#anyway. youre the darius expert here. whats the verdict

[lollytea]

(I loved your ask so much I promise I'll get to it soon so please have this in return)

Darius approves of Willow because she reminds him of himself when he was that age, meanwhile Hunter is so offended on Willow's behalf that Darius thinks that because he's only ever known Darius as a rude adult

Like Darius hears some Willow story and thinks about how he used to be similar as a 15-16yo, and in that embarrassing dad supportive way says something like "That means she's a catch, don't fuck it up kid"

To which Hunter is like "excuse you, WILLOW doesn't skip meetings or sass everything everyone suggests, and she likes my fashion style!"

No but I've been thinking SO HARD about the potential ways that Darius could see his younger self in Willow. Obviously they're both very ✨️❗️💪👑 but I wonder if all that is coming from a similar place.

Like Willow has all this radiant self confidence and bravado, which we know is something that she built for herself rather than something she was born with. What if Darius went through a few similar sequences in his youth that made him into the person that he is today.

What if he was a shy insecure kid at one point? What if there were others who made him feel small? He's known to have been friends with the likes of Odalia, who can't have been the most uplifting presence.

There's also the possibility that Willow's bond with Luz has a link to Darius and the friendship he apparently struck up with the likes of Eda, Raine, Perry and Lilith after the events of TTBK. With both being the driving force of their character development. They've always been very strong powerhouse witches but here are friendships that are a turning point. Luz and Eda & co. are the people who made Willow and Darius truly start to believe in themselves.

And then of course, there's both of their respective bonds with a Golden Guard, which I WILL opt to claim as a parallel. Because, at the point they met their GGs, Darius and Willow were already thriving. They were strong, tough, flashy, they were doing GREAT. But then Some Guy came along and still managed to change everything for the better. And though both of the dynamics were extremely different, (Willow's being romantic and Darius's being a mentor and mentee/possibly on the familial side) they both led these kids in the same general direction. They were doing good but these nerdy blondies helped them become the best possible version of themselves.

That's the version of them I think we're seeing in the Dana art. They're both at similar points in their lives. They have their friends, they have their grimwalker, they've got all this new stuff started and they're excited to see where it all goes. They have everything they could possibly want.

The irony here is that at this point, the worst is behind Willow. But for Darius, the worst is on the horizon.

Also, though the timelines don't perfectly parallel as Willow was only little and Darius was likely in his late teens, they both severed a tie with a Blight kid that stuck with them for years afterwards.

Though Darius's circumstances were probably WAY different than Willow's, (Darius had no problem expressing his resentment to Alador's face, while Willow didn't have the guts to say the same things to Amity) I can't help but wonder if that might have something to do with Dana's parallel. Maybe, like the Willow and Amity situation, the split between himself and Alador impacted how Darius developed.

(Although, Willow and Amity were a duo and when they broke up, it was just between the two of them. But when it came to the other situation, it's implied in Reaching Out that Alador did not just abandon Darius. He abandoned all of his friends. But Darius obviously took it the most personally.)

But as an interesting contrast, the split made Willow, who was already insecure, more vulnerable and shaky than ever. Her character development hadn't really started at this point. Meanwhile Darius had already built himself up to the level of confidence Willow possessed in ASIAS. He had grown a lot at this point. But after the falling out with Alador, he just got colder and far less tolerant for dealing with other people.

And let's not even get INTO how the death of his mentor probably turned his already hard exterior into something impenetrable.

Anyway it's interesting. Willow and Darius are both SO confident but the difference between the confidence is obvious. Willow's is so full of exuberance and warmth and encouragement and it inspires others to feel good about themselves. She's been hurt before and now she wants to make sure nobody ever feels like that again.

Meanwhile Darius's confidence has a completely different vibe. He's distant, he's dismissive, he acts superior to everyone around him. Darius is an absolute fortress. He's been hurt before and now he wants to make sure nobody can ever hurt him again.

But in spite of these differences, they're both so good, y'know? Why are these two involved in the Day of Unity in the first place? Obviously I'm not calling other characters selfish (They're absolutely not.) But their motivations definitely have an effect on why they're involved. Luz has to stop the Day of Unity because she believes its her fault. Everything Raine does has led to this because they want to protect Eda, which is a direct result of Eda and the Emperor being linked.

Willow is just a teenage girl who loves her friends. Darius is just a man who wants to keep everyone alive. They have no direct ties to what is going down but they've planted themselves into prominent roles because they believe it's what's right.

There's definitely other characters involved who do this for a similar reason. I'm just mentioning it in regards to these two cuz Darius and Willow's inherent goodness have always stood out as some of their most defining characteristics.

But God yeah it's so funny to think that Darius could clock the similarities between himself and Willow almost immediately. But no matter what angle he looks at it from, it's something Hunter would never possibly be able to understand. And it's like. Look man you just had to be there.

Like Darius recognizes it in Willow's demeanour. The way she holds herself. How she tips her head up so high so she never looks small. These defensive mannerisms that Darius could spot a mile away.

He does learn her story eventually but even before anyone told him, he saw her. Without hearing a word about how Willow got to the point, he knew she had been hurt before.

"Be kind to that girl, Hunter." He'd say after Willow kissed her boyfriend goodbye and departed. Because he knew her feelings to be just as fragile as Hunter's own.

And Hunter, having no fucking idea where THIS was coming from, is like "bitch YOU be kind to her." Because Darius called Willow a menace to society like five minutes ago.

I like to think about their silly antagonistic little relationship and how Darius seems like he's being so insensitive to Willow's feelings but it's like. He knows exactly how to cleverly quip back-and-forth without ever broaching a topic that would actually hurt her. Willow prides herself on being an annoying little shit so Darius assures her that she is just that. It makes her swell with pride. It makes her giggle delightedly. Darius plays along.

But he's been in her shoes. He knows the kind of comments that would actually make her feel small and he expertly tailors their relationship in a way that she knows she's never in danger of being seriously patronized. Not with Darius. I think he's become a lot more mindful of that kind of thing once he realizes just how shitty he used to make Hunter feel. Like he's still a bitch but a more self aware bitch. And he probably still hurts people's feelings every day of his life (some people's feelings simply do not matter. Its fine.) But never Willow's. Willow's feelings are something he understands very well.

But lmao Hunter gets SO MAD about it. Darius will be like "I hope you intend to hold on to that girl."

"I'm trying."

"Wonderul. I know exactly the kind of girl she is. One of the finest witches this Isles will ever know. Trust me on this, she's just like me when I was young."

And Hunter "That's not the Captain" Lastname is like "Don't even joke about that."

"Who's joking?"

"She is NOTHING like you and you can' just go around SAYING she is. She's sweet and cool and pretty--"

"Are you saying I'm not sweet and cool and pretty?"

"You'll never be as pretty as Willow, Darius. Let's be serious."

"I'll have you know I was the bell of Hexside when I was her age."

"You're trying to convince me you were the Willow Park of your day?"

"Hardly. Willow Park is the Me of her day."