#as janky as the origins romance scenes are

[tuxedo-rabbit]

“I wish to know your opinion of love.”

The few moments where Morrigan lets you see how absolutely in love she is with the warden are the best bits of the romance. Had to paint one of them!

[galedekarios]

Hello! How are you? Thank you so much for your answers about BG3. I am a little bit frustrated because I try to get a glimpse of all thé romance but most of the videos are about Astarion which is totally okay don’t get me wrong but still. So thank you for providing us with some Gale content. Do you know any creators or people that romanced Wyll and Karlach because I saw à lot of négative comments about how Wyll romance is boring and got less content than the others. Thank you!

thank you for your message! i'm doing well at the moment and i hope you are, too. 🖤

i plan to make many more gale edits--especially of his romance--because i find it extremely well done on all accounts. i'm just trying to pace myself.

i have tried wyll's romance on a gale origin playthrough because with the choices that i picked, they just vibed really well together and wyll's approval and morals are very aligned with gale's own.

wyll's first romance scene, which you get in act ii, is actually incredibly sweet and i loved it very much. what i was a bit... disappointed with, i suppose, was the second romance scene in act iii, which felt very abrupt and just not at all on the same level as his previous one.

[spoilers below]

in his first romance scene in act ii, he shares a dance with the protag and it's just a joy to watch: it's beautifully animated, the music is amazing and i'm very sad it's not on the official soundtrack as far as i can tell.

the second romance scene you get in act iii feels... rushed and a bit out of the blue considering all that's going on. the animations are very janky. i don't know if it's due to being only rigged for a female body type at the moment or if it's a bug, but yes. that was the first thing that completely took me out of the scene. it's a really stark downgrade in quality, i think. i included screenshots because of this so you have a visual comparison of the level quality.

he basically takes you to a fabled old oak, growing near baldur's gate and he tells you a story that completely comes out of left field, picks up an acorn of said oak, tells you his mother always said there was a touch of wishing magic in it (again, it's completely out of the blue bc he never once mentioned his mother before and just doesn't match thematically with what's going on in his quest or the main quest). he then sort of proposes to you with that acorn--again, very sudden when all you did before was share a dance--and if you accept, then you get a kiss and a roll on the grass with a fade to black:

again, i cannot stress how rushed this scene feels, how unfinished and how short it is. i think it's a bit over a minute overall.

i'm very sad about it because the start of wyll's was very strong and he deserved better. all in all, i don't think wyll's romance suffers from being boring at all. his re-write is very good and i like his character a lot now compared to early access. what i do think it suffers from is that it feels rushed and has not received the same care and polish as some of the other companions have. there's little to explore in terms of how he feels about the protag even between those scenes compared to, say, gale's and, as i've heard, astarion's.

my next playthrough will perhaps explore karlach's romance. i'll definitely let you know how that goes!

anyhow, i'm sorry this got so long, but i hope it was helpful!

[sapphim]

@sunflowerdales replied

I think there's one between Hawke and Bethany near the end around the time of the Orsino fight? I can't remember exactly though, tis been a while

I loaded up some saves and poked around and I feel confident that the only Bethany hug is if you side with the templars. no hug before the fight and if you've sided with the mages bethany barely even reacts to orsino's death. there's no cutscene like with the templars she's just like "aw nuts :\ oh well"

@g0thiclem0nade replied

I don’t think so because you kiss your love interest in the final chat scene and none of ur normal friends really want to give hugs, which is annoying because I want to hug that bitch Varric as hawke If anyone deserved a hug it was defo bethany

unfortunately (and I'm sure you know this) the only way to make the existing animations even approximately line up for a varric hug would be to put him on an invisible box lmfao. I'm 100% sure the animation issue is why we haven't had a dwarven romance yet (and why bull is the only non-human/elf romance across three games). they just don't wanna make custom animations. like sure they basically had to solve for a dwarfquisitor already but their romance scenes are soooooooo janky. but bioware can rest assured that 90% of the player base are just gonna play human or elf so it's a writeoff and they don't have to try. it's why elves have gotten closer in height to humans since origins too.

and it's such a goddamn shame because the romance scenes where characters in origins would kneel to kiss a dwarven warden were soooooooooo fucking tender. 😭

hey are there any hugs in da2. I mean, I know there's at least one hugging animation, I've watched that accursed scene where the ship docks at kirkwall 5000 times and the npcs hugging in greeting off to one side of the frame are permanently burned into my brain. but like are there any cutscenes where the focus is on one character hugging another

[villainanders]

Thank you so much for making me aware of the DA2 full dialogue mod!! I've always hated not knowing what's going to come out of Hawke's mouth lmao. Are there any other mods you'd recommend for any of the DA games?

Hi anon sorry for taking so long to answer this!! I don't really play DAI on PC because my poor baby computer can't take it but listing the mods I use for the other games below the cut:

Origins mods:

ZevranASAP – Most important mod in all of Dragon Age. Get Zevran right out of leaving Lothering instead of having to complete one of the treaty quests first 

Lady Aeducan the Non-Warden – Second most important mod in all of Dragon Age. For my GirlAeducan havers. If you’re playing other origins, references to Endrin’s middle child/Bhelen’s sibling will be female or gender-neutral. Also replaces the corpse implied to be Brosca’s in Jarvia’s hideout with a skeleton

Morrigan Restoration Patch – Restores cut Morrigan content

Extra Dog Slot – Important!! Take your dog with you without using up a companion slot

Skip the Fade – Loved the Fade the first two times I played, was over it by the third. Skip the maze stuff and go straight to your companions’ nightmares (you still get the increased skill points)

Grey Wardens of Ferelden – Replaces Wardens’ armor with the Grey Warden armor we see in the other games (and allows you to purchase Grey Warden armor and weapons at Soldier’s Peak and Vigil’s Keep)

Isabela by Fialka – Isabela appearance more consistent with DA2. Frankly she still looks pretty pasty in my game but I think it might be the lighting I have. Either way she’s closer to the Izzy we know and love :) 

Dwarves are Not Mages – Replaces the mage robes some of the dwarven nobles wear for SOME REASON with noble clothing

Bug fixes:

(A bit less sexy but this game is so janky I'm morally obligated to list these)

ZevRing – Fixes glitches with Zevran romance and gives you a ring you can actually equip

ZDF – Fixes various dialogue glitches

Jowan’s Intention Fix – Fixes glitch that prevents an encounter with Jowan from triggering. Haven’t played with this one yet bc I just found out about this glitch in my last playthrough, I never told him to leave before (sorry king)

Silverite Mines – Fixes glitch that prevents you from reentering the Silverite Mines in Awakening

Sigrun’s Roguish Past and Law and Order Fix – Fixes infamous (and much accursed by me) glitch that stops Sigrun’s personal quest from triggering if you’ve started Law and Order

Joining Ritual Fix – Fixes glitch where the final Awakening companions’ Joining won’t trigger  

DA2 mods:

Full Dialogue Interface – As you know, replaces the infamous dialogue wheel with a more Origins-esque dialogue interface

Female Hawke Movement Animation Tweak – F!Hawke’s walk is replaced with M!Hawke’s instead of that cartoon sexy lady shit. Can also give M!Hawke F!Hawke’s walk for shits and giggles.

Kidnappalooza – Makes it so your love interest (if not in the party) will be kidnapped in Best Served Cold instead of your sibling. Absolutely critical mod for girls who love drama and romantic rescue missions (me). If Kidnappalooza has 100 users then I am one of those users. If Kidnappalooza has one user then I am that user. If Kidnappalooza has no users then I have finally stopped playing DA2. 

Anders Awakening Gold Earring – Gives that poor man his earring back after Bioware stole it from him. As if he hasn’t gone through enough 

Isabela Curly Hair – Gives Isabela curly hair and optional piercings 

Repeatable Romance Scenes – Replay romance cutscenes/animations between Hawke and their LI. Will also play romance animations from other romances with your current LI (meaning you could get an animation from the Hawke/Merrill romance between your Hawke and Anders and visa versa with all the LIs)

DLC away – Puts the DLC items into storage for you because. It’s annoying to do it yourself

Anders Romance Dialogue Overhaul – A few tweaks to the Anders romance. Notably a Friendmance kiss before the final battle and a scene where Anders tells F!Hawke about Karl

Anders Automatic Romance Armors – Gives Anders romance armor as well as a house robe when he’s in your house :) 

Ellise Herald MOTA replacers – Replaces that godawful MOTA party outfit with this sexy little black number

Sleeping Cat for Anders – Anders gets a cat. Very important

The Covert Mage – Gives apostates staffs that masquerade as other weapons and puts them in plain clothes instead of being out and about on the streets of Kirkwall in mage robes

KS Hairs for DA2 – More hair options for Hawke :) 

Zevran Restoration Project – New face for DA2 Zevran’s ugly ass

Dialogue mini-mods – Various dialogue tweaks to choose from

Bug fixes:

Import Vault fixes – Fixes various bugs from importing DAO saves to DA2, notably ignoring romances and thinking poor Nathaniel died if you left him at the Keep 

Epilogue fixes – Fixes some bugs with the Varric and Cassandra cutscene at the end of the game

Zevran Romance Dialogue Fixes – Zevran will remember he’s in a relationship with you and not fuck Isabela as you helplessly watch

Planning to use:

Some mods I haven’t fully used yet but have been meaning to! Started playing with the first one on my current run but thought it was crashing the game so I removed it (then turned out that it wasn’t the problem RIP). These are bigger changes so you should use them on a new game. 

Kirkwall Expanded – Adds new quests, shops, crafting opportunties, and more! Also dwarf lady NPCs for my fellow dwarf fans (Note: Since DA2 doesn’t have a force load option, this one’s kind of a bitch to uninstall part way through a playthrough)

Playable Elfs Beta – Haven’t played this one yet but am excited to! Exactly what it says, make Hawke an elf with new elfy meshes for their family

[freckledbodty]

Stripping Away The Bloat - The Umibe No Etranger Movie Did The Manga Dirty

I finally got around to watching the movie of Umibe no Etranger - a movie I didn’t know existed based on one of my old favourite BL mangas. And oh boy, does this adaptation reflect a painful trend in manga to anime/movie adaptations overall. Allow me a moment to rant, if you will...

TL;DR: READ THE MANGA BY THE LOVE OF GOD IT’S WONDERFUL. Also the movie is super pretty, but here’s a semi-detailed look at why it still really didn’t do the manga justice. You bet I came with receipts.

A few important notes before you start: 

1. Remember this is just my opinion, and I’d love to hear other people’s point of view on the matter, whether you agree or disagree! 

2. I am not fluent enough in Japanese to read the original without a translation, so my thoughts on the manga are coming from fan translations, which 100% might have affected how I view this! The anime I’m a little more sure on as I can generally tell when the subtitles have deviated, but that does mean I may have missed something/something was lost in translation that means something I say here is incorrect. I’m very sorry for this, so remember this is my view based on the media types I’ve consumed. 

3. Also the manga cuttings I use are not the best quality because of tumblr’s sizing, so even more of a reason to go read the books yourself! 

I’m aware I’m very late to this party, but when I saw the other day that this movie had been made, I was horrified that I hadn’t known about it sooner. I read the manga years ago, and adored it - it’s genuinely a sweet and beautifully drawn romance, and I’d highly recommend it to anyone. With that, however, the movie was a huge disappointment to me and I just need to have a moment to gush in a less than positive way. 

The Pros: 

Let’s get this out of the way, I’d still probably recommend this movie to anyone who likes romance anime-style movies. It’s beautifully animated. Seriously, this movie is stunning, with wonderful expressions, bright colours, and a pretty well suited soundtrack too. The animation tries to match the original art style of the manga, and frankly, I think it captures it perfectly. 10/10. Gorgeous. Watch it just for the prettiness. 

I’m also a big fan of any BL/GL adaptations that get a little more into the mainstream. This movie is definitely a huge win in terms of representation, especially when the manga (on the whole) avoided the more negative tropes that the BL/GL genres have historically been known for. (More on that later...) So that’s a win, and I will take it. 

The Bloat Cut: 

To put it simply, this movie fell into the trap of what I call (in my head) ‘cutting out the bloat’. As a long-time anime and manga fan, who has seen countless adaptations over the years, it’s a common theme that tends to make or break an anime. 

‘Cutting out the bloat’ to me means that the adaptors cut out a lot of the ‘smaller’ moments and panels that are seen in a manga. This movie was thankfully very good at following the original plot and took us through the same beats that the manga did (many adaptations don’t bother doing that at all), but they left out a lot of the extra stuff - the aforementioned ‘bloat’. 

The bloat isn’t really bloat in that it is pointless, however: the problem is that these little moments and scenes are seen to be pointless by the adaptors. Again, understandable: they have a limited run time, and it’s hard to include every little tiny moment, especially when they are ones that are easily scanned passed. Some bloat cutting is necessary to make an adaptation viable at all, but sometimes, it can be hugely detrimental to the piece. Umibe no Etranger is a key example of this. 

Setting: 

I watched this movie without rereading the manga, and as such, I was quickly thrown off by how bad the movie was. This was one of my favourite mangas, wasn’t it? Had I really had such terrible taste? (Yes, let’s not go there, but this manga was not one of my high-school bad decisions). 

The characters felt strange. Personalities did complete 180s after the time skip and did some questionable things that I couldn’t recall finding issue with when I read the manga. The two main characters felt so hot and cold that it didn’t feel like the story I remembered. Even the pacing felt off and janky at times. 

After watching, I went back and reread the manga, and this is where I saw all the ‘bloat’, the little intricate moments and minor panels that were easy to overlook but made the story what it was. Here’s a few of the biggest examples I could find. 

Shun:

Oh, Shun. What did they do to you? 

Shun’s character was bizarre. In the first 15 minutes of the movie, he was bubbly, friendly, and even bold enough to flirt with Mio. After the time skip, he was sour, cold, and completely withdrawn from the world. I understood Mio’s confusion because after the time jump he was a completely different character. 

The manga is often focused on Shun and his inner thoughts, and he’s the one who is hurt the most by the bloat cutting. For starters, he wasn’t as over-the-top friendly at the start of the manga as he was in the anime, and we’re able to see his inner thoughts and worries that cause his reservations from the first few pages we meet him. We also get more hints earlier on as to Shun’s past that explain a lot of his behaviour as a whole, as well as getting little hints as to why he’s even more negative and exhausted after the time jump. 

Mio: 

The biggest bloat cut out in terms of Mio is the big plot point of the phone call. For context, before leaving for the time skip, Mio promises to call Shun once he’s gotten to his new home. In the movie, this is never really brought up again, focusing on the relationship in the present, but this was a huge point to leave out. I think it was cut out because it was explained in one short scene in the manga, and therefore easily mistaken for bloat. 

In the manga, it’s explained that Mio does call, but it’s Eri who answers, and there’s a very important conversation that sets up Mio’s whole character development and explains why he returns to the island set on having a relationship with Shun. Eri warns him that calling Shun, despite knowing that Shun has feelings for him, is cruel and unfair, and tells Mio he shouldn’t contact him unless he’s worked out his feelings. It’s a great scene, and a real shame to leave out when it explains firstly why Mio never called back, and secondly why he is so adamant about his feelings and love for Shun when he does finally return: because he saw Eri’s warning to mean ‘don’t come back unless you are serious’.

Relationship:

In the movie, Mio and Shun didn’t really seem to have a relationship until the drama kicked up and then it quickly seem to disappear again. Shun was extremely held back and reserved, and barely ever seemed to return Mio’s feelings (even in the scenes he was instigating) - he even totally avoided anything resembling physical contact at first. 

Compare this to the manga, where there are little hints of their relationship progressing throughout the chapters. For one, Shun is never as cold and blank as he seems in the film, and when he does seem that way, the manga quickly shows a glimpse of his thoughts to explain how he’s exhausted or distracted - without those little bloated thought bubbles, he just seems... a little cruel frankly.

A really good example of this is the beach kiss scene. In the movie, as Mio is about to kiss him, Shun suddenly announces that he’s hungry and avoids the kiss altogether, leaving Mio confused. 

In the manga, they actually do kiss - it’s their first kiss, in fact. Shun seems embarrassed and his ‘I’m hungry’ feels like more of a way to distract them both. He explains he’s exhausted (which is fair enough, this is a big thing for him to process on little sleep that his inner thoughts earlier in the chapter already set up) rather than just outright shunning him. (Ha. Shun. shun. Get it?) 

A more *noted* bloat they cut out is that Shun and Mio get physical in the manga way earlier than the movie, the touches just not quite being everything Mio wanted. Without those more tender moments, where they actually seem like a couple, it seems like Mio is chasing after Shun desperately, whilst Shun couldn’t care less about him. It detracts from the whole relationship. Below are some examples of the two of them actually seeming like a couple that were cut from the movie, including longing looks from Shun, Shun hugging Mio whilst he’s asleep, and Shun asking to kiss and touch Mio. 

The Issue: 

Bloat cutting always annoys me, but usually, if it’s not hindering the story, I don’t mind. What bothers me most of all in this movie, is that without these subtle little panels and moments, the relationship between Shun and Mio seems... forced, frankly. In the movie, Shun seems to be the instigator of the flirting, and then after the time skip he acts practically disgusted, avoiding a lot of Mio’s advances, and we don’t get to hear his inner thoughts like we do in the manga to explain why he’s feeling this way. 

In the manga, during these ‘bloat’ pieces, Shun is an actual willing participant in the relationship, and Mio isn’t just forcing his advances onto Shun. It’s natural. It’s not flipping between hot and cold, or suddenly ramping up after a big moment of drama, it’s slow and careful and a real relationship. 

This would be a bad change in any adaptation, but it’s especially so in this one. Anyone who is a fan of BL specifically is probably aware of the genre’s bad rep historically for having some... questionable consent issues. This manga didn’t have them. The movie? I’m not so sure, and that’s why it’s rubbed me the wrong way. I could spend another 1000 words talking about this issue as a whole, but I’ll leave it there, you get the idea.

Expected? Yes. Okay? Meh. 

There’s no real point to this post aside from to complain a little and point out just how much more the source material gives us. Cutting the bloat always happens, and I don’t want it to stop happening per say, that would be impossible, but I’d kill for adaptors to just take a little more time to work out what is unnecessary and cutable bloat, and what is something they should really keep in. 

The movie is still cute and beautifully made, so please go watch and see for yourself! Mostly, I’d highly recommend the manga: it’s got the same gorgeous art style, only about 5 chapters long, and the story and relationship is that little bit more firmly built. 

I’ll stop ranting now, and I hope this actually made sense? Anyway, congrats on making it all this way.

[agirlunderarock]

For the meta ask for writers, 2, 8 and 20 or 21?

Dude yes always! I know I take forever to always answer asks, but thank you so much for sending this in!

2. Tell us about what you’re most looking forward to writing – in your current project, or a future project

So I've got a couple of projects going right now. I'm working on some prompts tor Febuwhump. I've never done that before so I'm trying to see how many I can get done. I've got about three of them done, technically four since I've combined two of the prompts. But I'm also working on some fanfic for my star wars oc- I guess what would be like her origin story if she were to be "canonically" introduced. Theres two scenes specifically that I really want to jump to. One of them is a chase/fight scene. I'm not very good at writing them, as I've learned from my Febuwhump drabbles, but I think this one is going to turn out to be a lot of fun. The other is more about Anakin and getting to see a part of him I wish we'd see more in media. Honestly I have outlines of some of the things I'm really looking forward to, and I hope people enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

8. Is what you like to write the same as what you like to read?

Yes and no? I don't know? See I like a lot of action and adventure in the books I read. Fanfic usually depends on my mood. I'm here for fun times and adventure and character growth. Like the best example of what I like to read in fanfic, is this one ThorXBrunnhilde fanfic called Better Latte than Never by Funnefatale. It takes place after Endgame and is written from Brunnhilde's POV as she and Thor try to emotionally recover from the last five years since the snap, by building a coffee shop in New Asgard. The romance doesn't come in to the story until the very end, its one chapter, but theres so much development for the characters. Its a sweet fic, that really breaks down a lot things for them, but its also about their friendship and the ways they help each other and their people heal. Do I write things like that? Sometimes? I had another account @thatgirlunderarock where I posted a lot of LotR and Hobbit Fanfic- most of my favorite ones I've written have to do with Thorin, Dis, and Frerin. I guess I kinda like slice of life with big implications.

20. Tell us the meta about your writing that you really want to ramble to people about (symbolism you’ve included, character or relationship development that you love, hidden references, callbacks or clues for future scenes?)

So its a little hard for me to get meta about my writing sometimes, just because I don't know what other people see in it. Like one of my friends was reading a draft of one of my Febuwhump prompts- because I'm using a few of her oc's in it- and she like that the way her oc died was by the thing that was supposed to protect her, which mirrored a lot of the feelings of the characters in that specific drabble. That was not intentional, I chose her helmet to get twisted and janky purely because beskar armor does not twist and deform easily and the other day she decided her oc's helmet was not made of beskar and I took advantage. Some of the things I have set up in the first chapter of White Lie were not completely intentional, but again I don't know what exactly anyone would hope to see from that. I will say I think something that come across in a lot of my writing, is that a lot of my characters feel demiromantic to me? I say that, but I could be wrong too- I like the idea of two characters growing into their friendship and then into a romantic romantic relationship, ones that can be platonic or romantic and its just not until the characters decide to try that step and see if they still work and feel just as comfortable in a romantic relationship. This is specifically about my oc Sas and her relationship with Obi-Wan. I like that I've written for them to choose to be friends, and like depending on how I feel about it when I get to that point in the story, they could easily be platonic (qpr) or romantic. I don't know I just- I'm a person who wants to read about romantic relationships that can be platonic- romance feels very platonic to me, like if there isn't a good platonic foundation, then the romance isn't going to be as great. But thats just my opinion, but it does show up in my writing. I don't know I never keep writing a story long enough to really show the development I plan in my notes. But I'll let you guys be the real judge of that. Like this February will probably be the most writing I post at once.

21. What other medium do you think your story would work well as? (film, webcomic, animated series?)

That depends. I can write decently without a whole lot of dialogue and get really descriptive with my settings, and I think those kinds of things would be good for like graphic novels or comic type things. But I'm also not super familiar with how to tell a story that way, so I could be totally wrong and it wouldn't transfer well. On the other hand, most of my writing is pretty dialogue heavy, and I've been listening to more podcast while I drive to work so I'm trying to do things where I move the plot a lot through dialogue, and imply actions have happened through dialogue. Its a fun little challenge that I like, and it kinda lends itself well to star wars, specifically because its clone wars fanfic and its episodic, and you have to use both the visual and dialogue to do that. But I think that kind of focus in mind has helped me develop character voices more distinctly.

Thanks again Bene for ask!

If anyone else would like to send something in heres the link!

[bitchesgate3]

Was supposed to do a run with only Lae'zel recruited, but got distracted testing out mods including the origins mod. It reminded me that we gotta start asking the important questions. Now.

When we play as the Origin characters, who are they going to romance?

While playing the janky Origin mod as Lae'zel here were my thoughts at 1 in the morning on who I might pair her with:

No one - What? Don't be a coward.

Wyll - The practical choice. They both have the same writer so I'm sure he's done the leg work of getting this pairing to work. Assuming Lae figures out what her version of "love" is. If she doesn't then you'd probably lead poor Wyll to whatever the bad ending of his story is. And end up replacing Mizora for a short stint... or two... maybe more... That's messed up tho.

Gale - Lae approaching Gale is funny as hell to me, and the fact it can happen in canon is even funnier. They get along well enough, but I'm ok with them not being even fling material. But... I could probably write a serious crack fic about it.

Astarion - I am so averse to this. I've gotten so used to NOT seeing them have a fling. Not gonna stop any time soon. I do not want to see this with mine own two eyes. 🙈

Shadowheart - Romancing Lae is already like an enemies to lovers thing for a non-gith MC. The added tension of fighting Larian every step of the way as they try to make these girls kill each other adds to the both meta and (imagined) in-game sexual tension. I mean, yeah they're fundamentally at odds and that rivalry is built into the plot - Yeah their romance scenes are the complete opposite of each other. Yeah Shadowheart appreciates a lighthearted jokester and Lae takes things literally and murders every joke you give her... Yeah SH needs love and Lae... ??? But hear me out - Lae doming arrogant men? Psh. Easy plot. Satisfying but predictable plot. Lae having power struggles with another woman?

Honestly I don't know how it would work, - I just like what I like. Because god was it hard trying not to thwart the narrative-cohesion-gods-that-be by having Lae and SH flirt.

[theskyexists]

Terminator

I watched the first terminator

It was an....EXPERIENCE

I now understand all the callbacks in dark fate. the skulls. the real janky looking skeletal terminators of john's future. hiding the gun in a jacket. scars. dani ironically not being able to drive. ending the story in a factory. the whole *gestures* grace/dani thing. the feminism

first things first - the soundmixing was SO BAD. the sound effects were shit anyway lol but I had to constantly turn the volume up and down respectively for conversation and gun sounds. also the epilepsy seizure white flashes were hell

i unironically AND ironically loved the pre-film credits with its Cool synth music

I loved the Cool synth keyboard sountrack it was INCREDIBLE hahahahaaha

i was not prepared for the enormous amount of manbod on display at the start of this film. like damn. DAMN. and it was pretty tasteful. and they definitely established Kyle as uhhhhh a very viable romantic interest - sprinting through that walmart shirtless, putting on cool product placement nikes, and somehow recovering his very cool coat in the police station while it was under fucking siege. was also not expecting to lay eye on an actual terminator dick in the shadows. but i think we should have more of that in films tbh

I just gotta say - I LOVED the style. I'm going to assume that is really what it was like. I love Sarah's little scooter especially, and her high waisted jeans and lil booties. her hair is of course....INCREDIBLE. the front so short that it poofs up lololol. She really does look in her twenties... I also loved all the little character details EVERYWHERE. the cops in the station??? I think my favourite character was definitely the police captain -  idk, such rich characterisation for a side character - with such random comedic delivery.

I also liked how meta it got through the psychologist's interrogation of Kyle - the film really just said: let's forestall your complaints about how none of this makes sense and give you excuses through Kyle's super intense explanations (well-acted) lol

but all of the cops literally seeing all their buddies go down and then jumping out to get hella shot themselves with no sense of self-preservation was pretty hilariously stupid - some video game logic shit

I actually really loved the flashbacks to the future - that actually looked a lot more realistic than i thought. not the green screen stuff while they run through the wasteland but yknow - the humans living in underground tunnels. especially the concept of everybody living next to each other along the walls of a tunnel was really worked

Also - pugsley??? AMAZING. (every time it opened its mouth the bf would go ''aaaaa')

I WAS NOT PREPARED FOR THE EYE GORE. the wax (?) puppet was hilarious AND creative

The sexual politics  (literally) were really interesting?? Matt and Ginger and Sarah being so comfortable with each other that Matt's weird sex call makes her laugh. Ginger just listening to a bop while having sex with Matt? lol. The......sex scene between Kyle and Sarah was.......uhhhh...........unique? blessedly short? nice handholding there. I'm not saying it was bad, and I approve of the politics of Sarah getting on top but like, the repeated almost-the-same shots made it look a bit weird.

I have to note though that their kissing was incredibly SHIT. in my opinion

The point beforehand when Sarah goes: what about the women in your time? what are they like?

and Kyle goes: good fighters

i was like - Cameron - you feminist sunovabitch!! which naturally i'd already had this reaction when I saw that Kyle was running around with a female soldier (who looked eerily like Grace??? actually) and also arrived at his comfy tunnel home with another female soldier in tow. 1984 people!!! and Rogue One couldn't be fuckin bothered.

and then Sarah is like: yknow what i mean - you got a girlfriend????

and we find out that Kyle has had Sarah's image as his singular haven of comfort and beauty his whole life (which means also that he’s a virgin)

and it's kinda romantic

but THEN

he regrets admitting it!!!! 'i shouldn't have said that'

AND THAT KICKS IT UP TO REAL ROMANCE. THE GOOD SHIT!!!! YES!!!!

(then the kissing starts which is bad)

but how the fuck can fans of this original movie complain about dark fate loL???? Sarah really IS like Dani, adored for both her legendary power and what she personally represents to her saviour: a haven from their terrible lives. girls thrown into life-threatening situations and learning to aid their protector step by step - until she's the last one standing - until she's picked up the skills and grit and trauma to drag Kyle/Grace around to save them and then go toe to toe with a fucking Terminator after losing them.

Sometimes I think it's cos dudes can't deal with a movie in which there's no one to latch onto that looks like them. Also it might just be the racism - cos youtube comments generally seem to approve of blonde-haired blue-eyed badass Grace

The pacing of this movie was actually really good even though there were TWO huge exposition dumps in quick succession in two random cars. They were fine. The car chase scene that came after was the only boring part in the movie.

My god the stop motion shots of the terminator though - OH MY GOD. that aged SO BADLY

I like how they gave the Terminator steel teeth bc otherwise it wouldn't have looked enough like a skull. I also liked how it literally had pizza feet hahahahaha

I was disappointed with John's words to Sarah though - it was both the delivery (worst line Kyle's actor did - like how fuckin dead was his voice there) and the words themselves. If i had a way to speak to my mother who saved me and raised me to win the war against the machines and i'd already lost her I would have been like: I LOVE YOU - I can't help you and I’m sorry because you saved me, thank you for everything.

Anyway - in the end i was surprised the terminator could be exploded with a single lil nitroglycerin bomb or whatever but the choice to have Kyle bite it for that heroic act was intense and sad

While Sarah and unlegged Terminator were crawling along I was like: how the fuck is this robot getting any traction on this metal surface with it's smooth little metal fingers??

Sarah's last soft 'kyle' as she watches him get zipped up into a body bag was the most touching line in the movie

The ending narration was pretty fuckin shit though.

So yeah. I enjoyed that

[ducktracy]

66. buddy’s day out (1933)

release date: september 9th, 1933

series: looney tunes

director: tom palmer

starring: jack carr (buddy), bernice hansen (cookie)

to quote a frequent catchphrase in the harman and ising cartoons: oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! i’ve been eagerly waiting for this moment. many a thought is racing in my mind as i type this, i don’t know where to begin! i suppose with some history:

so, harman and ising have left leon schlesinger in the dust. he has a contract to fulfill and no characters to show for it. he set up his own studio at sunset boulevard and searched for some people to add onto his crew, primarily from disney (jack king, earl duvall, who made buddy’s character, ben hardaway...) and a few leftover from harman and ising’s unit, most notably friz freleng.

tom palmer, another picked from the disney pile, directs this short, and when i was originally putting together the cartoon info i was really confused. who was this dude? i’ve heard of jack king and ben hardaway from watching their porky cartoons, and of course friz freleng, but never tom palmer. it turns out i hadn’t heard of him because after this cartoon and the next one, i’ve got to sing a torch song, he was fired. that should tell you right off the bat what we’re going to see. this cartoon also had to be reworked. according to bernard brown and bob clampett, the first draft was even less funny than the final version. to give you an idea of palmer’s sense of humor, he’s cited as calling a visual gag a “funny piece of business”. well, technically, this short IS a funny piece of business. business practices.

anyway, enough history. buddy, his dog happy, his girlfriend cookie, and her baby brother elmer all venture out for a picnic that goes awry.

much in the style of movie trailers in the 30s, where the characters have their names emblazoned on the screen and a little description, we are introduced to our cast. buddy, “our hero”, cookie, “buddy’s sweetheart”, elmer, “cookie’s baby brother”, and happy, “buddy’s pal”. the scene is corny within itself, but the awkward, janky animation—especially with buddy mechanically turning around and wobbling as if inebriated—make it even more awkward and discombobulated. it’s a different approach to introduce a cast of characters, sure, but its potential isn’t realized and falls flat.

cookie and elmer are the first to be formally introduced. cookie is bathing elmer, who reaches out of the tub to grab a sponge. cookie continues to spank him back into the tub, and once he finally grabs a hold of the sponge he squeezes it in his face. unprecedentedly, accentuated by bad timing and awkward sound effects (as well as animation), elmer splashes about in the tub, the sponge flying out of his grip and smacking cookie in the face. he realizes what he’s done, holds his nose, and seeks refuge in the bath water as cookie approaches him. she scrubs the top of his head... which is actually his butt, his head poking out at the opposite end. undoubtedly added in after. cookie dries him and tosses him in the air, catching him with the towel that makes a horribly discombobulated bell sound.

there’s a lot wrong with this scene. little to no creativity or any stretch of the imagination whatsoever. the sound effects are not timed well, carrying over into different shots. one minute cookie is frowning, the next she’s smiling. it’s impossible to make out what any sort of emotion the characters are feeling, and it comes off as very robotic and unnatural.

now to buddy, “our hero”, who’s washing down his car (that’s labeled ASTHMA on the side?) with a hose as happy observes. dissatisfied with the meek steam of water the hose is producing, he turns the nozzle to get more water out. happy barks at the aimless hose and bites it.

happy is sent into the air as the hose writhes and thrashes about. the force of the water sprays off any accessories on buddy’s car, and there’s a brief moment where buddy pumps his fists in frustration, but quickly returns to his smiling self and turns the water off. again with the incomprehensible emotion: expressing no concern for his dog’s safety and blankly observing. there is a nice little gag—probably the funniest part of the cartoon, aside from the cartoon’s existence itself—as the car itself shakes off any water like a dog. i’d be happy if the cartoon went for overused gags like those. it’d still be boring, yes, but fun to watch. instead, everything just feels very straight forward.

cookie is getting herself dolled up, even blowing a kiss at a picture of buddy on her vanity. i guess they wanted her to come off as a betty boop type? that’s how she reads to me. she pops her head out of the window and cries “yoo-hoo, buddy! i’m ready!”

as riveting as ever, buddy answers “i’ll be right over, cookie!” i still have little to no idea of how he’s supposed to be portrayed. i suppose a loyal, dutiful “boy scout” type. he’s introduced coyly as “our hero”, but has yet to display any heroic qualities. however, because he’s labeled a hero, we’re automatically supposed to like him, even with little to no indicator of his personality.

buddy gives his car a few cranks, but it’s in reverse: the car tears backwards through the fence. immediately after, there’s a shot of a bunch of dogs and cats and a clothesline stacked up in the car (again probably added in), and the car tears through a greenhouse. much obnoxious crashing later, the car is decorated head to toe with flowers as it crashes into the side of cookie’s house.

evidently, buddy is supposed to come off as a charmer, because cookie finds it beautiful. buddy opens the door for her and salutes, another indicator of the boy scout persona? also, look at how terribly the house and the car clash with all those flowers. this cartoon lacks physical lighting value—it could very well be the particular restoration, but everything feels very light and white and washed out.

buddy packs up a stroller and a picnic basket and climbs into the car. the car’s engine sputters, and the flower gag becomes even more redundant once all of the flowers are shaken off. nevertheless, they go on their merry way.

it seems buddy bought his car in europe. maybe that’ll explain for the jarring view of the mirror. i know it’s so you can see elmer and buddy at the same time, but couldn’t they have chosen another angle? or, at the very least, tilted the mirror and elmer slightly? it’s very jarring and out of place—just like the sound effect of falling rocks that cues when elmer hits buddy over the head with a bottle.

as they crawl up a steep hill, the engine sputters and expresses difficulty at climbing the hill, but soon enough it’s back to normal. a very wasted gag—the same gag is in porky and gabby and is much more entertaining, with porky and gabby chasing after their car and trying not to get flattened.

the car whirls around some twists and turns, accompanied by a fire engine to convey urgency. another potential gag wasted. instead, it comes off as annoying and cutesy, like “haha, look at what a hurry they’re in!” nevertheless, they arrive at their destination, buddy toting the picnic basket and stroller while whistling.

a very awkward romantic scene. cookie (i don’t know if i’ve called her honey at all—i’ve had to change “honey” to “cookie” many times while writing this, so bear with me if i didn’t catch one) situates herself down on a hammock and strums a guitar, singing. buddy, ever the charmer, comes up behind her and pushes her, singing in complete gibberish. to make it even more awkward, he asks “woojie woojie woojie?”, prompting cookie to respond “no, woojie woojie woojie!” a pass at an innuendo, maybe? if so, it fails to come across as such, instead reading as annoying and coy.

various critters repeat the same dreaded dialogue. some caterpillars, some bees, and some frogs. i suppose out of all of them, the frogs are the most amusing, with the woman frog smacking her courter and hitting him over the head with a cattail. i’m curious as to whether bob clampett was in charge of that gag, it feels like a shadow of his own gags in cartoons.

buddy and cookie have an awkward embrace as we cut to elmer and happy. i feel like elmer has the most screentime in this cartoon—really everyone except buddy. i suppose his “our hero” line was supposed to do all of the personality building for him. that, or tom palmer had no idea what to do with him. my senses point to the latter.

elmer is eating (sucking? does he have teeth?) on a hotdog link, pushing a curious happy away. happy whines continuously, and to shut him up, elmer pacifies him with the pork. note the lines around happy. they just kind of... twinkle there. i guess to express shock? no additional head movements or anything. you could even have the lines dissipate and fizzle out—porky’s romance does a very entertaining job of that here. watch the exclamation mark above the dog’s head and how it dissipates. very entertaining and comes across as deliberate, not just “oh geez, i need to convey some sort of emotion here”.

still whining, happy prompts elmer to throw a cake in his face. happy runs around aimlessly while elmer laughs obnoxiously. happy runs into a tree trunk, and the cake flies off of his head onto elmer’s. conveniently, cookie walks by elmer, sees the mess, and scolds him. very janky, awkward animation as elmer shuffles away, sniffling. there’s a jarring transition as elmer and happy approach the car. they don’t get in it, they approach. the next thing you know, in the next shot, they’re already in the car.

this shot is wonky on a number of reasons, but mainly spacing and lack of depth. happy shouldn’t be able to squeeze behind the gas pedal and fit there so easily. following his body, it doesn’t look like his butt is sitting on the floor, just his front paws. the wheel is at an equally awkward angle—i know so elmer can fit, and animation is all about presentation, not practicality, but still. elmer takes his aggression out by stomping on the gas pedal. surely you can see where this is going.

elmer and happy have hijacked the car, which drives away with them in it. buddy and cookie chase after them, buddy pushing cookie in the stroller and later hopping in himself. another shot of elmer and happy, and then the same shot of buddy and cookie, complete with buddy jumping in the stroller AGAIN. the sound design, as always, is very misplaced.

buddy and cookie follow elmer and happy on the winding route they took, the background just flipped horizontally, which, of course, doesn’t make sense—it should just be the animation that’s flipped, but i digress. the whole thing with this climax is that there’s no urgency. no super fast speeds, no intricate camera angles, no dynamics. it’s just a baby and a dog in a car that just so happens to be moving.

there are a few gags, but they’re very trite and predictable. elmer and happy drive through some haystacks and thusly have straw bears. they crash into a hotdog sign, which lands on top of buddy and cookie. they drive past a rotating laundry line, which flies up and attaches to cookie and buddy’s baby carriage. the laundry line and the hotdog sign make a makeshift helicopter. clever, i suppose, but it isn’t executed to show off any cleverness. there’s a very jarring violin slide effect as the laundry line falls down and attaches itself to the stroller. i hate to trash on bernard brown, the sound effects guy, but the sound design is distractingly bad in this cartoon. i’m guessing (and hoping) it improves, but the innovation later sound designer treg brown would use with his sound effects id totally lacking. the sound effects are just there.

suddenly, elmer and happy find themselves on train tracks. i bet you’ll never guess what’s coming from the opposite direction. A TRAIN!!! crazy, right?? there IS a good shot of buddy and cookie looking down at the train tracks below, probably the most creativity this cartoon possesses (above).

buddy and cookie land on a roof and use a ladder to divert the train. the train goes the other way and all is well, pushing the shack that cookie and buddy landed on with it. and then, guess what? the consecutive shot the train is BACK ON THE TRACKS. the delivery comes across as haphazard and sloppy.

reunited at last, buddy woojie woojies elmer, who squirts him in the fact with his milk bottle. iris out.

whew. where to begin. well, obviously, i’m not a fan of this cartoon. it’s sloppy, vague, and awkward. tom palmer’s direction is directionless, and the quality of the cartoon is poor, even for 1933’s standards. the sound design is jarring and discombobulated, and none of the characters are memorable, especially buddy. this cartoon should’ve been called elmer’s day out instead.

however, i don’t like to completely bash things. i’m an optimist and always try to look on the bright side. the backgrounds were painted nicely, and the music was good. buddy’s design is VERY cute here. he looks his best in this cartoon. his 1935 design is okay, better than the next design we’ll be seeing. though tom palmer’s direction is sloppy, it WAS his first directorial job. i’m sure he was a much better animator at disney than he was director here. also, leon shlesinger opened up his studio on sunset boulevard. 2 years later, termite terrace would be born, and the world would never know peace since. so, in a weird way, buddy led to bugs, to daffy, to porky... especially since his lack of success led to i haven’t got a hat, which introduced a pool of new characters to be used in upcoming in shorts, including a little stuttering pig i happen to know. so buddy has caused good! but in a rather bad way.

i wouldn’t recommend this cartoon, but at the same time, i absolutely do recommend it. watch it for yourself and see how messy it is. it got a few good laughs out of me the first time i watched it, but all from making fun of it.

link!

[orphanedcub]

SPOILERS

Season 8 feelings. It’s going to be a long and messy one, but I want my thoughts here as well.

So I slept and still.. have emotions over Season 8...

I really really enjoyed the beautiful animation of this season. It was... so fucking gorgeous. All of the pretty mecha scenes, all of the beautifully coloured and lit scenes... How gorgeous everyone was drawn... It was all so urgh mwah

I super enjoyed all the girls getting to bond too, and I'd love to think that after S8, Acxa, Zethrid & Esor got to hang out with them too. They deserve to be able to go on more little outings, have movie nights, share their cultures etc

While it didn't have the build-up it needed, I'm glad Allurance became canon. Lance has, despite what many people say??, developed a lot as a character over the course of the entire show. And whilst I don't think that a character's development is defined by their romantic relationships, the way Lance handled his feelings for Allura and the way he supported her was a testament to his maturity. I would have liked to of seen more from Allura, how her feelings for Lance came to be, especially after her relationship with Lotor but there were a lot of relationships, motives etc that we didn't get to see. So I feel like Allurance was just another victim of the struggles the Staff has been battling with all this time.

Episode 7 was super cute and soft, I liked seeing more of the MFE Pilots, and to have that episode lead into the Clear Day Carnival was a good emotional break. Neither episode were entirely the 'goof' episode we're used to, but I feel that's with the nature of the final season.

I have to say too, that I really enjoy how Voltron dealt with villains. That in the end, none of them were truly 'just evil'. That good intentions, pure love, can be twisted and poisoned. That the end does not always justify the means.

We really got to see into Zarkon, Honerva and Lotor's world as a family and how it all fell apart. We saw them as they were, as they fell into obsession and how this formed Lotor and his motivations. We saw Zarkon mourn for what he had done, and Honerva's motherly love literally break the universe, as twisted and dark as it had become. I would have liked her end to not have been such a series of snaps, but I can appreciate how delicate of a mentality she had at that point.

And in the end, even if I don't think Lotor would have welcomed her into the afterlife as he did.......... I am glad that the three of them got to be a family. Maybe in the eternity of the afterlife they can mend.

Hunk was a stand-out this season. I feel like we all don't love him enough, and I'm glad he got the screen time he deserved and melded his love for cooking with his peace-making.

Pidge was cute this season too, though I really really.... REALLY would have loved to see Chip activated. Seeing the Holt family dynamic was adorable and honest to fuck she would have been an amazing character for me as a child.

One thing I want to touch on though, which will lead into a lot of things, is Allura's pain of 'I have no family and home to return to, but you all do'. Lance, Hunk and Pidge do. They all have their families and homes.

But, and this is going to be a theme, why are Shiro and Keith forgotten here? Shiro, we have no idea about his family or home life before The Garrison. We don't know what he has to return to, if anything. For all we know, he could have been an orphan too which could be another reason why he so wanted to motivate and help Keith way back when. And Keith, the boy who lived in a shack for a year, who only just got his mother 'back', whose father's grave is waiting for him on Earth... What home does Keith have to return to? What family? Krolia is, true to her character, going to remain in space with the Galra. And if the Epilogue is to be believed, then Keith continues to work............ Allura was never the only one with 'nothing'.

Found family was always a huge theme, as well as family in itself, and I really.... really wish all the Paladins had bonded more. In the end, they all splintered off. I didn't expect them to remain as a unit, far from it, but with how janky they'd been written from time to time - I don't know. I think it was the Epilogue that killed it for me. They were all bonded but also still never felt like an entire family.

And before I go into the Epilogue, I wanna touch on the final fight. Epic as it was, and it was (I loved the animation, the low-key/high-key NGE vibes haha)... there was a lot lacking from it.

Atlas forming with Voltron was fucking epic. Them flying through realities, ending up at the Beginning and the End was really really cool and dramatic and the sort of thing I'd expect. But what I expected more from was all of the Paladins working together.

Honerva and her robeast at the end was meant to feel like an enemy they could not overcome. But after the fusion, it felt like the team were doing worse against her than when they were apart. And there was no real tactics to the battle, they just kept getting bested and kept going. For a team that, through all these seasons, showed so much growth, a melting pot of all the different ways they think, and the undeniable intelligence and strategic prowess of their members, the final fight felt a bit blunt.

And what I just can't escape, as someone who yes has a giant ship of these characters, but also someone who loves their canon bond and the characters in themselves, who sees so much of themselves in these characters and got a lot of comfort from them...

They did Shiro and Keith, as individuals, as friends, as found family, as lovers, whatever we feel they are, -- dirty.

As individuals, I felt Keith got quite a good cut this season. He was an amazing leader, motivating his team and keeping it together even in the most bleak of times. He supported Lance, and I'm glad to see their friendship as something more stable and even now. And I know a lot of issues are going to come down to time, but I'm a bit sad that his whole bonding with Krolia was mostly an off-screen, two-year time skip where we just have to assume these two emotionally constipated characters worked their shit out.

And in the end, in the Epilogue, they're apart again. I know that's kind of part of their dynamic, but both of them have shown a deeper complexity of emotions, and with motherly love and family being such a theme I would have liked to of had something more there.

Shiro. Shiro felt especially empty this season. He was still the strong leader we love, commanding the Atlas like no one else could. But a lot fell short. His relationship, not just with Keith, but the entire team felt damaged and it didn't seem like he was bonding with the crew and people on the Atlas 'instead' (though if the Epilogue is to be acknowledged, then he had a lot of off-screen time with a character we didn't really even know the name of...?).

JK did an amazing job voicing him, and however flat or hollow Shiro felt this last season is nothing on him. And I can't get past adoring how Shiro was during the arm wrestling. Being called old, told he couldn't do something... That fire in Shiro is to be adored.

But something that a lot of us adored and could see, even those that weren't 'into' Voltron, even reviewers and 'professional fans' (who at times can feel distant in other fandoms), that wasn't really present this season - was Shiro and Keith's bond. No matter how you see it or HC it, throughout the entirety of Voltron one relationship has been strong and unbreakable. From Keith saving Shiro in the first episode, through as many times as it took to The Black Paladins, their bond was important. Special.

Whether you saw it as a strong male bond that went beyond male friendships in media or as a slow burn male love relationship - Shiro and Keith's bond has been something to be admired as it is, as it was loved by fans and staff alike and in the context of the media. And that, sadly, felt forgotten this past season. The two barely shared a conversation and were noticeably physically and emotionally distant. Why was it not Shiro that recognized that it wasn't Keith relaying those messages to them, but someone pretending to be him?

Why did they never seem more concerned for one another? Why when they knew they were losing Allura did they stand so far apart? There were so many moment where in the past seasons, we would just see the two together. Standing close. Sharing that bond. That trust. Something that was always there from their placing, to how differently they'd speak to one another, to the small expressions of physical contact. That was all... gone?

I'm somewhat happy to know that the original ending was meant to be all the Paladins running out into the night to see the lions do their thing. That that was the open-ended close LM and JDS wanted. But that just makes the Epilogue so much stranger. The Holts, Hunk, Lance, Krolia & Kolivan I can understand and see. Keith's ending, yes somewhat (but also he's never stopped being that awkward boy with people 1on1, so him doing something so social is dnjfnwef) ...

But Shiro? For a show that said they would never put in romance for the sake of it, that they'd never cheap-out, really did. I feel in my guts something is wrong, and while I'm happy to see a male gay marriage + kiss (especially in this media), I can't shake it... I can't shake that Shiro and Keith's bond was blunted this season, that they went back on their word about romance and relationships, that they ended with a 'the females died to save the world' storyline... That Keith was fucking blocked from the marriage shot???????

I just can't 'believe' it, if that makes sense. We had Shiro as our official rep, and he didn't have to end up with anyone to prove that, he didn't deserve to be paired randomly to get 'better' rep and Keith and Shiro didn't deserve to have their bond forgotten.

I just don't know. I'm currently starting to overheat, thanks Australia, and my mind is still blurry. But with how things have been going in this fandom, how antis and horrible people have harassed and attacked the staff, how DW failed to handle Voltron as a whole and choked their staff, I'm not surprised that the ending has left many fans feeling uncomfortable. I don't know if LM &/or JDS are ever going to be able to speak out about anything or if any of the ex-directors can.. or VAs... I wouldn't blame them if they just wanted to dust their hands with Voltron and move on. But I sure would appreciate... something? For now I guess I can just hold onto the open-ended end they intended to leave us with.

And love on the fandom, the good slice of the fandom, and try to enjoy myself. Though I fear that the ending will fuel some of the worst of the fandom, and that is affecting my want to actually get my ass in gear and create content for Voltron ...

I know I just need to connect with others here, share our pain and love, and heal together. I never expected a Sheith Canon Ending, and that's not what all of this is about... but you better believe that these boys in love is what I'm going to turn to to help me heal again.