Precious Baby Boy

Born of the deeply indulgent VLD keitor AU, Little Blade, and the fact that I, the author, have the self-control of a walnut, this blog exists as an endless fountain of headcanons & worldbuilding that I very much hope you will enjoy ♡ Please refrain from asking after specifics regarding that which may or may not occur in the future narrative!

[lilflowerpot]

Sometimes I think about druid halfling Keith whom Haggar favors and a traitor prince Lotor who rips him away from her influence and takes him for his own, at first only for his immense magical power but then something more

I think about druidic!Keith-meets-mama!haggar c o n s t a n t l y

[lilflowerpot]

Can galra have astigmatism? I have it and it's literally the bane of my existence, doing anything at night with all the lights around makes me feel like a mole at a rave. Galra already don't like bright things, so I can imagine how much having astigmatism would bother them

As astigmatism is typically caused by an imperfection in the curvature of the eye—with either the cornea or the lens having mismatched curves, resulting in blurred distance and near vision—it, much like colour blindness, is a natural variation that I've no reason to believe the galra as a species would be unilaterally without. As you've rightly assumed, however, it would drive them positively mental. Fortunately for them, the Empire's medical science is easily advanced enough that any Imperial citizen could be rid of their astigmatism with little more than an afternoon of simple corrective surgery!

[lilflowerpot]

so you've talked a bit about Voltron and Last Airbender on this blog, and I was wondering about what both the galra populace in general and Lotor specifically would think of Zuko's refusal to fight his father. would it be viewed as noble or as disrespect/cowardice?

Zuko's conduct would be considered noble, but Ozai's was disgraceful.

Zuko: "If I'm going to lead this nation one day, don't you think I need to start learning as much as I can?"

One of the very first things we see of the events leading up to the Agni Kai, is Zuko's reasoning for even being present in that war council in the first place: he is determined to learn from his father and those whose council the Fire Lord keeps, so that he himself may be properly prepared to wear the Fire Nation crown when that burden ultimately falls to him. This is not only noble, but dutiful too, and shows an incredible level of self-awareness & responsibility given that Zuko was only t h i r t e e n at the time.

When one of Ozai's Generals explains his plan to sacrifice a division of entirely new recruits to an Earth Kingdom battalion, intending to use them as a diversion with the self-confessed expectation that they will all fail and die, Zuko's response is one of outrage—

Zuko: "You can't sacrifice an entire division like that! Those soldiers love and defend our nation! How can you betray them?"

—and this is exceedingly telling of his moral character. Where all the veterans in that room take this to be an acceptable loss (and the General who suggested it in fact seeming quite perversely pleased with the idea), Zuko views these untested greenhorns not as pieces on a board, but people; his father's people, one day his people, and though everyone in that room sees great value in them and their loyalty to the Fire Nation, Zuko alone thinks not of how to exploit this but rather how to be worthy of their devotion rather than see it misplaced.

So from a galra perspective, Zuko has many of the qualities that I previously expressed would win Keith favour:

straightforward without a taste (let alone the aptitude) for mind-games

stands with absolute conviction and is willing to fight for what he believes in

kind, considerate, and loyal

Iroh: "The Fire Lord became very angry with him. He said that Prince Zuko's challenge of the General was an act of complete disrespect, and there was only one way to resolve this. [Agni Kai, a fire duel.] Zuko looked upon the old general he had insulted and declared that he was not afraid, but Zuko misunderstood. When he turned to face his opponent, he was surprised to see it was not the General. Zuko had spoken out against the General's plan, but by doing so in the Fire Lord's war room, it was the Fire Lord whom he had disrespected."

Now this is actually crucial to understanding Zuko's character and sense of loyalty, because he never intended to disrespect his father, and frankly I don't think he had any idea that Ozai had even taken offence until he was stood across from from at the Agni Kai.

Zuko: "Please, Father! I only had the Fire Nation's best interest at heart! I'm sorry I spoke out of turn!" Ozai: "You will fight for your honour." Zuko, falling to his knees, head bowed: "I meant you no disrespect! I am your loyal son." Ozai: "Rise and fight, Prince Zuko." Zuko: "I won't fight you." Ozai: "You will learn respect, and suffering will be your teacher."

By the end of this exchange, Zuko is on his knees, tears literally streaming down his face, and trembling like a leaf. He is terrified, and yet, despite that, we are explicitly told that Zuko outright refused to fight his father—nor did he resist in any other manner, or so we can assume by the placement of his burn scar being the entire front half of his face, rather than on his arm had he shielded himself, or on his back had he run—and thus Ozai further condemns him, claiming that Zuko's refusal to fight him had been a display of "shameful weakness."

This would be significant to the Galra threefold.

For one, and I cannot stress this enough, Zuko was a child. As I've reiterated a thousand times children are precious to the galra, immeasurably so, and therefore to raise a single hand to a child is grave offence, but to not only burn them so severely that it scars, but make a public show of it?? That kind of cruelty is an outrage. If Zuko was wrong, he deserved to be corrected and educated (something he himself actively sought hence his attending the meeting in the first place!), not mutilated.

For another, there's the scar itself. Horrific as the circumstances surrounding its acquisition were, from a galra perspective Zuko's handling of the situation was befitting of the greatest of warriors. Imperial attitude towards scars are such that they are generally considered badges of honour: something to be revered and even reveled in. A scar is the mark of a battle survived, and in fact, the only instance in which a scar might be treated with disdain is if it were on one’s back, as this might imply either foolishness for having turned away from your enemy, or, worse yet, cowardice due to the bearer having tried to flee rather than fight. Zuko, however, despite his youth, despite his fear, despite not deserving it in the slightest,,, faced his father head on and accepted Imperial judgment. There are fully-fledged warriors ten times his age that would struggle to do the same, and that alone is worthy of the highest commendation.

While the galra would consider the Agni Kai itself a perfectly acceptable method of resolving an otherwise unsolvable dispute, the bare minimum one would expect would be each participant knowing who the other was and on exactly what grounds the challenge was set. So finally, even if Zuko were an adult who spoke out against a plan that his Emperor endorsed, he did so without knowing that his Emperor endorsed it: Ozai at no point made this clear, we know from context that this was Zuko's first time in the war room (so he had no prior frame of reference for what was / wasn't appropriate), and upon learning that his father had taken offence he immediately //throws himself at his feet in sincere apology and pleads for mercy//... there were several steps that should have been taken before resorting to rite of combat, and Ozai disregarded each and every one in favour of making a malicious point. It wasn't behaviour befitting of any galra in a position of power, but least of all the Emperor.

Ultimately, the galra consider it the Emperor's duty (or, in this case, the Fire Lord's) to serve and protect the Empire and all its citizens; yes, sometimes this is going to come at a steep cost, and yes, sometimes the good of the many may indeed come at the cost of the few, but irrespective of whether Zuko's opinion at the war council was right or wrong, Ozai's reaction was entirely disproportionate. For all the galra are a people with a strong sense of loyalty to their Emperor/Empress, this is something that’s supposed to go both ways, so they will remain loyal to their Monarch only for so long as said Monarch is loyal to their people in return, and absolutely nothing about Ozai's conduct surrounding the Agni Kai indicated that this was the case.

Tldr; Ozai's a POS, thanks for coming to my ted talk.

[lilflowerpot]

rodeo star Keith/city slicker Lotor

maybe Keith is wounded in a bull riding accident and Lotor is his doctor

maybe Lotor raises/sells horses, and he meets Keith on business when selling some of his wilder broncos to the show

maybe Lotor is a manager/sponsor for jockeys who happens to end up at one of Keith's shows and realizes immediately that this boy is wasting his talent

okay this is such a fun concept but you have just inadvertently fed me the idea of a Westworld au and oh my godddd

[lilflowerpot]

"It's not a kink thing" Fair

However

Which parts of the worldbuilding *are* The Writer's Barely Disguised Kink?

(Ask was sent in jest and feel free to ignore if uncomfortable)

my kink is keith & lotor being happy and in love, and feeling safe in the knowledge that they have each found in the other someone who has known them at their very worst and yet stands by them regardless 💜

[lilflowerpot]

Happy new year flower🩷

Thank you my love!! Happy (exceedingly belated) new year to you too 💜

[lilflowerpot]

Ok first, your world building is quite literally the most skilled I have ever encountered!!! And two, what would it be like for garrison seniors and teachers to have a meeting with voltron, seeing Keith's growth and how highly Lotor regards him?

I've quite cleanly covered this one!

[lilflowerpot]

I like to think the garla randomly get the zoomies. Like a random galra person could be just chilling the the most infectious erge to just run around and jump around just hits out of nowhere

This is soso funny asdvjahfsdk okay so adult galra might get... restless, from time to time, but with decaphoebs of discipline and experience they are able to control these urges until an appropriate time / place presents itself.

Kits, however, are fucking feral little things that will just go

[lilflowerpot]

Heyyy I hope your doing well and I hope your resting and not wasting all your free time answering these! Don't forget to drink alot of water and sleep at least 6 hours night. I just wanted to know your thoughts on how Lotor would react to being at the garrison. Meeting his last bullies, classmates, least favourite teachers and so on. How would he respond to both them and Keith. Would he show him off more or something like that? Again rest plenty and only answer when you feel like it.

@stinkyexhaust: So if Lotor were to find out about how much of a prick James was to Keith, how do you think he would react? I mean I don't hate James in fact I think he honestly could have had way more screentime to showcase more of his personality and backstory, especially in regards to Keith.

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Honey if I only got six hours a night I would be the living dead, but this is very sweet of you nonetheless ♡

I've been asked something of a similar vein once before, as well as the Garrison's reaction to Keith's relationship with Lotor, and I'll repeat now what I said then: it's an important thread of the keitor dynamic (to me at least) that Keith & Lotor strengthen one another by allowing for personal growth beyond simply fighting on their partner’s behalf. So while Lotor mightn't be fond of certain figures from Keith's past—particularly given the little he learnt in chapter 24 about Iverson's handling of the Kerberos fallout—he knows and respects that Keith is more than capable of fighting his own battles, and wouldn't want to interfere with that (something something, galra sense of honour, you get it).

...All that being said, would our favourite prince be practically chomping at the bit to let it be known that he is the man who gets to stand beside Keith Kogane, Blade of Marmora, Paladin of Voltron, and Love of his Life? Yes. yes he would.

With regard to James specifically, it is my personal reading of his relationship with Keith that it was a very poorly handled mutual crush, and yet it was this very antagonism between them that pinged the galra part of Keith's brain in all the right ways. The altercation canon showed us in s7ep01 (which, despite LB being canon-divergent post s4, does in fact remain canon within my narrative bc I actually thought every insight we were given into James & Keith's past was impeccable) wherein James insulted Keith's parents, was a classic case of projection on his part; James strikes me as a privileged kid whose family expected nothing less than perfection—for him to be the best of the best at everything at all times—so I think that effortlessly-exceptional Keith getting the group into trouble simply because he was bored led to an exceedingly cruel comment,,, but I don't believe James actually knew Keith was an orphan when he said what he said.

Naturally, Keith (and we as the viewers with full knowledge of his backstory) assumes James intended to end that taunt with "before they died / abandoned you" but I'm not convinced. James could have just as easily been about to say "before they shipped you off to the military / halfway across the state / out of sight and mind" which I think is exactly what happened to him, leaving him understandably hurt, bitter, and desperate to prove himself. So yes, James—as a volatile teenager with abandonment issues, and oh look, who does that remind you of—fucked up, and payed the price of Keith's fist in his face; ultimately though, I think of Keith as having long since moved past it, and if he doesn't hold a grudge against Griffin, then why would Lotor? Particularly when, by galra standards, that specific instance was been resolved through rite of combat, and the rest of their relationship was, to an Imperial eye, just normal teenage brawling ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[lilflowerpot]

Hello flower! I hope you are safe and well. I have come to ask you a question how would the galra react to abusive relationships??

galra courting rituals | traditional galra courtship | platonic vs romantic | cheating | marriage | proposals | closing / rejecting a relationship

Though you didn't specify what type of relationship you were referencing, I got the vibe you meant romantic, so all the above are posts discussing that in particular. In terms of abuse, I think I've only focused upon that twice before: once in regard to child abuse, and once concerning domestic abuse in the Imperial Household, the latter of which I believe will be of the greater interest to you.

Essentially, Imperial culture surrounding intimate relationships is built upon the idea of proving yourself to be your partner’s compliment—someone who matches their strengths and counters their weaknesses—and they yours, forming a union that aspires to an equilibrium of humours. Every aspect of courtship is about proving yourself strong, capable, honourable,,, worthy. To abuse your partner (be that physically or emotionally) would undermine every aspect of that, and therefore be not only repugnant behaviour, but distinctly ingalran.

What with the galra being a strongly collectivist culture, it is considered their duty to care for one another as fellow citizens; to mistreat someone you don't know would be outrageous enough, but to be consistently, maliciously, and systematically abusing someone you supposedly "love"??? There would be legal ramifications, naturally, but in extreme cases the perpetrator maybe even be disowned by their bloodline (as detailed in my post on child abuse), being declared Liir tron cu Aaskh and having their right to claim any blood-name other than “Cuaaskhli” revoked, thus branding them a soulless disgrace and social pariah for the rest of time.

[lilflowerpot]

Considering the post about Galra theatre, the Galra would probably LOVE indian cinema. If you've watched any indian films like RRR (pleaseeee watch RRR it's sooo goooddddd) then it's basically the blueprint for what the Galra like. If you haven't seen indian cinema though then ignore this ask lol

I unfortunately cannot claim to be particularly knowledgeable about indian cinema at all, but having just watched the trailer (which was dramatic af) and seeing as RRR comes so highly recommended, I'll be sure to add it to my watchlist!

[lilflowerpot]

corporate wants you to find the difference between these pictures [lotor vld] [astarion bg3]

...................................................okay.........okay yes, I'll admit it, I'm an astarion girlie, of course I'm an astarion girlie, just LOOK AT HIM he's my type to a damn T, are you really surprised??

tall dark & deadly

inhuman

grey-moral bastard

intelligent beyond reason

powerful beyond being reasoned with

emotionally unavailable

can cut you with their stare alone

"is that a knife in your pocket or are you just h- that's a knife."

the prettiest bitch on the planet (may or may not have killed their competition to ensure this)

colour palette as chilly as their demeanour

✨gaslight gatekeep girlboss✨

could and would burn the world for their goals (and, more sentimentally, the people they love)

[lilflowerpot]

Hiiii flower! This has beeen eating me alive and I just have to ask because I think I’m going crazy is there a post about lotor having a past lover/love interest?I swear I saw one but I can’t find it and im thinking I’m fixated so much on little blade that im actually dreaming/imagining about them🤭

IF he did have a lover what happened to them? And is that character going to be in little blade

Also how would keith reaction be if lotor had or has a lover and he still falls in love with lotor how would keith react to realizing that he fell in love with someone that already has a partner or has had a love interest in the past?

ALSO is that (possibly fake/real) love interest the reason that lotor doesn’t get involved with other people?And since I know it’s mentioned that he doesn’t get involved with them because of Haggar does that mean that Haggar has done something to this person(Ex, past possibly still in love partner, past dead partner?)

Sorry I know that most of these questions can’t be answered but im still curious and I been thinking if its just my imagination making these post up😭.

Also have to know (not related to my last questions) if Keith would to have met sane Zarkon and Haggar and lotor would have been born in the future around Keith’s birth time also if they would have been lovers with the original story line straying from canon then would Haggar and zarkon approve of Keith?

Jesus I’m very very sorry for all these questions I been reading your older posts and honestly it’s been piling more theories and questions and since summer is up and school is back up again and me not putting attention in class I been thinking more and more about little blade it’s ok if you don’t answer bye flower have a good day/night/afternoon♥️💜

I cannot express how relieved I was when you acknowledged that I can't answer most of these questions, because when someone's so clearly enthusiastic and I have to be like "irrespective of whether I confirm or deny this, it's still going to be a spoiler" I always feel so mean 😭

As for whether there's a post explicitly delving into Lotor's romantic past, though it's entirely possible that I've let the odd tidbit slip here and there, I believe I've been rather particular in avoiding addressing that topic in full; I do have thoughts on said romantic history, naturally—Keith's too, as a matter of fact—but that is something for which you shall have to be patient and wait for the story-proper to take its course.

Keith, I think, would be more surprised if he were to learn that Lotor //hadn't// a romantic past than had, I mean... he's a literal prince and looks like that?? The only thing he's reasonably certain of is that, regardless of whether there was/wasn't someone like that in Lotor's life at some point, there isn't anyone anymore, for the simple fact that Lotor's arrival on Voltron's doorstep seemed quite obviously the move of a man with nowhere left to turn.

Your last question is one I actually can answer, or rather, I've already done so! Both for uncorrupted Zarkon, and also as the man he was before the rift ♡

[lilflowerpot]

In pidge’s chapter of perspectives, she mention that her ‘second Great Epiphany descends upon her like a particularly malicious version of her Grandmother at Thanksgiving’. This genuinely had me giggling because like what did her Grandma do😭😭✋

Picture this: 4'10", italian, habitual cheek-pincher, and utterly convinced that Coleen & Sam aren't feeding her grandbabies nearly enough (said grandbabies are forcing down their third helping with tears in their eyes but she's still piling more upon their plates, send hELP)

[lilflowerpot]

ive been reading ur worldbuilding posts quite literally all day while listening to ur keitor playlist gah i love ur fic sm time for my 3rd reread

i l o v e y o u 🥺🥺🥺

[lilflowerpot]

Hi! I just binged Little Blade a few days ago and I adore it, the culture and world building and characters are so great and well written. I was wondering, in regards to a previous post I read referencing Galra religions, what else there was, if you've made them yet of course, and more in detail of the Druidic church and religion. Do they have ceremonies or trials to enter the church or when they are promoted to higher positions?

major galra religions | traditional funerary rites | funerary rites in the modern empire | druidic genetics | the druidic church | mythological creatures | Daibazaal's origin myth

I think the above posts are all those focused upon some aspect of galra religion, but it's entirely possible that I've missed a few (so if one I've ignored immediately springs to mind, do let me know).

To be honest with you, I've not created any more religions than those discussed in my original post, and don't have any real plans do so—constructing an even vaguely fleshed-out religion is hard enough, and I did it four times over!—but I am more than happy to elaborate further on any aspects in particular that you're interested in ♡

So far as entering the Druidic Church is concerned, to be a follower of the faith is as simple as sharing their beliefs (all are welcome to come and go as they please so long as they do so with respect!), but to become an active member of the clergy there's... not trial per se, but there would be something of an initiation not unlike a christian baptism. This would traditionally be held at night and begin with the participant being gently blindfolded—remember, Sa is the Void, therefore darkness is the divine mother Herself—before being led to the site of their initiation: typically sacred ground of some kind, be that a temple or place of natural blessing (ie. an oasis). Here, a Druidic Priest(ess) would be waiting for the participant, along with any family / loved ones invited to bear witness, and they would be guided to kneel upon the sand, palms set atop one another in front of their knees; like this they will remain while scripture is read (which piece varies, but most are in reference to the celestial womb as the participant is, in a sense, being "born again" with this rite), and when the scripture is done the participant must fold themselves over to press their forehead against their knuckles, prostrating themselves before Sa. The officiating Priest(ess) will then douse the participant in quintessence-infused-water from their palms, after which the initiate may arise, newly anointed, as a deacon of the Church.

The handling of promotions within the Druidic Church can vary massively depending on where in the Empire you are, and what particular sub-branch of the Druidic Faith you follow. There is no clear-cut ceremony for that sort of thing, it's more at the discretion of one's direct superiors, and therefore the requirements / way in which it's carried out are as diverse as the galra themselves. The singular constant across the Empire in this matter is that for a Druid to go from being a Priest(ess) to a High Priest(ess), the individual in question must acquire formal recognition from the Archivist, as the only one with the authority to appoint this level of seniority among Sa's chosen.

[lilflowerpot]

The Galra don't do anything halfway, least of all relationships.

True! They are the ultimate ride-or-die and nobody can change my mind.