#and as someone who WAS in the owl house fandom before lumity was popular or even a common ship in the fandom

[unagrancantidaddepanes]

people be like ugh im sick of people making content/posts of (insert ship) i miss when the fandom didnt have as many ship posts and thus was better but what if i was sick of THESE posts where people talk down to wonderfully made content and silly posts just because they look down on romantic relationships as less superior than other things and literally just complain that people are having fun with something that they dont personally like hmmmm what then 🤔🤔 what if i was sick of people being like i miss when people talked about other characters and would discuss theories as if all of those types of posts and fan content just EVAPORATES and disappears the moment a ship becomes popular like if you want to see owl house theories literally all you have to do is look up owl house theories its not that hard lmao. if you want to see fanart of little my just look up little my its not that hard lmao. just because lumity and snufmin are popular and your probably gonna see a lot of content of them if u just search up ‘the owl house’ or ‘moomin’ doesnt mean you cant just. specifically look up what you want lol, like im sorry your petty the thing YOU like isnt the most popular thing in the fandom, literally all you have to do is look up the thing you want instead of being upset you didnt get what you. didnt search for. like what where you expecting you didnt search for it 😭 im sorry the first result when you searched ‘moomin’  happened to be a snufmin fanart and not a snorkmaiden fanart because statistically there is more snufmin art than snorkmaiden art literally all you needed to do to find what you want is. look up snorkmaiden 💀 BEGGING THESE PEOPLE TO JUST LOOK UP WHAT THEY WANT LMAO and do not even get me started on when people make comments like this, not on public forums or their own posts, BUT DIRECTLY IN THE COMMENTS OF POSTS OR CONTENT PEOPLE HAVE MADE OF WHATEVER SHIP THEIR COMPLANING ABOUT, TO THE PERSON WHO MADE IT

drives me insane tbh, its literally just bashing and looking down on people for having fun and making content for something they like just because its not personally THEIR favourite thing, sometimes DIRECTLY TO THE FACES OF PEOPLE WHO MAKE THE CONTENT, like IMAGINE seeing a cute fanart of (insert ship) and commenting on it ‘god it makes me so sad how much worse this fandom is now because content of (insert ship) is the only thing you see in the fandom anymore’ LIKE???? WHY R U TALKING DOWN TO THIS PERSON ABOUT WHAT THEY WANT TO DRAW LMAO, JUST LOOK UP WHATEVER IT IS YOU WANTED TO SEE IM BEGGING YOU 😭 theres a difference between saying something like ‘!!!! i love theories !!!! i hope people make more theories in this fandom theyre awesome !!!!! :)’ and ‘ugh honestly so annoyed of there being so much lumity content, i miss when the fandom was better because there was less lumity content being made’ also a lovely reminder that here on tumblr there is a ✨block function✨ for tags and blogs that will, miraculously, fliter out whatever content it was that you didnt want to see <3

[mdhwrites]

Thank you so much for saying that a piece of media is allowed to just be average. A lot of fans (not just TOH fandom) should write it on their foreheads as an important reminder.

While I'm definitely not gonna claim that you shouldn't have standards for media you consume, I feel like nowadays people tend to sort all media into two boxes - it's either the greatest masterpiece ever created or a pile of shit that doesn't deserve a flicker of your attention. And that is such a black-and-white and preschooler-reading-level outlook to have that also heavily limits your ability to enjoy the piece of media.

You are allowed to be critical of the piece of media you like.

You are allowed to subjectively like something average or even bad without doing mental gymnastics to explain why it's the greatest thing in the world.

I liked The Owl House. I thought it was a fun show and I applaud Dana for creating Lumity. But the fans who act like it's the second coming of Christ and thus are unwilling to accept criticism, despite some very blatant flaws of the show, really irritate me.

So this answer is going to be a bit odd from me. I'm going to start by talking about the potential sociological reasons for this change but I also have a deeply personal story from over 8 years ago about my own change in attitude towards this. This is partially because of the sociological and how it can play into those who might most closely defend a work.

First I think we all just need to agree that Twitter is a fucking hellscape. While many of the elements I'm going to talk about always existed, people usually agree that Twitter ended up managing to exacerbate a lot of problems. After all, it is a platform literally AGAINST well thought out opinions. It instead wants you to say something inflammatory and then walk away.

This has in general led to a lot of hyperbole. Since you can't be nuanced, now you have to be extreme to get your point across. Also because of Twitter REALLY popularizing the 'villain of the day' mentality, things are also drawn more on moral lines and I've talked in the past how that fucked over fandoms. Now you don't just have to defend if a work is good, it being bad would be a moral failing on your part and morality in general has come into the conversation of media, even from a casual perspective, WAY more. All of this leads to more extreme opinions and way more defensiveness about your work.

But there's also simply the fact that the loudest voices in any fandom are usually those most seeking praise. Who want to be loved for everything they do. This includes the media they consume or the media they create. So suddenly, with the more extreme opinions everyone has, being into the next cultural touchstone feels more important. It can also make you popular and beloved and fill the void that's missing by a lack of connection.

I do wonder for TOH if part of how extreme the fandom is is because it is a product of the quarantine. It was one of the few BIG cartoon break out shows of 2020. When no one could be with each other and everyone was stuck inside. All you have is your thoughts and your hobbies and just trying to pass the time. Most of how you will pass that time will feel meaningless (trust me, as someone on disability, endless free time is NOT the blessing people think it is) so that which feels more important, more worthwhile, is going to hit harder.

Edit: My Discord made a good argument that this has been going on longer than this and the specific form for TOH's fandom probably comes from what I've theorized before: That the show constantly stating it's the best, unique and special causes problems for fans of it if it's not.

So where does all of this come into play with me? Well, it's from the creator side more than it is the consumer side. After all, I'll never tell someone that things like SpyxFamily, Randy Cunningham, Kaguya-sama, Star Rail and Amphibia are perfect. I think a lot of those shows are GREAT but I can tell you why they aren't for everyone or some of their flaws, even if to me they're small. I have never been that precious about the media I consume.

The media I create though?

I was almost 18 when I began writing. Within six months of starting to write, I would be no longer in High School. That fall I would be working 24 hours at Walmart each weekend and a full time student working on an accounting degree. All while finally having gotten into his first fandom.

I have never been anyone's favorite person though. Without a reason for people to see me, they forgot about me. No one called, no reached out and I didn't even see my family much while I still lived with my parents. I vividly remember that Christmas season, Ice Age 4's DVD menu playing on loop in the break room at Walmart and the song it played over and over again being "We are family," and one night it just fucking BROKE ME because of how lonely and depressed I was.

During that time, I stopped even referring to myself as Michael. I was Jumbled as my online handle at the time was Jumbled Thought. I was more used to being addressed by that name on Skype than I was my actual name. It didn't do healthy things to me and that fracturing of my identity and how cold it left me feeling is part of why I won't ever use a pen name for my books, even if female names will often make someone trust their work on romance more.

Btw, for those who have never put it together: My current handle is literally just my initials and my job. Michael D. Hudson Writes. It was inspired originally by someone who used their first name and "plays" for their lets play channel that I haven't watched in YEARS.

Anyways.

I was the loneliest I've ever been and easily the most desperate for validation and I NUKED the vast majority of friends I had made in the MLP fandom by the end of February. I was an insufferable asshole after all who considered his works to be of REAL quality, especially his smut versus the garbage that others got into the featured box for. Only I knew the truth when it came to analysis and others had to agree with me or be ready to deal with me for the next couple HOURS. I was awful and the need to be right, the need to be the best, was making me go nuts as I got increasingly upset about each work that was ignored and this was WELL before I ever made money off of my writing!

I needed that validation though. I needed some way to still feel special, even as college kicked my ass and it felt increasingly like no one cared about me. I needed some part of my life to be special. For a lot of people, with how the world is, with how everyone feels like they're going nowhere but down, the only option they have for that is that the media they consume is special. Doubly so if it's the only piece of media that you feel represents you like TOH does for so many young LGBTQIA+ viewers.

I eventually hit rock bottom though and realized I was just becoming a terrible human being like this. I literally stopped being a part of public Skype or Discord groups until 2020, about FIVE YEARS later, because I didn't want to keep fighting. I didn't want to keep having to knockdown others and fighting just to feel more special. It was making me feel worse and thus was making quite literally no one's life better. It's part of why I try not to attack in my blogs and why in my own Discord, I'll start apologizing pretty quickly when I get too aggressive on a topic, even if it's just passion and not actual aggression. I don't want to become the inferno I once was.

I don't wish to become an angry young man once again.

And right now, we have fandoms with pockets of intense firestorms. Fires burn out though and all that is left behind are scars. I only hope that those in the fandoms who were like me learn the lessons I did, learn to try and cool down, before they are forever consumed by it and are only left with those who share their blazing fury and desperation.

I still don't know how I wasn't, even to this day.

======+++++======

Talking about how desperate I was a decade ago while this last week has been some of the loneliest I've felt in a long time was a time. *sigh*

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[fruitdragon1a]

Thanks for tagging me!

20 Questions for Fic Writers

1. How many works do you have on AO3? 

3 at the moment

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 

136,187, and that number is bound to increase as I publish more stuff

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Miraculous Ladybug, The Owl House, and Amphibia.

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? 

I only have 3 fics on Ao3 so far so *shrug*

Fighting the Stars

The Butterfly Effect (this one was posted very recently)

Day 12: Alone

5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? 

Yeah, I always respond to every comment I get. I find it really fun to respond to comments because I love to have conversations with my readers and find out what they like about what I'm writing!

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Day 12: Alone. It also (definitely unrelated) is the only fic I wrote that actually has an ending so far.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Day 12: Alone. It's not a happy ending at all, but it's the only non-WIP fic I have with an ending, so it's kinda a no-brainer.

8. Do you get hate on fics?

Not really, no. The closest thing to hate that I got was a bit of constructive criticism in a comment, but that's kinda it.

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

No. I don't really feel comfortable writing something like that.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Yeah, I do. My most popular fic, Fighting the Stars, is an Amphibia/The Owl House crossover. It's also kind of the only crossover I've written, so... Wow, I really haven't written that much. Guess my writer's block didn't help.

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

No, I don't think so.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Same answer as question 11.

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

No, but I do have a beta reader who is awesome and who basically helped me write the entire fight scene of chapter 19 of Fighting the Stars, so yes? Idk if it counts.

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

Well, I can't really pick one... I'll limit it to one per fandom I'm in. Love square, Lumity, Marcanne.

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Um, none. I could mention my original fiction, since I doubt I'll ever finish those, but this is a fanfiction ask game so it doesn't count. Everything else, I either don't really mind not finishing it, or I will finish it once inspiration strikes.

16. What are your writing strengths?

Dialogue and detail. Those are some things that come pretty easily to me when I'm writing, and I can usually make dialogue flow pretty naturally and inject details in the middle of paragraphs without making them too complex or overbearing.

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

Plotting. For years, I didn't write with a plot, then when I started writing fanfic I realized that wasn't working. I was never able to finish a story because of my utter lack of skill when plotting a story out. I have improved a bit, but even so, I still need a lot of work in that aspect of writing.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I don't mind Google-translating a word or two for a fic, but the issue with Google translate and using that as a tool for languages I don't know is that Google Translate isn't actually always correct? I would much prefer talking to someone who speaks a language I need phrases from fluently but since that isn't always possible, the best I can do is put down a translation for whatever I was trying to say in the notes and just hope for the best.

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Surprisingly, PJO/HoO. I have this 22k 20-something-chapters longfic that I never finished and never want to finish (while fairly well-written, it was super embarrassing and had absolutely no plot) and I never published it anywhere.

Although, I also have a one-shot I wrote for Harry Potter like three years ago that I published on my writing blog... maybe I should put it on Ao3? Idk

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? 

The Butterfly Effect, mostly because I'm having a lot of fun writing it and it's the type of fic that I like to read in the fandom, and I read a couple fics that really inspired me for it. Before TBE, though, I would have chosen Fighting the Stars because I put so much work into it and all.

Hmm... @themayoenthusiast @discet @themissakat @reyna-is-epic and anyone else who wants to participate!

20 Questions for Fic Writers

Thank you for the tag @marimbles! ♥️ No pressure tags: @litfeathers @lollytea @ashanimus @greyhavenisback @princecharmingwinks @tails89 @nutellarghh @ash-mcj @childlikegoblinqueen @daydreams-and-honeybees @avatarmerida @asarcasticwitch @sailahina @secretly-of-course @sapphic--kiwi @haystarlight @zyrafowe-sny @peachytea04 @slightecho

1. How many works do you have on AO3? just hit 100 last month!

2. What's your total AO3 word count? 479,814

3. What fandoms do you write for? I've dabbled in quite a few over the years, but the ones I've written the most fics for are doctor who (eleven/amy) teen wolf (sterek) and the owl house (huntlow)

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos? Error 404: Brain Cell Not Found (teen wolf | sterek) You Always Want What You're Running From (sleepy hollow | ichabbie) What To Do When Your Emotionally Constipated Werewolf Boyfriend Gets Cursed By A Witch: A Guide (teen wolf | sterek) Gold Rush (the owl house | huntlow) Lovesick (the owl house | huntlow) 5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I do! Every kind comment means so much to me, so I always take the time to respond to all of them (though I'm not always great at getting to them on time.)

6. What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Hmm probably The Courtesan and the Writer (doctor who | eleven/amy) I used to dabble in angst a bit more when I first started writing fic, but these days all my fics are pretty much guaranteed to have a happy ending, because real life is hard enough lol

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

Pretty much all my fics have happy endings, but one of the happiest I wrote would probably be my huntlow college AU Until You Meet Someone Who Makes The Fall Feel Like Flying

8. Do you get hate on fics?

I wouldn't call it outright hate, but I have gotten a handful of rude comments over the years (complaining that I don't post often enough, telling me my headcanons are wrong, telling me how they think my story should have ended — one time someone yelled at me in all caps because I said that a character chilled red wine lol that one was wild)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I do! Smut is fun. Mine is typically more focused on the emotional aspect than the physical, is usually the result of a long tension-fueled slow burn buildup, and is usually tooth-rottingly fluffy, soft, and sweet.

10. Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

I have! Back in the days where superwholock plagued tumblr, I wrote one of the silliest cross-overs imaginable, combining doctor who, torchwood, bbc sherlock, supernatural, the avengers, and sleepy hollow: Lords, Gods, and Madmen

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Yup 🙃

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I have! But most of them never saw the light of day 😂 one that did is called An Eggcellent Morning For Cooking Lessons co-written with @ash-mcj @tails89 and @nutellarghh

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

I think my top three ships are reflected in who I've written the most fic for: huntlow, sterek, and the eleventh doctor/amy pond

15. What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Luckily, everything that's posted to AO3 is finished, but at this point I'm thinking I'll probably never get around to writing the little nightmares, reylo, and captain swan WIPs I've had sitting in my drafts since 2019

16. What are your writing strengths?

I've been told I capture the characters really well, which means a lot to me. I've also been told that my writing is cozy and comforting and fills people with warm fuzzy feelings, which is always nice to hear 🥰

17. What are your writing weaknesses? I will sit there and agonize over the same paragraph trying to make it sound perfect instead of just letting the writing flow, so sometimes a fic will be in the works for a very long time until it's finally ready to be posted (by which time I'm probably sick of it and never want to look at it again 😂)

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

I've dabbled in this a little bit, but it's usually been plot-relevant, like a character learning to speak the language (i.e. when Hunter tried to learn Spanish in Being Human.) When I do write in another language, I always do my best to research and try to get the translations as accurate as possible, and I always include the English translation either in the fic itself or as an author's note so readers don't have to break away from my fic to google anything. (And also so that they know what my intention was, on the off-chance I translated something wrong and accidentally wrote something offensive.) 19. First fandom you wrote for?

Does anyone remember that vampire show that came out back in like 2009? Moonlight? Yeah, that one lol

20. Favourite fic you've ever written? God, that's like asking me to pick my favorite child. Okay fine, it's Until You Meet Someone Who Makes The Fall Feel Like Flying

[captainimprobable]

Alright I just discovered that some people in the Owl House fandom have been viciously bashing other cartoons with queer rep for “not being enough” and as someone who is LITERALLY writing an entire ass essay on the evolution of queerness in western cartoons, this PISSES ME OFF. I’m so happy yall don’t remember a time when something like Lumity was unheard of.  I’m glad you live in a society where LGBT+ rep exists enough for you to compare them all. I really am glad you guys have this.  But you NEED to understand, life just wasn’t like this a few years ago. I grew up in the early 2000s. Being queer was still considered a Bad Thing, and people hadn’t even heard of the word transgender.   When Legend of Korra came out in 2014, it was REVOLUTIONARY.  I still remember pausing the moment they held hands, tears in my eyes, and thinking “this is the start of something big.”  Mike and Bryan (the creators of Avatar and LOK) fought tooth and nail for them to get together, and getting them to hold hands and look into each other’s eyes??? That was equal to a passionate kiss now.  Gay marriage hadn’t even been legalized in the US yet when Korra ended.   Every single creator who fought to get queer rep in their shows deserves to be applauded, and they paved the way for those who came after.   I know it’s popular to hate Steven Universe now, but do you understand how goddamn revolutionary it was?????? Wlw characters, nonbinary characters, FEMALE PRESENTING CHARACTERS KISSING ON SCREEN.  Rebecca Sugar broke barriers, and people started thinking “hey, maybe I can do that too.” Shera having the two main characters get together??????? Unbelievable.  Shera came out around the time SU was winding down, and Noelle Stevenson definitely rode on the high that Rebecca Sugar left behind. These shows walked so The Owl House can run.  The only reason you have Lumity today is because of these shows, and a few more.   I know life is still hard for LGBT+ kids, trust me.  But for just a few moments, try to imagine a world where none of these shows existed.  Where there were zero queer characters in cartoons.  That was the reality until only a few years ago.  It was so easy to feel alone. So before you start bashing other shows for “not doing enough”, stop and think.  Stop and thank them. Because the only reason you have canon Lumity today is because two bisexual POC held hands in 2014.

[imagine-being-straight]

A Message to the TOH Fandom

I’m tired.

I feel like everyone in the fandom can agree that the TOH fandom overall has white favoritism. If you actively deny that we have a problem with white favoritism or are offended that I said this, look at yourself and other people who have been talking about this issue. Really look at yourself and ask why you are offended by what I said. Now back to the TOH fandom’s problem with white favoritism. It’s a huge problem and I don’t think people have realized how bad it’s gotten.

Luz and Amity

Do both of them have amazing content created about them? Yes, but if you look a bit closer to the contents of their contents you’ll see a clear disparity between the two. Luz is more likely to be in Lumity art (which itself isn't a problem), but the problem lies in that she is only there for Amity. Is there still content with her alone and highlighting her character? Of course there is, but for every content that exists for Luz solely, there are at least two others for Amity. Don’t get me wrong I love Amity as much as the next person, but she still is a side character. The Owl House focuses on Eda, King, and Luz mainly. They are the main characters.

When I first joined the TOH fandom, I noticed a lot of Amity focused content. A lot more so than I expected since she is a side character. I understand that a factor in her popularity is her crush on Luz and we’re all really excited for confirmed gay characters, but it doesn’t explain how popular she is. She appears in roughly half of season one’s episodes (I know she technically appears in 11 episodes, but some of her appearances are so minor you can easily forget they happened) compared to Luz being in all 18 episodes. Yes Luz isn’t always the focus of these episodes, but she still changes and develops as a character through most of them.

The reason I’m bringing all of this up is that Amity is white and Luz is a POC. Characters of color in the past have been overlooked and underappreciated in the past, not just in this fandom, but it still happens a lot here. Whether it’s conscious or not, we all have been affected by white favoritism and it is our responsibility to recognize it and change. The Owl House brings more than just gay representation: it brings an Afro-Latina Bisexual protaganist with two major side characters, Willow and Gus, being a mixed Asian-Black character and a Black character. You still think I’m full of shit saying there’s white favoritism in the TOH fandom? Well I’m just getting started here.

Willow, Gus, and Boscha

Boscha herself is an interesting character and I think people see a lot of potential for her character, but the problem is that she overshadows a lot of other characters who are much more important and relevant. Willow is a good example of someone who has been constantly overshadowed by Boscha. Most content I see of Willow is usually Boschlow content (I’m not approving or condemning Boschlow here, this is me just stating some facts) and it’s so unfair to Willow as a character. Willow is more than just Luz’s friend or a quiet girl and more people need to realize that. If you can analyze Boscha’s character in the three episodes she is in, you can do the same thing to Willow, who has been in 14 episodes (three more than Amity). There is no excuse for the lack of Willow content and the abundance of Boscha content.

The same thing can be applied to Gus. Sure he doesn’t get very much screen time, but it is still loads more than Boscha. I have seen barely any content about Gus and the few times I do, he is usually with a group and not alone. No one talks about him and I cannot express how underrated he truly is. If you want some funny content with him, play around with his interest in humans and how he has totally misinterpreted things we know as facts. If you want Gus angst, then write about how young he is and how he could be feeling inadequate despite being smart enough to skip two grades. Amity is seen by the fandom as a whole as being extremely smart, but the fact that Gus skipped two grades, a feat Amity has not done herself, truly showcases how smart Gus really is. It’s not that hard to make Gus content and everyone is just sleeping on him.

The fandom loves to attach itself to Boscha, who may I remind you is white. Willow and Gus, who have way more plot relevance and screen time, are constantly pushed aside for more and more Boscha content. Willow and Gus are beautifully written in the show, but most people overlook it for Boscha, who in the show has been fairly one note so far. If your only argument is that you want to show the background characters some love, then where is the Skara content? Skara has just as much screen time as Boscha, but I’ve seen very little content about her. I guarantee if Boscha was a POC she would have the same level of content as Skara, but since she is white she overshadows literally every other POC supporting character, including those who have had more screen time than her. Don’t even get me started on the Detention Track kids and Emira/Viney. This post is already long enough and I don’t need to make it any longer.

Camilia and Alador/Odelia Blight

Right here is the clearest example of the white favoritism of the TOH fandom. Alador and Odalia Blight have gotten so much content about them and we still haven’t seen their faces. You can easily find so much analysis on them and how their parenting must affect the Blight siblings. You can find so much content about them and we know literally nothing about them other than the fact that they’re abusive. I know Alador is set up to be less abusive than Odalia, but it doesn’t change the fact that he is still abusive to his kids. Whether he approved what was going on or not doesn’t matter because he was still complacent with what was happening.

Now let’s look at Camilia and all her content- oh wait there is basically none for her. All the Camilia content is basically nothing other than CamilEda content (again I’m not trying to bash or approve CamilEda, I’m just trying to state some facts). Camilia did make a mistake in setting Luz to the camp, but that does not make her a bad mother. People need to remember one bad action does not make a bad person. I think Dana herself said that Luz and Camilia do love each other, but they do have their differences, which makes things hard sometimes. Camilia truly does care about Luz and tries her best to do what‘s best for Luz and more people need to recognize it. There is so much untapped potential with Camilia’s character, like how she will react to Luz not coming home or what she will do to try to get Luz back. What if she sees all of the recordings Luz has made for her? How will she react? These are all things we can make content on, yet I see so many people sleeping on it.

Now when you compare how the fandom treats both Camilia and the Blight parents, there’s a clear bias in favor for the Blight parents. The Blight parents are given more attention and content despite having less actual screen time and being actual pieces of garbage. Camilia is shoved to the side despite there being plenty to analyze about her and her relationship with Luz. Camilia is also a good person, which is clearly different to the Blight parents. It’s never been a matter of which parent/child relationship is better because they’re both written very well, but rather the fact that Camilia gets shoved aside every time we talk about parent/child relationships. I mean when you look at it, Camilia and Luz’s relationship with each other is literally the Blight family’s dynamic, except the opposite. The only difference between the two families is that one has POCs and the other is white. And to no one’s surprise, the white family gets more attention and analysis than the POC’s family.

Statistics

If you’re still not convinced here's some cold hard evidence that white characters are more favored than POC characters. I’m going to be using AO3’s (archiveofourown) data on how many works a character is tagged in.

On AO3 at around 6:35 PM EST Oct 3, 2020, The Owl House had 1921 works. As we can see Luz is number one (as she should), Willow is number three, and Gus is number four. They’re ranked fairly high (which was a surprise to me), but when you look at how many works they’re actually in, the white favoritism becomes clear. Amity is tagged in around 1480 works and Willow and Gus each are in 730 and 610 respectively. Willow and Gus are in half the works Amity is. Somehow Willow appears in half the works Amity does even though Willow appears more than Amity in the show. Boscha also has 360 works with her in it, half of what Gus and Willow’s works despite being a very minor character who has appeared only a few times. What's worse is that Edric and Emira are literally 200 to 60 works away from Willow and Gus respectively. Edric and Emira, two white characters who have appeared in literally three episodes, but are tagged in nearly the same number of works as two main POC-supporting characters. Now maybe you’re like “Oh the Blight siblings are only so popular because of Lumity, this data is skewed” so the next picture is of all the characters with all of the romantic relationship tags excluded.

The data shows that the fandom favors the white characters so drastically that there is no excuse or other explanation for it. Lumity being popular doesn’t explain why Amity is still the third most written-about character, even with the Lumity tag being blocked. Quantity of episode appearances doesn't explain why Willow has less content about her because Willow appears in three more episodes than Amity does. The only explanation is white favoritism because the most popular characters are all white (with the exception of Luz, but that’s because she is the main character). Before you tell me “Oh it's because they’re more interesting or they have more potential” actually look and analyze the POC characters because they’re amazingly well written if you actually sit down and analyze them.

Why Calling Out White Favoritism Matters

Now you may be asking: why should I care? Well you should care because the fandom as a whole is literally favoring white characters over POC characters, which is low key racist. It makes people care less about POC characters and actual people which can lead to some internalized racism if not caught early enough. The Owl House tries very hard to highlight their POC characters and actively ignoring or dismissing them is disrespecting the show itself.

I feel like I should make it clear that I’m not shaming anyone who’s favorite character just happens to be white. What I’m doing here is being critical of whether or not a person likes a character because they are white (whether that decision is conscious or not). There is a clear difference between “Oh X is my favorite character, but I recognize the other characters are good in their own ways.” and “Oh I love X and only X. I will only use the other characters to further X’s character and completely ignore everyone else’s complexity”. Please take some time and think about why you like a character and see if you unconsciously love them because they are white. No one is immune to it and even I had to realize I was unconsciously favoring white characters while writing something The Owl House related.

The sad part about all of this is that it needs to be said that racism is bad. It needs to be said that white favoritism is extremely toxic and we should make sure we don’t actively take part or be complacent in it. I know for a fact that other POC have seen this white favoritism, but are too numb to say anything about this because they feel like their voices won’t change anything. The few people who have spoken out haven't been listened too. The fact that I had to step up and make this just to try to get people to listen and I might not even make a difference is so sad to me. The fact that I’m young makes me not numb to the white favoritism. The fact that I dealt with, for the first time, racism at the age of 14, which is extremely late for a POC. The fact that the only reason I can be mad about this is because I dealt with racism so late that I have energy to speak out against this and not be numb to this all. I hate that all of this exists and we all let this happen. We all let this problem fester and now it is now our responsibility to get our priorities straight and change. If we let this problem grow and grow, then in a few years this fandom will be a shell of what it once was.

“We can do this together.” -Luz Noceda

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About that ONE SCENE from “Covention

As promised after my "Young Blood, Old Souls" review, I am going to review the rest of The Owl House episodes that I missed. And now that they're all on Disney+ (WATCH ‘EM), I'm currently making an effort to rewatch every episode to gather my thoughts for each one. Unfortunately, they're going to be my general thoughts and won't include any in-depth analysis.

However, the episode "Covention" has such a great scene that I have to break down what makes it so incredible. I'm, of course talking, about the “Hallway scene,” which is a definitive moment in Luz and Amity's relationship. And here's how:

(By the way, you’re gonna want this scene on standby while you read this. Because I have no idea how to get pictures from the episode and add them to a Tumblr post. And I’m too lazy to figure out how.)

Luz runs off to find Amity: Keep in mind that Luz had no reason to do so. Amity treated our favorite weirdo like garbage, and Luz had every right to just let Amity sulk. And yet, she still goes off to check on her. Why? Because it's in Luz's DNA to help others when they're clearly in distress. That willingness to be a kind-hearted person is why Luz is one of my favorite characters. She has moments of drawing the line when someone takes it a step too far, but her heart is always in the right place when the time calls for it.

Where Luz finds Amity: It's odd how fans refer to this scene as "the Hallway Scene" because Amity isn't really in a hallway. It's more of a dark corner if anything else. However, the exact name of her location doesn't matter because it's how that location is shown that makes an impact, due to how it perfectly illustrates who Amity is and how vital Luz is to her. Here, we see Amity down and depressed while sitting alone in the dark, where Luz is watching while in the light. This very idea comes more poignant soon, but there are a few things I want to mention first.

Amity’s tone when Luz apologises: Let's give a round of applause to Mae Whitman, who did a great job at this moment. She perfectly captures someone who is trying hard to be angry but is too distraught that she can't completely hide her real emotions. You see it better when Amity snaps at Luz, and her expression briefly changes into something more sad than mad. It's a sign that she's capable of thinking against her "can't show weakness" mindset that her parents clearly drilled into. So kudos to everyone in charge of that.

“You made me look like a fool in front of the Emperor’s Coven. My future!”: Notice how she says, "My future." Not "My dream" nor "My desire," either of which would make it clear that it's something Amity wants. Instead, she says, "My future." Hinting that perhaps joining the coven isn't entirely what Amity wants. I'm sure that she's somewhat excited to do so (You don't make an adorable squee at the idea of joining something if you're not into it), but the way Amity says "My future" gives the impression that it's more of a requirement for her. That if she fails to do this one thing, then she will face a worse punishment than the tedious task of finding a new career path. And it’s the fear you see in her eyes that all but confirms this.

“I have been working my whole life to get to the top!”: This shows so much of Amity than fans could have ever realized. First off, it reveals that Amity is more than just some snooty rich girl who tries to be better than everyone else to boost her own ego, like many other characters (Looking at you Boscha). Instead, we see Amity's reason to be the best is so that she can work hard at getting "her future." It also hints that she ever takes a break to be a normal kid, given the "my whole life" aspect of this line. This pretty much gets confirmed in later episodes, and it really shows how genius the show's writing is in the way it can be subtle and blatant at the same time.

“Say it! Say you’re not a witch!”/”...I’m not a witch…”: This is Luz's arc for the episode, coming to a complete end. At the start, Luz fought back Amity's resentment with even more hostility. But after seeing how upset Amity is and exactly why she's upset, Luz decides to give in. You can tell it pains Luz to admit Amity's right, both from her tone and expression, but it's apparent that it is something that she needs to say. However, Luz doesn't call it a day after admitting what Amity demanded to hear…

Luz performs her light spell: Instead, Luz meets Amity halfway by explaining her own situation in a peaceful manner. And this is what I meant when I said that Luz is vital to Amity. It's no coincidence that Luz's first spell is a light spell. She brings light figuratively, and literally in this case, to everyone she cares about. Look at Amity's face when she stares at the light spell. She's clearly amazed, and for a brief moment, we see more than that bully that she acted as in the beginning.

“That’s nothing. A child could do a light spell.”: But the sad thing about brief moments is that they don't last forever, as it doesn't take long for her "show no weakness" mentality to come back. This is shown through the fact that Amity physically, literally, retreats back into the darkness and passes Luz's accomplishment off as nothing special.

“But...I’ve never seen it cast like that.”: And yet, Luz broke through anyway. Because now, not only is Amity curious, but she's interested enough to rebel against that toxic mentality for quite possibly the first time. It's here that we get a glimpse of the person Amity could be. The person she wants to be.

“It doesn't come naturally to me like it does for you, so I've had to improvise.”: And it's here where Luz once again sees a chance to get Amity to open up. A chance for Luz to find common ground and explain that while Amity thinks that Luz has it "so easy," the reality is that the opposite is true. That she also has to work hard, but she doesn't have a fear of failing when her efforts don't work out.

Amity unbinds the Everlasting Oath: I love this. Not only because Luz didn't have to ask Amity to do this, but also because Amity doesn't give a reason for doing so.  Did she consider the duel a draw because they both cheated? Or did she finally see the person Luz really is and decided to do the right thing? There's no clear answer, and that's why I love it. Because even if it's the ladder, Amity can easily use the former as an excuse for why she showed weakness. And if it turns out that Amity did decide the duel is a draw, then it still works because it makes sense for her character at this point in the story.

“Humans have no magical ability. But I doubt that’ll stop you.”: Do me a favor: Read that quote. Don't just read it in Amity's voice, or read it as how it was said. Read this quote as exactly how you would say it if you haven't seen it before.

...

Did you do it? Because it looks like a compliment, doesn't it? Almost as if Amity is telling Luz that she does have the capability to become a witch. Despite her setbacks. Well, that's what this could be if not for Amity's tone. For it suggests that she's indifferent to Luz's success. But because Luz still broke through to the nice side of Amity that she wants to show to the world, Amity finds a way to try to be kind while giving the appearance that she's following her parent's mentality.

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So, yeah. This scene is f**king amazing. Through the span of a minute, here's what we get: So much development from Amity, why Luz is such a kind and supportive character, and the beginnings of their complicated relationship. This might just be the best, well-handled scene in the entire series, and it doesn't have elements of what makes recomend the show. There is no fantastic animation, there is no hilarious comedy, and there is no LGBTQ+ representation...Ok, there might be that, but you have to squint to see it. This scene is just two characters talking, and through their conversation, we learn and love so much more about them.

...

And yet, people STILL wonder why Lumity is the most popular ship of the fandom. It's because of s**t like this, people. It's because of s**t. Like. This.

(But seriously, though. This is a great scene from a great episode!)