#katyaps

okay so like……. Do y’all remember the scene in season 4, ep 1, “code of honor” where Kolivan physically drags Keith out of the room from saving the other BoM member (I believe his name was Regris)?

This moment. Right here.

Kolivan KNOWS Regris will die. He’s fully aware Keith will too, if he allows Keith to go back inside for Regris. (Then he’ll be down two soldiers instead of one.)

Obviously the VLD fandom is not the best (lol that’s putting it mildly) but one of the things I especially don’t like is that some people tend to soften Kolivan far too early. He starts out (and for most part, continues to be) as a highly tactical, analytical leader who leaves no room for emotion. He’s literally told Keith (NUMEROUS TIMES!!) things along the lines of “emotions are a luxury we cannot afford.” He is pragmatic and extremely logical, allowing no time for big dramatic *feelings*.

personally I headcanon that it’s because he’s probably been fighting this battle for too long. He shows hints of this too. He’s tired, and probably emotionally broken. He might have even lost friends, family, and who knows how many other Marmoran members to this war. He tells Shiro in the first episode we meet him, “So is the fight against the Galra. And yet that is the battle we face,” or smth along those lines, when Shiro points out Keith’s trials are unfair. He sounds weary and exhausted in this moment. He KNOWS there will be too much bloodshed.

I dig into this in my own fic, so again, part of this is just speculation on my part, but I really wholeheartedly believe that Kolivan is a hardened soldier of war who’s just lost too much and sacrificed too many lives. He has a very, very small, soft, compassionate core that is absolutely drenched and BURIED under war strategies and military leadership. It only very slightly begins to show up in later seasons— the biggest hint we get is when he comes and waits for Keith to wake up in season seven’s finale with Krolia. And that’s after THREE SEASONS of knowing this guy.

idk, this is just smth that hit me while I was rewriting the Kral Zera episode for my fic. Like, Kolivan is a smart leader, but it probably didn’t come without a cost. People aren’t born to be so analytical. We’re taught to value feelings and emotions. Kolivan doesn’t, not because he doesn’t care or because he’s cruel, but because he’s most likely just been through too much.

(which allows for SO MANY angst opportunities lol. But anyway.)

chapter 11 --fall of the castle of lions-- out on Wattpad, Quotev, & AO3.

so sorry for the late update!! had some health issues + family problems, and we moved locations recently. I'm trying my best to keep up with everything but it's a little difficult.

like. it's same thing w/ the voltron paladins too. Pidge, actually, is like 15 when they first find the Blue Lion. like. yes ofc they're anxious and nervous and panicked and want to play video games. I would too.

man these poor kids are so traumatized

Romelle girl I feel you <3

my AuDHD ass would die if I had to listen to those lions roar when they’re RIGHT NEXT TO ME

so there’s a moment in the musical “Come From Away” where Hannah, the mother of the kid who’s a firefighter, she says, “I’m telling you, listen, my son, he takes risks. He’s not missing; he’s helping or hurt.” I believe it’s in the song “I Am Here”.

which like… kinda hit me?? Like this woman has watched him grow up, has RAISED him, has probably SEEN him take risks, has potentially stayed beside him in a hospital room or helped heal his burns or scrapes from accidents or falls or other dangerous sitches. I know CFA is based on real people, so the fact that this is real somehow makes it even more painful to think about. She KNOWS her son. She KNOWS that he’s out there helping people. And she can’t do a damn thing.

it’s just… idk. It’s one of those like, moments, that really make me appreciate come from away because it’s so raw emotionally. Not only is the music an absolute bop (“I am an islander, I’m an islander”) but the sheer emotion behind the lyrics and dialogue really reminds you of the tragedy of this day.

I was born after 9/11 but some days I feel like I’ve vicariously seen it bc of stories like these. Naturally nothing will compare to sheer horror that these people went thru, and I am so deeply sorry for all those lives. Reminds me how to precious life is. (“So many stories, just gone.”)

narratively speaking, it DID give us one of the most epic battles throughout the show, even if said battle ended in an unsatisfying way.

We have Shiro & Sendak, who have been enemies since literally DAY ONE (well, more like day three, but the point stands)— since we see them first go head to head in combat during season one, “Fall of the Castle of Lions”. and Sendak's firmly established as a villain & antagonist. Like no weird redemption arc, he's just Evil. Shiro despises him, is probably slightly scared of him, and wants nothing more than to take him out.

and then in "Crystal Venom", Shiro ejects him from the ship out of fear/panic/trauma trigger and it is clearly shown that he is indeed not to be trusted & that he isn't a good guy. The rest of the episode, Shiro's clearly shaken up from his interaction w/ Sendak and Team Voltron still treats him as an antagonist.

and then he shows up again in season six, "Omega Shield". We don't rlly face him directly much in this ep, but he DOES show up & he is the one who causes the main conflict (that being the disruption of the shielding station). And again, Shiro's angry at him, again probably scared of him & his fleet, and so he fights hard to keep the citizens safe.

all of this leads up to season seven, "Lions' Pride Pt 1", where they have the epic showdown/rematch that was always meant to be. They are paralleled in a lot of ways, some of which are pointed out by Sendak in "Crystal Venom", such as both having robotic arms and both being in command of a fleet/group/team (in Shiro's case). So this rematch feels RIGHT (even if how we got there doesn't lol).

Shiro's weak-- the battle has been raging for what I'm assuming to be at least several hours (at MINIMUM it's two hours due to Sam saying towards the beginning of the battle that they have two hours until the beams intersect), which leaves him both mentally & physically drained. Sendak is desperate-- his plan is falling apart around him, and he sure as hell can sense his impending doom coming. His cannons didn't work and now his ship has lost power for a reason he doesn't know other than "Voltron".

Their fight is intense, desperate, mostly hate-filled, especially on Sendak's side ("every ounce of my being will be directed toward the destruction of you and your pathetic planet!"), and by no means a fair fight. Sendak has the upper hand (literally lol), just like he did WAY back in season one. Shiro uses his arm to fight in the battle, again, just as he did in season one. Sendak gains tactical advantage in combat & is able to bring Shiro down, just like season one. And again, just as in "Fall of the Castle of Lions"/"Tears of the Balmera", Keith runs in and saves him from Sendak, and in this battle, specifically, he outright kills him.

The only real opposing moment is that, unlike before, it is now Sendak whose crystal has been destroyed & whose ship is out of commission, rather than the paladins.

Interestingly, if you listen closely, you can also hear the music from "The Black Paladins" playing, specifically the bit during Shiro & Keith's fight. I'm not sure if this was done to save time/money on music choices, or if it is a deliberate callback to how Shiro & Keith's relationship has progressed, but either way, it's a fun tidbit.

however, while the ending is really nice in the sense of 'oh my gods, Sendak's finally dead', it is unsatisfying for Shiro's arc because he has to be once again saved by Keith. It does work narratively-- Keith has consistently saved Shiro countless times before & during the show, but it completely undermines Shiro's character. he's not able to hold his own, not even against Sendak, when, after all this time & training, Shiro should arguably be stronger/more equipped to handle an opponent like Sendak. It could be argued that he's already weakened significantly by the prior battle, and so that's what stopped him, but then why is he immediately seen getting back to help command the Atlas in the next episode, despite his grievous injuries? Regardless, while it's nice to see Keith come in and save his mentor & brother, it ruins the point of Shiro's character, which is that in spite of his disabilities/weaknesses, he can still triumph against evil. Having Shiro be able to take down Sendak, or at least deliver the killing blow (if we must keep our boi Keith in for angst purposes), would've felt so much more satisfying and just overall strengthened Shiro as a character. Keith can join in as support or help him return to the Atlas, but at the end of the day, it would've been SHIRO who took down the Big Bad Evil Guy that has been plaguing him since, again, literally day one. This, to me at least, feels so much stronger for him.

HOWEVER. While I don't like the approach that the writers took with how they chose to end this epic rematch, I do deeply appreciate these three frames:

like. I'm sorry. not only are these two men absolutely drop-dead GORGEOUS, but they're so... happy?? and I mean fluffy-soft-happy, not like 'oh-I'm-faking-it-happy', but like real, genuine excitement & happiness & sheer joy at finally being free. Their faces, their whole bodies-- like you can see the exhaustion (especially with Shiro, my poor guy) and you can see they're injured and just need some sleep, but like man. They are so, so ecstatic at their victory. <3

(and then the robeast comes lmao)

chapters 7 and 8 posted on all platforms!!

Quotev

Wattpad

AO3

enjoy!!

hm. so I wrote out the ENTIRE. ARC. for every character. and every chapter. of my VLD fic. and now I'm rereading it and I either hate it, or wrote too much, or i'm like "???? What was I thinking??" bc I have a tendency to write when I should be sleeping.

I have like 35 pages of the whole plot outline of the fic. And I really wanna add in cute lil fluff of the Voltron team but like lowkey the show moves so fast that I just don't know where I can do it.

anyway.

chapters 7 + 8 still going to be posted tonight by midnight. I'm just reviewing everything and putting final polishes.