#what is Haggar's ultimate plan?

[galraluver]

This fic is the fifth and final part of this post

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During an archeological trip in Egypt a young woman named (Y/n) (L/n) was getting herself ready for the day in her tent; the group she was with was there to study hieroglyphics in the pyramids which she enjoyed quite a bit. She'd studied ancient Egyptian culture in college and actually getting to see hieroglyphics was a dream come true for her. There wasn't much to do near the site that day since the rest of her crew went to the nearest town to get food and supplies, meaning she would finally have some alone time for a while because she was put in charge of keeping an eye on everything. One camel had been left behind in case something happened, that way she could go get help or escape. After feeding the camel and giving her some water (Y/n) planned on watching some episodes of Voltron Legendary Defender she'd downloaded, it was her guilty pleasure.

Her ultimate favorite character in the series was Gyrgan, the original yellow paladin; he seemed like a great guy and he had a sense of humor, if (Y/n) could meet a man like him then she'd definitely consider marrying said man. Being out on an archeological trip didn't really give her time for dating, not that it would do any good since hardly anyone showed any real interest in her. (Y/n) made sure to put plenty of sunscreen on before she went outside, not wanting to risk catching skin cancer from being out in the heat for too long. She fed the camel who was waiting in a temporary stable, gave her water and spent time with her since she enjoyed receiving affection. After spending time with the camel (Y/n) went back to her tent and turned her phone on, quickly navigating to her downloaded videos so she could watch the episodes of Voltron since there wasn't an internet signal.

She was on season eight, the final season and there were a couple of episodes that included Gyrgan; she thought the series would have been better if he had more screen time, unfortunately he didn't and finding fanfics where Gyrgan was the main character were rare. About halfway through the second episode of season eight (Y/n) noticed how the wind outside seemed to be picking up, if a sandstorm was coming then she would take the proper precautions and get to safety. A crack of what she thought was lightning seemingly above her tent startled (Y/n), it wasn't often lightning storms showed up out of the blue like the one outside did. It wasn't a storm, though; what was going on outside was a phenomenon that never happened in the real world because there was another factor at play. (Y/n) tried not to worry too much when the wind blew faster outside or when the lightning continued to crack loudly in the sky, she'd definitely never heard a storm like it, anywhere.

While the young woman remained in her large tent something amazing yet frightening was going on outside, a portal had opened up in the sky during a certain battle that took place in an alternate reality. The remaining four paladins of Voltron were fighting off Zarkon and Haggar who came back from the dead and intended on getting revenge for the destruction of Daibazaal. During the fierce battle Haggar opened up a one way portal and sent a certain paladin through, not even she knew where he would end up. The storm in the real world only got worse before it started to get better and not until the paladin, Gyrgan, had been sent through the portal and landed on the sandy ground outside before getting partially covered with more sand. After the portal in the sky disappeared the storm slowly dissipated, only leaving minimal damage behind.

(Y/n) had paused the video on her phone when the storm outside started getting bad, ready to go out and do what she had to, although she was confused when the wind died down and the lightning stopped. She waited for a while before she put her phone down and put her boots on, ready to go see what got damaged during the very unusual storm. Thankfully there wasn't very much damage to anything where she and her group were camped out, although then she spotted a strange lump partially buried in the sand several feet away; she couldn't tell if something got unearthed or if the lump was a person, so naturally she went to go check it out. Upon landing on the ground after being sent through the portal Gyrgan went unconscious, the large man completely unaware of where he'd been sent. As (Y/n) got closer and saw who was laying on the ground she gasped in disbelief; there was no way he could be there, but when she knelt next to the armor-clad yellow paladin and felt him she knew that she wasn't going crazy.

"No way. How did you get here? Did you come here during that storm? Hold on, let me get you to my tent." (Y/n) spoke frantically when she saw that Gyrgan, the original yellow paladin, was laying in the sand; she quickly dusted him off with her hands so she could somehow get him to her tent.

Gyrgan couldn't give her an answer, of course, because he was unconscious, although he could still hear her. (Y/n) knew that she had to hide him in her tent so no one else would find out about him, if any government found out that a very large alien man fell through a mysterious portal then they would want to take him apart and study him. Dragging Gyrgan back to her tent wasn't as easy as (Y/n) thought it would be, he was huge compared to a human which meant he was far heavier as well; since he was unconscious anyway she rolled him the whole way, she would tend to his injuries once she had him in her temporary home. She could hardly believe Gyrgan was in the real world, (Y/n) didn't know how such a thing was possible but she had a feeling it had something to do with the storm that came out of nowhere and went away soon after. Until he woke up (Y/n) would make a comfortable bed for him to sleep on and get something for him to eat.

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(Y/n) knew that the rest of her crew wouldn't be gone forever and she hoped Gyrgan would wake up before they came back, otherwise there would be the risk of them actually finding out about him. While the large man was unconscious she took the opportunity to remove his helmet and the upper part of his armor, only unzipping his bodysuit halfway so she could check him for any injuries. There were only a few bruises on his torso which was lucky, especially since his armor cracked during the fall, although he had a cut on the left side of his head that she cleaned and bandaged so that it wouldn't get infected. (Y/n) rezipped Gyrgan's bodysuit so that when he woke up he wouldn't think anything suspicious happened, but she didn't zip it up before admiring his muscular torso. The large rygnirathian man wasn't handsome by the usual human standards, but (Y/n) personally thought he was the most handsome man she'd ever laid eyes on.

(Y/n) wasn't entirely sure how much time passed since she brought Gyrgan to her tent, but at some point he finally started to wake up. She had a cup of water ready for him and she had a bag/box with her favorite snack in it, she didn't mind sharing it with him. After what he'd been through in his universe Gyrgan was surprised to find himself in what looked like a tent; one minute he was fighting against Zarkon and Haggar and then the next he'd been sent through a portal. Gyrgan looked around the homey tent and his gaze ended up on (Y/n), he felt even more confused when he saw her. (Y/n) smiled softly at him when he looked at her, hoping that she didn't come off as threatening.

"By Willow, what- What happened?" Gyrgan groaned when he attempted to sit up only to end up feeling dizzy, feeling the bandage on his head when he touched it.

"I'm not exactly sure what happened before, but I found you laying outside, partially covered with sand. I'm (Y/n), by the way." (Y/n) replied to the best of her ability, introducing herself first so he knew her name.

"The last thing I remember is being shoved through a portal. My name is Gyrgan." Gyrgan responded in confusion prior to introducing himself, even though she already knew who he was.

"A portal? That must have been that storm earlier." (Y/n) said mostly to herself in realization, it only made sense for him to have come from a portal, one of which sounded like a storm to someone who didn't look outside.

Gyrgan didn't know what to think or how to feel, he'd been transported to an alternate reality with no way back, he felt as though he abandoned his friends when they needed him most even though he didn't exactly have a say in the matter. (Y/n) offered him the food and water and he graciously accepted them, he wasn't too hungry or thirsty during that moment in particular, but he didn't want to seem rude. He drank all of the water and ate some of the (F/s) from the bag/box, leaving the rest for his kind hostess who went out of her way to take care of him. They sat in silence for a while since there was a lot to think about, Gyrgan could never return to where he came from and it was a lot for him to take in. He didn't know what dangers the reality he found himself in had, although he tried not to think about it too much so that he wouldn't stress himself out.

"I know that this is a lot to take in, but you can live with me if you want." (Y/n) said after a few minutes, offering Gyrgan a place to stay since he didn't have anywhere else to go; it would be an adjustment, but she couldn't just not give him a place to live.

"That's very kind of you, thank you." Gyrgan thanked (Y/n) for her kindness; he couldn't go home and she seemed nice, he knew that she would keep him safe.

(Y/n) smiled at him, happy that he accepted her offer for him to come live with her in her own home, although until then she would have to keep him secret from her crew. She began telling him about where they were and what she was doing there in the first place, he seemed to enjoy hearing about the things she'd learned thus far. Gyrgan thought her research sounded interesting and occasionally asked questions when he thought something was particularly interesting, he'd never met an archaeologist like her before. After (Y/n) finished telling him a little about herself and her job Gyrgan told her about him being the yellow paladin and some of the adventures he had, ones that were never shown in Voltron. (Y/n) eventually told him about how she knew him, luckily he took it well and they had a great time talking to each other.

[vultruntrash]

The Plan

Hey, yo, been a hot minute eh?

Me? Hyperfixations and work. Not Voltron related.

What IS Voltron related, however, is some ideas I've been having.

I still have all of my research notes from back during the binge sessions, as well as the timeline and canon event logs. Still waiting on the dvd release for seasons 7 and 8, but at this point, I'm just assuming that's not going to happen; which makes me sad because dvd releases would have more goodies to look through (And I like my dvd goodies)

So, what's The Plan?

I haven't gotten anything in a document yet, they're all still disjointed scenes floating around in my head. It's essentially a rewrite. A script, moreover, honouring the showrunner's ultimate decisions in the series and justifying them with character growth and development. With some notable changes. And some expanded explanations of included elements.

Zarkon still dies. The first time. The Robo-version is a corpse puppet.

Allura and Lance still end up together. And it's believable.

Shiro still retires. And gets together with whatshisbucket, but doesn't marry yet.

Keith still comes into his own as a leader.

Lance grows as a Second, and starts taking others, and himself, more seriously.

Pidge is still a gremlin and Hunk is still a cinnamon roll.

Some of the more notable changes I'm planning out are actually some of the more important instances of the series that I feel could have been handled much better than they had been.

Allura's apology, for one, is an actual apology; and is moved to much later in the series to after Shiro's disappearance. It's a quiet moment, with nothing on the line, and most importantly it's something she does on her own.

Keith's decision to leave Voltron to work with the Blades of Marmora is related to how weird Kuron is acting. Keith knows something is up, but he doesn't know what, but he DOES know that he's more likely to find out working with the Blades. The private conversation with Lance is still originally Lance wanting to give up being a Paladin, but becomes Keith revealing his suspicions and asking Lance to watch over everyone and keep them safe while he's gone.

The Zarkon Fight at the end of season one has more thematic appropriateness, added to later when the team is attempting to get back to earth as soon as possible and go one that "vision quest" to unlock ftl travel. The 'fight your predecessor' scenes are going to be added in as the Paladins are being submitted to a final trial before officially achieving full control of their lions.

Adding on to that, the fight at the end with Haggar is not a multiverse-traversing mess, but a "battle in the center of the mind" that ultimately ends with Allura sealing herself and Haggar together until one of them is defeated. This is done with the knowledge that, regardless of who wins, there's not really a way to escape.

Spoiler alert: Allura wins. And escapes. And finds her way to the Paladins somehow. How? Something something Altean Magic, idk.

The final change I wanted to talk about is at the very end of the series. When the Lions reactivate and leave the planet, the Paladins are piloting this time. This is to symbolize that, though the conflict is over, their job is still not done. They've earned their place as the Paladins of Voltron, and in doing so have vowed to defend the universe from any that wish to harm it's inhabitants.

So, it's a lot, right? It's a lot.

I make no promises if or when anything will be written, but after seeing the reblog about how quickly it came and went, it makes a little more sense why things were the way they were and it continues to leave a bad taste in my mouth to know that. So I wanted to share the plans I've been very slowly chipping away at for a while now. I've got enough on my plate between work, my comic, my other fics, and commissions, that Voltron hasn't really been a priority.

I'll try to start writing things down and post snippets now and then, but do bear in mind that this isn't a full fic, or a narrative, or a webcomic. It's a script. Written with the full intention of taking pre-existing clips and rearranging them to match. Complete with scene calls, expression and read notations, and a sound track.

So forgive me for being reluctant to want to dive right in

[thelonghairedone]

Voltron livebloging further continued

Like Keith’s “oh shit” face when he comes out of the portal seeing all the galra warships. Also him just sticking the black lion’s head through the warship “HEERRESS KEEEITH!”

The generals are calling Haggar, Honerva now? Interesting

The long awaited mother-son reunion happens. Looks like Lotor DOES know Haggar is his mother, its just the whole considers her pre and post death to be different people. Though Lotor, you didn’t even KNOW your mother before she died, why are you talking like she did?

Haggar tells her son how proud she is of his unethical experiments and discoveries. Awwwww

Lotor doesn’t really care to hear that though and Haggar has to teleport away

Seriously, what exactly is Haggar’s long term aims here? I wanna know

yeah frankly dealing in anyting involving the rift is probably a bad idea. Its good to destroy it

As it turns out, the clone theory was right. I had actually been on the side of s3 Shiro being the OG Shiro, but irregardless I will still stick up for clone!Shiro who is not evil, just mind-controlled

Imagine if the place did not end up blowing up and Keith brought back like.....a hundred clone Shiros with him

The shennigans that could ensue

The creators of this show must have really liked the second Captain America movie. Looks like removing the arm removes the corruption. And Keith gets his cheek stripe he had in that one preview picture.

Looks like the “OG Shiro is in the astral plane” theory is also true. I suppose that is the thing with being in a fandom when consuming a media. Inneviably, the fans are going to predict some things right.

So uh, is his physcial body gone then? how? I guess he is sort of alive, or at least his consciousness is? Bring him back to the physcial world too! He and his clone can be cool twins! Come on Voltron writers

At least Clone Shiro survived. Good Black Lion

Also young Keith is cute. And I like seeing Shiro in that black leather jacket. Its a good look

Lotor, your sanity is uh....slipping a bit. The three generals see the writing on the wall and get the fuck out. Can appreciate their survival instincts. Glad they weren’t killed.

Coran creates a homemade bomb with his gramp’s very aged alcohol (er nunvil). Altean alcohol must be VERY potent

Looks like it is gearing up for a big mecha fight

There has sure been alot of dramatic shit dropped this season and I am not sure how I feel about it

[headspacedad]

Was fic planning and realized that Shiro ought to have an issue with being put on a stage (or in an arena) for the entertainment of others. Like, Shiro having a specific trigger about being used to draw a crowd, a reminder of his time as the Champion, and how The Voltron Show could be a way for him to not only realize this but also reconcile it as another new aspect of himself, ultimately turning it into something good on his own terms and in defiance of the empire

One of the first and main continuing problems with VLD was the way it pretty much refused to deal with any of the trauma it inflicted on its characters. I remember when Keith tried to drive his ship into Haggar's to take down her shield and save his team in a season finale and a lot of fans were frothing because they couldn't wait for the team to hear about it and for Keith to deal with that. And I just shook my head because by that point we already knew the writing team wasn't interested in dealing with the emotional repercussions of any of the things its characters did. Even the first two seasons that I thought were well written dodged a lot of those moments. It only got worse as the seasons went on and the writing cared less and less about pretending it gave a shit. To the point it actually erased Shiro's PTSD with the EPs literally saying he was cured.

What I'm saying is yeah - that really should have been a trigger for him (and Jiro since they're sharing memories). I remember some of the fandom pointed that out when the 'Voltron Show' got released and then later on when Shiro was arm wrestling aliens in an area surrounded by cheering crowds. Something in all of that should have been at the least uncomfortable for him and much more likely a very traumatic reminder of times he only barely remembered or flat out didn't with the conscious part of his brain. It would have been a great opportunity for the team to support him and bond with him - but - VLD writers, amirite?

I would honestly LOVE to read a fic that used that whole incident as the building block for healing and dealing with some of the hidden scars, especially if there was team support (and acknowledgement of Shiro's trauma included). Shiro - and Jiro if he'd been allowed - was all about using what the Galra had done to him for a higher purpose than they'd intended and using it to fight back. That's a wonderful idea for a fic! I would read the heck out of it and I'm sure I'm not the only one! Sign me onboard for when you post it because I will be there with bells on!

Its what he (they) deserve. Its what we do too.

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

I was wondering if you have some dad Lotor headcanons? Just random nothing specific. I’ve just been craving for Lotor being the best father :)

Hi, anon! Thanks for the note! Ahhh I love Lotor going all soft over being a dad. Some headcanons I have:

Because of his own family past, Lotor doesn’t plan to become a father. But when it happens, his entire brain rewires with Dad Instinct. 

He immediately intends to give his child the best possible life they can have. Anything Lotor was deprived of, baby is gonna get.

Lotor intentionally shields baby from the public eye, but he still takes baby to internal conference meetings. Baby babbles and nom noms on Lotor’s hair as he gives dramatic speeches to his generals.

Lotor’s greatest stress is not always knowing what baby needs when they cry. So catch Lotor teaching baby some sign language so that baby can tell him exactly what’s up.

He has a very difficult time letting anyone other than Dayak hold baby.

Baby chirps at Lotor. Sometimes Lotor playfully chirps back. This makes baby giggle.

Lotor is used to not sleeping, so being kept awake at night by a crying baby isn’t really different from his usual sleep deprivation a;sdfjsa

Lotor gets clothes for baby that match his usual blue and orange and gray armor.

Kova is an honorary babysitter and watches over baby when Lotor can’t be there. Kova is very protective.

Lotor has recorded an intergalactic broadcast with baby spit in his hair and a rattle waving at the bottom of the screen. No one dared to say anything about it.

Lotor has a tendency to check the cradle often at night to make sure baby is still okay and safely asleep. Baby means more to him than he could have possibly imagined, so he can’t lose baby for any reason. 

Sometimes, he worries about Haggar/Honerva reappearing and stealing away baby.

It’s very difficult for Lotor to say “no” to baby, but he knows sometimes it’s for the best, even if baby throws a tantrum over it.

Lotor has always wanted to explore the universe. It’s emotionally difficult for him to be away from his family for long, so he looks forward to the day that he can safely take baby exploring with him.

Being a father makes Lotor more merciful/patient with some people, but if anyone threatens or says anything negative about baby, he’s absolutely cutthroat. Some enemies think baby is Lotor’s ultimate weakness, but most people are too scared of what he’d do if they ever tried to hold that against him.

Lotor doesn’t know any lullabies or children’s stories, besides a few he found in Altean texts. He has to do research to find Galran lullabies too. His research on occasion has included interviewing some bewildered, average citizens across various planets.

Lotor brings back a gift he bought for baby from every planet he visits.

Lotor loves to hear baby laugh and giggle and hopes that baby can enjoy life as they get older too.

Lotor realizes he might have a problem when he discovers baby is purring and meowing to Kova instead of learning words a;lsdfjas

Thanks for the ask!

[rueitae]

Writing Roundup 2020

This is a writing reflection I’ve been doing for myself every year for the last four years. Its a positive boost to myself see how far I’ve come and look back on my progress for the past year and look forward to the new year. 

Everyone is welcome to use this same format if they’d like to do the same! 

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Stats:

Words written:

330,000, which is nearly half of all the words I’ve written on Ao3 in the last three years. 

One Shots Posted (all fics plance unless otherwise stated):

In the Arms of the Ever(pink?) Tree (4463 words)

For the Plance Secret Santa exchange. Post s8 date/not date on a snowy moon. Love confession. 

Birthday Treats (2129 words)

For Pidge’s birthday this year! Domestic family fluff, breakfast in bed, plance kids.

Begin Again (Together) (4805 words)

Canon divergence from before episode one! Pidge and Lance are established dating when alien intervention brings them to where they are supposed to be: with the Blue Lion. Just a brief look into what the AU would look like. 

Common Ground (4521 words)

A treat for my friends who introduced me to Magic Knight Rayearth and pointed out some fun character parallels. There is this beautiful art Arya made to go with it because we’re all trash for both series. Plance meet up with Fuu and Ferio post series for both couples. 

Bonded To You (1808 words)

For the Langstron Halloween Exchange! Established plance with a baby Lance is trying to keep safe from a witch who would take advantage of the child’s heritage. 

It Tasted Good (6785 words)

Pikelavar for Pikelavar Month! The premise is crack, but it's mostly treated seriously. Pike ate the Jewel of Jitan by accident and doesn’t realize it until Haggar finds them. Meklavar gets Protective.

The Remainder of Days (3188 words)

Part of my Bad Things Happen Bingo. Fantasy AU where Pidge is a minor forest goddess and Lance is her neighbor mortal farmer. 

I Love You a Lily More Each Day (3232 words)

Another of the Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon compliant where Lance is undercover at a flower shop and knee deep in an illegal smuggling operation. 

Lease on Life (4978 words)

This one was also part of Bad Things Happen Bingo and was an experiment. It’s POV of an oldest plance kid, canon verse. Her parents’ Paladin days come back to haunt them one night. Some cute family stuff too in there. 

Ready to Dance (4135 words)

For the Valentine’s Day exchange! Post series. Lance tries to get back into the party scene and Pidge rescues him from a disastrous night. 

Loopholes (5476 words)

Technically I didn’t write this fic this year, but a very kind reader asked if I would post this to Ao3, so it was my first fic of the year on Ao3. It’s Lotura! Originally a gift for a dear friend I’ve had since elementary school. It’s a fantasy AU where Lotor stumbles into Allura’s kingdom needing help. 

Next to Me (7311 words)

Also for Bad Things Happen Bingo, this is probably one of my favorite fics of the year. This is the canon verse AU that went all wrong in s7, and Sendak succeeds in destroying Earth. Lance and Pidge end up not only his prisoners, but also two of the last humans in the universe. Ends open ended, but it became a series in the end!

Into Me (14248 words)

The sequel to the above fic. There are two versions, this and the one below. The title tells all. Lance and Pidge come to terms with their new life aboard Sendak’s flagship and do their best to keep the other comforted.

Into Me (non-explicit version) (7228 words)

Exactly the same as the fic above, only this one is SFW

Sunshine (3831 words)

A Bad Things Happen Bingo! One of my favorite concepts. Canon verse. Pidge gets sick while she and Lance are on a scientific mission. 

Showoff (635 words)

A really short fic for a friend on their birthday, featuring their plance kids!

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

A fic I have been wanting to write for a very long time. I love the concept of Pidge as a Disney Princess in the sense she has the forest guardian theme and all these animals love her. So there’s some play on that as the Paladins stop for lunch on their journey back to Earth in early s7. Lance comes to a realization and they have a chat surrounded by the animal friends. @anchoredtetherart did a phenomenal piece to accompany it. Please look at it in awe here.

The Hardest Part (3960 words)

For Bad Things Happen Bingo! An AU of the episode The Reunion where Pidge doesn’t return when she’s supposed to. 

A Planned Sacrifice (4988 words)

Another Bad Things Happen Bingo. Canon verse. Pidge assumes that being a sacrifice for the ‘forest god’ is strictly ceremonial and at worst a wild animal. It’s actually Sendak, who no one has seen since Shiro shot him out of the Castle. He remembers Pidge and is far too pleased to see her again, tied up on a silver platter. 

Almost Forgotten, but Not Gone (3946 words)

Bad Things Happen Bingo. AU sometime in s1 where Haxus isn’t as dead as Pidge thought. 

Touch (7519 words)

Written for the Lance Goes Boom bang! It was inspired by @fenixseraph ‘s amazing art here! It’s a different take on The Way Forward, where Pidge and Lance are separated from the rest of the team and placed in their own cell. And the Red Lion causes issues. 

Chaptered Fics started/added to:

Wolf In Thieves’ Clothing (4516 words)

An AU of The Castle of Cagliostro from Lupin the Third series. Lee, you have my thanks forever for making me watch this finally. Pidge is a literal princess whose kingdom is in the middle of an internal coup. Lance is a gentleman thief who rides with his best buds Hunk and Matt. Their paths are destined to cross again when Lance goes back to the castle he used to call home. 

Game of Love (4593 words)

The most crack of the bunch. AU of Fall the of the Castle of Lions where Sendak and Haxus get away with it all. Pidge and Lance are prisoners on Haxus’ new ship, and Lance finds an opportunity for eventual escape when he learns that Haxus has a crush on his second in command. Operation matchmaker begins. (happy ending planned for all)

What Tides May Bring (20704 words)

Collab with the fantastic @anchoredtetherart for MerMay! Established plance as mermaids and guardians of their elements with adorable mer child. Then angst because they are all captured by a ‘research’ institute. 

Seasons of Magic (16546 words)

I actually added a chapter this year! Ongoing collection of one-shots with mage Pidge who lives in the country and cultivates her plant magic and makes potions with the assistance of her dragon familiar, Lance. Mostly domestic fluff. 

Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words)

Added another chapter this year to my Keith-centric AU. It’s basically VLD but five years early and they’re all literally child Paladins. Keith gets to meet Krolia earlier and its fun to go into tween friendships as they try and navigate the reality of their situation. 

Seeds (48833 words)

Added a ton earlier this year. A collection of plance fics all or mostly under 500 words. All meant to be adopted by others if interest strikes. Covers many genres.

Chaptered Fics Finished:

Resolve to Fly (75799 words)

Written for the Pidge Angst Bang. My artist @alchemie0 did an outstanding job capturing the feel of the fic. Look at the art here! Canon verse AU where Pidge encounters Haxus, who has crashed on Earth. She helps him repair his ship in excitement and good faith, which he pays back by kidnapping her. For two years she survives as little more than a housepet on Sendak’s ship. Gen.

Who's Protecting Who? (28989 words)

Also technically not written this yeah, but posted. A collab with Hush waaaay back in 2018. It's a plance Altean AU with Pidge as distant royalty and Lance as a bodyguard.

A Dish Served Cold (21533 words)

Finally finished this one! Canon verse in which Pidge accidentally runs into Sendak on an isolated planet. Sendak takes advantage of this encounter and tries to return to the Empire with her in tow. Much Pidge whump. Gen

Reflections: 

Best title 

I still really really love Too Soon and Not Soon Enough (11438 words). Because it's too soon for the Paladins to be Paladins, and for Keith it's not nearly soon enough for Krolia to return. It just feels like it has a lot of heart to it. I hope I can keep it going, but my ideas are incredibly scattered for it. 

Worst title 

Touch (7519 words). Yeah it’s a play on ‘Don’t you touch her’ but it feels soooo dry. 

Best/worst last line

Best: This was really, really hard choice this year, but ultimately, making up for the terrible title, its Touch (7519 words) 

“It feels good to escape the ship with all of his teammates, secure in the knowledge that he has a way forward not just as a Paladin, but also with Pidge.” 

- Not only did I manage to fit the title of the episode in there, it's got that hopeful tinge to it and reflects on personal growth both internally and with Pidge. 

Worst: This one isn’t necessarily bad from Begin Again (Together) (4805 words), but it could be better. It didn’t get quite the epic sense I was hoping to pull from it.

“Okay,” he smirks, hand firmly on the throttle. “Operation save Earth starts now.”

Looking back, did you write more fics than you thought you would this year, less than you thought, or about what you predicted?

Definitely wrote way more. Even with posting two fic that are essentially the exact same, I still ended up writing nearly half of my total Ao3 word count this year. (330,000/670,000). Doing Bad Things Happen Bingo was a bit part of that - I was very inspired at the beginning of this year - but also there were many events I participated in (8 total!!) on top of my personal projects. 

What’s your favorite story this year? Not the most popular, but the one that makes you the happiest.

A really hard decision this year, because there are several that make me really happy. I think oddly enough though, it’s Game of Love (4593 words) because of its potential and how much crack it is. It has such whacky rom-com energy to it but also that underlying angst of the situation I can fall back on. My favorite trope to explore is what happens to the characters when they’re captured. I just really enjoy the concept and the challenge to make such a concept believable with minimal suspension of belief. 

Okay, NOW your most popular story.

Using kudos as my gauge (and not counting the chapter fics), the winner is: 

Respite of the Heart (4181 words)

Not surprising because Ivy’s art is STUNNING.

Story most underappreciated by the universe?

I think that’s It Tasted Good (6785 words), the pikelavar fic. Pikelavar is underappreciated in general

Story that could have been better?

For all I was excited to write Sunshine (3831 words), it didn’t quite fall the way I had imagined in my mind. I don’t know if it was the structure or I was running out of steam or what. All i know is that I wanted more but all I could concentrate on was that scene where he’s caring for her in bed. Maybe I was just too ambitious.

Sexiest story?

No brainer it's Into Me (14248 words). Literally. Which really shocked me that it happened. Didn’t think I’d write any smut at all, let alone this year. This particular fic just kinda called out for it 

Saddest story?

The prequel to the above fic: Next to Me (7311 words). How much more sad can you get than Earth being destroyed, being Sendak’s prisoners all while trying to tell each other ‘i love you’ without seeming weird because you’re the last humans in the universe. 

Most fun?

I think it's Ready to Dance (4135 words). Just Valentine’s fluff and impromptu slow dancing in the park at night. 

Story with single sweetest moment?

I’m picking What Tides May Bring (20704 words). Listen, mer Lance and mer Pidge playing with their mer baby in their domestic paradise is probably one of my favorite things I’ve ever written. Dad Lance has my heart. 

Hardest story to write?

The last chapter of A Dish Served Cold (21533 words) was like pulling teeth. I’m pretty happy with it in the end but at the time man it was so hard. 

Did you take any writing risks this year? What did you learn from them?

I wrote smut. It was...weird? But also strangely calming. I wrote more for another fic but it's still a WIP. I definitely need to be in the mood to write it. 

Proudest Achievement:

The Pidge Angst Bang. Resolve to Fly (75799 words). Look at that word count. I only wanted something under 3k at first, so it was just going to be Pidge meeting Haxus. But by the time I finished that part it was already 10k. So even though I was going through a rough part of my life, I just kept going and it ended up being my therapy. I’m really proud of the fic and I love my artists’ pieces. It really lifted my spirits. (You should all really go check out the Ao3 collection of all the bang stories and art they are AMAZING you won’t regret. If you love Pidge angst they are all must reads.)

What are your fic writing goals for next year?

I’d like to finish my Bad Things Happen Bingo card and then focus on my current WIP, that includes the Seeds collection. There are days I still feel a bit overwhelmed, and I’m still trying to find a routine after moving. I’d like to do more events too, but I think I need to be more selective about which ones I do. I don’t want to burn myself out. 

Apart from that, I’d really like to try and give back to the community more. I’d like to start consciously writing fics for others without an event to go by. 

Past Years:

2017

2018

2019

[violethowler]

The Greater Your Shadow Becomes

A recurring pattern in the Kingdom Hearts series is how often it misleads and misdirects us. We are told that Nobodies do not have hearts only to learn several games later that this was a lie. Our knowledge of Xehanort’s backstory has changed from one game to the next. The series itself even acknowledges its dishonesty, with the Master of Masters telling Young Xehanort that “the truth is what you see with your eyes, not what you hear[1],” while explaining that anything he says about his motivation and identity should not be trusted. 

So despite Kingdom Hearts III, Back Cover, and Union X appearing to position the Master of Masters as the next main antagonist, I remain suspicious that the role the series seems to be setting him up for will ultimately be filled by another. A big part of this has to do with the patterns I have noticed among stories that follow the Heroine’s Journey. 

In a Heroine’s Journey where there is a direct antagonist whose actions must be overcome in order to resolve the story’s conflict, that antagonist has commonly been presented as a narrative foil to either the protagonist or their Animus. In storytelling, a Foil is one character who is contrasted with another in order to highlight the other’s traits[2]. Most stories will emphasize the protagonist’s noble qualities by contrasting them with a character with similar personality traits or a similar backstory but who lacks the qualities that make the protagonist heroic. More often than not, these literary foils function as Shadow figures to the protagonist, and in many cases embody the negative elements of the story’s main themes.

For example, Gaston is put on a pedestal by the people around him as a paragon of what their society considers desirable. He’s handsome, skilled, and charismatic. Yet he constantly disrespects Belle’s agency and intelligence, not caring whether she’s willing to marry him or not. This positions him as a foil to the Beast, who is rude, monstrous, and has to learn how to perform basic tasks like eating with silverware. Despite his gruff exterior, he respects Belle’s intelligence and agency, holding her to the terms of their deal while also growing to prioritize her happiness above his own desires. 

Something that the overarching antagonists of every Heroine’s Journey I know of all have in common is that the audience is made aware of their existence very early on in the story. Their motivations may change over the course of the story, and when we learn about their goals can vary, but we generally learn of their existence before the end of the first act. 

We meet Gaston in the opening musical number of Beauty and the Beast. 

Dr. Facilier from The Princess and the Frog also makes his first appearance in the opening musical number of his film. 

President Snow gets at least a mention in the background in the first book of the Hunger Games trilogy even if Katniss doesn’t meet him face to face until the second one. 

High Priestess Haggar is introduced in the first (technically second) episode of Voltron: Legendary Defender Season 1. 

Meanwhile, the Master of Masters was only introduced near the end of Act II in the overarching narrative of Kingdom Hearts. Likewise, his goals are still unclear, in contrast to other Heroine’s Journey antagonists whose objectives are given to the audience at some point during the second act. So unless he turns out to be a familiar face under the hood, I find it unlikely that the Master of Masters will be the main antagonist of the next act. He’ll certainly play an antagonistic role, and definitely a major one, but everything I know about story structure is telling me that the “Big Bad” of the next arc is ultimately going to be someone else. 

The repeated emphasis on prophecy, fate, and destiny in Act II of the series creates a strong undercurrent of defying fate being a major theme of the final arc of the Kingdom Hearts story. Sora’s ability to connect with others has enabled him to pull off feats that should be considered impossible up to the point of rewriting the fated defeat of the Guardians of Light at the Keyblade Graveyard in Kingdom Hearts III. So it stands to reason that the main antagonist of the final act will be a character who either tries to defy fate in a negative way, or a character who does things because fate dictates it be done. 

So the major antagonist of Act III will most likely be someone who expresses the themes of fate and whether to defy or accept it in a negative way. Someone who serves as a foil to Sora. And someone who was introduced to the audience during Act I - meaning the original game, Chain of Memories, or Kingdom Hearts II. Given the amount of focus he has received since his introduction and how important Kingdom Hearts III revealed him to be in the lore of the series, there’s really only one person who qualifies: 

[Image Description: Luxu stares at the camera after taking off his hood in front of the Foretellers, revealing the face of Xigbar. End Description.]

As someone noted after the release of KH3, there are many similarities between Luxu and Sora when you sit down and think about it[3]:

Back Cover portrays Luxu as a young teen curious about the world, just like Sora. 

Much like how wanting to be with his friends is shown to be one of Sora’s major motivations, Luxu’s Secret Reports in Kingdom Hearts III portray him as wanting nothing more than to be with the people he cares about[4].

Both of them take up these cosmically significant roles with no idea of what lies ahead for them - all the pain, separation, and loss. But they cannot stop or rest and go home until they finish their task because people are counting on them. 

Where the two diverge is in their circumstances and how they reacted:

While Sora stumbled onto the mantle of a Keyblade wielder by accident and chose the responsibilities that came with his mission on his own, Luxu was given his by the Master as part of a greater purpose, and he carried out that role at his mentor’s instruction. 

Both of them hide their pain and weariness under a playful façade. 

Sora has spent his journey in the company of his friends and has relied on their support. Luxu has always been alone, relying only on himself. 

Sora holds onto his connections with others even at significant cost to himself, while Luxu casts aside his bonds and puts his mission above all else.

In addition to his narrative connections to Sora, there is also his connection to Riku as well. 

The scene where he reveals his face to the audience for the first time in Kingdom Hearts II begins with Sora initially mistaking him for Riku. 

In Kingdom Hearts III, he’s paired with Dark Riku at the Skein of Severance, a combination that stands out in contrast to the obvious narrative meanings behind the choices of the other boss groupings in the Keyblade Graveyard. 

Series producer Shinji Hasmimoto has said that Sora and Riku are the core of the story[5], so it would make sense, then, if the primary antagonist of the final act is someone with already established narrative connections to both characters. 

Tetsuya Nomura had the end of the Dark Seeker Saga outlined since Kingdom Hearts II was finishing development[6]. This indicates that everything done with Xigbar across the entire series was planned with the Luxu reveal in mind. The fact that he chose to give Xigbar such a significant part and planned it that far in advance signals that our dear Number II has a major role in the overall narrative of the series. Between the implications of the reveal setting him up as a foil for Sora and the patterns exhibited by major antagonists of other Heroine’s Journeys, I’m confident that role will likely be that of the overall villain of Act III. 

There is always the possibility that I could be wrong and that the Master of Masters will be the primary antagonist of the story’s final act. His influence of others and his writing of the Book of Prophecies appear to set him up as the author of our characters’ fates, which satisfied the narrative pattern of the antagonist reflecting the negative side of one of the story’s themes. 

However, as I said, he was introduced much later in the narrative than is common for the overarching antagonist of a Heroine's Journey. I also have my doubts that it will be that obvious, as Kingdom Hearts has pulled that kind of bait and switch before. The first game initially sets up Maleficent as the main antagonist, only for Ansem to step out of the shadows and take the stage as the Big Bad for the remainder of the game after her defeat. Given how many parallels to the first game are found throughout Kingdom Hearts III, Xigbar being unmasked as Luxu and the information that came with it in the Secret Reports have the makings of an excellent parallel to that switch on a series-wide scale.

Sources:

[1] Kingdom Hearts III Re: Mind; Square Enix; 2020. 

[2] Foil (fiction) - Wikipedia.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foil_(fiction)

[3] Galaxy Brain Take: Luxu and Sora Parallels; February 12, 2019. https://strangefellows.tumblr.com/post/182774246545/galaxy-brain-kh3-take-luxu-and-sora-parallels

[4] Kingdom Hearts III; Square Enix; 2019. (Secret Report #13: Observations, Excerpt 3)

[5] “How Kingdom Hearts III Will Grow Up With Its Players.” September 24, 2013 https://www.ign.com/articles/2013/09/25/how-kingdom-hearts-iii-will-grow-up-with-its-players.

[6] “Kingdom Hearts III Ultimania interview with Tetsuya Nomura”; March 12, 2019 https://www.khinsider.com/news/Kingdom-Hearts-3-Ultimania-Main-Nomura-Interview-Translated-14763

[naruwitch]

Code Geass: Paladins of Voltron Chapter 32: I Order You, Nonette Enneagram!

Liquid quintessence bubbled loudly in the two tanks in front of her. Both holding an occupant that Haggar took quite an interest with.

One already outfitted with several 'upgrades' including his right arm completely replaced with a prosthetic. His spirit was admirable. It was clear that he had a history with Zero and a warrior at heart. With the right push, he could be the perfect weapon for the empire. Perhaps they could put more of his people to good use once her Emperor arrived for the lions.

The other barely alive, the quintessence surrounding him likely the only reason why his heart was even still beating. He had such potential. If only he hadn't run off in his eagerness for vengeance. It was a miracle that he still had the weakest of pulses when she pulled him from the pod that had been floating aimlessly through this solar system's asteroid belt. His personality had been troublesome from the start, and the incident with the Castle was clear that that would not change. Even the gift she had given him was useless.

As of this point, there was only one final use for him, but that wouldn't be ready for a while yet.

A beeping from the monitor behind her shook her from her musing. Gliding over to it, she answered it.

On the screen, the face of her Emperor flickered to life in front of her.

"My Lord," Haggar responded, bowing her head respectfully.

"Haggar," Zarkon intoned, his eyes narrowing, "I'm growing impatient with your exploit. What progress have you had with tracking the Paladins."

Haggar nodded once, understanding that this would be a possibility. However, she did have information to give, she simply had to convince her Emperor to wait a little while longer.

"My Lord, it would seem that the Paladins have returned to their home planet, located in system X-9-Y. However," she said quickly when she saw her Emperor's face contort for a moment, "there is an unusual presence of quintessence surrounding the planet. It could be the reason why your vision is being blocked from properly locating the Black Lion. What's evening more interesting, though, is that the energy flow, in particular, is nearly identical to the power that you and Zero possess."

This time, Zarkon's eyes widened in genuine surprise, before they narrowed suspiciously, "How is this possible?"

"That, I know not, My Lord," Haggar said, bowing again, "Which is why I ask for just a little more time. Until I identify the source from the planet, we have no way of knowing if it could affect you further at a closer range. But I assure you, that the moment I discover it, you will be informed at once."

Zarkon narrowed his eyes again before relenting, "Very well, but remember, Haggar, my patience has limits, even with you."

Haggar could help but release a small breath she was holding. While it wasn't her intention to keep her Lord waiting for this long, her curiosity about this strange planet wouldn't be satisfied with just a small glance over. No, she needed to explore this deeply and carefully.

"How did such a backwater planet come to hold such power?"

Deep in the inner part of the Castleship, Cornelia li Britannia found herself snoozing as she slumped with her back against the barrier surrounding her cell. Like all prison cells, the little bench that served as both a bed and a seat was anything but comfortable. She gave up trying to get a decent sleep on it days ago. (Had it been days? There seemed to be no way to tell time in this place from what she could see.)

The only visitors she got were random, nameless Black Knights bringing that goop that seemed to pass off as food here. At first, she thought it was an alien version of prisoner food, and refused to eat it, refusing to be humiliated further. The Red Paladin had been the one to bring her meal to her that day.

To the Princess's surprise, the red-head had just shrugged, and pulled it back out and said, "Fine, more for me."

She had then snarkily added that Cornelia might as well get used to this because if Lelouch ever decided to let her out, most of the time this was all there was on the ship for food.

The Princess obviously thought she was bluffing, but the Red Paladin simply shrugged and strutted back into the elevator, shoveling large scoops of the goop into her mouth along the way.

Speaking of the elevator, she was shaken from her snooze by the barely audible sound of it descending again.

Upon hearing the doors opening, she scowled again, keeping her back turned.

"What, are you here to interrogate me more?" she said spitefully, "Perhaps you're planning to torture me this time?"

"I think you've had more than enough of that."

Cornelia whipped around when she heard the soft voice. It wasn't Lelouch, a Black Knight, or one of the other Paladins. Instead, gliding towards the cell on a hoverchair was Nunnally.

Whose eyes were wide open and gazing sadly at her.

Cornelia's shock only grew as Nunnally stopped the chair a few feet away, then stood up and walked unsteadily up towards her.

"I'm happy to see you, Cornelia," Nunnally said with a smile, her hands lightly touching the barrier, "I'd hug you right now if I could but…" her smile became awkward as she knocked on the glass.

It took Cornelia a few seconds to register both what she was seeing, and the fact that Nunnally had spoken.

"How…" she breathed, looking her little sister up and down, "How is this possible? You're-you're walking, and you can see! Your eyes are open!"

Nunnally smiled, "The Alteans are amazing! They have these cool pods that if you fall asleep in them, you wake up completely better. And did you know they have a pool here, but it's on the ceiling?! Like literally upside-down, on the ceiling!"

That had been one of the biggest surprises they'd seen on the ship so far. Sugiyama had wanted to try some water therapy to see if it could help Nunnally's legs at all. He, along with everyone that came with them, Lelouch included, nearly had a freak out when they saw that while there was a pool, it was indeed upside-down on the ceiling. Nunnally had been too busy laughing to hear how Sugiyama and her brother had been trying to explain to Coran why pools on Earth were on the floor, and not on ceilings. Whether Coran saw the problem or not, she didn't know.

Nunnally couldn't help but giggle at the memory, "I'm glad Lelouch has made so many new friends."

Cornelia was silent and just gaping. She was honestly still trying to process that not only was Nunnally standing, but it was these aliens that had healed her, and from the sound of it, they had done it because they had wanted to. Just what sort of people was Lelouch associating with now?

Nunnally looks at her sister again, this time tears gathering in her eyes, "I...I really am happy to see you again Cornelia. I've missed you."

Cornelia choked as she felt her throat tighten involuntarily. She struggled to keep her tears from spilling over but ultimately failed as she fell to her knees, her hands pressed against the glass, opposite of Nunnally's.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered, laying her head against the barrier. Before Nunnally could speak again, Cornelia continued, "I'm sorry for not being there for you. For not protecting you when your mother was killed. And… when you were exiled, I should have stopped that too! If I had tried, I could have done something! Or at least have gone with you!"

"Cornelia…" Nunnally murmured, sad to see her older sibling break down like this, "Cornelia, really… I don't really blame you for what happened. I know you'd never abandon me and Lelouch. And… I know what's happening is confusing, but Lelouch… I know he's Zero, but I also know and understand why he's doing this. When Zero made his first appearance, I knew it was him. He… he never told me, at least not at the start, but my heart kept saying that it was him."

Nunnally's smile faded further as her mind wandered to her discussion with Lelouch about their mother's death. How Cornelia had been a prime suspect. After interrogating her, Lelouch had informed Nunnally that had fortunately not been the case, much to Nunnally's relief.

"I didn't kill your mother, Nunnally," Cornelia said, as if reading her mind, "I had nothing to do with it."

"I know that," Nunnally reassured, "Big brother told me already. Although… Lelouch also said it's possible big brother Schneizel may have been involved in some way."

Cornelia gasped a little, "Schneizel…?"

Nunnally looked back up at her sister, "Is it true then? You think Schneizel might have…?"

"...I honestly don't know, Nunnally," Cornelia finally said, "But, our brother's behavior as of late certainly hasn't been helping his case either. He was the one that originally found you, right? Well, when he did, he didn't tell me or Euphie that he had. And when we did find out you were alive, he wouldn't let us see you. So even if he wasn't directly involved, I wouldn't be surprised if he does know something that he's refusing to share."

Nunnally didn't reply to this, but she felt her heart breaking just a little more. Why did so much tragedy have to befall on her family? Why did it end up so broken?

"Wait…" Cornelia suddenly said, and looked up at her again, "If you know that Lelouch is Zero, why haven't you asked him to stop? If he continues this crusade of his he could destroy Britannia. Even you must understand that!"

Nunnally grimaced. She didn't know how much Lelouch had told Cornelia about the Galra, but from the sound of it, not much. She was sure Lelouch had reasons for that, but… if Cornelia understood the bigger picture, maybe she'd change her mind?

"Well, normally I would have, but… this isn't just about Britannia anymore," Nunnally explained. Nunnally then gave a brief summary about what she learned about the Galra, an alien regime that had the potential to completely destroy Earth, the same way that they had done to other planets for the past 10,000 years.

By the time Nunnally finished, Cornelia honestly didn't know what to think. She could tell that Nunnally wasn't lying, and getting abducted by aliens herself led to the logical possibility of there being other alien races out there.

"That's why Voltron's here!" Nunnally explained, "For when the Galra get here, they can defend Earth."

It took a few minutes for Cornelia to find the right words to speak again. Even if that was the ultimate goal, then…

"Then why attack Britannia?" she asked, "It's not like we aren't able to defend ourselves!"

"Even if you could, Coran says you, Earth really, wouldn't last even a day!" Nunnally explained, "And… this isn't just about stopping the Galra. We're trying to change Earth too. Unite it, where everyone can be happy and safe! But… that can't happen with how Britannia is being led now," Nunnally looked down with a sad frown, "When Voltron first came, and Zero made his ultimatum, I asked Father if I could speak publicly. Ask for Voltron to stop so this could be resolved peacefully. I was hoping, if both sides simply talked, we wouldn't have to fight anymore…"

Cornelia looked at her little sister in awe. Though it was a naive way of looking at it, she could see Nunnally's good intentions for doing so. She always believed that there was good in everyone, even if the real world wasn't so kind.

Before Cornelia could respond to this though, Nunnally continued, "When I told Lelouch about this, though, he says he thinks Father was… he thought he was just using me to gain leverage over Lelouch. He's positive that Father believes he's Zero."

"What?!" Cornelia gasped before her forehead furrowed in thought, "But if the Emperor suspected… Why didn't he mention anything about it?"

"I asked Lelouch the same thing," Nunnally said, "And he said it's so that the Emperor can maintain control. If word got out that one of his children was a rebel leader, other countries would start attacking harder, just like Sawazaki with Kyushu."

Cornelia nodded, "That certainly does make sense."

"...More than anything, I do want the world to change. Be gentler. More peaceful. And if it could be done without fighting, I would very much prefer it that way. But… even though that's not possible, I'm still going to support Lelouch. And… I want you to too. Not just as a Britannian Princess, but as our sister! Despite everything that's happened, I still see you as that. Our big sister! I want you, and Lelouch, and Euphie, I want all of us to have a happy future!"

Cornelia was honestly speechless. She didn't speak as Nunnally got back up to leave.

"I'll talk to Lelouch and Allura about letting you out," she reassured her as she got back on her hover-chair, "but I do have to ask. If and when the Galra get here, would you be willing to help us then?

Cornelia was still silent for about another minute. Then her fists clenched, and she looked Nunnally right in the eye.

"Yes, I would."

"Does that include Lelouch?" Nunnally asked, tilting her head.

Cornelia immediately nodded her head, "Yes, including Lelouch. I can even think of a few soldiers of my own that would be willing to help."

Nunnally smiled happily, as she turned the chair back towards the elevator, "Thank you! I'll try and visit again!"

As Nunnally disappeared back into the elevator, Cornelia was left alone again. Now that she had all this new information, she had some things to think about. From her brother's perspective, from the moment he was exiled, to this very day, she knew Lelouch had thought everything out carefully. She doubted Lelouch took aliens, much less giant alien robots, into consideration, but he certainly had made the most of the situation too.

At the very least, she could smile knowing the Nunnally was safe here, even if it wasn't in her own arms.

o~o

"So what's the sitch this time? Another attempt to make us surrender?" Rai asked as he, C.C., and the rest of the Paladins found themselves on the bridge once more, summoned by Allura and Coran.

"We just received a broadcast message from Britannia. They're requesting to be patched through," Allura explained.

Well, that explained why they were told to come with their helmet on and face shields darkened.

"Let it through," Zero ordered.

With a nod, Allura shifted her hand across the panel and a screen appeared before them.

"...Well, well, this is a surprise," Zero said upon seeing who had been waiting for them, "And what business does the esteemed Nonette Enneagram have with Voltron if I may ask? Are you going to convince us to surrender? Or perhaps you wish to join us?"

"Neither for your information, Zero," Nonette remarked back, "Your actions have more than proved that you're beyond reasoning with simple words."

Lelouch couldn't help but smirk underneath his mask, "So, it seems there are some intelligent ones within the Britannian military after all."

Nonette grimaced at the insult, but quickly regained her composure, "I'll get straight to the point Zero since my time and connection is limited. I, Nonette Enneagram, Member of the Knights of the Round of the Holy Britannian Empire, Knight of Nine, challenge you, Zero, to a duel!"

Of all of the things to be said during this broadcast, a direct challenge certainly wasn't one of them.

Nonette tapped something in front of her and a map with the image of an island appeared on the screen, "We'll battle here, on this island to ensure that neither side brings overwhelming odds. No tricks, no armies, just a one-on-one battle between Knightmares. If I am victorious, you will return your captives, including Cornelia li Britannia, Nunnally vi Britannia, Suzaku Kururugi, and Zephyr zar Britannia."

The last person to be listed surprised everyone the most. Everyone looked towards the Green Paladin, who seemed frozen in shock. How the heck did Nonette know who he was? And why did she think that Zero was holding him captive? And 'zar Britannia'? But… if that was the case, then that meant-

"I'll expect your arrival in the next twenty-four hours. Or by all means, ignore this and stay up in space like a coward!"

With that last spat, the connection terminated, leaving silence in the room.

"...This has got to be a trap," Kallen finally said, taking her helmet off.

"Yeah, this seems a bit too… convenient," Milly agreed, "Your brother becomes the new Viceroy of Area Eleven and the first thing he does is order a Knight of the Round to challenge Zero to a duel?"

"I agree," Lelouch nodded, "I certainly wouldn't put it past my brother to try and pull something like this."

"Oh please!" Rivalz scoffed, "Voltron can handle anything that Britannia throws at us! You said so yourself, Lelouch, it'll be decades until they can develop the technology to match what the Castle has!"

"Rivalz," Lelouch intoned, "If there is one thing that you must never do, it is that you must never underestimate Schneizel el Britannia. Sure, his tactics may not be as flashy as mine, but remember when I said that he's the one person I could never beat. At least in chess anyway. He's quick to adapt to nearly any situation that is presented to him."

"Hold on guys," Shirley suddenly said, "I just realized something else! Nonette said that Suzaku was a prisoner. And I know that sounds bad!" she quickly said as she saw the looks she got, "But think about it! After what happened at Kyushu, if someone looked at video footage from the port the wrong way, it would look like Suzaku willingly joined Voltron. And that could be bad for the Japanese."

Suzaku nodded. He had been concerned about that as well. So hearing Nonette say that he was a prisoner brought a small sense of relief to the Purple Paladin.

"As comforting of a revelation that is," Lelouch spoke up, "I'm more concerned about Nonette's mention of you, Rai. Or, more specifically, your true name. Zephyr."

"Yes, I believe she called you 'Zephyr zar Britannia'..." Coran trailed off, "Isn't that-"

"I don't know!" Rai blurted out, "I don't know what she's talking about! She… she seems to know me, but I don't remember knowing her!"

"Calm down, Rai!" Allura gasped, "We're not trying to accuse you of anything."

"In that case...maybe we should accept the duel after all," Milly said. This earned shocked looks from everyone in the room, as just minutes ago, the Yellow Paladin had been solidly against the duel.

"Hear me out," she said calmly, "If Lelouch wins, one of the terms could be we take Nonette prisoner. If we do that, we may be able to learn more about Rai's past. Who knows, if she really does know him, maybe Rai can convince Nonette to join our side. Having a Knight of the Round in our ranks would totally boast our strength!"

Lelouch nodded, "I like your reasoned Milly. There are a few questions I'd like to ask Miss Enneagram myself actually."

"Like what?" Kallen asked.

"Like how exactly were Rai and his mother and sister abducted by the Galra in the first place?"

This question caused another round of gasps.

"We know that Rai and his family were held hostage for some time. But how exactly were they abducted? Were they still on Earth during that time, or were they, for some unfathomable reason, somewhere in space themselves? And if that's the case, how did they get into space to begin with? Ever since we learned about Rai's situation with his family, too many unknowns have been surrounding the events. Far more than I'm comfortable with."

"You sure Nonette would really know about something like that?" Rivalz asked.

"I personally doubt it," C.C. spoke up for the first time, "but I suppose there's nothing lost if we were to ask her."

"...I still don't like this," Allura admitted through a frown and crossed arms, "From what I've seen in all of our encounters, Britannia is certainly not against playing dirty if it benefits them."

"Normally I would agree," Suzaku said, "but I don't think we'll need to worry about Nonette back-stabbing us. I met her briefly when I was back on Earth, and she seemed like a nice person, and she wasn't even bothered that I was an Eleven and going to be piloting a Knightmare that she had been using. What I'm trying to say is, I think we have more to gain from this duel than we have to lose."

"But Suzaku, one of the terms of the duel is handing you back over to Britannia. We can't just say that you've chosen to stay!" Shirley protested.

"So, hand me over," Suzaku shrugged. This earned horrified looks before he continued, "Look, if Lelouch does end up losing, I'm okay taking one for the team. Nunnally can fly Yoru in the meantime until you 'capture' me again."

"But, one of the terms is handing Nunnally over too," Kallen pointed out.

"...Maybe not," Lelouch said after thinking for a moment, "I'll accept the challenge, but if something goes wrong…"

o~o

"Any sign of them?" Darlton asked a soldier delivering a status report.

"Nothing yet sir," was the reply, "Our satellites aren't picking up any form of movement in the atmosphere."

"All right, thank you," he replied, sending the soldier on his way.

"You think that Zero chickened out at the last minute?" Claudio Darlton asked smugly, standing with his four brothers behind his father.

"We still technically have another four hours until the time limit is up," Andreas reminded his boys sternly, "Only after that time has passed can we make such claims."

"No offense Father," Edgar said, "But why is Lady Enneagram requesting to fight alone? We've seen how those Lions fly, and they're practically one-man armies on their own! She won't stand a chance."

Andreas actually smirked, "Don't underestimate Lady Enneagram, Ed. She's the Knight of Nine for a reason."

"And while I appreciate your concern," Nonette said, walking up behind them on the sandy shore, "I also claimed that this would be a one-on-one dual with no tricks involved, and you all will honor that."

"We understand Lady Enneagram," Lord Guilford said, walking up stiffly behind her, "Just know, that if something happens, we're all at your beck and call."

Looking at the knight at first glance, one wouldn't notice the slight bags or redness in his eyes or the slouch in his shoulders.

Nonette wasn't fooled though. Guilford hadn't been himself since Cornelia got captured. The first few days she'd seen him wander between his quarters and the Viceroy's office as if hoping that if he entered, Cornelia would be in there, dealing with paperwork or discussing something with another officer.

Then came the anger. He would snap at younger officers for even the smallest inconvenience, and several times when she passed his room, she would occasionally hear a crash or a thump something being thrown against the wall.

A week afterward, when he thought no one was watching, Nonette would hear him muttering about if he had simply been faster, or had seen the Red Lion's attack sooner, he could have saved his princess.

Nonette had seen enough battle to recognize the stages of grief when she saw them. It seemed that Guilford was, at last, entering the depression stage. Whether this would affect his work as a knight and a soldier was yet to be seen, but she could see that he was reigning in his emotions to try and hold himself together.

Perhaps she should speak with him once this was all over. If by the smallest chance they wouldn't get Cornelia back...

"I appreciate it, Guilford," Nonette smiled, "I'm sure Nelly would appreciate it too."

"That is, of course, if Zero honors his side of the deal as well," Darlton had to add, "If he wanted to, Zero could easily take that robot and blow this entire island to smithereens!"

Silences suddenly fell over the area as a large shadow descended over the residents of the island. Looking up, a large silhouette descended from the clouds before landing hard on the Shikine Island shore, hard enough to shake the ground.

The Black Lion roared loudly in the military's direction. A couple of soldiers actually had to cover their ears at how loud it was.

"...So you accepted my invitation after all," Nonette smirked as she approached a large, bulky black Knightmare off to the side.

"I have. It would have been rude to decline a personal invite from a Knight of the Round," Zero's voice answered from inside the lion, "However, I must ask why when you said this would be a one-on-one fight that you have a small army of Britannian soldiers behind you."

"They're here to observe," Nonette said simply, "I've given them specific orders to not attack or interfere at any time in our duel. Though I'll admit, I was expecting you to bring your own little entourage yourself."

Zero chuckled from inside the Black Lion, "Just because you can't see them, doesn't mean they aren't here. But just as your army is, they are also observers in this little game. However, they will not hesitate to attack should we suspect foul play. Considering this country's reputation for dirty tricks it wouldn't surprise me, considering the Emperor was willing to use his own crippled, disabled daughter as a propaganda tool."

From their spots on the beach, Darlton and Guilford scowled in irritation but remained silent as they couldn't exactly argue with that. Even they would admit that that was a heinous move on the Emperor's part.

Nonette also scowled, but shook it off before continuing, "Let's get this over with. You know the terms if I'm victorious, but I'm curious to know what your own are should I lose."

"That eager, are you?" Zero smirked inside, "Well before I give my own terms, I actually have a request regarding yours. To alter one of them just slightly."

"Huh?" Nonette asked, blinking in surprise, before narrowing her eyes, "Which term? And how 'slightly'?"

What Zero said next sent waves of shock through the soldiers present.

"I request that you refrain from labeling Princess Nunnally vi Britannia as a prisoner in our custody. For you see, unlike some, we of Voltron know when a member of royalty deserves to be treated with honor and respect. Nunnally vi Britannia was never a prisoner or a ward whilst among us, but an honored guest."

These words caused several soldiers to murmur in confusion. What was Zero getting at? The Princess was still technically a hostage, wasn't she?

"Cut to the chase already, Zero," Nonette finally snapped, "What exactly are you getting at?"

"All I'm asking is that if I should somehow lose this duel, you ask for Princess Nunnally to choose whether she wishes to leave our hospitality or not."

This time shouts of outrage were mixed in with surprise from the soldiers.

"Choose?" Nonette gasped in shock, "And why on Earth would Princess Nunnally need to choose to leave you?"

"I really don't see the problem here," Zero said casually. The tone nearly pissed Nonette off, "As I said, Nunnally has been treated as nothing but an honored guest since she's been with us. So, should the Princess indeed choose to leave and return to you, I will not stop her. However, should she choose the opposite, and stay in our custody, I expect you to honor your oaths as knights and soldiers of the Empire and accept your Princess's choice as her own of her own free will. That is my request."

Nonette grit her teeth. She didn't want to accept the request, but Zero had made some fine points. They really did have nothing to lose concerning this alteration to the terms. If Nunnally wanted to come back, Zero said he would let her (though she still wasn't sure if Zero would completely honor that promise or not). Nunnally didn't have a reason to stay with the Black Knights. So, why wouldn't she come back?

"Fine, I'll honor this request, as a Knight of the Round," she finally said after several moments of silence.

"Good. Now, as I've stated before I've received your terms and have accepted them. However, if I'm victorious in this duel, I have some of my own. The first is that you, Nonette Enneagram, will surrender yourself into Voltron's custody. You will be treated as a prisoner of war under international law."

"Done," Nonette said immediately. She could handle being a prisoner. At least that way she could stay close to Princess Cornelia again. Protect her if she had to, "Anything else?"

"Excellent," Zero grinned, "And yes, one more thing. Who is this Zephyr person to you? Is he someone important? Or is he just a means to an end for you?"

Nonette scowled, "That's none of your business!"

"Is that so? Well, I'm afraid I need to clarify this misunderstanding then."

"What?! What misunderstanding?" Nonette gasped, shocked once more.

"In regards to this Zephyr zar Britannia individual." This once again sent murmurs of shock and confusion throughout the ranks, "You requested that we return him to you too. However… I believe it is impossible to return something that we never have had to begin with."

Nonette gasped, "What are you talking about?"

"I mean, there is no one with that name in Voltron's custody nor within our ranks," Zero explained plainly. This wasn't technically a lie as Rai didn't wish to be called Zephyr unless given solid proof that that was really his name. "I don't know who gave you the impression that this person was among us, but I'm afraid you must have been misinformed."

Nonette was silent, but her mind was racing. No. That can't be! That boy… he told her that Zephyr was with Zero, as a prisoner! He even provided proof from those airport monitors!

"I don't believe you!" Nonette shouted desperately.

Zero sighed, "Whether you believe me or not, that is your own problem. I am simply stating what I know. For your sake though, I wish you luck in locating him."

Before Nonette could scream or call Zero a liar again, the rebel leader spoke again.

"So then, are we fighting or not?" he asked the Black Lion growled tensed on her legs.

Nonette growled as the cockpit of the Knightmare finally closed with her inside.

"Let's!"

Meanwhile, underwater, the other Lions waited and watched anxiously from inside their own Lions. Rai had sent Rover up secretly to film the battle and broadcast it to the Lions and to the Castle of Lions still orbiting the moon. The Black Lion was also filming it separately for future use.

"I recognize that Knightmare," Suzaku realized, "That's the Gawain. It's a prototype Knightmare that a separate special unit was working on developing! Apparently it's the first specialized Knightmare with flight. I also heard that there are some prototype weapons attached to it too. I've never seen it in action before though."

"So that means it's weapons and skills are as much of an unknown to us as seeing it for the first time," Milly said.

"Exactly," the Purple Paladin.

Kallen clicked her tongue, "That's super annoying."

"...How are you doing Rai?" Shirley couldn't help but ask, pulling up a video screen with the Green Paladin.

The Green Paladin was sitting stiffly in his seat but still answered, "If Lelouch pulls this off, I may finally get answers. About my mom, my sister, my past... But… will I want the answer I receive?"

"Rai, no matter who you were, that's not who you are now," Shirley told him, "That's not going to change what you mean to us!"

'What you mean to me,' Shirley added mentally.

Rai smiled gratefully at the Orange Paladin. She was right. No matter what, the rest of the team would be by his side.

One of the first things that Lelouch learned about this new Knightmare, the Gawain, was that it was much slower compared to other Knightmares. What it lacked in speed though, seemed to be made up in the firepower it was carrying. That one weapon, the Hadron, seemed to be a pretty powerful weapon, but it did little to harm Zenobia or pierce through her armor.

He also noticed that the armor on this Knightmare was much thicker and likely heavier in comparison. Though Zen's lasers still dented it significantly, it was much less than what he wanted.

Even when he tried to take the fight into the air, the Gawain was able to follow thanks to the advanced float system.

Thanks to the advanced weapon system, it was a struggle trying to get in close, so he was forced to stick to mostly long-ranged attacks.

That seemed to be the goal in the fight so far. Although, while the Gawain was trying to keep Zen away, it seemed to simultaneously be trying to get closer to the Lion. Maybe it hoped to score some melee attacks?

"It seems you've done your homework, Schneizel," Lelouch couldn't help but comment. This Knightmare so far seemed to be solely designed to counter all of Zenobia's attacks and skills.

Or at least the ones that had been used against Britannia so far.

"And Anti-Lion Knightmare," he said, "Nothing we can't handle, right girl?"

He felt a proud purr answer him back.

The Black Lion leaped back again as the Gawain fired with the Hadron cannon once more. By this time, the beach they had been battling on was full of craters from both sides attacking. The Britannian soldiers actually had to retreat further from the beach to avoid getting caught in the crossfire.

Nonette grunted as Zen's tail smacked hard into the Gawain, pushing it back. Zen then leaped over the Knightmare as it fired with its slash harkens, which were coming from its fingertips.

Overall, the fight seemed to be evenly matched, with Zen's superior armor taking most of the Gawain's attacks with ease and the Gawain's float system allowed the Knightmare to mostly keep up with the Black Lion's flight.

However…

"That float system doesn't seem to be complete just yet for custom Knightmares," Zero commented as Zen rose into the air again, "So if I keep my-huh?"

Then to Zero's shock the Gawain charged towards him and Zen head-on, latching onto the Lion's snout.

"What the-are you insane?!" Zero exclaimed as Zen waved her head wildly, but the Gawain refused to let go.

What happened next, though, no one could have expected.

With a buzzing sound, a wave of energy emerged from the Gawain and hit Zen point-blank. With a gasp, Lellouch watched in horrified shock as his Lion's controls started to short circuit and shut down.

"What the…" he muttered before glaring at the Knightmare, "What the hell did you just do?!"

Lelouch then stopped as he noticed that the Gawain hadn't unlatched from Zen, and began to fall limply towards the beach with him. Whatever that attack was had affected the Gawain too.

From inside the Knightmare, Nonette was in shock as well, as static electricity zapped across her control board, red warning lights blaring.

"What?! It's frozen?! No!" she shouted and braced for impact on the shore. She gasped in fear as the Black Lion fell too, almost landing on top of the Knightmare.

o~o

"What?!"

"Zero!"

"Oh no!"

"What the hell just happened?!" the Paladins all still lying in wait beneath the waves each voiced their shock and horror, watching Lelouch and Zen fall.

o~o

"No!" Nunnally shouted, watching helplessly the Black Lion landed limply on the shoreline.

Most of the Black Knights were also present on the Bridge along with the Alteans. Through her small bond with the Lion, Allura could hardly sense Zen at all! Whatever she had been hit with had completely knocked out her systems!

"...I thought Britannia didn't have anything that could counter the Lions!" Coran exclaimed in confusion.

"Damn! We got cocky!" Tohdoh cursed, "We should have known that this was a trap."

"Miss Chawla didn't that look like…?" one of the Indian scientists on board turned to the woman in question.

"Yes… it seems so," Rakshata frowned, looking extremely miffed.

"What? Do you know what just happened?" Ohgi asked, eyes begging for an answer.

"Well, while there's no way to guarantee it at the moment, that attack looked oddly similar to my Gefjun Disturber," she answered.

"Gefjun?" Allura asked, her attention turning to the Indian scientist.

"Yes. It works by disturbing the chemical and mechanical processes of the Sakuradite that powers most Knightmare Frames," the woman explained plainly, "It also blocks off the motion of microwaves, hadrons, and radio waves."

"Wait, if that thing only affects Sakuradite, what the hell did it do to Zero and his Lion?" Tamaki demanded.

"That is the question isn't it?" Rakshata said, "It certainly seems to have affected the Gawain at the very least as well. My guess is that it was built into the Knightmare just for this battle to trap Zero."

"But without any Altean tech… how was Britannia able to produce a counter-measure?" Inoue asked.

Allura's brow furrowed in thought. Whenever Voltron entered the battlefield, they made sure not to leave any trace behind just for this purpose. So how did…

She gasped. There was one possibility!

"You're thinking of the B.L.I.P.s aren't you?" Rai's voice echoed from his comm.

"That's the only logical explanation!" Allura exclaimed, horror creeping into her tone.

"The B.L.I.P.s?" Tohdoh questioned.

"Biothermal Life Indicator Point Technology," Coran translated, "We used these sensors when we first arrived to locate the Black Knights in Narita."

"But, don't those things disintegrate or return to the ship or something after they're finished usage?" Rivalz asked this time.

"It seems one of them never made it back," Allura deduced, "Whether caught by an enemy or malfunctioned."

"So the Britannias found one of these B.L.I.P. Tech things and used it to make a Voltron counter-weapon?!" Ohgi exclaimed, making sure he understood.

"That certainly seems to be the case," Rakshata confirmed.

"Damn! We've got to help Lelouch!" Kallen shouted, ready to practically leap out of the water.

"Rakshata, how do we stop that thing?" Suzaku asked before they did anything rash.

"Before you even think about touching the Black Lion, you must separate the Gawain from it first. We have no way of knowing if the device is still active. Should you touch either one, your Lions could shut down as well."

"So we got to figure out a way to get the Gawain off of Lelouch without touching either of them?" Shirley clarified, "How are we supposed to do that?!"

"Guys…" Milly said just as their monitors started beeping wildly, "We may have another problem!"

On the monitors, several enemy signals popped up heading straight for the island.

"Britannian scum!" Kallen screamed before shooting out of the ocean, barely noticing the remaining Lions following close behind her.

"Kallen, look out!" Rai shouted, leaping with Zerith in front of Aka, Zerith's back shield taking several hits from above.

"What the-" Rivalz gasped as three large Knightmares roared through the sky, barely missing colliding with the Lions.

"Oh quiznack! We're in trouble!" Milly exclaimed once the three attacking units came into full view.

"Paladins, what's happening?!" Allura demanded from the Castle's bridge.

"Well, Princess, if we weren't sure this was a trap before, it definitely is now!" Suzaku informed as the three units pulled to a stop in front of the Lions, separating them from Zen that still lay on the beach.

"Six targets confirmed. Prepared to engage," a monotonous voice voiced from the heavily armored Mordred.

"Golly! It's one thing seeing these things on the news! Seeing them face to face though, this is honestly the coolest thing I've ever seen! It's like right out of one of those anime shows the Elevens love!" a voice from the red, white, gold, and blue Knightmare exclaimed in awe.

"The Mordred and the Tristain…" Milly muttered, recognizing the Frames. Her eyes then lingering the final one hovering between the two, "Then that one must be-"

"Anya, Gino, both of you focus. By order of Prince Schneizel, not one of these Lions is to make it to the shore!" The voice of Bismarck Waldstein proclaimed from his personal Knightmare, the Galahad.

"Got it!" Gino grinned from the Tristian.

"Understood," Anya replied, the Mordred's systems firing to life.

"Here they come!" Rai shouted.

"The Knights of the Round?" Darlton gasped in amazement.

"And the Knight of One is among them!" Guilford added.

"Order from Second Prince Schneizel!" Bismarck's voice rang through the communications, "Surround the Lion! Don't let any of the others get close!"

Darlton hesitated for a moment, wondering if the Prince had lost his mind. There was no way they could keep the Lions at bay, but eventually, he ordered the Glaston Knights to surround the fallen Knightmares and they didn't hesitate to obey.

Meanwhile, inside Zen, Lelouch frantically tried to press some buttons or pull on the levers. He attempted to tap into the bond he and his Lion shared, but to his shock and horror, he heard nothing. He could feel that the bond was still intact, but Zen's voice was silent.

"Damn you… Damn you, Schneizel!" he shouted, because who else could it be other than his brother to pull such a dirty move.

However, Lelouch was angrier at himself than anything. He was foolish to underestimate this battle. He doubted from the beginning that Nonette had challenged him on a whim, but if she did it under orders…

...But why disable her Knightmare too?

At the same time in the Gawain, Nonette was in shock. She had not expected this suicide-like attack, nor had she been informed that her comrades in the Knights of the Round would be here too. But her shock soon morphed into anger.

"This… this wasn't part of the plan!" she suddenly screamed, her fists slamming on her control board.

"Allura, there must be a way we can help! Please!" Nunnally exclaimed desperately. The only reason she stayed in her chair was due to both Sayoko and Sugiyama holding her shoulders.

"Can't we fly this ship down there and attack ourselves?!" Tamaki exclaimed, "There's no way even the Knights of the Round could stand up to the mothership!"

"We may have to," Allura agreed and prepared to move the Castle into the Earth's atmosphere.

"Wait, Princess!" Coran gasped, a new alert appearing on the screen.

"What is it?" Tohdoh demanded.

"There's a large Britannain aircraft heading straight for the island!" Coran said fearfully.

"Pull it on the screen!" Sayoko ordered.

Allura swiftly did so and everyone gasped in horror.

"Wait isn't that-" Chiba exclaimed.

"But I thought Voltron split that thing like an ax on wood!" Asahina exclaimed.

"Just because it looks similar doesn't mean that it's the same craft," Tohdoh reasoned, "My guess this is a smaller replica. Either way, if it has the same weapons as the Avalon that was destroyed…"

Allura gasped in horror, immediately contacting the Paladins, knowing there was no way the Castle would make it in time!

"Paladins! You must get out there! Grab Lelouch and retreat!"

"Sorry, Princess," Kallen shouted, as she and Suzaku dived towards the Galahad together, "We're kind of busy right now!" She couldn't help but feel a sense of deja vu when she and Suzaku fought side-by-side against Zarkon not too long ago.

Although the Lions were larger and had (supposedly) superior fire-power, the Knights of the Round were the top pilots in the Empire. Possibly even the world. And due to the Knightmares' smaller size, that made them faster, and that was an advantage the Knights quickly figured out.

"How the hell-" Suzaku gasped as Galahad's sword came down on Yoru's head, throwing Suzaku off his flight path.

"Your Lions may be bigger," Bismarck stated, "but you still have much to learn to match us!"

"Damn you!" Kallen shouted, firing several blasts from Aka's tail, which the Knight of One dodged easily.

Meanwhile, Rai practically snarled, glaring down towards the island. With a sharp thrust, he and Zerith shot straight towards the island, nearly colliding with the Tristian that attempted to stop him. It was only the timely interference of Zinnia with Shirley, smashing into the Tristian that allowed him to continue on his path.

Shirley attempted to follow only to be jerked backward as the Tristain's harken's latched onto Zinnia's thick armor.

"Hey, you're fighting me! Remember?!" Gino shouted, using the Tristian's momentum to swing back around the Orange Lion.

Shirley gasped and flew backward to avoid the strike just in time. It was clear that Gino wasn't letting a second Lion get past him.

Anya, being in the most armored Knightmare of the trio, was easily holding her own against Rivalz and Milly, despite both of their Lions being thinner compared to some of the others. The proxy missiles were becoming extremely annoying as well.

"Analyzed. Recorded. Complete," Anya remarked emotionlessly as she dodged around Rivalz's ice beams and Milly's shots. They knew that Milly's light bomb wouldn't work as Knightmares could turn off their vision if they needed to, and was something they knew Anya was sure to do.

But with the Knights of the Round occupied, Rai managed to screech towards the island, knocking the Glaston Knights out of the way like rag dolls.

"Out of my way!" he shouted, firing at the Knightmares that attempted to counter him.

Back in the Britannian royal transport, Euphemia watched anxiously as the battle seemed to come to a head when the Knights of the Round made an appearance to stop the Lions.

But then what she overheard next nearly made her heart stop.

Her brother Schneizel was currently flying the Le Fey aircraft towards the island. He planned to drop surface-to-surface missiles, taking out Zero once and for all.

But if he did that, Nonette would die as well! And if the Paladins were who she believed they were, with what Suzaku told her…

"We're assigning Portman here to escort them. The sub-viceroy should be taken out of the-"

"Wait!" Euphemia exclaimed, sprinting as fast as she could from the transport, Cecile and Lloyd not too far behind approaching the soldiers under her brother.

"Are you out of your mind?! You're going to destroy the Gawain?!" Lloyd shouted.

"Don't you know that one of the Knights of the Round is still inside of it?!" Cecile added in shared horror.

The guard frowned, "Lady Enneagram will hold Zero there. This may be our one chance to kill him and obtain one of these Lions."

"Schneizel would sacrifice a loyal knight just to get to the Lions?!" Euphie gasped.

"Those are our orders, Princess-"

"No! I command you to call it off! This is absurd!" she shouted.

The guard only faltered for a moment before regaining his composure, "It's a para-level one order. It can only be countermanded by the consensus of at least three ranking generals or the viceroy himself, I'm afraid."

"Then get me a line to my brother!" the Princess demanded.

"Para-level one order, Princess Euphemia," the soldier repeated.

Euphemia grit her teeth and stormed past towards the Knightmare, "Out of my way!"

"Sub-Viceroy!" Another soldier exclaimed in shock as the Princess grabbed onto the loading platform and pulled herself aboard.

"Contact the base! Tell my brother there's a chance I'll be caught in the attack! See if he'll initiate the launch then!" she dared, looking the soldier in the eye.

"Please, stop this, think what you're doing!" the soldier protested but nothing would stop Euphie from saving not just her friend, but her beloved brother as well.

"They must stop with the princess out there…" Cecile reasoned, looking at Lloyd with a worried expression.

"I don't think he will, unfortunately," Lloyd said matter-of-factly.

"Paladins, incoming attack confirmed!" Allura shouted through the comm, "You must get out of there immediately!"

Lelouch growled as he had no choice but to abandon Zenobia manually, exiting through the hole that opened above the seat.

Landing on the sand, Lelouch saw from the corner of his eye that Nonette was doing the same to the Gawain.

Spinning to face her, he swiftly brandished his mother's knife, "You! Is this your doing?! Was this all a setup?!"

"Of course it wasn't! I gave you my word this would be a one-on-one fight!" Nonette argued fervently.

"I honestly don't know whether to believe you or not. And here I thought your word would hold some value!" Zero snapped.

From behind him, Rai managed to maneuver around the last of the troops, landing not quite gracefully in the dooned pit. He quickly exited Zerith and started sprinting towards the Black Paladin.

"Zero! Come on, we have to go!" he shouted only to stop abruptly as a shadow loomed over them.

Off to the side, Euphie rolled to a stop in her Knightmare and gazed up in horror as the Le Fey floated into view.

Unbeknownst to both Britannians and Voltron Paladins, a small figure, one that could easily be mistaken for a child, stood solidarily on a cliff watching the chaos.

A small, nearly insane smirk spread across his face.

"That's our cue!" Gino exclaimed, before abruptly pulling away from Zinnia's laser blast.

"Yes, our mission is done," Bismarck acknowledged, following after Gino with Anya close behind.

"No!" Shirley screamed as they saw a port open up on the Le Fey.

"Quiznack!" Rivalz cursed, he and the other Lions desperately rushing towards the shore.

Without another warning, the airship open-fired on the field below.

"NO!" Nunnally screamed as the group watched the projectiles rain down on the beach.

From behind the group, C.C. gasped and fell to her knees. Her Geass symbol pulsing brightly.

"C.C.?!" she heard one of the Black Knights shouting, though, through the pounding in her head, she couldn't pinpoint who.

'V.V… you didn't…!'

[puppetmaster55]

A Fix-It to Canon

At the interest of @ieshavevo here is my extensive fix-it to vld!

So, uh, wouldn’t change much about seasons 1 and 2, those are actually pretty solid seasons. At best, I would adjust season 1 to be a bit longer, including an episode where they travel to an old colony planet of Alteans to really set in that Allura and Coran are the last of the Alteans. In season 2 I would add an episode later on, mostly revolving around the adjustment of Voltron working with the Blade, to get a sense of the two having a rough start working together.

Also, I’d have a slight change in focus, with more knowledge that Voltron is a myth and nobody really believes in it or has hope in season 1, leading up to the initial assault on the empire’s central command. From there, season 2 is the universe taking notice, word spreading that Voltron is back and is fighting against the empire and Zarkon, and winning.

Then, there would be a little more to season 3, with a slower start that’s time without Shiro and time with only four of the lions. There’d be more people starting to fight back, more planets and systems rebelling against the empire, and word spreading that Zarkon faced off against Voltron and lost. There’d be, as well, time for adjustment after the lion swap. A “Some Assembly Required 2.0” episode. 

Speaking of, the Lion Swap wouldn’t be Keith into Black or Lance into Red. I’d put Lance in Black, and Allura in Blue. Honestly there would be discussion about Allura taking up the role, and a little about Keith being Shiro’s pick, but ultimately it would be Lance. Allura taking on the title of Black Paladin would be something permanent instead of temporary, and Keith doesn’t want it and isn’t a good fit. 

There would be a name-drop of an Empress Merla in the alternate Altean Empire reality, for later on. Lotor, too, would have more of a plan in motion, and would be the source of the Zaiforge Cannons as a show of his progression of the empire in his rule. There would be more buildup toward Naxzela, as well, with Voltron coming across a planetary particle barrier and an Altean terraforming device. Haggar’s entire plan toward Naxzela would be made more clear when it happens, that this is her revenge for the plan that took down Zarkon. She will take down every single rebel faction, Voltron included, in a massive show of force to ensure that there is no more opposition. 

Lotor’s plans will be more about establishing his own foothold as a progressive leader and shift toward a more peaceful rule over the universe. He’ll buy into the Galra Empire’s superiority, but only so far that he can change it into being more sustainable and infinitely less likely to end up consuming itself as more and more planets are killed for their quinessence. 

Voltron finds the rebels, learning that former smugglers Rolo, Nyma, and Beezer joined their ranks. Matt is discovered among their numbers, having had to fake his death in a massive battle to avoid having a bounty on his head collected. 

As for Operation Kuron… the Shiro that returns to Voltron is the real, original Shiro. He’s got programming in his arm, something that wasn’t there before, that makes me more willing to gather every single rebel in on one huge attack on Naxzela and the surrounding systems. 

Something that his clone, Ryou, very nearly succeeded in doing just before the Blue Lion was found. Ryou will be Shiro’s clone, sent into the rebels when they were gathering and a mighty force, with no initial clue that he’s a clone. The “trash nebula” that Pidge crashes into ends up being revealed as the remains of the rebel fleets when Kuron brought Zarkon down upon them. Ryou, in the battle, took damage to the head and to the robot arm, which disabled the mind control and left him realizing everything. 

The rebels are scattered, but they’re coming back together, and under Voltron they can do so much more than they could before. 

Anyway, Naxzela happens, and Lotor in the process of avoiding Haggar gets pushed into going on the run and negotiating his surrender to Voltron. There’s big blowback on Voltron’s side, with the Coalition not wanting to be so into bargaining with Lotor, the rebels wanting to dispose of him, and Voltron wanting to keep him prisoner. Time passes, and with it Haggar brings back Zarkon to right all the failures of Lotor’s rule. 

Lotor and the Generals split, the Generals with Narti (who is comatose following the attempt by Haggar to mind control her), untle the Generals realize that they need Voltron and to return to Lotor. So they pick up a human prisoner that some value to trade for their safety: Keith’s Dad. 

What they don’t know, is that Keith’s Dad is also Acxa’s Dad, and it’s revealed that their shared mother is Lotor’s dead sister, Marmora. 

Keith, angry at his father for abandoning him, avoids the man. 

Lotor gets closer to the Paladins, and with it he reveals more about his life: his time ruling over a planet that Zarkon destroyed, and even that he’s got Sam Holt working for him in a special work camp full of scientists working for Lotor. He’s one of the scientists who worked toward reverse engineering the teludav and that it can reopen the rift on Daibazaal. Sam helps to convince the Paladins that Lotor isn’t all bad and that he can be trusted. Acxa reveals that she had the bounty placed on Matt to return him to the Empire so he could be reunited with his father. Both Sam and Keith’s Dad are sent back to Earth. 

Lotor manages to gain their favor in time to call upon a Kral Zera: an honor battle for the throne of the empire. He fights against Zarkon, almost gaining the win until Haggar intervenes, nearly taking full control over Shiro. Somewhere in the time Lotor’s under Voltron’s care, Sendak comes back, and is as honorable Galra as ever. He begins having doubts about Zarkon’s leadership when Haggar intervenes to “force” a win. Haggar, meanwhile, takes Sendak to act as her protector. 

Allura looks into her powers, looking and training with Lotor’s aid, to the point that they all go to Oriande. There, they find the Protector of the White Lion, Queen Melenor. Allura learns of the true origin of Voltron, and is given the opportunity to learn the secrets of Alchemy. However, Haggar uses her control over Shiro to learn about Oriande and attacks it, causing Lotor to become suspicious of the Paladins. Melenor is lost in the attack, but passes on her role of Guardian to Allura. Allura trains with her powers, managing to capture a druid and interrogate it about their origins and powers. There, they learn that the druids are actually the research team Honerva led. 

The Coalition and rebels are furious about Voltron’s gamble, straining Voltron’s allies into breaking from their alliance. One of the rebels, Romelle, makes an attempt on Lotor, revealing herself as Altean and pushing Lotor into revealing that the planet he was in control over was an Altean colony. She claims that he is behind the death of the planet and all the Alteans on it, with herself as the only surviver, forcing Voltron to follow Allura’s lead and attack Lotor. 

Lotor flees with the Generals, all of them going toward the rift gate as the last safe place to lay low and hide until everyone fights each other and then they can emerge from the ashes and rebuild everything better. Unfortunately, Haggar used her connections to Narti and Shiro to learn the location of the rift gate and continued working on it. Haggar begins to activate the rift gate, and to distract Voltron takes full control over Shiro. Shiro comes along to Sendak’s side, and they manage to keep the Paladins distracted. Ultimately, Shiro, with the help of the Paladins, is broken free of Haggar’s control and fights Sendak to a standstill. 

Sincline and Voltron fight, with the Paladins thinking that all of this is Lotor’s fault. The two battle, until they both are hit and the Sincline caught in a tractor beam. Through the rift comes a number of ships, all Altean in design. 

Empress Merla has arrived, intent on bringing the Altean Peace to this and every other universe. Haggar goes to her side, claiming her old self as Honerva, while Lotor and the Sincline is captured. Merla created her own prototype gate using a teludav built by the Sincline Comet of her own reality, as found on her Oriande. Being obsessed with Honerva’s studies, Merla accepts Haggar to her side. The Generals manage to escape, Sendak flees back to Zarkon’s side to report about the arrival of the Alteans, and Voltron flees. 

With no allies and their name sullied by their siding with Lotor, Voltron flies to Earth to hide and recouperate. There, the Paladins nearly separate, returning to their families and reconsidering their duties and resolve. Meanwhile, Merla has taken up the trust and leadership of the Coalition, although there is a deal of mistrust within the rebels. She expands her presence, using the Hoktril to control and silence anyone who would dare dissent. Lotor, in his prison, looks upon Merla and sees everything that he was working toward. 

Shiro gets a new arm built. Keith gets quiet reconciliation with his father. Hunk discovers that he’s become so much braver than before. Lance reconnects with his family, and finds he misses space. Allura and Coran get into some lighthearted Earth shenanigans with each of the Paladins, maybe visit a zoo while they’re at it. Lance reaches out to Shiro, and speaks about his time leading Voltron, and also that he has more about his sexuality than he thought. There’s a small confession of feelings, and they decide to enjoy their time together, going on a date. 

They all find they miss traveling through space and realize that it is their love of the universe that brought them to fight for it, and that their failures do not define them. Also, they decide, when this is all over and done with they’ll go on a road trip across the universe. 

The Galaxy Garrison does their best to run the Paladins around any actual duties, until it’s revealed that the GG is reaching out toward Merla, and building their own Voltron out of fifteen vehicles. The Paladins gather together, fleeing Earth after a brief clash with Vehicle Voltron. The clash leaves doubt in the pilots and various members of the GG about the alliance with Merla. 

Voltron is on the run now, reaching out to old allies, finding the Hoktril in place on those planets. 

The rebels build their own Gladiator Voltron to protect against Merla after discovering the existence of the Hoktril. They take their team and Gladiator Voltron and flee, going to help others and join back up with Voltron. The Coalition shows unease at Merla’s rule. 

Merla clashes with Haggar, who takes the prototype teludav made of the Sincline Comet and is working on something. Haggar takes the upper hand, sending Merla on the defensive and fleeing back to Zarkon, revealing that she’s been playing both sides and that despite her past as Honerva, Haggar is her true self and her ends are her own to achieve. 

Lotor escapes, broken out of his prison by his own engenuity and with the help of his Generals. Narti, now awake, joins in as the five flee in the Sincline to find Voltron and warn them. 

Zarkon’s own rule over the Empire is crumbling, more and more of his subordinates showing a lack of faith and trust and obedience in him. Haggar proposes her new rift gate, and that they use the rift creatures within to cement Zarkon’s rule. 

Everyone is on the move, the forces gathering and reaching out to Voltron. Merla begins sending out combat mechas, ones originally prototyped under Merla and improved by Haggar, to sow fear and attempt to regain control. Sendak defects from Zarkon, finding Voltron and Sincline and fighting Shiro, this time to Shiro’s win. Sendak’s sense of honor is such that Zarkon’s win at the Kral Zera was dishonerable and while he does still hate Voltron, he would rather see someone with true Galra Honor like Lotor seated upon the throne of the Empire instead of Zarkon. 

Lotor reaches out to Voltron, and in the process finally tells Acxa, Keith, and the rest of the various allies about Marmora and the circumstances of her death. Marmora had gone to Earth, then returned, and with it Haggar had placed a same kind of mind control as Shiro and Narti were victims to. Through her, Zarkon had learned of the true method Lotor was using to rule over the Altean planet Pollux. Romelle had managed to escape, but what she saw was Lotor watching Pollux burn. In his panic, Lotor had killed his sister, and since then has regretted his actions and worked toward the peace that she had wanted for the Empire. 

Lotor has decided that while he will stand up as the new leader of the Galra, the Empire reduced and dismantled down into a small number of systems capable of safely being the new home of the Galra. He will not see the Galra as conquerors, and will not see the Empire continue to exist. Sendak shared what he learned about Zarkon’s plans, while Lotor and the Generals share what knowledge they’ve gained about Merla and, more importantly, Haggar’s plans. 

The prep for the final battle begins, with Voltron’s return to the stage by battling Merla’s mechas, and even joining in with the Gladiator Voltron. Vehicle Voltron turns up, Earth and the rest of the Coalition having defected away from Merla. Together, Allura and Lotor discover a means of breaking the Hoktril, and dig deeper into Voltron’s past. 

They learn about the rift creatures, beings of Chaos and Void, and of the Defenders that fought against it: the Lions, the Sincline, and the Oriande. Oriande is discovered to be what the White Lion is named, and is the Paladin of Light. Sincline is similar, and its Paladin of Dark. They, along with Voltron, are the Seven Paladins of Creation, the Defenders of the Universe. They learn that the Cosmic Abyss is where the Ancients come from, who began the universe and where Voltron called home. The great calamity that turned it into the Cosmic Abyss is from when the rift creatures touched it, and Voltron and Sincline battled it and ended up as the comets scattered around the universe. 

Allura is established as the leader of the Coalition. 

Lotor becomes the true Emperor of the Galra Empire. 

The Blade makes contact, having managed to gain knowledge of where the final battle will happen. 

Haggar enacts her rift gate, letting loose the Void Creatures from the rift. Zarkon takes one of the creatures within himself, transforming into a robeast that battles off Merla’s own attack. 

THe heroes arrive, fighting the Void Creatures. Voltron is joined by Sincline, Vehicle Voltron, Gladiator Voltron, the rebels, the Blade, and the Coalition. Allura directs them all from the Castle, until she brings the Castle into the battle. Merla and her remaining mechas join as well, realizing that she’s failed and when this is over she will have to stand for her crimes in both this universe and her own. From inside the rift, more realities join in: the Guns of Gamara, and even other version of Voltron from different realities. 

The Castle transforms, Allura realizing that she has passed on the White Lion spirit into the Castle of Lions itself. They join the battle, and gain the upper hand. Voltron fights Zarkon, striking him down as he leads the Void Creatures. Allura and Lotor both fight Haggar, ultimately leading to her defeat. The Void Creatures are defeated, and the rift gate, now the void gate, is destroyed. 

The universe is saved.

The various other Voltrons are returned to their universes, and Merla is taken into custody by the Guns of Gamara. With the universe moving toward peace, the Paladins go and kidnap Allura and Coran, promising to return the president of the Coalition once their road trip across the universe is done. In the meantime, Vehicle Voltron prepares to go out and ensure that there continues to be peace within the Coalition and no pirates or factions of the Empire try to rise up. Gladiator Voltron prepares for a long journey around the universe, fighting for justice wherever it is needed.

And the Paladins? They finally get that road trip.

[spiftynifty]

VLD Rewatch: Season 3

For a half-of-a-half season, season 3 packs quite a bit in and sets up a lot of plot. This shouldn't be surprising; Voltron was laid out as three 26-ep seasons, with each season bringing a new big bad and new theme. Season 3 is our beginning of the Lotor arc and there's a lot of setup and... a lot to unpack here.

For those who are still in "can't do it" mode about rewatching the series (which is fair), here's a quick summary to catch you up:

Shiro has been missing for (it's kind of implied) months. Without Shiro, Voltron and the group are fractured, especially with Keith's deep grief over losing Shiro preventing the recruitment a new Paladin.

Ultimately, Keith takes up the mantle of the Black Lion, Lance moves to Red, and Allura gets Blue. The group is clumsy and outmatched by Lotor and his generals who are definitely Up to Something. Keith tries to play leader and it's a bad look when he's making decisions via grief escapism. The team gets briefly trapped on a foggy wifi-less planet, discovers a bizarro alt-reality where Alteans rule the universe and Shiro is Swedish and doesn't mind Slav, and trails after Lotor and Co who have made off with the reality-breaking comet from Svavland.

Meanwhile Shiro escapes the Galra again, catches up with Voltron, shares a couple lowlit intimate moments with Keith while also awkwardly undermining his authority and jeopardizing the safety of the team, but no one suspects a thing.

Oh and there's a flashback episode about the OG paladins that I'll be honest I skipped since it turns out literally nothing that happened in the past is relevant to the present day and our only major revelations are that we (and Haggar) learn that she was once Honerva, Zarkon her husband was once kinda adorable, and turning evil swaps out your voice actor. Oh and Honerva had a cat who may or may not be as old as Haggar and potentially still kicking around.

Let's talk about season 3.

There's good and bad to be had with this season. Originally when I began my rewatch of the show I wanted to do it as though I were watching the season for the first time. Season 1 and 2 made that astonishingly easy; of all the seasons they seem the most confident about what the show is and what it's going for. Season 1 is for the mild setup and world building, season 2 is for the character building, relationship building, lion building, and problem resolving. Season 2 is arguably the show's strongest season overall so it's a tough act to follow. Season 3... makes an effort.

The good of this season is really good. Keith's grief over losing Shiro surprised and moved me the first time I saw the season and I was impressed with how long they held onto it given the show's habit of moving on pretty quick. Keith's grief holds the team back and endangers it; his early insistence on going after Lotor felt like a way to channel his anguish and maybe get a little revenge for his loss. Keith got one of his most significant character boosts in season 2, and following it through in this season sets up a complicated Keith that we will see for seasons to come.

The other good is Lotor. Lotor is handsome and charismatic and devastatingly cunning and is a polar opposite to his Saturday-morning-cartoon-villain dad. Zarkon was threatening, but Lotor is INTERESTING and his "wait and see" approach makes us the audience want to wait and see what he's up to. His band of generals are intriguing and colorful and I love the variation of their designs and personalities.

And of course, we can't talk about the good stuff in season 3 without discussing Shiro and Keith's relationship. Season 2 gave us some really fantastic growth and moments and entire episodes between them, but Season 3 brought a new level of intimacy that definitely bumped it up a notch. From the slow-moving reunion and closeups of only Shiro and Keith's faces, to their quiet moments alone in dimly lit rooms. This season gave us "as many times as it takes", which remains one of the most beautiful little exchanges between the pair in the whole series. The jury is still out on whether or not Sheith was a hopeful intention by the creatives on this show or just an incredibly happy accident, but looking at some of the decisions made in 3x05 and 3x06 especially lean more to the former. These scenes are more bittersweet now knowing how it all ends up.

There is a lot of setup for future things in general, and this is where it becomes difficult to separate what is in s3 with what will be by the end of s6 (and beyond) because some things we just can't unknow. It was really interesting to see how things that made me very hyped after this season now take on a bit of a disappointing and even bitter flavor because some roads really don't go anywhere. Lotor's mysterious plans for instance, only seem to get more mysterious, as do his allegiances. He spends most of this season clearly toying with the Paladins, clearly prepared to destroy them or let them destroy themselves, but later he sides with them and the Paladins seem pretty quick to forgive this and assume he's a good guy now. Lotor's "side" is never clearly established since his goals never are. The Lotor in s3 is interesting by virtue of the assumption that we will eventually learn all his secrets. But we never do, and that definitely for me taints him as a character.

Speaking of some mixed character motivations, s4 reveals that Narti was either a spy for Haggar the whole time or that Kova was, or both, and yet in season 3 Haggar sends a goon off to spy on Lotor. Even in Haggar's private moments she seems unsure of what Lotor is up to so this later reveal that she was aware the whole time is an odd one and still left very vague.

Similarly, major problems arise with Shiro in s3 but only via the hindsight of s4-6. Everything about the way Shiro is brought back into the fold in season 3 is highly suspicious. From a narrative standpoint I want to say it begins with Sven as foreshadowing, an alternate-reality Shiro who looks JUST LIKE SHIRO but is NOT SHIRO. Unfortunately I think this was less of an audience wink and more of an excuse to nod to the original Sven. But Shiro's Journey opens with scientists doing tests on him, Shiro's pupils dilating to the sound of camera lens adjustments, and Shiro literally seeing a dead-eyed copy of himself on a slab. The words "Operation Kuron" are repeated at least three times as the Galra let him escape. When Shiro meets the two aliens on the ice planet and they accuse him of being a traitor, Shiro protests, "I'm not a--" and never finishes. He does pilot logs into a Galra Cruiser as he tails Voltron. And that's just in one episode.

The next episode has him repeatedly undermining Keith's newfound leadership position (a position Shiro repeatedly encouraged Keith into in s1/2 to Keith's great reluctance), to the point of talking over him and shouting at him. He dismisses the safety of the team for the sake of the mission; something that goes expressly against the team Voltron way of doing things (Kolivan details this in s4) and is completely against Shiro's nature. It felt manipulative to me the first time and it still feels off when at the end of this he privately tells Keith "I'm sorry I had to step in back there", referring to Keith's failure (which was not a failure) and then in the next breath "you're good at this." This was the topic of many a heated debate when the episode came out but from my end there is just no way to see that the man presented here is Shiro and not an insidious clone.

There's a term for this that I forget where the storyteller essentially gaslights the audience for no real reason. Ultimately we will come to know that this is Shiro. A little more short-tempered but ultimately a good boy and not the potentially fully aware evil clone that season 3 hints at. It's bad writing; and the reason that it's bad writing is that the audience is privy to very little more than the characters are when it comes to Kuron and yet the characters are not in the slightest bit suspicious about the behaviour that we the audience sees as suspect. We end up gaslighting ourselves because of bad writing, only to learn that we were right the whole time. And genuinely, speaking as someone who loves all Shiros dearly, Kuron is a whole walking writing disaster. But more on that as we get further into the season.

I don't love the episode, but the Comet episode is a surprisingly adult-oriented one and presents an interesting flip to things and an intriguing hypothesis that I wish had been explored better, or longer, or something. As I've said 100x before, Galra aren't an inherently evil race; they're the result of a 10,000 yr universe takeover. This episode suggests that Alteans are no better, and the broader implications of this are massive and should have offered a much bigger fundamental shift in the characters and the way they viewed this war. In particular Allura, who previously immediately turned against Keith the moment his heritage was revealed, despite having become good friends with him. Her learning that her own people aren't immune to "absolute power corrupts absolutely" is a moment that is not given any real weight or consequence . This is a letdown especially since this potentially weightier-themed episode was self-aware enough of that weight to be the only episode outside of the Voldemort season to show imagery maybe a little too old for its younger audience (the repeated shot of the mummified Altean scientist).

From a production standpoint I noticed a lot of little things. There were a number of hookup issues; some hilariously drawn bg characters, some compositing that worked and some that decidedly didn't. Some of the editing was a little rough in places and some of the timing of things felt very off. There were some jokes that ran long and didn't land and threw the pacing off or stole time from other things. The editing on the Comet episode was particularly off and the characters were visually difficult to track at times. Also, there is definitely a different/longer version of the "As many times as it takes" scene even if it only exists in script or maybe board form. All of the Shiros in that scene were drawn by Ryu, who was often tapped for revisions (particularly for Shiro and Lotor). But the Keith in that scene is not a Ryu Keith; and Keith's "Well--" in "If you're feeling up to it" sounds like two lines spliced together. Ryu's fingerprints are all over 3x06 in interesting places; I definitely spotted his artwork in at least one shot of the Galra post leader and I think a Zethrid. He drew a few of the short haired Shiros as well. I think this episode underwent a number of changes; I remember too that Lance exclaiming "you're looking better" was originally Keith's line. At the same time we get little nice superfluous animations like the foreground gecko. Just a lot of inconsistencies.

Overall it's still an alright season but knowing what's coming means I just don't love this season the way I used to. The little moments that rock still rock but a lot of plot pawns were pushed forward that were ultimately just discarded. I can't wait to see if finishing the next 3 seasons will retroactively bump this season back up to where it once was in my heart. 

[holysmotez]

Cubes of Olkarion early access first impressions

So I decided to pull the trigger and pick up Cubes (had some credit on my acct I haven't used in months, so heck with it).  For those of you who are anywhere between 'skittish' and 'on-the-fence' about VLD, like I was, I wanted to run some recon for you.  And tbh, I was actually kind of intrigued by the gameplay itself.  My logic was that at the very least, even if all the Voltron stuff made about as much sense as the show (a clusterfuck), I'd still might get an OK game out of it.  

The following is a more of a disorganized, steam of consciousness brain dump than a review, but hopefully I can help satisfy some curiosity that might be out there.

I want to reiterate that the game IS early access right now, but all 5 Paladins are available, and there are a handful of stages unlocked.  I've spent a grand total of maybe ~5ish mins on the tutorial, and ~45mins on the game itself so far.  And so far, it's a pretty clever game.  By clever I mean one that's going to kick my ass until I start getting the hang of it.  But I WANT to get the hang of it.  So that's a point in its favor from a purely gaming perspective.

But you want to know what's crazy?  All the shit you all really want to know about?  The Voltron stuff-- actually does make sense.  But not because of the show (except for the music. Ugh the VLD intro/main theme still makes my heart feel all fuzzy).

As far as I can tell, this game doesn’t give a shit about the canon past S2, and - I have to laugh here - it works great.

What do I mean?  Bear with me, because I'm going to try and explain as best as I can, but first, a little context.

There have been some fascinating post-mortems of VLD, and particularly regarding the Paladin emblems that emerged from the marketing side.  I recommend giving A few thoughts on DW/VLD Marketing by @ptw30 and Voltron: Legendary Planning Fail by @nomadicism a thorough read.  Basically, there are these emblems that came about from VLD merch and toys, but not so much from the show itself.  Their existence suggests that at one point - before or circa when creative tossed out the show bible and pulled the rug out - that these emblems were to symbolize the corresponding elements and their Paladins/Lions.  You know-- like we're shown in the show's goddamned intro.  But since the EPs et al deviated from the original bible, and the whole Lion swap thing happened, these elemental connections were de-emphasized in the show.

Here they are in the game.  And I'm not gonna lie-- seeing these kinda reassured me in my purchasing decision.

The elemental stuff seems like it's back on with Cubes, and it's such a weird thing to wrap my brain around.  Because it's Voltron canon...and it's kind of not Voltron canon?  Quantum canon? Idk. Seems appropriate for a sci-fi space robot show.

Anyway, reason I say this because all the Cubes themselves are all elemental.  There are 8 different types.  Five correspond to the Paladins, and then there is Allura, Coran, and (I think?) Haggar who are unavailable/locked characters, who round out the 8.  Based on the types of Olkarion cubes there are, I can only presume they ALSO have (had?) corresponding elements associated with them, which is kinda interesting...

This leads me to my one well, not really a gripe, but a feature that I'm curious as to how they will expand on it.  This is early access, after all.  As with many games, you are provided with an "Oh Shit" button that can turn the tide of a match if/when timed well.  While you're playing a match, there's a power bar that fills up as you play, which you can then spend so that construction and ammo charges recharge much faster for a brief time.  Based on the tutorial text, my impression was that your power-up would correspond to the character you select, but as of now it doesn't appear to be the case.  Coran (your tutor, natch) however, suggests stuff about how the Paladins deepening their connections with their Lions might unlock more?  I kinda hope that depending on which Paladin you play, that the power boost will ultimately correspond to the character's particular cube element in some way, since it would make for more interesting choices/gameplay than there are now.

Anyway, that about wraps up my initial impressions!   I'm definitely going to practice at it more, and as a bitter salty BP Shiro fan, I'm happy to say Cubes (so far) does not offend.  Or at least, this game doesn't seem to want to put anymore salt in the wound.  Granted, I have no idea what possible extra skins/outfits they might add, so I can't say whether we'll get a Kuron or Captain/Garrison duds for instance.  But again, with the element stuff, idk?  Either way, BP Shiro is there in all his glory, even if it pains me to beat his ass whenever the AI randomizer picks him.  Oops.  Um, it’s just a game?

[storiesbeyondthestars]

I remember watching S4 & 5 and realizing ‘oh, Lance is going to end up having a huge part in Shiro’s arc’, though at the same time, as anyone who has read my story Ignite the Stars knows, I predicted the shit out of the Keith and Shiro fight (which, to this day, remains one of my favourite moments in Voltron). I always knew that a Keith and Shiro showdown was the only way for that to go, I just thought Lance would be involved somehow.

But he wasn’t. It was one of those little moments that had me stumped. A lot of people just got mad  and accused the creators of hating Lance, getting rid of his arc, being racist, all kinds of bull like that.

It got me thinking though. Why set up Lance being the one to notice something was wrong with Shiro? Yes, a few others noticed that he was a bit off, but not in the same way. 

It was one of those things, in retrospect, that Lance pieced together and realized ‘oh fuck it was staring me right in the face’. Some fans like to claim that Lance is the most observant one attuned to others feelings but…no, he’s really not. I can now confidently say that that wasn’t the point of the entire thing at all, because I think I know what it was, and I think we’re about to see this play out in S8. (Heads up, this gets super long.)

Lance isn’t the most observant of the Paladins. He’s not the most sensitive. He’s not the most intelligent. He can think of good plans, but he’s also an impulsive little shit too and isn’t the most patient.  Lance’s greatest strength is the fact that he’s adaptable. Lance, from episode one, has been shown to learn from his mistakes. We see this when he crashes a simulation but learns from it and adapts, and is able to better fly Blue later.

We saw this when he went from claiming he would never follow Keith’s lead to being the first one to vocally support him. We saw this when his gun turned into a sword and he rolled with it.

Lance learns and adapts like no one else, especially when he makes a mistake. And we know a part of him feels guilty about what happened with Shiro.

That’s so important with Lance, because he’s not going to make the same mistake again.

I want to talk about Keith for a second now.

I’ve been one of the ones with the on-going theories that something is going to go down with Keith, that Honerva wants to get her hands on him for some reason that likely has to do with his connection to quintessence (and the fact that he was soaked in an entire vat of it). It’s very likely that she’s going to try to corrupt him in some form.

As we know now, in moments of extreme emotional distress, Keith does seem to get access to more Galra characteristics. The sclera of his eyes turn yellow, his irises become slits, it looks like he gets fangs, and, from those two moments during his fight with Shiro, he seems to become stronger.

While fighting with Shiro, those two moments were there for a reason. Keith was thinking about his actions, he was entirely on the defensive, but Shiro pushed him once and he lashed out, and that’s when we saw the Galra eyes and Shiro saying “There’s the Keith I remember”. It’s not because of Keith’s eyes, it’s because that’s literally the Keith he remembers, the one who would run full-tilt into a fight rather than play defensive.

The second time, Keith’s life is in danger, and Shiro says that the others are dead and Keith once again acts on instinct.

That part of him that shows up isn’t necessarily ‘feral’ or bad by any means, but when Keith’s in whatever frame of mind he gets in to prompt the physical changes, he moves by pure instinct.

A lot of people who don’t like the theory that Keith’s going to be corrupted or something argue that it’s playing into the ‘Galra are animals’, ‘Galra are all bad’ and stuff like that, but no, in this case, it’s not. Galra have never one been shown to react the same way Keith did. Not once. Galra have never once been shown to be able to shift their forms without quintessence. And that’s why I bring it up in this at all.

And Haggar/Honerva never showed any interest in Keith prior to this, where she would have been watching from Kuron’s eyes. We know this, because she wants Kuron to kill him. Keith’s eyes changing is the only thing that really would have caught her interest. She saw something there, something that made Keith stand out, and I doubt it was just the fact that he defeated Shiro.

I think that Honerva’s been targeting Keith ever since. The last thing she told her druids to do was to target the Blade of Marmora. Pidge assumes that the destruction came about because everyone in the Blade was exposed after Lotor fell, but what if that wasn’t the case? That was just Pidge’s assumption and we do face unreliable narrators all the time in this show. 

Honerva doesn’t know what happened to them, but she was watching through the clone’s eyes when Keith introduced his mother to Shiro and called her ‘a member of the Blade of Marmora’. Not hard to extrapolate that Keith was one too.

She’s a puppet master. She doesn’t need to do everything herself. So she sends her Druids after Keith – taking out the Blade of Marmora in the process, but keeping Kolivan alive to draw others in.

The fact that the druid doesn’t target Krolia immediately in The Ruins tells me something was up with that. She admitted to training a ton of Blades. She’s a high ranking member. She should have been target #1. But she wasn’t. Keith was. Yes, Kosmo separated Keith from the others, and the druid threatened to kill him – but I don’t think that would have ended up being the case.

I think that a part of him maybe hoped to hold Keith (like Kolivan) until he could find ‘Haggar’ again.

Except, she was gone doing her own thing with the Alteans, growing her own Empire. And she didn’t leave it at that. I think that Acxa too is working for her (in a show of loyalty towards Lotor most likely…to try and help him), and has been trying to track Keith specifically. She literally tells us this.

Unlike the Druid, Acxa helps them. Acxa puts herself in a position where it seems like Keith and everyone else can trust her. She plays on Allura’s feelings for Lotor too – relating to her over the entire thing. It works.

Now, why am I talking about all of this? Because something’s up with Keith.

1.He doesn’t appear much in the trailer. Two scenes (get to your lions and when he’s fighting). The last time they pulled that with Keith, it was because he left Voltron. Now, I also think they only showed us footage from maybe 3-4 episodes, so that’s still a lot, and there was plenty of Voltron shown so Keith has to be there (not to mention stuff from NYCC), but the point still stands.

2. In this first pic of the group, he’s up front and center. Keith doesn’t shy away from being the leader now. His posture is open, confident, and he’s ready for anything.

Then we got the picture from what’s likely the filler episode, and it was pointed out that something looks terribly wrong with Keith’s eyes. 

There’s no shine to them, which is a pretty good indicator that you should be wary of a person, that something’s wrong with them. At first I thought it was just an error, cause budget, but they’ve added in that detail in smaller scenes before.

 It’s not there on purpose. (This series of pics came from this post here on twitter!)

It’s very likely that something or someone is working to ‘corrupt’ Keith in a sense. Probably his quintessence. Who does he currently trust that was shown looking for him specifically at the end of S7? Oh, right. Acxa.

It wouldn’t be hard to isolate Keith. Get Pidge and Hunk doing their own thing, Shiro busy being the Captain of the Atlas, and Lance and Allura off with one another? Not to mention the hurt Keith probably feels about that whole thing? Yeah, he’s going to be spending time with Acxa, likely being more isolated from the others and slowly corrupted.

The newest picture tells me this too. 

His eyes already seem dull there, and he’s physically very separated from the rest of the Paladins (outside of Shiro, but that makes sense given the layout of the ship). Pidge, Lance, and Hunk look ready to throw down with whatever they’re looking at, Shiro too, and Allura looks super concerned, but Keith doesn’t even look like he’s looking in the same direction.

He’s Voltron’s leader. He should be front and center if there’s a threat there (plus that’s the Keith-thing to do). He’s not. This is the second image where he looks off. Something is wrong.

In the trailer, we see him alone. He has nothing but his Marmora Blade with him. He looks cornered and desperate. That’s not a good thing. Something is wrong.

Now this started as a Lance post and turned into a Keith one. Why?

Well, if Keith’s subtly being corrupted, subtly starting to change and act differently, no one’s going to catch onto this, right?

Unless, of course, there’s someone around who almost caught onto a very similar scenario, but ended up just shrugging it off and felt terribly guilty over that. Someone who just happens to be defined by being adaptable and learning from his mistakes. Someone who seemed to lose part of his own story arc out of nowhere.

Lance was never going to be the one to save Shiro, because he’s going to be the one to save Keith. THAT is what the entire thing is building to. I mean, you can take it from a platonic standpoint if you wish though I don’t see it that way.

Keith being ‘corrupted’ is super similar to what happened with the clone, and that’s the entire point. Lance wasn’t able to help Shiro and sees it as a personal failure. We know he does because he was in tears about it. It’s especially important that Shiro tried to reach out to Lance in the Astral Plane – because that moment turned into a failure, and ultimately, that’s the place that Lance is going to actually save Keith.

I still think that we’re very likely to see a fight between the two of them – and no, I’m not romanticizing violence between a pairing. Jesus. The assumption that the fight in and of itself is the exciting part is disgusting. Keith won’t be in his right mind at all, and in the end, it won’t be Lance defeating Keith the way Keith defeated the clone that decides the ‘winner’. Keith outclasses Lance as a swordsman by a long shot, and Lance isn’t going to be able to defeat him.

Keith tried to reason with Shiro, tried to talk to him, but it didn’t work. In this case, Lance is going to try to do the same. He’s going to try and reach Keith because he doesn’t want to fight him. They’re not enemies. At the very least, they’re friends. And it’s going to work. He’s going to get through to him, because no, violence isn’t the answer to this at all.

That’s what makes it so powerful.

So, to summarize: Lance’s storyline with Shiro appeared to be dropped, but it really wasn’t. It was set up for his upcoming storyline instead.

[ganymedesclock]

Clockie unpacks: Team Sincline

Well, okay, here it is, it’s time to talk about it.

So, I went through a lot of emotions with season 8. Some of them were disappointment. Some of them were anger. Some of them were happiness, and, some of them were a kind of relief.

The first is the realization that I’ve been kind of putting the show on an idealized pedestal. At first, that was easy- a lot of its issues were minor and easily overlooked in the face of what was overwhelmingly a lot of good. And even in its ending, it did a lot of good.

But it also did some not so good, and some genuinely frustrating.

And that’s okay. I think ultimately, the verdict is I still like Legendary Defender. It’s been the kicking-off point to get me heavily into the other Voltron continuities and I think out of the continuities I’ve encountered it’s still by far leader of the pack. It did its job getting me to care heavily about all of these characters and a total clown show with no redeeming qualities would not have done that.

That said, it definitely has lobbed the ball right into that particular intense alley where with enough to make me love it, it also has enough to frustrate me and get my little rewriting goblin fingers trembling up a storm, which is about what I’ve been doing in private with my friends since s8 dropped- lots and lots and lots of AUs.

I’m going to be titling and tagging all of these “Clockie Unpacks S8″- specifically referring to me unpacking my thoughts and emotions on the show. This is obviously not meant to be taken as an unbiased judgment from on high, just a dude in his kitty pjs and at some point, other clothes, blogging about cartoons. Also, fair warning, this is gonna have some undertones of bitterness to it; again, I still love the show, but there’s quite a few things they did I am really not wild about.

With that introduction, let’s kick things off. The first topic I’m picking is really, really predictable, because it’s my favorite goshdang characters.

Team Sincline: Ezor, Axca, Lotor, Narti, and Zethrid. Admittedly, this is going to be looking at them from s3 to the end of the show, so, it’s gonna have a lot more than just s8 in it, but, with the show concluding, I want to talk about what I loved and what I didn’t.

The frustrating thing about Team Sincline is that I can go back all the way to s3 and tell that these guys were not intended to make it.

The Lack of Curiosity

Even when we were clearly given the screentime and focus to relate to them, to want them to win, to want them to do well, a certain amount of onscreen attention is not given to how they’re obviously struggling. We know they’re struggling. Their entire thing is they’re a group of disenfranchised minorities within the empire. They act like people who are all quietly used to being desperate, to making cutthroat decisions, from Acxa stonefaced gunning down Lotor (which, sorry, that, was not an act,) to Lotor ultimately getting frustrated at the paladins because he knows it was bad to hurt the colony Alteans, the morality of the action is besides the point, the point is if you didn’t want the cutthroat solution to the problem you shouldn’t have left him in charge, and don’t you show up passing judgment with all of your better resources and actual support after he’s already done the hard work the brutal way-

But as long as they’re Sincline, we just see them in sharp uniforms. We never see Lotor outside of his nice uniform, actually, except when he’s a child.

Lotor has a crew besides the generals, but, we never hear who they are. We just assume a significant part of the empire followed him into exile, even when in practice, we can assume the two fleets Acxa dismissively sets up to be bait for Voltron in s3e3 weren’t any of theirs. Are these more half-galra? Why would they wear standard imperial uniforms? There’s so many questions about how Lotor got half the resources he did, and where he got them, considering he was so obviously cut off from support and holding colonies. If he did obtain other territories for fiscal support, why didn’t he or the generals run to any of them when things went downhill?

The generals themselves have no backstory. Sure, there are implications- all the parallels drawn between Acxa and Keith-

(though Krolia’s comment in s6e2 that Keith was the most important thing to her would seem a bit condemning to the idea she had another child, unless she somehow assumes her daughter is dead, and is thus excluding her on those grounds, much like she would exclude her husband who she knows is dead- likewise, Keith never sees a second child, unless Acxa was born afterwards, meaning Krolia was pregnant when she left and was unaware, which might explain why she didn’t return to Earth to leave Acxa behind, if her pregnancy was only discovered once she was already undercover and there wasn’t an easy way to make the baby disappear back to Earth where she’d be safe)

-there’s Kythra which is brought up as a setting and Te-Osh openly shoved in our faces so we can see how obvious it is Zethrid is galra-kythran, a connection that never appears to go anywhere, not with Te-Osh, and not with Kythra as a planet. We don’t even seem to have any more Kythrans in the coalition even though they help Pidge in her search in s4e2.

There’s Ranveig’s superweapon, which, especially in the technopathy it manifests, strongly resembles Narti and makes it pretty likely where she came from.

And there’s one of the pirates in s7 and s8 who’s seemingly the same galra-unknown that Ezor is, possibly a relative of hers.

But these stories aren’t explored. I’m not saying we needed full backstory episodes from all of them- runtime is limited (although, frankly, why would you introduce these characters and never go into who they are)- but we needed something. Hell, if nothing else, it would’ve been nice to mention and acknowledge Narti’s existence sometime after s4. She became something to condemn Lotor over, and, then, everyone forgot about her, evidently; the paladins never ask about that one with no eyes that gave them so much trouble, they never even have to face or deal with her incredible power.

And especially when we discover Kova was basically Lotor’s only childhood friend, this should have massively recontextualized his relationship with Narti that he would give Kova to her as her attendant. It should’ve meant something serious and concerning that he would just leave Kova behind without a second thought even if we somehow have assumed that Lotor wouldn’t grieve Narti.

Frankly, it should have meant something serious that he’d cut Narti down in the first place, but we have so little answers on how Haggar was able to affect Narti. Yes, we can speculate, especially about the riftbugs and Ranveig’s superweapon, but the thing is, this plot hole shouldn’t be here where we as an audience need to fill it. Did Lotor assume Narti was a willing traitor? Has Haggar done this to him before? Could she have killed Narti on her own?

These questions aren’t answered. And, as a result, the dissolution of Team Sincline feels kind of contrived.

Why did they fall apart?

In s3, it’s clear the Generals are completely trusting of Lotor. Even when that’s called into question, they clearly miss him and want him back. Before s4e3, it seems like nothing’s taboo or uncomfortable for them; and four for four, these are cautious, smart, calculating people. They do not trust blindly. As far as VLD’s own rules about solidarity, trust, and open emotional exchange, Team Sincline does everything right in its first season.

Lotor is emotionally transparent to the generals. Not just in the sense of which plans he tells them about in detail and involves them in the formation of (the majority of them) but that he makes his entire thought process clear to them, to the point that in many ways, they’re comfortable and confident in their ability to read Lotor.

The times that they’re unable to read him, and are shocked by his behavior, frankly doesn’t even work as a contrast to this- because when Lotor surprises them, it’s because these sentiments genuinely are coming out of left field.

The Lotor that screams he’s going to get rid of all of the galra is not talking about a long-term plan, and this is pretty obvious given how earlier in the exact same season, he pulls this face when Allura talks about how they need to protect occupied galra planets. Keep in mind this is Allura- someone who Lotor unambiguously admires and adores.

Keep in mind Allura’s heroic and compassionate nature is pretty clearly one of the things Lotor admires about her. 

This is a guilty reaction. This is someone who’s agreeing with Allura’s assessment that they morally have to respond to the Omega Shield- whose objection against it was not that he didn’t want to, but that he suspected it was a trap.

If Lotor’s endgame goal was to make the Alteans into an army and use them to kill the galra, none of his behavior makes any sense. However, if that was never Lotor’s endgame goal but something he landed on in a combination of desperation and power high because he’s been kicked so many times in his ability to trust that frankly the idea that just getting rid of everyone so he can finally, finally stop feeling personally betrayed by everything he gets close to starts to look like an appealing option- makes total sense to his behavior.

And I can’t fault Ezor for being scared of that side of him once it rears its head. Lotor’s breakdown at the end of s6 is not pretty at all, and after Narti’s fate, the generals are all unsure whether or not the Lotor they know is real (though we as an audience have all the evidence it is) or if he’s just been a very successful conman. They’re all, as much as he is, vulnerable people in a bad bargaining position. They’re all going to be anxiously hypervigilant that they weren’t just suckered by someone they felt like they could trust for years.

I can’t blame Acxa and Allura for talking about him the way they do.

I can blame the narrative, however, for giving them those words, for giving them those situations, that response, and never challenging it.

In s8, we do a lot of mooning over Lotor’s fate. In s8 we’re given the most sympathetic flashbacks to Lotor’s lifetime of abuse, neglect, and how many times his legs were basically cut out from under him, how many times he lost everything and had to start over from scratch at Zarkon’s whim, and all the scar tissue that built up psychologically for him.

However, all that s8 mooning is exclusively for Honerva’s benefit. Lotor’s long gone, and they went out of their way to show us, grotesquely, exactly how far gone and not coming back he is. The generals aren’t there. The main time Lotor talks is as a puppet for the riftbug playing on Allura’s lingering guilt and lost love.

This is pretty significant considering Sincline- the symbol of this team, the unity of what they could accomplish together- is stolen by Honerva, puppeted, and then assimilated into her machine.

The feeling is these people were conceived in s3 specifically to be disposed of. They were born to die. Their downfall was planned from the start, and that is the explanation for the lack of curiosity.

I’ve seen the argument raised that they’re supposed to contrast Voltron in terms of their dissolution but if you want to explore a failed team in contrast to our heroes... we already have that, perfectly tailored to the role in a way that Sincline is not remotely. A team whose failure is written in the stars from the moment we clap eyes on them, and whose downfall moves enormous pieces of the plot:

The paladins of old.

If we really wanted to write a drama about the dissolution of Team Voltron, they were right there. We know before we meet Gyrgan, Trigel, and Blaytz that all of these people are dead. We even get to see them in the finale. And they’re, of the three groups of paladins we see, the ones who aren’t underdogs. They were sovereigns of occupied planets. They were confident, bold, enthusiastic about the future and they had very little to fear.

There’s stories to tell there, but, ultimately, they’re the least compelling- what makes them interesting is that sense of a forgotten golden age, the way they were lost to time, and lost to Zarkon’s ambition.

Conversely, Team Sincline is basically a group of vulnerable minorities holding onto each other in the dark. Even when they’re introduced confidently and dramatically...

...We see them stealing around central command like thieves. When they move publicly, they move together; when they talk, it’s lurking around in darkened corners, privately discussing how their duplicity of the larger empire is going well.

These are vulnerable people. Even at the top of their game, they cannot afford making their sentiments open publicly. And even in public, Lotor’s speech to the empire is all about its maltreatment of minorities. It’s all about the underside of their boot, and the people ground into dust beneath it, because it’s a defining characteristic of Lotor, and of the generals, that they are the people who’ve been under the empire’s boot this entire time. They contrast the paladins and Allura as people who’ve been heavily affected by the empire’s cruelty, but largely, distantly, or in ways that did not define their life from the cradle. Even Shiro, who was actually brought into the empire’s hierarchy, only endured that hell for a single year before Ulaz rescued him and got him out of there, and he had a stable childhood and supportive environment to get him through it.

Team Sincline has nothing but each other. And then, starting with s4e3, we see them lose that. Peeled away, layer by layer by layer, as they get more miserable, more desperate, and continue stealing, continue bartering, losing more and more as they keep trying to find some way to make it work because these are people who’ve learned a long time ago their tears are meaningless and the only comfort they have is what they can find in the cracks.

There’s really nothing interesting about their downfall. It’s just sad. And frankly the reason why I was so sure this was going to turn around was the sense that they can’t just leave it like this. They wouldn’t just kill Narti with no saving grace and leave her body there in a way that doesn’t affect the plot at all, even to the end that they want it to- that she could easily have just been there with the other generals and parted ways with Lotor when they did. They wouldn’t just have Lotor lose all his friends one more time. They wouldn’t just take all of this amazing room to grow and explore these characters and flush it down the toilet to achieve basically nothing.

And? If I’m honest? They did.

3/5ths of a happy afterthought

I initially thought people were kidding when they said The Grudge looked like they planned for Ezor to have died in s7e3 and Zethrid perish in an attempt at revenge but oh boy howdy. Sure there could be innocent reasons they didn’t have Kimiko Glenn there in s8- it’s not like all the times they’ve changed Acxa’s VA mean they were planning to off her- but everything about that episode makes what I dismissed as a conspiracy theory sound a lot more plausible.

Zethrid is not a vengeful person. We see from as early as her first appearance that she has a soft spot for small animals and children. She can be talked down from killing people very easily, she likes to fight but talks up fighting worthy opponents- she’s happiest cutting her teeth against something big and strong like her that can hold its own.

Her motivation is also, overwhelmingly, that of a Yellow Paladin. There’s a reason she’s so clearly Hunk’s counterpart. “I will always protect you, Ezor.” We can actively see in s7e3 that when the blast goes off, Zethrid tries to shield Ezor with her own body. 

The heartbroken Zethrid we see in The Grudge, not quite taking care of herself, full of anger and bitterness and down to just wanting to make someone else hurt as much as she is- really could only have happened logically if Ezor had died. If Zethrid had felt like she’d failed as a protector for the last time, and was hitting a similar wall to Lotor himself- where after so many people dying or otherwise being lost she just couldn’t take it any more and gave up on trying.

In her post- grudge negotiations with the team, Zethrid is levelheaded and calm. Before being reunited with Ezor, she just looks empty and tired.

The person who’s always been the vindictive one is Ezor, and I don’t say that to demonize Ezor and depict Zethrid as saintly.

Ezor has an obvious edge to her, and, out of Team Sincline, she’s also the one who voices the most doubts and fears. She talks about the fun in torturing someone, and, behind the scenes, she also talks about being personally terrified that they’re going to be hunted down. She’s the one basically panicking as soon as Narti’s body hits the floor, she’s the one who’s anxious at Acxa shooting Haggar (“did you kill her?”)

Ezor is a brittle person- a lot of broken edges and anxiety. This is why The Grudge seems like an odd reversal in roles. If anyone would get overly preoccupied with getting even to the point of losing sight of themselves, it’d be Ezor. If anyone would be the person willing to bargain with enemies because this has gone too far and they’re scared of something going wrong and happening to hurt the other person, it’d be Zethrid. Zethrid who’s always defined herself as Ezor’s protector.

Now, again, being fair, it really does seem like they were backing off from a version of The Grudge that featured a dead Ezor and Zethrid either going to die or simply give up and remain in custody afterwards. But again, it comes back to this sense that Team Sincline suffers a huge amount in a way that doesn’t seem to narratively accomplish much or be particularly meaningful.

When the timeskip happens, Acxa and Matt grow their hair out. Earth builds its way up to a superpower on the footing with other planets and fights Sendak for survival.

Zethrid loses an eye and Ezor an entire leg, which s8 chases with a disfiguring scar for Zethrid and a missing eye for Ezor, too.

Now, I’m all for disability representation. Thing is, if that’s the angle they were going for, they could have started Team Sincline out with these grievous injuries. Hell, you could argue there’s potential evidence Ezor’s had a prosthetic leg all along- after all, in s5e2, she’s able to parry Shiro’s laser prosthetic with her leg and it would contextualize a lot of her fearful attitude and that she’s both romantically and in other ways drawn to Zethrid, who’s probably the warmest and most protective person out of Team Sincline.

As far as an “afterthought”.... Acxa sort of fades into the background in many ways after she starts working with the paladins. Someone who has been incredibly driven, who most clearly seems to follow Lotor out of a sense of higher purpose and something to believe in became a drifter who shows up to help the paladins and then wanders off to the coalition. She doesn’t even accompany them to Earth to help with the journey.

And then there’s their scene in the aftermath. Ultimately, the three surviving members of Team Sincline take their scars and injuries and join the Blade. They become Keith’s subordinates. Is this satisfying for them? Unsatisfying? Hard to say, since we know very little about their past and motivations. Zethrid probably likes taking care of people, but, is this the way she’d want to do that?

Narti stays dead. Maybe she somehow picked herself up, made an Altean suit, cut her tail off and became Matt’s helmeted girlfriend, but, considering how much of a ridiculous speculative long shot that is, I’m not going to cite that to canon’s credit.

Lotor stays dead, and, much like Narti’s death- so much of what led up to Lotor’s demise is rather poorly explained. We don’t know why Lotor harvested the colony, or what his intentions were, or if he planned to heal the podded Alteans, or even how Bandor escaped. With so many unknowns on the table, and so many things left open, we’re left feeling unsatisfied- like, maybe this whole thing could have been avoided, maybe the response was reasonable, we just get the shock- either of Lotor killing Narti or the sight of the lab- and then we’re urgently bustled forwards without analyzing the situation.

Not only that, but his afterlife ghost passed up Allura- his love- and Alfor- his personal hero- to have a loving heart to heart with both of his abusers.

Here’s the thing. Honerva never apologized. She said ‘he deserved better’ after having spent centuries watching him suffer and not just sitting on her hands but actively making it worse. Honerva, the one who has so much to say about her own suffering, has no possible way she could’ve been unaware of Lotor’s misery and the effect she was having on it. No matter what Being Haggar did to her, which seems largely a factor of disorientation and amnesia, you shouldn’t need to remember that baby came out of your body before you care at all that the person it grew up into has just lost everything while you sit there and watch, having more than enough power to stop this.

Zarkon never apologized to Lotor.

Neither of them made amends. Neither of them did anything that warranted Lotor being kind to them.

Neither of them even needed him for their happy ending. He was frankly just a possession to them. Honerva only ever even seems to consider Lotor’s own feelings at a point when Allura forcibly shows them to her. If we wanted Honerva to be welcomed warmly when she steps into the light, you could easily have had Zarkon waiting for her- because Zarkon loved her, because it would give her life a cyclic sense of closure from how we see in s3e7, that Zarkon and Haggar began what happened to them hand in hand, together, and they could end the same way.

We know for a fact Zarkon would be happy to see her. This is even further vindicated in the “happy family” alternate reality- Zarkon’s the one who’s ready to take this woman in as his lost wife with open arms, while Lotor is the one holding back, wary, anxious, “that’s not my mother.”

The only reason that’s unacceptable to Honerva is because Honerva doesn’t want to respect Lotor’s feelings, she wants Lotor to flatter hers. She has major entitlement problems to Lotor, and the finale makes him a prop for her welfare.

That ‘walk into the light’ scene could have been a lot more palatable if they’d simply put Lotor on Alfor’s other side, and had Zarkon alone doing the sweet hand clasp with Haggar.

But that’s our last note on Lotor- the idea that he’s going to be spending whatever afterlife they have here with his abusers. Lotor didn’t get anything he wanted. 

And Narti? We don’t even know what she wanted, just that she trusted Lotor, and that somehow, when Team Sincline does trust, it leads to their total dissolution. Sincline itself is gone, having never once actualized. Lotor’s dead, Narti’s dead, and Haggar went ahead and murdered Kova.

The three survivors firmly set that chapter of their life behind them, discarded the Sincline uniforms, became Blades, and, evidently, spent the rest of their lives handing out relief packages to war-torn planets.

I don’t want to take a dump on relief workers here. Humanitarian work is beautiful and important and heroic. But in practice, how they framed it in that show is an afterthought. They’re not suffering but what they’re doing doesn’t really have a sense it’s personally meaningful to them.

I might be unsatisfied with some of the endings VLD did for its main characters, but at least they’re recognized as heroes and get to stay together, or, in the one area that’s not the case, say goodbye and be remembered fondly. But I think Team Sincline absolutely got the rawest deal here, and that’s on a list that includes Alfor, Gyrgan, Trigel, and Blaytz being frozen as corrupted mindscape ghosts for ten thousand years.

Additional Notes: Sincline-Adjacent Figures

I mentioned Lotor’s crew earlier, and, the thing is, there’s a perfect answer within canon for who Lotor’s crew beneath the generals could have been.

What highly diverse group of people,

(because Lotor would put his money where his mouth is in more ways than just with the generals)

Would Lotor logically find at the edge of the universe,

(because he had to have built these forces in exile and without imperial support, since he has them at his disposal at the beginning of s3)

Who would be immediately ready and willing to double-cross and otherwise raise merry hell on the empire, to the point of building rift gates and comet ships behind their back,

(because a single person willing to barter what they knew for a pardon could have fucked up Lotor’s entire operation spectacularly)

Who would also be a pool of talent untapped by the empire so Lotor feasibly could get at least some of the best pickings,

(because you don’t want an uneducated clown putting your interreality gate together)

Who would be an interesting and colorful cast of characters to play off of, and loud and rambunctious because they’re not career soldiers, even if they are career fighters-

(thematically contrasting the regimented and heavily classist, stratified empire)

Who would also thematically lend themselves very well to Lotor’s hit-and-run, evasive, deceptive, adaptive underdog tactics?

A group of people who have traditionally been the enemies of the entrenched government and who have often been minorities?

Pirates.

Pirates exactly like the ones who without any explanation for where they came from, were working for Ezor and Zethrid after the timeskip. Pirates who had their own custom uniforms as if they had some reason to have a sense of decorum. Pirates who are already full of interesting and memorable characters like the nosering pirate, Blofar, the armored giant Coran faced, and the smart-aleck Olkari technician.

Lotor literally talks about desegregating the imperial fleet and recruiting people based on the merit of their skills and not how galra they are back in s3e1. And yes, as a half-galra himself employing four other half-galra, it’s not like he’s a hypocrite about that- but it feels like a serious oversight to just give him the standard imperial-armored subordinates and drones.

The pirates should have been Lotor’s crew. They should have been there from the start playing off the generals and off of Lotor, and that would have helped us flesh out Lotor and the generals so much more. Yes, you’d have to make some adjustments to scenes like s3e2′s fighter ship battle to make it clear they were drones and not imply the paladins just massacred a likable bunch of rag-tag pirate antiheroes but all that would take is some acknowledgement that Sincline, like the empire, uses drone-piloted fighter ships.

Hell, it’d give a sense in s3 besides Zethrid’s offhanded reference of pilots going into the rift in s3e4 (presumably also drones since Lotor has no reason to waste manpower and try loyalties making them throw themselves fatally at a rift) that Lotor and the Generals aren’t just doing what they do in an empty ship.

And you know who else could’ve been there?

Ven’tar.

Sure, her people were massacred and her planet burnt to pieces by Zarkon and that was significant to Lotor character-wise- it marked the decisive, keening death of his intention to appease his parents and try to work with them- but Ven’tar could’ve also have taken significance and motivation from that going forwards. it’s her planet, her people, and, it would make it feel a lot less dismissively killed off.

There was someone Lotor trusted leading the “secret team” constructing the inter reality gate. Someone who’d know things about Quintessence, who would again have a grudge on the empire.

I’m saying, rather than a lost lenore, you could make Ven’tar Lotor’s bitter chief engineer. Sure you’d need some explanation for how she’s still alive but this setting has been basically handing out immortality like candy to a bunch of its secondary cast but I feel like they could narratively find a reason for Ven’tar to be alive.

While we’re at it, you could also have had Dayak there (the one from s6, not the slightly inexplicable other one from s8 given the entire way Lotor introduces s6 Dayak never once implies that the word “Dayak” is not a name, which, the best explanation I’ve heard for that one is that “Dayak” is a surname and the s8 one is the s6 one’s sister) since she’s so obviously enthusiastic about Lotor taking the throne and standing by him, there’s not really a reason she’d hide out until it was safe and then fair-weather return to Lotor’s side when she’s such an aggressive and forwards person about her opinions and what she stands for.

There’s so much to work with, here. We could have explored so much of this. They put this tantalizing information on the table, and, then, just sort of pushed it to the floor without considering it.

[dat-g-man]

AI Lance au with Hance

It has a happy ending I promise! Warning for character death(s) and suicide mention. 

Here the galra had gotten a paladin in their custody and interrogated them but it didn’t work. The rest of the team rescue him and they are no more closer to beating Voltron but they know the conventional methods work. This leads to new interrogation methods and experiments. They do take time but become ready once Lotor takes over. Once they have success they set a trap for the team and get a paladin. They were aiming for the green paladin as the smartest but ended up with the blue one who jumped in. They are initially displease but see this as a way to test out if there are any differences because of the lion bond.

This new method was inspired by Sendaks notes of the castle. They upload Lances memory into a ship but something goes wrong. He has some awareness and fights back but is ultimately uploaded. He knows they are after his memories and "deletes" them. Eventually they are left with an ai that knows nothing but may yet have it uses. They put all the info of the blue paladin under wraps and utilize this new ai. They give him some new name and corrupt him.

Lotor grows fond of his new "pet" and decides to keep him close instead of using him out in battle. The paladins have info about a new weapon and board the ship with plans on hijacking it. The "ai" senses it and lets Lotor know. Lotor leaves to handle it and tells the ai to remain there and send updates. Ai lance having his core personality get curious and goes to "greet" one of them.

He can see all the paladins on board and follows the yellow one. Something about him pulls (i need to make him a fake name) ai Lance initially he wants to control the weapons and attack Hunk but decides to pop up in front of him. Hunk is startled and amazed to see Lance. He softly utters his name wondering what kind of dream this was. Lance ai responds with a snappy "you don’t tell the enemy your weapon" as he readies the lasers in the area Hunk starts shaking and asks him why he doesn't remember his name. Lance ai get confused and thinks its a ploy to stall for back up but hunk persists and starts shouting as his eyes start shining with unshed tears.

He shoots his lasers but makes them non fatal. Hunk saw them coming but refused to move or even use his bayard/shield. Shortly after the team shows up and pull hunk out. They don't see ai Lance since he went back into the system but was spying on them.

He hears the green one start talking about Lance and realizes he wasn't stalling. Realizing there is more to the story he hacks Hunks helmet/armor and follows them. He needs answers. This encounter has left him with so many possibilities making his core feel infected. Or more like able to acknowledge the infection in his core. Hunk is placed into the healing pods and aiLance remains nearby. He wants to explore the castle but knows all his answers can be found in the yellow one. 

Pidge being paranoid ever since the Sendak corruption and Lance disappearance starts her daily routine of running a background scan as she works on her projects. She finds corrupt data in the med bay and goes rushing and calls for back up using the special code meaning possible hostile in med bay and is the first one there. AiLance is distracted looking at Hunk and doesn’t notice the new presence until he hears THAT name again. Pidge knows it’s a trap but cant helps the hurt at seeing Lances image. She shouts at him to get away from Hunk and the ai just tilts his head. Pidge just wants to cry under a blanket because that tilt is such a Lance thing and gets her bayard ready.

She shouts her final warning when he starts speaking. It’s a barely a whisper but she’s not sure if she heard right. His eyebrows furl in confusion as he asks "why do I see you and think four eyed grimlin? Why do I know your number 5? Why do think of games when I see you?!” With every statement he starts getting more frantic until hes shouting "why does the infection in my core feel better when he is near!?" The crew come in as he shouts the last one. All are frozen at what they see. Confused because Lance is an ai, but Coran and Allura know whats happening.

Coran pushes through the pain but will do his best to help out not just a paladin of Voltron but Lance. He is able to calm him down with the promise of Hunk waking up in just a few tocks. The hostility in the air is still there but not as prevalent as it was earlier. Shiro wants to ask him what he remembers but knows that might cause an outburst. Hunk is finally out and after the initial drowsiness goes away sees aiLance walking/floating/idk how he moves to Hunk. Though he know he is not in his body, he reaches out to Hunk. Hunk reaches out to him with those big hands that aiLance somehow knowas are soft and warm. But when they touch all he feels is cold and the rage sets in because he knows he was someone before they made him into what he is now. His ai coloring that were previously shades of light blues and blue eyes turns into shades of purple with red eyes.

He disappears and Pidge can tell with her equipment that the castle is still clean. Meanwhile Allura and Coran are trying to figure out how to tell them that lance wont be coming back to them. Meanwhile Lotor back on the ship is trying to figure out how they took his ai. He thinks the paladins took him and plans on getting him back. He visits the room where his body is frozen. He did it frequently until Haggar reminds him about the obsession that took down his father. AiLance in the meantime is jumping from ship to ship looking at files. 

His anger at the galra and druids makes him start his own attacks at his "creators" killing them one by one. Lotor thinking it’s the paladins starts an all out search. Eventually aiLance is back at the ship that created him and appears in front of Lotor. Lotor can tell something is wrong. He tries stalling for time but Lance strikes before he can do anything. He knows he won’t be able to go back into his body now. He knows why the paladins information wasn't complete. Why the loaded pod was inaccessible to him all this time. He shouts those things as he launches his attack on them but is ultimately knocked out by Haggar.

She knew this was bound to happen and made contingency plans. Lotor is placed in their med bay while Haggar decides to fix aiLance knowing how much Lotor liked him. Back in the castle Coran and Allura just straight up tell them that the best they can do is recover Lances body and hope the ai can be locked into a storage device. The crew is heart broken but Hunk is devastated. He knows how much pain aiLance is in. He knows there isn’t much that can be done but refuses to settle. He doesn't just want to recover his boyfriends body, he wants the ship that took him too and the vile beings that did that to him.

Everyone is on board and hopeful. Perhaps if they have the technology that corrupted lance they could reverse the effects. After quick and careful planning they are ready to board but ar shocked at what they see. While the ship is still functional it may as well have been scrap metal. They didn't even need to use the evasive manoeuvres or attack plans they created.

Haggar is in the middle of "fixing" the ai when a druid comes in speaking of Voltron. Knowing what/who they were after she sends one with special orders down to the pod with the body. Allura and Pidge knew Haggar was going to pull some shady shit are glad for their plans. Before boarding the figured out 2 possible places his body would be hidden in and send 2 teams while Hunk and Keith distracted the one in charge. 

Their plan works but Haggar was able to make it so that the corruption would eventually delete aoLance. The ship is on its way down now that lance was subdued by Haggar. Hunk is able to upload him into his helmet/armor so they return the ship with both body and ai. They work fast to fix the corruption but don’t think they will be fast enough. AiLance isn’t purple with red eyes anymore, but he isn’t his normal blue. He is just white and his eyes are barely blue. 

He doesn't remember much but knows these people are important. His damaged core tells him so. He smiles sweetly at them as his eyes start losing what little color they had. His core knows he can’t touch but he can’t help but reach for the yellow one. Just as their hands get close he disappears into fragments of light.

Pidge buries her head into Keith’s side as he holds her.  Shiro holds back his tears as he places his hand on Hunks shoulder. Coran, Allura, and the mice stay at the edges but their grief is no less. Hunk holds his stretched hand out for a few seconds before bringing it up to hold the one at his shoulder. He knows it isn’t Lances, they aren’t as soft yet hold just as much strength. but he just needs to hold a hand to anchor him.

They just want to sleep but know they need to eat. Coran and the mice help them while Allura gives them time. They still need to find out what exactly happened on that ship and their allies have begun to send messages. They all sleep in giant cuddles with Hunk in the middle.

Coran keeps an eye on them while Allura goes through the messages. It seems her fathers wish has come to fruition, but at quite the cost. Somehow all the galra bases scattered throughout the explored universe have been turned into tombs. All galra and galra employed gladiators were found dead. The prisoners claimed the lights turned of and shouts of pain was all they heard for a while. When it became silent, their cells opened up with a trail of lights lead them to the escape pods. The pods were programmed to a liberated planet with varying destinations so as to not overwhelm the resources.

She knows she should be haply that the prisoners are now free but the carnage left in its wake makes her feel hollow. She wants to be glad they are wiped out like they did her people, but she knows they couldn't all be evil and mourns for those they couldn't rescue. Most of all she mourns for Lance, for all the pain he was put through, and for all his corruption made him do. She knows he wouldn’t have done all that but is a victim of circumstances. 

She feels guilty for forcing him into the role of paladin as she finally lets her tears out. After their brief period of mourning they go back to work. With the universe free of galra and druid influence they begin reuniting prisoners with their families and rebuilding planets. It’s one of these planets that provides them a gift they thought impossible. Among the prisoners was a being of great power. His planet was destroyed by Zarkon long ago because of their power. In an attempt to "harvest" that power Zarkon ordered all but 2 children to be killed. He would make them do his bidding by threatening the other one until his friend grew tired of such machinations and put an end to it with her life. Now that there was no way to motivate the being so Zarkon had him locked away. 

AiLance freed him during his rage but the being sensed him and still senses him. He felt the pain the ai was in and knew he had to aid him upon being free. Though his race was usually prideful, this one just wanted to repay the debt and find a quiet place to live out the rest of his life. Coran freaks out when he sees him remembering Zarkon had one in his army before they were put to sleep. He calls out a warning to Hunk but the being then bows to Hunk. Coran is flabbergasted and Hunk is trying to make the guy get up. The being then asks about Lance and everyone is sadly telling him how he died.

It was too painful to send him back home so they just kept his frozen body with the far off hope of healing him someday. He looks at them confused and tells them that although the pain had lessened he still senses it in Lance. They are confused until he points to Hunk. Hunk had taken to carrying the device that held lance when the got out of the ship. They also used a marriage ceremony they found at a flea market since they knew their job was dangerous but couldn't wait until they got back home. It was place holder for when they could get back home and have their wedding with their family and friends present. Turns out that ceremony was from his culture and a very powerful and selective one at that. 

It only works on couples that are completely devoted to each other. Very few of the couplings that try the ceremony end up receiving the blessing granted making them doubt each other and separate. The ceremony bonded a couple so that no matter what separated them, they would always be connected. That’s why Lance despite dispelling into lights was still hovering around Hunk. The device that held him only amplified Lances presence and the fact that his body was frozen makes it possible to bring Lance back.

The being warned them this never happened before or attempted, but they were willing to try. It works and Lance is brought back. He was in a coma state for some time before he was able to stay awake long enough to understand what was happening. 

He has to learn to walk again but is so happy to be back with the team. They give him this sense of peace he hasn't had in a while. He also pushes back the memories from his time as an ai. He knows he did bad things, the memories are there, but he doesn't want them to know the details. HunK and Pidge are the most clingy with Coran being a mother hen. Keith and Shiro are like a mix of body guards that spoil him and give reminders for his recovery. Allura though knows he needs to talk to someone. 

She knows he isn't ready but left him the offer of talking to her if things get to be too much. The mice can always be found showing him tricks or napping with him. After a particularly bad nightmare Lance wanders the halls. He bumps into Shiro who just came out of the training room and go for some space coco. Lance doesn't intend to start talking but seeing Shiro so calm he starts aasking how? How do you live with yourself after everything you've done? Shiro looks at him to collect his thoughts before answering. 

He knows their situations despite being similar are different. He knows he did some things but it was all to survive and one day earn redemption. To live on to make sure others don’t suffer as he did and to look around because while he did some things, he has brought so much good. He is not saying that is an excuse to pardon his actions, but he understands where lance is coming from. Lance ultimately starts crying and Shiro just holds him until he falls asleep. 

Hunk is at the door with his own tears. He knew Lance needed to share and wished Lance would share with him, but knew he needed support from another survivor. Shiro hands him off to Hunk as they both walk back to the big cuddle pile in the common area where Pidge and Keith are awake. They have a half empty tray of snacks that Coran made them. Allura turned some music on for them and the mice are resting on Pidges hair and shoulders. One little brave one is sleeping on Keith's shoulder. 

Seeing Hunk come in with Lance they start turning everything off and going back to the cuddles. They put Lance in the middle with Pidge and Hunk at his sides. Keith and Shiro are on the outsides a little far away but no less attentive To Lance. Keith has his knife and bayard at the ready while shiro sleeps in an uncomfortable position that is easily to go into attacking. They all sleep and for once Lance wakes up before them. He wakes up feeling to hot and then sees why. 

During their entire time together everyone had been hovering and close yet kept some space to not over crowd him. Now after his little breakthrough they need to show Lance they know and don’t care. They just miss him that much and he can see it in how they sleep so close to him. He feels the love and just starts crying and everyone starts waking up panicked at his tears and just group hug him when he starts thanking them for saving him and staying with him even after everything. They just hug it out and tell him how he is such a vital part. They can't stand up for long without a leg and just want him to be happy. They know it wont be that fast or easy but they are all there for him.

They fall asleep like that when Allura comes in to check on them. She looks at them fondly as she covers them in blankets. They accidentally sleep in but they needed the down time. Lance starts communicating more with Shiro and Allura and starts feeling more like himself. Hunk and Pidge are great supports and Keith surprises them. He can tell when lance needs some space and just hauls him off to Blue. He hops in and they both go to some nice part of the planet they're on and just silently take in the view. It comforts Lance to be near Blue and with Keith there he feels comfortable enough to let his guard down. 

He is also touched at Keith going with him in is lion as that speaks of trust in his skills to pilot for the both of them. They come back to the castle mellow and filled with soft smiles. With time and his support Lance is better. His isn't the same boy from Cuba, but he isn't much of a boy anymore. He is happy for the person he has become and the people his surrounded with. 

Though the galra have been defeated they still have planets to help. With Shiro and Lance they are able to help the prisoners from gladiator rings and Keith helps other half galras come into their heritage. Hunk and Pidge are setting up communication hubs so they can keep in touch with the newly freed planets while Coran and Allura are making the connection with diplomatic visits. They are all happy to move on and can't wait to tell their family back home their adventures. They also have a wedding to look forward to. 

The end. 

[the-lightning-strikes-again]

Hey Lightning, I was wondering if I could get your thoughts on something. One take that seems to keep returning every once in a while is the "Allura fell for Lotor only after he revealed his Altean heritage," but I know u and others have disproven this many times, which does reassure me. While I love Allura, I definitely think one of her weaknesses was her devotion to Altea and singing Alfor's praises, which sometimes became too much. At the same time, it bothers me when I see some ppl (1/?)

Continuing anon message: “ say that she thought Alteans were superior to all other races, and that when the colony plot twist happened, she became repulsed by Lotor's Galra side, which is why she rejected him. For them, that's why she forced violent memories onto an uncorrupted Zarkon, but somehow "saw the good/redeemed" Honerva, the Altean. I can kind of understand where they're coming from, but for me, it just didn't make sense that Allura suddenly had a change of heart considering for most of s8, she was angry and dead set on going after Honerva. Even with that, I think to a lot of her fans, s8 made Allura so ooc that she became unrecognizable, which hurt to watch. I guess for me it's hard seeing antis and people who don't like her claim that that's just how she is and has always been. Haha sorry for rambling, but I'd love to hear your thoughts on this, since your arguments ease my mind on a lot of things when it comes to Allura :)”

Hi, anon. Wow, thanks for your extended note! I don’t know anywhere in canon that Allura champions Alteans as a superior race. The definition of racial supremacy is a belief that inherent genetic differences between races determine cultural or individual achievement, with social/governmental policies championing intolerance of other races. To get Allura to fit into such a label:

1.      A viewer has to ignore or undermine all the evidence available about who the main-universe Alteans really were before main-universe Zarkon’s massacre of them.

2.      A viewer has to ignore or undermine how Allura actually responds to a variety of different races in the show, including her own.  

So let’s start with issue one. To support an “Allura was a racial supremacist” opinion, a lot of antis (and even non-militant, average viewers) are favorable to the opinion that Alteans as a group, including Alfor, were actually evil and violent colonizer elitists before Galrans killed them off. In other words, they question Altean victimhood, and this allows the militant antis to poison and undermine scenes of a woman mourning her home and her beloved family. And it just gets to be a really unsettling conversation, to listen to someone actually try to justify genocide. They’ll also have suspicions that all of our foundational backstory in the s3 finale was just “cleansed” propaganda from Coran. So if antis can undermine Allura’s entire race and family as corrupt, then they can intentionally undermine any of her canonical statements about or efforts toward peace. Which is hilarious, because this racist tactic applied to Allura is actually what a lot of antis accuse Allura of doing with Lotor.

For the record, I don’t think the show production team actually intended the subliminal messaging/cognitive dissonance that I’m about to discuss. The people who designed and developed this show are fans of robot kitties and aren’t PhDs in social issues. But I think there is a very serious issue about the portrayal of genocide victims that feeds into some very real problems in our world, especially regarding the concept of racial supremacy and conspiracy theories about genocide victims.

VLD tried to play with both genocide politics for edge™ points while ALSO playing with shatterglass theory (shatterglass meaning an AU where the heroes are villains and villains are heroes). Combining these two concepts into the same universe creates some incredibly disturbing subliminal messaging about Alteans that very closely mimics ongoing neo-Nazi propaganda against Jews. Nazis and other anti-Semitists justify their hatred of Jews by equating them as terrible villains out for world domination via some underhanded shadow control of the mass populace. It’s an incredibly malicious form of propaganda, because it works so terribly well. And what do you know, VLD plays right into this kind of propaganda. In the season 3 episode, Hole in the Sky, we’re faced with team Voltron confronting an Altean Empire that was actually evil and out for multiverse domination. And oh by the way, they’re using malicious shadow tech to control a mass populace.

It’s like someone on the production team read the Protocols of the Elders of Zion and then just copied/pasted that incredibly damaging and widely accepted conspiracy theory right onto Alteans for s3 funsies because edge content.

This is incredibly punishing, for the narrative to wave the carrot stick in front of genocide survivors that maybe some others survived—and then to suggest that Alteans were the evil ones all along. A shatterglass twist worked very well in Captain Marvel (2019) for a lot of reasons, for example, but it just doesn’t work well in the VLD universe given that the show explicitly portrays the genocide victims as evil and validates this concept. And this episode unfortunately feeds ongoing cognitive dissonance in antis that if AU Alteans could be so evil…how certain are you that they aren’t in the main universe too? On the reverse side, the main-universe goes out of its way to portray that not all Galrans are evil, and even that Galrans were the primary resistance (BOM). But in this singular episode, we see a united Altean empire. And the only Altean who moves to stand against it once the shine wears off…is Allura. There is no AU Altean actually shown in the Guns of Gamara. So Allura stands alone as an Altean against her own people.

For this reason, this episode doesn’t function very well as a shatterglass AU either, because the moral “flip” isn’t a mirror balance to main universe. The Alteans of the AU world appear as fully united in their evil plans. And then, no doubt, anti-alluras point out other quirky things about main-universe Alteans throughout the show—the violent language-learning system that scares Pidge, and the ancient Altean terraforming technology that Haggar activates, and the fact that Oriande is a hidden place that keeps out the less magical with a violent guardian. These details, when removed from main-universe world building, create a cognitive dissonance about whether main-universe Allura and Alteans were actually genuine in how they depicted respectful “peace and diplomacy.” So anti alluras who believe Allura was a racial supremacist really rely on this s3 episode and these details to uphold their conspiracy theory.

So let’s focus on Allura in this episode, because it says a lot about who she ultimately is as a person, and people have forgotten how she actually responded in this episode. Allura is unquestionably hopeful at the thought that her and Coran might not be the last Alteans alive. Pretty understandable. If I were the last human, I’d be darn excited to find out there’s more of me left, lol. So her experience as a genocide victim initially blinds her to the evilness of these Alteans. You can even see the ache on her face, of how badly she wants to believe their narrative of peace.

So Allura is initially star-struck that she and Coran are not the last Alteans, yes, and that somehow they’ve achieved a “peace.” She is also not afraid to admit that they would be valuable allies in the war:

And she’s not wrong there, considering that they have what appears to be extensive military resources and a robot force of their own. But she makes a critical mistake in assuming that “these are my people” means that they share main-universe cultural sentiments. The instant Allura hears Slav (so not someone of her own race) call these Alteans out as actually evil colonizers turning people into slaves, she begins to question the narrative she’s received.

In this instance, she actually affords the Alteans the same courtesy she afforded Lotor—the opportunity to deny the accusations.

But in the AU Altean’s case, they try to turn blame back on other parties. Allura listens to Keith when he grows increasingly fearful of what the Alteans might do to the others, and she tries to plead for actual peace:

And actually, this is a pretty interesting moment for Allura. She tries to salvage an alliance…until she realizes that their differences are irreconcilable, and that their definition of peace is inherently different from her own. This probably sets the stage for why Allura was so triggered by Lotor talking about peace while also killing people—because she’s seen people misappropriate that term before. And also probably informs why she trusts the information of both Keith and Krolia (both of whom have Galran blood, btw).

Ultimately, Allura turns against her own people. Violently:

When they get angry about her wanting actual peace, Allura draws a weapon against them and rejects them from her people. This mimics how she spends several seasons fighting an Altean Haggar/Honerva for her crimes, and how she turns against Lotor too.

So case in point here, Allura loves her people, obviously—but she also is holding them to moral standards regarding their behavior, which is something that a genuine racist doesn’t do. As a matter of fact, Lotor is the only person of Altean blood that Allura genuinely bonds with ever again in the series. She’s distant with Romelle, she’s distant with the s8 Alteans… In s8, Allura even says this about Luca, which refers back to her own mistakes she made with initially being star-struck by the s3 AU Alteans who came in “peace”:

Allura herself had been manipulated in s3, wanting so desperately to not be the last Altean alive that it initially blinded her to how Commander Hira was manipulating her. The plight of the s8 Alteans who are deceived by Honerva is inherently frustrating to her, because she can see herself in them.

Absolutely none of this correlates with Allura seeing or perpetuating Alteans as a superior race. At every turn, her own people continue to disappoint her, and she increasingly and progressively separates herself from them in hopelessness, because they’re so brainwashed that they can’t see they’re just cannon fodder for someone else’s military agendas. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for a superior race, lol.

So let’s think about anti accusations here. Allura is a racial supremacist…but she’s arguing against her people who believe unquestionably in Honerva, another full Altean like herself? Nothing about that accusation makes sense with her actions.

The fact is, consistently from season 3 and onward, Allura is faced with her own people morally disappointing her.

The good news for the s8 Alteans like Tavo is that Allura is able to remove the dark entity Honerva is using to control him. Which allows other Alteans to “wake up” from being manipulated and try to make amends.

Regardless, Allura makes a very clear line that simply being Altean doesn’t make someone “right.” She sees herself fully at odds with her own people who are drawn in by Honerva’s lies. And she experienced well back in s2 (revealing Haggar as Honerva) and s3 (evil AU Alteans) that any given race, including her own, can house people who do bad things.

The fact is, she’s consistently and willingly drawn weapons against even her own people when they didn’t meet her moral expectations. So her response to Lotor isn’t particularly out of line there. She’s repulsed by a moral flaw.

And actually, Lotor himself wouldn’t have known this, but he very oddly echoed the AU Alteans by getting angry that Allura was angry over the means through which he was trying to get peace:

So Lotor actually reverts to the same logic of the AU Alteans—peace at any cost, just look at the results—

And keep in mind that the AU Alteans also manipulated Allura’s excitement about them, to get her to make the transreality comet usable so they could go into other realities. So Allura has felt betrayed and used before, by her own people.

So when she says this:

Yes, it’s a reference back to how Zarkon manipulated his friends in order to get access to the quintessence field, at the explicit cost of potentially killing his own people. But it’s not without understanding that yes, Alteans can be just as manipulative and betraying as Zarkon. Because she’s experienced it, again and again.  

As a matter of fact, six out of the eight seasons of Voltron: Legendary Defender feature villainous Alteans/Alteans on the wrong side of the war, and we continuously see Allura punished again and again for wishing that Alteans still lived.

No wonder she wanted to die.

This is something that I find uncomfortable about the narrative of the show. Previous iterations of Voltron did in fact have a “blood on everyone’s hands” perspective, such as within the ages 16+ Dynamic Comics. However, Arusians/Alteans in those old Voltron narratives were not victims of genocide. VLD turns Alteans into victims of the worst racial crime possible and then also consistently portrays them as inherently antagonistic to genuine peace efforts in some way, instead of focusing on the evil of the oppressors.

And this is such a double whammy for Lotor’s characters as well, given that he was abused by his parents and threatened with slavery via his Galran culture, and that he was half-Altean too trying to connect to his lost culture.

As a matter of fact, the larger show’s narrative interest in “victims as antagonists” makes it such that when we see victims try to enact actual justice, it feels almost jarring. Let’s look at that s8 Zarkon moment you brought up as an example, where Allura destroys his innocent perspective by showing him his evil deeds.

The s8 Zarkon is a weird topic because 1) This Zarkon actually doesn’t exist outside of Honerva’s mind, so how he has any kind of actual free-will is beyond me, unless someone wants to argue that Honerva actually cursed his true soul just as she cursed the other paladins. It’s hilarious too, because Honerva-mind-Zarkon also calls Honerva a psychopath, so I guess now Honerva is psychoanalyzing herself using her dead husband as the vehicle, while also discreetly helping the paladins to stop herself—

ANYWAY, using this Zarkon as a “proof” of Allura’s “racism” is also cherry picking in the weirdest of ways. Is she angry about his horrific and incalculable crimes, including even how he betrayed the OG paladins and ruined his own planet? Absolutely. Does she want him to be aware of his crimes instead of having to pretend like nothing’s wrong? Yes.

But notice here, this Zarkon actually shows remorse. He is actually crying over those memories and recognizing that he had done something wrong. And Allura can work with that. In fact, out of everyone standing around and doing nothing, it’s Allura who gives him a second chance and offers an alliance with Zarkon in order to stop a crazy Altean: 

Keep in mind too, Honerva didn’t have memory loss at the end of s8. She knew exactly what she’d done and had given up and had to actually be convinced to do anything halfway constructive. That’s a very different circumstance than mind-Zarkon had, who jumped at the chance to do something to fix what all had happened, and gets even morally righteous about it, calling his own wife a psychopath, lol.

So generally, antis who believe Allura was a racial supremacist haven’t watched the show holistically. We see her hold the same standards to her own people as she expects out of others. This show would look incredibly different if Allura were a true racial supremacist.

Ah, you ask. Okay, so we’ve refuted the big pieces of “evidence” used to incriminate Allura. But what about all of those weird details about ancient Altean history? The violent language-learning program that scared Pidge? The violent terraforming tech that almost kills Voltron? The concept that Alfor tried to play “police” over the Galra and actually blew up their planet? The Alteans’ ongoing discussions of “peace and diplomacy” and spreading it throughout the universe while they happen to sit on a massive load of ancient power?

The s3 finale and other facts throughout the series very heavily smash the claim that our canon, in-universe Alteans were evil colonizers like the AU Alteans. The biggest piece of evidence to the contrary is that the Altea we know was one (1) planet. You counted right. One planet. Not an empire, but a singular planet. The s3 finale corroborates this, showing Altea as being largely isolationist from a military perspective while Daibazaal and Nalquod warred "for generations," right in front of their salad.

So some viewers would have you believe that Alteans were these big bad, intergalactic police state colonizers. But for all of its great power and knowledge, the singular planet of Altea didn't even canonically interfere in the wars of its own galaxy for actual millennia? And looking at the screenshots upon the stabilization of the alliance, Alfor is revealed to not have had experience with a neighboring culture. His face while exploring Gyrgan’s homeworld is an indication that it’s all rather new for him too. So again, we have evidence showing that Alteans were not colonizing or even functioning as a police state.

Note here that in the s3 flashbacks, the show confirms that it actually wasn’t just Alfor who suggested an alliance. All five leaders had common interests in protecting their galaxy from even worse threats, so all five came together at the same time. This is actually the first piece of evidence we have of Altea entering into some kind of intergalactic military agreement to stave off said worse threats.

And all of this is on top of a history where in s6, the Galran Archivist confirms that the Galran Empire had existed before Zarkon for 3,000 years, with times of “expansion.” It’s very easy to see that Blaytz’s people were actively fighting off Galran occupation of their homeworld within this past.

And that’s actually what I think makes Alfor and the OG paladins some pretty interesting characters. Here, we had colonizing Galran empire setting down its sword and accepting the value and space of its neighbors. Here, we had master alchemist Alfor giving up military power within their group by acknowledging Zarkon as the superior strategist. Here, we had Blaytz who had previously been battling Galran occupation…fully accepting the Galra?   

So the OG Paladin backstory represents a pretty incredible alliance that removed a lot of intergalactic toxicity and helped heal broken bonds. But it required all five leaders to agree to that. Alfor did not throw his weight or power around within this. There were several checks and balances here.

But this backstory also helps to explain some of the quirky details about Alteans. Their planet existed within an active war zone, and it’s very likely that they’d had to fight off Galran occupation just as Blaytz’s people did. So the violent robot trainers and fear-based language learning systems start to make sense. Alteans weren’t just simpering people playing harps all day and eating grapes. They were actively prepared to defend their planet and their culture.

So when Allura says in season 1 that Alteans were “spreading diplomacy” across the universe, the only pieces of evidence we have of that is the OG paladins themselves, in which Alfor was a big part in creating that alliance—and then possibly the Alteans with the Balmerans, given their deep collective rituals with that planet while the Galra literally just came in and ripped the planet nearly to death. Allura tries to mimic what it means to accept and interact with a culture without changing it well in season 1, when she stumbles through trying to respect Arusian culture and its demands on its people. Also, there is a big fact that antis like to overlook:

The fact is, despite the untold numbers of civilizations we interact with across 76 episodes, no outside race remembers Alteans as evil colonizers. If they were really so big and bad, we would have heard it, like, “Man, yeah the Galrans are bad. Just as bad as those Alteans, back in the day.” Or something. But nope, nothing.

So I heavily question the history of Altea as an ancient colonizing race. If they were, then Altea wouldn't have just been a single planet with limited resources to fight wars in even its own galaxy. All of this supports the idea of Altean children being raised to fight--because they were preparing to defend themselves when/if diplomacy fails.... But the fact that the Balmerans see Alteans fondly and that literally every other race we run into is explicitly suspicious of Galrans and not at all of Alteans says something.

I think the only piece of evidence there might be for a genuinely colonizing ancient Altea is the use of terraforming technology, as mentioned in s4. Haggar discovers it and activates it to try and kill Voltron--and she nearly succeeds, because said tech destroys the entire crust of the planet to reform it. But you have to step back for a second and wonder--if ancient Alteans were so powerful, why was Alfor struggling so hard to even hold his own planet together in the midst of all these other cultures warring and larger threats? If they had this technology--and they did know about it because Allura recognized it right away as ancient technology--why the heck wouldn't they use it? Or were they using it, and it was to reform uninhabited planets to help sustain displaced peoples? Why is it, if Alteans were so terribly bad, we have no record across ANY of the many alien races being cautious of them? Even Galran Lieutenant Lahn snapped at Allura only because he was jealous of the general security she had back on, you guessed it, explicitly Altea. There's a lot of potential explanations for a positive use of terraforming technology, and the evidence against colonization and Altea committing omnicide against other races is incredibly more aligned with the other details in the canon.

And even Alfor’s creation of Voltron and the blowing up of Daibazaal—that’s something that antis like to position as evidence of his police-state ways to underhandedly control other cultures.

So let’s tackle those too while we’re at it.

Honestly, I know people like to hate on Alfor, and I do think his character picks up some misogynism just from the writers....But I don't think he was as much of a controller as people think he was. He was already in an alliance with four other leaders to try and stop bad things from happening in their galaxy. That meant they were expending incredible amounts of time and resources to accomplish that end—resources that were not renewable and may have been straining various planets. We know that he started building Voltron with Zarkon and everyone else's blessing because he called them "clean ships," but it's only after the rift creatures attack that suddenly Alfor's perception of Voltron moves from "clean energy" to "omg we need a more powerful weapon against this unknown enemy.”

So these are his intentions BEFORE he discovers rift creatures are a threat to the universe. While Zarkon states that these new ships are to be endlessly powerful for the Galra Empire, Alfor shames him by offering what his desire is for them:

  After the rift creatures nearly destroy Daibazaal, intentions change.

So here, we see the game change in a BIG way. Voltron is not just about offering a more renewable way of sustaining peace-keeping efforts. Alfor is now adjusting and finishing these ships with the explicit knowledge that if they are not powerful enough, then Daibazaal and the Galran people will die. Alfor’s got a LOT of pressure on him now to deliver a mighty and powerful weapon to stop this new threat. So even his creation of Voltron as a superweapon involved using it to protect people from imminent death—not to police them.

And about Alfor blowing up Daibazaal—once again, it’s Alfor trying to clean up Honerva and Zarkon’s mess. Honerva had convinced Zarkon that the rift needed to be wider, and so Zarkon deceived the paladins into widening it.

So keep in mind here, at this point in time—the rift was destabilizing and eating an entire planet. The entire universe was now at stake. Alfor had to choose between a bad fix and an even worse option of allowing everyone to die, but he very clearly evacuated people before destroying Daibazaal, as part of his promise to keep Galrans safe. So that no one would have to die.

And as a matter of fact—about that terraforming technology. How sure are you that Alfor didn’t intend to use it to build Galrans a new home? It’s entirely within the realm of acceptable conjecture that he allowed for the existence of that technology because it could restore what had been lost.

And here’s where the story gets really screwy and feeds into some anti hate. Because when Zarkon wakes up as a zombie, he desires more quintessence as zombies do.

So he’s pissed that Alfor just cut off his gateway, and he manipulates his people:

And it’s here where we get the idea that Alfor was an evil controller. The idea came from Zarkon, who—we can look around pretty easily and see that he was not a man of honor, ultimately. Even if you chose to not believe the s3 finale flashbacks as being objective, there’s something wrong with Zarkon. (It’s clear that the show thought using Coran was a smart way to shell off massive amounts of info, because clearly if this were truly in Coran’s perspective, we would NOT have had intimate looks into Zarkon and Honerva’s bedroom as Zarkon is tending to her, like omg.) Numerous sources, histories, and cultures outside of Coran confirm that Zarkon hit a point of no return on the evil scale, and that he projected his own blame for Daibazaal’s destabilization onto Alfor in order to raise up his new regime in the name of Quintessence™.

So at the end of the day, even Alfor was a victim. But yet somehow, various antis choose to believe Zarkon’s victim-punishing narrative because said antis can’t or else refuse to connect one scene to another since it undermines their justifications for why they can hate on Allura. And that’s not so much an issue with the story itself as it is just poor critical analysis or malicious weaponization of content against other fans.

Now, at this point, we’ve talked about Allura and we’ve talked about Altean history. I have numerous other posts about Allura’s interactions with other races and Galrans and overcoming trauma to give the entire universe a second chance. So if there is anything in this show that suggests Alteans were in any way a superior race, then it’s probably within the show’s own worldbuilding. The show contradicts its own definitions of what quintessence even is by suggesting Alteans have “bluer/purer quintessence” in order to justify why Lotor would even be trying to sacrifice them for anything. The show-championed concept that Alteans have a bluer, purer life force above all other people, and that only Altean energy could interface with the fabric of space-time. Now, this is a problem in the later seasons’ world building itself. And you know who wrote that in? The production team. So once again, we do have racial issues in this show, in ways that shows like Star Wars desperately try avoid by showing racial diversity in who has Midi-chlorians.

That said, I’m not a perfectly woke storyteller either. I think every story and show is going to have something problematic™, but with VLD it’s very clear that its disrespectful handling of genocide politics and shatterglass conspiracy theories, on top of its weird master race angle created the perfect storm. These mishandled and quirky details have created a cognitive dissonance with the provided narrative, resulting in some people in the anti fandoms to champion what aligns very closely to actual neo-Nazi propaganda against Jews, who according to them are not victims but instead the true perpetrators of all bad things. For the sake of the antis, I’m pretty sure they’re not intentionally looking at VLD this way and are probably just looking for any easily graspable reason to hate on Allura for interfering with their ship or something.

But this kind of subliminal propaganda that undermines victims, and the effect it has had on fandom morality politics, is deeply concerning to me. I really wish that we’d had an opportunity to respectfully and critically discuss this with the production team of the show, because a Y7-FV show about “strength in unity” should NOT result in us needing to have a conversation about people walking away with neo-Nazi-ish propaganda sentiments against genocide survivors. Like. Clearly, VLD is fictional, but it’s feeding into a real-life beast that it does NOT need to feed. And it’s keeping alive ongoing conspiracy narratives against some of our most vulnerable populations on the planet.

So, we need better stories. We need a production team that, if they’re going to get paid to do something involving portrayals of genocide and politics, that they need to do their research on those topics. Nobody is going to be perfect with a creation, but VLD validated some very damaging things—and it ALL is something that could have been fixable. I think it would have been incredibly validating to hear the production talk about and accept that these were issues that cropped up unintentionally, and to hear them confirm that these issues are not the sorts of things that VLD was supposed to champion.

The greatest tragedy of all of this is the potential that this show had to really champion some great and validating messages, and the potential that we as a fandom had to come together and do something that fandom was meant to do—which was celebrate the things we love. Because that’s why we’re all here. That’s why this crazy tumblr of mine even exists. It was supposed to celebrate things.

For that reason, I’m going to end this here. I’ve written several responses now as to my thoughts on the inappropriate narrative lens of the show, its contradictory and damaging worldbuilding about the purest race, and how it champions demonizing or punishing genocide survivors again and again. Within all of that, I’ve talked at length about Allura’s character and behavior over 8 seasons and how she built even empathetic connections with militant Galrans like Commander Lahn. In fact even her own homesickness is how she emotionally connects with Lahn, because she understands that desire to call something one’s own. To have a home. A family.

I now really would like to get back to writing stories that I find meaningful to me using these characters and these worlds—and trying to find the hope in all of this darkness, haha. And maybe with any luck, I can hope to do VLD some justice, knowing that I am still on a learning journey as well.

But I appreciate your note, and I hope this very extensive response helps to settle your questions and concerns once and for all regarding VLD Allura. If you should have any remaining questions, please feel free to reach out via a private message to discuss. Thank you!

[skaylanphear]

The Voltron Project

What is it? The Voltron Project is a retelling of the Voltron story following Season 6. Like many in the fandom, I was left dissatisfied with Season 7 for many reasons. The Voltron Project is a fan endeavor to give others feeling similarly the content that was lacking in Season 7. I won't rehash the discourse here, as this is meant to be a positive move forward, and while I think a lot was learned as a result of Season 7, I want to carve out a positive place for both myself and others should they so wish to partake.

I also want to make it clear that this is not a project resulting from spite or a desire to hurt the creators of Voltron. It is simply a fan (me) retelling the story in a way that I will find more satisfying. It is for that reason that I invite everyone to be involved and to have fun with it. You're not unwelcome if you enjoyed Season 7, but you're definitely going to get a lot of what was missing if you didn't. This project isn't meant to spur hate, but to simply take Voltron in a different direction. An AU, if you will, though it takes off following Season 6 of the canon.

I'd also like to add that this is not connected to the "Reboot" or the Leakira stuff going around. This is something entirely different. I am not involved in any of that.

With that out of the way, I can actually TELL YOU ABOUT THE PROJECT!

Details: The Voltron Project will be a novel length fic taking place following Season 6 of Voltron. It will be divided up episodically, meaning that there will be 13 chapters in total. It is meant to reflect the best of what we've seen of Voltron, while doing away with the worst. That means focusing on the main characters and their arcs, interactions, and development, as well as keeping alive the space epic atmosphere of the show. This is not a ship-spurred project, being that the goal is that anyone who enjoys the show or any of the characters in it will also enjoy. Fanfiction is a place for people to explore the character dynamics of those they love most, which means that most fics focus solely on only a few characters. Which is great! But the goal of The Voltron Project is to bring the team dynamic of the show to the page. Each character will get their story and their spotlight, and those that have fallen on the backburner will finally get their due (yes, this means hefty arcs for both Lance and Hunk that will actually be pertinent to the story and related to the plot, though these arcs will be spread over the "Season 7" rewrite as well as the newly written "Season 8" finale book that would be written if this project is a success). That isn't to say there won't be ships at all (because there will be), but this isn't a ship driven narrative.

It is a Voltron and character driven narrative.

So what does this mean? Well, I've outlined the story fully, so I can provide you with summaries of what would be to come. If only to get y'all interested, because it won't be worth me writing if people aren't interested in reading ;)

The Voltron Project: Season 7 - Summaries

Episode 1: Keith struggles to find his confidence as leader with Shiro back, leaving him to reflect on all the times Shiro was his guide growing up. Certainly it'd make more sense for Shiro to take over the team and get them through this difficult journey back to Earth? Meanwhile, Allura struggles to find her confidence and place on the team following Lotor's betrayal. Stranded on an unknown planet, she fails to find a peaceful resolution with the local population, leaving Hunk to step forward with a new perspective and perhaps a new way of looking at Voltron's previously tried and true methods of diplomacy.

Episode 2: Having set out on the long journey back to Earth, the paladins struggle with close-quarters as well as the fear that with their lions not fully charged, they may be unable to defend themselves should the situation turn dire. Luck is not on their side, as they encounter an invisible force that seems to enjoy toying with their insecurities. Left to soul-search their way to answers, each paladin must grapple with the fears holding them hostage in the hopes that they—and their lions—might come out stronger on the other side.

Episode 3: Discovering an old altean base from the days when Daibazaal and Altea were allies, the paladins make a pit-stop in the hopes of salvaging supplies for their trip. While Romelle and Coran indulge in Altean culture and history, Allura must face the heartbreak Lotor inflicted on her emotionally as well as how his actions shook her faith in the art of altean alchemy itself. But as Lance points out, Allura must shape her own story with her own actions, not reflect on the misguided deeds of others against her. Without her abilities, they may not escape the faulty altean base alive.

Episode 4: While the team attempts to get the archaic teleduv up and running, Lance is left to ponder his own relationships with the other paladins, as well as his many mistakes. But if there's anyone who understands interpersonal missteps, it's Shiro, who divulges the many regrets he's accumulated since he'd made the decision to go to space. But the team's ultimate goal is Olkari, as that may be as far as they can get with the questionable teleduv. Personal reflections may have to take a backseat to the bad news that awaits them. Meanwhile, Haggar and Sendak strike up an alliance.

Episode 5: Since Sam Holt's return, the Earth has been informed of the war beyond its solar system and prepped as best as possible for an inevitable attack. But Earth's technology is too far behind to catch up, and so the citizenry must hope for Voltron and the coalition when Galra ships appear on the horizon. Hopes that are devastated when news that Voltron was destroyed reaches Sam Holt via the Olkari. And without an altean, the coalition can't provide aid in time. Earth is, seemingly, on its own.

Episode 6: Back on Earth, the paladins are finally reunited with their loved ones. But things aren't the same as when they left and the paladins aren't the same people they were on that fateful day the blue lion carried them into space. Pressures are mounting and tough decisions must be made, many of the paladins having to face their positions in ways they hadn't considered before. Meanwhile, Shiro attempts to deal with the politics of Earth, Voltron, and the Coalition, all while trying to work around personal obstacles from before he'd left on the Kerberos Mission.

Episode 7: All the paladins need a break, so Lance invites them down to Varadero for a day out under the sun and on the water. After all, what better solution is there for stress and doubt than a relaxing day on the beach? Yet even as the team seems to be embracing Lance's idea and having a good time, he's eventually the one left floundering and uncertain. But none of that may matter soon. The notion of peace is fleeting and everyone knew the Galra would be back sooner rather than later. Even with Voltron and the Coalition, Earth may yet be in danger.

Episode 8: Everyone is scrambling to Earth's defenses, which are far from being prepared for another attack. Team Voltron is tested both together and apart by the combined forces of Sendak and Haggar's forces. With so much to defend and so little on their side, they may have no choice but to separate their priorities if only because so much has to be done and so little is possible. But Voltron is always stronger together and Haggar's new weapon may be the strongest foe the paladins have faced yet.

Episode 9: With their focus on Haggar's weapon, Voltron depends on the coalition and Earth's own forces to deal with the assault. But even their faith in the strength of Voltron may not be enough. There's tragedy waiting in Earth's devastation. The most personally weighted and important battle the paladins have ever faced may be one that's impossible to truly win.

Episode 10: Humanity will never be the same, nor will team Voltron. In the wake of the attack, Earth has been tested in ways never before seen, while the paladins must try and pick up the pieces of their own team. With a lion and a paladin captured and another paladin overwhelmed with grief, they must continue to push forward despite the giant fractures that threaten to crumble everything Voltron has worked so hard to achieve.

Episode 11: Having located the energy signature of the captured lion, the paladins and the coalition move in. But retrieving the missing lion—and hopefully the paladin that goes with it—will prove challenging without the ability to form Voltron, and that's if things go as planned. But knowing the Galra, things are bound to go wrong.

Episode 12: The paladins are working on borrowed time. Infiltrating the Galra ships proves perilous. While Allura is faced with Haggar—as well as the misdeeds of Lotor and their effects—the rest of the team searches for their missing comrade. But traversing Galra ships is challenging, especially when they've got so much riding on such a short time allotment. That some of the team's judgement is clouded in anger and grief does little to help the situation. In the end, the paladins are left rushing toward an end with no clear answers.

Episode 13: With one of the lions having vanished through Haggar's wormhole, it falls to Keith to do something, as his lion is the only one capable of bending space swiftly enough to catch up. Meanwhile, Sendak awaits, having used the paladins' weaknesses against them to the point that team Voltron may never recover if Keith, and the rest of the team, can't find him in time.

So those are the summaries for the entirety of "Season 7." I've tried to include enough to explain where the story is going while also leaving out as many spoilers as possible ;D

This is the fic I'd like to write, if enough people are interested in reading it. But a lot of my investment in it is dependent on readers' investment in it. I'll write with or without the help of others if enough people want to read it. And in the case that others want to be involved, I have a few propositions to be considered. Different potential "packages" of The Voltron Project, if you will:

Basic – I write the fic and upload it over the course of 13 days to AO3 for everyone to read, simple as that.

BigBang – The fic itself remains a digital interface, while artists that are interested in being involved treat it like a BigBang, as in, artists work on illustrations of each chapter like they would separate stories during a BigBang. These will be released during a thirteen day period, with appropriate credits being given. But this is only possible if at least 13 artists are interested. If there are more (which would be amazing), I would like the project to be as inclusive as possible, meaning that multiple artists would work on illustrations for one chapter, etc.

Zine – The ultimate goal, which I think is unlikely, but a dude can dream, yeah? In this case, the book will be released as a digital zine (which would be free) with options for different tiers following. For example:

Tier one: Free—get a digital copy! Awesome!

Tier two: Black and white softcover copy (text and illustrations would be in b&w) with all proceeds going to charity (what charity would be up for discussion at a later date).

Tier three: Color softcover copy! All proceeds would go to charity!

Tier four: Color hardcover copy! All proceeds would go to charity!

(This is only an example of potentially what could be done and could change later)

I also imagine that different tiers would offer different extras, like pins, bookmarks, etc… But again, this is the ultimate thing that could happen and I'm really not holding my breath for this being possible.

In any case, that is where I stand on The Voltron Project at the moment! I'm looking forward to hearing what everyone has to say! 

And if y’all want this project to get off the ground, tell your friends, tell your fav artists, and, of course, REBLOG!

PS: Also, I'll need beta readers, so if people are into this idea, I'll open some kind of application for that as well, as would be done with artists ;D Just something to keep in mind!

PPS: THIS IS A HATE FREE PROJECT! ANY HATE BY ANYONE WANTING TO BE INVOLVED WILL NOT BE TOLERATED AND YOU WILL BE TAKEN OFF THE ROSTER POST-HASTE!