shabbygenteellife-blog - Tumblr blog

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

‘Voltron WAS NOT a romance show. It’s a show about the main characters finding the strength within themselves, surpassing their insecurities/weaknesses, and growing along the way.’

You know what, I’d happily watch this romance-free show about the main characters finding the strength within themselves, surpassing their insecurities/weaknesses, and growing along the way. That’s not actually the show we got, though.

One character’s arc was entirely defined by an obsessive love he ultimately lost (and seemed to mourn for the rest of his life - a tough fate for a youth around twenty), another character got two romances (both of which ended poorly), the characters’ weaknesses were only surpassed in a hasty and superficial manner (e.g. the Olkarion episode showed us a Pidge with sudden psychic abilities, but we never see her actually get there), the characters with the biggest insecurities never got any meaningful arc to get over them, and none of the characters ‘grew’ the way one expects fictional characters to grow. Real people often mature physically and seem older without really learning anything or having any especially radical formative experiences along the way. Fictional characters, on the other hand, need meaningful character arcs.

A lack of romance was the least of S8′s problems. I wish there’d been less romance and more important character interaction of other kinds. Instead, even well-established friendships seemed to wither away.

Voltron Season 8

For all you people:

Regarding Romance

Voltron WAS NOT a romance show. It’s a show about the main characters finding the strength within themselves, surpassing their insecurities/weaknesses, and growing along the way.

This is a recreation of a beloved cartoon, not a romantic space honeymoon

It’s ok that they sprinkled romance into some aspects of the show but it is NOT the main topic

Regarding LGBT+ Rep

LGBT rep doesn’t need to be guys making out for it to count as rep. Showing a strong, passionate, loving character that is also LGBT is perfect for what the world needs.

There was no queerbait. Shiro is still gay isn’t he? Queerbaiting is saying that a character is gay to get an LGBT audience and then not making the character gay at all. They said Shiro was gay, and he still is. Not. Queerbait.

LGBT+ REP DOES NOT EQUAL SHOVING IT IN EVERYONES FACE THAT HE IS GAY

Regarding Lance

The creators DIDNT change his race!!

Allura left a part of her with him in the form of Altean marks so that she would always be with him

He. Is. Still. Cuban.

His ending fits him perfectly because he is spreading Allura’s messages while living on a peaceful farm with his family. Surrounded by flowers to remind him that he needs to grow and move on

To all those saying he gave up on his dreams of becoming a pilot: did he? For my whole life I wanted to go to school to be a clothing designer but a few years ago I realized I wanted to persue a programming career instead. It’s normal to change what you want to do with your life. After everything Lance went through, it’s understandable that he wanted to settle for a peaceful farm life with his favorite cow

Regarding Shiro

His ending is good. Really good. Amazing.

The world doesn’t need a mediocre character whose only personality is: gay

Shiro is not his sexuality. He is strong, caring, intelligent, fearless, and inspirational

Shiro is a perfect rolemodel to boys that you aren’t defined by who you love, you are defined by your character

HIS. WEDDING. WAS. GOOD.

You never saw Keith transform the BoM into a humanitarian organization did you?? You never saw Lance set up his farm. You never saw how Hunk establishes his beloved cooking franchise. You never saw how Pidge helped her family train future defenders. OF COURSE YOU DIDNT SEE HOW SHIRO AND HIS HUSBAND BUILT THEIR RELATIONSHIP. THATS THE POINT OF END CARDS. You are supposed to know that they got there, not HOW they got there

Regarding Klance

Stop complaining. Just stop.

They had a good friendship bond that was left open ended at the end. Be happy

Maybe after the end cards they got together? Nice. Just don’t hate on the show/creators/VAs over it

Why are you guys so crazy over every interaction they had??? I shake hands with my (same sex) friends. I have meangful bonding time with my friends. Are we in love?? Dating? No we are not.

I actually quite like the theory that Allura left Lance a reminder to move on and keep loving. If you guys want to say he ended up with Keith, perfect. If not, that’s ok too. Just please stop spreading hate

Crazy shippers are ruining the show not only for the rest of the fandom, but for the creators as well

In conclusion

Season 8 was well written (just like all the other seasons) and some people are only hating on it because they didn’t get what they wanted. I won’t deny that Voltron did have a few inconsistencies and it definitely wasn’t perfect, but it also doesn’t deserve as much hate as it’s getting

You do realize the animators created the show WAYY before it was released? They couldn’t have changed anything if they wanted to (+ Dreamworks wants to keep making money and knows that many parents don’t want their kids watching LGBT content. That’s just how it is. The world is growing but right now Voltron has provided a step in the right direction by doing everything they could)

Please continue to make fanart, fics, theories, whatever, but do it RESPECTFULLY.

Respect the canon you were given. Respect the choices of the creators. If you don’t like the ending: calmly make fics/art/content set in the different realities (that we were given in S8) instead of shouting at the people who put so much work and effort to bring this show to life

Thank you

Bonus

To everyone saying Keith didn’t go to Shiro’s wedding:

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

So all those Altaeans at the facility are gone. Where are they? Are they even still alive?

Also why get rid of the one group of people who could have revealed what really happend with the 2nd colony?

Did the writers and EPs decide that they couldn’t be bothered to expand upon or explore this VERY important plot point. It’s like what was the point if you weren’t going to reveal the truth?

Was killing Lotor more important than the actual story that you had set up for him? This is literally one of the biggest plot holes and unanswered questions that they deliberately left unanswered for some reason. You can’t set this up, tell us that there is a facility of sick Altaeans, have a report of them being missing the next season only to completely abandon it a season later with Honerva’s line about them being lost.

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

Why would they go out of their way to make a character this sympathetic and interesting even towards the end only to throw him away like garbage?

What was the point of any of this? Can someone tell me?

This boy is the best thing of s8 💜

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

It’s also not a story for:

- human beings who enjoy good stories

- human beings who expect any kind of logic from stories

- human beings who don’t want to stab their eyes out because of what they’ve seen

- human beings in general

I can only come to the conclusion that anyone that has genuine praise and admiration for Voltron after this final season is privileged, bc this is not a story for poc, for women, for abuse survivors, for the disabled, for the poor, nor for lgbtqia.

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

I assume this was meant for me. I’m no kid though, I’m over thirty…

I haven’t watched any previous iterations of Voltron, and I don’t know (or care about, tbh) the lore from the 80s - I only care about VLD, and obviously I only expect Lotura to happen if Lotor is shown not to have been evil after all. I’d be curious to know why you think they seem to be revisiting Lotor’s backstory if that whole thing is already done and dusted.

I’m certainly not here to convert any Kallura fans, nor would I be disappointed if Kallura happens. Plance is my favourite ship in this series, and Plance is really the reason I’m following @canoninmyheart, whose post I was replying to. Lotura, Kallura, doesn’t matter, either way I still believe endgame Plance has a very good chance of happening. Better chance than endgame Allurance, anyway.

All the rest, we’ll find out in two weeks, so peace out.

girl, let me tell you... they're not going to break Allura's heart again, and she seems interested in Lance. I doubt they'll change something now... It's game over for all of us.

Anon’s PoV of Kallura & Plance fandoms’ current state…

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

Nah, it ain’t over :P

Though I suppose in my case it helps that I believe those leaked images were real, and I also think Lotura is Allura’s endgame. The NYCC trailer showed that Lotor is going to be shown to have told the truth at least about something (being forced to watch as a planet is destroyed), and I see little logic in revisiting his backstory at all and partially vindicating his side of the story, if he’s not going to be properly vindicated. And furthermore, I see little logic in vindicating him at all if Allura just ends up feeling forever remorseful for having treated him the way they did (if he died in the quintessence field), or if they meet again, she says sorry for kinda misjudging you, they say goodbye and part as awkward exes (if he’s alive). So regardless of what I want, I think if Lotor is back and if his backstory is revisited as the NYCC showed and if he’s shown not to have been evil, he and Allura are going to end up together, and leave together wherever Allura is going at the end of the series. (I certainly don’t think she’s dying. I’d bet she’s going to another reality and sealing the way back, to save all existence etc.)

But, nevermind how I feel about Lotura - I think out of all Lance ships, Plance has the best chance of being endgame. Even if those leaked images were fake and Allura were to stay with the gang, Allurance ‘just happening’ the way it’s done - a random blush, then some dating, and finally endgame - is not a story. That’s what it boils down to. It’s not a story. Even if VLD has made some unsatisfying storytelling choices along the way, I refuse to believe they’d do something as anticlimactic as this.

One possibility is Lance having no endgame or open-ended endgame, which would be unsatisfying in its own way for a soft-hearted young man who has longed for that special someone for the entirety of the series. It’s not like wanting someone to love and marry is a moral flaw to overcome.

Honestly, my biggest fear at this point is what you said earlier - a poorly developed Plance. A rushed Plance. Even an ambiguous, understated Plance - don’t get me wrong, I’d still take it, but I’m not going to pretend it wouldn’t feel anticlimactic in a show like this. If we’re getting a bittersweet goodbye (as I believe we are, with Allura leaving), that should be offset by an unambiguously happy, heartwarming ending. And Plance would be perfect for that, so I hope they go there. IMO.

I apologise for the uninvited musings - I don’t mean to preach Lotura to a Kallura fan! Just thinking out loud, and this is obviously just my theory of what might happen, and why I believe Plance still has a high chance of happening. I’m just keeping my fingers crossed for a satisfying, well-written Plance, which it might not necessarily be, after all. Be careful what you wish for, and all that.

girl, let me tell you... they're not going to break Allura's heart again, and she seems interested in Lance. I doubt they'll change something now... It's game over for all of us.

Anon’s PoV of Kallura & Plance fandoms’ current state…

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

I hope I’m wrong, but...

Where else have we seen trees with biotech?

That’s right. On Olkarion.

These Olkari sure are looking worried about something.

If Olkarion were destroyed, that would certainly explain why Pidge falls to her knees here, even without any of the Holts dying.

On the bright side, it would mean Pidge would likely get more character development and focus from the plot again. It was the Olkari in the forest who taught her she can and must connect with living beings, not just machines. Coming back to a place thematically so important to Pidge must mean something.

On the less bright side... NO. :(

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

I’m honestly not expecting Allurance to be endgame, so I’m as optimistic as ever of Plance’s chances - though I guess I was always stubborn. :)

However, what might leave me dissatisfied is the way it gets there. VLD has an unfortunate history of skipping important emotional beats, so at this point I think there’s a pretty good chance Lance and Pidge finally become a couple during an end time jump, and we only get to see that outcome in the epilogue. Possibly in an understated way, such as them walking into the sunset holding hands. Which would still make me go ‘awww’ and make sense emotionally if their bond further grows in Season 8, but it wouldn’t be quite the deeply satisfying friends-to-lovers story I had in mind, with a full realisation of their feelings for each other.

I just think the ‘deeply satisfying’ version of Plance I was originally hoping for really should have started wrapping up in Season 7. But then, a lot of things should have started wrapping up in Season 7 that didn’t, so who knows. I suspect Season 8 will feel like the true Act 3, and Season 7 more like an entr’acte in hindsight.

So I guess that means no plance nor kallura

I started to fully expect allur/ance since season 6, so I’m not surprised. Of course, I will continue to enjoy our fanon content!I would love to see any bonding scene between Pidge and Lance this last season, but I’m not expecting much… I’m mostly excited for Pidge, Haggar (+Alteans) and OG paladins flashbacks.

I’m sorry for the negativity, I try to keep this blog with positive content, but I gotta speak my mind sometimes;;;

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

Yeah, I think it’s going to play like that - an awkward date with her trying to be like a human girl, him wistfully admiring her magical otherness. They’re two very different people coming together for a fleeting moment and then going back to their respective worlds where they belong. I often enjoy bittersweet stories like that. Problem is, if this is where they’re going, VLD has done it incredibly poorly. Nothing in the past seasons has given me a sense of any special connection between those two characters. And for it to mean something, for it to feel bittersweet that they touch each others lives for a moment and then need to part, there does need to be something special about the way they relate to each other.

I’m sorry, but when it comes to Allura, Lance has been a harassing, jealous mess for six seasons, and for her part Allura was still yelling at Lance in the first half of the seventh. I’m very sure this isn’t an endgame couple, but as it stands, even as a temporary couple it seems pointless. Like where’s the character development? What is the purpose of this relationship in the narrative; how does it illuminate their characters? Even as a springboard for other, more important relationships in their lives, it’s hollow. Lance doesn’t need to date Allura for him to grow up and understand she’s not the one. Allura doesn’t need a rebound boyfriend after Lotor to understand she belongs with someone else (be it Lotor again (as I believe), or Keith, or whoever). If they end up with other people, how about taking the time to build up those relationships, instead of showing us dating that leads nowhere?

I just see this as a disservice to both their characters, and to their fans.

(If it is an endgame couple, having them start dating at the beginning of the third and final act is a strange storytelling choice even by VLD standards. And if they both end up alone, well that’s just sad isn’t it.)

Looks like they’re on a date…

Idk, I feel like this means allurance might already be together at the start of this season. Maybe they’ll break up and Lance will realize he loves Pidge and Allura will realize she loves Keith?

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

I agree on a lot of this, but on that last bit: I find the question of ages especially important, because this is a completely different story if the boys are 16 or 18, and Pidge 13 or 16, and Allura 19 or 25, or Shiro 21 or 29, and so on. The kids’ ages being especially crucial in what looks like it’s meant to be a coming-of-age story. Coming of age is different for a 13-year-old character than it is for an older teen. (Someone I know even thought Pidge is supposed to be around 10.) And romance-wise, too, it would be neat to know - for instance - if the story is expecting us to root for a 16-year-old to get together with someone who’s in her mid-20s (and going on 10,000?).

Too much confusion on this point leaves the audience, once again, writing their own story on top of the characters, and then disappointed when the story had different ideas it just didn’t bother to relay early enough for the audience to get in tune with them.

strife, sven vs shiro, surnames

first anon:

Look this season is bad, there are a lot of negative things that deserve criticism in this season. I don’t necessarily think the season is as bad as we’ve been making it out to be, some things were tainted more by frustration and got caught in the crossfire. There is a legitimate discussion to be had about those things as a community, and having a healthy respectful analysis as a community can help.

I think the determination of good or bad depends entirely on each individual’s criteria of what must be present for a show to satisfy, and what must not be present. For me, it’s blatant ableism and racism, combined with the most extreme case of multiple bury-your-gays in one season that I’ve seen in awhile.

Yeah, for me it was exactly as bad as I’m making it out to be. The only thing caught in this crossfire was my previous respect for Dreamworks as a production company capable of reliably decent entertainment. 

Okay, next topics, behind the cut.

Keep reading

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

That’s really odd, because the DMCA specifically is actually only allowed to be invoked when it comes to copyrighted content. You can look up case studies of companies using a DMCA takedown for purposes it’s not intended for (such as taking down users using their trademarked names) and it backfiring on them.

Technically, you should be able to contest this takedown, though considering you were using their trademark, that can of worms is best left unopened.

There’s also a bit of confusion about the way trademarks work. Trademarks are always registered for specific purposes, so it’s not like it automatically makes particular words off limits, or means that it’s automatically forbidden to slap a particular combination of words on an image and is therefore grounds for automatic removal. For example, you should be able to start a dream interpretation course called Dream Works and post an anime inspired poster for it on Tumblr without the site having any grounds for taking it down for some vague trademark infringement. (Don’t quote me on that, though, as I don’t actually know all the categories DreamWorks has registered its name in. Perhaps they hold dream interpretation courses too...)

Personally, I think they’ve developed new software in preparation for Article 13, and this case is an example of the kind of automatic recognition of supposedly “copyrighted material” we’re going to see a lot of in the future. For whatever reason, Tumblr mistook the fake leak for a real one, and I don’t actually think that disproves the earlier leaked images at all. In fact, Tumblr’s trigger-happiness might mean they were on alert for new leaks.

Edited to add: I obviously also don’t think it proves the leaks were real. Either way, we’ll see. This whole debacle has been odd, whether or not the images were real.

Dreamworks has confirmed the fake plance leak is real guys I’m dying 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

The thing that is weird is that BTI Studios has nothing to do with Voltron, it doesn't dub the show, so why would they have anything to leak?

I don’t know. The watermarks are what originally made me assume the images were fake. Although, BTI Studios doesn’t do just dubbing - they offer subtitling services, too. Netflix farms out its subtitling work to its “preferred vendors” like BTI, who in turn tend to farm out the work to poorly-paid freelance translators. I don’t know which firms have been doing the subtitles for VLD, but, in theory, that might be one way for leaks to get out. And BTI regularly do subtitles for Netflix Originals, so it’s not exactly impossible that Season 8 might have been farmed out to their translators.

What I do know is that DMCA takedowns are done for copyrighted content. Fandom is eager to dismiss those images as fake, so the preferred narrative now is that they were taken down for trademark infringement (namely, taking BTI’s and Dreamworks’ names in vain). But that’s not how DMCA works. Another theory I’ve seen around is that they were taken down for using VLD’s trademarked characters in what is essentially fan art. But again, that’s not what the DMCA is for. A DMCA takedown is not for people who pass off their own content as somebody else’s. It’s strictly about copyrighted content, which in this case would mean the images themselves.

But we’ll see. I can’t say if the images are real, I can just tell you why I suspect they might be. (And also, I find the images themselves convincing. The art style looks legit to me.)

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

I don’t know anything about digital marketing heads being named, just that when these images are taken down from Twitter, they’re replaced with this:

Which is located at Twitter’s automatic URL for these things: pbs(.)twimg(.)com/static/dmca/dmca-med(.)jpg

Likewise, the ones that disappeared from Tumblr were replaced with:

Which is located at: assets(.)tumblr(.)com/images/media_violation/copyright_v1_1280(.)png

These make it clear that the images were removed for copyright infringement, citing the DMCA. Not for violating the site’s policies, not for trademark infringement, and so on.

Do you know if it's true the Voltron leaks were taken down by DreamWorks? That would basically confirm that the leaks are real, I don't see other reason why doing so.

So I can tell you that Twitter took down almost all the “leaked” pictures and posted their standard copyright infringement notice on each post. I can tell you I saw one twitter handle posted the notice they received which named the copyright holder, who was the head of DW’s digital marketing team. I checked a well-known professional social media site to verify the name. It was correct.

Now - could that twitter handle have found the name of DW’s digital marketing head like I did and fabricate the post? Sure. But they probably didn’t. Could these posts be fake? I don’t know.

The copyright holder is the only person who could get the posts taken down, so one would think the pictures have to be real, right?

Maybe. Maybe not.

If the original posts are posing these as DW’s property and they are not - that might be enough for Twitter to take action. And if DW doesn’t want to show a same-sex marriage to a character whom DW might not even have the right to use - yeah, legal action might need to be taken.

What I can say is - I don’t know why a VA would post the pictures to begin with. For love of the fandom? I wouldn’t risk my job and my livilhood - as this is the last job I would ever get. I’d probably be sued. I would have to have signed an NDA.

And if we remember Ezor’s VA’s post - I don’t believe DW went after those, and there were no watermarks on that pic.

It’s not elementary, my dear fan. It’s a bit more suspicious than meets the eye.

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

“I don’t know if someone who says the pictures are real and are spreading them as DW’s property - could be enough to get them taken down. If the original posts are posing these as DW’s property and they are not - that might be enough for Twitter to take action.”

It might, but not under the DMCA. The DMCA applies strictly to copyrighted materials, which is what inclines me to believe the images were real.

BTI Studios doesn’t do only dubbing; they also do subtitles, and that work is farmed out to poorly paid freelancers. Doesn’t have to be a VA who leaked these.

Do you know if it's true the Voltron leaks were taken down by DreamWorks? That would basically confirm that the leaks are real, I don't see other reason why doing so.

So I can tell you that Twitter took down almost all the “leaked” pictures and posted their standard copyright infringement notice on each post. I can tell you I saw one twitter handle posted the notice they received which named the copyright holder, who was the head of DW’s digital marketing team. I checked a well-known professional social media site to verify the name. It was correct.

Now - could that twitter handle have found the name of DW’s digital marketing head like I did and fabricate the post? Sure. But they probably didn’t. Could these posts be fake? I don’t know.

The copyright holder is the only person who could get the posts taken down, so one would think the pictures have to be real, right?

Maybe. Maybe not.

If the original posts are posing these as DW’s property and they are not - that might be enough for Twitter to take action. And if DW doesn’t want to show a same-sex marriage to a character whom DW might not even have the right to use - yeah, legal action might need to be taken.

What I can say is - I don’t know why a VA would post the pictures to begin with. For love of the fandom? I wouldn’t risk my job and my livilhood - as this is the last job I would ever get. I’d probably be sued. I would have to have signed an NDA.

And if we remember Ezor’s VA’s post - I don’t believe DW went after those, and there were no watermarks on that pic.

It’s not elementary, my dear fan. It’s a bit more suspicious than meets the eye.

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

Had the images never received DMCA takedown notices, I would have assumed any such leaks were fake, however well made. But the fact is, you need copyrighted materials for the DMCA to apply. Using BTI Studios’ name might qualify as anything from trademark infringement to libel, but the DMCA doesn’t deal with any of that.

Simply put, it was the DMCA takedowns that made me sit up and pay attention.

Even Voltron news is saying the leaks look legit

No, really it is. Check out huntypastellance & darkspellmaster’s tumblrs. They have STRONG evidence that this shit’s FAKE as hell. It’s likely some nasty Ant infestation. Anyway, I won’t answer any more asks on this as I’m done with it.

BUT PLEASE DO READ THEIR POSTS! 

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

I always thought it was simply foreshadowing what would happen with Kuron - that Narti was one of Haggar’s puppets, just as Kuron would be. That Lotor recognised this in her seemed to imply ‘evil clones’ was something of an M.O. for Haggar, I thought.

But yeah, there was absolutely no need to make her blind.

okay but....what was the narrative purpose of narti's death? it was already established that lotor was distant with the generals and that he was ruthless enough to kill or place them in danger. so why'd they kill off the one blind character in the show?

I think there might’ve originally been a purpose, seeing how we had that odd reaction shot of Kova listening to Zarkon’s orders. There’s no reason to do that unless you want to remind people and/or hint that there might be something more, there. Perhaps that ended up dropped to make room for other changes in the following seasons. 

Whatever the reason, it doesn’t change the end result: VLD killed off a disabled character for no apparent reason except shock value.

[shabbygenteellife-blog]

You have absolutely nothing to apologise for. You’re a gift to the Plance fandom, and the VLD fandom in general. If fandoms had more people like you in them, social media would be a much better place for all of us.

What Jeremy said was a crummy thing to say about any fan artist - I can only assume he was having an off day. But if by any chance he was referring to you, then the fact is he doesn’t know you, and your art and online presence at all. If he did, he would never have misrepresented you so grossly.

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Jeremy Shada on ‘what ship is your favourite in Voltron?’

Day 2 of FanExpo Vancouver