#like a timeline of what characters were like at different points of development

[blueteller]

I want to tell you how much I like your lcf posts they're super helpful and fun! I was wondering if you can tell some infos about choi han, his wiki is tragically short and there's no many information there which is kinda ironic considering he's the "og protagonist" and is a major character. Do you by any chance have any idea about what era of Korea he came from and maybe the kind of uniform used that time?

In order to answer the question, "when Choi Han was born?", we must start with his family. And to do that, we must begin with our actual main character; Kim Rok Soo. When exactly was he born? We get a very decent clue right away:

"It was a typical day off. It had been a while since he had read an actual book instead of on his phone, so he went to the library to check out some books." –EAP translation of TCF Chapter 1

"It started as a typical day off. He hadn't leafed through a physical book in a while, what with how often he read on his phone, so he went to a book rental shop to borrow some." –Official translation of LCF Chapter 1

Both versions state pretty much the sam thing. We can conclude three things:

Smartphones and e-books were popular in Korea by the time the present happened, since Kim Rok Soo was used to them.

Because we have to take into account the Monster Invasion of Earth 1, e-books had to gain popularity BEFORE it initially happened, since after that point humanity would be mainly focusing on rebuilding, both in the physical and social way. I doubt e-books would be a priority for humanity to develop afterwards, so they had to be invented AND popular before that point.

Since Kim Rok Soo was poor before "the cataclysm", him being a college student with multiple part-time jobs on top of being an orphan… It would be wise to consider whether there was a time in Korea where electronic devices became a part of college scholarships. Because he couldn't possibly afford them on his own, so he definitely got used to them through a funded scholarship program.

According to my online research, the use of electronic devices in colleges was already underway by 2010, when smartphones were already widespread and common technology. I think this is a good starting point for our timeline: by the time Kim Rok Soo was 20, the state of technology of Earth 1 was at least comparable to what we had in 2010. This is our "earliest" starting point.

Our "latest" point should probably be in 2018, when the author of the series first started posting in Korean on Munpia. Because while this story does technically take place 16 years in the future, it is a surprise twist which gets revealed much later on; at the beginning, the readers are under the assumption that Kim Rok Soo is "a regular guy from a regular South Korea".

So: Kim Rok Soo was born somewhere between 1990 and 1998. This means Choi Jung Soo was also born between 1990 and 1998, because they were the exact same age.

Choi Jung Soo is Choi Han's paternal cousin/nephew once removed. In other words, Choi Han had a brother, who had a son, who then had Choi Jung Soo. So generation-wise, Choi Han should be around the age of Choi Jun Soo's grandfather.

Grandfathers generally have to be at least 30 years older than their grandchildren. Once again, according to online research, the average age gap between grandparents and their grandkids in Korea should be 59 years. So between 30 and 60 years sounds about right.

That means that the earliest age of Choi Han we should be considering should place his birth around year 1930, and at latest 1968 – let's round it up to 1970 for simplification. Then Choi Han transmigrated at the age of 17 (I heard once that Koreans measure their years differently or something so he should actually be 16 but whatever; one year makes little difference here), so around 1947, to 1987 at latest possible date.

If we take earlier numbers into account – Choi Han being born in 1930 and transmigrating in 1947, what historical era was it? World War II era, obviously, and Korea was under Japanese colonial rule (1910–1945), so it probably wasn't such a great time. Luckily Choi Han was too young to get drafted into military, as the minimum age was exactly 17.

Then, what about the technology?

Most Koreans were involved in agriculture or low-level labor under the colonial regime, and Korean children were given substandard education, with no focus on technology use. Their society only had access to basic mechanical and electrical technologies, such as typewriters and factory machinery. Phone already existed, but were limited to landline, and more common in government offices than households – mostly exclusive to the upper Korean class citizens and elite Japanese residents. So the Choi family definitely did not have them. Between 1930 and 1970, cars were a luxury or rarity, with domestic car production only kicking off in the mid-1960s; so no cars for the Chois either. First public TV broadcast in South Korea happened in 1956, so they did not have TVs just yet either. Computers did not enter the stage until mid-to-late 1940s, and were only in use in military and research settings in countries like the USA and Great Britain. The internet came in only in the late 1960s in the USA, so Choi Han definitely never witnessed it, much less used it. South Korea's true technological development began in earnest during the late 1960s to 1970s, and accelerated through the 1980s and 1990s – so Choi Han could have witnessed some of it, but not all that much. Not with him and his family living in a peaceful countryside.

So, uh… we gotta face it guys… no matter of how much of a "modern" person Choi Han was as a transmigrator… he was actually kind of a peasant? Like, a legitimate one?? He could read of course, but his family DEFINITELY consisted of farmers, no matter if they could swing a sword or not.

I did not expect this when I began researching this topic hahaha!

No disrespect to farmers of course (that would be hypocritical of me), but like… no WONDER Choi Han had such a rough time in the Sealed God's Temple Test of Indignity! Imagine, this guy must have felt like on another planet!! (Well it literally was lmao) He made a jump from a war colonial era or post-war recovery era countryside, to the 21st century modern city and an office job! Man, I feel so bad for him. And his realization that he had no place on modern Earth make so much sense. I would have felt the exact same way in his shoes; Roan Kingdom medieval style must have felt more like Korea to him than the actual Korea.

As for the part of the question regarding school uniforms…

Not everyone was able to afford uniforms in Korea back then, due to obvious financial constraints, so many children did not have "real" uniforms and wore simple, handmade, second-hand stuff instead. But generally, what was considered Korean school uniforms for boys at the time was based on Western-style military: blazers, pants, high collars, neckties, buttons, caps et cetera. They were commonly navy or dark blue, with occasional gray maybe? Only after the war some USA influences came in, like turning the pants into shorts and overall making the uniform less soldier-like and strict.

So if you are looking for inspiration for fanart to draw Choi Han in accurate Korean-style school uniform from his time period, something that looks like a dark blue navy uniform is probably your best bet.

Wow, this was an expected dive into South Korea's history! I learned a lot. I hope you found this helpful at well!

[honeyspeeches]

Thinking about Keith’s flashbacks with the context of him becoming leader again and knowing the MFE focused scenes were added in… could it be possible that Keith actually punched Lance, not James? Or the punch replaced a Klance fight? I have no proof of this, but it could explain odd placement and missing cadets if they changed the lineup to add James. (+ James face in the split screen looks different than the others. it's more detailed than even Keith and way bigger? it just stands out so much) 

We never learned how the rivalry started, only Lance saying they were neck and neck, and the flashback shows Keith knocking Lance’s plane out of formation, not James. Other than everyone getting scolded I’m not sure what James would single Keith out for? Also a lot of stuff Lance said about Keith in s1 was just assuming the worst / that he would choose violence first. 

If it was the case that Keith punched/fought Lance (and forgot lol), that would have set the precedent for him assuming Keith would shoot first ask questions later. (Honestly I don’t see Lance saying the same line as James, I doubt he would throw dead parents in Keith’s face just because he rammed his plane but idk)

Using s7 to establish how they started vs where they ended up in s8 (sunset scene/endgame) would have been interesting. We’d finally have context for how much the lion switch era meant to both of them too. Idk what i’m saying, this may as well be a headcanon, but it crossed my mind and I’d love to know if you had any thoughts 

Thanks for your ask anon! It’s easiest for me to answer this by breaking it down point by point so bare with me for a sec haha

“Knowing the MFE focused scenes were added in… [...] (+ James face in the split screen looks different than the others. it's more detailed than even Keith and way bigger? it just stands out so much)”

I don’t think the MFE scenes were added in post/mid-production because all of their scenes are in style and they flow pretty well with the storyline. This podcast with Zehra Fezal (the voice actor for Rizavi) also tells us that they already did the voice casting for the MFEs a little bit after the release of season 2 (05:03, she says Spring 2017 specifically, which also confirms my timeline in the analysis) and she stated that she thought she was going to be in season 3 (which would just be crazy I mean season three released a couple months after the casting call like they would NOT have had enough time to produce that properly if that was the case as we’ve already seen).

So, the MFEs were always going to be a part of season 7, however, their presence was probably increased because the executives saw this as an opportunity to create a spin-off show with them. Typically in animation, the design of a character comes first along with their story and it is first AFTER their character is developed as well as their role in the story that they start casting (see the art of ATLA for a lot of details in producing an animated show). So the MFEs have been a part of the project for a long time, but I think the feedback they received for approvals included that they should use the MFEs as an opportunity for a spin-off show (again, this was wayyyy before the reception for all the rest of the seasons; I think they had a lot of high hopes), and it was most likely an early enough feedback for them to develop scenes for them. Again, I haven’t found any of the MFE scenes to be out of style or suspected of being added in last minute. I think James’ split view in s7e1 is bigger because they wanted to emphasize him as an important character.

“Could it be possible that Keith actually punched Lance, not James? Or the punch replaced a Klance fight?”

No, I don’t think so. Speaking just generally, when you write a convincing romance between two love interests you don’t want to associate violence with them. Keith punching Lance would speak massively against any potential romance they would have (which we know they aimed for).

Keith was always supposed to punch James, because it was meant to emphasise the contrast between their dynamics. In Voltron is a Love Story, I establish that Keith and Allura are foiled against each other to emphasise points of contrasts in their dynamic with Lance. Allura always rejects Lance but Keith is always receptive of him. Allura doesn't love Lance but Keith does. Well, that was when Lance was the main character, but in season 7, Keith is the main character, and Lance is the one who gets a foil (again, switching their roles as I said here and here).

In my very first analysis I pointed out how Keith’s dynamic with James is weirdly similar to his dynamic with Lance. At the time I thought that this was the creators' attempt at a do-over, because I thought they didn’t like Lance, but that’s not true as it turns out, since both LM AND JDS have spoken out to say that Lance is their favorite character (here, here and here). And if I’m going to do this in good faith, I need to not assume anything in bad faith. All I can do is observe and draw conclusions based on what I see. And what I see is a character who is very like Lance in many ways: 

Both want to be (fighter) pilots:

both are jealous of Keith’s skills (though even their jealousy is contrasted. James denies Keith's skills, but Lance doesn't, rather he wants to live up to it)

both get crushes on girls…

both look up a lot to Shiro

both have short brown hair and similar appearance, 

both had conflicts with Keith (though Keith never got violent with Lance… and Lance never insulted Keith’s parents) 

and like Lance, the rest of James' MFE crew is introduced through him. 

James is introduced first, then everyone else is introduced after him, named by Iverson, as members of his squadron:

James is a direct foil to Lance to emphasise the contrast between their dynamics. James looks down on Keith, but Lance admires him (which I also established in Voltron is a Love Story). James doesn't love Keith, but Lance does.

"We never learned how the rivalry started, only Lance saying they were neck and neck"

We do learn how the rivalry started. It started here:

[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron, 04:55]

As I said in Voltron is a Love Story, Iverson is breeding Lance's animosity towards Keith and fueling his already present insecurities by comparing him directly to Keith and calling him a failure. We all know that the "rivalry" was one-sided, which means that Lance wants to paint this picture that he was somehow on equal footing with Keith this entire time. But we know this isn't true, because they weren't even on the same track until Keith gets booted. That is why Keith doesn't remember him, because he was never competition for Keith. Lance saying that they were "neck and neck" is purely his bravado talking, because he wants it to be true.

"and the flashback shows Keith knocking Lance’s plane out of formation, not James. Other than everyone getting scolded I’m not sure what James would single Keith out for?"

James singles Keith out because he doesn't think Keith deserves the spot in the program. James is an overachiever, and seems to want to succeed very badly, putting a lot of effort in his skills. He is very jealous by all of the attention that Keith gets based on his raw talent, because he feels that it is a slight against all of his hard work, which is emphasised by this:

[Season 7, Episode 1: A Little Adventure, 10:44]

Basically he's saying that Keith never would have made it if Shiro hadn't called in a favor and gotten him in, implying that he doesn't think Keith is good enough to be there.

But Lance doesn't think this. He's never thought badly about Keith's skills, again because he admires Keith a lot, which is why he emulates Keith's flying style after the incident that you're talking about

[Season 1, Episode 1: The Rise of Voltron ; Season 7, Episode 1: A Little Adventure]

and he calls him cool in season 2:

[Season 2, Episode 10: Escape From Beta Traz, 13:49]

"Also a lot of stuff Lance said about Keith in s1 was just assuming the worst / that he would choose violence first. If it was the case that Keith punched/fought Lance (and forgot lol), that would have set the precedent for him assuming Keith would shoot first ask questions later."

well... the only time he actually says anything like that is here:

[Season 2, Episode 8: The Blade of Marmora, 03:53]

but he says this after having witnessed Keith in battle, where he is impulsive and doesn't think things through:

[Season 1, Episode 3: Return of the Gladiator, 05:03]

[Season 1, Episode 7: Return of the Balmera, 07:26]

[Season 1, Episode 10: Collection and Extraction, 10:17]

Lance's point with that wasn't that Keith is violent, it was that Keith is impulsive and a bit of a hothead. When they're trying to build an alliance, he's not the one you'd want to speak for your case, because his temper easily rises. Lance is making a very good point, to the point that even Keith is kinda looking like, "uhhh, he's right."

Lance doesn't assume the worst of him, he's merely pointing out a pattern of behaviour that they have all witnessed at this point. Again, Lance admires Keith a lot and two episodes after this he calls him cool with a very fond look on his face, so he definitely doesn't think the worst of him.

"Using s7 to establish how they started vs where they ended up in s8 (sunset scene/endgame) would have been interesting. We’d finally have context for how much the lion switch era meant to both of them too."

I think we were definitely meant to see more of Lance’s dynamic with Keith back then, to further emphasize the contrast between him and James, but as I found in my last analysis, Lance was cut out of a lot of flashbacks (not just Keith’s). That’s why he’s missing in the flashback from episode one, cause it was most likely meant to further inform on their dynamic now, as you say. My best guess would be that either he tells James to knock it off or he reacts to their fight in a way that was meant to be explored in the other flashbacks as well, but I can't say that for sure.

As for the lion swap, we already have context from the first two seasons. The first two seasons are meant to build up to that moment in season 3. We see several times that Lance struggles with his confidence, and we also see several times Keith's struggle to work in a team and connecting with other people besides Shiro. Season 3 was meant to be the start of Lance and Keith's relationship changing exponentially (for the better), had Shiro stayed dead.

I hope I've clarified some things!<3

[caldera1000-7]

Yet another BSD thought dump from when someone asked my thoughts about the leaders of the PM and ADA along with the generations of duos. (Skk etc.)

Some extra context of the ramble ahead: I was asked an opinion about how the first generation (or the Fukuzawa and Mori one anyways) ended up leading the factions and the others don't seem to be going that same route. The way the person mentioned it made me think of it going from King, to Knight, to Pawn. I think the way Asagiri was handling it, when we see Fukuzawa and Mori in our current story/timeline in BSD - they are already like leaders. We did not really see (besides the Untold Origins giving us more to see) a full development of their story exactly leading towards that, and it is easier and better to write them that way where we see bits of their past since they are not the main character/s although they are important. For Chuuya and Dazai, you could say we saw them get the idea and end up reaching the ranks of being Port Mafia Executives, and again the same reason as the last one. Mori is still leading, Chuuya does not seem interested in getting there. Dazai also does not look like someone who would take on the leading role for the ADA, and Fukuzawa is still there (well, forgetting the current Manga mess.) As for ages, I do not think that has to do with it exactly, mostly considering Chuuya and Dazai (Dazai known as the youngest PM Executive etc.) Kunikida is more suited as mentioned in the story. With Atsushi and Akutagawa, we also get a different perspective and better understanding of their characters through how they are shown as pawns which just could not be done if any of the other duo/generations were there currently. It also shows us that to be strong or have something to fight for and a reason in life you don't have to just be a leader, but follow what is true to you or what you decide - even if there are others giving orders, without becoming a complete pawn like Tachihara. It is just better if nothing gets passed down the generations this way, especially considering it was meant for "protection" than just leading.

Both factions have the intent of protecting, or helping, the people of Yokohama - even if not everyone can be saved. This latest generation, however Dazai may of imagined them working together for the best of Yokohama, had a very bad start and many flaws onto each other as well as ways they can better each other as people and in strength/strategy not for leading any of the specific groups. They both also need working on their intentions, which is far off from any leader-like qualities or ever really becoming such at least from what we see now. Atsushi has his kindness and will to save others in front of his eyes, yet has the reason more centered of selfishness deeper within (as well as his own other selfish aspects which is for talking about another day) - and Akutagawa has his goals and selfishness in front of his eyes, but keeps everything else of protection or wanting to give people value more deeper within, so like the opposite of how Atsushi does it in a way. And without having everything set with their characters they may never, or at least not in a long time ever become leaders (very unlikely.) Akutagawa also does not possess an outright care for Yokohama the way Mori does, and Atsushi does not have what it takes for helping people the way Fukuzawa does or making difficult decisions ("I'll give you 5 minutes to decide-" flashbacks though we do know Atsushi was pushed mentally into a corner in that tough time).

But that is just what came to mind on them being leaders or it being fitting for the story at any point or not. Either way, whether using others as weapons, or being the weapons themselves wielded or not - its purpose all needed to have the same core value or belief in protection regardless their status as a leader or a pawn.

And somehow I ended up thinking about this scene. (My mind is in a constant state of Akutagawa worship and thoughts, I cannot be blamed here.)