#((yes it is—it's a very scientific post about pheromones—shush))

[lilflowerpot]

How much better is the galra sense of smell than humans? I remember you mentioned it once but as tumblr is a barely functioning site I can’t get to the links on mobile. I’m asking bc it would create a pretty funny/painfully awkward situation if Keith and Lotor were like returning from a quickie or something way in the future looking put together but the those in attendance are like… Sa save me from having to be here

It took me a hot minute to find, and frankly I don't blame you for being unable to locate it if you're on mobile, rip, but this is the only post (I think?) in which I've notably addressed the galra sense of smell!

While I do think of the galra having a heightened sense of smell in comparison to humans, it only really comes into play for stronger scents, such as that triggered by the fight or flight response; pheromones serve as an early warning sign to nearby galra that there is a potentially dangerous situation afoot, assisting them in locating the distressed individual as well as preemptively protecting those members of the group who may not be able to protect themselves. So while I suppose you could argue that this means the galra can “smell fear” as it were (though technically these pheromones would release due to arousal of any kind: be that horror, anxiety, surprise, excitement, or -yes- sexual stimulation), they cannot smell moods/emotions as a general rule of thumb.

So, yes, your funny/awkward situation of Keith & Lotor being betrayed by their own scents technically //could// happen lmao, but probably not if they actually had time to -ahem- calm down afterwards, and properly put themselves back together.

Though pheromones can linger for around 6-8 hours after being released, a great deal of this would be dispersed into the air—and given that the galra do have a somewhat decent sense of smell, they'd likely invest in ventilation of equal quality for enclosed areas—and therefore be too weak to really pick out the nuances of who exactly they belonged to. Those pheromones that were applied directly to skin, clothes, or various surfaces would, naturally, stick around that bit longer, but these would only really be detectable up close; it's less a case of Keith & Lotor walking into a room and all it's occupants immediately Knowing™, and more that of someone who leans over to pass something directly into their personal space that might get a hint of their scents being intermingled... though even that wouldn't be particularly surprising. The galra are, remember, an incredibly affectionate people (Zarkon's inner-circle notwithstanding) and given that Lotor so obviously values Keith's council and companionship, it would be far weirder if they //didn't// smell a little like one another.

Of course, this is all dependent on them having a respectable amount of time to compose themselves. If they failed in this regard—by which I mean if it was more an unexpected knock on the door that barely allows more than a dobash of hasty scrambling to look halfway put together—then all those pheromones from their canoodling would only be exacerbated by a healthy dose of adrenaline,,, and that wouldn't be subtle at all.