#Dead parents?

[karamina]

Theories on Will's Parents

Man I love making up theories and headcannons for media intended for children and preteens. Why might you ask? Because often they leave out details on things kids might not understand and only hint at darker themes, leaving ample space for older fans and parents watching with their kids to gather the pieces to make hypotheses on what may be happening off-screen. As a side note, this is why I love the HTTYD franchise in particular, but that is not the victim of today's crazy theory post.

This post is about Will Taggert from Horseland. For those who don't know, Horseland was a show produced in 2006-2008 for children aged 6-12 that follows the life lessons and social skills that Sarah, Molly, Alma, Chloe, Zoey, Bailey, Nani, and Will (to a certain extent) as well as their horses (Scarlett, Calypso, Button, Chilli, Pepper, Aztec, Sunburst, and Jimber) and the animals around the farm (Shep the dog, Teeny the pig, and Angora the cat) learn through episodic stories.

There is a mystery that many fans of this show have explained in various ways surrounding the character of Will. What is up with Will's parents? Why does he never mention them? Why does he live at Horseland with his aunt, uncle, and his cousin Bailey?

As usual let's first look at the evidence the show presents.

Episodic Evidence

In the episodes "Talk, Talk" and "No News is Good News", we can clearly see that Will lives on the Horseland property and has his own bedroom in the ranch house. He is a riding instructor, coach, and grounds maintenance man at Horseland and often takes on responsibilities at the ranch such as special events, organizing and facilitating activities (such as the camping trip in "Fire, Fire Burning Bright", the early morning ride in "No News is Good News", and the Twilight Trek in "Molly and Chilli"), and advising students on proper care for their horses.

Throughout the series, Will never once mentions having parents or having any other family besides Bailey and his aunt and uncle (unless you count his grandfather in the episode "The Secret", who I am 90% sure is dead based on Will's use of the past tense when talking about him).

Okay so not much to work with. There is no hard evidence for his parents being dead or not. Remember, no mention of parents does not mean they are dead, especially with Will being removed from the other MCs (he's older and has a different relationship to them based on his status as a teacher) and only appearing briefly in most episodes or not at all. All we can say with 100% certainty is that if his parents are still in his life, he doesn't live with them and instead lives with his aunt and uncle. This opens the door for fan theories. I will present both common fan theories and theories I have come up with on my own.

Theory 1: Will's parents died and he was adopted by his aunt and uncle

From what I have seen, this is the quintessential fan theory regarding Will's parents. In this theory, Will's parents died when he was young and he was adopted by his extended family, ala his aunt and uncle. From there, he grew up at Horseland with Bailey as his adoptive brother and became part of the family business. I've seen fanfiction where they died in a car accident, they died in a storm while trail riding, etc. I've even read some where Will has siblings that he was seperated from when his parents died and who were adopted by other extended family members. Regardless, his parents are dead, potential siblings live elsewhere, and Will is an honorary member of the Handler household.

Personally, I think this theory is as popular as it is within the Horseland fandom because it readily presents an opportunity for both emotional angst and whumpfic. In fact, Disney is quite partial to using the dead parents card as a tragic backstory for its main characters. Will is an easy character in this fandom to apply this trope to as he is the only main character in Horseland whose parents are not accounted for. (That is, besides Alma's mother; she only ever mentions her father and grandparents). Now that I think about it, alot of these same theories could also fit her as well, except maybe Theory 2 and with the addition of divorce as another possibility. However, this observation does not discredit any validity this theory holds.

Theory 2: Will lives with his aunt and uncle as a job requirement to work at Horseland

In this theory, Will's parents are alive and well. So why does Will live at Horseland? Simple really. Will works with his extended family as onsite staff. Maybe Will's parents (and potential siblings) live far enough away that it makes more sense for him to just live at Horseland. They may even live in another state.

This is even more plausible if you are like me and consider Will to be over 18 yrs old (see my post about Horseland character ages).

In this, Will mostly interacts with his parents and any siblings over the phone and visits them for holidays, special events such as birthdays, graduations, weddings or funerals, or just whenever he has a large chunk of time I suppose. Just infrequent and distanced interaction may be why they are never mentioned.

Theory 3: Will has an estranged relationship with his biological parents

It's unfortunate, but some people just really don't get along well with their immediate family or aren't safe living with their biological parents for one reason or another. It could be anything from something as simple as personality differences or irreconcilable moral beliefs to horrible situations such as child abuse, alcoholism, and/or drug abuse. This can lead to one of two things. The first is the case of a child under the age of 18. In this case, if the home environment of a child is deemed unsafe, any children in the household are removed from the home by Child Protective Services (CPS), parents lose custody and/or go to jail, and the children are placed in the care of another family member or into foster care. This can also happen if the parent(s) are incarcerated for a completely unrelated reason. The other case is estranged adult children. In this case, the child becomes an adult without ever having CPS and the foster care system intervening for whatever reason and moves out, limiting or completely cutting off contact with their parent(s). If either of these is the case leading to the relationship Will has with his parents, then this may be why he lives at Horseland with his aunt and uncle and never mentions his biological parents around his "students".

Conclusion

Because of how little the show actually tells us about the state of the relationship Will has with his parents and any potential siblings, all three of these theories are equally plausible and one can make an argument for any of them. I think all three of them could easily be used in fanfiction as interesting plot devices, and I would be overjoyed to read any of them (although theory 1 is already beating out 2 and 3 in that scope). So now I open the floor to y'all. Which theory do you think is the most plausible? Did I miss any other possible explanations for why Will lives at Horseland and his immediate family is never mentioned?

[chipistrate]

Vanessa, Tony, Gregory, and Cassie all have parental issues one way or another

Can anyone have a stable home life PLEASE

[p0isonives]

conner kent has INCREDIBLE self control, cause if i came back from being dead to find out Tim Drake tried to clone me 99 times because he missed me so much, i’d immediately make him my bride

[fordtato]

I saw a post about how Bill "isn't ACTUALLY the villain" of Gravity Falls, given his ✨tragic backstory✨. Y'all know you can be sad and evil at the same time, right? You know Bill maybe feeling kinda bad for his actions does not make him the VICTIM of his own actions, right?

He gleefully drew little doodles of 12-year-olds in puddles of blood and you people are like "but his parents are dead." YEAH. HE KILLED THEM.

[ciderjacks]

dad issues

+

(I think they were all fundamentally affected by what they saw and just collectively decided not to share the upsetting details)

[flwrkid14]

Love and Obsession: The Tim Drake Way

part 2

Everyone in the Batfamily knows Tim Drake has… issues with boundaries. They’ve spent years trying to teach him what’s appropriate and what’s—well—deeply unsettling and completely invasive. To be fair, he’s learned. Mostly. He doesn’t stalk his family anymore (much), and he no longer pulls up files on every single person they talk to (okay, maybe just sometimes). But it’s progress.

But then Tim starts dating Danny Fenton. And, oh boy, a few screws come loose.

It starts small, as always. Just little things. Tim’s a detective, after all—background checks are second nature. Danny’s living in Gotham, and Gotham isn’t safe. So, really, what’s the harm in knowing a little more about Danny’s friends? And his professors? And maybe also his classmates? It’s just standard protocol. Okay?

“Tim, you’ve run a full dossier on my entire biology class?” Danny asks one day, laughing as he flips through a file on the coffee table. Tim shrugs. “What if one of them is dangerous?” “Pretty sure the most dangerous thing in that class is the midterm.”

Danny doesn’t think much of it. He’s a little flattered, even. Tim’s protective. It’s sweet.

But Tim’s mind doesn’t stop there. Danny’s too handsome. Too charming. What if someone tries to hurt him? What if someone tries to take him away? It’s not obsessive—it’s just concern. So, a tracker on Danny’s phone? Necessary. Cameras in his apartment? Standard. Monitoring his sleeping patterns and hangout spots? Logical.

Tim tells himself it’s love. And maybe a little insecurity.

“You have a tracker on his phone?” Dick asks, trying not to sound alarmed. Tim nods, like it’s the most normal thing in the world. “Of course. What if something happens to him?” “And the cameras?” “Safety.” “The background checks on his professors?” “Gotham U isn’t exactly known for its stellar staff, Dick.”

It doesn’t stop there. Tim knows everything. Danny’s eating habits, his favorite places to go when he’s stressed, his childhood allergies. Tim’s mapped out Danny’s entire life. He knows about Danny’s ghost powers too—of course he does. He’s Tim Drake. The moment he realized Danny was Phantom, it just… clicked.

Danny being half-ghost? That’s just one more reason to worry. Tim’s up late at night, watching for any signs of ectoplasmic interference. He tracks the energy spikes. He monitors Danny’s fights.

He doesn’t think Danny knows. He’s terrified of what will happen if he finds out.

But then he does.

One evening, Danny walks into Tim’s apartment and casually drops a folder on the table. Tim’s heart stops.

“What’s this?” Danny asks, raising an eyebrow. Tim swallows hard. “I… it’s just…” “You’ve been tracking me?” Danny opens the file, glancing through pages of surveillance reports, background checks, even analysis of his ectoplasmic energy. Tim feels like his world is about to shatter.

“I… I can explain,” Tim says, his voice tight. “I’m just… worried about you. You’re in danger all the time, and I—” Danny walks over, cupping Tim’s face in his hands. Tim braces for the worst.

But Danny just smiles. “Can I put a tracker on you too?”

Tim blinks. “What?” Danny kisses his cheek. “If you’re watching my back, it’s only fair I watch yours. I need to make sure you’re safe too.”

Tim stares at him, speechless. Danny doesn’t look scared. Or angry. He looks… fond. Like Tim’s obsessive tendencies aren’t a problem at all.

“I’ve never had someone care about me this much,” Danny says softly. “I trust you with my life, Tim. This? This just proves how serious you are.”

Tim thinks he’s just fallen deeper in love.

-------------------

The Batfamily? They’re worried.

Jason corners Tim in the cave. “Okay, so let me get this straight. You’ve got cameras in his apartment. You’ve mapped out his entire life. You’ve got a tracker on him and a heartbeat monitor. And he’s… fine with it?” Tim nods, a dreamy smile on his face. “Yeah. He even wants to put a tracker on me.” “That’s not… healthy, Tim,” Dick says carefully. “That’s—” “It’s mutual,” Tim interrupts. “We’re protecting each other.”

Bruce pinches the bridge of his nose. “Tim, this isn’t how relationships are supposed to work.” Tim shrugs. “It’s how ours works.”

Damian watches the whole thing with narrowed eyes. “This is deeply unsettling,” he mutters.

They try to talk to Danny. Intervention style. They invite him over, sit him down, and gently (or not so gently) try to explain that Tim’s behavior isn’t normal.

Danny just laughs. “You guys do know I’m half-ghost, right?” “That doesn’t mean—” Dick starts. “I spent my entire life being hunted by ghost hunters. I’ve had worse invasions of privacy.” Danny smiles. “Tim cares. He keeps me safe. That’s all I need.”

The bats don't quite know what to say.

-------------------

Tim and Danny, two slightly unhinged souls who think mutual surveillance is the ultimate act of love.

The bats? They’re just trying to keep up.

(“At least they’re happy?” Barbara offers weakly. Bruce sighs. “For now.”)

Gotham’s version of love was never going to be normal. But this? This is a whole new level.

[mydeadgaywizards]

sirius and/or regulus telling a story: "when i was little..."

remus and james: *braces for the absolute worse*

[chloesimaginationthings]

How helpy tested out the FNAF pizza sim attractions

[stealingyourbones]

There’s a new drug in Gotham making the rounds, one synthesized by Two-Face’s people; if you take it you will have a 50/50 chance that you’ll experience the greatest high of your life or that you’ll die.

Batman is desperately trying to find the main lab and cut off the production from the source and hasn’t been able to find a lead in weeks.

That’s when Gordon gives him a file that was given to him by a “white haired ghost kid”. It’s a detailed report written similarly to a scientific journal with detailed sources that are mainly first hand accounts from deceased victims of the Two-Face drug.

At the very end of the paper there’s an address to a Gotham University dorm room with a sticky note next to it that says “if you need help with death or the undead. Yours truly; Danny Fenton.”

[daisybell-on-a-carousel]

Being someone who read Under The Red Hood and came out with the firm belief that, for Jason, it's not about killing Joker, it's about Jason wanting proof Batman would choose him over the Joker (bc shelia chose the joker). Makes seeing any other media where it's all about just wanting the Joker dead is a teeny bit frustrating. to be honest

Jason could've killed the Joker himself, really, really easily. Jason kidnaps the Joker before the confrontation. I can't open my comic for a reference right now, but it felt like he had the Joker for quite a bit before the confrontation. He had him. He beat him up with a crowbar. He had every single opportunity to kill the Joker himself, but he didn't because that wasn't his goal. Make no mistake, he did plan for the Joker to be dead by the end of it, but do you see what im trying to say here

Edit: If I knew this post was gonna get 1000+ notes I would've tried to word it better or something, this was a rant I made on the way to the grocery store 😭

It's not about making Batman kill either. When Batman says he won't kill, Jason adjusts and goes, 'Let ME kill the Joker or kill me to stop me' instead. The test is all about Batman choosing him. The whole final confrontation is Jason's first death again. The parent, The Joker, and the explosives. It even ends with Jason unable to move as a bomb goes off right next to him again because the parent didn't choose Jason. And instead tried finding an option that'd benefit them and (consequencely) letting the Joker walk, again, lol, lmao <-in agony

[moonyswarmsweaters]

Regulus: Sirius… I’m gay

Sirius *excited*: can I tell Walburga? Cause this WILL kill her

[drawnfromthedead]

It's a Terrible Cover Story, Really :/

DP x DC AU where, when trying to make a cover story for why Jason is suddenly legally alive again, Bruce (and the rest of the fam) come up with a story that they had found the body of a child that looked just like 15 year old Jason after he had gone missing and went straight into greif stricken panic and assumed to worst! Jason had come back to them later (let's say he's 22/23 here) after recovering from amnesia, and DNA tests confirmed it's him. They claim they exhumed the body and had the DNA tested and it came back (and they make this name up, completely believing that, since enough people have similar names, this won't come back to bite them) as Danny Fenton.

It's plastered all over the news and it makes it's way back to Jack and Maddie fast: who are now completely convinced their son died on a breif trip they took to Gotham 7 years ago and came back as a ghost who just didn't know he was dead. When they try to bring up the topic with Danny, as gently as they could, they wind up learning that he's Phantom and start to think it's a split personality type deal. One is their son trying to greave his own death and failing because he thinks he's still alive, and the other is their son trying to live up to them as ghost hunters and trying to be the hero his kid self must have thought they were. They're torn up and grief stricken and try contacting Bruce about retrieving their sons body.

Bruce is freaking out because he thinks he just convinced people who may have been looking for their son for years that their kid is dead (and maybe he is! Oh god!) And Amity Park nonsense is keeping him from finding anything about the (half) living Danny, now attending community college.

Jack and Maddie are freaking out because they don't want to let go of their son, but also this can't be healthy for any of them or for Danny's soul, he needs to move on and they need time to rethink everything they've ever thought about ghosts to grieve.

And Danny's freaking out because he thinks Brucie Wayne, ditz extraordinaire (unless his kids are involved), clueless to a fault, Brucie, somehow figured out he was a ghost and outed him to his parents???? Not cool man!

[livelovecaliforniadreams]

#The Strict Parent vs. The Easy Going Parent

[goodieprocter]

This was literally all I could think during that scene.

[not-rab]

Harry, jumping out of Regulus’ closet: BOO!

Regulus:

Harry:

Regulus:

Harry: *makes a sad face*

Regulus: Ahh Merlin you scared me!!