Lotura

Lotura is a het pairing between Lotor and Princess Allura from Voltron and Voltron: Legendary Defender.
==Canon==
In the original GoLion series, Sincline (Lotor) was obsessed with Fala (Allura) because he had an Oedipus complex and Fala reminded him of his deceased mother. He frequently tried to kidnap and rape her because of this. Sincline was so obsessed he ended up imprisoning Fala's distant cousin Amue (Romelle) to turn her into a sex slave. He raped her because she resembled Fala and ordered his guards to gang-rape her as punishment when she rebelled against him. In Voltron this was toned down to Lotor just wanting to force Allura to be his bride. Allura hated Lotor for his constant sexual assault and plans to abduct her. Allura was close to Keith and the two eventually fell in love. Allura's feelings towards Keith were a major reason for the bitter rivalry between Keith and Lotor. Voltron's shipping fandom frequently revolved around this love triangle.
Their relationship in Voltron: Legendary Defender is given more depth and mutual interest. The two of them started interacting in season 5. Allura is initially wary of Lotor but he asks for her assistance in going over Haggar's research materials in their quest for answers and they hit it off quickly during their search process when they discover they have things in common. Allura places a lot of trust in him when they travel to Oriande together and favors his ideas over the other team members who try to caution her. 
They eventually express romantic interest in each other and kiss, but Lotor's never clearly explained involvement with and possible murder of Alteans result in her violently rejecting him. Nevertheless, he insists on his feelings being real for her despite the breakup. According to this interview cited on this fandom wiki, his love for Allura was true, even if his actions were at the very least morally questionable.
==Fandom==
In the original Voltron, Lotor/Allura was the most popular pairing after the canonical Keith/Allura. These two relationships helped to develop the Keith/Lotor ship as both Keith and Lotor developed a fierce rivalry over their feelings for Allura. Some people shipped Keith/Allura/Lotor all together as a threesome.
In Legendary Defender, the ship gained a small following shortly after Lotor was introduced but didn't become more popular until season 5 where the two characters shared a lot of screentime. On the week ending on March 5th, 2018, the pairing went from a rarepair to being the 6th most discussed ship on Tumblr, according to Fandometrics. 
The fandom was first divided on whether Lotor was telling the truth or manipulating Allura. Many anticipated a future betrayal while others insisted on the ship having potential to become endgame.
After the betrayal, some fans who expected Lotor's intentions to be genuine expressed disappointment in canon developments and often abandoned ship while others were fine with the storyline turning less fluffy and continued to support the pairing despite the breakup.
===Popular Tropes===
* Arranged Marriage AU: The two must join in a political marriage to unite their empires and/or to avoid war. 
* Soulmate AU: Inspired by the "White Lion" episode, a lot of fans took their glowing Altean markings as inspiration for various Soulbond and Soulmate AUs.
==Fanwork==
===Fanart===
* p r i n c e s s 👑 g u a r d by blackmoonbabe
* Fanart by eggsyeagle
* hi here’s an Aladdin AU no one asked for but I wanted so~ by istehlurvz
* Fanart by yukkoyy
* Political Meeting by junk-ren
* Fanart by huixci
* Fanart by santeria
* Fanart by hchano
* Fanart by ziksua
* happy valentines day! by blackmoonbabe
* [breathless] by giulsart
* Cosmic Lovers by hypherrr
===Fanvid===
* || A C Q U A I N T E D || by jinsukeollie
* lotura | him&I by reminity
===Fanfic===
*Lilac and Lush by Aicosu
*Adrenaline Rush by Lightning_Strikes_Again
*Knowing Me, Knowing You (VLD) by garbage_dono
*The Second Law by Lightning_Strikes_Again
===Fanzines===
* Stella Errante
===Meta===
* Good Man vs Nice Guy Trope by claireclaymore, February 2019.
==Links & Resources==
* Allura/Lotor fanworks tag at Archive of Our Own
* Lotura tag on Tumblr
* Dedicated Lotura blog on Tumblr
Category:Het Pairings
Category:Voltron Legendary Defender Relationships