I am Mon, 34 years old This is my secondary Blog for just reblogs. Because I didn't want my main Art blog to be too cluttered, I created this second blog in the first place. I mostly reblog whatever I like and that comes across my dashboard. This could be art references, sometimes photos/videos of cute animals, a bit about mental health and emotional abuse, and about some fandoms here and there.
Urgh I wanna world build the arena so bad. Like, it's another thing that makes less sense the further into the series you get. I keep coming around to this idea that like, it should be an honour right? The Galra are supposed to be about honourable combat, it being a place where you see your opponents true self, where even Lotor, emperor pro tem, competes to show his strength. Remember, everything about the Omega Shield (you know, the Galra history plot that they decided should be more focused on in the episode where Lance sacrifices himself for Allura as barely a sidenote). Pain of enlightenment. Vrepit sa. Honour about war? The way that Sendak is about the only one refusing to play fair, because we might be an evil empire but we have standards? Should this not be an honour to fight in the arena where the most elite Galra generals also prove themselves? Shiro, as the Champion, is heralded as a hero himself. I just... I dunno, I almost imagine it more like the Hunger Games. Kinda. Like imagine young, trainee Druids having being given/picking their players and enhancing them for the attention and praise of High Priestess Haggar. Imagine it as a big deal, full of sponsors and betting. Imagine the thing Matt was saved from, that was just a heat, it wasn't dangerous really, it was them throwing everyone into a ring to see who had potential on the ship they'd been captured on (look the logistics of Shiro's time in captivity makes no sense, it never has, this is not a hot take) before being taken to bigger arenas. Imagine them actually treating them well, or at least decently, rather than constant torture (I know why we do it in fics, but still) because that's their bet.
Hey, now that it's been over a year since Voltron ended, how do you feel about the way the Paladins dealt with Lotor? I saw another fan describe it as "he was viciously murdered and deemed a monster who didn't deserve redemption by the creators" which kind of sounds like an exaggeration of what actually happened? But I wanted to hear what you think. Most Lotor fans still seem to be very bitter about the whole thing.
Here is my opinion: I think that Lotor as a character throughout the many incarnations of Voltron tends to be a deeply tragic one. Basically every continuity shows him as lied to, manipulated, abused, attacked, and in some sense, there is a thread that Lotor’s obsession with Allura is a kind of desperately trying to be okay.
The other side of this is, in a lot of other Voltron continuities Lotor is subject to a lot of “cheap heat”- that is to say. he does stuff basically to prove that he is disgusting and despicable and that it is morally okay for the heroes to beat him up. I call it “cheap” in the sense that it is kind of like the character writing version of a jump scare- in the sense that it is basically impossible to not suck an uncomfortable breath through your teeth if you watch someone slap a defenseless hostage being kept as a slave, especially when all of said hostages are women. It is not “cheap” in the idea that misogynistic violence is a trivial problem- it’s “cheap” in that this horrible thing is being exploited to make a weak conclusion, “wow, that’s, like, bad and stuff.”
So there’s basically a fork problem with Lotor as a character ‘historically’: he himself is tragic, and he has often been depicted as someone who creates tragedy for others.
Everyone talks about Neil banging out the tunes, but no one talks about the fact that there are four known images of Neil, which document him learning piano in a single day! Now that is talent!
Surviving abuse makes you aware you're not a free or protected citizen in your country. If someone could get away with torturing you, and causing severe harm to you for long periods of time, and there's no reprecussions, that's not freedom, it's not safety.
There are no safeguards against abuse in today's society, and hundreds of ways it can be ebabled and even supported in plain sight. Systems are set up where you end up alone in a place where people don't have to be kind or even humane to you. Where anything can happen and you won't be believed, or even given resources to realize when something's wrong.
That's the reason we can't walk around feeling safe and protected. We know we can get trapped and tortured again and unless we have mountains of proof and endless finances to fight in court, there's nothing we can do about it. We're not free if anyone can pick us out and do whatever they want to us, as long as they hide or reframe it. And if it happens, we'll be told it's our fault and left to deal with the consequences.
Once you're aware, it doesn't feel safe to exist. How would we not be anxious and wary? We're encouraged to trust right until it leads to abuse, at which point it's our fault for being stupid and trusting. We're told we have avoidance issues but it's our fault if we fail to avoid abuse. No system is protecting us but all of them join to push blame on us. We're not the reason abuse exists, but we're made responsible for every instance of it.
An Updated Reference for my VLD Self-insert Monika. It's for my AU version of VLD, titled "Starlight Serendipity".
Monika is a 25 year old human woman from Earth who was part of the intelligence gathering branch of the Galaxy Garrison. They were training psychic remote viewers in honing their abilities to spy on designated targets from afar by using just their mind.
Monika is an abductee of the Grey Aliens (also known as the Zeta) for many years, possibly even exhibiting some genetic tampering by them herself, due to the psychic abilities she displays (which could be a result of the human-Zeta hybridization program).
She befriends Pidge Gunderson as they meet on the top of the Galaxy Garrison building several times as Pidge is attempting to decipher signals she's been picking up from the furthest reaches of the solar system. Monika bonds with Pidge as the latter does not mock her belief in aliens (since Pidge has been picking up alien signals for a while now). Pidge was present the night when Monika was abducted by the Zeta one final time as they were taking her into space with no intention of returning her.
Monika gets recruited into Lotor’s team after Ezor and Lotor bust her out of the Zeta spaceship. She quickly bonds with Ezor due to their shared bubbly nature, and has an immediate attraction to Prince Lotor.
That crush on Lotor quickly deepens to genuine love as she sees that he's attempting to actually save the universe in his own way. Prince Lotor also seems fond of Monika, indulging in answering all her questions about the alien civilizations he encountered in his long life. He is fascinated by how openly vulnerable Monika can be, noticing that she rather prefers to spell things out directly.
Monika has a degree in Biology and can in turn tell Lotor much about Earth organisms. It fascinates her how Galra can seemingly reproduce with any alien species and wonders what the Biology behind that is.
Princess Allura is the biggest thorn in Monika's eyes. She loathes the Princess for her foolishness and inability to actually be a level-headed diplomat, seeing all too often how the Princess is ruled by volatile emotions rather than reason. Though there's also jealousy involved - Monika knows that Allura is the "dream girl" of Prince Lotor, as he told her the tales of the Princess he surely could have married if the tragic events of Voltron's creation hadn't happened 10,000 years ago. The re-appearance of Princess Allura make Monika's biggest fears a reality as Lotor attempts to pursue the Princess romantically. This causes Monika and Lotor to drift apart, though Monika vows to still love Lotor and if Allura makes him happy, so be it. His happiness is the most important to Monika, as she genuinely loves Lotor.
Monika displays undying loyalty towards Lotor, even being willing to sacrifice her own life for his sake, should it be needed. She would rather die than ever betray him.
Though she sees herself as weak, she is rather enduring and resilient. Monika draws a lot, having a habit of drawing out her fantasies about Lotor on paper, though she also uses drawing to record her visions that she gains during remote viewing sessions. Her other hobby is crocheting - she even has made herself a secret Lotor plush toy to cuddle with.
Monika has two psychic enhancer crystals permanently attached to her skull. These were obtained from planet Veluria to help Monika with focusing and increase the range of her psychic spying ability. Her psychic energy has a water-like quality to it and is further enhanced near bodies of water or a sensory deprivation tank. A favorite saying known to psychics from the Galaxy Garrison is actually Shiro's tag line "Patience yields focus".
Despite hating Zetas for all the abductions and experiments they performed on her, Monika bonds with Myutsu (a Half-Zeta) and comes to see him as a brother. Narti is also a close friend, and they can communicate with each other easily through telepathy.
my brain: this probably announces our life is over as we know it. We probably made a mistake somewhere down the line and now the government is sending us to prison. Is there any purpose to living on, it's always going to be like thi-
me, grabbing my phone in panic and clicking the message: oh its an add
One day, you're going to change your mind about something you once defended with your whole chest. When that day comes, you're going to think the sky will fall. Trust me, it won't.
Right now, you believe changing your mind is a sign of weakness. You think once you say something out loud, you must defend it forever. You think that if you switch lanes, people will whisper.
Well...I say let them. You are not a contract. You are allowed to change your mind, and you will have many chances to practice that.
You will choose a career and later realise it no longer fits the woman you are becoming. You will hold opinions tightly and then life will laugh softly and prove you wrong. You will commit to certain dreams, and later dream bigger ones. You will pour into friendships and later accept that not everyone is meant to stay.
Each time this shift happens, it will shake you. But growth is uncomfortable and it stretches you beyond who you used to be. You will outgrow people, places, and versions of yourself - that's just part of life. You are not a sellout, nor a hypocrite. You are growing.
Adulthood is not about planting your flag and guarding it for life. It's about having the courage to move it when wisdom demands it. And I wish I could tattoo this next nugget on your forehead so you never forget: your life is not a public performance, you do not owe the world a permanent position statement. You owe yourself alignment.
So change your mind. Change it when your peace depends on it. Do not hold yourself hostage to a contract you never signed.
Just casually saw ur username and, honestly, iconic. I can relate.
Yesss a fellow Lotor lover! He'll never be forgotten🙏
Honestly, I really want to rewatch Voltron just for him but I'm not sure I want to deal with All That lmao. If I did tho, I might make a compilation just from the times he's on the screen (and mentioned, maybe).
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