#i can't wait for the next episode (said by someone who will take a few days to watch it)

[lenteur]

random thoughts about castaway diva, episode seven(ette)

(read more because i always get carried away lol and this post might contain spoilers)

We’re starting this episode with how the mom and dad met and it’s the most wholesome thing in the world

« He was the first person who tried to walk at my pace » i let out the biggest awww 🥺 lee uk is the definition of a good man.

I just want to emphasize on how extraordinary of a man lee uk is. He saw a woman who needed help, talked with her about it and was willing to throw his existence away and start anew for that woman. If that doesn’t show how much of a loving and strong man he is, i don’t know what will.

Bo geol being one of the few who isn’t afraid and doesn’t care about lee seo jun’s power is chef’s kiss.

I like that ran joo and mok ha’s « friendship » isn’t linear and has lots of complexities. Yoon ran joo was okay with mok ha singing for her, until the truth was out. She’s become wary of mok ha and sees her as a threat, comparing her to mo rae and thinking mok ha will take this opportunity away from her. Ran joo is letting her emotions get the best of her. She wants to come back and prove her worth so bad that now that there’s an obstacle in front of her, she’s panicking. I do feel for her because she was at a very low point in her life until she met mok ha. Things started to get better but now, she’s facing reality. She’s proving she’s a diva in the sense that she doesn’t want any competition. She fears going back to the dark place she just escaped from. But then, you have mok ha who has never shown any sign of wanting to take the spotlight away from ran joo. She’s a real fan and has proved time and time again how far she’s willing to go to help her idol. Sure, she wants to become a singer, but that doesn’t mean she wants to eradicate the whole competition. She just wants to live her dream. That’s it.

The heartbroken look on mok ha’s face 💔 you can see how much she has endured. She thought being on a deserted island was hard, well she might have involved herself in a situation that’s harder than that. It pains me to see her like that because she’s still a little bit naive. She has proved enough times already how good of a person she is. She even postponed her debut to become ran joo’s manager and help the singer reach the 20 million album sales goal. She already « wasted » 15 years of her life trying to escape from her father, and yet she still chose ran joo before herself and i think you can’t question her loyalty.

I know I make basically next to zero sense but i understand both women.

The dirty look mok ha gave that guy when he called her ugly lmao. How dare you say that to her?

Mo rae’s manager is a scumbag and I’m glad mok ha put him in his place. I’m just mad that everyone wants mok ha to feel guilty for going up on stage and singing. Life was already hard for her, you don’t need to another layer on top of everything she’s been through. Also, you can try to unsettle her but mok ha is stronger than that. I’M ROOTING FOR HER TO WIN THE SHOW!!!

Kang bo geol’s outfit is super cute in this episode and seeing him jealous? MY HEART IS FULL 💗💗💗

I mean how could anyone ever doubt bo geol is ki ho? It’s clear as day! Ever since episode one, they dropped little hints about who’s ki ho. It’s the little details. He cares and it shows.

It was heartwarming to see mok ha sing without hiding and thriving on stage :D Put a big smile on my face.

It's interesting now that woo hak knows the truth the roles are reversed between the two brothers. Woo hak wants to hide everything and Bo geol is tired of hiding and wants to live his life freely. Woo hak trying to make his brother choose the wise decision when bo geol has been suffering for 15 years is insensitive. Now that his memory is back, woo hak is trying to make the entire family follow his plans, just like he's been doing before. It's frustrating to see woo hak being the one making decisions when clearly, the one who suffered the most is bo geol. He's been through so much. It was bound to happen. He finally exploded and he's taking the control back.

NO MOK HA NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! Don't go meet mr jung. It's dangerous.

I'll give credit where credit is due, mr jung is veryyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy clever. That's for sure!

I'm sorry to my girl mok ha but meeting with mr jung was a dumb idea. I've said it time and time again but she is very naive and still has a hard time adapting to the world around her. She shouldn't have talked to him when she has a hard time hiding her emotions. Just like he said, mr jung was a police officer and can see right through her. Now the ki ho hunt can officially start. By the way, he could literally follow her right to her house and find the entire family just like that.

It's bittersweet to see mok ha give up her dream after meeting up with mr jung. On one hand, I understand why she made that decision. It is to protect the whole family after making such a big mistake. On the other hand, seeing her smile when she was on that heyday again stage was such a beautiful sight. She worked so hard to reach that dream and now reality caught up with her and she has basically no other option. I hope she can find a solution and live her dream.

I feel for mok ha because after all her efforts, one mistake made her give up her dream. She's already suffered enough. She feels bad for abandoning her friend (ran joo) and putting the family in danger. Poor girl :( when will this nightmare end?

Bo geol finally revealing his identity!!! YAY I CHEERED :D

It's good to see him finally getting rid of the weight he carried on his shoulders for so long. He's choosing to live his life as ki ho because he doesn't want to be scared any longer. He's Jung Ki Ho and I'm glad to see him embrace his real identity in front of mok ha.

I'm grateful to see bo geol finally show his emotions and be vulnerable. It was hard on him. I just want him (and the whole family) to be happy and live without having to worry about mr jung.

The way he cradles mok ha's head with such delicacy, afraid she'd break if he did it with more force. I. CAN. NOT!

THE HUG 💓💓💓 It's like a wave of relief washed over them. They finally reunited. The way bo geol is hugging her tenderly to show her he's there for her. And the way she's gripping her hands around his vest (idk how it's called) hard, afraid he'll slip away if she didn't. I offically can not handle all of that. (but yes i can, please add more tender moments between the two)

They're in their own little bubble.

What's with woo hak looking at bo geol and mok ha like that? Don't you dare, I'm talking to you woo hak, put yourself between them!!! I forbid you. You'll meet my two tiny fists in your face if you ever do that, understand?

The preview for next episode seems promising. Hopefully issues will be resolved.

I'm giving this episode a 8.75/10

[amirasainz]

But what was their reaction when they first watched euphoria? Like what was sweet Amelia saying? Doing? Good lord. The absolute hatred they would express for Jacob elordi, like “let’s kill him” was said from someone in the room but no one will confess to it.

WOHO! George Russell, the man that you are! I hope you guys enjoy reading this and send me some request!

-XoXo

No Part 2!!!

Mount Everest ain't got shit on me

At first, everything was great. The drivers and WAGs were all thrilled for Amira when she announced her new role in a series called Euphoria. No one thought it was strange that she wouldn’t discuss the plot or her character. The only thing she ever said was, “Maddy is a badass. A real G.” So you can imagine their reactions when the first episode aired.

The drivers, the WAGs, and Roscoe were all gathered in Lewis’s room, scattered around as they waited for the episode to start. Lily and Carmen were excitedly gossiping about the other actors in the series. “Amira told me that Maddy is with Nate, who is played by Jacob Elordi. Guess what? Jacob and Zendaya used to date,” whispered Carmen, eliciting a huge gasp from the other women. Lily’s reaction caused Kika, Lily Z., and Rebecca to crowd around them, all sharing the latest celebrity and paddock gossip. “Is it true that Carlos is going to be the next safety car driver?” asked Lily Z. innocently. Rebecca looked at her confused, while the other three tried to hide their laughter.

Before Rebecca could defend her boyfriend, the opening scene of Euphoria started. And boy, was it an episode. When Amira said that Maddy was a ‘badass,’ they didn’t realize that Maddy Perez was a barely clothed, hot-looking goddess who didn’t shy away from using vulgar language. While the others were impressed by Amira’s acting, Carlos was speechless.

Why didn’t they give her more clothes to wear? And whose idea was the pool scene? Why did Amira’s character have such a bad boyfriend? Is this even allowed? Could he sue the producers? These thoughts were running through poor Carlos’s head. Meanwhile, the others enjoyed watching Amira on screen. Well, they enjoyed almost everything. After the first few Nate scenes, it was clear they didn’t like him.

“I just don’t understand it,” muttered Oscar, hugging a pillow close to himself. Charles, who sat next to him, agreed wholeheartedly. “Yeah, why would Maddy be with him? She deserves much better than this idiot.” “I mean, if I were part of this show, I would treat her like a queen. I would get her flowers every day and walk her home. On rainy days, we would cuddle up, watching one of her favorite movies. And then after date nights, I would take her to bed, kiss her, and we would have a night filled with passion and love…” Pierre said dreamily, a love-sick smile on his face. Kika, sitting on his right, just looked at him with a straight face, saying dryly, “Thanks. Thanks a lot, babe.”

The drivers and WAGs were so engrossed in watching that they didn’t notice Lando taking pictures of Amira every time she was on screen. When he lowered his camera again, he found himself looking straight into George’s eyes. “I—” he couldn’t even defend himself. George just looked him up and down, raising an eyebrow before turning his attention back to the screen and rolling his eyes. Never in his life had Lando felt so humiliated. It was a look that said, “Watch me and my girlfriend become a happy throuple with the girl you’re in love with. You stand no chance against us, Lando Norizz.”

After the end of the first episode, there was silence for a moment. "We should kill Nate" said someone (cough, Alex, cough). For a moment, they all thought the idea over. "I mean, it's just a TV series" tried Rebecca. "Yeah, but if Nate doesn't exist anymore, he can't be mean to Maddy, alias our Amira" stated Carmen, almost sounding bored to even have to explain. "Perhaps, we don't have to kill anyone. But if he wouldn't be found anymore" tried Oscar. Before anyone could say anything else, Charles proclaimed: "I know a guy for situations like this. He can help us. He won't ask any questions and will get the job done. Nice and clean." They all looked at Charles. "What the fuck" beeing the only thing said.

Safe to say, even though they loved seeing Amira on screen (not Carlos, he didn’t like the TV show), they hated Nate. And Checo? He thought because Maddy’s last name is Perez, he and Amira are now related, making him smile like the sun. Whatever helps him sleep at night, I guess.

[lurkingshan]

Japanese QL Corner

It's raining jql! Hang onto your butts because this is a jam-packed post. We now have three shows airing weekly on Gaga, plus several fan subbers making our dreams come true. What a time to be alive.

Takara's Treasure

I love them, your honor. This show is from the same directing and screenwriting team as Our Dining Table, so it should come as no surprise that the characters immediately endeared themselves to me. Taishin is a lonely boy still mourning the death of his beloved pet bird and latching on to the senior who was kind to him in his low moment. Takara is a reserved tsundere who seems a bit taken aback by this weird kid who followed him to university, but Taishin's sincerity and gentleness is working on him already. It doesn't hurt that Taishin is not faking his interest in the things Takara loves, that boy is an amateur botanist. This one is going to be so much fun, and almost certainly make me cry. Can't wait!

I Hear the Sunspot

These two already own my heart. I loved that we took the time to get to know Kohei better at this early stage and understand how isolated and excluded he has felt since he began experiencing hearing loss. He needed someone loud and straightforward and unapologetic like Taichi to barrel into his life and pull him back out of his shell again. I was so relieved when Taichi confronted him immediately about his avoidance and cleared up the idea that he only wants to see him when he's being fed. The joy I felt seeing Kohei laugh and finally relax and play a simple game of basketball with his peers was immense. I could gaze at his smiling face all day.

Ayaka is in Love with Hiroko

Holy shit, I love this show! We begin our story with a makeover, and it only gets better from there. Adapted from a manga, this is an age gap office romance between an experienced lesbian and the purportedly straight junior who is in love with her. Hiroko is everyone's favorite boss at work, but she keeps her private life separate, so her colleagues have no idea she spends her nights at the local lesbian bar or that before work got so busy, she was a consummate party girl. Ayaka fell for her after an act of kindness, and she is on a mission to get Hiroko to take her seriously, but her perceived straightness is getting in the way. Shenanigans ensue! This show is charming as hell and so genuinely funny, and Hiroko is an instant fav.

Bonus: Ossan no pantsu ga nandatte ii janai ka

Episode 9 has is now available on @isaksbestpillow's blog, and besties, Daichi and Madoka are getting married!!! The way I lost my entire shit when this happened, you have no idea. I was carrying on so much I had @bengiyo worried something terrible happened, but THE VERY BEST THING HAPPENED.

Ahem. This was another fantastic episode! Makoto accompanied Mika to the Random show, where he developed his very own bias and a newfound respect for the power of kpop. Mika got to share the story of how her fandom saved her in a low moment, Moe and Makoto had a heart to heart about her lack of desire for romantic partnership and the expectations he should let go of, and the entire family is getting along so much better than we could have dreamed a few short months ago. And just as the fam was headed out for parfaits, Daichi appeared and expressed his own desire for a family, Madoka took the hint from the universe and proposed, and we all collectively held our breath and cried and cheered when Daichi said yes. What a fantastic show, I really cannot believe this drama exists.

Bonus: Zettai BL 3

And to complete this week's fan subs, @ikeoji-subs has begun posting A Man Who Defies the World of BL 3. Head here to find the latest, and if this is the first you're hearing of this series, mosey over to Gaga or Viki to watch parts 1 and 2 first! The episodes will be dropping over the next week or so, and I will share more complete thoughts about the season once they're out!

[yanderes-galore]

Short about romantic yandere Blitzø in which his darling(who is a fellow imp btw) tries to break up with him because they can't stand his toxic behavior anymore. That makes Blitzø very upset. What happens next is up to you.

Based on what happens in the newest episode... here's some angst that takes place in an AU after that. Watching the newest episode and discussing with @okchijt helped a lot for motivation.

Push Me Away

Yandere Blitzø with Imp! Darling Short

Pairing: Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Clingy behavior, Manipulation, Hella Angst, Possessive behavior, Mature themes (Such as vague mentions of NSFW and cursing), Delusional behavior, Biting, Fear of abandonment, Toxic relationship, Consensual turned forced relationship.

He couldn't ever be happy, could he?

Blitz was a mess when Stolas broke things off with him. Granted, it wasn't healthy, yet Blitz just wanted to feel wanted... needed! So for a long time, he pushed other people away once again.

But... you? You were determined to help him. As an imp working at I.M.P, you hated to see Blitz in such a state. Blitz originally found your persistence annoying. He didn't want to rely on anyone anymore.

However... the idea of you wanting him made his heart flutter.

Blitz felt... safer with you than Stolas. After all, he knows you won't use him. You're both imps, both bottom of the chain. Blitz couldn't help but accept your comfort once you wore him down.

When you came up to him one night, he really did try to push you away. He curled up on the couch, not willing to talk. However, you said nothing and sat beside him.

As much as he hated to admit it, he needed this. In that moment he felt he needed you. You most likely got the message the moment his tail wrapped around your waist.

He can't be alone.

Your comfort for the next few days started small. Sitting there with him, offering an embrace, small things. Blitz actually didn't find your behavior condescending... he felt at home.

A month later after the 'Stolas incident', something sparked between you. Blitz hadn't realized he needed you until your embraces became... heated. Perhaps you both had a feeling it was a rebound waiting to happen... yet went through with it.

You had realized you loved one another fully after your first heated night. Intimacy such as that was Blitz's form of comfort. It felt... right to be in your arms, intertwined with you.

It took him so long before he finally untangled your tails that night... oh you were just so much smaller than him....

Your actions made your feelings clear before your words could. It wasn't until after that Blitz heard you admit to it. His heart clenched when he felt you hold his face, a grin on your lips.

"I love you, Blitz."

That was all he wanted to hear from you. To hear from someone, anyone, that he was loved like this... he craved it. After that, he never stopped holding you.

Now he finally had what he wanted.

After that, a relationship bloomed. Perhaps too quickly... but you both didn't care. All that mattered was the two of you.

Blitz felt overjoyed with you. You and him, two imps together, he felt it was perfect. Blitz always made sure to give you the world.

You were always together in the day, along with entangled at night. Blitz worried he was using you to soothe himself. But when you kissed him at night, pleading for him, he didn't care.

Your relationship went on for months. Blitz was sure to take many pictures throughout it. He adored it when you clung to him.

He never wants to let go.

However, due to how fast things started, patterns began to show. It wasn't going to be all sunshine and roses for long. You quickly began to realize Blitz was demanding...

All because he didn't want to lose you.

Blitz has had bad experiences with relationships in the past. Determined to not let you leave him, Blitz is eager to please. Be that gifts, dates, or even in bed...

He'd sacrifice everything for you.

Unfortunately, you began to see the issues. You realized this was yet another toxic relationship for Blitz before him. You loved him... but guilt poisoned you.

Blitz was possessive of you. His tail is always tight around you during the day along with his teeth buried in your flesh at night. He wanted to make sure you couldn't leave him...

That you'd always be his.

As much as you loved Blitz, you couldn't put up with his behavior anymore. You knew his behavior was reasonable. Yet you didn't want to put him through something bad again.

You want to let him go because you love him. You don't want to be his unhealthy coping mechanism. You love him... but don't want him to be smothering.

You know that he needs you... but it can't be like this.

As expected, confrontation is nerve-wracking... and volatile.

"Sweetheart~!" Blitz coos as he approaches you, curling up on the couch beside you. His claws and tail wrap around you as he takes in your scent. "How's my favorite imp doing~?"

You're silent, confusing Blitz for a moment. As if in an attempt to recapture your attention, he nuzzles into your neck. That's okay... maybe a mission made you a bit upset?

You have seemed... off lately.

"Blitz..." You whisper, the imp perking at his name rolling off your lips.

"Yes, baby? Love it when you say my name like that..." Blitz groans, tail tightening as he gives you what looks like bedroom eyes.

"You know I love you... right?" You continue, Blitz never taking his gaze off you.

"Mhm...!" He answers, tongue darting out to lap at your skin.

"Then... you know whatever I do is out of love for you, right?" You lightly press him off you, Blitz frowning but complying.

"Yeah...?" Blitz answers again, his expression now just confused.

"Then... Please listen to me, okay?" You ask, Blitz nodding while he watches you intently.

This hurts... Why must it hurt?

"Blitz... I have to end this." You whisper, not daring to look at him.

"... what?" Blitz asks quietly, taken aback. He... He did everything right, didn't he!? What's wrong now!?

"I'm ending this not because I don't love you..." You whisper, barely able to look at his eyes as you unwrap his tail from you. "But you love me too much... you can't stay away from me... I need space!"

Then... things are quiet.

"I... I what...?" Blitz murmurs, not understanding what you mean.

"This is bad for us Blitz... you deserve better-" You stand up from the couch, tail wrapping around your waist in an attempt to comfort yourself.

"No... no no no no, you have to be joking, right!?" Blitz pleads, standing up. "Deserve better...? You're the best thing that's happened to me!"

"Blitz, we can't, you-"

"Don't you dare turn your fucking back on me...!"

You freeze at the growl in Blitz's voice, the larger imp glaring down at you. You turn to face him, not expecting the sudden hostility. He doesn't even give you a chance to speak before he's stepping closer.

"I'm so sick and tired of others thinking they know what's best for me...! I ALONE know what's best for me!" Blitz roars, "Do you really fucking think I'll let you leave me like Stolas did? Just so you can tell me to essentially go FUCK myself!?"

"Blitz-"

"Cut the SHIT!" Blitz yells, tears pricking his eyes. "I'm not losing you like I did the others. You are NOT leaving me. Come on, I can convince you, can't I?"

You're pressed against the wall, Blitz's tail wrapping around you as he cages you in. His eyes hold so much emotion... all desperate yet angry. Your attempts to "help" him only make him worse.

He just knew you were going to leave him... that's what made him possessive in the first place...

You can't fix him.

"Baby..." Blitz murmurs, ignoring your scared gaze. "It's going to be okay... we'll just continue what we did before. We'll have another night together, kiss, make up, maybe fu-"

"I'm not happy with this, Blitz...! I can't keep lying to you...!" You plead, making Blitz pause his actions for just a moment.

"... I can do better. I can BE better...!" Blitz pleads, eyes never leaving your scared ones. "Just... tell me how to improve, okay? I'll listen..."

Blitz's grip is tighter as he pulls you back to the couch. You want to fight him... but can't bring yourself to. Yet again Blitz has found himself another toxic relationship.

To him, it's better than being alone.

"Do you want more dates? More cuddles? Is the bedroom not exciting enough? Work with me here... please..." Blitz murmurs, pulling you on top of him on the couch.

"I want you to give me space..." You whisper, breath hitching when his grip tightens more. "Is it so hard to push me away...?"

"YES!" Blitz snaps, gaze desperate. "I don't want to let you go... I don't want to be alone... I want you to want me..."

Blitz then grabs your chin, his look making your heart ache...

"I need you to need me..."

With that, Blitz kisses you... and you kiss back...

But no matter how many passionate nights you have together to hide the pain...

You're both bad for one another... like every relationship Blitz has ever had... yet he won't let you go this time.

[mammalsofaction]

SIKE! GET LOVED IDIOT

Rating: G

Relationship: Heinz Doofenshmirtz & Perry the Platypus, Heinz Doofenshmirtz/Perry the Platypus

Add tags: fix it fic, rewrite the unmentionable chibiverse episode, the destiel-fication of Perryshmirtz, this is an excuse for me showeing Heinz with love and aftercare.

AN: Many thanks to my lovely, sleepy beta @agentlizardofowca, who sent me the video through discord so it could be the first thing i would see upon waking up so we could both yell at each other about it. They fucking destiel-ed him.

---

"Perry the Platypus!"

There is a brief, but meaningful applause as he descends in appropriately melodramatic way. The stage is well built, and the mic doesn't screech. Perry keeps an eye on the prize, even as he swallows the given pill.

Heinz looks…wary. He did not, at least, have his arms crossed, but over the course of the last few hours Perry notices how he's grown to hunch further into himself, curling into his seat. His brows were deeply furrowed, like he was waiting to be physically hit at any moment, which still might be likely.

The pill goes down smooth as butter. There is a discernible electrical buzz, from his insides. As he coughs, he expects himself to belch smoke. Instead, as he approaches the mic, he speaks with a voice that was his-and-not-his-own.

"Well, hello there!"

Heinz yells in disbelief. Perry blinks.

"Oh, that is weird, hearing you speak,"

It's an even weirder sensation, Perry thinks, to be able have Heinz firmly understand him speak. He grips the edges of the podium tightly, then forcibly relaxes.

"Heinz," he laughs nervously. It still sounds like it came from someone else. "What can I say, about my greatest frenemy? I'd take my hat off to you, but then you'd have no idea who I am,"

A chorus of laughter follows . Heinz harrumphed, briefly looking away to stubbornly insist that he "Doesn't get it." But Perry does not miss the distrustful twitch of his lips.

God he can't do this. Perry takes in a deep breath.

"There are many things you continue to surprise me about, my friend," Perry continues, and he watches in real time as Heinz both blooms and flinches in anticipation of his next words. "But most astonishingly is how you…can twist your mind into such horrible directions."

A confused silence ensues. Someone yells out a demanding "What?" that breaks the man's confused daze.

"Yeah, what?" Asked the man of the hour. "Are you saying I think in a really evil way, or are you just calling me dumb?"

The former, Perry knows, would be a compliment the man sorely needs, but it would not be an accurate one.

Perry isn't interested in playing this stupid game. "Neither. Heinz, look around you. Don't you see?" Perry's mouth pursed tightly. "You are surrounded by friends."

There is a perceptible change in the air, punctuated by muttering and distressed whispering. Perry exhales loudly. "Do you really think all of us genuinely think so lowly of you?"

Heinz scowls, confused. His eyes dart to and fro, but they eventually land back to him. They always do.

"Some friends. I don't have any friends.That's half the point we've been making all day."

"I'm your friend." Perry says, a little desperately, but it isn't about him. "Heinz, you insist that the people you surround yourself with think of you in ways you already think of yourself in that too big brain of yours, that you don't see the affection and respect of the people who like having you around. This event is your idea. Do you think people would have thought about anything cruel we've said if you hadn't said you wanted to hear it? "

" There were plenty of volunteers."

"We're an outgoing group who like to help one another! Heinz, look," Perry scowls back. "I don't agree with everything Darcy said, but she was right about one thing. Your biggest enemy is, and always has been, yourself. You tend to think of yourself as a being a failure, as being hated. But that isn't true."

"Yeah!" Marcy yells helpfully from the crowd, followed by some pointed hushing. She doesn't seem to notice. "I do actually think you're talented, Dr. D!"

"I think you're really fun!" Someone adds.

"You always know when to stop when we ask."

"You really rock a labcoat, too, Dr. D!"

"I actually like your shoulders!"

The auditorium grows loud, as more and more chibis cheerfully add their kind, honest opinions of the man in the throne. It seems to throw him off, and he looks panicked, shocked, and heartbreakingly, astoundingly confused.

"Wait, WAIT! Everybody STOP. You guys were supposed to make fun of me!"

"We can keep making fun of you if you like, Dr. Doof." Star answers happily. " If you want, but it's all in good fun, right?"

"That doesn't mean we don't think you're also really cool, Dr D. " Mabel adds cheerfully. She has her little piglet in her arms, rocking him affectionately back and forth. " I do it with my brother all the time! I still love him to bits and bits."

From behind one camera, Dipper makes an embarrassed sound. He's still smiling, and Mabel comes around to tug him into a hug, sandwiching Waddles in the middle.

"But that-," Heinz began to sputter indignantly. Somewhere far below, there is a grinding, whining noise. Perry frowns. "But you-! But what about-what about-what about my, hey, what about my doctorate, huh? I bought it off the internet for 15 bucks! My teachers hated me! Im not actually a Doctor."

"We both know you never needed one to prove yourself more than capable of breaking the laws of physics on the daily." Perry chirps drily. There is another chorus of laughter for the not-quite-insult. "And I'm the last person to make fun of you for enjoying a spot of alliteration. Hello, Perry the Platypus?"

"Hey!" Heinz shouts, as the crowd continues to giggle. "This is my roast! Get in line!"

"Oh, I'm sorry," Perry coughs into his fist, hiding a smile. " Where were we? Ah, yes, embarrassing you."

Heinz harrumphed, slouching back down into his seat in the assumption that the self loathing party was about to continue apace. Perry clears his throat. "Let's talk about how much you love your daughter."

Heinz shoots straight up, hands clenched into the sides of his seat. He looks, for a second, genuinely hurt, and angry. But Perry meets his gaze dead on, and the man eventually unclenches himself enough to speak, taking a deep breath as he looks away. "Fine. Fine. Whatever. There's nothing you're about to say that will make me feel even a little bit ashamed of how much I love my Vanessa."

"Yes, that is quite the pickle, isn't it? You, Heinz Doofenshmirtz," his voice turns soft despite his best efforts, feeling his cheeks burn fondly in reminiscence. "Are one of the strongest, kindest, sweetest parents I have ever had the pleasure to meet in my life."

Heinz blinks, caught off guard once again as the crowd goes "Awww,"

"You are embarassingly loving, you never let yourself forget the things she tells you she enjoys, even if they're gifts she asked for when she was barely a child. You are protective and vindictive of anything that could possibly come to hurt her, and you have never, ever, ever once forgotten to throw her a birthday, even when you've never had a decent one yourself in all your life,"

And finally, finally, Heinz blushes. A tint of red for being pleasantly flustered instead of the ashamed flush from before. The chibis laugh, coo and yell in playful disgust. Perry smiles smugly, pleased for having turned the tide of the event on its head.

From beneath their feet, the rumble grows, and the whining increases in fever pitch. Chibis begin to jump in surprise, the sounds of joy and celebration turning into ones of distress. Quite tellingly, Heinz looks perfectly unbothered, arms crossed petulantly. Perry raises an eyebrow.

There is a distant boom, muffled by a safe wall of dirt. One part of the stands collapses in on itself, and the chibis get off of it hurriedly. There is an ensuing silence.

Perry and Heinz had not, even once, looked away from one another. Perry leans on his elbow on the podium, raising his second eyebrow. Heinz slumps down his seat.

"Fine. I had an inator that was being charged by the negative energy of insults to take over the chibiverse, yada yada yada. It was supposed to be Platypus proof, because I didn't have time to put a self-destruct button. You jammed the energy input and made it explode by calling me nice things, happy?"

"Delirious." Perry answers, as the crowd cheers in celebration, another scheme thwarted, and another day saved.

The crowd climbs the stage in droves, chanting his name. Perry lets them have their fun, though he's not particularly enjoying being thrown into the air and carried over their heads, off the stage, to the backstage buffet.

He slinks off the second he was able to get away with it, to where Heinz was still curled on the throne in the auditorium hall, scribbling into his inventions book. He's not noticed Perry approaching, peeking over his shoulder to see he was already brainstorming his next scheme for molecular chibiverse domination, muttering angrily to himself.

"-tupid to think he actually meant what he was saying, I should've kept my lid on the plan better, hide my blueprints-,"

"I did, you know." Perry interrupts, and Heinz jumped, clutching the notebook close to his chest. "Meant them, I mean."

Heinz sighs gustily, posing like he's meant to retort something clever, but he's not sure what it is, yet. To render Heinz Doofenshmirtz speechless was no easy feat, adding another tally to Perry's accomplishments this day.

Not that he was ever unappreciative of Heinz's chatty nature.

After opening his mouth and closing it a couple more times, the doctor blurts; "I don't think I'll ever get used to that. You, talking, I mean."

Perry shrugs, self-conscious. Heinz adds, hurriedly, "I didn't say I didn't like it."

Perry tilts his head in question.

"I'll get used to it," Heinz assures, a bit shyly. It's making Perry blush too.

The agent shakes his head. " I don't think…, "

Heinz frowns. "You don't like it? "

Perry shrugs. "I don't need it. " He looks down. "I have you. "

He's not looking, so he isn't able to tell what expression Heinz might be wearing in the following silence.

Heinz breaks it eventually. "You keep doing this, you know?"

When Perry looks up, Heinz had donned a poorly executed scowl. It makes him smile. "Reminding me about the good things. Call me nice, I mean. That's not right. It's ruining my street cred."

The idea of Heinz having a street cred makes him laugh, and even if he does not enjoy most of the actual talking for now, this was nice. Laughing together, and being able to communicate, thoroughly and well, what exactly he adored of his best friend, uninhibited of Heinz's own self-esteem issues.

I love you, Perry wants to say, desperately. He wants to say it more than anything in the world, but even with all the communicative technology at his disposal, he is still hesitant, still scared, of putting his vulnerability into words.

Later, he keeps telling himself. Soon. Eventually. He reaches out to hold Heinz's hand in his own, leadened with all the words he can't bring himself to say.

Heinz smiles, and squeezes like he understands him anyway. Like Perry would have all the time in the world.

It can wait.

[onlymurdersintheafterparty]

Updated OMITB S4 Killer Theory

After watching this week's episode I have a new theory for who killed Sazz. There are some plot holes proving otherwise but for now this is what is sticking with me the most. I think it also ties some of these storylines together. I'm putting this all under a spoiler tag just in case since it hasn't been a full day yet.

I think Bev is actually Dudenoff. From what we know so far, Dudenoff is rarely ever home and is currently in Portugal. Bev living and working in Los Angeles means that she could go back and forth collecting rent, hire someone to do so, or just have it deposited directly. Maybe she inherited one of the apartments, saw an opportunity for the others and took it. Plus it's a nice side hustle that can help to fund her film projects.

The mysterious person in the group with their face scratched out could very well be Helga. Vince said that Helga was the wrong type of weirdo and Rudy, Inez, and Ana were all trying to paint her as mentally ill and paranoid. I think we can assume she's not dead since we heard her on the radio, but she is clearly in hiding meaning she didn't leave the West Tower on her own accord. I think she uncovered a secret about Dudenoff or whatever other crime these Westies are into and was going to tell Charles so he could expose it on the podcast.

Sazz was digging around searching for clues before she was killed, even going so far as to discover that someone was watching Charles and gaining access to the code for the Dudenoff apartment. This season has been playing around a lot with the concept of stunt doubles, twins, and actors portraying actors. What if Sazz bore a strong resemblance to Helga and was successfully able to pass as her which is how she got entry to the Dudenoff apartment? If the theory that Helga was going to snitch is correct, maybe during the night of the party one of the Westies looked out the window, saw Sazz in Charles' apartment and thought she was Helga and killed her to keep her from telling?

If Bev is Dudenoff there is a possibility that she was in attendance at the party at the end of season 3 and was also in town to collect the rent owed by the Westies. Maybe at the party she saw Sazz and because of the Sazz/Helga lookalike theory thought Helga was in disguise to get close to Charles. Having her side hustle exposed would lose her money and with how she hounded the trio to sign over their movie rights she sounds like she's struggling financially. In episode 4, the actors are referred to as faces because there's a dynamic where stunt people don't get recognition for their work and aren't recognized outside of the work that they do. At the party when they discuss the wine Charles has upstairs, Bev could have overheard that Sazz was going up to get it and saw that as her chance to strike. As Dudenoff it would be easy to run over to the apartment she owns and gain access to get the job done. Plus we now know she knows how to handle a gun after she is seen holding the trio at gunpoint at the end of the episode.

The question remains whether Sazz was the intended victim or Charles and I'm still going to go with Sazz for now. I know there's the whole "Everybody hates Charles" agenda but he's basically a homebody so I doubt there would be enough interactions over time for someone to actually hate him. The only other reason is that a family member of one of the victims in the podcast or the killers is mad at him for profiting off of their death like what the bartender said at Concussions.

So this is where I'm at right now theory wise. There is still plenty of time to change that because we have 6 episodes left. I know there's so much more to be discovered so I can't wait to see what direction the show will take over the next few episodes.

[rekino2114]

Blind date with Veronika grebenshchikova

Pairing:Veronika grebenshchikova x male reader

A/n: episode 12 was great, Charles was the mvp and it ended on a pretty big cliffhanger. We also got to see this Veronika quote:

(I love her so much)

Anyway I have an announcement to make starting today I will be doing a weekly drdt post every Saturday until chapter 2 is finished (I know the episodes come out on Friday but they actually come out at 1 am where I live) next Saturday will actually be the first genderbent post about this fandom (you can probably guess who it's gonna be)

This is kinda inspired by red flags by Tom Cardy and montaigne (with a twist), I put it here if you wanna listen to it, i know i'm not the first person to say this but that song is just Veronika (sorry for the really long note)

Veronika got set up on a blind date by her classmates ,mostly because they were tired of her creeping them out and wanted to pass that burden on someone else, so they asked whit to match her with someone and he chose you.

You waited at the table that you booked for you and the girl you were supposed to meet, you were slightly nervous about the date, mostly because you were scared your date would be put off by you as it's not the first time that happened but the ultimate matchmaker matched you together so you had hope.

You saw a red haired girl enter the restaurant and approach your table

"Hey, are you y/n l/n by any chance?"

"Yeah are you Veronika?"

She smiled and sat down across from you

"Yep, it's great to meet you"

"You too, I really dig your look, those fake eyeballs look amazing"

"Oh thanks so much, you're actually the first person to say that"

"Really? That's a shame, they're great"

"I think it kinda spooks people"

"Well I don't get spooked easily"

"*giggle* well then I think this date might go better than I thought"

You started talking for a bit until a waiter arrived to take your orders

"Oh I'll take a stake,very rare,I want to see the blood"

"I was about to order the same thing"

"Oh really?"

"Yes I love seeing blood in what I eat"

"Same!!"

Your waiter got very freaked out and left as you continued talking

"So what's your favorite movie?"

"Oh......it's human centipede"

"Huh? Really?"

"Yes I know it's weird but-"

"That's my favorite movie too"

"........what?"

"Yes I love seeing all the body horror and the fear on the actors faces its amazing"

"...do you like scream too?"

"I have a Ghostface mask in my closet so I can prank my friends"

"Saw?"

"I also have a Billy the puppet doll there"

"Halloween?"

"Micheal Myers is my lock screen"

".......marry me"

".....what?"

"Sorry if I'm too forward, but I think we might be soulmates. You know how I said I go to Hope's peak"

"Yeah I was wondering what ultimate you were"

"Weeeeel let me introduce myself formally, I am Veronika grebenshchikova the ultimate horror fanatic"

"....really?"

"Yes I adore all things horror and I see that I have found a kindred spirit"

"Absolutely, I love horror too, I didn't know Hope's peak considered that a talent if I did I would have probably asked to join"

"This is amazing, you're the only person I know who has a love for horror other than me, now I see why paired us together"

You continued to talk about horror movies and eat, and after eating dessert(feeding each other the red jam in the cake to make it seem like blood) you walked Veronika home, who very happily accepted another date.

[Timeskip]

Some time after your date Veronika is talking with her classmates in the cafeteria

"Y/n is the sweetest guy ever, do you know what he did for me yesterday? He carved my name with a heart on a tree in a graveyard so romantic"

"....how is that romantic?"

"That's just disgusting and unsanitary"

"Soooooo I did well matching you together didn't I?"

"100%, we've been dating for only a few days but I already feel soooo happy and in love"

"Well at least she won't bother me anymore"

"Says the guy who can't leave j alone for more than 5 minutes"

"Shut up"

Everyone got distracted by the door opening, and you coming out of it, especially Veronika who immediately tackled you into a hug

"Darling, what are you doing here? Don't get me wrong, I love that you visited me, but you're not a student"

"Well now I am actually, I asked if I could "share" your talent since I love horror as much as you and they said yes"

Veronika squealed happily and peppered your face in kisses

"That's amazing now we can spend even more time together, I have to show you my dorm it's full of horror stuff I know you'll love"

"I can't wait to see it"

As you two walked away happily a look of horror appeared on teruko and Arturo's faces

"Awww how cute, seeing happy couples like these is why I love thi- ow! What was that for?"

"You idiot, do you understand what you did, now there's two horror psychopaths in this school"

"All of the heart attacks Veronika gives us daily are gonna be doubled"

"Weeeeel, she didn't really do anything scary to me before. In fact, you two seem to be the ones she likes pranking the most, so I suggest you prepare yourselves"

".........fuck......."

[miitarashi]

Could u do a some headcannons about Tintin laughing, like, his sense of humour, how contagious his laugh is, what he would do if we had a contagious laugh or a weird sense of humour. Just wondering coz I was watching an episode from the series and his laugh is acctually so adorable, like bro I just wanna hug him and give him literally anything he wants ❤️

AWWW THIS IS WAY TOO CUTE TO BE IGNORED I MUST DO IT WITH ALL THE CUTENESS IN THE WORLD! (sorry got a little excited here lol)

☆Tintin laugh headcanons☆

For starters.

He and Haddock have the worst sense of humor possible.

I can't take this out of my mind-

Like,he'll laugh at dad jokes or will not undestand because he'll try to seak sense into the joke.

You know when you tell a self-deprecating jokes in front of your parents and they scold you?

Yes,he'll do it.

Not exactly scold you,but will wait until you stop laughing to ask if you're ok in a worried tone.

His normal sense of humor goes for that one joke of the chicken who crossed the road to make """funny""" comments about something. That normally is funny just for him in the most of the times he does it.

But,Tintin of course laugh at silly things too,like if you trip in front of him he'll do this little cute laugh while helping and saying for you to be careful.

It's not exactly the type with loose laugh,but definitly not the difficult one either.

This when we talk about the Tintin from the series,but Tintin from the movie is a bit different (since unfortunaly in the movie we didn't see he really laughing and this hurt me 🥲)

He probably is a bit complicated to laugh, his sense of humor mostly making puns, sarcastic or ironic comments about something.

Being more funny when he do without noticing because he's a little menace in his own way. We can easily see it when he talk with sakharin for the first time (his face when he simply say "i don't have it" is the best lol)

Now,the best for the last.

His ✨Laugh✨

He have three types. Wait,hear me out-

The one he try to hide,that little laugh cleaning the throat and looking away you know?

The second and most normal is that small laugh. Quick and polite.

The thrid. This one. This one is hard to get. It's random so something funny and random had to happen.

i headcanon that take a really good while for Haddock hear Tintin (from the movie) really laughing like,really bursting out laughing.

And just like i said,it was random. Haddock was trying to help Tintin with a hint about some old mistery and he terribly pronounced an entire sentence with so much confidence to the point of making Tintin ask him to repeat it, when he did, Tintin stared at him for a few seconds, connected the dots and broke out laughing.

Bro wasn't really expecting lol.

And his laugh is good to hear,like that heart warming type of laugh that makes you smile and wanting to hear it again as much you can you know???

He do it so less often that makes him weak when he laugh like this,he hold onto someone to keep still lol.

___________________________________________

A/N: HERE IT IS! I loved doing this one lol. i hope that when the next movie come out WE WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR HIM LAUGHING OR I'LL COMMIT WAR CRIMES- i feel robbed 🥲. Thank you for the delicious idea unknow person,love u 😌❤️

[tobiasdrake]

What are your opinions on Paikuhan/Pikkon, as well as the Other World Tournament arc more generally?

Could have stood to be longer. Five episodes doesn't seem like nearly enough to get an entire tournament arc over and done with, but it can be enough episodes when there are very few characters to be invested in.

The Anoyoichi Budokai or "Strongest in the Other World Martial Arts Tournament" is an interesting premise held back by a lack of substantively interesting characters to fill a tournament roster. What makes tournament arcs work is getting to see various members of the cast given their moment in the spotlight. However, in the Anoyoichi Budokai, there are only two characters of any interest: Goku and Paikuhan.

Having only two interesting characters creates a problem for a tournament arc. It means the final round is the only match of any interest. The rest of the time is spent waiting for the plot to reach the interesting stuff. At that point, you'd be better off having Goku and Paikuhan slug it out in an exhibition match.

For his part, Paikuhan's introduction is a little janky. They wanted to do the "Meet the new antagonist, he makes the old antagonist look like a joke," bit to puff him up. So we get this?

Every arc has its ups and its downs. This is the weakest point of the Anoyoichi Budokai by far. This is peak "Toei doesn't understand Dragon Ball".

So, despite the fact that you don't keep your body in the afterlife without special dispensation from a sponsoring god, Frieza, Cell, and the Ginyus all have their bodies and are able to use their tremendous power to take over Jigoku.

The Ginyus, at least, were excused in a previous filler episode. Kaio sponsored them, allowing them to keep their bodies so he could use them to train the Earthlings. That episode had its own issues, mind. But at least it's there. No such explanation has been offered for who gave Frieza, Cold, and Cell their bodies back.

Toei just. Really likes this premise of all the old villains still being tremendously powerful and being able to revolt from Hell, even though the metaphysics are designed with built-in explanation for why that can't happen. Toei did it here, they did it in the movie Fusion Reborn, and they did it in GT.

So, Goku and Paikuhan go to put down the Hell revolt and like.

Goku wipes out the Ginyus while powered up in Super Saiyan yellow battle aura and Super Saiyan hair colored black for some reason. Not sure if this is a coloring error or what. Is he supposed to be Super Saiyan here or not? Doesn't seem like he'd need to be.

But then we get this reaction shot from Frieza and Cold.

Staring in slack-jawed amazement. Goku defeated the Ginyus!? That's impossible! It staggers belief that Goku could be so powerful that he could do that to the Ginyu Force! How far must he have advanced since the last time Frieza saw him!?

Y'know. When Goku left Frieza in chunks on the turf of an exploding planet.

Toei.

What the fuck are we doing here. This bit in Jigoku is the absolute nadir of the arc.

Its main purpose is to set the stage for this moment.

Paikuhan works over Cell like he's nothing.

If we're to assume that this is Super Perfect Cell at his full strength, then this is an intimidating yardstick moment for Paikuhan. Goku couldn't even take regular Perfect Cell. He doesn't have a snowball's chance in Hell, pardon the pun, of measuring up to Paikuhan in the ring.

Goku, of course, is thrilled by the opportunity to try. Paikuhan here is presented as a new mountain for Goku to climb. The next peak he can ascend to. Today, he met the new Always Someone Stronger Around the Next Corner.

This, at least, Toei does get. This is classic Goku. He watches Paikuhan make short work of Cell and his takeaway is "Fuck yeah, I want a piece of that." Thankfully, Goku getting a piece of that is what the arc's actually about. Goku's in the afterlife for like an afternoon when the Kaios propose a tournament between their four galaxies.

Like I said before, most of the matches don't feel meaningful because we have no investment in any of the other competitors.

This guy's based on Hercules and he's the closest thing to a third important character, in that he and Goku got to exchange words for a bit in this episode. He's here so we can be sad when Paikuhan kicks his ass.

Oh no, Paikuhan defeated that one guy that was kinda nice and now he's out of the tournament. Sucks.

Goku, meanwhile, fights this caterpillar dude who tickles people.

Who he beats by just kinda blasting him 'cause Goku's tremendously powerful so this ain't shit. It ends on a killer joke, though, as Caterpi enters a chrysalis so he can power up and transform into his ultimate battle form!

Look, these things take a while, okay? Not everyone can just eat a spunky orphan and then POP, perfection. XD Ya got me, Toei, that was fucking gold. Caterpi is a nothing character but the punchline kills.

But other matches are stuff like this.

Cool power bro but. Like. I do not know who these people are. Toei, I don't know who these people are. I legit could not care less what the outcome of this match is. I don't know why you made this a tournament.

What makes a fight interesting is not that the guy punches very hard and his ki blast is super big. We care about the fight because we're invested in the characters participating.

Only once in the history of the Tenkaichi Budokai did Toriyama ever make us sit through a match between two randos: Namu vs. Ranfan in the 21st. That was because he was developing one of those randos to be an emotional core for the arc; That fight was meant to serve as our introduction to Namu for a story that would reach its height when he fought Goku in the semifinal.

This isn't that. Half of the arc's third episode is spent waiting for things that matter to start happening again.

Goku's opponent in the semifinals is really cool, though.

He's fighting a fish man with the power to summon water, forcing Goku into a bad position as he has to try and defend himself from Aqua while trying to avoid drowning. This is a really cool technique, setting up Aqua as an interesting and complicated opponent for Goku to have to navigate.

Who he beats by just kinda blasting him 'cause Goku's tremendously powerful so this ain't shit. Gotta admit, Aqua's fight left me disappointed 'cause that was a perfect setup for some classic Goku analysis and counter-fighting. But nope. Goku just Power Levels through every match.

Goku's third fight is barely worth mentioning. He fights the purple lizard guy from that earlier rando match. Malaiko is just a big strong guy who hits really hard. Goku hits harder. It's mainly notable for this one moment.

Where Goku momentarily loses track of Malaiko, and we see his eyes scanning back and forth as he tries to figure out where his opponent's gone.

Goku. Goku, you can sense ki. Goku, you are probably the universe's #1 master at ki sensing. You physically can't lose track of people like this. What are you doing?

He does find Malaiko and manage to sucker punch him before Malaiko can launch his attack. But I dunno. Goku needing to stop and try and figure out where his opponent vanished to for a couple seconds this late in the series feels wrong to me. This happens during the fight with Paikuhan too.

Paikuhan dodges an attack so fast that he vanishes from sight and Goku has to spend a couple seconds looking for him, before Paikuhan announces himself and surprises Goku. Again: Goku can sense ki. What is this?

In any case, rando hits hard, Goku hits harder, and we get this moment of acknowledgement from Paikuhan.

My dude, what are you talking about? We've been given no reason to believe that guy Goku just beat was supposed to be powerful beyond his abilities, nor has he had any opportunity to improve his skills since you met him like four hours ago. We have seen no meaningful improvement from Goku at any point in this tournament. Paikuhan's just saying words that sound like Dragon Ball things to say.

We move right along to the main event and what we're all actually here for: Goku finally steps into the ring with Paikuhan. From what we've seen of these two, Paikuhan should shitstomp Goku. What he did to Cell puts him leagues outside of Goku's capabilities.

Yep.

Yep.

That's about right. Paikuhan dominates this match, as well he should based on how they set him up. His Hyper Tornado is neat, trapping his opponent in a vortex of razor-sharp air currents that cut him up. Most of the fight is Goku facing some new thing or another that Paikuhan's doing. Goku struggles to even land a hit on Paikuhan, with every exchange either leading to Paikuhan wasting Goku or Goku managing to pull it out and fight evenly before the next exchange wastes him.

Paikuhan is never on the back foot, while Goku always feels like he's at the end of his rope desperately trying to pull this out.

There's also a bit of Playing the Hits to this fight, as Paikuhan pulls the "Goku suddenly reveals he's wearing weighted clothes" bit from the 23rd Tenkaichi Budokai while Goku basically looks into the camera and calls him a knock-off Piccolo.

Goku, you're not supposed to point out when the anime's being uncreative. That's my job. There's also one of Toei's favorite bits of anime choreography here.

Toei really likes dramatic Super Saiyan transformations when a character's back is against the wall. In the movies, this gets really obnoxious and can feel like the characters are getting shitstomped on purpose. Like, we'll get prolonged sequences of Goku getting fucking shitstomped and we know he can just transform so it's like. Goku. Goku, why are you letting this happen to you?

This never happens in the manga. Saiyans go Super immediately as they step up to fight the bad guy. They only hold back when they have a reason to hold back, such as Trunks reserving his limit-breaker form because he's concealing it from Vegeta, or everyone agreeing at Gohan's behest to not go Super at the 25th Tenkaichi Budokai. Toei's action is all holding-back all the time, because it lets them drag fights out without having to come up with a valid reason for why the tide would suddenly turn at the critical moment.

But here, in this match, it works. For this first stage of the match, Goku and Paikuhan are both starting out small and testing each other's abilities. When Paikuhan decides to get serious, he takes off his weights. Goku repays him in kind by transforming. Goku was fighting Paikuhan at a level that matched what Paikuhan was giving him; now that Paikuhan is kicking things up a notch, Goku kicks things up to match.

This makes sense and feels true to character. Much moreso than, say, Vegeta letting Android 15 beat the shit out of him for several minutes because he loves the taste of fist in his mouth.

And then, of course, there's Goku's ultimate last resort unveiled here in this arc.

Goku uses the Kaio-ken as a Super Saiyan. As ways to remix old abilities for new and creative attacks go, this is a neat idea. Though it does raise a shitton of questions. Like, if Goku can do this, why didn't he use it against Cell?

Funnily enough, Toei forgot they wrote this in Dragon Ball Super. The Z anime and all of its filler is canon to the Super anime, with Captain Ginyu's continued existence being the most obvious example of their connections.

Toei did this again with Blue Kaio-ken, while also offering a lore explanation that Super Saiyan Blue is the only Super Saiyan form that it's possible to use Kaio-ken with. Never before has Anime Goku ever been able to combine Kaio-ken with Super Saiyan, but he can now do it with Blue.

So I guess this never happened. XD That's just as well; It lasts for all of one punch and then he never does it again. I think it's just there for another Playing the Hits moment. Remember that time Goku hit Kaio-ken and then punched Vegeta really super hard? Good times, moving on.

The climax of this fight comes when Paikuhan unveils his inappropriately named Thunder Flash.

"Thunder" in an attack name can generally mean one of two things: A powerful sonic crash or a fancy word for lightning. That. Um. That's fire. It's fire, Paikuhan. Do you know what thunder is? Because I don't think you do.

This is the best part of the entire tournament. Goku says this because characters are just saying Dragon Ball sounding words in this arc.

Which is a funny thing to say when the climax of the fight is going to feature Goku capitalizing on the technique's clear and obvious vulnerabilities. That's right, Thunder Flash finally gives us a chance to see Counter-Fighter Goku in action again.

Obviously, the technique's vulnerability is a) a super-long chargeup time where he has to do about as much random bullshit with his limbs as Recoome's Ultra FIghting Miracle Attack, followed by b) holding him in place while he fires it. Goku seizes on that second one; If the technique doesn't land, Paikuhan's set himself up for a brutal counterattack.

Goku can teleport. So he makes a brutal counterattack. Honestly, not sure why he didn't teleport out of the way the second time Paikuhan hit him with this. I can understand the first; He didn't know what was coming. But I don't know why it took until the third for him to come up with this. Evasive teleportation is not a new thing he just came up with today; He was doing it in his fight with Cell.

He says it took until the third Thunder Flash for him to first see Paikuhan's movements clearly.

I believe that. What I have trouble with is that he stood there and let the attack hit him without even trying to evade it. Dodging's for suckers, I guess.

But, nitpicks aside, this is a fantastic triumph for Goku. The fight up to this point has clearly asserted Paikuhan's undeniable statblock superiority, which makes it all the more hype when Goku wins anyway by exploiting the holes in Paikuhan's technique. Paikuhan is stronger, but Goku outmaneuvers him at just the right moment, in just the right way to clinch a ring-out and claim victory.

A victory that speaks both to Goku's abilities as a counter-fighter and his general familiarity with the atmosphere of the tournament stage.

So, overall, the arc itself is janky as fuck but its centerpiece, the Paikuhan fight, is mostly solid. It takes too long to get to the good part and there's nagging bits of Toei Choreography here and there once the fight begins but most of the fight itself works.

And it ends in a place that leaves Paikuhan and Goku both with much to learn. It's clear by the end of the match that Paikuhan is a stronger fighter while Goku is a better fighter. There are still mountains for both men to climb. This resolution feels true to the spirit of Dragon Ball and lets the Anoyoichi Budokai go out on a high note.

[sometimes-i-write-4-you]

heartless - a criminal minds episode\\part 1

part 2, part 3, masterlist

- english is not my first language pleas exuse any spelling or grammer mistakes.

- this case is made up

- it happens around the.. 6th season, i think? so the team is Hotch, dave, Morgan, Prentiss, JJ and reid

- it will end up being Reidxreader kinda

The doorbell rang. Layla fixed her robe and went to the door. Her eyes were red and puffy, as she was crying for a while now. A few days ago, the body of her fiance, James, was found. They covered most of him, she only saw his face to confirm it is him. She opened the door and looked to the right, and then to the left, but no one was there. Finally, she looked down and there she found a package. She picked it up and laid it on the desk next to her phone. The senders address on the package was one she didn't recognize, and her stomach ached in anxiety and fear. What if she's next?

She grabbed her coat from the hanger near the entrance, looking for a card In every single pocket, and when she finally found it she dialed the number on it with shaking hands. She paced in her living room as she was waiting for officer Williams. He told her to call if anything comes to mind, someone who'd seek vengeance on James, or if anything suspicious would happen.

A knock on the door. “Miss Garrison, it is Officer Williams” a vaguely familiar voice called from the other side of the door, and so she opened it. She shaked the officer's hand and allowed him to step inside. Layla was stressed before, but something about the officers demeanor made her even more anxious to open the package. “Do you want any… coffee, tea, or… just water, I have some cookies as well” Layla started rumbling, trying to be a good host as she was taught to be, even tho she is hosting under horrific terms. “Maybe some tea, yeah, I'll open the package while you do that” The officer said, sad smile on his face.

He pulled a pair of gloves from his pocket and put them on as Layle went to the kitchen. It felt so lonely in the apartment since James’s death, and she was somewhat happy to have company. She filled the kettle up with water to boil. Her eyes traveled between closets, trying to remember which one was the one with the tea cups, and where the hell did she put the tea itself. It was all a blur, James was the organized one. Eventually she found what she looked for and placed two mugs on the counter. She had two types of tea. “officer Williams, do you prefer green tea or berrys one?” she called out, and when the answer was bearly heard, she went to the living room.

“I'm so sorry, I can't hear-” she started, but her eyes stuck on the officers horrified face. “what is it?” she asked, “officer, what-” she said, coming closer. “stay back” he ordered, “I don't want you to see this. I called forensics, this is evidence”. “Officer, just tell me what this is” Layla said, panic setting in her voice. “Miss Garrison, when we found James's body… his heart was missing. I belive this is… it” the officer said..

….

“Reid, JJ, common, new case. hotch want us all in the conference room” (y\n) calls as they pass by their desks. The rest of the unit is already there when they arrive. “James Dekota, he was engaged to Layla Garrison until he found his unfortunate death. His heart was taken, and a few days later, shipped to Layla’s door” JJ explains as the relevant photos switch behind her. “Same thing happened with Fiona Nordwick who was engaged to Daniel Clark, and Sean williams who was engaged to Winona Rock” JJ continues. “Okay, so the unsub is targeting a half of an engaged couple, what makes him choose the one over the other?” Emily says, scrunching her eyebrows. “We find that out, and we have our unsub” Dave says. "wheels up in 30" Hotch says, nodding at the team.

…

"okay, so, taking the heart is… symbolic, but of what?" Prentiss wonderes out loud. "well, Joe smith took his victims hearts and kept them as trophies - but that's not the case here. this unsub is not keeping the hearts" JJ says, "and he is crossing gender and race lines - he kiiled males and females, and Sean williams was black". "his motive must be something about the victims personality than, something about their behavior made him attcack them" Dave says. "well, both the male victims worked in the insurance field" (y\n) says, "williams was an administrator for Nationwide and Dekota was a technichal analist for Omega, maybe this is what connects the victims". (y\n) knew it was along shot, considering Fiona Nordwick wasn't connected to the insurence field, she was a legal secretary. "(y\n) could have a point - we should ask Garcia to check, maybe Fiona Nordwick was a part of a case connected to the insurance field" Hotch says, pulling out his phone to text everyones favorite technical analyst. Reid was awfully quiet, thoughts running throgh his mind.

"whats on your mind, pretty boy?" Morgan asks. "Well, i just keep thinking…what if we are overthinking this, you know? trying to put a complicated meaning to this when it could just be literal, if the unsub attacks people for being engaged… what if taking the hearts is symbolic? hinting they have no heart?" he says, furring his eyebrows as he puts his thoughts into words. "this could be it" Prentiss says. "good thinking Dr. Reid" Hotch says. "we should try and check if any of the victims were being unfaithful" JJ says.

the tablet on the plane was ringing, and soon enough Garcia showed up on the screen. "well, my preeties, it appears that Fiona Nordwick was handeling a case regarding an insurence company not paying up, but i hightly doubt this is the connection, since it was a long time ago and she was in the begining of her carrer, even i had to dig deep to find this".

"well, if that not the connection, what is?" (y\n) said, slightly dissapointed her idea was proven wrong. they were new to the team and they wanted to prove themselves. They knew they'll get the chance, but just wondered when. "the unsub must find his victims somehow, maybe a wedding venue they all checked?" Morgan says, "baby girl, think you can find that out for me?". "oh you bet your fine ass that i can. talk to you later, my pretty crime fighters" Garcia says, and then hungs up.

[call-sign-jinx]

Endless Love (Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw) - Chapter 4

summary - Y/N Y/L/N and Bradley Bradshaw have had a rivalry ever since they both attended the same academy. Every chance they took, they always tried to one up each other. One day, Bradley takes the rivalry too far and Y/N ends up in the hospital with serious injuries. Will it make Y/N want to get him back twice as worse? Or will it make her realise that this rivalry between them is childish?

warnings - swearing, enemies to lovers, mention of serious injury, traumatic episodes, reader traumatised from what happened, smut, slowburn, seizures, flashbacks

a/n - hey girliessssssss! sorry that this one is kinda short but what i'm gonna do is just try and post a chapter every day so that u didn't have to wait so long! hope thas okayyyyyy xx

I'm still in the hospital. Which is very convenient. Note the sarcasm. I can't do much all day except go on my phone which got very boring after a bit.

But my friends visit me every now and then. Mostly Mav, Phoenix or my mate, Thomas, who moved with me to San Diego so that I wouldn't be fully alone. But he can't really visit as much because he's an accountant and his boss has made him work a lot of overtime.

Phoenix was currently visiting and telling me all about how Hangman was being a massive dick and him and Rooster nearly got in a fight about Rooster's dad.

"Yeah, he lunged for him! If the guys didn't hold him back Hangman would be waltzing about with the biggest black eye." It made my brows furrows and lift my lip in confusion.

"How did that make him so mad? Like me and Rooster always argue but he's never gotten that angry..." I was really confused, what the fuck did Hangman even say?

"I wasn't really listening to what they were saying, me and Bob were talking, not paying attention because we thought it was a normal argument they have." Wow... Maybe I should talk to Rooster, as if he's going to tell me though, he hates me. Phoenix checked the time on her watch.

"Right, I've gotta go... Training... I'll come back when I'm off duty?" I nod as I bid Phoenix goodbye.

----------------------------------------

I've been on my phone for 4 hours since Phoenix left. I'm now addicted to Candy Crush, Subway Surfers and Episode. I'm in the middle of playing Subway Surfers when I heard a knock at the door. It was Dr. Hunterson. She's always been lovely to me.

"Hi Y/N, there's someone here to see you?" She said it as a question, basically asking me if I wanted to see them or not.

"Send them in, anything to cure this boredom." I chuckle out, Dr. Hunterson laughed as she closed the door. A few seconds later, someone walks through the door. I looked up at them.

It was my mum.

"Y/N! Oh my god! I would've come sooner had someone told me earlier!" She set her bag down on the floor next to the chair she then sat in.

I sat in silence, not even looking up from my phone. I couldn't talk to her, let alone look at her. I continued with Subway Surfers.

"Y/N? Why are you ignoring me? We haven't spoken to each other in 7 months!" She laughed as she spoke. I slammed my phone down on the bed and finally turned to look at her, I glared at her.

"Why the fuck did you lie to me about dad? Why couldn't you have just told me the truth?!" You could practically taste the venom in my tone. I was fucking seething.

My mum didn't utter a word. He mouth opening and closing as if she was trying to say something.

"What? Can't speak?" I was absolutely pissing incensed. Why the fuck would she lie to me for so long?

"I... I... I don't know what you want me to say?" She had a guilty smile on her face.

"I want you to tell me why the absolute fuck you would lie to me saying dad just didn't want to be in my life anymore when he stopped visiting me?! And guess what is the funniest thing? Dad told me himself! Yeah! He told me." Mum had tears streaming down her face.

"When you want to act like an adult, I'll talk to you then..." She grabbed her bag off the floor and left the room.

"Fuck you!" I shouted as she closed the door. When I want to act like an adult. Tsk. Fuck her. I am a fucking adult.

I'm just going to have a bleeding nap, cannot be bothered staying awake right now...

----------------------------------

I was woken up to yet another knock at my door. When I sat up and said come in, I saw Bradshaw.

"Just the person I wanted to see." I say sarcastically as I turn to face away from the door.

"Y/C/S, I just wanna say I am really sorry... I must have accidentally pressed something... I did not mean to take it this far... You may not accept it but I just want to say that I am really really sorry..." I turned to look at him and his face was filled with remorse.

I didn't like this look on Bradshaw. I wasn't used to it. At all. I'm a lot more comfortable with him having anger on his face while looking at me. He seems really guilty... Maybe I should forgive him, I mean... He does seem to actually regret it.

"It's okay Bradshaw... I've made that mistake before... Except... I actually killed the girl..." Bradshaw looked up at me with shock on his face.

"W-what?" He sat down in the chair next to the hospital bed, leaning forward.

"I may as well tell you... Me and this girl, Sox, we were doing a training exercise, but with actual missiles, trying to shoot a target..." I began to tear up. "As soon as I shot the missile at the target, Sox got in the way... Luckily I only shot the wing, but when she pressed the button to eject her seat..." Tears were streaming down my cheeks, I was trying to hold in sobs. "It didn't eject, so all she could do was wait till her jet crashed and hoped she would live. She didn't."

Bradshaw sat there, in shock, mouth agape. His face changed to a sympathetic expression.

"We were best friends, she was the first friend I made after moving here, to San Diego... Her family somehow forgave me, I can't even forgive myself. They said that it wasn't my fault. It was. I'm the reason she's dead. If I hadn't shot that missile, maybe she'd be here at Top Gun, and not me." I was borderline sobbing at this point. My body was shaking. My breath uneven. Eyes dead set on the plant pot in the corner of the room.

"Y/C/S, it is not your fault, you didn't know she was going to fly in front of the missile. You had no intention of hurting her. Don't blame yourself..." I immediately began to shake my head, disagreeing with him.

"No. No. It is my fault Bradshaw. I shot the missile. I am at fault. I killed her... If it wasn't for me, she would be alive. And I'm going to have to live with that. Until the day I die." I couldn't stop the crying now, even if I wanted to. I haven't talked about it since it happened. Not even to my therapist.

"Y/C/S, it's okay... I promise you, it wasn't your fault. From what you've told me it was a training exercise gone wrong... You are not at fault for anything…” His words were filled with reassurance, and coming from him, it actually meant something. Although it didn’t totally get the idea that it was my fault out my head, it put my mind at ease.

I gave Bradshaw a tight lipped smile as my eyes darted between his gaze and my bruised hands.

"About this... rivalry, that we have... Can we just call it quits?" Bradshaw finally spoke up after a while of silence. I looked at him with a smirk.

"What? Finally realised that I'm the best and you're second place?" Bradshaw laughed as he shook his head. He looked back up and has a smiled with his eyes.

"Absolutely not... I am never going to accept that sweetheart..." The nickname made my eyes widen. Sweetheart? He's called me that before but never in the tone he just used. It sounded almost, flirty? I don't know, could be nothing. That is Bradshaw's personality after all.

"Guess it's just really tiring, and..." I gesture to all my cuts and bruises on my body with a laugh. "This... but don't worry Bradshaw... won't hold it against you." I chuckle as Bradshaw leans back in his chair and does the same.

"Truce?" Bradshaw stuck his hand out. I took his hand and shook it with a tight smile. I wish it didn't take me almost dying for us to stop this. Maybe it was the only way? I'll never know.

[utilitycaster]

Sorry for the rant. I think the fact that they didn't wait until after the Candela finale was a missed opportunity that would have felt less, jarring 1. they could breathe and RP for a session after coming back from the moon reconnaissance mission (this is also considering that whether or not Matt made the party fight Otohan and have a PC death) Matt could have told them to end that particular session at Keyleth's camp and even tell Liam to wait and call Dorian at the end, and then have the party switch. it's also so strange to split the session in two for whatever reason

2. having the party switch after Candela would allow for a good window of time for the Crown keeper to do what they need to in case they can't reach a good point to return to BH in 2 hours, maybe a session and a half at most

3. assuming Dorian, and maybe others with him, come back to the group after whatever this intermission is done, i think it would be hard for them to split the attention between Keyleth encampment and debriefing - mourning FCG - guest players in a way that wont feel like it makes a disservice to another one of these topics (focusing on Guests and FCG's death could make it so the debriefing for the mission they spent 10+ episodes on feels lackluster, and vis versa)

As someone else said, it feels like they are giving us a palate cleanser as i was halfway through a good meal, but also they gave us another meal and after two bites they took it away so i could finish it in two weeks

there is also this limbo feeling of that we are getting late to the airport (freeing Predathos) but also we are taking a stop for sightseeing, and snacks, and bathroom and- it's like they are trying to convince us that "there is an urgency and we have to get there now now, but also nevermind that, lets catch up with these other characters for a bit"

It's just an ODD choice no matter how you look at it

So the urgency doesn't bother me. This was a weird thing in the fandom during the Solstice Split too (god i blocked so many people for constantly shrieking ARE THE OTHERS DEAD in the main tag every week, like no they are fine, they are narratively on pause) but like. Time is frozen for Bells Hells right now. We are following another group. We are not going to get snacks; we are looking in on what other people are doing, concurrently with this campaign. Indeed, that's not a bad idea. In a good campaign, there is this sense that the rest of the world exists and is doing things as you go about your own business - you are heroes of the story but you're not the only people who matter or do things.

It really is like. In some fantasy in which I were personally asked "hey, we want to do this thing where the Crown Keepers show up midway through the episode, and we follow them for that half an episode and then the beginning of the next episode, where would you put this?" I would, to be honest, say "maybe just do it as a standalone episode itself" but if I had to it would just be, again, Not Now. Cutting away while the party is on the moon! Cutting away while they're headed to the moon! Cutting away a week from now! Cutting away just before the Otohan fight! Hell, I even think that while I would have initially been far more annoyed if we started the episode and it was the Crown Keepers the whole way through this week, it would feel more coherent. But like, on a list of 20 places to insert the Crown Keepers scene, "halfway through an episode following a particularly dramatic and tragic character death" would be 21st.

(I also do want to push back against the idea that Sam needs more time and so this is why; you could just. run more episodes without him. Travis voluntarily sat out of almost 5 episodes. It took 2 episodes for Caduceus to show up. Team Wildemount had more episodes than Team Issylra. It is literally fine if he misses a few more episodes.)

[where-is-my-whump]

So I did a little something...for everyone who can't wait for the new Hudson & Rex episode.

(@hurt-comfort-cache @natk2002 @aceofwhump @somefandomcontent @nerdywalkingencyclopedia @whumpookies @gloriousharmonylover @cici-25 @cold-weather-means-cold-toes and a lot more)

May not be perfect but it's something.. I hope you'll enjoy it;)

a short whumpy fanfiction

A poisonous cut

John Sheppart a 35 year old male was jogging the same route along the beach like he does everyday. Today he noticed something in the water. At first John thought it's a tree that's floating in the water from last nights storm but at a second glance he realized that's it not a tree...it's a human body.

He just stood there...looking at the body. There was no movement. Slowly Sheppart takes one step after the other. The shorter the distance between him and the corpse gets the faster his heart beats. Just one step left. John's heart is nearly beating out of his chest. He really didn't wanted to do this but also couldn't move on like he hasn't seen anything.

Sheppart could have had a normal day but now he stands here looking at the back of a lifeless person. John hasn't any hope that he could do something for the person but still... he puts his hand at a slow pace on the body's shoulder and turns it around.

He flinshes back. Nearly falls over. He has to fight against the urge to throw up. Never in his whole life has he seen anything like this. It turns out he looked into the face of a dead women. Her skin was greasy and changed colors to a light blue. Her eyes are fully open. So is her mouth. Sheppart didn't even wanted to take a second look at her but something inside him had to.

For what he saw before finally throwing up the corpse doesn't show any signs of violence. No blood. No open wounds. He was sure that the women drowned. But is he right? That's someone's else's job to do.

What do you think?

Charlie and Sarah are standing next to the body. Well I'm not sure. For me right now it looks like she drowned but to be sure I need her in my lab.

Alright. Let me guess...no identification no nothing?

Sarah smirks a little bit. No. Would be to easy hm? Now Charlie is the one smiling. Call me if you find out anything. Hudson takes a few photos of the woman's face. I'll talk to Jesse. Maybe he can find out who this young lady is.

Yeah alright.

Soon after Charlie gets in his car and drives with Rex in the back away.

In the meantime the body gets transfered to the headquarter, so Sarah can examine her. It'll be shocking what's she's going to find out.

Charlie...I got something. Says Sarah on the phone.

Yeah me too. You go first.

Charlie she didn't drown. She was murdered.

Yeah well and I know who our victim is. Her name is Lydia West. Her boyfriend reported her missing two days ago.

Two days?!? She's probably dead since four days.

They both breath in and say: So we got a suspect.

Looks like it Yeah. Charlie smirks.

Oh and Sarah?

Yeah?

You said she was murdered? How did she die?

Well at first I noticed there wasn't any water in her lungs what means-

-Charlie interrupts her-

She was already dead when she fell in the water or before someone put her there.

Sarah has a look of surprise in her face.

Your getting good at this.

Charlie laughs.

Isn't this a part of my job? Sorry for interrupting you. Please continue.

With pleasure Mister Hudson. Also her blood results came positive for a deadly substance. The essence was probably injected through a small laceration on her skin. Like a broken glass that was dipped in the substance before. She wasn't able to breathe. The essence caused her lungs to collapse.

Oh God. Sounds painful.

It is. We need to find the person who did this.

Already on it. I'm on my way to her boyfriend right now.

Alright. Please be careful. Love you.

Love you too.

Charlie hanks up. Sarah still has her phone in her hands. She's so lucky to have Charlie as her boyfriend. He would never hurt her.

-Knock knock-

Charlie and Rex are standing infront of Lydias boyfriends home.

Hm.. Looks like no one's home.

Rex.

On command he sniffs around the house. Until a sudden noise appeared. Broken glass falling on the ground.

Charlie takes his gun out of the holster around his hips. He puts his hand on the doorhandle and pulls her down. To his surprise the door opened. With a light touch against the door he could see into the house. Everything was a mess. Pictures laying broken on the floor. He could see more clothes on the floor than parts of the wood flooring.

Hello? I'm Detective Charlie Hudson from the St. John's Police Department. I just wanna ask you some questions about your girlfri-

Someone attacked him from behind. You can hear wood braking apart. The suspect had a barstool in his hands and fought with it until he took out a sharp object. Charlie fought back as much as he could but Lydias boyfriend was faster. He cut Charlie directly in the inside of his elbow.

Hudsons knees couldn't hold him anymore. One foot after the other collapsed. He fell to the ground. Rex was locked out . The suspect closed the door so he needs to find a way in. In the meantime the suspect left through the door on the back.

Charlie lies there in pure panic, not able to do anything. Every breath he takes his lungs collapse more. He tries to pull out his mobile phone. After a few tries he did it. Charlie's not able to hold the phone. He coughs. Pressing his eyelids together in distress. Finally he did it. Sarah's name appears on the display.

Heeeyyy Charlie. What's up?

Charlie can't talk, nearly can't breath nore move. He just gasps for air.

Charlie? Is everything OK?

He tries to say something. His lips are moving...S...a...r...a...h. But Sarah can't hear it. She just hears Rex his barking and noices she can't identify.

She notices somethings not right.

Charlie, honey, I'm coming. Ok. I'm coming. I have your location on my phone. Oh God. I'm coming.

JESSE call an ambulance. Somethings wrong with Charlie. I'm sending you the adress!!!

She didn't even look at him. Sarah just had one thing in her head.

Charlie is still on the line but he lost his consciousness.

Charlie? Can you hear me? Charlie say something pls. Sarah's crying. She can't loose him. Everything was perfect. They made their partnership official, told everyone. They even talked about a marriage. But not about someone dying.

I'm coming. I'm coming.

Rex finally found a way in and lays next to Charlie. He licks Hudsons face.

Just a few seconds later Sarah arrived. She jumped against the door. She nearly flew out of the wall.

Omg. Charlie!

She knees down. Searches for a pulse. Nothing. Her forensic instincts kicked in and noticed the cut on Charlie's arm. It has to be what she was thinking. The same substance that killed Lydia.

She rushed back to her car and got her emergency drug kit. This includes the antidote that Charlie needs.

Just hold on. One second.

She handles the kit like she didn't do anything else in her life. After she filled the syringe, she injected Charlie the antidote. At the same time the paramedics arrive.

Come on Charlie...breath, breath.

Tears are forming around Sarahs eyes.

Nothing.

The paramedics are walking over to Sarah. She tells them what happend.

Alright. We need to inturbate. Please step aside.

Sarah listens to the paramedics. She knows they will do what's right.

Empty packages of medical supplies lay everywhere.

The tubus was placed. One paramedic started with the cpr, the other one pumped air in Charlies lungs.

...29...30... checking pulse

Sarah pushes herself against the wall. Surrounding her legs with her arms. Tears falling on her jeans. Little dark spots appear. She wispers Charlie, come on. Don't leave me alone. Come on breath.

28...29...30 I got a pulse!

The worst minutes in her life finally ended.

Thank god.

She stands up and walks over to the still unconscious Charlie. Sarah strokes his forehead gently.

The paramedics transfer Charlie on a stretcher. We're bringing him to the hospital. You can ride with us but the dog needs to stay here.

A look of disappointment builds up in Sarahs face.

It's ok, you can go. I'll bring Rex back to the station.

Sarah turns around. Oh Jesse. Thank you.

Jesses standing in the doorframe. He just arrived.

Sarah hugs him and follows the paramedics to the ambulance. She sits down next to Charlie, continues to gently pet over his head and says...Everythings gonna be okay...I'm here. The doors closed and the ambulance drove away.

I chose an open end so you can move on with your little imagination until we see what's really about to happen hehe

[cookieswithay]

"The happy feelings club!"

🧡Ichigo x Orihime🧡 Ichihime fic

💝Episode 2: Yasutora Sado! (More like Chad!) Ep. 1🧡

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

• Orihime's pov!

• Beep! Beep! Beep!

• ...Huh?

• I opened my eyes and rubbed them a bit. What time is it?

• Beep! Beep! Beep!

• Better yet...what day is it? I grabbed my phone and pressed the power button.

• "Thursday."

• Thursday...a school day! Ah! I gotta get ready! I (almost) fell out of my bed and scrambled around my room. There's so much to do! Breakfast, clothes, my hair! Oh! And where's my bow!? I can't leave without it, Sora bought for me! And it's so pretty-

• 💭Orihime.

• I stopped in my tracks. My brain was suddenly full of moving pictures from yesterday...that guy. ...Ichigo. Ichigo Kurosaki. I get to see him again today. I wonder...if he wants to see me too. Did I make a good first impression? Or...was I too much again..?

• My door suddenly opened.

• "Orihime! Are you awake?"

• "I made breakfast alre-"

• Eep! I jumped and covered my chest.

• "Sora! I'm getting dressed!"

• "Leave!"

• My brother covered his eyes and shut the door. That...was scary and a close one. I should really lock my door more often. Or ask Sora to knock more. But, he usually does-

• 💭Meow.

• Oh yeah, the kitty! I hope Mr. Shunshi found it a good home. Or maybe it's living at his house.

• Wait...

• The guy who saved the kitty...

• He was really tall and reminded me of that one cupcake I ate.

• ...

• I wonder who he is.

              🧡🏵🌼🍊(Intro song)🧃☄🧩🧸🧡

• "Morning, Orihime!"

• "Morning, Mrs. Suzuki!"

• Everyone always is so nice in the mornings. The street rules are followed. The dogs are lively. And the birds actually let me take pictures of them! Hopefully, I have enough memory in my camera this time.

• "Orihime!"

• I turned around. It was Tatsuki! I waved back.

• "Hiiii!"

• She caught up to me and pinched my cheek. And that really hurt!

• "Why didn't you wait for me?"

• "I told you I was gonna be late."

• Oh yeah. She did, didn't she? I blinked back tears.

• "I was waiting! But then, I saw a pigeon and I followed it!"

• Tatsuki sighed and let me go. I rubbed my cheek. ...Was that bad? She pushed her hair back. She always does that.

• "Oh well."

• "I caught up to you now."

• She slung her arm over my shoulders.

• "Now show me that pigeon you took a picture of."

• Oh yeah! The pigeon!

🧡

• Ichigo's POV!

• This desk is making my face really cold, but it's better than interacting with my class. Haha, they think I'm sick. (And, trouble. Cause my hair) Although, I'm sure I can't keep up this flimsy facade, at least it'll hold me for awhile. Maybe I'll even trick Keigo and Muzuiro. ...Probably just Keigo.

• Wait a second...

• I can hear myself breathe. Why's it so quiet all of a sudden. I raised my head.

• Hey...

• "Is this class 2-B?"

• (I had to guess the class, the internet was useless!)

• It's that guy again. The one who saved the cat the other day. He goes here? Everyone looked too scared to say anything, so I stood up. Losers.

• "Yeah, you got the right place."

• He looked at me.

• "Thank you."

• He said. Everyone freaked even more when he fully walked in. A few one 'em looked like they might even pass out. And this guy is completely oblivious. I "coughed" and pointed to the empty seat next to me. I hope this guy gets the hint. He strikes me as someone's who slow on the uptake- Oh, nevermind. He's coming.

• ...Goddamn, he's tall. The moment this guy sat down, I was...intimidated? No, not intimidated...overwhelmed. He's HUGE. His hair covers his eyes and he's tan. He's probably not from here. And if I get crap for just my hair, this guy probably has loads of problems.

• ...

• Do I wanna be friends with this guy-?

• "Ichigo!"

• I looked through the door. It's Orihime! Kensei won't be back for a hot second... Maybe I can just say hi. (Keigo said it too, but I drowned him out.)

🧡

• Orihime's POV!

• I tried not to laugh as Ichigo "walked" towards me.

• (He tripped over someone's backpack and his friend was tugging on him🤭)

• He eventually got out of the classroom and leaned on the door.

• "Good morning, Orihime."

• I smiled and bowed down. All my hair falling with it.

• "Good morning, Ichigo."

• He cleared his throat and looked off. ...Do I have breakfast on my face?

• "Do you want something or are you just saying hi?"

• That's...a good question. I...don't have a reason. I just spotted his orange tuft of hair and spoke to him before I could even think about it.

• So, I shrugged. And that made Ichigo laugh.

• "Ah-em."

• Oh yeah...Tatsuki's still here. How embarrassing.

• "Since when do you two know each other?"

• Wait, Tatsuki's knows Ichigo? Since when? Did she always know him or did they become pals here?

• "I'm the new member of the 'happy feelings club'."

• Oh, he's gonna explain.

• "I'm sure Orihime told you all about the cat situation."

• Tatsuki sighed.

• "She sure did. She called me the moment she got home."

• As they talked, I looked through the window of class 2-B. Huh? Most of the girls in this class are the ones that say they'll come to the HP club, but don't. ...It's the kitty saver again!

• That gives me an idea..!

🧡

• Ichigo's POV!

• "Ichigo, be more careful, you moron."

• Tatsuki sighed, crossing her arms.

• "You would've died, if Orihime didn't come along."

• "I know."

• I already got the 'be safe' careful speech from Yuzu yesterday. (Mr. Shunsui gave my old man a call about what happened.)

• "Ichigo! Ichigo!"

• I looked down. Orihime's on my arm. She's making the "lean down" motion too. So I did.

• "Can you do me a favor?"

• She "whispered." I nodded.

• "Sure, what is it?"

• She looked back at my classroom.

• "Can you ask him to join our club?"

• Huh? I looked up.

• "Who?"

• The ginger pointed at the new guy who's sitting next to me now. Mm...that might be tough. Not only did I only say 2 words to 'im, I don't know if we can trust him yet. He seems quiet, but I've been duped before.

• "Are you sure?"

• Orihime nodded.

• "He's a good person, I sure of it.

• Okay...um...

• "I'll have a answer for you after school, okay?"

• She smiled. Whew, it's okay.

• "Well, the bell's gonna ring soon so..."

• Orihime let go of my arm and stood next to Tatsuki again.

• "Bye, Ichigo. I'll see you later!"

• I chuckled and waved. Tatsuki nodded to me too. I watched them off, thinking.

• ...

• How the hell am I convince that guy to join the happy feelings club!?

🧡

• Sometime later...

🧡

• Chad's POV!

• I think Ichigo wants to be friends with me. (I saw his name on his folder earlier.) All day, he's been asking questions and just staring. I don't mind, I guess. I think he might be doing it for his girlfriend though. I saw them chatting in the hallway earlier. And right now, Ichigo's following me. Or is he grabbing the volley balls too?

• ...

• This is getting awkward.

• "Uh, Ichigo."

• He looked up.

• "Do you need something?"

• He looked away. ...I thought so.

• "Y'know, you don't have to hang around me out of pity."

• "I have friends that don't go to this school."

• I hope I didn't come of as rude but... This isn't the first time this has happened. I just want to end it before he does.

• ...

• I don't hear anymore footsteps. Guess I got my point across.

• "Hey."

• I turned around.

• "I'm not talking to you out of pity."

• ...

• "I genuinely want to be your friend."

• He walked past me and grabbed a ball.

• "Whether you want to be friends with me is your choice."

• "But just know,"

• Ichigo held the ball up to me.

• "I'm choosing you to be on my team for the game."

• I didn't say anything, but I nodded. I'm...I'm okay with this.

🧡

• Orihime's POV!

• "Alright, Orihime! You're up to bat!"

• Tatsuki shouted. We girls have baseball for p.e. today! West girls against East girls! (Our school is split into two. It has a interesting reason but, I can't remember.)

• I gripped the bat tightly. Loly's pitching. If I don't hit the ball at the right time, it'll hit my breast! Or my throat, or stomach, or somewhere else painful. But, me and Tatsuki have been practicing. I'll...be okay.

• "You got this Orihime!"

• (Chizuru cheered.)

• "Good luck!"

• (Michina)

• "Hit the winning point!"

• (Machana)

• My friends are cheering me on. I can't miss the ball now. I took a breath and stared in Loly's pink eyes.

• I can do this.

• The ball flew.

• I swung.

• And..!

• "Oof!"

• A volleyball hit me in the face instead? I fell one my butt, a little dazed.

• "Orihime!"

• Is my nose bleeding? Or is that...it's probably blood. Someone pulled me up to my feet.

• "Who the hell did that!?"

• "I'll give the most painful and slow death ever!"

• It was Tatsuki. (And the other bit was Chizuru.)

• I was leaned against her shoulder. My nose doesn't hurt anymore. So, I should probably save whoever's facing Tatsuki's wrath. I stood up straight.

• "Tatsuki, it's okay. I'm fine-"

🧡

• Ichigo's POV!

• Shit!

• I moved Tatsuki out of the way. And stretched forward. I won't forgive myself if Orihime falls!

• I missed her by a second.

• Dammit!

• Whoosh!

• I saw Chad's hand grab hers.

• (So, I named the guy cause I don't know what's on his birth certificate. Sue me.)

• "Sorry about the ball."

• He said, oddly calm. He always is, but this was a serious adrenaline rush. My chest actually hurts. Orihime looked down. I nearly saw spirals in her eyes.

• "I'm...a-okay!"

• Whew, at least she sounds okay. Hold on-

• "Whoa, you're nose is bleeding."

• Like ALOT. Damn, how hard did I spike the ball? (...Really hard. Ikaku kept taunting me.)

• She stood up and wiped her nose.

• "Ah. No, Orihime. You'll get blood on your arm."

• I said, using my own shirt to wipe nose.

• "What's going on over here?"

• Dammit, it's Coach Zaraki. All the girls (except Tatsuki) hid behind Chad. I swallowed hard. Guess I'll explain.

• "We, uh, accidentally hit Inoue here with our volleyball."

• "So, we're just apologizing."

• Zaraki narrowed his eyes at me and then looked at Orihime. And he cupped her face with one hand. I flinched. That's not hurting her, is it?

• "Hmm..."

• The blood trickled on his hand.

• "You're fine, child. Just get some napkins and get back to baseball when you're done."

• "Got it?"

• Orihime nodded. And he turned around. FINALLY, he's leaving-

• I felt a big hand on my shoulder. Dammit, I spoke too soon!

• "You can go with her, but in exchange,"

• "You're coming to the ring tomorrow."

🧡

• Orihime's POV!

• Uhh...Ichigo looks scared! Is Coach Zaraki telling him something scary!?

• I felt a tap.

• I looked back. The cupcake guy wanted something. Oh, and he has a tissue. I took it and blew.

• "You're Orihime, right?"

• I nodded. I am but...how does he know? We just met now.

• "I saw your flyer and Ichigo brought you up."

• He did?

• "Was it nice things?"

• I did NOT mean to say that outloud.

• "Uh-huh."

• No details. Okay then...

• "Ichigo told me you need new members."

• "Do I have to bring something to the table?"

• I gasped and almost cheered! But, I covered my mouth and took a deep breath.

• "Just bring anything that makes you happy."

• He remained quiet and nodded. I think I saw a little smile though! (And a brown eye too!) He picked up the ball and walked away.

• ...

• Aw, bean sprouts! I forgot to ask his name! Ichigo popped back up next time me.

• "Okay, I grabbed a hell ton of napkins and-"

• "Oh, you already got one."

• He looked around.

• "Chad went back?"

• I nodded. (That's his name?)

• We walked to the fence and I used a few more napkins.

• "Did...he say anything to you?"

• I smiled.

• "Yeah! I think we got a new member of the club!"

• "High five!"

• Ichigo chuckled and put his hand on mine. (It wasn't hard like a normal high five though.)

• I sighed. A new friend and a new member.

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•○°

• "Bye, Orihime. See you tomorrow."

• "Bye, Michina!"

• I gotta round up my things quickly. Sora's picking me up today. And I have to babysit Nel. Plus, I'm getting really really hungry, since I lost my lunch earlier. I picked up my satchel and zipped out if my classroom.

• (Not before leaving my finished assignment on Mr. Jushiro's desk. And a candy bar too. Can't let his blood sugar go down.)

• "Excuse me!"

• I dashed through the hallway. Once I get in the car, I'll test Tatsuki that I'm getting home safely-

• Once again, I slammed into something. But, this time it was a back. A tall-ish one.

• "I'm sorry. I should've been more careful!"

• I saw GLASSES next me. Oh my goodness, I bump them hard!

• The person (turns out a boy) picked up the glasses and put them back on. Huh? He has band aids on his fingers.

• "Be more careful next time."

• And he walked away. Hm. I stood up and dusted my skirt off. Sora's probably waiting-

• Hold on a sec. I bent down.

• It was a keychain. With a beautiful little doll on it. I looked at the bustling hallway. Was this the glasses boy's doll?

°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°•●•°○°

(Tag list time: @elyonholic, @o0o0thorn0o0o, @ichihimelover1503, @ichinoue, @takibikaen, @usoppsstar)

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This accidentally longer than the first episode, but I hope everyone enjoyed this! And the intro music. I...wish I fleshed this episode out more, but I have good plans for the next episode! So please, stay tuned and warm😎)

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[ordinaryschmuck]

Why I Love The Owl House-Part One: The Characters

Salutations, random people on the internet who are already skimming past this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

Back in 2018, when The Owl House was announced, I didn't think much of it. I looked at the teaser poster and knew that it would be a show that would gain a following, but I didn't think it'd appeal to me specifically. Then, in January 2020, just before the world made an oopsie, I saw that Disney Channel uploaded the show's first episode on YouTube. Having finished my homework and studying at the time and having nothing better to do, I clicked it out of morbid curiosity to gain a first impression of this series. And I'm not kidding when I say that the second the episode ended, I said, out loud, to myself, "I think I just found my new obsession for the next few years."

Yeah, I went from thinking the show wouldn't exactly be my thing to being obsessed with it. And obsessed I was! I wrote fan fiction and reviews and even drew a handful of fan art you are NOT allowed to look up due to how bad it is. The Owl House, with no exaggeration, also changed my life as it gave me quite a decent following on Tumblr for thoughts and stories I've crafted regarding the show and even gave me a new friend or two to share those same thoughts and ideas together. One of my closest online friends is someone who once reached out to me as a proofreader for a fic I wrote once upon a time, and I probably wouldn't have talked to them if not for The Owl House. I owe so much to this series that I adore that to explain what makes it so great...can't be done with a single review. I even considered writing a long review after Season One ended but gave up on the idea after realizing there's so much to talk and praise about the series. And that was with Season ONE! That was before Season Two made the show more spectacular in nearly every conceivable way!

So, yeah, we're gonna have to do this in parts, each dedicated to a specific theme. However, before we discuss THIS review's theme, I should get one thing out of the way: I'm not just going to praise The Owl House in every single review. There are problems to be had with the show, and I can't ignore them because the praises are stronger. I love The Owl House. I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't. But it's because I love it that I have to point out problems as they come because to truly love something means to take the bad with the good. And while there's a lot of good, there's still some bad worth mentioning.

With that said, let's finally begin by discussing the backbone of any series: The characters. And BOY, does The Owl House have a LOT of great, well-written characters, to the point where I initially considered that there wasn't a bad one in the bunch...I say initially because I finally woke up to how much I despise Tibbles (Yeah, wait until we get to him). Although, know that while discussing characters, we're not talking about one-offs like Bria and her lackeys in "Through the Looking Glass Ruins" or ones who weren't named in the show, like Amelia and Cat. We're focusing strictly on frequent players and fun side characters that nail the short time they appear. And we're also going in order from my least favorite to my most favorite. And just know that this is in order based on how good they are as CHARACTERS and not as PEOPLE. There’s a difference, and I’ll be able to explain as I go.

Now, without further ado, let's begin this wild journey together with the worst character in the series.

(Also, be warned, this is going to be the LONGEST post you’ll ever read. The Google Doc is 33 pages long…)

Tibbles: Yeah, really no contest here.

Tibbles is, quite frankly, the only character that I consider inadequate. I get the idea the writers were going for: He's a secondary antagonist for lighter adventures amongst heavier ones. The problem is that type of character does not function for a show like The Owl House, a series where the writers were told they'd be cut for time while working on Season Two and having little time for lighter tales. Maybe if the show had enough room for twenty more adventures or if The Owl House had a slight lean toward episodic misadventures like Amphibia, Tibbles might have functioned better as a comedic villain that occasionally screws with the main characters for filler. But because The Owl House has so much to do and would eventually become a series with no time to do it, Tibbles becomes more annoying when he distracts from the plot. Fortunately, he's only in three episodes. Unfortunately, Tibbles never becomes as entertaining as he could have been. He has one good capitalism joke, and that's all the good I can say about Tibbles. Let's move on…

Jacob: Another secondary antagonist that would have worked better if the show had more time. Maybe make him a constant threat (read: annoyance) to Vee or the rest of the Hexsquad while they're stuck on Earth. Instead, he's nothing more than a one-and-done threat who makes a singular cameo in the best episode of the series ("Thanks to Them"). At least Jacob being a crackpot conspiracy theorist is kind of funny. Otherwise, he'd be lower than Tibbles.

Perry Porter: He has next to NO character. Barely even a scrap.

He’s the father of one of our primary characters, and Perry has NOTHING going for him other than that and being a reporter. At least he’s not annoying.

The BATs: Yeah, might as well lump these three together because they started off making you think they'd do SOMETHING, only to have very little to do with the plot, with only one of them having a definite personality (It's Amber, and I love her).

Katya's kind of fun as this weird fanfic writer who has a hint of appreciation of showmanship, given how she very clearly wrote Raine's speech. But then you also have Derwin, who's so forgettable that I know for a fact that you had to Google his name to remember who Derwin is. These three are a mixed bag of sometimes being fun yet forgettable, to the point where I don't blame the writers for forgetting their existence when it came to the rest of the series. A shame, really, because there could have been something interesting to explore with this secret resistance organized by Eda's ex. The problem is, just like Tibbles, there's not enough time for characters like the BATs to flourish. They're missed potential, sure, but that doesn't make them bad. Just less than remarkable members of this very extensive cast.

Gilbert and Harvey Park: Have slightly more personality than Perry with Gilbert having more of a playful and laidback side to him and Harvey being the more serious and worried of the two. You can see glimpses of this through the little details like Willow falling onto Gilbert in that swinging memory in “Understanding Willow.” Gilbert laughs with Willow while Harvey looks a little worried. That’s sweet. They balance each other out.

Also, they’re gay, and gay characters are always better. It’s why they’re a step above the BATs. NEXT!

Warden Wrath: He has the same problem with Tibbles and Jacob, where Warden Wrath is a secondary antagonist in a show that doesn't really have the time for him to be as effective as he COULD be. What makes him BETTER is that Wrath is at least funny. Like, the man chopped off Eda's head and then asked her out. That's humor, baby.

Also, he's a good dad to Braxus, so...you know.

Though I will admit, I'm surprised how little a role Wrath played in the show. In "A Lying Witch and a Warden," he gave off main antagonist energy with his look and menacing demeanor. Turns out he's just a throwaway character, and that's for the best. He doesn't overstay his welcome, never distracts from the plot, and has a few hilarious lines and moments. Not the strongest threat or character, but decent's good enough for me.

Kikimora: I might be the only person who doesn't hate this little gremlin, and even I have to admit she's not that great.

Don't get me wrong, I adore how insane she acts and how obsessive she can be in wanting to beat Hunter, specifically. She has a lot of fun moments and, weirdly, looks adorable when not wearing a cone of shame. She has her fun moments...but fun enough to be a recurring antagonist throughout the series? To the point where the characters have boss fights with her in three prominent episodes?

I...don't think so. I like Kiki just fine, but only in spades. Her voice can get grading after a while, and you do get sick of her obsession with the Emperor's coven given time. She's at least funnier than Wrath, though. I will ALWAYS stand by that. But that's not enough to get her higher.

Adrian Graye: He's yet another secondary antagonist that would have benefited from more time...I'm noticing a theme here.

Eh. Either way, this guy's great. His whole schtick is being a bad and nitpicky director, and that's funny to me. It's what I would expect from the head of the Illusions Coven, who are witches best defined as ones with a sense of showmanship. Some might find Adrian annoying, which...yeah, he's kind of intended to be. But I get it. Not everyone would laugh at this guy as much as I do, and that's okay. Comedy is subjective, after all. My only complaint with Adrian is that we don't see more of him. He's too fun of a villain with an equally entertaining concept to be wasted as a one-and-done antagonist that resorted to only cameos in the future. Still, if the worst I can say about a character is that I want more of them, is that actually a problem?

Tinella Nosa: Also known as Dana Terrace's self-insert. She's used primarily for comedy, and thank goodness for that. I don't know if I would have appreciated this character as much as I did if Tinella was best friends with the main cast or had some stake in the plot. In fact, the one plot and subplot that feature Tinella in a prominent role was some of the worst the show has ever had. Thankfully, she's mostly a character for random comedic bits, and I really wouldn’t have it any other way.

Barcus: Another character whose primary purpose is to be funny. At least Barcus is a dog that radiates stoner energy, giving him a ton more bonus points.

Braxxus: ALSO a comedic character, but is only better because the joke's funnier. I mean, Braxxus is just a character who's a little toddler that looks and sounds disturbing. How can you NOT laugh at that?

Eberwolf The Huntsman: Quick aside: Was anyone going to tell me that Eberwolf was apparently a man, or was I supposed to find that out for myself? I mean, shame on me for assuming genders, I guess...But I'm pretty sure I wasn't the only one on that.

Anyways, Eberwolf is fine. In the short time he's in the show, Eberwolf offers great humor by being this feral little rascal that primarily annoys Darius. Not much to say other than that, and I doubt having more time would benefit Eberwolf. He really does scream "Comedy Relief" to me, and sometimes being entertaining is enough. Not everyone needs depth.

Boscha: Speaking of depth, I will forever stand by my claim that Boscha worked better as a one-dimensional bully than a three-dimensional one. Sure, three-dimensional bullies can be interesting because it leads to us learning why they do their harsh acts and that there are reasons why they're bad kids...However, that's why we have Amity. And for a redeemable bully like HER to work, you need an irredeemable one to show up to prove that not every little s**t can be better with time. Some are just sadists for no reason. And that's where Boscha comes in as a bully that knows full well she's hurting people but doesn't care because her only justification is that they deserve it. Why? Because Boscha believes she's better than them. That inflated ego makes her the perfect mirror of what Amity could have been and causes Boscha to be the best rival to Willow. Willow starts off with confidence issues, where even though she gains more of a boost thanks to her friends, there's still lingering self-doubt in the back of her brain. Boscha lacks that. She may do some affirmations to her reflection, similar to what Willow does in "Any Sport in a Storm," but while Willow briefly second guesses herself, Boscha says every word as if she knows its universal truth. So when these two go up against each other, it's great because it allows Willow to prove that she IS the best while proving that Boscha's the worst. It was perfect, and it's why I had no issues with Boscha remaining one-dimensional...But then the writers had to SCREW IT ALL UP!

Now, don't get me wrong. Revealing that Boscha had codependency issues with Amity and Boscha's other friends is interesting. There's just one problem: They introduce this idea in the second to last episode of the series. There's next to no time to fully flesh it out, leaving Boscha with a character arc that feels both forced and rushed. It might have been better if this idea had been established from the beginning instead of using most of that time writing Boscha as a one-dimensional bully with no depth to her. I still say she's entertaining, but maybe the writers tried TOO HARD with her.

Matt Holomule: But sometimes, it's better to try for a character that used to be the most universally hated.

How in the hell did I go from hating this little stink rat to being genuinely entertained by him? He's not my favorite or anything, but, like...compare Matt's first appearance with his last. He was an insufferable little prick who caused problems for Luz and Gus all because Matt wanted power and drama. That's it. Just those two things: Power and drama. Yeah, those are not great motivations for a character.

In fairness, it was clear we were supposed to hate Matt, and humor comes from watching him fail miserably. The problem is that he didn't do it enough, and while I'll laugh at the little stink nugget getting messed up at the end of "Something Ventured, Someone Framed," Matt still won by the end of the day, getting everything he wanted. He just got a little messed up along the way, is all. So while the idea is there, it's not strong enough to make the character entertaining.

But then the writers decided, "Hey since we're not going to try with Boscha, let's try SOMETHING with Matt." And it worked! "Through the Looking Glass Ruins" showed why Matt was such an insufferable, slimy weasel because he attended a school where the more powerful received more respect. Matt never got that in his old school, so he tried again in his new school, looking for power and drama because it's all he knows. Then by "For the Future," not only is the guy actually competent, but he's hilarious through false bravado and not being smart enough to know that he's been crushing on a robot. It's a huge improvement...but only from a character that makes three primary appearances and sucks with one of them. A character who's decent two-thirds of the time isn't too bad, but that still doesn't make him high up on my list, where characters are better for far more than that.

Viney: Or a character that has a better vibe despite...barely having anything to work with.

Viney...is insane. She dumps friends over the tiniest of misunderstandings and uses her griffin as an assistant for everything. She's clearly not well in the head...and that's what makes her entertaining.

Vine is a looney nut who might be unaware of her crazy actions. It's good fun, but the problem is that there's not enough of it. Like Matt, Viney has very few prominent moments in the series, and you can tell she's not as entertaining as she could have been. If the writers went all the way with her insanity or made her a character that's the textbook definition of "zero chill," you can bet Viney would be one of my favorite characters. As is, her craziness is only...a scrap of what could have been a great personality. I like her, don't love her.

Jerbo: Jerbo's higher because he has more of a well-defined personality. And he wasn't instantly unlikable, so...

And that really is all there is to say about Jerbo. He's fun as a fearful boy down on his luck and has a bit of intrigue with how he wanted to change the coven system forever. And he does, which is honestly pretty cool. Still, not a lot to make him higher.

Owlbert: Hey, look! It's a character that had a ton of prominent appearances in Season One and was all but forgotten in every season after!

This is a shame because Owlbert is one of the two palisman in the series that feels like a genuine character. The others are cute (my favorite is a tie between Ghost and Stringbean), but Owlbert, for a few episodes, felt like a prominent member of the cast with his loyalty to Eda and the connection formed with Luz. In fact, he and Luz had such a great connection that, for a while there, I assumed the show would do a thing where Eda passed down Owlbert to Luz as a form of passing the torch from the master teacher to the master student. But that didn't happen, which I can be fine with because Stringbean's perfect, and I will not hear any argument about it.

Still, it's weird how Owlbert showed up a fair amount of times in Season One, even having an entire episode dedicated to him, only to be forgotten and discarded by the time Season Two rolled around. And I know someone who'll be mad about that.

Bat Queen: And she's a character that had her own kind of potential only to be forgotten in Season Two. Only in this case, I'm willing to be more forgiving toward Bat Queen. It sucks that we'll never fully know who her owner is, but that always felt like a minor story beat for someone who wasn't that major of a character. Or, at least, someone who never had TIME to be a major character. The Bat Queen had intrigue as a discarded palisman who dedicated her life to looking after abandoned ones, but someone like her doesn't really have a place in the grander story of the show. Plenty of characters in the series have good reasons to have their stories continue or their personalities develop, whether having close ties with a main character or having a narrative purpose. Bat Queen doesn't really have either of those things, so it's why I'm not someone who’s losing sleep at night just because she has this engaging backstory brought forth but never followed up on. I'd still like to see it, but I always knew that after hearing Disney shortened the show, it was always going to be the Bat Queen's story that would fall on the cutting room floor. Missed potential for sure, but at least we had an interesting character for a short while.

Odalia Blight: And the winner for the worst mother of the year goes to--Yeah, I know. An easy joke to make. But I can't help it! It's always served on a silver platter!

Anyways, Odalia's the worst. Yet that's what makes her the best, funnily enough. She's the most snobbish snob that's ever snobbed while having zero respect for other people, least of all her family. You hate her with every fiber of your being, and you cannot wait to see her fail miserably despite trying so hard to reach the top. And Odalia absolutely is a character one loves to hate. She called Amity and her friends into the office and soon scolded Amity for not being in class. It is a challenge to make someone that kind of entertainingly despicable, yet the writers nailed it. However, they might have worked too hard to make us hate Odalia and not enough to deliver her just desserts.

I have no problems with Odalia being an awful mother, wife, and overall person throughout the show. I figured it was only a matter of time before she got hit in the face with SOME karma that would make it all worth it. Sure, it was nice to see her bend to the whim of a literal god that craved pizza bagels, and I do love that Belos, who values life less than her, didn't even want to use Odalia as his meat puppet. Still, she deserved worse. After everything Odalia did and the bridges she burned, it would have been nice to see either Amity or Camila knock her lights out for being a terrible mother. Hell, we even saw Kikimora doing community service and grunt work after her crimes, so it would be fitting to see Odalia right there with her. Or giving her SOME punishment other than making the last time we see her being Odalia standing off to the side and acting like she doesn't care that she lost everything. And that...doesn't feel right. After everything Odalia's done, we, the audience, and her family, deserve to see Odalia receive the worst punishment she had coming to her. Maybe not death or even going to jail. But SOMETHING is better than nothing. She was entertaining, but being so goes only so far without a proper failure.

...But at least she's hot. I know that's out of left field...but we all know it's true...Camila's still hotter, though.

Gwen Clawthorne: ...At least she's a better mother than Odalia?

Alright, I might be the only person who doesn't hate Gwen like others in the fandom, just like with Kikimora. But unlike Kiki, Gwen has much more to like...at least to me. Yeah, her falling for scams isn't great, and realizing the error of her ways could have been done better if not...quickly paced, but I don't mind her. Upon her introduction, it's clear that Gwen wants to try and help Eda with a vile curse. She may have been a bit hostile with her wording, but we soon learn that the curse not only turns Eda into a savage beast but one that clawed Gwen's husband's eye out and ruined the family business that's been around for generations. You can't really blame Gwen for being...agitated about the curse. Or wanting to try anything and everything to cure it. Yes, Eda's curse is often used as an allegory for a chronic illness. And a pretty decent one at that. But sometimes, with a story, you have to remove the allegory from what's shown, and doing so helps you gain more of a perspective for why Gwen reacted the way that she did. Was it right? Well...Not really. I guess she could have seen sooner that she should have been there for Eda instead of scaring her off, not to mention the damage Gwen caused in her debut appearance, but Gwen was at least quick enough to come around and realize what she did was wrong, and APOLOGIZE. Most parents like her won't be that easy, obviously, but another thing about fiction is that you have to realize that it's...fiction. Not everything equates to real life, and you should accept a character's choices and actions if it suits the story. Not many kids can do that, sure, and that's where the hesitation fits, but I think Gwen's kind enough to prove that she's worth believing in. She still spent years trying to help Eda, even if it was misguided, and was ready to kill the guys scamming her. Gwen is not a bad person. Her heart's mostly in the right place despite the troubles she caused, and I'm willing to bet she learned her lesson in the end. Just listen to her speech to Eda (and a little to Lilith) near the end of the episode. That's a mother's imperfect love if you ask me.

Masha: Admittingly, there's not much to them. Masha's a solid character. They have tidbits of personality as someone who's into the grim and horrifying but has a good sense of humor about things when they laugh off reading Vee an accurate fortune by saying she needed bath bombs or humorously sum up Belos' backstory about him being upset that his brother got a hot witch girlfriend. Plus, there's the genuine representation of having Masha be non-binary but still comfortable dressing and looking feminine. From what I've learned, being non-binary doesn't mean sticking to a gender-neutral style. Some like to look feminine, while others are fine appearing masculine, and it's cool for The Owl House to represent that through Masha. I only wish there was more about them. I could go on and on about most of these characters, but for Masha, there's not enough to go off of. It really is the good vibes and representation carrying them, but that's not much to complain about if you ask me.

Skara: SKARA IS THE BEST GIRL!

What's that? She barely has much of a consistent personality and is an over-glorified background character, if anything else? Well, too bad, because she's the best girl.

Honestly, I don't know why I love Skara so much. She hardly has any character to her, but something about her is just so gosh darn endearing. I'm telling you, sometimes a character can be entertaining by having a good vibe alone.

Steve: THIS MOTHER F**KER, however, had NO RIGHT being as entertaining as he was! Nor how popular!

Steve. F**king STEVE! All he had was one or two lines in a less-than-stellar episode, yet the fandom ADORED this mother f**ker! And, yeah, they were funny lines, but not "OMG, best character EVAH" levels of funny! But sure enough, people loved him! So the writers brought him back, and gosh dang it, he's so endearing! He's the most chill and reasonable character in the entire show! He gave King insight into who he was in one of the biggest character moments in the series! He's...NOT the golden god that I think people were picturing him as under that mask, but DAMN, is he still a handsome fella! He's so great, that I honestly wish he was in the show MORE! Gosh, DANG IT!

"If you love him so much, why are you acting angry about it?"

Because it's FUNNY!

"No, it isn't."

Yes, it is! Moving on!

Terra Snapdragon: Finally! Some good frickin' secondary antagonist!

Terra is why I hoped the series would dive deep into the other covenheads, primarily the clearly evil ones. This woman radiated supervillain energy as someone who seemed super sweet but would kill you with zero hesitation. And we learn in the flashback episode that Terra was somehow more bloodthirsty, having zero care for the lives of others, least of all children. The woman was despicable, and it was a treat seeing her return when she did. And, unlike Odalia, Terra had a proper amount of punishment. Sure, it sucks that she slinks away in the finale, but her forced to play pretend with the Collector while in an outfit that...did not work on her is pretty decent karma for someone who saw others as below her. Plus, she at least turned into a puppet for being too big of a big mouth, which is more than what Odalia got. I'd prefer if Terra had MORE punishment, but who knows? Maybe she went to jail or...tripped and snapped her spine off-screen.

If anything, my only complaint was that Terra wasn't in the series more. Make HER the main threat in "For the Future" instead of Kikimora and Boscha. THAT would have been fun. Regardless, she's entertaining enough as is, even if more screen time would have made her better.

Principal Bump: This man deserved more love...He said, while still leaving Bump below several characters.

For real, though, Bump deserves more credit, even from me. He's the school principal in a children's animated series, but instead of making him the demonic, overbearing dictator, the writers made him...the exact opposite. If anything, Principal Faust is more of what I would expect as a cold, careless, and horrifying hater of fun and children. Thankfully, that's not Bump. The man may be strict and have no problems throwing a kid into a detention pit, but he still cares about the safety and well-being of his students. Hell, he loves his students. Even with trouble-makers like Luz, Gus, and Willow, Bump can't help but cry because he has fond memories about the three of them and the trouble they caused. And while he can be dead-set in some ways, Bump is still willing to admit when he made a mistake and chooses to correct it, like in "The First Day" by letting the Detention Kids pick multiple tracks to study from. He's kind and reasonable, and that's what's to love about him. Plus, Bump's got some Grade-A snark on him. Some of the show's funniest and most quotable lines come from his dry remarks, and it's partially why he's bumped (ha) up so high. As I said, Bump deserves more love...It's just unfortunate that there are more entertaining characters than him.

Lilith Clawthorne: Admittedly, Lilith would not be up this high if she remained the person she was in Season One. Back then, Lilith wasn't the worst. She functioned nicely as a foil to Eda's wild side and had a great design for a secondary antagonist. The problem is that Lilith was a little boring, her motivations weren't made clear until the finale for the sake of a twist, and that same twist REALLY hurt her character...for about a week until everyone was quick to forgive and forget after a poorly paced redemption. And that's another fault of Lilith: Her redemption. She cursed Eda, ruined the family, ostracized Eda from society, hunted her down for YEARS because of blind faith in a man playing her like the cheap-ass kazoo that she was, and it all got wiped away almost instantly. Granted, there is one asterisk to this: It was all an accident...Sort of. 

Lilith did mean to curse Eda but didn't intend for it to last as long as it did. And you at least get a sense that Lilith feels some remorse for doing so, even stopping their first duel together the second Eda brought up the curse. The problem is that she doesn't feel enough, still treating Eda as lesser than her despite the two of them being close and Lilith supposedly feeling guilty about cursing her. And, again, it feels like everything got resolved too quickly. I accepted everyone is quick to say, "Everything's good for now" in "Young Blood, Old Souls," but only because I expected Lilith to get dragged through the coals in Season Two. But she didn't. She was quickly treated as one of the gang, and Eda did nothing but jokingly remind Lilith that she cursed her. You do that after years of getting over something, not after a week. So, as a redeemable antagonist, Lilith might as well get a C-...Thank goodness she became an entertaining character, regardless of that.

By Season Two, Lilith becomes an almost different character. Better yet, she becomes what I wanted Viney to be: Bats**t insane. Lilith is violent enough to tell Philip that he better be digging his own grave and punches him in the face without hesitation, ecstatic about banisters and having barnacles on her head, and willing to devote her whole life to an eight-year-old and perform blood sacrifices in his honor. The woman lost her mind, and I was all there for it. Even then, though, she still had a bit of intelligence, being hesitant to trust Philip after seeing some similarities to Belos and studious enough to figure out glyph combos herself. It's just that now because there are fewer worries and fears about keeping an image and being the best, Lilith can let go of inhibitions and go nuts. Her redemption could have used a lot more polish, but being so dang entertaining in Season Two is what made Lilith a character I couldn't care about to one I was excited to see when I could.

Alador Blight: Wish I could say the same about this guy...

I think I love the idea of Alador much more than his execution. Upon his introduction, he's presented as the lesser of two evils between him and Odalia, with Alador being easier to talk to without threatening to kill anybody and trying to find compromises that could stow Odalia's fire when she becomes unreasonably angry. Initially, one could assume that he's on the same agenda as hers, only to later find out that Alador's being mistreated too, with Odalia working him to exhaustion, too tired to even notice his children's problems half the time because he's too busy working for Odalia to the point where he never even took a sick day. In Season Two, this lines up with a lot of his behavior. It's why he acts so scatterbrained and unsure of what to do in most appearances. Or the way he tries to tell Odalia they've demonstrated enough with the Abomiton and how he forces a compromise by making Odalia stick to her word and sneakily tell her that being with friends makes Amity stronger, and how he promises to Amity to let Odalia back down in "Reaching Out." If you look solely at how he acts in Season Two, I believe it's pretty decent character work/development, showing a man who loves his kids but can't be the father he wants and needs to be because of his overbearing wife...However, there is ONE moment that spoils everything.

Yeah, that one. This is the scene that everyone points back to when discussing Alador's change of heart and whether or not he earns Amity's love despite it. He's very clearly on Odalia's side in this argument, being just as cold as her. Some argued that because this memory came from Amity as a kid, she might misremember the details and misconstrued how Alador acted that day. Even his silhouette seems different from how he looks in the present, and I was willing to agree because I remember days when my parents got a LITTLE mad, and it was the scariest thing in the world. However, not only would you be surprised how more traumatic experiences stick with kids, but the show makes it very clear that memories inside one's mind recreate things to the exact detail. Sure, there's the fact that it's Amity's recollection in Willow's brain, which, as far as we know, isn't as perfect as a picture. But The Owl House never explicitly establishes how weak a witch's memory could be while already inside a memory. It's a very weird distinction to make but necessary to prove that Amity's memory isn't as exact as it looks. Although, if you want explanations, I have some of my own. One realistic, another analytical, and one argumentive.

Realistically...this is a retcon. The writers had a new idea of what to do with Alador and realized, too late, that they had to make changes to his character for it to work. Changes that go beyond a scene where all we see is his silhouette. And when a retcon's made, it's sort of a team effort between the writers and the fans to explain how it works, with the writers providing the information and the fans analyzing previous scenes to see how it holds up. And after writing about how he's under Odalia's abuse and manipulation, here's where the analysis comes in.

Alador works so much and dismisses his kids because, if he doesn't, Odalia will have the kids do work for him. Not wanting to let them go through what he does, Alador reluctantly goes along with what she demands, only getting her to back down when he sees an opportunity, like in "Escaping Expulsion." Unfortunately, just like that episode, he's still on her side most of the time, doing what she wants and saying what SHE thinks is right even if he probably doesn't want to. Because if he doesn't, he and his kids are in WORSE trouble. That day, when Alador scolded Amity, might be a day when he felt like there was no other choice because Odalia left no room to back down and was forced to do and say what she wanted.

Plus--and here's where I get argumentive--We forgave this:

Granted, there are some arguments against this as well, one I'll get to when talking about Amity. For now, I will say there are three reasons why we're willing to forgive Amity: One is that she's a kid. People are more willing to forgive a child's behavior because they can outgrow it and become better. People have this idea that adults can't do the same thing, that they should already know better...even though adults rarely do, and they could live up to seventy while still unaware of how their behavior is wrong. Number two is that we spend more time with Amity, learning how much she regrets her actions and proving how she'll work hard to be a better person despite them. We can't have that with Alador because the show has to do so much and has very little time to do it. Some corners can be cut, and Alador was one of them. Thirdly, and this is the one I can't argue against, people understand Amity's plight because they WERE Amity. They've had experience with neglectful and abusive parents, and that experience beats any argument a person has. It doesn't matter if you, me, or anyone else argues that Alador isn't badly written. THOSE people, the ones who had an Alador of their own, will always feel uncomfortable by how the writers made him because those people know not every parent is like him, and they don't want kids thinking THEIR parents are the same. I mean it when I say I can't argue against that because that's a fair reason to not like a character.

Personally, I like Alador enough. At least, I like the idea he represents. It's good to show that parents can be mistreated too, especially a father because not enough people take men getting abused in a relationship as seriously as women do. The execution is a little sloppy because of that one scene in Season One, but it doesn't bother me. It DOES, however, bother others, and for reasons I can't help but sympathize. I won't call Alador a bad character, but I won't stop others from disagreeing. But at least his kids are great (and, yeah, we’ll get to them).

Dell Clawthorne: Dell's kind of both a symbol and a character.

Symbolically, he's the physical representation of Eda's biggest regret. She blinded and crippled her father, ruining the family business in the process. But the sad part is that none of it was her fault. Yet Eda still blames herself, not even wanting to go and SEE Dell because the pain of knowing what she did to him is too great. He proves that Eda can turn into what she is afraid of becoming. Something that we see in her nightmare in "Watching and Dreaming." Something that no one wants to be: A monster. A monster that doesn't deserve forgiveness or love. A monster that should be locked away for the safety of the ones she loves. But the crazy thing is that Dell DOES love Eda. He DOES forgive her.

Dell has every right to be angry. He lost his eye and his job. Who wouldn't be angry after that? And maybe he was for a bit, but I doubt he was ever angry with Eda, let alone resent her for it. Instead, after years of her running away and never wanting to talk to him again, Dell only wanted to see his daughter again. His scene with Eda in "Elsewhere and Elsewhen," where he clarifies that what happened was tragic but still loves Eda despite it, is one of my favorite interactions between two characters in The Owl House. And trust me, that's a hefty list to get on.

Dell's time on the show wasn't long, but what he does gives a lot of substance to the show for a guy who probably has less than five minutes of screen time (I don't know, I didn't do the math). Maybe he could have offered more, but I'm glad with what we still got.

The Titan: The same goes for this fluffy individual. We only knew them for a short amount of time, but holy hell, did the Titan make the most of it. Even though, technically speaking, we knew them the whole time.

I don't think I've seen a show where the setting happens to be an essential character in the plot. I'm pretty sure everyone assumed the Titan was a corpse that our characters had adventures on, and that's it. Any idea that they were a being that could talk to others could get shot down because the only person to "talk" to the Titan was Belos. And with him being the serial liar that he was, any fan could assume that even talking to the Titan was impossible, and meeting them was even more so. Turns out it wasn't.

And the Titan, the powerful being whose corpse is big enough to form a landmass, also turns out to be a chilled-out individual. There are brief moments of seriousness and even nobility in their final moments, but for the most part, the Titan is just a laid-back, jovial person. Personally, I'm into god-like beings that are like that. Not one that's wrathful or vengeful, but kind and acts like someone you could, I don't know, have a beer with. Not that I drink beer, but...you know.

Granted, the Titan WAS a bit wrathful with how they treated the Collector, but they clearly feel bad about it after finally realizing the Collector meant no harm, and it was the Collector's SIBLINGS who did the dirty work. The Titan admitted to making a mistake, making them both a kind god and a humble one. It amazes me how much characterization was given to the Titan in how little time they were officially introduced in the show. There are characters who are better after having more time, but there are also ones who might just be worse. So I appreciate that they made the Titan so top-tier, even if making them nothing more than the Isles, and the show's setting, would have been more than enough.

Emira Blight: I will forever be grateful for the course correction that the writers took with Edric and Emira, not only making them great supporting characters instead of semi-antagonists like in "Lost in Language" but also giving them their own personalities that help them stand out instead of being exact copies like most twins in media. Unfortunately, Emira might be the least interesting Blight sibling.

THAT DOES NOT MEAN BAD! Just because Amity's more engaging and Edric's more entertaining, that doesn't make Emira a horrible character because of it. It just means that, comparatively, she's not as high as her siblings. With that said, Emira's still pretty fantastic as the only Blight with a functioning brain cell. She calls Edric out for his occasional stupidity, gives proper advice to Amity when she's freaking out, and has her thoughts together because Emira didn't work herself to exhaustion. It also makes sense why Emira's a healer. She's there to keep her family physically and emotionally safe, making sure Edric doesn't hurt himself or counseling Amity when things are too overwhelming. Not only is Emira the most sensible, but it might make her the glue that keeps the family together. But despite that, she's still playful, still mischievous. Except, unlike her brother, there's a more controlled intelligence behind the fun and games Emira pulls. It's a bit more subtle, but it's there. So, while she might be the weakest Blight sibling in terms of story value, Emira is still a great character in her own right, being a fun yet essential family member with that perfect older sister energy...Mainly because she's the older sister, but my point still stands!

Edric Blight: Ah, the one Blight sibling that proves how most of the brains went to Amity and Emira while he got only the scraps.

Edric is not smart. And that very fact leads to two kinds of entertainment. Firstly, it's funny seeing his dumbass stumble through life. He tried to eat snow, attempted to keep a wild bat as a pet, couldn't pick up a hint to save his life, and ended up in a full-body cast after a reckless rescue mission. The poor boy is a riot because of how dumb he acts, which leads to the second thing entertaining about Edric: He's aware of his lack of smarts and how others see him as "The Dumb One." It causes Edric to be a little insecure about his talents, despite having great knowledge of Beast Keeping and decent skills with Potions. It's as if the writers saw the fans' preconceptions about Edric and decided to do something with it. Unfortunately, they only did it for one episode because we're strapped for time, but that brief instant of character insight is what's to love about this show. We have so many characters to use and so little time that instances like Edric helping Eda and King make a potion is enough to be considered great character development for someone who could have easily been "The Dumb One" and nothing more. He was funny enough with that simple character trait, but one tends to appreciate when a show goes the extra mile, even if it's for one episode only.

Hooty: Oh, Hooty. Sweet, dearest Hootcifer.

At first, I did not like you. You were an annoying addition as comic relief, whose screechy voice only made me hate you more. But then something interesting happened. As time went on, you became less annoying and more endearing by nature. Having an eagerness to please others mixed with a constant ignorance of social cues made you quite humorous. Yes, quite humorous indeed. The laughs brought forth by things you have done and said were plentiful, and I was delighted by each appearance you've made.

And best of all, dearest Hootcifer, you've made Luz and Amity a canonical couple. In an episode that will be nearest and dearest to many fans' hearts, you have not only brought out beautiful development between King and Eda but also managed the most adorable display of young love to occur. A young love between two girls, no less, meaning this moment of spectacular representation for the LGBTQA+ community is all thanks to you, a character best described as a "bird worm." That is both mildly hilarious as well as incredible.

Unfortunately, dearest Hootcifer, your time on the show was not perfect. Whilst Season Two was you at your best, it took all of Season One for me and others to warm up to you. And by Season Three, with every other characters taking story prominence, there was nary any time for you, Hootcifer, to add anything of value. You hardly had any lines, nor did you manage to have any final words in the series finale. Other characters in the series had faced this injustice too, but it is extra ludicrous for you, Hootcifer. You were there since that very first episode, becoming the fourth member of the Owl House family. To think that your last line was only in the second to last episode, despite how much of an impact you've left on the others and the fans, it pains me that you were one of the few cheated out the most with that final season.

Regardless, despite everything, Hootcifer, you are a well-done character with humor and heart. Tis no wonder that the show is named after you, for you are worthy of such an honor.

...In short, Hooty is funny, endearing, and surprisingly grows on you. I have...no idea why I gave that sentiment across in such a fancy way, but oh well.

(He deserves it anyways)

Flapjack: *Sigh* Another loving bird...

Just like Owlbert, Flapjack's the only palisman with enough prominence in the series to feel like a character, but unlike Owlbert, the writers actually explore more with Flapjack. But that may be because his story is tragic.

It is heavily hinted that Flapjack is Evelyn's palisman, who also lured Caleb into the Boiling Isles and indirectly sparked DECADES worth of...bad stuff. And within that time, Flapjack lost an eye and an owner and spent so much of his life alone. That is until he met Luz...who then introduced Flapjack to Hunter.

It really was a solid expectation subversion that Flapjack chose Hunter as an owner. He had a kind and playful energy that matched Luz perfectly, but no. He wanted Hunter, possibly because he looked so much like Caleb. And not wanting to lose another Caleb, Flapjack seemed to make it his number one goal to help Hunter in every way possible. That's when it hits you why Flapjack is perfect for Hunter: He's what Hunter NEEDS. Flapjack may have worked well with Luz, but Hunter needed him more than she did. Hunter was all alone for most of his life and went through so much emotional and mental stress in his unfortunate existence. Then here comes Flapjack, cheerfully supporting Hunter in his interests and literally pulling him to people who will make him happy. Flapjack's basically a therapy bird if I've ever seen one. And it really was nice seeing the majority of the time he's spent in the series be dedicated to making someone else happy...because it makes his death all the more tragic.

All Flapjack wanted was to make Hunter happy, ignoring the fact for so long that being near Hunter was the biggest risk that Flapjack could have ever taken. The second Belos might see Flapjack, he'd be as good as dead due to Belos' need to feed off the souls of palismens and because of Belos' hatred for everything that Flapjack represents. Yet Flapjack still stuck it out and stayed by Hunter's side despite these risks. His death was all but inevitable, but it hurt all the same because while we knew, deep down, it would happen, we didn't WANT it to happen. But it did, and it stings that a bird that wanted to do nothing but good only paid a horrible price for his kindness. On the bright side, Flapjack died doing the one thing he did best: Helping Hunter. No, SAVING Hunter.

Flapjack was loyal to the end, and we all love him for it. And miss him all the same.

Darius Deamonne: Hey, look! It's another character that's important to Hunter! And this one is FABULOUS!

I'll forever be blown away by the expectation subversion the writers did with Darius. Upon his introduction, you think he would be this menacing secondary antagonist the characters would have to fight through in a final battle against Belos. That was definitely the vibe I got from the guy, with how menacing he acted and how he looked in his abomination form. Turns out, most of that was an act...Most of it. I'm willing to bet that he really was ticked off by whoever was screwing with him, and his annoyance was real with Ebberwolf. But by using what we NOW know, it's clear that Darius was playing SOME of his behavior up to make it convincing enough that he's on the Emperor's side in case any ears are listening in. Belos does have eyes and ears everywhere, after all...somehow. Plus, it makes the reveal that Darius is on the side of good all the more pleasant of a surprise. He's certainly less menacing, but not as a fault. Darius still has the same snark and agitation towards people who are more, let's say, foolish than him, just as Darius did in his first appearance. It's just that now he's more subdued because he's surrounded by people who Darius doesn't need to scare. Even when dealing with the Emerald Entrails, Darius acted cold but reasonable. And when actually TRYING to scare the kids, you can argue he wanted to further scare them away from joining the Emperor's Coven, showing them what type of person they'd be dealing with.

But the biggest surprise came when he turned out to be a decent father figure for Hunter. Unfortunately, we never get to see him as an actual father, but it's still sweet seeing Darius show Hunter the first amount of respect and care from an adult the poor boy ever got. Darius shows interest in Hunter's interest, respects his decisions, and encourages him to be a kid and not a soldier, likely because Darius knows full well where that leads for the previous Golden Guards. It warms the heart to see how much Darius cares for Hunter, getting worried when he's in danger and feeling joy when he's safe and sound. It's all great...and it SUCKS that Darius is one of the few screwed over in the finale. No final lines, just pure silence...and some shipping fuel between him and Alador. At least there were still moments of Darius showing he cares for Hunter, and they're both happy together. I didn't really expect much from Darius. He was already fun upon his introduction, but having him become this stern yet caring person was such an interesting twist that I can't help but admire more. It's not what I expected, but I appreciate it nonetheless.

Vee Noceda: That IS her last name, and I will hear NO SLANDER ABOUT IT!

...Anyway, Vee's a great character.

I am forever impressed by how great of an, yet another, expectation subversion Vee is. Everyone, including Luz, upon first seeing Vee, saw her as an evil doppelganger trying to steal Luz's life. I still remember the shock and fear I felt when first seeing Vee, worried about what this could mean for Luz and Camila. And then we got to know Vee...and I much prefer the character we got over an evil clone or whatever the popular theory at the time was.

Vee, quite possibly, might have the most tragic life out of everyone in the show. She was born in a cage, was treated as a lab experiment and nothing more, gained a ton of PTSD surrounding rats and cages, and likely never knew the feeling of a warm bed or a good home-cooked meal until meeting Camila. Vee's life was a nightmare before running away to the human realm, and after learning about all that, it makes her finding a home with the Nocedas, being a part of their family, all the sweeter. A friend of mine said that her plan was a LITTLE flawed because Vee didn't know whether or not Luz would return, but in fairness, Vee said that she didn't mean to keep the act up forever, but Camila was nice to her. Vee was operating off of emotions due to getting an inkling of what love feels like, even if Camila's motherly love wasn't for Vee exactly. And with the family she's found and the friends she made in the Human Realm, it's no wonder that she prefers a life there, graduating high school with Luz and having a form for herself to gain an identity of her own. It's amazing how much care and attention the writers put into Vee and her story...Especially since she's basically a minor character.

Yeah, it's crazy to think that a lot of this stuff that happens with Vee is for a character with a substantial role in TWO episodes. Honestly, I wish she had more and could have time to bond with Camila and Luz, showing how much of a happy family she's gained. But, even after "Yesterday's Lie" ended, I already assumed the odds of seeing Vee again in something big were NEVER to become a reality. The shortening of the series, leaving fans with only half a season and three specials, meant that the odds weren't in Vee's favor to grow and develop more than she already did. In a case like that, you have to learn to accept what you HAVE instead of complaining that you didn't get what you WANT. And as for what we have with Vee, it's still good and compelling stuff for a character that makes two appearances. Sure, the potential of a greater character is there for Vee, but for a minor character, she's still really great. Now, if she was a MAIN character, THEN it'd be an issue...Speaking of which.

Gus Porter: Ah, NOW we're getting to the important characters.

Gus is...probably the least interesting out of the main cast. That doesn't make him bad, mind you. I mean, look how far he's come in this list. It's just that, compared to everyone else, Gus felt as if he had less going on. While everyone else was dealing with trauma, family issues, and self-worth, Gus was always kind of...there. The worst part is that there are a lot of hints of there being more to him. He somewhat admits to Hunter in "Thanks to Them" that, while things aren't awful, Gus isn't happy. He missed his dad, and Gus was the first to break down and cry after "King's Tide." There's something there to explore, but because it's a season where so much is going on and there's little time to focus on everybody, Gus, unfortunately, gets the short end of the stick when dealing with HIS trauma. And there's not much going on with his family. There's no discussion of what happened with his mom or any animosity between Gus and his dad. They have a healthy relationship together. Which is appreciative, don't get me wrong. But it's NOTHING compared to Amity's issues with her parents, Eda's strained relationship with her sister and mother, and Luz's difficulty in getting her mom to understand her. The closest bit of intrigue we get with Gus and his dad is how bored and kind of annoyed Gus looked during the Grand Prix in "Eda's Requiem." There could be something to explore there, maybe talk about why Gus went with his dad even though he clearly wasn't having a great time. Unfortunately, this was during a season when the writers were told the series would get cut, and they had to rush to close up as many character arcs as they could before reaching the end, with Gus, again, getting the short end of the stick. Thankfully, the show does something about Gus' self-worth, showing his doubts as an Illusionist and some anxiety about being used by others for personal gain. It's engaging stuff, but it comes at the cost of Gus being overshadowed by an admittedly cute couple and the fandom's favorite white boy.

We definitely get a good amount where I say that Gus is an engaging character, but never enough to stand above the others. And that, right there, is why Gus is the least interesting in the main cast. There are great things about him to explore, but he's never given a chance to truly shine. Thankfully, Gus is still great in a supporting role, acting as the group's cheerleader and hyping them up to do something. Or how he acts as the little brother, having sometimes naive optimism and playfulness compared to everyone else. He's still a smart cookie who knows when to be serious, but it's clear that he's the second or third youngest in the cast, right next to King or the Collector. So, while Gus would have been even better with more time dedicated to him and him alone, that doesn't mean he's any worse of a character because of it. He's still endearing with how supportive he is, even if that makes him less interesting than his friends.

Speaking of which...

Willow Park: Willow...has a similar problem as Gus, but it might be a little worse. Because while Gus has entire subplots in episodes dedicated to him and his issues, Willow has consistently shared the spotlight with other characters throughout the series, where they get a lot of development, and she gets the scraps. To the point where fans talk more about the people Willow has a relationship with instead of Willow. She used to have a friendship with Amity? They latch onto AMITY'S side of things. Hunter's her boyfriend? They latch onto HUNTER'S side of things. In fact, I think people talk more about her BULLY than they do about Willow. Rarely does Willow get any attention in the fanbase and even in the series, which is a shame because she IS a solid character.

Willow's your typical shy girl who learns to gain more confidence. Only this one has more of a violent edge and seems more than capable of killing someone for hurting her but doesn't due to her self-confidence issues. Plus, instead of stretching out those issues throughout the entire series, Willow gains more confidence at the end of Season One. An annoying thing about shy girls is that they remain progressively so, getting better through inches instead of miles. With Willow, she gets over it pretty soon, to the point where I genuinely thought Willow didn't have much to do in Season Two because the writers figured her character arc was done. Which is a shame because even though her friends have more development than her, Willow is a great straight man to their antics. She's often remembered as a friend with the one functioning brain cell in the group, acting as the voice of reason when her idiot friends have a dumb idea. But she's still supportive of their ambitions and adventures because THEY were supportive of her. It's her way of paying them back. Willow just has a better idea of when to draw the line.

Plus, there is an interesting idea about Willow that the writers manage to explore beyond her shyness, even if it's not to as great of an extent as everyone else's development. You see, Willow has a problem processing trauma. In "Understanding Willow" (which ironically helps us understand Amity better), Willow states that it's best to hide away what's upsetting her while saying, "Out of sight, out of mind." Only for that to QUICKLY backfire as Amity takes things further by burning the very thing Willow only wanted to hide. They both learn it's better to confront the things that make them uncomfortable, gaining an understanding (ha) that you need to face your pain to heal from it. Except that Willow somewhat forgot that lesson in "For the Future," which showcased what makes Willow great. She's there to help her friends and their issues but ignores her own because she believes her friends’ are more important. All the girl needed was a good cry over her dads, but Willow instead repeated to herself, "Keep it in," not wanting to let her own problems overshadow everyone else's, which caused her emotions to grow more out of control. This side of her is an engaging idea, and it sucks that it's only been explored twice while her friends got more development. I'm willing to blame the shortening of the series for this one because there's no way she only had such a small role to play in the series upon conception. Willow acts as great support like Gus, but she could have been so much more. And that's a "What if" that's going to unfortunately be lost to time.

King Clawthorne: I have mixed feelings towards King, at least in the first season. I didn't hate him. It's just that, within Season One, King hardly had a direction. More often than not, he was the comic relief that went off doing silly things in the B-Plot while everyone else went on the real adventures. It led to entertaining bits, like gaining an army of sentient stuffed animals or using the Owl Beast as a tool to dominate the playground. But then there were times when they felt like an unnecessary distraction, like being an MC at Grom or being mistaken as a substitute teacher. And most of the time, it's all for the sake of an unrealistic goal. I could tell from the beginning that he would NEVER be the actual King of Demons, and it was just something the other characters played along with because even THEY knew it would never be a reality. So there was never anything King could add to the show besides humor, which he did well due to Alex Hirsch's hilarious delivery with a few jokes. If King stayed the same as he does in Season One, he'd go just above Hooty as someone entertaining with a few solid scenes of heart with the rest of the main cast, but nothing more than that.

...But then the writers decided to make King an actual character in Season Two.

King became more consistent and engaging in the series from "Echoes of the Past" to beyond. In most of the series before this moment, King always went back and forth as either a child, a pet, or an immature adult with delusions of grandeur. Post "Echoes of the Past," it's pretty clear that King's a child but one with a bit more maturity than others. He acts naive and has a definite need to be protected at all costs when he acts sad. And Alex Hirsch KILLS it when portraying King's youth, where the times King cries or gets emotional sounds like an actual kid rather than a grown man playing a kid. His delivery isn't just good for humor but for some amazing voice acting that surprisingly adds to the illusion. It's sort of like how John Roberts convinces me that Linda from Bob's Burgers is a New Jersey Mother in a way that's better than any voice actress ever could manage. Sometimes, you need to give in to the illusion.

As for what makes King engaging, that's where his purpose comes in. King wanting to become the King of Demons and have people bow down to him is...cute and results in some good humor. But King wanting to know what he is and where his Dad came from? Now THAT is a way to make someone invested in a character we already enjoyed. King was entertaining before, but seeing his struggles to find answers about his past and heritage was always endearing and helped you feel for the little guy. And when he finally DOES get answers, it cleverly gives King what he wanted in Season One: To be something that people would bow down to in respect and fear...and King doesn't want that anymore. After learning he's the last of his species, that his blood family is dead, and everything is falling down around him and his found family, King doesn't want to be the monster everyone fears. He just wants to be King and have things go back to normal. Or, HIS version of normal, anyway. It's pretty compelling to show King's growth as comic relief to an actual character by giving him everything he thought he wanted, only to practically refuse it. King is almost a completely different character by Season Two, and it really is for the best. Season One King wasn't too bad, but his Season Two self really gave him the boost he needed.

Raine Whispers: Raine is best defined as a pretty flawless character. At least, in my eyes, they are, as there's not really a bad thing I can say about them.

Upon conception, Raine was nothing more than a love interest to Eda...and that tracks. So much of Raine's development and story occurs when Eda is there, fawning over them and wanting to reconnect. Even their debut episode was more about Eda's issues and how Raine was there to guide her to the right path when it mattered most. They're very much a character severely connected with Eda and never had the chance to star in the spotlight instead of sharing it. A shame, really, since Raine organizing a resistance against Belos could be enough for an episode of its own, but, unfortunately, not the case for a series that got shortened. However, just because Raine's a character connected to Eda, it doesn't make them any less fun or engaging.

First and foremost, you GET why Eda is so in love with Raine. Where Eda is an agent of chaos, Raine is more for CONTROLLED chaos, willing to join Eda to cause some mayhem but in a way where they don't get caught or in trouble. And that's just them as kids. As an adult, Raine wants to destroy a militaristic dictatorship from the inside out, determined to keep the act going and fight literal brainwashing no matter how often they get caught. They're also pretty determined, fighting against Belos infecting Raine's brain and fighting with their last breath when Belos tried to get to the heart of the Titan. Because while Raine was one for chaos as a kid, they're still a good and caring person. Raine didn't want Eda involved so she wouldn't get hurt and MEANT their promise to Luz to make sure nothing bad happened to Eda during their mission on the Day of Unity. But on top of everything else: Raine is a charismatic dork, having enough charm to make Eda the Owl Lady blush but still having the dorkiest smile when announcing their crew's name is "The CATs." Raine is ALL these things, and the result is someone who's a blast to watch, even if they're simply Eda's love interest. They still add enough entertainment and drama, even if some of it, unfortunately, focuses more on the Eda side of things. Would I love more of a spotlight to shine on Raine? Of course. They're an outstanding character who unfortunately got put through the wringer, what with being physically tortured, used as Belos' meat puppet, and MAYBE groomed by Terra Snapdragon (That creepy witch). But when a character's conceived as a love interest, even if there's more to them, you gotta take the good moments when they're badass and awesome and appreciate when they contribute to the story on the sidelines as a supporting character than a leading one. At least they were right there to kill Belos and lived happily ever after, snuggling with Eda. Not too bad for a love interest, huh?

Oh, and Raine's also the first non-binary character in a kid's cartoon with a major influence on the characters and the plot. That's pretty cool too.

The Collector: Here we have a character that turned out WAY better than I imagined. I didn't admit it in the past, but I was a LITTLE worried that the writers would make The Collector like Bill Cypher: A chaotic god-like character who takes pleasure in treating others like his playthings. And The Collector IS that...but there's something that makes them a different yet intriguing character: The Collector's a kid. Yes, he's a kid who turned the Boiling Isles into their playground and the residents into toys, but they’re still a kid.

Upon our introduction of The Collector, we're given this idea that he’s a sick and twisted little gremlin who's just as excited as Belos is about the genocide of the Boiling Isles (which might be an image aided by the fact that it's Belos' memory). But every time we saw them since, the more the writers leaned into the Collector's child-like behavior, showing that the reason why he might be all for Belos' genocide and treat people as literal playthings is that they don't understand what life and death means. He doesn't MEAN to be a problem. It's just that no one has ever taught them otherwise. And that's a more interesting way to go about this character instead of making The Collector a new primary antagonist. It might have worked fine, but when you make a character with god-like powers, it becomes difficult to believe anyone could defeat them. So, the idea to stop The Collector by TEACHING him what's right and wrong before it's too late is a clever way to go about things, especially when it's King that does most of the teaching, using his newfound maturity to teach The Collector what Eda and Luz taught HIM. The result is a new, engaging character that also shows the stellar development of another. Not too bad for someone added to the series at the last minute...Yeah, no, that's what The Collector is, though.

After finding out the series would get shortened, Dana Terrace and the writers thought, "Hey, let's just go NUTS this season!" So, they threw in The Collector as a way to add more spectacle to the final three specials of the show. Sure, the writers had SOME idea of what to do with The Collector beforehand. But after getting the bad news from the executives who decided the series no longer fit the brand, it was the final nail in the coffin to shove The Collector in there. And MAN, there is no better representation of the show's forced conclusion than The Collector, as they're this thing that ALL the characters react to, whether protagonist or antagonist, and are forced to work through their story arcs and character development around within the last few minutes of the show. It's a pretty fun way to look at The Collector, even if he's still a great character despite all they represent. Regardless, I'm still grateful the writers didn't just turn him into the new primary antagonist who killed the old one to show off their threat level...Especially since the old one is REALLY good.

Emperor Belos/Philip Whitebane: "YOU LIKE BELOS MORE THAN WILLOW, GUS, RAINE, AND EVERYONE ELSE?!"

Yes...As a CHARACTER. Not as a PERSON. Because he's NOT a PERSON. He's a FICTIONAL CHARACTER.

I'm serious. People should stop equating "good character" to "good person," especially in this fandom. You can't talk about how well-written Belos or Odalia are without someone coming around and saying, "THEY'RE AWFUL PEOPLE!" I know that. Most...SHOULD know that. But here's the thing: Belos is an antagonist. A character whose purpose is for the audience to love to hate him. If that's done well, he's a good character. And guess what: Belos does it REALLY well, to the point where he's one of my favorite antagonists in a Disney property. Probably one of my favorite antagonists of all time.

Upon his introduction, Belos scared the crap out of me. From his design to even the way he spoke sent chills up my spine. He didn't even SOUND all that threatening, with a deep and scary voice. He sounded like a dude, but it’s in the way he said things, as if Belos knew what he was saying was messed up. But he didn't care, almost like it was because he thrived on people fearing him. And that was just on his INTRODUCTION. From a few of his future appearances, the writers showed Belos acting MORE horrifying, having disturbing spells unlike anything we've seen before, being aware that SOMETHING is spying on him, and revealing that he has a curse that turns him into a somehow MORE terrifying monster. It was pretty effective in getting me to fear this creepy son of a non-witch...And then "Eclypse Lake" showed us his face, revealing that he not only SOUNDED like an ordinary dude but LOOKED like one too. Sure, he had that weird green mark that went down his face, but so much fear I had of Belos went away when I saw that he looked like someone's grandpa who forgot to wash his face. But as the show went on, the more it made sense to make Belos look like a regular man. Instead of portraying a fantastical evil, the writers went for a more realistic one...with supernatural powers, yes, but consider the villains of OUR world. They're people who look like you and me, using their faces to hide dark intentions and charm their way to a position in leadership. That fits Belos' actions to a T, and you see how perfectly it matches in real life when Luz voices her frustrations that no one can see how evil Belos really is, only for King to tell her that no one wants to realize that they've been following the wrong guy. Do you want to know why members of your family refuse to accept that a LOT of Republicans are evil? It's because they spent years, even generations, believing the opposite. So to tell them the truth, even if they NEED to hear it, they'll refuse any facts given to them. So having Belos be the exact representation of all of that, showing kids what to be wary of, is a great way to educate them to learn that sometimes the most dangerous people in society are those who control it in the first place. Even making him a grotesque monster doesn't really take away from the allusion but adds to it, letting Belos' true, inner self take physical form and showing kids what happens to these monsters when you're too late to stop them.

And that's not even getting into the motivations! I didn't feel TOO shocked when it was revealed that Belos was Philip Wittebane. Don't get me wrong, I was still a LITTLE shocked, but I predicted it and expected that Belos' big plan was to return to the Human Realm in some way, but that left some holes into why he spent so much time controlling the Boiling Isles to do it...And then it was revealed that Belos was a WITCH HUNTER. And I'll never forget the dread I felt when I realized, "Oh, they're doing THIS. Oh, no..." The level of fear that I once had for Belos skyrocketed once his real plan became clear and how INTENSELY close he was to reach his ultimate goal.

The scariest part of all is how believable it is. Given how real-world politicians are willing to wipe out an entire group of individuals just for existing, someone like Belos isn't too far of a stretch. Neither is how he came to be the monster that he is. Philip was only an orphaned child raised to believe that witches were Satan's spawn set to destroy everything. And one witch "stole" his brother, the only family Philip had left, and left him feeling like his rage was justified. Except...it's not. It was NEVER justified. Caleb left Philip on his own volition and, when Philip found him again, tried to convince the twit that Evelyn was fine. Philip could have easily taken his brother's word for it and changed. Philip would later have YEARS, possibly CENTURIES, to learn that he was wrong, but he never did. The conditioning was put too deep into his brain, and Belos was the result. I wouldn't say that makes him a tragic character, but it DOES explain so much about why he acts the way he does.

The best part about Belos is that he's consistent. Because of his conditioning, he never once wavers his opinions or questions if what he's doing is wrong. Belos considers himself the hero of his story and views Caleb and Luz as tragic losses. When met with the LITERAL GHOSTS of his sins, Belos yells at, or flat out ignores, them, proclaiming that he was doing the right thing and it's not HIS fault that their souls were too far gone. And with Luz, Belos tried to kill her on three separate occasions, actually succeeding the third time around. And when backed into a corner, realizing he's as good as dead, does Belos ask for surrender? Does he beg for forgiveness? NOPE! He initially tries to manipulate Luz, attempting to take advantage of her good nature into thinking he's good now. And, when THAT instantly fails, Belos yells at Luz, saying she's betraying her humanity and is nothing more than the very evil he spent his whole life fighting against. Luz doesn't buy a word of ANY of it, least of all when he says they're better than this petty revenge and killing out of a twisted form of justice. Even though that's exactly what he's been doing all his life.

Evil to the end, Belos is an antagonist that works because of how perfectly diabolical and realistically despicable the writers made him, making him interesting to dissect while having it feel so cathartic to watch him get stomped to death by the very people he hated. I could honestly go on and on about what makes Belos so engaging to watch and easy to hate...but this gosh dang review is long enough already, and I haven't even gotten to my top five favorite characters yet!

Speaking of which, let's talk about the ONE good thing Belos did with his life...After we talk about Amity.

Amity Blight: How's THAT for a smooth transition?

Anyways, Amity's great because with nearly every new appearance she's made, she becomes a better character, and I mean that in two ways. For one, she becomes more intriguing as we learn about her home life, interests, and motivations, all three being connected in some capacity. Everything that Amity did, she did because her parents (her Mom, mostly) told her to do it. Ending her friendship with Willow, forcing her to be friends with Boscha and her mean girl squad, be the best of her class no matter what, and join the coven that she slowly doesn't want to join anymore. These are all the things Amity was forced to do, and had no choice to do it.She had almost no free will, but that doesn't mean she couldn't rebel in the tiniest ways. She took time out of her day to read to kids and used the cover of it being extra credit to keep doing it. She has a secret room with a collection of Azura books to enjoy a fantasy series, idolizes the purest hero, and has some creative freedom if that fan art on her diary's cover is anything to go by. Even her bullying has SOME ways of cheating. Amity may have said that Willow had no talent, but it was an attempt to get Boscha and the others to stop while covering her tracks so they won't tell anyone she went soft on Willow. And in "I Was A Teenage Abomination," some of Amity's words almost sound encouraging. There's a mocking tone to a lot of it, but the subtlety of her going "keep it up" is still there. Sure, Amity would later have a rage later regarding Willow and Luz’s cheating, but even that is more or less justified. They broke the rules, and, knowing how Odalia reacts to failure, Amity is NOT willing to let go of her "Top Student" badge without a fight. Maybe I'm stretching, and maybe I'm looking deep into things that aren't there. But it's the same thing I do with Alador: When presented with new information about a character, it's a collaborative effort to look at what came before and figure out how it works. And I think there's enough to Amity's actions in the past that are justified by her motivations yet still have a bit of her good side shining through. Which is good because that brings me to the OTHER reason why Amity gets better with each episode.

Piece by piece, bit by bit, Amity becomes a better person after learning a new and valued lesson by the end of every episode. And unlike a blonde-haired character I hate from that frog show, Amity has a clear and definite desire to become a better person. The writers SMARTLY confirm early on that Amity doesn't want to be cruel. She specifically can't show weakness, so she builds walls to hide away her good side, believing that part of herself is weak. But through Luz, the best thing that ever happened to Amity, all those walls come crumbling down, and the Amity SHE wants to become would soon blossom. She's less reserved, more open about feelings, smiles instead of sneers, and acts nicer to Luz and others around her. There's still some anger, annoyance, and the occasional snark, but it was nowhere near as bad as how Amity USED to act. And through each wall that falls gives Amity courage to stand up to her parents and finally become her own person, to the point of dying her hair to reflect the kind of person she wants to be. By a quarter of the way through Season Two, Amity finally gains an identity that reflects what she always had hidden underneath. And it's satisfying...And then writers made her Luz's girlfriend.

Yeah, this is a complaint you'll often see floating around. The second Amity and Luz start dating, a lot of her individuality tends to trickle away, with most of Amity’s problems being related to or overshadowed by Luz's. Just look at "Reaching Out," which has Amity dealing with her issues of Alador's neglect and wanting to form SOME connection with him. But it's barely touched upon due to the real meat of the episode being Luz using the event as a distraction towards her own issues, which I remember more regarding that episode than anything Amity went through. And things get worse by Season Three, where almost every character has something to go through or a chance to highlight their grief, and Amity is...just kind of there, being looped in with supporting her girlfriend and dealing with an ex-friend instead of dealing with her own problems.

It definitely sucks that after all that fighting that Amity went through to gain independence and discover her true self, only to be sidelined once she gets it. But I will say that while Amity is forced into being categorized as Luz's girlfriend, that role still highlights Amity's development. She acts warm, kind, and, most of all, understanding towards Luz and her issues, the same way Luz acted towards Amity, proving she can give as much as she can take. It's not how I wanted things to turn out, but hey. At least Amity got a complete character arc before being pushed to the side. That's WAY more than what I can say about Gus and Willow, the characters introduced to us as Luz's best friends. Guess a girlfriend takes more of a priority.

But that's enough about the fandom's favorite white girl. Let's NOW talk about the fandom's favorite white boy AND the writer's favorite punching bag.

Hunter: In all seriousness, Hunter feels like a character where the writers went, "Hey, remember Amity? Let's just...f**king do THAT again. But BETTER."

And they did! Hunter pretty much has the same journey that Amity did as a character, but with all the strengths and NONE of the weaknesses. Upon his introduction, you think he's a charismatic yet evil little brat who doesn't value the lives of others with how quickly he threatened to kill Luz, Eda, and King. But, just like with Amity, the more we learn about Hunter, the more we realize why he WOULD act the way he did and even why he SHOULD.

Hunter is the supposed "nephew" of Emperor Belos, a man who hates failure to the point where he's ready to kill after you let him down ONCE, and you don't want to push his limits too many times. Hunter knows AND fears this fact, so he learns to hold his tongue when possible so as not to gain another injury during one of Belos' temper tantrums. So, Hunter does what he's told, acts carelessly toward others beneath him, and constantly tries to prove himself as a valued soldier instead of acting as a teenager. The poor boy has his own set of walls built up, and instead of letting the cracks grow, he often tries to patch them as quickly as possible because he fears Belos WAY more than Amity fears her parents. And rightfully so, because Belos would absolutely kill Hunter if he betrayed him. He's done it before.

Hunter being a Grimwalker shouldn't surprise me, as the pieces were there and...not really subtly hidden. Yet that doesn't change how horrifying it makes Hunter's situation. It's one thing to fear being replaced by a better soldier in his ranks or something. The fact that Belos can and will attempt to make a better, more efficient clone of Hunter and kill him if needed...makes Hunter digging his own grave in "Eclypse Lake" more fitting than we realized. It makes him not only replaceable but disposable, with that newly acquired knowledge making Hunter shatter, having a panic attack as it hits him all at once that his fears are more than justified. The worst part is that Hunter spent YEARS with that monster, never standing up because he couldn't do it as easily as Amity did to her parents. She can always run away, hide out in someone else's home to escape a mother who probably doesn't even want her. There's NOWHERE Hunter could go that could keep him away from Belos for long, what with him being the Emperor and Hunter having little to no friends. Thankfully, the ones he had did a lot of work.

Luz, Amity, Willow, Gus, and ESPECIALLY Flapjack all helped to give Hunter a better life. Luz offered perspective, showing Hunter that there's more to life than being told how to live it and that the authority figure he listens to isn't perfect. Amity represents evidence, showing Hunter that if you let good people in your life, they will help you with what tortures you. Willow gave companionship through herself AND a group of people that made Hunter genuinely smile for what must have been the first time in his life. Gus then offered comfort, showing Hunter how to calm his anxieties and fears he'll continue to have. And the one to provide all of these things is Flapjack, who gives Hunter perspective, evidence, companionship, and comfort through his own actions and dragging Hunter to people who could offer more. This gave Hunter a support group of individuals that slowly but surely gave him the desire to be the person he wanted to be and gain an identity. Sure, Hunter would build his walls back up each time they tore them down. But there were always cracks that made it easier to convince him what was the right thing to do for others AND himself. And it all gave him the courage to finally stand up to Belos, who saw Hunter as nothing more than a meat puppet, metaphorically and literally.

Hunter's journey does share a lot of similarities with Amity's. I will admit to that. But where she's later demoted as a character defined by a relationship, Hunter is a character that grew because of the support system he gained and was allowed to keep a sense of identity after his friends brought out his good side. They're the ones who guided him down his path, but what Hunter chose to do after was all his own. Plus, it feels SO GOOD to see that after Hunter's grief and knowing how many others before him died tragically to Belos, he gets his happily ever after. Hunter has a home life that's healthy, friends to support him, a girlfriend to LOVE him, and a chance to genuinely smile every day. He LIVED. He SURVIVED. And that must feel inspiring to those who feel there's no escape from the tragedy of their own lives. I love Amity's journey, but Hunter's definitely better and more impactful in ways you won't believe.

And he'd be the best character in the show...if it weren't the fact that I love three more. At this point, you can probably tell who they are, so let's get started with the fandom's favorite MILF.

Eda Clawthorne: I swear that Eda being hot isn't the reason she's in my top three...Maybe.

But for real, Eda is the only character on this list where if the show was about HER...I would watch it. There is SO MUCH about Eda that makes her a blast to see and a lot to dissect that makes her engaging as she is entertaining.

When regarding her personality/character traits, Eda is an instant gem. She's a con artist, frequently driven by greed, has NO problems breaking the laws, and is more than willing to beat up anyone who messes with the kids she's grown attached to. Now many, myself included, have pointed out that Eda's character shares similarities to Grunkle Stan from Gravity Falls. And...yeah, there's definitely a lot to compare, but there's much more to contrast to help make Eda stand out more as a character. For instance, while Stan one hundred percent loves Dipper and Mabel, Eda still feels warmer towards Luz and King. She may show some annoyance at Luz's enthusiasm or playfully mock King believing he's the most dangerous creature alive, but when it matters most, Eda's there for her kids. To protect, counsel, and sometimes cry over them when situations seem dire. Though she'd probably hate to admit it, Eda has a good heart and one that isn't buried after years of emotional baggage (don't worry, we'll get into that). And she doesn't need much bonding experience to help bring that goodness inside her. When Eda saw a little creature alone in a dangerous environment, Eda took it in and raised it as her own. When seeing a young girl with the same amount of spirit as Eda did when she was younger, Eda decided to accept that young girl's offer and teach her the best she knew. Eda was a caring mother figure to King and Luz when they needed her. As for being a teacher...she could have been better, what with barely teaching Luz anything. Still, she tried, and that's primarily in part because of her own love of magic.

Eda may be a criminal striving to get rich, but those two things aren't mutually inclusive like it is for Grunkle Stan. Eda's a criminal because she disagrees with this close-minded rule that witches should be in a coven, doing one kind of magic for the rest of their lives, except for a small group of elite soldiers picked out by the Emperor himself. Anyone with half a brain can see the flaws of this, and Eda was one of them, breaking the law for years because Eda couldn't help but see how it never made sense. So, she never joined a coven, something considered a major offense against Belos' rule, with Eda being considered a wild witch by her community. And the woman RELISHED that idea. Due to not joining a coven, Eda was allowed to do any type of magic she wanted without being in a stuffy uniform and listening to the vague lies of an evil emperor. It left her with a bit of an ego boost, claiming that she's the most powerful witch on the Isles, but at least Eda gets to do what she loves. Even as a kid, Eda had a PASSION for magic, wanting to learn as much as she could and knowing more than Lilith, a character proven more studious than Eda. It's why you can buy Eda being the better witch than Lilith, because while Lilith can understand the technique, Eda has a better grasp of how good it feels to do magic. After all, she loves doing it in a variety of ways. Even her being a new headmaster of a magic college makes a lot of sense. She may not have been the best teacher for Luz, but they were both dealing with a form of magic that neither really knew much about. The only time their teaching clicked was that moment when Luz had natural magic, and Eda could finally offer advice she KNEW would work. Natural magic is what she understands and has a greater passion for, and teaching "wild magic" to the new generation, giving them something she always wanted and a chance to learn further, makes all the more sense when you take the time to think about it. It's a side of Eda that I don't think fans talk about much. A shame, really. It's an interesting part of her that's worth sharing and deserves to have more attention drawn to it. The show certainly didn't...Though, to be fair, there was one last aspect of Eda's character that's, admittedly, more engaging.

Eda's past, from her family to her ex and to her curse, is a subject that follows Eda throughout her life whether she likes it or not. One way or another, something keeps crashing back into her life, and the results lead Eda into an emotional rollercoaster that ends in tears or violence. Some healing comes from it, but the tears and violence are still prominent. Her fights with Lilith, turning into a rage monster due to her mother's meddling, losing Raine, and her father wanting to talk are all emotional situations with Eda and the tattered relationships she had over the years. The hurtful part is how it all leads back to her curse, one way or another. I'll talk more about Eda's journey with her curse and the allusion it represents in future parts, but I'll still say that so much of Eda's pain, her drama, became prominent because of something Lilith did and how Eda reacted to it. She always ran away or denied there was a problem in the first place, making a horrible situation even worse as it left her burning bridges she'll want to rebuild later. And the worst part is that this is something Eda struggles with the most.

Despite all her pain and trauma, Eda tries to cover it up with jokes and a cocky smile or anger and determination. When the curse started overtaking her in “Agony of a Witch,” she looked at Luz with a smile to make things light, but the fear in her eyes betrayed everything. When losing Raine to Darius and Eberwolf, she choked back her tears and forced herself to focus on anything else. Because to her, it's better to deny how hard you're hurting than face it. She'll voice her worries from time to time but often hides just how strong those emotions are for her. And she definitely doesn't want to relive emotional memories due to how hard it was keeping things together the first time. The only time when Eda tends to embrace her inner turmoil is when things are so intense that she can't help but cry and voice how scared/worried she is. It weirdly makes sense that the only thing that could make Eda finally open up is facing the end of the world where it's not just HER who's in danger but the people she loves too. Because above all else, while she may hate to show it, Eda is a softie to the ones she cares about, especially Luz and King. The three of them have gone on so many adventures together and faced so much danger that you can understand why it's almost always them that brings Eda to tears. Luz's attempt at a goodbye in "Young Blood, Old Souls," King's adoption in "Eda's Requiem," knowing how deep in trouble Luz is in "Edge of the World," and finally revealing that there's no plan in "O' Titan, Where Art Thou." Those kids mean the world to her, as she would be nothing without King and Luz giving her purpose, love, and a healing heart...Which makes it weirder how little Eda got to do in Season Three.

Yeah, a lot of characters got the short end of the stick in Season Three, even members of the main cast like Amity and Gus. While most got some narrative or development, others got forced into the supporting role to help those more important characters. But for Eda, it feels weird because she's part of the main trio. Nearly every poster and promotional material featured Luz, King, and Eda. Nearly every episode featured Luz, King, AND Eda. And every version of the show pitched, even if they didn't look the same, it was always Luz, King, AND EDA. So to have a season where she takes a narrative backseat while Luz and King have more relevance to the story feels off. Although, to be fair, it's not like there was much to be done with Eda. Pretty much every narrative she had got wrapped up with Season Two. She's accepted the curse as a part of her, made peace with her family, and reunited with Raine (even if they didn't seal that deal with a kiss). It's almost as if the writers knew they wouldn't have a chance to explore Eda further with a shortened season, so they completed every arc they could with her in the remaining time they had left. So I can see why they didn't do much with her because what else could they have done? But it doesn't stop how weird it is that Eda could have easily been written out of the season if not for the fact that she's part of the main trio, and it'd be even WEIRDER to have a final season without her. Because, truth be told, the series wouldn't be the same without Eda.

Eda offers humor, heart, and tragedy to The Owl House. Her past, trauma, relationships, and love make for someone that deserves main trio status. Probably even main character status too. I would love to see more of her with how much intrigue Eda has, even if a lot of it is done already. Would I want to watch a spin-off of her as a teen? Probably not. But I wouldn't mind seeing more adventures this wild witch would get into.

Also, I'll say this much about her: There's a consensus in the fandom that Eda is the best mom in the show. And while she certainly is a great mother like no other...there's someone we ALL know, deep down, deserves the title for Best Cartoon Mom.

Camila Noceda: OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH, I have been waiting for this one...

Now, I'll be the first to admit that I am incredibly biased towards Camila. Upon her introduction, I always thought she was neat as a mother who truly cares about Luz, her interests, and her wonderfully creative mind. She said so within the premier. And even when sending Luz away, all Camila tried to do was look to the bright side and convince Luz that her summer won't be as miserable as she might predict it to be. Camila could tell that going to Reality Check Camp was the last thing Luz wanted to do, so Camila tried her best to make it seem like a fun time despite how down it made Luz feel. It shows that while she may not be a perfect mom for sending her daughter away, Camila is still caring enough towards Luz, and she wants her to be happy despite encouraging a decision Luz wouldn't like. I considered that a fascinating angle towards a mother like Camila, providing a reason for Luz wanting to leave but never out of malice. I liked it...But a quantifiable portion of the fandom did NOT, with too many people claiming Camila was an awful mother who hated her daughter. Camila had maybe a minute, maybe TWO minutes, of screentime, and that's somehow the interpretation people made. I wouldn't say I'm the best at analyzing and interpreting characters, which is a crazy thing to bring up THIS FAR into my longest review yet. Still, even I have to say that people's interpretation of Camila was a MAJOR reach. Like...how do you look at a woman who explicitly states she loves her daughter, gives her multiple kisses goodbye, and you immediately go, "Oh, she HATES Luz." How do you do that? And how do you claim she's a worse mom than Odalia? Yeah, that was a thing! People genuinely would defend Odalia for being a good mom with their last breath and then turn around to s**t on Camila. Even after finally meeting Odalia and seeing how bad SHE was, people still somehow considered Camila worse. I never understood how it got out of hand, and I'm convinced the writers somehow picked up on all this overreacting and decided to make Camila better with every single appearance she made soon after.

From that premier, I already gathered this idea that Camila was a flawed but caring mother trying her best despite mistakes. By "Yesterday's Lie," I was convinced she was the best mom Luz could ask for, even if powerful emotions caused Camila to make mistakes. When Vee acts like the "perfect daughter," you can see, on Camila's face, how Camila noticed something was off and how much she didn't like it. To her, "Luz" was throwing away everything that made her Luz, and Camila didn't WANT that, made even more evident by bringing all of Luz's stuff back in after Vee tried throwing them away. Then when the real Luz "calls" Camila, acting like her true self again, Camila seems ecstatic and is willing to play along with what she assumes is a weird game because she's so happy to see Luz be herself again. Through these small moments, you understand more how much Camila cares for her daughter, despite sending Luz to a camp to teach her to fit in better. It was an action done out of love, not malice. Camila couldn't be FARTHER from a bad person, as proven by how she reacts toward Vee. There may have been initial fear of finding out what Vee really was, but through some coaxing from Luz, all Camila can see is a poor girl locked in a cage and needing help. It's there that you understand where Luz got her kindness from. Because even though everything is going beyond Camila's comfort zone, the woman's still willing to kick a flat-Earther's ass to protect Vee. She's kind and warm to the people she cares about and violent to the ones that hurt them. Like mother, like daughter. But Camila isn't all too perfect. As the events finally come crashing down on her at once, she feels ALL the emotions as she has this breakdown. There's fear that Luz is stuck in a demon realm, anger knowing she WILLINGLY went there, and despair at the idea that Camila might never see Luz again. All of this leads to Camila BEGGING Luz to promise to come back, with Luz interpreting her words as "stay here and NEVER return to that awful place." This caused Luz to be fearful for the future, and more fans hyper-focussing on the negatives instead of the positives. They saw a mother telling her daughter to abandon everything that made her happy when anyone with a single functioning brain cell can tell you that it's just Camila being worried about Luz and not fully grasping the whole story. She knows Luz had SOME fun in the Boiling Isles, but Camila's strong emotions at the moment caused her to fail to understand why Luz loves it. Or, at least, misconstrue the facts, thinking it was just Luz living out a fantasy, the same thing Camila sent Luz to summer camp for. It might seem weird that Camila also focuses on the negatives instead of the positives, but in fairness to Camila, the woman went through the worst thing any mother can go through: Losing contact with her child for who knows how long. I can't blame her for her judgment being clouded by everything she's going through. Still, fans clung to the negatives, too...So it's good Season Three shut them all up for good.

Season Three might as well be the season of Camila, because of all the things Season Three did right, diving deep into Camila's character is one of them. Where her first two appearances showed how much of a caring mother she can be, Season Three took it up to TEN notches. She took so many children into her home when they had nowhere else to go, stayed up late to figure out how to get them everything they could need for a happy life, acted nurturing when they had a tough time, chose violence for someone even saying ANYTHING mean about her baby, and dove head first into a dirty graveyard pond to save a child. Camila earned the title "Mother of the Year.” And she wasn't even trying. But while the season shows how kind, nurturing, and even badass Camila can be, it also had her face some mistakes. Camila wasn't bad for sending Luz away or asking her to stay home. She's a single mother who lost her husband, who probably connected to their daughter in better ways and left Camila to do everything alone. She wanted to be the best possible mom but second-guessed every decision and was unsure if she was doing the right thing. So I like that most of this season is about her trying to LEARN from these unintended mistakes, asking for advice from Luz's friends, and finally sharing with Luz the mistakes Camila made and how she now comes to regret them. What's even better is that Camila tries her best to understand Luz's world. A lot of it scares Camila and makes her uncomfortable, even years after being aware of the Isles in the epilogue, but she still puts in the effort to TRY. It's because Camila loves Luz and wants to be a part of every aspect of her life. Camila may struggle, but she still wants to try. And THAT'S what makes her the best mom.

Camila is warm, loving, and just so much fun to see. She isn't perfect, but instead of denying those imperfections, Camila chooses to confront them and TRIES to better herself. It's evidence that not every parent gets the assignment as they receive it, but they're not instantly failures because of it. Yes, there are horrible parents who refuse to change, but I like that the show teaches kids that there are those who care enough to do better. That's what Camila is, and I love the hell out of her for it.

But do you want to know her GREATEST achievement? She gave birth to the best character in the show…

Luz Noceda: Luz Noceda. Luz fickin' Noceda. A character so good that I made an entire post discussing how she's a fan-frickin'-tastic character. And even then, it felt like I barely scratched the surface of what makes her so good. I mean, how can you accurately explain everything that you love about your favorite protagonist ever? Better yet, how can you summarize it for a review that's gone long enough already? Well, I'm at least going to try...Emphasis on try.

Luz is a character that won me over instantly. The happy, goofy character is always fun for me as I think they're perfect for humor and endearing entertainment. That's Luz to a T, as her antics and attitude towards so many things cause me to smile to no fail. How can I not when she has a kind smile as a snake bites off her doll's head or when she has an argument with her hands? Luz is almost always a delight, but what's interesting about her is that while she's primarily happy and fun-loving, that doesn't make her naive or stupid. Luz has a good sense of maturity, even before her angst arc (Yeah, we'll get to that). In "Covention," I was impressed by her response to Eda's disdain about joining a coven. Luz made it clear that she understands Eda's outlook but wants to go and make her OWN decision. In fact, Luz is mature enough not to follow ALL of Eda's orders. There are times when Luz DEFINITELY should, but I like how the writers gives her enough emotional intelligence NOT to listen to ALL of Eda's wild and free ideas of anarchy. She has enough emotional intelligence to know what's right and wrong at times but is still young enough to learn more when put in danger at a time she really SHOULD have listened to Eda. Luz IS a teen, after all. She wouldn't have all the answers.

But now that we're talking about her intelligence, that's probably an aspect of Luz that's looked over the most. Because Luz is smart, and that shouldn't be an argument. It should be a fact. The girl endlessly worked on glyphs until getting them right, often having scraps of paper lying around her after past experiments. And not only is she studious, but Luz is also crafty at any moment. Some of my favorite scenes with Luz are ones where she comes up with a great plan on the spot, like how she thought up a way to brand Belos as he was killing her. It makes sense the girl wanted to try out for theater because her improvisation is on POINT. And she has the power to back it up. I said in that character analysis that Luz is powerful but not TOO powerful. My good buddy @l-egionare pointed out how I misjudged how powerful Luz CAN be, given how a single plant glyph made that big tree in "Enchanting Grom Fright" and how she wiped the floor with Emperor's Coven members and Conformitorium guards. She certainly has the power. I highlighted her intelligence more because I love characters who win fights by outthinking their opponents rather than overpowering them. The truth is, Luz, CAN do some epic stuff. She's just not AS powerful as Eda and Lilith were at their best, due to Luz having limitations to her glyphs and how she sometimes casts them. Luz can be invisible but only for as long as she holds her breath, and the strength behind her glyph depends on how much she uses and how big they are. She can do great stuff, even with very little, but nothing TOO grand until the Titan gave Luz that power boost in the finale (which I didn’t initially want, but DAMN amI not complaining). Besides, as cool as Luz CAN be, and how underappreciated that part of her is, it’s not her best feature.

I think we can all agree that the best thing about Luz Noceda is her kindness. She’s not naive enough to believe that there’s goodness deep down inside everyone. Her kindness has limits and it says something that Luz’s first instinct upon finally meeting Belos for the first time is to go for the head. While she will help others that need it, Luz will still take the violent route if you mess with those she loves. Speaking of, do you remember your favorite characters? You know all that development and growth they all went through? Do you know who’s responsible for ALL of that? Luz, that’s who. She helped reconnect Eda with her family, led King to gaining a sense of identity, helped Willow blossom into becoming more confident, indirectly helped Gus make new friends, and helped Lilith, Hunter, and ESPECIALLY Amity become their truer, better selves. They wouldn’t be who they are now without Luz, as every person she made a connection with had their lives changed for the better. And the crazy thing is that’s…not entirely mutual. Another great point my buddy @l-egionare made is that Luz’s life wasn’t doomed for the worst, and his argument has legs. Luz could have made friends like Vee did at summer camp or befriended those two kids in “Thanks to Them” who seemed to love Luz’s brand of weirdness. After high school, Luz could have also gone on to be a writer, sharing her love of fantasy to the world. Heck, she might even  fall in love with someone else one day, like with a horror nerd that loves gore and doughnuts…Just spitballing ideas here. The point is that while Luz’s friends on the Boiling Isles ABSOLUTELY need her for a happier life, she doesn’t necessarily need THEM. It’s an interesting interpretation to think about that makes Luz even BETTER. She’s a protagonist that leads others to their change and growth, which is a primary directive for most protagonists. Not only should THEY grow and change throughout the story, but they should lead the rest of the cast to do the same. It gives importance to the main character, showing just how much they’re needed for the world and the people in it…Which is why it pains Luz to find out she’s indirectly responsible for some strife too.

Like most plucky protagonists, Luz goes through an angst phase, mirroring how the show started off as light-hearted only to become darker as time went by. Luz’s angst, in particular, started in “Young Blood, Old Souls,” where a bit of Luz’s wackiness remained, but she still slowly got more serious as Season Two continued. By the time we reached “Hollow Mind,” an episode that forces Luz to realize she accidentally helped BELOS, most of Luz’s silliness and optimism became fizzled out, with damn near all of it being gone by Season Three. This is due to her seeing what Belos almost accomplished and the damage that The Collector was already capable of. Luz was accidentally and unintentionally the cause of these issues, and it broke her for reasons that ARE understandable…but they’re not justifiable. You DO get why Luz blames herself for everything that happened. She prides herself on her kindness and helping others, with the idea of being a burden crushing Luz in “Separate Tides.” So, to find out that she’s accidentally responsible for Belos, it hurts her because it makes her believe she’s a burden to EVERYONE, to the point where she believes that the Boiling Isles would be better off without her. Even though we LITERALLY just established how that’s false. There are some haters and idiots out there who do like to point out how none of Luz’s friends wouldn’t have had any strife if she never came to the Isles. Except…No. They absolutely would have. I mean, do you SERIOUSLY think Belos wouldn’t have tricked anyone else? The man pulled off a genocidal scam for DECADES. He could have easily tricked somebody else to do his dirty work for a few minutes.

“But he was driven out of too many towns! No one would trust him!”

Which is why he made a false identity to fix that problem. For all we know, he could have done it sooner.

“But Luz gave him the light glyph!”

A glyph that did nothing but offer Belos a shortcut to finish a job he was already 99% done with. Besides, he could have learned it on his own or maybe even through The Collector, who already knows that glyphs are the language of the Titans. Belos’ plan would have gone forward no matter WHAT reason you bring up. And what’s weirdly interesting is Luz’s refusal to see it. Yes, Belos could have tricked ANYBODY, but it’s still LUZ that he tricked. That guilt eats away at her and I’m kind of glad it’s not entirely resolved by the series finale. Don’t get me wrong, I want my favorite character to live the happiest life imaginable, but there’s a sense of realism that, even though she killed Belos, there’s still a bit of guilt. It’s hinted that it sticks with her years later, as she missed birthdays just so she could help rebuild the Isles. Although, that doesn’t stop Luz from living her life. She still hangs out with friends, joins her school’s softball/baseball team, and goes out with her family. Luz’s guilt is a lot like that scar above her eye. It’ll be small and hardly noticeable on some days, but it’ll still be there, as a reminder that life isn’t a fantasy.

It’s pretty ironic that Luz escaped to a fantasy world to avoid Reality Check Camp, only to get a reality check anyway. Everytime Luz tries to apply her favorite book series or pop culture to a problem she and her friends face, it always goes wrong. Within the second episode of the series, Luz learns quickly that she’s not some chosen one predestined for greatness…I mean, she kind of is, but not in a way most fantasy stories tend to play it. Luz quickly learns that her coming to the Boiling Isles was an accident, and that the environment she’s forced to adjust to isn’t as pretty as it is in her books. Things are difficult and solutions are complicated with there being no easy answers. Luz learns this throughout her adventures and grows to understand that being a witch like Azura isn’t simple. Luz even goes through a sort of identity crisis, now realizing that her dream to be a witch was always a little too vague and that she has no idea what she wants in life after the adventure’s over. It’s a compelling aspect to her character to have Luz realize that she’s not your average protagonist. So many of us want to be the main character of the world’s story, when we should realize that job would be extraordinarily difficult. Luz learned that the hard way after experiencing pain, suffering, and literal death that will haunt her nightmares for life. I wouldn’t call Luz a cautionary tale of what happens when you continue to live in a fantasy. That’s more like Marcy from Amphbia. Instead, I’d say Luz is more of a representation of a character understanding the cruelness of reality, but through a fantasy setting. We all learn best through the things that interest us, and Luz is no different. And that’s one of the MANY reasons to love her.

I could go on and on about how much I adore Luz alone. And probably would if this thing wasn’t THIRTY-THREE PAGES LONG! And you can’t blame me. She’s my favorite protagonist in anything, and is definitely up there as one of my favorite fictional characters. There might be problems with her character, but I’m more than willing to overlook them because of how much I enjoy Luz and the journey she went on. She is flawless in my eyes, and I will never look at her in a negative light no matter who tries to make me.

And that’s it. That’s EVERY IMPORTANT CHARACTER in The Owl House…My goodness.

As you can probably tell, there’s a LOT of characters here. One could argue too many, as it becomes evident that a few of them could be better if the show had more time to let some of them grow. Unfortunately, we don’t live in a world where The Owl House had three full seasons and all the time in the world to let all its characters blossom into their beautiful selves. But with that said, there aren’t any characters in the show that I’m willing to call bad.

Okay, Tibbles is still inadequate, but he’s still not the worst. None of them are. If any character is lower than the other, it’s due to them being unable to compare to the rest of the show’s standard. Because The Owl House managed to have an expansive cast of lovable, endearing, and complex characters, with a lot of them worth a deep-dive analysis of their own. I can’t get enough of them and they will stick with me for a while.

But as great as these characters are…how well do they work TOGETHER?

Tune into part two, and I might just tell you.

Next part

[footballfanficwriter]

Questions

Summary: In which Jude is in an interview and asked about the reader

Time period: A few years after the world cup

"Welcome back to another episode of one on one, today we are joined by one of the world's greatest midfielders Jude Bellingham, Jude how are you" the interviewer asks

"I'm great man, how are you"

"Good thanks, now you have been to the world cup a few years ago and played against Kylian Mbappe can you please tell us what that was like"

"Uhm well I'll tell you one thing the man's got speed,a really amazing player, great talent but playing against him was something I kinda found hard to fathom and get it into my head, I mean we tried our best to hold on as long as possible and all that matters is that we tried our best"

"Ok I wanna ask a bit about your personal life if that's fine" the interviewer says

"No sure go ahead"

"Your Wife Y/N can you tell us a bit about her"

"Well y/n is my wife, she's the mother of my three lovely kids ,she is my best friend, the love of my life and I don't think I would still be here if it wasn't for her and my mom"

"That's sweet, can you tell us how you met your wife"

" uhm well we met at a red carpet event where she was her brother's plus one and we were placed next to one another so we just started having conversations and at the end of the night we exchanged numbers and after first becoming best friends, about a year later I confessed my feelings for her and she told me she felt the same and we dated for a few years then tied the knote"

"What's something that just makes you fall in love with her again"

"She has this weird laugh that freaks some people out but cause it sounds weird so when I hear her laugh it just reminds or takes me back to the times I would make her laugh before we were dating and I'd get the same reaction"

"What's one thing that just sometimes annoys you about her"

"Nothing she's perfect and I love her so much"

" I've never heard someone answer a question like that, I usually get 'the way she controls the household or how she wants everything presise'

"Well my wife's not like other wife's I mean yes she has her tendency of being a bit controlling, but once she realizes she doing it she immediately stops and asks us on our opinions of what we want to do"

"Who does the cooking and looking after the kids in the house"

" well it's the both of us ,sometimes we'll rotate like I'll do the cooking while she looks after the kids and vice versa, because I can't expect her to do all that by herself, it'll strain her physically and emotionally and I can't let that happen"

"Would you say that if your wife wasn't in your life that you'd have still made it"

"No, absolutely not, my wife has seen me at my lowest and my highest, she's always been there to help and pick me up when I was at my lowest and support me at my highest and same goes for her I saw her at her lowest and her highest and I'm really proud of the things she's achieved .

"And how's fatherhood treating you"

" Fatherhood has it moments when it tough and times when it's enjoyable, my kids they are growing up so fast you know, it feels like just yesterday I was holding them for the first time"

"Can you please share a moment that you shared with your children"

"There was this one time when I had gotten home late from practice and Leilani my 5year old daughter was still up playing with her toys, when I asked her why she was up she told me she was waiting for me to come back home cause she had something important to tell me or rather ask me"

"What did she wanna say"

"She said to me, Daddy I love you so much and I always will, because you will always have a special place in my heart, but I have a boyfriend and he's gonna be my husband cause we're getting married, I looked at her in shock because I wasn't expecting that, then I told her she had to break up with him and she started crying, so I told her she can have her boyfriend and she stopped crying, right before asking me to read her a story book and tuck her in, when I refused she started crying until I agreed"

"Well thank you so much Jude for joining us today I really enjoyed it"

"No problem mate and thank you too"