#orphan time

[tealvenetianmask]

The version of loving parenthood

On display in the first few seconds of the short

Tells us everything

We need to know.

[drama-glob]

We've got the slow frog blink again people! XD XD XD

[pamiwerewolfybunterfly]

Saw the new Helluva Boss short Orphan Time and I have no choice but to post these new images of my husband!!!

[pearpap-ponders]

Poor Blitz just wanted daddy daughter time :(

[briar-mosaic]

Loona Buckzo in Orphan Time

Loona is her own character.

I had this write up in me for Blitz and Loona for a while but when the new short came out I wanted to wait a bit. Sometimes I don't think people consider that people like Loona is also a target audience and we evaluate her character as if there are not fostered and adopted kids reading it. I also think that there is a real unkindness in reading into Loona's normal growing pains with her father as signs of him being a bad dad. When Orphan Time came out my first thought was the the video responses to it came out too fast. It isn't offensive to say that the short implies Loona isn't happy with Blitz but it is shallow. Like, its a boring read of these characters.

It takes away her agency as a person who can have complex emotions and wants and needs things her family might not naturally give her. It is okay for Loona to see someone else as a father figure or even admire them for seeing her and it doesn't mean she specially wants Blitz to act like that. In the short, Blitz sulks but he goes along with it because he understands why she asked. He clearly would prefer it they killed him right away but he doesn't rush her.

She's copying his exact behavior from when he backed out of killing the family from Sinmas. She's the one who understand why he is sad and asks if he needs her to "handle it". Loona and Blitz always take care of each other emotionally, they share a bond that Blitz only has with her because he consistently allows himself to be vulnerable about loving her.

Also, it's just not true that Loona felt let down by Blitz when she decided to invest the day in this interesting human she had met. We see them goofing around together and we have Loona directly tell us that she does not feel sad about killing this man regardless because she is not a creature that understands or is concerned with the lives of humans. She would like his values to mean something but she's content with him dying one way or another. She directly tells us this at the end when she says if he goes to hell that would be because he deserved it.

A lot of the humor comes from the fact that Loona isn't really sorry for these children's loss so much as she is curious about the character of this human man. If he can love those like her unconditionally, she might believe in her own value too. He's literally inspiring her just like he does all the kids to love herself - he is selfless. Which is such a fun character to work around in this show.

Loona doesn't have to ask for him to know she is interested in being seen by him which is what makes this moment special. Someone else, not just her father who committed to loving her, will see her as worth love too.

This episode is about Loona - just her, not how she thinks Blitz should parent. Who is she to others and what does she have the ability to be. If this man can see the good in all lost children, will he help her too? This should never have to come at the cost of saying her own relationship with Blitz is failing in some way. He understood that she needed someone else and he let her have it, as he should have.

If I had to guess, I'd say we are in for a Loona Birthday episode at some point! She's stated before that she was almost 18 when Blitz adopted her and she's finally been allowed to receive consistent care and support since we've known her. She's finally safe enough to do things other than defend herself and it's inspiring to see her caught up in things she never expected to care about.

Loona has already shown that her relationship with Blitz has allowed her to grow, love herself, and even help others.

When Loona arrives in this scene she could be frustrated at Octavia or even give her a hard time. She tells her that her dad is worried for her instead.

Loona isn't used to being on the receiving end of getting brushed off for her efforts and Octavia isn't used to people caring about how she feels.

But then Octavia says "he couldn't be bothered to keep his promise" Loona's entire body language crumbles. And when she lets Octavia keep going she's gets her first chance to act as an older sister.

Loona doesn't take responsibility for other people's emotions and it would be easy for her to let Octavia keep that distance. But she doesn't want to. She wants to help her feel better.

She allows someone to see her vulnerable and shares her pain in return. Loona's love is costly and high risk, it can hurt her and retraumatize her if Blitz neglected her. Her perspective matters and if she still says something good then it has more weight to Octavia in this moment.

Loona is not someone who will say things she doesn't mean and she was the person Octavia needed most in this scene. She doesn't bullshit her but she speaks from experience here and Octavia can see it.

She doesn't just give her an answer that would make her feel good or tells her that it will get better. "He's trying, that's more important than you think" is said for both their sakes here. Loona wasn't focused on any other goal than trying to be in this moment with Octavia and help her feel okay.

Because Loona has had to spend more of her life on defense she doesn't understand yet that she can be someone precious to people. Not just adored by her father but someone that people would seek, want, and need her. That people value her.

But it turns out, she really likes when she can help and she sees a great deal of good in others.

[ladyshadowdancer]

The animation is just keeps getting better and better every time! This short was sweet and hilarious!

[skyy-blu]

Blitz is a mood

[fizzie-frog]

The new short is out!

That being said... it felt kinda underwhelming. There was no interesting character (outside of the main ones, of course), there was a build up that never really seemed to get payoff... There was no aftermath, no resolution, no talk - it just ended on the kill and that was that. I guess it just felt kinda empty? Like it was an attempt but it wasn't finished.

That's just my opinion though, of course! And waiting for season 3, I guess any content works.

And I'm still hoping for a Fizzmodeus short, by the way.

EDIT: I gotta say, the only thing I can notice from this is that this could have to do with Mastermind - Loona wanting to give the father some time with his children that is. That is the one thing worth noting from this short.