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imhereformysciencefriends · 8 months

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@loturaweek2023 final day: Cooking Up Chaos!

Allura had never considered herself particularly foolish or in need, but as straits grew more dire, she found herself more and more willing to entertain certain flights of fancy, all the way until she had gathered her wits and struck out into the forest in search of the witch that lived there.

The closer she got, the easier her walk, bramblebushes giving way to a well kept path, undergrowth trimmed back, and in the center of the clearing she approached: a sprawling herb garden with a neat and tidy cottage in the center. It seemed out of place, if only for its charm in an otherwise wild stretch of forest.

She cleared her throat as she entered the clearing, unsure of how close would be too close to go uninvited. But nobody was in the garden, and there was smoke pouring from the chimney, so her mark must surely be inside.

She knocked on the door.

The man that answered was—not quite what Allura had expected. He was purple, for one, not green. With long, trailing, starlit hair and catseyes. His hat was so large it almost wouldn’t fit through the doorframe, with a dent at the halfway point that left the tip pointed sideways, and his dark robes trailed the floor with a tattered end.

“Greetings.”

“Oh,” Allura jolted, blinking and gathering her manners, “Hello, um, good witch?"

The man snorted softly, smiling with an almost playful gleam. “When it suits me. Come in,” he ushered her in, and she let out a small noise at a second surprise.

“I, oh, I hadn’t realized there were two of you,” she mentioned, hoping that wasn’t too rude. There was another woman, her body even more changed by her magic than his, eyeless and seeming… scaled, lounging near the fire, cat on her belly.

“Typically, witches are solitary outside of gatherings,” the man mentioned, stirring something in the cauldron over the flames. “It’s just that somebody decided to take my cat as her familiar.”

The blind witch looked smug, gesturing something Allura did not understand at him, and he let out a grumbling noise. He huffed, and turned back towards Allura.

“But come, you’ve traveled all this way for a reason, have you not, Princess? Tell us what you wish from us, and we’ll assess the cost.”

Allura settled her hand on the bag in her deepest pocket, filled with things she truly hoped the witches might take. She had no real desires to offer up any firstborns or lindworms.

“My father’s court is full of liars,” she stated. This was… pretty well known, all considered. Even her father admitted to it now, and he’d long attempted to hide the truth from even himself on the matter. “They’re deceptive and cunning, and will lead us all to ruin. I’ve tried begging my father to take more aggressive methods with them, but he resists. I… do not wish to kill them, but come in search of whatever solutions you are capable of providing.”

The male witch hummed, stirring his brew. “If the liars are the issue, then perhaps they should not be allowed to lie.”

Allura frowned, then lit up. “A truth spell?”

“Potion, but yes,” he said, ladling glowing yellow liquid into a pitcher. “I’ve none on hand, and Narti—” he turned to look at the lady witch (Narti, Allura supposed), who shook her head, “—has none either. Give me a moment to put my current brew away, and we shall have an elixir that will make even the most silver tongued liar speak plainly.”

“And the cost, for such a thing?”

He cast her a sly glance. “What have you to pay?”

Allura pulled from her pocket the bag she’d brought. “Gold, and jewelstones. Coin, if you want it.” Though, rumor had it witches rarely did. “If you want something else—”

“We’ll take the coin,” he said easily, and—oh.

For some reason she’d expected it to be harder than that.

He laughed at her expression. “Despite what the fairytales will tell you; even witches need to purchase goods and services from those in town. You’re more capable of affording to part with your coin than some of the desperate folks that cross our door.”

Well now she just felt silly.

She cleared her throat. “And will you tell me your name, good witch?”

“Lotor. And I know you, Princess Allura. There’s plenty talk of you, around the kingdom.”

“What kind of talk?”

“Mm. I wonder,” Lotor hummed, continuing to drain the cauldron and offering no elaboration. “But I will warn you of one thing, Princess. There is a second cost to our deal: the cost of using magic at all. The more you use, the higher the price. Be cautious, little royal, that you do not use so much, that it becomes a price you are unwilling to pay."

Like the purple skin. And the scales.

“I’ll be careful. I don’t plan on needing more than just this, anyway.” If she could just oust the liars, if they could separate the wheat from the chaff, she knew things would get better.

“No one ever does,” he warned, tipping over the mostly-empty cauldron to let the remaining trickles of glowing amber slip through a grate on the floor, mingling with ash and other discarded brews below.

She watched him begin the next batch, made mostly of harmless water, but the more ingredients he added the more… otherworldly, the mix became. He had her fetch a few things for him while he stirred, and Allura was willing enough to comply, figuring normally Narti must do this (or that helping make the potion was perhaps necessary, since she’d be the one to use it).

It worked.

The court was in chaos. Everyone was saying what was actually on their mind and all hell was breaking loose. It had started when a courtesan had told Alfor to his face that she thought he was weak spined and easily manipulated, her eyes going wide in horror as she had attempted to backtrack, but her tongue hadn’t let her.

Allura watched on with what she hoped was not-too-obvious glee.

Alfor took advantage of the magic, however it had come about, and was able to swiftly dismiss those forced to confess their ulterior motives. He was left with a small, but genuinely loyal group, and they began rebuilding their ranks with similarly loyal replacements.

Allura’s hair turned slowly silver, over the days it took to oust the liars. She hid her hair behind colorful scarves and told her mother it was simply premature greying.

All was well for months after that, until Allura’s mother fell ill.

“Welcome back, Princess Allura. Your hair looks striking,” Lotor greeted, looking slightly flustered at her appearance. “Was the truth elixir insufficient to the task?”

“Not at all,” Allura assured as she entered his home once again, Narti off somewhere and a mug of tea wafting softly next to an open book with complicated diagrams in it. “It was exactly the miracle I needed, but now I ask you for another.”

“Then ask away, but remember: all magic comes at a price.”

“For this, I would pay anything—”

“Be careful how you utter such words.”

“My mother is sick!” Allura burst, tears in her eyes only for her to swipe them angrily away, smearing on her cheeks. “My mother is ill, and nobody can cure it. Help me, Lotor, I don’t care if it turns me into a frog if it means my mother lives.”

Lotor’s expression softened and he placed a gentle hand at her elbow. “Ease, Allura. Ease. Tell me her symptoms. I’ve magic aplenty to spend on her cure.”

“Yes?”

Allura had been so worried, so anxious that perhaps this was not the kind of magic he could do.

“Yes. She will be alright, Allura.”

Allura sagged against him, and allowed him to comfort her, to settle her on the couch with a mug of tea of her own as she explained the onset, the symptoms, the nature of her mother’s illness. He listened steadily and took notes, and nodded at the end.

“I know of the cure that will work. Sit tight, Princess. You will carry it with you when you leave.”

And so she sat, and watched him, and found his silvery hair to be even prettier than the last time she viewed it.

“Thank you,” she said in his doorway, with a sachet of something faintly glowing in her hands and her purse much lighter. She rose up on tiptoe and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Thank you, Lotor.”

He stood dumbfounded at his own threshold, and she giggled before taking off, his catseyes on her as she left.

The next morning, her mother was cured overnight, and Allura found what she at first believed to be a rash all over her own skin. Except it wasn’t a rash, it was… markings. Crescents and circles and half moons and dots and waves, all bright pink, decorating her limbs and spine and two V’s on her cheeks.

She swore her ladies in waiting to secrecy and hid the marks beneath her clothes, all except those two facial markings which she passed off as “a fashionable new trend of face painting.” Everyone was too relieved over the queen’s recovered health to pay the princess’s antics much mind.

And all was well in the kingdom a second time. Allura felt almost like she was ready, when the third trouble arose.

War with their bordering country had long been something that loomed on the horizon. It seemed with their court cut in half, and the rumors of the queen’s illness and likely death spreading slowly their direction, they’d taken this as opportune timing.

Allura was not fearful of the outcome of a fair battle. Her father’s forces were powerful and well armed.

Allura was worried about their beast of a champion, a man more lion than human, undefeated no matter the number of foes he faced.

“You wish to craft a champion of your own?” Lotor echoed, and Allura nodded.

“My father has a loyal soldier I think would bear the burden, but I need something that will put him on equal footing to their lionman. Lotor,” Allura reached out, and placed her palm over his, “this I ask of you.”

Lotor sighed. “You make it terribly difficult to deny you anything.”

“Then do not deny me.”

“There will be a price.”

“I know.”

And so Lotor gave her a greave imbued with magic that hummed all through it, and Allura asked her father’s soldier if he would bear its burden.

He did. It cost him his right arm, forever changed, but he did, and he won against their lionman, despite the difference in their sizes.

Allura paid the cost of the magic’s casting. Her hair, she could hide. Her markings, she could wave away.

But when her brown eyes turned bright near-glowing blue, the secret could be kept no longer.

The princess was using magic. The princess was consorting with witches.

And so the princess took off her crown and picked up as many coins as she could reasonably carry, and left.

And now there are three witches, stirring a cauldron in the woods.

#loturaweek2023 #lotura #allura #lotor #narti #shiro alfor and melenor are also there #vld #vt #my writing #haro writes #witch au

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probablyhuntersmom · 1 year

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If you love both VLD and Mass Effect and the killer OSTs of both, you can never quite separate both pieces of media from one another.

The ME nightclub music though? Each of those tracks can be matched pretty damn well to Lotor and each of his generals.

Acxa's character goes with the Dark Star Lounge theme, I think. Protagonist/redemption arc energy

Narti's kinda theme song would be the Club Eternity theme

Zethrid who can go batshit crazy couldn't be a better match with Lower Afterlife

Ezor gets the most dance-y one, of course. The Purgatory theme

For Lotor himself I'd settle on the Upper Afterlife track since the vibes are super steady

#my heavenly outer space music #lotor's generals #lotor #vld #voltron #mass effect #acxa #narti #zethrid #ezor

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imnotafan-art · 2 years

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So I drew the voltron (alien) ladies

I can feel my obsession from 3 years ago reviving might have to go watch it again

#voltron #vld #voltron legendary defender #allura #princess allura #acxa #vld acxa #zethrid #ezor #narti #prince lotor #keith kogane #lance mcclain #takashi shirogane #pidge holt #hunk garrett #fanart

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vld-prompts · 2 years

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Narti takes up pumpkin carving.

#vld #vld prompts #narti

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flick-forever-official · 3 months

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Narti's Not Blind / HC

alright so i've had this idea in my head for a while, right?

Narti's not actually blind. she sees through her cat, Kova (who Lotor so generously gave to her) but before that she could sorta see as well

now let's think about this logically.

if Narti is blind, then obviously she's going to have better hearing

this means that she's able to hear so well that she can actually hear/sense vibrations

this means that she can sorta see outlines and stuff

for example, she can hear people's heartbeats really well and she can sense the vibrations. because the heart is beating inside the ribs/body, the vibrations will stop because they get stopped by the walls of the body or whatever (ik im explaining this poorly lol)

anyway, this creates sort of an outline where the thing is

also with the ships, because there has to be a million noises, she can see walls and stuff

another way to think of this is Kipo and the Age of the Wonderbeasts (if anyone has seen that)

you know how those scorpions can see heartbeats and that sort of creates that outline of people? that's sort of what i'm talking about

do with this information what you will, that's just my headcanon! Narti obviously couldn't see color then, so she was pretty shook when she started to see from Kova's eyes with all the colors and people.

#voltron #vld #narti #voltron legendary defender #headcanon #vld headcanons #voltron headcanons

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swordwing2117 · 2 years

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Narti and Kova from VLD

#voltron #galra #narti #kova #swordwings scribbles #akryl on paper #vld

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chibi-pix · 2 years

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While looking up Earth things on Pidge's laptop, Ezor learns about the wonderful game of "dodge ball". When she shows curiosity about it, the Earthlings decide to explain and even show the game, involving more people to make it fun.

From this prompt by @vld-prompts. Thank you for inspiring and motivating me!

#Voltron Legendary Defender #VLD #oneshot #fanfic #prompt #Pidge #Hunk #Lance #Shiro #Keith #Matt #dodge ball #Ezor #Lotor #Zethrid #Regris #Narti #Acxa #Thace #Ulaz

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discordiansamba · 5 months

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I guess I should discuss the AU that's been rattling around in my brain in a little more detail, rather than just making shitposts about it. So here's the basic gist of it:

We all know there was one surviving universe at the end of Honerva's rampage in VLD's (pretty bad) finale before everything was restored to normal- but could it really survive everything that happened around it unscathed?

The answer is no. Of course it's no.

In a twist of irony, given Honerva's goals, Lotor is deleted from a universe that would have otherwise been very close to the canon universe as we know it- which is... kind of a problem, actually. As in 'the universe could fall apart if this event doesn't happen' problem. But don't worry. The cosmic forces of the universe has a stopgap measure of its own in place to protect itself.

After all, what could go wrong with the universe using one half-Galra to replace another?

Keith is born to Zarkon and Honerva in Lotor's place. He's always felt out of place in a way that simply only being half-Galra can't quite explain. He has a strong sensitivity to quintessence, and knows from a young age that his father and the witch that stands by his side are corrupted.

He knows he's corrupted too. he can hear things that are not him whispering in his head sometimes, telling him things. he ignores them.

(this is sometimes harder than he would like)

(on very rare occasions he hears a different voice from the rabble- one that calmly tells him not to do things. he listens to this one a little more.)

He grows up loathing his father- it's a mutual feeling. He knows that even before he was born, his mother loathed him as well. He grows up with no strong connection to their either side of his heritage.

(perhaps honerva subconsciously realized the child she was carrying was not her own)

He breaks away from the Empire on his own at an early age- he knows in his bones this is wrong, and wants no part in it. He ends up safeguarding a pocket of space from the Empire, but his motives remain erratic and he stays aloof from the other forces against the Empire, so he's not exactly trusted by them.

After all, he's not exactly not still a part of the Empire himself. Zarkon's not going to let his only heir walk away that easily.

He still ends up meeting Acxa, Narti, Ezor and Zethrid.

He's born with the Altean talent of shapeshifting- though he's better at it than most. He wears three faces- the Galran prince, the Altean wanderer, and then a third face, one of a race he has never seen before, yet feels oddly familiar to him.

(Sometimes it feels more natural than the one he was born with.)

He later learns of a planet called Earth, and its people known as humans, who so resemble his third face- and the blue lion with them. He decides to keep an eye on the planet with the excuse of trying to protect the lion... which is surely the only reason he feels such a strong draw to this otherwise backwater planet.

Which is great, because it turns out replacing Lotor with Keith created another problem the universe has to deal with- there isn't a Keith anymore to pilot the red lion.

He just kind of gets swept up in everything when the blue lion awakens, and before he knows it, he's on the Castle of Lions, and Princess Allura of all people is telling him he's a paladin. They all seem to think he's human.

Somehow, he senses it would be a very, very bad idea to tell them all he's actually Zarkon's son.

Great job Keith. You signed up for the universe's most stressful double life. I'm sure this is going to work out real well.

(I am lying.)

#the universe slapping keith over lotor's role like a band-aid: this will work. i'm sure of it #the funniest part of this AU is when it sinks into everyone that the person they thought was a scrappy 18/19 year old kid #is actually ten thousand years old #other fun things: Romelle and Keith besties still. she gets to be a rebel. as a treat #Keith and Kuron bonding. you're a fraud and I'm a fraud. maybe we can make this work #(as soon as I get Narti to remove Haggar's programming from you)#and of course. narti lives au #you can put keith in a prince role but you CANNOT make him act princely (unless he needs to. he can manage)

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lilflowerpot · 1 year

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If Lotor was a paladin, which lion would he pilot? Personally I think it would be black or green, though it would be really interesting for it to be yellow as well.

So for this one I'm going to first point you towards my previous post regarding the attributes of the Lions as established in canon, plus my conclusion as to what the Blue Lion actually looks for in a paladin seeing as Allura skipped over it due to Lance's interruption. By combining the information that we were given in vld s01ep01 with the wu xing (the five elements of ancient Chinese philosophy) we can draw a pretty detailed picture of the key characteristics that make someone a suitable candidate to serve as a paladin of Voltron, so the following are my thoughts on Lotor's compatibility with each Lion, from least to most likely:

Yellow (earth / 土 tǔ) - agreeableness, honesty / anxiety, joy

“Nurturing, grounded, practical, and known for their reliability; though compassionate and empathetic, when out of balance they can become obsessive, intrusive, and worry unnecessarily.”

"The Yellow Lion is caring and kind. Its pilot is one who puts the needs of others above his own. His heart must be mighty. As the leg of Voltron, you will lift the team up and hold them together." - Allura, Voltron: Legendary Defender, s01ep01

Though I agree that Lotor & the yellow Lion would be an interesting match, I don't necessarily think it's the most natural one; while our favourite prince is perfectly capable of being compassionate / empathetic / agreeable / honest / nurturing / grounded / practical / reliable when making a deliberate effort,,,, these aren't the traits I'd most immediately associate with him (bar practical, he's certainly that). I don't think of Lotor as being the emotional backbone nor shoulder-to-cry-on individual in any circle, as for the most part he's too sharp-tongued and perhaps wouldn't approach such matters with the preferred delicacy one would hope for. In addition to this, the negative side of tǔ lends itself to a fretful sort of anxiety, which,,,, again, just isn't Lotor.

Blue (water / 水 shuǐ) - erudition, resourcefulness, wit / fear, gentleness

“Determined, self-sufficient, and adaptable; they achieve their aims by determining the best path through a situation, but when out of balance they can be fearful, timid and indecisive.”

The Blue Lion seeks emotional intelligence and adaptability, someone who is not only good-humoured, but capable of navigating tricky situations with grace and diplomacy. - lilflowerpot, the blue lion's attribute

Blue is an interesting one, because Lotor is //absolutely// an adaptable sonovabitch: he's the type who can pivot the entire plan based on near-any variable thrown his way, and still come out on top which is Damn Impressive... but his diplomacy tends to be more a weapon than an honest attempt at compromise, and while incredibly self-aware, he is not always the most emotionally intelligent being in the room when it comes to other people—not thinking to explain to the galra girl squad why he cut Narti down without a word, for example. And again, the negative traits associated with shuǐ (fearful / timid / indecisive) are not those that best reflect Lotor when out of balance.

Red (fire / 火 huǒ) - passion, intensity / hate, resolve

“Energetic, passionate, and dramatic, they make great leaders but have a tendency to be emotionally volatile; when in balance they create intimacy and connection easily, but when out of balance they might become destructive and suffer from insomnia.”

"The Red Lion is temperamental and the most difficult to master. It’s faster and more agile than the others, but also more unstable. Its pilot needs to be someone who relies more on instincts than skill alone." - Allura, Voltron: Legendary Defender, s01ep01

Lotor is actually a surprisingly strong contender for the Red Lion—I mean, passionate? Dramatic?? A great leader with a penchant for being emotionally volatile who runs the risk of becoming destructive???—both in terms of the pros and cons. His downfall in terms of this role, however, comes in the form of Lotor relying more on pragmatism than instinct; don't get me wrong, his instincts are typically very good, but if it came down to it Lotor would be infinitely more likely to make the logical call rather than that based off of a "gut feeling" (and Keith quite the opposite, which is what makes them such a good & balanced match imo).

But here's where things get interesting.

Because between Black & Green I felt it was an i n c r e d i b l y close call, and toyed with which way around I thought the best fit for quite some time. Ultimately, however, Black sits as Lotor's secondary Lion—much as she does Keith's—not because I think he's a poor leader, but because I feel the two are symbolic of Lotor's inner and outer world (something I expanded upon not only in my zodiac post but also when exploring hogwarts/ilvermorny house placements several years ago).

Black (metal / 金 jīn) - intuition, rationality, mind / grief, bravery

“Righteous, faithful, brave and gallant; a sharp intellect combined with a tendency for self-discipline can make them very successful. They like structure and tend to be organized and methodical.”

"The Black Lion is the decisive head of Voltron. It will take a pilot who is a born leader and in control at all times, someone whose men will follow without hesitation." - Allura, Voltron: Legendary Defender, s01ep01

Lotor is a born leader, no ifs ands or buts about it: he has a near-impeccable sense of self-discipline, is very goal-orientated as a person, and ultimately comes up with these very intricate and even elegant plans to achieve his objectives. His natural charisma makes people want to follow his lead and believe in the future he's forging (as clearly demonstrated by how quickly he won over the general galra populace in canon), and on top of all that his clear & constant understanding of "the greater good" makes him an exceptional candidate for a leadership role, as someone who has to make the hard calls.

Green (wood / 木 mù) - idealism, spontaneity, curiosity / anger, kindness

“Competitive, adventurous, and determined, they seek out challenges and do well under pressure, but can become driven and stressed when out of balance.”

"The Green Lion has an inquisitive personality and needs a pilot of intellect and daring." - Allura, Voltron: Legendary Defender, s01ep01

"So why did Green win out?" I hear you ask. Well, because while all the above regarding Lotor & Black is true, it's also his outer persona: that's not to say it's a false-self, but rather who Lotor is because he has to be- because he needs to be... but perhaps not who he wants to be. At his heart, I believe Lotor to be an intellectual, consumed with pursuits of the mind, and someone who likes to learn simply for the pleasure of it. He's a curious soul—inquisitive and idealistic and in search of a better world—which, yes, can be best implemented by his Black Paladin traits, but ultimately stems from a very pure desire to understand the universe on a deeper level simply because everything in it is fascinating to him. Lotor doesn't seek control for control's sake, but rather so that he can protect the universe that he is so unabashedly in love with- and yes, that means when out of balance he is a stressed little bean only all the more stubbornly committed to his goals (to the exclusion of all else, again, as we saw with the galra girl squad in the aftermath of Narti's death) because at his core prince Lotor believes not only that he can fix the universe,, but that it's his duty to do so.

#something something the sins of the father #you get it #it's no coincidence that it was Green who reached out to him in chapter 17 #Ao3 Little Blade #sa screams back #prince lotor #altean history & culture #i mean it's not really but i like this one and want it to be easier to find in the future so into the tag it goes #((and to be clear: while I very much like my house-alignment post and think fondly on my hp-drenched childhood.. jkr can get fucked))

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