#i should mention i also love that this shows in stuff like people thinking eda is stan's ex or hunter loves su

[progmanx]

I'm gonna lay all of this out right now so it is on the record, and I probably should have done this last week when I actually saw that Ch115 of Black Lagoon was out (and that apparently all of the previously untranslated ones had been translated officially on Viz in like March??? Is the series ending or are they just doing this for everything?) but hear me out:

Majeur is Yukio's older sister.

Okay. I'll explain. I know, "just because they are both from Japan doesn't mean they're related!" and I agree. This would not have crossed my mind if not for the GIANT KABUKI TATTOO on her upper body.

We're gonna circle back to this. Keep it in your brain. Also, I can't believe it but Rei Hiroe actually crafted a scenario where swimsuits were entirely necessary to the story.

That is not a joke. We're gonna get there. Need to set some things up for you.

Majeur apparently had a younger sister according to her former comrades, and the previous Auriculaire (the blonde that kept screaming Majeur was a lesbian) was someone she was so protective of she is still not okay about her death in "L'homme Sombre".

I do not have Vol 12 digitally, so trust me on this one.

I must've read 114 and 115 about fifteen times at this point because I kept finding little things that are so damned interesting (that's a different discussion but no surprise I love it) and at first I'm thinking "well this is the calm before the storm" because that's a no brainer. The comparisons between Revy and Majeur, and the little jokes about "it'll be confusing if one of us dies because we both have tattoos, are Asian women, and you want to ALSO have two guns?" and just a ton of other small and large things would, in any other story, be giant death flags for Revy.

I don't think that's where we're going. I think it's somewhere WAY more interesting considering we already know Majeur's #1 priority is survival and has no real loyalty to Balalaika.

Because all of these little pieces (the diving, teaching her to tie the rope, how the city works; basically everything she ever taught Rock and a few things she learned from Rock...) start to add up about Revy's growth as a person, and how many callbacks and connections are being made to the entirety of the story, combined with Revy breaking up a barfight before it starts between Majeur and Eda (holy shit???) and it paints a picture that is screaming right in our face.

Classic Hitchcock suspense. The bomb under the dinner table that the guests don't know about, but we do. We don't know when it will go off. Only that it will.

Gonna hit you with some stuff.

I don't think it is an accident that Revy's "dream" is wanting people to shoot her in the face and not the back, because she sure as hell lives by it.

I don't think it is an accident that Revy explicitly mentions she has been to Japan in front of Majeur and recognizes the word kabuki (remember!!!) I don't think it is an accident that Majeur is about to say her name at the end of 113 and Rock stops her, trying to be a "cool guy" because on the one hand he is correct, you can be someone else.

Start over. He did. Revy did. Dutch totally did. Balalaika did. Feng did. On the other hand, narratively, what is the one name that exists for a Japanese person to have that would carry any significance?

The one name that the only two people in existence would hear and have a visceral reaction to, as they are the only ones who know what actually happened?

Washimine.

Yukio Washimine.

It gets better, though. Remember that kabuki tattoo? I could go into what each one represents, and they're pretty neat, but more importantly...

He's quoting the play "Sukeroku". Listen, you don't do this TWICE. You don't show us this super specific thing TWICE and not have it be a giant neon sign. This is no damned accident, and it makes sense.

Jane came back. Roberta came back. Why not Tokyo? Throw in Takenaka (this would be INSANE and I am so here for it) and you've got the full set.

Majeur asking about honor when she's taken hostage by Rock, Revy, and Shenua and Rock's response being "That's a mafia thing" suddenly has quite a bit more weight to it.

We know the Washimine group were without a proper leader for a long time, which is what lead to their desperation in calling in Hotel Moscow to deal with the Kosa Kai. A teensy bit of conjecture, but "things happened" is probably about "my dad, the Yakuza boss, was murdered and I fled the country"

Why did Yukio stay behind? Could be that they're half-sisters. Same dad, different moms. Could be a lot of things.

Yukio took up the mantle, Chaka got his hands chopped off, Balalaika holds Rock at gunpoint in a parking garage, etc. We know that story; it's absolutely amazing and needs no reiteration even this many years later.

What does this mean? Why does this matter? Well, Majeur and Ginji both went up against Balalaika and Revy. The latter is dead because he had a reason to live; he wasn't focused on survival.

Majeur? She lost her Yukio. The first time was literal. The second time was in Nigeria. She stopped trying to go after Balalaika and Revy because there wasn't any point to it. She had no one to protect. No one to fight for.

And there's one more thing...

Yeah, man. I think this is essentially Yukio back from hell itself to take revenge on Balalaika. Revy's just the one who shot Ginji. She isn't responsible for the complete eradication of the Washimine group, and she has been trying to help Majeur because she obviously sees way too much of who she used to be in her.

Rock helped Garcia with Roberta, and they told him to fuck off...and rightfully so. It got dark. What dragged him out of the funk? Helping himself, Feng, in a way that was far less destructive and much more productive. What I imagine some have forgotten is that Revy also had an expy (this whole series is just parallel and intersecting character arcs and foils with the strangers who come to down I love it so so much) that told her to fuck off just as much, if not much more effectively and painfully: Fabiola.

Fabiola never needed her help. She just thought she did. Majeur actually does benefit from Revy's advice because, shockingly enough, she isn't filled with nearly as much hate or bitterness as she used to be.

Feng and Majeur were basically the 'second chances' for Rock and Revy respectively, after "The Dance of Death". Take it back further, and this whole thing really could have been trying to make up for how things went down in Tokyo, as Yukio and Ginji were far more explicit and direct foils than Roberta, Garcia, and Fabiola ever were.

And this isn't even getting into the Balalaika side of things. That's a whole other conversation. God, I love this series so damned much!

Revy making a bet with Balalaika with Majeur as the---oh, shit, right, I don't have Vol 12 digitally, but you just have to trust me that Hiroe did bring the "people are like dice" concept again, but it was REVY who did it. It was when they're driving Majeur after she starts talking, and Revy responds with something like "Why do you care? You already threw your dice."

Majeur has direct access to Balalaika at some point in the future. She has the perfect ticking time bomb of a motive to want her dead, and Revy's gamble might make Majeur too well connected and too skilled to be stopped before it is way too late.

No idea how this will pan out, but I fucking love this series.

[payidaresque]

(un)happy anniversary to aziz being cancelled aka a year since i last felt truly excited about a piece of media. or anything at all for that matter.

ngl, i think that the show ended and part of my soul kinda died with it too. for some reason, not fully lnown to myself yet either, i can't look forward to any media and/or event anymore. not really. "curious" would be the correct word, and that's as far as i can get at this time, honestly. will i ever move on? no, probably not. am i being annoying? (for which i sincerely apologize — first and foremost — to my mutuals and the people i follow, because sometimes i can be.. a lot, and please know that you never, absolutely never should feel in any way oblgated to reblog anything i post. it's your blog, you own it, and you decide what other people should and should not see. and me posting so much is just a result of.... a very intense and profound love for the show, which i think, i personally didn't have enough time to express. please, remember that, and do not feel in anyway pressed — if i tagged you (and i always try to tag people according to their interests, or if i want to show that i was inpired by them) that is because i love seeing your tags in my activity feed very much!) yes, and i am very well aware of that but honestly? also don't care. kinda. anyway, enough of my pathetic rambling, lol. i made this post to let y'all know something very important —

and i know i said this numerous times before, but —

thank you.

thank you to everyone who watched the show, shared their thoughts, or expressed their interest in any way. and thank you to everyone who continues doing it now, a year later — know that i see you all, and i love you all 💜 and i will continue doing my thing (both on my main and over at @azizcentral) as long as there's a posibility that one more person will see this wonderful, deep, emotional, and magical story that's important to me on so many levels i can't even begin to tell you about. And i thank the cast, the crew, each and everyone who worked on the show to bring it to life. I am now and i will look forward to seeing what you do in the future, and i wish nothing but the best for all of you! And i know they won't see it, but i don't really care. THANK YOU for the gift you gave us. And i call it a gift because that's what it is to me — i met wonderful people thanks to the show, i build my own little community, and we're having fun, and i'll keep and cherish every minute of it. I may be mad that much of the show's potential was wasted due to some questionable choices certain people made (ahem looking at you angrily eda t*zcan and sh*wtv executives), i'm very grateful that i can return to the show anytime i want and experience emotions which, i'll be honest, none of the other shows (or media in general) gave me since.

and of course, this journey wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for my peeps @burningblake @rosehathawhey @thatsonehellofabird @theatricaldynamite — you rock and i'm so lucky to share it with you, you made it incredibly special ❤

and to all the people who started watching the show because of my edits, or consider watching it, and those who reblogged my aziz stuff even if it isn't your thing, and those who keep coming to the fandom – i am HONORED. When i started posting Aziz back in November '21, i couldn't even DREAM that it''ll become a thing for me to build a community around, or (can you imagine?) become my sort of a brand, not to mention that to think that people wil start watching it because of WHAT I DO. If we're honest, all i did was making gifs – YOU ALL made it work. made it A FANDOM. It's your reblogs, your messages, your tags. And i cannot thank you enough for that.

And to all my non-aziz followers — my sincerest apologies. believe me, i didn't mean to spam your dash like that, it's really out of my control, agdfgugfdu 🫠 this show rewired my brain chemistry forever and it cannot be undone. whatever the thing is you followed me for, and chose to stay despite my everyday madness — thank u so very much, and i hope you're enjoying it here ❤ As for me personally, i'm gonna continue sitting here quietly in my little corner and hope that someday, somehow, some way, the casts reunites, cause ngl. it will make me very, VERY happy. and bc a girl just gotta dream about somethin, ya know? (says the girl who literally spent an ENTIRE YEAR in denial and successfully continues being delusional still. well, we all have hobbies i guess 🤷🏻‍♀️)

As i said above, i'm not gonna stop. Because it brings me joy AND because well, show must go on (and also bc it's my only mission on this hellsite lmao), i am so very grateful for all your support (It is truly SO MUCH) and i am certain that we will do SO MANY wonderful things together ❤

peace ✌🏻✨

[sergeantsporks]

The post hoot - i actually read the post about it on your blog, i think, that the writers wanted to explore how darius achieved his abomination transformation by doing dark sacrifices.

I reay don't think the shortening is an excuse for darius' treatment- just a meaningful mention of him by hunter, or a 10 seconds moment of him helping civilians in the background in the DoU flashback would have worked without taking much time. Like, bump is also puppeted, but it is clear he is important to others, so i stay bitter.

and it's not like it is the case of the bat queen where her story was hinted before the shortening, almost all darius stuff is after, so if there was never any plans for the conclusion of his and hunters development they should have made raine connect to hunter instead, and actually show darius and ebers friendship, instead they used darius to move hunters plot forward and then completely dropped him, which is both a sloppy writing choice, and unfair to the character, imo.

Hmmmm I don't remember that. Oh, well, I reblog a lot of stuff. I mean, we know that Darius is chillish with making sacrifices, you don't get to be coven head by NOT stomping on a few people. So I don't think that's exactly contrary to his character. He was willing to sacrifice the world for Eber, even knowing that Eber would die anyway, which is to say, Darius does NOT always make the most nonselfish choices. Even though ultimately he wants a good thing, he can stumble or do wrong things along the way, or do self motivated things rather than what's necessarily right or best for the collective good.

Yeah, I mean. Like I said, I'm keeping the clown makeup ON and hoping for a dadrius reunion, but in general. Idk about helping civilians, he was pretty passed out last we saw him, and I'm not sure he would have BEEN puppetified in the first place if he had been awake (he has a warping ability, after all, and he's a powerful witch), so I can see why they might not have gone there. But yeah, I would have liked for more from him.

Idk, I don't think he was ever a main enough character to really BE sidelined. I get what you're saying, why would they introduce these character dynamics and use him to push Hunter's character along only to not go anywhere with it, but, well. He's a side character, much as I love him. You don't ask why Adrian isn't showing up more despite this dynamic that was created between him and Gus, now do you? Or Steve, Steve pushed King's character development (and Lilith's, too), but I don't think anyone expects King to talk specifically how he misses Steve and hopes he's okay, no, he's focused Eda and Luz, and that's expected. Eda and Lilith haven't mentioned their parents ONCE, despite the huge role the two of them played in shaping them and how much is still unresolved between Dell and Eda (I mean, there's a whole plot point with Dell and that seed!) Similarly, Hunter's been way more focused on Flapjack, and Luz, and Belos, people who ultimately played a MUCH larger role in his development than Darius did. Sometimes side characters are THERE to push development for a more main character and then slink off gracefully. We've extrapolated that maybe Darius and Hunter hung out more, but we don't technically have any canon confirmation that they did. Hunter expressed concern for him at the DoU, which is probably most of the conclusion we're getting from that. Yeah. They care about each other. Moving on.

Much as we would LIKE to have more Darius, he is, at the end of the day, a secondary antagonist turned extra rebellion member. He's gotten about as much screen time as characters like that get. Not every single character has to be fully fleshed out on screen. sometimes things have to be left to interpretation and implications, because otherwise, your story can get too crowded/busy, even with all the time in the world.

[talenlee]

How To Be: Eda Clawthorne (in 4e D&D)

In How To Be we’re going to look at a variety of characters from Not D&D and conceptualise how you might go about making a version of that character in the form of D&D that matters on this blog, D&D 4th Edition. Our guidelines are as follows:

This is going to be a brief rundown of ways to make a character that ‘feels’ like the source character

This isn’t meant to be comprehensive or authoritative but as a creative exercise

While not every character can work immediately out of the box, the aim is to make sure they have a character ‘feel’ as soon as possible

The character has to have the ‘feeling’ of the character by at least midway through Heroic

When building characters in 4th Edition it’s worth remembering that there are a lot of different ways to do the same basic thing. This isn’t going to be comprehensive, or even particularly fleshed out, and instead give you some places to start when you want to make something.

Another thing to remember is that 4e characters tend to be more about collected interactions of groups of things – it’s not that you get a build with specific rules about what you have to take, and when, and why, like you’re lockpicking your way through a design in the hopes of getting an overlap eventually. Character building is about packages, not programs, and we’ll talk about some packages and reference them going forwards.

We’ve talked about The Owl House before in this column, and last time it was about the incredibly cool Made Of Love Interest Amity Blight. But that’s not all that The Owl House offers for cool and interesting character inspiration you should totally use as an excuse to get onto the table in your friendly 4th Edition D&D game –

You do have one of those right?

Why are you reading these then?

Spoiler Warning: I’m going to mention things that happen in The Owl House that change the status quo. If you want to avoid that kinda thing, this is your warning!

Into The Owl House

Eda is challenging to pin down because it’s not like she exists in a world where we get a lot of very clear demonstrations of her physical ability to any scale we’d like. Eda complains about being old (in her forties according to the wiki, and like, sure honey), but we don’t see any sign that she struggles to carry modest weights. Her stamina is tied to whatever is funny in most scenes, and she’s deft enough to draw and write fluently with her off-hand.

Personality-wise, I think it’s pretty reasonable to describe Eda as someone clever and varying types of charming. We think she’s great (don’t we?) because she’s cool and funny and capable of deep sweetness, but also she yells at customers and people hate her. On the other other hand she lies a lot and people believe her, all of which suggests that you’re dealing with someone who can have a good or poor charisma, depending on how you want to express it.

(Almost like Gygaxian personality stats are at best a sort of puppet show behind characterisation but the point is what they let you do not how they perfectly map to fiction.)

Except at the same time, when you look at what Eda can do, the answer is ‘witchy stuff.’ As in ‘lots of witchy stuff.’ As in ‘almost anything you can do with magical effects, witchy stuff.’ In a setting with a strictly defineable set of magical schools, Eda skids all around through them and can do almost anything in that space. Note that this is a thing you can represent in-game too! Some characters build to use a lot of the same kinds of magic to maximise a damage type – like when I wrote about being Chandra Nalaar, that’s obviously a character who wants to use fire magic and fire implements. For Eda? She does water and lightning and fire and ice and pretty much everything, which means a build that focuses on a single elemental type isn’t going to capture that Eda feel.

Consider The Scale

What we’re going to need to consider here is the means of managed expectations. As with when I wrote about Harrowhark Nonagesimus, there’s an important difference between how a character works in a story and how that character works in a collaborative play experience. Eda in her story is one of a small number of characters with world-shaping power, while a character in an adventuring party is one of a small group of people grappling with challenges that are always going to have room to scale up around you. The size of the world around Eda is quite small – there’s the Boiling Isles and its mythos. The size of the world around a D&D adventurer is definitionally vast; the game is always capable of setting out more chairs with higher defenses and more hit points.

When you bring a picture of Eda to this kind of story experience, within the context of a controlled game like D&D then, you’re not saying ‘I should be able to fly at level 1 and have access to all these special rules.’ You’re still looking to play a version of the character who fits into the space of the other kinds of characters.

With that in mind, instead of trying to give you a build that can be all of Eda in all of the ways, building on a single central frame that kind of tags all the ways you can be Eda if you want to be. I want to talk about the three distinct eras of Eda (Edras).

Still, there is a unifying detail for Eda: She can do lots of different kinds of magic. To that end, time to grab the spellcasting grab bag player option that is the Ritual Caster feat. Some classes get that for free, and you might be unsurprised to see that’s where my suggestions for an Eda wind up.

Glossary Note: Conventionally, the term used in D&D for this mechanical package is race. This is the typical term, and in most conversations about this game system, the term you’re going to wind up using is race. For backwards compatibility and searchability, I am including this passage here. The term I use for this player option is heritage.

The First Impression

Take Eda.

(Please!)

But okay, take Eda at the start of the series. She sells things from a stall, in a shifty way, she casts spells very freely, and there’s a way of treating magic as something immediately to hand, easily. Eda is a spellcaster, a mage, and she avoids direct confrontation.

Now there is actually a class for witches already. It’s called the witch. And by the witch I mean the wizard. Because the witch class is a wizard variant. It does suffer from a problem common to wizard variants in that it’s worse than just playing a wizard, and that’s kinda a good problem to have because wizards are really, really good.

As a wizard, Ritual Caster, for free. Ding. As a wizard, you’re going to want to maximise your intelligence, and you can build for Constitution and take the Staff Implement mastery to make her tougher, without necessarily trying to build her for ‘strong’ or ‘armoured’ builds. Heritage wise, Deva gives an intelligence bonus and some nice abilities, and an ‘obviously not a normal person’ vibes. Put some stalks on your staff so it looks like a broom and bam! You’re witchy and wonderful, starting at level 1!

The Harpy

But okay, what if the part of Eda you like is the way she looks when she’s a cool harpy monster? It’s not a permanent state – it’s not even a lasting state – but I think it’s a really cool look for a character. Being able to shapeshift into a flying, monstrous form with killer claws and all – well, that stuff doesn’t tend to synergise very well with the spellcaster kinds of builds, but it is something interesting and cool.

See, one of the things I love about Ritual Caster is that any character who does anything can spend their time travelling the world, with that feat, as a ‘spellcaster’ – they collect magical rituals, they can stop and cast magical spells. To almost all character interactions, they are a wizard.

Then the fighting starts and they might do something completely different.

What I want to do for Harpy Eda is to play with that. A character from a defender class, ideally one that can fight without a weapon so the character can just erupt into a monster form. And of course, a Harpy flies so this complicates things a little.

If you want to fly at level one, there’s the Bozak Draconian. If you want to fight with your claws at level 1, as a defender, then you’re going to look at the Knight, and the Werebear. If you want the wizardy things at level 1, you’re going to take the Ritual Caster Feat. This is a package of abilities that sit together pretty nicely, and gets the character to work as quickly as possible. It’s not what I personally think of as ideal: I’d rather take a slower path and be willing to step up to these abilities.

For example, the knight/werebear combo is a little sketchy – sure, you get a reliable marking melee attack, that’s cool! But if you use Hand Axes, or the Monk multiclass feat, you can use your own hands, instead of relying on the shapeshift and the limited theme. If you take the Warden, you can get a bestial shapeshift with more utility and more interesting options. If you don’t mind waiting to fly, and instead have large wings that are only activated once you have an appropriate magic item, then you’re not locked into an option that’s at its strongest and most interesting at level 1.

The Glyph Mage

Finally, hey, remember when Yda loses her magic and has to learn how to do it all over again? And then she loses her arm so if she’s doing magic it’s with the other hand and like, that’s pretty amazing and cool. But in the case of a mage who’s making things, drawing on things, and specifically enacting magical rituals, you’re looking at a character whose magic is defined not by inborn power expressed wholly, but instead, their relationship to making stuff.

Hi there Artificer, what were you doing lurking most obviously and availably.

Look, the Artificer has a small problem. The problem is that they have the best possible power they’re ever going to get at level one. The power Magic Weapon is one of the best powers of its type, and all it requires you do to make it good is stand next to an ally. Stand next to two allies, and it gets even better. Make a character with a pet like the Fey Beast Tamer, and you can position that too and maximise their attacking, possibly by standing next to you and going WEH at things.

The Junk Drawer

Now you might have noticed, astute one, that in this treatment we’ve covered a controller (Eda the Witch), a defender (Eda the Harpy), and a leader (Eda the Glyph Mage). I mean, there’s the sorcerer as an option there, because it’s hard to get more ‘spellcaster who blasts at things,’ but I don’t find that a very satisfying thing for Eda, given its reliance on pure Charisma. But hey, you may think the most defining thing about Eda isn’t being smart, it’s raw, inborn talent.

Look, the Owl House is a great series. The main thing I appreciate it for though is teaching a new generation that Wendie Malick is really hot, and has pretty much always been, even though one of her defining roles in the 1990s was about how she Was Not, In Fact, Hot.

Which was silly.

Check it out on PRESS.exe to see it with images and links!

[weedle-testaburger]

something I find pretty funny about the owl house fandom is it's basically the product of every other gay cartoon or cartoon liked by gays's fandoms squashed together into one thing because all those other shows have ended now so this is all the new content we're getting

[the-lone-witch-and-secret-room]

Camila Noceda and Flawed Parenting

A perspective by a flawed person with loving but extremely flawed parents

I’m genuinely baffled at some people’s hostile reaction towards Camila. Like… do any of you have flawless parents that always know the best solution instantly, make no mistakes and never get emotional?

My parents are great. They’re super supportive and I love them very, very much. Overall I think I got very lucky in the parents department.

But god, they are far from flawless. I still live at home, and despite all the good, there’s moments when I can’t take my dad anymore. He’s the kind of dad that stayed up until two am to help me with homework when I was in school, and he does so, so many things to make sure I’m happy. I know that. But despite all of this, I have told my mom in emotional moments before that I’m not sure if I can keep living with him, because for all his good sides, he has a couple of fatal flaws that sometimes make him unbearable.

My mom listens to me and is very open to being educated on certain topics, but she has her flaws, too. She hates when I fight with my dad, and gets so torn up about it that I’ve once apologized to my dad out of fear of her getting into a car crash otherwise. She’s very vocal about certain flaws of mine, and sometimes uses the things she does for me as leverage against me when she gets very emotional.

And both of my parents pay a lot more attention to my brother because he needs it more, because he’s more of a “problem child” while I “seem so capable” even when I’m not.

And guess what? I’m not a perfect child. I make mistakes sometimes, some of them pretty severe. Just like Luz, I’m the kind of person that struggles to communicate certain issues of mine to her parents. I’m stubborn, and when I get emotional, I say very hurtful things sometimes. So do they.

And this has nothing to do with my parents being horrible or abusive. They’re neither of those things.

The takeaway from this should not be that my entire family is made up of terrible people, but that we’re all flawed in our own ways, despite loving each other and trying our best. There’s things about my parents I wish I could change, and there are things about me that my parents wish they could change. And to an extent, that’s perfectly normal.

In our strengths and flaws and frustration with each other, we’re all human.

Specific, spoiler-y Camila and Luz things under the cut since this got very long.

We have no indication that Camila has a pattern of emotionally manipulating Luz. Her “emotional manipulation” as I’ve seen some people put it, is people for some reason thinking that the second you become an adult, you’re suddenly perfect and can no longer make mistakes, lest you’ll be dubbed horrible and abusive.

The whole concept is absurd to me. There is no perfect way to parent. There simply isn’t. Of course, there’s some genuinely abusive patterns that are horrible and inexcusable. But out of the parenting styles that aren’t, which one works depends on a number of factors, one of which absolutely includes that every child is different and has different needs. Camila is an amazing parent for Vee, giving the kid everything she’s ever longed for. She’s not an ideal parent for Luz. And that’s because Luz and Vee have fundamentally different needs.

Likewise, Luz is a pretty great child for Eda, but not a perfect fit for Camila. Luz relates to Eda a lot more than she relates to her mom, and that’s why the two of them have an easier time understanding each other. Both of these mother-child relationships exist, and one is not more doomed to fail than the other, but I think you’ll agree that the better you understand someone and where they’re coming from, the easier it is to communicate, pick up on certain signs, etc.

As mom and daughter, Camila and Luz are both flawed and have issues seeing the other’s perspective because of how different they are. And we should simultaneously acknowledge both of their roles in the issue and give both of them the space to learn and grow past those issues.

Luz struggles to communicate her problems. She doesn’t want to burden people in the demon realm, and it’s a given that this started out as not wanting to burden her mom. So she keeps quiet about her issues. Camila tries hard but can’t read her daughter’s mind, so there’s only so much she can do to understand and help the way Luz needs her to. Hell, Eda, who Luz is a lot more open with than her mom, struggles to help her, because Luz doesn’t tell her what’s wrong. I don’t see anyone calling Eda a terrible mom for that.

Camila tries her best, but she struggles to understand her daughter because of this, and because of how fundamentally different they are. She loves Luz’s creativity, we actively see her supporting it in the new episode—she keeps the weird stuff Luz made because she thinks Luz will regret throwing it away, and even plays along in what she assumes to be some elaborate role play because “she’s glad Luz kept her creativity even though it’s not made things easy for her at school”. But at the beginning of the show, said creativity got out of hand and people got hurt. Luz could’ve gotten hurt. So of course Camila had to interfere. I love Luz dearly, but she thought it was okay to bring snakes to school and set off fireworks inside a school building. Creativity is great. Doing reckless stuff that causes people to get hurt is not.

In sending Luz to camp, Camila tried to have someone else fix her issue because she didn’t know how to help Luz. That was a mistake, and a bad one at that, but she’s realizing that. She looks disheartened when Vee tries to throw out Luz’s stuff, because she never meant to change her daughter or take that part of her away. She just thought Luz needed a reality check—which, for the record, is something the narrative actually agrees with.

Luz spends her time in the demon realm getting reality check after reality check, realizing that even her ideal fantasy world where she has everything she always wanted doesn’t mean she’s free of consequences. She goes overboard constantly, causing:

-Eda to be forced to fly into a trap because Luz is chasing a fantasy (Witches before Wizards)

-Eda to almost be branded by her sister because Luz doesn’t think through why Eda doesn’t use magic to publicly announce her presence constantly (Once Upon a Swap)

-Eda and the twins to get kidnapped by a Slitherbeast because Luz stole Amity’s wand (Adventures in the Elements)

-Her friends to get hurt when she goes overboard trying to help Willow (Wing it like Witches)

-Eda to be captured and almost petrified because Luz thought she could just steal from the Emperor with no consequences in an attempt to help (Agony of a Witch)

I’m like 90% sure these aren’t even all. None of those make her a terrible person, for the record, but as all humans are, she is flawed and makes bad choices. She learns from these experiences and matures, just like her mom had hoped she would at camp. She’s also made friends there, which was another thing Camila wanted for her daughter.

You’ll probably realize that a lot of Luz’s behaviors I mentioned follow one of two patterns: 1. Luz’s idealized fantasy world causing problems, when she walks around with rose tinted glasses and gets people in trouble in the process because she hasn’t thought about the consequences, and 2. Luz trying to help someone she loves, but instead making things worse in the progress. The issue with this one is often that she doesn’t communicate her ideas/listen to the people she’s trying to help—like when Willow and Gus said they’ve had enough of Grudgby, or how she never actually talks to Eda about the healing hat idea before doing something reckless.

…does the latter one sound familiar to you at all? No? Because it’s the exact same thing that Camila did.

Some of the things Luz does are reckless and actively endanger others and herself, and that’s something that I think we need to acknowledge before judging Camila. As Luz’s mom, it’s Camila’s job to interfere in those situations. That she made a mistake while trying to protect Luz doesn’t make her a terrible person, especially as, again, the narrative proves her right to an extent.

I’m not saying her making Luz promise to come back and stay isn’t something that hurt Luz—it absolutely is. But it was born out of desperation. She’s emotional and in shock. She’s so full of pain and regret. She just wants her fourteen year old daughter home safe, and there’s nothing abusive or even morally ambiguous about that.

From Luz’s perspective, what she says is absolutely heartbreaking, but from Camila’s, it’s perfectly reasonable. I doubt Camila has the full picture, but even if she does, she’s had a full fifteen seconds to process that her daughter has not only been lying to her for months, but chose to leave her, and is in the demon realm of all places. Of course she’d be emotional and upset about that! Who wouldn’t? Camila isn’t a robot. If she’d been calm about this I’d be way more concerned, honestly.

My parents don’t get mad that easily, but if I would lie to them for weeks on end, they’d be pissed off too, not even taking the running away from home part into account. That’s a normal thing. People don’t like being lied to. Camila is absolutely devastated in that moment because she’s scared that Luz left because she hates her, when Luz actively states that her leaving wasn’t about her mom—which is another thing we should really be acknowledging.

Abusive parents suck and abuse should obviously never be apologized or trivialized, but saying something hurtful in the heat of the moment isn’t the same thing as being an abusive parent. My parents have done this. I’ve done this. And yes, those things can be emotionally manipulative, but there’s a huge difference in whether that’s a habit or a person speaking out of hurt and desperation in a very specific context. I doubt there’s anyone on the entire planet that hasn’t had a bad moment where they’ve said something like this because they were hurting. People lash out when they hurt, and they beg for reassurance when they’re scared. That’s something we all do.

The whole mindset of “all parents have to be perfect and can never get upset or make any mistakes” is harmful as hell, and honestly also very unrealistic. No parent is perfect, and especially people like me who have a relationship with their parents that’s very good overall should know that.

Once you have a child, parenting is a non-stop learning process, every day for the rest of your life. Taking away that room to grow and expecting perfection isn’t helping anyone, especially not struggling single parents.

And I see Camila as someone who is very willing to learn, because at the end of the day, all she wants is for Luz to be happy. Let’s give her some time to wrap her head around this whole situation. Let’s see what she says once she sees for herself how happy Luz is in that world, may it be via the videos eventually coming through or Camila visiting and meeting Luz’s found family, her friends and her girlfriend.

Ultimately, I don’t think Camila will force Luz to stay at home, but we have to give her some time. She wants what’s best for Luz, and she’s gonna need some convincing that a dangerous magical world is what’s best. I feel like that’s very normal considering the circumstances.

Her and Luz need to work on their communication on both ends, they both have things to learn, but I’m certain they’ll manage to fix their relationship in the long run.

If the bunk bed is any indication, I think Vee is gonna stay in the human realm permanently while Luz sleeps at home but keeps attending Hexside in the daytime. That feels like a solution that keeps everyone happy, and allows Luz to spend time with all the people she loves. I can’t see her being forced to choose at the end.

As a closing statement: Eda isn’t an ideal mom, Amity isn’t an ideal friend or girlfriend and neither is Luz, Lilith isn’t an ideal sister… but that’s because no one is ever an ideal anything. Being flawed is a big part of being human. Everyone has different facets to their personality. Their flaws are what makes them such great, relatable, believable characters.

And I feel the same way about Camila. She’s an extremely believable character that reminds me of my own parents, flawed but very loving nonetheless.

(Also honestly, I think it’s pretty telling that some of you guys immediately bash the black single mom that’s obviously trying her hardest while giving the benefit of the doubt to Alador, who has been portrayed as neglecting and threatened his six year old daughter on screen. This was already a thing before we knew much about either of them, and I’m disappointed but unfortunately not very surprised that it still is.)

[pyroclastic727]

Owl House said fuck capitalism

So this episode was interesting. Lilith pretty much killed her sister. Why the fuck would she do that?

Even more interesting: why is Belos like that? How did Hooty put his head through one of those guards? Who the fuck is the Titan, and why does everyone like him? And how are these all tied together?

This episode was a metaphor for capitalism

...and another delicious step towards radicalizing the youth into dismantling this fucked-up neo-feudal system.

We’ll start with Belos. 

Emperor Belos is a weird name, don’t you think? We all thought it was spelled “Bellows,” but it wasn’t. In fact, it’s five letters, starts with Be, ends with os, and describes a megalomaniac emperor that restricts people’s freedom in order to accumulate wealth for himself.

Sound familiar?

Emperor Bezos Belos created capitalism. He saw the beauty of magic and decided to make himself the most powerful.

Belos created a system that destroys the masses and boosts his power.

 I’m dipping into fan theory a little, because the fan theory fits. We know that people get branded with coven magic that makes it so they can only specialize in one area. We know that Belos is the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles. We know that the excess magic, magic created by restrictions, has to go somewhere.

It’s the same system that many viewers see all the time. A job takes up all your day and tires you for the night, so you can only do one skill for the rest of your life. Jeff Bezos is the most powerful man in the United States. Excess money, money taken by restrictions, has to go somewhere.

The magic goes to Belos, like how the money goes to Bezos. Belos created capitalism, and he won it.

The guards aren’t real. 

Look, we’ve never seen their faces. They’re all the same. Why would you work so hard to get to the top, just to become a nameless, faceless killing machine?

Oh, also Hooty stuck his face through one. There is nothing under the armor.

Why? Well, it’s the same reason you see all those celebrities going around flaunting their wealth and bragging about how hard they worked. Like all those songs about how they grind every day and work harder than everyone else while you’re out clubbing, and that makes them dope. And then you take a closer look at them and see that they had a small loan of a million dollars fueling them, or an entire talent agency behind them, or their dad was a famous country star in the 80′s. 

They’re fake. They’re hollow. They’re a ploy created by the capitalist emperor to try to delude you into working harder. 

Let me put this into perspective. I guarantee that every single one of you has heard stuff like this: “Hard work makes you successful.” “I put in the work, and that’s why I’m successful.” “If you work hard enough, then you can be as successful as Mark Zuckerberg.” 

And unless you’re a robot or really lucky, I’m sure all of you have failed at this. Maybe they told you that hard work would make you good at math, so you spent 22 hours a week working on calculus, only to pass it by 3 percentage points and have it destroy your perfect 4.0 GPA. Maybe they told you that if you talked to people enough, then you would make friends, so you spent a lot of time talking to people, only to end up lonely and friendless. Maybe they told you that if you did well in school, you would get a good job, so you spent all your time working hard to be a good student, and then ended up in a soulless, dead-end job.

The guards are there to delude you. Look, who really gains from you being productive? The answer is the ruling class, the CEOs, the government, the bourgeoisie. It has always been that. All you get from working is a paycheck that lets you survive. They get a paycheck that lets them get rich. Just like Belos gets the magic and productivity of the specialized coven witches.

The guards are there to trick you. The truth is that nobody can join the Emperor’s Coven. It’s just there to make you think that hard work will make you successful. Then you spend your entire life working hard, trying to prove to the person in charge that you’re worthwhile. You give your whole life to the Coven, and they give you nothing. 

Magic is supposed to be something you pursue for fun. Being skilled at things, being good at something beautiful...that’s supposed to be something you do because you want to. But they took that and made it into a source of productivity. It doesn’t matter if you make good content. All people fucking care about is if you upload the day of premiere, if you make a lot of content quickly, if you maintain a million different conversations with strangers who expect you to be the most interesting person in the room. They don’t care how it hurts you. They don’t care how you crack from the stress. How you cry when you think no one can see you, and then you check your phone and someone can see you, someone did see you, and you have to put on your face and be the charming, magnetic person they want you to be. (oh by the way that’s why I wasn’t online much last week)

And it ruins it. Suddenly you can’t watch The Owl House without being stressed. You can’t make any content. You can’t make spells as powerfully as you want to. Your passion is replaced by perfectionism and insecurity, a voice telling you to keep being the best at what you do, or else they’ll forget you and let you die.

There’s also the Titan. 

So nobody has mentioned him before, because in addition to the Boiling Isles being a hellscape full of witchcraft and queerness, it’s also full of atheists. 

But suddenly we have people saying all this shit about him? Shit like, he gave witches the gift of magic, and then they learned to use it in a civilized manner, since being uncivilized was disrespectful?

I mean, first off, that’s fucking wrong. The island gives people magic. The island, which just so happened to be shaped like a titan-sized human. But the island/titan gives everyone all types of magic. Hell, even Luz gets to use magic, and she’s human. 

It sounds really fucking familiar. (tw for discussion of homophobia and colonialism and misogyny). It sounds like when the news is on and they show some Tr*mp supporter talking about how fetuses have more rights than people and it is their holy duty to take away a woman’s control over her body and force her through unbearable pain and into an 18-year commitment she didn’t want to make. It sounds like all the times people tried to say homosexuality should be illegal, citing a single line in a book written two thousand years ago and heavily edited by a European king. It sounds like all the times people said God wanted them to conquer, to own the entire earth, to force the other races into pain to support them.

This is that bullshit thing people do where they commit awful sins and justify it by citing the will of God. 

Or, it’s the Coven using religion as an excuse for evil.

Look, the Emperor’s Coven is clearly colonizer-coded. Saying that people’s original form of magic was wild (and showing a picture with the same joyous, rowdy energy of an 18th or 19th -century Black or indigenous party), and that it was God’s will for them to be “civilized?” Sounds like that thing that powerful white people did where they went and murdered people and forced them into their twisted capitalist system. God, gold, and glory, is what they said, because history books just love to omit the gore.

Lilith is passing the abuse cycle along. 

You know, like a good little colonizer. God I fucking hate her. She’s a MILF, in the sense that she’s a Mother I’d Like to Fling off a cliff. 

Ah, enough screaming about how much I want to drown Lilith in a tub of Hooty’s mucus. Let’s go into why I want to do that, and how she took the evils of capitalism and just...adopted those.

So, Lilith is sick and twisted for what she did to her sister. But, uhh, that’s the point. You see, there are so many other people out there like Lilith who would do the exact same thing, if given the chance. These are the people who do mean things when the teacher isn’t looking, and then act nice and try to frame you. These are the people who will hate you if you’re better than them. These are people who would do anything to bring you down, if you dare outperform them.

It’s greed, my friends. The mental illness that capitalism blesses us all with.

Lilith herself said it: she dedicated her entire life to the Coven. What she wanted was to be the best. And she almost was...except for her own sister. Someone who lived with her, annoyed her at home, bested her at school. Someone she could never beat, no matter how hard she worked. And her sister was younger than her, too! How insulting was that? Lilith wanted to be the best, and someone in her exact situation did better than her.

Lilith was insecure. And it consumed her.

But why? Why does insecurity consume her? I mean, no one can be motivated by insecurity forever. Well, not unless someone conditions it into you.

The lovely thing about the capitalist system is the morals it teaches you. Things like: “You’re only useful if you’re the best.” “Being school smart makes you smart, while being social smart or sports smart or creative smart or fandom smart is worthless.” “Your worth can be quantified by numbers and is based off arbitrary measures like your income or your grades.” Things that can and will drive us crazy if we let ourselves believe them.

And it did drive Lilith crazy. She got so twisted by a society that said being good at magic is her only worth. Look, Lilith used to be good at things, probably. She was good at sports. At times, she slips up and does an okay job of being Eda’s sister. She has a powerful presence when she’s in a room. And she’s wicked good at manipulating people. 

But that didn’t matter. Lilith bought into the lies. She let herself believe that magical skill was the only way to measure her worth. And since she needed to be the best, she hurt Eda for it.

The beautiful thing is, Eda didn’t buy that. "It’s my power, kid. And before you showed up, I spent my whole life wasting it.” Is what Eda said, as she used up the last of her power, the last of her life, to save Luz. In her final moments, she proved that she’s not like them. She’s stronger than them.

None of this matters. Not magical prowess. Not the hierarchy. Not the promise of joining the Coven and having more power than anyone else.

The only thing that matters to Eda is her family. Her real family. Her Luz, King, and Hooty. And by extension, Willow, Gus, and Amity. Those are Eda’s real reason for fighting, for dying: to protect them. Look, there’s no way she would’ve come out of that fight alive. She has a family, and her love for them is stronger than greed or jealousy or capitalism. 

Lilith never understood that. She thought the water of the womb was thicker than the blood of the covenant. Or, that the water of the womb and the blood of the covenant are stronger than the bonds of found family. She thought it didn’t matter if Eda loved, her, only if the Emperor loved her. Fucking bitch.

And now, a little something to worry about, before we go. Amity Blight. The girl who wanted to join the Emperor’s Coven more than anything, who dedicated her whole life to doing well in school, to being the best, to being perfect.

And then she met Luz. She fell for Luz. Now she’s in a tricky place, where habit and conditioning want her to join the Emperor’s Coven, but her heart wants her to do the impossible and destroy capitalism.

She wasn’t in this episode. Funny that being injured and unable to work ended up saving her from watching her future mother-in-law die. So she bought some time.

But Luz’s true mom is dead. This is the second mom she has lost, and she’s only fourteen. As powerful as King and Hooty are, Luz needs Amity. Luz needs Amity to support her and help her get back her mom.

So Amity has to make a choice. Fear and insecurity, or love and a high chance of death? 

She’ll probably choose death. Because that’s the message that this family-friendly show is giving us kids. Fuck capitalism. All you need in life is to do what makes you happy and be with the ones you love.

[korra-the-red-lion]

TOH s2e8: an character analysis.

Omg, that episode of the Owl House. That was just outstanding, start to finish. There’s a couple of major things I want to talk about in terms of Eda, Luz, and Amity. There will be spoilers ahead, so you’ve been warned.

When we first met Amity, she was bullying Willow. Quickly after that, Luz wormed her way into the little witchling’s heart and got her to open up. Throughout season 1 and 2 so far, Amity has faced a lot of her trials as a character already. In Understanding Willow and Wing It Like Witches, Amity finally choses for herself the people she wants to hang out with. She likes Luz, and she never stopped liking Willow, but her parents forced her to end the friendships they deemed unworthy of the Blight name. In Escaping Expulsion, we see Amity finally stand up to her mother. In the episode Through the Looking Glass Ruins, Amity takes further control of her life by cutting her hair and dyeing it a different colour than the green that her mother always makes her do. Amity has become dorkier and more true to herself as the series has progressed. She’s no longer hiding behind the façade of a mean girl to protect herself from getting hurt by her parents. She’s goofy, nerdy, and kind. But there was one thing that Amity hadn’t overcome yet until this episode:

Her fear of being rejected.

You can see Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door how more heartbroken she becomes as Luz destroys all the goofy Tunnel of Love stuff, because again, Amity is a huge nerd and she actually likes these kinds of things. But it’s at the very end when Luz (understandably, more on that in a bit) just derails the entire date due to her own insecurities that we see:

Utter heartbreak, because she thinks that Luz doesn’t feel the same way after all. She ends up tearing up when she says, “Us? Dating? That is stupid, right?” Amity never wanted to face that rejection, but since Grom, Luz seemingly (obviously she was) giving signs to Amity that perhaps she felt the same way. After agonizing about it, Amity decided to be brave enough to give it a shot. She finally faced that fear that held her back at Grom and thought that it all crashed and burned, like she feared it would after giving Luz that kiss. It all turned out in the end for the better, but Amity was so scared that it wouldn’t.

Next up is Luz.

One of the consistent traits of her character has been the fear of letting those around her down. Luz agrees to go to the crappy summer camp her mom wants her to go to because she doesn’t want to let her down. She is so scared to face her mami when the Grom beast turns into her because she was afraid of letting her down. She goes to steal the Witch’s Artifact because she wants to help Eda and it ends up backfiring horribly. So, Luz had finally let someone down. It was Eda, and it was heartbreaking for her. She blamed herself for everything that happened at the Owl House after that, which is why she behaved do recklessly in Separate Tides. The fear of letting someone down stems from the fear of messing up. Because when Luz thinks she messed something up, it relates back to her letting someone down. She messed up at school because she was “too weird” and end up letting her mom down.

So, Luz wanted to ask Amity out in the perfect way that would leave no room for failure. She needed everything to go as smoothly as possible because she didn’t want to mess up and have Amity not think the world of her. Luz is harder on herself than anyone has ever been on her. 

Amity says “if we could just forget about the whole thing...” and Luz instantly starts to panic because “no no no this can’t be happening I need this to go well” is probably racing through her head as she stumbles to get the proper words out. Of course, there is the disaster of the Tunnel of Love and Luz realizes afterwards that she (thinks, because again, she is her own worst critic) messed up, and she is shattered:

Because now her chances are gone. Luz probably thinks there is no hope left after this. Remember that kiss on the cheek? Luz reacted by staring at Amity before her eyes flickered to her lips, and Amity left in a hurried panic after that. Luz isn’t reading the signs wrong, but I suspect that past experiences left her burned on Earth and she is trying to be extra careful in expressing herself. But Amity likes the chaos that Luz brings. Luz thinks outside the box and is her own person, something Amity really wants for herself. So here, Luz faces her personal demons of the fear of messing up (again in her mind). But she didn’t really mess up at all, she was just so embarrassed that Hooty did this for her and reacted as she normally would, by doing everything she can to take back control of the situation.

Then we get the beautiful confession scene from the two of them and it really was beautiful to watch. I loved it, every second of it. Amity blurting out first before Luz could finish, the little hand hold at the end with Luz wondering why it felt so scary, it was so amazing. Also shout out to Sarah for voicing Luz with little voice cracks for the highly emotional moments for Luz.

Then there’s Eda.

So what is Eda’s character arc? Well, it’s a lot of things but I think the major one we see in play for the most part is the fear of her curse. But more specifically, the effect it has on Eda and her loved ones.

Eda never told Luz and King about the curse until she was forced too. King mentioned in the Intruder that he’s never seen Eda like that before. In Echoes of the Past, King was found by Eda when he was very young and she was a lot younger too. I think it’s been 8-10 years since Eda found King, so that’s a long time to hide something from someone you live with. But, Eda has always been ashamed of her curse (and the curse itself is a disability or a chronic illness, which a lot of people are ashamed to admit sometimes they have). Eda doesn’t want to burden people with that knowledge and goes to get lengths to manage it. But something that I think is important is in some way, Eda never learned to accept it herself. She tells her mom off for trying all these stupid pyramid schemes that were never going to work for her. The elixirs are the medication, but Eda knows it’s not going to stop her from hurting people if she loses control. She has hurt people she cares for, which is why she won’t tell Raine how bad it is. Eda’s curse gets worse the more she’s stressed or upset or startled.

The moment Eda realizes she hurt her dad because of the curse, she most likely made the decision to not let people get too close to her again. Raine breaks up with Eda because Eda won’t be entirely truthful with them about the curse. Raine is aware of it, but it seems like Eda never told them the extent of how bad it was. Eda blames the curse for hurting her dad, Eda blames the curse for pushing people away. But that wasn’t the curse who did those things, that was all Eda. Eda pushed people away because she was scared of what would happen to those she loved if they got too close, so it was easier for her to live her life out in solitude and away from everyone else because no one would get hurt by her. But once Eda finally realizes that she can’t only blame the curse on its own, because it is a part of her, she finally is able to accept that this is a part of her now. The curse isn’t something to be feared and ashamed of, it’s something that is a part of Eda and she must learn to live with it fully. Now that Eda has done this, she can finally start to live in a healthier way that allows to her to interact with people she cares about again. Because having a disability isn’t something you should ever been ashamed of. Using medication (like the elixir) is helping manage it, but you have to make lifestyle changes to accommodate the disability as well. 

Also she looks amazing. 

All three of these women have finally faced major fears that were holding them back. I never would have expected it from this episode, honestly, but that goes to show what an amazing writer and director Dana Terrance is. This episode pulled off some amazing feats and really brings home a lot of the development we’ve seen for them. I’m really looking forward to the rest of this season. It’s been pretty stellar from the start so far. 

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" from The Owl House

Wow. They are really pushing it for that secret message, huh?

Anywho--Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

I think it goes without saying at this point that Season Two of The Owl House is setting itself up as a season without filler. Now, filler episodes aren't always bad. Yes, it hurts when a series turns away from the main plot for a week. But at best, they're utilized as a chance for the writers to play around with the characters and developing said characters without it relating to the overarching story. So, some people who see that consider it a bad thing that a series doesn't have that many filler episodes.

I like to call those people: F**king morons.

Don't get me wrong, I see where some of you are coming from. And I'd be willing to agree...if The Owl House was a plot-driven series. Which it's not. It is a character-driven series. Because for every plot thread and narrative that the show presents, they always relate to the characters and develop them further each time these threads get brought up. For example, look at "Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty's Door" (It pains me just to write that). Several narratives move forward, and it’s all done to make the characters grow. And to explain how requires going into spoilers. So keep that in mind as you continue reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Hooty: Might as well start with the character that this episode is about.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't a huge fan when I found out we're getting a Hooty-centered episode. I've grown to love him over time, but he is a comedic character that's best used in small doses. Primarily due to how his voice is grating to me (My ears are still bleeding...). With that said, I do really love his contributions in "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (Seriously, there couldn't have been a less awkward title?). Hooty's antics when trying to help everyone are as hilarious as they are heartwarming. He deeply cares for his friends but just doesn't understand how his plans could do some unintended harm, which is pretty lovable if you ask me. We also get some surprisingly great insight into his character, as he feels insecure about basically being the comic relief who doesn't really do that much other than being funny. Rarely do you get that level of dimension from a comedic character, and it's even more uncommon for that to work out as well as it does here. It once again proves just how competent the writing is in this series to the point where we get an episode about Hooty, and it's funny and heartwarming instead of being annoying. And whoever is responsible for that, you're the best.

Lilith’s Letter to Hooty: I mean it when I say that I love how Lilith kept her word about her and Hooty becoming penpals. Their friendship was something I would have never expected to love, and I'm still shocked that it works so well, so seeing it continue like this just warms me to the bone. Plus, it is pretty sweet that Lilith's kind words are what inspired Hooty to do what he's done in this episode...meaning it's Lilith we should thank here--SON OF A WITCH! Even when she's gone, she's still working her way into my heart!

King going through Puberty: What?! KING IS EVOLVING!

(There, I made a Pokemon reference. Do I get my cookie now?)

Eda Keeping Herself Awake to Train Herself: I'm willing to bet a large sum of money that this has everything to with Raine getting captured last week. If Eda was still the most powerful witch in the Isles, she might have actually saved them. But she isn't, and now the love of her life is in the clutches of a tyrant planning something that could potentially be the end of everything. So I can understand Eda pushing herself to her limit to get back on top again, as I would probably do the same. It's not healthy in any way, and Eda would be doing more harm than good. But when it comes to the people you love, logic doesn't always win out in the end.

Luz Wanting to Make her Way into Amity’s Heart by Making the Echo Mouse Happy: ...That's it. I Just...I just love everything about it, ok?

This was also when I knew that I was wrong to doubt that there would be zero Lumity in this episode. I realize my follies now, and I humbly apologize.

Hooty Teaching King About Demons: This was so funny. So, so funny. Probably doesn't come as a surprise, especially since The Owl House proves itself as a comedy before, but the jokes have never hit as frequently and as hard as they did here. From Hooty getting offended by King's dance to him and Dana's insert wanting a "DNA sample," everything managed to successfully make me lose my s**t. It does come at the expense of King suffering, but I can stomach that much more than if it were Eda or Luz. And, as a bonus, we get lore about how demons work, added with another great joke of King getting in trouble with Hooty for saying he already knows this stuff. Humor isn't always the show's strong suit, but when it works, it f**king works.

King Wanting to Know What he Is: But despite how funny King's vignette was, we still get to see more of his character grow. We learn that he's frustrated now that there's this big question mark over his life now, feeling extra angry that his father "abandoned" him to leave such a present mystery. It shows the hidden resentment he has that Lilith inadvertently brought out, made even worse when King's father hasn't responded to the video yet. King hasn't really gotten that much development until "Echoes of the Past," so it's pretty cool that the writers haven't really slowed down on it. Especially when it leads to these great moments of King venting his frustrations.

King’s Shouting Powers: KING learned FUS RO DAH!

(And now that's a Pokemon reference AND a Skyrim reference. WHERE'S MY GOSH DANG COOKIE!?)

Eda’s Nightmare: If King's vignette hits you hard with the laughs, Eda's will absolutely hit you harder with the feels (never make me say "feels" unironically again). Knowing that Eda's life got thoroughly screwed over by the curse is something we could figure out on her own. But seeing just how much the curse ruined her life and tore apart relationships that mean the world to her really does a swell job at ripping apart the soul. What's even more tragic is, technically speaking, it's all sort of Eda's fault too. She kept hiding the curse, refusing to be a burden to others who would do all they could to help. If she had only been open and honest, things probably wouldn't have changed much, but they most likely would have been better than they are now.

Eda Attacked her Father as the Owl Beast: ...I don't know what I was expecting when "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" hinted that there was some possible tension between Eda and her father...but it definitely wasn't this.

The fact that we see blood where his eye used to be doesn't make things any happier, either.

Raine Broke Up with Eda: Before we get into anything else, let's celebrate the fact that it's now confirmed that Eda and Raine really did use to date in the past. Because this show is just f**king phenomenal with its LGBTQA+ representation!

But, seriously, this is a fantastic reveal that goes far beyond just shipping...well, sort of. It shines a new light on Eda and Raine's interactions from last week, revealing that while they're not a couple anymore, they still very much love each other. It helps make their last interaction especially tragic, as they were both on the same page now and could very well be together again. Only for them to be forced apart for the second time in a way that's much worse than the first. And I frickin' adore that this series changes the impact of one episode one week later. Again, it shows just how competent these writers are, and kudos to them for making something so...perfect.

The Moon Person: WHO THE FU--Nope. Nope! We have more than enough mystery bulls**t to deal with through CreepyLuz and Philip Wittebane, so I am PUTTING YOU ON THE BACKBURNER FOR NOW!

(They're probably nothing more than a one-off character, anyway)

The Owl Beast and Eda are Connected: Through visuals alone, we, the audience, can clue into what the curse really means. The Owl Beast doesn't want to be a part of Eda as much as she doesn't want it to be a part of her. Whether they like it or not, and they very much don't, they're stuck together. The thing is, and this is what I love the most, they still decide to make the best of their situation rather than let it ruin their lives even more. This might be the best possible turn Eda's curse could have made. It'll still affect her, and there are probably more negatives than positives, but at least now, it's not the worst thing in the world. And I feel like that's all anyone can ask when in a position like her own.

Eda's “Pretty Dream”: I don't know what emotions are toiling inside me more with this moment. Awe and wonder over how beautiful Eda's dream is, or heartbreak over the implication that she has only had nightmares since getting cursed...I'm gonna say both. Yeah, it's definitely both.

Eda’s Harpie Form: Well, fan artists are gonna have a field day with this...especially the freaks.

(You know who you are. And you're weird!)

Luz Calling Amity a “Cotton-Candy Haired Goddess”: ...Have I ever mentioned how much I love this show?

Hooty Kidnapped Amity: ...Hooty, if your stupidity wasn't charming, I would be more than willing to call the authorities over how you kidnapped a girl in your version of a knapsack and locked her in the basement. For that is going to ring SO MANY alarm bells in people's heads.

Amity and Luz Stuck in a Tunnel of Love: *Smacks lips* Mmm. The adorable awkwardness of this moment is just *chef's kiss* magnifique!

Luz being afraid of getting made fun of:

Amity’s look of hope: I mean...just...f**king--LOOK AT HER:

That is the look of a girl who, while embarrassed as hell, still is ecstatic to learn for a brief moment, everything that she is hoping for has a high chance of being real. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't go "Aw!" at something so pure and innocent?!

Luz Destroying the Tunnel of Love: This is how to effectively utilize dramatic irony. The audience can understand why Luz is tearing the place apart because she explicitly states that she's afraid of Amity rejecting her in the end. They also know that's bogus, thus making it extra painful to watch Amity's heart break more and more with each second (which is perfectly represented through Amity's expressions). You feel bad for both of them, and even worse when you know that it can easily be prevented by the simple art of communication. That's what makes it great dramatic irony. Knowing the point of view of each character results in a scene that evokes emotions in two different ways.

Hooty’s Breakdown: This was...genuinely hard to watch. Not that it was badly written, far from it. It just...hurt seeing how destroyed Hooty was when he realized he failed the people he has such an admiration for. On the upside, a wholesome moment follows soon after as the Owl House gang tries to reassure Hooty that he's done a lot of good that night. It's a pure action that shows even though Hooty gets on their nerves all the time, they still care about him...damn it. I think I'm gonna cry.

Eda’s Advice for Luz: ...Eda...You're the best.

You found out that your surrogate daughter wants to ask a girl out, and not only were you quick to deliver the best possible advice ("Just go for it!"), but you also quickly reassure her that it doesn't need to be perfect.

And you know what? That's it. Eda is the best cartoon mom! She might not technically be Luz's mom, but I don't give a s**t because she is the best!

Luz and Amity Ask Each Other Out: Shh-sh-sh-sh...

Do you hear that?

...

...

...It's the sound of dozens of Lumity fans collectively losing their s**t...and I'm one of them.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!

IT!

IS!

CANON!

AH-HAHAHAHAHA!

HOLY S**T! Holy s**t! Holy s**t...might just be the best way I could possibly describe this! Finally, after all the waiting, speculating, and praying, THESE TWO IDIOTS FINALLY GOT TOGETHER! AND IT WAS PERFECT! I mean, it was awkward as s**t, but that's what makes it perfect! You know why? You wanna--Hey! *snaps fingers*. You want to know why? It's because they're teenagers. Of f**king course, it's going to be awkward! This is their first relationship, so there will be a lot of missteps along the way. And that, in itself, brings me to the best (second best part?) thing about it happening in episode eight of the new seasons. Most endgame couples get together in the climax or even at the end of the series. But to have them get together this early on, means there will be quite a few episodes dedicated to showing them grow as a couple.

And better than that--EVEN F**KING BETTER THAN THAT--dozens of kids are going to see these two, a realistic depiction of young love that just so happens to involve two girls, and are going to learn once and for all that there is nothing wrong with being who they are. That fact alone is f**king incredible. Yes, it sucks that season three got cut short, and we'll have even less time with Luz and Amity, but knowing how many kids have felt seen today almost makes it worth it in the end.

And if I see one mother f**ker saying this was poorly paced, I might just hunt them down for SPORT...Sorry if that was an overreaction. I'M JUST SO HAPPY! Because they're happy! Look at them. Listen to them! It's so...GAH-HAHAHA!

“They’re adorable! And deserve all the happiness!”: You're darn right, Hooty! You're darn right.

King’s Father(?) Shows Up: What the--WHAT?! They're doing this now?! Here?! After everything else?

Oh, man. What could this mean? What dynamic changes will this cause in the main cast? How could the writers fit this in during the next two episodes? And what--

Hooty Eats the Letter: ...Pfffft--HAHAHAHA!

Oh, man...I should be mad, and I wouldn't blame others if they are...but that is too much of a brilliant f**k you that I can't help but appreciate it. Bravo writers. Bravo.

WHAT I DISLIKED

...Dislikes? Dislikes? You would honestly believe that after everything I witnessed in this episode, that I would have the gull to list anything wrong with it?!

HOW DARE YOU ASSUME THAT I WOULD BE SO CALLUS TO--Actually, I do kind of have an issue with the episode's title. It's just too much of an awkward mouthful for me to get behind. I understand that the writers wanted to sneak the K into the secret message, but were there really no other titles starting with K that they couldn't come up with?

But that's just a personal issue, and in no way do I think anybody else would feel the same way. Especially with how well-written everything else is anyway.

IN CONCLUSION

"Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (title aside) is another A+ episode. It was hilarious, heart-wrenching, and downright adorable while keeping me entertained with every minute. I'm sure there are some issues I was willing to ignore due to how expertly written everything else was, but why bother looking for the chinks in the armor when I could just enjoy a perfect episode for being so...perfect! Some of you might be willing to disagree with me, but to that, I say: Don't knock it till you've tried it.

(Now, if you don't excuse me, I'm going to go lie down. It's...It's been a day.)

[jess-the-vampire]

Sooooo whatya think of the new episodeee?

Oh it’s definitely my favorite episode of the series so far, i was having such a good time at every turn. I’m glad i went out of my way to avoid spoilers, cause i was glad to actually be surprised by some elements on first watch.

I think this had by far the best opening for an episode so far, we finally get back to the villians, we meet the coven heads, we get insight on belos’s plans-

and then belos gets constipated, which starts getting into the more character driven lore, which is the best part. You instantly can tell GG and Kiki have some bit of tension between them to be Belo’s favorite, though granted i wonder if hunter is the only one to know belos is cursed and actually just always insists to help belos with his fits to prevent others from seeing them.

Including kiki.

It’s honestly unclear how aware anyone is that belos is cursed, like him eating pailsmans is apparently not something he hides, but like....i feel him being cursed is something that people would know universally if it got out...so i’m left wondering if anyone knows besides hunter.

Regardless, belos turns into a goop monster with an angry side, and i guess his mask doesn’t transform with him compared to the rest of his body so he breaks it again because i guess he goes though masks like crazy.

Hunter turns away in this scene from his outburst and even though he’s masked here i can already tell he’s most likely pained in these scenes. Like he’s probably seen this happen so many times, and i can’t imagine it gets any easier for him, it’s probably awful to watch belos suffer like this for him (Regardless of the abuse)

And to be honest, it seems pretty painful for him, i think this ep seems to at least confirm whatever this thing is that takes over belos’s body.....belos never actually wanted it in the first place. 

Yeah so after Hunter tells belos there’s not enough trees to medicate him anymore, we’re hit with the “UNCLE”. Which, when i first watched it i needed a second to even process the fact they confirmed their relation.

and i was like “CLOSE ENOUGH”, not his kid but uncle still works just fine for me, i’m just happy my assumption they were related actually came to ahead.

And i rewatched this episode a few times, and on second watch i realized more what happened in this scene. Hunter was talking about his interest in wild magic, and making more pailsman to help belos, and some method that could heal him and as soon as belos looked at him he instantly shut down.

He was clearly rambling about wild magic cures for belos because of his interest in it, and then suddenly remembered his uncle hates wild magic and felt super awkward.

It seems highly likely his interest in wild magic came from trying to cure belos and spending a lot of time reading up on the stuff. 

And then we get hit with the whole “Our family is dead because of wild magic” line, which.....i’m curious to know what happened there. But it does at least explain why belos feels how he does, if wild magic both killed his family beside hunter AND cursed him in the first place. We’re just gonna need more info on what exactly happened.

Also while Belos is def abusive and does not treat hunter how he should, this scene actually does read off to me like belos does care about hunter to some degree. If belos is cursed and his curse works in similar ways to how Eda’s curse works, then it’s worth reminding ppl that eda mentions early this season how stress can amplify the curse even more.

And sure enough, belos goes goopy on hunter’s shoulder all of a sudden when he grasps him. Which could be considered a sign of stress and that the idea of hunter dying or being in danger actually does stress him.

You could very much also assume this is just due to his curse not being fully handled and just getting worse, or that belos only cares about hunter for selfish reasons....but i’m not taking anything off the table here.

Belos can still be a shitty uncle, and still care about hunter, these aren’t mutually exclusive traits. But we need more episodes for now on this.

But anyways he asks hunter if he can rely on him, kiki is pissed......and we move on.

So i’m glad luz’s impulsiveness is addressed a ton in this episode, they actually bring up a lot of good points. That luz has no plan, that the time she’s spending here might render moot if she goes back to earth, ect ect.

Hunter even calls her out a lot later for not thinking things through, it’s a whole deal in this episode. I’m glad it was brought up cause it’s actually worth asking a lot of these things.

the set up here works, they actually made a good reason for why a pailsman didn’t bond with her. Speaking of which the adoption thing is cute and i love it, it’s a great idea. The designs are all very cute and fun.

Bump face reveal was a lot for me to process, but i find the idea of his pailsman being a pet that can help with his disabilities a good idea.

Also like, i did find it odd that they got staffs so early because we’ve never seen kids their ages with them before, but i guess it’s a new tradition? Does everyone at hexside now have one?

Honesty not sure why batqueen left the nest there overnight, i meant i guess she assumed they were safe with that shield but in context i dunno why she didn’t take them home after the school day was over.

but whatever, luz stays there overnight hoping  a pailsman will bond with her and GG just kidnapps them cause of pure luck on his part a bunch of pailsman were in a vulnerable spot tonight.

So GG continues to be charming, by whistling the theme song and then being blasted off his ship hilariously, before cockily teleporting himself right back on it seconds later. Like he and luz have great banter, he’s so extra like this it’s so funny, and god he’s so FAST with that staff it’s scary but so awesome.

Yeah so then hand dragon crashes them and i was so excited cause it meant face reveal. Poor dude looked so in pain and then we find out kiki tried to effing murder him because of course she did. But like, i think killing your boss’s nephew is the WORST way to get a promotion tbh.

(Also i got confused for a bit cause his mask has always been drawn as a mask, but now it’s a helmet in this scene for whatever reason but-)

Anyways, face reveal, Like honestly ppl weren’t too far off with their guesses, really the only thing people didn’t get was the tooth gap (That was fair tho, we couldn’t have guessed that). But it did make him even cuter.

like the banter is funny, he licks her hand, she slaps him, he looks SO pissed at her for this mess.

and i guess that outfit is his under armor apparently.

He’s lucky she didn’t run away immediately and followed him, but maybe he assumed she would since she had no where else to go.

Also his expressions in this ep are glorious, these had to be fun to draw.

Also we find out that the coven team members have never seen his face i guess? They just assume he’s a silly kid and are awful to him, so i guess he’s not only the youngest member of the coven but he never really shows his face much.

(”Call your parents”, ha ha.....whose gonna tell them who his uncle is?)

He is however, REALLY good at parkour and he’s fast even without his staff, so he’s well trained alright.

And then they reveal he’s not magical and i was SO happy cause i was so sure something was up when he wasn’t doing magic like the other witches despite his pointy ears. So they outright confirmed what i thought.

Hunter is pretty smart tho, like he can tell luz wouldn’t hurt him and wouldn’t flee so he knows he has the high ground here. Like he might be being a bit of a dick, but to be fair luz has been nothing but a dick to him throughout the whole episode (Everyone in this episode has been a dick to him tbh)

They team up and i get excited cause i love this kinda stuff and it gets more wholesome because hunter is super interested in her magic, he thinks it’s cool and you can tell how much he actually loves wild magic but then again...shuts himself down because of belos making him fear the stuff.

An then because luz asks, he tells her his backstory.

honestly with how this world treats people who aren’t magically powerful, living and growing up in a world that would find you useless sounds....awful. Hunter must be an anomaly around here, human blood or not.

Luz coming here to learn is different then growing up in a world and being the only one with no abilities and no future without them. Belos provides him with magic and a future, it’s no wonder he stays with him despite everything.

the whole “Found me” thing is weird, cause belos implies they’re blood related and hunter makes it sound like belos semi-adopted him. Which....if he did i dunno why “Uncle” and not “Adopted dad”, but ok....guess that’s for later.

Apparently hunter is important for something tho with the “Titan has big plans for me” thing, not sure what, but-

But yeah as soon as Hunter talked about wanting to make his own future and Rascal tried to land on him i knew EXACTLY where this was going, it was so cuteeeeee. The lil birb wanted to be with hunter, that’s so wholesome.

And he’s so terrified because of belos and what wild magic did to him, the poor bab.

But yeah, luz then trusts him with his staff back, because again....impulsive. But hunter does actually ask if she’s sure, so he might as well be asking if she trusts him.

The plan goes ahead, and hunter nearly betrays her.

though granted, hunter never promised her he’d stop and let her take them away, the truce was supposed to last till kiki was stopped and they were gonna fight out who got the pailsman. But it does bother luz cause she was hopeful he was better then this.

But just like he did before, she calls him out and he doesn’t betray her, because he’s ALSO too nice to do it, just like he said she was. He says his name (Which also took a moment to process), and then beats the crap out of kiki while letting luz get away and protecting her like a badass.

He might not have magic, but he’s good at fighting

like he can easily teleport to luz and take the pailsman, but he doesn’t, he lets them get away and luz knows this. Even though she also knows hunter has to go back to the emperor too and they have to separate.

It’s only slightly bitter terms, because in the end he came through for her and she knows it.

honestly, the worst part is i can’t even be mad at hunter for it, i’m sure he was terrified to fail belos. Both because he loves him and doesn’t want him to suffer....but also because of well...being punished. Really says something when his near betrayal doesn’t even make me mad at him, and i can understand why he nearly did it.

He let her go, knowing he’d be in SERIOUS trouble and that it would hurt someone he actually loves, so....ouch.

so yeah at this point i knew rascal wanted him so it was only of matter of what happened next.

Which was, luz getting the wood, which i like more anyway. Eda and King doing this offscreen and coming home like this is actually very funny, and honestly i appreciate the message of it being ok to wait.....means a lot to me.

yeah so belos is like...being an ass, like the kid tried his hardest, you don’t need to hit him with the “Is this the thanks i get?”. He’s a kid and he’s trying to cure you you dick, give him a break he doesn’t remotely have to help you like this.

Also apparently belos has not even told hunter HOW this happened, like...dude. Hunter is trying to be entirely reasonable here and belos spikes at him, which does imply some physical abuse though the only reason hunter doesn’t get a new scar is because he moves.

but how he reacts implies this has happened before, he is bracing for impact and he flinches. It’s pretty sad tbh, especially since hunter loves him and belos’s respect means something to him.

Belos is such an idiot, like c’mon dude, hunter is trying to help you and you don’t listen to him you dick. Kid shouldn’t have to say sorry for anything he did nothing wrong, he was just trying to help.

Anyways, he gloats at kiki (So at the very least she knows what he looks like under the mask), which he deserves a chance to do anyway. So i guess he didn’t rat her out for trying to kill him, personally my guess why is blackmail.....he was gonna hold it over her head to keep her from doing it again and threaten to tell belos.

But kiki quickly tells he LET the pailsman get away since he was the one to fight her (Curse his cute loose hair strand). So i guess now they have dirt on each other, so that’s fun.

His room is adorable, though the med kit by the bed is concerning.

Rascal comes for him and it;s so cute....though you can tell hunter nearly hurts him on instinct because of force of habit, but it’s so cute how he cares and how the birb loves him and is his new staff.

it was well hinted to as well, it’s so subtle, but the bird being cheery, curious, and his constant habit of escaping boundaries was perfect for hunter. He represents what hunter wants to be and why they got matched is done so well, all without explaining anything.

Hunter indirectly stated his deepest wish, to make his own choices, and rascal resonated with that. 

can’t wait to see where this goes.

great ending shot, love me some conflicted shots looking out of windows like trapped birds.

also this title was a pun the whole time i can’t-

[lilyclawthorne]

Hunting Palismen Thoughts

y'all I absolutely loved this episode

oh we're JUMPING right in with day of unity stuff huh. we didn't go from 0 to 10 we started at 10.

anyways, starting off, this whole thing is fascinating to me. I mean this literally looks like a small human city. who are the worthy that get to live here according to belos. if its a unification of the realms, what happens to the humans? do they live here too? how does this affect society?? so many questions

kiki is pissed and im starting to predict that the reason Lilith, GG, and Kiki were all apart of the same slide in the title isn't because Lilith will slide backwards like some were worried about, but that all three of them are people who will have betrayed the emperor at some point

what the fuck is belos. the thumping/punching he made was in time with the beat of a heart. makes me think of the heart behind his throne and how are they connected.

UNCLE?? OUR FAMILY IS GONE BECAUSE OF WILD MAGIC??

TITLE CARD CHANGES AHHH

oh im so worried amity's not there because her mom's mad about her hair. that being said, some of the students here I assumed were a bit older (like jerbo and viney) and ed & em also aren't here. could potentially be that their parents didn't want any of them involved with this palismen adoption? or maybe im trying hard to be hopeful she's not in huge trouble over the hair

FREWIN!! this is the outcome for the little guy in Bump's head is better than anything I could've thought of. Aside from his legitimate use of helping Bump see, I am curious though if this is a bit of a "hidden in plain sight" kind of thing as well to protect the little guy.

PALISMAN ADOPTION DAY!! I WAS RIGHT!! I guessed the forest palismen would get adopted and I'm so glad about it.

I love Eda's blazer. She's trying to look professional. I love that this is what she planned on her favor from BQ being. Just to help out some young witches and some lost palismen. She cares so much 🥺

ok but if the unification of the realms does end up happening, I totally see Gus being an ambassador to the human realm.

There's a lot of attention of Luz here, and I'm just imagining how a similar situation might've gone down on the human realm. I don't blame her for getting anxious here, because I feel like in the past attention like this would've gone far worse at her school. I appreciate that most people here are just calm asking questions that are intended to help (except you Boscha) or Eda just checking in on her.

"I've read stories like this, the main character always has to return home" very interesting. seeing how this show has emphasized how life isn't like fiction.

Eda's just listening in like a mom concerned about her child

Tired Luz is adorable.

LMAO WHY IS GG WHISTLING THE THEME SONG

These two have such an insane amount of sibling energy I love it. This situation? Me and my brothers have done this way too many times.

uh so can a coven mark actually be removed?? since the EC one is also on the wrist but Lilith definitely hasn't been seen with anything there? that's kind of a relief since I was worried that since coven marks can help control magic that her still having one could be bad for her

It's not unsurprising that GG, as a powerless witch, would be interested in wild magic and Luz's glyphs. the kind of stuff you don't need a bile sac for. that kinda sucks he knows there's something out there he probably could use, but isn't allowed to do so

Hunter!! I don't need to do a name meaning here this one's obvious. Also, this boy's gonna crack and swap sides I can tell.

This is the most shit-eating grin I think I've ever seen on Eda. She's so proud of herself and she should be!

I also love this because we literally started this show with Luz helping Eda and King rob the conformatorium, and now we're at King and Eda robbing somewhere to do something special for Luz 🥺

Kiki and GG are so petty with each other, it's not just Kiki and Lilith. This is the whole workplace dynamic isn't it.

GG's room design definitely came from the Lilith bedroom design didn't it. Also I love the little Sprig plush!! I think that's a Big City Greens reference in there too but I've never watched that show.

I am very concerned about him and this palisman too. Not about him but just about Belos finding the palisman.

My one other thing I wanted to mention is I definitely feel like I'm seeing more and more disability metaphor in the show. If we see Eda's curse and her subsequent loss of a power as a disability, then GG/Hunter being born without magic could be considered a disability too. He's only been given access to one way of doing magic and it seems to limit him, he's being cut off from a different way of doing magic, the glyphs that Eda is learning, which clearly seem to be able to allow the user to do magic almost anywhere and could be more effective than Belos' artificial magic.

I'm also curious about Bump, he has the kind of palisman Belos wants to do away with, but it's not just a way to do magic for him. It's an aide for his vision. Belos' ideals would also be taking away something from him or other witches who may also be using their palismen as an aide.

[sepublic]

Analyzing Ordinary

I notice how she looks at me

But I pretend that I don’t see

It’s easier if I let the tension subside

           We’ve got Luz being willfully ignorant of Amity’s longing looks, no doubt because she doesn’t want to get her hopes up, as if Amity would be interested in someone like HER, because Luz still has her issues of self-loathing, of inadequacy… And combined with how much she thinks the world of her friends, she probably sees all of them as being too good for her! Not to mention letting the tension subside could allude to the idea of Luz letting Amity confront her feelings at her own pace, not to mention any reservations about falling in love because she doesn’t want Amity to reciprocate and get in trouble with her parents for it…

I’ve seen it in the books I read

A magic that you cannot see

There’s no limitations

They wear it with pride

But the characters I read never act or look like me

I can’t depend on them to lead me through the right door

           Luz has read about it in The Good Witch Azura, not just the idea of being in love, but no doubt a brave and defiant love against what others have to say, and against one’s self-doubts! But Luz not only doesn’t think of herself as being as cool or confident as Azura… But she also knows from firsthand experience that she can’t project her book’s fantasies onto real life, that it’s gotten her into trouble in the past and almost jeopardized relationships!

          Luz is afraid that maybe she’s just projecting her books onto her relationship with Amity, imagining romance where there isn’t, and is thus setting herself up for disappointment and possibly making Amity uncomfortable… And even if she SHOULD follow the books’ advice this one time, is Luz good enough to be like Azura, when she knows that in the end she isn’t? Not to mention ‘door’ could be a reference to the portal back home, and Luz feels like if she gets caught up in fantasy and/or following romance as the Azura books guide her to, she won’t ever go back to her ‘rightful place’ in the human world!

And what’s the point of falling when I know I’m only stalling

Cause I have to go back home

Where I’m just one in the herd

Tripping over my words

Trying hard to go with the grain

Keeping the quirks in my brain

           There’s the obvious allusion of Luz being resigned to the idea of going back to the human world, because as of now she hasn’t yet aired the idea of simply… staying behind in the Boiling Isles, because she feels beholden to her mother Camila, about whether or not she’d approve, not wanting to reject Camila –especially if Camila makes Luz choose- etc. Not to mention, there’s a pretty obvious reference to Luz being neurodivergent, but at the same time…

           I feel this could ALSO apply to ideas of classism, and the Blight Parents’ elitist attitudes! How Luz is probably telling herself that she isn’t good enough for someone of such higher social standing as Amity, someone who was born above her, has worked harder and has ‘proper’ magic… Luz knows her ‘real family’ is either with Camila, or with Eda and the others; It’s not amongst the upper echelons of the Boiling Isles hierarchy, where Amity lives. Luz doesn’t see herself as fitting in with Amity, and she doesn’t want to jeopardize Amity’s life by having the girl fall in love with a ‘commoner’ like her… Especially since Amity is so much more talented, right?

          Plus, Amity is aiming to join the Emperor’s Coven, while Luz is actively defying Belos and even fought and wounded him! What if they end up on opposite sides of this conflict, with opposing ideals and beliefs…? Luz doesn’t believe in the Coven System, so why fall for someone who’s going to help enforce it? Those are Amity’s beliefs, not her own… Luz has to stick up for what she knows and believes in, especially after what she and her friends have been through! Not that Amity can be personally blamed for choosing the Emperor’s Coven, but at the same time…

I’m on the brink of discovery I think

But what if I’m dreaming

That’s what it seems like

           There’s Luz, discovering her own self-worth, that she’s a lovable person… Discovering actual romantic love with someone she knows, discovering what Amity truly feels like deep down… But on the other hand, maybe she’s just projecting again, or being too wishful? Maybe it’s just like Adegast’s illusions.

Cause this girl thinks I’m part of her world

And that new territory’s scary

If I turn a handle

Am I asking for a scandal?

Should I try to be ordinary?

           ‘World’ could refer to the Boiling Isles, but it could also refer to Amity’s life in general and her social circles, etc. How Amity thinks Luz really is worth it and good enough for her, risking what her parents have to say! And sometimes Luz isn’t sure if she belongs in either the human world OR the Demon Realm… The idea of being in a romantic relationship is new and unusual to Luz, as is the idea of exploring a crush that could be reciprocated, but also rejected!

          Luz is also worried of the ‘scandal’ that will be caused, not just for the potential rift and embarrassment that will ensue if she’s wrong, but again, because she doesn’t want Amity to get in trouble with her parents for falling in love with a ‘lowly human’, a sentiment Luz may secretly, at least partially, agree with. So, should Luz try to be ‘ordinary’, stick with her own ‘level’ of people? Stop trying to project and fantasize and be realistic about the situation?

          Not to mention, Amity aims to be a part of the Emperor’s Coven Luz is so against… What if when trying to be with Amity and be good enough for her, Luz gets wrapped up in the Coven System, and falls for its propaganda and elitist ideals? She doesn’t like the Emperor’s Coven and doesn’t want to join it to be with Amity… Can Luz still love Amity while still being so distinctly her own, separate person from everything else that the Blight girl is and aims to be?

          And of course, handle… The ‘handle’ to a door, perhaps the portal leading to the demon realm? If Luz continues to stay in the Demon Realm, is she just asking for trouble? If she heads back to the human world, does she end up crushing Amity’s heart? And perhaps the ‘door’ isn’t referring to the portal, but simply the door to Amity’s own world in the Blight Manor.

mmBAAAAAAAAH!

           Classic Luz noise.

I’ve always been a little odd

The only pea inside the pod

That’s not an expression I’m guessin’

Oh well

           We have Luz not fitting in, not just back home, but also in the Boiling Isles as a human who can’t perform magic the conventional way, as an outsider to the Coven System, AND Luz also not being of the ‘upper caste’ that the Blights belong to. Only pea, only human, only child, etc. Luz is making up words and expressions, she’s always had a unique way of expressing herself, and if the current ways don’t do a sufficient job of capturing herself, then Luz will MAKE her own method of properly expressing who she is! Just as she found a way to do Magic without bile!

See that’s exactly what I mean!

I’m just as awkward as I seem!

Plus she makes me nervous

I hope she can’t tell

           Again, Luz’s self-loathing is coming back into play, she’s good at hiding her own insecurities at times, but in the end, while she’s learned and grown so much… Sometimes, the trauma of years of isolation still comes back to bite her. Not to mention, Luz remembering that she doesn’t fit in with Amity’s ‘people’, getting mad at herself for not living up to a certain standard imposed by either society or herself for her friends… Etc. Then we have Luz being nervous about all of the other stuff I’ve mentioned beforehand, and she doesn’t want Amity to notice, not just because having your feelings known is mortifying, but she also needs to be the girl’s ‘fearless champion’!

           Not to mention the allusions to Adventures in the Elements and how Luz acted then… Luz is nervous about messing up when she really DOES want another friend, romantic or otherwise! To Luz, she’s already messed up and hurt Amity’s feelings before, and after Amity gave her another chance when she didn’t have to, Luz doesn’t want to appear weak or make Amity doubt in her decision… She wants to validate Amity’s trust by being worthy of her love! Like, she knows the girl already had self-doubt issues already. This is the closest thing she has to a fresh start since the Abomination Incident and Luz wants it to be GOOD.

What is it she sees in this cluster clump of me

Or could it maybe be I’m going crazy?

           Once more we have Luz defaulting back to seeing herself as a freak and not being good enough for Amity, especially after all of the times Luz has blamed herself for hurting Amity’s feelings! She doesn’t want to hurt Amity, and that’s even assuming Amity is actually interested in her at all to begin with!

And hey who am I kidding?

This isn’t some sweet beginning

Just a detour to the end!

           Once more, we have Luz remembering she needs to go back to the human world/her place in society. None of this is permanent, she has other places she ‘belongs’ to, and it’s certainly not by Amity’s side, even if Amity is always welcome around her… This as far as Luz’s relationship with Amity will go, especially given what the Blight Parents have to say!

[Repeat]

Do I rewind? Induce amnesia?

Pretend I didn’t see her?

Succumb to stupid fear?

           We’ve got the obvious callback to Little Miss Perfect, which really ties up how Luz and Amity are two sides of the same coin, but are ALSO struggling with the same issues with coming forward, because they don’t see themselves as good enough for the other, wonder what the other sees in them, if they’re just delusional and/or projecting, not to mention their different places in society and how they’ll both go towards different directions… And it’s silly, these girls are afraid of the same thing and it just goes to show that they really need to believe in themselves more! But it’s also sad, because again, self-loathing. Then we have ‘stupid fear’, which could be a callback to Grometheus, with Luz not facing the challenge of being frank to Camila about where she truly feels at home, ergo she decides to instead just go along with what Camila says, rather than face her fears!

Or just believe in my heart?

Why play a part?

Why follow the herd?

Why not trust in my words?

Don’t wanna go with the grain!

Why try to make myself plain!

I’m on the brink of rediscovery I think!

So what if I’m dreaming?

I like the scene that I’m in!

           Finally, we have Luz practicing self-love and belief in herself! Why bother playing a part, in either the human world or the Coven System (especially since she already attacked Belos)?! She’s defying her previous doubts about where she ‘really’ belongs, because Luz belongs with those she loves and vice-versa, and no social class will stand in the way of that! And if Luz can trust in her words to cheer up and inspire others, if they can trust in what Luz has to say… Maybe she can finally take her own advice to heart for herself?

           So why bother? Why bother trying to stick to her place in society, why not stand out and reach a hand to where Amity is, not just to be with her, but to ALSO be a powerful Witch in her own right! Luz is rediscovering who she is, her placement in this world, her relationship back home and with her mother, her feelings towards Amity and vice-versa, magic in general… There’s so much more to do and explore, why go back on that now? She’s always been a curious soul!

           And so what if Luz is dreaming? Even if one needs to be wary of confusing dreams with reality, it’s important to still have SOME fantasies, that sometimes it’s not about being realistic or being pragmatic, or doing the ‘useful’ thing, it’s about pursuing who you want to be and being happy with it! That’s what Eda taught her, and we see how unhappy Willow was when trying to be in the Abomination Track with its ‘more opportunities’.

          Not to mention, this line could also be in defiance to how the Reality Check summer camp and others before have accused Luz of being delusional, of no doubt being too much in her head and hyper-fixations… But what’s wrong with that, really? What’s wrong with being neurodivergent, and passionate into one’s interests? Luz likes the Boiling Isles, she likes her friendship with Amity, she likes who she is and she doesn’t care what others have to say! If she can defy Belos, she can defy the Blight Parents!

And this girl is a part of this world

The thought of being normal’s far more scary

I’ll be brave and I’ll be kind

I’ll make a choice and change my mind

I will mess up all the time

They’ll say I’m weird but I’ll be fine

I’ll be anything but ordinary!

           Once more, Luz sees Amity is not just a part of the Boiling Isles, but a part of the found family she feels happy and accepted in! After seeing what conformity has done to others, after witnessing what it was like back home, the idea of losing all that is too much for Luz! Luz will be brave, not just for others but for herself, she’ll be her OWN fearless champion!

          She’ll make a decision and change her mind on herself as a lowly person who isn’t worth it, as someone who needs to go back to the human world… Plus, Amity’s ‘world’ could also be her place with the Blight Parents and the Emperor’s Coven, which Luz KNOWS is toxic for her, and she’s seen what it does to others- So if she’s so against the system for this, why not go in and try to save Amity from it as well?

          Amity being brainwashed like your typical EC witch is far scarier than any pain of rejection that Luz may have; She needs to do this for Amity, too! Being in subservience to her parents and/or Belos is NOT something Amity deserves, and as her fearless champion, Luz will protect Amity!

           And Luz knows she’ll make mistakes. She knows she’ll ‘mess up’ in the sense that she’s neurodivergent, that she won’t be doing things the proper way for either world she’s a part of… That things will be messy, that she’ll do the ‘impractical’ thing and go by her emotions, instead of just being ‘smart’ and keeping her head down, and not defying the natural order or whatever.

           She’ll make mistakes, and that’s okay, Luz isn’t a terrible person just because she isn’t perfect, that yes she HAS hurt Amity in the past, but that doesn’t mean she can’t make a change, especially not when she’s already done so much for Amity otherwise, especially not when even someone like Lilith can begin making amends! Not to mention, mistakes are an outlet for learning… Luz is learning not to be overly-critical of herself, as she was no doubt taught by a school system that punished her neurodivergence.

           Luz knows that she’ll never be ‘perfect’, that even if she does improve herself, she’ll still screw up here or there in her relationships and whatnot… But if she can be forgiving of the mistakes of others, why not her own? Especially when others feel the same! And others may say she’s weird, but you know what? Considering others’ ideas of what conformity means, maybe that’s a good thing!

          And Luz has always known that her rightful place wasn’t with ‘the herd’, but with her own weird, outcast group of weirdoes! It’s who she really is, and being weird is Luz embracing herself and her identity! Quite frankly… She’ll be anything but ordinary, because whatever she is, whatever the potential she has, and there’s SO MUCH of it…

          It’s definitely not going to be the person she used to be, or who others wanted to be! And even if Amity doesn’t reciprocate her romantic feelings, well. Luz still learned to defy a ‘natural order’ in the end, as she always will! She’ll still be friends with Amity. And she’ll still be someone who can believe in herself, so why not? Why NOT give it a try?

[k-laconia-bug1]

Siblings Reunited

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things to know before reading this! 1. Luz is the same age as hunter (16) so her and Lance year apart 2. Luz and Lance are Altean 3. Luz went to the garrison but was asleep during shiro rescue therfore was not there for voltron 4. Luz and Lance eyes are the same blue as Allura 5. Allura is Lance and Luz older sister 6. Lance & Luz were adopted and has younger siblings 7. Hunter hangs out regularly at the owl house and gives them information on Belos 8. The demon realm is a planet 9. I used Google translate for Spanish 10. I didn't go to the wiki to see all of lances family's names or how big it is so all names mention is made up, also sorry if there oc haven't binged watched the shows for awhile

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Voltron had just landed in a clearing near the owl house to get more supplies when Lance and Hunk heared a voice they recognized. Hunk turned to look at Lance who had teary eyes, started to run towards her voice leaving other members of Voltron confused and started to run after Lance, everyone but Hunk yelled "Lance wait!"

------------Owl house------------

Luz was teaching hunter Glyphs when she heard people yelling everyone hanging out at the owl house turned toward the sound When suddenly someone she recognized the person that was the reason for being a witch to find them. Twin bright blue eyes froze when met it was like time had stopped Eda confused with a quirked eyebrows her hand on her hip and a finger pointed towards Lance and the member of voltron "So uh you recognize those guys Luz they look human ears are round and everything"

After Eda broke the silence both Lance and Luz ran towards each other crying

"Hermano mayor!" "Hermanita" Lance picked up Luz in a hug twirling her around after a few moments he set her down "Hermanita What are you doing on this planet? Luz wiping her tears away glared at Lance weakly punching his chest "Learning Magic to find you ya big Jerk! Where were you! You know how devastated I was!"

"I know I know.. and I'm sorry Estrella fugaz" he paused for a moment before his eyes harden

"wait how did you get here?" Lance questions

Luz laughs nervously "wellll...I may or may not have gone through a magic door to get my book and..umm ... I decided to learn magic to help me find you.. I also may or may not have destroyed my only way home to save Eda...." King looks around and speaks up "So your Luz Brother?" Luz looking over and blushed embarrassed realizing it wasn't just her brother and Eda infront of the owl house looking at the many confused and curious faces "yeah king his my older brother and big guy in yellow is Hunk and I believe the guy in red is Keith?" Luz pauses thinks for moment. Wanting to take a little sibling revenge on Lance for making her worry and leaving without her that night takes the moment to embarrass her big bro "yeah I'm pretty sure that's Keith Lance wouldn't shut up about how pretty his eyes were or about his stupid mullet!" Both Keith and Lance's face turn to a brilliant shade of red, redder then Eda dress or Keith's lion. "What the hongos taki was that for! LUZ!" Lance screamed embarrassed Luz smiling a bright devilish smile "well that was for worrying me so much" Pidge looked over at Keith who was a frozen in place blushing red still shared look with Hunk a sole promise to tell Luz about the 'Bonding moment' that Lance swears up and down didn't happen and make her a member of the Klance shippers club they already had alot of memebers through out the galaxy not to mention everyone in Voltron Shipped it.

Meanwhile Eda shared a look at the owl house gang that says they just gained memebers of Lunter shippers club.

▪︎▪︎▪︎●●●▪︎▪︎le time skip▪︎▪︎●●●▪︎▪︎▪︎

Everyone at a campfire and trading stories about there the siblings childhood or what happen while they were gone and finished teasing each other Lance gained a serious look "Luz I have something to tell you.. you might get upser but you deserve to know" the owlhouse memebers gained a look of concern and Luz a look or worry with hunter rubbing encouraging circles on her back "soo what is it?" Lance nervous looks down breaths in looks up and rips the metaphorical bandaid off "were not human we were born Altean we're Princess Alluras little siblings our escape pods were lost in space for some time before it crash landed near mom an dad's old house due to natural instinct were shifted to a more human form" Lance who had shifted to his Altean form now sported Snow white Hair and Blue Altean Marks and eyes were a shade brighter and ears shifted to look like a witches ears but somewhat longer watching and freckles to take on a little glimmer to them. Lance Shifting caused her Natural ability to shift to trigger as well by the end of Lance sentence now looked similar to her brother hers ears now look exactly like her brothers Eyes gained the same shade as her brother's just turned to freckles glimmered a bit brighter then her brothers and Altean Marks were Pink not blue and Hair turned the same snow white as her brothers but hers grew down a little and Hair turned a more fluffy

All things considered was taking it quite well although not realizing she shifted and everyone looking at her amazed at just how much she looked like her brother Hunter who was still next to her was blushing bright red and couldn't help but think she look so much more beautiful in her Natural form not that he didn't think she wasn't beautiful before she just seem to look more comfortable and shine.

Luz who was looking down looked back up " I knew we were adopted but.. I didn't think we were... alien" Lance who was smiling fondly at his sisters Shifting into her Natural form without her noticing he noticed she already looked more comfortable his Mama would always comment how they never completely relaxed she would always try to get them to relax too spa days, movie nights the works it wasn't just they're Mama either it was the whole family that would try smiling at the thought if Mama and His Siblings were to see how they look now the twins Hugo and Hannah would probably grab onto there ears there older sister Cana would ruffle there hair jealous and amazed at how fluffy and soft it is his second oldest sister Marie would absolutely be inlove with how shiny there freckles are marveled at how they look like constellation in the sky like the astrologist she is there older brother Coco or Cole Much like Cana ruffle our hair and demand that we grow it out like his was Bonnie wouldn't care at all just demand they teach her stuff about space and the possible sea creatures they saw she was always giddy to learn new things from her older brothers and sisters Connie the youngest of all his siblings was just a baby probably out of the baby babble stage Hinata should be in his first year of High school he would just cling to us demand that we play a few rounds of volleyball with him on the beach I wonder if he made his high-school tean? I also wonder if the other set of twins in the family Derek and Danna got Captin and Co captain in there schools swim team or if there cousin they were closest too Marinette finally got her name in the fashion industry "your thinking about them aren't you?" Luz spoke with sense of knowing and understanding "yeah I was thinking on how they would react to our charming~ good looks!" Everyone smiles at that sentence "we should get to bed soon though I know how cranky you get Luz" Luz deadpan and looks at him "your the same exact way how many times did Coco get bruised by a pillow from you throwing it?" Lance's eye twitched "well I'm not the one that gave Marie the black eye with the soft dog toy" Hunter speakes up "How do you do that!?" Lance and Luz both look over at Hunter and talks in unison "each don't really know we always been a bit stronger then normal maybe it was from helping Auntie Sabine and Uncle Tom around the Bakery?"

With that the Siblings that could pass for twins went back to arguing ... few days later Both Hunter and Keith got Shovel talks by their crushes younger/older sibling

Luz had met Allura and loved just as much as she does the rest of her family while also demanding to know Altean Anatomy she doesn't want some kind of nasty surprise

▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎▪︎

Hermano mayor—Big/Eldest brother

Hermanita— Sister

Estrella fugaz—Shooting Star

hongos taki—Taki Mushrooms

[creacherkeeper]

Welcome to the tOH fandom!! What do you think of ADHD! Luz (and maybe Eda too!) and autistic!Amity (and maybe Lilith as well)?

thank you!! okay listen this show is so so good for ND headcanons WEIRDOS GOTTA STICK TOGETHER and im like *cries* yea 

adhd luz is great. i love it. she’s eager and never runs out of energy, strong emotions & very expressive, can definitely act immature for her age (i saw something saying she’s 14 but idk if thats canon?), has a hyperfixation on learning magic & her azura books. her inability to choose a magic track i would argue could be read as indecisiveness or decision paralysis. and sometimes her own feelings cause her to miss cues from others (like with eda, amity, & king at the carnival). even the way she has to learn magic works as a metaphor - the way other people learn doesnt work for her so she has to adapt and have accommodations (something to draw on). we also see a few instances that suggest she’s not good at reading how trustworthy people are 

im totally down for adhd eda but i think i like autistic eda better. she has unusual style (the ripped dress, big earrings, gold tooth - not to mention the times she puts on ‘human fashion’). her speaking voice is unusual too, but is often at a flat effect (absolutely not a dig at the actress i’ve had a crush on her since i was like 9). special interest in owls & weird human objects. learns differently & thinks outside the box, but is still extremely gifted as a witch, she just has to do things her own way. uneven motor skills - very powerful witch & good at sports but also like, just fumbles her staff all the time. seems to get along better with demons (king, hooty, and i’ll count owlbert here too) over other humanoids. did NOT fit in at school. has trouble connecting to and empathizing with people, often says rude things whether she means to or not. tends to show affection through gestures (training, making the cloak) over words or physical affection. does NOT understand why she should have to follow the rules (school, witchcraft, society at large) because they seem arbitrary to her 

also - not an nd headcanon and FAR from a perfect metaphor - but my chronically ill ass was just sitting there like 8O SHE HAS TO TAKE HER MEDS OR SHE’LL GO INTO A FLARE and i was just pretty excited about that 

jury is still out on lilith for me. i can see autistic lilith though. she’s got flat effect, dulled emotional expression, gifted in her craft, trouble seeing eda’s pov, seems to be low empathy, and from what we see may be fairly gullible. i need to see more screen time from her before i make it an Official Headcanon though. 100% up to hearing other peoples arguments about this 

amity is a little harder for me but here’s my headcanon (cw child abuse) 

she very well could be autistic. i didnt get a strong Vibe from her one way or the other. but her behavior, to me at least, seems to line up a lot more strongly with childhood trauma. specifically parental abuse. granted we haven’t seen much of her parents yet, but that’s the vibe i got and i’ll explain why 

amity is extremely driven and perfectionistic, but it does not seem like she’s self-motivated. it seems like she’s trying to live up to her parents high and strict expectations of her. she wants to be friends with willow, and then later luz, but she can only keep the friends her parents deem are worthy - theyre controlling of her social interactions far more than is normal. she has very low tolerance for her own mistakes, and gets extremely upset when she’s embarrassed or gets into trouble. to me that’s a thing a kid learns at home - mistakes are a big deal (and could be punished in some manner). she’s very awkward at trying to make real friends, which makes me think she doesnt have good role models & her emotional development was not prioritized. in the beginning we see her bully people and gee wonder where she learned that. when she’s training, it’s not her parents or even lilith who are training her - its her older siblings who she doesnt get along with and dont even seem to be on the same track as her? so even though expectations for her as a witch are extremely high, the actual adults are neglecting to help her 

when both lilith and eda cheat at the covention duel - amity doesn’t get upset at lilith. she gets upset at luz who is not an adult and is an easy target. lilith and eda are really the ones that embarrassed her, but she doesn’t feel she can get angry at either of them and takes out her emotions lower in the pecking order. we also see that she quit grudgby forever because she accidentally hurt her teammates - which makes me think her anxiety & guilt in general is pretty high. when she does decide luz is cool, she gets Very Attached Very Fast which can definitely be a trauma thing - here is a Safe Person i am now incredibly invested in. when they go into willow’s memories, she’ll do anything to keep luz from seeing how she hurt willow, probably because she’s afraid luz will be disappointed in her (and what? abandon her for not being perfect?) and even her parents in the memory are just shadowy figures and not real people. her biggest fear (which, yes cute gay stuff was happening) is being rejected, which makes me think besides the grom there is an actual threat of that in her life

so ALL IN ALL yes some of these things overlap with autism & i definitely wouldnt argue against an autism headcanon, but to me this just is so strongly childhood trauma stuff that i personally wouldnt hc autism until i know more 

also LITERALLY ALL THE CHARACTERS ARE ND thank you for coming to my ted talk good day 

[yourpakichic]

Episode 19 thoughts

- I love the boys vs. girls scenes! The similarly layered conversations that occur are an absolute delite to watch!

- Engin making Serkan PANIC over Eda finding another man! Like he really didn’t think so until at this point! But also, Melo trying to make her eniste really panic!

- Selin really trying to play house with Serkan.... *eye roll*

- Their individual monologues caused me pain. They want each other so bad. To only be each other’s. To only look and smile at each other. And yet, those words only remain in their hearts, unable to find escape into this world, held back by the circumstances they are currently entangled in. As true and bright as the day but hidden in the darkness of the night deep within their hearts.

- AIDAN PLAYING CUPID FOR EDSER? I begged for this and I’m actually receiving it? I’m shook.

- Ferit suspecting Efe? I was taken back by it, didn’t see that coming!

- KIDS IN LOVE, they are literal children in love! Their sarcastic responses give me life!

- The tension at that breakfast table would cause me so much anxiety!

- HE CUT THE BREAD FOR HER OUT OF HABIT....I literally can’t deal with them! They cause me too much pain!

- He’s gonna name that horse Eda. I just know it. And I’m gonna fall to pieces.

- My heart broke for Aidan after listening to the story. Her guilt toward the loss of her elder son was so strong and powerful that it caged her in her home. A mother’s pain is incomparable. It’s understandable how Aidan may have blamed herself for being missing in her son’s life and why she tries to be involved in Serkan’s. She wants to be involved and stay connected with her Serkan in a way she wasn’t able to for his brother. But by sending Serkan away at a young age by himself, she distanced herself from him. It’s not his fault he doesn’t trust anyone because the two people who he was supposed to trust in life abandoned him in trying to deal with their own pain while neglecting his needs. I’m not blaming Aidan/Alptekin because it’s his easy to judge from the outside. It’s such a deep and realistic way that these characters represent the dynamics and struggles of a traumatic event and the aftermath. Serkan’s inability to trust and fear of abandonment is real and justified based on his past. Aidan’s fear of leaving the house is justified due to the circumstances in which Alp died. Alptekin’s strictness toward Serkan can be explained by the fact that he lost his elder son (who he clearly named after himself) due to an illness and he fears he might lose Serkan too. Which also makes me think, did Serkan really have an illness in the past? I means he’s a bit of a hypochondriac but I’m thinking maybe just because of his brothers illness, Serkan got conditioned to thinking and living a certain healthy way to protect himself.

- I’m glad Aidan told Eda this because I think it might make Eda open her eyes a bit more. I’m not expecting Eda to forgive and forget but I think it might explain to her why Serkan is the way he is.

- If you ask me, Serkan was pretty fair in asking Efe to claim his mistake in front of the team. Serkan built and has lead this team to such a great standard and Efe ruined that in minutes. They rightfully deserved an apology. And Engin being pissed and backing up Serkan as the BEST FRIEND HE IS.

- Serkan being honest about his feelings and wanting to improve things with Eda was such a good thing to see. It may have taken him some time to get there but I’m glad that he’s come to terms with the fact that he can’t be without her. More so, he doesn’t want her to be with anyone else. Serkan is hopeful about their relationship and I think that’s the first time since their breakup. He isn’t trying to convince himself or anyone that they are over with completely. And I think what Engin said really resonated with him. If they can overcome the truth, it’s true love. If not, it’s over.

- His seriousness went out the window as soon as he realized the flowers were for Eda, HAHAHAH! He said burn the flowers! He’s such an idiot

- HE REALLY DRAGGED HER FROM THE CHAIR, I’M DEAD! freaking children behavior!

- Serkan is really trying to keep the truth from reaching Eda from anyone but him but everything really seems to be going against him! Let me tell you, my heart broke when Serkan mentioned his fathers mistake taking away Eda from him. He cannot catch a break!

- Aidan burning Alptekin’s clothes was so funny!

- Why is Selin trying to dig! Let my man Serkan handle this!

- Efe doesn’t know.... did I read that scene right?

- He’s gonna record their conversation! EFE, YOU SNAKE!

- SO IT IS THE GRANDMOTHER AMD SHE DID SENT EFE FOR REVENGE. But it seems like she wasn’t sure but sent Efe to investigate. She’s gonna use that recording to kill Serkan’s career! IT IS GOING TO BE NON-STOP DRAMA.

- Eda making Serkan jealous like that was hilarious! She really created a whole jealousy scene with that man!

- Eda and Aidan play off each other so well at this dinner, it’s hilarious! The way they are setting these ladies straight!

- The way his eyes lit up when she said she’s in love with him still! It’s like he can’t actually believe that! Idk but I found it weird how Eda didn’t want to even listen to Serkan as he tried to talk to her. I mean up until now, all she’s wanted is for him to talk and open up and now that he’s spent the whole day trying to do so, she just ignored his calls or runs away when the opportunity is there. It’s so not like Eda! I get that she’s given him chances before and he’s missed them and she probably doesn’t want to waste any more time giving him empty chances but I feel like Eda used to understand Serkan’s tone and words but it’s like... she just doesn’t recognize in his tone how much he really wants to talk to her. It seems like a character downplay to me for Eda.

- I’m not that invested in Ferit/Ceren, but that was cute, mostly because I want Ceren to be happy! But I swear, this whole Selin/Ferit crap ruins everything! My girl Ceren deserves better!

- He loves her so much, he’s just playing along with her! He’s so in love with her!he really just said have fun, but don’t dance with anyone! And THAT CONFESSION. He said everything with his whole chest. And she didn’t hear! They will be the death of me!

- He took the bottle! Lol bruh, you gonna need at least 2 bottles to get over this mess!

- Selin really trying to come on to Serkan while he’s drunk and he just straight up says, I need Eda. How does she not get the message!

- YES CEREN! YOU TELL HIM GIRL! I mean for real, what did he expect! But I will say I appreciate that Ferit was honest and didn’t lead Ceren on any further and just came out with it.

- HE IS SO DRUNK, I LOVE IT! Eda is fascinated by his drunk state, he’s so cute, she can’t help but melt! That was such a cute way of involving the title of the show! And that scene is sooo cute!

- Her carrying him up the stairs and complaining that he’s heavy. Him being wasted out of his mind and saying off the wall stuff. I LIVED FOR THIS SCENE. PURE COMDEY. PURE EDSER. I WANT MORE.

- THE SHOWER SCENE. That’s it? That’s all we get? I’M SOOO PISSED! The trailer made it seem like such a scene and then they give us this? The frack? That is unacceptable! That was such a wasted opportunity! THEY WOULD’VE KILLED THAT SCENE! AND HONESTLY IT WOULD’VE SAVED THE EPISODE! Ughhhhhhhhhh

- AHHHH SHIT! She got her hands on Eda’s family, that’s it. It’s over.

- See what I mean. Somehow, Eda didn’t understand Serkan. Serkan never really had a good way of putting with words but Eda understood and didn’t completely twist it around. I honestly think Eda’s jealousy of Selin really makes her so paranoid that she’s able to twist around to justify her insecurity in regards to Selin. Which I just don’t get. I mean Eda did have that kind of dynamic with Selin but she was never super jealous or anything. She always had a way fighting back against Selin and still being confident. I just can’t seem to understand where all of the sudden, it’s turned into this.

- It’s out. The secret is out. But definitely not how it should have been. It should not have been from Selin. Selin seems remorseful about it but I don’t buy it. And Serkan looks like his whole world just shattered. And bless Eda. She’s about to really go through it. The last scene was sooooo well acted! I loved the tension, the angst, the anger!

- One thing that I really need to see happen is Eda/Serkan working on their communication skills. Because they suck at it. They are both indirect and never really say what they want and mean straight up. Since the beginning both of them expect each other to understand with signs or by indirect words and it was cute at first but now it’s annoying. Like two people in love should be able to tell each other anything and SHOULD tell each other everything as it is, free from judgement. I don’t want an argument and then they make up in one of their houses. I want them to talk out their issues, their perspectives! Because both of them have quite opposite views and beliefs so it’s very important for them to say everything out loud to each other. Otherwise, their chemistry and relationship is just gonna be for a show and not hold real value and show and realistic aspect to it.

Overall: A really good episode even though some parts did feel lagged. So the big explosion (one of them) has happened. Now we wait to see the aftermath. Honestly at first I used to think that I would know how certain characters would react but now I don’t know. It’s not easy to say where they will take the characters or the storyline so we’ll see! Tbh, Hande and Kerem are really carrying this show with their scenes and acting so I would love to see them get justice with their scenes! The show at some parts feels like random and misplaced but it’s still enjoyable! Like there’s no need for all these side character storylines right now, like give Eda/Serkan their full scenes in full cut and let it play out! Once everything is more wrapped up, you can add the side storylines! It’s still an enjoyable and fun show and definitely makes me laugh and keep me on the edge of my seat but there’s just some moments when the magic seems missing!

[monkeymindscream]

I am so happy to see another intellectual who loves warden wrath. You do the best headcanons got any on our fav bird man?

If I like a character even a smidge it means I have headcanons.

This post has made me latch on to the idea that Wrath and Braxus are related somehow. Is he their uncle? Single dad? Heck, considering Bump talked about how he still had 300 years until retirement we don’t know how long the life expectancy is for Isle residents - he could be their older brother even. Whatever the relation though he positively adores them. He might be the feared Warden Wrath to the rest of the Isles, but to Braxus he’s the guy who’ll pick them up and spin them in circles until neither of them can walk straight just because they ask him too. Or who’ll act properly outraged when they tell him about how one of their stuffed animals said something mean to another.

To likely no one’s surprise, Wrath is kind of a control freak, bordering on a minor neurosis. Combine this with living in a society that demands a certain level of conformity at all times (thanks, coven system) and add a spoonful of self-righteousness, and you get a guy locking innocent people up for non-offenses, all the while convinced that they deserve whatever suffering he inflicts. 

Mixing with the slight neurosis, the fact that he wears a plague doctor mask and is horrified at Eda blowing raspberries directly in his face (”Don’t you know how many germs are in your mouth?!”) isn’t a coincidence. 

Moreover, Wrath has always been kind of introverted, particularly as a child. If there’s any other super introverted kids in the audience who could corroborate this experience that’d be swell, but you know that feeling where like. You want to spend time with a group and interact with people, but you’re desperately uninterested in whatever they’re going out to do? Buuuut everybody else thinks it’s a great idea, so you end up getting left behind while everyone else has fun? And you can’t actually say anything about it, because “well if you wanted to hang out why didn’t you just come with??” Yeah. That’s pretty much Wrath’s whole childhood. Which plays a part in his “the only right way is MY way!” -mentality he has as an adult. It’s a coping mech he picked up when everyone else was making him feel like the weird one for not wanting to go do super social things.

Additionally, this also plays a part in his crush on Eda. I mean y’know, besides the fact that she’s- well. Eda, and honestly who doesn’t have a crush on her? But look: Eda is outgoing and daring and wild, and pretty much everything he was never really able to experience in his life because of his own hang-ups. So I guess you could argue that a big part of his crush stems from him loving the idea of Eda, but then to be fair crushes are never really all that deep-rooted anyway. That’s what makes them crushes.

Wrath’s... methods for trying to woo Eda aren’t actually that awful. By the Isle’s standards, at least. This is a society where a high school student asked another to a dance with an actual heart. And she accepted. Really the only thing that knocked Wrath’s attempt into “c’mon dude that’s not cool” territory is that it was designed from the beginning to not leave her much of a choice but to say yes to him. Robbery and disfigurement is fine if done tastefully, but genuine consent should always be the priority! Come on Wrathy this is common knowledge - what are you, a middle schooler??

He tries to play it off like he’s happy that Eda’s gonna be petrified in Young Blood, Old Souls, but he was honestly just as conflicted as the rest of Bonesburrow. But his bosses are literally right there, and he can’t let them know that he’s kinda crushing on a notorious criminal. Soo okay guess it’s time to take his feelings and stuff them down to the bottoms of his feet and hope he forgets about them, ha ha ha...

That said, he was genuinely happy at the thought of getting revenge on Luz. Having fireworks go off in his mouth was actually agonizing. He literally only just got over the sore throat that left him with. Not to mention it’s because of her that his previously spotless reputation of holding prisoners had been ruined. So he’s a little bitter about that.

Speaking of the aftermath of Luz’s firework show, his goons made him lots of tea to try to help his throat. They care about him, at least.

That’s all I got off the top of my head. Hope they fit the bill!