#amity has been living a lie

[im-totally-not-an-alien-2]

Danny wasn't sure what to expect from living with the Waynes. Okay. Thats actually a lie. He was expecting them to be like Vlad, complete fruitloop and evil or like Sam's parents, controlling and caring way too much about image

Instead they were really nice. Sure, Damian could get kinda aggressive when his boundaries weren't respected and Tim was someone he didn't want to be on the wrong side of but both had been very kind to Danny.

The issue was with them being bats. Of course the Waynes didn't know that he knew (they have a betting pool for when he finds out) and he planned to keep it that way. So when he saw Duke dressed as Signal sans the helmet standing at the kitchen counter they kinda just stared at eachother. Ghostboy was panicking. He didn't want to be guilt tripped into being a hero like he was in Amity. Would his new family think he was a coward if he refused? Would they think he's selfish and cut contact like Sam had?

Overwhelmed, Danny blurted out, "Nice cosplay dude!" And left.

The bats make it a game to see who Danny thinks has the best "cosplay"

[dcxdpdabbles]

DCXDP FIC IDEA: The Dauntless Matchmaker

Danny Fenton is short on cash. He has been short on cash almost all his adult life, but usually, he can pull through untill the last minute before breaking and asking his family for help.

It's a pain in a half trying to find a job that is flexible enough to accommodate his "Health" issues.

He needs time off to keep his agreement. See back when he was sixteen, he realized that the ghosts that had been bothering him were all trying to challenge him for his power.

At first he looked like easy prey- being new and all- but the more fights he won the more his reputation rose and that made the ghosts attack less frequently.

They just became harder since the big guns wanted a crack at him. Danny proposed that the fights be in neutral grounds- the ghost zone- since fights in Amity Park were ruining his haunt.

Haunt Rights were highly protected and respected in the Infinite Releams.

His adversaries agreed under the condition that Danny responded to the battles within two hours; otherwise, they would haunt him in the human world.

Ghost fighting in the Infinite Releams to keep the ghosts busy, and nowadays, only the strongest bothered him like a bi-weekly challenge from dead beings that don't understand scheduling.

It worked out.....until he couldn't explain why he was missing so often in the human world. With the help of some friendly ghosts, he was able to fake a diagnosis of some muscle disorder and has been living with the excuse that he would go MIA because of it. He missed a lot.

Often enough to have almost every job he's gotten to fire him.

This brings him to his current problem. Yes, Danny can argue that he has a disability but to do so would mean having someone look into it and realize it's not real.

So when Charlie from the Tea MadHouse tells him not to bother returning tomorrow after a four-day-long battle, he can only sigh and turn in his tea maker apron.

He might have to call his parents to ask for help on this month's rent. That's a bitter pill to swallow.

If only there was a job that he could do that had no problem with him taking multiple days off without notice.

"Pardon me. I need a moment of your time." a voice calls out. Danny twists around, turning his neck slightly downwards to meet the green-eyed stare of a young boy.

"I have a proposition for you. My elder brother requires a fake lover to fool our family butler into thinking that he has moved on from the heartbreak of his last disastrous relationship. Not that anyone could blame Dowd for ending things with Drake. In any case, seeing as I have witnessed your unemployment, I figured you would do well for the job."

Danny blinks "I'm sorry?"

The kid pulls out a wad of cash. Danny can practically hear the ca-ching sound surrounding the boy as he raises a brow.

He gapes as the youth slaps the cash into his hand without so much as a blink.

"Do we have an accord?" The boy asks while Danny slowly turns the money in his hand.

"Whatever you say, temporary in-law," He says after flipping through the bills only to realize it's a hundred-dollars. A quick count of how many he's been handed causes his eyes to almost pop out of thier socket.

It's more then enough for this month's rent-hell he has some left over for at least four months!

"Excellent, we are expected at dinner. If Drake acts surprised to see you merely tap the table six times, then four. He shall fall into line and build off our lie."

Danny scrambles after the kid, nodding to himself. "Six, then four. Got it. Ugh, does the dinner have a dress code?"

It sounds like it would since a young boy just gave out hundreds like it was nothing. Danny would feel bad showing up in an old pair of jeans and a faded t-shirt.

Maybe he has a formal shirt somewhere.

The boy's green eyes flickered to him, then his watch on his wrist. "An impressive observation. Pennyworth will not be impressed by a poorly dressed paramour. We have time to purchase a suit. Come along."

Danny has no idea how someone so small can walk so fast. He feels his breathing is coming in quick bursts, but the boy doesn't seem winded at all. He winces when the boy enters a well-known suit place that is very pricey. "Is this coming out of my pay?"

"No. This shall be covered by the company card," The strange child says, holding up a black card with a quick flick of his wrist. At the sight of it, two store attendants appear at their side, offering assistance. Danny has never seen such power.

"W-wait we have a company card?" He shutters, overwhelmed by the attendant pushing him into a changing room and a light blue suit in his arms.

"Yes. However, you have a limit on what can be spent with it. I shall review the details later regarding your medical, dental, and vision benefits."

"I GET DENTAL?!"

"Of course. America's ridiculous health programs will mistreat no employee of mine simply due to lack of funds. " The boy scoffed, sounding offended by the very idea.

Danny doesn't care how long he needs to pretend to be this boy's boyfriend, and he'll sign a contract right now.

_______________________________________

Damian waited for Fenton to finish trying on all the suits the personal sellers had pushed onto him. He personally thinks the light blue was the best but it doesn't hurt to try other options.

They need Fenton to look his best to woo Drake and get him to stop acting so pathetic.

Yes, Dowd had broken up with him for reasons Damian is unaware of, nor does he care enough to find them, but Drake has had plenty of people break up with him before and remain on good terms with him.

Just look at Brown.

Drake had also always bounced right back after the breakup, usually because he would get tied up in either work at Wayne Industries or Red Robin.

Yet, for some reason, unlike all the others, Dowd leaving has not only been messy it also threw Drake into a downwards spiral.

He has refused even to get dress- walking around in a bathrobe and fluffy slippers- eating ice cream and sobbing over photos of Dowd for hours on end. He taken a leave from Wayne Industries and mostly stayed on monitor duty as Red Robin.

At other times, he plays sad songs and watches romance movies with a dead look in his eyes. Usually there were crumbs of some unknown spicy chips all over his face too.

Really it was unseemly.

It's been four months of this, and Drake does not seem to be getting it together. Damian had researched online, and all of the articles indicate that he should have felt better by the third-month mark.

He would have left the fool well alone only Pennyworth is beginning to worry. And Damian refuses to let Pennyworth worry over something fixable.

His research showed that a "rebound" was highly recommended (if done correctly), in the healing process of a breakup. Drake refused to find one, so Damian assigned himself the task of finding one for him instead.

He considered Drake's past lovers' looks, interests, and personalities. Then creating a list of what was considered a good candidate he wandered around Gotham in search of someone who would be a perfect rebound.

His efforts led him to Tea MadHouse- a tea shop with a surprisingly good coffee menu- where Daniel Fenton worked. Over three weeks, Damian had watched him, categorizing the pros and cons that Drake would find within Fenton, and concluded that he would be perfect.

The fact Fenton has lost his job now only worked in his favor. He'll convince Drake that Fenton is a decoy for Pennyworth - since Drake was getting fed up with all the hovering- and he would never notice that the real target of this fake relationship would be Drake himself all along.

Fenton will woo him, sweep him off his feet, make him forget Dowd and ride off into the sunset with Drake none the wiser. It was full-proof.

Damian will make Drake rebound on Fenton, even if he has to throw the idiot at the other teen. He is getting awful tired of the concerned glances whenever Drake slumps his way into a room.

No other reason. He certainly didn't care about Drake that much nor did does he lay awake at night wondering how Drake is doing now that he does not have someone to hold him.

Drake doesn't sleep well alone.

"How do I look?" Fenton stepped out of the booth wearing the light blue suit. It made his eyes pop and framed his body well.

Yes, muscular. The body of a boxer. Drake will lose his mind over those biceps.

"Ravishing." He tells the nineteen-year-old. Damian barely bites back a smirk as Fenton flushed, painting a pretty picture. Drake enjoys talking his lovers up, and Fenton will do well to receive plenty of compliments. "Let us be off."

Drake won't know what hit him.

[nelkcats]

Dad War

Danny Fenton became a father and he's not panicking at all (this is a lie)

Danny should have known that asking for an uneventful week was an exaggeration. He tempted fate by saying that "nothing bad could happen now that ghosts and humans lived in peace with each other"

Of course, it was right after saying that sentence that his daughter cousin appeared in front of him with her arm melted. Having gotten used to that particular scenario he steered her into his ecto-dejecto reserves, both of them panicked when this didn't solve anything.

With no more options, Danny took her to Far Frozen, surely the Yeti would have a better idea of what was happening to the girl.

Frostbite examined Ellie just like the first time but instead of scowling like Danny had expected he looked extremely pleased, almost satisfied.

"The time has finally come" Frostbite told him happily "you must let it happen, Great One"

"Do I have to let Ellie melt down!?" Danny yelled in concern, he never thought the Yeti had a sadistic streak in him. Ellie looked just as shaken by the information.

"Not like you're thinking" The Yeti noticed his mistake and decided to explain himself "she's not melting, she's stabilizing"

"If I'm stabilizing, why is my arm goo?" Ellie groaned, the sensation of melting never failed to be strange.

"That explanation is much simpler" Frostbite smiled "how old are you, little Phantom?"

"Uh" Ellie tried to assign herself an age, she aged much slower than the other halfas "16?"

"You didn't understand the question, I didn't mean how you look" Frostbite denied affectionately "how old do you consider yourself?"

“…5” Ellie muttered in embarrassment, even if her age was a bit older than that number, she felt much younger, like a child. She didn't count her early years, between Vlad and traveling the world she hadn't begun to think about it.

Even with all the knowledge stored in her head, she wanted to experience a childhood like other children, to make friends. Something that her adolescent appearance did not allow. As much as Ellie loved talking to Val, she was one of her only friends and unlike her, Val had a whole life to live.

"There is your explanation" The yeti pointed out "ghosts take the appearance of how they see themselves, your core takes into account your wishes and therefore you are reforming into a child"

Danny remembered when he first shifted into his ghost form and Frostbite explanation made sense, but his head reminded him of a very important detail.

"Wouldn't that be troublesome? A lot of people in Amity know you as my cousin” Danny pointed out worriedly. The secret of the halfas was still closely guarded.

"Well, there is a way to leave her appearance the same as it currently is, but that's up to her" Frostbite looked at the girl waiting for an answer.

"No" Ellie denied "I want it to happen, I also...I also want to have a childhood, like the others"

Ellie had always felt bitter about being the only halfa exploring the concept of death more than life; unlike Vlad and Danny who had lived fairly normal lives before their respective accidents, she had been robbed of the possibility.

She wanted to live too.

"It's settled then," Frostbite nodded "Now, this is just getting started and someone has to look after your core while you reform. Do you have any candidates in mind?"

"Danny, can you?" Ellie asked, taking the sleeve of his suit, she wouldn't have considered asking anyone else. Even if she didn't admit it, Ellie always saw him as her father.

"You don't even have to ask, I'll be here when you get back" Danny ruffled her hair with a smile.

"Thank you, dad" Ellie closed her eyes as she let herself be carried away by the sensation of her core. It was a little strange that what she thought would kill her was fulfilling her dreams.

Before the halfa could reply to the comment, Ellie melted, and the ectoplasm was quickly absorbed into her core.

Danny looked at the green stone in his hands with concern.

"How long do you think it will take her?" he asked the Yeti.

"A couple of hours" Frostbite sat down next to him "it's hard being a new parent isn't it? I still remember when my children were born"

Danny avoided mentioning that he had no idea about his children. He wondered if he had them in life or death.

"I- Ellie is my cousin," Danny tried to tell him, but his argument sounded weak.

"She doesn't seem to see you as such" The Yeti shrugged as he handed the boy a cup of tea, but the halfa refused to take it as long as he held the stone in his hands.

Frostbite snorted while setting the mug aside, a new parent, in fact.

"Uh, looks like it's time for me to leave my parents house, don't you think?" Danny tried to joke, even Jazz had her own house in another place.

He had temporarily tried it when he was balancing his college life with his spooky duties, living with Sam and Tucker was fun but in the end he came home.

"It seems so" The Yeti shrugged "congratulations, it's a girl"

Danny laughed as he held the stone closer to his chest. He had really become a father, hadn't he?

His core purred at the thought, while an invisible thread connected the two half-ghosts.

Being a parent didn't sound bad. Maybe it wasn't even as hard as people made it out to be.

───────────────

Danny regrets that last thought, he regrets it so much.

He just had to think that, didn't he?

As usual, he called Jazz to inform her of the day's events as he held the stone to his chest (Frostbite had told him it was safe to do so).

Jazz didn't seem too surprised by the news, on the contrary, she started recommending him books on parenting, so many books.

Danny tried to tell her that Ellie probably wouldn't be a difficult child, he got a 30-minute lecture on how she'd probably regress to the mental age of 5 or 6, and therefore he had to be prepared for it.

Deciding to listen to his older sister, Danny googled for advice.

Checking on wikihow how to take care of a child didn't work, Danny could attest to that.

The halfa sighed as he looked at the "I'll bring you some books tomorrow" message that Jazz had send him. Did he really have to read?

It couldn't be that hard, right? His parents took care of Jazz and she ended well!

Danny was ignoring Sam's voice in his head saying that "Jazz is the spiders georg of children and should not be counted"

Of course, Danny was also avoiding to look at the fact that his parents also took care of him and he kinda died. Ellie was already half dead so he couldn't fucked up that part.

He put his phone aside as he stared at the stone on his chest. It had been hours, was Ellie okay? Perhaps something had gone wrong?

He frowned wondering if he should call Frostbite when he noticed the glowing core. Before he knew it he had a 5-year-old girl crushing his stomach.

"Ouch," Danny groaned in pain "fatherhood hurts"

"Daddy! Daddy!" Ellie jumped on his stomach, she didn't seem to notice the change in title "Look! Look! Do you like my new look?"

Realizing that Jazz was right, Danny pretended to think for a few minutes, Ellie looked bummed out at his lack of response.

"Of course I love it!" Danny scooped her up into his arms as she giggled "you look perfect!"

Ellie chuckled as she ran off to Danny's room where she had kept his phone before the whole mess.

"I'll be back soon! I have to tell Val!" The girl ran off, probably forgetting that she could go through the ceiling and get to the room faster.

Danny gave her a thumbs up, as soon as Ellie disappeared down the stairs he lay back on the couch rubbing his stomach. His daughter had strength.

"We're definitely moving" he muttered, closing his eyes. Not in a million years would a girl with that much energy go unnoticed.

Danny checked his phone again and saw messages from Sam and Tucker. The halfa pouted, Jazz was a gossip.

───────────────

"Are you sure you have everything?" Tucker asked, checking a list on his PDA. No matter how many years passed, he still loved his technology and refused to throw it away.

"Definitely sure" Danny yawned as he loaded the boxes onto the GAV. Ellie was asleep in the passenger seat.

"Papers?" Tucker checked the list.

"Legal and illegal" Danny held up a folder "Thanks for that, by the way"

"You're welcome man" Tucker shrugged. He had created Ellie's papers a while back, but they had never been needed. Adapting the age was a surprise.

"Food? Money? Clothes?" Tucker recited the list, to Danny's nod he continued, "materials to put together the new portal?"

"Ready" Danny pointed to the box that said "danger", there were also the ectoplasm samples.

"I still think that's a stupid idea" Sam rolled her eyes "that thing killed you"

"Yes, but we need ectoplasm on a regular basis and well, building one was the easiest way to get it" the halfa shrugged. It still made him shudder to think about the accident but the portal was necessary "Besides, portals don't measure distance in the Realms, I can build one that's only a few feet from home"

Also, having Far Frozen close to them was always an advantage and the ghosts had promised not to invade the new town without his permission. He still couldn't believe he was moving to New Jersey.

"That's the only reason I'm letting you get away with it," Jazz snorted as she bent down to kiss her brother's forehead "Remember, we're just a phone call away"

"I know, I know, you don't need to move out as well" Danny shook his head amused, he felt that if he didn't stop them they would really try to " I never thought I would have to move"

"It's been so long since the accident" Sam remembered as she placed a hand on her hip "even though it seems like yesterday"

"It feels like it happened yesterday" Danny admitted while touching the scar on his hand. The memories of the electrocution were still fresh in his mind.

"By the way dude, are you sure to leave Vlad as her biological father?" Tucker winced at the document, he could see the reason but he didn't like it.

"Of course, that idiot must pay me child support" Danny smiled "eat the rich and all that"

Having an excuse to spend Vlad's money was always fun. And if his stupid biological sex could help that, he would use it. Danny was honestly relieved that his legal documents had been changed. He wondered if Vlad knew the real reason why he was never able to create a male clone.

"You could just ask us for money" Sam patted his shoulder "Tucker and I could support your poor ass"

Both had been very successful in their respective fields. Sam had graduated in law and was getting another degree as an Environment Protection Technician, she had changed a lot in a short time. On the other side, Tucker had created his own Technology & Security company, he was currently negotiating a deal with Wayne Enterprises.

Danny had a feeling that his friend wanted to use him to close a deal and had suggested the city as an option for that reason. Bludhaven wasn't far from Gotham after all.

"Just because I'm unemployed doesn't mean I'm poor" Danny pouted "I'll get a job in the new town before you know it"

"I hope so, your savings aren't going to stretch that long" Jazz sighed. Her brother's lack of planning never ceased to be worrisome "Oh, and don't forget to take off your blinder, you need to breathe"

Danny frowned at the comment but nodded. His ghost form was more comfortable because it suited his chosen gender, he wondered if he could change the human as well.

"Okay, I guess that's it" Tucker put the PDA away  "remember not to drive like either of your parents, we don't want you to get a ticket so quickly"

"Nor that the weather news announces when you're going out" Sam smirked, she remembered when Lance Thunder started announcing when Jazz and Danny were learning to drive.

"That's impossible, you know I'm an excellent driver and therefore I'm not going to get a ticker" Danny stuck out his tongue at his best friend.

"Whatever you say Danny" Sam snorted "call us when you get there, and have a safe trip!"

His friends and sister said goodbye to him as he got on the GAV. He started driving away from home. It wasn't long before he passed the "Welcome to Amity Park" sign. The little ghost drawings around it made him smile.

Still, Danny was offended by the skepticism of his friends, he was sure that he was not going to get a ticket anytime soon.

───────────────

An officer was giving him a ticket.

Danny banged his head against the steering wheel of the vehicle as the police officer asked him the routine questions.

"Does this vehicle have a license?" The officer raised an eyebrow. Danny sighed as he handed over the GAV papers, he had licensed all of his parents' inventions long ago "Okay- wait, is this a SUV?"

"No, it's a GAV" Danny growled without further explanation, he was still annoyed by the situation. Clockwork was laughing at him from his damned tower, he was sure "Do you need anything else, officer...Grayson?"

Officer Grayson looked at the vehicle with doubt, the damn thing had more modifications than the Batmobile, he really hoped the boy wasn't some future villain.

He had so many questions to ask.

Before Dick could question him further or Danny risked murder on his first day in town, Ellie woke up from her nap.

"Daddy?" Ellie yawned looking at the driver's seat curiously "Are we there yet?"

All the halfa's anger melted away and his attitude took a complete turn.

"No honey, we got pulled over for speeding but we're in town now" Danny leaned down to brush her hair out of her face "you can go back to sleep"

"You're a bad driver" his daughter smirked, she wondered if driving skills were hereditary.

"Are you new in town?" Dick leaned in curiously, the girl reminded him of his own daughter.

Danny was about to tell him it was none of his business but Ellie answered first.

"¡Yes! We're moving" Ellie smiled "That's why we brought all the boxes, I'm going to enroll in a new school and dad is going to get a job"

"That sounds wonderful" Dick smiled softly as he handed Danny the ticket along with the GAV's papers "You should be more careful on the streets, I don't think there is anywhere that accepts 120 km/hr as a normal speed"

The halfa frowned, didn't the officer have a heart!? At least he could forgive a new neighbor for a silly mistake!

"Yeah, yeah, thanks" he murmured as he put the ticket in the glove compartment.

"Well, all seems to be in order" Dick straightened up "you can follow your way, enjoy Bludhaven!"

Danny hoped that he would never see him again.

When he arrived at his new house, the halfa carried Ellie to the couch and let her sleep, after which he began to unload the things from the GAV.

He wondered if he should start unpacking everything or just sleep. He felt tired at the thought of opening all those boxes and fell asleep on the couch with his daughter.

When he woke up it was night, Danny peeked out of the window as he heard a motorcycle park next door. Perhaps he could see his neighbors?

He gaped at the sight of fucking Officer Grayson reaching down to grab a little girl and carry her into his arms.

Wasn't it enough to be physically perfect and heartless, but he also had to be a good father? Damn everything!

It had to be a fucking joke

X

[sepublic]

The Owl House Pilot Leak!!!

            Oh my titan.

            The Owl House’s original pilot episode (basically a bunch of voiced-over storyboards) just got leaked and OMT. Watching it felt like experiencing the original magic of the show all over again… Reminding me what it was like to fall in love the first time!!! The hype and rush, the excitement to type down my thoughts after a new episode, analyzing and gushing over both big and small moments, the details!!! The pilot has reiterated all over to me again why I love these characters, from Luz's powerful earnestness, to Eda's chaotic demeanor! It’s like having the whole show open ahead of me, the possibilities endless when knowing this is just the beginning and we could go anywhere from here!

            What’s interesting is that Luz’s conflict with Camila doesn’t really exist here; In fact Camila isn’t present or mentioned at all! What brings Luz to the isles is Amity, who’s been learning in the human world, under the guise of being a human by disguising her ears! It’s alluded to that Odalia and Alador made her do it, though we don’t know why…

            But WOW that must’ve been so meta, doing S3 with Amity stuck in the human world with Luz, hiding her ears! It must’ve been a fun way to bring back the older concepts in new form! And indeed, we see a couple of stuff we’ve already gotten glimpses of, such as the storyboards of Luz offering her friendship art to Amity! I love that we get to see the actual scenario of how Amity accidentally defended Luz in the first place, since we heard that but didn’t get to see how it turned out.

            It’s interesting that Lumity is basically the inciting incident of the story, though I can see why the final version opted instead to emphasize Luz’s conflict with her mother. Especially with how she chooses to stay in the isles in the final draft, which leads to guilt over lying to her mom, having her ‘coming out’ moment that eventually occurs in Yesterday’s Lie, etc. So more agency when it comes to Luz losing her access to the human world. Plus in the pilot, there isn't the same emphasis on Luz trying to live out her dreams of being a witch, and her obsession with stories that ties back to Manny and forms the basis for a lot of other themes and arcs.

            That said, I also appreciate what this alternate take offers, and how Lumity helps tie everything together, it really is the queerness that is such a foundational part of the ‘weirdness’ theme that the show is about, and it’s intertwined with the pilot! God Luz being heartbroken when Amity dismisses the drawing… And then crying when Eda compliments it without realizing who it’s about! Or maybe she did, she could’ve recognized Luz there and figured out a way to stealthily make Luz feel better…!

            I love Luz routinely lock-picking her locker because she presumably forgot the combination! And it’s interesting that we have a setup of there being multiple dimensions that the Boiling Isles has access to, and not just the human world and Demon Realm. That plays a role in the climax, more on that later. Given we have what is basically an airport for different dimensions, I wonder if we would’ve seen Luz find her way back home much earlier on, under much less intense circumstances, in a S1A episode?

            The ‘Emperor’ is also alluded to in the pilot, which we didn’t get actual mention of until the fifth episode in the final show. He apparently dislikes humans and wants Luz brought over to him, is this still operating off of the ‘Pupa’ version of the character who claimed to speak on behalf of the true ruler, trapped in their metamorphosis by him? So maybe he wasn’t always human, or maybe this is Belos’ hypocritical way of ‘protecting’ humans by keeping them away and in blissful ignorance of the demon realm.

            We also establish Hexside much earlier! IIRC Hexside was always part of the show, but executives pushed for it to have more emphasis, which the crew continued to follow through on in S2 onwards because that had already been set up. Lilith is the principal, and I recognize the storyboards of her, including her bat transformation! We get a Tinella Nosa cameo, we see Amity, and there’s also a brief cameo of Willow too! Nice way to set her up before her proper debut.

            The ‘barrier’ containing King’s crown turns out to just be a regular human locker, which makes me wonder if the writers updated the final draft to make it a force field that only allows humans through, because of the whole Belos twist. Which makes me wonder if in this draft, Belos is Pupa, who never was human, or maybe they realized the opportunity to insert foreshadowing into a big twist regarding the main villain. Makes me wonder if the house we see Amity enter in the pilot, which is on sale, would've had any significance like in the final show. Love how Tinella Nosa is a student at Hexside, and also Dana having to occasionally insert lines for Wendie Malick and others was great.

            Lilith is a lot more openly adversarial, which is different compared to how her actual debut provides a softer side to her; I imagine this would’ve been apparent in a later episode of the ‘Pilot AU’, and her transformation has me curious; Was she originally the one with the curse, but then the writers changed it to Eda? Or did they both have a curse? Eda also has an owl form she can summon and control at Will, maybe all Clawthornes have a beast mode that’s less of a curse and more of a talent. Lilith ends up trapped in another dimension, which makes me wonder if she’d have a temporary replacement –possibly Pilot Bump- or if she’d return offscreen. We see the portal key get destroyed under much more casual circumstances, though it’s less as big of a deal for this and the established ‘dimension port’ we saw before.

            (Also, Amity recognizing Luz in the hallway… Everything to me!!!)

            Warden Wrath doesn’t exist and neither does the Conformatorium, it’s Lilith and Hexside. With her as principal and Amity as student, I wonder if we would’ve gotten more of their relationship in the pilot AU, if Covention was a way of carrying over that former connection since Amity would be a teacher’s pet in either version of the story. And speaking of ties to Covention, it’s interesting is that Eda’s chest gem seems to be linked to the Emperor’s Coven, as ‘Pilot Kikimora’ uses it to control her. Curiously, we have a scene at the end mirroring what we got with Lilith in the final draft of the show!

            I feel it implies that Eda DID join the Emperor’s Coven with Lilith, if only for a brief moment, but then defected; But the chest gem is basically the pilot version of the Emperor’s sigil, except with the explicit function of being a shock collar. I find it interesting that Eda still has the mirror to contact the EC with, instead of just getting rid of the thing. Is she a rogue agent who hasn’t totally cut ties, because she can’t? Won’t?

And the fact that Pilot Kikimora can just shock Eda at will makes me wonder if the Emperor is low-key just letting Eda roam around, which makes me wonder if he’s aware of the familial connection, is using Eda to find Luz, already knows about her doing that because of the time loop, etc. We’d of course have gotten an episode where Luz finds out about Eda’s connection and helps her deal with the gem… I realize now that Luz learning Eda also wanted to join the EC with Lilith is a carryover of this idea.

I can see the ups and downs between both versions; The final draft sets up Luz’s conflict with Camila and the reality camp, which is foundational to her character arc throughout the whole show. Her pain over being ‘sent away’ is just so vital that I appreciate its inclusion in the first episode. But I also like the inclusion of Lumity and the earnest desire to be friends with someone who showed her, unwittingly, any kindness at all! We get explicit bullying from Luz’s peers in the pilot, but in the final draft we also get her thoughtlessness that plays a big part in her S1 arc. And Luz’s arrival in the isles is more intertwined with Eda and King in the final version, which also feels right; The show is about these three in particular!

All in all, this was wonderful to watch! The magic was experienced all over again, not just in watching an episode, but also commentating on one that was just ‘released’ as well? I thought the last time I’d do anything like this was with the series finale Watching and Dreaming… But as Luz said, it really comes full circle with watching the first episode all over again! So maybe we have other stuff to still look forward to after all… At the very least, we have an eternal anticipation with an unexplored universe ahead of us, that will never reach completion; So it's like our ever-lasting final gift from TOH, and a good last one. So until next time: BBBBBYYYYYEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

[lollytea]

how do think willow and hunter first talked about them being bi/pan? or do you think it's just so accepted on the boiling isles that they probably would never bring it up?

(This ask is from back when we got the bi/pan confirmation and I've been saving it, kinda thinking of putting effort into writing something cute and good quality. However I ended up waking up from a nap while the Q&A was happening and somebody told my confused disoriented ass that Zeno was talking about Hunter exploring his identity and going on dates while in the human realm. And I tapped out something very messy and stream of consciousness-y in my notes app in my sleepy state. So you're getting this instead. I don't feel like cleaning it up.)

Like like like it's. Luz putting together her little coming out slideshow for Camila. And the topic of sexualities comes up. And Amity and Willow puzzle out what theirs are nearly immediately. Gus doesn't but he's unfazed by it. While Hunter is like....I...can't say for certain and its bothering me. Like this is a THING that has a chance of helping him feel like more of a person. He wants his very own flag. He just doesn't know what it is yet. He'd like to know.

He likes Willow. He knows he likes Willow. But...there isn't a flag for liking Willow. (As far as he knows. He's thinking of making one. But for now he's stumped.)

There's a very specific route the kids take to the grocery store to collect stuff for Camila. Hunter likes to take the task because he likes feeling useful. Willow also likes to help but she'd be lying if she said another reason wasn't long walks with Hunter. Usually one of the other kids tags along too. Or more than one. But today it's just Hunter and Willow.

They always pass that damn statue but Hunter always averts his eyes and hopes Willow does too. He doesn't like to look at it. But maybe if he turned his gaze towards it every once in a while he'd notice the boy who always sits beneath the statue with a little handheld game console. The boy who always lifts his head when Hunter strolls by.

This is the day when the boy chooses to be brave. There's no gaggle of friends around him today. Just one girl. This is it. This is his chance. The boy marches up to Hunter and Willow in a way that Hunter immediately clocks as similar to his own Golden Guard body language. When he was trying to feel big but failing miserably.

The boy IS big tho. That's the weird thing. Tall with broad shoulders and chunky arms. A cluster of metal pierced into his left ear and a silver stud in his nose. He looks....so cool. So very very cool. Hunter misses the first words out of this dude's mouth cuz he was too busy looking at him and he needs to repeat himself.

So. Hm. Okay. Well. APPARENTLY. Piercings boy thinks Hunter is cute. Which is a staggering revelation that leaves Hunter a little speechless. And if that weren't surprising enough, he's now pushing a little piece of paper in Hunter's direction, babbling something about talking some time. Or maybe going out, whatever.

While all this is going down Willow just.....watches. Smiling. Nudging Hunter when it's his turn to speak and he's forgotten. It's cute. He gets like that with her sometimes too. It made her feel very cool and pretty that she made such a handsome boy nervous. But now....she's watching this little interaction play out and she's realizing....

Hunter's obvious little crush on her. Just how easy would it go away if he met somebody cooler. Somebody prettier. Somebody who's not clearly living a lie and hiding everything from everyone all the time. Somebody brave enough to actually ask him out.

It seems like just as she's getting comfortable in these kinds of situations, an Amity always sweeps in. And that's fine. She's used to it by now.

And also...she....she really cares about Hunter. He's been getting so much happier and experimental in the Human Realm. She wants him to try new things. She wants him to figure out who he really is. And....maybe that version of himself won't always have a little crush on Willow Park. Maybe he'll realize that there's better people out there. And that's okay. Whatever it takes for him to smile.

There's something very ugly writhing in her stomach and Willow pretends it's not there. Instead she yanks up her smile wider and as the mystery boy strides away, she pounces on Hunter. She teases him a little, she asks why he got so very shy. Is it because he liiiiiiiikes Mr Mystery Boy huh? And Hunter doesn't know what to say. He doesn't KNOW Mr Mystery Boy. Willow counters that's what the number is for. That's what dates are for. After a long back-and-forth discussion, its Willow that urges him to dial that number. They have to borrow Camila's phone. And Willow stands there as moral support as Hunter stumbles through the question.

Hunter has a date this Saturday. Which is very exciting. And also weird. And scary. He blushes whenever you bring it up. But Willow happily hypes him up for it every day leading up to it.

On Saturday, Hunter leaves the house at mid day and Willow sees him off, waving enthusiastically. He smiles softly and waves back at her, still twitchy with nerves. She gives a finger guns and assures him it's gonna go fine. He's a catch! This makes him giggle and she swells with pride.

The door clicks shut. Hunter is gone. It feels like a light has been sucked out of the household. Willow's smile slips.

She could head upstairs and hang out with the other girls. She could go down to the basement with Gus. But....right now she'd prefer to be alone.

Willow cleans the kitchen, which Camila is very grateful for once she gets home from work. And then she settles in the living room, snuggles up on the couch and throws something on the TV. Willow sits there and watches for hours. She barely processes any of it. And yet, she's simultaneously so wrapped up in the television that she doesn't hear the door click.

"Eyyyyy, I'm back," Hunter says in that awkward way he always announces his return. And just like that, a light switches and Willow is all zazzed again.

"Ooooooh Casanova has returned!!" She chirps. "A little.....earlier than I expected....?"

Hunter looks a little sheepish but doesn't comment on that. Willow thumps the couch cushion opposite her. "Cmere boy. Tell me everything."

Hunter sits down beside her and after turning to look at her huge grin, he smiles warmly.

"What?" She asks.

"Nothing."

"You gonna tell me how it went?"

"Fine. Um. Normal. For a date. I think? I dunno I've never been on one but I'm pretty sure I did an okay job."

Willow decides to rip the bandaid off immediately. "Any lip action?"

Hunter's reaction was a funny choking noise and a volatile flush across his neck "No!" He blurted. "Just...."

"Juuuuust?"

"Just hands! He held my hand! He held my hand and it was nice! I liked it!"

"Oh."

It's nice that Hunter got his hand held. He has such pretty hands. She's always thought they were very holdable. She's really happy. She's delighted. Just great.

She's a good person who is happy when good things happen to her friends, Titandamn it. And not a secretly ugly resentful person who wishes for selfish things.

"Yeah and. Uh..." He's scrubbing the back of his neck. "We...um. Ended up talking. A lot."

"About date number two, no doubt...." Willow sings.

"There's not going to be a date number two," Hunter answers immediately, knocking Willow out of her depth.

.....huh?

"I....thought you liked him?" She asks.

"I mean. Yeah. He's. He's nice but...but when I said we talked a lot...I might have told him that...." Hunter trails away.

"Told him what?"

There's a pause before Hunter speaks again, his voice a little higher pitched. "Oh! J-just. Just told him about a ton of stuff. Told him I like birds. And I like to read. And...and about Camila being a vet and....and I talked a lot about my friends. Gus. A-and Luz and Amity. And Vee. And uh. And you. And....we...we both decided that this probably wasn't gonna work out."

"Oh...." Willow....doesn't know how to feel about this. She doesn't have to pretend to be disappointed because she really is. Her friend had a chance to have a sweet little romance with somebody cute. And it just didn't work out. "I'm sorry, Hunter,"

But Hunter shakes his head. "I'm not disappointed. I actually....um. I liked it. I've never been on a date before and it....I dunno, it made me feel like a real teenager. Which is dumb to say because I know I AM a real teenager but..."

He perks up. "Oh! Oh and-and um...." His words tumble one over the other though there's a grin tugging at the corner of his lip. "Josh and I we....we figured it out. Me. We...we figured out me. I'm..."

He catches himself and clears his throat, extending a hand to her. "Hi, Willow! My name is bisexual!...Wait! Wait, no! Hunter! My name is....I'm bisexual and I'm Hunter! I...Agh!! Josh said I should come out to you in a smooth way but...."

Willow is grinning ear to ear, always transfixed by his frequent fumbles over the complicated act of putting words together. "You're bisexual!" She declares happily. "Hunter that's fantastic!"

Hunter's smile is soft but there's a hint of pride there too. "Yeah...thanks. I know it is...."

A pause.

"I have completely forgotten what bisexual means tho," Admits Willow.

"O-oh! Oh it's just um. I-I like multiple genders. Today I found out for certain that boys are....wow...."

Willow smirks. "Boys are wow?"

"Well.....arent they?"

She thinks about it for a moment, raking her eyes across the splotchy blush still clinging to his pretty face. Her insides are in a riot of fluttering flower petals.

"I guess they are," She agrees fondly.

"But also I...." He cuts himself off with a sudden bout of breathlessness. He inhales sharply. "Girls..."

"Girls," Repeats Willow expectantly.

Hunter, who has cut his gaze down to his tangling fingers, looks back up at her, manages to hold eye contact for a few very telling extra seconds and says, very clearly. "Girls."

"I see..." Willow is a little frustrated to find that she's also a little short of breath. "So maybe your next date will be with a girl then,"

Hunter's blush flares. "I'd like it to be..." He mumbles. "But..."

"Buuuuuut?"

There's some sort of internal battle raging on. She can see it in the violent twist and turns of his facial expressions. Finally, his throat bobs. "Nothing." He answers.

"Sorry...." He continues. "For coming home early. I just really wanted to...." Why does he keep trailing off? "It looks like you were trying to have some time to yourself. I can leave if...."

"You stay right here, Mr heartbreaker," Says Willow. "Stay here and watch weird human crystal ball shows with me."

A stiffness she didn't notice until now melts out of his shoulders. "Okay. I'd like that. A lot."

Hunter attempts to shuffle into a comfortable position, but what he's not prepared for is his friend Willow suddenly lunging and knocking him against the cushions in a tight tackle hug.

"Congratulations on your name being Bisexual," She mutters against the fabric of his shirt. "I like being the first one told,"

"N-no problem...." His voice cracks a little.

It takes maybe three minutes of comfortable silence and human realm TV babbling for Hunter to pipe up "And I'm not a heartbreaker. I didn't break anyone's heart."

"You could," Willow answers smoothly, not taking her eyes off the TV. "You have way more power over some people's hearts than you realize."

[tourettesdog]

DP x DC prompt where, after an identity reveal gone wrong, Jazz (who is freshly 18) grabs Danny and takes him to live in Gotham where she has a scholarship. Between Danny’s ghost powers and their parents’ hatred of Gotham (something about a ghost convention gone Very Badly, and Bruce Wayne refusing to fund their research), they’re willing to risk the crime rates. 

Danny can’t resist doing his Phantom thing because of his Obsession, and within about 2.5 weeks Bruce is fighting Jazz for custody rights of him. Well, not really fighting since they could absolutely use a financial backer so Jazz can focus on school. Jazz also likes the idea of Danny getting proper training from Batman to keep him safe, since she can’t just make him stop fulfilling his Obsession.

They’ve been staying in the manor for about a week when Danny and Jazz realize that they’ve completely forgotten to address Dani. She’s continued her traveling for the last several months, but Dani told them on her last visit she was getting a bit lonely and wanted to try schooling-- after first visiting Australia, that is. 

Danny and Jazz have kept in touch with Sam and Tucker, so they know that their friends will be able to steer Dani away from Amity Park and in their direction once she gets back... But, oh Ancients, now they have to actually address the clone in the room. And probably face a massive lecture from Bruce once he realizes they never mentioned their youngest sibling (and that they also just let her fly off to Australia by herself for two months without even a cellphone).

They’re not really concerned about the bats accepting Dani (they’ve already accepted that Danny is half ghost, which is a pretty high bar to cross), but they are Very concerned about the Questions her presence will invoke. 

Danny and Jazz have managed to keep a lot of Danny’s Bigger ghost exploits under wraps (especially the time travel), but they know Bruce is going to take one look at Dani and it’s going to open up the “Hey so my arch nemesis is Vlad Masters-- yes I have an arch nemesis, and yes that Vlad Masters-- he cloned me-- why? Oh, he’s a halfa like me haha funny story-- oh and it Might be a problem if he ever finds out we’re here so you can’t confront him about any of this” can of worms.

Danny can’t be sure if Bruce will respect his tentative truce with Vlad. He’s pretty sure his new brothers and sisters will want to flog the man within an inch of his fruitloop (after)life if they ever find out about how many times he’s electrocuted Danny.

So at this point they’re just waiting for Sam and Tucker to warn them of Dani’s arrival— and trying to come up with a good cover story in the meantime. They MIGHT be able to pass Dani off as his twin (between Danny being trans and Dani mercilessly catching up to him in height, it seems doable). Only... they’re pretty sure Bruce will call immediate bullshit on them being twins once he tries to find paperwork about Dani. Hell, he probably already has access to Danny and Jazz’s birth certificates and would definitely notice a third one just magically appear (if they even managed to falsify one).

Their next idea (and the winning plan) is to be truthful about Dani being a clone, but to lie about her origins. They decide to pin all of the blame on Pariah Dark since he can’t exactly dispute clone fatherhood rights from his sarcophagus. Boom-- scapegoat.

Within the week, they get a text from Tucker saying Dani is on her way. Within the day, she’s on the front step of Wayne Manor. Dani’s hair is shorter than last time, she’s now exactly Danny’s height, and she looks a little too like him for it to not raise immediate red flags with a family of paranoid bats and birds.

It’s an absolute mess as they try to introduce Dani to the family. Just an absolute plethora of questions about clones and twins. (Apparently, the Waynes have dealt with clones before and are Very concerned? Danny didn’t even mention the word clone, they just brought that shit up in the foyer like it was common knowledge. He has to unpack that later.) 

Jason happens to be there, and he’s just staring at Dani the entire time, trying to decide if it’s worth asking why Danny’s new twin(?) feels as dead as he does.

Dani, meanwhile, hears clones mentioned and just blurts out:

“Wait, did Vlad clone you guys too?”

Danny and Jazz belatedly realize they should have ran their plan by Sam and Tucker first. In a panic, they try to pass Vlad off as Pariah Dark’s real name.

Tim just looks up the one (1) Vlad in Amity Park and it spirals from there.

[sassytheturtle]

Thinking about how we’ve never once seen Hunter fighting at full strength and power in toh.

You need to remember this dude has been trained his entire life to serve as an elite soldier under the emperor. Belos wouldn’t have made him his right hand man and eventual coven head after Lilith left if he wasn’t capable of handling himself, anyone who might seek to harm the emperor or anyone else of importance, dangerous monsters and demons, and capturing powerful wild witches.

I mean, think about all the specifics of his job and training that he’s mentioned. He had to have been really freaking tough and talented to have been able to make it through all that.

And we never once get to see what he’s truly capable of.

In Seperate Tides, Hunter doesn’t see Luz or Eda as any sort of threat. He knows they’re both powerless. He’s clearly relaxed and toying with them. He’s confident that he has the upper hand and isn’t worrying about having to handle a couple of troublesome criminals.

Hunting Palismen takes place late at night. He was expecting this to be a quick and easy in and out mission. It’s understandable that he would be tired this late. And again, you have to remember that he still doesn’t view Luz as any sort of threat. He’s annoyed by her and gets caught off guard because he wasn’t expecting her to be any sort of challenge to handle.

Plus he was just in a crash and doesn’t even have his staff the majority of the episode, but is still able to easily keep up with Luz. And he willingly goes along with her afterwards so that he can get the palismen quicker and then dispose of Luz.

By the time he fights Kiki, he’s been running around all night and clearly just wants this mission to be over with. Kiki has been shown to be a pretty powerful person fighting wise, and even though she’s barely conscious, Hunter bests her fairly quickly. It wasn’t something that was really that hard for him.

Then comes to Eclipse Lake. By the time he and Amity fight, he’s exhausted, just had a mental breakdown, and fighting on an unfamiliar staff. Mental breakdowns like this leave people feeling super drained and burnt out, but he still gives Amity a pretty good run for her money.

I believe he would have easily won if not for the events in the episode leading up to the fight. I mean, he was literally just involved in a mine cart chase before he got to the lake.

In Any Sport in a Storm, other characters clearly point out the fact that he’s very talented at what he does. But he doesn’t exert full effort. He’s trying to recruit teens and play a sport.

In Labyrinth Runners, he’s dealing with the impacts and trauma from Hollow Mind. This dude has just learned that everything he thought he ever knew was a complete lie. He knows the man he once saw as his uncle wants him dead. He’s terrified. All he ever had to do before was follow orders, but now it’s up to him to make decisions and he has no idea what to do, where to go, or who to turn to. All he knows is that he has to stay as far away from Belos as possible.

All of this is clearly mentally and physically draining him. But even at this weak point, he’s able to push through and get to Gus when several other scouts and a literal coven head could not.

Again in Clouds On the Horizon, he’s still terrified and dealing with everything that happened. He’s still not in a good head space.

In King’s Tide, he’s been in yet another crash and is being effected by the draining spell. But he’s still able to push through and fight Belos, holding up fairly well, when everyone else with a sigil can barely even move.

It wasn’t even him fighting in Thanks to Them. That was just Belos using his body. But still, an argument can be made. He’s able to push through Belos’s possession after being rusty on fighting and all of his training for literal months. Belos was clearly trying to hurt Hunter when possessing him and didn’t care whether he lived or died. Hunter pushes through in minutes.

When Belos possessed Raine, he didn’t want to hurt them. He needed a body and to sustain Raine as long as he could. Raine has been trapped as a puppet, but they haven’t been conscious for months. If they were freed from puppet form, then they’d still be as used to fighting as before they were enslaved into a dreamless sleep.

Belos even comments on how powerful Raine is, but it still takes them a lot longer to push through his control than Hunter did. They did also have to push through Collector’s, but there’s still a point to be made.

In For the Future, again Hunter is still rusty, in painful grief, having to deal with all of his worst traumas coming back, and now has no magic at all. He figures out he’s able to use it later on, but it’s only ever that one spell.

This brings me back to my main point. In all of these instances, Hunter has either been tired, burnt out, in mental distress, just previously dealing with another physically taxing event, not really trying or having to use effort, rusty from lack of practice, using unfamiliar magic, or a combination of those. I believe that if we ever got to see him fight in his prime—with a staff and magic that he was used to, in a mostly stable emotional state, physically rested or not just previously having to deal with another taxing event, and with all of his training in tact and not out of practice—then we would see just how powerful and terrifying of a foe he could have really been.

[wren-writes-things]

Okay information on the Calamity Trio in my Amphibia TOH AU, because I felt like info dumping and because I've been thinking about the Owl House a lot lately. (Though I will probably post a more polished version of this once I complete some art pages for the AU, and some details may change in between that)

Anne (Luz Equivalent)

She first came to the Boiling Isles with Sasha (trying to find Marcy), only to be separated due to a combination of weird magical forest shenanigans and the start of a conflict brewing between them.

Lived in a forest near the Plantars' home for about a week until Sprig found her.

While she does encounter glyphs very early on she takes a long time to learn them (only actively practicing when it becomes very clear that the Plantars are in trouble).

Before she learns to use glyphs though she instead relies mostly on team work with Sprig and the later on the other witches that she has managed to connect with.

Enters Hexside as a single track student (hasn't fully settled on which track she would go in though). Though she mostly joined because of Sprig.

Sasha (Amity Equivalent)

Following her separation from Anne, she made her way to a Bonesborough.

Immediately she encountered the same issues that Luz of being in a hostile world except without the protection of a powerful witch. Additionally she found herself in conflict with the Emperor's coven. This lead to a strong distrust towards most witches. (Added with the fact that she just isn't a very trusting person overall

An early protection measure that she took was stealing a low power concealment stone to disguise herself as a witch.

Eventually through a series of complicated events ended up in partnership with Head Witch Grime and enrolls in Hexside as a bard track student. She has fairly consistently maintained the role of Top Student since then

Was given a Heron palisman by Grime to assist in falsifying her ability to use magic.

First reunites with Anne at Hexside, with a scheme that leads to Anne being banned from the school. This is later followed by a more tense reunion during the Covention mostly due to Grime and Sprig's involvement.

Marcy (Hunter Equivalent)

Arrived in the Boiling Isles before Anne and Sasha did (though not by much) and through a series of unknown events was found by the Emperor's Coven.

Despite very clearly maintaining her nerdy personality and fascination at pretty much every aspect of the Boiling Isles, her memories of the human realm appear to be completely gone. (The cause of this is complicated because I didn't want to fully go into the Grimwalker route, because... well you may not know this but I like Marcy and I'm not doing that.)

"Artificer Rogue" similar to canon Marcy, and has become incredibly involved with developing and improving on magically infused technology, various gadgets, and potions.

She rarely leaves the castle both due to the requirements of her position and general loyalty to Andrias. If traveling she generally goes with Lady Olivia which brings her to some important events (likely how she reunites with Anne).

Has access to her uncharged phone along with a bag containing some of her belongings.

A few other notes

The equivalent to Witches Before Wizards is an episode in which Anne is tricked into going on a quest to save Marcy and Sasha. And not going to lie a tiny, probably concerning part of me really wants to draw that ending.

Magically infused technology is significantly better developed though still quite rare in this setting. (Reasoning actually had nothing to do with Marcy but was great for establishing her role).

The equivalent to Understanding Willow/Hollow Mind is probably going to involve traveling into Marcy's mind, though I'm still settling on how that will play out

Anyway, this was a really random collection of details. I'll probably update more later, but if you have any questions feel free to ask.

[mdhwrites]

You mentioned how Amity cant really be categorised as a good person.

Do you think the same could be said of Luz? I was rewatching the show and alot of her actions seem selfish but never really get fixed or challenged. I.e. pressuring Willow into forgiving her bully because well, LUZ likes her and wants to live out her redemption fantasy. Or her tendency to lie, or just do whatever she wants even if it upsets or hurts people.

A lot of the general same points about Amity as a good person can be made about Luz. We see little kindness for kindness' sake from her, she doesn't go above and beyond for others very much unless they're VERY close to her, her motives are commonly selfishly motivated, etc. like that. Episode 1 is actually one of the closest to a genuinely selfless act to strangers she does, helped by the fact that freeing the prisoners to help Eda is still essentially to help save a stranger since she barely knows Eda and King at this point. After that those generalities, where I could talk about how Amity was at least MAYBE trying to be better, well...

The specifics get a lot rougher. This is partially due to Luz's archtype of main character. A LOT of S1 is characterized by a formula of Luz wanting something/playing out a fantasy, Luz fucking something up in the pursuit of this and then her having to work to fix it. It's actually pretty standard kid's show fair but without the clearer morals usually included in shows like this, or TOH has redundant morals for that matter. A lot of people will point to her doing things like checking on Amity post Covention as a moment of her being a good person to even an enemy but Luz is at least partially the cause for why she's upset and already messed up so setting that right, or just comforting a crying teenager, is kind of the bare minimum that most human beings will do. I've called this and stuff like Eda not letting a teenage girl die "the bare minimum of being a good person" for a reason. You genuinely have to discard good morality entirely in order to not be affected by death or the consequences of your actions.

Which... Gets into how Luz does get a LOT more questionable as even the bare minimum of a good person once the second half of the show begins. Falls and Follies starts on a normal foot for her where the only reason she reaches out to help an enemy is selfishly motivated as a way to prove her own hypothesis. This is like how in Teenage Abomination, it's really easy to draw a line from "I want to get into the magic school" to "Let me be your abomination to show Amity up... And get into the magic school so don't worry about the rules!" Elsewhere Elsewhen is also explicitly about helping someone for her own gain but... Well, she manages to stumble here. She misses Lilith's party, a theoretically important moment for Lilith, and then demands a favor from her after just an apology. Now yes, she has a reason because she was focused on the portal door stuff but it's a precedent. Luz actively seeming to dodge how others may feel while focusing only on herself as she becomes increasingly selfish, usually made worse with context or framing, and all the show, or fandom, can do is give her a flimsy excuse for why she's justified.

Reaching Out's final big Lumity conversation contrasts with their last talk in Covention PERFECTLY to exemplify this. In Covention, Amity and Luz are both in the wrong. Amity instigated the conflict, Luz escalated it into a fight and then cheated and then Amity was tricked into cheating that same fight. I would probably put more blame on Amity due to her antagonism but both have been wronged here. So when in character, Amity demands Luz say she's not a witch, it feels correct even though it hurts to see her so angry and you want the bully to stop being mean. But Luz, again in character as the better person of the two at the moment, acquiesces and gives Amity what she wants before trying to show her why she should be given a chance. A moment of compassion that is then met with compassion by Amity dispelling the everlasting oath. Both were in the wrong but both, through who they are, set things right and find understanding with one another. It's a beautiful moment and one of TOH's absolute bests, even to this day.

Then you have Reaching Out. Amity has done NOTHING wrong this entire episode. Meanwhile, Luz has gotten bored at watching her girlfriend fight, actively ignored Amity's pain, even when it's pointed out to her, and lied the entire episode for what feels like no reason because she was willing to at least admit that SOMETHING was wrong to Eda and King, made even worse with the context that three episodes ago, she agreed to be more open. Luz is inexcusably in the wrong and her father's death does NOT make up for it.

But... When the two sit down, Luz doesn't apologize. Not immediately. She doesn't do more than ask to sit, acting more nervous than she did while Amity was a bully to her. Then Amity literally lists Luz's crimes of that episode... Before asking towards the root of the problem. Despite having run away due to being so upset, Amity is a fucking saint in just wanting an explanation without getting even an apology first. Then Luz gives the explanation, remembers right at the end to apologize but gives Amity nothing else. No words of encouragement, no acknowledgement that what she did today was wrong... Just an excuse. And yes, Luz says it's not an excuse but do you know what you do when you don't want to claim something as an excuse? YOU APOLOGIZE FIRST AND DON'T PUT THE EXCUSE FIRST. Instead, her entire confession is just her justifying why she's been so selfish that episode. It's also an explanation, sure, but she also uses it as her motivation and reason for eactions. Why she did all of this. Shunts everything she did onto this one event going on, a very emotionally manipulative event that will make most people uncomfortable when brought up like this, and then... Amity gets up, vows to make things right for Luz and then heads off.

It's shit like this that makes Luz not a neutral person or just a nice person to their friends but a straight up ASSHOLE. Hollow Mind has her FINALLY getting upset about Belos... When his policies mean she can't get her magic cloak fixed. She at first refuses to go save her girlfriend from being under house arrest because she's too focused on her guilt about Belos and Eda and so would rather literally do NOTHING than go save Amity. And then of course the big one:

In S1, she CONSTANTLY made up for the mistakes she made. She fucked up with her own choices time and time again. One of her few truly redeeming, completely positive traits was this willingness to accept she'd fucked up and set things right. But now that her choices, selfish choices, has potentially destroyed an entire WORLD... She'll do nothing. Absolutely. Fucking. Nothing.

The show frames it as self martyrdom. She frames it as learning from her mistake. But if that were true, she might actually have tried to change her behavior. To not still be focusing entirely on herself. To bring up how she is fucking over her friends and found family. Even acknowledge the collateral that comes with this choice or that she needs someone else to make the choices because she no longer can have faith in herself to do so. Instead, it comes across as her realizing this will be hard this time and just going "Fuck this."

It doesn't make Luz evil but it means that you cannot call her a good person. Especially since, you know, she has still been caught lying TWICE to Amity and seen the pain that lying to her girlfriend causes her and STILL WON'T TELL HER THE TRUTH! Tell Eda and King though? She does that literally at the start of Edge of the World, despite already supposedly hating herself for all of this.

It's bad. There's no two ways around how Luz behaves. You can try to excuse it. Say she's depressed and traumatized. That she can't deal with it. I did an entire teaching blog on fantasy trauma because of those excuses and how profoundly stupid they are if you actually know fantasy. Also, she didn't have to react like this. Anne was still a good person but clearly, at least if you're looking for trauma responses instead of thinking the only response is to cry and throw yourself a pity party, shows severe signs of not being able to handle what just happened during True Colors. She literally can't talk about everything because it overwhelms her. However, instead of deciding, "Fuck the Plantars, Marcy, Sasha, AMPHIBIA," her response is to work herself to DEATH to fix it. And this is despite the fact that her own trust and choices on who to trust, Andrias, Sasha and Marcy all included in this, directly helped lead to potentially a friend's death, three different betrayals and who knows what to Amphibia at that time.

TOH, time and time again, could have chosen to have Luz act in a way that still portrayed her as even trying to be a good person but always chooses not to, instead using excuses for it instead of her actual actions. She could have been OVERLY worried about Amity and thus make her line about "I don't want my problems distracting her," feel a lot more honest and she still fucks things up but out of care instead of selfishness. She could have come to Eda, conflicted and asking permission to go help her girlfriend because she feels like she'll do nothing here but that Amity is safe like this, while they're not, so if they need her, she'll let Amity know and stay here. Eda says she's not needed and you still get her caring about the stakes of the Isles while not making it look like she'd rather have the CHANCE to do something than actually pursue helping her girlfriend. And for staying home? Have her talk to... Probably Hunter as the best option since he already knows everything and this is most in character for him. She admits her fears, instead of through a bullshit, autoplay video diary, and Hunter, worried about the consequences of his own actions and how his own drive hurt so many people while as the Golden Guard, says maybe she should just stop. They'll be okay without her but yeah, you do meddle with things and you've practically destroyed the Isles. Maybe it'd just be better if you tried living a quiet, normal life. She still gets her angst, Camila could overhear and wrestle with what she wants her daughter to do until committing at the end of the episode by going into the portal but you don't have Luz just callously throwing everyone's lives away when supposedly she is uncertain about her ability to make the right choices. Admittedly, this still means keeping the secret from Amity but like... If she did tell Amity, she'd be told not to blame herself, that they need her and get the clear conscience she needed to actually go fix things. You know, the same reason she can't fucking talk to any friends during the episodes because the writers backed themselves into a corner.

But each time, TOH goes with easiest, dumbest, WEIRDEST choices when it comes to how to frame Luz in the second half of the series, to the point where if her angst arc is our mental health representation, I'd rather wait another five years thank you very much! I already have to deal with a brother who excuses his abuse and selfishness with his mental health issues. I don't need fictional characters doing it too, let alone their fandoms. Because as always: Trauma and Mental Illness are not excuses to be ASSHOLES.

And I'm flatly sorry but in the second half of the series, after Vee calls her out on it, Luz is just a selfish asshole and it's hard to say otherwise.

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

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

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

A Twitter you can follow too

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

[imekitty]

Danny confronts Vlad about the graveyard of clones.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10, Part 11, Part 12, Part 13, Part 14, Part 15, Part 16, Part 17, Part 18, Part 19, Part 20, Part 21

-----

Vlad's vision was starting to get fuzzy. He grabbed a bottle of eye drops and squeezed a couple drops into each eye before continuing to type up his notes and calculations.

It had been a very long day. Calling on Valerie to catch and bring Danielle to him, delivering the twenty-sixth clone to Maddie and Jack via ghost portal, collecting Danielle's mid-morph DNA when she arrived, orchestrating a showdown with Danny and Valerie so they could stabilize Danielle's ecto-DNA and rescue her, allowing Valerie to see him transform into his Plasmius alter ego because Maddie wanted to see if she and Danny would form an alliance—he was simply exhausted.

He was in his main cloning lab now, in a remote location far outside Amity Park. He kept glancing at his ghost portal, wishing he could use it to get to his home mansion and turn in for the night.

But he had work to finish first. Maddie was counting on him to begin cloning Danielle as soon as possible.

So he stretched his back and then hunched over his desk again to type some more.

And then Danny Phantom phased in through the wall. Vlad jumped up in response, his heart pounding.

This wasn't planned. Maddie hadn't somehow sent Danny here without telling him, had she?

"Daniel!" Vlad glanced over at a few screens showing live security camera footage all around this particular property, but he couldn't remember seeing any movement. Had he been so engrossed in his work that he didn't even notice Danny was here? "I didn't see you—I guess I wasn't paying attention—"

Danny landed on the floor and remained in ghost form, his gloved fists clenching as he stared at Vlad, panting. He looked to be on the verge of tears.

"Daniel?" Vlad frowned and approached him. "Is everything all right, little badger?"

"No," said Danny. "Everything is not all right."

Vlad waited, studying Danny's every movement closely. Danny pulled in a deep, shaky breath and lifted his chin, puffing out his chest slightly, but Vlad could see just how much he was breaking up inside.

"What have you been doing?" demanded Danny, his voice not as strong as his stance. "Those bodies I found." He pointed off to the side. "They're clones, aren't they? Clones of me."

Vlad's stomach sank, because he knew exactly what was in that direction Danny was pointing to: the fenced-in plot where he was keeping the dead clones for further study according to Maddie's instructions. The graveyard, as he often called it, though Maddie preferred to call it the clone body farm.

"Why do you have so many dead clones out there?" Danny looked over Vlad's shoulder and marched up to one of the screens, pointing to one that displayed a shot of the graveyard with a night vision filter. "There! It's right there. You can't pretend it's not true."

Vlad sighed. "Daniel—"

"What have you been doing to them?" Danny turned back to Vlad. "To me?"

Vlad thought for a very long moment. Normally he would call up Maddie and ask for her input, but there was no time for that now. He had to decide on his own the most convincing lie to tell Danny.

"I suppose there's no use hiding it anymore," he said slowly, carefully. "I've been cloning you for…experimental purposes. I am a scientist, as you know. Ghost research has always been my passion."

"But me?" Danny's eyes edged with tears. "I thought you wanted to clone me to—to be your son, not so you could experiment on me and kill me."

"Daniel, please listen—"

"And what kind of experiment is this?" Danny pointed to the graveyard footage. "What are you doing with all these dead clones now?"

"I am studying how they decompose," said Vlad. "I have prepared them in different ways and left them in various environments to study the different phases of decay for each. Some have been embalmed, some have not. Some are frozen, others are in an indoor location protected from the elements, but most are out above ground in that fenced-in area you came across."

"Some? Most?" Danny's eyes flashed. "Exactly how many are there, Vlad?"

Vlad coughed, stalling for a quick second as he debated lying or not. "Twenty-five," he said eventually, deciding to be at least partly truthful. There were in fact twenty-five clone bodies here on his property.

"Twenty-five," Danny echoed. He crossed his arms and glared at Vlad. "Prove it. Prove that's all there is."

Vlad cocked a brow. "Prove it? And how do you want me to do that?"

Danny looked around. "Your computer." He marched over to Vlad's computer. "I know you keep notes about these things. Show me your notes for the clones."

Vlad's gut knotted. "Daniel, I don't think—"

"Now, Vlad," spat Danny. "Show me right now before I destroy this whole lab."

"Daniel, please, this equipment is very expensive."

"You're rich."

"Well, yes, but—"

"And you've been using it to torture and kill me twenty-five times. There is no way I'm letting you do it a twenty-sixth."

They stared each other down for a moment. Vlad considered transforming right then, knocking Danny out and returning him to Maddie to ask what was to be done with him now.

But Danny had gotten so strong over the past couple years, and Vlad knew he had no defense if Danny chose to unleash that ghastly wail of his.

And even if he could knock Danny out before he used his wail, Maddie would be furious if he harmed Danny without her permission, especially if he caused any significant or irreversible injuries.

With a big sigh, Vlad surrendered. Perhaps if he controlled what Danny saw in his notes, it would be fine. He just had to figure out some way to explain this to Danny, some way that Maddie would be pleased with.

Because if Maddie lost her access to the clones, Vlad didn't like to think about what she might do in retaliation.

He was already logged in to his account as he clicked to open the document containing details about the various clones. He typed in a password to open the protected file and kept a firm grip on the mouse as he scrolled through the information. Each clone description had a large red status indicator that read DECEASED.

"Clones 1 through 25," said Vlad. "See? That's all there is. And if you'd like, you can count the bodies on my property for yourself to make sure they're all here."

"Wait a minute." Danny seized the mouse with a quick jerk and scrolled to the end of the document, revealing the information for the twenty-sixth clone with a green status indicator that read ALIVE.

"Twenty-six," Danny murmured. "Where is he?" Danny pointed to the ALIVE status and glared at Vlad. "I knew you were lying. Where is clone 26?"

Vlad groaned and pressed two fingers to the bridge of his nose. Shit, shit, shit.

"Is he here?" Danny looked around wildly. "What have you been doing to him?"

"Daniel—"

"Tell me where he is right now."

"Daniel, he's not here."

"Liar. You're always lying. Tell me where he is or I will tear this place apart until I find him."

"Daniel, I'm not lying. The twenty-sixth clone is not here."

"Then where is he?" Danny rounded on him with hard eyes. "Don't try to tell me you don't know. I know you know."

"Yes," said Vlad quietly. "I do."

"Where?"

Vlad tapped the screen, pointing out the description written for clone 26. "He's been delivered, Daniel. I delivered him myself earlier this afternoon, before the whole ordeal with Danielle."

Danny gawked at the description for a moment. "Where? Where did you deliver him? And to who?"

Vlad did not respond.

"To the Guys in White?" Danny gritted his teeth. "Have you been selling clones of me to the Guys in White so they can experiment on me?"

"No," said Vlad. "Although I certainly could've charged them a fortune for clones of Danny Phantom. But she was very much against that idea."

"She?" Danny's voice rose in pitch. "Who are you talking about?"

Vlad pressed his lips into a very thin line, knowing that there was no lie he could make up to fix this now. Even if he invented a name, Danny would not rest until he found out exactly where clone 26 went, and he'd be looking for all subsequent clones from then on.

Vlad always knew that the truth couldn't be kept from Danny forever. He just hadn't expected to be the one to tell him, certainly not this soon.

"Vlad." Danny was now shaking, his eyes clouding with tears. "Who did you deliver clone 26 to?"

Vlad couldn't bring himself to speak just yet. Danny turned back to the screen and clicked around until he found a text box labeled Instructions for clone 25. Vlad watched all the muscles in Danny's body tense and shiver as he read the text: Vocal cords were surgically removed, take care when handling and store in buffered formalin solution. Further special requests from Maddie include—

Danny gasped and stepped back, his hand clawing at his throat. He turned to Vlad, eyes wide with speechless horror.

Vlad looked down at the floor and shook his head.

"Clone 26 has been delivered to your mother," said Vlad.

Danny didn't even breathe in the silence that followed, a silence that sounded strangled, deafeningly mute.

"Cloning you was never my idea," continued Vlad. "Your mother asked me to clone you."

"No." Danny staggered backward a couple steps. "No. You're lying. She wouldn't do that. Why are you lying about this? Tell me the truth, Vlad."

"That is the truth, my boy," said Vlad, keeping a very serious face. "This was all her plan, all her design. I just did whatever she asked of me."

"What are you talking about? What design?" demanded Danny, sounding desperately pathetic.

"Daniel." Vlad gestured toward the lab door. "Perhaps we should go out to my sitting room. I can make us some tea—"

"No." Danny shook his head. "I don't want tea. Tell me here, tell me right now."

"Daniel—"

"I'm not leaving."

Vlad sighed. "Then perhaps you should take a seat in my desk chair there. You really should be sitting down for this."

"Quit stalling," Danny hissed. He leaned over a lab table, gripping the edge. "I don't need to sit. Just tell me what is going on."

Vlad tried to make eye contact, but Danny kept his eyes on the table. He never raised them as Vlad told him everything, about his parents being fully aware that Vlad was also a ghost hybrid, his mother's subsequent desire to create her own half-ghost specimen, how his mother then rigged the portal to give Danny his own ghost powers, how she, Jack, and Vlad were all behind the scenes of every ghost fight, every injury, every sleepless night and skipped class and guilty excuse for every absence and forgotten chore.

Vlad ended by revealing his mother's desire to dissect Danny, how she paid Vlad to clone him over and over so she could conduct the most torturous experiments on him while never actually harming her real son. And now she wanted clones of Danielle for a whole new line of experimentation.

Danny never said a word, never even moved. But Vlad could see him shaking, his tremors getting more and more violent and erratic as the narrative continued. And by the end, Vlad could hear him hyperventilating.

"Daniel?" Vlad spoke very gently now, extending a hand in his direction to calm him down. "Daniel, are you all right?"

Danny stumbled away from the lab table he had been leaning on. He staggered a few steps, his glowing green eyes unfocused with some maddening vision only he could see.

Then he collapsed to the floor on his knees and started screaming.

The sound waves destroyed everything, picking up a ghostly frequency that tore through the machines and computers, an eerie dissonance that flipped over tables, shattered beakers and flasks.

Vlad was thrown into a wall, breaking right through the plasterboard and cracking his leg against a stud. He could feel the frequency piercing his eardrums as Danny's ghostly wail continued.

And for a moment, he was sure he was going to die.

He had felt Danny's ghostly wail before but never like this. Danny's deep agony was almost palpable in this blaring siren of betrayal and despair. The pain sank beneath Vlad's skin and etched into his bones.

And when Danny's wail at last stopped and dissolved into sobs, the lab was completely devastated, including the ghost portal which was sparking uselessly. Vlad weakly lifted his head to look around. Danny was now on his knees in human form, his hands covering his face as he continued crying.

Vlad's head fell back against the floor as he allowed himself to pass out. And when he woke again, Danny was gone.

Vlad moaned as he pushed himself up, crawling through the ruined remains of his lab as he tried to locate his phone. But when he found it, it was shattered and splintered beyond use.

Vlad chortled and tossed the phone aside, lying on his back and staring up at the ceiling. His entire body throbbed with pain.

"Maddie is going to kill me," he muttered before passing out again.

Part 23

[dp-marvel94]

(Not) Alone- Chapter 1

Summary: Consumed with worry and scared after watching Dani almost die, Danny begs her to come home with him and meet Jazz. He wants to see her safe and happy and taken care of more than anything. An important reveal also weighs heavy on him – Dani isn’t the only living clone… and the other is him. He needs to tell her the truth; maybe that will convince her to agree to the idea of telling his parents. And she'll stay in Amity Park with him, where he'll never have to worry if she's safe ever again.

Meanwhile, Dani has mixed feelings. Still reeling from the loss of her clone siblings, Danny’s unexpected worry and care make her uncomfortable. And her own guilt… she hurt him and helped get him kidnapped twice. How can he care about a mistake like her? But having clean clothes and a bed is wonderful. And things aren’t as simple as she thinks.

Will Dani accept the help she needs and let herself be loved? Or will she push Danny and Jazz away and run again?

Word Count: 3,653

Next chapter

Also on AO3 and Fanfiction.net

Warnings: Minor swearing, Moderate ectoplasmic gore, Past minor character death, Nightmares, Grief/mourning, angst

Note: It's finally here! Working on this year's Invisobang story was a blast, especially collaborating with my two wonderful artists, @Serinji and @Lostrence ! The art is lovely and I'm very excited for you all to see it.

This story is a sequel to my first Invisobang story, called "I am you(and you are me)." You should be able to understand this story without having read that one first though. The basic gist is, in Kindred Spirits, the Tiny clone ended up basically melting while still possessing Danny which caused their consciousness and cores to fuse into one being, a la Vlad and Danny's ghost halves fusing in TUE. There is a lot of angst and identity confusion as the new Danny figures out what happened and struggles to accept himself while hiding it from Sam, Tucker, and Jazz. But in the end, he tells them truth and after a lot of tears and hard conversations, they accept him too. Any other important details should be explained in the sequel itself. 

A note on the title-- (Not) Alone. 

First off, it goes the the naming scheme that I've used for my previous Invisobang stories, which was really fun to make work.

And second, It's inspired by two of my favorite songs, one of which is by my favorite band, Disciple. And I've been wanting to name one of my stories after a Disciple song for years now. 😂 I'd been trying to think of songs which reflect the feelings Dani experiences during the story and/or which reflect the story's theme. Both of the songs do that pretty well, though both lean towards the theme. In both, the singer reassures the listener that they matter, they are loved, and they are not alone.

The first song is the appropriately named "Not Alone" by Red. And the second is "Erase" by Disciple. The "not alone" part is from the bridge, where "You are not alone" is sung several times, higher and louder each time until it reaches a really moving crescendo which has definitely brought me to tears many times. Both of these mean a lot to me and I am very happy to have them as a part of this story.

And finally, if you have any questions or comments, as always feel free to leave them in the comments below. I hope you enjoy this story!

Chapter 1

“Stay away from my family.” Danny loomed over Vlad Plasmius, a foot on his chest.

His dual core vibrated with a contained rage, green eyes boring into red.

“What the hell were you thinking?” The boy spread his arms. “You tried to kill Dani, Vlad. You tried to kill her. If I hadn’t gotten here. If I-” Grief stabbed at his core. He’d come so close to losing her- No. He pushed the thought away, anger rising. “You were what? Gonna dissect her and try it all again?”

Vlad stiffened for just a second. The younger half ghost saw the lie flickering in his eyes.

“Don’t say it. Don’t you dare f-cking say it. What? You were trying to help her, find a way to stabilize her?” The boy scoffed. “Yeah. Right.” A shake of his head. “Why did you even bother making any clones if you were just going to throw all of us away?”

“If you would just listen, my boy-”

Danny didn’t blast the man’s lying mouth but it was a near thing, a burning green flame warping the floor an inch from his enemy’s head. “I’m not listening to any more of your lies.” Another ball, this one of ice, flickered in his hand. “I’m done. This is over.” Pure hatred in his eyes. “You’ve hurt so many people. One day all that’s going to come back to bite you and…” A mirthless laugh. “It looks like that day’s today. You don’t have my mom, you don’t have Danielle, and you don’t have me.” 

The blue energy swelled, looming ominously over the older’s core.

Red eyes widened with fear. Plasmius looked almost green, sick with terror. With a sneer, Danny shot.

“You’re just as alone as you’ve ever been.” Ice enveloped Vlad’s arms and legs, pinning him to the metal floor. 

A flicker of relief shone in the man’s eyes, then…. scorn. “You were always too weak to do what needed to-”

With a wave of his hand, Danny threw another ball of cold. A hiss and the blue energy unfurled, an icy gag over the older halfa’s mouth.

Danny didn’t dignify the previous statement. Instead, removing his foot, he smirked. “You like that trick? I learned it from my friends in the Far Frozen. I’m sure you remember them.” A not-so-gentle poke to the man’s side. “Maybe it’s time I let them have a stab at you.” His lips quirked, darkly mirthful.

A muffled, confection-themed curse sounded from the man.

“Yeah, yeah, Fruitloop.” The boy rolled his eyes. Then, deathly serious… “Don’t touch my little sister.” He turned, floating up without a look back. “I won’t warn you again.” 

The boy flickered intangible, phasing through the ceiling. He flew up, attempting to shake off the whole interaction. Still, anger boiled in his veins. That man’s audacity! He’d gone too far now, caused too much damage, hurt too many people. Danny had to do something about it….

He would definitely have to talk to Frostbite now; the yeti had to know something they could do. Dora too. And Pandora. And  Clockwork… if he could get the old ghost to actually tell him anything useful. His parents too….

The boy swallowed, stomach suddenly flopping at the thought of the impending revelation. Part of him hated it. It made him queasy but it needed to happen. He’d already waited so long. And this problem with Vlad…. it couldn’t go on, especially not without them knowing the truth. Maybe Mom and Dad could help him figure something out too….

Ugh. This was going to be hard. He should probably see what Danielle wanted to do before he got too wrapped up in-

Danielle! 

Just like that his brain pivoted, relief and worry clashing in him. After months of not knowing where she was, if she was even alive, his little sister, the only other surviving clone was here! 

Granted, Danielle didn’t know any of that. She didn’t know that he wasn’t just Danny, her original, the person she was cloned from. But that he was also Tiny, Damian, one of her presumably dead clone brothers. Back at Vlad’s, before she’d escaped, the two had accidentally fused. Their cores combined, creating something… someone new. 

But none of that particularly mattered right now. Now, he and Dani were finally reunited and she was safe. He and Valerie had saved her from Vlad. But…

The image of her face, eyes wide with panic, dripping green with her ectoplasm…. That had been too close. He needed to make sure she was okay.

The ghost boy darted around, eyes instantly fixing on a red figure, high in the sky. He quickly rose. 

Ten feet below now… “Dani, that was awesome! Dani?” His eyes widened, an instant panic. “Valerie, where’s Dani?!” No. No, not again-

“Boo!” The girl popped back into sight, a teasing mischievous grin on her face.

“Danielle!” He breathed out, so much relief in the name. “Don’t do that to me!” Danny chastised, anxiety flaring. “I thought you ran off again.” 

The memory ate at him. Then Sam and Tucker crashed through, hitting the older man. Locking Vlad ( Master) in a pod. He needs... he needs to find Danielle. He needs to find his baby sister. But she’s gone. She’s gone. Newly re-made and one of his first coherent thoughts was to find his baby sister.

The young clone’s grin fell into a disappointed frown.

The boy didn’t fully register the reaction, his hands on her shoulders. “Are you hurt? Anything feel weird?”

Dani shrugged out of his hold. “I’m fine.”

She looked… uncomfortable, Danny realized. He lowered his arms, back-stepping. “I’m sorry. You just…. I got scared.” He averted his eyes. The words… they weren’t enough for all he’d just felt. “ I…I almost lost you.”

“But you didn’t….” The girl trailed off, shifting awkwardly. An unsure look from him to… over his shoulder? “Thanks both of you for saving me.” Right, the Huntress was still here. “Vlad would’ve baked me into a puddle if you hadn’t been there.”

The words sank into his core like a stone, icy dread swirling in him.

“But he didn’t! And I’m fine. I feel great!” She smiled, a clear attempt at appeasing. “Better than ever. And now that I’m fixed, I’ve got places to go…” Half awkward, half excited, Dani pointed with her thumb behind her, floating up.

“No, you don’t.” Danny grabbed her arm and the girl tensed. His own rebuking tone surprised him; he sounded like Mom, telling him to go to bed. “You don’t have to leave.” His voice softened, gripped loosened. 

The boy glanced back at Valerie, meeting her confused and thoughtful eyes behind her visor.

He pulled the younger girl closer, voice lowering. “Go to my house. I know you know where it is.”

“But-” Dani started.

“They’re out of town.” Luckily, blessedly, his parents were off visiting Aunt Alicia. “Ja- My sister is home though. Find her. Tell her who you are.” Danny put as much earnestness into the words as he could muster. “She’ll get you something to eat, clean clothes. ”

“You really don’t have to do that.” Dani bit her lip, unsure.

“You’re family.” He said plainly. It was easy, as simple as that. “Of course we’re going to help you.”

The girl looked down, frowning at her shoes. “I’m fine. I don’t need help.”

“Please. For me.” With wide eyes, he pleaded. “Let us help you. Just… stay the night at least, please.” He was not ashamed to beg, not about this. 

Danielle’s shoulder tensed, doubt plain on her face. She glanced over his shoulder at Valerie, then down again. Finally… “Okay. I’ll go.” Her body relaxed, ever so slightly.

Danny let go and Dani turned, flying off in the right direction, toward Fentonworks…. The girl gave a hesitant look back and the boy offered an encouraging smile, his core clinging to a desperate hope. 

Please, please. He begged in his mind. Please let her go home to Jazz. Please.

The half ghost watched for a long minute, the girl soon disappearing into the distance. Then with a breath, he steeled himself.

He turned to the Huntress, hand held in front of him. “A deal’s a deal.” 

Valerie crossed her arms, one brow raised in impatient question.

The boy hurriedly continued. “You helped me save Danielle. I’m your captive.”

For a long moment, the Huntress studied him, her brow furrowed. Danny held his breath, waiting for her verdict. Then….

“Forget it.”

“What?” He blinked.

“Fly away, Phantom.” Valerie uncrossed her arms, waving him off. “Go.” Something in her harsh expression softened. “Go take care of your family.”

The boy’s eyes widened. She was really going to…. “Alright. I’m going.” A hint of a smile graced his lips. “Thanks again, Val.”

Phantom drifted back, turning to fly after Danielle. It looked like he would get to introduce her to Jazz after-

“Hey!” He flinched, a sudden red shot zooming inches over his shoulder. Danny turned, mouth falling open in offense. “What was that for?”

The girl pointed, frowning. “It’s open season tomorrow.” Despite the words, humor danced in her eyes. “On sight, ghost boy.”

Back to normal it was then, huh? “I look forward to it.” The halfa smirked, mockingly saluting. “See ya Red.”

The Huntress turned with a huff, eyes still sparkling with mirth. “See ya.” She flew off.

Danny turned back towards where Danielle had gone. Well, things were smoothed out with Val at least, it seemed. But now…. The boy sighed, familiar worry plastering itself on his face. Now for everything else.

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

Dani with an i (and that ‘i’ was really important!) was happy to be alive. Really happy to be alive but… today had been weird. 

On her last leg (almost literally; her legs did keep melting), she just made it to Amity Park. She looked for Danny, hoping he could help her. She stole some apples, was seen transforming by the scary (but very badass) red-suited ghost hunter lady. She was captured, used to trick and kidnap her original (again). Handed over to Vlad, strapped to a table. That had been… too close. She’d felt her body falling apart, Danny arriving seemingly too late. She had…. melted into a puddle. (Try not to think too hard about that part…)

But the green stuff (Danny said his dad made it?) had worked! Danny and… Valerie (that was the ghost hunter lady’s name, right?) had fought Vlad for her. They’d given her time to get away and she felt better than ever. A new lease on life! She was ready to see the world but….

“Why was he being weird?” Dani muttered, flying off toward Fentonworks. “Worrying about me.. I’m fine.”

She was half tempted to turn around and high tail it out of the city. There was so much to see. The Grand Canyon, New York City. Maybe she’d actually make it all the way to the ocean this time. She didn’t have time to linger and…

The clone girl crossed her arms, scowling. She didn’t need the help. And yet…

Danny’s neon green eyes, wide with worry, flashed in her mind. That second before she’d reappeared, the sheer panic on his face…. 

Something like guilt twisted in her stomach. Maybe she could just stay for the night. Fresh clothes and a hot meal did sound good….

“Dani! Wait up!” Her original’s voice called out behind her.

The girl paused in her flight, turning. She raised a brow, waving in the direction he’d come. “What was that about?”

He stopped, a hand moving to his neck. “Oh. I just had to talk to Red about something.”

Dani’s questioning look just intensified, lips pursed. 

The boy hesitated, a weighty pause. Then… “I made a deal with Red, to get her to help me…”

Dani motioned him to continue. “Well?” 

His cheeks turned green, a (guilty?) blush. “I… I told her about you being not just a ghost but human too…” Dani felt her core drop. (That was so close to his secret.) “I promised I’d become her prisoner, answer all her questions about ghosts and the Zone. Even let her… let her…” The words were left unsaid but Dani could guess them, what a ghost hunter (willing to sell her out to the man trying to kill her) would do with a captured ghost. The boy shook his head finally continuing. “I’d let her do whatever she wanted with me. If that’s what it took to get her to help save you.”

“So you escaped?” She asked hopefully.

Another head shake. “No. She… let me go.”

Dani blinked. “She… let you go? That’s…” A pause, her eyes lit up. “That’s great! I knew she was cool!” 

Still, that guilt lingered at the back of her mind. Danny had been captured and hurt (again) because of her. Even so, despite that, he was willing to be tortured if it meant saving her (As if she deserved to be saved). And…. dread dropped in her gut. If the Hunteress hadn’t let him go….

“Yeah. She is cool.” The boy smiled, almost wistful. After a second, he shook off the feeling. “Come on. We’re almost home.” 

The clone girl looked around, at the street below. The hulking metal structure on one particular roof…. Only a few blocks away. “Right…. There’s Fentonworks.” The girl bit her lip.

“Jazz will be excited to meet you.” Danny smiled soothingly; apparently he did notice her unease. He turned…

“Oh. Okay.” Dani followed after him. “Wait? Jazz?”

The older halfa was already a street away from her. How was he so fast?! The younger took off after. Just a couple buildings away now….

Danny stopped in the air, reaching a hand out towards the girl. She just stared at it, uncomprehending for a long moment. His brow slowly furrowed. Then he sighed, floating closer to close the gap. His arm reached for her hand and…

Dani tensed instinctively, half-expecting a rebuke for not understanding. (A half-remembered memory, Vlad’s nose in the air, “dull creature… never understands anything….”) 

But Danny’s hand was gentle, voice soft when he spoke. “We need to turn invisible.” The cold feeling washed over both of them. “Can’t have someone seeing two ghosts phase into Danny Fenton’s room.”

“Yeah.” Dani nodded, numbly. (Why had she reacted like that? Stupid…. Of course, her original wouldn’t be angry about that. She’d never even seen him angry at her.)

Danny gently tugged her forward, pausing in front of a familiar window. He flickered both of them intangible and phased into his bedroom.

“Home, sweet, home.” The boy sighed, reappearing. He let go of her hand and turned human.

A second later, Dani also transformed, landing on the floor.

“Jazz should be in her room.” Danny said, opening his door. “Probably studying like always.”

The clone girl couldn’t help but follow, despite the nervousness turning her stomach. She knew Jazz existed, of course. And she’d seen her in passing the first time she’d been here. But actually meeting her? It had never even occurred to her. Six hours ago, her only thoughts were just getting to Danny in time, of staying alive (or her version of it as a half ghost). But what would happen next, she had no clue. (She didn’t think she’d even make it this far.)

Ignorant to her worries, her original stepped across the hall and knocked on the door. Obviously Jazz’s, from the name on it. “Jazz? Can we come in?”

“You can.” A teenage girl’s voice called through the door. Danny pushed it open with a creak. “We? Are Sam and Tucker here…”

The question trailed off, wide teal eyes falling on Dani’s blue ones. The clone shifted awkwardly under the surprised gaze. Her heart fluttered anxiously. No one was saying anything….

“Jazz.” At the name, both girl’s eyes fixed on the boy. He motioned to the younger. “This is Danielle.” He turned to his clone, smiling. “And Dani. This is ou- my big sister, Jazz.”

The black-haired girl barely registered the stumble, eyes fixed back on the red-head. Numbly, she waved.

Slowly, Jazz closed the book she was reading and stood from the bed. “Danielle.” There was no hesitation at the name. The red-head stepped forward and…. 

Before Dani even registered, the other girl’s arms were squeezing her. “I’m so happy to meet you!”

What. The clone girl’s mind stuttered. She flickered intangible, escaping from the uncomfortable bear hug. 

For a second, Jazz looked hurt, disappointed. Then her expression softened into something understanding. “I’m sorry. I should have asked if you were comfortable being hugged.”

“It’s… it’s okay.” Dani rubbed the back of her neck, suddenly embarrassed. “You just… surprised me.”

She had been surprised. Not only had Danny apparently told his sister about her, but Jazz was excited to meet her. And that reaction? It was… a lot. Of course she was uncomfortable. (Was that it though? She hadn’t been hugged since… well, less than an hour ago, but she had just died so it was expected. But before that… another face, similar to her own and Danny’s, flashed in her mind…)

“Still, I’m sorry about that.” The older girl smiled apologetically. “I am very happy you are here and you’re okay.” Her brow furrowed, eyes searching her. “You are okay, right? You don’t look hurt. Your hair is a mess though. And that hoodie is filthy.” She tapped her chin. “I think we have some of my and Danny’s old clothes in the attic. Something should fit you.”

Dani took a step back, overwhelmed by the onslaught. “Really, that’s-” Unfortunately then, her stomach grumbled loudly.

“Let’s get some food in you first.” Danny chuckled.

“You two are mother ducks.” The clone girl grumbled, crossing her arms.

“It’s mother hens.” The boy pointed. “And no, I’m not.” He huffed.

Jazz laughed, eyes sparkling teasingly. “You’ve got it bad, little brother.” She stepped out the door, ignoring Danny’s protest. “Come on, Danielle. I’ll make you something to eat.”

There was no getting out of this then, was there? 

Dani followed the other girl, sheepishly adding. “It’s… uhh… Dani, with an i.”

“Dani with i.” Jazz nodded sagely. “Okay Dani with an i, what do you want for dinner?"

[theprinceandthewitch]

So... does anyone else get the impression season 3 was a giant middle finger to Disney? Like a whole "Oh, you want to cancel TOH? Fuck you. We are going to give you an ending so bad people are gonna shit on it forever."

While TOH always had an issues in the writing department there's just something about Season 3 that's particularly awful and kind of malicious tbh. Season 3 doesn't feel like there was any care put into it.

So... while I do like Thanks to Them because Hunter/Luz bonding and Caleb/Evelyn=Luz/Hunter tidbits... it's actually really, really bad. There is no logical explanation for why the characters are fucking around for literal months. Philip should know where titan blood can be found as he had SOMEWAY to get to TBI's. He also knew of Calebs and Evelyns relationship - thats why he even went to TBI's to begin with. He wanted to look for Caleb and convince him to come back to the human world. Philip met Evelyn when he and Caleb were teenagers and he was PROBABLY friends with her before he decided to double down on the witch hate.

Another thing: Flapjack did not need to keep quiet about there possibly being a rebus in the house and the existence of rebuses in general FOR MONTHS. He could have said the moment they came to the human realm something like:

"Hey so, Caleb and Philip were friends with a witch named Evelyn for years. There's titan blood hidden around Gravesfield. I know the landscape has changed over the centuries but you can probably find a vial somewhere by using glyphs near the location shown on the rebus. Caleb and Evelyn made maps to titan blood in the form of rebuses because they needed to keep their relationship a secret. This dilapidated house you guys arrived in when you came to the human realm is Calebs house because the doorways fixed location in the human realm is Caleb's house. There's probably a rebus somewhere in the house. If there are no rebuses in the house, I can show you the last known locations of other rebuses."

Because nobody does anything proactive to find a way home UNTIL Amity accidentally steps in the hole in the floor FLAPJACK made while looking for the rebus. Not only did Flapjack not bother to tell Hunter about there being a rebus that leads to titan blood in the house they fixed up and have been using as a base of operations for literal months - none of the characters ever thought to look around the town for some clues that could lead them back to the demon realm. All the characters try to do is build doorways. VEE could have mentioned there was a witch who came to Gravesfield centuries ago, which would have kickstarted their journey around town. Vee knows about the story because of Yesterdays Lie - and they fucking mention Vee's confrontation with Jacob and show us Jacob in Thanks to Them. THERES LITERALLY a whole museum full of rebuses that were dug up around Gravesfield the characters could have gone to. You cant tell me Gus, Amity, Willow and Hunter were too afraid to explore the demon realm as if they weren't literally living in the human realm for months and went on trips during their stay. As if they weren't gungho about exploring the human realm right after finding the rebus. AS IT they didnt have Vee as a reliable guide around town.

There's also no reason for Luz to go back to school when she has to find a way to get everyone back home. Luz going to school is another time waster with no reason to exist.

On top of that Flapjack doesn't tell Hunter a damn thing about Caleb. We dont even get a "Flapjack finds it difficult to talk about Caleb" moment to explain Flapjacks silence. We dont know WHY Flapjack doesnt say anything about Caleb even though Flapjack clearly belonged to Caleb and not Evelyn. He just lets Hunter read these history books about Caleb which might not even be completely accurate because history can be omitted and changed to fit certain narratives. And the stories about The Wittebane brothers and Evelyn are proven to be incorrect because they paint Evelyn as a stereotype AND as the person who killed Caleb.

But yeah, Thanks to Them is alot less enjoyable when you realize ALL of the characters are wasting time for no reason.

[lampmanliveblogs]

Lore! Lore! Lore!

So the tale of the two brothers began in 1613 when they arrived in Gravesfield, orphans. 

A witch named Evelynn, huh!? I wonder who that reminds me off!!

Häxan Hia Hia from the comics and cartoons about Bamse, the world’s strongest bear, of course. She has a magic laugh and a mini-dragon as a pet.

We even have Flapjack held in this distinctive-looking hand… and also on fire?

And hey, what’s that about a secret code used to travel between worlds? Does it have anything to do with the rebus-map thing? I did wonder how exactly Evelynn,Caleb, and later on Philip traveled between the realms before Philip built the portal door. This could imply that there existed an earlier portal door that required a code to use and which might’ve been destroyed or lost.

Oh, and also, I gotta say that the production on this hay ride story is super impressive, especially considering that, if the establishing shot earlier was anything to go by, there’s like… at most fifty people here.

What I love about this summation is not just that it’s funny AND correct (seriously, between this and the reading they did in Yesterday’s Lie, maybe Masha really got some psychic powers after all), but it’s also a plausible explanation.

Think about it from an in-universe perspective: listen to the story, and remove the knowledge of magic and other dimensions. Add onto it the fact that historical tales are often exaggerated, misinterpreted, or has vital context missing, and what do you get? Two brothers, both raised in a paranoid, puritan environment. The older brother falls in love with a woman who is maybe out of town, maybe lives on her own, is maybe something of a mystic. The younger brother believes her to be a witch and things get ugly.

In other words: Big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and lil bro got upset. Perfectly plausible and most certainly far more possible as an explanation of an old story.

Oh, they know, don’t they? Or… I dunno, but Gus at the very least knows something from the memories he got from Philip. He and Willow shared a knowing look with each other when they saw the statues of the brothers Wittebane earlier. And now this moment with Amity. Maybe Amity saw that Gus got upset at the story and wants to comfort him… or he (and maybe Willow) talked with her without Luz & Hunter knowing, trying to piece together a puzzle they suspect Luz & Hunter already have the pieces for.

Anyways, aside from some clarification on the timeline, and the long-awaited namedrop of Wittebro’s Wittewife, there wasn’t a whole lot of information that I hadn’t already figured out on my own. But it was a nice summary for the kids in the back who are not listening as closely as I am, and again, I really liked the visuals. Good job, Masha and, uh... those two guys. Well done.

[sepublic]

With the covenscouts this episode, I appreciate how the show is portraying them not as evil monsters, but still regular people who like Lilith or the rebels or the rest of our faves, were also fooled by the coven system and it’s not really their fault for it. Even Raine, who outsmarted Terra’s brainwashing, briefly bought into the coven ideals for a bit before they realized the truth. Freaking Kikimora is humanized as not just some monster but a person coming from a place of genuine pain and desire for validation, and we learn this after she’s eagerly tried to kill Hunter, and this revelation isn’t framed as contradictory either!

It really sells that yes, the coven system tricks people and most witches are also people who also fell for the propaganda. You can try so hard to be woke but inevitably, you’re going to be swayed. And it’s a pretty fair assessment of the other common grunts, who are less ‘important’ to us and the narrative, but their status and rights as just regular people is still highlighted. It reminds me of Luz’s lesson in Elsewhere and Elsewhen and Hollow Mind, where to her it’s just SO obvious how evil Belos is, surely she wouldn’t fall for that, which is an arrogant mindset that can lead to victim-blaming and dismissing others as less critical or ‘morally good’ than you for continuing to follow that lie. To which King points out that nobody wants to believe they’ve been following a lie their entire life, something he personally already related to and was going to continue to by the next day.

And then Luz realizes; She is not immune to propaganda and has BEEN tricked this entire time, we all think we’re super woke and I’m sure Belos uses that assumption against people, like his coven heads who think they’re more privy than everyone else to what’s really going on, which distracts them from the truth behind the truth. It’s a fairly realistic assessment of reality that most people aren’t enemies or monsters, they’re just getting by with their lives and what they think is right and true. They’re just not perfect!

...But just like in real life; Amidst all of the generally good-faith and just misguided people you encounter, you will find someone who IS malicious and cruel and operating from a place of bad faith. There’s Belos himself, Terra, Adrian, that one covenscout who was weirdly prepared to kill a child... But as Labyrinth Runners establishes, you ultimately shouldn’t let that discourage you (Tellingly, that murderous covenscout is immediately told off by his sensible teammate).

Yes, there will be a few bad people who take advantage of kindness and hurt you. But generally speaking, it’s more logical and frankly worth it to assume and extend compassion towards others, in the faith that they will reciprocate and it will mean something, because to most people it does! Even if those people do initially take advantage of your kindness, it’s not a wasted effort and you just have to keep trying, sometimes even with that same person... As Amity sees with Hunter, who initially rebuked and used her compassion against her, but it wasn’t for nothing and it did eventually contribute to his realization;

Which is so important for Hunter and Gus, the latter especially of whose trauma causes him to literally lose his assessment of reality and doubt in his perceptions, only for Hunter to reiterate as Gus did for him; The reality is that most people do mean well and will respond well. Don’t let these bad-faith actors mess with your perception of reality and cause you to see the world as a much more hostile place than it actually is, that is legit how they get to you, to divide and conquer and pit people against each other, so they don’t unite against the actual problem. Which in this case is the system, tellingly.

And I just think that’s SO important, especially with how abusers gaslight victims into thinking of the outside world as too hostile and dangerous to receive them, forcing them to stick to the confirmed ‘safety’ of their abuser; As Hunter himself realized! Belos was wrong, the world and people ARE generally good, and it’s people like Belos who are the exception, not kind strangers like Luz and her friends. Even someone like Alador can change because he’s not truly operating from a place of malice; Kindness and trust IS worth it!

[ramblingguy54]

     There’s a lot to be said, regarding how Thanks To Them handled what it managed to do in under almost an hour quite well, but what I specifically want to focus on is the colossal amount of emotional weight it gave in-depth for Luz & Camila’s relationship because holy shit it was great, overall. In the past, I’ve seen posts here and there attempt to slam Camila as a parent calling her irresponsible or outright manipulative in the way she wanted to balance Luz’s creativity or that knee jerk reaction at Yesterday’s Lie concluding on a somber conversation between these two. Some were quick to peg Camila as being dismissing of her daughter choosing to stay on the Boiling Isles, when in reality she was merely concerned for Luz’s safety and not to mention questioning her abilities to be a competent parent in all of this, as well.

    Thanks To Them fully puts into perspective just how rough Camila has had it as a single parent. It wasn’t just losing her husband that was painful, but also the consistent berating Luz would get from onlookers passive aggressively judging her antics, which were heavily implied to have been inspired by Manny. He seems to have been apparently a very silly father figure that wanted to inspire his daughter about vibrant imagination, hence that Azura book being the last thing he gave her before passed away, due to unfortunate health issues of some kind. Honestly, I know I sound like a broken record here, but I can’t further reinforce my point enough on these impressive ways the Owl House crew managed to salvage all this insightful characterization around the Noceda family tree. It masterfully makes any moment from Luz’s creativity throughout this series run have such deeper meaning. She was trying to keep her father’s faith alive and that can be said for a lot what Luz has done through compassion.

     Went from simply loving Camila’s character to absolutely seeing myself in the way she struggles to stand up for Luz’s nature as a human being. Manny may be gone, but she doesn’t let that grief stop her from allowing Luz to live life the way her kid wants. The notion of parenthood comes in and out of my head often about how I would fair in the department of being a father. Would I make the right choices for my child? Could I prevent the same unfortunate stuff I went through not repeat for their new life? Camila was dealt an unfair hand by life and desires to give Luz a place she can call home. It’s why she sent Luz off in the first place to that camp at this story’s beginning. She never wanted Luz to do a 180 in personality, or stop having an imagination that makes her a vibrant child. Camilia’s main goal in all of this was to prevent Luz’s bullying at school from potentially increasing, the more she took her antics further.

     This in of itself portrays the issues of our education system with how it views other peoples’ learning capabilities. Attempting to put a label it all as grief for Luz’s acting out in their assignments, given Manny’s passing, is only a half truth severely exaggerated. Sure, losing her Dad had a huge profound change in Luz, but even when Manny was alive she has always done things differently. If anything, Manny’s sudden passing made Luz double down on the way she views things in general determined to stand up proudly for it, regardless of what anyone said. Luz was paying her respects to Manny, by living her life without regret. In this regard, it makes sense why Luz goes to such great lengths in trying to fix any mistake she feels accountability for whether it’s unintentionally helping Belos’ plans through time travel, regret for not coming home to Camila sooner, or Amity, Gus, and Willow being stranded from their respective reality.

    Luz’s compassionate nature is her strongest endearing trait and weakness all at once because while she is caring to others, it comes at the expense of her self-esteem. She blows any mistake big or small out of massive proportions. Part of me can’t help but think Manny’s passing plays a role in this, too. Luz is devoted to the memory her father so much that she weighs these mistakes on the grounds of, “What would my father think, if he knew about my own actions?”, and it is leading her down self-destructive tendencies. This was likely going through her mind, besides Camila’s advice about learning from mistakes.

     Luz wasn’t using fiction as a way to escape her father’s passing. It was all about keeping the memory of his own unique personality alive. To show others applying your different touch to learning about anything can pay off. It makes Luz Noceda such a compelling and endearing protagonist, in spite of how rough she has had everything in childhood to the Boiling Isles conflict currently. Luz wishes to do right by Camila & Manny’s beliefs that it consumes her with overwhelming grief. You could feel so much of it in her reluctant resolve to stay behind forever. At this point, Luz has felt like everything she has wanted ended in failure. Wanted do well in school with grades at the top of her class.

Didn’t want Camila to worry about her well being all the time.

Wanted so desperately to become of apart of the Boiling Isles and share this world with her mother acknowledging it.

Wants to live a life with no regrets, like her father wanted.

     All of this resolve has come crashing down on Luz’s determination. She can’t live a life without regret because Luz is consumed by so much of it. The only way Luz believed she could atone is by robbing herself of any true happiness. This way the karmic value of what she had blamed herself for would even out. It’s absolutely heartbreaking seeing such an optimistic kid become utterly broken by these circumstances. Luz may hate Belos, but she in turn despises herself because of being fooled by his scummy tactics to achieve his goal. Throwing everything into chaotic terror when the Collector was freed finally by King.

     Luz & Camila’s development was easily one of my favorite parts from the whole special. Thanks To Them is an all around great start to this three part series finale in general, but their emotional development was a serious stand out. This was the kind of stuff I wanted to see more of in DuckTales 2017 between Della & Louie with their chemistry and am so happy to see the concept thoroughly explored here. Loved what was shown off and can’t wait to see the last two specials in 2023. Welcome back Owl House. It’s good to see you again.

[willumity2020]

My Thoughts on Amity Blight

I initially thought of Amity as a mean rich girl who bullies everyone, including Willow; however, as the series went on, I didn't see her as such, and after watching episodes beginning with "Lost in Language" and ending with "Understanding Willow", it all made WAY TOO MUCH sense on who she REALLY is and WHY she behaved the way she did: Amity has a complex trauma (C-PTSD) from her upbringing; she was emotionally abused by Odalia who pressured and blackmailed her into becoming a top student, emotionally neglected by Alador who enabled Odalia's abusive behavior, and even teased and pushed away by Emira and Edric. Because of that, Amity was raised as a miserable loner with no love or respect, and under Odalia's influence, she had been living a lie and putting on an act and façade (such as being rich snob, faking her desire of joining the coven which was forced upon by Odalia, associating with Boscha and her gang which was also forced upon by Odalia, etc).

Both "Lost in Language" and "Understanding Willow" made crystal clear without a shadow of a doubt that Amity was NEVER a bully she appeared to be; her selfish and harsh behavior was simply a reaction to how she was treated as a child, as well as her coping with her loneliness and misery as a result of Odalia forcing her to end her friendship with Willow. She never wanted to hurt Willow and was forced to do so; she was just pretending to dislike Willow and acting as a bully to protect her from Odalia and that's all.

Compared with her favorite children's book character Odiban; Amity never had real friends and her friendship with Willow was forcefully cut off by Odalia, who bullied her into associating with Boscha, who was a real bully. Amity's pretending to hang out with Boscha made everyone think she was rich snob, she let Boscha pick on Willow cause she needed to keep up the façade. Odalia compelled Amity to get green hair because she wanted her children to be "color coordinated", despite the fact that Amity inherited her father Alador's hair color. All she wanted was love, respect, and a real friends who she can laugh with and grow together with, but they keep being taken away.

And here's more, Amity never wanted to join the Emperor's Coven; her seeming excitement to join it was, IN FACT, forced upon her by Odalia. Amity also hoped that if she will have to participate in something she dislikes, she might as well try to get something out of it for herself such as love and respect from her family and the others. Amity was expecting for a better future since, according to her sister Emira, the former wasn't happy in the past and it wasn't denied by Amity who was looking for a future that would make her happy, which ironically wouldn't have happened at all.

But when Luz came around (despite taking some time), Amity finally began to come out of the shell that Odalia forced her in and Amity became a better person for it.

And besides that, the ONLY time Amity was GENUINELY mean was when she was rightfully angry with Luz for helping Willow cheat at her school assignment and getting her sent to Principal Bump's office. As for King, Amity was only mean to him by association because he knew Luz. Amity DIDN'T try to dissect Luz. She was just trying to force Luz into revealing she wasn't an abomination. What she wanted was to prove Willow cheated. Luz wasn't tied up or anything, if she didn't want to get stabbed all she had to do was... move out of the way.

Amity never had any social life after what happened with Willow, she couldn't stand Boscha and her gang and didn't have any actual friends; she only hung out with them superficially (it means fakely) under Odalia's influence. Once Luz befriended her, Amity's life got a million times better and she was actually happy for the first time in literal years.

Same as the one with Luz, Amity didn't wanted Boscha and her gang to find out about her true friendship with Willow, so she tried to burn the photo memory of their childhood friendship. While in Willow's mind, the real reason Amity didn't wanted to fix the memory of her friendship with Willow is that she didn't want Luz to find out, because she was afraid Luz would judge her especially without the proper context and thought she'd end up losing another real friend. However, thanks to Luz's emotional support, Amity reconciled with Willow by telling the truth and ended her forced association with Boscha and her gang in Understanding Willow; they became friends again in Wing it Like Witches which chronologically takes place either a few weeks or maybe one month after Enchanting Grom Fright. Despite fixing everything and regaining her friendship with Willow who understood and forgave her, Amity still felt bad about what happened, both the part with Odalia and the fact that she almost burned up Willow's brain trying to hide it, she knows Willow isn't angry anymore, but she still felt bad that all that stuff still happened because she was afraid to let Luz and Willow know the truth.

Amity was trying to make things be the way she and Willow used to be when they were kids, as shown in Labyrinth Runners where she kept getting in Willow's way because of it.