#but she wasn't part of that arc at all so that's why i'm struggling ig

[gayofthefae]

Thinking about how people play season 3 as a forbidden romance or something ooh so juicy but what is the actual obstacle trope?

Daddy's girl daughter of a cop.

This isn't Romeo and Juliet, it's shotgun wedding.

[viquipo]

No bc I'm so mad rn I usually post my rants on ig stories but I need the tumblrites to tell me if I'm crazy or what. Jwcc/ct spoilers WHATEVER

First of all I want to preface this by saying that this is just my opinion on the matter, I'm not saying your headcanons are "wrong" or whatever tf, it's a kids cartoon where they unironically use terms like "fam". You can play with the characters however you'd like.

That being said, this is why TO ME it does not makes sense for Ben to be anything other than gay. Again, if you think he's bi or straight or anything else that's cool. I'm also leaning towards the opinion that he does actually have a girlfriend. I don't think the shows gonna pull a 180 on it because, realistically, 2 queer characters is already a lot for a DreamWorks kids show. As much as I'd like it not to be.

But, since the beginning, Ben has been very clearly coded as exclusively into men to me. Before finally going into it, I remind everyone on here that I'm a lesbian. I have felt an affinity with his character specifically for the experience of only liking the same gender. I might be totally projecting.

Ok, so.

1. The arc Ben goes through during the show is yes, one of self discovery, but also one of self acceptance. He changes a lot from the start of s1, but he also comes to terms with stuff himself or other people didn't like about him. He doesn't throw the dork pouch away or tells Kenji to keep it, the first thing he does when he takes it back from Kenji is put on hand sanitizer. He is covered in dirt, he's not afraid of filth anymore, but he still does that action because it's part of who he is as a person. He also becomes very unashamed at the things he does. He went from being embarrassed of his carob bars to eating grubs in front of people who he knows think it's gross. He knows himself as he is and he accepts it. To me (and to lots of other people) this works very well as a gay metaphor, and pairs up pretty nicely with the whole "jungle boy? Jungle MAN" arc being a trans metaphor. But how does this make Ben uniquely into men?

Well, it doesn't. But I think this next one does.

2. Enter Yasmina. She's pretty, she's smart, athletic, funny, all that good stuff. I'm not saying that means every wlm character should automatically be into her, but it certainly helps. Now forgive me if I don't remember specific episodes/seasons, but we all remember that episode where Ben convinces himself that Yaz is in love with him for some reason. When he "rejects" her, he says : "I'm just now starting to find myself". That's cool, cause I'm pretty sure Ben's " finding himself " personality wise was over and done a couple of seasons ago. To me, that is a really good hint at him dealing with his gayness.

3. He's also the first person Yasmina talks to about her feelings for Sammy. Now, in this particular context, the options for Yaz to talk to were Darius, Brooklynn, or Ben. It would initially seem to make more sense for her to confide in Brooklynn, since the two of them are far closer than her and Ben, and it also wouldn't be the first time she brings up Sammy as a romantic interest for Yaz (see: everyone tweaking abt that one line back in like s2). So why does Yasmina, a very private and reserved person, choose Ben to talk to about her same sex crush? She has probably gathered from the previous conversation that Ben relates to her struggle in a unique way in which Brooklynn just can't. Ben seems very receptive of what Yaz is saying ("feelings, am I right?") and it seems like he REALLY gets where she's coming from.

4. This is one I don't see talked about a lot, and maybe it's just cause I'm too out of the loop with the fandom, but I want to examine it as well. It's when Ben decides to not actually stay on the island. Everyone (except Sammy) already knew he wasn't going to stay in the end, but still didn't force him out. I think this is especially clear in a line Darius says when they reunite on the boat that goes something like "you needed to figure it out on your own" *smile hand on shoulder combo*. No explanation needed I think

I am diagnosed with autism did you guys know what

[mdhwrites]

🦝 You know I enjoy some family fond content here and there but Toh is so overloaded with that it makes my eyes roll

And I would've just ignored it if the family fond wasn't SO focused only on the owl group. Like I'd would've prefer Hunter to stay with Darius honestly not become a Noceda, I don't get why would he opt for a family in a different realm with no connection (besides Luz) than with someone who served under the same regime as him and can understand him to a degree. Darius mentioned his mentor being the old golden guard so shouldn't that have been a settling for their bond? (And for a better character arc for Hunter to question the emperor, and work with Darius). Him and Luz aren't even that similar, nor do I understand the forced sibling bond on them. Sure they both can't use magic but Luz is a human from a realm in which is a normal thing, Hunter was an odd one out there as a witch to not use magic for all his life, the struggle is not the same. They also have nothing in common besides hating Belos.

I just dislike why everything has to be tied on the main cast/good guys, (Luz) in some way. Why can't Amity focus on her issues with her family, or her father, without Luz's intervention? Why can't Hunter establish any relations outside Luz, (I don't count Willow, that was bulls and random) Also why need her to give him the eye opener to Belos's true nature when Darius was right there?

Luz and Eda (and Hooty/king) have their own thing going on. Camila and Vee have their own thing, Amity should've had it too with her fam (Willow would've been the only one making a connection between her and Luz, cause let's be honest she was basically a stranger in the owl house even after the ship sailed). Hunter and Darius should've had it as well, maybe with Raine coming along.

Idk how to explain this thing... but I guess each group to their own struggles and priorities. Luz's wanting to bring Belos down makes sense for her and her "team" let's say but from the outcast perspective. Hunter should've been somewhere in a grey area for obvious reasons, planning an opposition maybe but still serving for some time. (If Belos was written better we could've had more grey areas to work with). Amity, as weird as it sound, should've been the one in doubt, since she witnessed only the benefit of the coven system. Vee and Camilla shouldn't have anything to do with this but we could've got better conflict between Luz and Camila. And Since nothing is ever done with Gus and Willow, these two should've also made connections on their own, maybe in school.

Making most characters agreeing with Luz fighting Belos makes the conflict appear black and white, good vs bad. It doesn't help we never get some insight on the "bad" side about why supporting Belos or going against the "good", they just do (and Odalia is the worst case), they're just one dimensional. I guess it would've been ok IF the lore wasn't so complex, cause why even bother redeeming characters if everything is black and white? Why bother creating the coven system if no one should question it? They could've made a genocide method without so much thought put into it. Why give Belos lore if he's suppose to be this one dimensional villain who does bad just because?

I think I trailed off the main subject but still, this big mess of a "family" gives me a headache. Just drop the last episode where the collector joins them and defeats Belos, we all know how it'll end 🙄

I vented more than asking... umm, ig you can tell me about this inherently "good vs bad" direction the show seems to take with it's characters and it's "misunderstood" characters.

I'm not going to respond to each part individually but kind of just the main complaint I can find in it. TOH has an identity crises. It doesn't know if it wants to be a school romance, an action adventure comedy or a semi-high fantasy drama. It wants the grand plot of a high fantasy story with fighting off armies and squads of an evil emperor's goons. It wants the romance and setting of a high school slice of life but it feels like to be accepted by places, it also decided to be an adventure comedy that focused on subversive humor of fantasy tropes for its comedy. These aren't really genres that go together without a VERY deft hand and a fuck ton of planning. TOH feels like it had neither and there are signs as early as season 1 for that, especially because it doesn't seem to ever consider the ramifications of a joke still having to make sense in universe. So... You have a LOT of different character arcs that only interact with specific portions of the show and cannot, or will not, interact with other parts. So these aspects have to be dealt with slowly because at best, they move forward half an episode at a time. Any episode that has only one plot means only a third of the show is moving forward. And, worse yet, any filler or basic episode like the ones people usually say are weaker in S1, NOTHING gets moved forward. In a series as fucked up as that, you do need some sort of cohesion. And the only one that really is possible is Luz. The main character. Hunter does this a bit but in an awkward way in retrospect because... Why does anyone become Hunter's friend? Besides "You're sad so I guess I have to be regardless of your bigotry or terrible actions." Luz is really bad at being the glue that holds everything together. She cares too much about herself to ever go look for Willow or Gus (I think literally the only time she does that is to ask Gus for his library card to go see AMITY... And for selfish reasons with the portal. Important but selfish reasons). She mocks King and Hooty as much as anyone else does so their arcs are SoL. Eda actually gets a lot of time doing things FOR Luz even without Luz and its shocking how little time they spend in S1 together. It gets worse though. Luz doesn't care about Amity's parents in the context of Amity, she literally never interacts with Amity about it, her fears, ANYTHING and is removed by a pretty dumb excuse in Reaching Out SPECIFICALLY TO AVOID INTERACTING WITH THAT PLOT so there never can be anytime dedicated to it because Luz will never dedicate time to it. Even when she does confront them, it's about her, Willow and Gus. Not Amity. And kind of in general this is just a problem with the writing. Because Luz is the focal point and Luz doesn't actually care about other people's problems, very rarely interacts with them in a proper way, (most of the time she gets involved in something not motivated by selfish desire, it's either directly her fault and guilt is hardly a noble motive, or because she gets roped into it entirely on accident) etc. like that, you have a lot of arcs that just can't go anywhere. Not naturally at least. So we can tease other relationships and the like but unless it's with Hunter, Luz or MAYBE Eda, you're just out of luck. You're just a pawn to get whatever the writers need done and that's an AWFUL way to treat your characters. But when your story doesn't have an identity, how can those characters? Sorry if this only somewhat ended up addressing your question.

[only4soo-won]

I think it's good that she's learning more about what all things a position like hers demands,she's learning about the burdens and resposibilities that come with it,which is actually refreshing for her character. Throughout the story,Yona had been a part of battles like the Fire tribe rebellion and all,but she wasn't bound by anything so to speak. What decisions she took wouldn't make a huge impact on others at that moment,but now,she has to take into considerations all the other things as well,since she is not just a bandit or a traveling performer anymore,but a symbol of hope and victory for the people of Kouka(and I feel definitely feel bad for her here but this isn't surprising at all.)

I agree on your 1st point, but I have to disagree on the 2nd one...

For me, it won't be occ for Yona to consider Soo-Won’s decision to move forward as a chance for her to find her friends. If I'm not wrong, hasn't she been recently shown as someone who comes up w plans (even Soo-Won seems to fail at that compared to her as it seems..), leading the army, etc etc?? So, given those facts, it's pretty natural for her to think that way...

I think it's good that she's learning more about what all things a position like hers demands,she's learning about the burdens and resposibilities that come with it,which is actually refreshing for her character. Throughout the story,Yona had been a part of battles like the Fire tribe rebellion and all,but she wasn't bound by anything so to speak. What decisions she took wouldn't make a huge impact on others at that moment,but now,she has to take into considerations all the other things as well,since she is not just a bandit or a traveling performer anymore,but a symbol of hope and victory for the people of Kouka(and I feel definitely feel bad for her here but this isn't surprising at all.)

I agree. In that sense, she should understand Soo-Won’s position & his actions more clearly than before....

And I think that becoming a capable leader is probably the last among all her priorities? The reason she agreed to the alliance was because she was concerned about the dragons,the biggest reason she decided to accompany Suwon to the war was because Hak was missing at that moment and ofc she loves Kouka and wants the best for her country (plz correct me if I'm wrong here coz my memory might be a little hazy here!).

Well....here might be a lil misunderstanding in my wordings...let me clear it...

I didn't mean that Yona wishes to be a ruler/leader. I meant that from the narrative pov. The story seems to be going to the path of making her the ruler (therefore, all those sudden events of her smoothly handling the kai emissaries, generals taking her sides & having disagreement with Soo-Won even tho his decisions were more or less right for the current situation). Hence, why not they make her more capable/smart for that very purpose??

Tbh, what bugs me about AnY is its inconsistency and bad execution. I love seeing characters evolving through proper learning, facing challenges, making mistakes & facing consequences for that. That's how a character gets stronger. By far, Soo-Won has gone through such treatment(one might argue that he hasn't faced challenging opponents, which I agree too!! I too wish to see my boy dealing w strong & shrewd opponents, but it's unlikely ig. Tho I would consider him dealing w his illness as a big challenge as well since he's struggling w it from time to time & has to act accordingly...)

But when it comes to Yona, such developments stopped quite a long ago (before the Xing arc if u ask me). It's frustrating as I used to like & admire her character bcz of it....

Anyways, thanks for sharing your thoughts ^^ I'm interested to see how Suhak interaction goes in the next chap & I believe so are you!!

What do you think about Su-won's decision in the last chapter? Do you think he was irrational given the current situation?

Dear anon,

I think he had a point that there is an opportunity and besides if Yona is looking for her dragon friends who got captured, because she wanted to save Mei-nyan then what better idea there is then to go forward? She doesn't have a clue anyway where they are exactly, so going forward may lead them somewhere or provide clues. Does she even have a better plan? To my understanding she doesn't have any better plan.

What is strange to me is that the Earth Tribe is already so exhausted. They fought how many battles? 2? If we count Yona's idea of saving Mei-nyan. They fought 2 battles, both of which they won, which should put them in good spirit and strengthen morals. Not to mention that dragons appeared to do away with reinforcements from Kai. Things are in general going super great for Kouka, a much smaller country kicking the ass of a much bigger country. They don't fight for months, I guess the fighting could have taken weeks, but not many months. So why are they suddenly so terribly exhausted? And why is their morale so low if Kouka is clearly and undoubtably winning?

But I think I know why, Soo-won needs to appear a bit too eager to conquer Kai, to prove he has misguided, evil ambitions from his father and as someone who doesn't have a good contact with ordinary soldiers / doesn't care about them, so Yona could appear as the person closer to people.

Also, Yona appears to me as someone who makes decisions, puts people in danger, but is not ready to shoulder responsibility for doing so. The main reason why her friends are kidnapped is because she wanted to save Mei-nyan. Had she not done it, they would not be kidnapped now. I am not sure why Soo-won is shown as the evil one now for not wanting to help. Like Yona dear, it was your idea, no one is obliged to bear consequences of your actions and rectifying them. Not to mention that Soo-won's idea of taking the opportunity and going forward could help her to save the dragons, but oh well.