#flight rising meta

[nevros-fr]

Big question: Who or when was the first use of the term UMA?

Cross posted to FR's forums but I thought fr tumblr meta readers would like this too! Introduction What is a UMA? It stands for User Made Accents, where the companion term is User Made Skins, but UMAs caught on as the catch-all term instead of UMS. I was in the Arcane discord server where foxaquinn made a joke about UMAs and wondered who was the first to use it. If you are on GASP (general accent and skin pinglist), UMAs pop up regularly where I got pinged 60+ times for threads with UMA in the title. I research by day and play pet sims by night so here I am, combining research and pet sims to unravel how language changed throughout the years in the skins and accents community! I included in text citations for my sources because I like those and I don’t like making works cited lists. :) First, what language does the staff use for skins? Maybe UMAs came from them? The Kickstarter uses the word “customs” in regards to the skins (Kickstarter, 2013) The first skin submission competition for the festival, Undel used the word “customs” to refer to the skins users made (Undel, 2013). Note that the current competitions and even the tooltip for blueprints use the word “customs” as well. The blueprint page even uses “user-created” and not “user-made” so "user made" must have stemmed from the community as a more casual way to say user-created.

Results Let’s rule out some approaches that may give an easy answer. I tried to use the FR search tool to see if I could find the first use of UMA, however it only indexes up to one year of results or 100 pages, whichever you hit first when you sort by age so I wasn’t able to glean anything from that. Note that I tried to stick with UMA as the search term because use of UMS just overlaps too largely with the sound “um” when I use the search bar, which also means that plurals are captured by FR’s search. I can also tell you that FR’s search lets you type in user-made or user made and it will pull up the same results.

Then I tried google where I used the key terms site:https://www1.flightrising.com/forums/ "UMA" with a time range from 2013 to 2014. It looked promising at first because it looked like there was an instance as early as 2013. When I actually checked it though, it pulled up the most recent use of UMA in the forums in the first two hits as seen by the timestamps of May 2023 next to it. Google indexed when the forum board was established instead of the individual threads for this search. I dropped the time range and just checked what results it would pull up.

There was an individual thread called the FR Abbreviations Guide that got pulled up. It was made in 2014 and includes both UMA and UMS in the definition list. However, UMA was added to the page in 2020 (FR Abbreviations, 2020).

I decided to just look back at some of the early Skins and Accents posts to see what language they use. It was pretty interesting, where many people just used skins and accents. There is no distinction yet, likely because there weren’t any festival or coliseum skins that users could submit yet! There were still categories though, since blueprints were so expensive, some artists offered “premades” which were skins people could buy for a certain cost on top of providing a blueprint. There were also options for “ghost artists” where the artist could design a custom skin but pass the psd files to the patron for them to distribute instead of the artist selling them instead. “Customs” was also another common term, where it works the same as it does today. People commission an artist to design a unique skin for them. The majority of skins on the market right now would be considered premades back then, which makes sense as it lets the artist have their creative liberties and will allow like minded users to support them.

I was clearly a fool to think UMAs were old because with the skins and accent threads research, I decided to comb through my forum posts to see what I ended up using. I first used UM accents in 2016 since that is when I first started collecting them, then the last time I used it was in early 2018 because I started using UMA by early 2019. I have no posts between 2018 and 2019, but clearly there was a language shift for me that preceded the FR abbreviations update just a year later  (FR Abbreviations, 2020). I’m usually slow in the uptake so I decided to try and track down other forum boards besides the skin specific threads to see what terms were used.

As I was thumbing through the pages, I think I may have overestimated the age of UMA use popularity because I thought it started back in 2013-2014 since that is when the site first got started and I felt like UMA was such an old acronym. The General Skins and Accents Pinglist (GASP) started in 2016. I raked the first version for mentions of “UMA” and there was nothing ! The use of “UM skins” and “UM accents” was the norm (GASP, 2016; GASP V2.0, 2016; GASP v2.0, 2018). One of the first instances of UMAs being used in this thread was in 2018 (GASP, 2018). Can I do any better than 2018? It surely is an older term!

The accent trading hub was established in 2014, so chances are, there are some time points there! The results for “user made” predates “UM accents” by one year, and “UMA” by two years which were 2014, 2015, and 2016 respectively (Accents Trading Thread, 2023a; Accents Trading Thread 2023b; Accents Trading Thread 2023c). There were 14 pages of results for “user made”, 64 pages for “UM accents”, and 96 pages for “UMAs” from the accent trading hub thread. “UMA” was used by two people in 2016, then 5 pages worth of posts in 2017, then another 6 pages worth of posts in 2018, and it took off with 25 pages worth of posts in 2019. Clearly the language was developing around 2016 but exploded in popularity in 2018. This trend was similar in the UMA mentions in the skins and accents forum board. I used ctrl + f with UMA to see when it started regularly showing up in titles, and that was in 2018.

Discussion

According to the UMA searches in the discussion boards, do you know what cultural icon got a revival in the minds of mainstream media? Uma Thurman specifically because of Fall Out Boys who released a song with her name. And you know what Uma is like? UMA, User Made Accents. I’m not saying that Fall Out Boys planted the idea in our heads, but it’s quite the coincidence the song came out in 2015 and UMA as an acronym use started in 2016. In fact, when I searched the FR threads for UMA across the site, the early ones were Uma as a name and Uma referring to the song. The earliest mention of UMA that was actually relevant and broke containment from the skins and accents board was in 2017 in the tiny little questions thread asking what does UMA stand for. (tiny little questions, 2017).

I would like to say that while this user wasn’t the first to use it, they repeatedly popped up when I tried to see who used UMA the earliest. And that user is chocomonster, they showed up and consistently used UMAs in the forums since 2016. I’m saying they showed up in the bug reports, suggestions, dragon trading posts using “UMA”. They are definitely an early trendsetter for UMAs and repped it across the forums.

Popularity of UMA rose in 2018, you know what else got popular in 2018? Reselling UMAs to the secondary market. Typing in UMA in a title means you have more characters for other things. You know which artist got really popular in 2018? Ravenhearst. She has since changed her username but I will keep Ravenhearst for the search results legacy.

I know correlation doesn’t equal causation, but her skins were massively popular when she was regularly releasing skins for the highly rendered wings and sky scenes where there were skins sold in the 100s range. I looked at the game database for Ravenhearst’s earliest skin which was #24078 and compared it to my hoard of festival skins as a year benchmark. The Flameforger’s event in 2017 has a skin with #23992 while the Crystalline Gala in 2018 had a skin #25608. She started her night sky niche around skin #25001 so it lines up with the 2017 - 2018 timeline.

A stronger communal identity was also created with groups like accent addicts anonymous in 2017 or aaa for short, which is a group of collectors and artists who came together to make collaborative skins. An early "big hit" for them were the wildclaw male line where the participating artists made flower/halo/wings skins that were super popular at the time but also being hated on by the vocal minority. If you weren't around for the bustle, one example that came out would be Invidious by fenmori or Bewitched by Churyu. Some examples of the aaa's recent work would be like aaa. Amanita Ambrosia where three artists take turns, one sketches the concept, one lines the skin and one renders it .The increase of more people interested in buying skins and artists flexing their creativity allowed for a great burst of interest that has carried on to this day.

Conclusions Can I pinpoint who first used user made accents, UM accents, UMAs? No, but, I can guess that it was sometime between 2015-2016. It is clear that language has evolved in small ways right under our noses and that human memories are terrible as I thought we were using UMAs since the very beginning. The customization and uniqueness of the UMA system on FR is such a joy and I can't wait to see how the community changes in the future!

If someone wants to try to tackle who first said UMA, be my guest and let me know! My earliest mention of UMA was October 2016 in the Accent Trading Hub  Accents Trading Thread 2023c.

In conclusion, I love umas and will probably look at their sales and trends more.

[daily-fandragon]

Day 59

Meta Knight from Kirby by Sectonia

[making-your-fave-in-fr]

Meta Knight from the Kirby series

I made Meta Knight from Kirby in Flight Rising!

...no idea why the image looks so squished. If you click on it, it shows up just fine.

M Snapper (Glowing Light eyes) Indigo/Basic | Shadow/Seraph | Indigo/Underbelly

Light Sword, Wise Bonecarver's Mask, Soundless Saboteur's Pauldrons, Contrast Rogue Mask, Dusk Rogue Cape, Opulent Nightshade Spats, Contrast Rogue Gloves, Demure Faderose Gloves

[mekha-draws]

Actually when the Tidelord returns I hope there's a bit in either the short story or whatever they release by the time where it's mentioned how relieved and glad the other deities and clans are of his return but also how pissed some of his own children, and others, are

Mad at the vagueness of his words, at the ages they spent going high and low to even get a crumb of a clue of his whereabouts, mad about his disregard for their calls even when "nearby", how their estranged siblings only came back for his' sake and even if some have reconnected there's others that simply went back to their own now that their "mission" was done leaving behind generations of amicable relations now that he is back, clans that have gone by generations mourning him and even wishing he never came back at all because he is sure to have brought back something dangerous that they now have to deal with (*cough*adventure mode)

Idk I just don't want all this BOTE and lore stuff to end (or expand) in an all-around positive note, because (I assume) we all know for sure that's not how it will be when the inevitable conclusion to the whole "Tidelord missing" part of the story comes to a close

[cloudybrain-fr]

wait should i be farming chests now for notn. what is the like. meta????????? it's my first proper one outside of when i first joined and had no clue what was going on

[voidscreamns]

./

[aftgficrec]

Can't believe I caught this open. I love your page. Was just wondering about fics centered around medicated Andrew. Like the foxes realizing that the drugs were more harmful than helpful. Thanks!

Medicated Andrew is an AFTG hot button theme with a good amount of fandom meta, discussion, and umbrage to be found. Some fic writers go the fix-it route with time travel aus or canon divergent stories with different or zero meds (here's the ao3 unmedicated Andrew tag). When Andrew is on the problematic medication it’s usually Neil who wants it gone, but sometimes other foxes see it too. We also found aus with unexpected people wanting Andrew off the meds…can you say Tetsuji Moriyama or Fox!Harry Potter? We have a good amount of Andrew’s pov, and fanart that’s like whoa. What I’m saying is, buckle up for a wild ride, rabbits. -A 

previous recs:

Andrew’s meds here

‘They All Burn the Same’ here (updated)

‘take two’ here

‘Deals With Devils’ and ‘The Sun Still Rises’ here (both updated) 

‘The Sphynx and the Hare’ here (completed)

‘Hope Was A Dangerous, Disquieting Thing’ here (updated)

‘i'd die for you (that's easy to say)’ here

‘California Drifting’ here (updated)

‘Of Ocean Tides’ series here

‘This Is What Hollows’ here  (completed)

andrew pov:

‘The Court-Hole Fox’ (completed), ‘Fuck the Game’ series, and ‘oh be cautious, do not stand too near’ series, plus ‘Monster’ and ‘Monster 2.0’ (both updated) here

‘Fold me in your palms’ here

‘Therapy session’ here

‘Odd Eye’ here

‘Stranger To Stay’ here (updated)

‘The Real Thing’ here

‘And we’ll be running’ here

‘One More Time (With Feeling)’ here (updated)

‘we destroy everything we need’ here

you may also like:

post easthaven andreil reunion here

foxes revise opinion of Andrew here

‘Live Once More (This Time Will Be Better)’ here

‘Inked Truths’ series (parts 1 and 2) here

‘The Unkindness of Ravens’ here (updated)

I hate your smile by PateticabutBunny [Not Rated, 2066 Words, Complete, 2022, Locked]

One day on the relationship between Andrew and Neil And the drugs

tw: vomit, tw: addiction, tw: mania, tw: medication side effects

Another Raven in the Nest by 0bsessednerd [Rated M, 4051 Words, Complete, 2024]

“Minyard will cooperate, I’ll find a way.” Kevin ensured them. and Riko gave him a dangerous look. “If you don’t I will.” Riko said coldly, and everyone knew he would. Kevin better keep his promise, thought Neil, or Minyard was going to not have a good time. No one spoke for the rest of the flight. ~~~ Neil has a nightmare of Andrew being in the nest and part of the perfect court. As imagined it doesn’t go well

tw: nightmares, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: abuse, tw: torture, tw: ptsd

I would choose to live all this a thousand times, if in the end, I had you by FayeS2 [Not Rated, 42517 Words, Incomplete, Updated June 2024]

After almost a decade together, Neil and Andrew travel back in time to Neil's first year at Palmetto. Now, they must relive demons from the past. But at least they still have each other.

tw: drug use, tw: homophobia, tw: violence, tw: blood

Good Men Lie Too by heybabyricecake [Rated M, 100678 Words, Complete, 2024]

Me: Andrew and Neil are perfect for each other <3 their love story is iconic and they are otp and it's a crime to ship them with anyone else!!!!! Also me: Anyways here's a KevNeil fic :) Canon reimagined as if it were Kevin and Neil falling in love!! I take some of the story line from the original series but there's also very different plot points for Kevin and Neil for obvious reasons! Not Kandriel sorry. This fic answers the question: What happens when two Exy obsessed idiots fall in love???

tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: nightmares, tw: nonconsensual drug use, tw: vomit, tw: canonical character death, tw: recreational drug use, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: homophobia, tw: involuntary outing, tw: assault, tw: blood, tw: attempted rape/noncon, tw: kidnapping, tw: alcohol abuse/alcoholism

Glow In The Dark by Anonymous [Rated M, 20984 Words, Complete, 2024]

If Riko Moriyama is Exy's number 1, Kevin Day is number 2. But, if Riko Moriyama is King of Exy, Andrew Minyard is the opposing pawn who’s crossed the board to become Queen. Andrew has spent far too long denying Riko what he wants and Riko has spent far too long fantasising about the day Andrew finally breaks to leave things as they are. And if you want a job done right, you really do have to do it yourself it seems. So RIko invites Andrew to Evermore for the holidays.

tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced medical abuse, tw: threatened rape, tw: abuse, tw: torture, tw: blood, tw: emotional abuse, tw: nonconsensual drug use, tw: nonconsensual restraint, tw: nonconsensual nudity and photography, tw: internalized homophobia

Vivid by Anonymous [Rated M, 6884 Words, Incomplete, Updated Feb 2024]

Andrew returns to Palmetto State after his spending his winter break at Edgar Allan. And he's fine. Totally fine. Obviously. Hello. Welcome or welcome back. Vivid is finally here and got longer than I expected. So technically, this is a sequel to Glow In The Dark but you don't need to have read it to understand. Everything important is either there in the summary or will be explained in the fic.

tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced medical abuse

A collection of Andreil one-shots by Auviic [Rated E, Collection, Incomplete, Updated Jan 2024]

Chapter 1: Andrew Minyard's mistakes [6567 Words] Andrew and Neil find themselves amidst a zombie-apocalypse.

tw: graphic descriptions of violence, tw: blood/gore, tw: implied/referenced suicide, tw: gun violence, tw: drug addiction

Chapter 3: Tongue tied [5125 Words] Nathaniel Wesninski is paired with a new partner.

tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: torture, tw: blood/gore, tw: implied/referenced abuse

Sunrise by DeeLeBee [Rated E, 26499 Words, Complete, 2023]

Part 1 of Sunrise, Abram, Death 

Listen. All fans of All For The Game hate this fucking series just as much as they love it and I am no exception. Nora's writing doesn't make sense in so many parts, there are plot holes, WHAT ARE ANDREW'S MEDS ABOUT, and Nora was a coward because she planned to make Kandriel a thing but chickened out. (Love you , Nora.) Anyway, I am here to remedy all these ailments.

tw: violence, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced abuse, tw: recreational drug use, tw: nonconsensual drug use, tw: nonconsensual kissing, tw: canonical character death, tw: self harm

We work well with crazy. by MBlack93 [Rated E, 45145 Words, Incomplete, Updated May 2024]

Neil is on the run for his serial killer father and apparently a Yakuza family with delusions of grandeur. Harry is on the run for the Dark Lord, the Light Lord, and practically the whole Wizarding World, except for the Goblins. Because Goblins are awesome.

tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced food withholding, tw: homophobia, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced human trafficking, tw: nonconsensual drug use

Andrew pov:

A Monster, A Defender, A Psychopath (You Maniac) by Lytta323 [Not Rated, 1953 Words, Complete, 2022, Locked]

Andrew has a bad psychotic episode due to his medication and gets the help he deserved sooner.

tw: self harm, tw: blood/gore, tw: mania

What if I’m the Monster? by 0bsessednerd [Not Rated, ​​1130 Words, Complete, 2024]

The pills sat on the counter taunting him. He really didn’t want to take these. But when had Andrew ever gotten anything he wanted in his life? It was his fault he had to take them. That’s what everyone told him. If he hadn’t gone too far, if he hadn’t been a problem he wouldn’t have to be on these. He wouldn’t have to be high out of his mind every fucking day. He wouldn’t have to give in to the addiction. He wouldn’t have to go to therapy. He wouldn’t have to be reminded he could never be free. He wouldn’t be a monster. ~~~ Andrew taking his medication for the first time and how he felt doing it. And how he felt after the effects kicked in.

tw: implied/referenced hate crime, tw: implied/referenced violence, tw: negative self image

a foxhole collection: on possibilities and digressions by vicariously kingly (pelted) [Rated T, Collection, Last Updated 2016] 

Chapter 21: andrew minyard in wonderland [734 Words]

for the prompt: pre-andreil snippet. in summary: andrew on drugs.

Feet Don't Fail Me Now by freefromenvy [Rated E, 56824 Words, Incomplete, Updated May 2024]

Neil was an exceptional runner until his past caught up with him. After years on the run, he was taken back to the Nest where he had to learn how to survive all over again. After Neil helps Kevin and Jean escape the Nest, Riko sends Neil to Palmetto to inform the rest of the Foxes that he will keep attacking their team, just like what happened to Jamie Smalls, unless Kevin and Jean return to the Nest. If Neil fails in his task, the Moriyamas will giftwrap, and hand deliver Neil to his father after he is released from prison. Neil has always known he has lived on borrowed time. He lived Alex's life, Stephen's life, James's life, and many more. Now all he wants to do is to be able to die as Neil and not as Nathaniel Wesninski.

tw: violence, tw: abuse, tw: blood, tw: implied/referenced child abuse, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced human trafficking, tw: blood/gore, tw: mutilated dead animal

Apathy by Marquee [Rated G, 144 Words, Complete, 2023]

Andrew thinking about people in his past. Including but not limited to awful foster homes, people who him on the drugs, people calling him crazy, just yucking people in general

tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon

Love Bites, Hate Bleeds by kongruenz [Rated M, 6286 Words, Incomplete, Updated May 2024]

Andrew's at juvie with nothing to look forward to, no life, no passion, just the constant need to be numb and bury what happened, to forget. Until Coach Wymack, Kevin Day and Neil Josten appear in his locker room to recruit him to the Palmetto Foxes. _ An AU in which Neil joined the Foxes before Andrew, and Andrew looks at Neil for protection instead.

tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: violence

I don't want to by The_7th_Void [Not Rated, 3017 Words, Complete. 2024]

Andrew runs late night errands with Neil and tries to fight his drugs. Neil is confused but helps him anyway. Or Neil lies. Andrew is honest.

tw: vomit, tw: addiction

I took the pills for these empty nights by All_for_the_andreil [Rated T, 6013 Words, Complete, 2022]

He gazes at Neil and thinks about all the questions he’s too afraid to ask. Would you still want me when I’ll be a mess? Would you stay even after you see how fucked I am? Would you hate me if I stopped playing exy for good? And perhaps the most important one: Will they kill you if we fail this season because of me? -or- Andrew gets diagnosed with bipolar disorder and is prescribed medication. Given his history with that, he has some issues.

Träumerei by Sashe [Rated E, 12038 Words, Incomplete, Updated May 2024]

Andrew never planned on joining the Ravens, not when Riko and Kevin demanded it, but Coach Moriyama is willing to bargain. And he sees right through Andrew in a way no one ever has before. He’s offering Andrew a home, people who believe him, a family who will never abandon him, and a chance at something to build his life around – something to live for. All he has to do is play Exy for him for five years.  or Just another Raven!Andreil AU

tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced torture, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: emotional/psychological abuse, tw: implied/referenced child abuse

We will survive to live by Whyreme [Rated M, 20663 Words, Incomplete, Updated April 2024]

Andrew had been a Spear since the age of thirteen. He endured a lot, but he had a mother, a father and a home. Until it all fell into ashes and his world was turned upside down. He fought back and lost everything, earning himself mandatory medication in return. So when Riko Moriyama and Kevin Day offered him a tempting deal, he couldn't refuse. He'd be a Raven, but that was a bigger cage than his alternative, right? or AU where Andrew never met Aaron and Nicky, was adopted by the Spear and has a very good reason to be a Perfect Court member. (Raven!Andrew and Raven!Neil AU)

tw: dark, tw: graphic depictions of violence, tw: hallucinations, tw: horror, tw: blood/gore, tw: implied/referenced child abuse and neglect, tw: implied/referenced csa, tw: implied/referenced rape/noncon, tw: implied/referenced self harm, tw: medication addiction, tw: torture, tw: murder, tw: vomit

The Avarice Never Ends by stuntinf8 [Not Rated, 1341 Words, Complete, 2022]

Andrew liked Neil Josten in the way that a cat might like a mouse: easy to tousle by the tail, quick to fuss, simple enough to rattle. The meds made it even easier. (OR A medicated Andrew reflects on the anomaly that is Neil Josten.)

fandom thoughts and meta:

Dependence and Addiction in All for the Game meta by @the-greater-grief [Tumblr, 2022]

I need to talk about Andrew's medication meta by @deadliestpieceontheboard [Tumblr, 2021]

if Andrew wasn't on anti-psychotics, what was he on? meta by @amiandthechaos, @sinistercacophony [Tumblr, 2021]

why abby was so vehemently against committing andrew to rehab early? discussion by @bookmarkmyword, @deadliestpieceontheboard [Tumblr, 2022]

Andrew -Medication or Incarceration ? meta by @lemonboyjosten [Tumblr, 2021]

thoughts about Andrew…his mental issues and medication? by @palmettomonsters [Tumblr, 2017]

Andrew’s meds make me so fucking angry by @kazzyboy [Tumblr, 2021]

Happy Pills by Weathers song analysis by @meanie-boy-minyard [Tumblr, 2019]

Art

Alien Blues art by @fortheloveofexy, on ao3 here

“It’s a cruel world” art by @swarenar

Put on a happy face :) art by @allfortheslay25

bloody smiles art by @rhyva

meds art by @/rhyvva on twitter

I'm not okay art by @creekgods

apathy is a tragedy art by @doesephs

medicated Andrew art by @yolkylemon

sober vs medicated Andrew cosplay by @/csplyxeva on tiktok

aftg-tober day 4 art by @i-did

[shams-of-the-wild]

Burning Under Bloody Moonlight (Drink Sunny Stars)

———

| [Ao3 Link] |

It was never a good sign when the portals were unexpected, or when it split them up, or when it left them unconscious.

Of course, the latest portal just happens to do all three.

Legend, understandably, is less than pleased. Especially at Hylia.

{Written during a six hour long, sprint prompt of the Linked Universe discord — Prompt: Stars don't shine, they burn}

Word Count: 2,431.

Warnings: Legend has Chronic Pain and PTSD (and is accidentally Irish), Burns, Blood, Cooking, Swearing, Angst and Hurt/Comfort.

A/N: I ended up rewriting this fic three times and I did not intend to make Legend Irish, but here we are, for context, I'm Irish so I know what I'm doing. Also, thank you so much to those who commented on my previous LU fic, genuinely this is the nicest fandom I've been in. 💚 <3

As a heads up, this fic features some non canon compliant headcanons of mine (I will eventually be making a meta series/fic covering all of them), the ones in this fic are: •Blood Moons last all night (instead of fading after midnight), make all monsters (both overworld/sky and in depths) temporarily stronger for the duration, and turns all overworld/sky monsters into the gloom/malice infected versions for the duration. •The Blood Moons can shoot "meteors" that turn into enemies (such as in the cutscene we're shown of that in game). •Sunny elixirs exist and are made using star fragments, please do not try to follow the recipe in game as unfortunately it will only make Dubious Food.

———

 Legend awoke with a deep ache in his bones and muscles. The pressure had changed. That was more than easy to tell. The pain was far too strong to be from normal weather changes, especially since they'd just been in Four's era. Fecking portals. Begrudgingly, he blinked open his gritty eyes with a grimace.

 The sand was warm beneath his hands. Warm from the dying light of the sun, washing the sky in a viscous cloudy red. Like blood billowing out of a wound in the darkest depths of the water.

 Red sky at night, sailor's delight.

 It didn't feel like a delight when they were in Wild's era. Especially when the embers and ashes of malice began to bleed from the ground, thin wispy tendrils that clawed and snarled around them.

 Legend pushed himself up off the ground, elbows and knees cracking painfully. Muscles twinging in protest. “Well feck you too.” He grumbled under his breath.

 Waiting a moment so his body would stop trying to complain, he was a hero for the oracle's sake, he took a moment to take in his surroundings. His bag was thankfully only a few metres away, a tad sodden and covered in a fine layer of sand. No sign of anyone else nearby though. Nothing happened as he made his way over to it and slung it over his shoulders with a practised ease. Though his shoes sunk into the sand a little, making each step even more strenuous and painful than usual.

 The beach he was on, was recognisable, luckily. Wild had shown them some photos of it on his slate. Eventide, he had said this island was called. It reminded Legend far too closely of Koholint. Of waking up on the sun warmed shore like a piece of jetsam.

 Then again, Wild had said there was a place on this island called Koholit. Maybe this is what became of the island in the future? Maybe that meant his island had been more than just a dream—No.

 Legend gritted his teeth, he couldn't afford to think like that. Especially when he was alone and there was one of Wild's Blood Moons rising.

 “From the breast of Hylia.” He grumbled to himself 

 He glanced up, the blighted bloody moon began to peek over the treeline. Illuminating the sky and all its numerous scattering of shattered islands hanging in the sky like bloodstained teeth and broken bones.

 A wasp circled around him, distracting him for a moment before buzzing off. But its flight path guided his sight to one sky island that stood out above the rest, a circular looking one that lurked above the island he was on. And on it—aww feck—a Gleeok. A weird looking one, with three heads. It wasn't visible at this distance as to what kind of Wild's Gleeoks it was, but it definitely was one of them.

 Luckily it hadn't noticed him yet. Knowing his luck though…

 Still, the light was waning, and he needed a way to defend himself, so his choice of weapon was more than easy. Nothing better than his good ol' trusty fire rod. Besides, Wild set monsters on fire all the time, and when in Lorule, do as the Lorulians do.

 Best to try to avoid combat as much as possible though, Wild's monsters had only gotten smarter since his latest quest and whilst already naturally black blooded, they still could get infected, and therefore even stronger and more intelligent than normal, like any other era's monsters. And as if that wasn't enough, Wild said his monsters became infused with malice during the Blood Moons, amplifying their strength even more. Meaning, if Legend stumbled across any of Wild's monsters here, they could be up to three times more dangerous than last time he fought them.

 Thankfully the blood moon never affected any other era's monsters, regardless of black blooded status, otherwise he'd be doubly fecked.

 Of course, at the exact moment he thought that, the blood moon pulsated like a thrashing Podoboo Tower. Strange star shaped meteors of malice burst from the moon's surface, like the moon was an active volcano.

 “Shite!” Legend hissed. A malice-star meteor was heading straight for him. He barely even had time to click his Pegasus boots together. Bolting across the sand, directly horizontal from the moon. Still sinking in a few centimetres, still slowing him down.

 He glanced back at the meteor “Feck! Feck! Feck!” The meteor had swerved to follow him, speeding up as well. He wasn't going to be able to outrun this.

 It slammed into his back.

 Right between his shoulder blades.

 It burned.

 Sending him skidding across the beach from the force. Clothes melting into the wound as the sand raked at his hands and face. Tearing bloody grazes across his skin.

 Finally rolling to a stop, Legend lay still. It burned,  it burned. It burned.

 Distantly, he could hear screaming.

 He wasn't alone then, someone else must be hurt. Feck, he needed to help them.

 Legend went to move, to get up. But the agony from his back flared up. Like flames dancing through his veins. Every movement felt sluggish, as if there were multiple gels clinging to him. That meteor must've been a red zol that split on impact.

 His vision began to burn, spots of black and brown began forming, spreading outwards just like how a piece of paper burns. The screaming seemed to have stopped, he couldn't hear it anymore. Though, he couldn't hear anything else either. It was like he was deep under the water again, with only his heartbeat beating silently in his ears, making his ears twitch in discomfort.

 Arse-biscuits… Was all he could think of as everything faded into darkness.

  A bright light shone in Legends face, he groaned, scrunching his eyes tight to try and block it out. Failing miserably.

 Something cool was being rubbed against his back. Numbing the burning sensation partially. He groaned, trying to wriggle away from the touch. Just because it was making it feel better, didn't mean that he was gonna sit here and let some person touch him. For all he knew, they could be rubbing poison or some shit into his wound.

 “Legend, we're not trying to poison you.” A tired voice said flatly.

 A hand grabbed each of his shoulders to hold him still.

 Legend scoffed, great, he was mumbling in delirium. “'At's what some-un' tryna poison me would say.” He slurred in response.

 “I could actually poison you, if you wanted!” A far too cheerful voice responded.

 “Wild, please for the love of Hylia.” The tired voice groaned.

 Ah. Legend stopped trying to wriggle away. Only one person sounded that hypocritically exhausted with them whenever someone said or did something stupid. That meant Wild and Time had found him.

 A disgruntled bark cut his sludge-like thoughts off.

 “And Wolfie too! He's the one that led us to you after you stopped screaming.” Wild added, as if that wasn't obvious from the bark.

 “Thanks Wolfie.” Legend muttered.

 “Aww no thanks for us?” Wild teased.

 He raised his middle finger in the direction where Wild's voice was coming from. “Feck off.”

 Reluctantly, Legend peeled his eyes open. He was facing a cooking pot over a small fire, one that had clearly been used many times. Wild was to one side of the pot, humming and stirring some sort of strange, golden shimmery liquid. Behind the cooking pot was a large chasm surrounded by viscous pulsating malice and swirls of smoke-like gloom.

 He craned his head up. Time's hands let go of Legend's shoulders as he moved.

 Wolfie was further away—on the side opposite of Wild—sitting between the edge of the beach and the start of the forest. His back was turned to them, facing towards the forest, ears pricked up and shoulders flexing from tension. Clearly on watch.

 “The others?” Legend asked.

 Time sighed heavily. “They're safe, Wind contacted us through Wild's slate earlier, they all landed in Lurelin village, they got beds in the local inn.”

 Legend scowled. “Lucky feckers.”

 A silence descended on the group. Or as silent as Wild's era could get, with the crickets chirping, the fire crackling, the waves lapping gently, and the faint squirming of the nearby malice.

 “Wild.” Legend rasped.

 Wild paused stirring whatever the concoction he was making was. “Huh, yeah?”

 “What the feck was that?” He jabbed a finger up at moon, wincing as it pulled at his back wound.

 “Moon's infected.” Wild replied with a shrug, going back to stirring.

 Time nodded sagely out of the corner of Legends eye, as if that made any fecking sense.

 “What. The. Feck.” Legend hissed.

  “Moon's infected.” Time answered.

 Wolfie made a very unimpressed snorting noise. At least someone was on Legend's side today.

 Legend did not whinge, he responded in a very normal pitch and not at all in an accusing and whiny tone. “Your moon shot a meteor at me!”

 Wild cocked his head to one side and stared at him. “Yep. It does that."

  Legend through his hands up in disbelief. “Since when!?”

 Immediately, regretting the action, as the wound burned again. “Feck it all!” He snarled, flinching viciously.

 “Careful.” Time gently pushed Legend's arms down. “I haven't finished rubbing the sunny cream into your burns.”

 “What—” Legend started.

 “—Sunny cream.” Wild cut him off, launching immediately into an explanation. “It's made using crushed sundelions, a newly discovered flower in my Hyrule, capable of treating malice burns. Helps numb the pain too. It's not as effective as eating Sunny veggie porridge, though. But it works in a pinch, especially on someone who's not capable of eating anything due to the wounds, or unconscious.”

 Legend blinked at Wild. “Still doesn't explain what the fuck is up with your moon.”

 Wild made a strangled I-don't-know noise. “Ganondorf infected the moon with stronger malice during the second quest, which as I've told you all, made it much more dangerous and it kinda never went back to normal after I defeated him.”

 “You didn't mention it could shoot fucking malice meteors.” Legend groused.

 Time patted him on the undamaged part of his shoulder. “Welcome to the moon trauma squad.”

 Legend rolled his eyes, though his faint smile betrayed his sarcasm. “Joy.”

 “To be fair, it doesn't normally hit people!” Wild huffed, waving his wooden spoon in emphasis, splashing a few drops of the golden liquid onto the sand. “The meteors usually get close, and then the malice itself coalesces into a gloom infected monster! You got unlucky, it hit you and turned into a malice fire chu-chu. Which is mildly concerning, because I've never encountered any monsters, throughout my quest, that were both elemental and consumed by malice.”

 Legend snorted. “Oh so Hylia just hates me personally then, I see how it is. The feelings mutual, fecker.” Raising both middle fingers up to the sky.

 “You're not aiming at Hylia. The only thing in that direction is a King Gleeok.” Wild rolled his eyes, a quiet laugh in the tone of his voice.

 Legend sighed in dramatic aggrievement. “Feck 'im too.”

 “Oh definitely!” Wild agreed, then froze for a second. A moment later, his face broke into the happiest expression Legend had ever seen Wild express.

“Brilliant!” Wild stopped stirring and began scooping the golden shimmery liquid into a star fragment shaped glass vial. “It's ready!”

 Legend squinted at him suspiciously. “What's ready and why are you so happy about this. Are you finally poisoning me?”

 “Nope but you do get to try my newest elixir experiment! Starry elixir!” Wild stopped the star shaped glass vial, before shoving it right in Legend's face with one hand. He tilted his head to one side again, a finger from his free hand tapping away at his lip as he began to mumble. “Although, technically, it should probably be called sunny elixir, as it works just like the sunny foods and cream. But it's not made with sundelions despite having the same malice purifying effect.”

 “Wild… do I even want to know what you've put in that?” Time asked dryly.

 Wild perked up like a dog. Practically vibrating in excitement. “Four plain chu-chu jellies, and a star fragment! Pretty simple, really. The chu-chu jellies melt into a thick gelatinous water when boiled and stirred, a the star fragment dissolves into stardust, which sticks to the gelatin in the water and once mixed thoroughly, it produces an elixir that fills you with pure light, thereby purifying the malice or gloom! The glow only lasts a few seconds unfortunately, so it's no use as a bright elixir.”

 “That definitely sounds potable.” Legend responded, laying the sarcasm on thick.

 Wild snorted. “You'd be surprised, usually it's more effective if you use dragon horns, or gibdo guts, but I thought you'd want something a little easier on the taste buds.”

 Pursing his lips, Legend glanced at Wild. “Thanks…” He said it perhaps a tad too genuine, as Wild launched forwards, tackling him into a hug.

 “Watch it!” Time snapped.

 Wild stuck his tongue out at him.

 Wolfie barked gruffly in laughter.

 Legend would join in with the laughter, if it weren't for Wild squeezing him like a like-like. He made an awful wheezing noise.

 “Oops, sorry Legend!” Wild apologised, properly handing him the stoppered elixir.

 Legend grimaced. “Why couldn't you just cook me up some sunny foods, you said they were more effective than the cream, yeah?”

 “It's not as effective as this elixir, trust me!” Wild beamed at him. “Once you've downed it, your burns will heal in a flash and you'll feel good as new!”

 Time cleared his throat. “And you've tested this before, right Wild?”

 Wild slapped his hand against his chest in mock offence. “Of course I have! Flora and I have started to drink this all the time whilst exploring the depths!”

 “Urgh, feck it, fine.” He shut his eyes and downed it in one go like a very large shot.

 Immediately he pulled the vial away from his lips, coughing and spluttering. “Feck's sake, Wild. Even the strongest whiskey I've had doesn't burn as bad as this.”

 “It's got stardust in it! Of course it'll burn, besides it's hardly as strong as Goron spice!” Wild argued.

 “Don't remind me.” Legend croaked, though his malice burns had already started shining with golden light.

 “Alright, rest up Legend.” Time instructed. “Wild will make us a boat to reach Lurelin, tomorrow at first light. Wolfie, Wild, and I will alternate between watches.”

 Legend nodded, not even bothering to put up a token fight tonight, already flopping back onto the ground. “Whatever.”

———

Thank you for reading! Hopefully you enjoyed this oneshot!

This honestly wasn't supposed to be another Wild gets to info dump whilst cooking fic but I clearly have discovered my niché in this fandom.

Kudos, comments, join collection requests, and bookmarks are all much appreciated!

— As always, Criticism and/or rude comments are not welcome regardless if you try to soften them with compliments/compliment sandwiches.

Otherwise, as per usual, I'll be over the (blood) moon to receive any comments, whether it's as short as <3, emojis/kaomojis/emoticons, extra kudos, or as long as a whole fic reaction comment! No matter the comment, you'll each have my undying love and gratitude.

[theotherwesley]

Hi, I'm R.Wesley

I'm a Seattle-adjacent artist, maker, writer, editor, & rabbit-enjoyer. I'm as old as the Berlin Wall not being a wall anymore and regrettably I have been on tumblr since 2011. Feel free to ask me stuff! I am wise and often bored.

My pronouns are indescribable, existing in quantum superposition, all options being equally correct and incorrect simultaneously, so just pick your favorite.

Though my interests are many and eclectic, I am reliably a lover of epic poetry, a collector of fountain pens and financially ruinous amounts of ink, a practitioner of heretical Tolkien studies, and a deeply unnormal Gundam enthusiast.

I own two ridiculously robust rescued rex rabbits named Maeglin and Salgant; they are both physically dense of body, and one, of mind. If at any point you wish to donate to The Bun Fund 🐇, your contributions will help with food and bedding costs and be appreciated beyond words ♥

Some tags that might interest you are: #Lifeblogging for original text posts, updates, thoughts, etc.; #SometimesThisIsAGundamBlog for assorted gundamry; #It'sGood for things that are good, and #Bunblogging for buns that are good. Maeglin and Salgant have their own tag, #TheRabbitsMaeglin&Salgant.

My other active blogs are:

Wesley Art - my art blog

Misbehaving Maiar - Silmarillion art/RP/ask/meta/writing/lit blog that has been running since 2013

Parsing Gundam Wing - an ongoing project to analyze, untangle, and archive the first Gundam show to grace American television.

Some other places you can find me are:

TheOtherWesley on Etsy

AnotherWesley on Instagram

TheOtherWesley on Bluesky (and ThatOtherWesley on the platform formerly known as Twitter)

AngryAncalagon on Flight Rising

MisbehavingMaiar (for Tolkien fic) and TheOtherWesley (for everything else*) ((*It's just Gundam fic)) on AO3

Thank you and enjoy ~ ✨

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - July 1-7

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $Kaybarr1735! And if you tip me and give me a way to contact you, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week!

1. Footage reveals 'miracle eagle chick' in flight

“In an unprecedented display of extended eagle parenting, the two white-tailed parents skipped this year's breeding season to continue to tend to their year-old offspring. The youngster's wing was broken when the nest fell to the ground during unseasonably wild weather last year. […] The fully-grown chick was being fed fish by its parents, caring behaviour that the eagle expert described as “unprecedented” for the birds. […] “If an immature bird was to reappear near its nesting parents or any other pair the following year [after dispersing], it would likely be aggressively chased away. That’s why this is so exceptional.””

2. Rare wild horses back on Kazakhstan’s Golden Steppe after being saved from extinction

“For the first time in at least 200 years, wild Przewalski's horses have returned to Kazakhstan’s Golden Steppe. [...] Przewalski's horses are considered the last truly wild horse left on the planet as other species like the American Mustang are descended from domesticated animals. The species were once common across the vast steppes of Central Asia. [...] The zoo will also be sending some Przewalski’s to Mongolia in 2026 where a reintroduction programme has seen their population boom to well over 850 animals.”

3. For one Austin summer camp, public transit is part of the adventure

“[... “O]ver 90% of the kids will tell you that their favorite part of ATX Kids Club is riding the bus.” That’s the program’s goal: getting kids to have fun on public transit so they’ll grow up using it. The nonprofit’s summer camp, which takes kids ages 4 to 12 on field trip “adventures” around the city, uses Capital Metro buses as its main form of transportation. [...] Before camp, [the field trip leader] said, he believed in stereotypes about transit being dirty and “scary” — but his experience with Austin’s bus system has been the opposite so far.”

4. Brazil Prevents Meta from Using People to Power Its AI

“[…P]ersonal photos of Brazilian children are used to build powerful AI tools without their knowledge or consent. In turn, others use these tools to create malicious deepfakes, putting even more children at risk of harm. […] The Brazilian government’s decision is a powerful, proactive move to protect people’s data privacy in the face of swiftly evolving uses and misuses of AI. Yesterday’s action especially helps to protect children from worrying that their personal data, shared with friends and family on Meta’s platforms, might be used to harm them in ways that are impossible to anticipate or guard against.”

5. Ambitious Living Shoreline Project Combats Coastal Land Loss in South Carolina

“Living shorelines stabilize coastlines by reducing the impacts of waves and rising sea levels. They are made of materials that promote the growth of marsh grasses and commercially important species like oysters and crabs. […C]oastal sites could offset almost 80 percent of tidal habitat loss with careful conservation and management. […] Young people in this AmeriCorps program receive training, a living stipend, an education award, and connections to potential employers.”

6. Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge announces proposal to modernize water infrastructure

“Under the refuge’s proposal, the Service would improve 4,400 feet of an earthen water delivery ditch, rehabilitate 1,200 feet of Upper Lake Dam, develop 100 feet of new diversion channel into critical nesting habit for federally endangered southwestern willow flycatcher, modernize current water monitoring stations and improve 640 feet of the Pahranagat Ditch Drain. […] The improvements will result in significant habitat improvements for multiple bird species, [… and] also enhance flood control holding capabilities of the Upper Lake for the Pahranagat Valley.”

7. New chemical process separates textile fibers for easier recycling

“A combined team of chemical and biomolecular engineers [... have] developed a way to chemically separate fibers in textiles, allowing them to be recycled more quickly and cheaply than conventional methods. [... T]hey found they could break apart the textiles in as little as 15 minutes. They also noted that the process [breaks down polyester and spandex into] organic compound[s] that could conceivably be used to create more polyester. [... T]he material integrity of both the nylon and the cotton were retained, suggesting they could be used to make new batches of clothes.”

8. Pongamia trees grow where citrus once flourished, offering renewable energy and plant-based protein

“[Some Floridian] farmers are turning to the pongamia tree, a climate-resilient tree with the potential to produce plant-based proteins and a sustainable biofuel. […] Pongamia trees also don't need fertilizer or pesticides. They flourish in drought or rainy conditions. And they don't require teams of workers to pick the beans. […] The legume is now being used to produce several products, including Panova table oil, Kona protein bars and protein flour. The legumes also produce oil that can be used as a biofuel, largely for aviation, which leaves a very low carbon footprint[….]”

9. Trans candidate celebrates receiving more votes than anti-trans campaigner Posie Parker

“An independent trans candidate says that she hopes receiving more total votes than anti-trans campaigner Posie Parker at the general election will show trans children that they are loved. […] Bristol Central was won by Green Party’s out bisexual co-leader Carla Denyer, while Parker received just 196 votes, equal to 0.5 per cent[….] Elsewhere, trans candidate Sophie Molly secured 225 votes standing as an independent at the other end of the country, in Aberdeen South[….]”

10. Ohio zoo celebrates birth of critically endangered western lowland gorilla

“The Columbus Zoo said the gorilla was born June 29 and first-time mother Sue is "very attentive and providing excellent care to her little one, who she nuzzles and cradles closely." […] “With tiny hands and beautiful big brown eyes that melt our hearts, this baby is absolutely precious—in regard to both the cuteness factor and what the baby represents for this species’ future. We are proud of the dedication of our care teams who diligently work to provide the gorillas with top quality care and wellbeing while continuing the legacy of the Columbus Zoo’s renowned gorilla program,” said Audra Meinelt, curator of the Columbus Zoo’s Congo Expedition region.”

June 22-28 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[edupunkn00b]

Delirium

Photo by Fleur via Unsplash

Rated G - WC: 2660 - CW: fever, there might be a swear :)

Logan comes home sick from work and Janus cares for him. No-one expected feelings to come out. (Remy did. Remy expected feelings. "Told ya so, babes.")

Janus rinsed his coffee cup and wiped down the counter for the third time, gaze focused more out the kitchen window than on his task. Just over two hours ago, Logan had texted from the office, sounding… off and said he was coming home early. Nearly an hour and a half later, the barista at their favorite café called and said he was bringing his roommate home.

“Thank you, Remy,” Janus murmured, holding the front door open wide as the taller man half-walked, half-carried his roommate inside. “Lo’s really in no state to drive.”

“Yeah, he said he needed a little coffee to sharpen up before he made the trip over the bridge,” Remy laughed, shaking his head. “I make a good brew but caffeine won’t cure a fever.”

“‘M fine, Jay,” said roommate mumbled, left hand flopping up and landing ineffectually against his chest. Logan nodded slowly, brow solemn as though he’d just finished his closing argument.

“Yes, I see…” Janus’ smile dissolved when Logan’s cheek burned under his hand. Ordinarily unflappable, Logan would only show vulnerability like this under the influence of—as their favorite book would call it—extraordinary amounts of alcohol or, as now, a worryingly high fever.

“I’m double-parked, babes.” Remy said, smirking over his sunglasses. “Where d’ya want him?”

“I…” Janus’ gaze trailed up the stairs. Logan’s bedroom was two flights up in their narrow townhouse. 

Typically, the layout was welcome. Early to bed, early to rise, he would readily excuse himself when Janus was entertaining… company. It was usually just Remus nowadays, but still. Two flights up from Janus’ room, it was as though they each lived alone once nighttime came around. It was an ideal arrangement.

Except on rare nights like this.

Logan wobbled, stumbling to one side even with Remy’s arm hooked through his and Janus didn’t need to think, he just reacted, reaching for him before he could fall. Logan’s hand wrapped around his, warm. Too warm, Janus reminded himself. “I suppose my room would be best,” Janus finally said and together, they maneuvered him down the hall and onto Janus’ bed.

“Hmm,” Remy hummed, looking around the room. The centerpiece of Janus’ room was a high-set king size bed, layered with pillows and two comforters. Hidden between the layers was his weighted blanket. He’d never really gotten around to furnishing the room much more than that, preferring to keep his library in their shared shelves, and he worked from the dining room or his armchair in the living room. Wherever Logan had settled in with his own reading or case files.

He kept his room dark… ish. The walls were lined with warm faux-incandescent Edison bulbs Remus had fashioned for him out of LEDs and golden filters after he described the giant meta-analysis Logan had sent him on the impacts of artificial light and myopia. The dim light had only made Logan’s little approving smile that much brighter. 

“Cozy,” Remy laughed once they were done, then smoothed down his jacket sleeve where it had bunched up with his efforts to hold Logan up. He lowered his sunglasses so Janus couldn’t miss his lascivious wink. “Very cozy.”

“We don’t have that kind of relationship, Rem,”

“Whatever you need to tell yourself, babes,” Remy chuckled as he backed out of the room. 

“No… bed’s too big,” Logan groaned, voice muffled by the heavy down comforter. “Too far away t’hold you, Jay.”

Both men froze, heads whipping over comically to stare in Logan’s direction. “Wha—what did you say?” Janus swallowed, eyes wide. He had to have misheard.

“Oh, ho ho ho, Emile owes me ten bucks!” He hadn’t misheard anything.

Remy clapped Janus’ shoulder and started down the hallway. “Congratulations, man. Maybe now you’ll stop crying in your coffee all the time.”

“No, wait!” Janus’ arm snaked out and grabbed Remy’s sleeve. “Remy, no! You can’t say anything!!“ His eyes bore into Remy’s. “He’s delirious and doesn’t know what he’s saying. He doesn’t mean it.”

“Uh-huh,” Remy said, lowering his sunglasses and looking back at Logan who’d curled around Janus’ pillow, rubbing his cheek against the cover. Eyes closed, he was smiling and pressing little kisses into the satin. “Maybe he really, really means it and it’s only because he doesn’t know what he’s saying that he—”

“Remy…” Janus warned, fingers tight on his sleeve as he stared up at the much taller man.  “Seriously. Don’t.” 

“Alright, alright. Fine,” he said, shrugging. “It’s your funeral.”

“Thank you,” Janus said, belatedly releasing his grip. He pulled his hand back, thumb rubbing over his knuckles and frowning. That escalated quickly, didn’t it? “Thank you,” he said again and nodded, tamping down the embers of protective fire that had sparked in his chest. “I apologize,” he murmured, inclining his head.

But Remy just laughed. “Buy me a coffee and we’ll call it even.” Logan groaned again then, eyes squeezed shut and Janus sat next to him, adjusting the covers. “I’ll let myself out,” Remy said and closed the door behind him. 

Janus waved without looking away from Logan and clicked on his bedside lamp.

“Jay,” he said, squinting, and buried his face in the pillow. “Jay, I don’t feel well.”

The admission was almost funny.

“I know, Lo,” Janus murmured, pushing back his hair from his face. His skin was still terribly hot and pale enough that, if he’d wanted, Janus could’ve traced the latticework of thin veins over his eyelids and along his temple. If he’d wanted. 

“Rest here and I’ll get you some water and aspirin, alright?” Janus started to rise, suppressing a frown at the way even Logan’s hair seemed overly warm.

Before he’d moved away completely, Logan’s hand shot up and covered his. “You won’t go far?” he whispered, fever bright eyes fixed on him.

“I’ll just be in the kitchen…” Janus promised, voice trailing off when Logan his hand closer. After a moment, Logan stilled and Janus began to wiggle free. Logan’s eyes snapped open at the movement and laced their fingers together. “I’ll need this to get you that aspirin,” Janus murmured, the burn of Logan’s touch both drawing him closer and pushing him to get something to lower his fever.

Eyes slipping shut again, Logan nodded and relaxed his grip. Giving his hand one last pat, Janus whispered, “I’ll be right back.”

Leaving the door open so he would hear Logan’s calls, Janus dashed down the hall and back to the kitchen. He clicked the kettle on, then grabbed a basket from the top of the fridge and filled it with Gatorades from the fridge, a box of tea, apple sauce, Logan’s travel mug, and a pack of his favorite crackers.

The kettle clicked, water bubbling, so Janus unplugged it and grabbed the whole thing to set up in his room, basket hooked on his arm. Hot water would be one fewer thing he’d need to leave Logan’s side to fetch. Finally, he grabbed a bottle of aspirin and the thermometer from the medicine cabinet as he passed and hurried back into his room.

Logan sat on the floor, one arm out of his shirt, the other twisted behind him. His trousers lay crumpled in a heap next to him and his collar was up over his head, tie loosened by not removed. “Oh, Lo,” Janus muttered and set the kettle and the basket on his nightstand. “May I help you?”

“Please.” Logan’s voice was quiet and Janus wondered if perhaps he’d even drifted off. Kneeling next to him, Janus finished removing his tie and unbuttoned the rest of his shirt, a little sigh of relief sneaking past when he saw Logan’s undershirt. Relief. Not disappointment.

Perhaps… a tiny bit. It would be easier to regulate his fever without it.

“There you go,” Janus murmured once Logan was free of his shirt. “I put your glasses on the nightstand, too, Lo.” 

Logan leaned heavily against the side of the bed, eyes cracked open. He nodded then closed them again. “‘Ank you,” he whispered, hands flailing until they landed on Janus’. “Y’take care of me.”

“Anytime you need me, Lo,” Janus murmured. “I’m going to help you up onto the bed now, okay?” Logan’s head sort of wobbled in agreement, so Janus released one hand and curled his arm around his best friend’s back before pushing up to his feet.

Logan mumbled something unintelligible and leaned into his side, fever bleeding right through Janus’ shirt.

“I’ve got you, Lo,” he encouraged. “There we go,” he sighed once Logan was again seated on the bed. Holding him up with one arm, Janus stretched, snagging the aspirin and a Gatorade from the nightstand. “Have this, then rest.”

Humming, Logan curled into his side and let Janus feed him two tablets, sipping slowly. When he’d managed to h get about a quarter of the bottle, Janus recalled it and returned it to the nightstand. “It’ll be here for you when you’re ready for more.”

“‘nk you,” Logan mumbled again, curling on his side and twisting his fingers in Janus’ sheets. “‘nk you, Jay,” he said again, more breath than words. “Love you.”

Janus froze mid-rise, back curled over the bed as he reached to fluff the pillows under Logan’s head. He didn’t mean it. Remy’s little leer danced through Janus’ mind and he almost didn’t notice when Logan hugged his hand to his own chest, pressing kisses against his arm. “Love you, Jay,” he repeated, painfully clearly.

Patting Logan’s hand and ignoring the thrumming in his chest, Janus sucked in a slow breath. He’d never remember anyway. “I love you, too, Logan,” he whispered. “Rest well.” After a moment, Logan’s grip loosened and his brow went slack as sleep took him. “Rest well, love.”

~

Logan dreamed. He was at the beach, warm sand beneath him, warm sun overhead. Far from the shore, but close enough to hear the gentle susurations of the waves and catch a bit of the breeze coming up over the water. 

“Lo? You’re dehydrated, drink…” Janus appeared, watermelon daiquiri in hand. Logan drank deeply, then kissed his fingertips. Janus’ skin was soft against his lips, nails, as expected, perfectly manicured. There was the tiniest hint of calluses at the edges of his forefinger and thumb and he smelled like… bergamot and sage.

“Thank you, darling,” Logan murmured as he lay back against the sand. “That’s perfect. You’re just what I needed.” He sat up, gripping Janus’ hand between his own. “Do you know that? Have I told you? You’re just what I needed. Always.” 

“Shh, Lo, relax… Rest, love…” Janus’ voice blended with the sounds from the shore, the soft rush of water and breeze, and Logan nodded, eyes slipping shut.

“With you,” he smiled and drifted to the quiet crash of the waves.

The waves grew louder until Logan woke to… stickiness. His mouth was simultaneously dry and pasty, tongue adhering to the roof of his mouth, his teeth, his lips. He cracked open his eyes but quickly squeezed them shut. He’d fallen asleep with his light on and even the small glare from his desk lamp was enough to sear his eyes.

His bedsheets stuck to his skin and he was… damp, like he’d slept with the heat on too high. Fumbling blindly, he reached for his eyeglasses and knocked over an empty plastic bottle before his hand closed on the cold glass face of an old-fashioned analog alarm clock.

Logan bolted upright and waited for his eyes to adjust to the light. A plush yellow comforter slid off the bed and onto the floor and tiny glowing golden bulbs dotted the walls. This wasn’t his room. He swung his legs over the edge and picked up the mostly empty Gatorade bottle he’d knocked down. He stared at the bottle in his hand for a long moment before uncapping it. His eyes flew wide open at his first whiff of its remains. Watermelon.

Tightening the cap, he set the bottle back on the nightstand and finally found his glasses. Shoving them on his face he looked around the room. Janus was sound asleep near the end of the bed, feet propped up on the far side from where Logan had been laying. Hands shaking, he picked up Janus’ blanket and sniffed. Bergamot and sage. “Love you, Jay… Have I told you?”

Oh fuck. 

Reality and dream merged, the muscle memory of those words fresh in his mouth. A thermometer sat next to Janus’ clock and he thumbed through the history. 104.1, 104.5, 103.9… 

Taking pains to make no noise, Logan straightened the blanket on the bed as much as he could without disturbing where Janus’ feet were propped. He found his trousers folded neatly over a chair, his shirt and tie hooked on the back of Janus’ door. Logan managed to get his shirt back on but as he lifted his foot to put on his trousers, his toes caught on a beltloop and he tumbled forward, crashing to the floor.

“Lo!” Janus was at his side, one hand at his back the other already checking his knees. “You’re up,” he murmured, one cool hand coming up to his forehead even as the other worked to untangle him from his clothes. “Your fever broke,” he smiled, bright enough to burn.

Logan looked away. “I—I—I did not intend to wake you, Janus, I apologize. You’ve… you’ve been caring for me?”

“Of course, Lo. You were pretty out of it.” Did Janus sound… sad? No, just tired. He must’ve been up half the night with him.

“Thank you,” he said, then clamped his mouth shut before he could voice the questions burning in mind. He remained quiet while Janus helped him up and turned, remaking the bed while Logan finished dressing. “Thank you,” he said again.

“Anytime you need me, Lo. You know that.”

“I should… ah…” Logan’s mouth worked. How did he ask what he wanted to know? “H—how long was I out of commission?” he finally managed.

“Remy brought you home last night.” Janus gestured to the clock and the dark sky just on the other side of his window. “Last, last night, I suppose. You’ve been sleeping for about twenty hours?”

“Ah,” Logan nodded.

“You, um…” Janus moved to the side of his bed and patted a space a respectful half-foot from where he sat. “Will you sit?” He wouldn’t quite meet Logan’s eyes. His hands were carefully folded in his lap, thumbs turned in, tiny twitches in his tendons the only tell to his fidget.

Logan nodded again and sat where Janus indicated. “I… I believe I know what you wish to say, Janus.”

“You do?” Janus’ brow furrowed and even his thumbs stilled. “But how—”

“I have some… fleeting memories of the past day or so and I recall…”

“Lo, I’m sorry,” Janus interrupted and Logan’s shoulders sank before he remembered himself and sat up straight. It was better this way. Janus planned to be kind as he let him down easy. They could move forward.  “I never would’ve said those things if I thought you’d remember. I…”

Logan’s confusion must have been obvious because Janus’ words fizzled out. “What things?” he asked. “I…” Janus’ voice from his dreams filled his mind.

“Rest, love…”

“Oh,” Logan laughed. “I… I believe I understand.” Swallowing hard, he reached for Janus’ hand. Cool and soft. Callused fingertips just where he expected them. He laced their fingers together and they fit just right.

“I don’t,” Janus whispered, eyes down at their intertwined hands.

Logan slid just a little closer and Janus matched his movement. Watching Janus’ eyes, he raised his hand and brushed a kiss against his fingertips just as he had in his “dream.” “Maybe we can start there?” He took a breath and chance and smiled at Janus. “Darling?”

A soft chuckle spilled from Janus’ lips and he squeezed his hand tighter. “I like the sound of that, love.”

[nevros-fr]

Introduction Welcome to my UMA musings. If you have no idea what a UMA is, it stands for user made accents that are directly sold by users to other users instead of being distributed by the site, I did a look at UMA acronym history here (Nevros, 2023). I wanted to look at how the uma sales decisions changed over time since I saw words like premades to refer to the current way artists would sell skins, that is having a design and collecting names of people who are interested in buying it, as opposed to customs, which would be making species designs for each person. I was also curious about when preorders started. I really like this honour system that helps artists fund their uma without having to pay a large portion by themselves to bring the skin to market. The current market consists of artists who want to sell their skin, set up a shop with prices around 500g for an accent and 750g for a skin that includes the cost of buying a blueprint and then they run preorders. They also usually ping GASP, the general accent and skin pinglist to see if there are any interested buyers. Methods I went through each thread individually from the skins and accents thread for the June to August 2013 of FR to get a gist of it, then started cherry picking months to look through for the general trends because 500 pages of threads is a lot to look through one at a time! I also think a massive caveat is that the older threads are the ones that may not have been as successful because threads get bumped up as more people post so the threads get found based on their last post rather than their first post.

Results I went all the way back to the start of June 2013 and tracked how things may have changed. For one, this was the unknown frontier, so there was no established or efficient way to sell skins yet. As I mentioned before, premades are the most common way to market a skin that an artist would like to sell, with customs being an available option, but not necessarily popular. People were bringing this terminology from previous sites they’ve played, such as Aywas or Wajas. Prices for these premades ranged wildly from 50k to 200k in treasure or 700g to 5000g for a single copy of a skin without a blueprint (Morau, 2013). Otherwise, they would state a price for the skin plus the blueprint or the cost equivalent in gems. I saw a few artists who would have liked to sell the psd of skins to users so they may print skins at their own discretion (Balu, 2013). With these prices in mind, I think it’s clear that skins were pretty inaccessible to the wider public unless people bought gems with real money. Despite the fact of people marketing skins by selling the psd file, I haven’t noticed any skins showing up multiple times in the game database due to this practice. Either none of them were made, or possibly they were reorganized to reduce confusion since the credits on every skin usually go to the person that printed it. Rules such as “one payment equals to only one use of the skin” was popular, presumably since the user would be given a psd file for them to print. There was also a common rule to not sell premade skins for more than you bought it for. It did not take long for people to consider selling multiple copies for premades at once. Remember, a single blueprint is 1000g for accents and 2000g for skins, but multicopy packs are considerably cheaper at 2500g for 10 accents and double that for skins (Custom Skins, 2013). The earliest person that I saw to consider selling multiples of one accent was Xaishi but never actually set up a show (Xaishi, 2013). All these developments happened in June!

What does July bring? People who accidentally submitted the wrong skin and have no idea what to do :> Before the establishment of the Skin and Accent Problems, users would need to message mods or admin to see if they can get those errors fixed. I found the intent to sell premades using multipacks with a thread dating back to July 1 (Pathojay, 2013). I also saw people selling multiprints for the very first time as a 5 print run where the artist paid for the blueprint pack first (AkaPanuka, 2013). With these early threads, more people were selling skins in the range we see now at 800g which includes the blueprint price now. There were still many people selling skins with single print prices and multiprint options. It also seems like preorders to fund blueprints were also rising in popularity (Dactyl, 2013).

I can also see the topics change as time goes on. In June/July 2013, people were offering designs only as interest checks. In August/September 2013, people were requesting constructive criticism and help with designs. September showed that the markets settled people into two big models, supply your own blueprints to the artist or join preorder runs (Magyr, 2013). It was clear to me that the people who used preorders and standardized their prices ended up doing better than the people who sold umas without blueprints (Violet, 2013; Incarnation, 2013; Grimgram, 2013)

By the early 2014 in April/May, preorder runs became the standard and prices reflected what we see nowadays (Kanamine, 2014). Though, there were people selling skins at dynamic costs, where prices would decrease if more people joined the run (Kenjinthala, 2014). Skin retirements also happened more often in 2014 where the artist wanted to stop printing a certain uma because they wanted to move on to newer designs. This is similar to what happened around 2018 up until 2020 ish. It’s taxing to keep an active catalogue instead of retiring some to make pinglists more manageable. I think the time between standardized, and thus cheaper prices, and my rising interest in skins during this time was probably no accident. I would bet a lot of people also joined because of the reasonable prices and clearer organization.

Many interesting things happened in 2014. An event I came across was from the Mistral Jamboree event where people designed skins and had the chance to win a 10 print blueprint pack (Amphitere, 2014)! Selling UMAs to a secondary market started around this time where people were only selling a handful of UMAs (Dabble, 2014). I also want to state that the [accent=skin id] tooltip didn’t exist yet so everyone was using the png image of the tooltip. Moreover, if people had skin/accent problems, there was a thread to post to now (Aequorin, 2014)! No more pming mods, admins or sending in help tickets!

“Looking for x accent” or “accent wanted” threads became popular in 2014, which meant it clogged up the board for artists looking to sell their umas. This heralded the rise of GASP version 1 in early 2015 where google sheets made its big debut into the skin and accents board (GASP, 2015). Artists also started using google sheets to contain their pinglists to make life easier instead of checking pings to see who needed to be added (SarcasticSketch, 2015). This allowed better coordination to allow artists to monitor many different skins and the status of multiple runs.

By 2015 to 2016, skin shops had stronger branding with different banners and personal archives of what skins they have made (YusukeKitagawa, 2016). Since shops were also gaining stability and popularity, there was also a stronger desire to limit runs or else be stuck in administrative purgatory. It takes a lot of work to keep all skins active between taking preorder payments, then trying to send them out to everyone with crossroads or private messages. This did introduce the subtle distinction where accents artists were interested in running again are called “reprint” runs, when the umas can return for sales weeks after the initial print.

Third party skin previewers also popped up around this time so that people can conveniently overlay their dragons with skins and imagine what it would look like. There was a crack down on those tools for data scraping but other go-arounds such as requesting the user to save all necessary photos locally to upload them on the previewing website instead of pulling them from FR.

Hold on to your hats, early 2017 ushered in a new way to distribute skins with the fancy pantsy new private auction system (FR News, 2017a)! This meant a way to streamline the selling process since the interface is friendlier for massive order processing. Traditional preorders can still work with the PA system if patrons send gems to the artist and that meant the artists could list the umas for 1 treasure. For artists that could afford it, names were taken down for preorders but they could list umas privately to the buyer for the full price and eliminate the hassle of organizing payments upfront. The Dressing Room also came out in 2017 where people can now preview printed skins on their dragons and scries (FR News, 2017b)!

I feel like from 2018 onwards, the uma market reached an equilibrium with what we more or less see today. There have been a few noteworthy updates. With the rise of limited skins and popular artists, resales and the secondary accent market became quite popular. GASP conducted a survey around how they could deal with the overflowing reselling ping issue (GASP, 2018).

The one part that I feel is different, is that there are more artists who are keeping shelved catalogues. It was normal in the past, but it seems like artists are actively combating the steep price increases that come from reselling limited umas. It is more hassle for the artists but the users who buy are surely happy with the shift from limited to shelved.

Conclusions The start of uma shop culture and multi-prints preorder runs started as early as July 2013. I thought this finding was funny because it's the reverse of what I found with UMA acronym history, where that started much later than I thought. Thanks for reading!! Stay tuned, the next installment might be me going through all the player skins in the database and looks at trends

[sp1resong]

my flight rising meta strat is that i accumulate dragons rapidly and unnecessarily then on the rare occasion i need money for something i sell a few im not emotionally attached to for ridiculously low prices, just enough so i can get the money i need. and then rinse and repeat. i do not know how the economy works but i know that, in the moment, i am winning

[stagefoureddiediaz]

To live your life by a compass not a clock

New chapter posted - read it in full here - Chapter 8

I really need to get back to my writing - I've had too many other things going on to get much done recently (looking at you unexpected costume meta!!)

Anyway I hope you enjoy this chapter - its the aftermath of the recital and Buck is not in his parents good books (not that he ever has been!

Excerpt below!

The next morning, Buck wakes early, his sleep had been fitful as his brain processed everything that had happened but he feels clearer and more sure of himself in the morning light. He might still be dreading having to face his parents and their disappointment in him, but he is glad they chose to ignore him for the night. It gave him the chance to go over things and he has reached a point where he no longer wants the need for their approval to dictate his life. 

The remembrances of how intense the pleasure he had been experiencing in the moments before he had been exposed have pushed themselves to the front of his mind and, while he would’ve preferred not to be caught and recognised, he had been cavalier in agreeing to hooking up in such a public place. He doesn’t see why he should let the disapproval of those who will never accept him dictate his life and keep him from the things that make him feel alive and happy.

Buck rises from his bed feeling settled and more sure of himself. Even though it’s early, he calls for hot water and while he waits, pulls out his clothes for the day, laying them on the bed before crossing to the window to watch as servants running early morning errands pass by beneath him on the street. 

Hot water finally arriving, Buck goes though his morning ablutions and dresses himself before descending one flight of stairs and crossing to Daniels door, tapping lightly before gently opening it and slipping inside. He wants and needs to talk to his brother before his parents get a chance to send him away.

Daniel is propped up in his bed, awake and reading, but looking wan and exhausted. 

‘Daniel.’ Buck says softly ‘you don’t look well, perhaps you should go back to sleep.’

Daniel puts the book down and shakes his head. ‘I’m fine, just tired from last night.’ He pauses to study Buck before continuing,  ‘You’ll need to go to Teignmouth's this morning on your own, I’m not going to be up for it.’ Buck tries to protest, saying they can cancel it and go another day, that Teignmouth would understand, but Daniel insists.

‘You need to go. I insist. You need to talk to him before our parents get involved.’ At Bucks slightly baffled look he presses on ‘You need to break off whatever it is you have going on with him, he’s bad news and I don’t want him to destroy you any more than he already has.’

Buck splutters ‘How? How did you… How do you know about me and Teignmouth?’

‘You think Mother and Father were the only ones to see you?’ he stated before adding ‘Plus Mother couldn’t stop wailing about it and how it would no doubt lead to the family’s ruin in the carriage home.’ 

tagging @spotsandsocks @honestlydarkprincess @xxfiction-is-my-realityxx @copyninjabuckley @princessfbi @mandzuking17 and please let me know if you'd like to be added to the tag list!!

[wyvernscales]

My Meta/Analysis

I don’t really know how to make one of those fancy masterlist pages for myself, so this will have to suffice for now. Just wanted a hub for some of the posts I’ve been making as of late.

For the tag, click here

Theories:

Old God Soul Andraste? 

Kirkwall and the Second Sin

Lore:

Signed Languages in Thedas 

Envy Demons 

The Nightmare Demon 

Dragon Age: Inquisition Locations

Observations:

My Magnum Opus: The Trespasser Mural/Skyhold Fresco/Dread Wolf Rises Analysis 

On Hawke and Dragon Age 2 

Darkspawn Ichor

Comparing the Inquisitions

Warden Brosca and Orzammar

David Gaider on the Evanuris and Old Gods

Flemeth? Andraste? Mythal?

The Wardens are not a Great Order

My Novel Reviews

The Stolen Throne

The Calling

The Masked Empire

Asunder

Last Flight

Upcoming: Mythal and Snakes, The Black City and the Evanuris, Background Specific War Table Missions, Dwarves and the Fade, The Avvar/Alamarri/Clayne

[violethowler]

An Updated Guide to the Timeline of VLD

Last Edit: 10/19/2024

After reviewing my timeline notes in more detail, I decided I wasn’t happy with editing my original VLD timeline guide, but I didn’t want to just delete the earlier meta outright. So I decided to start over and make a brand new meta that reflected my current research notes without me having to constantly go back and edit the old one every time I realized I had missed something.

And boy am I glad I did because in the process I noticed details that I completely overlooked when I made the last timeline guide that trying to edit the original post would’ve led to redoing the whole thing anyway.

So now I present to you my most complete and up-to-date notes on the timeline of Voltron Legendary Defender as of April 2023. Under the cut because this is going to get long.

Part I: The Time Period of the Show

While the show never gives exact dates on when major events in the series take place, we can narrow down when the Paladins left Earth by examining context clues and supplemental material. From there, we can use that to determine a rough idea of the show’s timeline.

Pidge’s flashbacks in S1E05 Tears of the Balmera and the fact that Iverson doesn’t mention her, Lance, and Hunk’s bickering being a pattern when he berates their failure in the simulator during S1E01 The Rise of Voltron indicate that the day of Shiro’s return to Earth was the trio’s first time in the simulator together, and that this was fairly early in the school year.

From a Watsonian perspective, it’s not out of the question that a future Earth might follow a different school calendar. But from a Doylist perspective, since the show never says otherwise, we can take it as a given that since VLD is an American cartoon, the Garrison follows the same academic schedule as American schools. Which start the school year in late summer/early fall and end in late spring/early summer.

At the start of Lance, Pidge, and Hunk’s simulation run in S1E01 The Rise of Voltron, Lance calls out “Galaxy Garrison flight log 5-11-14.”

And Matt’s tombstone in S4E02 Reunion confirms that these numbers represent a date:

Pidge confirms that the 0010.05.25 represents a birth date, since looking at it is how she determines that Matt’s birthday is wrong. Because this is obviously a tombstone, we can logically conclude that 0014.04.28 represents a death date.

Lance’s 5-11-14 flight log number in S1E01 is most likely a reference to the fact that the show started production between April and June of 2014.[1][2]

And when Keith shows the other paladins his notes that he’s compiled on his search for the Blue Lion, a page-a-day calendar can be seen on the back wall showing that the paladins left Earth on the second of whichever month it was.

Meanwhile in S1E02 Some Assembly Required, Hunk refers to Shiro’s rescue from quarantine as Monday night. This would put the paladins’ departure from Earth on Tuesday afternoon, as Iverson confirms in S7E07 The Last Stand: Part 2 that the Paladins left Earth the day after rescuing Shiro.

So, if we look at the months in 2014 near the start of the American school year where the 2nd day of the month was a Tuesday, we can narrow down when the Paladins left Earth.

And the only option that meets all of those criteria is September 2nd, 2014.

Obviously the show doesn’t take place in 2014 because the technology the characters use in their daily lives on Earth is significantly more advanced than what we have in real life even in the 2020s. Not to mention Veronica name dropping World War III in S7E07 The Last Stand: Part 2 as a historical event.

However, it’s also obviously can’t be too far into the future, because other than having more advanced technology, much of what we see of Earth civilization looks fundamentally similar to our present day in terms of things like clothing and architecture, just with some futuristic flourishes here and there:

The fact that the years on Matt’s tombstone in S4E02 both begin with 00 as the first two digits raises the possibility that Earth decided to create a new calendar that started 14 years before the paladins left Earth.

However, it’s more likely that the production staff simply wished to leave it ambiguous how many centuries into the future the show takes place, as from a Doylist perspective there is no purpose to having Earth be on a different calendar system unless it’s relevant to the story.

Not to mention that it doesn’t make sense from a Watsonian perspective, since a change as widespread as the mass-adoption of a new calendar system would have to be in response to a major event that deeply changed society on such a widespread level that the society decided to define it’s calendar by how many years have passed since that event.

And the known event in the history of VLD’s Earth that might have this level of significance is World War III, which the showrunners have said in interviews resulted in “everyone on the planet realizing war sucks. We’re one Earth.”[3]

However, none of the characters act like it’s a recent event that happened within their lifetimes. The one time it’s mentioned in S7E08 The Last Stand: Part 2, Veronica speaks of the conflict as if it was a long time ago. Long enough that she has to preemptively clarify that the underground tunnels used to reach the Garrison’s supply depot are still structurally sound.

On top of the logistics not working out for World War III to have been the cause of a dramatic change in Earth’s calendars, Matt being Pidge’s older brother means that he would’ve been born before the hypothetical calendar change would’ve been adopted. 

Yet S4E02 only shows Pidge’s attention being drawn to the year on Matt’s birth date being wrong when her tear slides over to the 10, when the lack of anything before it would’ve stood out first if he was born before the calendar reset to Year 0.

So we can safely take it as a given that the extra zeroes in the years on Matt’s tombstone are there to maintain a sense of ambiguity over what century VLD takes place in.

Which fits with how showrunner Joaquim Dos Santos described how the writers kept the history of VLD’s Earth “nice and nebulous” rather than going into detail on the logistics of World War III.

However since we know that the dates we do have used the 2014 calendar as a basis, and that the Paladins left Earth on Tuesday, September 2nd, all we have to do is find a year ending in 14 where September 2nd is on a Tuesday that’s far enough into the future that there’s enough time for all the advancements of VLD’s earth, but not so far ahead that it’s completely unrecognizable to the 21st century audience.

Which works out well because the next year ending in 14 with September 2nd on a Tuesday is 2414.

Part II: Known Character Birth Years

If we treat it as a given that Season 1 of VLD starts in the year 2414, then we can use that  to narrow down the exact birth years of the human Paladins, as well as Allura, Lotor, Matt Holt, and Kova.

Kova is the oldest character whose birth year is known to us, as Haggar states he is 28 deca-phoebs old shortly before the destruction of Daibazaal and Altea.

Allura and Coran were in cryo-sleep for 10,000 Earth years, and Coran’s pedantic comment in S1E01 about the castle being 10,600 years old and built by his grandfather indicates that this number is exact.

This would put the destruction of Altea and Daibazaal in 7586 B.C.E., as Coran’s narration in S3E07 The Legend Begins indicates that the other planets in their solar system were conquered quickly after Zarkon and Haggar woke up from their Rift baths, meaning that both the Altean and Galran homeworlds were destroyed within a very short window of time.

Since Kova was 28 when Daibazaal was destroyed, he would’ve been born in 7614 B.C.E.

Meanwhile, S8E02 Shadows showed that Haggar only became coherent again after she gave birth, and flashbacks in S8E10 Knights of Light: Part 2 depict her participating in the conquest of the system. Which indicates that Lotor was born in between the destruction of both his parents’ home worlds.

In an interview recorded at WonderCon 2017, Lauren Montgomery and Joaqim Dos Santos talked about how despite initially having more knowledge and experience than the other paladins she was “just as young as anyone else”, and that she was handling overcoming her prejudice against the Galra “like any teenager would.” [4]

This indicates that Allura is still a teenager herself in the first 2 seasons.

Something which is supported by the fact that Allura was born less than 28 years before the fall of Altea yet looks to be around Keith, Lance, and Hunk’s age. Which indicates that while Alteans can live for hundreds of years as evidenced by Coran helping his grandfather build the Castle of Lions 600 years before the war against Zarkon, they age at roughly the same rate as normal humans until they reach adulthood.

Since she’s visibly older than Pidge, the showrunners’ remarks about her acting like “any teenager” put her age before being put into cryo-sleep somewhere between 17 and 18, the ages listed for Lance, Hunk, and Keith in the Paladin’s Handbook.

And we can presume that the ages listed in the Handbook are mostly accurate given that Colleen Holt confirms in S8E01 Launch Date that Pidge was 15 when the paladins left Earth, which is the same age that the Paladin’s Handbook gave for Pidge as of the end of Season 2.

So, if Allura is the same age as Keith, Lance, and Hunk, then she would’ve been born between 7603 and 7604 B.C.E.

As for the human characters, the cast and crew of Voltron have consistently said that Shiro was the oldest of the paladins, and that his age was somewhere in his early twenties. The only time a specific number was given was in the context of providing a maximum limit to his age range. Saying that while he was at least 20, he wasn’t older than 25.

However, the fact that his official birthday is February 29th means that it’s impossible for him to actually be 25 as the Voltron Paladins’ Handbook claimed.

Because leap years only happen once every 4 years, in years that are divisible by 4 into a whole number (The only exceptions are years that are by 100 but not 400).

It’s not possible for Shiro to be 25 in Season 1 because that would require the year of the Kerberos mission to be a leap year, since Shiro’s 24th birthday would mark the 6th time that February 29th occurred on the calendar since his birth.

The year before 2414 would be 2413, which cannot be divided by 4 into a whole number (trying gets you 603.25). However the year before Kerberis, 2412, is divisible by 4 into a whole number (603), meaning that 2414 is in between two leap years.

With all of this in mind, the only way for Shiro to be older than 20 but younger than 25 in 2414, is if he turned 20 in 2412, as his 20th birthday would mark the 5th time since he was born that February 29th occurred on the calendar. This puts the year of his birth in 2392, making him 22 years old when he returns to Earth in Season 1.

Meanwhile, Pidge being 15 when the Paladins left Earth in 2414 would mean that she was born in 2399.

Meanwhile, the Coalition Handbook, which is written from the perspective of 1 deca-phoeb after the Paladins left Earth, talks about Krolia’s arrival on Earth being “about 19 Earth years ago,” indicating that Keith’s parents met in 2396.

The Handbook’s indication of a 1-year timespan from Season 1 to Season 5 is confirmed by Sam’s debrief during the flashback portions of S7E07 The Last Stand: Part 1. Commander Iverson mentions that Sam’s return to Earth in S5E05 Bloodlines happened a month before the meeting and says that the Keberos mission was two years ago.

Krolia’s arrival being about 19 years ago appears to reinforce the Paladin’s Handbook listing Keith as being 18 by the end of Season 2. Pidge’s age means that S2E13 Blackout can’t happen any later than April 2, 2415, meaning that Keith – whose birthday is October 23rd according to the show’s official social media accounts – turns 18 at some point during the first 2 seasons of the show. This puts his birth year in 2396 and indicates that his parents had to have met sometime that January, as we’ve seen little evidence to suggest that Galra pregnancies are any longer than human ones.

So, if Pidge and Keith’s ages in the Paladins’ handbook are accurate, then we can assume Hunk and Lance’s ages are too.

Lance’s birthday is listed by the show’s official social media accounts as July 28, so the timeframe of Seasons 1-2 means he would’ve already been 17 by the time the Paladins left Earth. This means that he would have been born in 2397.

Hunk is a little tricky since his birthday is January 13th, as neither the show nor the handbooks give any details to definitively confirm whether he turned 17 during the first 2 seasons, or if he was already 17 when they left Earth.

However, some context clues regarding the nature of the Garrison’s Cadet Program and the glimpses of his backstory that we got in S7E01 A Little Adventure can help make some educated assumptions.

In her goodbye to Matt at the Kerberos launchpad in S4E02, Pidge says “I can’t believe I have to go through middle school without you.”

Since Pidge makes no mention of attempting to enroll at the Garrison while Matt and her father are in space, this logically indicates that Pidge is entering 8th grade and that the Galaxy Garrison cadet program is for students at the high school level (Grades 9-12).

The fact that the MFE pilots had graduated by the time Sam returns in 2415 supports this, as their presence as background cameos in S1E01 and in the flashbacks of Keith and Shiro’s past from S7E01 indicate that they, Lance, Keith, and Hunk all enrolled in the cadet program the same year. This means that when the Paladins left Earth, Lance and Hunk were starting their senior year of high school

Keith and Lance being 17 and 18 during Season 1 is consistent with that, as 17 and 18 are the typical ages at which most American teenagers graduate from high school [5].

In the United States, many schools in grades K-12 use students’ birthdays to determine grade placement, with students who are born before a certain cutoff date (usually around the beginning of the school year) being placed in a higher grade level than students born after the cutoff [6].

For example, Lance and Keith are shown to both be in the same class at the Garrison in S7E01 even though Keith being born a year earlier means he’d theoretically be in the grade above Lance. But Lance’s birthday is in July, and Keith’s is in October.

So, if Lance’s July birthday is before the cutoff for enrollment for their grade level, then logically the same is true for Hunk’s January birthday, meaning that Hunk is already 17 during Season 1, putting his birth in the same year as Lance’s.

And knowing how the Garrison’s Cadet Program functions as an equivalent to high school means that we can figure out how old Matt is.

In the Shiro’s Story Ready-to-Read book, Shiro describes how he and Matt were selected for the Kerberos mission after they finished school:

Since Keith is still wearing his cadet uniform when he confronts Shiro about his disease, this means that Sam and Sanda’s argument about Shiro being on the mission had to have happened during a period when classes were in session, as the flashback of their hoverbike racing in S7E01 and the lack of comments from Hunk about being caught out of uniform in S1E01 indicate that students are permitted to wear casual attire outside of school hours.

This means that Shiro and Matt had to have graduated the year before the Kerberos Mission, and then spent the following year training and preparing.

From this, we can conclude that Matt’s senior year at the Garrison corresponded to Keith, Lance, and Hunk’s freshmen year, putting Matt in the cadet program’s graduating class of 2412.

This would mean that Matt started classes at the Garrison in the fall of 2408.

And when Pidge says that his birthday is wrong in S4E02, she only does so after the camera draws viewers’ attention to the year. Which indicates that the month and date are correct, putting Matt’s birthday on May 25th. Based on what we’ve established about cutoff dates for grade placement, this would mean that Matt was 14 years old when he started classes at the Garrison, putting his birth year in 2394.

Part III: The Main Narrative

Knowing that Season 1 begins in September 2414 allows us to use the date of the Paladins’ departure from Earth as a baseline from which to determine a timeline of the show’s main storyline.

As previously established, the meta references and context clues within the first season place the paladins’ departure from Earth in S1E01 on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2414.

Since this is “1 year later” from Shiro’s capture on Kerberos, this puts the crew’s abduction in September 2413.

Since the Paladins’ Handbook reflects events up to the end of Season 2 and refers to Shiro’s capture as being “about a year ago,” we can safely assume that entirety of Seasons 1 – 2 take place before the end of 2414 in order for the character ages in the guidebook to be accurate by the end of S2E13 Blackout.

And for the first several episodes of Season 1, we’re given enough information to pinpoint exact dates for when much of the first season takes place.

Arus’ environment is shown to be nearly indistinguishable from Earths’ so we can assume that days on Arus last for about the same amount of time as days on Earth.

Coran states indicates in S1E01 that the search for the lions took about 2 hours, immediately after which the paladins had their first battle with Sendak.

The beginning of S1E02 Some Assembly Required is confirmed to take place the following morning, as Allura refers to the battle against Sendak in S10E1 as “yesterday”. Coran then tells Pidge that the prisoners they rescued need to remain in the cryo pods to heal “until tomorrow,” putting the events of S1E03 Return of the Gladiator on Thursday, September 4th.

S1E04 Fall of the Castle of Lions takes place entirely at night, with the Arusian’s re-enactment of Voltron’s battle with the Myzax robeast and Coran’s comment about letting the Arusians see the inside of the castle indicating from context that this is still on Thursday the 4th. This puts the daytime events of S1E05 on Friday, September 5th.

S1E06 Taking Flight takes place on the 6th, as Allura states at the end of S1E05 that Lance should be fully healed from his injuries after a day in the cryo pods.

Shay’s Belmera was close enough that Hunk and Coran could fly there from Arus in a small shuttle pod, have dinner with Shay’s family, fix their shuttle pod, wander around in the tunnel looking for the crystal, get captured, get rescued by Shay, and then get back to Arus all in less than a day.

So even if they spent several hours talking to Rolo and Nyma in S1E06, they still would’ve reached the Balmera in S1E07 Return to Balmera the same day. 

Since S1E08 Rebirth ends with Hunk showing Shay her first sunrise after the Balmera is liberated, this brings the paladins to Sunday, September 7th.

The first volume of the tie in comics is stated to take place right after this, as the paladins are leaving the Balmera in Issue #1. The bulk of the action happens over the course of the following day, as Issue #1 states that the Paladins’ battle against the guardian monster took place the day after they left Allura at the Castle, and the sky on Krell shifts from morning to afternoon colors over the course of the Paladins’ time there, along with the fact that the sky outside the Fripping Bolgogian is in sunset colors in both Issue #1 and Issue #5.

Then S1E09 Crystal Venom indicates that very little time passes since then when the Paladins begin to download Sendak's memories. Coran indicates that Allura should still be resting after healing the Balmera, indicating that very little time has passed since the end of the previous episode. Given how much time they spent on Krell, it's likely that the Paladins needed time to rest when they returned to the Castle, indicating that S1E09 begins as early as the day after the comics. After a length montage of time passing while they wait for Sendak's memories to start downloading, Hunk mentions going to make himself breakfast, indicating that a whole night has passed while they watched Sendak.

This means that the destruction of Alfor's AI cannot occur any earlier than September 10th. So the first 9 episodes of Season 1 and the first volume of the comics all take place from September 1st to September 10th.

From here, the timeframes indicated become murkier, as while many events seem to take place very close together, the fact that the guidebooks put Keith as 18 by the end of Season 2 means that S2E12 Best Laid Plans cannot take place any earlier than October 23rd, 2414.

There are a few instances where we can estimate the time between certain episodes, however, we don’t have enough concrete information to confirm an exact time frame by Earth’s calendar for anything after the first volume of the comics.

However, the fact that the Voltron Coalition Handbook refers to the Lion Shuffle as “many quintants ago”, even if that’s an understatement, indicates that since the second handbook is written from the perspective of Fall 2415, we can assume that Season 3 took place in 2415 as well.

Meanwhile, context clues in S3E01 Changing of the Guard and the 2 subsequent episodes indicate that only a short time passes between the end of Season 2 and the beginning of Season 3.

S3E01 shows that the Paladins have been splitting off to pursue their own objectives during the timeskip between Seasons 2 and 3, with Hunk and Lance liberating planets with the Blade of Marmora while Pidge looks for clues to her brother’s whereabouts while Keith searches for Shiro. Acxa’s reports in S3E02 Red Paladin on where they’ve been spotted by the empire only indicate a handful of sightings, suggesting that it hasn’t been that long since the end of Season 2. This is supported by the fact that Lance and Hunk brought the leaders of the planets they had liberated since S2E13 to the Castle to talk about joining the Coalition, and only 5 planetary leaders were present for the meeting.

Furthermore, as S3E05 The Journey depicted with Shiro, a human can survive up to 7 days without food or water. So in addition to Keith’s grief over Shiro’s disappearance still being fresh, the fact that he’s still looking for Shiro among the wreckage from S2E13 suggests that the start of S3E01 is within that 7-day window.

On top of that, Throk indicates to his friend when they’re sitting in the arena that he’s been trying to speak to Zarkon for several days without success.

But on the other hand, enough time needs to pass that planets like Puig will have heard of Voltron’s defeat of Zarkon before the paladins arrive

All of these details indicate that the time between the end of S2E13 and the beginning of S3E01 wasn’t more than 2 or 3 weeks.

So if the end of Season 2 was still in 2414 and the first 3 episodes of Season 3 were in 2415, that means that the final battle of Season 2 took place in December 2414, and the opening arc of Season 3 took place in January 2415.

Meanwhile, S3E05 shows that Shiro travelled in a stolen Galra fighter for 7 days after Thayserix before Keith found him at the end of the episode. Even if there’s some time dilation involved, the fact that the Paladins are surprised Lotor was able to construct the first Sincline ship so quickly in S3E06 Tailing a Comet indicates that it hasn’t been that long since Lotor stole it in S3E04 Hole in the Sky, meaning that all of Season 3 took place in January.

S7E07 indicates that Sam’s debriefing happened a year after the Paladins left in Season 1, putting the meeting scene in September 2415. This would be consistent with Iverson’s introduction of the MFE pilots indicating that they’ve graduated from the Cadet Program.

The next time-skip jumps to 1 year after Sam’s debriefing, indicating that Matt contacted Earth in September 2416.

Matt tells his parents that Voltron hasn’t been seen in 6 months, putting the last 4 episodes of Season 6 in March of 2416.

He also mentions that the Coalition and Blade of Marmora memories are being hunted, and that their army had been “all but wiped out”, indicating that the Druids’ counterattack had clearly been going on for some time before Matt contacted his parents. However in S8E02, Macidus tells Haggar that “it has been phoebs since Emperor Lotor disappeared,” and that “the Blade of Marmora still challenges,” indicating that the purge of the Coalition and BoM had not yet begun as of two months after Voltron’s battle with Lotor, putting the beginning of the attacks on the Blade and Coalition somewhere between May and August of 2416.

Meanwhile, because of the 3-year time jump, this means that the Paladins began their voyage back to Earth in March 2419.

Near the beginning of S7E06, Shiro indicates that it’s only been a few weeks since he woke up in the clone body at the end of S6E07, and when Lance asks how long they’ve been out there, Romelle says “going on four movements” before he then asks how much longer it’ll take to reach Earth.

Coran’s comment in S1E02 about his Paladin lunch helping the team form Voltron “six times a movement” is said in the same manner that we’d say “seven days a week” in real life, suggesting that one movement is 6 quintants.

Which means that by the beginning of S7E06, the Paladins have spent more than 18 days flying back to Earth, but less than 24.

Meanwhile, the Paladins mention in S7E03 The Way Forward that, from their perspective, their battle with Lotor was “a few weeks” ago, indicating that at least two movements had passed since the end of S6E07 Defender of All Universes by the time they encounter Ezor and Zethrid’s pirate crew at the end of S7E02 The Road Home. However, it’s ambiguous whether all of those movements were spent on travelling or if it took the Paladins a few days to finish the preparations for their voyage before leaving the Dalterion belt.

And Pidge’s insistence in S7E06 that they still have one and a half Earth years of travel time left gives me the impression that we’re still in the same calendar month.

From all of this, we can conclude that the entire first half of Season 7 up until the Paladins fly out of that energy burst and reach Earth takes place within the month of March 2419.

Depending on how long the Paladins spent repairing the lions and preparing for the voyage between the end of S7E01 and the beginning of S7E02, this means that their landing on the Dalterion Belt and Shiro being merged with his clone had to have occurred somewhere between March 1st and March 8th, which would also apply to the timing of the Paladins’ battle with Lotor in S6E07.

With Sam’s debriefing being a month after he landed, and him being released from quarantine after about a week, he would’ve had to have landed and been released in August 2415 in order for September 2416 to still be “just over a year” after he started working to upgrade Earth’s defensive capabilities.

With the debriefing scene being “four years ago” from the beginning of S7E07, this would put the Paladins’ return to Earth in August 2419.

 The liberation of Earth appears to only take a couple of days at most, and according to Shiro in S8E01 Launch Date, rebuilding took “several months” before the Paladins were ready to return to space.

This puts the beginning of Season 8 in late 2419 or early 2420, and a line from Rizavi in S8E01 helps to narrow things down.

When Pidge sees the Killbot Phantasm game, Rizavi mentions that it came out just before Sendak invaded, and that because of that there hadn’t been enough time for any players to reach the final level. She then tells the shopkeeper that she waited 3 years to get to the end of the game.

Meanwhile, Macidus tells the Paladins in S7E05 The Ruins that he has been marooned on the planet they found him at for “the last two decaphoebs,” and that the Druids’ purge against the Blade of Marmora was them “carrying out her final orders.”

Since the Paladins would have encountered him in March 2419, this would put the fall of the Blade of Marmora and Kolivan’s capture in March 2417, 7-10 months after the beginning of the counterattack against the Coalition that Matt spoke of in S7E07.

S8E02 Shadows confirms that Sendak invaded Earth on Honerva’s orders in the hopes of drawing out Voltron. Given, the potential narrative symmetry, it’s likely that Sendak’s invasion of Earth took place around the same time.

Which would be consistent with how the MFE pilots are referred to by Admiral Sanda as cadets in S7E07 when they had already graduated from the cadet program the previous year because they, like Shiro appear to be in a post-graduate program to continue their education after high school:

At WonderCon 2016, showrunner Lauren Montgomery referred to Shiro as a “slightly older student.”

Meanwhile in S7E01 he appears to be assisting Iverson and other Garrison instructors with classes, but is not treated by other characters as if he’s a full-time teacher himself. 

During the briefing scene in S7E7, Commander Iverson gives Shiro’s rank as Lieutenant, reflecting the tradition of fictional military organizations in science fiction to utilize the ranking systems of real world militaries, particularly with naval ranks such as Commander and Admiral which are exclusively used for naval officers.

During his visit to Keith’s school and his time overseeing simulator drills with Keith’s class, Shiro’s uniform only has two stripes on the shoulders of his uniform, and he’s never addressed by any specific rank.

However in the scene where Sanda and Sam Holt are arguing about Shiro’s inclusion on the Kerberos mission, his uniform now has three stripes on the shoulder, which he has been consistently shown to have in Pidge’s flashback to the crew’s disappearance being announced in S1E05, which show photos of Shiro, Sam, and Matt that would’ve been taken specifically for the mission’s publicity. And when Sam is debriefed in S7E07, Iverson identifies Shiro as a Lieutenant.

In our world, it takes an average of 4 years after enlisting in the navy for a person to be promoted to lieutenant. However, if someone enlists before or while in college, promotion to Lieutenant can be achieved with the completion of a Master’s Degree.

Depending on the field, a Masters’ degree would require an additional four years after completing a Bachelor’s degree. However, some universities that specialize in specific subjects (like mine did) offer a Master’s program that only takes an additional 1-2 years after receiving a Bachelor’s degree to complete.

Since the Garrison’s cadet program is teaching what 21st century viewers would consider advanced college-level science to high school students, it’s plausible that the Garrison has an advanced program for graduates of the cadet program to continue taking classes. Which makes sense because the Garrison’s cadet program is clearly an example of a vocational school, which focuses education at the secondary (high-school) and/or post-secondary (college) level on teaching students the skills and knowledge required for a specific career path, as opposed to a more general education.

It explains why tie-in books indicate that Shiro and Matt graduated from the Garrison at the same time. While Matt was completing his regular education in the cadet program, Shiro was finishing up his advanced education track.

Because Shiro makes multiple comments that imply an in-depth knowledge of physics and astronomy: From knowing enough constellations to recognize in S1E01 that the Blue Lion’s wormhole has left them in unfamiliar space, to being able to calculate the approximate speed of the black lion’s fall at the start of S2E01 Across the Universe in his head despite the pain of a glowing magic wound in his side and the general exhaustion of the battle they’d just come out of.

It even explains why S7E01 has Shiro was helping with classes and Adam mentioning having a class to teach, because many high schools and colleges offer work-study programs to where students can work part-time jobs at the school in exchange for financial assistance, as well as to get hands on work experience in a particular field so that they can transition from school to working more easily. Which also explains why Sam and Adam both mention Shiro having gone on multiple space flights and missions by the time he’s selected for the Kerberos mission even though the timeline indicates he’d only be 20 by the time he was chosen for Kerberos.

And since my analysis of Garrison lore indicates that the grey/green uniform that Shiro wears when visiting Keith’s school is reserved for those whose work in administrative roles and other capacities in the day-to-day running of the Garrison, this would indicate that he graduated from the cadet program at least a year or two before, and received the new uniform as part of the work-study program when classes started up the following school year.

So, the MFE pilots continuing their education after completing the cadet program would explain why Sanda would still refer to them as cadets even if they’ve already graduated from the cadet program: because even if they’re not in the cadet program anymore, they’re still students.

The pattern we’ve established regarding the human characters’ birthdates and grade levels means that Shiro would’ve graduated from the regular cadet program in 2410 (meaning he would’ve enrolled in 2406) and finished his advanced studies in 2412, making the Garrisons’ post-graduation education options a 2-year program.

This means that the amount of time that Sendak’s invasion of Earth had to have been before May of 2417. So, a March 2417 invasion around the same time the Druids and the Blades wiped each other out fits within that window.

And if that is the case, then Rizavi’s “three years” comment would put S8E01 in March 2420.

From the perspective of the crew of the Atlas, the first half of the season takes place over the course of about 48 Earth days. S8E08 Clear Day appears to take place within a couple days after the end of S8E07 Day Forty-Seven, as Hunk introduced the Altean robeast Pilots to Allura and Coran near the end of the day, and the following episode opens with Tavo agreeing to speak with Allura due to Hunk’s efforts at reaching out to the Alteans with food.

However, the leader of planet Drazan indicates that thanks to time dilation, the Atlas’ internal clocks are about 24 days behind the rest of the universe by the beginning of S8E08, as Coran notes that according to their calendars, Clear Day shouldn’t be for another four movements.

Depending on when in March the Atlas left Earth, this put the Clear Day celebration somewhere between May 12th and June 10th, 2420.

Based on how quickly events move following the events of S8E08, this would put the final confrontation with Honerva somewhere between the middle of May and the middle of June, which would put the epilogue in May or June of 2421.

Given that the fact the timeframe of the show was determined based on a meta gag about the show’s production, my instinct leans towards the second half of Season 8 all taking place in May, as it would mean that the entire main plot of the show – which was contracted for 78 episodes (the hour-long pilot being 3 episodes stitched together) – took place over approximately 7 years and 8 months.

Part IV: Backstory Dates & Other Timeline Trivia

Now that we’ve hammered out the timeline for the main events of the story, we can start filling in dates for elements of the characters’ backstories and other areas of the timeline not covered by the previous sections.

The First Kral Zera:

In S5E04 Kral Zera, the Archivist states in 2415 that the Kral Zera has been burning for “over thirteen millennia,” putting the first Kral Zera and the official founding of the Galra Empire as a political entity sometime before 10,585 BCE. Since he said thirteen, rather than fourteen, we can logically assume that it couldn’t be any earlier than 13,999 years before 2415, which would be 11,584 BCE.

The Daibazaal Rift:

Kova appears to be fully grown when Zarkon first meets him in Honerva’s lab in S3E07 after the discovery of the Rift on Daibazaal. Using Earth cat development as a basis for comparison, this would indicate that Kova is at least 1 year old by this point, meaning the earliest that the Trans-reality comet could have crashed was 7613 B.C.E.

However, it cannot have happened any later than 2 years before Allura’s birth. When Honerva shows Alfor that their Quintessence experiment is running after he thanks her for the gift celebrating Allura’s birth, he notes that the experiment has been running for a full year by that point. But despite the experiment being positioned right next to her workstation, it was nowhere to be seen when she and Zarkon were having their first meeting before the timeskip.

Meanwhile, before the episode transitioned from Honerva and Zarkon’s first meeting to Alfor showing his daughter off to Zarkon, Coran’s narration refers to Alfor visiting often “as the years passed,” indicating that more than one year passes between the discovery of the rift and Allura’s birth.

This means that since the experiment would’ve begun in 6704 or 7605 B.C.E., the Rift cannot have been opened any later than 7605 or 7606 B.C.E.

The Difference Between 1 Year & 1 Deca-Phoeb:

When Shiro and Allura are detected during their infiltration of a Galra cruiser in S1E10 Collection and Extraction, the computer identifies Shiro as "Fugitive prisoner 117-9875."

The format of his prisoner ID number indicates the year on the empire's calendar that Shiro was captured, meaning that the Galran calendar lists Earth year 2414 as imperial year 9876.

Initially, I thought this meant that the references to Altea being destroyed "10,000 years ago" were a generalization and that it wasn't exactly 10,000 years.

However, Coran's insistence on correcting Hunk that the Castle of Lions is 10,600 years old in S1E01 indicates that it was indeed exactly 10,000 years between Altea's destruction and the return of the Blue Lion.

Which left me with a bit of a conundrum of how to reconcile the two timescales. Then I remembered that S1E06 established that Earth and intergalactic time measurements weren't exactly 1:1, with Pidge and Coran's comparison showing that ticks were slightly bigger than seconds.

So I decided to do the math and see if how 9876 decaphoebs would compare to 10,000 years. And dividing both numbers by 9876 gives me 1 Deca-Phoeb = 0.9876 Years.

Meaning that Shiro's prisoner ID and the references to Altea's destruction being 10,000 years ago are both correct.

Garrison History

Pidge mentions in the Season 8 episode Knights of Light: Part Two that the Garrison managed to map the human brain "about twenty years ago." Since this episode takes place in early 2420, this puts the date of this event approximately in the year 2400.

Shiro and Keith’s First Meeting:

Since the Galaxy Garrison’s cadet program is shown to be for high school students, and that Keith, Lance, and Hunk were meant to graduate in 2415, we can deduce that Shiro and Keith first met in the spring of 2411. Most high school enrollment is done in the spring, so it makes the most sense for the Garrison to send Shiro to local schools to convince students who will be freshmen at the start of the next school year to enroll, as opposed to trying to persuade kids to transfer in the middle of the year.

Based on the fact that Lance was in 9th grade as a 14-year-old, the Garrison likely starts classes in August, which is consistent with the fact that Keith’s map of his search for the Blue Lion places the Garrison near the Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona.

Where, according to my own research and the experience of friends who live there, the school year typically begins in late July or early August and ends in May.

This would mean that Shiro just only a month or two past his 19th birthday when he and Keith first met, while Keith was around 14 and a half.

Pidge’s Grade Level:

Though we don’t know exactly when it happened, the fact that Pidge is still in 8th Grade when she turns 15 means that somewhere along the line she had to repeat a grade during middle or elementary school.

Details and Aftermath of the Kerberos Mission:

In S4E02, Matt mentions planning to use their family code to keep in touch with Pidge during his mission, so the fact that Pidge never mentions receiving any message with the code letting her know that they landed safely indicates that Matt, Sam, and Shiro were abducted shortly after arriving on Kerberos.

The news broadcast announcing their disappearance is dated five months after the launch, and earlier in the flashback, Sam mentions that he and Matt “will be eating freeze-dried peas for the next two months.”

Since their abduction happened in September 2413, this puts the mission’s launch in July of 2413. From a logistics standpoint, a summer launch makes sense for the Garrison so that they won’t have to worry about disrupting classes, or cadets sneaking around to watch the launch and getting hurt.

This would mean that the crew’s disappearance was announced in December 2413.

Pidge’s confrontation with Iverson during S1E05 indicates that she was not aware of the involvement of aliens prior to her enrolling at the Garrison, as she only mentions that the Garrison’s probes show no sign of a crash on Kerberos and doesn’t bring up the transmission from the Galra warship to Zarkon’s central command that S7E07 reveals the Garrison had managed to record.

The Paladin Handbook states that a rescue mission to Kerberos recovered the remaining equipment, so the fact that Pidge doesn’t mention finding reports from the rescue team on Iverson’s computer in S1E05 indicates that the rescue mission hadn’t left yet when the disappearance was made public.

Since S7E07 shows video footage of Shiro, Matt, and Sam on Kerberos getting cut off as the Galra cruiser approaches, the probes were presumably destroyed by the cruiser as it arrived on Kerberos, and the Garrison sent new probes to try and reestablish contact before making the crew’s disappearance public.

A further piece of evidence for the Garrison beginning classes in August is that Pidge’s comments in S1E01 indicate that she’s been listening to Galra radio chatter for several nights now and can recognize that the level of activity on the night of Shiro’s return to Earth is higher than normal. A month would give her a decent amount of data to work with to identify patterns of activity.

The VR Game and The Zel:

In the opening of that one VR game Voltron: VR Chronicles, Zarkon and Haggar discuss a technologically advanced species known as the Zel, whose population was decimated by the empire a millennia ago, but whose homeworld remains hidden from the empire.

The game features Shiro still piloting the black lion, and Haggar indicates in the first cutscene that they’re still able to track the Castle of Lions through Zarkon’s bond with the Black Lion, which puts the game before the events of S2E04 Greening the Cube. However, the paladins don’t give any indication that they’re aware that Zarkon can track them like that, meaning that it has to take place before Allura gets captured in S1E10 Collection and Extraction. 

Given the timeline established for the first 2/3 of Season 1, the only places the events of the VR game could fit is between volume 1 of the comics and the beginning of S1E09 Crystal Venom, or during the travel montage in S1E10. However, the lack of any mention of getting back to their journey to the coordinates of the hidden Quintessence refinery in S1E10 means it has to take place between S1E08 and S1E09, particularly since Lance notes the game’s robeast boss fight - a recolor of the same one that attacked the Balmera - is giving him deja vu.

In the VR game, Hunk also indicates that travelling via wormhole is still a relatively new experience for him, so it’s most likelt that this game still takes place sometime in September 2414 after the events of the comic.

All of which means that the empire’s battle with the Zel that Zarkon and Haggar talk about would have occurred somewhere in the year 1414.

Timeframe of Seasons 4 – 5:

S4E01 Code of Honor opens with Keith indicating that Lotor hasn’t been seen in months. Since their last encounter with Lotor’s forces was in early January 2415, and Keith says months – as in plural – the earliest the beginning of the episode could take place is some time in March 2415. However, based on the timeframe of Season 8’s Clear Day, it can’t be any later than the end of April.

S4E04 The Voltron Show! establishes that the planet Drazan has a 721-day year and only 1 of those days ever gets clear skies, with Team Voltron missing that year’s Clear day due to Coran’s miscalculations.

However, in S8E08, Drazan is celebrating another Clear Day and explicitly states that this is the first one after the one that Voltron missed in Season 4. Which means that a day on planet Drazan is longer than an Earth day or standard quintant.

We’ve already narrowed down that Season 8’s clear day took place somewhere between May 12th and May 24th 2420, so if we assume that the paladins missing the previous Clear Day happened within the same window of time in 2415, this would put the beginning of S4E04 sometime in May 2415.

(Which, incidentally, means that a year on Drazon would be equivalent to about 5 years on Earth, while a day on Drazan is approximately 60 hours or 2.5 Earth days).

Meanwhile, Coran indicates in S4E04 that Keith’s departure from the team has not spread very far yet, indicating that the episode begins a short time after the end of S4E01 since Keith no longer piloting the Black Lion is not common knowledge yet. This means that Keith leaving the team would have also taken place in May 2415.

S4E01 shows a montage of time passing while Keith works with the Blades, indicating that a notable amount of time passed between the beginning and the end of the episode. Furthermore, Allura’s comment about how Keith keeps saying he’s sorry for not being there, but his actions say otherwise indicate a consistent pattern of Keith being too busy on Blade Missions to perform his duties as the Black Paladin. This indicates that Keith was flaking on them for at least a couple weeks before the crisis where Shiro had to reconnect with the Black Lion.

Meanwhile, the fact that Coran states that Keith’s departure from the team at the start of the season is not common knowledge yet in S4E04 indicates that S4E04 actually takes place before S4E02. This is reinforced by the fact that Lotor’s urgency to access the Quintessence field in S4E05 Begin the Blitz indicates that very little time has passed since the end of S4E03 Black Site, which contrasts how S4E04 clearly took place over the course of several days, if not multiple weeks.

The timeframe for Sam’s return to Earth that I identified in the previous section puts all of Season 5 in August 2415, as events are indicated to happen fairly quickly:

S5E03 Postmortem clearly starts the morning after Zarkon is killed, and Lotor states that the Kral Zera will be held sometime in the next two days.

The hostage exchange in S5E02 Blood Duel likely only took a couple days at most of back-and-forth communication to negotiate the terms and details after the end of S5E01 The Prisoner.

S5E04 shows that Sam was making the final preparations to leave for Earth when Shiro and Lotor went to the Kral Zera, meaning that both Sam’s departure and the Paladins’ arrival at Central Command would’ve taken place a day or two later.

Pidge, Lance, and Hunk are shown spending most of a day goofing around on Central Command with their reprogrammed Sentry while Lotor and Allura are looking through Haggar’s lair.

After Allura finds the compass stone, they appear to head to Oriande if not that day then the following day, and when the castle loses power thanks to the White Lion, we’re told that the Castle only has another quintant of air left.

Assuming they spent a night recovering from oxygen deprivation like Shiro did in Season 3, then they would’ve returned to central command the following day. Right when they got back, Lotor had to receive a briefing on the state of the empire. A few hours later, he did his speech, following which Voltron went to help protect the Omega Shield

While it’s unclear exactly how many days passed between the end of S5E04 and Keith’s half of S5E05, Hunk indicates in S80E3 The Prisoner’s Dilemma that Keith and Krolia had already started their trip through the Quantum Abyss by the time the Paladins came to the aid of the Omega Shield.

So we can confirm that the entirety of Season 5 takes place in August 2415.

From there, we can narrow down a rough idea of when the rest of Season 4 takes place.

While it’s not stated exactly how much time passes between S4E06 A New Defender and S5E01, it’s implied to not be that long. In S5E01, Nyma thanks Pidge and Matt for helping with repairs on the Coalition’s fleet, saying the ships were “pretty banged up after the invasion.” This implicitly indicates that the attack on Naxzela and the rest of the Galra forces in that section of the universe was recent enough that repairs to the rebel ships that survived the battle were only just now being finished.

However, enough time needs to have passed that Lotor has been able to give them several locations for Galra bases to attack that were low-risk before he runs out of easy targets to give them.

So, it’s likely only been a couple of weeks at most since the end of Season 4. Since S4E02 and S4E03 happen only a day or two together, and S4E05 is implied to take place just a day or so after that, this puts the remainder of Season 4 sometime in late July, since Sam would’ve had to land on Earth in mid August in order for both his debriefing and Matt contacting Earth “just over a year” after said debriefing to be in September.

Which means that the third volume of the comics most likely also takes place in July, since the first issue of this arc depicts the Paladins attempting to drive a Galra fleet out of the Coalition’s new territory without letting them fly in the direction of the planets that were already liberated in S4E06 A New Defender, and the central conflict of the arc revolved around the paladins attempting to test if the information Lotor was providing them with was accurate.

Haggar Waking Up Zarkon

S3E07 ends with Haggar waking Zarkon up, yet we don’t see him up and around until S4E02, which takes place several months after the end of Season 3. Which raises the question of why Zarkon waited so long to get back into action? And why was Haggar pushing Lotor to be more active and visible in ruling the empire if Zarkon was awake to retake the throne?

On top of that, S4E03 opens with Haggar look at her old apperance as Honerva like it's the first time she's seeing her true face since the got her memories back:

Now, which sounds more logical? Haggar wakes Zarkon up in January 2415 and he spends the next six months sitting on his ass doing nothing while his empire keeps crumbling under rebel uprising?

Or Lotor’s lack of involvement in the empire for months as seen in S4E01 Code of Honor making Haggar desperate enough to tap into Zarkon’s mind, at which point he immediately gets out of his bed and takes the throne back from Lotor in S4E03?

The latter would certainly be a logical sequence of events. And it would better explain why she’s suddenly looking at her old appearance as Honerva at the beginning of S4E03 if her recollection of her past was just yesterday than if she remembered months ago and is only now deciding to look at her old face.

Warlord Lahn Raiding Ranveig’s Base:

The Paladins visiting Drazan’s Clear Day festival appears to take place only a day or two after the end of S8E07. In that episode, the Altean robeast pilot the Atlas picks up is noted to be the 6th one they’ve brought aboard since leaving Oriande. Assuming they picked up one robeast pilot per day, this means that at least 6 days passed for the Atlas since the end of S8E06 Gensis.

Given that time dilation has only come up in the series when characters are travelling without using wormholes, we can probably assume that more than 6 days passed for the rest of the universe.

Since S8E08 appears to take place on Day 48 and is 24 quintants behind Planet Drazan thanks to time dilation, my best estimate would be that at least 12 days pass between the battle in Oriande and Clear Day.

Depending on when in May the Atlas visited Drazan for Clear Day, this would put the attack on Oriande somewhere between the end of April and the beginning of May.

S8E06 is indicated to take place only a day or so after the events of S8E05 The Grudge, which itself takes place only a short time after S8E04 Battle Scars, as the episode opens with the Paladins informing the Atlas of Olkarion’s fate.

Meanwhile S8E04 indicates it’s been only a few days for them since they left the Atlas at the end of S8E03, as Pidge notes that they’ve checked 11 star systems for signs of Robeasts in the last 3 days. Assuming that further time dilation occurred during S8E04 and S8E05, this would put the Atlas’ invasion of Warlord Lahn’s base on planet Ryker some time in April 2420.

When Lahn receives the transmission from the lost ship Klytax V-3, he mentions that he sent it and 14 other cruisers to scout Warlord Ranveig’s base from S5E05 for weapons six phoebs ago, which would be in October 2419.

Section V: The Complete Timeline

When you add everything together, the timeline of the VLD universe looks like this:

10,585-11,584 B.C.E.: The Galra Empire is formally established on the planet Feyiv with the coronation of Emperor Brodar in the first Kral Zera.

8186 B.C.E.: Coran’s grandfather builds the Castle of Lions. Coran accompanies him to a Balmera during the construction.

7614 B.C.E.: Kova is born

7606-7613 B.C.E.: A Trans-Reality Comet crash lands on the planet Daibazaal and a rift between realities is discovered at the crash site.

7604-7605 B.C.E.: 1 year before Allura’s birth, Honerva and Alfor initiate their first Quintessence experiment.

7603-7604 B.C.E.: Princess Allura is born, and Voltron makes its debut defending Daibazaal from the Rift Creatures.

7586 B.C.E.: Daibazzal and Altea are destroyed. Lotor is born

1414: The Galra Empire battles a technologically advanced species known as the Zel and decimates their population, but are unable to locate the Zelthronian homeworld.

2392, February 29: Takashi “Shiro” Shirogane is born

2394, May 25: Matt Holt is born

2396, January: Krolia crash lands on Earth

2396, October 23: Keith is born

2397, January 13: Hunk is born

2397, July 28: Lance is born

2398, April 03: Katie “Pidge” Holt is born

2400: Galaxy Garrison manages to map the human brain.

2406, August: Shiro begins taking classes at the Galaxy Garrison.

2408, August: Matt begins taking classes at the Galaxy Garrison.

2410, May: Shiro graduates from Galaxy Garrison’s cadet program

2410, August: Shiro continues his education at the Garrison

2411, March-May: Shiro visits Keith’s middle school as a recruiter for the Garrison sometime in the spring

2411, August: Keith, Lance, Hunk, James Griffin, Nadia Rizavi, Ryan Kinkade, and Ina Leifsdottir begin taking classes at the Galaxy Garrison

2412, May: Matt and Shiro graduate from their respective programs at the Galaxy Garrison.

2412, August: Shiro and Matt are selected to be part of the Garrison’s mission to Kerberos.

2413, July: The Garrison’s mission to Kerberos launches

2413, September: Sam Holt, Matt, and Shiro reach Kerberos and are captured by the Galra Empire.

2413, December: Galaxy Garrison publicly announces the disappearance of the Kerberos mission.

2414, April 28: Rebel forces battle the Galra Empire on the planet Marchanda, resulting in 127,098 rebel casualties while the planet is reduced to a barren wasteland. Matt uses this battle to fake his death and go into hiding in a hidden rebel listening post.

2414, May 11: A rescue mission from Galaxy Garrison arrives on Kerberos to retrieve the equipment left behind after the original mission’s disappearance.

2414, August: Katie Holt begins taking classes at the Galaxy Garrison under the name of Pidge Gunderson in order to find information about what happened to her father and brother.

2414, September 01: Shiro lands on Earth and is rescued from quarantine by Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge.

2414, September 02: Shiro, Keith, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge find the Blue Lion and leave Earth.

2414, September 03: The Paladins train to figure out how to form Voltron outside of combat.

2414, September 04: The Paladins meet the Arusian natives and defeat the Myzax Robeast. Sendak attacks the Castle of Lions that night.

2414, September 05: Pidge and the paladins retake the Castle of Lions from Sendak while Hunk and Coran retrieve a new Balmeran crystal.

2414, September 06: The Castle of Lions takes off from Arus and liberates Shay’s Balmera later that day following an encounter with Rollo and Nyma en route.

2414, September 07: Hunk takes Shay to watch her first sunrise. After leaving the Balmera, Coran takes the Paladins to the Karthulian system for a training exercise.

2414, September 08: The Paladins travel to the planet Krell to retrieve a Yalexian Pearl to trade for Coran’s safety.

2414, September 09-30: Sometime in September, Team Voltron investigates a Zelthronian distress signal.

2414, December: The Paladins coordinate with the Blade of Marmora to attack Central Command, grievously wounding Zarkon in the process. Shiro disappears and Lotor is summoned from exile to lead the empire while his father recovers.

2415, January:

Keith becomes the new pilot of the Black Lion and leads the team in their first battles against Lotor on Puig and Thayersix.

The Paladins find an Altean exploration ship caught in a rift between realities and recover the trans-reality comet stored in its cargo hold after visiting the Altean Empire reality.

Shiro makes his way back to the team after awakening aboard a Galran research vessel.

In the process of searching for the trans-reality comet, the Paladins come upon Lotor’s generals attacking a Galran outpost in the Ulippa system to steal a fragment of their Teludav.

Coran tells the Paladins the story of Voltron's origins and Zarkon's descent into tyranny.

2415, March-April: Keith and Kolivan discover a new strain of Quintessence being shipped across the Galra empire through a network of secret supply routes.

2415, May:

Keith leaves the team in order to focus on his work with the Blade of Marmora.

Voltron misses performing their air show at the planet Drazan’s Clear Day celebration, leading Coran to ingest a brain worm to help him do a better job coming up with ideas for their propaganda shows.

2415, July:

Pidge finally tracks down Matt and brings him back to the Castle of Lions.

Haggar uses her magic to reawaken Zarkon, in the process regaining some of her memories of her life as Honerva.

Zarkon learns that Lotor is building ships from a trans-reality comet and declares his son a fugutive.

Voltron launches an attack on Naxzella and other key planets to seize control of 1/3 of the Galra Empire’s territory in a single strike.

The Paladins finish liberating planet Pintos Sentos.

Voltron dismantles the Galra shipbuilding facility known as SPRAWL using intel provided by Lotor.

2415, August:

Voltron rescues Sam, and Zarkon is killed by Lotor in the process.

Lotor becomes the new emperor of the Galra in the thirty-fourth Kral Zera.

Sam returns to Earth and is placed under quarantine at Galaxy Garrison’s main base in Arizona.

Keith extracts Krolia from Ranveig’s base and they enter the Quantum Abyss in search of the origins of the new mystery Quintessence.

Lotor, and Allura enter Oriande, where Allura passes the trials of the White Lion and gains further knowledge of Altean Alchemy.

Team Voltron assist Commander Bogh and Lieutenant Lahn when their planet is attacked by Sendak’s Fire of Purification.

Sam is released from quarantine and reunited with his wife Colleen.

2415, September: Sam is debriefed by Galaxy Garrison’s Joint Chiefs regarding his experiences in space.

2416, March 01-08: After spending at least 2 years in the Quantum Abyss, Keith and Krolia return to the Castle of Lions with Romelle. The Paladins battle Lotor and are forced to sacrifice the Castle of Lions to seal off the Quintessence Field and save their entire reality.

2416, May-August: The Druids and other factions of the Galra Empire begin a campaign of retaliation against the Blade of Marmora and the Voltron Coalition.

2416, September: Matt contacts his parents on Earth to inform them of Voltron’s disappearance and warn them of the rebellion’s losses.

2417, March:

The Blade of Marmora make their last stand against the Druids. Both factions suffer heavy casualties, and Kolivan is taken captive by Macidus.

Sendak invades Earth.

2419, March:

Allura merges Shiro with his clone and the Paladins gather Fonatonium to help recharge their lions.

The Paladins set off for Earth and are captured by Zethrid and Ezor’s pirate crew while investigating an abandoned Blade of Marmora outpost.

The Paladins encounter Macidus and rescue Kolivan. Krolia leaves with Kolivan to search for other surviving Blades.

The Paladins attempt to recharge their lions.

2419, August: The Paladins reach Earth and quickly liberate the planet from Sendak’s occupation.

2419, October: Warlord Lahn sends Klytax V-3 and 14 other cruisers to salvage weapons from one of Warlord Ranveig’s bases.

2420, March:

The Paladins enjoy their last day on Earth before returning to space.

The IGF Atlas launches from Earth to liberate planets that remain under Galra rule.

2420, April: The Atlas attacks Warlord Lahn’s base on the planet Ryker.

2420, May 12-31:

Voltron and the crew of the Atlas attend planet Drazan’s Clear Day festival.

The Paladins confront Honerva at the source of all realities.

2421, May: The lions fly away to parts unknown.

Note: This timeline will be updated whenever I uncover further information.

Sources:

[1] Creating Voltron: Legendary Defender; June 10, 2016. https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/creating-voltron-legendary-defender/

[2] Tweet by Joaquim Dos Santos; October 12, 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20200723131054/https://twitter.com/JDS_247/status/1050905860728213506

[3] The Ending of 'Voltron' Season 7, Explained by the Showrunners; Eric Francisco; August 10, 2018. https://www.inverse.com/article/47977-voltron-legendary-defender-season-7-netflix-ending-explained-by-showrunners-interview  

[4] Joaquim Dos Santos & Lauren Montgomery Talk Voltron at Wondercon '17; When Nerds Attack; April 2, 2017. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZW1V2dYHgs

[5] High School in the United States - wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_school_in_the_United_States 

[6] K-12 Education in the United States - Wikipedia.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-12_education_in_the_United_States