make him run around and hurt people and cause chaos and destruction.]

I guess. I heard a lot of other things happened. I wasn't the only one doing things. So, maybe... maybe that's kind of a good thing. At least I wasn't alone in it.

[Keith huffed a tiny mirthless laugh through his nose.]

Welcome to Trench, I guess.

[ Daniel pauses.

Not exactly because of the information - though it's overwhelming in and of itself, in many ways. It's a sharp reminder of the kind of danger they're in while they're in this place, and that's not exactly a pleasant thought.

But he pushes that back. It's something to think about for later. He wouldn't want any messy emotions to slip out, after all. This guy seems to be having a hard enough time, and Daniel tries to turn his focus back to that. ]

.. you know, if you were really being controlled by something outside of you.. then an apology should be enough. [ If Keith really wants to own up to it. Technically it isn't his fault at all if there's something else behind it, but Daniel can understand still wanting to apologize when it's still your body.

But this is more about what Keith said after that in his initial message. ]

You really shouldn't let people do more to you in return.

[ That was the implication, right? That people could just.. come and take revenge on him. It sounded that way to Daniel, anyway. ]

Mm.

[Keith was quiet for a moment.]

There are people here like that, though. People who'd want to do more.

[ ..... ]

I wouldn't really blame them for it.

And would you be okay with that?

[ Because that's a different matter entirely. Sure, Daniel can imagine it's an objective fact that there are people who'd like to do more. Hurt often drives you to do wild things. Sometimes things that aren't even logical, like wanting to blame someone for what happened who could do just as little about what happened as you in the first place.

But what he's asking here is a different matter entirely.

No one likes to get hurt. Especially not with how far some people might be willing to go. ]

[Keith hesitated. He wanted to say 'yes', because that was the point, right? He was offering himself up for retribution to those who felt they needed it. Obviously death wasn't permanent, so, if someone killed him, he'd still come back anyway. So, if someone wanted to go even that far, then okay. Let them.

But, honestly? No. He wasn't okay with it. He took a shaky breath. He was scared. He didn't like pain. He hated the way he felt when he'd come back from being dead and being a squid. So, no. He wasn't okay with it. But, it was necessary... right?]

I don't know.

[ Daniel slowly exhales.

In sympathy, mostly. It hurts, watching young people put themselves through this stuff - because this place puts them through everything first. Through way more than any of them should have to handle. There's no way that doesn't make Daniel's heart ache. ]

Then don't do it.

[ Nothing about his voice is commanding. It's not even really firm, honestly.

It's just gentle, and on the edges there's a sense that he can imagine the other's pain. ]

Someone really important once told me that if you take revenge, you're digging two graves. Going through with something like that.. It would only hurt both you and the person trying to take revenge in that sort of way. There's got to be a better way of dealing with this stuff than for people to hurt each other over and over again.

Heh... [Keith's weak chuckle was without humor.] Yeah. [One would think, right?

And they'd been trying to get through that back home. But there were still plenty of people that wanted revenge against the Galra, even other Galra that wanted something for what they'd been through, some kind of retribution. It was an uphill battle sometimes. And Keith felt it every time he had to face the fact that his mother's people had done some terrible things, including to his father's people, and that was hard.

But here... there just seemed to be even less sense to it all. He sighed.]

Maybe. I just... [He took a breath.] I want to make things right. What else is there to do in a place like this?

[ There's a lot of things Daniel could say here. Technically it's not his place to judge and he knows it, since he wasn't a victim here, but he still has a hard time putting this much blame and guilt on such a young person's shoulders. It doesn't feel right. The only thing Keith should be doing to make up for it, if anything, is just continuing to do his best.

Daniel breathes in and out though, and then instead thinks of something else that might help. It could be a long shot, but.. ]

.. well.. have you ever tried meditating?

[ Probably not. It's not exactly a male teen hobby.

Daniel could know, once upon a time having been said male teen trying to figure out what mumbo jumbo his karate teacher was teaching him. ]

I wouldn't mind showing you sometime. It's helped me a lot over time.

[That got a small snort.]

Not often. It's not something I'm good at. I tend to do better with working out than sitting still.

[ It's not like Keith outright rejected his offer there, focusing instead on the first thing that Daneil said, but.. well, he's old enough to know rejection when he sees it, so he doesn't push the matter. ]

I know types like that.

[ Does he ever... Oh god, does Daniel ever. ]

Just as long as you're getting your feelings out somehow. It isn't healthy to carry those with you forever without doing something about it. [ Pot, kettle. ]

[Haha... Ha... Ha... Right. Voltrons were terrible at expressing their true feelings. The only one who almost never held anything back was Hunk. And he wasn't in Trench anymore. Pot, kettle, entire cookware set...]

Yeah. [There was a small huff, like Keith knew he was being called out. It wasn't the first time. And it likely wouldn't be the last. But, if his energy came back from being depressed, he'd probably wind up out in the woods later using some dead tree as a training dummy. Poor tree.] I've been trying to get better at that...

I also know that isn't always easy.

[ Getting better at that. Just look here. Daniel LaRusso, a grownass man old enough to have a midlife crisis, and yet he refuses to talk about his deepest trauma with even one of the many people around them.

It's probably why he doesn't sound harsh about this. Because he truly does get it, and the last thing he'd want to do is kick Keith when the other is already clearly down.

But-- ]

Sometimes it helps if you find out what way works best for you. There's a whole spectrum of ways to get your feelings out, you know? Talking is the most obvious one, but sometimes also the hardest. Sometimes it helps if you instead put all those feelings into some hobby or activity. [ W-Which may be part of why Daniel himself is so karate obsessed, sssh... ]

Hobby or activity... [Keith almost snorted.] Yeah. I've got a couple of those. I don't know how constructive they are, but... they kinda help. I've got my hoverbike here, too. So, that's one. [Gotta go fast.] And, in a place like this, well, I've been keeping on top of my combat skills. [He didn't have the video on at the moment, but, when Keith didn't look like death warmed over, he was pretty athletic. He trained a lot.]

[ Daniel's voice sounds warm as he speaks. ]

Hey, don't knock down driving around like that. It's a good activity! [ But then again, Daniel is a car salesman and a car enthusiast.

Of course he of all people would say this. ]

It gets you out of your head for a little while, right? I get it. I always feel the same way, even if I'm more of a car guy than a.. hoverbike guy. [ Mostly because they don't have hoverbikes back home.

But he's just more of a car than a bike guy in general, so it works. ]

If it's something that's helping you, no matter how slightly, then I'd say it's definitely something constructive.

[ There, Keith. Have some Dad Patented positive reinforcement. ]

[Dad Patented positive reinforcement was good. In fact, it sounded a heck of a lot like some of the Big Brother Patented positive reinforcement that Keith had gotten over the years from Shiro. So much so, in fact, that it actually does bring something of a tiny weak smile to Keith's face.]

Yeah. I'm a fighter pilot back home. Going fast forces me to pay more attention to my surroundings and to focus on what I'm doing in the moment more than letting everything else rattle around in my head too much. You have to focus at high speed or it could be pretty bad.

Edited 2022-11-10 16:01 (UTC)

A fighter pilot at your age?

[ Sure, there's some surprise in Daniel's tone, since.. that's not really often a thing where Daniel himself comes from - if he's judging Keith's age accurately, anyway.

(He thinks he is, but you never know in this place.) ]

That must mean you're really talented. Especially if you're so responsible about it. [ Judging by everything else the other is saying here.

.. or the alternative take is that Keith is a fighter pilot at such a young age since there's some Really Bad Stuff going on in the other's world, but Daniel would rather think about the angle he's presenting out loud. ]

[Keith blinked a bit at Daniel's surprise and then nodded.]

Yeah. I was in a training program with the Galaxy Garrison where they recruited a bunch of us from various schools around the world to come learn how to fly and be space explorers. I got recruited when I was thirteen. Most of us were around that age. I guess it could be considered like some junior officer's program or something. [Like JROTC.] Usually, you graduated around twenty-four if you didn't flunk out or get held back on something. [There was something else there, and Keith wasn't sure if he wanted to admit to getting kicked out at eighteen because he couldn't control his temper.] But, then I got involved with Voltron. Been doing that for a few years now. [Even if he skipped the part about being stuck in a quantum abyss and spending time with the Blades as an undercover guerilla fighter... But, either way, he was at least old enough to legally drink alcohol now!]

[ .. recruited.. at thirteen?

There are so many alarm bells going off in Daniel's head right now. Keith has no idea. Mostly because Daniel is still mostly keeping calm on the outside, but.. boy, does that ever sound like potential child endangerment to him.

Especially since Daniel is such an overprotective dad in the first place.

He tries to not think about it too hard for a moment though, mostly to stay calm, so he instead asks: ]

And what's Voltron then?

[It's okay, Daniel. Think of it like a military school, but not just designed to punish rebellious kids... even if Keith happened to actually have been a rebellious kid...]

Voltron itself is a giant robot... a really, really giant robot. It's made up of five smaller robots that combine together to make the big one. It's the greatest weapon our universe has, created to defend people who can't defend themselves.

Edited 2022-12-01 23:09 (UTC)

So you are fighting to defend the universe.

[ Just.. trying to make this clear. Just trying to see whether or not he truly understood this, because that is so much to try and wrap his head around. ]

That's a very big responsibility. [ Especially for someone Keith's age, he thinks, though he's at least smart enough to not actually say it.

But it sure is on Daniel's mind as he says these words instead. ]

[Keith nodded, forgetting for a moment that this was voice.]

Yeah... but, when we found out everything, and were in the moment... it just... we knew it was the right thing to do.

We had to.

[There were several moments when they had some big decisions to make early on about how they were going to handle things, if they were going to stay, if they were going to leave, whether they were going to do The Thing... and, deep down, they all just knew... there really was no other choice. The universe needed Voltron, and Voltron needed them to make that happen.]

[ The right thing to do.

Having to.

They're not foreign concepts to Daniel - they weren't, not even when he was younger. It's just that the extent of the responsibility placed on Keith's shoulders seems to be reaching far beyond anything he ever had to deal with, whether it's nowadays or back when he was the other's age.

It makes him pause. ]

It's very brave of you.

[ The compliment sounds genuine - almost too genuine, considering it's not even like Daniel knows Keith well or anything like that. But even though he feels awful that a kid has to shoulder this much.. At least he does want to show the other the appreciation he deserves for working so hard. ]

Even if it might have seemed like you didn't have much of a choice, you still did the right thing. It's hard, and.. I don't exactly agree with that responsibility falling on the shoulders of someone so young, but I'm still proud of you for doing the right thing.

[Keith shrugged a little.]

I guess. I think, for some of us, it was probably braver than others. [Hunk, for example.] But... thanks? I think. [How did one respond to that anyway?]

[ Daniel won't blame the other for the semi-awkward response, at least. If there's anything he's used to at this point, it's teens (and people slightly older than that now, but it's all the same when you're Daniel's age, really) being unable to tell how to respond to genuine praise, especially from people they're not super close to. ]

No need to thank me. [ He instead says, voice amicable. ] Just..

[ ... ]

Take care of yourself here, alright?

[ Especially considering how this started out. The message Daniel replied to. ]

[Keith quietly nodded.]

Yeah. I'll try.

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[ video -> voice | un: keith ]

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