#i love how. people apparently read the screencap and then skipped over the rest of the post apparently

[veliseraptor]

you know what maybe i should've written a shorter version of that post that just ran "the desire of doms and/or sadists are real, we are not simply a kink dispenser for the kink dispensee but actually do have our own subjectivity" since apparently the other one got too complicated

[blackblood1872]

Just saw season 8 of Voltron! Gonna be spoiling some things in this post so, uh, don’t read if you don’t want spoilers?

I had fun watching it and it’s definitely still one of my favorite shows. Of course I’m sad about the lack of a certain ship (of course I’m talking about Sheith), but I’ve kind of always been braced for it not being canon. So I’m not too surprised. Sad, yes, but not surprised.

I’m also sad about the lack of any big Shiro&Keith interactions. Cuz, like, what? You guys were so in each other’s business the last 7 seasons and this season, just… nothing? I’m confused. Maybe I missed them? I’m gonna have to do a rewatch at some point here.

I’m happy Allurance became canon! Even if it didn’t stick around. (I am salty they didn’t pull a “surprise! We only need to sacrifice one person to restore the realities, Allura, go back to your boyfriend” like they could have. Why didn’t this happen? I might write a few alternate canon fics after this.) Episode 1 was really cute and so was episode 7 (Day 47) and I’m not a big hetero shipper but all the Allurance was really cute.

I loved pretty much all the episodes - the first… 10? Up to the Knights of Light 2-parter, whatever episodes those were. I liked this. And Clear Day. Sorry, I binged the whole season just now and I have no awareness of what episodes are which. Actually, I think I liked them all except the last half of the last episode.

Episodes 6, 7, and 8 were my peek favorites, I think. That was an intense episode followed by two fun episodes. Episode 7 made me laugh so much, and I really liked how real the battle seemed? It was the lack of cinematic shots and music and it made it feel more real? I dunno, I really like that sort of thing.

The last 3 episodes were really intense and I was really into them and it was so emotional at times - god, I loved them. I also made the mistake of reading some Tumblr discourse before writing this so my memories of my emotions during those episodes are a bit damaged. Cuz everyone’s hating on this?

Like, I get it. It wasn’t perfect. But nothing ever is. Real life is never perfect. I don’t know what reality you’re living in that things are perfect but it’s not the real one. Everything felt accurate, like this was how these people would actually react. No, some people didn’t make the right or the best choices. But who ever does? When you’re in the moment and faced with a choice you have to make in a second - you don’t always get it right. This show did that and it felt real.

Stop putting Voltron on a pedestal. It’s about war and life and mistakes and living the best life you can. And I feel like it did a good job showing that. Even if we don’t like how some things turned out. That’s life.

And now back to me talking about the season. I never watched the trailer for this season, but I did see quite a few screencaps on Tumblr. I got excited every time I saw a scene I recognized in the show. Like, you would not believe. I was grinning and laughing and crying at times during the whole ~6 hours I spent watching this season.

(I watched the first 3 episodes from 7 am til 8.20 am, then episode 4 over the course of a couple hours because my mom kept trying to talk to me. Then she left (yay) and I watched 5 through 13 from 11 am til 4 pm. So this was an entire day thing for me even though the season was a total of 6 hours.)

I was really crying those last 5 episodes, it was really intense and insane and wow, I just really loved it. 

Allura’s sacrifice was super emotional, god, why did she do that - but I got a smile out of Lance’s new Altean markings. Very cool! I like that they included those. The “one year later” flash forward was not a cool move tho. Shame on you guys. But it gives us fanfiction writers the ability to fill in the blanks! Yay for Coran and Allurance angst!

Another not cool thing: the flash forward to... I want to say it was probably 10 years? Maybe 5. Something like that. The final time skip. Not cool. I want to know how all those things happened! I want to see how the relationships changed! Fanon and Headcanons are great and all but I want to know the real canon events!

Tying into that, I’m really disappointed that we didn’t get endgame Sheith. But the show isn’t about us, doesn’t have to include everything that we want. It belongs to the characters, and while Shiro didn’t end up with Keith (like he should have) he did get a happy ending! Even if I don’t know who the hell his husband is. That was a major achievement! A real homosexual kiss! Yay! LGBT rep! and all that. I wish we got more focus on this guy tho, so it didn’t feel so random. 

Here’s a new game. The Where’s Waldo version of Voltron season 8: Spot Curtis.

(Because apparently his name is Curtis. He shows up a lot? Apparently? But there’s literally no focus on him and how were we supposed to know he was important?)

(I image Shiro got to know him a lot more during the cut to the “1 year later” scenes, and also over the next 5-10 years to when we get those epilogue shots. They just never showed it and I’m salty about it. Who the hell is Curtis??)

(Also, this shows that Shiro definitely has a Type.)

Anyway. I love this show and, overall, I’m happy with this season. Of course I’m going to be reading Sheith fanfics for the rest of time, but I’m also going to be trying to get to know this new guy (whothehelliscurtis) and I’ll probably add... whatever the hell their ship name is to my list of ships, just like I did with Adashi. I ship Shiro with Happiness and if he gets that with Adam or Keith or Curtis, then I’m happy.

(Seriously, what is their ship name? I’ve seen Curo and Chiro but nothing seems set in stone? Of course it’s only been like 12 hours since anyone would have seen the wedding scene. Ship name possibilities: Takatis? Shurtis? Shirtis? Curashi? Cushi? Why is this guy named Curtis, there are no good options when merging Curtis with Shiro or Takashi.)

Oh! And speaking of the final time skip: it’s probably 10 years. Which means 11 years since the final battle. The fact that Shiro is still alive and well means his disease is gone! He’s going to live! Yay!

Also! To everyone complaining about the career choices of the characters in the end credits: It’s been like 10 years! It’s the future! I’m sure they stayed as pilots for a lot of those years! I’m sure they did other things before settling on what they did in the credits! And they have a lot of years after this to do other things! It’s just a snapshot of their lives! Calm down!

Ok, that’s all. This has been my super long rant about Voltron Season 8. 

Now, I’m going to avoid discourse like I did with season 7, and if anyone complains to me I’m going to play Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” at max volume.

TL;DR: I liked season 8 and believe its flaws reflect real life and how humans work during times of war. I still like this show and always will. I’m sad my OTP isn’t canon but that’s what fanfiction is for. I’m happy for Shiro and hope he lives a long happy life. Thank you JDS and LM for giving us this amazing show!

[80srockher]

Yuri on Ice Rewatch and Live-Commentary, Episode 1: Easy as Pirozhki!! The Grand Prix Final of Tears

*There are spoilers throughout.  I also make assumptions that anyone reading has already seen the episode or has a grasp of the content.*

Source: http://yurionicescreencaps.tumblr.com

The opening scene is so pretty.  Really sets a tone.  I went in knowing nothing about the anime first go-around, so I found Yuri and Victor’s grow/glow-ups montages interesting.  

This theme song is… not my favorite.  Maybe it’s the French horns?  That and too much synth.  I usually skip over it but want to give it a chance this go-around.

Heh, Victor and his gold blades to match his gold medal.  And his European af haircut.  Can’t remember the last time I saw an American past the age of 12 with bangs. No mistaking him for anything other than Eastern European.

Also, the poster on the left is for Victor, I believe.  Can he pull his leg that high in the air?  Was that featured and I forgot?  I’ll be on the lookout for it.

Also, looks like Jean JACK made it to Sochi and placed third here too, lolz.

Yes, please listen to your coach, Yuri.  Don’t poke the wound.  Stay off the internets.  ESPECIALLY the figure skating internets.  What little I remember from when I used to follow the sport is that it’s dramatic, to put it nicely.

I keep getting distracted by the utter Euro-ness of the Europeans in this show. The cut of Coach Celestino’s suit is so Italian I weep. He’s too smooth.

Yuri’s name tag has his name in Cyrillic as well?  Cute.

My first impression of Yuri was that he looks about 18 and that impression hasn’t changed.  Perhaps it’s the glasses, but he def looks youthful. I’m also someone who’s been accused of looking a decade+ younger than I actually am, so I can sympathize.

Speaking of sympathy – Yuri caved to pressure, binged ate before the competition while mourning his dog, then bombed his first trip to the Grand Prix final.  All in front of his idol.  Damnity damn damn.  Sorry, kid.

Is Cao Bin ever introduced on the show?  Something else I forgot, maybe?

Now, when I first saw this poor child crying in the bathroom, that’s when I knew the series was going to be much different from the light-hearted anime about figure skating I expected.  It got real deep real quick.

Yuri Plisetsky “The Russian Punk”.  Is this something the in-universe media refers to him as?  Because I only recall (JPN) Yuri saying it and only this once.

This screencap is during the scene where the journalist Marooka (sp?) is hassling Yuri about his future plans and instead of answering, Yuri can only stare at someone else’s puppy that reminds him of his dead Vicchan.

This baby is crying. Cry.ing.  This has been a tough day for poor Yuri, overall.

And he talks down to himself so much.  It’s all his fault he caved to pressure. He was an idiot to think he could meet his idol on the same playing field.   He’s come so far and still thinks so little of his accomplishments.

So, I understand this “one year later” is not really accurate, lol.  It’s just the new  year following the previous season.  I was confused initially about a number of soon-to-happen events before Yuri’s mental alter ego cleared it up.

So, per Minako’s voice actress, Yuri really is pronounced YOO-RI.  Cute.

Four Continents is… not a Grand Prix competition?  My figure skating knowledge is all rust now.

LOL, Minako does. Not. Play. And she wears a pinky ring.  My God, that death grip on poor Yuri.

It’s snowing outside the train station when Yuri and Minako leave.  So, it’s not unusual to snow in this region in March, but it’s highly unusual a month or so later. Man, hard to believe Yuri sat around for almost an entire month before the infamous video became viral.  More on that, later.

So, based on everyone’s interactions with Yuri so far, the only person who cares that he didn’t make it to the World Championships is him.  And he should care since he’s worked basically his entire life towards that goal.  But, he doesn’t appear to have let anyone down but himself, though he doesn’t act that way.

So, the fact that the family hot springs is named “Yu-topia”… did that influence Yuri’s name at all, I wonder?

Ha!  I wish I could have recorded the Japanese actor’s voice when he says this line.  He makes Yuri sound so done with it all, lol.  It’s the best.

Ok, so a number of very interesting and entertaining things happen in succession that I don’t feel like screencapping.  No hug between the littlest Katsuki and the senior Katsukis, even though he hasn’t been home in 5 years.  Fascinating. No doubt cultural (I’m guessing) but fascinating.  

Yuri’s mom basically calls Minako a drunk.  To her face. LOL.  But I imagine no one can get mad at this sweet lady.

Minako calls Yuri out on his weight gain in front of God and everybody.  Though, I think it’s more of a matter of his clothes no longer fitting due to said weight gain.  

But, his parents don’t care. Eat more pork cutlet bowls, Yuri! Welcome home!

Vicchan’s shrine is where they also store the unused treadmill.  Want to bet the only person to use it was Yuri?

Then older sis Mari-neechan appears with frosted tips.  I can appreciate a character that doesn’t beat around the bush (a trait she inherited from her mother, I imagine).  Welcome home, Yuri, but don’t sit on your ass.  Start thinking about your next move.    

Actually *loads headcanon* I suspect Mari doesn’t want Yuri to give up on skating.  The longer he stays at home, the more quitting becomes a possibility.

So, the Katsuki family hot springs resort (Inn?  Restaurant?) is the last one standing in town.  Very OT, but I wonder if the hot springs are still an attraction at all and are perhaps, government-owned?  Protected, used by tourists for a fee, perhaps?  I think about things like that.

Having never visited a hot spring, and based on the setting around Minako while she watches the World Championships on TV, it appears to be a place for people to come, soak, and lounge and grab a bite to eat if the mood strikes.  So, the Katsukis wait on people basically all day long.  Gotta be exhausting work.

Yuuuuuko!  The Madonna of Ice Castle Hasetsu!  Yuri’s crush on her is hella cute.

A slight segue to Yuri’s perceived attraction to Yuko and what it could imply about his sexual identity.  Per his labeling of Yuko as a “Madonna,” I figure Yuri considers Yuko untouchable, perhaps even “too good” for him.  Yuko, just like Victor, is “ideal”.  For someone as self-conscious as Yuri, comparing any romantic prospects against his two ideals was probably a convenient excuse not to get *too* close to anyone, male or female.  That being said, he didn’t pursue Yuko.  Alcohol loosened enough of Yuri’s inhibitions to eventually openly flirt with Victor, but this is still an important distinction, IMO.  He pursued one of his ideals (in more ways than one, even going so far as to leave home to in hopes of becoming Victor’s equal) and left the other one behind.

Yuri idealizes/d Yuko, and comes to love Victor.  He’s gay.  Bi, at the least.  

I don’t feel confident in applying any other labels, because I’m a straight.  Yuri could fall under any number of categories as long it they include, IMO, same-sex attraction.

In actuality, Yuko is “introduced” to the audience as Yuri’s straight love interest, but that doesn’t last long.  Cute and clever, show creators.  Cute. And . Clever.

Then we find out, via flashback, a) how adorable they all were when they were little kids and b) Yuko wanted to see Yuri compete against Victor.  Yuko has been a profound influence on Yuri.

So, Victor.  This guy is in a class by himself.  The animators obviously invested a lot of time in his movements.  You can see why he leads the field even at 27.

Also, the creators had the nerve, the audacity, the unmitigated gall to compose an original opera aria for a cartoon.  That was my next indicator that this was more than a cutesy figure skating anime.  

The song really is beautiful, too.  Probably my favorite in the soundtrack.

Who’s the last IRL skater to win 5 consecutive World Championships?  Michelle Kwan, maybe?  Who is Kwan’s male equivalent?  Back then, probably Alexei Yagudin?  May research. May not. 

Anyway, Victor is the Michelle Kwan of YOI-verse lol.

Hmm.  Here come the three brats.  Good God.  Poor Yuko and Takeshi lol.

So sweet to see Yuri’s childhood bully is his biggest fan now.

Sooo, Yuko’s triplets secretly record Yuri’s private performance, post it online (sometime before April 10, when Victor shows up), and things progress rather quickly from there...

Or do they?  It appeared to me that Yuri caught up with Yuko at the rink the same day he returned home.  Did he skate Victor’s routine for her that day, as well, or did it happen later?  Perhaps the triplets waited a few weeks to post the video, or else it took a few weeks to go viral.  Did Yuri turn off his phone for *weeks* to avoid the world?

Maybe he got home on March 30 and then the whole month of April just went to hell for him?  The possibilities...

LOL, I’m so SO mad the title of the video is “Katsuki Yuri TRIED to Skate Victor’s FS Program”. Those brats.

This might be the most unattractive Victor’s ever looked.  Severe close-ups aren’t flattering on anyone.  Welp, down the rabbit hole now.  

So, in the next scene it snows in April which doesn’t stop anyone from stripping naked to bathe in a hot spring, apparently.  Or it just doesn’t stop Victor.

#moneyshot

I like this ending theme much better.  It’s a head-bopper.  The Instagram reel kills me.  

Thanks to anyone who took the time to read through this stream of consciousness!  No idea how long it may take me to get through the rest.  I tip my hat to those who regularly and passionately participate in fandom.  It’s a lot of work!

[sarcasticace]

SarcasticReview: Rules Newlyweds aka you THOUGHT I was done writing AntiRoE posts.

Warning, this post gets LOOOOOOONNNNNNG.

So, Rules of Engagement book 4 aka Rules: It’s-been-one-year-since-we’ve-been-married-weds.

I mean... Newlyweds. Rules: Newlyweds. Yes, that’s it. Even though they’re not newlywed anymore, but... I guess to us, they are, even though it has been a year. Yearlyweds.

Anyway.

The epilogue no one really wanted... well, most of the tumblr fandom didn’t really want. For a short time, actually, it kinda felt like it was going to be a full book. Persoanlly, I didn't think RoE needed an epilogue. The chapter before the RoE B3 finale felt like a great ending point. Remember? All the siblings released nana’s ashes out to sea like she wanted, but then they had to stretch the book’s ending out with the brother’s proposal to Elena. Really, that should’ve been before the wedding. It killed the pacing. But I’m getting sidetracked. I didn’t think RoE needed an epilogue book. TC&TF didn’t get one. It’s epilogue was stuffed at the end of the final chapter of B3 and it was still really good. Why is RoE so special? I mean, yeah, TFM got an epilogue book, but that’s an ongoing series and it felt more like a summer special than an epilogue anyways.  

Regardless, I have to say, Newlyweds did a good job as epilogue for the most part. Though it wasn’t exactly how I would have liked it to go, personally, they tied up the twin’s and the cousin’s storylines pretty well. For the twins, my complaint are more opinion based. I would’ve preferred party!twin go into cooking rather than... being a tour guide for her sister’s virtual vacation company. I kinda wanted her to work with Mira and Blake, maybe be in charge of the front area+the waiters/waitresses.

Aria (Big-Sis!MC), however, I don’t fully understand what her storyline was even suppose to be in this book. Apparently, going by the summary, she tasked herself with bringing her family back together ever since they grew apart or something in the year since B3. The thing is, it doesn’t even seem that way. It just feels like they’re all busy with their lives and/or jobs. You know, jobs, Aria? The thing you haven’t had since the beginning of RoE. I mean, understandable then, you were on summer vacation... idk if it was a vacation from work or... a vacation from... not working? Do we know what she did? There was something about wanting to go back to work in the early chapters of B4. I mean, I guess it’s fine since she’s a millionaire or something now. Anyways, getting back to my point. Other than trying to bring the family back together even though there’s no need, Aria serves to add more pointless drama. Case in point, she invites Aunt Mallory to her family get together with no reasons as to why she’d do such a thing until the finale. At that point, the players choose why she did it. Either we embrace our aunt like we’re happy to see her or tell her we have our eyes on her/we only invited her for free gifts. That... bothers me. First off, no. Players wouldn’t have invited her in the first place. They ain’t that dumb. Don’t put Aria/the book’s dumb ass decisions on us. Second, Aunt Mallory doesn’t even do anything. She’s pretty insignificant to B4, but hey...

It wouldn’t be RoE if we didn’t have nonsense drama that doesn’t lead to anything.

Speaking Aunt Mallory, she gets a redemption arc this book just like we all thought she would and it’s as half assed as we thought. She’s trying really hard guys. You know, after she found our their grandmother left her something in her will. A lake house. She finally decides to NOT be a total ass, putting children and her own family in danger, when she gets something out of the will she always thought she should’ve since the book began. 

Moving on.

Violet (Mean!cousin), like the twins, doesn’t have much of a story either, but that’s because instead, like the twins, her overall story since the first book is wrapped up. Like it should be in any epilogue. She’s really embraced mom-hood and it was quite enjoyable to see. I still can’t believe she named her child after nana with all the bullshit she pulled. If it were me, I would’ve said the name would die with me. I mean, I AM in that position, technically. No kid, though, but... I’m getting sidetracked. I guess that just goes to show how far she’s come. Chaz is... still Chaz. Kinda annoyed. I mean, I like him and all. He’s sweet, but his bird thing got real old real fast. Now, Violet’s relationship with her mother this book is also interesting and how it circles back to nana. Violet realizes her relationship with Nana was rocky at best and didn’t want that for Amelia with Aunt Mallory... so she’s trying to mend things with her mother which I found AMAZING. Looking back to B1, I never would’ve thought Violet would become my favorite character from ALL of the Choices book, but here we are. She’s the mean girl done write (like Olivia). Take notes, Becca writers.

Now we move on to Elena and Luke (Big-Bro!MC). I had HOPED they would address how quickly their relationship has progressed, how short a time they were actually dating before Luke proposed. Also, I had HOPED they’d address the fact that Luke didn’t even come up with the idea of proposing. Nana forced him to. B1-3 lasted... let’s say 3 months. A month, let’s say, was spent with them pretending to be dating before developing true feelings for one another and they really started dating. At the max, they were dating for 2 months before Luke proposed.... forced to propose. Remember this. Put a pin in it. I’m making this point for a reason. Now, Luke’s big story this book isn’t NOT addressing the things I mentioned above, but rather Luke’s already been married despite the team SAYING they had been planning RoE out for months and canon material said no one other than Aria had gotten remotely close to being married.

I got this screencap from tumblr. Sorry, I do not recall from who. My apologies.

Elean is pissed that Luke never told her about this ex-wife. Understandable, but... come on. Some members of the fandom theorized it might’ve been a drunken or young love mistake, but that’s the thing: this is never talked about again until the finale. You can’t even say he kept it a secret because Aria literally has a picture from... idk, a family album. Even her husband knows about her.

It wouldn’t be RoE if we didn’t have nonsense drama that doesn’t lead to anything.

From Chapter 2 onwards, Elena is always seen pissy face at Luke who is just awkwardly pretending everything is fine and trying to make it right like a silly sitcom gag. The moment after the cliffhanger chapter is skipped in favor of a Historia (party!twin)-centered chapter (thank GOD tho) so we don’t even get to see what Elena’s immediate reactions or thoughts are. She’s just mad now. In fact, she’s mad for the rest of the book until the chapter before the finale where Elena and Luke seem okay having worked things out, quickly running up to use Aria’s bedroom in a very questionable scene. It’s okay, they were just hiding a puppy... in her bedroom... a young, very noisy and probably troublemaking puppy... alone... in her BEDROOM. I mean, sure, the pet they get is player determinant, but still. So here comes the finale. Flashback to BEFORE that scene. Elena and Luke finally talk in the pet store. Luke tells Elena about his ex-wife that we’ve ALL been dying to hear (if you don’t read that as sarcastic, I petty you) and get the lamest, shortest conclusion to this plot point. It’s not even a story, the ex-wife doesn’t even get a name. The entirety of the story is this: “To be honest, it was so long ago I don’t even think much about her. We eloped and there wasn’t even a real ceremony. We got divorce pretty soon after that. I don’t even count her as an ex-wife.” First off, that’s a sneaky way around the previous point I had made about going against canon facts, but whatever. You do you. Second, this is it!?! You made a big deal, stretched out Elena being made for, idk, 3 or 4 out of 5 chapters for this! Thirdly and most importantly, getting back to the point I told you to put a pin in, Luke ELOPED, maybe in Vegas or something, then got divorced soon after. Don’t you think think this might make Elena think twice about this whole getting married so quickly? Shouldn’t Nana and Luke have back when this was his task? Obviously, the RoE team didn’t think this through and that just... bothers me. I love the characters in this book, I see the AMAZING potential it has and the lessons it COULD be telling about love and marriage and stuff, but it just... doesn’t and instead tells these dramatic and unnecessary stories. Sure, people defend this by saying RoE is like a soap opera drama or whatever, it’s SUPPOSE to have dumb drama, but... idk... excuse me for wanting RoE to be BETTER than your typical soap opera drama.

Now, the ending to RoE’s ending. It ends how it began... kinda. It started on a cruise, but ended on a sail boat. They’re both boats and they have their family together, whatever. It was a weird scene because, right before getting on the boat, there was a strange filter. Like a bad Instagram post. Anyways, I like how it ended similar to how it started. That’s what I liked about TC&TF’s ending. but... unlike RoE players get to choose whether or not Kenna starts a family with their chosen LI or have more adventures while RoE, a book about marriage and love and family, doesn’t give you that choices. Kenna is a main character, MC is a my character. You’d think PB would give the RoE the option of kids since they’re player customizable while Kenna is their own character. And that’s how it ends. Aria says she’s having twins and then cue credits. Come on.

Anyways, conclusion time. B4 wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been, but hey...

It wouldn’t be RoE if we didn’t have nonsense drama that doesn’t lead to anything.

B4 was pretty good wrapping up some of the character’s stories for the most part so.... yay! It’s over.