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captainkurosolaire · 3 years

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Faith X

Shortly after a beam of light dawned onto the vessel, connected by aetheryte waypoints and also diverged aetheric insignia’s imbued into the Crew’s signets. A tremendous stoic Wildwood Elezen surveyed the sea-vessel in complete chaos. Bodies, sheep, a gory bloodbath all surrounding. A back-holstered staff carrying a bell rang signalling his undeniable presence. Which, to the polymorphed sheep, they drew thinking they were being herded and began munching at his majestic lock’s that flowed to his ankles, but to the sheep, it looked like golden hay. “Halt that!” He winced with irritation, and tugged and resisted before drumming his bottom hilted staff to put them asleep. Closing powerful almighty rich emerald’s hues. He commenced with invoking a spell that asked for nature to tend to them. Arteries nicked were being temporarily channeled through a new stream of branches to flow them again for replicate function. <Light-of-before>, allowed injuries to be timely rejuvenated gradually, each progressiveness to their well being sprouting a petal until a full bloom was made. He could not physically or surgically realign bone fragments only reinforce them with temporary temperance, they would still need the Surgeon. Which meant a lot of the Crew was in for a strict recovery before they saw consciousness. The worst offenders would require him to rechange the shroud plywood and planks into a temporal cutesy sentient little ent who would see to conjuring and keeping their vitals maintained alongside fluids and pumping aetheric compounds into them, the entire sea-vessel, was life support. Scenery didn’t convey emotion from him, despite the Crew being broken by havoc, among the entire roster, he was only here for a divine purpose. Only fulfilling his side of an unlikely pact. The ancient wildwood Elezen was a disciple of the Twelve and in faith aside oath, swore to never use his boundless magical prowess in an offensive manner or inflict severe harm. Despite knowing rituals, seals, wonders of all cultures from somehow, early eons. He carried the languages and teachings of many dwellers of Eorzea. How quite possibly could such a polarizing indifferent person find himself upon the sail of a pirate? As evident that particular treasure hunter had defiled and attained all the Voidal series relics, before they were transferred between him to Shiro, cause, Captain couldn’t maintain their safety. Whilst the Noble had a perfect defense… This outcome was unforeseeable with a lecherous Father using and witnessing all his vaulted secrets, memories to only fulfill, even further levels of resurrecting through accursed blood. If however there was a series of collective occult relic’s of predated times, than of course there remained more, from Sacred Items hidden in Desert Seas, to Beast Tribe heirlooms, but as well the most difficulty dangerous to attain, Relic’s of the Twelve, of his dedicated deities they were owed them returned to their rightful places. Captain had acquired one of them, only to lose it, right after the battle with Shiro who found it. Many left remaining, each hidden, surrounded with mysteries and drawn by varied forces. These journey’s were only catalyst’s to reacquire the belongings of the gods, a sworn duty, only an ancient disciple could undertake. As did the pact between Captain and this Historian. His interest’s and allegiance to the Captain, if there was ever a direct requirement or being led astray from divine purpose, then Zieton would always choose god over mere man. Oldest of fashion he carried all the forebears of his sacred and the eldest ancient race’s burdens. Also, though, inside Captain lay’s strangely a half-soul of Amdapori origins, which also, was his major study, he after-all created the binding rune that allowed Captain to not only contain another soul, but interact with it and bond with it, to contain control, to make a forged pact or find understanding of conflicted halves or possessed farers. To have such staggering wisdom was the crown of the Goldbrand’s crest. With a brief salving of days Captain recuperated before asking for a transported warp to the showdown, under Zieton’s specialty to nearly on touching contact could take others around effortlessly as long met the criteria of the Twelve resting stone’s nearby. A channeled veil of holiest light was placed upon the crucible of certain demise by Zieton when reaching the Elune Estate’s exterior. This not only prevented escape of a portaling dark sorcerer, but also prevented whatever evil intentions he concocted from spilling out to the innocent denizens. They knew Silv’a possessed a majority of the Voidal Relics, with one being already used against wickedest intent; there was no-telling if they’d all be used. “I shall remain and erect this field. You’ll have little less than Three Bells, pirate. Afterwards, I cannot sustain it. I can choose what to let in, but nothing may leave once you tread forth. The Crew injured, and scattered in the Retrieval mission, were all foretold our destination prehanded. From my detection of quantifiable influx aether being drawn here, it’s imminent and likely, you will die.” Giving a realistic callus assessment. Cheeky the rogue mockingly pitched, “Fantastic pep-talk, ye really know how t’ sell it. Listen, I’ll let ye enjoy your erection. All this that transpired is my fault, so I’ve to see through this storm... even disregarding, I’m most certainly going t’ die” Nonchalant soft leather began marching to the entrance of devastating oblivion. A scowling golden skin elf sighed with an exhale. “Captain. One last imparted wisdom, regarding your forearm. You may feel that ‘half’ is empty but with death comes a new ushering of life, it’s a cycle which we live. Now whether what forecomes from that, is decisively up to your nurturing. Should you act upon irrational rage or selfish-serving goals, a carnivorous beast will consume you, aside all others, worse than heretofore. -- Action’s of care will have the opposite effect and give birth to a beast that mirrors… Beyond this veil is a Trial that’ll decide your outcome and judgement of everything.” The Seeker halted and searched his inked forearm which became transparent from the runic binding nearly obsolete. “Just admit ye will miss me. Otherwise got t’ find someone else to undergo your endeavors. Which won’t work or compare, cause I'm th’ stupidest to traverse any wave... And oi’…. When I come back, we’re getting you laid.” So much seriousness wasn't always needed. Truthfully the Elezen could use it, being underground from the current society of things, so his education was limited beyond anything primordial. All the advanced changes were beyond his comprehension. Leaving the Elezen flabbergasted aside a shaken head. He followed and began levitating in meditation with purest concentration to his mighty glamoring shell. The Immortal Age (Previous) << (Voidal Relics) >> (Next)

#The Immortal Age Saga #Zieton Luiard XII #Wildwood Elezen #FFXIV #Tales of the Goldbrand #Seeker of the Sun #Final Fantasy XIV #oc write #Dark Fantasy #creative writing

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littleeyesofpallas · 4 years

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Bleach - Name Games

Had a request to add the LN novel characters’ names, to this series of posts, so here we go!

Tokinada [時灘] Tsunayashiro[綱彌代]: Tokinada = 時: “Time” + 灘: “Open sea,” which is at least easy to read, but I don’t know that that really has much meaning to it? The family name though, 綱: “Rope” + 彌: (A Chinese character not actually used in Japanese, as far as I can see) which in the context of rope I can only assume is supposed to mean, “long/distant” and 代: which again in the context of the other bits I think it’s referring to the now archaic unit of land “Shiro” which is roughly 19.83 square miles. For reference that’s reasonably larger than a town, but less than half the size of most major cities.

There are a few other ways to read those characters individually, but I think the only way they all piece together is, “~20sq.mile long rope.” Also the “rope” in question here can specifically refer to the rope belt worn by sumo wrestlers, which is related to the shimenawa ropes used in Shinto purification rituals; anything enclosed by the rope is deemed a sacred space. So the image the name conjures up is of a “12,700 acre sacred space” which is neat.

Ubuginu[産絹] Hikone[彦禰]: Ubuginu reads 産: "Birth/Infant” + 絹: ”Silk.” And the Hikone = Hiko:彦: “young boy/lad” or more specifically, “prince” + 禰: “mausoleum/ancestral shrine” but also “sacred object/idol.“ So “Silk Infant, Sacred Object Prince.“ Which I guess is supposed to evoke the idea that Hikone is an artificially created soul.

Ikomikidomoe[已己巳己巴]: Hikone’s sword is wacky. 已己巳己: “things resembling each other“ + 巴: “tomoe.” Tomoe being the common shinto symbol sometimes described as a “comma,” you see it on taiko drums, which are also associated with the storm god Raijin(the drums being associated with the sound of thunder), and also the basis of the standard sharingan design in Naruto. The word play is centered around the fact that all the kanji are basically the same shape, and that shape is also a Tomoe, so the phrase “things resembling a Tomoe“ is written with kanji all resembling a Tomoe. But it doesn’t seem to really describe its powers at all?

What appears to be identified as its Resurreccion adds Hououraku Hakkei [鳳落八景] to the sword name, but is confusingly not at all associated with any kind of a Spanish name. The additional title reads, 鳳: “Feng” the Chinese mythic bird broadly associated with the Western Phoenix (same as in Rose’s name) + 落: “Fall/Drop/Come down”+ 八景: “eight picturesque sights" which is specifically a phrase used to describe an old Chinese art tradition where painters would frequently create not just a single work but a series all centered around the same subject, usually a landscape, but not always. So, “Eight portraits of the Phoenix Fall/Descent” which it’s not super clear if that means “Descent” like “The Death of the Phoenix,” or the like “Arrival of the Phoenix from on High.”

Azashiro[痣城] Souya[宗谷]: Azashiro = 痣: “bruise” or ”birthmark” + 城: “castle.” and Souya = 宗: “Religion” + 谷: “Valley” but also 宗谷 is also just the name of an actual place in Hokkaido. His perma bankai zanpakutou’s name Urozakuro = 雨露: “Rain & Dew” + 柘榴: “Pomegranate.” I don’t know that there’s really anything to take from any of these, but I also didn’t read the Spirits Are Forever With You novel.

Then there’s Kuruyashiki[刳屋敷] Kenpachi[剣八]: Obviously his actual given name has been replaced with the Kenpachi epithet, like all Kenpachi, but we’re also never given his former name. So all we have is the family name, Kuruyashiki = 刳: “Clear/Serene” or ”Cold” + 屋敷: “Estate/Mansion/Residence.”

His sword is only ever seen as bankai, and Gagaku Kairou[餓樂廻廊]: 餓: “Hungry” + 樂: “Music” + 廻廊: “Corridor(?).” The weird bit being that the word I think people have identified as “Corridor” is actually 回廊 not 廻廊. But individually it’s 廻: “Round/Rotate/Revolve” or “Circumference” + 廊: “Corridor/Hall,” so it seems like it’s trying to describe either a “Corridor that goes around” or “a rotating corridor” almost like a wacky trapdoor hall in a castle. It’s funny that Kuruyashiki is mentioned to be a close friend of Kyoraku since both their names involve music.

While we’re on Kenpachi, I realize I never mentioned Zaraki’s predecessor, Kiganjou[鬼厳城] Gosuke[五助]: Kiganjou = 鬼: “Oni” + 厳: “Stern” + 城: “Castle” which is pretty straight forward and seems to match his overall look. And his given name, Gosuke = 五: “5″ + 助: “Help/Assist” a generic suffix in male names.

Since Kubo only ever threw him into the databooks it’s not like we can really associate any of the name with personality. He is the Kenpachi Zaraki killed to gain the title. This does seem to establish a trend between the other minor Kenpachi where they’ve all got names referring to “Castles” and “Mansions,” which is kind of curious.

#bleach #KUBO TITE #narita ryohgo #tokinada tsunayashiro #hikone ubuginu #azashiro souya #kuruyashiki kenpachi #kiganjo gosuke

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dammitadolfnomorecake · 3 years

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Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 154

154

Fussing over Lance, Lance sighed for the hundredth time at his boyfriend. He loved Keith. Treasured Keith. Adored Keith. Cherished him with everything he had, but surely their had to be some kind of limit to the amount on guy could fuss over another, especially seeing he’d been fussing over him since early morning. Keith had wanted to cancel their date on account of Lance’s morning sickness. Lance wasn’t having it. He was having his date with Keith and nothing was stopping him. Not nausea. Not lack of sleep. And not Keith fussing over him when he was totally fine-ish.

Keith was taking their date seriously. Lance was seriously kicking himself over the previous day, despite the fact that Keith finally working it out made him stupidly happy. Plus, Keith had enjoyed the evening, even if he had no idea what was happening at the time. His boyfriend had taken this date seriously enough that he’d spent a hefty chunk of time on his phone working out where they were going. Knowing Keith would consider his feelings, he really hoped that Keith had seen how much he wanted to do something with him that his boyfriend enjoyed. Things were better that way. That way they’d both be excited and have more to talk about than just Lance blabbing on and on about his own interests.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’ve got your hands on your stomach”

Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at Keith, Lance wondered where else his hands would be. The twins were moving, like they were as excited as Lance was for this date

“Keith, it’s kind of the most convenient place for them”

“You’re not in pain?”

Lance gave in to the urge to roll his eyes as he replied

“I’m fine. Like the other hundred and one times you asked. I’m fine and I’m excited, but no pain”

Other than the discomfort of having to pee, and the general achiness of his hips. He’d been anxious about the date, being pregnant and all that, but now he was in disguise... Kind of. He had his jumper on that no longer really hid his bump, but the cap on his head his hair, and the thick sunglasses took up most of his face. Coran has given them the okay to go out, as long as they were careful and Lance took things easy. Around his neck was a blue scarf, that Keith had stunk up for him, so he was as ready as he was ever going to be when it came to slipping back into the general human population.

Huffing, Keith drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, waiting for the lights to turn green. Lance clueless and loving that he was

“I’m sorry... I know you’re excited”

“I am. And you’re anxious that I’m not going to like the surprise...”

“A bit”

“Babe. It’s not going to be like super different than normal. It’s you and me, seeing something together. It’s about making memories and not stressing”

“I know. I still... want things to go well”

He would have kissed Keith if Keith wasn’t so focused on not killing them

“They will. Just concentrate on not getting us lost”

Keith shot him a scowl, deadpan with his reply

“You’re hilarious”

Another 5 minutes passed before they were pulling into the parking lot and Lance was lighting up. Being landlocked Platt didn’t have a whole lot of water around it. There was an artificial dam of sorts, where people could swim, boat and fish, and for some reason there was also this place. Platt Aquarium and Animals. Their sign boasted about the conservation work they did in the area. It’d been a long time since Lance went there. Probably sometimes around his first year back at college when he’d only just made friends with Pidge and Hunk. He’d brought Mami along, so she could meet them again, and it was one of those places he’d meant to take Keith on a date to before all the craziness had happened.

Cutting the engine, Keith seemed tense. Lance reaching out to place his hand on his boyfriend’s thigh

“This is it, right?”

“I mean... uh... if it’s not too lame”

Probably a little lame, but by Lance’s standards it was a whole lot of unlame

“It’s not lame. Did you know this place has sharks?”

“It said on the website”

“That’s the whole reason isn’t it? You want to see sharks and tell them their traitors for not having two dicks, don’t you?”

Keith’s cheeks reddened. Lance chuckling. His boyfriend was so cute when he blushed

“It’s fine. As long as you don’t get the compulsion to try punch one”

“I’m not going to punch a shark. Not unless it tries to make you lunch”

Lance raised an eyebrow, knowing full well what Keith meant

“I could support a shark making me a sandwich”

Keith groaned. His boyfriend too stressed to be able to take a joke

“Not like that. Why... How would that even work?”

The mental images shouldn’t have been as funny as they were, he couldn’t help the small giggle at the thought

“Carefully. Seriously, if you keep stressing in going to start stressing”

“But is it enough? I wanted to...”

“Babe, you’re overthinking. This is one of the places I wanted to bring you. I think the names changed, but this place is super cool. I thought you’d love taking photos of the fish”

“So... this is better than a shooting range, right?”

“Much. Let’s go already. I want to see all the fish and the animals. I think they even have bats here. You’re not going to get me confused with another bat, are you?”

“As long as you stay human”

“Well I can’t seem to turn into a bat carting around our twins, so I think we’re pretty safe in that department”

“You’ll let me know if you need a break or anything?”

“Yes, dad. Now can we go in?”

Keith paid for their tickets, Lance already losing concentration when it came to the tanks filled tiny neon fish in the reception area. Keith’s eyes had lit up the moment they’d stepped through the doors, Lance smiling at his boyfriend’s excitement that Keith was trying not to let break his cool calm “adult” demeanour. Keith had probably never got to go to an aquarium as a kid. Shiro had to have taken him, or maybe Shiro and Adam had made a family day of it. Lance hoped so. He hoped Keith wasn’t overthinking him having been there before. Having older siblings meant doing this kind of thing when Mami and Papi could afford it. When he’d been a kid there’d been this face painter at an aquarium they’d been to. Lance had his face painted with as many different fish as he could, then refused to take a shower that night because he didn’t want them to come off. Instead most of them scratched off against his pillow and he’d been devastated the following morning.

Sliding their tickets into his wallet, Keith took him by the hand as Lance moved away from the family wanting to get to the ticket counter. His boyfriend putting his wallet in his back pocket, staring at his feet as he did

“You probably know this place better than I do”

Stupid nerves. Lance wanted to kiss away all Keith’s anxieties. Sure, internally he was paranoid and just as fearful of something going wrong, but if he kept to that chain of thought then neither of them would have any fun

“If that’s your way out of us seeing everything, I’ve got news for you”

“I mean... where do we go?”

There were maps, and three different ways to the exit. Keith would know this if he wasn’t so anxious. His boyfriend had no right being so adorable

“You follow the yellow arrows on the floor until you’re past the biggest tank. That’s the one with the sharks in it”

“And is there anything I shouldn’t do?”

Other than punching sharks? And following common sense? Nope. There was only one “rule” that Lance could think of which would ease both their anxieties

“Yep. But the absolute worst thing you can do here is let go of my hand. I want to see everything here with you”

Keith ducked his head as he squeezed Lance’s hand, embarrassed as he mumbled

“I didn’t mean that”

“I know. Still, I want to hold your hand”

“You already are, dumbarse”

“Yep. I’m not letting go either. You’ll wander off and get lost if I do”

“If anything, you’re the one more likely to wander off”

“Why would I? I mean, like, the best part of the date is you, so why would I leave your side?”

Keith groaned at him, Lance bumping him with his hip

“Come on, mullet. Let’s go see some fishes... I wonder if they actually have mullets here... a photo of a mullet in front of a mullet...”

Keith stepped on his toes lightly, Lance shaking his head as he grinned. This was going to be the most awesome date ever. He was going to make sure of it.

Lance was a vampire in too deep. He couldn’t help himself and now he was lost as Keith tried to make conversation over the “colony of Nemo’s” in the tank they’d stopped to coo over. He couldn’t help but be distracted, and what was worse was that Keith had noticed his distraction. His boyfriend trying to make more of an effort, though he absolutely didn’t need to. Excusing himself to the bathroom. Lance went through the usual routine, before standing in front of the mirror. He didn’t look like he was having a good time. He didn’t look terribly healthy either. There was a major problem he was having and it was ruining his whole date.

Keith was too cute.

Trying to fix his appearance up in the bathroom, he came out to find his boyfriend sitting on the bench looking dejected. With his elbows on his thighs and his figure hunched forward as he held his head in his hands, Lance felt like a douche. He wasn’t trying not to have a good time. He just kept looking at Keith and getting caught up in the expression on his face. The wonder. The innocence. The way he scrunched his nose and put on a posh accent as he tried to pronounce species names. This date was so perfect that his stupid heart was dying from a Keith overload. They weren’t clumsy teens fawning over each other, they were supposed to be mature adults... but that went out the window each time Keith would smile and Lance would find his own smile growing wider. Keith was stressing out and his boyfriend had no clue. Despite how embarrassing it was going to be, he was going to have to tell him so Keith knew the date was anything but awful.

Sitting down beside his boyfriend, Keith sighed heavily

“I fucked this up again, didn’t I?”

Lance’s heart damn near broke

“No. No... it’s not that”

“I thought you’d be happy...”

“I am”

“So why are you... so sad?”

Resting his head against Keith’s shoulder, Lance let out a shaky breath, trying not to cry over Keith feeling so bad

“It’s...”

“It’s me, isn’t it?”

“Yeah. But not the way you think”

Lance cringed at his own words. Zero reassurance right there. Flinching a little as Keith sat up and he was forced to move back

“I wanted this to go well”

“I... okay. This is kind of embarrassing, but I can’t take my eyes off of you”

Drawing his brow, Keith seemed ready to start yelling or internally implode trying to ask what the heck that meant without having quite the right words or brainpower to figure them out. Right. He could do this. He’d comforted Keith a hundred times before... though if that was true than his boyfriend probably should have more rights when it when it came to fussing

“I mean... You just look so happy and so cute that I keep getting distracted by you. And then I realise I’ve kind of mostly missed everything because I can’t take my eyes off you. I’m not not having a good time. I’m just being... weird... because... you’re really cute”

“What the fuck?”

Finally it was Lance’s chance to groan. What part of what he’d said wasn’t making sense

“You. Look. Cute”

“You’re watching me instead of the fish?”

“I’m watching you watching the fish...”

“I start looking at the fish then I see you and my heart goes weird. I’m having a small panic about what to do though. I like being able to talk to you about your interests, and mine, in this case. But I can’t seem to keep my eyes off you”

Keith opened and closed his mouth, before dramatically sighing and ruffling up his hair

“What am I supposed to say about that?!”

“I don’t know”

“You sound like you love me, or something?”

As if that could be doubted. He wouldn’t be having so much trouble paying attention if he didn’t

“I do. Very much. Have you taken many photos?”

“Yeah... I mean... a few”

Lance had the feeling Keith was trying to cover up that most of those photos were of him from the tightness in his boyfriend’s tone

“We should take some more. I don’t want to forget this day”

Keith dropped his head down to kiss Lance on the shoulder

“Where I made your brain go all stupid?”

“Mhmm. If you think I’m stupid now, you should see me later”

Keith cocked his head

“What do you mean?”

“You see, I have this boyfriend. He’s kind of fucking amazing... and he turns me into this massive mess when we’re in bed together. Can’t think at all about anything important other than him. Zero brain cells remaining”

Keith snorted at him, Lance managing to sound to proud and serious at the same time, ruining it by laughing at the end. Keith deserved to feel good about himself. He was wonderful and everything Lance could want. Other people had stared at Keith as they’d made their way through the complex, but Keith was oblivious to their looks

“Are you sure you had brain cells to begin with?”

“My sources say no. I’m sorry I made you worry. I know you want everything to go well, and it is. I love you”

“I love you, too. Though I do think the fish are much more interesting than I am”

“That’s because you don’t see what I see. Just like elbow me if you catch me staring or phasing out”

Lance tilted his head, leaning down to nuzzle into Keith, Keith wrapping his arms around him as he nuzzled back

“Nah. Having you watching me... it’s nice to know you can’t take your eyes off me”

None of the fish compared to Keith. Not the tiny Neon Tetras, or the rainbow of colours of the fake coral reef that the Gropers swam over. The Black Cardinals reminded him of Shiro and the clownfish of watching Finding Nemo for the first time. He didn’t know what fish suited Keith the best, but he’d buy a whole damn aquarium if he got to see Keith so excited every day of his life. Actually, he wouldn’t. His boyfriend would be sad each time a fish passed and they were both pretty clueless over how much went into running a place like that. What Lance really wished was that he could bottle the happiness he felt when he watched Keith’s eyes tracking the fish in the tanks. The way his eyes would widen, or he’d squint to find the fish in the tank, then widen when he’d found his target. They should have picked up Keith’s proper camera. Next time they’d have to come with the twins and the rest of their family. But that’d be okay because he’d gotten to see all these expressions on Keith’s face that made him fall in love all over again.

#once bitten twice stupid #oncebittentwicestupid #ashratherose

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translucentsprinkles · 7 years

Photo

wip because where would we be without marching band AUs

#lance is in color guard fite me #he does rifle and keith does sabre #keith aslo does drumline in outdoor but winter he does guard #pidge is in pit #hunk is either a trombome or tuba or something in the low voices #i spelled trombone wrong whoops #shiro is drum major #my art #viltron #lance mcclain

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ao3feed-keithshiro · 5 years

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Last of a Dying Breed

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2ZVbm06

by KaiserNoire

Keith is one of the marching band drum majors. Shiro is an exchange student and plays the bass guitar.

The marching band needs a bass player.

Words: 2081, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English

Fandoms: Voltron: Legendary Defender

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: M/M

Characters: Shiro (Voltron), Keith (Voltron)

Relationships: Keith/Shiro (Voltron)

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - High School, same age sheith, Alternate Universe - Marching Band, Nerd Keith (Voltron), Punk Shiro, minor appearance of Hunk and Lance, song fic? kinda lol, They sing and it's cute

read it on the AO3 at https://ift.tt/2ZVbm06

#Voltron #Sheith #Shiro/Keith #IFTTT #ao3feed #fanfic

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abrosexual-legend · 5 years

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Aaaaand here I go ( I have too much time on my hands lol) Note: at my school, students can join marching band in 7th grade, so I’ll refer to the youngest members/newbies as 7th graders. We also have winter guard and winter percussion!

Voltron Marching Band Stuff!

Space Dad:

-either drum major or low brass section leader

-maybe percussion

-if he’s drum major he gets super mad at people who don’t watch him (pay attention to the drum major, kids)

-but he tends to laser focus on one kid who’s not looking instead of the band as a whole

-actually might mess up his conducting

-the kind of person newbies are afraid of

-but is actually a sassy queen

-spends an hour on his eyeliner

-helps the guard with their makeup

-is honestly too sassy

-one time he legitimately told the football coach to get the football team off the marching band’s field

-got written up

-said “yolo”

-def cries at graduation after 30 min of trying to stay composed

-takes a break year bc he misses it too much

Pointy Chin

- I don’t care if it’s mainstream

-lance is the saxophone section leader

-he literally only plays meme songs

-*cue mii theme played on repeat*

-he’s also in color guard

-you think Shiro is sassy

-nvm that

- is legit that one person on the bus that airdrops memes to everyone (me and my friends)

-but only does it at 4:30 am and 1:00 am

-rifle is his favorite

-he names it Shakira

-prob sleeps with it in his arms

-expects all other guard members to be on his level of sass

-it’s impossible

-can easily do 9s-13s bc he tall af

-cries at his last show (marching and guard)

-actually doesn’t cry at graduation

Emo Boi

-trumpet -period end of sentence Me: *erases period*

-possibly percussion

-if he gets talked into joining guard, sabre will prob be a favorite

-I mean

-it’s a literal weapon

- what do you expect

-has a soft spot for swing flags and performances at football games

-has a shrine at his house dedicated to band/guard (my friend has a full bookshelf for this reason)

-unlike Lance, he has no patience with new people

-“POINT YOUR FRICKIN TOE FOR MY SAKE AND YOURS”

- has hit people with a flag

-only on purpose

-loves trumpet, but can only play high notes

-he gets so mad about this that he spends an entire night trying to find reverse helium in hopes that he can play a friggin low C

-refuses to cry at graduation

Smol Pigeon

-clarinet and flute

-the first time she was looking at the instruments you could pick for marching band, she was instantly drawn to the small ones

- was glad that she didn’t have to carry a huge case around

-decided to not do guard after lance dropped a rifle on his foot and nearly broke it (his foot, not the rifle. I’m not that evil)

-almost got trampled on her first performance

-one time she got her period on a practice day and at one point simply screamed “I MUST BLEED”

-then she left

-came back five min later and everyone was terrified

- she didn’t get trampled next performance

-never chips a reed ALWAYS CHIPS A REED

-is the person who buys like 20 reeds and just goes through them like toilet paper

-like

-HOW

-doesn’t watch the drum major

-has entire piece memorized after looking at it once

-plays both instruments very well except for when she screws up

-then all hell goes loose

-I’m talking about “silence-Times-Square” type of screw up

-you get the idea

-is sad at graduation, but doesn’t cry

Cinnamon Roll

-baritone boy or tuba boy

-everyone’s favorite

-one time he made everyone cookies

-was worshipped for a solid week after

-loves the idea of playing music for people

- heck, if he can make people excited for a football game, he’s content

-loves everything about marching in general

-doesn’t even mind the field turf in his shoes

-is too pure for the stereotype of low brass land

-can circle breathe(look it up)

-takes him a while to memorize a piece -once he does he can play it flawlessly

-is honestly a blessing to the marching band

-the first time he got a scratch on his instrument he cried

-broke down in tears at graduation

Space Mom

-I feel like she would have played flute in normal band and then dropped it when color guard was an option

-absolute QUEEN

-is legit the only person who has a steady enough hand to do makeup on the band bus

-loves the weapons but is best with the flags

-comes up with most of the choreography for shows

-the one time she cut herself with a sabre she was more concerned about whether or not it was okay after she dropped it

-can actually do a perfect 13 on sabre AND rifle

-her posture is great

-but she can’t slide for the life of her

-can jazz run/walk

-but cannot slide

-her toe is so pointed it looks like she’s breaking it to do so

-it scared Keith to death the first time she pointed it

-hates most of the costumes, but loves the flowy, dressy ones

-kind of expects 7th graders to toss perfect quads on their first day on flag

-understands why they can’t but is still frustrated

-is a great teacher

-the marching band is more sad when she leaves than she is

Hope I represented all the things correctly! I only play trumpet and am in guard, so I don’t exactly know much about the other instruments.

- abrosexual-legend

#voltron #takashi shirogane #keith kogane #lance mcclain #pidge gunderson #hunk garrett #marching band au #princess allura

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voltron-marching-band · 3 years

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more about shiro and allura!

shiro joined the trombone section his freshman year and immediately excelled, going on to become section leader his sophomore year along with adam, who was a junior at the time. his skill not only in his instrument, but also in the way he organized his section was quickly taken notice of, which lead him to be elected junior drum major to curtis, and eventually senior drum major.

allura, on the other hand, was actually part of the colorguard her freshman year despite playing the clarinet in wind ensemble. the next year, however, she auditioned not for the clarinet section, but for the flute section instead. although she wasn’t a section leader like romelle or shay, she was highly regarded for her natural talent and leadership skills and was then elected junior drum major.

#voltron #vld #voltron marching band au #voltron shiro #trombone shiro #drum major shiro #takashi shirogane #voltron allura #guard allura #colorguard allura #flute allura #clarinet allura #drum major allura #allura #trombone adam #trombone curtis #flute romelle #flute shay #i’m so sorry for including shiro’s npc husband in this i couldn’t figure out who else to make it

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thatgirlonstage · 5 years

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Eighteen and Counting

Technically, this is a prequel piece to Written in Sand (and the counterpart to Seventeen and Counting) but it can be read as a one-shot.

Happy belated birthday to Keith! Set between the loss of the Kerberos Mission and finding the Blue Lion.

Read it on Ao3 | More of my writing

The morning passed like any other. Sun slanting mercilessly bright through the window woke him, twisting and shoving the sheet away from him into a pile on the corner of mattress, half of it slipping off the edge to pool on the floor. The water in the bathroom ran brown with dust and sand for a few seconds before clearing, and he raked his fingers through wet hair, shaking strands of black free to slide down to the drain. He dug a protein bar out of the corner of a cupboard and dropped onto his couch to eat it, picking up the calculations he’d given up on in frustration yesterday.

It wasn’t until early afternoon, numbers swimming nonsensically before his eyes, that he tossed the calculation sheet away in disgust and picked up his journal to give his brain a break. As he absently went to write the date, he did a double-take – and then he started counting, to make sure.

Once he’d counted twice, he put the notebook back down slowly and stared blankly at the corkboard on the opposite wall. His eyes drifted to the telltale bump in the map where Shiro’s picture was pinned underneath, and then he deliberately looked away.

“Fuck,” he said under his breath. His voice split and choked from disuse. He cleared his throat. “Fuck,” he repeated, just as soft. He picked up the journal and wrote “Math is stupid and we never should have invented it.” He put the journal down. He stood up and walked to the kitchen, opened every cupboard and looked through them. There were some cans of soup. An unopened box of rice. Boxed mac and cheese. God he was tired of boxed mac and cheese. The fridge and freezer were similarly bare. A few frozen pizzas. Mustard. A single egg. An apple with a soft spot growing on its side. He fished out the apple and ate it, biting around and around the soft spot until it was the last piece growing out of the apple’s core like a tumor. He tossed the apple core in the trash. He closed the cupboards and dropped into a chair, drumming his fingers on the kitchen table for a moment. Then he rubbed a hand over his face, went back into the main room of the house, and pulled the calculation sheet towards him with grim determination.

It wasn’t until long after the sun had set and he’d poked his way mournfully through another meal of box mac and cheese that he let himself think about the date again. He scaled the ladder up to the attic, grabbed a spare blanket, and carried it downstairs and outside. He picked up his telescope as he went. He walked out into the desert, up and over dunes again and again until the house was almost out of sight. Then he spread the blanket out on the ground and dropped down to sitting. After a moment’s hesitation, he kicked off his boots, stuffing his socks inside them, and used them to help weight down the blanket corners. He let his left foot trail off the edge of the blanket, toes curling through sand, cool in the desert night.

He sat there for almost half an hour before he picked his telescope up and set it up properly. Pressing an eye against it, he sought out constellations. He started simple. The Big Dipper. Find the rest of Ursa Major. The Little Dipper. The rest of Ursa Minor. Orion. Pisces. Keep going. Hercules. Cassiopeia. Aries. Andromeda. Draco. Saggita. Find Mars. Find Jupiter. Find Venus. Mercury, Saturn. He swung the telescope past the moon, and it was blinding.

He shoved back from the telescope, lay back on the blanket. His hair spread and fluttered in a puff of breeze, and sand tossed up against his bare feet. The sky was ablaze above him, stars burning away the night. So softly it could be mistaken for the desert wind, he sang.

“Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me. Happy birthday dear Ke-eith, happy birthday to me.”

Birthdays were stupid, Keith thought. They were nothing more than societal constructs trying to make the universe tangible — just more math. A life measured in increments of 365.25 spins of the Earth.

His dad used to bring him here for his birthdays. It was rare they could get away on the exact day, but always at some point during the month his dad would toss him in the back of the car and they’d drive out to the shack for a day or two or three, and his dad would tell him he was a miracle from the stars. He’d show him the night sky, trace constellations with Keith’s chubby fingers, tell him how many light years away each star was and make each number a story. Keith had known the distance to Polaris before he’d known how to spell. He’d never cared much for the maths and science of it, but he liked the way his dad talked about it, as if the stars were a place you could touch if you just reached far enough. Then they would go back inside and he’d get a midnight cupcake with a single candle in it, and he would blow it out and eat the cupcake like his life depended on it. If he had ever made wishes, he no longer remembered them.

After, he’d thrown fits on his birthdays. He would refuse to eat cake. He hated cake, he decided, too sweet and gooey and too often topped with blocks of sugar frosting that tasted like iced cardboard. He had no interest in cards or presents. He just wanted to be left the hell alone. He fled to a tree or the roof or a park and tilted his head to the night sky and painted the constellations with his fingers until he could breathe again. Twice, that was the day he’d run away. At some point, it must have gotten put into his file that birthdays were ‘a problem’, because at some point foster families stopped mentioning it at all. Or maybe he’d just wound up far enough down the list to be with people who simply didn’t care.

Shiro must’ve sneaked his admissions file to find out his birthday, because Keith knew he hadn’t told him. It had sent a jolt of cold fury through him when Shiro, with his infuriatingly gentle optimism, had wished him happy birthday for the first time. He didn’t celebrate birthdays, he didn’t ask to be wished happiness for another year of loneliness, he hadn’t told anyone the date in years because he didn’t want them to know. But he hated lashing out at Shiro, so he just bit his lip and crushed down his anger. To his credit, Shiro never tried to throw him a party or even, as far as Keith knew, told anyone else. Every year, he got a quiet happy birthday and after that first year, a small gift. A new set of gloves. A book on piloting. A Swiss Army knife. He muttered his thank you’s and ducked his head and hurried away. And now, for the first year in a while, he was back to no one bothering him about it, no gifts, no happy wishes, just himself under the stars. So it was stupid, and hypocritical, and completely unfair that for once he wished he wasn’t completely alone.

He folded his arms behind his head to make a pillow and let his toes trail through the sand beside the blanket. He cast his eyes up just as a shooting star crossed the sky, and imagined he could touch it if he just reached far enough.

Reblogs and comments appreciated!

#voltron #keith kogane #voltron fanfic #angst #memory fic #my writing #written in sand #save the knife boy #i'm late but i forgot when his birthday was #and i've been meaning to write keith's version of seventeen and counting for AGES #also i say this in the notes at the end of the fic #but there's a hard-to-spot easter egg for wis #well #it's easy to spot HERE #it's just hard to spot in wis lol #but anyway i'll be impressed if you figure it out

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poisonedfortunecookie · 6 years

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shance fluff week - day 8 - free day

so i decided to do the free day for @shancefluffweek as well so I could write an epilogue for the fic I wrote for day 1 (Tumblr | AO3) since these boys deserve a happy ending. So here it is. Enjoy, and thank you everyone for making this fluff week so soft and sweet ;3; AO3

The fight was over, the battle won. Shiro stood in front of the red lion, his helmet tucked under one arm, the little blue forget me not held in his other hand. The delicate flower survived the battle, safely tucked in the corner of his console. It was an easy win, they hadn’t even needed to form Voltron, but it was one of the most exhilarating battles he’d fought so far. Everything he’d felt in the dream lingered with him with vivid clarity. He could still feel the ghost of Lance’s lips against his own, warm and soft, making him grin like a fool all through the battle. It gave him a feeling of invincibility, and he charged through the enemies quicker, sharper. And even without forming Voltron Shiro could feel Lance through their shared mental link, his presence there, mixed along with the others, but standing at the forefront of his mind after that dream. He could feel Lance’s nervousness and his excitement. He felt the rush of Lance’s heart, beating in time to his own, and heard the hitch in the other man’s breath every time he shouted an order. They were safely back in the castle now, the others sent off with a pat on the shoulder and words of praise, of a job well done. Lance remained in his lion. Shiro knew Lance wasn’t avoiding him, rather taking a few moments to gather his thoughts, but it had been long enough, and Lance was at risk of getting lost in them if he left him any longer. Shiro slipped his helmet back on and switched on the comms. “Lance? You going to join us?”

Lance sucked in a breath, startled. Shiro could picture the way he would blink quickly, those pretty blue eyes wide as they darted from side to side before settling. He smiled fondly at the mental image. “Sorry, Shiro. Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute. Red just needed something.” Shiro can’t hear the Red lion, not like her pilot can, but he got a sense that Red huffed in indignation at that. “I know, sorry girl just play along. Please,” Lance whispered. Shiro pretended not to hear. A moment later the Red lion rested her chin on the ground, her jaw opening and Lance stepped out. “How’s it going, Shiro? Did you need something?” Lance asked with forced cheer and a false swagger to his step as he walked towards Shiro. He lifted his helmet off his head, and his hair stood up at the sides with a hint of static. Lance shook his head, which only made his hair messier. “I was wondering if we could have that talk now?” Lance stopped. “Oh. Right, of course. Talk.” He drummed his fingers against his helmet, eyes darting around like a trapped animal before they landed on the flower in Shiro’s hand, and froze. “You still have that?” “Yeah. It survived the battle pretty well even though Black got knocked around a bit.” Shiro heard a purr in the back of his mind, his lion proudly admitting she helped protect the flower. Shiro thanked her silently before turning his attention back to Lance. “I think I should give this back to you though. May I?” Lance, not understanding what Shiro was really asking, nodded dumbly and slowly lifted his hand to take the flower, but Shiro stepped forward his hand (with the flower) going to Lance's head. He smoothed down the short, flyaway hairs with the tips of his fingers, and then tucked the flower behind his ear again. “There. It really does look better with you.” For a moment, Lance forgot to breathe. “Can we go somewhere now, or would you rather get change first?” Shiro shuffled his feet, his grip on his helmet tightening, suddenly nervous. “Oh. No, we can go now.” Lance sucked in a breath and nodded his head. The flower bounced up and down over his ear. “Great, great. Good. Let’s go.” Shiro turned abruptly and marched off, leading the way. Behind him, he heard Lance’s shuffling footsteps follow him. - ----------- Shiro lead them to a small side room that few ever visit, so it guaranteed some level of privacy, as long as no one came looking for them. There was a large window that looked out into space, a plush yet small sofa and nothing much else. It was a room for relaxation. Shiro sat on the far corner of the sofa, and Lance took a seat on the opposite end, putting as much distance between him and Shiro as the small sofa would allow. Shiro didn’t take any offence to that, in fact, he was glad. If Lance had sat too close, he wasn’t sure he’d ever be able to get the words out. “There’s a field close to my Grandfather’s house that was always covered in blue forget-me-nots. I grew up there, playing in that field. It’s my favourite place on Earth.” “So that was your…” Lance turned to face him. His eyes seemed darker, deeper in the low light of the room. “I’ve always wanted to take the person I fell in love with there. It was special to me and seemed like the perfect place for a romantic confession or something. I was starting to think I’d never get the chance to do that.” Lance’s eyes widened as if he couldn’t quite believe what he was hearing. It took Shiro a moment to realise he’d pretty much confessed right then. This wasn’t how he ever planned to tell him. “I like you, a lot,” Shiro added quickly. It was too late now, so he had no choice but to say it, so there was no room for doubt before Lance can misunderstand or question what happened in the dream and what Shiro meant. “This wasn’t how I planned to tell you. I didn’t think I’d ever tell you. I thought you still like Allura, and I didn’t want to burden you with my feelings.” Shiro bowed his head, looking down at his hands clenched together on his lap. They were shaking. “Your feelings aren’t a burden.” Lance slid closer, the sofa dipping under his weight. “And I liked Allura, I still like Allura, but we’re friends. I know she’ll never see me as anything more and I accepted that ages ago.” From the corner of his eye, Shiro saw him lean forward, his hand raised as if about to reach out, but then he thought better of it and pulled back. “I’ve always admired you, you were my hero, so far out of my league, I never dreamed I’d even be in the same room as you let along fighting alongside you. But I’m just, a spare part, sometimes I think I shouldn’t even be here, I don’t deserve-” Shiro grabbed Lance’s hand. “Lance, you are so much more than that! If it weren’t for you, the Galra would have followed me to Earth and taken the Blue lion, and this war would be lost. She chose you, out of all of us, and you brought us here in one piece. You pick us up when we're down, you supported Keith when he was struggling to lead, and you’ve been amazing as my right hand. Lance, you are everything.” The force in Shiro’s words took his breath away, the conviction in them shook him. Shiro smiled and squeezed his hand. “I don’t expect you to answer now, or ever if you don’t want to. It that kiss was just a whim you went along with because you thought it was a dream I won’t be offended, but I want you to know I meant every moment, and everything I’ve said. I love you.” “I love you too.” The words were so soft, barely above a whisper that Shiro almost didn’t hear them, even Lance didn't seem to realise he’s spoken at first, but in the silence of the room they carry, loud and clear. Lance snapped out of his daze with a blink, and he squeezed Shiro’s hand in return. “I love you too!” He repeated, the words spoken with pride and confidence as if it was something he’d only now been able to admit, even to himself. Shiro laughed, a chuckle of relief that almost broke in a sob. “Can I kiss you?” Lance gave an enthusiastic nod in reply, so Shiro cupped his cheek (the flower still sat above his ear), and he pulled Lance in for a kiss that felt both like a dream, and more real than anything in his life up until then. ------- It isn’t until many years later, the war is over, and they’ve returned to Earth, that Shiro feels brave enough to ask Lance to marry him. Lance says yes. Forget-me-nots are a major theme of their wedding, the little blue flowers woven into every detail, and when they leave the wedding venue together, join by vows to love each other for the rest of their lives, they are showered with a rain of the delicate little blue petals thrown by their family and friends, and they face another beginning together surrounded by the flowers.

#shance #shancefluff2018 #shancefluffweek #shiro x lance #shiro/lance #ific

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bavicheva · 6 years

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okay but…. voltron marching band au

coran is the director, shiro’s the assistant director

h, k, l matt and allura are seniors - pidge is a sophomore

lance is that one type of trumpet player who u expect to be obnoxious as fuck but is actually super humble and talented

keith’s a percussionist, who took it up after shiro (who was also in band as a kid). he’s the drum major

hunk plays the tuba, but he’s on sousaphone during the marching season. doubts himself a lot but everyone knows he’s amazing + that one person who carries a kit that could probably fix any instrument in the room

allura’s a flute player and people mock flutes a lot but she’s absolutely wonderful at it, all the girls are at least a little bit gay for her

matt’s a euphonium player. the one weird kid who didn’t outgrow his minecraft phase until like, 8th grade, but still really good. there’s a running joke about him sacrificing people who say he plays the baritone to the brass gods

pidge plays the clarinet, and she’s probably killed someone with it. during offseason she plays the bass clarinet, even though its half her size????? there’s a running joke thst her actual height is considered a medical mystery

pretty good for a sophomore though

lotor is the second type of trumpet. thinks they’re hot shit, never practices, fucking sucks. never learned how to shut up, probably tries to chew gum while playing

they all collectively fangirl every time ohio state marching band does literally anything because HOLY SHIT ITS OSU DUDE.

one season they played welcome to the black parade as part of a show and keith combusted on the spot every time because yes, he’s still emo in 2018, shut the fuck up

keith and lance are a literal power couple

lance once stored fear into the hearts of all the freshman trumpets when he went off on them for not fucking learning their music. keith immediately decided he had to date this boy

there’s one very specific photo from the yearbook from last year that has coran making the most absurd face (even by coran standards), and almost every kid carries a copy of it in their case tbh

once they sold t-shirts with The Face on it as a fundraiser and made over 1k in a month

lance once got yelled at by his mom for putting The Face over a jesus prayer candle

once at a competition hunk’s spit valve broke and he had to use chewing gum as a makeshift. he doesn’t like to talk about it.

somehow coran got the nickname “papa coran” but nobody fucking knows how it started. it’s been around since before h/k/l were freshmen. keith’s dedicated his high school career to figuring it out [insert x-files theme]

in her freshman year shiro overheard a conversation between pidge and allura and thought pidge was making fun of another student for being gay when in reality she was talking about how much of a lesbian she is

he apologized but she won’t ever let him live it down

pidge and matt single handedly run the meme supply in the band

friendly jokes between the sections (“trombone players are losers, dude” “at least our spit doesn’t end up in our lap pidge” “oH FUCK YOU-”)

at senior night everyone chanted “MR. SHIRO IS ONE THICC BIH” during fourth quarter and shiro almost died on the spot

nobody actually knows how football works but they still scream A Lot, mainly at the ball and not the players

tbh they’re more enthusiastic about it than the cheerleaders

so. many. inside. jokes. including one about coran actually being immortal, but nobody’s really sure if that’s a joke anymore

keith secretly worries that he’s not good enough bc shiro was drum major when he was in band and everyone expects him to be like his brother :,)

halfway during the season keith got bronchitis and couldn’t even come to school, much less play, so lance had to take over as drum major

keith was Very Proud of his bf to say the least

they all fucking sobbed after the bus ride home from their final competition ngl

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myth-and-mischief · 6 years

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How come you feel "Zarkon's early death" doesn't work?

The actual fight itself is very well done. The fight, the ambiance, and the animation isright up there with the other great fights of the series. I also don’t have a problem with and actuallyprefer that Lotor is the one that ultimately ends up defeating/killing Zarkon,since it has a much greater character impact. But I have a problem with the overall idea for several reasons. This mainly relates to the fact that Voltronhas an overall problem of telling us facts/story points rather than showingthem, and that Zarkon’s death so early on in the season is not used to set upeven greater villain(s) and thus comes off as anticlimactic.

Emperor Zarkon reminds me greatly of Emperor Frieza fromDragonball Z. In fact, given Voltron’stendency to reference, they might have even been inspired by/trying to pull aFrieza with Zarkon. Frieza also ends upultimately dying/being defeated very early on in a season. However, this ends up working tremendously asa storyline because (1) Frieza’s position as emperor and terrifying power havebeen repeatedly established for what ends up being a good chunk of the originalDBZ run (aka prior to Majin Buu addition) (2) the time they took to establishhis power and (3) his defeat beautifully sets up a series of increasingly morepowerful and terrifying villains in DBZ afterwards.

The Emperor’s Power:

Frieza ends up being the ultimate villain of the FriezaGroup of Sagas (heading to Namek up the original defeat of Frieza), which endsup being 71 episodes in the original run and 37 episodes in DBZ Kai (whichessentially got rid of filler/ things not in the manga). As it turns out, from the beginning of Voltronto Zarkon’s death in S5E2 ends up being 39 episodes. However most people grew up with the originalrun of DBZ, myself included, so I’ll be referring to the original 71 episoderun. I’d also include the special/movie “Bardock the Father of Goku” in thelineup, since it provides even more background of how Frieza is in power, and howwith literally one swish of a finger he wipes out an entire planet save for ahandful of survivors (sound familiar with Zarkon vs Altea?)

What DBZ ends up doing is working up to its villains. The first is Raditz, who literally leads tothe main character’s death, and then ultimately Vegeta/Nappa, who end upkilling half/most of the main cast. Wellguess what? Those guys WORKED forFrieza. The main characters then go upagainst Zarbon/Dodoria, then the Ginyu Force, which again are increasinglydifficult villains who merely WORK for Frieza. This does end up having an equivalent in Voltron in characters such asSendak, other commanders sent against the paladins, and the Robeasts.

The differences are immediately apparent when we finally getto “the final boss”. Entire episodes arededicated to fighting Frieza. Multiple peoplefight Frieza personally. Then they fightFrieza through several different transformation stages of his that onlyincrease in power before finally getting to his ultimate form and once againkilling off at least two major characters (Krillin, Vegeta). This is finally overcome with the first maincharacter/Super Saiyan transformation of the series and then thinking we’veultimately killed Frieza. We get tophysically see the reasons that Frieza is so feared and has held onto his positionas emperor.

Zarkon, on the other hand and for the most part, we aremerely TOLD that he is powerful. In theentirety of his 39 episode run as the ultimate villain, he is foughtpersonally/face to face only THREE times. This is:

· Zarkon vs. the Red Lion/Keith, S1E11, which lastsroughly 7 minutes. The actual length ofthe fight is even less because there are cutaways to Shiro vs. Haggar, as wellas rescuing Allura.

· Zarkon in his mech vs. Voltron, S2E13, whichlasts roughly 15 minutes. The actuallength is even less since there are cutaways to Allura/Kolivan vs. Haggar/herdruids.

· Huge wait to reach Mech/Suited Zarkon vs. Lotor,S5E2, which last roughly 10 minutes. Andonce again the actual length is less due to cutaways of ½ paladins vs. Galra fleet,and the other ½ paladins rescuing Sam Holt.

An additional problem with the Zarkon fights aside from the firstis the question is how powerful is Zarkon all on his own. Frieza (with the possible exception of whenhe returns in the Trunks Saga) is entirely under his own power and his power isonly enhanced by his personal transformations. Zarkon’s very first fight appears entirely under his own power. But then there’s the second fight, andquestions of how much is it Zarkon’s power vs. Haggar/druids magic assisting/weakeningVoltron vs. his mech power assisting. The same happens with the final fight, how much is purely Zarkon vs. hisarmor vs. the quintessence he is absorbing.

Time:

The 71 DBZ episodes in question, the original English dubrelease in the US ran from 9/20/1997 to 11/3/1999, or roughly 2 years and 2months. This was also released in astandard viewing format/serialized television, aka of either daily or weeklyepisode releases. Because you’re waitingfor a day or a week at a time to see what happens next, you keep that anticipationrunning.

Voltron Season 1 was released in its entirety to Netflix onJune 2016. Season 5, where Zarkon isdefeated, was released in its entirety to Netflix in March 2018. That translates to roughly 1 year and 8months, which is already a shorter time span. The other problem that happens is that while yes you wait between seasons,you can marathon an entire season/the entire show in a matter of hours. This is less of anticipation and moredrumming your thumbs waiting for the next season.

Killing him off earlyin a season/Using his defeat to set up subsequent villains:

In the original DBZ release, there was a short season afterthe defeat of Frieza. Granted the GarlicJr. Saga is technically filler, but it presents a new powerful villain. But directly after that the main heroes findout that Frieza is still alive and coming directly to Earth. I cannot tell you as a child how fuckingFRUSTRATING it was to have Frieza return as a villain because we had alreadyspent so fucking long with him as a villain.

But then FutureTrunks arrives and completely wipes him AND Frieza’s apparently even morepowerful father in almost an instant (4 episodes original, 2 episodes DBZ Kai). It was so remarkable that it’s the entirereason Future Trunks started to become one of my top fav characters in thefirst place. But then DBZ uses what Iconsider a brilliant story mechanic of using Frieza’s insta-death to set up thenext several villains. The entire reasonFuture Trunks came back to the past was because there are two villains sopowerful that Trunks, who just insta-killed Frieza/King Cold, can’t defeatthem. This then sets up Androids 19 and20, oh no opps those weren’t the (an)droids I was looking for. But wait there they are Andriods 17 and 18and oh shit Android 16, who are all more powerful than 19/20. But wait again here’s Cell, who starts outalready is more powerful then them because he can absorb power by killingpeople and is stronger than 17/18. OhFUCK what do you mean Cell reaches his final form by absorbing 17 and 18???

Again, in short, killing off Frieza so early in a seasonworks beautifully because (1) its been thoroughly established how powerful heis and (2) his death is used as the starting point setting off severalsubsequent villains. Zarkon’s death,however, fails on both fronts. He hasessentially been poorly established in how powerful he is. And his death ends up ultimately anticlimacticbecause its not used to do anything. There’sa reason that ultimately defeating a villain is usually saved for a seasonfinale/end of a movie/end of a saga, or at least a mid-season/mid-saga finale, becausethat’s where it works best. If you endup using it at a much earlier point you better have a damn good set-up orreason for doing so (which, again, Frieza’s works but Zarkon’s doesn’t)

What I think the writers should have done to make this workwas use Zarkon’s death to fully establish Sendak. And they appear to somewhat start doing thisbefore shoehorning Lotor in as the villain for that season. Sendak was personally chosen and traineddirectly by Zarkon, and the relationship essentially comes off as Zarkon usingSendak to replace Lotor. We start to seethis in Haggar backing Sendak, Sendak fighting at the Kral Zera, and thenleading the Fires of Purification. Butthen after S6E1, Sendak just fucks off the entire rest of the season, and we’releft with the poorly established/poorly executed/shoe-horned “Lotor was avillain all along!” finale. Granted,Sendak returns as a rather terrifying villain in s7, but I feel its completelyundercut by s6.

What I believe ultimately would have worked better is, postZarkon’s death and keeping closer to the canon we got, continuing to build upSendak as a villain until the s7 finale. Have him be motivated as getting revenge for Zarkon, or that he feelsthat only he is the proper/true successor to Zarkon. Have him keep attacking the paladins/Lotor inincreasingly difficult/ insane manner (like the attack on Omega Shield), suchas killing people/planets just to get at the paladins/Lotor. Needing more power or ships to fight Sendak couldhave also fed into the reason they go to Oriande, completing Sincline, andgetting into the quintessence field, which in canon feels rather disjointed withshaky motivations. Then take Sendak allthe way up to the point of he is either directly the reason, or Haggar throughSendak, is the reason the Castleship is destroyed and the Lions are withoutpower. Then, instead of killing them offlike fish in a barrel, he does something else to hurt them more: letting them know he’s going to destroy Earth,and leave. That in turn would make Sendakan even greater villain in s7.

I also have an opposing idea of directly building Zarkon upproperly for a season then turning it over to Sendak the next season, but thatwould be an entire post in itself.

#vld #voltron #voltron critical #emperor zarkon #zarkon death critical #lotor #dragonball z #dbz #frieza #emperor frieza

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