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toastess-with-the-mostess · 10 months

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Let's Rewind! Toast watches Voltron: Defender of The Universe (1984)

Season 1, Episode 31: The Sincerest Form of Flattery Season 1, Episode 32: A Transplant For Blue Lion

Episode 31: The Sincerest Form of Flattery

Lotor made the mistake of trying to boss Zarkon around and immediately was greeted with robeasts to "escort" him away from Zarkon's presence I'd ask if you even understood what you were doing, but the answer is a resounding no

The fight seemed so weird until I realized dotu cut out a handful of scenes because they were gory, Lotor definitely stabbed one robeast through the chest and maybe beheaded another

Oh shit! Zarkon v Lotor but for real this time! Lotor obviously is going to lose, but this should be fun to watch him fail at

AN ANIME FREEZE FRAME?? I KEEP FORGETTING THIS WAS ORIGINALLY AN ANIME AND HAS THAT KIND OF STUFF ZARKON JUST CUT LOTOR'S HELMET IN HALF AND MADE THE GUY BLEED

I'm so mad that the main antagonist for the team got switched to Lotor instead of being kept as Zarkon, he feels like a better villain than his overgrown pet sperm

Haggar to save Lotor's life, though she should've let Lotor get turned into a robeast like he himself suggested lol instead we get an ACTUAL mech for Voltron to fight this time, the rest have usually been cyborg type deals

Back on Arus, the team formed Voltron to help out with reconstruction after the last attack on the city that happened We really should see that more often tbh, nice to see the team doing humanitarian (Arusianarian?) work

HUNK I DON'T THINK BEING ABLE TO PUNCH THROUGH A TABLE AND THEN RIP YOUR HANDS OUT FROM IT ALONGSIDE A CHUNK OF WHATEVER THAT TABLE IS MADE OF IS NORMAL

Ooh new defense system, Ad EAS i think Coran said, stands for Advanced Early Alarm System which isn't a bad acronym Apparently the regular defense system detects when an enemy gets within 50 tyketes(?) of Arus but the new one detects and attacks enemies that enter 200 tyketes this definitely won't go wrong

And it immediately gets destroyed LMAO Lotor showed up and decided to mess with it before getting pissed and shooting one of the command ship's lasers right through the satellite maybe the castle should've deployed more than 4 of those things

Actually though, Ad EAS is a good early detection system to help stall for time while the teams gets up to space, Arus IS rebuilding after all so even if it doesn't do much time is precious

The team is NOT having a good time up there, again I know it's for the drama but c'mon guys if you were already freaked out by the legitimate giant robot you have to fight why not even it up with your own giant robot

HOLY SHIT A ROBEAST ACTUALLY ATTACKED THE TEAM MID TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE?? INCREDIBLE IT DIDN'T DO ANYTHING BECAUSE THERE'S A FORCE FIELD OR LIKE TOO MUCH ENERGY OUTPUT SO IT JUST SENT IT FLYING BACK

It's cool to know that voltron has more than one weapon at their disposal, but I wish they were used more sparingly just because I want Voltron to start throwing hands LMAO

OH SHIT THE ROBEAST ACTUALLY MANAGED TO KNOCK VOLTRON BACK INTO THE ATMOSPHERE It pierced through blue lion, getting real close to Allura, so she freaked out and lost control of blue's thruster so Voltron isn't doing so hot

aaand all that hard work for the city has gone to shit, Arus can't catch a fucking break huh, maybe the people should just move further away from the castle, so they don't get hit, assuming this is the nearest town

I'm sorry the joint above blue lion is where most of Voltron's energy is stored?? Absolute bullshit reasoning, the writers could've done better by literally reminding Lotor that blue's already weakened

DID VOLTRON JUST GET STABBED IN THE CHEST?? EXCUSE ME?? WHAT IS HAPPENING THIS EPISODE robeast defeated, hooray!

Voltron just became a cripple omg, blue lion still as a foot btw just DROPPED so confused as to how voltron still existed after that, but the boys disbanded anyway to protect Allura who's out cold after a crash-land

They're still fighting holy shit, usually the episode ends after the robeast gets fucked and the lions are getting beat up too, castle defenses had to chase away Lotors command ship what a wild turn of events

Into the hospital Allura goes, she had an injury on her shoulder, she's fine though as always

/episode end

Episode 32: A Transplant For Blue Lion

WOAH CONTINUITY?? They're picking up this episode with a bit of a time skip to remind viewers that Lotor actually did something right for once

Allura's still hurt, but that hasn't stopped her yet, what a good princess

GOD DAMN IT ALFOR WHY ARE YOU BACK

I always liked the idea that the boys didn't see Alfor as often as Allura did so they just think she's still grieving for him but every time this show uses Alfor as a crutch it hurts ME

Keith being a poetry nerd is such an on brand thing, I'm so sad they removed all this personality he had in preference for making him emo and solitary This man is goofy as hell! He's optimistic and happy-go-lucky, where did it all go

Keith getting angry out of nowhere is wild, he's never done that before especially towards Lance and yes it's out of nowhere because it's not like Lance was being a dick he was just being lazy AND THAT'S HIS NORMAL

Allurance moment though not super convincing to me because other Allurance versions have insane chemistry, dotu lance is for my mutual thank you

A militia! Good on the nearby townsfolk for choosing to fight against Lotor on their own grounds, I mean they will probably get DECIMATED, but they've got the spirit

Training time, the blue lion has been repaired fairly quick actually and Allura is having a tough time with keeping up I do like that this show shows her struggling and actively working to do better but like a little more continuity please? I say as it's a show aimed for children

NANNY I SWEAR TO GOD IF YOU DON'T GET IT THROUGH YOUR HEAD THAT NOBODY CAN REPLACE ALLURA ANYMORE I WILL KILL YOU MYSELF, GOOD GOD I WOULDN'T BE SURPRISED IF IT CAME OUT THAT SHE WAS A DRULE SPY ALL ALONG BUT SHE'S NOT EVEN SMART ENOUGH FOR THAT ROLE NOW IS SHE

Animation error? Is that Keith the blue pilot uniform

Some Hunk focus! I wonder if he has some kind of rejection sensitivity because he just started bawling when as the left leg of voltron got hit and fell off like allura's did last episode, very much doesn't like making mistakes

And the attack begins! As I thought the town is burnt to hell though the people did fight for a while so good for them EXCEPT HUNK IS STILL THINKING HE'S EXPENDABLE LIKE SIR THOSE ARE NOT GOOD THOUGHTS SUICIDE IS NOT THE WAY

Looks like the training actually helped! They blew up the robeast's head without forming Voltron, though they still formed up because they have to double tap the thing to make sure it isn't still kicking

ALFOR WHY ARE YOU EVEN BACK AGAIN, STAY DEAD ASSHOLE

Robeast defeated and a pregnant woman from earlier in the episode gave birth by the end! How cute, though using Voltron or Voltrisha as a name for an actual child is literally setting them up for bullying OSIDN

/episode end

#voltron #voltron defender of the universe #voltron dotu #80s voltron #let's rewind!#toast talks

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creativekrissy · 2 years

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Honestly, my theory was this:

S3-s8 was heavily edited to keep Shiro in the series because his character was very popular and at the cost of Keith’s scenes as a leader.

Keith’s hands revealing he was Galra was suppose to be the build up to fighting against Lance in the episode “the black paladins”— it would have made sense to be “the red paladins”. Why do I believe this? Frames are obviously edited and Shiro (Kuron) never had a sword and the “sword” given is highly similar to Lance’s Altean sword and I’m talking about the outline.

Shiro’s nightmares or thoughts of himself may have been imagining himself as a full out Galra and Haggar most definitely tormented him on the sidelines until the fight between the red paladins.

All the interactions of Lance and Shiro were suppose to be Keith and Lance, I say this because their interactions in confiding each other began in s3 before Keith left the group. So imagine in s6, Haggar believes she has full control of Keith or his Galra genes took over and he’s freaking out.

Either way, the whole fight ends with Lance bringing Keith back to the group fighting Lotor— it’s also possible he didn’t bring Red with him and had no chance but to pilot Black to make it home or a possible scene of he and Keith talking to make their way back.

As for s7, it would make sense why the bond between those two is on point and strong— all interactions between them is suddenly gone. They are brief and subtle.

I also believe that Pidge was meant to be in the middle of the game and Lance was beside Keith. It makes sense because there are hints of those two subtly beside each other but it was edited— just what I believe, I know many would argue. Great editing exists. That’s just me.

Anyway, Keith is probably feeling the worst because of how he fought Lance and left the team, which would make sense why Lance calls him out for being a lone wolf, he’s always trying to run away from his problems.

Plus the leaving him to be leader and grabbing Acxa, forming the wings together. If you remember— Lance is edited to suddenly be with Allura in every scene— I feel like it was suppose to be Romelle. They were suddenly close friends in s7-s8.

Now skip to Hunk finding his family. I strongly believe this was suppose to be about Lance finding his family. The flashbacks were meant to be Lance being playing with his niece and nephew— that scene we got in his reuniting was very odd and out of place.

I feel like the return to earth was suppose to build character for Lance’s confidence in himself as a Paladin. Keith helps him find his parents, Veronica found their parents with the Mfe group. All is reunited but Lance is livid for Sendak imprisoning his family.

As for the scene where Lance and Allura come together to help each other in their lions to protect earth— I feel like Allura is heavily edited from Keith’s outline. This season was suppose to show the growth of these two as a team.

S8 may have been a romantic hint or at least a build up— again why? Take it from where Allura was edited into Keith’s outline because I don’t think they were ever meant to be together. I believe she was strongly focused on moving forward and finding Lotor later in the season.

The date episode could have been everyone invited to Lance’s family dinner. The group could’ve went to find clothes appropriate for dinner since Keith doesn’t fit clothes other than the garrison fit.

Honestly it could’ve been anything but it doesn’t make sense why the Lance and Allura kissing scenes were censored and blocked. Since Keith and Lance are originally blue and red paladins— they make purple— the colour surround Allura which is pink is heavily implied on it.

Also, Allura may have cancelled dinner because of Luka waking up. Maybe Lance was suppose to try a last attempt impressing Allura since she’s not with Lotor— that would make sense and he broods about her cancelling and it brings Keith to the sunset scene. That’s my imagination or theory on the date episode.

Plus looking back at Heart of a Lion episode— Keith could’ve told Lance to be careful, his attempt at being open and vulnerable. Could be platonic— who knows, Keith is just trying to open up more and had there been more accurate interactions between the two in s6, it makes sense for Keith to talk with Lance more as a norm— the whole “got your back” trope that’s building to a strong bond. Who knows, because the studio was doing fine in naturally building same sex relationships since Shiro and Adam were confirmed for the series.

Plus apparently Shiro came back with Krolia? That was the first idea but it was scratched cause they kept him anyway. Shiro is probably making his rounds to be captain of the atlas because what else can he do?

So they leave out to space for s8. Allura finds out Lotor may be alive and investigates— she finds Lotor and brings him back to the Atlas. I believe the scene with Lance and Allura in the medical room was suppose to be Allura and Lotor. Lance’s outline is similar to Lotor and in canon, Lotor is taller than Allura. The features are very similar.

Even on the festival episode, Keith and Lance are definitely checking the place out but Keith just isn’t the type— he still can’t relax. I do believe Shiro was meant to be arm wrestling because of his arm.

So anyway, Lotor wakes up and the search for Honerva and her plans are revealed. Lance is likely to doubt the plans because she’s a dangerous woman— which could be why Keith and Lance confide in each other and pretty much announce their bond will never change or they always have each others backs.

Now if we skip to where the atlas and Voltron combine— you’ll notice one of the face slides is larger than the rest. I theorize that Lotor was meant to be there. The end is where either Lotor and Allura say goodbye to the paladins or they get their parental conclusion and say goodbye to their parents to restore and rebuild Altea than what Lotor had planned in the first place.

It’s possible Allura was saying goodbye to Lotor or that whole kissing scene was added to make sense of Allura and Lance. MAYBE both have joined their parents— possibilities because the lions leave the paladins in the end and the galaxy picture of Allura and Lotor’s body.

Maybe Adam never died and found his way in s7, could’ve been imprisoned by Sendak instead of dead. So Shiro finally marries him properly in the end. If Keith and Lance were meant to be in a relationship then it would be hinted at Keith and Lance during Shiro’s wedding.

So many possibilities.

That’s just what my brain thinks of the heavy outline edits and sudden plots inserted from s3-s8.

Regardless— I still love what VLD is in the end but my brain cannot fathom obvious edits and out of balance inserts in story or character development plots.

There I said it all! I will now leave this behind me~

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puppetmaster55 · 2 years

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Can you help me out a bit, i haven't watched vld past half of s6 and am trying to establish a timeline for Lotor but hitting a few roadblocks. Unless i am mistaken it is suggested that Lotor saved alteans for his colony 10,000 years ago but like wasn't Lotor born until after Honerva was Haggar and was growing up during that time(also it's probably just me but 10,000 years just feels too much especially when from flashbacks it feels the technology and society has remained mostly the same)

the Lotor timeline is kind of a mess and galra lifespans are also a mess (Lotor's governess was the same when he was a smol kid as we met her in the start of s6) and like.

The one thing you can be certain of is that Honerva was very very pregnant when she became Haggar, and I think gave birth at the same time that Zarkon was leading the destruction of Altea.

Given his age and how the colony is explained... I'd say it's been only a thousand-ish years that the colony has existed, and maybe 300 for the second colony? Like, it started to exist after Romelle was born, and we know that the Castle of Lions was built 600 years beforehand (and Coran's grandfather helped design it), so Alteans are long-lived.

The most frustrating part about this whole thing in figuring out the timeline is that we have no clue how long Alteans or Galra are supposed to live. I'd say, based on context clues, the Castle of Lions was built for Voltron (otherwise that's... weird to have it specially made for the Lions and yet be centuries before the comet appeared), and Allura states at the start of the series that Zarkon should not be alive after 10,000 years.

So. To answer your question...

Honerva was late-stage pregnant when she became Haggar, and either during or just after Zarkon destroyed Altea is when Lotor was born.

When Lotor was a young lad (like, by Human standards 10) he confronted Zarkon bc he was a genius who wanted to learn about his mother and knew she was Altean, but not that she was Haggar.

Somewhere when Lotor looked his canon age he was put in charge of a planet and then, after Zarkon saw he wasn't subjugating the people or destroying the planet, Zarkon had that whole planet obliterated.

Assume Lotor didn't start the colony until one thousand years ago because he looks the same age as canon when he does, and didn't start to harvest their quintessence until probably 300 years ago, and how long Humans live is rather short when compared to the lives of the rest of the universe.

Also yes, 10,000 years feels like too long a time and definitely isn't helped when we have no frame of reference to how long Alteans, Galra, or anyone else not-Human in the universe lives.

As for how Lotor met his generals... we're on our own for that one, as no answer was given. Same for when he figured out about the second comet, and when he learned Haggar and Honerva are the same (he was told by her at end of s6, but admitted that he already knew).

#puppet answers asks #voltron #anonymous #hope this helps you anon!

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violethowler · 4 years

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Highlands Poppy: An Analysis of Clone Shiro’s Role in the Story of Voltron Legendary Defender

It pretty much goes without saying that Shiro’s consciousness being merged with his clone in S6E07 Defender of All Universes was a controversial decision with the fandom. Many had been expecting the Clone Shiro plotline to be resolved the way that such stories usually go in your typical science fiction story. The clone would go through an existential crisis realizing that everything they know about themselves is a lie before eventually deciding to build a new identity for themselves independent of the original. So from that perspective, many fans saw the merging of the clone and the original as one character being killed off because the other was seen as more real, and therefore more important.

However Voltron: Legendary Defender is not a purely science fiction franchise. With its druids and magic, and the Altean basically being elves in all but name, the show has the trappings of an epic fantasy set in outer space. So when discussing Clone Shiro’s role in the overall narrative of the series, we should not be looking at it from a purely sci-fi perspective. Meaning that despite the name “Operation Kuron” and being labeled as such on-screen in Seasons 6-7, “Kuron” does not align with traditional sci-fi tropes about cloning. To more accurately describe what he is, we should first look at the function that both Shiros fill within the overarching story of the series.

A recurring narrative device used throughout VLD is to link two different characters or events by framing them as parallels. These parallels thematically tie the two together and serve to link the similar elements together in the mind of the audience, often with the additional purpose of highlighting the parts where the two are different. The most immediately obvious example would be the fight against the gladiator robeast in S1E03 Return of the Gladiator, where Voltron’s battle against the robeast intercuts with brief flashbacks to Shiro fighting the warrior it was built from back in the gladiator arena.

However sometimes these parallels are more subtle, and aren’t directly pointed out in the narrative. Instead, the more subtle parallels are depicted through similar elements, or through visual details that signal that the events being depicted are of a similar nature. For example, despite being separated by at least 18 episodes, Pidge’s grief when she finds Matt’s grave in S4E02 Reunion parallels Shiro mourning Adam in S7E09 Know Your Enemy. Meanwhile, the bits of light floating off Lotor’s body in S8E10 Knights of Light: Part 2 resemble the ones seen coming from his parents’ eyes after their resurrection in S3E07 The Legend Begins, signalling that Lotor is not dead, despite WEP removing all trace of his survival from subsequent episodes.

After Allura transfers Shiro’s consciousness into the clone body, his eyes fill with a solid pink light that contracts before fading to show his pupils as the merger of Shiro and Clone Shiro completes. After this point, Shiro has all of his and the clone’s memories (although thanks to WEP’s meddling with Seasons 7 and 8, we did not get to see this shown on screen). The only other time in the series where we see this visual of a character’s eyes lighting up with a solid color before the light contracts and fades to reveal their pupils is when Haggar leaves Oriande and completes her transformation back into Honerva.

From a storytelling perspective, this signals to the audience that what Honerva experienced in Oriande after forcing her way past the White Lion’s trial in S6E01 Omega Shield is similar to what occurred with Shiro and his clone in S6E07 Defender of All Universes: a merging of two selves. This connection ties in to an existing pattern that has been present in the show since Season 4 and still remains in Seasons 7 and 8 despite the extensive executive meddling that resulted in the culmination of this plotline being removed.

When speaking with Lotor in S6E05 The Black Paladins, Honerva refers to her Haggar persona as something she was transformed into. Something different than who she really is that she was changed into against her will. Lotor also treats Haggar and Honerva as separate entities in the same episode, and in S4E05 Begin the Blitz, even though we as the audience know for a fact that they are the same person. Shiro, too, makes a distinction between his own actions and those of his alternate self in S7E06.

But despite her claims to the contrary, we are shown that the only difference between Haggar and Honerva is her memories. Even before she took a bath in the rift on Daibazaal, Honerva was always willing to push ethical boundaries in the name of science. She does not react with horror at her actions after regaining her memories, and despite attempting to separate herself from her Haggar identity, she still adheres to the same tactics to stay in control of the people around her.

In the same way, the biggest distinction between Shiro and his clone is their diverging memory post-Season 2, and the fact that the events of S3E5 The Journey added more trauma on top of Shiro’s PTSD from his time as a prisoner of the empire, making him more short-tempered and less patient. But the Shiro in Seasons 3-5 at his core is so identical to the Shiro of the first 2 seasons that despite the Operation Kuron line in S3E5, many fans before Season 6 did not believe that he was a clone at all.

We do not get any on-screen acknowledgement of Shiro having two sets of memories, however the Season 8 episode Clear Day points out that Honerva and Haggar are the same person despite the change in her name and appearance. This indicates that we should have gotten a similar acknowledgement of Shiro’s situation at some point during the final season. We should also have seen both characters be forced to confront the reality of their situation in order to move forward.

The moment where Honerva is forced to confront the fact that she cannot absolve herself of her actions as Haggar was more than likely a casualty of Lotor’s removal from the final season. Her final conversation with Lotor would have forced her to accept responsibility for her actions as Haggar, and Lotor would likewise be forced to acknowledge the cruel witch Haggar and his mother Honerva as the same person.

While Honerva’s confrontation was centered around Lotor, Shiro’s most significant relationship throughout the overarching narrative is his bond with Keith. It would make perfect sense, then, for Keith to play a major role in helping Shiro reconcile with the memories and actions of his alternate self. And since all of Keith and Shiro’s personal interactions were cut out of the season in order to No-Homo their connection, scenes that acknowledged the merger of the two Shiros were left on the cutting room floor.

TL;DR: Shiro merging with his clone at the end of Season 6 is an external representation of what happens inside Honerva’s mind at the beginning. The two were each meant to have moments in Season 8 where they admit that their other selves were a part of them instead of separate entities, but these scenes were cut as a consequence of Lotor’s removal from the season and Keith and Shiro being No-Homo’d.

#voltron legendary defender #voltron meta #vld shiro #vld haggar #vld kuron #vld honerva #character analysis #narrative parallels

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f-117-nighthawk · 4 years

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I’m in a Playlist Mood

I was scrolling through my dark matter tag looking for something I made a while ago to reference in the next chapter of Carry Me Home and ran across my last playlist explanation post. It put me in the mood to think about this again, and I’ve added...a lot. The playlist might’ve actually doubled in length since then (Thank You Abyss) and I’ve moved some stuff around in order. So, more playlist meta under the cut (it’s LONG)

So first thing: I’ve actually created two new playlists (well, one new one and actually made the third playlist have more than two tracks) since that post jhadsfljd. Working forwards in time (kinda), we have:

Dark Matter: The Road to Ruin

The Road to Ruin is the Main Playlist, the thing I use to write to, the thing I lie in bed and listen to to think up new things, and half the thing that keeps the timeline in place (it’s actually more updated than World Anvil rn whoops). Here we have overarching plot hooks, character development, and the story of six Paladins and their friends trying to save the universe.

Turn the Lights Out I sort of explained in the last post and I can’t think of too much more to add. The TLDR is it’s about the Lions (and, well, technically [REDACTED] too....) and sort of why I refer to a fully-melded Lion-Paladin duo as Spirits.

(I was here/Will you welcome and recognize me/I'll be there/I was here/Will you dread me, will you despise me/I'll be there/For the last living thing)

Remnants of Stars is again about Galran philosophy and the actual process of the quintessence nurseries filtering quintessence back into the universe. But the bit about giving in to know the truth becomes important much, MUCH later.

(As children of space/With stardust in our veins/We will give in to know the truth/We are the remnants of stars)

Your World Will Fail, Dark Matter, and Eater of Worlds are about [REDACTED], about what happens between that instant between the first plank time and the next. They’re an overarching theme, but also the event that everything else builds from, whether that be interpreted as the beginning of the universe or the Voltron comet crashing into Daibazaal.

(Your world will fail my love/It’s far beyond repair/Your world will fail my love/It is already there)

(Bring me your soul/Bring me your hate/In my name you will create/Bring me your fear/Bring me your pain/You will destroy in my name)

(Can’t imagine the violence/The rage and the love in my madness/I am the eater of worlds and I’m looking for someone to feed me)

Apocalypse 1992 is actually the main story of Through Apocalypse Skies, although its framing story is shortly after String Theory. It happens between parts of Awakenings, detailing the rise of [REDACTED] and the final hours before the destruction of everything sentient species knew beforehand.

(Fly high through apocalypse skies/Fight for the world we must save/Like tears of a unicorn lost in the rain/Chaos will triumph this day)

You Keep What You Kill covers the slow degeneration of the Empire between The Fall and the Battle of Arus. The knowledge harshly taught by the Thuanial War is forgotten under the influence of Zarkon, Haggar, and [REDACTED]. Marzin and Galraasa quickly rise the ranks as the Empire’s left and right hands, like omens of destruction before them. The four are the ‘holy half-dead,’ the ones who shape the devouring of the universe before them.

(Defying dimensions/These ruthless creatures will steal your soul/Breaking away from the chains of mortality/They won't be taken down/Bow now to the holy half dead/The master to death mongers calls)

The Seven Sisters is about Keith, mostly, and connected to Closure via its influence on Child From the Stars (Lost in the Dark) and also to Memories of a Girl I Haven’t Met

(I cast my hope upon The Pleiades/The Seven Sisters who would come for me/They'd fall to Earth to grant a child's dream/But I'm still waiting)

Starlight is the newly added Adashi song. Here, it’s the sad part, based around the time that the SFSS Genesis launches for Kerberos. It also is sort of about Shiro’s thoughts throughout the war as he watches ‘from distant skies’ (and influences String Theory kinda)

(At night the earth will rise/And I'll think of you each time I watch from distant skies/Whenever stars go down and galaxies ignite/I'll think of you each time they wash me in their light/And I'll fall in love with you again)

Abyss is Awakenings again. It’s specifically the Red Lion waking up on Sendak’s ship to her new Paladin, but also sort of the rest of the Lions as they find new Paladins for the first time since The Fall

(Open my eyes in a daze/How long has it been? Am I so out of place?/Warmth I can no longer feel/My mountain is gone, I'm surrounded by steel/The strangest of structures arises ahead/Seems to be held up by nothing/Where have I gone, do I dream?/How can the stars be all I can see?)

Who Will Save You Now is about the Paladins in First Contact. It’s the video messages they send to their families, the warning that Something Is Out Here that they need to prepare for. It’s a declaration of protection for Earth, but a recognition that the Paladins may not be able to do what they say.

(I will not take from you and you will not owe/I will protect you from the fire below/It's not in my mind/It's here at my side/Go tell the world that I'm still alive)

The End of the Beginning and Nobody Gets Left Behind are the aftermath of the Battle of the Sarnan Nebula, the end of season two. The End of the Beginning hasn’t been posted yet, but it’s also the second of the four Closure fics. The End of the Beginning also has influence on String Theory.

(Every night I die just a little/All this time, I'm caught in the middle/All your life, you fought with no winning/This is just the end of the beginning)

(Don't even try to pretend/That you're rough and just as tough/As when you're missing a friend/Attack and take him back/Cause when the team isn't whole/You've got a hole in your soul)

A Simple Plan is sort of part of The End of the Beginning, but really takes place after it. It’s the newly shuffled Team Voltron attempting to track down Lotor as Haggar tries to keep him under her control, and the new Black Paladin’s slow shift away from the things that he was pushed into and to the Blade. (And... guess what... it has influence on String Theory!) Fun fact I found out recently: The Spiritual Machines are by and large also the people behind Les Friction, which explains so much.

(What is this space we’re climbing/What is this place we’re stuck in/Why do we feel we’re sinking/How do we get out – get out of this)

Memories of a Girl I Haven’t Met skips all the way over Naxzela and to the Mission to the Baaria Shipyards, the first major offensive that isn’t somehow connected to canon (even if only a very very small part of it is actually at the shipyards lol). This is also the song that solidified Keith’s very queer identity in Dark Matter.

(In this lonely place, bathed in silence and thoughts of you/I can't see your face but I'm trying to envision you/So are you really out there? Are you awake with memories/Of a boy you haven't met yet who's wished upon the Pleiades?)

TRIALS (reimagine) and String Theory are.... hoh boy. [REDACTED], [spoilers], and the turning point for a lot of things, which is why it has the honor of being the separating fic between my two main Dark Matter folders. TRIALS being on here is a fun story, because I associate that song very heavily with my main Star Wars fics, since that’s where the series title comes from, but the reimagine version of it gave me such strong Dark Matter vibes, it ended up here. It has heavy influence on the first part of String Theory, and is what I’ve been using for general pacing of the first half. String Theory itself isn’t the weirdest song on the playlist, but it’s really hard to find the connections to it without several layers of abstraction and backstory on [REDACTED]. String Theory is also weaved into a good chunk of fics before it.

(The ending won't be forgotten/It's written in the stars and the hieroglyphs/Sending the lionhearted/The stones break bones, but we're venomous)

(You don't believe in space/You don't believe in light/You don't believe that anything is well beyond your might/We walk across the sky and beneath the ocean floor/We're never going anywhere we've never been before)

House on Fire is the aftermath of String Theory, and a large vibe of We ARE Struggling Together! (Rise Against says it’s about parenting???? lol fuck that) (okay but actually, switch the parental love part to sibling love/general familial love and that’s a pretty good description....)

(So I'll just hold you like a hand grenade/You touch me like a razor blade/I wish there was some other way right now/Like a house on fire we're up in flames/I'd burn here if that's what it takes/To let you know I won't let go of you)

Belgrade is the klance song! It is a) bop b) always stuck in my head because it is That Good. The line in the chorus about ‘sweet songs of seduction’ is eternally funny to be bc a)they’re both ace and b)QPR’s don’t usually involve seduction as far as I know. Belgrade also leads almost directly into...

(We pretend in the darkness/We pretend the night won’t steal our youth/Singing me the sweet songs of seduction/Let me be the fool, fool, fool/Who will live and die for you)

Here to Save You is about Sam. Mostly. It’s also about Pidge. And Zaivorge cannons.

(A slave for humankind/I made sure I would survive/To stay alive/Now it's time to move on/When there's nothing left to prove/I'm coming to get you)

Iron is what eventually replaced Ten Thousand Against One. The plot has actually changed a lot since it was that song like. two years ago (three?) at this point. It has more of a focus on Keith knowing what’s going on due to [spoilers] and coming to accept parts of himself that are suddenly very obvious (kiiiinda the third closure fic?)

(You can't live without the fire/It's the heat that makes you strong/'Cause you're born to live/And fight it all the way/You can't hide what lies inside you/It's the only thing you know/You're embracing that, never walk away)

Birthright and Firewall are not exactly a direct result of Iron, but they wouldn’t happen how they do without it. They’re actually largely about Lotor, but then [REDACTED] swings back into the fray and things learned in String Theory/the framing story for Through Apocalypse Skies hit in full force.

(The voices in my head have all begun to sing/(The voices in your head have all begun to sing)/And they sure as hell hope I am listening/(I sure as hell hope you are listening!))

(They come to your dreams with illusion/They come to bring shape to your mind/You know how to stop the intrusion/We all have to fight for our lives)

and then, The Day the Earth Collapsed

(How much time has been elapsed/Since the day the earth collapsed?)

Here Comes the Reign doesn’t come into full effect until several months after Birthright/Firewall after Galraasa meets their fate, but starts with The Day the Earth Collapsed. It’s largely about Haggar and [REDACTED]

(You made something they can't take away/Now bring the fire of the burning sun on everyone)

Closure is placed where the fourth of its fics is. Closure in general is a lot of Keith’s character development and some of the struggles he goes through to accept his place in the universe and the fact that yes, he does have people that care about him. The last fic is me shining a brighter light on Closure’s chorus and taking a ‘last goodbye’ as never needing to say it again

(I am the child from the stars/That got lost in the dark/Between heaven and hell/I am forced to live on/I am the cause when you sin/I am the demon you skin/But there is no more tears to beautify/This is my last goodbye)

Ember and Soulbound are two closely related missions involving both Voltron and the Blade (specifically the Dark Whispers) in which [REDACTED] comes in with a vengeance, and some revelations about certain people’s fates are had. Soulbound is actually sort of from Krolia’s perspective.

(Dark matter falling from the sky/Dancing flames reflecting in your eyes as you watch them burn/Watching all your riches witches burn)

(Soulbound, endlessly forever/Locked between the darkness and the light/Don't drown in the swarming, blackened rising/Hold on to humanity and fight)

Darker Matter and Other Worlds Than These are. Well. [REDACTED] and [spoilers] and String Theory’s revelations rearing their ugly head once again, but this time with extra context and just a little bit of [spoiler]

(Dream yourself away/The pull of you shredding time and space)

(There are monsters in the sky/There are demons in the sea/I have seen them with my eyes/I've seen what you won't see/Pull the wool out from your eyes/It won't shade your frail belief/In the end we cannot hide/There are other worlds than these)

Godhunter is a fun one. The combined effects of String Theory, Soulbound, and Darker Matter/Other Worlds Than These come to a head and Team Voltron goes, well, hunting.

(She's been watching for a century/With hatred, and with scorn/If you know the hunter's coming/Then you hide or keep on running/'Cause she's slain the gods before)

My Darkest Hour is revenge for Godhunter, as well as a distraction from it, although Godhunter continues all the way to Louder than Words.

(When the sun comes crashing down/When the world is spinning round and round/I will face what must be my darkest hour)

Faster Than Light is almost direct aftermath of My Darkest Hour, and sort of the inverse of Godhunter, where now Team Voltron are the hunted, even as they attempt to continue hunting. Oh and, Marzin and [REDACTED] are big parts

(Once more we're flying fast as light/Dark matter passing in the night/Pursued by a force we can't outrun/As we hurtle towards a dying sun/We maneuver through the remnants of a moon/On the solar winds of supernovas/There is not a place to hide, the Matriarch is close behind/It's plain to see she's coming for us all)

The Reckoning, This is a Call, World on Fire, The Wind that Shapes the Land, and Louder Than Words are the finale, what everything has been building towards. Earth’s faction, Haggar, [REDACTED], Voltron, the Empire, and the Coalition, all clash together in a final desperate bid to finish or prevent the final result of Your World Will Fail/Dark Matter/Eater of Worlds.

(I see your face, find peace of mind/Between the madness and the sadness and the fire burning/The end of war, the great divine/We'll see the day of reckoning)

(This is a call to action/This is a call to arms/All lives for one, together/There are no false alarms)

(World on fire with a smoking sun/Stops everything and everyone/Brace yourself for all will pay/Help is on the way)

(Search within/Uncover the will to win/Turn against the tide that washes o'er/Find the strength to fall and rise again/Open up the gates, unleash the force/I am the wind that shapes the land/Old as time and twice as strong/Oceans arise at my command/I alone can carry on)

(We have the force to fight/We have the blinding light/A war is more than heard/Coming in louder than words)

Dystopian Fiction

Dystopian Fiction is focused on what happens on Earth during the main playlist. I split it out because putting stuff like Cross the Line on the main playlist was getting clunky, and I figure Adam and Veronica (and the rest of the Paladins’ families, but mostly those two) deserve a chance for their story to shine on its own.

Dark Matter is on here because title track, but also it does end up with effects.

(Don't stop, don't think/Move up, don't blink now/On your knees pray for rain/Don't breathe when you take your aim)

Codebreaker is Adam’s song! I have him primarily as a cryptologist for the Garrison, teaching on the side and as a reserve pilot. Aviators says Codebreaker is actually about Cyperpunk 2077 but uhhh Fuck That it’s about Adam being The Best and dealing with...

(Codebreaker can't you find/Can you read between the lines of code?/Tell me all that you know/How far down the hole does it all go)

Cross the Line is the Éskhayklos’ image song. They’re a neo-luddite movement turned terrorist group that are upset with the way the Sol Federation is trying to fix Earth, stating that humans are the one that pushed it into this state, they should leave it to die and die along with it. Akane Shirogane was their worst nightmare. Cross the Line fits because, well, they crossed the line when [spoiler beep] and they were happy about it. (And “human cause” comes into play later when they pick up anti-alien leanings)

(Cross the line, redefine, break away unbent, unafraid/Together we stand in the dark/Seeking the light and what is right, together we cross the line/Our journey will come to an end and then our human cause will be/Justified)

Who Will Save You Now here is about Sam, and the aftermath of Here to Save You, in addition to its referenced role in the main playlist

(Alone with this vision/Alone and blind/Go tell the world I'm still alive)

The Day the Earth Collapsed is exactly what it says on the tin.

(How much time has been elapsed/Since the day the earth collapsed?)

Dystopian Fiction is the title track for this part. With the events of The Day the Earth Collapsed, the Garrison and our heroes on Earth are at their lowest point. It really is a piece of dystopian fiction, between [spoiler] and [spoiler]. And also: “Nobody can shoot me down, not just yet” is about Adam bc Fuck Canon

(I'm a dead man/In the wasteland/I'm a soldier fighting for superstition/Under search lights/In the long nights/We've been written like dystopian fiction)

The Reckoning is the only one of its little subset that made it over here, because it’s the only one that references events from before its eponymous fic (both verses are Very Earth)

(We're all alone, walking in twilight/The night has been long and so many have fallen/Feel no remorse, light will be breaking/Our freedom is worth it all)

Filaments

Filaments is the least complete, mostly because it’s the ‘sequel series’ of sorts. I have ideas for it, but I still haven’t posted most of the major story beats from the main portion of Dark Matter, so I’ve been purposefully putting it on the backburner. I do have enough to write Carry Me Home and put some foreshadowing in other fics.

Dark Matter is here because, well. A) Title track, B) yes, it still has effects. It’s the overarching theme, after all. Filaments sort of has a subtitle itself, which is ‘The Undoing,’ after the other part of the lyric that the subtitle of the main playlist comes from. It’s about undoing a past mistake (that wasn’t obviously a mistake until much later) and reconciling the events of Your World Will Fail.

(I am the keeper/I am the secret/I am the answer/I am the end)

Filaments is the title track of this part. It’s... a little hard to explain why without giving away the entire plot (what little I have planned lol) but it’s about the connections between different parts of the universe, and some fall-out of Darker Matter/Other Worlds Than These.

(These glowing filaments/Conducting this enchanting/Sarcophagus that's holding us)

Starlight is, again, Adashi song, and this time the happy part

(Don't leave me lost here forever/I need your starlight and pull me through/Bring me back to you)

Carry Me Home is what I’m in the process of writing right now, and it’s about the aftermath of the Quintessence War, specifically about how Shiro decides to settle down on Earth and what he does to build himself a home.

(Carry me home to the morning light/carry me home before you wave me goodbye/Oh, carry me home...)

#i am dark matter; your road to ruin #wow it's 2am #i spent like three hours on this #playlist #enjoy the spotify links #i really did not realize just how much I've added to the playlist this year #it's abyss's fault #i just. really love the playlist #it is my masterpiece #my brother makes fun of me for this but like #you DON'T make super complicated playlists for stories??#i reiterate i really really love this thing #anyway i should. sleep #i mean the semester is over i cn stay up till two but that doesn't mean it's wise #can't wait for me to finally post everything so i can gush about the playlist without smatterings of [REDACTED] tags when it shows up #DM Playlists

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trash-prince-lotor · 5 years

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Hell, Lotor was trying to preserve the Alteans - in his own fucked up way, yes, but still. He could have very easily made a real people farm, without the Altean-recreation landscape, actual houses, and culture, but he didn't.

And he did! He kept them safe for thousands of years!

There are two scenarios with the colony that I think could have played out.

In the first, there was nothing malicious or god-complexy going. Lotor founded the colony and brought as many altean survivors there whenever he could. He was probably not present at the colony for long periods of time, and there’s weird time shit that happens in the quantum abyss. The statue of him in the first colony that was framed to make him look like a megalomaniac? Probably was built by the alteans while Lotor was away. Maybe he was even really freaked out by it when he got back. And he turned it into a memorial.

Romelle addresses it saying “So many of our people gone to the new colony.” and lists names of her friends and mentions her mother and father. This makes it pretty clear that this statue has been turned into a memorial to the alteans who died in the second colony. Which means that the deaths were not a secret. When they confront Lotor about the colonies he is deeply distressed and doesn’t give any detail about them except that, yes. People died on the second colony. This says to me not that he’s trying to save his own skin, but that he is deeply ashamed by what he had to do. But with the knowledge that the first colony knew people die in the second colony, I think that it is fairly likely that the members of the second colony knew what they were getting into and made willing sacrifices to maintain the safety of their population.

Romelle also tries to vilify Lotor by stressing that communication was “strictly prohibited” between the two colonies. This would make sense since Lotor knows that the abusive zombie of his dead mother has been spying on him his whole life, and she could likely pick up on any unhidden signals between the two colonies. Lotor has witnessed the torture and experiments that Haggar has done on people. Of course he would want to minimize any risk of Haggar finding his people.

Finally- the pods that the alteans were found in that were allegedly harvesting their quintessence. My first thought was that they looked like healing pods. My personal headcanon is that in the early trials of the altean piloted mechs, a lot of pilots were overly drained to the point of death or near death. Afterwards, they were preserved in the pods while Lotor looks for a way to restore them- such as the life giving gifts of Oriande.

The second scenario is that he is harvesting quintessence for personal gain from unknowing alteans who think he is their savior and have no idea that their lives will be sacrificed. In this scenario we take everything Romelle says at face value. There is nothing deeper, every question about Lotor and his actions can be answered by her limited knowledge and we will do no further digging into the subject. And while that sure is fucked up and inexcusable, is not narratively satisfying. And it is still not genocide.

#asks #Anonymous #my posts #lotor #commentary

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leakinghate · 6 years

Text

Chasing the Ghosts of Season 8

Let’s skip the flowery intros and get to the point, because this is important.

Lotor’s vindication and reunion with Allura were originally part of VLD s8 and I can prove it. Most animation relating to this plot was excised, while other clips were re-purposed to make it look like he was dead all along: but some are still in there.

The removal of this plot line was one of the major factors in completely messing up season 8, and it was a change that was made very recently; no earlier than August in fact. There is a significant, non-zero chance that an unedited version of Season 8 exists in its entirety; completely finished.

The evidence is below the cut.

Trigger Warnings: Gore - that image and discussion of it, body horror, sexism, and major character death.

There’s something rotten in the house of Voltron, and by that I mean Dreamworks animation, because for reasons yet unknown the season 8 we got was not the one the writers had planned to give us.

The people involved likely can't talk about it due to NDAs, but I follow *most* of the cast and crew on social media, and from the way many of them were talking prior to the drop it’s obvious that whatever they'd recorded had led them to expect a very different season.

The almost total radio silence afterward is also telling.

So far as I can tell, AJ (Lotor’s VA) is the only one actively posting about it, and his posts have been expressing his distress over what happened to Lotor - a stark contrast to his excitement about the season prior to its airing. It’s very apparent that he thought Lotor would have a very different fate than he appears to. At the moment of the season drop he tweeted out “Lotor was framed”, and later didn’t seem to realize that ‘Allura’ was trending because she’d died.

Some of the other VA’s scarce posts lead me to believe that they’re having similar reactions: a now deleted post from Bex (Pidge’s VA) about having watched up to episode 6 consisted of an image of DOTU Lance captioned with “[internal screaming]”. Bex has since removed all references to VLD from her bio.

I’m certain that the VLD s8 we got was NOT the s8 that was originally planned. Or the one the writers and VAs had been alluding to in various interviews up until recently.

We know there were some very last minute changes to season 8. I guarantee you that Ezor was actually dead before the backlash over Adam in August, and you're kidding yourselves if you think that epilogue existed before then either.

Kihyun Ryu's 'last Shiro' tweet - that we now know to be from the wedding epilogue - was posted on September 13th, 2018. Less than two months ago these changes were still in progress. Less than a month before the first trailer premiered at NYCC these changes were still being made.

And those was absolutely not the only things which were changed. It was hinted we should pay attention to the s7 episode "the Feud" to spot some foreshadowing. Well? I've seen both that episode and s8 and I sure as heck can't find it.

This was beyond last minute.

JDS and LM were still talking in ways that would lead us to expect Lotor’s redemption roughly up to s7 in August; so whatever happened, it went down between August and November. Which is probably why s8 is so shitty; with such a terribly compressed timeline to make edits.

And edits they were, because with those time frames season 8 was either completely finished or very near to it when someone decided that things had to change.

I can prove it.

Do you know how?

Because the animation was recycled and altered to fit the new story, with only small parts made new for it. And because it was something else first, it’s still possible to partially reconstruct the original Season 8 from it.

Lets start with the big one, the one I’m sure you’re here to read: Lotor’s redemption and reunion with Allura.

One of the most frustrating things about season 8 is that it leaves the colony unexplained. The big question, the thing that results in Lotor’s murder at the hands of people he calls friends, and leads to a power vacuum that causes the deaths of untold billions of people. What was Lotor doing at the colony?

It’s never addressed or given an answer.

At least in the version of season 8 that we got.

Or is it?

Because they might have removed the conclusion to that plot thread, but they couldn’t get rid of it entirely.

In e8 ‘Clear Day’. Allura's suffers from several nightmares/dream sequences. They don't make any sense in context, and it’s never explained what caused them. Except, they make perfect sense, if you watch them as the first step towards understanding The Colony.

Allura sees herself standing in a Juniberry field on Altea. Her mother greets her and proclaims that Allura has arrived just in time, and that only she can save them, “Only you can protect us.”

A Galra fleet passes over head, raining down laser fire.

Allura suddenly finds herself the pilot of one of the white mechs. She plunges her spear into the ground, draining the quintessence, and then fires on the fleet; obliterating it.

But as she grins in victory she realizes that the quintessence she siphoned from the planet has turned her immediate landscape to ash, including her mother. Allura is horrified, but as her mother crumbles away her voice echoes, telling Allura she is so proud of her.

In case me describing it wasn’t clear enough: what just happened to her was that Allura was literally put in Lotor’s position, operating one of his mechs. The places and the people were those that Allura cherished deeply, so that she could understand how terrible Lotor felt about what he had to do. It literally puts Allura in Lotor's place: having to take the responsibility of destroying parts of something she loves in order to protect the whole.

And her mother? The Altean who was ‘sacrificed’ in this scenario? Praised her for taking the actions she did, because Allura was the only one able to do it. And the only choice was to save most of Altea, or none of it.

When Allura eventually does take the entity into herself we see the lights of Honerva’s mech’s faceplate lighting, then flash to a scene of Lotor in Sincline. He’s laughing, grinning as he did during s6′s finale, and as the camera zooms in on his face he shouts “Follow me!”

Briefly we see Voltron in front of the planets of Earth’s solar system, which is drowned out by a peculiar scene transition: an intense white light that appears to obliterate everything as though in an explosion.

None of these scenes are ever explained, but it’s reasonably comparable to the flash of images that Haggar sees in season 3 when she is first confronted with Zarkon’s memories. We’re left with the impression that we’re about to be enlightened, and the end of the episode reveals that Allura has passed out on the floor unconscious.

In this version of season 8, we never are told what exactly caused Allura to experience those visions. We can guess: was it perhaps the entity tempting her with its dark magic? Honerva attempting to place her under a spell?

But is the entity really dark magic? It’s different from the types of magic we’re used to, and the colors of it are certainly dark, but it in itself never actually causes Allura harm. Any harm she suffers after taking it into herself is caused by Honerva exploiting it.

Could it be a spell by Honerva? Unlikely. It took her almost two whole episodes of the paladins fooling around inside her mind for her to notice they were even there. If Allura had never taken the entity none of Honerva’s plans would have ever been found out. Yes, she did steal all the energy from the Atlas’ crystal, but she did that primarily to combat the Atlas and disable it. She didn’t need to get it from there, the energy her Komars were able to provide was all she needed.

So what caused those visions?

Lotor did.

Once he was free of the rift he was able to connect with Allura somehow and reach out to her. That was really him. Where he is now, trapped under Haggar’s control, he has no means to combat the witch. But Allura does. Everything he says to her? Is true.

The next episode, s8e9 “Knights of Light: Part 1″ begins with Allura awaking, Coran and Lance by her bedside. She’s been asleep for two quintants (days). She has apparently come up with a plan to infiltrate Honerva’s mind, but from whence she gets this plan is never explained. That’s because we’re missing an entire episode between these two. This is where Lotor’s redemption happens, where he and Allura finally reunite. God knows what else was in that episode, what else was happening while the paladins were waiting for Allura to wake. Lotor bids Allura to follow him, to finally allow him to tell his side of the story, and for some reason we weren’t allowed to hear it.

But from what we did get to see? It all but confirms @crystal-rebellion‘s Colony Theory. Albeit, the white mechs were built by Honerva, but Lotor was attempting to keep the colony safe in the only way he knew how. The Alteans who died did so willingly; to preserve the lives of all the others.

There’s a repeated narrative that the only person who encourages Allura to take action, to strive and push forward, is Lotor. Sometimes others accept it, but they never encourage her. Everyone else seems to consider her too fragile, or not capable of making her own decisions. They want to protect her and coddle her, don’t believe she should be taking any risks. They are supportive emotionally, but want to limit her physically. They care about her, but don’t truly trust her judgement or want her to be making her own choices.

With Lotor though, it’s different. He truly sees her as an equal, respects her judgement in her areas of expertise. This plot line revolving around the entity is a prime example. Lotor provides Allura with the information, that she has everything she needs to take down Honerva right in front of her; she just needs to utilize it. But from the moment Allura wakes the people closest to her doubt her decisions and choices.

And yes, those choices lead to painful consequences, but in the end they are proven to be the right ones, to have been necessary. Allura took a calculated risk, and it pays off - if she hadn’t they’d have never caught Honerva in time to stop her from destroying everything. They wouldn’t even have discovered her plan in the first place.

If Allura hadn’t made the choice to listen to and trust Lotor, by her own judgement, reality itself would have ceased to exist.

Both Coran and Alfor are given specific scenes this season where they judge and approve of Lance in his pursuit of Allura. But key, neither of them ever ask - or even mention - Allura’s feelings on the matter. The s8 we got, rather disgustingly, portrays this as the right thing. I believe the original s8 was meant to subvert this. Because Lance is everyone else’s choice for Allura, but when Allura was allowed to make her own choice? She chose Lotor.

Allura once again ends s8e10 ‘Knights of Light: Part 2′ unconscious. I firmly believe we are missing more moments - if not an entire episode - with Lotor here, in s8e11 ‘Uncharted Regions’ - probably explaining somewhere along the way how exactly he is able to contact her in this manner.

Which, uh... as to my personal theory on how that is, well... what did Lotor and Allura do together that might have crafted a unique spiritual bond between them?

What did you two experience in the quintessence field Lotor?

But, those were happier times...

I also think this is the episode, this missing one, that that particular image properly belongs to. We now see it in the previous episode, as one of Honerva’s memories. But the reason we see it is that the paladins apparently see it too. The only problem is, they don’t react to it at all. They literally have a stronger reaction to finding out they can see Honerva’s memories in the first place. There’s no possible way that Allura saw the melted corpse of the man she loved and had no discernible reaction. We see her reactions to Lotor’s presence multiple times over the course of s7 and s8, and they’re always intensely emotional ones.

But speaking of that image, since we’re on the topic. That’s a very detailed image.

There’s details there you don’t immediately spot, because you’re too distracted by the horrific imagery of the corpse of a main character. A character who’s tragic, abusive childhood was the focus of almost an entire episode earlier in the season.

Details such as the motes of light floating up from his body.

Motes of light we’ve seen in exactly two instances before: from Zarkon and Honerva’s eyes immediately after they were restored back to life by the rift.

And from Zarkon’s body: vanishing after he died.

Yeah guys, I’m about to make that image much worse.

That’s not Lotor’s corpse, because he’s not dead.

He’s still in there, in that state, and he’s been in there for over three years.

Melded, physically and mentally, with Sincline by his time spent in the quintessence field.

What. The. Fuck.

As the season progresses it becomes much more difficult to tell what was supposed to be happening because of how badly it’s been chopped up, re-arranged, and edited.

But there is a very distinct difference between Sincline’s two appearances in action - that is, it’s only in the first one that it actually is in action.

The last time we see Sincline move of it’s own accord is e6 ‘Genesis’. From the moment he reappears Lotor is on the attack; he is stopped only two times, once of his own accord and once by Haggar’s mind control.

And that one time he stops himself? Is when he takes aim at Allura. She’s running across the ground, about to strike Honerva with her bayard, when he raises his right arm and takes aim. We see her in his sights, through his eyes. And the view zooms in on Allura’s face.

Lance sees what’s happening and dives in Red to stop him, but is blocked by one of the white mechs.

Yet. He lowers his arm and doesn’t take the shot.

Lotor never fires.

But immediately afterwards the white mech lingers too close and Sincline impales it with it’s tail. It’s not an aversion to killing that stayed his hand.

It’s that it was Allura.

This scene unambiguously shows that Lotor is both alive inside that mech and somewhat aware of himself. He’s become a robeast.

Yet after that episode the mech never moves again. It hangs lifeless in space during the battle at the pyramid; the white mechs having to do the fighting. The lights on it’s chest have gone out, only relighting when it is charged with quintessence from the Komar. For all intents and purposes, Sincline is empty.

Oh, and speaking of Sincline, up until s8e9 it’s only ever referred to as “Lotor’s mech,” but suddenly, in e11 ‘Uncharted Regions’ they’ve learned its name and Allura calls it “Lotor’s Sincline”.

I think that at some point between ‘Knights of Light’ and the second half of e11 ‘Uncharted Regions’ Lotor was to have been rescued. 'Uncharted Regions’ is one of the worst episodes this season for flow: it’s extremely choppy and hard to follow - flicking back and forth between scenes without anything really happening in them.

But the most telling thing?

‘Uncharted Regions’ begins with Honerva in her haloed mech searching Alternate realities for her ‘perfect’ one. We see several clips of her doing this, the mech floating in front of the pyramid, alone, with the spinning disk of its wings as a viewport.

Suddenly, almost exactly halfway through the episode, we get an image of Honerva kneeling inside the pyramid, in her Altean commander uniform, one uniformed Altean to either side. She says “The princess has awakened,” and then the scene changes.

When next we see Honerva she’s floating above the pyramid, the silent and immobile Sincline by her side.

The entire time this is happening there is combat going on around the pyramid, first with the coalition fighters and then with the Atlas itself. This sequence appears in episode as though it all happens successively in a very short period of time. But it doesn’t make sense like that. Why should Honerva stop what she’s doing, and exit her mech just to check if Allura is awake?

In this scenario why does Honerva even care if Allura is awake? By this point she’s apparently found her perfect reality and is prepared to move on to it? She doesn’t need Allura for anything, none of her plans require Allura. Why should she even bother to announce that Allura is awake, as though this is something she’s been waiting for?

This entire episode, including the fight scenes, has been chopped into little pieces and rearranged. Other scenes have had edits to their animation, or were re-done entirely. What we have in ‘Uncharted Regions’ is a frankenstein’s monster of an episode constructed of the tiny remnants of of at least two, possibly three, original episodes.

If you watch this episode carefully you’ll notice that there’s a clip out of order. The lights on Sincline’s chest are dark until it’s charged with the quintessence from the Alteans on the Atlas. But. The close up shot of Sincline the paladins see immediately upon exiting the wormhole in front of the pyramid has the lights lit up. This clip clearly is part of the sequence we see later in the episode just before the mechs combine. So when the crew on the bridge of the Atlas is shown reacting in horror, whatever they’re actually reacting to has been cut out.

These original missing episodes would have contained what I’m fairly certain was our big Alchemist vs Alchemist reprisal fight between Honerva and Allura; something we’ve been waiting for since season 2′s finale.

Why was such an anticipated fight removed?

I think it’s because the fight was over Lotor, and ultimately Allura would have rescued him.

Every time Allura uses the powers she obtained in Oriande it’s mentioned where she got them, and often that she has them because of Lotor.

She’s shown again and again restoring life and health.

What happened, what we’re missing, is her using the abilities she has thanks to Lotor, to save him.

Allura is supposed to storm that pyramid, infiltrate it, and rescue Lotor from the evil witch holding him captive. She’s supposed to find him in that horrible state we saw him in, and she’s going to heal him. She’s going to fight for him, to protect him, when no one else in his life ever has.

There’s also a clear switch. When Sincline is active and alight Honerva several times refers to it as ‘my son’ but afterwards, she stops and uses Sincline as a tool for her to reach an Alternate Reality and obtain a ‘new’ version of Lotor. With the exception of one shot, where, since we can’t actually see her speaking it seems that the audio and animation are sourced from different original scenes, Honerva ceases treating Sincline as Lotor after the lights go out.

The line that causes Honerva to snap s8e12 ‘The Zenith’ is when the little alt Lotor says “My mother is dead”. It’s framed like a deliberate callback, like it should be echoing something. But it’s a line we’ve never heard. I’d hazard that this final rejection, this line was spoken by *our* Lotor as Allura is rescuing him.

Lotor was not dead in there, he was alive, and he was saved.

There is a really good theory going around, my friend @tsunemori told me about it. I don't know who first came up with it, but I fully support it, because I noticed the scene in question was really off too.

But the theory is that that hospital bed scene? Was originally Lotor in the bed after they rescued him, and Allura was in Lance's place. Which makes total sense, because after that scene, when Lance takes Allura to the bridge? His height is all wrong, and he is hanging onto her for support instead of the other way around: it should be Lotor there.

Do I have any concrete proof of this one? No. But there is something off about that scene. It just doesn’t feel right.

So yeah, if I ask myself, “Is this a scene that might have been re-animated, the characters traced over and re-drawn as different ones?” I can absolutely see that. When looking for places where actual edits to the animation have been made you have to factor in several things: the complexity of the animation - how many characters, how many settings, how much movement, who is the focus/moving/talking.

This is both a pivotal scene, and an incredibly easy one to alter, comparatively. Two characters, one laying still in a bed and only getting a single one-syllable line - the other character’s name, which might have been taken from anywhere. Lance has a long string of dialogue, but he’s sitting beside the bed the entire time, and he moves very little.

I strongly believe this scene was either altered significantly or created whole-cloth for this edited version of s8.

Things that are much harder to alter, because they’d be much more expensive, are the fight scenes. It’s where I started looking once I suspected what had happened with season 8, and it’s where I started finding things.

S8e12 ‘The Zenith’ is one of the best episodes in terms of flow, and I believe that’s because it suffers some of the least editing.

We are however missing at least two scenes: a farewell between Allura and Coran - presumably as Allura boards the Blue Lion - and an explanation as to how Voltron followed Honerva into her destination reality after the rift closed on them. I believe both of these scenes were edited out because Lotor was key in them; several scenes in the following episode s8e13 ‘The End is the Beginning’ lead me to believe that he spent the final battle in the Blue Lion with Allura.

Two scenes during the fight stand out to me: the first, a split screen where Keith is mysteriously given a double width section as compared to the others. It’s especially noticeable, because he’s not even centrally placed and he’s scaled to a different size than his fellow paladins. In the entirety of the series we have never before seen a split screen cut among an even number of characters where one of them is given odd prominence like this. The screen is arranged so the characters appear in a color gradient, Keith is red-black and immediately to his left is Allura who is blue. If there was a missing section here, the color space would correspond to indigo/purple - and those are Lotor’s colors.

The second is a moment when Allura is speaking facing forwards and very clearly looks to the side and makes eye contact with someone. Now, VLD does have moments when the paladins will react in their own lions as though they can see each other, but this isn’t like that. It’s the way her eyes move, and look, she’s talking to someone who’s point of view we’re seeing her from. And that person is Lotor.

There’s also a peculiar moment in this episode where the same split screen is used twice; another thing which has never before happened in the series. It appears first about a quarter of the way through the episode as the paladins enter the stage for the final showdown and then again as they push Honerva into the glowing whiteness at its center. I believe that the second one of these is its proper place, and that the one that originally went in the first instance had Lotor included in it.

Finally, and this is going to take several images, so be warned. When the paladins appear before Honerva in the heart of it all, fading into view, they’re spaced very strangely.

There’s six of them, so you’d expect they’d be spaced something like this:

But they’re actually spaced like this:

(yes, I know Honerva would be blocking someone there. She moves. I just picked this cap so you could see all the shadows; there’s no point showing you the empty space)

It rather looks like there’s someone missing.

The last half of the final episode is so heavily manipulated that it’s difficult to say what actually happened. But we have two very strong clues from which we can reconstruct it.

Remember the leaks?

Now that we know the leaks were real, it begs the question, why was this scene one of them. Unlike the others, which were all from the epilogue, this scene is from roughly halfway through the episode.

Well, I believe we have the answer now: whoever leaked them chose those because they were the scenes they had on hand. These were the scenes that were not originally part of VLD s8, and were added only in the last minute edit.

This one in particular is another where I think it’s taken an actual scene and traced over it to make it into something else. Lance is far too tall here, and doesn’t look like himself hardly at all.

It’s also very clear from the framing of the shot where Allura is going down the line of paladins and hugging them that Lance should be getting a send off in sequence to the others, not apart like this.

No, I think Lance was animated over Lotor here, and the audio was spliced in parts from Lance’s actual goodbye scene and Allura’s “I will always love you” comes from somewhere else. That portion of the line is said in a distinctly different tone of voice than Lance’s name beforehand. There’s different emotions to it than the rest of their conversation, and I’d guarantee we’re hearing it out of it’s original context.

I don’t know what else changes in the ending, but I’m very certain that it was not supposed to be read as Allura dying.

The reason we now read it that way is that Allura and Honerva are seen greeting the spirits of people we know that are dead. I’m fairly certain this scene is either new, or it was only Honerva going to meet them, and of course, that Lotor wasn’t among them.

And I think it was Allura and Lotor who stayed behind to do the work of restoring all realities. My proof of this is one of the very best and strongest among my evidence: the very last closing shot of Voltron: Legendary Defender, after the credits.

The lions of Voltron take off to rejoin their new Cosmic Entities; Allura and Lotor. Whoever was responsible for editing Lotor out of this picture only actually slightly blurred him.

Thanks to @articianne for the outline!

If you play around with the image contrast and brightness it’s even more obvious that the both of them are there, back to back.

It only looks like Allura dies because the spirits but without them there? It looks like they ascended to a higher plane of existence or something.

They haven’t died at all. They’ve become, of all things, like Bob, the gameshow host from s7e4 ‘The Feud’. An ‘all-powerful, all-knowing interdimensional being’.

And y’know? Bob was perfectly able to interact with the paladins no problem.

I don’t understand why these changes were made. To me? This looks like a perfectly happy ending.

What else was cut I don’t know. But I found all this evidence by looking for the things that weren’t there, that a competently structured plot would lead me to expect would be. Chasing ghosts, as it were.

A short list of additional things I strongly suspect were cut?

Several scenes between Keith and Shiro.

A pivotal scene between Allura and Coran.

A follow up event with Pidge referencing her sacrificing her videogame to get Allura a dress.

A scene between Lance and Pidge, possibly referencing said videogame.

A resolution to Lance and Pidge competing to get Allura the best present.

A conclusion to Axca’s sub plot.

A Hunk and Shay scene, to explain how and why the Balmeras all show up in s8e12 ‘The Zenith’.

An additional scene with the blade for the same reasons.

Actually, y’know what? I’m not just going to leave this, because I have a strong suspicion what one of the other cut subplots was about.

You see, the other half of ‘Clear Day’ isn’t entirely filler - it’s specifically a callback to the season 2 episode ‘Space Mall’, and it’s not the only one in this season. The little shopping trip from s8e1 ‘Launch Date’ is also one. Specifically they’re part of a plot for Pidge about her feelings for Lance.

In ‘Space Mall’ Pidge and Lance spend their time scrounging up change to buy a videogame console. The game that they purchase is part of a series that Pidge later trades the only copy of the latest version of to get Allura a dress. During ‘Clear Day’ Pidge and Lance both spend their time trying to get the best present for Allura (hint hint, Pidge is the one who actually got the ‘”something sparkly”).

Now, as I’ve already covered, there’s missing content between ‘Clear Day’ and the next episode. Part of that content should have been what the other paladins were doing while Allura was unconscious. And in series, we never actually see Allura receive either of those presents that were bought for her. So where did they go?

I think Pidge and Lance spent the time waiting for Allura to wake up together, and they got to talking about how Lance has once again failed to acquire the sparkly thing Allura would like. Perhaps Pidge trades her mining helmet for Lance’s signed Blue Lion, and then it comes up how both times Lance went to get a present for Allura he ended up getting one for Pidge.

And that first time was the video game wasn’t it? A perfect place for Lance to find out what happened with the video game in s8e1.

So why did Pidge trade that game? To make Allura happy, yes, but also to make Lance happy. Because Lance likes Allura and Pidge wants them to have a good time, because Pidge likes Lance. Like, check e1 when Allura tells her she's going on a date with Lance, Pidge's reaction... isn't really a happy one.

I think this should have been the turning point for Lance, where he learns the difference between infatuation and sincere affection. I think very soon after this his relationship with Allura would end, and he would naturally progress into a different sort of relationship with Pidge.

As much as I love s8e7 ‘Day Forty-Seven’ I don’t think it was originally part of season 8. I also get the feeling that s7e2 ‘Shadows’ may be composed of scenes we were supposed to have gotten throughout the later half of season seven - though I expect that this change was made in a much earlier spate of edits, likely when s7 was re-done. It’s been confirmed that this happened, and that s7e4 ‘The Feud’ was made to ease the pressure on the exhausted animators who’d been working overtime to get the other episodes done in time. It’s never been confirmed what exactly was changed about season 7 or why, but I highly suspect it was to include more content with the MFE fighters, who the higher ups at Dreamworks might have been hoping to spin off into a sequel.

I suspect that the episodes were shifted forwards, because the first half of the season has no 'event' episode. s8e6 ‘Genesis’ should have been that, and what we're missing is the mid-season event. Which was where they would have saved Lotor. They excised an entire climactic fight between Allura and Honerva, reprising their battle from season 2. The alchemist vs alchemist fight that was repeatedly alluded to being inevitable, yet we never got.

It was animated and voiced to be Lotura and Lotor's vindication.

But someone wanted that changed.

We know when and why ‘The Feud’ was created, and because we were teased in several interviews to pay attention to it so that we might spot some foreshadowing, we can definitively say that the mucking around that was done to season 8 happened at a much later date.

In fact, the animation portion was likely completed all the way back in June. These are two bumper images that were used to advertise Season 6, which released on June 15th.

We haven’t yet seen this image of Lotor appear in the show (for what it matters, the full color one is the correct way around; Lotor’s hair always curls up over his right shoulder, the left can go either way), we have scoured every frame of him to find it, but it’s just not there (yes I know it looks like it should be from s5e4 ‘Kral Zera’, but trust me it’s not). Every other image that’s ever been used in these promotional bumpers has been from somewhere in the show, but this one is so far absent. Therefore it’s from a piece of animation yet to appear, and one which was made by the time these images showed up in June.

Now that we know what the truth is, I am sure we will get the full story eventually. It's only a matter of time before it filters out.

But right now is the key time if we want to convince Dreamworks to release the original season 8. Tweet at them, email them, snail mail if you have the time! Sign that petition!

The fandom response now will determine if we find out what really happened sooner rather than later - and later could mean years.

We are the only people who can make this happen. The cast and crew are all bound by NDAs, and publicly reacting negatively towards a show you worked on is practically career suicide.

It has historically been fans who’ve made a difference when companies interfere with their favorite shows. Fans have been able to effect change in the past, and they will again in the future; lets make sure this is one of those times. We need to fight to get the VLD we should have gotten in the first place.

Just remember to apply your energies in the right places. JDS and LM aren’t perfect people (no one is!), but this isn’t their doing. This is someone above them responsible for the mess that was s8. Dreamworks Animation is the culprit. There is a very real chance that the original season 8 is completely finished and able to be released, and we just might get it if we’re persistent enough.

Be polite, be reasonable, but be firm. Take this proof and use it. Show them that we know they changed things and that they can give us the original if they so choose.

The messages they inadvertently pushed with this slap-dash edit are vile and toxic, and people far more knowledgeable than I in those areas are speaking out about them. This needs to be fixed.

They need to say something. They need to tell us why they changed it. They need to give us the original Season 8.

Click here for Part 2: Seek Truth in Darkness

I, and any of you who enjoyed this meta, owe @nomadicism a huge thank you. She reminded me of that strange "Follow me!" scene, which prompted me to crack open 'Clear Day' for another watch... and I realized that Allura's dreams weren't nonsensical at all.

As always, thank you to my many friends in the Lotura Discord. You give me the strength and encouragement to keep going. I couldn’t have done this without you.

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crystal-rebellion · 6 years

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Interdimensional Executive Meddling: Voltron Style

The true story behind Season Eight has been in front of us since the beginning. We just haven’t noticed it – because it was never said; it was shown.

The truth of who was behind everything that went wrong in Season Eight – as well as the cluttering of Season Seven is, in fact, one person’s fault. The Executive Producers lay the story out for us clear as day once we know where to look.

Remember this fellow? This is Bob, and I think you may hate him before this is over.

Are you ready?

Here we go.

Bob was the host of the game show ‘Garfle Warfle Snick’ in Season Seven’s fourth episode, ‘The Feud’.

One thing that has been curious about Voltron: Legendary Defender, is the writing. Regardless of the current opinion of the Executive Producers, the show was very good for quite a while. The writers showed an ability to write multi-layered plots and leave all hints of foreshadowing everywhere between parallel storylines, intersecting arcs, and a generous use of symbolism.

The Game Show episode is no different.

‘But Crystal, that was just filler.’

All of the filler episodes have been meaningful. We have been told from the beginning that there are no wasted frames. With only two years to release eight seasons, the VLD team has never been able to afford meaningless filler. Yet comedic breaks are necessary to break up a heavy narrative and retain viewer engagement. So how can they do both?

The ‘filler’ and ‘whimsical’ episodes are actually extremely plot-heavy. Season Six’s Episode Three ‘Monsters and Mana’ demonstrated this flawlessly – laying the plot ahead out very clearly under the guise of the Paladins playing a game to relax.

The Game Show is no different, and no less heavily burdened with hints. However, the details of what precisely it is foreshadowing – or telling, are a little harder to see when you only think of the plotline.

I propose that ‘The Feud’ is actually a meta commentary from the writers on precisely what was going on behind the scenes - that is, during the tumultuous production of Voltron: Legendary Defender. They are telling us the full story the only way they can through their NDA gags – through the very show itself.

Hear me out.

Let’s look at a brief summary of the episode before we settle comfortably in the weeds.

The episode starts out with a game show-like opening, and the Paladins being openly confused about where they are, or how they came to be there. The show’s host, Bob, explains they are there to play. When Keith makes a challenging comment about just leaving, Bob replies in no uncertain terms that they are “on [his] show and going to play as long as [he] wants” all while chaining the Paladins to the floor so that they cannot physically leave.

The show proceeds as Keith is chosen as the first contestant for the first round. He is gagged with a pacifier, and forced to draw based on prompts the host gives him, and his teammates must guess what the drawing is. On the last one, they fail, and Bob announces that the opposing team may be able to steal, drawing questions from the Paladins - there had been no opposing team...

Until the cardboard cutouts of Zarkon, Haggar, Lotor and Morvok appear and spring to life. The game goes on with the Paladins competing against the Galra team, only for the Paladins to win and the Galra to lose, forcing them off the show. The Paladins are to continue competing until one challenge remains: to vote which of the five may leave the show while the others remain behind.

The Paladins all vote for one another, and Bob comments that he finds it curious that no one voted for themselves. They all give different reasons for their choices. In the end, Bob releases them all, saying they won. The Paladins wake up in their lions in deep space and collectively realize they all had the same dream. Coran recognizes the name Bob, and explains “I’ve never met him myself but I’ve heard tales. He’s an all-powerful, all-knowing, interdimensional being who judges the worthiness of great warriors. The legends say that if you meet Bob and live to tell the tale, you’re destined for great things indeed.” The episode ends when they sit in stunned silence before Keith mutters “That guy was kind of a jerk, though, right?” To which Allura replies “Completely,” and Lance follows up with “I’m not that dumb!”

Thinking in the context of the game show representing the real world, the Paladins can comfortably represent the cast and crew driving the show, and we can cast Bob as the metaphor for the person high in the executive chain that is pulling all the strings, changing the rules, and forcing the Paladins to do exactly what he wants - whether they like it or not.

Let’s break it down.

Right out of the gate, the Paladins are confused to meet Bob - they never expected to encounter this kind of resistance. He explains that they’re on a show and the stake is their freedom; if they lose, they’ll be trapped with him for eternity. When they insist that they have work to do, he denies that and promptly secures their feet to the floor with a cheerful laugh. Keith presses him and threatens to leave: “I don’t know who you are or what’s going on, but we’re getting out of here.” The lighting, atmosphere and mood alter sinisterly, and Bob delivers a very dangerous threat:

Bob is explaining in no uncertain terms that the show is his - he is both the host and the owner, and the production staff of VLD are only allowed to play with the characters for as long as he sees fit.

Immediately after, it shifts starkly back to normal, and he’s quick to move into the first round, where Keith, the one who had been protesting with increasing aggression and determination, is promptly gagged and forced to design at Bob’s direction, leaving the teammates to try and keep up.

Lance, too, takes a substantial bit of the spotlight in this episode, being the one chosen to handle a round himself, courtesy of Zarkon referring to him as ‘the dumb one.’

Lance faces off against the gameshow host. In his first challenge, Bob makes it a point to cheat at the very last second, the face switching from someone Lance does recognize to someone he doesn’t. He nearly fails the round entirely, and Bob even makes a curious comment.

Despite his best efforts, trying his hardest to win the round and protect his teammates, Lance is continuously shot down and berated by Bob. He does manage the very last one, securing a small victory for his team. I speculate that while the Paladins represent the whole of the production staff, Lance (and Keith as well) may represent Joaquim Dos Santos himself. Dos Santos has mentioned that he sees parts of both Lance and Keith in himself*. Lance takes on a leadership role in this episode, despite Keith being the technical Black Paladin at the time. In the end, Lance loses his second challenge, ending up in the Garflator.

Pidge then steps up to the plate to try and save him from the penalty for failing at a near-unwinnable challenge. Ironically, after meditating on the mini-golf objective, Pidge launches herself at Bob directly in an attempt to break the rules and attack him, demanding that he “let [them] go, now!” Pidge has close association with two members of the production team; her Voice Actor and Lauren Montgomery. When Dos Santos mentions that he relates to both Keith and Lance, Montgomery mentions that she relates to Pidge (and Keith) in the same manner.* I propose that this is a nod to Lauren also attempting to fight against the control being exerted over their creative intention and will.

In summary, the three most vocal and physically active in their resistance against the gameshow host are the three Paladins that the Showrunners have explicitly said they relate to: For Dos Santos, that’s Keith and Lance; for Lauren, that’s Keith and Pidge.*

Other irregularities include the Galra, who are exclusively treated as flat characters. They even first appear as cardboard cutouts before they pop to life - literal props.

While humorous, their personalities embody the quintessential characteristics that a misogynistic, rich and privileged man might have. Zarkon is the (bizarrely) affectionate and doting husband. Haggar, the wife, is quite markedly silent - seen but not heard, demure at her husband’s side, even when openly hit on by the show host.

Lotor is the petulant and spoiled child, but even so, he still retains the hints of his trauma when he flinches away from both Haggar’s touch and Zarkon’s yells. Morvok is the miscellaneous underling who sucks up unabashedly to the host - his only other appearance is in Season Two, Episode Six “The Ark of Taujeer” where he was quite the suck-up to Zarkon as well. The fifth spot on their team is noticeably empty, and at the end of the round, they’re simply discarded.

Once the Paladins are free from the show and realize they’ve all had the same dream, Coran recognizes Bob’s name from lore and explains to the Paladins that he’s an “all-powerful, all-knowing, interdimensional being who judges the worthiness of great warriors.” In a show that incorporates liberal use of alternate realities, tears in reality, as well as existing between realities - nowhere else do they make mention of ‘interdimensional’ travel. Bob exists, as an entity, entirely outside the Voltron reality - all realities. He’s from another plane completely, outside the Paladin’s universe.

Lastly, just to drive this point home, if we unscramble the title of the Game Show and rotate some of the shapes slightly...

It reads “World Events.”

It appears that Bob the “all-powerful, all-knowing, interdimensional being” is running a show that translates to “World Events”, where the production team members are gagged puppets, playing by his rules despite their protests and outright attempts to fight back, doesn’t it? Perhaps if he’s interdimensional, the dimension he comes from is ours.

And he just single-handedly meddled in your real show.

So what does this all mean about who was responsible? I’ll leave you to draw your own conclusions from this, but it might be time to look further into the owner of Voltron, past and present. WEP LLC (formerly World Events Productions), and its CEO Bob Koplar, just might have that answer.

*Interview referenced is June 25, 2018 with GeekDad World Events ciphering courtesy LeakingHate

Thank you @leakinghate @voltronisruiningmylife @dragonofyang

#voltron #vld #legendary defender #voltron legendary defender #vlds8 #season 8 #freevlds8 #meta #crystal metas #teampurplelion #gameshow #strafe #fubob

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storiesbeyondthestars · 6 years

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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.

#klance #theorytime #my thoughts #s8 spoilers #vld spoilers #vld s8 spoilers #voltron spoilers #tagging those for the pictures used #and also s8 speculation #just in case #lance #keith #long post

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