Founders with s/o who’s struggling with depression and alcoholism 💔
This request was made by @akimurachang (@nakaakiko) and since i’ve already had some ideas for a scenario/situation like this, I decided to write it. Thank you for requesting this and for trusting my capacity to write it! Also, I hope you can forgive me for taking this long to do so. I will try not take so long to make requests from now on. Please people be patient with me, I'm trying my best XD
So here we have the Founders finding out their s/o has problems with alcohol and depression because of the proof that’s all over the place (broken bottles, etc.). How would they react to this? What would they do to take care of their loved one?
I’ll be using the same scenario for all of them, which is they going to their s/o’s house to find out why they didn’t attend to a mission about which they talked the day before and then finding s/o lying unconscious in the living room with a dripping bottle around.
Fandom: Naruto | Founders
Symbols: 💗 | ◻ | ▶▶
Warning (s): mentions to depression, emotional exhaustion/trauma and alcohol, minor injury
Hashirama 🌱
The thing with Hashirama is not that he doesn’t know that something’s not right; instead, his first reaction is to refuse to believe in his eyes
But all the signs are there for anyone to see
The missions you didn’t attend to and never justified your absence
That time when you casually met in the village and he noticed you were talking too much with a strange alteration in your tone
Somehow a mess in your house that persists and seems to increase in the weekends
A broken bottle you tossed into trash and that small cut in your hand you got while taking out the glass
Your physical tiredness (a result from your habit of using alcohol to replace food) and a decrease in your reflexes and other skills as a ninja
Hashirama is not stupid; he sees all of this
But is hard to accept that you, his strong, brave and lovely s/o could be a victim of such thing
That day when you don’t apply for the mission about which he talked to you the day before, he goes to your house to see if you’re okay and what he sees there is heartbreaking
You’re lying unconscious on your living room’s couch, and a bottle is dropped, its content dripping out and staining the floor
He takes the bottle out of the way and looks closer at you. You have an exhausted expression, your lips had some remaining drops of alcohol on them and your cheeks were wet with what he noticed to be tears
He takes the bottle to the kitchen and tries to wake you up
You wake up dizzy, with a some sort of numbness in your muscles and a terrible headache
When you recognize Hashirama by your side, you suddenly remember the mission
But before you can speak, he explains that he already sent other person in your place and that for now you have to take care of yourself
He tells you to stay where you are, because he’s going to run you a bath
When everything is ready, he takes you to the bathroom and helps you to take off your clothes and to find the shower
After the bath, he takes you to your room and leads you to bed, saying he’s going to prepare some food (it’s obvious that you’ve spent the night before and the morning drinking and haven’t eat anything)
He brings the meal to your room and doesn’t let you leave until the bowl is empty
Then he tells you to take some rest. He leaves eft a wood clone with you in case you need something while he cleans the house
With all the minor inconveniences fixed, you have time to focus on the primary stuff
Hashirama has a way to make people be honest while talking to him, and this works on you too
You tell him your story with alcohol since the start, when you drank for the first time and when it became a real problem. You reveal to him what you feel before, during and after drinking, your fears, your insecurities, your reasons and your failed attempts to stop
He is a good listener, has empathy as no other, and most important, he’s never judgmental
He assures you he would never be disgusted or look down on you because of your problem, which was your biggest fear and your reason to not speak out before
Hashirama is not he most practical person around, so he has a hard time creating measures to help you
In this matter, you show to be more prepared than him: you suggest not leaving anything that reminds you of alcohol at your sight, not going to places where they offer alcohol and things like this
He uses your suggestions to create codes you can share in case you need immediate help
You reschedule your free time to keep your mind occupied with the things you’re good at: if you feel useful, necessary to yourself and the village, your self love and self respect will grow, and with them you will to overcome your problem
He also says that if you feel comfortable, you two can seek for advise with someone who’s been through the same as you
It is true that after some weeks of improvement, there are some relapses and you are caught drinking again
And maybe Hashirama doesn’t show necessary firmness when this happens
But he compensates this with his ability to transmit the strength of his will to other people
Hashirama doesn’t let you give up on yourself, because he knows that this is the key to your cure and he wants you to be aware of that too
When you are with him, you feel like everything is possible and that even someone with your problems can be saved
Tobirama 🌊
Now, with Tobirama things seem to happen faster
Because he's not blind to the signs
So he doesn't take long to take some action
He has been observing your behavior for a while now, but never interfered because he was hoping that you would reach out to him sooner or later
But this doesn't happen, and when one day you don't show up to the mission you were assigned to just the day before, he decides to stop waiting and to do something
The first thing Tobirama feels about the situation is frustration
He thinks you weren’t being honest with him for all this time, and that you don't really trust him
In his mind, it means that to you he's not important enough for you to share your stuff with him
Tobirama doesn't say anything. He just goes to your house to confront you for your reckless attitude
Yeah, you might have some trouble in your personal life, but neglecting your obligations? That's too much
However, none of his previous observations have prepared him for what he finds there
Lying on the couch, unconscious, visibly exhausted and with a bottle on the floor right under your hand, you were nothing like the person he knew
He starts to question himself: did he take too long to do something to help you? Was it his fault?
Being the practical person he was, Tobirama doesn’t waste time with deliberations and approaches you
He’s not a medical ninja, but he doesn’t have to be to understand what happened there: you emptied that bottle, passed out and didn’t wake up because you probably started drinking late at night
He also notices that the skin of your face is a bit clingy: tears rolled down on it hours before
Tobirama’s first measure is to create Shadow Clones to work on your house while he is going to take care of you
While there’s a clone organizing the living room and other two or three verifying the conditions of the other rooms, he uses his sensory abilities to examine your chakra flow
It’s not that good
He uses some basic healing technique to bring you back to consciousness
When you wake up and understand what’s going on, you try to explain and apologize all at once, but he tells you to stay quiet
You do it, and he runs you a bath. But you can do it by yourself thanks to the jutsu he used on you, he goes to your room and comes back bringing you clean clothes
While you dress up and such, he goes to the kitchen to prepare some food. The Shadow Clone he sent there tells him about broken bottles he found on the trash. He dismisses the Clone and decides to talk to you later about this
You come to the kitchen and he puts the bowl in front of you
All the time you stay there in silence. It’s hard, after what happened, to have Tobirama’s eyes on you and not feel judged
You’re in the middle of the meal when you stop eating and break in tears
You hide your face in your hands, so you don’t see him approaching; you only notice it when you feel his hand on your hair
He invites you to a calm place where you can talk without distractions
You accept the invitation and he uses his Hiraishin to take you to a river’s shore
At first, you don't know what to say and he doesn't know what to say to encourage you. But you have known Tobirama for a while now, so you have no choice but to accept that the first words won’t come from him
You don’t try to justify yourself or explain your feelings right at first. You just tell him the sequence of events
He listens to you without interrupting, nodding to confirm he’s following everything. It’s always strange when you have to open your heart to him, cause these emotional matters are not his specialty
Still, he tries his best
He doesn’t sugarcoat anything: he clearly tells you how disappointed he is, not just because you failed with your appointment but mainly because you didn’t reach out to him
He says he wants you to trust his capacity of doing anything on his reach to help you
He then explains that he’s going to be by your side for anything you need, but you’ll need to fight for yourself if you want it to work
You explain that periods of depression and relapses are common for people in your situation, and that it’s not going to be easy for him to deal with you when they happen: your previous partners gave up on you during the process
You are going to need his strength, love and patience for the whole journey
Tobirama looks in your eyes and states that you are not just his loved one; you are part of the village, part of his family, and he won’t give up on his family without trying to save them with everything he got
Madara 🔥
Well, don’t get me wrong in this one
Madara loves you and cares about you as much as the other Grandpas
But unlike them, he has a hard time to understand that even the person he loves most has their flaws and makes mistakes
With all your qualities, abilities, and after all you have been through, how could you fall for such thing?
Yes, Tobirama also finds it difficult to understand that you have a problem that you can’t fix all by yourself, but with Madara the whole question is about strength
It was never a secret to you that weakness disgust him
nd to him, your problem with alcohol is exactly a weakness
So how can he find himself by the side of someone like you? Impossible
But the evidences are all around: the appointments you’ve missed, the alterations in your behavior during weekends, the mess in your house, the headaches and tiredness on Mondays
There was one time when he noticed a cut on your hand and immediately knew it wasn’t caused by a kunai or any other weapon
When he questioned you, you lied. He knew it, but he didn’t dig deeper
However, now its impossible to close his eyes to what’s going on
You didn’t show up to the mission you had together, so he goes after you to find out what happened
When Madara finds you lying asleep on the couch, with a bottle that must have slipped from your hand and now stains the floor with the last drops of its content, he’s confused
He really doesn’t know what to think nor how to feel about the scene
He checks your vital signs to understand the seriousness of your situation
You’ve been unconscious for a couple of hours, but your heartbeats are regular; your levels of chakra seem to be normal as well, but your reflexes will be impaired for a while and you won’t be able to stand up and walk without help
When you finally wake up, you find Madara sitting next to you. It’s clear that he has been there for a long time
You’re experiencing a terrible headache and it seems that your body doesn’t respond to your brains commands
He approaches and helps you to sit on the couch
You can’t look in his eyes. You’re so ashamed that he found you in such state that you’re unable to say anything
He helps you to leave the room and says he’s going to take care of you
You’re aware of the Clone he sent to other parts of the house under the excuse of “checking if everything is in order”, but you don’t argue; you just nod and let him manage things
The first thing he does is to take you to the bathroom. You watch while he warms up the water and brings clean clothes for you
You’re so tired that you don’t even try to protest when he helps you during your bath
It’s also when he notices more marks all over your body that remind him of that one you had on your hand
When the Clone disappears, he receives his memories and finds out that you’ve tossed some broken bottles on the trash. It’s when he finally realizes that this shattered glass are the origin of your injuries
He finds some medicine for the recent (and more serious) ones and lets you resting on your bed, only returning to bring you warm food
You think of refusing it, but it smells so good and you’re so hungry you’d just eat everything in five minutes if he wasn’t there to stop you
He then brings some medicine for the headache
When everything seems to be fixed, Madara tells you to take some rest, explaining that he will return later, and you agree in silence
Days after that, your first attempt to discuss the problem is a total failure
Like, it’s clear that Madara is concerned: the idea of seeing the person he loves following a destructive path like this is intolerable
But he’s divided between this feeling and his vision of strength and weakness, which influences his manners and his talking
So every time he says “you have a weakness”, it sounds like “you are weak”
You’re already in a fragile state, both mentally and physically; you sense you won’t take this for so long
You try to explain your side to him, but he doesn’t seem to understand
Finally you become angry enough to tell him to just leave instead of wasting his precious time with a burden like you
There’s something in Madara’s silence that seems to tell that he regrets the way he talked to you, but no apology comes from his mouth and he in fact leaves
The days pass and your situation only gets worse: while you drown in your alcohol addiction, he suffers for both of you but doesn’t take action anyway
When your absence is noticed by other ninjas (in the village itself and in missions), Madara puts his pride aside and goes after you
He comes at the last moment
You’re on a pitiful and also dangerous state
He immediately takes you to the village’s hospital and asks Hashirama to examine you, which he does, not without scolding his friend for his attitude
This time, Madara is too desperate to argue
He spends day ad night by your side, and makes it clear how much he loves you
When you wake up again and find him there, you read the regret in his eyes
He tries to say something, but you dismiss his attempt, making a sign for him to approach
You say that you current situation is like the one a war would put you through, and that you can’t get out of it by yourself:
“I need the greatest warrior beside me to win”
He kisses your forehead and holds you as tight as your conditions let him
“No. I need the greatest warrior beside me. Forever”
Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4 // Part 5 // Part 6 // Part 7 // Part 8 // Part 9 // Part 10 (Final)
Character/s: Reader x Carisi
Warning/s: mentions of kidnapping
Word Count: 2,171
Request: Hi! So, idk if you will be up for writing a kind of crossover, if not it's totally okay. I was thinking reader being a detective in chicago pd but they go help svu with a case and she and carisi (still detective) have something ?? First meeting and stuff or more deep as in long distance relationship and reader gets pregnant so one of them have to leave their city ?? Idk I want you to feel comfortable writing whatever inspires you more. Amazing work btw!!
Summary: When a child abduction case crosses state lines in New York, Intelligence flies out to meet the Special Victims Unit and track down the missing boy. With the clock ticking, both units decide to mix up partners in order to combine their knowledge of the case with knowledge of New York City, pairing Intelligence’s newest member Y/N with Detective Carisi.
“I’m telling you boss, it’s like he’s just vanished,” Adam insisted, leaning forward in his chair as he spoke to Voight, who was standing in front of a whiteboard filled with potential leads and locations of your suspect and his son, Logan, who he kidnapped in the early hours of the morning, none of which had panned out.
Voight looked increasing frustrated, and you didn’t blame him, the father and your suspect, Ronny had just been released from Statesville for assault and battery of his former spouse and older child. You were all scared for this boy’s safety and well aware of how quickly the odds of survival decreased as the clock continued to tick.
Jay and Hailey had interviewed the family, the mother Claire and his older sister Josie, and were now at Hailey’s desk going over the statements, with Jay obviously sat on it instead of on a chair. Kev and Vanessa had gone to the prison, talked to Ronny’s cell mate and old friends, the warden, anyone who might have overheard him mention any plans. Leaving you and Antonio to review any surveillance, put out BOLOS and search the bogus address Ronny had given his parole officer.
You’d all turned up a sum total of nothing.
“There has to be something,” Voight addressed the room, facing his unit with conviction, “go back over what we’ve got so far, we must have missed something, overlooked something, anything.”
Adam spoke up again and you knew why, he’d already gone back over the witness statements, reinterviewed everyone with Kim who said they might have seen or heard anything in the neighbourhood, it was a dead end. “Listen-”
“No, you listen,” Voight snapped and you winced a little, you might have all been thinking the same thing as Ruzek, but he was the only one who usually ever said what was on everybody’s minds, putting him on the receiving end of Voight’s temper. “Unless you want to go downstairs and tell that terrified mother that her son’s ‘just vanished’, you shut up and do you job, clear?”
You’d been in the unit a couple of years now and you were damn proud to be here. No matter how frustrating this was, you still had faith that you would catch the bad guy, this unit did it’s job and it did it well, you just hoped you wouldn’t be too late for Logan.
Ruzek begrudgingly nodded and so did the rest of you even though Voight hadn’t waited for an answer, heading straight back into his office. Turning back in your chair to your desk, you looked to where you were midway through re-combing the surveillence in the area for any sign of a vehicle Ronny might have fled in. He only had one registered in his name, and you and Antonio had found it less than a block from the foreclosed house he’d put as his current residence. Someone had clearly been squatting there, but there wasn’t anything useful in the house or in the beat up old car.
You were just starting to think that maybe they had actually vanished off of the face of the earth when Trudy made her way up the stairs. “CCTV camera just picked up Ronny and Logan, dyed hair and new clothes but facial rec seems to be a match,” she announced, getting all your attention as Voight made his way out of his office.
“Where?” He asked her, noticing the not so triumphant look on Trudy’s face.
“JFK Airport,” she replied, met with annoyed sighs and confused looks. How had he gotten there? You were shocked to say the least, you and Antonio had made sure to call all the airports in Chicago to make sure this guy didn’t flee.
“He’s in New York?” Hailey looked to Voight, waiting like the rest of you were to be told what to do next.
“One of his old prison buddies relocated there last year,” Kev told you all, rifling through his paperwork to find the information he was looking for, “yeah, Ryan O’Connell, got a rep for making people disappear, some that want to, some that don’t.”
“Looks like we’re going to New York,” he decided, aware that the ever ticking clock was now getting faster, you needed to find them now. “I’ll call ahead, get some boots on the ground before we arrive, we’ll roll out as soon as we can. Upton, get the family up to speed, see if they know where he might go in New York.” She nodded.
You all packed up to leave, needing to make arrangements before you could just fly out. “Who’s he calling?” You asked your partner as you headed for the stairs.
“Captain Benson I assume,” he told you, elaborating when he saw that that hadn’t clarified much, “oh I forget, you weren’t with us then. We’ve done a couple of cases with the Special Victims Unit over there, good people and cops, especially their Captain, this is their kind of case.”
You nodded, you’d heard about some of the cases Intelligence had done in New York, especially about Nadia Decotis, and you were looking forward to getting the chance to work with them, circumstances aside.
Voight text you all details about the flight and you left to prepare, you had a job to do and a boy to find, and you were determined to find him.
-
While the flight itself wasn’t actually that long, it felt like forever, ever second ticking past putting you and the unit further behind Ronny and Logan. You knew it would be straight to business the second your feet hit the tarmac, but Voight had assured you all that although he’d only had time to briefly fill SVU in about the case, they had made finding this boy their top priority. If it was good enough for Voight, it was good enough for you, so you passed the time by looking at everything you had on this O’Connell so you had somewhere to start when you arrived.
There were cars waiting when you arrived, taking you straight to the 16th Precinct and the Special Victims Unit. It was much bigger than the 21st, and nicer too. You had never really spent any time in New York, but it was all just as impressive as you’d heard.
“Hank,” a woman smiled, making her way to greet you all at the entrance of the Unit’s bullpen.
“Olivia,” Hank shook her hand with familiarity, this must have been the Captain. “It’s Captain now isn’t it, congratulations.”
“Thanks, it’s been an adjustment,” she replied, shaking hands with the rest of Intelligence and welcoming them inside.
“Well, it’s certainly well deserved,” Jay told her as the rest of SVU headed over to introduce, or reintroduce, themselves.
“Thanks Halstead,” she smiled, reaching you and Vanessa last. “We haven’t met, I’m Captain Olivia Benson,” she told you.
“Officer Vanessa Rojas,” Vanessa told her, following after Kev to be introduced to the rest of the Unit.
“Detective Y/N. Y/L/N,” you continued, “I’ve heard good things.”
“Likewise, Hank mentioned he had a couple of new members,” she said, leading you further into the main room, “this is Sergeant Tutuola, Detectives Rollins and Carisi, and Officer Tamin,” she gestured around the group as you all shook hands.
You could tell Voight wanted this part to hurry along, eager to get stuck into the case, so you said the generic ‘nice to meet yous’ and stepped out of the way as Voight and Benson positioned themselves at the front of the group.
“So fill us in,” Voight addressed her as he passed out extra copies of your case files to the rest of SVU.
“Okay, so we followed Ronny’s tracks as far as we could after he left JFK, but by the time any unis arrived he was in the wind, we’ve got BOLOS out but nothing so far, although a surveillance camera did pick up the vehicle he left in,” Benson explained.
“Plates?” You asked but she shook her head, bringing up a shot of the back of the car on the screen nearest to her. It was a long way away from your whiteboards and blue tac, you thought.
“Stollen, but we’re trying to match the make and model with any recent reports of car thefts,” she answered.
“Any we’re tracking the names they used to get through airport security,” the male detective, Carisi, continued, “checking for any credit or debit cards under the same names as their fake passports.”
“They must have been good, do we know where Ronny got them from yet?” Hailey asked as Benson got up the images of their passports too, complete with fake names, fake addresses and disguises.
“We’re thinking this O’Connell guy,” Tutuola told her, “he’s got the connections and experience, and this must have been in the works for a while.”
“Yeah, we’re looking at anyone and everyone he’s been in contact with in prison, seeing if any of them might have sent him any packages or had any New York connections,” Rollins said.
“We’ve already gone through the prison logs,” Jay countered, “we know O’Connell did time with him before he got out last year.”
“Yeah, but since then they don’t appear to have had any direct contact, so we’re thinking there’s a middle man, probably the figure you can see in the drivers seat of the car they took from JFK, O’Connell rarely does business in person, that’s why we only had him in for a minor possession stint,” Rollins grabbed a file on O’Connell’s record and handed it to Jay to flip through.
“Can we get a clearer image on that?” Adam asked, pointing to the blurred image of the car. You squinted at the image, trying to get a better look, but the man was clearly wearing a hat and shades, even if they managed to tidy it up, facial recognition would be a waste of time.
“Unfortunately not, but we’re doing everything we can,” Benson said.
“So what now?” Antonio voiced up, all of you turning to your Sergeant and Captain Benson.
“We’re in your house, it’s your call,” Voight said to Benson. He had a lot of respect for her, you noted, he never gave up point on a case so easily.
“Well with your know-how on the case, and our knowledge of New York, we though it was best to combine teams, partner up one of us and one of yours,” she looked back at both units, still stood a little apart from one another, and you and Antonio shared the briefest glance, seeing the other partners in your unit do the same.
You worked well together, all of you did, and let’s be honest, Intelligence had never been very good at sharing, but if it was what was best for Logan, so be it. It hadn’t escaped anyone’s notice that the numbers didn’t add up, so you waited to see who would be moved around.
“Fin, you mind going with Dawson?” Benson gestured to the two men, who happily nodded and Antonio gave you an encouraging nod before he headed off the join the Sergeant at his desk.
“Halstead and Rollins, Upton and Kat,” she continued with Voight’s approval and you knew you’d be next, she’d done her best not to split up any of Intelligence’s partners entirely. “Which leaves Carisi and Y/L/N,” you nodded and so did he.
“Well then, let’s get to it,” Voight ordered, “we’ve got a child to find before he disappears.” With that, he and Benson went to go talk in her office, leaving you all with your new partners.
“First time in New York?” He asked you as he grabbed a chair for you to sit at his desk. You could see notes on the case covering most of the surface, potential locations O’Connell may use and streets that the car may have turned down after they lost it on surveillance, none of which looked familiar to you.
“I got a connecting flight through here once,” you shrugged, feeling out of your element away from Chicago and fully understanding why Captain Benson thought it best to mix up the units.
Carisi chuckled as you took your seat, pulling out the files you’d brought with you from Chicago. “We’re on O’Connell,” he explained, “these are all the files on his known and potential locations.”
You leaned closer to take a look at what he’d been doing. “That’s a lot of ground to cover,” you noted, feeling a sense of dread. O’Connell’s file had him as one of the best, and Ronny had a head start, they might not even be in the state anymore.
Carisi seemed to sense your worry. “We’ve got traffic stops in and out of the city, ports and airports, he won’t slip through again,” he tried to reassure you, but you knew he wasn’t entirely convinced either.
He handed you one of his files and you handed him one of yours. “Let’s get started.”
Voltron: Legendary Defender—an Unfulfilling Copy of Award-Winning Mecha Predecessor and Market Competitor, Transformers Prime?
Note, this comparison post has major spoilers for both Transformers Prime and Voltron: Legendary Defender. It contains screenshots/topics from the shows that some may find sensitive or disturbing.
The Transformers franchise and Voltron franchise have been direct market competitors, in toy sales and in (primarily boy-targeted) cartoons, since 1984. Both franchises have various iterations and reboots spanning decades. But in June 2011, Voltron: Force aired and stumbled. It was cancelled after a single season and achieved zero awards. In comparison, the competing Transformers franchise had aired Transformers Prime in November 2010, and the cartoon gained immediate critical acclaim, winning over older fans of highly successful previous Transformers cartoons—and pushing the content limits of the (US-rated) Y7-FV mecha genre.
By the time Transformers Prime (TFP) ended in 2013, it had earned several awards and set high standards for mecha cartoon shows in regards to animation, directing, plot complexities, and moral ambiguity, with a very extensive budget per episode.
This 2010-2013 show ultimately wasn’t your average kids show. Executive Producers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman admitted to using this show as their way to deepen the characters they fell in love with from writing the PG-13 live-action film, Revenge of the Fallen.
But did the show tone down its PG-13 origins? Not by much, if at all. TFP deals with very dark, edgy content, as well as sophisticated introspection into various characters. And it got away with it, in part, because it handled controversial topics so well.
Transformers Prime, under a TV-Y7-FV rating, boasts:
Multiple instances of major character death (even within episode 1, complete with blood splatters)
Graphic body horror and mutilation
Zombies
Physical and mental/emotional abuse
Electrocution, near-death experiences with major health consequences, betrayals, and torture
Amputation, disabilities, and characters actively experiencing PTSD and having mental breakdowns
Horror-genre monster chase scenes
Major trolley problems and moral ambiguity
War crimes
Good guys doing questionable/bad things, bad guys doing good things, and good guys working with mass murderers to defeat a common enemy
To an extent, transformers themselves do not exhibit a fully human image, which decreases the possible emotional reaction one might have to the graphic content. At the same time, this show dropped its money hard on developing the characters and making them as “human” as possible, and even having the human characters struggle with that realization, which resulted in a suspenseful, emotionally invested viewing.
The show still, to this day, enjoys an involved and productive fandom who delight in its characterizations, its plot, and its core message (which executive producer Jeff Kline explained as “the universal need to find or forge a family and a home”).
But why does Transformers Prime matter to today’s children mecha show environment? And why does it specifically matter to the audience who watched Voltron: Legendary Defender?
Executive Producers for VLD, JDS and LM, were still working on Legend of Korra, which ended in 2014, when they pitched a reboot for Voltron only months after TFP had finished in late 2013.
Hilariously, a lot of what happens in VLD had already happened in Transformers Prime, but with the twist of following through on a positive or morally meaningful message. So if you’re looking for a show that does what VLD did, but did it well—check out Transformers Prime. This show accomplishes:
Powerful female-gendered characters who live to enjoy their heroism and achieve their dreams
Individuals overcoming their PTSD and reintegrating socially
Humans not being the center of the universe and actually learning moral lessons
Multidimensional, dynamic villains, antagonists, and self-aware heroes
Abuse victims and villains breaking the cycle of evil
Deceased warriors being consistently remembered for their sacrifice and value
Socially and physically nonconforming individuals rising to great moral fame and recognition
A powerful character dying for the greater good, in which they transform into something even more powerful
Heroes being held to high moral standards
Still not sure about checking out TFP? Then enjoy this list of the vast extent to which VLD mimics TFP, as well as how TFP handles such topics with increased complexity and finesse compared to VLD:
Updates to Worldbuilding and Backstories
TFP, in keeping with live-action films, boasts aged-up human companions compared to previous transformer cartoons (Sari from TFA was only 9 at the start of the show). Transformers has, time and again, more typically aligned itself with bildungsroman (coming of age) storylines. Not surprisingly, VLD followed suit in adjusting its pilots to more strongly align to the teenager age group. For the Voltron franchise, however, this meant de-aging the pilots, which made them more fallible in a franchise where they were traditionally the center point of morality as adults. This is unlike the young humans in TFP, who are traditionally schooled by or in dialogue with the transformers about moral decisions and the hardships of growing up/becoming more responsible.
TFP’s synthetic energon or Synth-En, drives people crazy similar to VLD’s quintessence overexposure, bringing out the worst in them. Dark energon, which glows purple and is a mystical science-magic, is derived from a source of great chaos and lends disturbing powers, including reanimation of the dead and mind control, to one willing to bond with it. This is similar to quintessence manipulation as well.
The war between Decepticons and Autobots ultimately resulted in the destruction of their planet. Similarly, for the first time ever in Voltron history, both Daibazaal and Altea are destroyed in the war, leaving both people groups (or their remaining warriors) homeless and roaming the galaxy in guerilla warfare.
TFP boasts characters who live through incredible spans of time. VLD, for the first time in Voltron history, expands with a world of basically immortal aliens as well.
Updates to Characters
VLD also majorly expanded or revised previous Voltron lore, characters, and character arcs. In doing so, it brought Voltron characters closer than ever to their Transformer counterparts in TFP:
(A quick list of characters discussed, for reference if you need it)
Honerva copies Megatron, both before and after his corruption. Honerva’s new history was entirely unprecedented within Voltron lore, but it was a core staple within TFP.
Both Honerva and Megatronus start off as good people, with very close friendships with the protagonist leaders, Alfor and Orion Pax. Both Megatronus and Honerva see societal ills, inequality, and want to fix them, challenging the traditions/hoarding of power by those of higher authority. Both Megatronus and Honerva are told their ideas for improving the world are wrong because they involve force and a demand for access to great power (For Honerva, it’s the quintessence field. For Megatronus, it’s the powerful Matrix of Leadership, which would result in making him a prime). Both characters ignore the concerns of Alfor/The High Council and grow increasingly more frustrated with the balance of power, desiring to usurp it for themselves. Both suffer the consequences and jumpstart a millennia-long war.
Their names change upon corruption. Megatronus becomes Megatron. Honerva becomes Haggar. Neither Megatronus nor Honerva are ever again able to truly separate from who they’ve become. The good part of them is permanently marred.
They’re both obsessed with a magic that can be used for great evil, from a questionable, destructive source (Dark Entity/rift creatures in VLD, the chaotic dark entity Unicron in TFP).
Both shows include an episode of the protagonists/heroes diving into the mind of Honerva/Megatron for more information, and having a harrowing experience in doing so.
Both Honerva and Megatron reanimate, to an extent, a dead soldier (Lotor/Cliffjumper) and use his body/weapons for their own purpose.
Honerva and Predacons Rising Megatron
In the final movie that ended TFP, Predacons Rising, Megatron’s character gets taken to a whole new level. Honerva’s arc eerily matches:
Both Honerva and Megatron are overwhelmed when the Dark Entities/Rift Creatures and Unicorn decide to destroy the world(s) most precious to them.
Both die and are reanimated back to life by dark power.
Upon reanimation, both can wield purple magic.
In TFP, Unicron, an ancient dark entity who is the source of all chaos and evil, says, “Your husk will simply be an instrument of my will.” Megatron undergoes a painful transformation that alters his usual form. In VLD, through contact with a dark entity and through the corruption from pure quintessence exposure, Honerva becomes Haggar. She is heavily altered visually, and is little more than a puppet of Zarkon’s will until she remembers who she is and fights back to regain herself, just as Megatronus does with Unicron.
They both gain the ability to peer into the minds and even alter the minds and behaviors of others.
Megatron cannot join the Allspark (go to the afterlife) because he’d been joined to the lifeblood of the chaotic Unicron, and he spends a deal of time cursed inside the mind of Unicron. Honerva’s soul does not move to the afterlife in death, but instead, being infused with quintessence, she is reanimated. They’re both the immortally undead. In addition, Honerva had “cursed” the souls of the OG paladins. They were inside her mind with her, unable to be in the afterlife because of it, similar to the plight Megatron finds himself in within Unicron’s mind.
They both give themselves over to scorched-earth policy. Honerva refuses the title to run an empire and goes on to nearly destroy the multiverse. Megatron, as Unicron’s puppet, admits to fellow Decepticons (who are subsequently disturbed by him), “I do not wish to conquer this world—I wish to eradicate it.” Honerva follows suit in her desire to achieve the past at any cost to the future of an entire multiverse, carrying Megatron’s banner that, “The past shall consume the future!”
A quasi-redemption arc: Both Megatron and Honerva achieve what they want. Megatron gets bonded to the spark of a great, chaotic power, able to warp time and space as a new, all-powerful being. His abilities allow him to quickly fly to a regenerated version of his home world, Cybertron, which had been destroyed millennia ago. Honerva gets access to Oriande, transreality materials, and achieves entry to a dimension with a still-living family on her home world of Altea (which was living, unlike the Altea she know, which had been destroyed millennia ago).
Once they’re given over to the power or end they desired, they do not achieve the true effect they wanted. They have a moment where they lose their own personal agency within that situation, only to rage to destroy everything at great risk to themselves, and then from out of the rage, fall into a daze of distaste for what their desires have brought them.
Then they both act defeated, whiny, and salty over how nothing’s like what they wanted.
They both disappear off into the sunset in a disquieted, defeated sense of, “Whatever, I guess I’ll be good now and do my own thing because I’m tired.” (Paraphrasing here.)
In TFP, the insanity of Predacons Rising Megatron is described by Predaking (another character) as, “Dark magic…perpetrated by the demon who lives in Megatron’s skin.” In a similar manner, Lotor accuses the Oriande-infused Honerva of being “an abomination.”
Zarkon is a mirror to the standard, more well-known Megatron. But in VLD, he boasts similar characteristics, like Honerva, to Megatronus, picking up Megatronus’s gladiator history. Class issues are important to both Zarkon and Megatronus as well.
It’s implied that Megatron was born into a very low class and rose to power through the gladiatorial ring by rite of combat, bolstering his political career. As a gladiator “in the pits of Kaon,” his rise to become the leader of the Decepticons mirrors Voltron’s brand-new lore of Zarkon rising to imperial power through the Kral Zera, which is a ceremonial gladiatorial arena to establish the new leader through rite of combat.
Zarkon functioned as a military mentor for Alfor; Megatronus was a political mentor to Orion Pax.
According to the lore of the original Thirteen Primes, Megatronus Prime got into a fight with his brethren that resulted in the death of his lover, Solus Prime, a weapons forger. Megatronus Prime’s title as “The Fallen” being closely related to in-fighting specifically over a lover in many ways echoes in the ultimate breakdown of friendship between Alfor and Zarkon, specifically over Honerva and her abilities to manipulate quintessence into tactical advantages/weapons. The end result is that Zarkon “falls” as well through Honerva’s death, just as Megatronus Prime falls through the death of Solus Prime.
Zarkon is massively injured and in a state of unconscious for a time, disrupting the empire. Megatron as well is massively injured in a state of unconsciousness for a time, disrupting the order of command for the Decepticons. In both instances, this is a major plot device to introduce other characters to the show and deepen political conflict.
Zarkon’s armor and facial reconstruction for the reboot more closely mimic Megatron’s elongated face and eye-set, as well as his very wide-shoulder, spiky armor, complete with angled armor lining his cheeks. It’s similar enough that others have poked fun at their similarities.
Alfor’s history more closely mimics that of Orion Pax. They’re both initially great friends with the very person who would later seek to kill them and their friends.
It’s implied that Megatronus suffered through the very issues that he was critiquing to the High Council. Meanwhile, Orion Pax was of a higher class and coddled from experiencing the same societal ills. In many ways, this echoes how Alfor critiqued the behaviors of Zarkon and Honerva, while standing from a place of incredible power through Oriande, as well as physical peace and comfort.
Alfor and Orion Pax are both very scholarly individuals without the military expertise as touted by their counterparts, Zarkon and Megatronus.
Alfor and Orion Pax are both initially deceived by the heartfelt words of their friends, only to realize in horror what their friends actually desired beneath it.
Orion Pax and Alfor stand as the ultimate inheritors of the powers and status coveted by Zarkon/Honerva and Megatronus.
When Orion Pax is converted to Optimus Prime, his old self somewhat dies, and he becomes a more perfected, all-powerful version. Alfor, likewise, dies in the war…and his legacy is inherited by Allura, who is canonically shown as even more powerful. She carries on the mantle/legacy as previously set before her by her predecessors.
And last but not least of the Big Four, Princess Allura’s arc in VLD very closely mimics Optimus Prime’s arc in TFP.
Like Optimus Prime, Allura becomes locked into a millennia-old war that she did not start herself.
Optimus Prime is the last of the primes. Princess Allura is the last of the royal Altean line. Both primes and royal Alteans have access to deep knowledge and mystical abilities coveted greatly by others of their race.
The High Council bestows the Matrix of Leadership, which is the core of Optimus Prime’s power. The Ancient Alteans of Oriande impart their wisdom and knowledge to enhance Allura’s power. Megatronus’s failure to achieve the Matrix, receiving only rejection in return, is echoed in Lotor’s rejection and fall in Oriande, who like his father sought to obtain such power through Galra-standard force.
Optimus Prime is a member of an endangered species, believing his few Autobot comrades to be some of the only ones remaining after the great war. In a similar way, Princess Allura struggles with the isolation and fall of Alteans. Both Optimus and Allura are separated by vast distances of space from other possible survivors of their own kind.
They both agree to truces with great enemies and unknown powers for a specific end. Allura accepts the dark entity and works alongside Lotor. Optimus makes several deals with Megatron, at great hesitance from his team.
Both wield great power that no one else currently can.
They both sacrifice their lives and own energy in the end to restore life itself to worlds, because they cannot separate themselves from the power it takes to restore life.
They both pass down a “transformation” to one of their brethren before dying. Princess Allura gives Altean marks to Lance. Optimus converts Bumblebee to a warrior.
Their comrades all stand and watch as they willingly sacrifice themselves, and they have first-row seats to a major visual outpouring of light and life.
(Screenshot explanation: The visual effect of Princess Allura sacrificing herself to restore life to the multiverse.)
(Screenshot explanation: The visual effect of Optimus Prime sacrificing himself to restore life to the Well of All Sparks.)
Aside from The Big Four, there are other TFP characters with extreme similarities to VLD supporting characters.
Knockout/Breakdown/Predaking as Lotor
The Knockout connection to Lotor
According to Hasbro’s vice president of development and scripted entertainment, Mike Vogel, Knockout as a character received several upgrades because his previous iteration as “Lugnut” wasn’t considered sexy enough. Similarly, Lotor in VLD was upgraded to be a prettier bad boy in several ways that he hadn’t been before, especially in regard to physical clothing and behavior. Both pretty bad boys ultimately boasted a tight waist, spiky shoulders, great eyeliner, and heavily angled paneling on their torsos:
Knockout is coded as being “different” than most of the other Decepticons and is looked down upon for having a road-based alt-mode instead of an alt-mode that affords flight. In being so, he is more similar to the Autobots despite being born as a Decepticon. Likewise, VLD heavily increases the amount of attention and derision given to Lotor for being half-Galran and half-Altean. Both Knockout and Lotor profess great confidence and satisfaction in what they are, though, regardless of anyone else’s critique.
Knockout is summoned to Earth after the fall of Megatron, who remains in an ill, unconscious state. This is reflected in how Lotor is introduced into the revised Voltron series, to assist his reigning father in a time of need.
Knockout is a medic and is tasked with preserving life—or taking it out. Lotor’s base motivation is also to preserve life, but he maintains Knockout’s underhanded side of also deciding when to eliminate a loose or unproductive end.
Unlike previous iterations of Lotor, the VLD Lotor is excessively more evasive and less likely to barge in bull-headedly into battle. Knockout uses similar tactics.
Knockout gets melded into a ship (although unlike Lotor, he does get out and isn’t dead).
Knockout constantly schemes for more power and prestige, using underhanded tactics. He has very little loyalty but does have a deep bond with fellow Decepticon Breakdown, who functions as the muscle to Knockout’s intelligence. They’re usually seen together as two halves of the same brotherly unit. In a similar way, Lotor is the scheming commander and point of intelligence in his own small group. His generals are overall the brawn, like Breakdown.
Knockout provides confidential information about his old Decepticon comrades to help the Autobots while in custody as a prisoner of war. (Although unlike Lotor, Knockout demands, “We’re prisoners of war; we have rights!”)
The Predaking connection to Lotor
Predaking is a type of Predacon, an ancient beast that died long ago but is brought back to life through experimentation. In ways, his ancient status and the strange circumstances of his “birth” echo in the way Prince Lotor is a vestige himself from ancient times and was still growing in Honerva when she died, suggesting that he died as well or was somehow preserved by his infusion with quintessence. The result is that his life is unnaturally sustained by quintessence itself, when he would have otherwise been dead. Similarly, Predaking’s existence was not possible without intentionally overriding natural limitations, since his kind could not be “sparked” naturally.
Predaking is groomed to be a weapon for Megatron and initially assumed to be a dumb beast. In doing so, he endures ongoing physical and mental abuse by the Decepticons, particularly Megatron’s second in command, Starscream. As he grows more intelligent and powerful, he increasingly balks against the treatment he receives and loses loyalty to Megatron. This is similar to Lotor being groomed as the heir to the Galran throne via brainwashing but yet suffers abuse for what he is. He, like Predaking, ultimately grows to reject much of what he’s been told to believe about himself and his place in the world. Both Lotor and Predaking are strong enough to challenge and nearly defeat the main heroes of the shows, Voltron and Optimus Prime, respectively.
Predaking, in hatred for Megatron who tried to make him a weapon, attacks him with the intent to kill. Lotor, likewise, attacks his father, Zarkon—although Lotor does achieve killing him.
Both Predaking and Lotor are core to the dismantling of various alliances upon the discovery of a colony of innocents being killed in the name of tactical war advantages. In both cases, the innocents were people in tubes being groomed/harvested for war purposes.
The Breakdown connection to Lotor
Decepticon Breakdown is betrayed by one of his own team members, whom he had found attractive and had flirted with. The Decepticon femme Airachnid kills him. The distorted remains of his body end up being used for spare parts for a terrorist’s horrifying fusion of organic flesh and mech technology. Ultimately, Breakdown’s body is a victim of being used post-mortem to further the military aims of another person who wanted to exploit him. Breakdown’s personal agency is completely removed, and his body receives no rest.
Lotor, likewise, is betrayed by Voltron and specifically by Princess Allura during an alliance. Princess Allura, as his love interest, kills him. The distorted remains of his body, which are fused to the Sincline ship, end up being used post-mortem to further the military aims of Honerva. Lotor’s personal agency is completely removed, and his body receives no rest.
Bumblebee as Lance
Bumblebee and Lance, as the beloved young but inexperienced warriors, are both killed and brought back to life.
Bumblebee has progressively taken over as the frontrunner of the show within the Transformers franchise. Likewise, Lance gained more screen time and heightened significance in VLD compared to previous Voltron iterations.
Lance in the VLD finale and Bumblebee in the TFP sequel both struggle with the dissonance between who they were during war and now who they are as guardians or people look up to, but who are somewhat vestiges of the past.
Optimus Prime, prior to his death, changes Bumblebee from a scout to a warrior, which was not what Bumblebee was originally designed to be. Princess Allura, prior to her death, alters Lance from being purely human to exhibiting Altean characteristics.
Arcee as Shiro
They both suffer from PTSD, having been tortured by the enemy, interrogated, and experimented on. Arcee, being mechanical, has had her visible scars repaired, but the nightmares remain. Shiro similarly experiences PTSD.
They both have lost a significant other to war. They’re both afraid of losing the children they’re responsible for.
They both find family and are able to find happiness by the end, putting to rest any conflict they had over their previous partner.
Nemesis Prime (a Clone of Optimus Prime) as Kuron (a Clone of Shiro)
Nemesis Prime is a “clone” of Optimus Prime, developed by the human terrorist group M.E.C.H. He exhibits a physical appearance similar to Optimus Prime but, when activated, carries out their will of death and destruction.
Similarly, Kuron is a clone of Shiro developed by Haggar. He exhibits a physical appearance similar to the true Shiro, but when activated, carries out Haggar’s will of death and destruction.
The reputation of Optimus and Shiro are temporarily called in question before others realize what’s actually happening.
Jack Darby as Keith Kogane
Both have missing/dead fathers. Their mothers are alive, and they’re very close to their mothers, but said mother is often not a part of their daily life, given her own missions.
Both are loners and go through an arc of no longer wanting to be a part of the team, during which the team has to remind them of what they’ve gained and how important they are.
Both have a high sensibility to wanting to do the right thing, but not feeling worthy or wanting to have a position of power.
Both are constantly annoyed by the bull-headed antics of their teammate (Miko/Lance), often rolling eyes or getting on their case, but end up bonding with them in the end.
Both are the “human” lead for their team.
Both inherit great power. Optimus Prime, when no longer able to complete the mission, hands Jack the Omega Lock key. When Shiro is no longer able to be Black Paladin, Voltron chooses Keith to carry it forward.
And there’s so many other character similarities.
Moral Ambiguities
VLD also copies the moral ambiguity standards set within Transformers Prime.
In an Afterbuzz interview at the 12:52 mark, JDS and LM uplifted VLD as fairly groundbreaking for children’s shows, per its moral ambiguities. JDS said, “The finale is almost, I don’t know—I don’t wanna say unlike anything that you would see in other like-minded shows, like let’s say, like, Transformers or Power Rangers, or….something that Voltron was like, by outward appearances, being compared to. But it was something I think really exciting for us to explore because we did create villains and create heroes that worked within this very kind of, like, shades of gray spectrum. There was black, there was white. But we played in this weird morally ambiguous zone a lot of the time. And that was—I think, it was important for audiences of every age group to see that.”
Lauren Montgomery agreed at 13:33, stating, “We also came from working on shows like Avatar the last Airbender, and Korra, which very much pushed those boundaries as well, and were extremely ground-breaking for children’s programming. And it was not something that was coming out of western animation.”
However, the vast majority of what VLD did plot-wise with moral ambiguity was already used inside TFP, a western animation cartoon airing well before Korra:
The Colony Problem
In TFP, Autobots Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus knowingly and willingly commit massacre against innocent beings. Predacons (a different race of transformers, based on ancient beasts) were being groomed in test tubes in Megatron’s facility for the purpose of becoming Decepticon warriors. In fear that Predacons would hurt humans, the Autobots choose to kill them all. This decision comes back to haunt them dearly, through Predaking’s discovery of the massacre.
Predaking, who is a Predacon himself, is an antagonist of incredible moral ambiguity. He expresses great frustration with both the Autobots and the Decepticons. He despises the abuse he endures from the Decepticons, despises Megatron for betraying his kind to the Autobots, and then despises the Autobots, who knowingly commit massacre against his own kind. His tactics and perspectives, as he refuses both sides of the war and fights to create his own space, result in him becoming an ultimate antagonist to both Autobots and Decepticons.
The Trolley problem as experienced by the Autobots (sacrificing some to save many), and the resulting political fallouts, are mirrored within VLD.
In VLD, Prince Lotor had faced a similar trolley problem as well, in which he was instrumental in how several innocent Alteans were sacrificed for an unknown military aim against the Galra. The slain Predacons and second-colony Alteans are both shown in tubes in an experimental lab, represented as victims/cannon fodder of a much larger military function.
In VLD, the discovery of the Altean colony results in an utter destruction of previous alliances. Similarly, Predaking breaks ties with everyone in total disillusionment and rage, never again believing Autobots when they say they believe in peaceful coexistence of two races. His sentiments are echoed into VLD, in which the Galra are suspicious of Voltron and call them traitors.
Moral Shades of Gray: Characters Who Fall on a Spectrum
TFP’s Predaking has his own code of honor and is a primary example of a morally ambiguous character. He absolutely despises the Unicron-reborn version of Megatron. He snarls, “Dark magic…perpetrated by the demon who lives in Megatron’s skin.” This implies that Predaking ranks himself higher in his ways than Megatron. But Predaking, in his desire for revenge and power, also falls short of the stated moral standards of the Autobots. Similarly, Lotor absolutely despises the witch Haggar/Honerva, calling her an “abomination,” and yet he fails to meet the moral standards of Voltron and is therefore named an enemy despite their alliance.
Moral Focal Points: Have the Good Guys Always Been Good? And Have the Bad Guys Always Been Bad?
In TFP, the Autobots are said to have been the moral standard. However, they also bear a dark history of class issues / inequality and political corruption.
Similarly, in VLD, Alteans posit themselves as the moral and diplomatic standard, desiring peace for all. However, the Ancient Alteans hoarded Oriande’s power for only a select few of their kind. Alfor had no problems barreling in and using force against other people groups, in s3 flashbacks. He also created the most powerful weapon in the universe to enforce his version of peace, in which Voltron itself feeds off the life force of its paladins. Alteans additionally were able to terraform entire planets, the technology of which would have required immense power (where did they harvest that from?), and the result was the massacre of all life on said planet, for them to use to their will. These canon details suggest the Galra’s “komar” life-harvesting technology may have originated from Alteans themselves.
In VLD, the Galra (through Commander Lahn) express frustrations with Princess Allura’s coddled mindset, which mimics Megatron’s own frustrations with Autobot morality, which is derived from a position of power and comfort.
So, in general, there’s a moral similarity between TFP and VLD, in which the “heroes” have these dark pasts and yet attempt to smooth it over, while the “villains” are victims of a much larger, oppressive order and are calling the heroes out for their hypocrisies and crimes, demanding access to the same power as they wield, or committing similar crimes as the heroes and suffering harder for it.
So given all these similarities, how in the world is TFP so much better than VLD, message-wise?
1. TFP actually understood moral ambiguity.
In TFP, Megatron disbands the Decepticons, tired of bloodshed, without turning to the Autobots or acknowledging their perspective as the morally correct one.
The humans in TFP are excessively fallible, just like their transformer counterparts. There is a human terrorist group, M.E.C.H, who paces both Autobots and Decepticons, desiring their technology to enforce their will upon the world. These humans commit great horrors against both sides of the war, resulting in difficult decisions, odd truces between the Autobots and Decepticons, and humans fighting other humans. In other words, humans are NOT the moral center of the universe.
Some Autobots have looser morals and less self-control than others, which grates against the sensibilities of the more morally sensitive and results in a lot of disagreement and problems.
TFP consistently reflects on lessons learned. The heroes admit when they are wrong or fail to achieve moral perfection in their actions. They have to struggle through those decisions, the consequences of those decisions, and are bolstered to do better, be better.
The villains are not simply obsessed with power and are also capable of having empathy and doing things outside of pointless destruction. Breakdown is pleasantly surprised when one of the humans asks, “How are you?” And Breakdown responds politely. He also expresses sympathy for the hard work and struggle of the vehicons, who are servant-class workers on the Decepticon ship, similar to Galran robots. Likewise, Knockout expresses a love of human zombie movies and going to drive-ins to watch them, along with appreciating human vehicle design and street racing.
TFP shows villains scared and in pain, with a tremendous range of emotion and dreams. This is way more complex than how the villainous Galra are shown in VLD, who are consistently on a war path.
The heroes are willing to side with the villains (who killed their own people) to defeat common foes. The tension and resulting conversations from those truces are hilariously more complex than VLD, in which Voltron refused to work with Emperor Lotor, who is implicated in killing Alteans in the larger war against Galra. Instead of pursuing the tactical advantage of an ongoing alliance, Voltron simply assassinates him without due process for his war crime, asserting Voltron as the only morally unfallible point in the universe.
TFP shows the human heroes learning when they’re fallible and trying to be better.
TFP actively struggles with how human children/teenagers are endangered by the war, even when the children themselves don’t understand the danger.
2. TFP does a lot of other things well.
TFP always maintains a perspective that the true battle between good and evil is not a physical one—but one fought within the heart. Per Optimus Prime, “As even Megatron has demonstrated on this day, every sentient being possesses the capacity for change.” This is vastly unlike VLD, which stumbles to handle the perspectives of Voltron antagonists or the belief that people can truly change.
Megatron endures the very suffering he’d inflicted on others and comes to the decision on his own to stop his violence and disband the Decepticons, also ending his own “stereotypical toxic masculinity” arc. This contrasts heavily with Honerva, who goes into the afterlife without an understanding of why she can’t be happy as she is, demanding happiness and a family after she’s caused so much pain even to that family, perpetuating her own “stereotypical toxic femininity” arc.
There is a significant difference in the sacrifice of Optimus Prime compared to the death of Princess Allura. Optimus Prime’s sacrifice was a major power move, as well as not unexpected, given Transformers’ history of killing him off. (Although back in his first death in 1986, this was a horrifying shock to children who looked up to Optimus as a father). But within the context of TFP, Optimus had undergone a low point in the story prior, only to be rebuilt stronger than ever and growing in power and confidence as the re-energized leader of the Autobots. He had everything to live for (family, friends, regenerated planet, power) when he chose to sacrifice himself for others. Additionally, he knew there was hope in choosing to sacrifice his material body to restart the Well of Sparks, so that life could be regenerated on his planet. Optimus Prime even contextualizes his death in terms of rebirth and hope. His last words to his friends are: “Above all, do not lament my absence, for in my spark, I know that this is not the end. But merely, a new beginning. Simply put…another transformation.” He flies into death, more powerful and revered than he had ever been. He has a peaceful expression on his face. All of these details are wildly different from VLD. Princess Allura, like Optimus Prime, hits a low point beginning in s6 when Voltron’s alliance with Emperor Lotor unravels. But unlike Optimus Prime, Princess Allura continues to be progressively stripped of identity, power, and personal agency, careening into utter despondency until she willingly kills herself, with nothing to live for. She constantly gives up her own personal power to others, increasingly isolates herself from others, grows more emotionally volatile, denies her own people, and sinks into the background as other characters determine her life and decisions. There is nothing personally identifying about her by the end, with even her crown and state of dress removed/replaced with the uniform of a basic human soldier. Sorrow for her value and death comes too late in the story, when she has already become the most expendable character. It’s of additional significance that no one in VLD tries to help Princess Allura by offering other ways to resurrect the multiverse. There are only some paltry sniffles and weak, “No, don’t” responses. This is a huge contrast to TFP, in which several characters immediately are incensed by the thought of losing Optimus Prime. They jump in with ideas for how to possibly save their beloved leader, willing to endure more personal hardship on his behalf. They express that they didn’t fight this hard to resurrect Cybertron, only to lose someone they cared about. Optimus Prime explains why their ideas would not work, but in doing so, reveals that he is already one with the All Spark (meaning, that his spark is already part of a mystical collection of souls with the capacity to be born/reborn, and that continuing to live, bonded to the All Spark, would be denying all other souls from experiencing life). It is his explanation that bolsters the necessity of his sacrifice and converts his final words from being a hollow comfort to a genuine conviction that this was not the end. That they would all someday meet again.
In the TFP sequel, Robots in Disguise (2015), it’s revealed that Optimus Prime, in death, has become an interdimensional being, capable of still interacting with and providing guidance to Bumblebee on the “human plane,” all while being spiritually tested by greater beings with even more interdimensional power than him (the Primes). Interestingly enough, this topic is mirrored within VLD. Such interdimensional beings are confirmed to exist via season 7, in which the Voltron paladins are whisked away by an all-powerful interdimensional entity, who tests their worthiness as warriors. Additionally, some of the VLD meta by @leakinghate posits that an afterlife existence for Princess Allura and Lotor as interdimensional beings was supposed to happen in the VLD finale, but was ultimately not published. Had such been published, Princess Allura’s final arc would have further matched Optimus Prime and better maintained the hope and meaning associated with his arc.
Transformers don’t always save the day. Sometimes, it’s a little human girl with a baseball bat, or a little human boy with coding skills, or a teenager willing to put themselves in harm’s way to protect them. This greatly humbles the Autobots, some of whom struggle with their pride and the reality that they don’t have all the answers all the time, and that sometimes, they need to be protected too.
TFP actively struggles with both positive and negative prejudices assigned to humans and transformers. The humans originally think the transformers are just robots without souls—they think it’s all a game. They soon discover that transformers can bleed, and have emotions, and have a soul than can die. Likewise, some transformers find the humans to be a nuisance and despise their “fleshiness,” but soon overcome those perspectives to grow very protective and attached to humans. In other words, everyone struggles through their own perspective and learns on the way.
Optimus Prime remains the consistent point of morality for TFP. When he does controversial things, like engaging in an alliance with Megatron or allowing medical aid to be provided to Decepticons, he acknowledges those things and explains his reasoning. This is unlike Voltron, who engages in action without reflection while still demanding a position as the unquestionable moral center of the universe.
Knockout, as the Lotor bad boy of the series, defects and actively becomes a member of the Autobots. He admits he didn’t have the best role models, and it’s shown throughout the show that he endures physical and mental abuse by some Decepticons as well. He makes a cameo in Robots in Disguise (2015), suggesting he is still alive and well as an Autobot. Optimus Prime at the end of TFP includes Knockout when he says each of his teammates had acted as a prime, offering a tremendous weight of value and respect to Knockout.
Even Predaking, the antagonist, ends up helping the Autobots when it counts and otherwise remains distant with them.
Predaking gets justice against his abusers.
Autobots and many Decepticons are consistently horrified and disturbed by the crimes perpetuated against Decepticon Breakdown, whose body is taken and mutilated by terrorist group M.E.C.H.
Arcee manages to positively cope with her PTSD and remains as an active, plot-intrinsic character to the end, with several episodes dedicated to her own character arcs and the advantages she provides the overall team. She lives to see and experience her dream of a restored planet come true, without being turned into an example of the sexy lamp trope.
The transformers are able to achieve their goal of restoring Cybertron and generating new life, which allows several other characters to begin healing from the trauma of war and regain what they had lost.
The humans who make villainous decisions have dire consequences.
The human Miko rises up to become an Autobot Wrecker in her own right, without sacrificing or compromising anything about who she is, how she presents herself, or what her other interests are.
Bulkhead originally despises Decepticons but ends up rescuing his own sworn enemy from torture and dismantlement because he learns to put justice for and the safety of all people first.
The number of parallels between Transformers Prime and Voltron: Legendary Defender extend even beyond this list. And yet as seen above, TFP succeeded in so many of the major areas where VLD ultimately failed.
Transformers Prime, even years after its finale, remains as the award-winning show that transformed dark and edgy content into messages of hope, redemption, gender equality and social acceptance, moral responsibility, the power of teamwork—and did it as a Y7-FV show geared primarily for young boys.
So, if you were disappointed in VLD and how it ended, check out the edgy but satisfying TFP for what a real children’s mecha show should be like.
(Special thanks to @mermaider00 for being my TFP buddy and for suggesting some of the points discussed in this post!)
Ok so what if MC used to work for C&R International and Jumin before showing up into the RFA, and Jumin didn't recognize/realize it at first? How would he react when he finds out? I live for flustered Jumin, honestly.
So like…this blew way out of proportion? Like I really planned on keeping this a short and sweet scenario but when can I ever keep myself short, am I right? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this fic!
|| REQUEST ARE (ALWAYS) OPEN!! ||
Fandom: Mystic MessengerRating: General Warnings: A little cursing, but that’s allCategories: F/MRelationships: MC x JuminWord count: 3800
“You’reresigning”, Jumin asked her, hands folded on the table in front ofhim. Jaehee nodded. “Yes, I am. I think it is time for me to leave.I’ve gathered valuable experiences over the past two and a halfyears, but I think I’ve finally reached a point in my life where I’velearned enough. I want to start my own business. Nothing big, just alittle cafe.” Jumin eyes her, expression stoic and untelling as itusually is. Still, Jaehee likes to think that after spending so muchtime working by this strange mans side she finally understands him alittle bit and somehow that thought makes her proud. She knows thatyou are the only person that truly unravelled him, but at least she’dcracked him. “I see”, he eventually said, effectively stoppingJaehee’s train of thoughts. “I will have to make the announcementin the following meeting and find a replacement as soon as possible.”
Jaeheefelt like a heavy weight was lifted off her chest. This job had beenone of the most infuriating, frustrating and draining jobs she’d everdone and yet it would have pained her to know that Jumin didn’t giveher the blessing to leave the company and start a new chapter in herlife. In fact, she could have sworn that there was just the faintestof smirks curling around his lips and for one Jumin Han that was abig step into the right direction. “You mustn’t worry about that,Mr. Han. I took it upon myself to look through possible candidateswithin the company, as I see them to be most suitable. They alreadyknow how C&R International works and have experience. Accordingto the Chief of another, smaller department there is a ChiefAssistant he would highly recommend. Apparently she hasn’t missed aday of work for as long as she’s worked here until a couple of weeksago where she took less than a handful of sick days. And even thenshe handed in all the work she had to do.”
Juminlistened to what Jaehee said, thinking everything over. He wasn’tparticularly fond on hiring another female Chief Assistant. Eventhough his father had calmed down after everything that had happenedwith Glam and Sarah it wasn’t to say that he wouldn’t go after hisnext assistant. Not to mention that he was not very fond about theidea of having to explain to her – like he had to Jaehee – whyshe had to cut her hair, wear formal clothes at all times and fakeglasses as well. It was tiring and taking away time he could spendmore productively. Still, if Chief Assistant Kang believed that mansword and the girl was really that good at her job, he should probablygive it a try. At least he wouldn’t have to read through a thousandand one applications and resumes. “Alright. Tell him to send me herresume. I don’t need anything but that. If I like what I read I’lltell him as much so he can introduce her to me at the next meeting.Thank you for going through the trouble of finding a replacement foryourself. I would have found it bothersome.”
Jaeheenodded and retreated, leaving Jumin alone in his office. It was niceto have been praised and thanked for once, but she sincerely hopedthat she’d actually done the right thing. Frankly Jaehee had no ideawho that mystery Chief Assistant was. After she’d mentioned that shewas leaving C&R international to a couple of colleagues Chief Yiehad approached her. He’d started to talk about that amazing ChiefAssistant he had that absolutely deserved a promotion after she’dbasically doubled the revenue of her department. Jaehee was quitesure that the only reason Chief Yie had suggested the girl wasbecause he feared she’d otherwise get his position and he’d faceeither demotion or being fired. Of course she hadn’t mentioned asmuch. After all, it was a win-win situation for both him and her. Thesooner Mr. Han found a replacement the sooner she could focus onplanning her little café. Chief Yie kept his position, Mr. Han had areplacement and she was free.
Thenext day Mr. Han called all the Chiefs into a big meeting. He plannedto announce Jaehee official resignment as well as see for himselfwhether that girl he’d been recommended was any good. Jumin readthrough her resume and work performance and had to admit that he wasquite impressed. Apparently she’d started at C&R at the age ofsixteen as an intern. Even then, despite still attending school,she’d performed so good that she’d gotten hired by the time sheturned seventeen. She worked while attending university and got herfirst promotion after obtaining her degree. Over the next years she’dgone on to earn one promotion after the other until she’d become theChief Assistant of the fashion department. Her resume also statedthat while fashion wasn’t her primary goal nor passion she’d learnedquickly, adapted and never once complained about it. She hadn’t evenattempted to change the department despite being offered a differentposition due to loyalty to Chief Yie.
Apparentlythe only reason she was considering it now was because he’d told herto and Jumin admired such loyalty and obedience. She’d make a mightyfine Chief Assistant, maybe even as good if not better than AssistantKang. The only thing that Jumin found confusing was that he’d nevereven heard of that young woman. The resume was strictly work relatedso he neither had a name nor a picture – he rarely looked at the‘personal’ files when looking for candidates – but this one got himcurious. He’d been sure that he knew all his employees at least byname but looking at her file he was proven wrong. Despite herperformance being meticulous he could not say he’d ever even seenthat woman, which probably made her only the more desirable as apossibly assistant. Discrete, invisible and hard working were theperfect traits. When Assistant Kang had told him that she wasresigning he’d been worried but all of a sudden he found himselffeeling excited.
Everyonehad gathered in the conference room, quiet rumble filling the room.It died down the second Jumin entered the room, closely followed byAssistant Kang. Silence fell as he stepped to the front of the room,everyone including his father, looking at him with anticipation. Atfirst the meeting started like any other would. All the heads oftheir respective departments discussed increase or decrease inrevenue, possibly reasons and solutions. Nothing overly excitinghappened. Especially now that Jumin and Chairman Han had finallygotten out of the press and everything had returned to normal. Thatwas until Jumin announced that Jaehee was leaving C&RInternational. There was an audible gasp amongst the others, althoughJaehee knew better than to think she would be missed by any of them.She hadn’t had the time to form any meaningful bonds within the firmand frankly, she didn’t mind. It was their shock speaking. To thinkthat anyone would ever so much as consider leaving such a lucrativejob was beyond their comprehension.
Thatwas when Chief Yie decided to stand up, announcing that he would goand get his Assistant now. Jumin have him a short nod and the olderman practically shot off to go and get her. A mere minute laterfootsteps and quiet walking could be heard. No one could really makeout the most of what was being said, but it sounded a lot like thewoman was begging Yie not to do this while he was hissing at her notto be ridiculous. Jumin frowned, confused at what was going on untilYie stepped back into the room, hand wrapped around the woman’s wristhe was practically dragging along. Her long, brown hair was fallingopenly over her shoulders, fringe covering a lot of her face as shewas vehemently looking down. She was wearing trim clothing that wasboth formal as well as very appealing as it showed off her perfect,slender figure and just enough of her long legs to make itinteresting. Mainly because Jumin very much recognized both the bodyand the legs.
Yie let go of your wrist, instead gripping yourshoulders and pushing you in front of the entire room so everyonecould see. It felt embarrassing, being paraded and shown off likethat. Especially considering that your fiancé and soon to be husbandwas standing in front of you with your best friend by his side, andyou didn’t even have to look up to know that they were staring at youwith wide eyes and shock written all over their face. You swallowed,entire face heating up with shame as you stood in front of the entireboard room of C&R International – including your soon to befather in law – with your boss swooning over how great of a workeryou are and how you deserved the position. No one knew that you werethat mysterious fiancée Jumin Han apparently had. Nor did saidfiancé know hat you’s forked for his cooperation for even more yearsthan his very own Chief Assistant. You really couldn’t think of a wayto make this situation any more uncomfortable.
Your boss did,though. Yie had always been an idiot and poor worked. The only reasonthe fashion department hadn’t gone down years ago had been because ofyou. You didn’t even care about fashion that much, but it had been asteady job and paycheck and tuition was very expensive these days. Sowhen he suggested for you to present the logistics of that month tothe board room it wasn’t because he was proud of your hard work, butbecause he himself didn’t know shit about what was going on in hisown department. He knew that you did, though, so now he made it yourtime to shine. Just a couple of months ago you would have preened andhappily done so. You would have died to stand in front of the boardroom and present your hard work and yourself. Now though there reallywas no place you’d like to be less than this particular room in thatparticular situation. “Mr. Yie, Sir, I don’t think this is a goodidea”, you whispered desperately. “Don’t be silly, girl. Just doas you are told.” Strike.
You could practically feel the angercoming off of Jumin, even from the other end of the room. He wasfuming and you knew that if Yie continued to treat you the way heusually did he’d find himself without a job rather soon. “Sir, I’mbegging you, please don’t ask this of me.” The man snorted, glaringat you. “Don’t be ridiculous and do your job”, he hissed at youloudly. With that he stormed off to return to his seat, leaving youstanding alone in front of the presentation that had been opened upbehind you. You closed your eyes, taking a deep breath. If he wanteda presentation, he would get a presentation. Your straightened yourback, held your head high and proceeded to look into everyones eyesbefore locking with Jumin’s. You gave him a short smile before allemotion was replaced by perfect professionalism as you began thepresentation. You could feel Jumin’s eyes on you the entire time,filled with wonder and fascination about that new side of you he’dnever seen before.
You were quick, precise and well informed.Everything about you radiated energy and strength to the point whereeven the most disrespectful and misogynist of the men in the roomwere silenced. No one dared to interrupt you, dares to speak or somuch as breathe too loudly as your presence filled the room. Juminhad never found a woman more attractive in his life than he did youin that exact moment. He loved your innocent, gentle and caring sideto bits and pieces. It was that side that had drawn him in. That sidethat had gotten him through the darkest of moments. However, this newside, the strong almost dangerous one was bordering on arousing. Hecould feel his heart beat faster as he listened to your every wordwithout hearing anything at the same time. You were like a tiger andthe dangerous jungle had been claimed by you and you only.
“Thankyou for your attention. I would like to use this gracious opportunityto thank my boss, Mr. Yien, for recommending me. It will be myoutmost pleasure to accept the new job offer and finally get out ofthat pathetically taken care of department I am currently workingfor”, you spat, glaring daggers at Yien. Jumin gasped, surprised bysuch harsh words. Then his demeanour changed, melting into puresatisfaction as he leaned back in his chair, legs crossed, to watchyou tear your boss apart for disrespecting you the way he did. “I’vebeen working for the fashion department for many years now and neverhave I ever encountered a man that incompetent and lazy. He asked meto do the representation today as he himself has no idea what it isabout. I researched and composed it all by myself as I have beendoing for years. His workload is thrown off onto me and the otherassistants whom he disrespects and sexually harasses on a dailybasis.”
“Youlittle bitch, how dare you spread lies about me like that. Have herremoved”, he shouted at the security men, obviously aggravated. Youmerely smiled, folding your arms behind your back. His head wasbright red, sweat gathering on his forehead. When the men didn’t moveyour smirk grew, almost devilish, as he grew angrier and angrier. “Isaid have her removed! Why the fuck aren’t you taking her away.”Jumin snorted out a chuckle, covering his mouth to muffle the sound.“I think, Mr. Yien Sir, the reason for that would be that they donot dare to touch the company heir’s future wife”, you explained,calmly. You knew you had the upper hand and you were enjoying everylast moment. His face fell as realization dawned on him but Juminfelt no empathy at all. He’d been eager to chew him out himself, butwatching you do it yourself was much, much, much more satisfying.
“WhenI’d asked you politely, begged you in fact, not to do this you didn’tlisten. I tried to protect you, you see, as I felt sorry for yourpathetic being. Now, however, you’ve lost all my compassion. I didsome digging and found out that beside not working properly you alsoquite frequently seemed to use company money for private businessesas well as evade certain taxes, which is why you were satisfied bystaying in a smaller department, as no one ever digs deep into those.Well, I did. So, I hereby declare, for everyone to hear, that in thename of C&R International I am suing you for sexual harassment atthe workplace, heavy tax evasion as well as fraud. I’m not familiarwith the legal system, but I am quite sure that you are facing acouple of years of prison. Now please, gentlemen, would you do me thehonour and remove that scumbag from this meeting room? I would prefernot to have such useless people working for my husband-to-be.”
Thistime the security men didn’t hesitate. They walked over to Yien anddragged him out of the room, ignoring his cursing and screaming. Thesecond the door closed behind them you sighed, shoulders sagging. Youhadn’t planned on any of this and while you didn’t mind holdingpresentations those were usually prepared and practiced on your part.Improvisation had never really been your thing. The sound of a chairmoving was what ripped you out of your thought and you looked up tosee Jumin standing up. You swallowed, shyly looking at your fiancéwho once more had one of those unreadable expressions. “Wouldeveryone please leave the meeting room. I would like to talk to myfiancée in private, please. The meeting is over. Thank you for yourparticipation.” It didn’t take more than that for everyone to getup, gatherer there things and hurry out, leaving you alone withJaehee, Jumin and his father.
Whenyou started to apologize Jumin instantly cut you off, shaking hishead. When your eyes met, he was smiling at you. Actually, grinningwould be the better word, bright and excited like a little schoolboy. You’d never quite seen him like that. “You were magnificent!The presentation was perfect and the way you took down Yien was…Idare say sexy”, he said, chuckling in a way that made the hairs inthe back of your neck stand up in the best way possible. “God, Icannot believe I never noticed you before. To think that I could havehad you all these years, that you were in my reach all this time.It’s infuriating. Only the more reason to be grateful that I got theopportunity to see you in your prime like this.” You blushed,smiling shyly. “I tried…to tell everyone. I really did, but Ididn’t know how to bring it up.”
Jumin walked around the tableand towards you, pulling you into a warm, tight hug. Hands resting onhis chest you melted against him, burying your face in his chest aswell. “Is that why you were so desperate to leave when you stayedat my place? Because you were worried about work?” You noddedagainst his chest, so relieved he wasn’t mad you felt like crying. “Iwanted to tell you but…I didn’t want you to think that I was withyou to ride some sort of coattail. When Yie mentioned a promotioninto Jaehee position I instantly said no, but he basically forced me.I wanted to work my way to the top by myself but now -”, you spokequietly before Jumin interrupted. “And now you’ve made it. Youdidn’t ride any coattails and yet coming next week you’ll be by newChief Assistant.” You looked up then, eyes wide and questioning.You couldn’t believe it. You’d been working towards that goal foryears and yet…it didn’t feel right at all.
“But…I’m the onewho encouraged Jaehee to quit. I would feel bad for taking herposition.” That is when Jaehee cleared her throat, getting both ofyour attention. “You have nothing to worry about, MC. When you toldme to quit you didn’t do so to get my position but with my bestinterest in mind. I know that for a fact. You told me to follow mydreams and thanks to you I am finally brave enough to do just that soyou should too. I didn’t enjoy working here for the most part but youseem to really like the job and we all know that you love Jumindearly. I think the two of you working together could work out betterthan any other assistant. He’ll listen to you and respect you whileyou’ll be able to support and help him. So please, MC accept myposition. I could have not wished for anyone better to take over forme”, she said, smiling happily at the both of you.
“You heardher. Please accept the offer, my love. That way we can be togetherevery second of the day and I’ll never have to worry about youanymore. You’ll be safe and provided if you stay by my side and evenwhen I have to go on business trips I can take you along withoutfeeling guilty”, he pleaded, cupping your face and caressing thetender skin with his thumbs. Your eyes locked and there wasn’t afiber in your body that was capable of denying this man anything. Letalone when he looked at you the way he did in that moment; like youwere his entire world. So you smiled and nodded, reaching out toreturn the tender kiss. “If it is alright with your father I’ll behappy to be your new Chief Assistant.” Of course Chairman Handidn’t mind at all. If anything he’d be delighted to get to know hisfuture daughter in law. Everyone’s problems seemed to besolved.
Jaehee resigned officially a couple of days later andopened up her new café. You and Yoosung helped out as much as youcould in your free time. You also talked Jumin into invested, not forprofit but to help a good friend. The rest of the RFA had been rathershocked at the announcement but it quickly died down. No one wasreally surprised that you and Jumin couldn’t be apart even for acouple of hours. Admittedly Zen was fuming for another week and evenshowed up at C&R International just to check on you. He found youand Jumin talking over coffee you’d gotten at Jahee’s, relaxed andbeaming at one another. He left without you even noticing, finallyrealizing that his worry was not necessary at all. Mr. Chairmanquickly learned to adore you. Not only did you make his son happy,but you were also a highly competent and good worker. A real profitfor the company.
Thehappiest, however, was Jumin. He’d never even considered asking youto be his assistant but now he couldn’t imagine anyone more perfect.He never had to fear his father making any advances. He never had tofear betrayal or having to replace you. He got to protect you whilesimultaneously allowing you to keep your job like you’d asked him to.You were a great worker and reduced his stress by not only cuttinghis workload in half, but making him relax and smile throughout theentire day. Really, he’d never been happier to go to work then whenhe did so with you right by his side. “Say, now that I am yourassistant, should I call you Mr. Han and Sir as well”, you’d askedone day, grinning cheekily. Jumin had chuckled in reply, husky andwarm in ways that caused butterflies in your stomach. “No, my love.You only have to call me that in the bedroom.” He’d winked at youbefore returning to his work, seemingly unaffected while your facefelt like it was burning up. Oh my, working with Jumin sure wouldturn out interesting…and you were looking forward to every singlepart of it.
