But, that does not mean that the rule that he does want to implement is any better. Just look at what happened on Puig. And think about it: Isn’t it a coincidence that the very season that Lotor was introduced, we got an episode like Hole in the Sky where we were introduced to an Altean Empire that had achieved peace, but at the cost of the will and the freedom of its citizens? 2/3
i don’t think this is controversial at all, actually – i think it’s a pretty good take on Lotor’s character as we know him right now.
pretty much the only thing you can trust Lotor to do, consistently, is look out for his own interests. he has his own plans and his own agenda, and right now (by happy coincidence) his motives and goals align with Team Voltron’s and he’s willing to play nice. so he’s all charm and smiles and ‘oh let’s form an alliance, come into my central command make yourselves at home’ because it suits him, right now, to ally himself with Voltron.
tbh i think a lot of people heard That One Afterbuzz Interview and went “oh cool, we can trust Lotor now!” but i think you’re right in that, even if Lotor is ‘genuine’, that still doesn’t mean he can be trusted to do the right thing or act in the best interests of anyone other than himself. this guy has a track record of putting his own self-interest above anything and anyone else. and i think Puig is a good example of this, especially when you compare it to Lotor’s story from 5×06 when he’s on Oriande with Allura.
when Lotor tells Allura about the planet he ruled, he talks about ‘working alongside their leadership’ and avoiding the Galra’s ‘usual methods’ of subjugation. which sounds very nice and all, but when you look at what happened on Puig, Lotor rocked up to that planet and presented himself as this benevolent protector, offering people the opportunity to be ‘allies’ in his ‘new Galra Empire’. but later on in that episode (3×02) we find out what that actually looks like: the leader of Puig gets mind-controlled by Narti and used as bait to lure out Team Voltron so Lotor can play count-the-Lions.
i think it would be instructive to hear how Lotor described what happened on Puig, because you can almost guarantee it would sound like “i offered them protection and an alliance when Voltron abandoned them, and we were able to work together as friends” which is… not technically a lie, but would be a gross misrepresentation of what actually happened. likewise, it would be instructive to hear how the citizens of that other planet felt about Lotor’s supposed ‘peaceful and respectful’ tenure as their overlord. i wonder if they would describe it in the same glowing terms Lotor does…
i’m willing to be generous and accept the possibility that Lotor genuinely believes some or all of the words that come out of his mouth, but the fact that he believes them to be true does not make them objectively true. case in point: in Haggar’s lab, Allura suggests that Haggar might actually be Honerva, and Lotor reacts with a pretty strong denial:
“that witch is not my mother.”
and, you know… maybe Lotor genuinely believes that, and is telling the truth as he sees it. but his statement is objectively false. Haggar is Honerva, and Honerva is his mother, and whether or not Lotor wants to admit it, they are the same person. the really sad thing is, if he actually acknowledged Haggar as his mother he might be able to help her regain her memories, but Lotor is so committed to this image of himself as the tragic Altean prince, unfairly denied his culture and heritage, that he can’t or won’t see the obvious.
what this scene tells us, very clearly, is that Lotor is an unreliable narrator of his own life story. Lotor’s version of the truth is not necessarily reflective of facts on the ground – and he openly admits to manipulating people (in the first episode in which he appears, in fact). Lotor is a master of spinning facts to suit his own story. which brings me to the third part of your ask:
I’ll reiterate something that has already been mentioned by others: Lotor was able to do what his parents were never able to do, even in 10,000 years. He was able to deliver Voltron, the universe’s most powerful weapon, to the side of the Galra. Now all will truly tremble before the might of the Galra. (YEAH! WHO’S THE WEAK ONE NOW ZARKON! TREMBLE BINCH! Oh that’s right, you can’t tremble, CAUSE YOU’RE DEAD!!) 3/3
that whole thing with the Kral Zera is a pretty good example of how Lotor
manoeuvres everyone into positions that suit his agenda and then spins a story to make himself look good. he turns up to the meeting and declares that he has “returned the Black Lion to the Galra”:
and again: this isn’t… technically a lie? but it does kinda stretch the truth a lot, don’t you think? he’s spent the last few weeks as a prisoner on the Castle of Lions, selling the Empire’s secrets in order to buy his way out of a prison cell and into Team Voltron’s good graces. neither Allura (leader of the coalition) nor the rest of Team Voltron ever actually agreed to send the Black Lion to the Kral Zera: this is Lotor and Kuron acting independently of everyone else. but somehow “the coalition only let me out of their prison a week ago and this guy is the only person willing to back my play and also he drove me here” becomes “i have delivered the Black Lion to the Galra, all hail me your glorious triumphant emperor i will take your tributes now please queue in an orderly fashion”.
Lotor is a controversial character, and fandom opinion is already divided on whether he’s (a.) an evil manipulative villain who doesn’t care about anyone but himself and his own plans or (b.) a poor sad little baby who just wants to be loved. the truth might end up being somewhere in the middle… but what strikes me about season 5 is that everything seemed to work out to Lotor’s benefit. he started the season in a prison cell, and now he’s the new Galra Emperor and has finally found some vital information about his Altean heritage (just like he wanted). he’s also very cosy with Voltron and Allura, which is super-handy for him if/when he wants to try opening that rift again. all in all, everything kinda played into Lotor’s hands, didn’t it? whilst Voltron’s position as a symbol of resistance and freedom is severely compromised by them looming menacingly behind Lotor’s new imperial throne:
not so much ‘Defenders of the Universe’ as ‘Bodyguard of the Galra’ right now, huh? but hey i’m sure that’s gonna work out just fine. for Lotor…
The generals have underrated smiles so I decided to pick some of my favourites. Well, the only ones for Acxa at least and Narti by default is always :3
so… is Zarkon dying? i mean i feel like Haggar was preparing to transfer Zarkon’s consciousness from his body into some sort of robeast set-up (with the whole “I see no other way” line and the fact she’s done that before to other characters). but then she doesn’t because her memories come back and she remembers this is her husband, not just her Emperor.
it also seems like Zarkon has gone from “this quintessence gives me so much power” to “i need to get actively pumped with quintessence to survive” and his armour has gone from “tastefully dramatic” to “literally just Purple Turtle Darth Vader at this point”. he’s got those big cylinders like the Warden of Beta Traz uses to juice up but they seem to just be keeping him running rather than giving him extra powers.
so like… what changed? somehow the quintessence isn’t working any more… because he no longer has the Black Lion’s bayard? or a link to the Lion? was the Lion keeping him alive…somehow? he was draining Black’s energy to survive? i mean his obsession with the Black Lion and her obvious reluctance to be around him (especially on the astral plane) might take on a different hue if the Lion is literally what’s kept him alive all these years. there was something in the VLD marketing at one point about how the Black Lion “requires the most energy from its pilot” but could Zarkon have somehow reversed that flow? pulled some of the energy back?
idk man it’s midnight and VLD’s cryptic marketing has kicked into overdrive and i’m 8 conspiracy boards deep at this point but Zarkon has been alive for 10,000 years and we saw those purple quintessence zombies bring him back from the literal actual dead but now he’s… struggling so like. what changed, man? why does he need the Darth Vader get up now? WHAT THE FUCKETH IS GOING ON?
can you PLEASE put your age in your about/sidebar and make sure it’s accessible on mobile. imo if you’re an adult esp 20+ it’s a little weird that you wouldn’t have your age readily available on your blog. if you’re reading this now and you don’t have your age listed, please rectify that. i feel like teenagers get lured into talking to adults in fandom/lgbt spaces that they may not have intentionally sought out because they think they’re talking to other teenagers, and this can lead to a lot of other – much more insidious –problems
I know other people have already refuted this, but seeing the original message still going around I’d like to point out just a couple of reasons why this request – while well intentioned – misses a lot of key points:
1. This is working under the assumption that tumblr is a space solely (or at least primarily) for teenagers/kids and that simply isn’t the case. Historically the creation of fanfiction, fanvids, fanart, etc. has been done by people in their twenties and older. Think about how many years it takes to learn how to craft a good story. Think about what you need to pull something like a con together. That person with the Skill you admire? There’s a very good chance they’re an adult. It used to be that kids pretended to be 18+ because they knew online fan communities were adult spaces. I’m not sure when this switch happened, but it needs to stop.
2. It is not “a little weird” that people don’t put their age on their blog. I have mine because I’m comfortable sharing it and my fan identity/irl identity are already really conflated, but a lot of people – most people – want to keep personal information to themselves. There’s nothing wrong with that and insisting that we reveal that information is all kinds of wrong. Can you ask someone their age? Certainly! Maybe they’ll tell you, maybe they won’t, but regardless you are not entitled to that information.
3. The children on here? They are not my responsibility. If kids/teens are worried about who they’re talking to then they should either a) be careful about who they interact with or b) not use this website. If they’re too young to understand this then they’re too young to be online without parental supervision. Now, how can a teen be careful about who they interact with? Check the person’s blog. See the kind of content they post. See if there are any hints about their age (mentions of school, job, birthdays, etc.) – or again, just ask! I’ve had plenty of people on here decide they only want certain types of interaction with me after discovering my age and that’s fine. But it’s not my job to monitor everyone else’s internet use.
4. Finally, I find the language here to be rather concerning. “A little weird,” teenagers are “lured,” leading to things that are “much more insidious”… all of this, whether intentionally or not, frames anyone 20+ as intrinsically predatory. It also takes agency away from anyone under 18. Teenagers aren’t “lured” into talking to me, they make that decision on their own. They are their own person capable of making their own decisions, gathering information before making that decision (like asking someone’s age) or, if they can’t do these two steps then again, they should not be online. We’ve come right back to point #1: this is not your space. It’s our space. I’m not some trespasser here who only gets to stay provided that I cater to those younger than me. If anything, based on how much of online content is geared towards adults, kids should be working under the assumption that they are speaking to an adult until proven otherwise, especially on websites like tumblr that cater to all ages. Don’t assume you’re talking to another teenager. Don’t project onto a person and then get mad when you find out you’re wrong. That’s not them tricking you, that’s you failing to take responsibility for yourself.
You want to know someone’s age? Ask, and then work with the answer you’re given. But someone failing to give you private information up front isn’t weird or predatory or insidious. The quicker everyone realizes that the better off we’ll all be.
fujoshi discourse is just so fucking tiring…like on some issues I can get why people are stubborn to change their views but it takes a whole ten seconds of critical thought to see why fujoshi hate is a massive steaming pile of shit
every anti-fujo on this hellsite has had it explained to them fifteen fucking times, no doubt, that fujoshi doesn’t mean “likes fictional gays but hates real ones” or “treats real living gay men like her personal wank material”. it means “woman who likes BL”. that’s it, period, discussion is over, not up for debate.
do you hate yaoi/BL because you think it’s problematic? well some of it is, and it shouldn’t take a genius to figure out that “some of it is problematic” does not mean “it is all problematic”. most BL is actually utterly fucking harmless
and if you genuinely believe all BL or yaoi is fucked up and wrong no matter what, you should hate ALL yaoi fans regardless of gender.
if you only hate the female yaoi fans, then men get a free pass to like problematic things while no one else does, therefore you’re a sexist piece of shit. if you don’t necessarily take issue with the content itself, you only have a problem with women consuming it. so “this thing is okay until a woman does it”.
if you don’t see how that makes you a misogynist you’re fucking hopeless
we’re moving into 2018 and some of you still do not understand this and I genuinely hate you for not even trying
“Yaoi” on its own was created as a safe space for women, by women. It was never meant to be about gay rights alone, but for the expression of female desires in thoroughly male dominated industries of manga and anime. Bara was done more by gay men for gay men, if I recall correctly.
The fact that yaoi gets so much hate simply for women enjoying what was always meant to be /theirs/ rather than anything else is quite telling of the misogyny aimed towards it in general. An article here explains it far more beautifully than I can-
“It it thought that yaoi allows girls to safely explore different sexual identities free from stereotypes and societal norms. The androgynous designs of the characters can let a reader see the characters as both male, male and female, or even both female. Also, the characters tend to relate to each other as equals more than a traditional male/female relationship.
Yaoi is characterized by 2 specific character roles: seme and uke. Seme refers to “top” or “attacker.” Uke refers to “bottom” or receiver. While they do have sexual connotations (much like the American slang “hitter” and “catcher”), they are derived from formal martial art forms. Interestingly, yaoi characters typically do not identify as homosexual. They are more neutrally in love with a particular character as opposed to being a certain sexual orientation. Male characters also help avoid misogyny, female stereotypes, and sometimes abusive treatment of female characters in sexual scenes.”
So, while I am definitely not advocating for anyone to treat men and lgbt folk as their personal wank material (goodness knows, I hate that sort of thing myself), bear in mind that the fujoshi subculture is born from a place where women live in a mostly patriarchal society where they might not have the same freedom of expression that most western countries can have. It’s a means for them to explore themselves before concerning themselves with anything else. And for people to hate them for doing what was created for them in the first place, well. Says enough on its own, I think.
I feel like men want everything to be about them.
If women make f/f or m/f work straight men will insist it has to be about what straight men think is hot. Often framing the woman as the object for the straight male gaze instead of allowing them to be the subject whose is allowed to express desire.
If women make m/m in order to avoid being the object and to explore their own desire and frame men, for once, as the object of desire, then men insist this offends them as men and women need to stop.
Women are told we are not allow to have space or even make anything that’s for others own desires/not about men.
Men are uncomfortable when it’s not about them and feel the need to insist it is about them and they should be in charge of what women are allowed to do or enjoy.
What I hate about the attitude is the utter lack of empathy towards the Japanese women who invented the genre and reclaimed these terms. Yaoi and shoujo and jousie have always been an escapist safe haven for Japanese women to explore their sexualities and gender identity. If these kids and the controlling gay dudes on here actually bothered to open some of the manga from the 70s and 80s that birthed the genre they’d see that it was enjoyed by so many queer people and especially queer women just as much as straight women. It’s ironic that these kids now are just like the misogynistic men that called these Japanese women rotten women in the first place. It’s always been and always will be about controlling what women enjoy and find sexy.
This theory is really not my own (shoutout to darkspellmaster’s detailed theory here) but I’m really on board with the idea that this mysterious rebel fighter is Princess Romelle. So lets look at the clues that would suggest this…
Second, she was included in this dramatic reaction shot along with characters that the audience already have a history with.
Third, she is shown to be part of the Rebel Forces yet her outfit is different from their color scheme.
Fourth, her armour looks similar to King Alfor’s and the Paladin’s armour with the black bodysuit underneath and white breastplate, armplates and leg gear. The color accents of yellow and blue is reminiscent of Alfor’s armour and the shape of her helmet is similar to Allura’s. Altean sentries also have the same white, yellow and blue color scheme. In short, her whole look suggests Altean. (FYI, DotU’s Romelle was a distant relative of Allura because their planets Arus and Pollux were sister planets that were at war)
And fifth, she speaks with a computerized voice modulator which gives her a low woman’s voice. In DotU, Romelle spoke with a lower voice to connote that she was more mature (or older?) than Allura. Her low speaking voice was one of her more recognizable character traits. Also, she is given one line of dialogue that proved to be useful to whats going on in the story.
So this mysterious rebel fighter was inserted into the story and given prominence in the key scenes of the story but nothing else is reveled about her. This could mean that we will see more of her in future episodes.
But if this mysterious rebel is Romelle, where are the other Polluxians? What do they look like? Do they look like the Alteans that we’ve already seen? Or do they shapeshift their appearance to hide their Altean heritage?
I love what you did here! Throwing out a few more things I noticed when I was looking back at the scenes. When our strange woman shows up she is clearly working out something for mapping or navigation.
In the original series Romelle and Sven escape Planet Doom and Romelle is the key flyer of the ship and Sven becomes navigation. It’s interesting that they have her in the seat that would be reserved for Hunk in the first episode. Meaning that she probably is the Team engineer. Matt has clearly been shown to be the spy and the computer expert, which is Pidge’s role on the ship in the very first episode.
So with that assumption that means she’s doing the work of keeping the ship flying. We can see Matt is navigating as well in this picture, which means she keeping an eye on things inside the ship. There’s also the fact that when you stop to think about it, this lady must be high up in the ranks in regard to how Olia sees her.
She’s right next to Matt and Olia, while the other two officers are in the background. This normally is visual short hand to say she’s a leader character, at least second or third in charge. Matt clearly is communications here at this point and while we don’t see her on the bridge earlier,
We see her later prominently placed. Given that she came to the bridge to hear things, she had to be seen as needing to hear the message from Keith. Also the fact that Matt listen to her when they are in battle means that he respects her as well.
Throw in the fact that later she’s not on the ship for the final assault, makes me think that Lotor would have known her if he saw her when he meets with the others, which I think will happen given Olia will have to represent the Rebels in this case with Matt. Olia would leave someone she trusts and who can handle the prisoner galra on the ship.
The easier answer is where the Polluxians are, namely hidden probably from the Galra directly. Remember the Sincline ships were being put together by the drones, not galra soldiers. Lotor’s ship was full of drones as he didn’t trust other people other then his four generals. He mentions a group that made the gate. That could only have been created by the Alteans, meaning that Lotor knows where they are and is probably friends with them.
More then likely they may shape shift, but I think they’re hidden from most people due to the fact that Lotor didn’t even mention who made the gate to his generals. Looks wise, I would think that they may look more human to give, maybe closer to Lotor’s smaller ears. It’s been 10,000 years so they had to have evolved just a little.
– Her father was galra, and he loved his wife and kids very much and was a good dad and husband. Alas, he was a low-ranking soldier in the empire and died in battle, leaving his wife and ten kids behind.
– Ezor herself is a middle child, but often acted as the older one because her eldest siblings were not supportive and left the home when they came of age and never came back. Ezor is very bitter towards them.
– Often had to take odd jobs to support her family, mainly in retail and entertainment (where she honed her skills as a gymnast). These jobs (and pressure from being a good older sister) forced her to put on a “mask” of positivism and hide her actual feelings.
– After a number of years in this system she met Lotor who offered her a job as one of his generals after seeing her preform. She initially declined as she didn’t want to abandon her family like her older siblings while also harboring resentment towards the empire for her father’s death.
– Lotor eventually proved himself to be honest and she joined the generals after talking it over with her mother and younger siblings.
– Ezor makes a habit to this day of sending money home and face-timing her family when she has the time.
– Her non-galra species can reproduce sexually and asexually, so one of Ezor’s younger sisters is actually am asexual clone of their mother. Because the sister a product of asexual reproduction, she grew up faster than Ezor and looks older than her.
– Said sister has clone daughters of her own and Ezor loves her nieces very much and sends them presents everytime Lotor’s squad stops at a new place.
– Ezor herself cannot reproduce asexually because of her galra genes, (but she doesn’t mind at all, she’s not ready for kids).
– When Ezor first joined Lotor’s squad she didn’t tell the other generals that she could turn invisible (Lotor knew because he saw her performance) and often played tricks on them (like moving their stuff, stealing little things like their toothbrush). Zethrid never figured it out until Lotor made a plan that required Ezor to spy and use her invisibility powers. You can image Zethrid’s rage.
Narti
– Her blindness is congenital. In fact, her non-galra species naturally don’t have eyes and communicate through telepathy.
– The other generals and Lotor don’t know much about her past, or even her age for that matter.
– She was an experiment at one point, and was infused with quintessence that turned her telepathy from simple communication to mind-control abilities.
– She met Lotor when he went to “visit” the lab in question. He originally wanted to steal some of the information they’ve gathered there. He learned of her powers and asked if she wanted to join to which she agreed.
– Her tail is strong enough to pick up Zethrid, and can pick up Acxa and Ezor simultaneously. She has picked up her friends on occasion (this bothers Acxa more than anyone as it disrupts her while she works).
– Not surprisingly, is the only one who Kova would not bite if she tries to give him a bath.
– Loves audio books and always gets a new one when the group goes to a city with a bookstore. Her favorite genre is classical fantasy.
– Is unnaturally good at space bowling and Zethrid considers her her personal rival.
Zethrid
– is the daugther of a wealthy commander, but illegitimate. And as such was hidden away when growing up.
– Her mother died when she was young, and thus Zethrid has little connect to her non-galra species.
– She was raised by her father learning to fight, and he expected her to become a soldier of the empire. He also didn’t wanted to be publically associated with her. She became a gladiator fighter instead.
– Not only did Zethrid ignore her fathers’ desires she actively declared her parentage live in front of all the spectators.
– Despite being a gladiator, she refused to fight anyone who would obviously lose to her (someone like Matt, for example). It was out of mercy, but she would publically word it as it were an insult to her might.
– Received a lot of hate from racist people on account of her mixed heritage, and the aforementioned refusals.
– Was the first general Lotor recruited before he was exiled, when he was forced to go see a match of her’s with Zarkon.
– She loves playing with Kova, and is one of the only people besides Narti who could brush him without protest from Kova himself.
– Is actually well-eductaed, and knows a lot about weapon creation and mechanics. She is well versed in history and math as well.
– besides gladiator fights Zethrid is champ at space bowling and has gone pro in the past. Almost always gets perfect games and get really upset if she gets a spare.
Acxa
– Is the quintessential nerd, knows a lot of things over a variety of topics. Her main love, however, is chemistry.
Once was a in a bad mood for a week because they named a
newly-discovered element after the creator and not after the fact that
it resembled peanut butter (No one except Narti figured out why she was
so upset).
– She knows the space periodic table (over 400 elements) by heart and can recite it normally, by individual rows and columns, by order of electronegativity and metallic character. She is currently working on memorizing all the atomic masses.
– Doesn’t really know what her non-galra species is, but after meeting Keith and Hunk she has a vague idea that it might be human.
– Is the only general who actually has a menstrual cycle, which is a major inconvenience to her. Since galra don’t get periods she thought she was dying when had her first one. (Ezor also freaked out when she heard that Acxa bleeds for a week once a month every month).
– Was an orphan and has vague memories of her mother. Doesn’t like talking about her past.
– Grew up in a combination orphanage + boarding school, where she received her early education and exposure to science, and was often bullied because of mixed-race and the fact that she was actually real smart and also real small. Has self-esteem issues as a result.
– She accidentally (well it was kinda an accident) spilled hydrofluoric acid* on one of her bullies who was also her lab partner, when he “jokingly” tried to stick her head under a fume hood filled with NO2** gas. She got in deep trouble as a result, and was actually scheduled to be sent to the druids for “correction” when Lotor visited the school. He had heard of her talent and was interested in recruiting her. She joined immediately.
– Is a touch starved individual, and while she outwardly acts like she hates physical affection, she loves it when her friends hug her.
– Often falls asleep on her desk. Like it’s a regular thing. The other generals or Lotor have to carry her back to her room. Ezor often doodles on her face. Kova has actually sat on her face and slept as well.
– wears night glasses. While most galra can see in the dark and in very dim settings Acxa cannot. So when the squad go out at night she wears these big things that sit on her face. They make her look like a nerd.
Lotor
– was a test-tube baby where Haggar experimented with combining her genes with Zarkon’s.
– Haggar didn’t expect him to survive past infancy, as he was often a sickly infant (and later child).
– gets real bad hay fever and hates it when he has to go to a planet that has a lot of greenery. Also allergic to space cockroaches for some reason.
– Has the sweetest genuine smile, it’s very lopsided and cute and makes him look quite earnest. Very few people have seen it though, these people being the generals.
– Is closer (very loose usage of the term) to Haggar than Zarkon. Is pretty confident that she wouldn’t use him as a test subject for her experiments.
– was actually born intersex, but presents as male. Unrelated, but he is also asexual and doesn’t really have an interest in romance currently.
– Has ocular albinism and bright lights hurts his eyes. Really terrible eyesight overall, and gets cross-eyed a lot.
– Initially studied psychology so could actually try to understand his parents. (He still doesn’t).
*hydrofluoric acid is one of the most corrosive acids known. It leaves real deep burns that go through the bone. Inhalation can give you a heart attack. (Acxa’s bully was didn’t die though, and it wasn’t a bad spill).
**NO2 – nitrogen dioxide is a very poisonous gas and can cause respiratory emergencies
It blows my mind that people look at this scene and still want to dismiss the fact that Haggar is his mother, either suggesting a mistress or otherwise. This is such a good shot of mother and son, you can see the exact traits he inherited, and the fact that this is a good scene in general, as it tells us all about their relationship. Haggar feels entitled to control Lotor and send people after him, Lotor throws tantrums and walks away when she reacts with apathy towards his feelings. It also implies that despite the rocky relationship with both his parents, he prefers Haggar, as he still backed down after his tantrum, either because he wanted out before she actually got annoyed with him, or not wanting to pick a genuine fight with her.
That scene was probably meant for a “Once more with clarity” effect
At first it seems like she’s a member of the old guard hassling him but in hindsight it looks like a pretty straightforward “Stop going through my stuff mom, you just don’t understand me” exchange plus some torn-off mechanolimbs because they’re supervillains.
Like, one could even read her as somewhat concerned like, not wanting him to get himself blown up pursuing his “ideas” the way Zarkon did.
Another indication of famliarity is how Lotor is very direct with his complaint and doesn’t bother with his usual facade – the implication being that she knows what’s undermeath anyways. She seems to know him well, enough to be familiar with his tendency to plot & planand obsessively pursue his plans, but she doesn’t realize that mentioning Zarkon is gonna be counterproductive even if its true.
I’m not sure if I’d say that he “prefers” her, (She seems very much in likne with Zarkon in that she has very specific ideas about how lotor exactly lotor is supposed to do the governing… meanwhile lotor doesn’t really wanna spend his only shot at governing/chance to prove himself being a puppet king) but, she’s kinda more reasonable person to talk to, in that she tends to be all grumpy and unflinching whereas Zarkon frequently throws random underlings across the room for talking back to him.
I mean his displays dont really faze her, he’s kinda talking to a brick wall there. She probably frustrates him in her owen, different way. I think it’s less that he backed down but that he retreated because his tricks don’t work on her. He went in there trying to pull a resolute display but he cracked and got all emotional before she did, or at least you could really tell that he had something to prove.
Even in his good days he never ever listened/ wouldn’t have his authority questioned, not even Alfor back when they were still best friends (and that was probably the fatal flaw that lead him down his path) – he seems to be marginally more lenient with his loved ones in that he lets them keep their heads but they gotta back down because he certainly wont.
It’s kinda one of these situation where one parent has accepted and learned to deal with the other’s difficult personality traits and can handle them (she knows when to humor him with some deferrence even though she’s functionally an equal without whom he couldn’t do his thing) but the kids never signed up for it and can’t always handle it, especially if they’re just as stubborn as the parent in question.
i mean Lotor seems to want to open a new rift to become as powerful as his parents, perhaps so that they have to aknowledge him & let him get his say in.
The irony being that for all he differens from his parents its their similarities that bring them into conflict – he’s got zarkon’s stubborness, Haggar’s intelligence and the ambition of both, especially if we consoider that Haggar was far less cautious in her youbger days.
Fujoshi literally translates to “rotten/spoiled/ruined woman.”
The term fujoshi is a way of policing women’s sexuality and their expression of it.
Why are straight women making yaoi? Because their own sexuality is seen as dirty and shameful, but male sexuality is celebrated. By substituting a man in their place in their fantasies, they are able to explore their sexuality without shame.
But of course, ANY expression of sexual desire is unacceptable. No man wants to marry a slut, right? And in a culture based around extremely rigid gender roles, if you can’t find a husband, you’re basically useless. You’ve failed at being a woman.
So congrats antis.
YET AGAIN, you’ve failed to hide your rampant sexism and sex-shaming.
Fujoshi’s are called “rotten” because fetishizing mlm is fucking gross. Male sexuality in terms of MLM is only celebrated by straight women who get off on it. Many fujoshi are actually homophobic towards real mlm, and the creation and distribution of content that fetishizes us while also dehumanizing us (ie noncon mlm, abusive mlm ships, incest mlm etc) is harmful to us.
female sexuality being shamed is a real, actual problem, and using it to excuse homophobia and fetishization of mlm is disgusting and wrong, and undermines the struggles both women and mlm face.
You do realize that some people (I, my boyfriend, and many more) would prefer to be fetishized to being desexualized? Just because you have a problem with that, doesn’t mean anyone else has. You don’t speak on behalf of all mlm. I’m mlm and I used to fucking love yaoi (then I grew up, but that’s another story). Yaoi fangirls are still my friends and comrades (even though I hate “nosebleed” culture). You don’t like yaoi? Don’t read yaoi. Don’t turn your personal preference into a global problem and don’t pretend all gay and bi men will be at your side.
I support this response.
Fujoshi is a reclaimed insult. @sleepy-anti doesn’t know what the fuck they’re talking about. the term fujoshi was coined and used by straight men to demonize women who shipped m/m pairings from popular anime and games, and it was homophobic and misogynistic (you’d be amazed how often those two go hand in hand) because women who had “deviant” sexual interests were, according to these men, “rotten”.
female fans in Japan reclaimed the insult and called themselves fujoshi much in the same way that in the west, we affectionately call ourselves “geeks”. women calling themselves fujoshi was and is a tongue-in-cheek way of saying “yeah, we’re fucking rotten, what are you gonna do about it?” and a common phrase used by female BL fans is “sukina mono wa suki dakara shouganai”, meaning “I like what I like, so there.” it’s a stubborn refusal to let men shame them into hiding or changing their interests.
i PROMISE you the men who started calling them fujoshi in the first place did not give one single fuck about gay men being “fetishized”.
it’s worth noting that fujoshi mostly means BL fans but it also includes women and girls who love otome works, or who just have an intense love for cute fictional boys. it’s essentially a female counterpart to otaku.
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING A FUJOSHI.
it doesn’t mean you creep on real gay men. it doesn’t mean you think real gay men are objects for your sexual pleasure. it doesn’t mean you think real gay men are gross but fictional ones are fine. it doesn’t have a single goddamn thing to do with real gay men.
it means being really enthusiastic about cute fictional boys and sexual or romantic stories that center around them. that’s it. and there’s nothing wrong with that.
P.S. what is up with the fucking audacity of sleepy-anti saying “don’t undermine the problems women face [with being shamed for their sexuality]“ while he sits there and says women who like certain kinds of sexual content and gross and evil
superheroladies 