this is purely speculation, but my guess is that galra live on a combination of on their ships, and on planets they colonized
I always figured something like that, but the thing is that Voltron never said anything like that. You’d think the citizens of the Empire would be pretty important, at least to the Coalition, because they’re all focused on liberating the people from the Empire, and the regular Galrans have suffered just as much as other species-from indoctrination, millennia under an extremely authoritarian government, and the loss of their home world-but the show never lets us see them as anything but soldiers, whether for the Empire or the Blade. The only sliver of actual Galran culture we see in the show, the Kral Zera, is just as militarized as the rest of the Empire. There are hints there, tiny slivers, the idea of some sort of state religion and history beyond Zarkon, but nothing is ever expanded on. The show never acknowledges that the Galra can exist without war, and the most obvious way they do this is by not even giving the civilian Galra that we KNOW exist any kind of home.
SO TO START WITH: Galra at least heavily leaning carnivore is a preeettty safe bet, with the teeth, claws, etc.; which means we’re looking at some really different paths for evolution of social behavior from humans.
I know we all hear humans listed as apex predators - that’s a food chain ecological role that’s oversimplified, not behavior and diet; humans are trooping omnivores that happen to’ve reached a point where not much actively hunts them. Trooping omnivores tend to be in large groups that rely on foraging and gathering as much as hunting, will basically take whatever they can get, and have a large-group communal living space.
Now there’s a thing in the theory side that I’m gonna start with: Anything that builds a civilization has to have social ancestry. This is important because if the evolutionary ancestry wasn’t social enough for things like complex communication to be an advantage, then there’d be no reason for it to develop. Social species have some basic generalities and have to have “pro-social behavior” and social instincts/behaviors - which, contrary to all the media that wants to quote outdated social darwinism, includes things like empathy, social bonding, and altruistic behavior as evolutionary advantages, because some form of “I look out for the others in my group and they look out for me and we share resources” increases the survival rate of the whole group, which means the survival odds when things go south are greater. Rats prefer to free a trapped rat over getting food for themselves, and will set aside a share of food for the trapped rat if they can’t do it immediately, etc.
How social behavior evolves varies a LOT however, depending on why the whole social thing is helping them survive. One of the big factors with carnivores is that carnivores need a lot more resources and usually more territory than omnivores and herbivores to sustain themselves reliably, so when you look at terrestrial social carnivores, there’s two basic models so far. One of them relies on factors that allow for large populations in small spaces as a prerequisite, and the one warmblooded terrestrial species that has it is housecats, who got “overabundant prey in small area” because of humans.
So, assuming Galra were the sapient species, they probably didn’t have some convenient other species setting up scenarios where they’d have artificial large prey populations, which leaves us with the other model - which’s basically pack/pride predators like wolves, lions, and hyenas.
Pack/pride predators work in small, incredibly close knit social groups that spread out across territories. Survival and success depends on the group having enough space to not overhunt, and being VERY GOOD at cooperating and coordinating, which takes very intense and close social bonds within the group. If the group is getting into pointless fights and NOT close-knit and coordinating well, nobody eats, and they starve; close social ties are a matter of survival. Outsiders are a little more dicey, and young adults that left their existing group seeking mates/other territories/whatever will often hang around the edges of the territories of other groups until they either get accepted into a group, or manage to band together with other young adults and stake out their own territory.
(Disclaimer here: The thing about wolf packs having “dominant alphas” that keep position by conflict and in fighting was based on one study where they took a bunch of random adolescent wolves from different places and threw them in a pen. It’s the equivalent of a bunch of human teenagers from different nations and cultures with no familiarity prior being kidnapped and locked in a house. Study of wild wolf packs found REALLY different dynamics and that most of the behavior shown in the “ALPHA MALE” study was ... the sort of thing wolves do when they can’t retreat from a confrontation with an unfamiliar wolf.)
So basically, the Galra equivalent of early humans were probably pack hunters that developed complicated consistent tool use, language, and abstract concepts, then went from there coming up with new ideas and new ways to solve problems and make things to improve on their surroundings, likely living in much smaller individual groups than early humans, more spread out.
And you’re probably looking at something where the path of least resistance socially is very close knit small groups with incredibly close bonds, and .... a lot of “unfamiliar = dangerous and something to be suspicious of”.
Of course when you get into cultural development, you end up with a lot of things that mitigate and alter that, since a lot gets learned and channeled through ideologies, belief systems, and societal norms - things that develop over periods of time as people come up with ideas, share them, and work out rule systems and morality systems to keep their society together and functioning, at least hypothetically.
The fun part is that for one, this actually would be at least a lampshade on one thing with the Galra (I know robot minions is partly a narrative conceit to manage the on-screen body count, but bear with me) and a reason for another.
Heavy emphasis on robots? That isn’t just the current Empire, that was there before, when they were cooperating with all of the others. For one, it’s something that’d really help with the resource problems and make it easier to avoid overtaxing food sources with population density while developing industry, which would also be an issue on restricted-space starships. For two, if the tendency is “comfortable personal space bubble with unfamiliar individuals is MUCH LARGER and there’s a Need for living space that isn’t crowded constantly with unfamiliar people”, it gives a kludge around that to avoid the other problem with population density in starships and restricted spaces.
(For what it’s worth, there is a human parallel - there’s a lot of public space design, especially in urban areas, even down to things like waiting rooms that’s meant to make it easier to choose or predict interaction, to mitigate some of the stress of crowding and the energy drain of unexpected/unwanted interaction. Factor in something where there’s reason for a bigger personal space bubble in public and more strain from unexpected and/or unwanted constant social contact, and using machines for a lot as soon as that’s a possible option becomes a pretty rational solution.)
The other one is the tendency to focus on discipline and structure. The Empire’s taken it to an incredibly toxic extreme, but it’s there in the Blade of Marmora as well, and is probably a requirement for any time there’s a lot of Galra in a given space or working on a given goal; it’s a lot easier to get around reflexes to be uncomfortable with unfamiliar individuals of there’s at least a set of ground rules and patterns of engagement with an understanding of common goals that everyone can follow regardless of whether or not they know each other, and giving something for a shared sense of identity to mitigate the “who the fuck is this” when dealing with people outside of the ones someone is familiar and close with doesn’t hurt, either. Self-discipline as a virtue means self-control and working on when it’s appropriate to act on strong reactions for social ties or “I don’t know you and you’re in my space” and when you need to sit on it.
And as far as close ties go, loyalty definitely seems to be something that’s a very strong value with all the Galra.
Also Keith’s abandonment and trust issues are stupid common in kids that went through foster system or unstable childhood situations..... and wouldn’t be helped by essentially pack-predator instincts nobody knew about to teach him how to handle. (Also “when someone does get close, social ties are REALLY INTENSE AND MAJORLY IMPORTANT” - gee I wonder who that sounds like here...)
Okay so let me get something from the finale straight, the Galra are not supposed to have glowy yellow eyes? That is the quintessence. So not only has the quintessence corrupted Zarkon, but his subjects have also been treated with quintessence. Which is a reasonable explanation for why Lotor (other than being half Altean) has irises and pupils along with the rest of the pre-Galra Empire Galran people.
Correct me if I’m wrong, feel free to add?
Sweet lord -- It’s Thace. Out of all the Galra, and all the headcanons I’ve built for the various characters, Thace is the most sexually charged. Even though i really enjoy looking into motivations for the others. Sendak is really very demi -- bordering on ace. Haxus is very focused on one of two mates, Sendak or Thace. Ulaz is very focused on his medi-engineer stuff, and Zarkon is way too focused on the black lion and universal domination. Kolivan could be very horny, but he pushes that all under a wall of duty and purpose so he doesn’t lose sight of the mission for the Blades. Thace, however, is an old soul. Back from when the empire thrived, he was a military Galra who looked to court anyone who would entertain the idea of belonging to a strong, warrior male. In fact, when he set his sights, he would not be detained.
a blade member taking a romantic interest in keith and that being the way the paladins are introduced to galra courtship, keith learning things about how that side of his blood mates weather or not he reciprocates the blade members feelings
See, I love this very much because if Keith has lived all of his life (or most of it) on Earth with no knowledge of his Galra heritage, then there’s so much he can stand to learn from the Blades. This doesn’t just mean mating, but also things like feast days or cultural habits and rituals, even right down to the language.
But in particular, mating is a crash course. A Blade giving him some kind of gift like another weapon or some kind of hair ornament or something, and you know Keith. He’ll give an awkward but well-meaning “thanks….?” and incorporate it into his small but treasured collection of possessions. He won’t think another thing of it until it happens again.
Kolivan: Where did you get that [thing Keith is wearing/holding]?Keith: This? Oh, [blank] gave it to me.Kolivan: *eyes narrowing* And how many of these things have you accepted?Keith: Two………….why?Kolivan: We need to have a talk about Galra courtship.Keith: Galra WHAT?
Kolivan would totally have a talk with the Blade member in question and gently chide them for starting a courtship with someone who didn’t understand the rules. No, it doesn’t matter that he’s half-Galra, there’s more than enough indication that he didn’t even know that before he showed up for his Trials. Keith didn’t ask for an apology, but the other Blade gives it, and Keith says if they really want to apologize, then please teach him.
One of the things that carries over in my headcanons about the Galra is that it’s been so long since Zarkon went nuts and severed ties with the Black Lion. His sole focus has been universal domination and his cat. Forget any Galra feast days or any of the other traditions that they used to have. Their home planet is gone, what’s left of the race is spread across multiple planets across multiple galaxies. Finding the right Galra alive who still remember and can pass on those traditions to younger Galra is extremely difficult. In my mind, there are very few of those left, so the current generations of Galra have no idea they’re supposed to be celebrating anything but victories in the war and handling their entire mating actions and seasons by relying on instincts alone. It’s pretty sad when all is said and done, and Keith is lucky to be a young one that spends time around older Galra who might still remember. Kolivan and Ulaz (and probably Thace) are in the small number who can pass those traditions to him.
I like thinking that maybe Keith can revive that side of the Galra by being a paladin who is fighting to end the war.
Thoughts on old pre planet destruction Galra formal attire?
Anon, you are hitting on two of my favorite things -- Galra and fashion.
I headcanon that there used to be several different class systems in effect, which means that there’s an opportunity for all sorts of different styles to have been a part of Galra society.
In the noble/highborn class, I feel like there was a lot of silk-like materials -- flowy and elegant. Their necks were covered, and they were very reserved. It wasn’t until very late in their courtship that they showed vital places.
In the warrior class, having their arms free to move and fight with weapons was important. As was a fabric that was sturdy and comfortable to wear for long periods of time.
Armor was reserved for the highest of the military class, the ones that were on the front lines.
I’m pretty sure I have more headcanons, but I’m especially taken with the formal noble types with flowing tunics and sleeves. Or furs that show how the strong hunters of the warrior class could survive and provide.
