Author: IcyPanther
AO3 ID: 12592096
Status: Complete (22 Chapters)
My rating: 4.5 of 5
Rated T for violence/whump
Princess Allura has entrusted Lance with his very first diplomatic mission, to the cat-like people of Macka–a peaceful planet that has historically been allied with the Alteans. Lance is determined not to mess this up, although it should honestly be pretty easy, enough so that the team is only sending him and Keith to handle the meeting while the rest of them attend to another mission. Only, it seems the Mackans have changed a bit in the thousands of years since Altea last communicated with them, and now Lance and Keith find themselves dedicated as sacrifices to the Mackan goddess Lady Leora. And even when Keith manages to break them out, they must handle the harshness of the desert, Lance’s (magical) loss of his voice, his (equally magical) non-healing wound that’s bleeding all over, and a fierce group of Mackans fueled by religious fervor at their heels. But at least Keith and Lance are in all this together.
The Purity of Sin was the first of Icy’s works that I read, and it was brilliant then. It’s still brilliant upon re-reading. This story is definitely whumpish–there’s lost of violence and bloodshed, and Lance in particular just gets some really rough breaks. But there’s a ton of character development as well. The transition of Keith and Lance from awkward rivals-turned-allies to brothers is beautiful and touching, and the author does a great job of showing this in a myriad of little moments–new understandings, cuddles, sharing in hardships together. Also, I liked that the author didn’t make the Mackans some stereotypical “bad guys” but instead gave us a people with good intentions but misguided, fearful beliefs that lead them to terrible choices. The whole story is balanced well, and the writing is enjoyable to read–as long as you’re up for some pretty angsty moments. Recommended.
Note: You can find The Purity of Sin at https://archiveofourown.org/works/12592096/chapters/28681112.