MoM Application

[lasersounds]

〈 PLAYER INFO 〉
NAME: Crystal
AGE: Old. 28.
JOURNAL: atreios
IM / EMAIL: litlenosymouse (signed a geezer still using AIM) | draconian.eclipse[at]gmail.com
PLURK: likeredgold
RETURNING: NAH...I'm new.

〈 CHARACTER INFO 〉
CHARACTER NAME: Lance
CHARACTER AGE: Late Teens
SERIES: Voltron: Legendary Defender
CHRONOLOGY: Season 2. Post "Space Mall".
CLASS: The Most Heroic of Heroes.
HOUSING: Stick him anywhere!

BACKGROUND:
Prior to his time in the Galaxy Garrison, much of Lance’s background is left a mystery, as it is with most of the Paladins of Voltron. What we do know is that he has a large family (seen during an exercise), and he is of Cuban descent (as said by his VA in an interview). The series really hates giving us solid background apparently.

For Lance, and the audience, everything begins at the Galaxy Garrison. This seems to be akin to a military school and is likely fairly prestigious for its space program as Lance was vying for a spot. Prior to earning his place as a fighter pilot, Lance was training in cargo—he finally earned his place as a fighter because their top student (Keith) dropped out. At the Garrison, he was part of a three-man team which also included Hunk (engineering specialist) and Pidge (communications specialist). From the first episode, it’s very clear that Lance is gunning for the glory of a fighter pilot—so much so that he continually botches his team’s simulator runs by going in hot and not thinking through his approaches. It’s not so much that he’s completely reckless, more that he is trying too hard to be impressive when the situation doesn’t call for it. These actions, of course, lead his team to be properly chewed out—and clearly, the answer is to cut loose and sneak out to get over their woes.

Of course, a simple break of curfew and Garrison rules could never go so simply. Not for this ragtag bunch. After Lance drags Hunk out to follow Pidge, the trio witnesses the crash landing of what appears to be an alien ship. Being the sleuths dumbasses they are, the team finds themselves caught up in helping their former classmate (and in Lance’s case “rival”) Keith rescue a long-lost hero Shiro. After this rescue turned hover-chase sends them careening off a cliff and out into the desert, the Garrison trio continues to work with Keith and now Shiro to find something out in the desert—something that must be connected to this Voltron Pidge has been receiving signals about, something Keith has been searching for months to find.

This “something” turns out to be a giant, robotic lion that is being hunted by a mysterious, and dangerous, alien force. For once, Lance’s tendency to not think his actions through has some benefit—he is the one that manages to awaken the Blue Lion, forging an almost immediate bond. This awakening provides the future Paladins with a vision of the true Voltron—a giant fighting robot comprised of five transformed mini-lions. As Lance takes the controls, the lion launches them out of the cavern it was discovered in and soon brings them into the far reaches of space. Eventually, due to being chased by an alien force, the lion brings the Paladins through a wormhole to the alien planet Arus—a planet thousands of light years and several galaxies away from earth.

It is on this planet that they gain access to the Castle of Lions and awaken the only living inhabits, Princess Allura, her royal advisor Coran, and a family of Altean mice. Princess Allura reveals that the universe is under siege by the same alien force that is trying to find Blue and the other Voltron Lions—the Galra Empire. It is here that it’s decided the five earthlings are to be Voltron’s Paladins, and thus the last hope for the universe.

Lance is, of course, given the assignment of the Blue Lion, the right leg of Voltron. Given Lance’s uncanny ability to flirt at the completely wrong moment, Allura was never able to explain what traits are inherent to the Blue Paladins of the past. However, considering the temperament of the Blue Lion one can assume that Lance’s normally friendly nature and over-confidence play into his bond a bit. Following their assignments, Lance is sent with Hunk to retrieve the Yellow Lion from where it was hidden on another planet—one unfortunately under recent Galra control. After an intense fire-fight, the pair manages (barely) to recover the lion and make it back to Arus.

With the Lions recovered, the Paladins must then come together to work as a team—a cohesive team with the ability to form Voltron at a moment’s notice. It sounds fairly easy—something that could and should be achieved complete with an 80s montage, but that montage only results in consistent failure. Ultimately, what brings them together as a team is their ability to bond with their Lions and with each other. It’s not flawless, and numerous conflicts with the Galra continually highlight how much more they have to learn to truly be the Defenders of the Universe.

Lance has yet to truly have his “Moment” in the series. He hasn’t had an arc where he’s forced to truly come into his own—and in fact, he still doubts his purpose on the team well into the second season. He does have a period of leadership in “The Depths”. During this episode, following the flawed wormhole jump at the end of season one, Lance and Hunk find themselves stranded in an underwater city where something funky is going on. Lance is spirited away by a group of “freedom fighters” looking to break people of the “mind-swishing” they believe the queen has them under. During an attack on the city led by the freedom fighters, Lance manages to capture the queen with Plaxum (one of the freedom fighters). During this, the queen reveals that the brain-swishing was not her doing—an argument Plaxum doubts. Using his judgment, Lance decides to hear what the queen has to say, and the truth is revealed. The “garden” that the people have been eating from is, in fact, a carnivorous creature that feeds on the inhabitants of the mermaid city. This leads to a conflict with the beast. Without the guidance of Shiro, Lance takes the helm in directing Hunk in the onslaught. This eventually leads to Lance discovering the extent of his Lion’s abilities and eventually taking the beast down. It is a moment that builds on his confidence in battle, if not in his role as a part of Voltron.

For a large remainder of the series, Lance is a support character. This is mostly due to the arc of this season being the reveal of Keith’s heritage, though Lance is coming from a period before that. However, in this support role, we do see more of Lance connecting with his fellow Paladins—specifically, there is a standout moment with Pidge in the episode “Space Mall”. If anything, this shows their bond to have evolved beyond Pidge’s grudging acceptance of Lance as a team member at the Garrison to that of a full-fledged friend and teammate. They spend the whole day at the mall trying to earn enough money for Pidge to buy a game system from an “Earth-wares” shop. It’s tedious, time-consuming, and Lance could have easily decided to spend his time elsewhere, but Pidge’s delight and excitement we enough to draw Lance in and make him work for it too. Getting a cow out of the deal was just an added bonus (a necessary one since the system can’t even be plugged in for use on the Castle of Lions).

[And it is at this point that Lance will be joining MoM]

PERSONALITY:
Lance is, on the surface, very egotistical, cocky, confrontational, flirtatious, and arrogant. Essentially he’s a cocksure, overconfident, teenager. He seems to see life as a joy-ride, something to be experienced and reveled in. He’s adventure-seeking, and thrills in imagining the reward and glory that could come with defeating Zarkon in order to lighten the mood and distract from the overwhelming seriousness of the whole affair. He is easily one of the most impulsive members of Team Voltron, second only to Keith, whom he has a somewhat antagonistic rivalry with—though this likely stems from jealousy more than any real malice on Lance’s part. While he exudes confidence, Lance is ultimately unsure of his own abilities and his place on the team.

Lance has a tendency to not take their situation as seriously outside of fire-fights and missions, but his humor is ultimately a factor in helping the team relax. His antics are often placed as comic-relief, but it gets the other Paladins to laugh—even if it’s at his expense. Honestly, if not for his ridiculous jokes, heavy-handed flirtations, and petty “arguments”, the team might have simply died from stress long before now. Shiro and Allura both take up the helm of leader and have a single minded focus on the defeat of Zarkon, Keith takes himself and life far too seriously half the time, Hunk has moments of realizing just how screwed their situation really is, and Pidge has the stress of trying to locate their missing family in the vastness of the Galra Empire—they need an outlet and Lance takes it on himself to be that on more than one occasion.

Lance may often seem like a class clown, or a guy with a chip on his shoulder with something to prove, but in moments of clarity—in those rare moments when he stops all of his acting—Lance is shown to be so much more than his actions suggest. He is rather sensitive, reflective, and at times distant and self-deprecating when his teammates aren’t around or he lowers his guard (seen with the Yupper in season two, and at the party on Arus in season one). He deeply misses Earth and his family, which he seems to be fairly close to based on his reflections on Arus. He’s not sure where he fits on the team, often wondering what his “thing” is, and how he can truly be of value to his fellow Paladins. His attitude, more often than not, serves as a cover for this homesickness and doubt.

Lance is also very situationally aware—when the time calls for it, or when he has already dropped his cover as a cocky flirt. He pays attention during missions and has shown an ability to formulate plans that take all elements into account, as seen on the Balmera where he stops Keith from charging in, reminding the other Paladin that the Balmera is a living creature that can be hurt. Instead he notes how they can drop into the control room and simply trap the fighters in the hanger…without attacking head-on, a plan that Keith (begrudgingly) admits is the better one. He also was the one to catch on that a Galra drone wasn’t Rover, but a planted bomb set to explode in the control hub of the Castle of Lions. He is willing to go to great lengths to protect his friends and allies, using his own body as a shield against that very bomb in order to shield Coran from harm. He values the lives of those around him and has shown his willingness to protect it. At this point, it is the way he clings to his roles, and how he uses them to cover his own vulnerabilities, that keep him from truly coming into his own as a Paladin of Voltron.

POWER:
Paladin of Voltron: Lance is part of a space band team that is very color-coordinated. Lance happens to be the Blue Member of the team. Blue-themed space uniform, complete with comm link, shield, and a blue bayard—which turns into a rad laser based Sniper Rifle.

Blue Lion: The color-coordination continues! Like the Paladins before him, and the yellow colored one here now, Lance will have the company of one downsized Blue Lion robot. A nice, regular lion-sized robot.

Ice Beam: The Blue Paladin is the Paladin of Water, though these powers manifest as an ice beam in canon. Therefore, Lance’s non-canon power will play on this. It will take some learning until he’s able to use it effectively, but it’ll pretty much be what it says—the ability to shoot beams that ice over targets. Fabulous.

〈 CHARACTER SAMPLES 〉
COMMUNITY POST (VOICE) SAMPLE:
[ Well~! Hello there, Network! I’m sure you’re all so happy to see such a handsome, debonair face on your screens right now. There’s a pause, the user clearly waiting to make sure the video is booted before he’s breaking out into a large grin.]

Hello~! [Note the use of the “finger guns”, ladies and gentlemen.] The name’s Lance, new…arrival, I guess? I mean I’m not new to Earth, if this is Earth...maybe I’m not familiar with this one? Whatever. Truth is, I’ve been off world—in space. Yeah, space. So it’s kind of nice to be home—not home? On Earth. If there’s anything I need to hit up because I haven’t had a connection to anything Earthly in forever...help a guy out, yeah?

Anyway...[He shifts so the camera focuses on a very much mechanical, blue lion behind him.] This is Blue, she’s here with me. Not sure if any of you know about Voltron here but...yeah, I’m one of the Paladins. Not sure how that’s going to work without the rest of us...[He shrugs.] To be honest I’m not too sure how…any of this is supposed to work. You’re kind of just thrown at it huh? Nothing new there.
So…suggestions for sights to see, shows to catch up on. and anything else a newbie might need to know. Hit me with it.

LOGS POST (PROSE) SAMPLE:
I may have done some Test Driving.

FINAL NOTES: