ᴏᴏ1 ( ᴠɪᴅᴇᴏ ) | ᴛʜᴇ ʀᴇsᴇᴀʀᴄʜᴇʀ.

[unpatriarchal]

[ lotor has kept mostly to himself, since the return from struxta, with some rare exceptions. for someone who has chased his destiny for 10,000 years, he felt woefully unprepared at dealing with the consequences of it all falling apart. and so, he's kept quiet, mulling over what he plans to do. how he plans to wield his time, here. what chess pieces he is going to move next.

ultimately, lotor decides that sulking is pointless, and keeping himself isolated is even more pointless. no, he needs new connections, and new "friends" (whatever), and to explore the circle more than he has. he had been so wrapped up in ensuring that allura was safe (and simultaneously quasi-begging for her not to kill him) that he forewent all other connections.

allura is a dead-end. this is (likely) more worthwhile.

so, enjoy a sudden message on your magical watches of a lavender total dream-boat dumpster fire. you're welcome, circle. ]

Now that all of us seem to be more or less healed . . .

[ what moron sends a group of people into a contaminated hellfire without proper decontamination procedures. astoria is an amateur. ]

We all seem to come from far stretches of the universe, and some of us have asked questions. Some have asked the same one I am about to pose, so forgive the repetition. I'm certain most of you have some sort of basic understanding of your universe in comparison to others, but I confess I'm more curious than most -- to my own detriment, more often than not.

[ lotor pauses. ]

This witch -- [ and lotor says the word somewhat disdainfully, but it likely isn't too noticeable unless you know him personally. lotor has Negative Feelings about witches. ] -- seems to have dragged us here from all walks of life, but seems to lack an understanding of how or why . . . is there a pattern? Likely not, but for the sake of data -- What is your world like? Your culture? Your language, or your understanding of technology? Has your species achieved space-travel yet, or is this a new concept to you?

[ he pauses, again, before shrugging his shoulders. ]

And, in anticipation of the same questions being turned on me, and some of the individuals remaining in the Circle spilling my deepest and darkest secrets -- my name is Lotor. I am the Emperor of the Galran Empire, a warlike space-faring species that has conquered most of the known universe. [ for someone sharing that he's in charge of a warlike conquering species, lotor doesn't look too concerned at how that relevation is going to destroy his reputation. ] I am recently in charge; our past leader had much to be desired, and I am seeking to shift the goals of my species into something less self-destructive and something more productive. [ he seems to skip smoothly over that. ] My species has no homeworld; it was destroyed some time ago, which then spawned a war. No Galra has known a home planet since; I was born on a space station.

[ lotor seems to consider all of that, weighing out whether or not he wants to go on -- but he seems to think that's enough to chew on, for now, and he folds his arms over his chest. ]

Anyone else? New members? Old? Information in exchange for information, of course. I'll answer questions as I'll receive them.

Comments

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[rightfully]

[ It's an engaging series of question, he poses, and Lucina is always at least a little bit eager to talk about her home - in couched terms, of course - but first things first. ]

Lotor— ah, apologies, your Grace, well met. [ Since he is an Emperor, after all. Respect to foreign royalty is well-bred into her bones. ] I'm Lucina.

[ She has no idea what a space station is. Also, homeworlds can be destroyed and society can survive? That - that's just insane. Thinking of her own sundered timeline, burned from history, her voice is thoughtful. ]

My home is the nation of Ylisse, situated on the continent of Akaneia.

[ Pro...bably... Fire Emblem doesn't think too hard about these things sometimes ]

I suspect our level of technology is quite mundane by the standards of most here. Before arriving, I had never seen anything like the communication bracelets [ smartwatches, you know ] - and a lot of what is familiar to me is archaic to many.

Space travel, for instance, is not a term I quite know.

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[unpatriarchal]

Lotor is fine; I have no kingdom here, and usage of title isn't necessary even if I did.

[ few people actually call him emperor outside of a select galra, so using his first name isn't really that insulting to him. someone not from earth, which is unusual, given the selection within the circle. without technology, familiar with some conversations he's had. . . ]

You aren't alone, in being "behind," whatever that means to you. It's simply a different way of doing the same thing we all are -- living. [ and he seems to mean it; technology or lackthereof doesn't designate a species' usefulness or advanced nature, by any means. ] Space travel -- going through the stars, to visit different planets -- may be in your future yet.

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[weremongoose]

[And there are aliens. Literally everything is real after all. Barabas needs a nap. But that's an interesting question.]

I like the idea. Though this may stir up some homesickness.

[He's teasing, clearly, given the flicker of a grin.] I'm from Earth, as are a lot of people I've spoken to. But I've yet to meet anyone from my Earth.

Technology is something my world relied on exclusively until just over forty years ago, when magic reappeared in the world in a flood. Now tech and magic are at odds. ...before that we had managed space travel, but not much more than the moon and back, as far as manned travel goes. Nowadays, not even airplanes fly.

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[unpatriarchal]

[ magic and technology at odds . . . a stark difference from civilizations like altea, where the two seemed to harmonize in perfect sync. ]

I'm familiar with Earth. [ fuckin voltron. ] But the Earth that I'm familiar with lacks magic, or . . . unexplained phenomena of many kinds. It seems to primarily rely on science, but as you said, a limited kind. Travel to the moon and back is fairly primitive, in comparison with my own species, but impressive, with others.

How does your species get around now, without technology? Magic, I assume?

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[godcards]

[ While not so keen to just freely give up information about himself, Malik is pretty tickled to see a self-admitted warlord around. It made him feel less... guilty. ]

I can't say space travel means much to me, but then again, it's also not that important to me or my people. We're content enough to map the stars and build grand structures on the ground... or under it, as the case may be. I left my home, but the point was for these structures to last for centuries... And they did. Since you're not from Earth I can't say if it'll mean much to you, but I am from Egypt. Pretty much everyone knows about Egyptian culture, because it's just that enduring! Hahaha...

[ His laughter trails off, a bit awkwardly. And look. His sense of culture is thousands of years out of date but it's all he knows, okay. ]

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[unpatriarchal]

I'm familiar with Earth, but not necessarily with the different areas of the planet.

[ egypt sounds familiar, but in a vague way . . . like he read a sentence in a book, and is having difficulty placing out exactly why it sounds important. a powerful culture on earth, perhaps? who knows. ]

So your people are talented with architecture and design? [ interesting. ] Building something without the usage of fine machinery to last thousands of years is quite the achievement.

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[gluhen]

While I do agree an exchange of information would be beneficial, I am more curious as to what your own intentions are here. As someone from a self-professed species of conquerors, why would we so easily believe that you have curbed your primitive behavior and have more altruistic goals in mind?

[ Like many others, he's hesitant to surrender information about himself that easily, especially with such an honest introduction. Perhaps, too honest, but he had sought to do just this when he left his former position as a Dragon Knight -to learn of other lands far and wide; to learn how they govern; to learn how they achieve order.

Could such a thing even succeed among a bunch of warmongerers? ]

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[unpatriarchal]

I would be a fairly stupid conquerer if I informed all of you exactly what I was prior to taking you all over, and I can assure you that I'm not stupid. [ his tone is a bit dry. ] And even if I were so inclined to conquer this place, I'm not exactly jumping to partake in what you label as 'primitive behavior.'

[ he sounds genuine, at that. the entire idea just sounds exhausting, and honestly pretty pointless. and by the way he says 'primitive behavior,' it seems lotor agrees with that assessment. killing each other and conquering is pretty primitive. ]

My curiosity is simply academic, and an interest in tracing a particular pattern of arrival here. You don't need to trust me, or my intentions, to wonder why is she selecting us, of all people?

not here;

[juniberries]

[just side-eyeing.

all of this.]

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[a_sharp_wit]

[Ah, another of the space faring ones! It's fascinating really how many here have traveled so far.]

I have been told my 'species', as it were, do travel to space in the future. It is certainly a distant future from my own however. The technology in these devices alone is vastly removed from that within my own time.

As for my culture, well, I own I do not know how that compares to humans of the future very well. I have come to understand some vestments of gentility in the future are not quite as normal as they are in my own time.

[She pauses there and a bit of amusement rises in her tone.]

However we are still a species who does enjoy pomp and circumstances, a fact I imagine is very little changed even with the passage of time.

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[unpatriarchal]

[ humans. another one from earth. ]

Are you nobility, then?

[ she sounds wealthy, anyway. and refers to the world around her with a certain amount of grace. ]

And pomp and circumstance is common throughout the universe, I think. Even my species can throw the occasional party.

[ though what they celebrate is macabre at best. ]

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[bestaround]

[ An alien race bent on conquering other plants? Oh boy. 9S' makes a subtle wrinkle of his nose, but that's about the strongest reaction he makes in response; after all, this guy says he wants to change things... He really hopes that's the case.

Before he delves into any of that, though— ]

You're right, I'd say there's way too many of us to ever find any real pattern between every person. But I don't think there needs to be one, either.

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[unpatriarchal]

So you think it's entirely random?

[ it's a possibility that lotor has considered, but pulling random people from across the universe . . . it's a poor way to enact anything of consequences. ]

[unrecovered]

[Mention of a warlike, conquering alien race does not put Wash at ease; that's only one quasi-religious genocide away from being Covenant, and that is not something he wants to deal with.]

[But Lotor was competent on Struxta, and Wash has no reason to disbelieve anything he's saying. Plus, he's being pretty open about the whole species of conquerors thing.]

If you want to know more about Astoria's methodology, you could just ask her. She's pretty open.

[Maddeningly nonspecific at times, but still: open.]

...and who else is here from your world?

[Because either Lotor has people from home here, or he's given his deepest and darkest secrets to someone else in the Circle. They're both possible, but the latter is not the option Wash would bet on.]

[unpatriarchal]

Do you actually have a straight-forward conversation with her?

[ he's not being judgmental; he's legitimately curious. lotor has been dealing with Personal Stuff (tm) for the duration of his time here, and honestly hasn't bothered reaching out to astoria as a result. he has, though, been listening, paying attention, figuring out what the common consensus of their captor is.

he hasn't decided how he's felt, yet. ]

And multiple people. Princess Allura, for one. Shiro, for another.

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[chromatized]

[ it's interesting that he'd willingly bring up the fact that he has opposition here. it could mean he has nothing to hide and he's trying to preempt them, or...

um. or something else.

lbr politicking is kind of wasted on Ludger. ]

I'm Ludger. It'd... probably be easier to ask us about the places we came from - things that are ordinary to us might be pretty unusual for you.

As for my home, I don't think space travel will be in the cards for a long time. We've been a bit busy lately. [ given the whole, you know, Schism coming down and the mana shortage and the Trial and a giant baby dimension appearing in the sky- ]

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[unpatriarchal]

Your culture doesn't encompass that question?

[ but fine, have it your way. ]

Then let's begin with what you've just said -- busy with what? What did you do in your world, Ludger, before you were brought here?

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[apocryphas]

[ As it turns out, Mordred harbors similar disdain for witches and picks up on Lotor's tone when he mentions Astoria. She doesn't ask him why he feels that way, though, because there's no reason to. Nobody should trust witches, so this man seems completely rational to her! What a rare sight!

As for the world she comes from... well, that's probably a more complicated answer. Time to teach someone about Fate?? ]

Well, purple emperor, if you gotta know, my home is kinda destroyed, too.

[ All... thanks to her........ ]

A space station... that's one of those man-made planets, huh? Bet it's nothing like the real thing.

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[unpatriarchal]

[ purple . . . emperor . . . ]

[ video ] »

[geomagnetically]

Lorna Dane, hi, AKA Polaris.

[ She introduces herself first in her reply. ]

My world is vast; I've done travels through space and time in it. It's got a lot of problems though -- oppression, persecution, et cetera. Also helped save my world more times than I can count from, uh, warlike space-faring species.

[ To use his words. She has Feelings about that descriptor. Also, her sister is a witch, so if she catches on to those Feelings of his about witches, consider her feathers even more ruffled. ]

[ video ] »

[unpatriarchal]

Do you prefer Lorna Dane, or Polaris?

[ it’s the first question he asks, curious at the usage of two separate names. but lotor notices her repetition of war-like species, and his expression looks sympathetic. ]

There is no such thing as utopia; oppression, persecution, the like, they exist no matter where you go. The Galra certainly didn’t help matters, when they embarked on their quest to conquer the universe. A lot of people died -- worlds, due to my people’s atrocities. I hope to rebuild not only our reputation, but establish peace across the universe, by ascending to the throne.

[ he pauses. ]

You say you helped save your world?

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[sendinthecavalry]

An emperor, eh?

[That's a bit more concerning than Cayde is willing to let on, especially with the plethora of questions that are being posed to the entirety of the circle. The chance of similarities between universes is understandably slim, if at all, but-]

So your whole empire, all that. How'd you describe them?

[Information first, then maybe quid pro quo.]

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[unpatriarchal]

My Empire, or my people?

[ a question in return; the two are entirely different subject matters, to him, and while lotor is willing to answer questions, he won’t be an open book unless you specifically request it. ]

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[isaz]

[ the temptation to draw a sword is tempered by the fact that this... Galra is civil. Boreas looks stone-faced on camera; while he usually is serious, this is a bit further than the norm. ]

What do you mean by less self-destructive?

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[unpatriarchal]

My people are typically a warlike race; I prefer diplomacy and strategy over outright slaughtering one another, or conquering species that are better left alone.

[ lotor would much prefer learning about other cultures and learning from them than squashing them out, which is the usual galra way. ]

The Galra also tend to solve everything by brutal violence – murdering one another to get ahead, and the like. It’s barbaric.

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[baguablade]

Conquering most of the known universe is the self-destructive behavior, so I'm curious... what's the more productive behavior you have in mind?

[ Sure, Lotor probably is on the up and up about not wanting to go on the conquering warpath at the moment, for a number of reasons. At the least, Cain figures it's just not a practical plan considering the circumstances. But he's still curious about everything else, least of which is the bits that are particularly relevant to Cain's own situation back home. ]

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[unpatriarchal]

Cease conquest, for one. Reforge alliances and re-establish the Galran Empire as a force for peace, rather than bloodshed and warfare, for another. Ruling alongside other kingdoms, rather than attempting to squash them underfoot.

[ it sounds rather alien, to lotor, but he does genuinely believe that the galra could be better. ]

So, naturally, proposing such radical changes has caused something of a rift in the infrastructure, despite my rightful ascension to the throne.

[ he sounds tired at the thought. ]

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[p_mortem]

[ Minato texts back out of his own convenience, but he leaves the audio open in case that's what Lotor prefers. These are definitely all questions he's been asked before, and his answers are mundane compared to others, he knows, but somebody has to represent places where nothing really fancy happens, he supposes. ]

Nice to meet you, sir. My name's Minato, and I'm an Earthling.

[ god it feels so weird to type that. do other alien species call them Earthlings or is it just something stupid out of the movies, he doesn't know ]

Earth is... 70% water? Or something like that. Culture and language and all that is really diverse, so that's sort of hard to explain... We have wi-fi. That's the pinnacle of technology, I think.

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[unpatriarchal]

I'm familiar with Earth; it exists, in "my" universe. But I've never been.

[ yet, anyway. ]

Your description of human technology seems to be slightly behind what I've encountered in my travels, but Earth has always been a little sheltered in comparison to the rest of the universe. Have you travelled beyond your moon, yet?

[resistivity]

( nnnnnnn these fire nation teas, tho...

it's on a grander scale, maybe. but mako sort of... gets where he's coming from, at least. it's not exactly enough to get him to trust lotor or loquaciously commiserate, but at least he doesn't just shut the feed off and go back to drying seaweed.

there's a lot to unpack, though. plenty for a detective to parse, and mako plays the message over a few times, idly starting or stopping on key points. a few of the things lotor said get scribbled down, and finally — )

Why would anyone from your world be interested in spilling your secrets?

[unpatriarchal]

I am the emperor of a race guilty of conquering nearly the entirety of the known universe, and there are multiple people here who have sworn to destroy said empire. We have a tentative alliance at best, though we do work together when we are home.

[ again, lotor seems to be honest. and it's not necessarily a lie; it's just not spelling out specific details. ]

As you can imagine, conversations can get interesting.

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[fairysong]

Well, aren't we impressive, Mister Emperor. [Says the human woman with the pink-blonde hair, not sounding impressed in the slightest.]

I don't suppose you Galra have ever come across the Zentradi in your conquests? Giant folk, fifty feet tall, usually breed by cloning?

Or how about the Vajra-- insects that all share a communal mind. Any of those ringing a bell?

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[unpatriarchal]

Lotor is more than sufficient.

[ though, from lotor's tone, he's expecting to continue to be called 'mister emperor' despite his best efforts to convince her otherwise. ]

And no, neither of those species sound familiar -- but the universe is a massive place. I haven't explored every single corner of it.

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[bleps]

Hello, my name is Connor. I come from the planet Earth.

[His introductions these days sure are wild.]

Obviously I’m more than willing to go into finer detail, but it would be remiss of me to not point out a likely obvious connection — many of us here, varying universes or otherwise, seem to call this particular planet home. So much that I would call it a bias that skews the data in one very discernible direction.

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[unpatriarchal]

There are a lot of human beings here, more than I was honestly expecting considering this witch seems to be pulling from all supposed corners of the universe.

[ indeed, lotor seems to be one of the only noticeably "alien" people here. ]

It almost makes you wonder how much of an eye she has on your planet.

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[inheritedearth]

[There's a lot here to unpack. Much of the information Lotor offers is interesting, to say the least, and Aerith won't deny that she's curious, but there's something that sticks with her above all the rest, and a faint smile pulls at her lips as she responds.]

My people lost their home planet, too. It was so long ago that it's only in records, most of them incomplete. Since then, they moved between worlds, looking for a place to call home, but eventually they came to the planet that I was born on.

[It almost sounds like a happy ending, but:]

I'm the last of them. Most were wiped out a long time ago. I thought... that might be worth mentioning, if we're looking for things that people here might have in common.

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[unpatriarchal]

[ . . . ah.

truth be told, zarkon felt the loss of daibazaal far more than lotor did. lotor never knew a home planet, nor did he particularly miss one. it's simply something that he knows existed, at one point, and the loss of such a thing spawned a violent war between the alteans and the galra, which eventually resulted in allura's parents' deaths, and lotor's own parents' madness. to him, the lack of a home planet is simply a fact. his race has always been space-faring, to him.

but something she says . . . ]

The last of them?

[ curious. ]

Surely some vestiges of them must remain. Many Galra now are intermingled with other species. [ including himself. ] Your species didn't do the same?

[sunborne]

[ daylight raises his hand up, out of habit (and the fact he's around actual royalty again!) more than anything else. ]

Umm... Can I ask a question, Emperor Lotor? I mean- I'll tell you what I can about my mom's planet and my dad's planet but... er...

Yeah.

Just curious about something, is all. [ it'll be a real quick question, he swears. while he loves to gush about his parents and their lives and histories and stuff, something that the emperor said has his curiosity piqued. ]

[unpatriarchal]

[ . . . large robot man. lotor’s brow furrows only briefly, a split second . . . ]

Lotor is fine.

[ without missing a beat, offering a smile in greeting, and a wave of his hand. The title itself truly isn’t that important, here, and lotor doesn’t seem to mind that it isn’t used. ]

What is your question?

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[runwaying]

Another Emperor? We seem to have quite a number of them, here...

[ it's bright, and sounds almost amused, in a way. ]

There's a lot of royalty around here, or pseudo-royalty, at that. And I've been wondering about that question, myself, honestly, since a friend mentioned that there wouldn't be any reason why mundanes like us would be called to... ah, save a world in jeopardy?

[ definitely thinking about struxta. oops. ]

There isn't much like magic in my version of Earth-- [ since she figured out the whole multiple worlds thing sometime back ] --and our technology still has some ways to go before it meets yours, I think~

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[unpatriarchal]

Are there that many of us?

[ lotor seems genuinely interested in the question, curiosity piqued. He knows of allura, obviously, and himself . . . how much royalty is sprinkled throughout the ranks? ]

And why would you call yourself mundane? Everyone has some sort of skill that would be useful in times of crisis, even if it isn’t particularly spectacular, by the common definition. What do you do in your world? What is your area of expertise?