#kullo

Raising Paladins? IN 2023?!?!!?!? Apparently so.  I was rereading the fic a bit and saw an art in it. And instantly? I wanted to draw it again. But better. So here I am, redrawing this piece three years later. And I’m pleased. The lighting is better. It feels more natural in how she’s sitting. And she’s still got that old yupper plush. Perfect. 

In South Africa, such dances as the Zulu Indlamu, the traditional dance most often associated with Zulu culture, is performed with drums and full traditional attire and is derived from the war dances of the warriors. Also, the military influence of the warrior King Shaka is reflected in demonstrations of stick fighting (umshiza) with which the male teenagers and men settle their personal differences in a public duel.

The Jerusema (or Mbenede) dance of the Zezuru people in Zimbabwe is an interesting kind of hybrid war dance—"hybrid" in the sense that music and dance formed a part of the actual battle-field preparations, themselves, as well as of the ritual dance recalling the battle.(The Zezuru are one of the Shona peoples who were the builders of the great monuments of the Monomotapa kingdom in Zimbabwe between the 10th and 15th centuries.) The dance is a re-creation of a battle strategy developed by the Zezuru in the 19th century against incursions of other tribes in the wake of colonialist expansion of the Boers. The dance, itself, recalls the music and dance used as a diversionary tactic on the battlefield to distract the enemy while Zezuru warriors maneuvered into position; thus, the ritual dance involves the music and dance of the “distractors” as well as warriors with weapons moving into position.

Ethiopia has a long, historical reputation as a place where the weapon dance plays an important cultural role. According to Lucian, a Greek writer from the 2nd century, “The Ethiopians dance also during the battle. The Ethiopian never shoots his arrow without dancing and making a menacing gesture beforehand. He wants to frighten the enemy by his dance beforehand.” The broad range of weapon dances includes the hota jumping dance of Amharic males; the attack dance of the Hailefo; the stick-dance of the Kullo; the Beroronsi Hama Haban, a dramatic dagger dance of the Esa; and the shire, the saber dance of the Tigrean nomadic shepherds

Drawing up this lovely trio! I wanted cute chibi-ish versions of them, especially showing Drek and Kullo in the Altean flight suits and with helmets on. It became more and now, hoping I have the sizes right, they are perfect for cell phone wallpapers!  And look! They’re even, in part, colour coded! Drek and Kullo are part of the green team! I have blue on Drek’s because it suited him and because he can be competitive (in a fun way) with Lance, our precious blue boy. And pinkish purple just suits Kullo. It’s a cute colour and he’s a cute Galra. 

Some lovely headcanons for if Lance develops a not so subtle crush on Pidge. @rueitae asked for it and you can quiznaking believe I’ll deliver. It’ll cover the main family she knows and loves, even Sendak. So! Without further ado!

Matt

Supportive all the way

He knows Lance and though a goofball, he knows Lance would be good

He would give the usual “if you hurt her I will hurt you, that’s a promise and not a threat” talk

He may tease Lance constantly about it, but he means well

“Don’t worry, buddy, I’ll find out if she likes you, too.”

Drek

“Wait, what? You like her!? As in… like that?!”

Extremely protective over Pidge; they’re like siblings

Will try to block Pidge from Lance’s view

Pupils shrink in agitation when he sees them interact more closely than they should as paladins (as in sitting close to play video games or Lance knitting Pidge a scarf and putting it on her; it’s innocent but he doesn’t care)

May get aggressive at times but won’t actually threaten or hurt Lance

He vents to Kullo and is afraid that Pidge will leave them for a possible boyfriend

“I can see what’s happening and they don’t have a clue, they’ll fall in love and here’s the bottom line, our trio’s down to two.”

Kullo

Doesn’t know if this is a fleeting crush or serious

Will tell Lance a few things about Pidge that she likes to help him bond with her more

Thinks Lance is a nice guy

May give tips on how some Galra court each other

Will teach Lance a few affectionate terms and phrases in the Galran language

Haxus

Talks cries to Kolivan about this

“She’s fifteen! I know even Galrans have little loves like that at that age, even younger, but she’s my baby girl!”

Asks the others about Lance to determine if he is the right guy for Pidge

Talks to Pidge to make sure she doesn’t jump right in and marry the first guy (Lance) who asks her on a date

Also teaches Pidge how to handle a guy and reminds her to hit him if anything goes wrong

Is not afraid to give Lance “the shovel talk”

Will watch Lance closely to make sure he’s not up to something

Sendak

Does not approve of Lance or anyone for that matter

“You want to date my daughter, then you must fight me for her honor! Victory or death!”

Very protective of Pidge

Openly threatens promises harm upon Lance, especially if he does anything wrong

He’s got one good eye and you can bet he’ll keep it on Lance

“I don’t know how to program, but I will learn and I will program a sentry to keep you away if I must.”

If Pidge one day decides she really likes Lance and wants to date him and asks Sendak not to be mean, he will be putty in her hands and treat Lance like a member of the family

This would terrify Lance and make him wary and worried that Sendak kill him at any given moment

But wait. We’re missing the most important part about these headcanons.

How would Pidge react?

So…

Pidge

“Um… what? Like me? I mean we’re friends but...”

Is confused and not sure how to handle things

Probably asks Coran or Allura for advice because they would be more impartial on the subject

If Pidge likes him, she would try to tell Lance in the Galran way

She would probably be nervous and flustered, not sure if she was doing things right or not

She may run away and hide in a pile of stuffed toys

If Pidge doesn’t like him, she won’t make it awkward but she’ll also try not to make it painful on Lance

she would continue being his friend and work well alongside him as paladins

Well, I hope you guys enjoyed these headcanons.

Should’ve been finished days ago, but I was caught up in other things.  Ah! The Raising Paladins AU! I like to think young cadets still get downtime to themselves and to contact family and friends. So! Have Pidge sitting in her room and contacting Drek and Kullo at the base they’re stationed at for training!  And look! She has a stuffed Yupper plush! I thought she needed a toy and I thought about a St. Bernard plush I used to have, so I had to give Pidge a big ol’ floppy toy. Judging by the patches and stitchwork on it, she’s had it for most of her life.