#Mystery Altean

[angstandhappiness]

Fascinating, even if sadly misplaced expectations in the end.

Okay so… I’ve gotten so distracted talking about the Atlas that I didn’t make a post about this beauty! Which is a crying shame. Because when it comes to the Hammerhead Robeast, as I call her, I have two major contentions:

1. Haggar has likely retrieved Sincline and is using Lotor’s designs and research for her own purposes, and the Hammerhead is merely a prototype for what’s to come

and

2. I don’t think the podded Altean removed from Hammerhead’s body was only a battery.

Keep reading

[atlas7seo]

Everytime I think I'm free, Voltron comes and grabs me in a choke hold. So I'm dragging yall down with me. Here's season summaries of the Voltron Rewrite I'm working on that has taken over my life. I call it my Bootstrap AU which will make sense later.

Inhales* yes this happening...

Season 1 -Defenders of the Universe

Garrison student(Lance, Hunk, and Pidge), expelled student Keith, and Lieutenant Shirogane suddenly find themselves in an alien castle courtesy of a giant Blue Mechnical Lion. Upon arrival they stumble into a 10,000 year long war against an Alien Race called the Galra. Voltron, an ancient weapon, is the only way to stop them, however, no one knows where it is. Follow the Crew aboard the Altean ship as they attempt to get the ship operational, track down lions, and discover their destiny as fated Paladins of Voltron all in a fight against the Galra. Season 1 ends with the Paladins forming Voltron for the first time and becoming Defenders of the Universe

Season 2 - The Voltron Coalition

Now that Voltron has finally been found and formed, the Paladins and Alteans attempt to form allies and liberate planets. Follow our crew as they free planets, negotiate with rebel forces, and infiltrate Galra occupation. All the while searching for a mysterious Ulaz who rescued Shiro and Ulaz's mysterious organization. Season 2 ends with the Paladins meeting the Blade of Marmora and one of their leaders, Lotor, disgraced Prince of the Galra.

(Let's address the elephant in the room. Lotor. Okay, so when I was planning my rewrite, I realized that Lotor is both so compelling and so flat. So, instead, in my rewrite, Lotor is a disgraced prince (still like the original). He sees how the empire is hurting his people who are just civilians, and when he tries to reason with his father, he is disgraced. Lotor didn't make the Blade, but he allied with them in an attempt to return the Galra to what they once were. Lotor is somewhat selfish because if it was between Galran citizens or another planet, he'd pick his people. He only rebelled because he saw how his father was hurting his people. He doesn’t actually care about the universe, his people are what he values, but that changes with *character growth*)

(Also Pidge has found Matt by the end of this season)

Season 3 - The Galran Empire

Season 3 follows our crew and the Voltron Coalition as they formulate plans to end the war at its head. They will form an alliance and plan with the Blade and Lotor. This will be an all out attack on Zarkon including the allies in the Coalition. Half the season will be the plan in motion with multiple parts in an attempt to finally stem the problem at its root. The season ends with Shiro and Lotor dealing the final blow on Zarkon and a rogue wormhole begins to pull him through, but in Zarkon's rage drags Shiro with him.

Season 4 - A New Era

With the loss of Shiro fresh in their minds, Voltron struggles to find stability in this new era. First they realize that despite Zarkon being defeated, the Galra empire is still a threat so they must be able to form Voltron again. *Cue lion switches no matter how much I hate them... Now the Paladins will be allied with Lotor as he attempts to claim the Galran Throne. Throughout they will face Haggar, Robeasts, and the dying flames of the Galran empire. During this chaotic period, they will searching for Shiro and Sam Holt. The season ends with the Kral Zera where Lotor ascends the throne.

Season 5 - Fires of Purification

After facing defeat during the Kral Zera, one of Zarkon's top generals, Sendak begins to gather the remaining "loyal Galra" including Haggar to form the Fires of Purification. This season will continue the search for Shiro and Sam while also being stuck in a Galran Civil War. Voltron, Lotor, and the Coalition fight to stop Sendak from gaining control of the Universe. The season ends with Sendak offering a trade. Shiro and Sam for Lotor. (Like in the actual season 5 because I liked what it did for the story). Voltron and Lotor form a plan and rescue them as Sendak retreats with his tail between his legs.

Season 6 - Moving Foward

With the win against the Fires and the return of Shiro and Sam, it seems things are looking up, but something isn't quite right. With little fanfare Sam chooses to return to Earth to prepare them for the universe. This season is mostly made up of interpersonal conflicts and "what now". The universe is mostly free save for a few pockets of Galra uprising that the Coalition can handle relatively easily without Voltron. The Paladins face the problem of what they should do now and if they can even go back to how things were before the war. While also worrying about Sendak and the remnants of the Fires of Purification. Throughout this, Shiro is also acting really weird. Cut to the real Shiro, but on a Space Whale. (Yes I'm bringing back the weird time distortion whale) When Zarkon grabbed Shiro they landed on a space Whale. So Shiro is trying to survive and get back to Voltron by himself with only Zarkon's corpse as company. Shiro is the one who discovers the Altean Colony (in my rewrite, Haggar is the one running the colony) and he then discovers Haggar's plan to trick Voltron with a clone of him. It's a mystery thriller season switching between the Paladins and the real Shiro as he desperately attempts to get back to his crew to warn them before its too late. The season ends with Shiro warning them too late and Haggar's plan succeeds. Voltron is torn from their allies and catapulted across the universe along with a lost Romelle.

Season 7 - Dead Sector 73

(Ok before I continue the summary, I'm going to explain what I did with Earth. So Weblums eat dead planets in order to use that quintessence to make new solar systems and planets. In my rewrite, Earth's solar system and the space sector around it was a series of dead planets Weblums ate a long time ago and Earth is the first planet to begin exhibiting life in this previous dead sector. Earth is the first living planet in Dead Sector 73. Okay now onto the season summary.)

Sam returns to Earth and begins preparing them for the Galaxy. Back to the Paladins, Haggar has successfully removed Voltron from the equation and begins to rally allies to the Galra's previous motives and moves to retake the universe. Voltron finds themselves lost in Dead Sector 73, a section of the universe Weblums have already eaten and has begun the process of life. They realize they can't reach their allies through comms or anything. But they notice they are somewhat close to Earth. So they set off to reach Earth in the hopes of communicating with the Coalition. When they reach Earth, however, they find Sendak has taken over Earth as a last ditch attempt to get revenge on the Paladins for destroying the empire. And on top of that, that they have been missing for nearly a year. (Weird time distortion stuff like the space whale because of the dead space). They also discover that Sendak is the reason they can't use their comms as he's jamming all signals that travel outside the solar system. The season ends with them defeating Sendak and finally getting ahold of their allies.

(Now I'm going to do some more world building stuff. This is information previous seasons would originally have already told, but I'm putting it here. So the Blades have the motto "Knowledge or Death" and I want to use that somehow. So in my rewrite, the Blade sort of stole the philosophy from the ORIGINAL Galran empire. The war began not because of quintessence poisoning, but because the Galra believed Knowledge or Death. It was a disagreement on ethics and how far you should go in the pursuit of science and knowledge. This disagreement about how to handle the quintessence plane between Zarkon and Alfor sparked the initial conflict as Zarkon wanted to save his wife no matter what. However, due to millenia of exposure to quintessence it degraded Zarkon's mind to the point that he became the villain the show knows today)

Season 8 - Tomorrow and Yesterday

When Voltron and Earth finally reach the Galatic Stage, they discover Haggar has been reigning terror over the galaxy using the Alteans from the colony. While the Coalition and the Galra of Lotor's empire are holding ground, they are beginning to lose. This is when it's revealed that after Zarkon lost his mind to quintessence, Haggar was the one running the show. She must have progress, and now Alfor and the Alteans are no longer in the way for it. (Haggar is still Honerva and born Altean). This season focuses on defeating Haggar and freeing the Alteans from her brain washing. In the end, Honerva destroys all universes by attacking the quintessence plane in pursuit of "scientific knowledge." The Paladins kill Honerva but realize that everything is gone. This is when the Lions come to them. They reveal that sacrificing themselves can restore their universe. "Restore our universe? But what about all the others?" The Lions tell their Paladins that they in themselves are a Causal Loop. The Lions must be sacrificed to restore their universe, and sacrificing them in the quintessence plane it causes them to appear in the past as the materials that Alfor uses to create the Lions. The Lions are forever in a perpetual loop being created and destroyed to maintain the universe. However, each time they do this, they are sent back to another universe as well. It's a multiplying paradox. They are created and destroyed infinite times to restore everything Honerva destroyed. (I did this because I wanted to include the multiple universes the show had, but also, according to my rewrite, the original Voltron could also technically be canon somewhat. It just that in that universe. Allura sacrificed herself, causing the Lions to no longer go through the loop). When the Paladins return, they realize the quintessence plane is sealed off. No one in their universe can ever reach it again. The universe is saved, and the Paladins walk forward to tomorrow, knowing that yesterday is in good hands.

The End

Okay so that was a lot. I hope that if you reached the end of this, you enjoyed it. Do you think I improved it? Or maybe it's just as convoluted and bad as the original, but I tried my best to take all the ideas from Voltron and fit them coherently. Since these were just season summaries there's a lot of stuff I didn't include that I am including in my in depth rewrite like Keith being half Galra, and shipping and stuff. But this rewrite has been eating at my brain for two weeks so I had to put it somewhere.

The reason it's called the Bootstrap AU is obviously because of the Causal Time Loop. No real reason why I added it, I just thought it was fun and funky and shows how the Lions are things that the characters can never truly understand.

[etymology-of-the-emblem]

Marth / マルス and Elice / エリス

Marth (JP: マルス;  rōmaji: marusu) is the prince of Altea who defeats the Shadow Dragon Medeus in Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, and their remakes. The surname Marth is of German origin, seemingly taken from a municipality that stemmed from its local market, called Markt in the native language. All things considered, this likely was not an intended connection.

More likely, Marth is intended as a corruption of the name of the Roman war god Mars; in Japanese, the deity's name is typically rendered as マールス (rōmaji: mārusu), but how Marth's name is written is also common. Unlike his Greek counterpart of Ares, who was commonly portrayed as boorish and savage, Mars was greatly revered as both the symbol and defender of Rome, and used warfare as a means to attain peace, rather than out of a desire for destruction. Even the more questionable elements of Mars' character—namely, his relationship with Rhea Silvia and his affair with Venus—are generally painted in a positive light, as it is through Mars that Rhea Silvia gave birth to Rome's founder Romulus and his brother Remus, and he is artistically depicted with Venus as being in a happy, tranquil state.

Marth reflects the prevalent depictions of Mars well. His foremost goal is to bring peace to his homeland of Altea and her people, much like Mars to Rome. But he also isn't someone hungry for battle; Marth is happy to forgo combat when able, but is rarely given the option.

Though of dubious canonicity, the surname of the Altean royal family found in the Mystery of the Emblem OVA series ties into Marth's namesake. Lowell (JP: ローウェル; rōmaji: rōweru) is a English surname meaning "wolf". In Roman culture, the wolf was one of the most sacred symbols of Mars, right behind the woodpecker.

Elice (JP: エリス;  rōmaji: erisu) is the princess of Altea and older sister of Marth. The name Elice is a variant of Elise, which in turn is a diminutive form of Elizabeth, a name carried by many queens and princesses. However, considering her brother's name, her name is most likely a corruption of the Greek goddess of strife, Eris. According to Homer, Eris was "sister and comrade" to Ares; though this phase was likely more symbolic of the two gods' relation to conflict, it fed the conception Ares and Eris (and their Roman counterparts Mars and Discordia) were siblings.

Eris is best known for her role in inadvertently starting the Trojan War. After not being invited to the wedding of Peleus and Thetis, parents of the hero Achilles, she decided to cause trouble amongst the goddesses that were. She cast into the event a golden apple, with the words "for the fairest" written on it. This brought about a disturbance between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite. It was Zeus who selected the Trojan hero Paris as the judge of their beauty. Though each goddess had proposed tempting bribes to the man, it was Aphrodite's bargain that took Paris: the most beautiful woman on earth, Helen, queen of Sparta and wife of Menelaus. However, when the King of Sparta took a woman of such beauty for a wife, it was agreed by all of the kingdoms of Greece to go to war against any who spirit away Helen. As such, Troy's fate was sealed the moment made his deal with the goddess of love.

It seems that allusion to Eris is not to directly connect the princess of Altea to the character of the goddess, but rather to the consequences of her Apple of Discord. Elice remains in the kingdom for its fall—an inevitable fall based on the tensions between Altea and Gra. One could interpret Altea as being a stand-in for Troy. Elice could then simultaneously represent Helen's abduction, with both women serving as motivation for their family to fight. That is, at least, a favorable interpretation; Elice's name may have simply been chosen because the main character is named after Mars and one man said that Eris was his Greek equivalent's sister.

[vee-is-a-clown]

Ok but what if Alteans can take information from someone's head by kissing them? Like Starfire but could be used for more malicious purposes. I'd suppose that Alteans can combat it quite easily but people of other species don't understand it and can't defend their brains.

I'd also imagine that different people store the information and memories in their brains differently. Lance's brain is a comfy book shelf filled with scrapbooks whereas Keith's brain, I think, would be filled with different notebooks with haphazardly notes about the memories. The Alteans don't get the memories the way that the person sees them, they get them in these weird, material-esc forms which they can inspect in the mindscape.

Allura wouldn't have known English, she kissed one of the paladins to inspect their language and also learn about whoever just stomped into her castle with dirty shoes. I'm in favor of her kissing Keith so it gives Lance something to be jealous of. Unfortunately, Allura doesn't understand English so she's desperately trying to grab stuff that looks like it might be about the other intruders to copy and take back to her mindscape and ends up grabbing just a bunch of random stuff.

This would show up for comedic effect by her randomly asking what seems like a stupid question and then they remember she's an alien and then they remember that she's supposed to have Keith's memories and they look over at him and he looks like he's about to die of embarrassment because he in fact doesn't know this really obvious thing and he feels stupid. Alternatively, she uses language or jokes that are very specific to Keith and it freaks people out. This is, of course, before she develops her own sense of the English language and can communicate in her own way. What confuses everyone is the accent. Keith doesn't have a British accent. Why does she? (I certainly don't want to figure out the logic of that so it remains a mystery as well as most Altean culture.)

Allura introduces herself to all the intruders by Keith's memory of them. She's like, "Ah, Pidge. You fucking beat Keith at Uno on board game night and he will never forgive you for that. And Shiro, you are a kind and compassionate man. Hunk, is it Hunk? Or is that just a nickname for friends only? Oh, and Lance."

Even better if Lance is like "I think you should get to know me better. I have so much information in my brain that you need to take a look at." And Allura says, "No, there really isn't."

Btw I'm posting about this because what if Keith and Lance were secret dating and Allura found out from the mice but she was suspicious of Lance's intentions because she knows Lance is like, really flirty with any girl that he sees (including mostly Allura) and also, she's seen those hearts scribbled in the corner of Keith's mind notebook, ok? So she treats Lance a little differently and he notices and pulls her aside alone to ask her what's up and she's like "I know you and Keith are dating and I don't trust that you love him because I know damn well that he loves you and my team's dynamic isn't going to shift because you just had to flirt with another alien girl."

Lance is like "woah, woah, hold on here. I can show you. Just kiss me."

And Allura kisses him and his intentions are true. He loves Keith. Really fucking unfortunately, though, Keith only just walked in on that "just kiss me" part.

[angstandhappiness]

Neat

now lets have some aliens as humans in this au

[galraluver]

Hope you're having a good day/night

I was wondering if I could request Allura x Big Brother Reader x Kolivan

Allura having an older brother who risk his life to make sure she was safe and ended up being a prisoner of Zarkon (just a lil background idea)

He eventually meets back up with his sister but ends up falling in love with Kolivan

How will Allura feel about reuniting with her Big brother and him falling in love with a galra?

How does Kolivan feel/think when he starts having feelings for the prince of Altea?

I am, thank you 😊

I tried my best and I hope this was kind of what you were hoping for. I was supposed to have this finished in March, so I apologize for the long delay 😅

_________________________________________

Shortly before Altea got destroyed (Y/n) risked his life to save his younger sister's life, unfortunately it led to him getting captured by Zarkon which led to him being put in a stasis pod so that he couldn't escape. No one knew what happened to the prince of Altea and that mystery went on for the next ten-thousand years; his disappearance became a legend that many would pass down to their children, and after the Blades joined the fight against Zarkon with the new paladins Kolivan told Allura about the legend of her lost older brother. All Allura remembered was (Y/n) pushing her out of the way before Sendak could kill her, after that she didn't know what happened to him. She and Coran believed that (Y/n) perished on Altea and a funeral service was held for him at some point, little did she know that her brother was still alive. For the next few months everyone still believed (Y/n) had been killed until one day when an anonymous message was sent to the castle of lions; no one knew who sent the message, although they took Voltron to the rendezvous point and found a mysterious stasis pod with someone very unexpected in it.

The paladins all agreed to take the pod back to the castle with them so they could save whomever was trapped inside, and when they eventually opened the pod they all gasped. They all expected to see Shiro, but instead they saw an unfamiliar altean man; Allura and Coran recognized the man because he was none other than (Y/n), Allura's missing older brother. It should have been impossible, (Y/n) was said to be dead, and yet he was laying right there in the stasis pod that laid in the center of the infirmary. (Y/n) didn't know what happened until his vision adjusted and he breathed in some fresh air for the first time in ten thousand years, the next thing he registered was someone hugging him tightly after he sat up. Allura could hardly believe that her brother was alive and well, she couldn't prevent herself from crying when she hugged him tightly. Hunk briefly excused himself so he could whip up a snack for (Y/n) who would undoubtedly be hungry, it was the least he could do for the long lost prince.

“Allura, you're squeezing me!” (Y/n) wheezed hoarsely; he was happy to see his sister again after so long, although he wasn't expecting her to have gotten so strong.

“I can't help it, I've missed you. I was so scared when you disappeared and when Kolivan told me about your legend I truly thought you were dead.” Allura replied happily, her voice wavering as she spoke and loosened her grip on her only sibling.

“Legend? What legend? And who are these people?” (Y/n) questioned curiously despite his throat feeling dry, wondering who all the other people in the room were other than his sister and Coran.

Coran gave (Y/n) a hydration pack and cleared his throat before filling him in about what happened after his disappearance so many years prior. (Y/n) could hardly believe that Zarkon was capable of such horrible things and that Altea had been destroyed; he panicked a little when Allura told him how much time passed since his disappearance, but then she told him their father stuck her and Coran in two of the healing pods until the new paladins found them. Hearing about how the new paladins were making things right in the universe gave (Y/n) hope that everything would be okay, and after he ate and drank he got to meet four out of the five paladins. It wasn't long before he got to meet Keith, but unbeknownst to everyone else Kolivan had made an unexpected visit because he had some new information regarding a top secret galra base he needed to give to Pidge. Kolivan was very surprised to see a young altean man in the infirmary, although what surprised him even more was that the young man was none other than prince (Y/n).

“Keith, you didn't tell us that Kolivan would be stopping by.” Allura said with a surprised tone when Keith and Kolivan walked into the infirmary.

“I have some new information on a secret empire base that I wanted to give to the green paladin. Who is this?” Kolivan answered before he turned his attention towards (Y/n); he couldn't deny that the young altean man was attractive and as soon as their eyes met he felt a warm throbbing sensation in his chest.

“This is my older brother, (Y/n). He's been kept a prisoner by Zarkon all these deca-phoebs until someone sent us coordinates and we found his stasis pod.” Allura replied, giving the leader of the Blades a brief explanation as to how (Y/n) had been recovered.

Kolivan could hardly believe that (Y/n) was alive and that the legend of him he grew up with was false, and yet there he was, sitting up in the stasis pod he'd been kept in since the fall of Altea. (Y/n) felt tingly as soon as he made direct eye contact with Kolivan; he was still processing how much the universe changed and he assumed he was just low on oxygen or something, he didn't realize that he'd just met someone very important in his life. He blushed and stuttered a little when he greeted Kolivan, feeling embarrassed for his sudden inability to speak clearly as he attempted to start a conversation with the older man. Waking up only to be reunited with his younger sister, meeting the new paladins and learning that she had become a paladin was a lot for (Y/n) to take in, then he met one of the most attractive men he'd ever seen; adjusting to life would either be difficult or easy, although at the moment he wasn't sure which it would be. Lance was the only person in the room who noticed a romantic spark between Kolivan and (Y/n), but he decided not to tease them about it until the future, depending if they ever got together or not.

__________

Despite being held prisoner by Zarkon since the fall of Altea (Y/n) managed to adjust to being a part of life again; he had a difficult time getting used to all of the new technology, thankfully he got along with the paladins relatively well. Allura loved having her older brother back and sometimes she could get a little clingy with him, not that he minded since he loved his younger sister and he felt bad that he hadn't been there for her after the new paladins found her and Coran. Working alongside the Blade of Marmora was interesting as well, and after (Y/n) went out on a few missions with Kolivan they began to fall in love with each other. (Y/n) didn't have a problem with falling in love with the Marmoran leader; Kolivan might have appeared stoic, although behind all of the walls he'd built up over the years Kolivan had a kind soul. He spent as much time with the older galran man as he could and Kolivan seemed eager to be around him as well.

Kolivan was intrigued by (Y/n) and at first their relationship was purely platonic, although as more time passed and they spent more time together they developed a strong bond that slowly turned into love. When he realized that he had feelings for the altean prince he nearly panicked because he wasn't used to having feelings for anyone, nevertheless Kolivan gave in and accepted that he wanted to have (Y/n) as his lover. While they were away on one mission in particular Kolivan formally asked (Y/n) if he could court him and to his relief (Y/n) said yes, then he gave him a bottle of rare cologne as a first courtship gift. The young altean man was over the moon with happiness when Kolivan reciprocated his feelings, although at some point he would need to tell Allura that he and Kolivan were a couple. A month or so passed since he began courting him, and one afternoon (Y/n) and Kolivan decided to tell Allura; they would do it in the library where no one would disturb them, but Allura could tell that something was going on between the two of them.

“Is there something important you both needed to tell me?” Allura asked Kolivan and (Y/n) with concern when she sat at the small table with her brother and the leader of the Blades; by that point she'd learned to trust the Blades, although she was still a little wary around them.

“You could say that.” Kolivan answered gruffly, which was his way of dealing with the anxiousness he felt since he and (Y/n) were about to tell her that they were in a romantic relationship.

“Oh?” Allura queried, tilting her head slightly to the right in confusion.

Kolivan looked at (Y/n) and (Y/n) looked at him, both of them feeling nervous to tell Allura that they were together. Even though Altea no longer existed (Y/n) was still considered a prince, and as such he had certain obligations he had to hold up. Allura looked at her brother and Kolivan, wondering what they were keeping from her. Finally, (Y/n) decided to break the news to her.

“Allura, recently there's someone who's caught my attention and-” (Y/n) began to tell Allura before she cut him off, although he wasn't upset with her because she seemed excited for him.

“You're in love? That's wonderful! I'm so happy for you, (Y/n). Tell me, who is this person you've fallen in love with?” Allura interrupted her older brother when he began to tell her that he was in love with someone; she wasn't really interested in pursuing a romantic relationship yet, but she was excited for her (Y/n).

“W-well, that's the thing… I haven't fallen in love with anyone of royal descent, and we're already in a relationship. Allura, I love you and I hope you truly love me; I'm in a relationship with Kolivan.” (Y/n) answered after he took a deep breath, hoping that his younger sister wouldn't freak out.

“You- and Kolivan? (Y/n), are- are you sure that you love him? And that he actually loves you?” Allura questioned with disbelief, her eyes widening; she only wanted her brother to be happy, and she wasn't sure if he and Kolivan were a good match given their differences.

Before (Y/n) could say anything else Kolivan stepped in and defended his relationship with (Y/n); he understood that altean royalty had a lot of standards when it came to selecting a significant other and he wasn't royalty, but he and (Y/n) loved each other very much and he wanted Allura to know that he would take good care of (Y/n). Allura was surprised, and even though she was still skeptical she decided to let it go and allow them to continue being together because after what Kolivan told her she was in awe. She'd never met anyone so dedicated to being in a relationship before; it was very touching, and she didn't want to ruin the love (Y/n) and Kolivan felt for each other. (Y/n) was surprised that Allura accepted his relationship with Kolivan, albeit hesitantly; not because they were both men, but because Kolivan wasn't royalty. Until the universe was safe Kolivan and (Y/n) agreed to keep their relationship a secret from everyone else, then someday when the universe was safe they would be able to go public with it and eventually have a wedding ceremony.

[discordiansamba]

Coran's primary mission is to keep Allura safe.

When King Alfor entrusted his young daughter to him, he knew it would be unlikely that the two of them would ever return to Altea. It was better this way- the young princess might grow up without any knowledge of her parents or her royal heritage, but she would be safe. With the Galactic War still raging, it was easy enough to fake her death. It was a tragedy that would eventually propel the people of Altea to victory, finally bringing peace at long last.

But Allura must still be hidden.

Her voice contains a mysterious power, one that Alfor feared could be used for dark purposes. Alone, it is nothing, but if it happens to resonate with others like her, then it holds the key to a power so fearsome it could be used to restart the war- or worse. Given the choice between raising Allura on Altea as a caged bird unable to leave the Castle, and raising her in an environment where she is free to live her own life, the answer seemed obvious.

Coran's second mission is to look for those like her.

He finds two of them on the very same space station that he took up residence with Allura on. They turn out to be a pair of childhood friends, an Earthling and an Altean named Hunk and Romelle. They have a street act that's been spreading through word of mouth, and Coran decides to take them under his wing before anyone else can. Thankfully, they agree to sign on to his newly formed talent agency- and they even come with a free bodyguard, in the form of their other childhood friend, a half-Earthling/half-Galra named Keith.

Allura is excited at this development, and throws herself into helping the pair. Immensely talented, she acts as their stylist, voice coach and choreographer, easily befriending them along the way. But it becomes clear from the way she watches them that she too, wants to stand on stage with them.

Coran's just not sure he can allow that to happen.

[minamorsart]

Happy holidays to you 🎄🎁🌟❤️

*whispers* , who do you think deserves better

Lotor or Ben Solo/Kylo Ren

First of all: thank you so much! Happy Holidays to you, too!! I hope you are enjoying this holiday season with your loved ones 🎄🎀☃️💖

And second of all: NOOOO Anon how could you make me choose??! 😭😂😂

My gut reaction is to say both of them, but that's not really the answer we're looking for here, is it? Hehe. So I have tried to seriously consider this and provide a sincere answer to your question.

A quick heads up, I will be mentioning reylo and lotura here and there throughout this little essay!

The most fun part about comparing Ben and Lotor I think comes from the fact that these two are suuuuper similar to one another. I covered this a tiny bit in this ask where I talk about how protective the two of them are, but to reiterate:

Both Lotor and Ben are from sci-fi/fantasy franchises that were released around the same time, both have troubled relationships with their fathers, both are great swordsmen and pilots and engineers, both murdered their fathers, have complicated childhoods, rarely show their true faces to others, killed their dads, fell in love with fierce and powerful women, kissed said fierce and powerful women before shortly dying afterwards, said bye-bye to papa by doin a lil stabby stab, became intergalatic leaders of the most powerful empires in the universe -- oh, and did I mention daddy issues? You tend to find that a lot with long-haired emo boys from fiction. It's just the way it is. And for these two in particular you can also sprinkle in a little "mommy issues" just for funsies.

But in all seriousness, Lotor and Ben share a LOT in common, which is pretty crazy! So who deserves better, really? In order to make a fair judgment my first thought was to take into account their crimes and if they were able to redeem themselves in the end. But this is also fiction. As soon as people slap the label "toxic" on a character or ship, I usually tend to tune them out. This is by no means a hot take, but fiction is a form of escapism. It is a way for people to experience a thing (e.g. horror, adventure, romance) without actually having to experience it. So if we have a couple of sad boys who murder and manipulate people but also want to find love, who's gonna stop us from rooting for them? Absolutely no one!

I digress, but my point is that I usually don't care which character did what and why they're a bad person for it. But even then were Ben and Lotor really all that bad? After all, we learned from "The Rise of Kylo Ren" comics that Ben was ultimately not the one responsible for destroying Luke's Jedi school, and in TROS we found out that he was being manipulated by Palpatine the entire time.

For Lotor, we never really got a clear picture of what exactly he was doing with that Altean colony. To this day I still don't get it! In S6E6 he says, "Many Alteans perished in my quest to unlock the mysteries of quintessence." But then in S8E13 Allura says, "Lotor may have been misguided, but ultimately he wanted to preserve life." Like, what does any of that mean?? There are cracks in the armor, Anon! Cracks!!! Not to mention all of the theories with very convincing evidence that there were a ton of changes made to season 8, and unfortunately I don't think we're ever going to get a solid answer from the showrunners as to what was really supposed to happen.

In the end, the complicated and morally gray choices that Lotor and Ben made throughout their lives are what make their characters so interesting! They did the wrong things for what they believed to be the right reasons. If they didn't come across as the mysterious and devious fellas as they did when we first saw them, we wouldn't be such big fans of them. We would've chosen someone else 😉

So any bad deeds aside, maybe we oughta take a step back and do one last comparison. Most notably, comparing how they died. Ben died saving the person he loved, while Lotor died fighting the person he loved. I would have to argue that Lotor's death was far more gruesome and superfluous than Ben's. Not only did he go mad from all of the raw quintessence coursing through his body, but we find out in season 8 that his body had remained in his ship for three whole years, decayed and melted (seriously whose idea was it to share that imagery? I'm scarred for life) and left to sit there by his own mother.

Ben's passing was also deeply upsetting. I cried in the theater. But you can't deny that it was a peaceful one. From the way his body faded into nothingness, leaving beind only his clothes, the audience is able to assume that he became a Force Ghost (or did he? 🤔). He was battered and beaten, but he brought the woman he loved back to life, and in giving his life to her and helping her defeat Palpatine, he redeemed himself. And not only did he redeem himself, but he was also able to reconcile with both of his parents.

Lotor didn't get to do either of those things. He never got the chance. He was manipulated by both of his parents, and he never had the opportunity to redeem himself on his own terms. You know, for someone who directly influenced the entirety of season 8's plot, Lotor is hardly in it! I suppose he sort of redeemed himself, at least in Allura's eyes, but he was long gone by then. He wasn't around to see any of the stuff going on in season 8, stuff happening specifically FOR him because his mother wanted him back. In season 6 he went out like your average cartoon villain--dying because of his own hubris while the heroes looked on. In season 8 we only get: a flashback episode, him showing up in Allura's bedroom ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°), and him copied and pasted into the background as a ghost in the finale, almost like something is amiss in this scene (cracks in the armor, Anon!!!). UGH. You hate to see it.

But at the same time, I'm not too upset that Lotor died if I'm being completely honest with you. At least not anymore, anyway. Don't get me wrong, at the time I cried when his death was confirmed, and then I cried again when Allura died. But at least they get to be together in the afterlife. Ben had a lot going for him. He was only 30 years old when he died, and that's still very young. He could have had a long, happy life with Rey, and to truly redeem himself in the eyes of the resistance, could have devoted his time to restoring peace and order to the galaxy, as well as teach the new generation of Force-wielders alongside Rey.

Lotor, on the other hand, was 10,000 years old. The idea of having lived that long is not only unfathomable, but the fact that he probably spent most of that time being completely alone is just... really, really sad. If I were him I would have been ready to kick the bucket, too. I think the kindest thing to do for him at that point was to give him a peaceful, as well as justified, departure in the series finale. Allura had suffered as well. She had lost everything, just like him, so the two of them finding peace in the afterlife would be the most merciful conclusion, I believe.

Soooo I'm gonna cheat again with my answer 😂 Who deserves better? I would say BOTH of them deserve better, but in different ways. Ben Solo deserved to live, while Lotor deserved a better death.

Thank you so much for this question, Anon! I really had to think a lot about this one, and even though in the end I couldn't actually choose between the two, I still enjoyed coming up with this long-winded answer haha! If you have any further insights you would like to add, or if you even disagree with any of the things I've said, please don't hesitate to say so! I am always happy to discuss anything Ben or Lotor-related 😁 My love for these boys knows no bounds 💖

[the-priestess-of-dawn]

Actually though now I AM getting the urge to essaypost about the sacrifice ending because... it occurs to me that perhaps "For once, I'm glad you and I are the same." might be a more significant line than I ever realized... If the Chrom ending represents Robin fundamentally changing as a person, then the sacrifice ending represents them NOT changing... but Chrom is insistent in both endings that Robin will always belong with him and the Shepherds. In the sacrifice ending, Robin comes back from death because of the strength of their bonds... but what does that mean?

You know, if you look at Medeus's death quotes in Shadow Dragon and New Mystery...

“Nngh… Defeated again… by humans! Know this, Altean prince… That light which surrounds you is only a temporary respite. So long as the darkness in your hearts continues to sustain me… I cannot be… destroyed…… Rrraaahhh!!!”

“GWAH…! WHY……? WHY… HAVE I… BEEN DEFEATED… SO EASILY…? IS THIS… THE POWER… …OF NAGA'S… Binding Shield…? KNOW THIS, HUMANS… THIS LIGHT IS ONLY A BRIEF RESPITE… SO LONG AS EVIL LURKS WITHIN THE HEARTS OF MAN… SHOULD THIS ACCURSED SHIELD BE LOST, WE SHALL RISE FROM THE DEPTHS OF HELL… DO NOT… EVER FORGET…”

It seems to me that Medeus is saying that human hearts have the power to bring him back. I mean, yes, it could very easily be a metaphor. In fact, I think it largely IS figurative, but... The point is that this shit keeps happening because humans want it to happen, right? Like, Medeus was resurrected by GHARNEF; he basically just seized the opportunity this human gave him. Why wouldn't he expect it to happen again someday?

And Grima, of course, was revived by the Grimleal. We've got no word on whether Grima wanted their followers to do this after their original defeat (in fact, technically we do not not even know whether Grima consented to giving any humans their blood. It COULD be that they bestowed it on their followers as a show of favor. I also absolutely would not put it past the Grimleal to have collected Grima's spilled blood after the final battle with the First Exalt and used it for their own purposes... Especially because I do think that's most likely what Forneus did with Naga's blood to create Grima in the first place.). Regardless, Grima answered their followers' call and did exactly what they were asked to do.

And then we have Robin coming back. I think most of us presume that there was no specific revival ritual, but... still, fundamentally, isn't the same principle at play? The Shepherds called and they were answered. And Robin came back as Robin, Brandless and free from the power of the fell dragon, because that is who their loved ones asked for, and that is who Robin wanted to be, and I think in a world where magic exists then it makes perfect sense that a strong enough wish could literally manifest as a spell. (Tharja says in her supports with Ricken that "Curses are a kind of magic that gives life to dreams." so I'm inclined to think that this is very much how magic is intended to work.)

So the sacrifice ending becomes a twist on the cycle. Because the thing is, Robin chose destruction. Robin chose to use their power as Grima to bring about a final end—only in this world their conclusion is not that the world is unable to change and therefore must be destroyed, but that THEY are what cannot change and must be destroyed. "For once, I'm glad you and I are the same." They are embracing it. They are the fell dragon and they can't change but they can do the one thing they always do and destroy. This OUGHT to be a tragic ending where we're all left with the bitter feeling that nothing the hero OR the villain did ever truly mattered at all.

But we're challenging fate, right?

And the thing that Robin has that their future self did not is, of course, all the Shepherds reaching out for them. The original timeline Shepherds thought that Robin betrayed Chrom and then... presumably ran off to serve Grima or whatever (since nobody knows that Robin BECAME Grima). And so there was no one to beg Grima to come back and be with them. No shared wish strong enough to create a miracle. The tragedy played out straightforwardly.

But it was never inevitable. The tragedy didn't happen because there is something inherently wrong with Grima's being. Of course it didn't. They were not alone because they were unlovable but because Validar and the Grimleal had everything set up to ensure that Grima could not do anything but turn to them. ("These followers of Naga will spurn you now that they've learned what you are. Kill me, and you incur the wrath of the Grimleal as well… Would you truly choose to be so utterly alone?" Validar knew exactly what he was doing.)

So with the sacrifice ending... perhaps we're really saying that Robin never needed to change. That even if they never give up this perspective of theirs—that they're a no-good and repulsive being, that they're powerless to change anything, that all they can do is destroy—they're loved anyway, and there is room for them in the world no matter what.

[aspenmissing]

𝚃𝚑𝚎 𝚁𝚒𝚜𝚎 𝚘𝚏 𝚅𝚘𝚕𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚗 (𝙿𝚝 𝟹)

Allura recalls her last memory of being awake. 

==Flashback==

She stood in the Bridge of the Castle of Lions with Coran and her father. The Castleship was under attack by Zarkon's fleet. Zarkon appears on screen.

"Zarkon!" King Alfor says.

"Your fleet has been destroyed, Alfor. I will be there shortly to claim Voltron" Zarkon ended the transmission; a Galra warship blasts the Castleship with a powerful cannon.

"Father, we must form Voltron and fight before it's too late" Allura says.

"It's already too late. We must send the Lions away. We can't risk them falling into Zarkon's hands"

"We can't give up hope!"

"I'm sorry, daughter. If all goes well, I will see you again soon" King Alfor uses a mysterious light to put Allura asleep.

"Father...!"

"I love you" Allura returns to present.

==Flashback End==

"Planet Altea and all of the planets in our solar system have been destroyed. Coran, Father is gone. Our entire civilization..." Allura becomes enraged "Zarkon" Shiro recalls Zarkon's face.

"Zarkon...?

"He was the King of the Galra. A vile creature and enemy to all free people" Shiro looks down.

"I remember now... I was his prisoner" Y/N rubs his arm.

"He's still alive? Impossible!"

"I can't explain it, but it's true. He's searching for a super weapon called Voltron." Shiro said.

"He's searching for it because he knows it's the only thing that can defeat him, and that's exactly why we must find it before he does." Allura explains.

==

Later, Allura stands at the Sleep Chamber console with a plate of food goo floating nearby.

"Princess, you must eat. It's been 10,000 years!" Coran says.

"I'm not hungry"

"Man, 10,000 years? That's like one thousand plus ten." Lance says.

"That's times ten" Keith corrects.

"Whatever, dropout" Y/N, who's between the two, smacks Lance's arm.

"Don't be mean. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have gotten Shiro" She glares at him.

"I haven't eaten since breakfast and I'm starving." Hunk holds his stomach.

"Yeah, but you've thrown up, like, five times.",

"Hmm...Good point." Hunk begins eating the food goo, continuing to eat although disgusted.

"I can't believe your civilization created such advanced technology 10,000 years ago. It must have been an incredible place" Shiro says.

"Yes, it was... but now it is gone and we're the last Alteans alive." Allura mourns as Coran comforts her; she hears a squeak from her sleep pod and is happy to find four Altean Mice.

"Looks like we're not the last, after all" She says. The Castleship alarms blare, and a Galra warship appears on-screen.

"A Galra battleship has set its tracker to us!" Coran says.

"How did they find us?" Allura asks.

"I'm not sure" Lance looks at Keith from the corner of his eye "But I bet it's Keith's fault" Y/N sweatdrops.

"Say whatever you've got to say to make yourself feel better. After getting us stuck on the other side of a wormhole!" Lance leans forwards, getting in Keith's face. Y/N puts her hands on their chests, pushing them apart.

"Guys! Wrong time!" Y/N mutters, but is ignored.

"I'LL STICK YOU IN A WORMHOLE!!" Lance shouts. Lance and Keith appear ready to fight, but Shiro helps Y/N separate them.

"Stop it, cadets!" Lance puts his hands up in the air "This is no time to place blame. It's time to work as a team" Lance puts his hands down, glaring at Keith. Shiro looks at Coran"How long before they arrive?"

"At their speed? Oh, well, carry the two" Coran counts on his fingers "... I'd say probably a couple of days"

"Good. Let them come! By the time they get here, you six will have reformed Voltron , and together, we will destroy Zarkon's empire" Hunk burps.

"Sorry. Food Goo" He says. His stomach growls loudly, making Pidge jump.

"Princess, there are six of these lions. How are we going to find the rest?" Shiro asks. The mice squeaks in Allura's hand. In the Castleship's Bridge with a Crystal above, Allura stands in the centre. A beam of light down towards her.

"King Alfor connected the lions to Allura's life force. She alone is the key to the lions' whereabouts." Allura activates the computer, opening up a map of the entire universe.

"Whoa!"

"These are... coordinates. The Black Lion looks like it's in the same location as the Blue Lion." Y/N says.

"Look at your primitive synapses firing away in their little brain cage" Coran says, standing next to Y/N.

"Normally Pidge is the smart one" Allura smiles.

"Very observant. That's because the Black Lion is in the castle" She informs.

"To keep the Black Lion out of Zarkon's hands, King Alfor locked it in the castle. It can only be freed if the other five lions are present" Coran explains.

"As you have found, the Lions choose their pilots. It is a mystical bond and cannot be forced. The Quintessence of the pilot is mirrored in his Lion. Together, they form something greater than science can explain" Allura sends the Black Lion hologram towards Shiro "The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron . It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation. That is why, Shiro, you will pilot the Black Lion" Allura moves the Green Lion's hologram towards Pidge "The  Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring. Pidge, you will pilot the Green Lion" Pidge smiles "The Blue Lion-"

"—Whope, hold up, let me guess: Takes the most handsome slash best pilot of the bunch?" Lance interrupts, smiling. Allura looks annoyed and continues.

"The... Yellow Lion is caring and kind" Allura sends the hologram Yellow Lion towards Hunk "Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together" Hunk questionably points to himself "The Purple Lion is loyal and loving" Allura sends the hologram Purple Lion towards Y/N "It's Pilot is someone who always keep their word, and are never swayed with fear. As the chest of Voltron, they are the heart and soul of Voltron, always willing to sacrifice themselves for others, Y/N, you will pilot the Purple lion" Y/N watches at the Purple Lions comes to life and hops around the Green Lion, who also comes alive and the two hop around each other.

"Ah, the Purple and Green Lion have an unbreakable bond, a sibling like force that can't be broken" Coran says. Pidge and Y/N smile at each other.

"The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It's faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone" Allura sends the Red Lion towards Keith "Keith, you will fly the Red Lion"

What? This guy?" Lance says. Keith glares at Lance, arms crossed.

"Unfortunately, I cannot locate the Red Lion's coordinates yet. There must be something wrong with the castle. After 10,000 years, it... might need some work." Allura says.

"Don't worry, we'll find it soon. They don't call me "The Coranic" for nothing. It's because it sounds like "mechanic." So... Coranic, mechanic. It's not—It doesn't sound... exactly like it. It's similar" The hologram Lions roar and charge together, forming Voltron.

"Once all the lions are united, you will form Voltron, the most powerful warrior ever known, the Defender of the Universe." Allura says. They look up to see a big hologram of Voltron. The Blue and Yellow Lions as legs, the Green and Red as arms, the Purple as the chest, and the black as the head.

"Awesome!" Hunk shouts.

"Soo cool" Y/N says.

"Wait. Okay, we're going to be in there and flying Lions. Got that part. How do Lions turn into legs? Also, is this going to be a long trip? Because I have to pee. Do you people pee?" Hunk rambles.

"We don't have much time. Pidge and I will go after the Green Lion. Lance, you take Hunk and get the Yellow one. Keith, you and Y/N go and get the purple" Shiro says.

"In the meantime, I'll get this castle's defences ready. They'll be sorely needed"

"I'll ready the pods a-and load the coordinates so that you can reach the Green and Purple lion" Coran said. The three teams take off, Lance with Hunk in the Blue Lion, Shiro and Pidge in a flight pod, and Keith and Y/N in another flight pod. Allura readies herself to open a Wormhole with the Castleship's power.

"We can only keep the wormholes that lead to the other lions open for two of your Earth hours, so you'll have to be quick about your work" Coran says "The good news is that according to my readings, the three planets are relatively peaceful. So, if you do get stuck, they could be relaxing places to live out the rest of your lives" Everyone in their vehicles share a look of panic "Well, enjoy the trip!"

"Wait!"

"Hang on!"

"Wait! What? No! OK—!"

"I did not receive the memo on this" Hunk said. They each go through the wormholes.

==

Y/N and Keith land on a forest looking planet. The two walk through the mystic forest. Y/N holds a tracker, which shows a purple dot, about 2 miles away.

"So, after I left the Garrison, you refused to take my place" Y/N nods "Why?"

"As I said, I couldn't take your place. It was yours, and only yours"

"I think you would have made an amazing pilot in the garrison." Keith says, smiling to the girl. Y/N smiles, with a slight blush on her cheeks. They continue to walk in a comfortable silence

"Hey, remember that time when we snuck out of the Garrison, and jumped onto your hoverbike and drove around till the sun came up" Y/N says, looking to Keith, who laughs lightly, remembering the moment.

"I could never forget when I nearly fell off the cliff." Keith says.

"Yeah, well that wouldn't have happened if you weren't trying to show off." Y/N laughs.

"Yeah yeah, you would have tried it too had I not nearly fallen." Keith says, and Y/N just continues laughing lightly. "And that's where we took this photo" Keith stops, Y/N following. He puts his hand back into his coat pocket and takes out a photo, giving it to Y/N.

The photo is of Y/N and Keith, sat on his hoverbike with the sunrise behind them with the cliff behind them. Keith's arms are crosses, a small smile on his face. Y/N has a big smile on her face, arm around Keith's shoulder, her other arm held out, holding the camera.

"Y-You still have this?" Y/N asks, looking at the photo with a smile. Keith nods. Y/N turns it over, remembering that she put something on the back.

"No matter where life takes us" Y/N reads out loud.

"We'll always be side by side. Forever and always" Keith finishes. The two smile before the silence is interrupted by the tracker beeping. Y/N gives Keith back the photo, who puts it back in his pocket. She looks down and noticed the purple dot was moving.

"Look" Y/N shows Keith the tracker. The small purple dot is moving "How the hell is it moving?" The two make their way to the dot, reaching a big, open meadow. They see the Purple Lion on a wagon, that is being pulled by Galra, and multiple Galra surrounding it with guns and vehicles "What are we going to do?" Y/N asks.

"I-I don't know" Keith replies, he looks around trying to figure out a plan.

"Aw~ aren't you a cutie~" Y/N coos, causing Keith to blush.

"W-what" Keith turns around to see Y/N, holding a creature in her arms (Down Bottom), pushing her cheek into her head "Y/N, put it down! It could be harmful"

"You heard Coran, the planet's peaceful. Apart from the Galra. But look at her"

"Just, put it down before you get yourself hurt." Y/N holds the creature up to Keith

"Aww, but look how adorable she is." The creature sticks her tongue out like a dog, "I don't think she could hurt a soul. Can I keep her, please~" She drags out, hugging the creature close, looking at Keith with pleading eyes. Keith thinks for a bit before crossing his arms.

"Fine"

"YES!" Y/N shouts, which a Galra soldier hears and turns to their direction.

"What was that?" A Galra soldier says. Keith grabs Y/N and pulls her down behind the bush, the creature still in Y/N's arms. Two Galra soldiers walk over to the bush where they are, guns pointed high. Keith and Y/N looks up and sees a gun pointing over the top of the bush, right above their heads, which make them push back further, and curl tighter into a ball so that they are obscured by the bush. The creature just sits still in Y/N's arms, somewhat sensing the danger. "Should we check it out?"

"It was probably just some animal. I mean, it is a forest" The gun stays where it is for a few seconds before the Galra soldier pulls it back.

"Guess your right" They walk back to the others and Keith and Y/N sign in relief. The creature then jumps out of Y/N's arms, pointing into the forest.

"You want us to go that way?" She asks. The creature nods, tugging on Y/N's pants. Y/N looks to Keith, he looks down at the tracker.

"We've got a little over an hour before wormhole closes. Nothing else we can do" He says. The two follow the creature, till they reach a small village, full of the creatures of different variety colours, sizes and ages.

"Aw~" Y/N says, as some of the creatures gather around the three. An older looking version of the creature that led Keith and Y/N comes in front of them. The two share a quick hug before they start "talking". The younger creature occasionally pointing at Y/N and Keith "Maybe they can help get the Purple lion?"

"Look, No offense, but look at these. I don't think they're much of the fighting type" Keith says.

"Who says anything about fighting" Y/N says. She kneels down to the younger and older creature, who turn to look at her "Do you think you can help us get the Purple Lion" The younger goes over to Y/N and grabs the tracker, taking it back over to the older one, pointing at the V on the back of it. The elder looks at it, then back up to Y/N, passing the tracker back to Y/N and the younger and older creature walk to the others.

"What was that about?" Keith asks.

"Maybe they recognize the Voltron symbol?" Y/N suggests "They know that we're the good guys" The two creatures return, more of them following behind "Do they wanna help?" The younger one nods.

"Awesome"

"We still need a plan" Keith says.

"Oh, don't worry. I've got one"

==

Later, Keith, Y/N and the creatures all hide in the forest, waiting for the wagon with the Purple Lion on, and the Galra to pass.

"Are you sure this will work?" Keith whispers.

"I'm, uh, 65% percent sure this will work"

"And the 35%?"

"Uh, probably death" Keith stares at Y/N, she turns to look at him "Or imprisonment, either one is a possibility"

"Great" Keith looks down at the tracker "We only have 30 minutes to get the Lion and back to the wormhole before it closes"

"I mean, this isn't a bad planet-" Y/N stops after seeing Keith's unamused look "Okay, 30 minutes, get lion, through wormhole, don't get stuck. Easy" They all quite down as the Wagon and the Galra walk past. Y/N looks to the younger creature and nods. She nods back and goes over to the others. Three of the creatures run out in front of the Galra soldiers, stopping them.

"Move out of the way you furry beasts!" The Galra points his gun at the three, who tremble in fear. The others, sensing their fear all jump out and start attacking the Galra. All the Galra soldiers go to help, leaving the sides and back open.

"Well look at that, I guess they can fight" Keith says, watching as the small creatures attack the Galra. "Come on, let's get to the lion" Keith and Y/N sneaks past the fight and to the Lion. Keith keeps watch while Y/N goes over to the Lion.

"Let's do this" Y/N puts her hand on the forcefield, expecting something to happen "Huh?" She takes her hand off "Do I have to knock?" She does so; no reaction. She puts both her hand on the forcefield "Hey, Lion. It's me, your Paladin" There's no reaction "Now, if you don't mind putting down your forcefield so that we can get you out of here" There's silence, the only sound is the fighting and blasts of the Galra weapons "Come on, girl" Y/N puts her head on the forcefield, focusing. Still no reaction. Keith turns around to face Y/N, seeing her eyes closed, concentrating. A Galra soldier sees the three.

"Return to positions! There's someone at the Lion!" He shouts.

"Y/N! We need to go!" Keith tugs at Y/N arm, but she shrugs him of.

"No! I need to bond with her" Y/N looks up at the Lion "Come on. Please"

"Uhh, Y/N?"

"What!" She snaps.

"We're surrounded" Y/N turns around to see Galra surrounding them, guns pointing at them. The younger creature runs past the Galra soldiers, guns following her as she runs into Y/N's arms. Keith stood next to her. The Galra readies their guns to shoot. Y/N looks at Keith, her eyes tearing up.

"I'm sorry"  Y/N says. Keith shakes his head, hugging Y/N, the creature in the middle of them.

"You have nothing to be sorry for" They turn their backs to the Galra, keeping the creature safe.

"I'm sorry to you too, I should have never asked you for help" Y/N whispers to the creature, tears dropping onto her head. The creature looks up to Y/N and nuzzles it's head on her chin, using it's tail to wipe her tears away. Y/N could do nothing but hug the creature tightly to her chest. "All I can do is make sure you have a higher chance at surviving."

The The Lion zooms its optics to the three, zooming more to see Y/N hugging the creature closer, to keep her from getting hurt. The Galra's ready their guns and Y/N squeezes her eyes close tightly, Keith hugging the girl tightly as they hear the guns fire, and they ready for the impact. However it doesn't come, instead they hear blasts hit metal and a lou-

Roar! 

Y/N eyes widen as the three look up to see the forcefield gone, and the Lion stood up on all fours. The lion blocked the gun fire with it's metal paw. The lion turns its head to the Galra's and roars, starling them. Giving the the Lion time to quickly opens it's mouth so that Keith, Y/N and the creature can run in before flying up into the air, dodging oncoming blasts.

They head to the cockpit; Y/N sitting down on the pilot seat and it moves forward - the cockpit activates. The creature sits on Y/N's lap, Keith besides her. Y/N hears a purr in her head, before gripping the handles, smirking.

"Let's do this" She says, controlling the Lion to heads back down to the Galra's, shooting their vehicles. They see on coming ships and shoot them down. They head over to another area and sees a bigger ship. Y/N uses the Purple's Lion's claw and attacks the Galra transport ship and it blows as the Purple Lion fly's away from the destruction.

"I wish Lance was here to see this" Keith jokes.

==

Keith and Y/N stand back in the meadow, the creatures in front of them cheering and the Purple Lion behind the two. Y/N kneels down, her hand to her chest.

"Thank you for helping us get the Purple Lion" She says to the elder one.

"5 minutes till wormhole closes" Keith says. Y/N nods, looking back to the younger creature who helped them the whole way.

"If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have found your village. Thank you" Y/N hugs the creature "Goodbye" She stands up and her and Keith walks back to the Purple Lion. The younger creature looks down, saddened. The elder creature places his hand on her shoulder, nodding his head to the two paladins. The younger one looks at him in surprised before hugging him. Y/N, close to tears, hears the patter of footsteps and she turns around to see the creature running towards her. The creature holds up her hands, signalling she wants picked up. Y/N does so "You wanna come with us?" The creature nods before the two hug. Keith clears his throat and the two look at him. He smiles and nods.

"Now hurry up, Wormhole closing in 3 minutes" They rush into the Lion, Keith laughing as they fly into the air, towards the wormhole.

"So what you gonna call her?" Keith asks.

"Hmm... How about, Soul!"

"Soul?"

"Yup" She pops the 'P'. Keith shakes his head, smiling.

[plutonify]

I have extremely complicated opinions and thoughts on how the characters and plot of VLD were handled. My thoughts contradict themselves, they're inconsistent, so I’m writing this to put them down and sort them out. This also serves as the start of me introducing my theories/headcanons that were never fully confirmed and my AU which is more like a completely different show than an AU, but whatever.

The Lion Switch

I have a strong belief that the Lion switch was always intended to happen, I’ve noticed multiple seeds that were planted early on in the show that hinted towards the switch. But I also strongly believe that the show runners never intended for it to be permanent, and that’s where it started going wrong.

——————————————————————————

The “Before Hints”/Foreshadowing

The color coding of the Paladins outfits.

This one is pretty straightforward and obvious, yet there were some that I haven’t noticed other people point out. There’s the ones that everybody knows, Shiro wears mostly black, Keith wears a red jacket, Lance has blue hints in his shirt, shoes & pants, Pidge wears mostly green, and so does Hunk with yellow. But there are also hints of the paladin's colors changing for the Lion switch. Allura’s dress is almost entirely blue and she becomes the Blue Paladin, Keith’s outfit actually has more black than red on it(but this could also be a nice touch to show his connection to Shiro), I unfortunately couldn’t find any for Lance.

Shiro and Keith’s strong relationship(this one is a bit of a stretch).

Shiro and Keith are practically brothers before the start of the actual show. Shiro practically raised Keith. Because of this Keith took after a lot of Shiro’s traits. His morale of the mission coming first, his determination and dedication to a goal. These are just two of them, but you get the point. Simply put, Keith heavily takes after Shiro, it would only make sense that Keith would start to notice how Shiro leads and unintentionally take after that as well.

That scene where Allura is describing the lions and showing them to the Paladins.

As Allura is describing each Lion, said Lion is shown in front of their intended Paladin. Biggest example and the one that supports my theory is the Red Lion floating in between both Keith and Lance, Keith who is Red’s intended Paladin, and Lance who becomes the Red Paladin in the switch.

How the show depicts the Blue Lion in general and how it connects to Allura.

Compared to the other Lions, the Blue Lion is made the center of attention on multiple occasions in many ways. In the first episode Keith describes how he could sense the Blue Lion but didn’t know what it was, and then the Blue Lion was the very first Lion to be found, it also bonded with Lance extremely quickly compared to the others. It is also responsible for finding all of the paladins, not just their own. Keith also brings up the mysteriousness of the Blue Lion being on Earth, especially knowing how far Earth is from Altea and the other planets, and later learning that the Lions can only travel so far on their own. We also never learn of the Blue Lions traits or what they look for in a Paladin(in the show, we learn it in a book later on, and that’s after the lion switch). With Earth in mind, the cave that the Blue Lion was found in had hieroglyphics everywhere detailing the war and other mysterious events, none of the other lions hiding spots did this. Allura also stands out like the Blue Lion, but amongst the other Paladins. She’s royalty, has a strong connection with the lions despite not being a Paladin, and the only female(before the Pidge reveal and Romelle), she’s also an alien(alongside Coran)

Lance has a lot of parallels to Alfor in the show.

This one is brought up in the show itself, but I feel like it never actually fully explored just how deep the parallels went. There’s the one that the show handles, and it’s how heroic and noble Lance is. When Lance unlocks the Altean Broadsword, which was Alfors, Allura talks about how much of a savior and warrior Alfor was and how Lance is as well. Lance’s nobleness comes from his willingness to sacrifice himself to save people and his bravery to always join the battle, Alfor was noble in that he wasn’t just royalty but he was extremely brave and always saw the best in people. There are others that I’ve seen other people bring up, like Lance bringing the team together just like Alfor did. Alfor built the lions and Voltron, he created the alliance, bringing the og paladins together despite their differences. Lance was the sole connection between all of the paladins, he was friends with Pidge and Hunk, he looked up to Shiro like a hero, and held a grudge with Keith from when they were younger. He was also the first Paladin to be found, being the one Blue chose before she even saw him, the others wouldn’t have made it to the castle if it wasn’t for Lance. They both share similar characteristic traits, they just show differently.

-They are both reckless, Alfor completely succumbs to his excitement in the moment, and Lance, as already mentioned, has sacrificial tendencies.

-Their love for Allura, Alfors is that of a father, and Lance’s that of romantic and friendly intent.

The “After Hints”

Allura’s strong connection to quintessence and the White Lion/Her bond with Blue and being a Paladin.

To put it simply, Allura being the Blue Paladin and fully embracing being the reincarnation of the White Lion at the same time is messy and puts even more stuff on her character than there already is. (I should note that I don’t have a problem with “Mary Sues”, I feel like the phrase is a cheap way of reasoning why a person doesn’t like a female character or any character really. I also only believe that a character can be cluttered depending on what’s being put on them.) It’s important that Allura be a Paladin, and even specifically, the Blue Paladin, for some time so that she could connect with the Paladins, feel the toll of being in the battlefield, and getting to fully experience what a bond with the Lions is really like, it also helped to give her the ability to take a break from her princess status and get to act her age alongside the other Paladins. Why Blue? Well, that’s also simple. The Blue Lion is the middle ground. The Blue Lion is below Black and Red in authority, but is also above Green and Yellow in Authority as well. The Blue Lions element being water symbolizes its flexibility in many things, such as already mentioned authority, combat, social status, etc. Being Blue means that Allura can still be a commanding figure herself while being under command as well. But that’s an arc that can be done very quickly, and quickly is what the show did. Allura learned and experienced these things in a quick but meaningful amount of time. Beyond that point, her being the Blue Paladin is no longer necessary to the plot unlike the others. Her having to leave her place as a Paladin and her bond with the Blue Lion would also, once again, give her the opportunity to be like the other Paladins, as Shiro, Keith, and Lance suffered it with the switch.

Allura was hinted to have a particularly strong sense of quintessence sense the beginning of the show. In the first episode, when she locates the Lions, Coran states that she was “directly linked with the Lions life force, she is the key herself”. Later in the Balmera episode, she uses her own quintessence to communicate and heal the planet of Balmera. Her quintessence isn’t mentioned again until after the Lion switch, which it is shown multiple times. When Lance takes the blow for Allura in the Omega Lock, she once again uses her own quintessence to heal Lance. When they find Shiro alive in the astral plane later on, she moves his quintessence to one of his clone bodies, essentially bringing him back to life. And then even later, after she connects to the White Lion, she finds out that her very being can purify dark quintessence. It is also slightly hinted at throughout the show that a lot of the abilities that Allura unlocked in Blue were due to her extremely high amount of quintessence.

While there are some connections between Allura being the Blue Paladin and the White Lion, most of it happens completely separate. It doesn’t help that after Allura sacrifices herself, the Blue Lion projects herself to Lance instead of the White Lion, the only reason why I can think of that making sense would be the fact that both of them were Blue Paladins at some point.

When the current Paladins fought and talked to the previous Paladins.

I’ve already seen some people mention it, but I haven’t yet, so I’m going to. After they fought with Haggar, the Paladins got stuck in the Astral Plane where they fought the corrupted previous Paladins of their respective Lions. When they managed to get through to them, the previous Paladins spoke to the current ones and gave them advice. That’s all cute and all except for the fact that the speeches that Blaytz and Alfor give to Allura and Lance don’t make sense. What Blaytz tells Allura is perfectly suited for Lance, it isn’t even an argument on how much Lance needed to hear. This hints towards the idea that the Paladins were supposed to return to their original Lions and so Lance would be the current Blue Paladin and get to hear the speech from Blaytz. Alfor’s speech for Lance is very short and kind of insulting, in that it boils both Lance and Allura down to their relationship with each other being the only important thing about them. That’s especially a low blow considering how much of a weight it is that Lance is the Red Paladin, in both negative and positive ways(I talked about them a little in one of the above sections at the top). This gives me heavy vibes of this speech being written last minute with little care for how it actually sounded.

[ao3feedsheith]

To Be Human

To Be Human https://archiveofourown.org/works/54899218 by AnchoredTether Shiro is a detective for Arus Police and has been assigned an android to work as his partner, a military-class weapon named L4NC3. Though he is initially annoyed by the prospect of working alongside an android, Shiro learns there is personality behind the machine, personality that is far too human to be synthetic. As the duo uncover the mystery of a murder, they find New Altea has even darker secrets beneath the surface, secrets that could become the downfall of androids and mankind. Words: 2073, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender Rating: Mature Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Categories: F/M, M/M Characters: Shiro (Voltron), Lance (Voltron) Relationships: Lance & Shiro (Voltron), Lance/Pidge | Katie Holt, Keith/Shiro (Voltron), Keith & Pidge | Katie Holt Additional Tags: the D:BH and Neir Automata mashup AU no one asked for, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Androids, Android Gore (Detroit: Become Human), Body Horror, Non-Consensual Body Modification, Brainwashing, will be a bit of dead dove: do not eat later on, detective!shiro, android!lance, android!Pidge, alteans and galra are still part of this universe, Blood and Violence, Psychological Horror, Amnesia, POV Multiple, Angst, it's going to be mostly gen? but definite hints of Plance and Sheith, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Aged-Up Character(s) via AO3 works tagged 'Keith/Shiro (Voltron)' https://archiveofourown.org April 01, 2024 at 10:38PM

[franxx00213]

Who would he meet on the woods huh? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Meet Echran!(Its pronounced Ecran) He is an altean that lived 20.000 thousand years before Allura was born, what mysteries he hide?

[neithercrazynorfree]

Time to get WAY TOO DEEP about voltron and I'm only like 30 min in. I'm actually blown away by the writing like I'm actually so engaged and constantly entertained. This is such a good, fun, and exciting first episode. I'm also thinking about how this came out the same year as stranger things and how they were both huge pop culture phenomenons in their own respect (ig voltron is more niche but for the chronically online you Know), both with their own connection to the 80s and 80s genre fiction tropes, as well as this main cast of tropey friends whose bond you're immediately invested in. That's about all I have but I just find that interesting.

I also noticed how characters refer a lot to "energy" like keith does it twice and haggar does it once, also Lance is shown to receive psychic downloads from the 5D (the blue lion's consciousness). There is something fatalistic about the boundaries being set by the show. Like I'm getting astrology vibes from the way Allura is describing how the lions choose their pilots based on personality traits. Then she straight up says this

I'm poking holes in a kids show for babies there is literally a fart joke in this episode but was this just a cop out so they dont have to explain what quintessence is? Bc just because "science" can't explain it doesn't mean it can't be explained, I think. Or like, why is something mystical ultimately shrouded in mystery. If Alteans have this super advanced technology figured out and were able to create voltron in the first place shouldn't they understand and be able to explain what is happening. Idk I don't even mean to critique it for something that ultimately actually doesn't matter bc they actually just dgaf about the specifics and are trying to move the story along but I have a theory that the downfall of vld was so traumatic in part bc all of this talk about destiny and the "universe" (quintessence, which really isnt the same but its like this vague mystical concept) choosing these heroes was an extremely comforting concept and then their ruin felt so pointless and empty

[darthkvznblogs]

Does Azmuth yet know of the First Ones/Alteans and the Gempire?

Not the Alteans - the Galvans were destroyed before they charted the Milky Way and catalogued its species - but he does know about the Gems, yeah.

I think he finds them very intriguing - their "biology", their mysterious origins, their expansion capabilities - but more so he finds them truly concerning. He recognizes just how dangerous they are despite their pastel aesthetic and elegant demeanor - if their advance is left unchecked, they could very well eradicate all non-Gem life in the galaxy.

[empty-blog-for-lurking]

@void-tiger THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!! I admit it's not really well thought out especially the other reality part

With Veronica and Kuron, it's specifically related to my Post s8 au (here, here is where I talked specifically about their relationship and the tag is here). Right after Lance resurrected Kuron (and fell into coma) Veronica found him while she was looking Lance who wasn't exactly.....doing well for some time, and had kinda went awol on everyone. Veronica had known enough about the entire clone arc thing from Lance and Shiro to not be weirded out but doesn't think that Kuron is evil or even dangerous (the first time they met, Kuron was waking up delirious, slipped and knocked himself out) so after a chaotic hospital trip, some explanations and after some more time and various discoveries, Veronica offers Kuron to room with her.

Veronica and Kuron's relationship at first was rather messy. Vero does sympathize with Kuron's situation but with family issues and her own tendency to be more private/secretive she doesn't have the spoons to deal with him. And in return Kuron does understand and appreciates what Veronica is doing for him but he's also someone who was pretty much abandoned by almost everyone he cared for and was doomed to die in his own mind while someone else used his body, so isn't having a good time either. This would lead to a screaming match, a fight and eventual reconciliation.

i think at first Veronica and Kuron are trying to figure out what even happened to Lance and how to help him but eventually their search expands into a major plot mysteries and loose threads (for eg Lotor's entire deal, some old experimentation by galra with shiro clones (and possibly more Shiro clones who survived) and i am visiting my old hc about gradual exposure to quintessence turning humans into eldritch horrors and nature of quintessence being perceptional and cultural) (Kuron is immune from turning into one due to Haggar's research on humans and clones and Lance using said research as pretty much a blueprint. Veronica however isn't)

Overall i feel their relationship swings between a genuinely healthy friendship who also tend to get codependent and encourage each other's worst habits.

As for the Narti Allura and Lance brotp- Again it's not really well thought out, even less so then Vero and Kuron. In this au Allura is travelling through different realities to get to her own one (I have been debating about giving her amnesia and at first it sounded like a good idea, but right now I am not sure :/. Her powers are still a mess though and she will get crippling fear of death, I am not budging on that). One of these realities she visits is this one where due to a series of butterfly effects voltron team (the humans one) never really formed but did

This reality is lot similar but also quite different, some of these differences being- 1)War being delayed and Allura being sealed in cryopod much later as well as Lotor being older when his parents got corrupted. 2) Delay in war causing Honerva's memory to come back causing a rift in her and Zarkon relationship until they both are against each other (sometimes). 3) Honerva occasionally working with Lotor but it's a strained relationship and Lotor hates both his parents as well as anything to do with quintessence bs 4)Lance found the blue lion much sooner as a kid and then getting taken in by Lotor before he could reach Allura (and also being in vicinity of Honerva which yknow....not good) . 5) Allura was released some other wat sooner and found surviving Alteans and through them and other planets formed the coalition she's currently head of. 6) Narti was sent out to assassinate/take over Allura but didn't (they fought and then talk it out), after which she joined Lotor. She does get controlled by Honerva but wasn't killed. 7) Allura got the white lion before ending up in cryopod

The end ultimately leads to 'shadow zombie' apocalypse (which is kinda because of anti-quintessence thingy? Like it feeds on quintessence and is shadowy) a few years later which kills off Zarkon, Honerva, Lotor and a lot of the empire as well as much of the universe and the blue paladin 'died' (aka Lance just straight up fakes his own death and had nearly gotten away with no one knowing it too if weren't for meddling Narti), and with so many big players dead, Allura's coalition or rather The Council took charge in rehabilitation and fixing what's left (I do think it was lot more complicated than random zombie apocalypse, I feel like it was culmination of everything?? Sorry I am still trying to figure it out)

Lance and Allura meet through Narti, and it was all years ago and now they are Trying. The work is tiring, overwhelming, the present is better but also still bleak, there's a seemingly new incident everyday, all the people who survived and the societies that still exist only Just started to reach a stability and peace and it's fragile as shit and all three of them are Trying™ in spite of the trauma and pain and despair and everything. The apocalypse isn't a problem anymore but it did leave behind a lot of mess. These three pretty much trauma bonded for life

These three are very messy adults and also they are raising Lance's clone they found. She's their little baby, all three of them love her so much, but also they are messy people living in messy world and are kinda fail at parenting. They are not horrible but also- Allura tends to baby her too much, Lance has tendency to project his own trauma and is over-protective, Narti has screwed sense of what is and isn't dangerous for a human child and just let her do whatever and also tends to bother her like a funny owner of a grumpy cat. Also all three of them are embarrassing soccer parents, so there's that.

I do think there's lot more to it, but i feel it's already long enough and i want to flesh out these three's personalities and dynamics a lot more. A lot of this most likely will be changed cause I am very indecisive at the end of the day. Anyway thank you so much for asking!!! Sorry this is late (I was kinda on a trip for a week and also rewrote the other reality stuff three times but ehh)

I think we as a society should bring back brotps. I think we should be weirder about characters being friends the same way people are weird about ships. Make those two characters who interacted once or twice besties. Make it difficult for them to get rid of each other even if they want to. Go nuts