#voltron vehicle team

[nesonkin]

Of what could have been...

Today marks 41 years since the episode "Temporary Truce" aired and our beloved Galveston pilot named Sim first appeared in the show! Also, the same day that he died by the hands of his superiors...

That's why today is the unofficial Sim Appreciation Day. May of 12 every year from now on.

[ang-900]

Their relationship is so funny, anyone else get a dysfunctional father-son dynamic between them?

Bonus content from me studying how to draw them/a screenshot from the wip:

Kinda cursed, I think. ☠️

[fancoloredglasses]

Voltron (two very different series with the same name set in the same universe? That's not gonna be confusing!)

[All images are owned by Toei Animation and World Events Productions. Please don’t sue me.]

As I mentioned before, my first exposure to anime (or, as I called it back then, “Japanimation”) was Star Blazers and an anthology series called Force Five (again, if anyone finds any footage of this series online, please let me know!)

However, years later I was exposed to another anime series that is likely to be more familiar to everyone.

[NOTE: As with Star Blazers, I am covering the American version of the series rather than the original Japanese, though there’s one difference between the two I’ll briefly mention when it comes up]

(Thanks to Peacock Kids)

(Yes, the narrator is none other than Peter Cullen, who is the voice of Optimus Prime. Nice to know Voltron has the support of the Autobots!)

Voltron (AKA Voltron III, Voltron of the Far Universe,or Lion Force Voltron) tell the story of a team of five Space Explorers who travel to a planet known as Arus to assist the government against an alien invasion. The five are entrusted to reawaken the planet’s primary defense: Voltron (why didn’t they have Voltron online before the invasion?)

(Thanks to Al Kennon)

…a squadron of giant robot lions which…well, we’ll get to that in a bit.

The leader of the team (henceforth called the Voltron Force) is Kieth, who pilots the Black Lion.

Keith’s second in command is Lance, who pilots the Red Lion.

Sven pilots the Blue Lion…until he’s hospitalized by an enemy agent (here’s the one difference I'm discussing: in the Japanese version “Sven” (I’m not looking up his Japanese name) is killed in the attack (obviously we couldn’t have the kids see someone die!). However, his twin brother appears late in the series; the American version has Sven make a return after his recovery) to be replaced by…

…Princess Allura, ruler of Arus.

Pidge pilots the Green Lion

Hunk pilots the Yellow Lion.

The Voltron Force defends Arus against the forces of…

King Zarkon

Aided by the witch Haggar, who creates giant monsters (called Robeasts) to send against the Voltron Force.

Zarkon’s son Lotor commands Zarkon’s armies and has a bit of a crush on Allura, determined to take her for his bride.

The battles are pretty much the same: The Lions attack the Robreast Of The Week, but are overmatched until…

(Thanks again to Peacock Kids)

After that, the fight’s a bit more even until Voltron finally creates its Blazing Sword weapon and slices the Robeast in half (why doesn’t it start with that?)

However, Voltron isn’t the only Defender of the Universe!

(Thanks to T. Winters)

The Galaxy Alliance is overcrowded and it’s up to the Space Explorers of the S.S. Explorer (really original name, guys!) to find new planets to colonize. This inevitable puts them at odds with the Drule Empire (it’s never officially stated if King Zarkon is part of the empire, but Drule’s giant monsters are also called Robeasts)

Like the Lion Force Voltron, this version of Voltron (AKA Voltron I, Voltron of the Near Universe,or Vehicle Team Voltron; there was supposed to be a third Voltron series, but negotiations between Toei (the animation studio that produced the original manga) and World Events (the American company that converted the series into Voltron fell through), the team consisted of smaller vessels that combined to form Voltron. Unlike Lion Force, the vessels were three squads of fighters that specialized in either air, land, or undersea combat.

(Thanks to reminators)

As many of you are aware (mainly due to the fact that NO ONE remembers the Vehicle Team series), the Lion Force became the most popular of the two, and their story has been retold at least twice.

As always, if you would like to see an episode reviewed, please let me know!

[chibi-pix]

Time for a few new character revamps. Including a majour design change to Marvin. There are a couple of reasons behind Marvin's change. There's a screenshot of Marvin's character, but he was given Zandee's colours instead. Which is sad and amusing at the same time. The next reason was because while drawing Cliff, I was listening to Jacksepticeye play The Mortuary with the Game Grumps and hearing of Danny hiding in his helmet of hair, or hairarium as he put it as well, I just went "Marvin would do that at times if he had long enough hair". And thus. The long haired, Dan Avidan looking Marvin. And I am pleased. I also got the idea of giving Hutch some facial fuzz from @t1koy-roll.

As for Marvin pointing out that Ginger's gonna kill them, the idea for the au is that Marvin, Hutch, Rocky, Zandee, and Ginger are friends before becoming pilots of the vehicle force team. But that won't be seen in the blind twinverse au for some time yet.

Anyway! I hope y'all enjoy these ones! Until next time!

[toasthoneyandstardust]

My tablet pen died like a week ago and my batteries don’t get here until the end of the week, so until I get my pen working again here’s an indulgent sketch of my OCs!

Anya is on the left while Ameya is on the right, both wearing personalized flight suits! If they were ever put in a position to fly with their respective Voltron teams Ameya would fly with the land team while Anya gets to pilot yellow lion

[sweetmariabear]

I decided to combine both of my hyper fixations. Vehicle Voltron with the Heeler girls joining the teams.

Bluey: Sea Team

Bingo: Land Team

Muffin: Air Team

[matt0044]

So... “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” is a bop, right?

It’s firmly supplanted “Let It Go” as Disney’s latest ear-worm until the next one comes along but it’s more than just a catchy ballard. It spells out how the Family Madrigal view him as a blight on their family name, especially when they’ve been a pillar of their community.

It also describes how rather than dealing with his problem and maybe helping him through it, they opted to just let him retreat into his room never to be seen again. Better to sweep it under the rug. However, this also proves to be a root in while the house is coming undone.

The message is clear: a family can’t stay as one so long as they can’t talk about their problems with each other. It’s why Mirabel doesn’t get a gift so she can be the outsider looking in.

Where is this going? Well... somebody just finished Voltron: Legendary Defender... and enjoyed it.

Here me out before you scroll away.

I had finished up to Season 7 along with Teen Titans three days before Season 8 dropped. I knew that fandom discourse would be a bear and opted to let the season simmer before I viewed it for myself a few Watch Lists down the road.

What I couldn’t have known was this overwhelming hate for Season 8. I was on Twitter where handles were being altered to include #FuckVoltron and the like. I glimpsed spoilers of what happened in the finale without getting into the dirty details.

Thus I decided to put it off until the heat died down. A whole half decade at that. With Fandom Drama down to near non-existent, I decided to return and engage with Voltron on its own terms from the start. No shipping drama, no expectations for how it should go, no accusations of problematic behavior and no Purple Lion conspiracies.

And... I liked it. I highly encourage those scared off by the drama or felt Season 8 did it dirty to give it a(nother) shot. It deserves a full on renaissance the way Twilight got.

Why? (spoilers ahead).

I was sold on Allura and Lance’s relationship. I loved how he went from being a flirt to genuinely admiring Allura as a leader and Paladin, encouraging her in the season 4 finale without trying to get anything out of it.

I liked the tonal shift around Season 7 where the ultimate Golion homage is made with the Space Explorers coming home to a war ravaged Earth.

I liked how human Lotor and Honerva were as villains coming after Zarkon. I can see why there’s a whole ass conspiracy framed around him actually being in Season 8. Also them taking that “Your mother was an Altean bitch” like and running with it for Hagger was brilliant.

Keith becoming the Black Paladin after Kuron’s reveal was well done and felt weirdly natural in retrospect. He feels like he can’t measure up to Shiro and learns more discipline from

Allura sacrificing herself to restore all realities felt a lot better with the knowledge of spoilers. It helps that the ending went with a more noble feel than angsty, showing how the Paladins strove make sure that her actions set an example for years to come.

I love that they got creative with the multiple alien species and kept the Alteans from being just humans in space like in the original. It really took inspiration from Vehicle Voltron with more aliens in the mix.

Shiro the Hero, as Crazy Coran put it. What can I say except that he’s the kind of character you call a Mary Sue if he wasn’t a guy. Always calm, always perservering, putting the mission first and being a pillar the team can lean on. He even creates his own Voltron out of the Atlas

Honestly, the whole Adam thing isn’t something I fully blame the writers given the producers pushing back. Mind you, I feel like Keith would’ve made a good endgame pairing with him if they had even out their ages when they first meet, both as teenage proteges.

Studio Mir was amazing, especially with the space battles. Honestly, if Robotech managed to make a comeback, I could totally see them being tapped to match the classic Anime style.

So... yeah. Voltron good actually.

[1980sactionfigures]

Voltron (Vehicle Team Assembler) - Voltron (LJN)

[toastess-with-the-mostess]

Voltron: The Series

So I wanted to make a big post about all the animated Voltron's because I'm neck deep into this series and I must yell about it In total there's five (5) animated Voltron shows, technically four (4) since most focus on the lions. I tend to explain a lot so for my own sanity I'll be splitting this up into multiple posts which will all link back together Dotu/VV (here) - V3D - VF - VLD

Word vomit under the cut <3

In the 80s 1984 is when American audiences first said hello to Voltron! Originally it was an anime called Hyaku Jo Oh Goraion, or Beast King GoLion, from Toei which was mistakenly handed over to World Events Production (WEP) after they vaguely asked for the anime with the lions in it. Soon enough it was renamed Voltron: Defender of The Universe (dotu), dubbed and edited, and became immensely popular, giving us the legend we all know and love! Most iterations of Voltron after this follow the same plot, except for VLD which is a hard reboot and its own series that will be talked about later. In Dotu, the legend is of five (5) space explorers who crash-land onto planet Arus, find Voltron and use him to defeat the evils of the universe. Those five (5) being Keith in Black, Lance in Red, Pidge in Green, Sven in Blue, and Hunk in Yellow. The show is fairly episodic but as it's being adapted from an anime it has some story beats too it, like how Sven became critically injured which led to Princess Allura stepping up to take over blue lion, or the plot with her distant cousins Princess Romelle, Prince Bandor, and Prince Avok of Pollux. The show was so popular that WEP had eventually commissioned a season 2 to be animated from another company as Golion ended at only season 1. Which had some changes to color pallet, overall tones, and even relationships from season 1.

That same year Vehicle Voltron (VV) also came into existence! Also adapted from an anime called Kikou Kantai Dairugger XV or Armored Armada Dairugger XV which has no relation to the Golion anime at all! The gist of it is that a team of 15 pilots explore the edges of the universe to help find new habitable planets to curb the fast-growing population of planets part of the Galaxy Alliance. The group is split into three teams. The air team whose commanded by Jeff, the sea team whose leader is Krik, and the land them whose led by Cliff. They all report under Commander Hawkins who's leading the expedition and the explorer itself. As the anime isn't connected to Golion/Dotu, WEP found creative ways to show that relationships! The main way is that fans were introduced to Pidge's twin brother Chip, another scrappy young kid with glasses who happens to have anger issues, he mentions this connection in one of the episodes "Letters to Home" where Chip waits for Pidge's letter to get to him.

For the last little bit of this, Dotu and VV have got themselves a movie! This is a purely WEP/American creation so no ties to the animes anymore. It's called Fleet of Doom which brings the two Voltron together and explains their pilots' histories while having a side plot that is pure KA fodder. Unfortunately we haven't gotten anything big like this again but in Voltron Force specifically we did get a call back to Vehicle Voltron

[autisticlancemcclain]

fic rec friday 9

welcome the the ninth fic rec friday! where, on friday, i rec five of my favourite fics. 

1. drive me to distraction by @freshia

“Don’t worry, I got all the necessities.” he says, reassuringly, as if that’s what Keith is worried about. And then: “And if you ever want to see your Fall Out Boy t-shirt again, you’ll get in the vehicle! This is a robbery.”

Where Keith is sort of kidnapped for a road-trip with Lance, and is sort of okay with it.

road trip? college au?? best friends to lovers?? pining?? endless tenderness but never saying it put loud?? sign me tf UP. the last lines will fucking kill me every time like i literally have to close my eyes and force myself to breathe deeply. theres something so endless about refusing to speak your feelings out loud but they know what you mean anyway. god.

2. The Courage of Stars by @derryhawkins

The Lions of Voltron can turn into actual lions. Who knew, right? When Allura tells them of this news, Lance is ecstatic. The only problem? Lance figures out that he somehow has one of the strongest bonds with Blue. To keep the others from feeling bad about their own progress, he keeps this information to himself.

It doesn’t take long for certain others to think he’s not taking everything seriously.

this one is more langst than team-as-family, but i still love it deeply. i like it bc it has some nuance for allura, some explanation as to why she struggles to badly to connect with the paladins in the beginning. im not sure the series was ever finished, but this work in particular was, and i loved it! the lance & blue megabond is a treat to read every time.

3. Solar Flare by @heavenlyfires

Accompanied by the scattered applause throughout the ballroom, Keith lifts a slim brown hand in his own and presses a lingering kiss to the palm.

"It’s good to see you, Lance,” he says.

His voice is raw; his face feels naked. Keith’s known for his poker face, but here, in front of Lance, he has no self control. His emotions are spilling over onto his face like tears, too strong to be constrained.

He looks into Lance’s eyes and that suddenly doesn’t seem like such a bad thing.

“Yeah,” Lance whispers, a gentle and devastating smile on his face. He reaches a hand up — soft, Keith notes — and tucks some hair behind Keith’s ear. His fingers trace a gentle path across Keith’s jaw; his eyes flick across his face but inevitably come back to meet Keith’s own, the blue in them impossibly seeming warm toned with the full fond force of Lance’s gaze.

“It’s good to see you, too,” Lance says.

Has Keith mentioned yet that he loves him?

"Solar flares occur when a buildup of magnetic energy... is suddenly released.” - Space.com

After almost two years of unbearable distance, Keith and Lance find themselves at a ball, together.

fuckin pining klance and binary star imagery, man. gets me every time. i love me some post canon green sock reality where everything is good and right and keith and lance are somehow still pining like dumbasses, but are whipped to the point of ridiculousness. absolutely love that for them. and the idea of klance as a binary star system will fuckin make me tear up every time fr bc they ARE they are a GOOD TEAM

4. Nine Blocks and To-Go Cups by @jackwillwrite

"Can I have...six things of expresso?" Lance asks.

"Shots?" Keith offers, although he dearly hopes that's not what Lance is asking.

(In which Keith isn't sure how he ended up as a barista working shifts in the god-awful hours of the morning, and Lance is a regular who somehow manages to make it bearable.)

im trying so desperately to hype this fic up and also not spoil it but let me tell u when u get the lil twist ending and the title finally makes sense u will be GAGGED. i know i was. i could not believe what i was reading i wanted to YELL. it was insane and my heart still gets all pumped when i think about it bc i was truly like NO FUCKIN WAY

5. a fissure in my vision by @ink-beneath-her-fingernails

"It appears... Well, the Ranithians were under the impression that we were all adults by Terran standards. When they realized that you four technically aren't, or at least not entirely, they decided to... test you."

"Test us."

Lance's voice is flinty; icier than any of them have ever heard him, and he wears a face to match.

It's not a question.

(Or: Sometimes, the Paladins can't account for everything that might happen. Sometimes, even allies with good intentions can lead to awful things. Sometimes, your own mind is your worst enemy.

And sometimes, being a Paladin really, really sucks.)

words cannot express how much this fic has haunted me. literally the worst possible reality without actually being the worst. yall think you’ve read a crossover before?? think again!! hunk and lance’s arcs especially knocked me fucking flat. like i was just aching for them so so badly. sometimes when i wonder what could be worse (in terms of how much it would suck for the paladins, not how it was written; this was written beautifully) than canon i remember the paladins could have suffered through this

that’s it for today!! i’ll see y’all back next friday for the next fic rec post!!!  

[quintessenceofdust73]

My fanfic, “Defenders of the Multiverse” is a crossover story featuring the characters from three different versions of Voltron: Defender of the Universe, Voltron Force, and Legendary Defender. Observant fans will notice that I put VLD’s Keith and Allura in a scenario similar to what DotU’s Keith and Allura faced in the Fleet of Doom movie. This movie was also an inspiration for the whole novel-length fic that I wrote. The movie has two different Voltrons teams teaming up for an adventure, specifically the Lion Force and Vehicle Force teams. My story details a team up of the heroic Voltron pilots of three different universes, with the primary focus on developing the young Legendary Defender characters.

“Defenders of the Multiverse” began as a VLD Plance fanfic, an AU which is a revised version of the “Clear Day” VLD episode. I decided to continue that story with a second chapter called “The Greatest Gift” which led right into my Multiverse crossover fic. The two Plance fics became official preludes to the larger storyline.

In “Defenders of the Multiverse” I also emphasized that Kallura is canon in both the DotU and VF universes. I think VLD Kallura shippers will enjoy both the Fleet of Doom movie and my fanfic. 😉 Besides the Kallura scenes, I really enjoyed writing the Keith vs. Lotor sword fights and the space battles.

Spoiler alert: the “Space Angel” character in DotU was referenced in this story along with the Omega Comet DotU storyline, so look for that when you’re reading.

[rametarin]

It's kinda funny but

Based purely on hard science, we could design a group of undersea operating robots to combine into a large humanoid that walks around on the seafloor, like a sea based version of Voltron.

Because of ocean buoyancy, it would completely eliminate the hazards of operating at the heights and masses of giant robots that would make humanoid walkers impractical. Something as large as a skyscraper could easily make itself buoyant enough to walk around without falling over like a very vulnerable structure made of eggshells.

There's really no reason it couldn't function as a giant mobile dual-crane to lift absolutely obscenely heavy loads off of the sea floor, either. It's the ocean. Buoyancy is free.

The sea is the only environment on earth where it might actually be practical to have bipedal walking kaiju sized anthropomorphic machines. And given the sheer mass, making it practical to transport by making the pieces autonymous, smaller vehicles that combine on the spot.

Anywhere else, a team of combining transforming robots that make a super robot is just fantasy silliness. But, in the sea? Absurd fantasy meets hard, cold reality.

And this is my thesis on why mankind should prepare to punch Cthulhu in the face for real-real. In my next disseration, I...

[ang-900]

The Original Voltron Adaptations Vs Their Original Japanese Counterparts.

Beast King Go-Lion:

Go-Lion/Voltron's backstory is that he got split due to his hubris after thinking he could take on the space goddess.

Voltron is a sentient being who lived long before time.

Voltron's title is king of the beasts.

All the pilots, save Fala/Allura, are from Earth.

All the boys are effectively in the same boat as VLD Shiro and have the gladiator backstory.

Earth is dead and gone, consumed by World War 3 by the start of the show.

Allura is canonically 16.

Raible/Coran's a strategist.

Altea/Arus's people were assumed to all be destroyed (especially the royal family), but they're all hiding out.

Allura's parents and siblings are executed by Daibazaal/Zarkon's hand while she was a year old baby. Zarkon didn't know she existed.

Hiroshi Suzuishi/Pidge is descended from Ninja.

There's so much blood and gore. People get cut in half vertically and horizontally. We get the privilege of watching people drop dead on screen with these horrifying faces and screams. Zarkon and Sincline/Lotor drink blood, too.

Honerva/Haggar has this bs called occult science.

Akira Kogane/Keith and Allura are so slowburn to the point it might not exist between them.

King Raimon/Alfor's ghost comes back from the grave to tell the paladins how much they suck.

Pidge threatens to eat the space mice twice.

Shirogane Takashi/Sven dies and and a later episode introduces his younger brother, Ryou/Sven, who was captured as a slave among others before Earth was fully destroyed.

Cannibalism

A tragic side character commits suicide at the end of an episode

Amue/Romelle's older brother is willingly turned into a robeast. Her older brother and father are both murdered by the Galra during a battle with Voltron.

Earth is completely destroyed and uninhabitable. The boys become honorary citizens of Arus.

A scene depicting Pidge's mother shows her seeing him off his mission. It's the last time he sees her.

Lotor has a dream about his mother where it suggests Zarkon had a hand in her disappearance. A flashback occurs showing us she was a good person and was killed for moral differences.

Coran's son, Saint/Garret, died as an infant while he and his mother were escaping from the castle. They are buried by a local group of people. The Galra dig up this grave to clone him.

Hys/Nanny is shot by Garret and dies.

A father-daughter bond is implied between Coran and Allura when the latter comforts the former after the Garret incident.

The Galran foot soldiers are living beings.

Romelle almost died via firing squad.

One notable robeast involved a snake like being who survived a civil massacre amongst her people and was introduced burying her deceased child. She adopts Pidge within the same episode. She dies at the end from blood loss.

Another notable side character was a sand person. Allura befriends this one by giving it her bracelet. The sand person is turned into a robeast. It's implied the sand person dies at the end, though it is unclear why.

During the final battle, Lotor sends out trapped prisoners in bubbles as bombs so Voltron can't move without killing them. Lotor also shoots them as missles. Haggar also shoots at the prisoners so Voltron can move and end Lotor's career.

Haggar's motive in helping Voltron lies in that Lotor killed Zarkon.

Haggar is Zarkon's mother.

Ryou dies fighting Lotor.

Honerva dies. Zarkon dies. Lotor dies.

Voltron: Defender of the Universe:

"We don't need clothes." Keith, 1984.

Arus is still alive, they just get attacked.

Voltron's backstory is that Haggar disguised herself as said space goddess and wrecked Voltron into five pieces.

Coran's a diplomat.

Voltron's title is King of the Robots

Galaxy Garrison exists here.

Allura grew up an only child and seldom saw her parents because they were busy.

Sven is severely injured and is, instead, sent to another planet to recuperate, but gets captured as a slave on planet Doom and thinks he's crazy.

Zarkon disrespects Haggar likes it's nobody's business.

King Alfor built Voltron.

Zarkon has a nephew

Pidge has a sister who's stated to be training as a pilot.

That same tragic side character is said to have returned to her home planet offscreen

Romelle's older brother is willingly turned into a robeast. He swims out to see in the middle of a battle with Voltron. Romelle's father in consequence goes mad and is implied to have died as a result.

Balto is ravaged by Lotor's forces. Pidge becomes an honourary citizen of Arus.

Pidge is an orphan and the scene of his mother depicts his adoption

Lotor has a dream about Allura instead. Allura's nightmare shows us she's afraid of Zarkon.

"Lotor, my beloved son, you're a nitwit." -Zarkon, 1984

Doom/Drule council.

Coran's son, Garret, and his wife are said to be alive in another dimension they were beamed to when the Galra attacked them. The clone is robotic like.

Allura when comforting Coran after the Garret incident, calls him a good man.

Lance is a country boy.

The Doom foot soldiers are robots.

Romelle was sentenced to be shot by a firing squad with stun guns.

Lotor and Haggar look for a new robeast victim among the Medusans. Audibly noting that they're all in a deep rest. That Medusan lady chooses to adopt Pidge. She also gets hurt, but it's implied she lives.

The episode about the sand people goes relatively the same way. However, the sand person is stated to be exhausted, but alive.

Sven is injured and sent back to planet Pollux to heal.

During the final battle, Lotor sends out robots in bubbles to trap Voltron. Keith can't move him because the bombs would blow up in their face. Lotor shoots them as missiles. Haggar shoots them down so Voltron can end Lotor's career.

Zarkon lives. Haggar lives. Lotor lives.

Pidge has a brother, Chip.

The same:

The Robeasts sometimes have unique tits (long, metallic, and spiky).

Lotor has three different kinds of chins and noses he alternates between.

Allura's only living relative is her aunt.

Armoured Fleet Dairugger XV:

The show begins with a strong theme linked to the lifestyle and aspirations of young sailors staking their life on the sea.

The Galaxy Alliance's goal is to create a star map of the universe, explore planets, and potentially colonize one.

Shinji Ise/Commander Hawkins is unsure if there are any lifeforms other than the three species in the Galaxy Alliance.

There are three planets in the Galaxy Alliance: Earth, Mira, and Sala.

Miranda Keats/Krik has telepathy.

Barros Karateya/Zandee is possibly from New York.

The cook can sing and cook.

Krik and Moya Kirigas/Cinda are Mirans.

Shota Kreutz/Wolo and Saruka Katz/Tangor are Salans.

The main fleet has spent 7 months in space.

Manabu Aki/Jeff hates spicy food.

Tatsuo Izumo/Shannon has no deeper reason to hate the Galveston/Drule other than they've been fighting one another recently.

Sim/Sandu dies as a pilot with his ship.

Wolo's brother dies.

Haruka Kaga/Lisa's singing when the force is stalled on the weather planet.

Murder

Captain Barataria/Brak kills himself.

Walter Jack/Cliff's brother's name is Jimmy.

Cliff has a magic hobby. He wants to be a member of the Magic Castle in Hollywood.

The Dairugger crew/Vehicle force sing the theme song when sending off Captain Dick Asimov/Stanley.

The planet Hawkins saw blow up was a consequence of the Galra not wanting a base to be built on that planet - Planet Apollo.

Krik on his shift as commander simply orders the teams to head to their vehicles.

The Vehicle Force are observing the artifact they collected in a previous episode with hopes and doubts the civilization survived.

Commander Hagi/Kernel Klaus dies.

Director Wakasa/Marshal Graham is peeved the people aren't taking Drule threat seriously.

Drake/Mongo dies. Teles/Hazar has a devastating reaction to it.

Graves

Krik is implied to be a prince.

Sirk/Dorma has no biological relation to Hazar and instead is his adjutant.

Hazar's father is a Homeworld secretary socrat and he's immediately dismissed from this position when Hazar returns to Galveston.

Planet Mira has flowers similar to purple orange-spotted flowers.

The Vehicle team learned space combat at the space fortress.

The queen of Eldora states the Galran frontline base is east of the planet Eldora, in the area where the blue light shines.

Earth gets attacked, and are fending off the Galra.

Yasuo Mutsu/Chip trained really hard at the space fortress' juvenile school in terms of science.

The pendant Lisa gives Jeff is what her mother gave her before Dairugger's departure from Earth. Lisa considers this a souvenir.

Commander Date/Kernel Kerbert* and crew die due to how damaged the ship is.

Patty Ellington/Ginger planted a seed she found in her room. She compares the growth of the plant to their perseverance.

A sunset reminds Cliff of his hometown.

Hazar gets promoted to commander of the attack fleet.

Pidge dreams of driving his mother to Mt. Fuji. We see her physically in the back seat.

Krik's letter is from his father who states harvest is good on Mira. Cliff's letter's from his father who sends his greetings to Ginger.

The photo of the baby is Jeff's newborn nephew. He has at least one sibling.

Chip is a lonely single child.

Lisa and Chip are childhood friends. They were in the same class in juvenile school, and they trained together at the space fortress.

Kazuto Nagato/Hutch and Tasuku Izu/Marvin insult the three girls. They're mad because Kai Shinobu/Rocky previously talked about Emma/Twyla continuously, whilst Hutch says he grows tired of the three. Ginger trips Hutch and he cries.

Commander Twyla dies.

The crew of the Space Explorer play rugby with a squad of Galra soldiers. They all die.

Both the buck and the fawn die.

The two dolphins die. One was a calf. The mother swims head on to a bomb.

Ginger is grievously injured, and is piloting her machine while fighting off sleep medication. She is dedicated to fighting by her team.

Hazar hesitates to land a killing blow and his gun is shot from his hand. Dorma shoots the body guard and in pain he shoots about wildly, accidentally striking Emperor Corsair/Zeppo - who dies.

The date by the time of the Drule evacuation is Feb 9 in the space year 2203.

Commander Newley agrees the Drules should have the third planet of the 26 system as they have nowhere to go.

Commander Hazar is assassinated by three Galveston soldiers. One of whom is Sandu's younger brother.

Jeff gives Lisa's necklace to Hazar's corpse.

Voltron: Defender of The Universe - Vehicle:

The Galaxy Garrison's motive is to find a second planet because Earth is suffering overpopulation.

It's implied the Vehicle Team and crew already encountered Hazar. He is described as a pirate.

The Vehicle Force call themselves the Voltron Force.

The Vehicle Force can only stay combined for five minutes.

Lisa is implied go be an alien.

Wolo's planet has seven moons.

There is a spy aboard the Galaxy Cruiser for the Drules. This is never touched upon again.

The food is crap.

Krik's from a water planet and it was at one point saved by Voltron.

Krik has ESP abilities.

The Drule have a confirmed child soldier among their ranks.

Shannon's brother was taken prisoner and is currently being held on Planet Doom.

Commander Hawkins pours hot chocolate from kettles.

Wolo's brother is implied to have survived the encounter with the beast.

Lisa talks about past African civilization when the Force is stalled on the weather planet.

Commander Brak says he'll move to another planet if the Galra choose to be peaceful.

Cliff is a country boy. Has a confirmed younger brother named Ginny* and two other brothers.

The Voltron Force are singing "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" for Captain Newley's farewell party.

Commander Hawkins saw a planet, Orus*, get blown up. The reason for its destruction is unknown.

Krik on his round as commander gives orders with great enthusiasm which is noted by his teammates.

The chef paints as a hobby and the Vehicle Force spend an entire scene roasting his painting.

Kernel Klaus lives and wants to continue building bases.

Marshal Graham is down in the dumps when people joke about him and other high ranking personnel.

Mongo took an experimental time travel ship 😭 and left the empire for good because he no longer wanted to be a part of war.

Hazar drops the photo of him and Mongo because he's clumsy. He looks at it and wishes the latter luck.

The Drule are searching for a new planet due to a transient sun while the Galaxy Garrison are searching due to overpopulation.

Commander Hawkins and Jeff's relationship is funnier than it needs to be.

Ginger got run over twice by joggers.

Lisa invented a carrot and cabbage cocktail she calls 'C & C'.

Pidge and Chip are twins.

Jeff's favourite food is spaghetti.

Jeff has been intentionally skipping Professor Page's plant seminars.

We see Krik's family photo.

Hazar and Dorma are brother sister and he has a good relationship with her.

Commander Nerok escapes in an escape shuttle.

The crew drinks hot chocolate in their downtime.

Earth gets attacked and wins against the Drule.

Ginger brought an unknown plant seed aboard ship and is growing a small plant.

Jeff explains a learned philosophical viewpoint to Commander Hawkins, and the latter's answer is that Jeff would make a great politician.

Lisa bought a good luck charm from a wizard on Planet Korb*. Jeff doesn't believe in that, but he wears the necklace the following episode.

"There is a good chance the lieutenant could be damaged." & "You're a brave fool." -Krik, 1985

Pidge and Chip studied solar energy as a hobby.

Kernel Kerbert* and his crew survive by fleeing in escape ships.

Jeff has a dog named Rover. He named a planet after said dog, an idea Commander Hawkins shoots down.

Krik's father bought another hydro bionic farm that he will inherit one day.

It's implied Cliff writes about Ginger to his brother as they want to meet 'that smashing Ginger'.

Jeff's family sent his baby photo. He thinks he's still cute.

Lisa and Chip are close enough she recognizes his hand writing.

Chip dreams about Pidge. He worries greatly about his brother after the lack of a letter.

Hutch insults the three girls based on their looks implying Twyla is hotter. Ginger trips Hutch after he, Marvin, and Rocky insult all three female members of the Voltron Force and he cries.

Commander Twyla escapes in an escape shuttle.

The Voltron Force play football with the Drule. Jeff finds Lieutenant Antor seriously hurt under rubble, but they heal him and he lives.

The buck dies but the fawn lives.

The dolphin is a single dolphin who somehow managed to disable a missile and survive.

"We just signed an important peace treaty right at this table. I've agreed to let Ginger slurp up her spaghetti, and she's agreed to let me slurp up my soup." -Cliff to Jeff, (Ginger present).

"Well I didn't sign and I want my own table away from you." -Krik to Cliff and possibly Jeff, (Ginger present).

Episode 45. Episode 45 is way too funny. Krik and Cinda crave coconuts out of the blue, ask Commander Hawkins if they can stop at a planet for some, and Krik salutes to his commander that it was a 'dumb idea'.

Ginger has PTSD from an experience as a child where she survived a ship blowing up.

The Drule home-world had destructive material buried under the surface.

Hazar spares Zeppo, but the latter's body is slumped on the throne.

Captain Newley relocates the Drule to a planet in the fourth quadrant in the far galaxy.

Hazar lives.

Krik is passive-aggressive.

The Drule blow up perfectly good planets they can't have.

The Same:

Krik has ESP abilities.

Krik can possibly play an instrument. He holds it the entire time, however.

Jeff, when he takes the first shift as Commander, is disgusted and reluctant to sit beside Commander Hawkins much to the amusement of the man.

Commander Hawkins is passive aggressive.

The Drule homeworld is getting hotter. All the residents have moved below ground, and starvation is prominent.

Krik pilots Voltron when Jeff is out of commission.

Krik shoves a whole gun into Jeff's pants.

The Sky Team ft. Krik drive a tank/enemy patrol car.

Dorma is kidnapped and asked to join the resistance which she steadily accepts.

Original Japanese:

All the foot soldiers are organic.

Consequences. Consequences everywhere.

A good portion of one note characters die.

Adapted Shows:

Stun guns. Stun guns everywhere.

All the foot soldiers are robots.

Bonus Voltron season 3:

King Alfor's ghost can bend the fabric of space. He can also shoot lasers without a gun.

Nanny lives.

Pidge has formed murderous intent towards the castle mice.

Fifth castle mouse.

Commander Cossack a.k.a. Cossack the Terrible.

Lotor drinks something called a mean potion that increases his meanness.

Queen Merla.

King Deus Ex Machina Alfor.

Lotor gets put in jail and has his allowance revoked.

"You don't know Zarkon like I do." -Lance, 1985.

Bonus Bonus Fleet of Doom:

Chip is taller than Pidge.

Hunk is buddies with Modac.

Wolo and Lance used to lightly "bully" Cliff.

Keith and Jeff are competitive with each other.

6 year-old Keith got lost in a forest.

Haggar has two wolves within her (not literal wolves).

*Not sure what the confirmed spelling is but I did my best to spell it like it sounds.

[fancoloredglasses]

Letters From Home (They had to prove the two series are linked somehow)

[All images are owned by Toei Animation and World Events Productions. Please don’t sue me.]

(Thanks to Radwolf76 for the suggestion)

For all anime aired for an American audience (at least in the 20th century), the source material is cut, spliced, re-sequenced, re-dubbed, and in the end is only tangentially related to the source material (with one exception that I know of, and even that was heavily edited)

The two versions of Voltron are no exceptions, having been adapted from two anime series that have nothing to do with one another except the mecha are built from smaller vehicles (yes, in this case I'm calling the Lions "vehicles") and they defeat their adversaries with giant swords they conjure out of thin air.

They were given similar opening sequences (including the same narrator), the same name for their adversaries (robeasts), and of course the mecha have the same name. However, many fans believed these were different universes...until this Vehicle Team episode. If you would like to watch the episode, it's available on YouTube or behind your favorite paywall.

We open with Chip, the smallest member of the Vehicle Team and a member of the Air Team (don’t ask me which part of Voltron he winds up being; I’m not that invested) on a road trip with his brother Pidge (who pilots the Green Lion) Unfortunately they’re in two separate anime Pidge is asleep and doesn’t appear on screen. However, in the middle of his monologuing about the fun times they’re going to have, he looks back to find…

What? You were expecting to see Pidge? I just said the two characters come from different anime franchises!

Then Chip wakes up from his nightmare on board the Explorer.

At roll call the next morning, Captain Newley (Explorer’s Commanding Officer) announces that the ship they just rendezvoused with brought mail (this was made in the days before the internet, so email wasn’t A Thing yet) Chip is eager to hear from Pidge, but no luck. Just a boring letter from his parents.

Meanwhile at a nearby Drule Empire base, their patrols are gathering intel on the Galaxy Alliance fleet that are with the Explorer.

Speaking of the Explorer, they are assisting in the reinforcement of defenses at a nearby Galaxy Alliance base.

The base detects the Drule patrol and launches drones to deal with them as we go to commercial.

The drones make short work of the Drule patrol, but they know more are on the way.

(Jeff being the leader of Air Team; I’m not listing all 15 members since most are barely even mentioned in the series)

However, as Air Team prepares to launch…

So where’s Chip?

Feeling sorry for himself. Lisa (from the Sea Team) breaks him from his funk by asking why he’s not with the rest of Air Team. He immediately rushes out, dropping the letter he received.

However, Captain Newley can’t wait and sends Land Team out instead.

In the hangar, the rest of Air Team lays into Chip verbally (to be fair, he’s the reason they were grounded for this mission, though I’m not sure why Captain Newley didn’t just send out Air Team without Chip)

Chip doesn’t take that too well.

Meanwhile at the Drule base, the Commander goes over the intel gathered and comes up with a plan on how to defeat the Voltron Force.

Back on the Explorer, Sara read Chip’s letter from his parents. Turns out he didn’t get any mail at the beginning of the episode.

Lisa then goes into some exposition about Chip and Pidge and why they’re so close. Jeff then suggests that Lisa talk to Chip (since she’s the one who found out)

Meanwhile…

…a Drule fleet is on the way as we go to commercial!

Back at the Explorer, Lisa reaches out

Meanwhile, the Land Team has discovered a distress beacon on a nearby planet. Captain Newley scrambles Air and Sea Teams, but Chip refuses to go. Lisa decides to stay by his side (you don’t suppose being 2 ships short will matter?)

Chip admits to Lisa that he wrote the letter and lets loose the emotional floodgate.

Lisa assures Chip that something must’ve happened to the letter (suuuuuure it did)

On the planet, Land Team discovers the wreckage of a Drule ship.

You think it’s a trap? I think it may be a trap.

I KNEW IT!

The Drules realize the Voltron Force is two vehicles short, so they attack!

Yeah, no shit!

Then the Drules deploy their latest Robeast!

Crap, it’s got a sword! As any Voltran fan will tell you: once the sword is out, it’s all over!

However, despite being outgunned and two short, Air Team and Sea Team make short work of the Drule fleet. Unfortunately, Land Team still needs to deal with the Robeast!

On the Explorer, Captain Newley pleads with Lisa and Chip to join the fight.

This is enough for Chip to break out of his funk as he and Lisa rush to their vehicles and arrive in time, so…

Once Voltron is in play, the battle ends quickly…

…and what’s left of the Drule fleet quickly retreat.

Later on the Explorer, Captain Newley has something for Chip: a letter!

And wouldn’t ya know, it’s from Pidge! The producers then splice in scenes from Lion Force as Pidge’s voice narrates the letter.

Excuse me, I have some familial love in my eye.

[gayemeralds]

wahoo character refs for the main human characters in tf rollback. finally finished them.

alice & latoya wear those gold rings because they’re like the rings in masterforce that allow the children to transform into their junior headmaster armor. alice & latoya dont transformer into full on transformers like masterforce but they are able to amifest an armor that’s probably similar to the armor in voltron & probably a small blaster gun. i really like when the humans in transformers are able to contribute in fights and my thought behind this series was that alice (who dreams of becoming a race car driver) teams up with hot rod to drive him during fights and other things (alice has “quick reflexes” that allow her to take really fast turns and do race tricks. also having a driver allows hot rod to focus on other things. it’s a symbiotic relationship is the idea) so the autobots (wheeljack) create the cuff rings for alice to keep her safe during fights. and since alice drives latoya to places (and latoya eventually gets really involved in the fight once she learns alice’s car is an autobot) latoya is eventually also given an armor to keep her safe.

spike and tamika are currently married and run a car repair shop in st louis, mo. they also frequently buy run down cars to flip into cool custom cars to resell. hot rod scans one of their cars to become an actual hot rod while on earth lol. tamika promises to give alice any car on their back lot if she can fix it (bc tamika assumes 1. alice will then be able to take fix her car if anything happens while she’s driving 2. she figures it’ll take her a while) so alice fixes up hot rod and the rest is history. hot rod will probably take on a different car mode after he’s fixed because what parent is going to let their kid drive a dubiously street legal hot rod.

tamika was a racecar driver (anonymously, under the pseudonym getaway, and her car would be based on the godmaster in masterforce) before an accident caused her to retire. she married chip for a few years and had alice but felt chip didn’t have big enough dreams (chip runs a tiny farm in a small town and has no aspirations to leave his town or do anything else) and the two eventually divorce. they’re very amicable and spike, tamika, and chip will hang out often. over the summer alice & latoya will visit and stay with chip (latoya isn’t his kid but he’s become like her uncle).

silas burns is an ex racecar driver turned car manufacturer who also provides vehicles for the government. he causes the accident that forces tamika to retire so he could become the grand prix champion. when the transformers begin arriving on earth, he makes a deal with the government to cannibalise pieces of the transformers to figure out how they work, turn them into weapons, and technological research. he’s a slimy, slimy guy… but he gets his comeuppance.

fun little color symbolism & other notes: alice & latoya reverse in hair length to symbolize their own personal growth over the course of the series (alice’s hair gets shorter while latoya’s gets longer) bc they learn different lessons. alice & latoya wear primarily pink, blue, and yellow, which each symbolize the three major adults in their lives (chip, spike, and tamika). their main color (pink for alice, yellow for latoya) symbolise the autobot they bond to (hot rod, bumblebee).

latoya plays in a bunch of sports (she has a very difficult time making friends/connecting with others so she tries different extracurculars to make friends & to be the ‘perfect’ student because she equates perfection with charisma) so alice’s main duty is often driving her places. i think over the course of the show latoya learns to be herself and this her sport uniforms get altered and enhanced as she becomes more comfortable being her.

i haven’t decide how far into the future i want the movie to take place in. so far im thinking either 3 years (so the end of the universe occurs in 2012 lol) or 10 years (so alice AND latoya are both adults). i have a design for adult latoya but im still figuring out how much i want to timeskop between season 4 & the movie to be. season four is when earth & cybertron merge into one planet and im thinking of doing a 10 year time skip so there’s more time for transformers & humans to have adapted to living together on the same planet and what futuristic aesthetics would then be implemented.

but either way adult alice becomes 1) a liaison between cybertronians and humans (like spike in g1) and 2) a famous race car driver with hot rod (she achieves her dream :]). adult latoya becomes an aerospace engineer in the hopes of helping cybertron re-establish connections with civilizations they hadn’t been in contact with since before the civil wars (that’s a whole other can of lore worms). so hot rod and alice do a lot of that diplomat leader stuff and latoya becomes an engineer.

OKAY i think that’s all the thoughts i have.

[the-kittens-of-vol-tron]

Reflection

Chapter 2: Hi

Summary: The team makes their way back to earth and gets picked up by the Garrison. Shiro sees Adam since he left for Kerberos. Tension runs high.

AO3!

Word Count: 2,799

Enjoy~

Shiro’s POV 

“GUYS DO YOU SEE IT!!!!” Lance screamed on the video chat, a wide smile on his face. 

“Oh my, that’s Earth?” Allura exclaimed, clasping her hands in front of her as she marveled at the planet in front of them. 

“I didn’t expect it to be so…blue,” Coran added, twisting his mustache. 

“Yeah, most of Earth is made up of water. And most of the water is salt water and we call them ocean…” Lance began to explain more about his home planet. 

Shiro felt the smile fall off his face. His stomach plummeted the closer they got. Adam was there. 

“You okay?” Keith asked, silencing the coms as he shifted his body to look at him. 

Shiro gave him a forced smile and nodded. “Just…excited to get home.” 

Keith gave him an unsure look. Turning back to look out of his lion. 

---

It took them longer than they needed to reach Earth. The Galra has already placed its stamp on the world. Not fully consumed, but enough to squeeze most of the remaining earthlings into a couple of garrison bases. 

Pidge jumped out of the vehicle, hugging her mother tightly. Lance was greeted by his family next. Shiro did his best to send Hunk a reassuring smile when his family didn’t make an appearance. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to introduce their Altean allies. His breath hitched when his eyes fell on Adam. 

He didn’t look too different from the last time he saw him. Though, that was in passing as he made his way to the rocket. He stopped being able to spend time with him after they ended things. He fought back a frown. Heartbreak begging to swallow him whole. 

His throat tightened as emotions began to rush to the surface. The urge to cry mixed with the desire to hug him and never let him go. He squeezed his hands into fists, forcing his feet to stay planted on the ground. 

Adam wasn’t his anymore. He would never be his again. He was a fool to think he was actually over him. But being forced to fight for Galran's entertainment right back into leading Voltron made his mind a bit too distracted to think about Adam. And what they had. And what they lost. Along with how to move on. 

“Welcome home,” Iverson sent them all with an unsure smile. He sent the Alteans a tentative look. 

Shiro fell into autopilot, quickly introducing Allura, Romelle, and Coran. His eyes flicker between Iverson and Adam. Who still hadn't truly looked at him.  

“Well, anyone who is willing to help in the fight against the…Galra is a friend of Earths.” Iverson gave a welcoming nod at the Alteans. Coran took over the conversation, twisting his mustache as he began to tell Iverson of the time of his youth. 

Shiro didn’t hear him. His attention was still on Adam, who finally met his eyes. Briefly, but he did. He found his feet moving forward before he could stop them. Adam purposely looked at the vehicles who just brought them into the base. He stopped about two feet in front of him. “Adam,” his voice came out in a whisper. 

The other man looked at him, a neutral expression on his face. “Commander Shirogane, happy to see you’re alive.” His voice didn’t match the smile that formed on his face. 

Shiro gave a tense nod, ignoring how his stomach dropped at the name. The formality. He didn’t have to deal with it after the breakup. They didn’t speak, only quick glances. “Yeah…it was a hell of a time.” 

“Well,” Adam pushed his glasses up on his face, “I look forward to reading about it in your published report.” 

Shiro fought back a frown. There really isn't anything between them anymore. Not even a friendship. He took a wobbly breath, if any reconnection were to happen he would have to be the one to start it. “Adam, if you are willing I would like to-” 

The other man turned his head, raising his voice to speak to some workers behind him. “Make sure these vehicles are charged and no damage is found. They need to be ready to go for the next supply mission.” 

The workers nodded, making their way toward the vehicles. He turned his attention back to Shiro, “make sure Iverson shows you to your room.” He pivoted on one foot, doing a 180 as he turned to leave the area. A voice causing him to halt in place. 

“You’re seriously going to walk away before I can even say hello?” The voice jogged at the older man, wrapping his arms tightly around him. 

“Lance, this isn’t very professional,” Adam kept his hands to his side. A smile on his face as Lance squeezed him even tighter. 

“Shut up. I just kicked ass in outer space. If I want to hug my favorite advisor I will.” The younger boy protested. 

Adam laughed, the sound filled the air. Bringing a warmth Shiro hadn't felt in years. Along with a pang of jealousy at not being the reason for the sound. He always loved making Adam laugh. He wrapped his arm around the younger boy, chuckling at something else Lance mumbled to him. 

“So…Lance knows Adam?” Keith cautiously asked, having moved closer to Shiro. His hand was placed on Kosmo’s head. His thumb moved in a small circle. 

“I guess…” Shiro furrowed his brows, trying to remember if that name ever came up in conversation. It was possible Adam became his advisor after he left for Kerberos. 

Keith placed his free hand on Shiro’s shoulder. Giving it a comforting squeeze. He knew this was going to be a hard adjustment. 

---

“And this is where you will stay while you’re here.” Iverson led them to a blocked-off quarter. They would still be able to share a living room together and a kitchen. But each would have their own bedroom. Like the castle. 

“Thank you, Iverson.” Shiro sent his former colleague a smile. Ignoring how Keith and Lance were already fighting over which room they wanted. He wishes they would just confess and kiss. End this childish rivalry that they hide behind. 

“Come on Shiro, you’re not a cadet anymore. How many times do I have to tell you to call me Mitch.” Iverson smiled at him, patting his back in a friendly manner. 

Shiro chuckled. “Just keep repeating it.” 

“Tomorrow I think we should touch base and learn what you all know. For now rest. The fridge is full of food but the cafeteria is still open. Rest up,” he sent everyone and nodded and left the room. Lance immediately snickered as the door closed. 

“His name is Mitch?!” He threw his head back in laughter. Hunk joined in soon after. 

“Yeah…” Shiro made his way to the couch. Silently vowing to take whatever bedroom wasn’t claimed by the end of the night. He glanced at Lance and Pidge. Curious why they didn’t want to room with their family. 

Maybe they too didn’t want to split up this family. 

“How do you know Adam?” Keith crossed his arm, sinking back into the couch. His eyes trained on Lance. 

“He was my advisor. For before and after acceptance.” Lance stated as if it was everyday knowledge. He squinted his eyes back at Keith. “How do you know Adam?” 

Keith’s eyes flickered to Shiro for a moment and he shifted uncomfortably. Unsure of what to say. Coran broke the tension. 

“I have to ask, who is this Adam? Just someone who works for the Garrison?” 

“He’s a fighter pilot…and professor.” Shiro stared at the coffee table the couch circled. “He’s also my… ex-fiancé.” 

The room fell into silence, Keith apparently being the only one who was aware of the fact. Pidge scrunched up her nose, “you were engaged?” 

Hunk frowned, “ex…?” 

Shiro sighed, sinking back into the couch. Briefly praying it would swallow him home. But this was his team. His family. “We met during our first semester at the Garrison. Both of us were in the fighter pilots course.” His eyes softened at the memory. The first time he had ever seen Adam. 

Both of them were eighteen. The first class of the semester. Shiro had walked in a couple of minutes before the class officially started. His roommate was chatting excitedly about the upcoming semester. His senses froze as his eyes landed on him. 

A skinnier boy was sitting at a desk, slouched back in his chair. His head tilted up at the ceiling, his eyes closed weakly. Shiro forgot how to breathe for a moment. His heart pounded in his chest. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from that nameless boy. 

His roommate touched his arm. “Come on dude we have to sit down.” 

Shiro nodded and followed his roommate to an empty seat. Forcing his eyes forward the entire time. Fighting the urge to look toward the kid who he now had a name for thanks to role call. Adam. 

“We quickly became friends and then we found ourselves together. Then after we graduated,” he paused. Glancing down at his robotic arm. Silently deciding to keep his former illness a secret. “We got engaged.” 

“What happened?” Allura asked. Her tone was cautious but supportive. 

He released a tense breath through his nose. “I took the Kerberos mission.” 

Nobody said anything. Their eyes cast down to the ground. “So you two ended things because you were going on a year-long mission?” Pidge raised their eyebrows questionably. Her voice was unconvincing. 

“More or less,” Shiro found his foot tapping silently on the carpet. There was a lot more to the story.  A lot more.  But he couldn’t bring himself to open up right now. Couldn’t confine to the others as he needed to be. 

The team shared a look, silently communicating to drop the subject. Hunk clasped his hand together, gaining everyone's attention. “How about I cook us some dinner?” 

---

Shiro didn’t sleep that night. Every time he closed his eyes his mind repeated the earlier interaction with Adam. The coldness. Was he always that emotionless? No, he wasn’t. His Adam wasn’t. 

What happened that made him this way? Was the breakup really that devastating for him? Shiro frowned as he stared into his coffee. His reflection looked back at him. Adam was upset when the engagement was called off. Rightfully so. He was upset with himself. 

But Adam bounced back. Within a week he was back to his normal self. He had moved out of their shared space. Leaving nothing behind. He didn’t even call off work once. Did he even cry over it? 

“Morning Shiro,” Keith reached for his own mug. Rubbing the sleep from his eyes. 

“Morning,” he brought the cup to his lips. He missed coffee. “Sleep okay?” 

“Like a baby.” Keith stared at the liquid slowly filling his glass. “Better than sleeping in the lions.” 

Shiro chuckled. Letting the silence move over them. For once they could sit. The Galra was still a threat but for once they didn’t need to move. They could just enjoy the now. The other slowly woke up. Each grabbed their own drink and migrated to the couch. Idly chatting filling the space. 

“Anyone want to cook or we can go down to the cafeteria,” Lance asked, holding his cup of coffee closer to him. 

Hunk stood, “I have something in mind.” 

---

Everyone stood as they entered the room. The voices dying quickly. Iverson cleared his throat. “Welcome, thank you for joining us. Please, have a seat.” He gestured to the eight empty seats on one side of the table. 

Shiro let his team pick first, quickly realizing that left the last seat next to Adam. He must have realized the predicament at the same time since his body stiffened and he gripped his folder tighter in his hands. 

He swallowed down his own emotions and moved to sit down. Sending his ex a weak smile as he sat down. 

Adam shifted his eyes away, looking at the blank screen in the front of the room. Iverson cleared his throat, drawing attention from everyone in the room. “Let’s start with what we know.” He clicked the screen on. “The Galra have been on Earth for only a month. In that time,” he clicked to the next screen, “They have pushed the remaining population into seven locations. All Garrison bases.” 

Another slide. “Thanks to Sam Holt we were able to prepare before the Galran reached Earth.” He went on to explain how the Galran attacked and how quickly Earth fell. Things they have tried, things that have worked and failed. The projects they were finishing up; such as the Atlas. Iverson sat down, ending his section of the presentation. 

“If you all would like to tell us more about this ‘Voltron’ and what the battle has been like in outer space. That information would be beneficial.” Admiral Sanda spoke, leaning forward. Her elbows pressed on the table. Her chin rested in his hands. 

Allura spoke first. Explain who Alteans were. What Altea was and the history of the Galra. She spoke with grace and confidence. Her voice was unwavering as she retold her history. Romelle and Coran pipped in when needed. And eventually, the attention was shifted to the paladins. 

They didn’t have too much to add after what Allura said. They mainly explained what the lions were and how they could help. Shiro tapped his finger ideally on the table. Letting his mind wander. A voice pulling him from his thoughts. “Shiro, is that something you are comfortable talking about?” 

He cleared his throat, adjusting awkwardly in his seat. “Sorry. Could you repeat that?” 

The admiral gave him a professional smile. “I was asking if you were okay discussing your first return from Earth. Before the Blue Lions discovery.” 

“Oh,” he stared at his missing arm. “After we were all taken by the Galra. Sam, Matt, and I. I had to fight in this…gladiator ring. I was known as the ‘Champion’ there. But after a year I had memorized the soldiers' patterns. How often they passed my cell. And over my year stay, I had located the flight hanger. I just…made myself escape. And I landed on Earth.” He refused to meet anyone else. Staring at the smooth table. 

Hushed whispers filled the room, and he swore he felt Adam stiffen beside him. But he didn’t want pity. What was done was done. He wasn’t going to relax until the Galra were defeated and taken care of. 

The meeting ended soon after. Most of the Garrison officials stayed around to mingle. Pidge and Hunk mentioned going down to look at the Atlas. Keith was dragging Lance to train. Allura, Romelle, and Coran were being shown around the base by Iverson and Veronica; Lance’s sister. 

Adam quickly stood, briskly making his way out of the room. His fingers crumpled the papers he was holding. 

Shiro found himself standing, the chair nearly falling backward at the motion. His feet moved before his mind realized what he was doing. He stepped into the hallway, “Adam!” 

The man froze for a second, keeping his back to Shiro. The passersby in the hallways all looked at Shiro. He ignored them, his legs moving toward Adam. “I just…was wondering if we could talk.” He stopped, about an arm's length away from him. 

Adam didn’t make any attempt to turn around, his back remained stiff, his head looking forward. His shoulders rose and fell slowly. Something he did when he was trying not to show how he was feeling.  “About what?” 

Shiro blinked, his heart swelling at the response. At least he was speaking to him. “Anything. You can tell me everything you’ve done in the time I’ve been away. We can just catch up.” He cleared his throat, swallowing down the desire to reach forward and embrace him again. 

Adam didn’t move for a couple of seconds before he eventually spoke. “I have work to do.” He stepped forward, disappearing around the closet corner. 

Shiro wasn’t sure how long he stayed in that spot. Silently kicking himself for how things went. How they crumpled around him. Irreversible damage. Someone placed their hand on his shoulder. He glanced at the owner of it. “Hey Shiro, remember me?” 

He smiled at his former roommate. “How could I forget?” 

His friend chuckled. “Want to get some coffee? Catch up?” 

He nodded. “Yeah…” His eyes lingered on where Adam went. “As long as we talk about anything other than the Galra.” 

His friend smiled at him. “Whatever you need buddy.” He squeezed his hand on Shiro’s shoulders. “It’s good to have you back.” 

Shiro gave a tense nod, “it’s good to be back.” 

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Thank you for reading <33333