#its time to own up to your lies disney

[thee-horny-thicky]

Do you mind if I ask your top 10 favorite characters (can be male or female) from all of the media that you loved (can be anime/manga, books, movies or tv series)? And why do you love them? Sorry if you've answered this question before.....Thanks...

Okay, so, technically, Satoru and Suguru are two different characters, but they're canon parallels to each other, two halves of a duo. When that stopped being the case, a chasm was created and their worlds shifted. Their relationship is a major part of both characters stories, so separating them is difficult.

It isn't hard to guess that I love them. They're complex characters, and both serve as a cornerstone of JJK. It's impossible to imagine the series without either one of them, and their respective ideologies and the reasons behind them can be essay material. (I know because I've written one for school)

Bella Goth is an iconic Sims character. She's a baddie, and has some of the most intriguing lore of the game. I think it's a shame the Sims 4 slacked up on the storylines of the townies, because even though I've never owned the original game or Sims 2, the lore of the first two games is compelling. I have fond memories of her, often revolving me breaking up her marriage, and protecting her from those mean, scary aliens.

I was six when this movie came out, and my mother took my sisters and I to see it in the theater. That first watch is something I'd never forget, and even though I was upset that my older sister stole my snacks, the magic of the movie overrode it all. To see a princess movie set in New Orleans endeared it to my entire family, and the fact that she's the first and only Black princess gives Tiana a special place in my heart. She's hardworking, ambitious, and persistent. Not to mention, she's a baddie.

Her and Naveen's love story is one of my favorites, and I adore the fact she showed you can have a loving husband and a prosperous career. She's an independent woman, but can still accept love.

Speaking of....

The original Disney baddie, (argue with your mama), and the first to spark my interest in martial arts. I thought she was so cool, and seeing her growth always puts a smile on my face. When she sat on the top of that pole, I was so proud of her. She started out headstrong and determined, and more honorable than most of the men around her. The crowd bowing to her was exactly what she deserved, and her Father giving her her props was such a sweet moment to me.

As a side note, she deserved better than Li Shang. I fully subscribe to the theory that Li is bisexual and developed an attraction towards Ping. I love the hypothetical queer representation, even if he ends up in a straight relationship. What I don't love is how he left her to die. He tried to pose it as an act of mercy, showing his gratitude for her heroic actions, but he still left her on a freezing mountainside in barely anything. Then, when she escaped and tried to warn him, he refused to give her the time of day. Put short, he was raggedy.

Saiki is one of my favorite anime protagonists. The way the anime pokes fun at tropes is so funny, and Saiki being done with the world around him is a mood, as is his fear of bugs. Anime is riddled with all powerful characters, and a lot of the time, they have a copy and paste personality. Seeing Saiki longing to be normal, (to the point of stalking someone who's scarily average), whilst also being over reliant on his powers and being comedically apathetic is a nice change of pace. It also makes him surprisingly complex. Though this is a theory and not canon, he's great ace representation. He's content with having no romantic partner, and I like how he grows to deal with having friends without having a sudden interest in romance.

Another good example of Ace representation, in my humble bisexual opinion, is Barbie. She shows that friendship and sisterhood can be fulfilling on its own, without any need for a romantic relationship.

Now, I don't think the Barbie movie is as revolutionary as people made it out to be. It was feminism 101, with the core message being the patriarchy oppresses women, and grossly limits men. A message that's still controversial in 2024, but not one we haven't heard before.

Still, it was an incredibly fun movie, and Barbie was a great heroine. The moment she chose the high heel over the Birkenstock, I knew I'd love her, and I was right.

I love Avatar: The Last Airbender. It was so ahead of its time, and is an example of how complex 'kid' shows can be. It's pretty hard for me to pick a favorite character, but if I was forced to choose, I'd say Uncle Iroh.

Long ago, I saw a comment about how if there was a character that embodied the pleasant warmth of a fire place or cackling campfire, it'd be Uncle Iroh. I completely agree. He's the perfect mentor, standing in Zuko's corner no matter what he wanted to do, while subtly guiding him down the right path. He also wasn't blind to his nephew's flaws, but never addressed them in a way that made Zuko feel unwanted. Even after being backstabbed, he was simply sad that Zuko lost his way.

We don't see his character arc on screen, but we know he underwent an incredible transformation, going from a fearsome Fire Nation general, to a humble old man reflective about life, though he can still kick ass if needed.

Leaves From The Vine still makes me feel mushy and teary-eyed. It's bittersweet knowing that losing his son was the catalyst for him to become the character we see, and the reason he's so dedicated to Zuko. He's trying to prevent him from suffering the same fate, and right a wrong that's haunted him for so long. Learning that the tears in Iroh's voice was genuine, because that was one of the final things Mako Iwamatsu recorded before passing, made me want to curl up in bed. He brought the character to life, and is one reason he's so iconic.

Finally, Mr. Shouta Aizawa's fine ass. Now, besides just being fine, I love him for many of the reasons I love Iroh. He's nowhere as cheerful and warm as Uncle Iroh, but he takes his role as a teacher and mentor seriously. He stands in his students corner no matter what, and has shown time and time again that he'd give his life for them. Furthermore, he isn't a hero for fame or recognition, but because he believes it's the right thing to do. He knows the society he lives in is flawed, and tries to right U.A's quirk prejudice system by mentoring Hitoshi.

One might not peg him as it, but he's a very parental character. It's shown with his students, with Hitoshi, and most especially Eri. He's dedicated to guiding the next generation to achieve their fullest potential. Plus, his quirk is cool as hell, and he can throw hands.

Bonus:

Anya Forger and Nezuko, because they make me reconsider my stance on children. They're so cute, and highlights of their respective shows. And I love how Anya is shown to be childishly intelligent. It's due to her powers, but still.

TF141 also gains an honorable mention, especially my baby girl Ghost. Despite being the most secretive character of the task force, we have the most information on his background, and I love his fruity friendship with Johnny. Likewise, I love the mentor relationship Gaz and Price have. On a hornier note, I wish there were more threesome fics with Gaz and Price taking a lucky lady to Pound Town. All and all, these four awful people are my favorite pieces of military propaganda.

[musicoftheheart]

i am not in a Positive Mood atm and so i will be picking a bone with disney because there is one song that has frustrated me since the day i heard it and i vow here and now that one day i will rewrite it and that song is My Once Upon A Time from descendants 3

for context, the song comes right after all of mal's closest friends and her fiance have just been turned to stone. unless she can find a way to turn them back, they are - for all intents and purposes - dead, essentially. and, as she says in the song, its her fault. i dont 100% agree with that, but its not the bit i want to pick at

no, what id like to rant about is the fact that the whole song - the whole song - is her talking about how she needs to fix it because its not how she wants to be remembered. what?! im sorry, her friends have been turned to stone and shes concerned about whether she'll be portrayed as a hero in history books? what the fuck.

allow me to point to a song that achieved exactly what mouat shouldve: the next right thing, from frozen 2. in this song, anna learns her sister is dead, because olaf (who's life relies on elsa) dies in her arms. anna's song shows how she picks herself back up, not for herself but because she has people relying on her who need her. because its the right thing to do. not because she wants to be seen as a saviour, but because she wants to save the lives of everyone still in danger. shes already lost her sister, she doesnt want to lose her kingdom, her people, too.

tnrt in frozen 2 was an impactful and emotional moment. mouat in d3 showed mal brushing off the fact her friends were gone and instead focused on her reputation. and i get it - i get that the whole point of the descendants trilogy was that you get to write your own story, and that nobody is wholly good or bad, and that youre in control of your own decisions and whether they help or hurt - but this should be a moment of pure emotion for mal as she recognises how her own actions have led to the loss of her friends, but that she has to carry on if she ever wants a chance to save them; to save everyone. it should not be focused on her being good for the sake of reputation

and, to add to this, im fully aware that throughout the three movies, we see how mal values other people's perception of her, especially so at the start of d2, and then again at the start of d3 both as her role as future queen, and when she doesnt tell her isle friends that it was her call to keep the barrier closed. shes afraid of how theyll see her, yes, but we had the character growth during d2 where mal became more confident about not fitting with the perfect princess look (represented by her transformation into the dragon, and continued use of such magic despite it coming from her evil mother, as well as her dress changing from auradonion colours to her signature purple), so any insecurities there shouldve been wrapped up. and her lies in d3 were, ultimately, for the good of everyone, and only temporary. the barrier had to stay closed until they could figure out a way for it to be safe for everyone. if she had let them bring down the barrier too soon and a villain had caused chaos, then that would ruin the chances of the barrier ever coming down forever. and if she had told her friends - specifically evie - that it was her call, then she knew that evie would convince her to change her mind. but changing her mind at that point was not for the greater good, therefore she lied. as much as a small amount of it was for her reputation among her friends, it was also for the good of auradon and the isle

therefore i refuse to believe that muoat shouldve been focused wholly on her reputation. we know mal cares so much about her friends and about ben, so why didnt the song dive into that? why were we not looking at her guilt, or her determination to carry on so that she could save her loved ones and her home? why, instead, did we focus so hard on the way she wants to be remembered for her heroics and good deeds?

i also understand that mal may be compartmentalising to an extent, by ignoring her own grief for her friends and instead focusing her attention elsewhere to keep herself going. she very clearly does have insecurities about her decisions and her role in auradon, so it would make sense to distract herself with that rather than letting herself break down over her friends. if this was what they intended, though, i think it was poorly done. at least, i certainly wouldnt have brushed past it quite so nonchalantly. mal hardly seemed to care that her friends had been turned to stone after the first - what - two lines of the song? and even then all she says is that she deserves it. she deserves it?? like it had just been a shove in the playground or something, and not an attack on her loved ones - one that, remember, could very well result in her losing them forever

quite literally, her only lines in the song about losing her friends are: "here you are alone and you deserve it // your friends have turned to stone and thats on you" and that is it. everything else is about her story being written, or about serving a cause, or her reputation not being linked to her parents'

i really do not like this song. i havent watched d3 for over a year, so i do apologise if ive missed/forgotten important context, but from everything i remember and listening to the song itself, i do not believe it does the moment justice. i want to rewrite it one day, ive no idea if i ever will or how, but i dont like it the way it is.

[richincolor]

With spring on its way out, I thought it would be fun to do a quick roundup of some contemporary romances. Here are three that are out this month--which ones are on your reading list?

Bite Me, Royce Taslim by Lauren Ho Disney Hyperion

Agnes Chan never expected to be the punchline of her own life . . .

But how else do you explain getting accidentally run over and seeing a lifetime of careful preparation, endless training, and all your hopes of a track scholarship to college destroyed in a split second? Not to mention the only witness to your humiliation being your #1 archnemesis, Royce Taslim.

So, when Agnes finds a new answer to her scholarship predicament in the form of an international stand-up comedy contest for teens, the last person she expects to be up against is also the last person she wants to Royce. Because for years Royce has represented everything Agnes extreme privilege, popularity, and physical perfection (ok maybe she doesn’t hate that part so much).

Behind the scenes, though, Royce’s flawless façade fades away, revealing someone Agnes never expected—someone who shows her that perhaps the best parts of life are the ones you aren’t prepared for—and as the competition heats up, so do things between these two rivals. But will the pressure to win be too much for them to handle—or will Agnes (and Royce) get the last laugh?

Queerceañera by Alex Crespo HarperTeen

Joaquin Zoido is out and proud of it. And while he knew his dad and sister, Carmen, would be super supportive, he wasn’t quite ready for them to surprise him with a queerceañera, a coming out party to celebrate him. Between all the talks of tastings and venues, and the chirping of his family’s RSVP texts, the question of who will be his chambelán is on everyone’s minds.

What Joaquin is decidedly trying to not think about is whether his mom is going attend or if she’s finally replaced him with her favorite godson, Felix—the boy who made Joaquin realize he was gay and who was his first kiss. But when an impromptu lie snowballs into a full-fledged family-group-chat rumor, every Zoido from Texas to Mexico starts believing that Felix is not only Joaquin’s chambelán but also his brand-new boyfriend.

To avoid the pity and sympathies of an ill-timed breakup, Joaquin and Felix strike a deal—they’ll stay fake boyfriends until the party. Yet, as the day draws nearer and old feelings spark anew, Joaquin will have to decide whether a picture-perfect queerceañera with a fake boyfriend is worth giving up the chance of something real.

True Love and Other Impossible Odds by Christina Li Quill Tree Books

College freshman Grace Tang never meant to rewrite the rules of love. She came to college to move on from a grief-stricken senior year and to start anew. So she follows a predictable Attend class, study, go home and visit her dad every weekend. She doesn’t leave any room in her life for outliers or anomalies.

Then, Grace comes up with an algorithm for her statistics class to pair students with their perfect romantic partners. Though some people are skeptical, like Julia, Grace’s prickly coworker, Grace is confident that her program will take all the drama out of relationships. That’s why she keeps trying to make things work with her match, a guy named Jamie. But as the semester goes on and she grows closer to Julia, Grace starts to question who she’s really attracted to.

In award-winning author Christina Li’s YA debut, Grace will have to make a choice between the tidy equations she knows will protect her from heartbreak or the possibility that true love doesn’t follow any formula.

[effervescentdragon]

*holds out a mic like a reporter* what’s your opinion on the current state of the mcu?

my opinion is that it should have died a long time ago and that everything they do is just abusing the corpse of a frankensteined thing that should have been left and buried a long time ago.

now, i am not that much up to date. i have stopped engaging with mcu after endgame, with the exception of watching the forst season of loki and wakanda forever and i think the eternals, which is good if its taken out of the wider context. my opinion is that the mcu is empty and soulless and a perfect indoctrination into individualist capitalism, warmongering patriarchy and the greedy capital-driven urge of mega corporations and billionaires to replace any sort of humanity with artificially, computer made caricatures of something that once moght have been called art.

i remember that article that tom hiddleston wrote as a response to i believe scorcese sometime way back in 2012, defending superhero movies. i am too lazy to find any refetences so whoever reads this can do their own research and correct me if im wrong anywhere, but i do believe he gave sir christopher reeve as an example. he wrote about the thruths that superheroes explore, how there is not one, but many. how it is the mundanity and the pure humanity that gets amplified and therefore explored and understood through the characters of superheroes, and it all brings us closer to the human experience. that article has stuck with me through all the years ive spent watching these movies and believing in the message - we are all superheroes in our own way. we all make choices, no matter on how much of a micro scale, to do the right thing. to protect, to shield, to fight against injustice. art is, after all, inherently political.

there is none of that in the mcu. ive seen it being chipped away piece by piece over the years, seen the ethical and moral dilemmas we all face in day to day life brought on the big screen to make us understand that there is always a choice, no matter how tough that choice may be, and that every single one of us is capable of both the biggest heroism and the most depraved atrocities, because we are, in essence only human; i have seen all that be replaced with american capitalist war and conquering propaganda, girlboss empty feminism and whatever the fuck those shit "christians" are now pandering and paddling as "family values".

the only god disney worships is obscene amount of money. the only value they respect is how little they can pay and how much they can exploit to get highest monetary value for their shitty cgi-ed recycled propaganda movies. they have turned every character into a twisted version of themselves, assigned value to only those characters who help them propagate their imperialistic capitalist world order, and are fine to spit out dozens of same content (because by now, it is content, devoid of any artistic ideation) and stomp on all that superheroes used to stand for and all that they used to teach us. they also do it in a most insidious way, giving token "other" characters, be it by their race or faith or sexual orientation or gender, while counting on the systematic lowering of critical thinking skills in people to ensure people are dazzled by the shallow representation and never look further away from the rainbow cgi and explosions to understand that mcu has become just another cog in the us imperialist war machine.

i lied. i looked up tom hiddleston's article because i think a shakespearean actor classically trained who quotes tolstoy for fun might have written a better punchline than i could write, in my despondent, disappointed and despairing state of seeing something i've loved with my whole heart be ruined ny human grief. i was right.

"Maybe playing superheroes isn't such an ignoble undertaking after all. "I still believe in heroes," says Samuel L Jackson's Nick Fury in Avengers Assemble. So do I, sir. So do I."

except. except i believe in real life superheroes. in the people protesting against the genocide in gaza. in the people on the ground risking their lives to tell us in the west, about sudan and palestine and uyghur muslims and armenia and congo, in a bid that we might turn our heads and watch the actual real life crises caused by the very imperialists who use these superhero movies to try and save their status quo of opression. i believe in a man who chose self-immolation over being party to the atrocity that is the us military. i believe in my friends in germany who go out every weekend and fight against the rising nazi regime. i believe in every person that has spoken out against the atrocities in the world, every person that has donated and educated and debated and wrote to the representatives and protested. and they still do it, and will continue to do it. these people are the real superheroes to me, and guess what? they are just humans. and those people comitting atrocities right now? they are just humans too.

this is what the superhero comics and movies that i used to watch taught me. that humans are those who have the capacity for the biggest heroism and most despicable atrocities both. we just have to choose. and that is not something that anyone will be able to learn from the mcu anymore.

[that-ari-blogger]

This Is The Owl House (Through The Looking Glass Ruins)

Ruins are what civilisation fossilises into. They are a weird microcosm of time, representing past, present, and future simultaneously. They are the legacy of a world long gone, its lies and the crumbling truth beyond them. A ruin represents a story.

For those who don’t know, a looking glass is another term for a mirror, so if you combine the two into a single title, Through The Looking Glass Ruins, you will end up with a tale of introspection. Who are you? Who do you think you are? What is your legacy? And does that actually match reality?

This is an episode about self image.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (The Owl House)

Discussing Gus is a deceptively difficult task, because there are so many lenses to read him through, and most of them either contradict or are actively incomplete.

The fact that The Owl House’s third season is so short is the main cause of this, and I want to stress that I’m not blaming the team behind the show for that failure. Disney pulled the plug and it is remarkable what was achieved, but there is no denying that Gus got shafted.

So, this post, as usual, will stick primarily to the episode at hand, with nods to the future. Just understand that those nods to the future are more difficult than usual because there is a lot of setup in Gus’ arc for things that never came to pass.

We cool?

So, first up, mental health. Gus has what a professional will probably diagnose differently to me, but I will call self worth issues for the sake of clarity. This episode manifests this as Imposter Syndrome, which is interesting from the illusion stand point.

Speaking as someone who deals with Imposter Syndrome, I think it is important to understand that the syndrome is a lie. Not that it isn’t a real issue, but because it is your brain lying to itself and convincing you that you aren’t good enough and will not be good enough no matter how hard you try. It tells you that your pride in your own work is false, and that you should constantly be trying to emulate others, something that, because it tells you you aren’t good enough, you will never be able to do satisfyingly, which will cause you to spiral.

Once again, this is a lie your brain is telling itself.

But here’s what makes it insidious, and here’s why a tumblr post isn’t going to magically fix it. Hell, here is why I still suffer from it, despite apparently knowing that it is false.

Humans aren’t rational, the brain isn’t rational, and imposter syndrome isn’t rational. You can intellectually understand something, but emotionally be in the dark, and that’s how something like this strikes. You know that the feelings don’t make sense, but you still feel them, and it’s a nightmare.

All of this applies to Gus. He is intelligent, possibly one of the most intelligent people in the cast in terms of the streamlined, reductive view of intelligence that school cares about and pretty much nobody else. So, Gus is clever enough to understand that he is skilled and that illusions are powerful, he has even been told that multiple times over the series, but he is yet to emotionally come to grips with that aspect of his life.

That thing about streamlined, school approved intelligence is also a cog in this machine. Gus is conventionally intelligent, he can remember things, and has the type of charisma that feels at home writing a lengthy essay (the type of charisma that I would kill for). This is the type of intellect that schools praise above all else, and at least where I live, to the detriment of anything else. It is a restrictive view of the world that means people like Luz, who’s brain is much more heavily wired towards problem solving and creativity, are excluded.

In simpler terms, Gus fits the mould, so his ability set being limited to one type of magic is a magic literalism of that. But at the same time, that unique powerset isn’t particularly useful in its basest form. When the Glandis students mock illusion magic, the image that they come up with is fairly useless, but it’s a strawman, and it's a strawman that Gus has confined himself into trying to be.

The Galder Stones have a really neat place in this as amplifiers. They are reflective, something the episode goes out of its way to show multiple times, as characters stare at their own faces in their hands, literally holding their legacy in a crystallised form. But, they are also amplifiers. They make a person’s magic more powerful, and if magic is an expression of individuality, as it usually is in stories, that means the stones exacerbate a person’s identity. Essentially, they turn anyone who uses them into a caricature.

But why can’t illusionists gain power from them? I have a theory. I think that illusionists are already projecting themselves and their minds into reality with their spells. They are creating things that are both real and not real at the same time, so the way they gain power isn’t through amplifying the illusion, but through creativity in application.

Which brings me to a scene I like to call “The camera is alive, and it hates you.”

The Owl House has had fun with animation before, and I am a sucker for the moments where the show gets visually experimental. But those have just been scenes. The Gromethius flashback, for example, is fun and quirky, but it barely exists for a minute.

This, however, is fun and cathartic. It is clear that at least one of the animators on this show has roots in horror (like me), and was having an absolute blast with this entire sequence. Every visual is traumatising in more than the series’ quirky usual. This stuff is genuinely terrifying, and it's shown from Bria’s perspective.

Gus effectively takes the camera and starts calling the shots himself. This is his episode, and he is controlling what the audience sees and how they see it. Don’t push your luck with the Director of Photography, they will mess you up.

It’s also worth noting the contrast between Bria and Gus, because it makes the result of their confrontation that much sweeter. Gus is a trickster who, up until this point, has been playing by the rules. He is wacky, but he’s more lawful than chaotic. Bria is a physically skilled character, who believes in strength and power and… ok I can’t be the only one who ships her and Boscha, right? Right?

Anyway, Bria has a highly regimented worldview, if you are strong, you deserve to be on top. If you are weak, you deserve to be on the bottom. She’s also a construction mage, meaning she actually makes things, while Gus only pretends to, hence why she calls him weak.

There is, however, one flaw in that conflation of weak and illusory. Well, there are a few flaws, but one in particular. How do you fight something that isn’t actually there?

Answer: You don’t. You really don’t. Turns out that Bria’s weakness is a foe she can’t take head on. Bria is literally holding a Galderstone, something that makes her nebulously more powerful, and she gets clowned on.

Bria’s defeat involves the ceremonial disintegration of her hands, and the loss of her magic. Back to that idea of self image that this post was supposed to be about, Bria has built an identity around being powerful. But that persona crumbles when she is confronted with something powerful in a different way to her, and when she loses her own power. Her identity isn’t built on rationality, but on vibes, and illusions are really good at getting into people’s heads.

On a different note, Gavin’s identity revolves around getting his father to pay attention to him, which fits into the theme of self image pretty well, but it’s notable how each of the four Glandis are specifically designed as foils for the Hexsquad. Gav has the parental issues and the ambition, linked to Amity. Bria is the kind and nurturing one, linked to Willow. Mattholomule is the lowest on the ladder, how Gus perceives himself. And Angmar, well Angmar is my sweet blonde boy who is remarkably athletic, hyper fixated on a specific kind of animal, and is a mix between terrified reaction to any threat and immediate willingness to step in front of an out of control animal without hesitation. In my mind, he reflects a fifth member of the Hex Squad who will be introduced in about… one episode’s time.

Although, you will probably have noticed that this is an extremely reductive view of every character I have mentioned, and that is the point. I mentioned in my first post about The Owl House that the series has a thing for introducing characters twice, once as a trope, once as a character. So, each of these characters are introduced as “x character stand in”, but get their identities built up throughout the episode until Bria doesn’t resemble Willow at all. Again, this relates to the idea of self image, and how a character sees themself in contrast to how others see them.

“Keep honing your powers of observation.”

Powers of observation, huh? Not powers of imagination, observation. The guy who knows the most about illusions in the Boiling Isles specifically draws connection between the tradition and the ability to see things. This is a tradition of making things that aren’t there, right? What gives?

Each illusion that Gus conjured to scare away the Glandis students was tailor made to fit them. It didn’t take a genius to point out that Angmar likes butterflies, and Gav straight up told him about his issues with his father. But Bria? Gus worked that out on his own.

Because illusion isn’t about making stuff up, it's about realising things.

Illusion magic is about the balance of understanding the world around you, and turning people’s thoughts into something they can actually interact with.

On the topic of interactions, Lumity.

Often in stories, romantic relationships are made compelling by the characters involved and very little else, and this is a perfectly valid way to write stories. Two characters are slotted into a ship dynamic, and you get something interesting. For example, any action movie ever written, or the entirety of Big Bang Theory.

Lumity isn’t this. The romance between Luz and Amity directly causes conflict and drama in the plot, but also drives character development between the characters, and is related to the themes of the story. Those being identity, freedom, and here specifically, self image.

I’ve mentioned before that Luz’s greatest strength as a character is her ability to act as a catalyst in other people’s arcs. That’s what the light motif is all about, she shows people the way forwards.

Most obviously, Luz has been a majour foil for Amity. She challenged Amity’s ideas of ambition in I Was A Teenage Abomination; She caused Amity to reflect on herself and showed her a way of rekindling her relationship with Willow in Understanding Willow; And she forced Amity to stand up to her mother in Escaping Expulsion. Now, in Through The Looking Glass Ruins, Amity has to reflect on what has happened.

Because this is functionally the B plot of this episode, backing up Gus’ story, the actual plot of this is remarkably simple. Luz and Amity need to find a McGuffin, and they need to do it together. Basic plot, shenaniganry ensues.

But basic doesn’t mean bad. In this case, it facilitates some of the series’ coolest set design, and some brilliant interactions between the two characters.

“Malphas is actually the one who gave me my job and my own study room. He's usually nice, but if we're caught, he'd feed us to the book wyrms.” “I know here that probably means unholy, blood-sucking snake monster, but in the Human Realm, that's just a kid name for nerds” “Huh. The human world sounds odd.” “Maybe it would be less odd if I showed you around someday. But, uh, let's turn back. I don't wanna push you.” “We're getting that diary.”

First up, there is the repeated establishment of stakes. The monster threat is just an excuse for a cute moment. But the real thing that Amity cares about the most is her job and her study room. Symbolically, her ambition and her isolation respectively. But she is willing to risk both of those for Luz.

I think that the speed of Amity’s decision is also important here. She doesn’t have to weigh up the options and the risks. She is doing something for Luz and that is, by default, more important.

However, I want to point out that, at the end of the episode, Luz gets Amity’s job back. That isolation and ambition are valuable to her because they are valuable to Amity. As much as I will complain about not getting to see the trials, it is obvious what Luz has had to do to get there. But that’s weird, right? Luz probably nearly died to get back the symbol of the old Amity, why?

I think at this point, Luz is changing the metaphor. The study room no longer represents isolation, but the connection that she and Amity forged. The job, meanwhile, transitions from ambition to agency, as it's a small microcosm of Amity’s independence from her mother.

Essentially, Amity emotionally let go of her old self to be with Luz, but this doesn’t mean she has to sacrifice everything. This isn’t an exclusionary relationship, Amity can be more than just Luz’s girlfriend. She doesn’t have to define herself by one, specific thing.

That idea of self image is a big thing in Amity’s arc. Although it exists in contrast to Gus. Gus knows who he is, he just can’t work out if he likes that or not. Amity, however, has no idea who she wants to be, and what is important to her.

“Everything's changed since you came here. Being around you, it makes me do stupid things and I wish it didn't.”

Who does Amity think she is? I’m not being incredulous here. It’s a question worth asking because, at this point, I don’t think Amity herself could tell you. The impeccable acting decision to make this line into a flood highlights that conflict within her. She is having thoughts in bursts, then faltering and regretting it.

She wants to move towards Luz, but she can't risk falling off her throne, so she keeps taking big steps in every direction, overcommitting to everything, but then walking it back.

After that, Amity talks through her inner turmoil with her siblings, people who represent both her old life by being her family, and her new life through their rebellion and encouragement.

“Ever since Luz came here, things have just gotten confusing. I'm thinking things I've never thought before. I'm feeling things I never used to feel.”

“Is that so bad? You weren’t happy before.”

Hey Emira, do you… do you want my blog? Because that was the most insightful thing anyone has ever said on or about the Boiling Isles.

But she’s right. Amity is trying to choose between two aspects of herself, and trying to work out who she thinks she is. Emira simply points out that one of the options isn’t at all worth it.

But now, I finally get to talk about hair. The single most iconic visual metaphor of the series, this is the type of good storytelling that means you don’t have to over analyse to know you are looking at something done well.

The green coloration matches Odalia, to parallel Amity’s closeness to becoming the golden child that her mother is trying to shape her into. But this is dyed, it is a decision by either Amity, Odalia, or both. It’s a character beat of a person trying to appear in a specific way. It is Amity communicating to the world that she is Ambitious.

The natural brown hair is linked to Alador, and his creativity. It relates to a trait of Amity’s that I will talk about when I cover Reaching Out, because that is my favourite episode of the series. It represents a desire for connection, an ambition to not perform successfully, but live well and happily.

The purple is Amity’s choice entirely, and it is her decision to be happy. Abomination coloured, something Amity takes pride in for herself. It represents happiness with oneself, and the agency to derive joy from something that previously only inspired anguish. It is also related to Luz, who has been associated with purple throughout the series, although that is a byproduct of her own theming.

Luz is the concept of individuality incarnate. She is unique in every way, and this doesn’t cause her shame, outwardly at least. So, she is represented by the rarest colour in nature, and the most valuable. The history of purple and its association with royalty is too fascinating to condense into a tumblr post, so I will say that it intrinsically symbolises value because of its rarity.

It is a colour that says “I am who I am, I am unique, and I am valuable because of that.”

What I haven’t seen discussed as much, is how the style relates to this. Amity’s hair is usually up, keeping her refined and held together, reminiscent of her mother. Its looseness always coincides with her softer nature being made apparent. In this episode, when we first see her, her hair is down and we see someone who is happy with herself, quietly.

I do like the symbolism of a child taking her accessory, causing her hair to be let loose while at the same time forcing her to bring out her gentle side.

However, at the end of the series (spoilers until the next image), her ages up character design actually walks back a few things. Her hair is now back up, and her brown roots have come back. So what gives with that?

You don’t stop changing when one story in your life comes to a close. Amity probably keeps moving forwards during the timeskip, focusing on that connection, and styling herself in a way she sees fit. Consciously, she has found a balance.

That hair symbolism actually continues into her song. Ok it’s not her song, technically, but the The Owl House fanbase claimed it, so I get to talk about it.

Little Miss Perfect is a song written by Joriah Kwamé as part of an album called TAPES: A Song Cycle. It was then submitted to the 2019 Write Out Loud competition, where it was covered by Taylor Louderman. A competition that it won.

Strictly speaking, this isn’t a song about Amity. But the animatic by ThatDorkWhoDraws was incredible and effectively commandeered the song for the ship. I would do some analysis of this animation, but it got taken down by the creator for understandable reasons, and I don’t want to intrude into a space in which I’m not wanted.

I’m talking about the song and the song alone. Because it has entered the fanbase’s public consciousness, and because the song is really interesting for how it relates to the metaphor I am talking about.

The song is about that crisis of identity that I have been going on about. The protagonist is choosing between ambition and love. It is an exploration of that love itself, and despite there being little evidence for Amity’s realisation of her own sexuality being so chaotic, it is a compelling story that brings about some really cool metaphors. Not least of which, is the hair.

Straight hair, straight A's Straight forward, straight girl Little Miss Perfect, that's me

The hair is associated with her perceived perfection, her pride (heh) in her composure and ambition. But when she lets someone in, what happens?

She braids my hair, I sit there Blacking out for the first time

The blacking out thing is a direct callback to an earlier line, in which she lists her ability to stay awake at parties as one of her aspects of perfection. But the braiding of hair is the underrated key part of this. Her hair is no longer straight, she is no longer perfect, and that’s ok.

Final Thoughts

I really wanted to talk about the Zosan ship when I was talking about romantic subplots that drive character development, but I couldn’t make it work. That one is a fan ship, and it works brutally well for similar reasons to Lumity, actually. So, I guess I’ll have to leave that for another post.

Other than that, this episode is awesome, and is The Owl House flexing its muscles. The fact that this is a phenomenal episode of television, and it's still about average for this season is a testament to the skill of the team behind this show.

I will say something controversial though. I don’t particularly see the Matholomule x Gus ship. I think if you squint, it could be read as an asexual, homoromantic ship, but that’s only if you squint. I think these two are genuinely just good friends.

Next week, we get to talk about my precious boy, and maybe even my own crackpot reading of this character. We will see.

Previous - Next

[qpjat076]

actual serious thoughts™ on the Acolyte

Spoilers. obviously. under the cut tho because i'm sweet like that. also it's a bit of an essay.

I loved this show. I LOVED. this show. It had some ups and downs, but I really hope it gets renewed for another season. I was NOT expecting it to end so. . . open ended? I'm glad it did though.

Dividing my thoughts on this into PLOT and PRODUCTION. We will start with the PLOT:

The ending was perfect. The full circle of Sol and the crew spreading a horrible lie only to then be tainted in his death through a second lie is just so poetic. I was losing it, it was flawless and amazing storytelling. It seems SO in character for Master Vernestra seeing as I doubt the council or anyone knew of Quimir going all evil. . . I bet she told them his "death" was an accident. she doesn't seem at ALL like the kind of person to air her own failures loudly, and she'd see his betrayal as a personal failure. Or, if not, she she would fear (her first mistake) that the council would see his betrayal as her failure. Pride is always the fall of Jedi, we've seen it time and time again (because being prideful is the easiest way to let fear take control of your life). Anyway, 11/10 for that plot point being resolved.

for real though, there was NO WAY they were going to resolve every single plot thread they'd laid out across this show in one 40-minute episode. it would have been too crammed. nothing would feel satisfying. leaving a decent amount of food for thought was definitely the right move, so they could focus on the plot at hand (Osha, Mae, Sol, Quimir). and they've left me wanting more. if disney is so committed to the 8-ep bit they've got going (sans Andor for some beautiful reason), then this was the best way to get the extra episodes needed to address everything. I WANT MORE.

I want a whole season focusing on Quimir and his relationship to Vernestra. I WANT THAT TEA. How did Quimir get to Brendock? What was Vernestra's breaking point, or what was Quimir's? I want to know how the hell this all plays in to Plaguis. WHY IS HE THERE?!?! Are he and Quimir working together? if so, was Quimir Plaguis's padawan, and is Quimir now trying to usurp him? If so. . . then we know how that ends and that would be a helluva way to go about telling us a story (affectionate, star wars is at its best when its killing characters I love fr)

Speaking of Plaguis. . . HOOOOOOO BUDDY i was not just expecting his lil jumpscare and then NOTHING ELSE. I was down for it. I figured he'd be a part of it. I was whooping and *insert DiCaproio pointing meme here* at the screen, I was EXCITED to see him. and honestly I love that he just. . . wasn't elaborated upon any further. He didn't NEED to, because they're setting us up for more. I WANT more. I didn't, however, feel as good about the Yoda tease. . . i mean I WAS wondering where he was during all of this so it kinda worked? but also. that whole scene played out more like a marvel end credits "ooooh, what nostalgia character is comin back next?" kind of deal. moreso than plaguis bc like. . . i've never seen plaguis before. i know very little about him as only a movie/tv show watcher. but I've seen Yoda a thousand times, so the effect is lessened. Yoda IS needed to the story so I know why he's here, and I am interested to see him more in his earlier prime (and less cgi please lord don't do him dirty a second time). but it could've been a liiiiiittle smoother.

last thought: while sol's death was a little telegraphed (honestly, i wish Osha just saw Sol's body, no context for who killed him as opposed to the "mae killed him" bit), but the way Vernestra handled it made it all pretty forgivable. the twist wasn't his death or that Osha was gonna turn. we all pretty much could guess it. the twist was how his death was lied about, and I'm SO here for it. it balances out. this ep was amazing y'all i'm not over it.

Now for PRODUCTION (though I've kinda talked about it a little)

I know people have been overwhelmingly negative about this show. I really don't see it. And yeah, I maybe am the intended audience because I need to be restrained like a dog every time I see Manny Jacinto's arms. . . but that wasn't the only thing to like here. I liked the show even before that. It's interesting. Intriguing. Me frothing at the mouth over Arm™ was pretty minimal compared to how I'm rabid for more lore about these characters in this era.

I have three complaints: first some line delivery maybe could use a little work overall, but this last ep was the best it has been. also it's nowhere NEAR as bad as some line deliveries in the past (you know the ones). second, slow motion has no place in this world anymore in a non-comedic based fight scene. not since the matrix, anyway. that's the only exception. please let it die. never want to see it again. finally, I really do wish the flashbacks had been mingled more with plot and episodes as opposed to shelling them off separately. I also wish we could have seen a padawan Osha and Sol in flashbacks a bit too. . . though that may come next season (do another one disney). three complaints (four total with my mild beef against Yoda's intro) is high praise though, so hats off. Lee Jung-jae killed it till the very end, I was SO impressed how desprate I was to like him even though at the end. . . I didn't really want to. He made me WANT to believe he was good. Best part of the show hands-down. Amandla Stenberg was a much stronger presence towards the end, but at the very beginning I thought she did great too. While I wish she had more of a chance to stand out, I'm ever-hopeful she gets a greater chance to in the *hopeful* next season, especially without Lee Jung-jae stealing the spotlight every single episode. All the supporting Jedi martyrs killed it too. too bad I'll never see Jekki and Yord be funny together again, it's a real tragedy. Manny was awesome but also I'm a little biased (Arm™, also literally everything else about him in this show, costumes, fight choreography etc., hot DAYUM they knew what they were doing). So yeah. Awesome show, I hope the overall negativity towards it doesn't discourage a second season. It is wanted!!! please feed me.

[snotsloth]

10 Characters/10 Fandoms/10 Tags

Tagged by @icehearts

Tagging, but don't feel pressured! (Also you do not have to make pretty pictures. Graphic Designer brain just took over and this happened.) @physicalvocalist, @sarenraegalpaladin, @vorpalbun, @captainqster, @leagor-majere, @sundered-souls, @ardberts, @hinganskies, @lilbittymonster, @janzoo

1. Harrowhark Nonagesimus - The Locked Tomb Trilogy

Harrow has true scrungly wet cat energy. I want to put her in one of those little backpacks with a window and carry her around in it for her enrichment. She's an absolute bitch. She is a pathetic little meow meow. She lobotomized herself to save the soul of the woman she refuses to admit she's in love with. She tried to kill a saint with soup made from her own bone marrow. She is a war crime. I like her so much!

2. Magneto - X-Men

He is the platonic ideal of my favorite trope, "Does all the wrong things for all the right reasons." Magneto has gone through the polar opposite of villain decay. The longer he exists, the longer the universe has to prove him increasingly correct on most things. All I can really say is, "Magneto was right."

3. Wei Wuxian - Mo Dao Zu Shi

Truly the most blorbo of all time. Are you also an ADHD burned out gifted and talented submissive brat with a praise kink? Boy howdy, do I have a character that you are going to imprint on like a baby goose! Wei Wuxian also has a hearty dose of, "Does all the wrong things for all the right reasons." Also like who multiclasses in wizard (specifically necromancer) and bard? This fucking guy apparently.

4. Hythlodaeus - Final Fantasy 14

I am so normal about Hythlodaeus, I made an entire AU around him. That is a reasonable thing to do about a character that you like a normal amount, right? The idealized lost love, trapped in amber, untouchable but also incorruptible by the sands of time that keep eroding the edges of your soul. And then they gave him lavender dead anime mom hair!

5. Varric Tethras - Dragon Age

I literally have a semi-viral post about how much this character has consumed my thoughts. Rule Number 1 of Dragon Age: Varric lies. He's a charming scoundrel. He's loyal to a fault. He knows everything worth knowing about Kirkwall. And he's a dirty fucking liar. The only reason Varric isn't romanceable in DA2 is that no other romantic interest would get any attention if Varric was on the table. I desire him carnally.

6. Temeraire - Temeraire

My most precious and smartest boy! I adore Temeraire so much. Swear to god, I did not read the Temeraire books before creating Orion as a character, but the parallels are so strong, you would think I had! He's a bookworm, a little awkward but full of opinions, and he has an unwavering moral compass. Temeraire will forever be one of my favorite dragon characters.

7. Jaina Solo - Star Wars Legends

I will never forget what Disney took from me. As a weird, nerdy girl who was also kind of a guy growing up, Jaina meant so much to me. She was an active participant in the stories she was in. She was an ace pilot, a skilled mechanic, and a Jedi to boot. She had her dad's sense of humor and her mom's moral certainty. I thought she was the coolest. Still do.

8. Ansur - Baldur's Gate 3

Ansur! My beloved! If you had told me that the character I would be most obsessed with from BG3 would be an undead bronze dragon who you don't even know about until the third act -- actually, no that checks out. He was so in love, and so loyal, and so bitter at Balduron for embracing his corruption! And that reveal! All the build-up, only to find his bones and then wham! the entire narrative of the Emperor gets turned on its head. I still get chills. Also, they were absolutely fucking.

9. Viktor - Arcane

Listen, as a disabled, obsessive nerd with too much to do and not enough time to do it all in, Viktor is my gender. I love just about everything about Arcane, but Viktor's storyline is my favorite part. I, for one, am very excited to watch his fall from grace and further corruption. I have already forgiven all of his atrocities. I do not care. He's babygirl.

10. Clark Kent - DC

You thought I was going to say Jason or Dick for a DC character didn't you? (Or even Roy!) Those would all have been very reasonable expectations. I am pretty obsessed with all of them. However, Clark Kent is a very special character to me, and yes I specifically am focusing on the Clark persona and not the Supes persona. Yeah, they are ultimately the same guy, but I much prefer Superman stories grounded in his Clark Kent identity. Superman is at his best when he is attached to the mundane world by things like his job, his family, and his love for Lois. (Lois/Clark is the ultimate het ship. I will not be taking questions on this. It just is.) Clark is essentially a demigod, and yet he chooses to spend his time loving people and living as one of them, and I think that's really fucking cool.

[dairy-farmer]

how do you separate fiction from reality? just curious

well the thing is that it's not really a matter of a 'how to' or some 'technique' or a method that will "grant" you the ability to separate fiction from reality.

the ability to differentiate reality from fantasy/fiction is something that happens on its own as a result of cognitive development that begins at the age of 5+. it, along with other skills, like critical thinking and theory of mind are social-cognitive skills that develop and are further honed by life experience and education.

after the age of about 12 is when kids mostly stop playing "pretend" because engaging in imagined scenarios was how kids were able to better understand the world around them and experiment with abstract concepts that helped their brains better develop.

for example, consider how someone aged 4 might perceive a show like 'dexter's laboratory' versus how a 14-year-old would.

4 year old reasoning is very simple: this character looks like a person, talks, has the same things as me, they make me laugh etc. conclusion: that is a person that is real like me AND exists in this word.

if a parent were to ask them in that cutesy rhetorical way of 'do you want to go to dexter's lab?' they'd probably say yes, not even considering the possibility it doesn't exist because they SEE it on the screen and they assume a cartoon character has sentience just like a person does. at 5 years old they accept reality as it is presented and don't question it. like little kids at disney land who never wonder why princess tiana is HERE in disneyland speaking to them and not in new orleans. in fact, around 3-5 is when kids begin to gain the ability to lie (being able to tell when you're being lied to however is a different ability). because lying is a developmental thing as well- you have to cognitively develop the ability to do it. it's GOOD when kids learn to lie because it's a milestone in their development.

but before they reach that point, that's why it's so easy to lie to kids. they believe you're telling the truth because to them the concept of what you're saying not being true is just so far beyond their current understanding of the world and how it works that it's why they believe in things like monsters so much more easily. why they're convinced by the threat that if they don't stop crying you really will let a stranger take them ("if you don't stop crying i'm going to give you away/let that man *points at stranger* take you).

it's very simple and logical to a child who has no understanding or critical thinking or the cognitive development to know and understand better.

but for a 14 year old: they may enjoy the show as well. they might laugh at all the things that make a show entertaining. but if their parent asks them if they want to go visit 'dexter's lab' they'd probably be confused, maybe even offended at such an infantilizing question. because they know and understand that dexter and his lab isn't real. it's made up. a lie.

they know dexter's body and enviornment are drawings on a screen created by animators. dexter's voice is that of a grown woman who is an actor and not of a little boy. there is no "dexter" in the real world. he's a concept someone made up. if they try to "touch" him their fingers will just be touching a screen. if they try to speak with or interact with him he won't respond because he doesn't exist in the 'now' and 'here' or in 'this is real life' reality.

being incapable of telling fiction from reality is a VERY real issue because the only ones who should be having a hard time telling fiction from reality are very young children whose brains have literally not developed enough to have the capacity for it.

but there's more reasons than just your brain/mental ability for why an otherwise healthy person can't tell fiction from reality.

lack of intelligence

lack of education

naïveté

overly trusting nature

underdeveloped critical thinking

susceptibility to manipulation/deception

cognitive bias/ confirmation bias

no access to a method for verifying claims.

everyone has the ability to tell fiction from reality but the skill might be purposefully or accidentally suppressed due to one or more of the reasons above.

beyond that no one should be having a hard time with separation of fiction versus reality. if they are it's either because they are being purposefully obtuse, they failed to develop those skills adequately, or they undiagnosed in some capacity for disorders impacting their perception.

[cold-heart-warm-writings]

OHSC: Disney Prince Edition

The Host Club loves a good theme. Who doesn’t? Tamaki, the member most likely to get lost falling down a rabbit hole (after Haruhi) and researching random ass shit in until 3am, discovers the choke hold that Disney has on so many people. He gets it into his mind, and then somehow convinces the rest of the Host Club, to dress up as Disney Princes. 

“But haven’t we done that before?” The twins ask in unison.

“Yes, but not Disney princes. Many of our princesses want to be swept off their feet, and who better to do that than the princes they grew up loving?” Tamaki is overly enthusiastic (so, regular enthusiasm for him) about this idea.

The following day when the Host Club opened its doors to greet their guests, they were transformed as follows:

Tamaki: Prince Charming from Cinderella - Hikaru teased him about being the Prince Charming from Shrek, and Tamaki chided him that a true prince would never force someone to be with him and should break up a happy couple for his own self interest.

Kyoya: that one bitch from Frozen that pretended to love Anna so he could be on top, Hercules from … Hercules - Don’t we all crave our father’s love and attention, and Kyoya has certainly Gone the Distance to prove that he is worthy.

Mori: Li Shang from Mulan - he plays the slightly stoic, greatly awkward, fierce, and strong martial artist to a T. Disney later reached out to him about playing Li Shang in the live action adaptation. He ghosted them by not replying at all.

Honey: Peter Pan from… Peter pan - He’s really playing into his boy lolita role with this one. And given the stories about waking him up too early, he *might* kill a child if disturbed. He is pro letting Peter take care of population control on the island. (Look, OG Peter and manga Honey are different breeds than how they’re portrayed on TV, be careful, watch your back).

Kaoru: Milo Thatch from Atlantis - LOOK I knooow Kaoru ain’t broke, but just sit with it… and imagine the more matured and sensitive Kaoru from (spoiler) later on in the manga and it FITS! Yes he’ll always be the right butt cheek to Hikaru’s left, but HE’S SO SWEET AND GOOD, and this is my AU, so Kaoru is Milo. Plus Kaoru’s pretty smart. 

Hikaru: Flynn Rider from Tangled- smirky, sassy, whipped by the princess he finally falls for. Absolutely will steal your shit (Exhibit A: Haruhi’s pencil), and would try to flirt his way out of being tied to a chair.

Haruhi: Aladdin from… Aladdin - the SINGULAR time all the Host Club members agreed on something and said it in unison. Haruhi switched up her catch phrase of “these damn rich people”, to “these goddamn assholes”. Tamaki was aghast, and threatened to unwish her wishes to zap her back down to a street rat. Haruhi called his bluff, “bet”, but then apologized in a monotone when Tamaki got flustered and started crying.

AN: Yes, I know not all of these characters are actual Disney princes, but they are in the realm. There weren’t many solid options, because I do believe, or at least hope, that they wouldn’t kiss someone without their permission while they’re sleeping. IDC about the era the movies were made in - that shit isn’t okay, and these boys wouldn’t let it fly.

[alanshee-keeper-of-realms]

We are the Disney Brothers

So in honor of Disney's 100th Anniversary, I drag this out of my vaults, I wrote this for the Disney Brothers a bit of Hurt but love, I really wish they'd capture a storyline like this, a story of Parental Alienatation, healing after finding out the truth from a sibling

I think it'd be such an important push the boundaries story for this gen, but Disney's lost its risk taking ways so I highly doubt we will ever get a serious moment canonically like this between the Brothers.

But oh how I wish they'd risk it, take that leap it would be amazing to see.

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

The pair stood in Mickeys home in toon town, for the 15th time this month Oswald had snapped, going on a rampage and it had lead to the core,

Something the mouse knew bugged his older brother to his own center, the trauma was clearly still fresh as he paced ranting,

"You don't get it do you Mickey?! Walt chose you over me and that hurt will never go away" 

He angrily huffed sitting down on the couch crossing his arms, however Mickey remembered something sighing going to the stand and pulling something from it, a letter, the rabbit shuffled a bit more away tucking himself into the cushions as Mickey sat down saying in a small voice

" H-he didn't choose me, he created me because he lost you" He held out the letter the rabbit couldn't help but to side eye the envelope" I had always wondered who Oswald was, I definitely know now," a thumb ran over Walts scrawled handwriting "this letter along with one to me and the rest of the crew was left after his sudden passing. None of us knew who you were and I have a feeling Dad kept it from us because he didn't know if you would ever come back to us he didnt want us longing like him, but you have and this rightfully belongs to you." 

Oswald unfurled attention now fully caught as Mickey held out the Letter , snatching and opening it, quickly reading the words

My Dear Boy, my dear Ozzie, what do I say? What can I say knowing that by the time you are able to possibly read this, I will have been long dead.

You were stolen from me, wrongfully taken, I was honestly devastated, more than I showed over your kidnapping. My dear son, I never stopped fighting for you to come home. I know you probably think I forgot or moved on without you, I would not put it past the bastard Mintz to tell such lies, but I never stopped. Again, unfortunately, if you are reading this,  then I failed, and we never reunited before my passing, and that will be one of my biggest regrets I carry to my grave. 

I hope you and your brother will meet. I still have faith that eventually you will find your way home even though it was not in my lifetime. Take care of your younger brother for me? Michael, well, Mickey was created so that way the legacy could continue. The truth is as well if I hadn't lost you, he would not have been created, but both of you were and still are absolutely dear to me no matter the circumstances of your creation or separation.

Take care of each other, Love your creator and Father Walter Elias Disney

He slowly brought down the letter some papers slipped out he shakily looked at it, tears swelling up in his eyes. He quickly tried wiping them away, reading It his eyes widened as he realized what it was, it was an unsigned contract for their father Walter Disney to sell his rights to the Warner Company, he had never signed it, but Charles had and with the Letter Oswald realized, his creator had never wanted to, anger boiled inside the rabbit,

Charles, he remembered his heart breaking, shattering as he was told Walt no Dad had betrayed and sold him to another company, but this contract showed Mintz had been the traitor and person lying to him the entire time. His Papa had wanted him back, his father wanted him, 

"I trusted Charles, I did everything for him and he lied to me" He murmured before suddenly the toon stood up giving an enraged cry swinging as if trying to punch a ghost, making Mickey who had also jumped up take a slight step back as tears began spilling from the rabbits eyes

"I TRUSTED HIM!"

He recognized this behavior, as their Dad had acted in a similar manner when enraged. He knew what to do, and it made Mickeys heart ache. Everyone said he had taken after Lillian, but in Oswald, he saw their Dad shining brightly. And he knew the one thing that had always calmed their Creator down. 

Oswald felt his younger brother wrap an arm around his waist, drawing him into a hug. The rabbit held onto his sibling in shock, blinking as the rage settled into sadness and the lucky rabbit finally broke, sobbing uncontrollably as years of pent up trauma and anger bubbled to the surface as the pair maneuvered to the floor Mickey just holding him,

He heard words of assurance from his little brother, but it did little to help the grief pouring from him. He felt the other rock him Mickey looked up as Minnie walked into frame looking shocked seeing her boyfriend and his brother in such a state however stayed quiet at the others motion to do so and then spotted a letter on the floor, she knew this was a break through of some sort

She only motioned to her phone and saw a slight nod in response before slipping back out. They'd speak when Oswald was more calm,

By the time he looked back, Oswalds sobs had lessened, the mouse sighed,

"Oh Ozzie, I don't know what to say. Especially with the Company's stunt recently," he went quiet at the mention of the trashcan incident, both brothers were still heated about it,"But I know I'm here, I don't know if it'd be a comfort but I uh overheard them mention your name recently in the Company with the 100 years celebrations so they could be planning, you won't be forgotten again,"

The rabbit looked up in surprise, tears twinkled in them, but finally Mickey saw it,

hope

"I really wish they would, I tell people I'm not bothered by their silence....but it bothers me Mick,"

"I know, and you know what, as your younger brother, I will start mentioning you more. Eventually, they'll have to give in," a mischievous twinkle entered the mouses eyes

For a moment, Oswald saw Steamboat Willie again the Mouse that'd get up to chaos just like him. It felt good to know that part still lurked just underneath, but the rabbit also saw Lillian again. He had heard from so many Mickey took after Lillian with his gentle, down to earth, kind yet mischievous nature and now he could certainly see it as well.

"We are brothers Ozzie, and we should have been treating each other as such."

The rabbit felt warmth fill him, he nodded

"And I wasn't exactly innocent, I believed Charles, but I should have made sure that was the actual story, before getting angry,"

Mickey just gave him a smile,

"Your like Dad, a bit hot headed, with the temperment to match." Oswald gave a look, but he continued," But you're a good toon underneath it. We all make mistakes. You know what Dad would say,"

"Keep moving Forward" They echoed each other before finally laughing

The rabbit elbowed the other before finally they stood up holding the others hands,

"And you Mick your like Mom," Surprise crossed the mouses face, but also questioning"For the short time I knew Lillian she knew how to talk Walt down, a kind down to the world soul but she also wasn't afraid to put someone into their place,"

Finally Mickey broke out into a smile hugging the other

"We emulate the ones we looked up to the Most"

"That we do" the other responded returning the hug,

[yorshie]

Blue Shadows

Red Dead Redemption 2

Arthur Morgan x GN Reader

Summary/Warning: SFW, poetry, or waxing poetically about Arthur, pretty much. Reader is drunk, gets a kiss from Arthur (just adding some older works to Tumblr)

There’s something unspoken that lives in the twilight of a new night, when all the world’s blue and grey, soft around the edges. Details are smothered, smoothed, the full moon paints everything it touches in a stark, unforgiving light as it chases away the last warm, round tone of orange from the sunset.

There was something there, some poetry that lurked and daintily padded at the edge of night, but for some reason the words wouldn’t come. You watched them slip slowly out the imagined plane of your mind’s eye, felt them drip down steadily to the beat of your own blood as it flowed through your veins, your thoughts fuzzy and incoherent as they tumbled down in a hopeless chase.

“You still with me, genius?”

The poetry was gone, shattered, shaken from your mind with all the grace of a slap to the face as Arthur’s voice cut through your daydreaming. Your head lolled on his shoulder as he turned his head to inspect the damage, and you could only blink blearily up at him, those words of poetry now a jumbled heap of a mess on the floor of your mind thanks to his growling, bristly, barely leased rage of a snarl.

You don’t answer, can’t, caught in a circle as your mental self tries unsuccessfully to stop the barrage of words that somehow transformed from melancholy and nostalgic versus about the twilight of the world to a homage to the face peering sullenly back at you, eyes full of worry, frustration pulling at his skin, the stern line of his mouth dipping as he twisted further to catch your own muddled gaze.

Arthur was made to be an outlaw, the thought came unbidden. Shaped, moulded, downright hammered into the outline of a man that had become a deadly force to be reckoned with. There was a disconnect, between the image of Arthur as you came to know him around camp and in quiet trips, and the stranger that inhabited the space underneath his skin, who roared out in fiery fumes at the first sign of provocation. That Arthur, Dutch’s Right Hand, was sorely at odds with the grumpy man you were plastered to, even if the slight edge to his voice was a shadow of what lies beneath.

However, that Arthur was hidden, and the one you leaned against now was quite tame by comparison, malleable even with his surly, grumpy temper.

“You keep your eyes open, if you know what’s good for you.” The shoulder you were splayed against rolled, rippled, and you followed the twitch of muscle as it worked its way to his spine and felt it plainly through your own chest as he moved, turned back to the trail that cut a vivid line through the prairie in the moonlight.

The slow gait of the horse was lilting, gentle, each shift of the spine under you rocking you both back and forth in a sway, and you hummed, unthinking, caught in that trail of thought as you relaxed further against him. You sagged, swayed further, and suddenly Arthur was cursing as he tried to catch you.

He managed it, barely, your limbs limp and unhelping as he grabbed your waist and hauled you through the air. You had a brief, confused revelation that somehow your head was in his armpit and that sideways, the landscape looked even more alien, before he was shouldering you, pushing and rearranging until your chin found the curve of his shoulder and your nose tickled the sunburnt skin of his neck.

He tensed, curled his ear down, and you felt the shiver that racked him.

“Jesus, you feel like ice.”

It was hissed above you, and he shifted, and in turn you sagged, and somewhere in your mind you distantly realized he had pulled you into his lap to avoid losing you, and you were now straddled across him, the saddle horn digging painfully into your back.

This… was not quite as poetic as riding behind him, you surmised, your eyebrows lowering into a muddled arc as the realization came to you. The sullen thought was quickly banished with Arthur’s deep inhale, and his chest rose and fell underneath your own, your ribs touching briefly in the exchange.

You continued on, thoughts spiraling with every inhale and press of limb on limb, certain that you had died and gone to heaven, until his drawl brought you back, and belatedly you realized you must have missed something.

“You really scared me, you know.”

It was softer, not the cutting whip of before, and you frowned, unable to connect the dots, almost letting the train of thought flutter away for the more favorable pastime of silently running your fingers across the planes of his lower back.

“Should know better ’n followin someone outside a saloon, ‘pecially drunk as you are.”

Oh, well that was stupid.  Did you do that? You frowned again, clenched and unclenched your fingers, felt the pucker of your lips brush the skin at the crook of Arthur’s neck, and almost missed what he said next in stupefied silence as your brain rebooted at the sensation.

“Though, next time you take a swing at me, I’m liable to swing back.”

Well…. that…. that was stupid. That definitely didn’t sound like something you would do at all, Arthur was built like a brick shit house, surely there wasn’t enough alcohol in the world to make you think you could-

“Though, the apology kiss weren’t so bad.”

Oh god, and he sounded positively gleeful as though he knew your face was turning redder than a ripe tomato. You’d never survive if he found out about the crush you’d been harboring for literal years. There was no way, please god in heaven don’t let it be true. Your hands tightened in the back of his shirt, balled into fists, fair ripped the material at his next words.

“Might even be up for it ‘gain, if you can keep from pukin on me anymore.”

Jesus H Christ, and your eyes fluttered open, staring up at the moon like a lovesick calf. You probably would have kept looking, drove yourself moon blind, if a rough grip of leather hadn’t fastened itself to the back of your head and pulled, trying to dislodge you from your comfy position.

You fought the grip, dug in to the muscle of his back and locked down your arms, but this was Arthur Morgan, and he easily pried you away, blue eyes fair laughing down at your expression as though he could see your embarrassment even through the strange light of the moon.

“Nothing? Ain’t gonna talk purty like before?” You strangled the abrupt noise of disbelief that rose in your throat, saw the smile at the edge of his mouth when you failed to control the muscles of your face, and lord above, you almost begged him for mercy.

In a way, he gave it to you, though it took you several long heartbeats to realize it was his lips you were tasting, chapped but firm as he licked into your open mouth. The noise you made was not poetic at all, not fit for something as grand as kissing Arthur Morgan, but he ate it anyway, took it within his mouth and stored it underneath his tongue while he hunted for more.

When he finally let you breath again, slightly shaking you with the arm he had at some point wrapped fully around your waist to make sure you were, in fact, still breathing, you gasped out loud, stared up at him like a fish landed out of water.

“You ok, princess?”

It would have been mocking another time, another place, but here, straddled face to face on the back of his horse in this strange world bathed by the moon, it meant something different. You felt it wind into your heart, settle in the space under your sternum, and you nodded, a grin striking you from ear to ear.

Hands rose, curled around his face, and you kissed him again, tasting the blue shadows of the moon on his lips, finding your poetry after all.

[feild-null]

A Few Thoughts on Adaptation

Adaptation is a very tricky art to get right. Most of the time adaptations seem to be worse than the original works, and why is that?

Take for example if I wrote a small passage such as this

“Out in the fields I sat watching the sun dip below the horizon. For a moment each piece of dust in the air and bead of water on the ground lit up in a bright flash. The light hitting everything just right to make that moment one to remember. Now the sun dips even lower leaving the area desolate and dark, but soon the stars will come out and bring the night abuzz again. Another day will pass leaving a moment just as beautiful, maybe even more beautiful, but not for me. My moment has passed, someone else gets to have that dusk to themselves now.”

Well written, and let’s say enough people like it enough for it to get a release as not just the text but with an image this time around. Herein lies the issue. The moment you imagined in your head will most likely look better than what I could draw. So if I added this;

It’s most likely disappointing in comparison to the text on its own. Even if effort was put into changing the media it didn’t have the same magic energy as the original, which could be preferred, but to fans of the original it would be dissatisfying.

Now there are good adaptations, so what is the trick? From my observations there are two main ways to make a good adaptation;

1. Re-contextualize the story

2. Make an adaptation from a work that didn’t work as well to begin with

On the first note, re-contextualizing the story helps to make the adaptations stand out from one another making the two works seem separate enough that fans of the original can appreciate a new direction and it is actually new. For a good example of this take the “The Blob” movies. There are two versions of the movie. There’s the ‘58 and ‘88 versions; the first version is a movie that is inventive but struggles from its technical limitations from the early days of filmmaking, whereas the ‘88 takes full advantage of new filmmaking techniques and technologies. This by itself is good, but the stories are changed, where the original had the title monster come from outer space mirroring the fear of foreign invaders in the Cold War, the remake had the government be responsible for the monster in random with rising anti-government sentiments from Vietnam. If you’re looking for more information on this here’s the video I learned that from

Another good example is how the Scott pilgrim franchise handles adaptation. The original comic, movie, and tv show are all very different and for different purposes. The comic is more about the relationship and dynamics of characters, where the Edgar Wright movie was more interested in being a fun watch that mostly focused on one arc for Scott. The show. I’m not gonna pretend I liked that show (Scott pilgrim takes off), but it did do well (in the first three episodes) setting up the characterization of the other characters in the series. All have their own fan bases and are all going for different experiences. For a bad example we have our good friend the Disney corporation! The new Disney remakes have been railed on to death so I won’t spend too long on them, but suffice to say, they aren’t different enough from the original to warrant existing or cool enough to rekindle the magic of the original animation. They don’t change with the times, the closest we got was the little mermaid remake’s version of “Part of your World” having a different ending note (which personally I liked), which isn’t a good way to make remakes.

Now what about works that didn’t function very well to begin with? The best examples I can think of are The Thing and Spider-Man. The original Thing movie was titled “The Thing from Outer Space”, which was a longer and less catchy title to begin with, and while being a good watch ultimately wasn’t too remarkable. I’d still recommend watching it, however, that doesn’t compare to “The Thing”. That movie is a modern masterpiece of writing, failing at its release, but being remembered for its amazing portrayal of the story. (If you can’t tell, 90% of this is just recommending movies and tv shows that I liked). What about spider man? Well, while Peter Parker has stayed consistently good, Miles Morales wasn’t always. Miles’s comics personally weren’t very gripping or very good to read, mostly just a filler for the time, but the Spider-verse movies? NOW THAT, THAT IS CINEMA. Those movies made what was an interesting but underwhelming character into one of the most compelling movie protagonists I’ve seen from Sony in a while. Not to mention the “Across the SpiderVerse” movie had a twenty minute opener that was a movie within itself about Spider Gwen.

Now all this is to say adaptations are very interesting to look at. It’s important to remember to judge works of media on their own because a lot of adaptations are going for a different crowd, but also knowing the past of it is important to make progress. Suffice to say it’s complicated and understanding and enjoying media is hard. We want things to be good, but even bad adaptations can teach us things. Netflix’s “Avatar the last Airbender”, Disney’s remakes, and a whole suite of live action remakes show the value of the medium of animation and what happens when you take it out of a story. The remakes of beloved stories that butcher the characters and teach us why Hollywood sucks forget why the story is good show us that you need strong direction for good end products. (Hollywood isn’t actually bad, it’s just an easy punching bag to point at and say that it’s the real problem when the creative bankruptcy and executive pressures are a result of dying markets and competition) Now if you notice I didn’t name a specific franchise for that last example, that’s because that franchise caused me to write this in the first place. And it’s “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts”. And that movie caused this rabbit hole to explain why it’s bad and the worst part is it could’ve been a masterpiece. THATS RIGHT, THIS WHOLE RANT IS ACTUALLY ABOUT TRANSFOMERS!

I could write a whole other dissertation about that movie and why it fails to be a good adaptation of “Beast Wars” and “Transformers” as a whole, but I won’t. This post is already looking way too long but I will say the show “Beast Wars” is one of the best transformers shows I’ve seen, heck even one of the best shows I’ve seen, though that could be due to the fact I saw it as a young kid, but I did rewatch it and it lived up.

No matter, enjoy media, and remember to stay excited for new things, media hasn’t become bad, we simply have to keep up and find the good parts. Goodbye tumblr citizens.

[illithiddreams]

Muse List

OC'S (Fandomless) @wackyinflatablearmtubeman - Small Sign spinner who is just trying his best to hold down a job despite having horrible luck doing so.

@somanydumbwaystodie - Airheaded idiot cop who is cursed to die in horrible ways and can never find peace.

@brain-over-brawn - Tiny Alien Brain who is trying to disguise as a human to study them and learn how to take over the world with his boss.

@running-on-co2 - Once turned science experiment now the worlds greatest robotic assassin.

@chalk-it-up-to-fate - Well known Artist who traps people in a fake world of his own creation due to envy of the people in the human / real world.

@absorbing-misfortune - Evil demonic entity that feeds off of misfortune and misery and his cousin that feeds off of love and attention as well as other random ocs. (Semi)

@heartbrokenwhispers - Yandere muse blog for a man trying to find love but who keeps having horrible luck doing so.

@the-monster-of-scotland - NESSIE!

@run-run-as-fast-as-u-can - Smol tiny baker trying his best with a cursed magic oven that can make baked goods come to life.

@bee-my-queen - Bumblebee OC that made a human appearance hive to go out and try to date and find a new queen.

@the-king-of-villains - King of all villains who learned to steal powers from other villains to become stronger

@bright-and-clever-no-matter-watt - OC blog for the smartest inventor ever.

@bloodline-rewritten - intravenous System OC Muse

@klaus-the-hessian - Dullahan muse

@all-the-kings-horses-and-men - Soldier that was sent 200 years in the future due to being in a coma after getting injured.

@wooden-lies- Pinocchio Au / OC blog

@who-can-take-the-sunrise - Literal Chocolatier

@dont-trust-a-thing - Alien shapeshifter :D (Semi)

@the-first-murderer - Cain aka the first murderer

@culex-headquarters - Group of assassins that track people Via blood.

@within-a-sea-of-stars - Sea Star OC

@swimming-in-arrows-of-love - Q (Cupid)

@only-hanging-on-by-a-thread - Worm on a string OC

@its-not-always-black-and-white - Fandomless OC

@stuck-in-a-sticky-situation - Demon Oc blog

@castle-of-glass - Prince Rupert Drop

Soulslike Muses: @the-dukes-archives - Dark souls Rp blog for Seath the scaleless and other muses from that fandom.

@ceaseless-chaos - Prince of Chaos who is cursed to be in pain all his life and only find comfort in his own siblings corpse that he thinks still watches him.

@rise-up-like-glitter-and-gold- Elden Ring Multi Muse blog for my tarnished and my OC Rune.

@deathisjustthebeginning - Elden Ring OC for a man who was once human now cursed to spread death after he tried to cheat it and became a horrible disfigured monster in the process now having to hide behind a fake human mask of his own design.

@pastor-of-vows - Miriel from Elden Ring

@legend-of-the-iron-fist - Pot husband 8D

@naturalbornofthevoid - Fallen Star bug baby

Movie Muses: @king-vortigern-pendragon - Legend Of The Sword Rp blog for Vortigern Pendragon

@in-heaven-everything-is-fine - Eraserhead baby Au blog from the movie Eraserhead.

@you-reap-what-you-sow - Harold blog from Scary Stories to tell in the Dark series.

@the-galaxy-is-on-orions-belt - Small Alien Prince tasked with keeping the world safe from destruction.

@squirming-evil - Oogie from TNBC

@wooden-lies- Pinocchio Au / OC blog

@lord-jab-desilijic-tiure - Jabba the hutt muse

@let-your-evil-shine - Grigori Rasputin from Anastasia blog

@dont-trust-a-thing - Alien shapeshifter :D

@villainsthatliveinmyhead- Gabriel / Madison blog from Malignant

@lord-of-the-dead-aidoneus - Hades from Disney's Hercules

@hit-me-one-time-hit-me-twice - Hexxus from Ferngully

@worlds-greatest-criminal-mind - Professor Ratigan

@william-cecil-clayton - Clayton from Tarzan

Game Muses: (Dragon age / Spyro / Portal / Skyrim) @lordseekerlucius - Lucius Corin blog / Envy from Dragon Age Inquisition.

@let-your-dreams-flood-in - Sloth Demon from DAO

@ruler-of-artisans - Toasty from Spyro

@freddys-daycare-attendant - Sunny / Moon from FNAF

@designed-for-danger - Rick from Portal

@notjustamoron - Wheats from Portal

@richard-the-master-grey - The Master from Fallout

[thegamecollection]

‘LIES OF P’ - GAMEPLAY TRAILER!

‘Boy’, this is a ‘real’ treat of a trailer, isn’t it? After its reveal at Gamescom’s Opening Night Live this Summer, we’ve been sitting all wooden and waiting for more on this action souls-like game set in a dark Belle Époque world!

The familiar story of Pinocchio and his own wish to become human has been told in a number of ways, most famously by none other than Walt Disney. The animated (and rather diluted) classic was a constant through my childhood and my nose would grow if I didn’t admit it! But this take on Carlo Collodi’s quite horrifying tale, developed by Neowiz Games and Round 8 Studio - is certainly not for children... The appearance of the Undertaker Rabbits at the very end certainly puts the nail in that coffin!

Sorry kids.

Someone burrowed deep into a nightmare to bring this lot to the surface! Summoned in the book by the fairy to take Pinocchio away in a coffin, which in turn prompts him to take the medicine that saves his life... It’s an eerie example of how this game is taking direct inspirations and from them, will spin its own versions of the horrors that the original tale has to offer.

Gameplay looks smooth and seamless with a certain fluidity that tells us souls-like fans will lap it up! The gothic feel and dark ambience oozing from the in-game locations and characters provide what looks to be a stellar backdrop for this tale to come alive in all of its originally sinister glory! Jiminy Cricket’s voice does however sooth things somewhat. We needed that.

“THE LIGHT SHINES BRIGHTEST IN THE DARKEST OF TIMES.”

With no release date confirmed other than its placement in the TBC 2023 bracket, we’re left to hope that the truth to be told to us very soon. After all... “A lie keeps growing and growing until it’s as plain as the nose on your face.”

Keep ‘em peeled for more updates, TGCollectors!

-Jack

[callmebeausunrise]

( jes tom, twenty-nine, non-binary, they/them ) ☼ congratulations, beau sun, you’ve been accepted as a visitor center staff at central hazel in grand hazel national park this summer! we could tell from your application that you are chatty and personable, so we are so pleased to welcome you from huntington, west virginia for your first summer on staff. hopefully you can check flirting with some cute visitors, learning about every corner of the park, and petting a wild animal (just kidding. maybe) off your bucket list. please consult your employee handbook with questions!

background

Beau grew up right in the middle of five children. No one ever listened to them talk so they might as well talk about everything and anything, right? Beau is always talking. Whether it’s an appropriate time or not, whether they even know who they’re talking to, whether or not they even know what they’re talking about.

They left home right at 18 to make their own way in life, and after all manners of odd jobs and strange living situations, now at 29 they have found themself very happily submitting an application to Grand Hazel National Park.

about them

Beau loves love. They have been in some very happy monogamous relationships and polyamorous relationships. They believe in romance in all its (consensual, appropriate) forms. They are pansexual.

They absolutely love to talk. Talk to visitors, talk to themself... oh yeah, talk to their peers too.

They love the outdoors but are scatter-brained enough to forget some safety rules. Watch out for this one, they’re a bit of a danger to themself.

Self-admitted energy drink fanatic. (Please drink more water.)

Beau will defend their friends with their life.

They're really hoping that Disney movies haven't lied to them, and they really want to pet a wild animal. (Don’t let them.)

looking for

lots and lots of friends!!

friends to explore some hidden parts of the park with

friends to go on an early morning hike with to watch the sun rise above the trees

friends to talk with about the cute visitors that come by ;)

a romantic fling here and there

(possibly a serious relationship?)

helpful coworkers to make this whole job smoother

cowokers that will make sure Beau does NOT pet a wild animal

a tour guide or two to help introduce them to the area, they're new here

someone to talk conspiracy theories with -- who here has seen Bigfoot??

if anyone has any other ideas I'm totally open to chat!! ☼

[mdhwrites]

Why I Think The Owl House Got Shortened

I have three theories and literally none of them of them have jack shit to do with the representation. I think people who think The Owl House got cancelled for that haven’t been paying attention to Disney at all, want a reason to hate a corporation that hates them (because this is by no means calling Disney an ally. They’re evil) and ignores that Disney has been using representation as a marketing and distraction tool for YEARS now. Besides, Disney has to approve everything TOH does and they still let the Lumity kiss happen. They still allowed Luz to do her bi presentation at the start of season three. Moscha is blatantly non-binary. These are all good things and all things Disney let through. If Disney hated the show as much as people claim, at least for the representation, NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE HAPPENED. Moving on. These will be in order of what I think is most plausible btw and these are all just theories. Theory 1: Dana pisses some people off with her treatment of S1. The fandom knew REALLY early on that Dana didn’t like the first of Season 1 and that she blamed changes enforced by Disney for it. Mind you, I joined the fandom when S1 was ALL WE HAD. As far as a content creator’s job to promote that which they make, let alone the DIRECTOR of the show, saying “Hey, half of what is out, the first half, is not great,” is kind of a dick move to your own creation. Say that once there’s five seasons, a dedicated fandom, etc. like that? Go right the the fuck ahead. That’s not going to stop most people who are watching the show and half a season in return for nine times that amount in good content is a trade some will make. I would not be surprised if this ended up really annoying some of the people at Disney and eroded trust they had in Dana. That would have made the budget cuts made during Covid easier to choose because you have a show where the creator itself is causing problems in its numbers. Theory 2: Disney decided they’d been lied to and that the show wasn’t what it was pitched as and they didn’t want the new version. So if we go off of the pilot, and the unreleased pilot for that matter, what would be a good description of the thesis of the show? What is the elevator pitch that gets a network to start producing it? For TOH it’s actually pretty simple and you can see why current Disney wanted it. “We want to do a fantasy comedy show where a young girl goes to another world where she learns life lessons and magic. The comedy is predicated mostly on subversion of fantasy tropes.” As Disney has been loving itself some subversion of its own tropes, that’s pretty appealing since it also works well as a kid’s show and Amphibia was also approved. But... How true is that of TOH? Season 1 at least tries to do lessons about morality but more often than not, Luz learns nothing. Or the lessons get muddled because Eda is a terrible person in S1. The comedy also isn’t clever in any way with its subversions and there’s also plenty of fantasy in TOH that is reliant on the excuses and the like of fantasy. It’s really nothing special in that regard even while it mocks fantasy. But the worst part is the magic for Luz. The Intruder and Adventure in the Elements aren’t bad but one DOESN’T have a lesson for Luz and if it does, the other uses similar mistakes she made in The Intruder to cause the problems that happen. Also nothing really comes of “There’s magic everywhere” in that episode so there are two glyphs that don’t really have any meaning behind them. But then it doubles down in Grom where Luz just gets the plant glyph at the beginning because *shrug* and then Winging it Like Witches gives her the fire glyph. You CAN make a case that this gives her an arsenal so she can do more with the adventure aspect (I would argue this is not a good thing because it means she needs to be less clever with her magic, which happens in the season finale and opener for S2) so they can brush that off. Maybe. But then Escaping Expulsion happens. Not only is it exceptionally anti-parents for Amity without proper build up or the like ON DISNEY but it nukes Luz’s arc with magic without Luz even interacting properly with the B plot of the episode. She is not involved in the ending of her own journey in becoming a witch. And for anyone who wants to say “The glyph combos could that...” Dana would have had to show that the script and boards for the very next episode included “Here is barely an explanation for how I now have INVISIBILITY. The bigger explanation is ‘It’s magic, I don’t have to explain it’“ Which is usually the number 1 complaint about fantasy writing. And your subversive comedy just used it over and over again for the main character’s arc with magic, especially for why it’s as strong as it is. At that point, you ask for a meeting to discuss just what you’re actually getting as a company and how much more of it you want. Theory 3: TOH is expensive to make, even for an animated cartoon, and Covid hit so it was decided to be made shorter for long term budget cuts, especially since S2 looked even more expensive. So... This has a lot to just do with the fact that TOH’s magic especially is very budget unfriendly. Gus, Willow and Amity all practice forms of magic that cause secondary entities to appear with them and can continue to move after the initial cast. So now you have a far more complex scene because you need to track Gus’ illusions, Amity’s abominations, Willow’s plants and those are just those three covens. Pretty much all of the coven magics have this issue. The only ones that kind of avoid this are potions and power glyphs. Also, quick side note: Power GLYPHS. Not going into it here but there’s a reminder that TOH’s magic sucks and does not feel planned out. Speaking of glyphs: Those don’t really help. Yes, those are at least static but Luz also demonstrates that they allow for quick casting so that’s a lot of new elements and half of her glyphs still leave behind debris that the animator and artists have to keep in mind as the fight goes on. This is why a lot of times, even in a show with a lot of magic, you might have the dude who specializes in artifacts or weaponry or goes into a special mode where he just glows a bit and gets buff. All of that is WAY simpler than literally anytime the witches in TOH cast magic, let alone for the big set pieces TOH likes to do. Dana’s penchant for outfit swaps doesn’t help either. After all, you work with a TEAM of animators. You have to make the notes for them of how the new outfit works on the character. Works in specific lighting. What if it gets wet? Etc. like that. That stuff takes time and money to hammer out but if you don’t do it then the character looks off model and shifts more between artists because there’s unifying document. HOW MANY OUTFIT SWAPS ARE IN SEASON 2? And how many of them are permanent, or at least for a good number of episodes, so this work is more required than a one off outfit? In general, there’s a lot about TOH honestly, from how populated it is, how it handles magic, how it handles outfits, etc. like that makes it feel honestly expensive. It’s a GOOD looking show after all but that effort, and especially those high quality set pieces that are obviously made with a high frame rate essentially (drawn on 2s or 1s instead of 3s I think is what one would say? I’m not an animator)? It could just be that it stressed its budget, Disney looked at that, looked at Covid and decided that in the long term, they didn’t want to keep spending this type of money on this show so they shortened because they had a contract with Dana that demanded 3 seasons and the specials were the closest way to ending that contract early. Those are my thoughts. My theories with what little business knowledge I have and putting myself in Disney’s shoes. One thing you might notice is that I didn’t do a quality call on it because quality very rarely matters to corporations. What matters is views, costs and profit. If quality mattered, Teen Titans Go would be dead because it is THE WORST. Like it literally teaches bad morals which is about as bad as a kid’s show can get. So why would it matter for TOH?