#if this is how we get there boy howdy am i happy

[the-kipsabian]

[jadevine]

Deadpool and Wolverine musings, Part 1 - On Deadpool knowing he’s Deadpool, the Worst Wolverine, and a Hero That Never Was: How the theme of failure in "Deadpool And Wolverine" hits too close to home for another would-be actor.

--- So now that I've processed Deadpool and Wolverine, it really hurts to see the theme of failure and being “the one who’s WATCHING people be awesome” woven through the story. You probably know someone like me, dear readers. I have big dreams, but no big friends or big bank account to pull them off.

The Deadpool franchise’s nature as a self-aware side of the Marvel Universe folds painfully into my own experiences as an artist.

As usual for Deadpool, the start of the movie is a wild ride: We open on him desperately digging up Wolverine’s grave from the end of “Logan,” because Deadpool needs Wolverine’s help--and he’s in serious denial that Wolverine died. Turns out that yes, he did. And Deadpool ends up fighting some furious Time Variance Authority soldiers… with Logan’s decaying skeleton. To the hilariously unfitting song of “Bye Bye Bye” by NSYNC.

Millennials, we can feel old now. I remember when NSYNC was rolling out their CDs in the early 2000s, and when I decided I was too cool for NSYNC anymore, I threw that shit away. Apple is now laughing at me for buying this one song again, twenty years later.

We then get plunged into an explanation of why Deadpool is desperate for Logan’s help, and boy howdy, does he need HELP.

--

Wade and Vanessa started having relationship issues between Deadpool 2 and this movie, so he tried to sign up for the Avengers to give his life purpose. In his interview with Happy Hogan (HELLO, SIR, IT’S GREAT TO SEE YOU AGAIN!!! WADE, SHUT UP ABOUT HAPPY BEING A CHAUFFEUR!!!), Wade says he wants to be an Avenger because “he needs it.” Why? Deadpool sure loves the battles that the Avengers are known for, but I don’t think he wants to be an Avenger JUST for violence or glory. There’s one MORE thing that the Avengers are known for: Being friends. And with it, being LOVED.

The running theme in Deadpool’s movies is his nagging insecurity and loneliness. In the comics and movies alike, he is constantly trying to join the X-Men or the Avengers, but his main problem is… Deadpool himself! You are your own worst enemy, as the saying goes.

He’s ruthlessly good at killing, loves his gallows humor, and he’s reckless as hell. The usual expression that someone’s weird/crazy is “having a wire (or a few wires) loose,” but Deadpool’s like an electric rat-king of jumbled wires. (A cash register at my work has one of those bad boys. I am constantly worried if it’s okay.) Later in the movie, Wolverine thinks Deadpool has ADHD because of how insufferably chatty he is, and while Deadpool’s constantly called “crazy” because other characters just don’t like him, fan speculations and writer depictions abound on what KIND of mental disorder he might have.

As TV Tropes would put it, Deadpool is “The Friend Nobody Likes.” Other heroes tolerate him because he’s skilled, but not many LIKE HIM. And he is all too aware of it, especially in the films, so by the time of Deadpool and Wolverine, he WANTS to be a hero.

As I mentioned before, he says to Happy that he NEEDS to be an Avenger.

But Happy tells him, “The Avengers don’t do the job because they need it, they do the job because people need THEM. Understand the difference?”

Many Avengers fans understand the core of the Avengers, and of the superhero genre as a whole.

I did not miss the shots in Happy’s office of notable objects in the main Marvel Cinematic Universe--and maybe Wade was looking at them, too. We call those “Easter eggs” because people will scour the film for them.

-Tony’s very first heart reactor, with the engraving of “Proof that Tony Stark has a heart.”

-One of Captain America’s old shields.

-Old pieces of Iron Man’s armor.

-A photo of Tony himself and Peter Parker.

Then comes the hurt-y part: “Please, Mr. Hogan, I don’t want to spend the rest of my life like an annoying one-trick pony.” Ouch, Wade. I am all too familiar with the sense of failure, and feeling like I annoy everyone by existing.

So Happy says to Wade, “The problem might be that you’re reaching a little too high. Aim for the middle and you’ll never miss. I think you got a good heart, I believe what you’re saying, but not everyone’s the world-saving type. Shoot for the middle and you’ll never miss.”

And after he’s rejected, Wade officially breaks up with Vanessa. WHY, motherfuckers?! THEY ARE MY POWER COUPLE!

So with no Vanessa and no Avengers, Wade becomes increasingly insecure/depressed, and he leaves the Deadpool work behind and takes a car-sales job with his former X-Force teammate Peter to pay the bills. If that is not an allegory for the constant misery of being an artist who doesn’t know anyone important, and doesn’t have the money to make knowing important people EASIER, I don’t know what is.

I spent years trying to get people to read my novel drafts on Wattpad so I can get them cleaned up and published for real, and then I could be a REAL FUCKING WRITER. And that wore me out, because I’m not a marketer and I’m already introverted. I spent years not being able to afford updated headshots to audition for shows, so I could finally be a REAL FUCKING ACTOR and do something that wasn’t a college production… but after I finally got new headshots, guess what happened? I’M STUCK AT MY DAY-JOB TO GET MONEY.

While I’m trying to be a real fucking actor and a real fucking novel writer, I’ve combined them into an unholy sandwich, by writing a superhero story that deconstructs the idea of “who gets to be called a hero, and who’s just a gangster/vigilante?” It involves the Tagalog deities being stuck in California as undocumented immigrants.

I feel like I asked every Filipino theater I know of about workshopping this script or giving it a reading or two when the draft is done. Like, I’m Filipino-American and I’m writing about Filipino mythology and Asian-American superheroes--I don’t expect people to spring a whole production onto the stage when I say go, but surely people would want to check my script out or keep tabs on me? Something to get the ball rolling?

But that involves having GOOD luck, and I don’t seem to have any. The theaters who bothered to answer me say it sounds cool, but they don’t have the resources, or how this script is expensive to pull off, so I’ll need to find someone willing to take a risk and fund my production.

I wanted to fucking laugh at those folks, because that means THEY’RE not willing to risk things for me. I want to laugh because if I don’t, I’m gonna murder something.

As Deadpool said in his very first movie: "Fake laugh, hiding real pain."

PEOPLE SAY THEY CAN’T AFFORD ME? WHEN I SPENT YEARS HUMILIATING MYSELF, ASKING IF SELFIES WERE OKAY TO USE FOR AUDITIONS, BECAUSE I COULDN’T AFFORD TO UPDATE MY THEATER HEADSHOTS?

This one time, I could have gone to Canada for a writing conference. It was about how Filipinos and the Filipino diaspora use their culture and spirituality as inspiration for their work. I sent them an email about my poetry and writing, and I didn’t really think they’d answer me, so I was pleasantly surprised when someone DID answer, and they thought my work sounded beautiful!

But then they said I’d have to get to Canada, pay the attendance fee, find a hotel and get from a city (either Toronto or Ottawa) to the buttfuck wilderness of a regional park, where the conference was actually being HELD.

So I said (politely), “Oh, I didn’t realize you wanted to hold a conference in Canada, but had no way to… GET NON-LOCAL SPEAKERS TO THE CONFERENCE. I figured you’d be handling at least some of the costs. I won’t be able to go, then.”

One of my friends, bless her heart, started a GoFundMe on my behalf. It went nowhere, so neither did I, but she tried. Another of my friends said it felt really messed up that they wanted me to pay the attendance fee AS A SPEAKER.

In my only bout of less-bad luck, I submitted some angry decolonizing poetry about the Tagalog gods to a show halfway across the state, and the team absolutely loved it… but that was before I had updated headshots. When the recent Facebook memories with a photo of the brochure showed up, I got to see my fucking Facebook selfie smack in the middle of everyone else’s nice, professional headshots, and that really stings.

I wish I was like Deadpool, and I had some time-traveling friends to go back and replace it with one of my REAL headshots. But I can’t spend all my time cringing, so I’m not only writing my stories, but saving up to pay 50-100 actors for a table reading.

I GET ONE SHOT AT GETTING MY SCRIPT OFF MY LAPTOP AND INTO THE WORLD. ONE SHOT THAT’S GONNA HURT MY BANK ACCOUNT. MAXIMUM EFFORT IS MY STATE’S MINIMUM HOURLY WAGE, MOTHERFUCKERS.

And that’s probably going to be my only shot. I don’t know anyone in theater professionally, because I never got a chance to WORK WITH anyone professionally.

For my script, I have three or five Filipino actor “friends” (more like acquaintances) whose shows I’ve watched a few times, so I told them how I have a superhero script that I’d love to get a reading for when the first draft’s finished, and I will pay everyone for a table reading in a couple months. And if they have ten or fifteen more friends of varying ethnicities, please ask them if they think my script sounds cool as well.

I hope I didn’t sound too desperate.

I try not to outwardly beg, but I don’t have a good gauge on that. I was the only Filipino in my theater class for years, so I never knew how to TALK about my extremely Filipino-oriented urban-fantasy, or if my stuff was ACTUALLY good or just weird. I went to open mics for a short but lovely few months, before I had to stop.

I couldn’t even afford MONTHLY TRIPS to read my work. Not only for no pay, but I had to pay AN ENTRY FEE and deal with the parking in this driving hellhole of a state. And then being a BROKE Filipino who still lives with my mom and works in food service? I always feel like I’m begging for scraps of attention.

I love art.

I love making art.

But with so many things depending on who you know--whether you can afford to go to shows, or go to school, or go to parties so you can FIND people to know--art really makes you feel shitty and poor sometimes.

My friends and about twenty or so Wattpad reviewers like my work, and they say I’m a great writer. It always makes me feel nice.

But when I try to get someone IN POWER, someone with MONEY, to check out my work and say the same things, that’s where I start feeling like Wade in the Avengers Tower--so close to the heroes I’ve heard about my whole life, seeing the things they use, the photos of people they love--and begging the doorman to let me be a hero, too.

[meatonfork]

🤠 howdy

If I could request in the holiday spirit,could we see grim giving gifts to the task force boys?grim solos

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

Christmas Spirit

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pairing: platonic 141 x grim

warnings: none!

summary: grim shows the boys some holiday spirit!

note: i am still recovering from yesterday, so if my writing reflects that i apologize. also, i don’t like christmas, so i’m trying to make this good 😭

————————————————————————————————————————

christmas was approaching fast. the task force was given a week off in order to celebrate and have some down time before the next mission.

one thing you’d noticed, is that no one really seemed to be in high spirits. and that just didn’t sit right with you. since having no one to celebrate christmas with after your family’s passing, you jumped at the opportunity to celebrate with your boys.

the whole week leading up to one of your favorite holidays was spent decorating, baking, and making gifts.

the boys had thoroughly enjoyed your baking. even going as far as to ask for more, which you happily obliged to.

a consistent smell of cinnamon and pine roamed each hallway. really setting the mood for the season.

lights covered the halls, and garland hung at each doorway. a tree was thrown up in the corner of the commons as well.

soap was the most excited when he saw the decorations lining the walls. he said something along the lines, “aye! look at all this! grim, you did this?”

to which you simply smiled and nodded before hurrying back to your quarters to finish their presents.

the day of christmas, you’d made a big breakfast for everyone. being up around 0430 to finish it before ghost got up at 0600.

the food was devoured. soap eating loudly as usual, and price scolding him for being gross.

gaz had left you a seat to his left so you could eat with them.

“grim, this is really good. thanks, kid!” he pat you on the shoulder, tossing a smile in your direction.

“i, uh, i actually have another surprise for you guys once you’re done eating.” a sheepish smile spread across your sleep puffy face.

they each turned to look at you before shoveling the rest of their food in their mouths.

they followed you to the commons, where presents lay under the tree. four of them, to be exact.

“you bought us something? why’d you do that?” price borderline scolded you.

“i didn’t! i made them.” another sheepish smile stretching on your face.

“you didn’t have to, you know?” ghost spoke up behind you.

“well, duh. i just wanted to do something nice for you lot. it was so boring and plain in here anyways.” you shrugged them off.

you told them to sit, which they did quickly, and made your way to pass out the presents.

“can you guys open them all at once? i want this to go quickly.” nerves had started to creep up your spine.

what if they didn’t like them?

or what if they thought it was dumb?

“yeah, sure kid.”

they tore into the wrapping paper.

ghost held up a balaclava that made of a thick material with a thin woolen lining for the cold season. a rough stitch was holding it together, showing the hard work you’d put into it.

price grabbed onto a small wooden box that had four slots to hold his cigars that you hated so much. it was stained a dark color, and he realized you’d gone to storage to find wood that wasn’t being used.

soap held up a small notebook. it was rough around the edges, but the binding was solid. the paper was thick enough to pain on it without it bleeding through. he wondered how long this took to make.

and gaz threw on a crocheted beanie you’d made just a few days ago. it was black, and fuzzy on the inside. the yarn was thick and warm, for when you were out on a mission or having another snowball fight in the field behind base.

“you made this? all of this?” soap’s finger made a circle, pointing to everything in their hands. his mouth held open in shock.

“yeah! i wanted it to be something you’d need, but not cheap and from a store where you can get like five of them.” you’d shrugged.

“i really like this! it’s fuzzy, and my ears are warm. thanks grim!” gaz threw an arm around your shoulder, pulling you closer to his side.

“yeah, it’s definitely not cheap. why’d you make this, though? you hate my bloody cigars. think i’ll die sooner, or something.” price rose an eyebrow at you.

“well, if i can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. or whatever.” you smiled.

ghost sighed, “kid, these are cool and all, but we didn’t get you anything.”

“i don’t care! i don’t want anything.”

“are you sure? feel like an ass now.”

“actually, there is one thing i really need. and only you lot can get it.”

“what?”

“CHRISTMAS MOVIE MARATHON!”

————————————————————————————————————————

a/n: i’m sorry this sucks 😭 i’ll try to get something better out soon!

[wannab-urs]

The Spreadsheet Digest - Fic Recs | Vol 7

Howdy, folks! It's time for this week's recap of what I read :)

As always, you can find the spreadsheet here, and you're always more than welcome to tag me in your fic if you'd like to be included. New and old fics both appreciated; anything from a drabble to a 400k word series is fine; and the only Pedro boy I don't really read is Pero Tovar.

Without further ado here are the fics I read this week and the unhinged ramblings of a madwoman (me) to substitute for a coherent recommendation.

One for the money, two for the show a Joel series by @cowgurrrl

Rockstar!Joel AU with such a sweet fake dating trope lead in and then the most delicious yummy angst. As your resident angst whore this was everything because it was so REAL and so fucking heartbreaking. And then the happy little hopeful ending and then all the drabbles and extras??? AH! My favorite part was the lil instagram stories i think <3

sharing is caring a Frankie/Santi one shot by @walkintotheriveranddisappear

Your friend Santi introduces you to his friend Frankie and uhhhh you guys go make a sandwich.

Only Lovers Left Alive a Joel series by @atinylittlepain

I love every single thing about this. Revenge. Vampires. Blood play kind of? Biting. Etc. This shit rocks.

Waiting Room a Joel one shot by @beskarandblasters

I fucking love what kel did with this song. The repetition of one for the road really fuckin got me too. Angst angst angst.

The Special One a Joel series by @toxicanonymity

What if a reluctant soulmates AU was also a vampire!Joel AU? It would be perfect, that's what. I'm loving vampire!joel rn anyway, but this was such a cool twist on it. Also his vibes in this are fucking immaculate

Copycat Killer a Joel series by @beskarandblasters

Bitch this is so good. Stalker!Reader x Rockstar Joel... fucking perfect. I love how they both kind of suck as human beings a little bit. And that blow job oh my GOD.

Sweet Creature a Dieter series by @wildemaven

I really really love how this story is going. The little town is so real to me and I love all the little places we get to see. The bookstore sounds like a DREAM. And I can't wait for Reader to bond with D over art ahhhhh.

Stitches a Din series by @djarinsbeskar

This fic is so fucking good dude. I love the set up for the whole thing and the reader character is really fuckin' cool. The like... 8 consecutive parts of incredible smut that continues to be genuinely interesting and really fucking hot even after like 200K words is extremely impressive. I'm also pretty sucked into the story and the way Medic is being interwoven into canon. Oh and the introspection we get from Din's POV is *chef's kiss*.... anyway pls god finish this story i need it

False God a Frankie series by @swiftispunk

Frankie asking for what he wants is so... yummy... especially when it's wanting to be your subby lil pussy eating king like... PLEASE. And his praise kink??? I am in Frankie heaven

102 a Frankie one shot by @tieronecrush

I fucking love this ahhhh. I felt so bad for Frankie but also their friendship is so cute??? I love the unrequited love//idiots to lovers trope

Safe in my Arms an Ezra one shot by @mishasminion360

Ezra struggling to adjust to having one less limb and me crying about it. This was so fucking good. The raw emotion he feels and reader's unwavering support... the realism in saying something that accidentally hurts his feelings and trying to take over tasks he might find difficult AGH. I love this so much

Leave Off Your Wandering a Joel series by @oonajaeadira

Adira, I fall in love with every single little world you create without fail. This is obviously no exception. Your sheep ranch is a dream. The way you build up this backstory with the Roostlings and the friendship with Tommy and Maria and just all these extra little details you take the time to flesh out and weave into the story... makes my heart sing, friend. I adore this <3

-------- fics i read a while ago and never recommended -------

Name a Javi P one shot by @joelscruff

Consent a Dieter series by @fuckyeahdindjarin

Whiskey, Dark and Deep a Jack one shot by @prolix-yuy

Stay on the Screenplay a Dieter series by jazzelsaur (ao3)

A Safe Haven a Joel series by @joelsgreys

Psychomanteum a Dieter series by @whatsnewalycat

In Name Only an Oberyn series by @forever-rogue

------

I haven't written a word in weeks, so once again no updates for me :/

-----

Happy Reading

[phlurrii]

Good and Bad News

1am post because my hands are on fire, but we have 5 panels left of the new comic. I think this is one of my largest updates. I’ve taken an excruciating long time as I keep redrawing things to make them look better and improve overall quality.

This is a concept I’ve had sketched for months and cooking for even longer, I’m so, SO happy to get it out. It also really demonstrates Meau’s current mental state towards situations and how she’s coping on the inside the moment she’s faced with it again. Even if supposedly harmless.

I’m really proud of this update and I think I’m gonna end up redrawing a 1 or 2 more aspects of older panels to make the quality more cohesive even still.

However, the bad news is the amount of time this has taken because of said quality. There was suppose to be 2 massive updates this month, but due to getting sick last month for a whole week and deciding to really make this one look pretty…

Noe’s Arc probably won’t be until Christmas Day or late December as a whole. Possibly even early January, but I will fight myself to get it out before then.

I am, probably, the most disappointed out of everyone, given the sheer insanity I have planned. However, I want to make sure the build up to it is executed perfectly. So when we get to it, it all hits that much harder and destroys your day that much more ;D

Currently, the road map is this first massive update, the second shorter, but emotional hitting update, before we get to this arcs climax Animatic. After that, we’ll get the premiere for Missingno.’s Arc and boy howdy will it be a doozy in and of itself that includes voice acting, music, and a questionable edited motion comic for the big reveal portion.

I promise ya’ll this will be worth the agonizing wait, I’ve been planning this for so long I will be damned if I mess it up now X3

Okay thank you, that’s been my PSA ;3

[ordinaryschmuck]

Why I Love The Owl House-Part Two: The Relationships

Prev Part

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.

And welcome to part two as we discuss everything I love about The Owl House. Because a single review wasn't enough, and, boy-howdy, did I prove that with Part One. Like...Wow. That was a lot.

But where Part One discusses the lengthy list of great and sometimes bad characters, Part Two is all about relationships. Because on top of having a diverse cast of different races, genders, sexualities, ages, and even species, The Owl House also has a diverse set of relationships that can be familial, platonic, antagonistic, and, of course, romantic. Each one is adorable and entertaining in its own right, and we're going over the best of the best today.

Quick disclaimer, though, we're NOT going to discuss relationships that didn't get much attention or ones made more interesting in fanon. I would love to talk a lot about how Luz and Vee are like sisters, but they only interacted in one episode and there's not much to go off of with the small tidbits of photos we see in the finale. And I would adore talking about how Camila's the honorary mother of every child who had come into her house. However, aside from a handful of conversations, she never interacted with anybody outside of Luz. Which is a shame because I would LOVE to see how she would get along with her future daughter-in-law. With that said, I will discuss characters who interact a bunch but note the missed opportunities they represent. Do we have an understanding? Good.

(Also, this one is going to be 26 pages long...Still better than last time, right? Right...)

Now, for this one, we’re going through it by category. Starting with…

Families

The Owl House has a surprising amount of family drama in a variety of ways. Whether it’s between siblings or parents and their children, there are a lot of stories to be milked out of with these relationships. And to start things off, let’s talk about what’s probably the healthiest mother/daughter relationship in the show.

Camila and Luz: I talked a lot about this kinship the two had last time, primarily through how Camila feels about Luz. To keep things brief, Camila LOVES her daughter. The only ones who denied that are idiots who focused too much on the negatives. Despite some missteps, Camila is proud of everything that Luz is, and came to realize that she should NEVER have tried to change a thing.

But that’s everything on Camila’s side. On Luz’s side, the love is very much mutual. No matter what mistake Camila made, Luz NEVER resented her for it. Luz may have felt sad for going to summer camp or worried about keeping Camila’s promise, but there was never any anger. The closest we got was her absolute refusal to go to summer camp, but even that was followed up with Luz feeling a quick moment of guilt for having to lie to her mother. This is because Luz LOVES Camila and, above all else, wants to make her proud and happy. The problem is Luz doesn’t approach things the right way, accidentally causing Camila strife through causing trouble at school and choosing to lie for too long so Camila wouldn’t be worried about what’s happening with Luz’s current situation. And when coming back, Luz still apologizes for leaving AND for lying, knowing that her choices weren’t the best ones to make and she regrets making Camila’s life harder. Camila’s actions weren’t the best either, but Luz was never bothered by that. She loves her mom. When stuck in the Isles, all Luz could think about was returning to her, and that’s because Camila is the one thing that connects Luz to the Human Realm. She has no friends, significant others, or mentors that made life fun in the Human Realm. Camila’s all Luz has, and vice versa.

When Manny died, it left Camila and Luz with just each other for the longest time. Because of that, they’re trying their best for one another. Camila does all she can to be the mom Luz needs and Luz, in turn, attempts to be the daughter Camila deserves. Neither got it right, but that doesn’t change their love for each other. They’re both all they have, and it’s sweet to see a mother/daughter relationship where both ARE and AREN’T at fault for a lot of stuff but still hold a great amount of love and respect for one another. They’re probably the healthiest example of a mother and her child. Though, in fairness, that’s not a steep competition.

Odalia and Amity: Yup. Might as well rip this bandaid off as soon as possible.

I think the best way to start off with these two is to ask a question: Did Odalia love Amity? I know that’s a weird question to ask considering EVERYTHING Odalia did but it’s still worth bringing up. Because I think that the answer is YES…upon CONDITIONS. As long as Amity acted exactly as Odalia wanted and followed this “perfect plan” she laid out, then Amity has Odalia’s love. When Amity DOESN’T, Odalia’s “love” turns to anger, and that’s because Odalia doesn’t want a daughter. She wants a mini-version of HER. You can see it in Amity’s Season One design, where her dyed hair and how she wears it is meant to be a reflection of Odalia. It explains why Odalia puts so much pressure onto Amity, forcing her to succeed and gain the highest ranks of society. If Odalia couldn’t be the most influential and powerful witch in all the Isles, then surely her daughter, who looks and acts exactly like her, should. And yet, Odalia’s still surprised that Amity chooses to rebel and be her own person instead of a mini-Odalia.

Amity’s resentment towards her mother is easy to pick up and the same goes for her inaction. To many kids, there’s nothing scarier than a parent, especially one like Odalia who can be very violent when angered or scorned. Amity has often rebelled in LITTLE ways against her mother, but it isn’t until meeting Luz does Amity find a lot more to fight for. She wants to carve her own path and becomes less afraid to stand up against Odalia. Amity dyes her hair and calls out Odalia’s behavior because it’s worth it for the fight for individuality. But despite this rebellion, it’s interesting that Amity still makes one last attempt to reach out in “Clouds on the Horizon.” Because while Odalia isn’t a good mom, Amity has it in her head that, surely, Odalia isn’t evil. I think a lot of kids, even ones with truly awful parents, have that mindset. Because even if they’re bad at parenting, that doesn’t mean they would stoop so low when lives are at stake, right? Except, not only does Odalia completely dismiss all life that isn’t her own, but she is surprisingly okay with the complete genocide of her people. The woman IS evil. Amity didn’t want to believe it because…well, no child DOES. But it’s that last bit of confirmation that Amity needed to cut Odalia out of her life forever…I just wish that conclusion had more of a satisfying punch to it.

I know I said it last time, but it really does suck that after everything Odalia did to Amity, things end by Amity proclaiming that she’ll never talk to Odalia again and blatantly ignores her in the finale. The thing is, I can see that being satisfying in its own right, but with how much Odalia messed up Amity’s life, treating her as a tool instead of a daughter, you can’t blame a schmuck for wanting Amity to do more. Still, I can understand Amity’s desire not to even ACKNOWLEDGE Odalia and I can live with THAT being the conclusion to their relationship. It’s definitely a better pill to swallow than what happens between—

Amity and Alador: On paper, making Amity a Daddy’s Girl sounds sweet, as does making Alador a caring father to contrast Odalia being…Odalia. But in terms of execution, this is an idea that could have definitely utilized more time to be perfect.

Amity’s desire to seek Alador’s approval and be like him feels way too sudden as every instance Alador’s been on screen before “Reaching Out,” it shows him doing something Amity has to fight back on. Granted, he was likely doing it to keep Odalia from doing WORSE things to Amity, but the audience didn’t have the knowledge of HIS situation yet. So to us, it’s more of a bitter pill to swallow that Amity wants to be like him. It’s slightly easier to understand on a rewatch, but just barely. Then the writers try to sell that Amity has a ton of faith that Alador would be on her side when going against Odalia, and it's similar to Amity trying to convince herself that her mom isn’t evil. The only difference is that, this time, Amity’s right. Her father ISN’T evil and he actually cares about his kids, which is sweet but it’s still information given to us LATER than it should. The same goes for Amity’s love for her dad. Knowing that she had such an admiration for him is something best left revealed as soon as possible and is NOT as easy to reveal through a retcon. Previous episodes leads us to believe that Amity fears and hates BOTH her parents, so having it where she loves her dad leaves one to scratch their head in confusion. But that’s just on Amity’s side. For Alador’s, it…barely works still.

I mentioned it last time, but the retcon that Alador is a father who actually loves his children is an idea that works well enough, but could be better. As sweet as it is to give Amity ONE parent that cares, it still comes up way too late in the series. By the time “Reaching Out” premiered, The Owl House was almost over, leaving not enough time to prove how much Alador cares. There’s some cute moments like him telling Amity that she did a good job through just an ATTEMPT to escape a forcefield, accepting “Luz” as Amity’s girlfriend, appreciating Amity’s new hairstyle, and giving her those little mittens. The writers ARE trying to make this idea work, but it admittedly feels like it’s too little too late.

Amity and Alador’s relationship COULD have been something great. It just either needed to be presented earlier in the series or more time to develop properly. Unfortunately, neither of those options were provided, and what we got was something that was awkwardly done. It’s still nice to see Amity get along with a parent for once and the epilogue proves that Alador kept his promise to be a better father, what with how happy he is to see her after what looked like a long journey. It’s just that, despite these attempts at cute moments, the relationship could have been done better. Still, on the bright side, at least they got along better than either did with Odalia. And, at least with her siblings, Amity has SOME positive relationships with her family…eventually.

Amity, Emira, and Edric: At the start, Ed and Em seem like antagonists to Amity, wanting to make her life suffer. I remember seeing a few fanfics that treated Edric and Emira in such a way because…well, how could there not be? Their very first episode involved them wreaking havoc in Amity’s safe space and threatening to leak pages of her diary for everyone to see. While me and my sisters definitely had our problems, they NEVER acted that way to me. It’s why I’m glad that after realizing they took a prank too far–And accidentally creating a monster that nearly killed Amity–Ed and Em went from antagonists to supporting characters. Oh, they still messed with Amity for the shits and giggles, but now it’s more out of how LOVING older siblings screw around instead of how the two twits acted in “Lost in Language.” They tease, jab, and mess around in Amity’s personal space, but it’s definitely out of love instead of malice, creating a dynamic that’s a lot sweeter to see. They went from another hardship of Amity’s homelife to one of the only people in her corner. Though, in this case, it’s less of a feat caused by character development and more by the writers changing their mind on what to do with them. Thankfully, unlike Alador, they changed their mind soon enough where this little course correction for Edric and Emira is a lot more believable and MUCH easier to swallow. It also benefits Amity by giving her two people to rely on…Or, just one.

Yeah, Edric’s primarily the odd man out in this dynamic. Emira and Amity have this adorable sisterly relationship where Emira tells Amity what she needs to hear and provide advice. With Edric, both Emira and Amity treat him as the dumb one, either making sure he doesn’t hurt himself or reticule him for his stupidity. There is SOME adorableness, though. Like how Edric ran in a full body cast and went through physical pain just so he can hug Amity. That shows he cares IMMENSELY about her and doesn’t care what happens to him to prove it. And with Emira, there’s something fascinating about how Edric’s fear is being alone forever and Emira’s is being alone with HIM forever. It IS likely that she’s joking at Ed’s expense, but there might be some truth to it. They do a LOT as a pair. They dress the same, act the same, wear similar outfits, and even have similar names. Emira definitely cares about Edric, but she doesn’t want her whole life to be defined as being his twin. It’s part of why they both went off to do different things and have their own careers not defined by what the other does. It’s great showing that while these two are similar in a lot of ways, they’re still very much different. But, once again, this is an analysis based on what’s implied and not what the series shows. There’s not enough time to build off this idea, and it still leaves Edric out of having something meaningful like what Amity and Emira have. And even then, what Emira and Amity have is something based on a few short scenes of Emira being a GOOD older sister. Still, it’s sweet for what it is.

The Blight siblings don’t have a deep or compelling relationship, but they don’t need it. Edric and Emira fill a supporting role for a secondary main character, and for what they do, it’s great. Emira’s sweet, Edric provides comedy, and they both EVENTUALLY give Amity what she needed. Her mom never truly cared and her dad…could’ve been better, but at least Amity had two siblings who care about her to a great degree. They might drive her crazy, but that’s siblings for you. Plus, at least none of them cursed one or the other. I mean, could you IMAGINE? That’s be crazy…

…

…

Eda and Lilith: These two…are complicated. And I’m well aware of how much of an understatement that is, but it’s true. As kids, they were thick as thieves, with both of them willing to do so much for the other. Lilith would share a scraped knee with Eda and Eda…would be willing to sacrifice more. She would throw herself under the bus so Lilith wouldn’t get in trouble with their literal demon of a principal and would willingly give Lilith a position in the Emperor’s Coven. The show makes it clear that Eda cares a great deal for Lilith. All they really had was each other in school and Eda didn’t want to change that situation, already assuming, as a teen, they would spend the rest of their lives doing EVERYTHING together. It’s sweet…and it makes Lilith’s petty jealousy and cursing Eda feel so wrong.

Lilith ALSO loved her sister, but took Eda for granted. Lilith’s drive to be the best, earning a place in the most powerful coven on the Isles, led to her fighting to be better than Eda. This fight started a rift between them, even before the curse. After quizzing Eda, and showing that she knew more than Lilith, Lilith started studying HARDER, trying to prove that SHE can learn more. She couldn’t stand being second place to Eda, so it drove Lilith to try harder and to get desperate. By the time Lilith cursed Eda, that rift between them only got worse due to a mix of Lilith’s guilt and her position as a Covenhead. Once they were adults, Lilith is in a position where she HAS to hunt Eda down for the Emperor, but in a weird way, Lilith still puts Eda first. Despite Eda’s criminal antics, Lilith wants to give her sister a chance to join the coven on HER terms, only going overboard when feeling threatened by Belos. In moments like that, Lilith tells herself that it’s all for the greater good, that Belos can cure Eda and that she and Lilith can finally do EVERYTHING together, just like they wanted as kids. And Eda might want the same thing. She might resent Lilith for hunting Eda and Eda CONSTANTLY takes Lilith down a peg, but she still loves her. Just look at when Eda races Lilith for a flower and tries to remind her about how they used to do the same thing as kids running to their kitchen. Or the times Eda showed Lilith mercy, like saving her from that crab spider or giving Lilith Eda’s ring so she wouldn’t go back to Belos empty handed. Even during their first witches duel, Eda didn’t really go out of her way to hurt Lilith. She saw it more as a game, with a lot of Eda’s attacks being more to contain Lilith or aggravate her. It’s proof that her sisterly love didn’t entirely go away all those years later…Until Lilith went too far.

The second Lilith kidnapped Luz, Eda was already out for blood, being the most violent she’s ever been towards her sister. But when Lilith revealed that she cursed Eda, she  lost all sense of mercy and was willing to go for the throat. There was this brief moment of Eda BEGGING Lilith to keep Luz safe, likely reaching for SOME goodness she HAS to believe is in her sister. But that sentiment disappears quickly as Eda was willing to spend her last moments of life on trying to KILL the little traitor. Needless to say, Lilith did a lot of damage and it seemed like she had a lot of work to do…Only for things to go back to normal after one confession and another grand gesture. Sure, Lilith sharing a curse is a great start, but Eda treats it as if it’s enough with her acting like it never happened. She mentions the curse in a flippant manner, but that’s something that a person does YEARS after someone made up for betrayal, not a week. And Lilith doesn’t do much better. Despite her moments of wanting to be better, Lilith still acts like she has to be better than Eda while also behaving like she already believes she IS. Still, after all this time.

I think I like the potential Lilith and Eda’s relationship has more than what’s done with it. There’s some interesting stuff surrounding Eda’s desire to keep Lilith and Lilith wanting to make up for taking Eda for granted, but it’s NOT explored enough. They act about the same as they did in “Covention,” the episode that introduced this relationship in the first place, only now there’s a slightly less of a desire to strangle each other. Slightly. There’s some sweet moments, with Lilith comforting Eda about the stress of the Day of Unity and Eda reassuring Lilith that the curse isn’t so bad when she gets used to it, but those scenes don’t stop their dynamic being nothing no more than…acceptable. There’s a fun sibling rivalry between the two mixed in with some heart, making something entertaining to see. But when the show presents interesting ideas like Eda’s love and Lilith’s guilt, only to gloss over BOTH of them, it leaves me wanting a little bit more. I’ll take what I have, but you can’t leave a guy wanting.

But as unhealthy as things got between these two, at least they didn’t nearly cause the end of the world.

Nah, that’s the NEXT sibling relationship.

Caleb and Philip: It feels weird to talk about this one because we only know about one side of the relationship. And yet, it’s the catalyst for EVERYTHING revolving around Belos and his creation towards villainy.

In his own twisted way, Belos loved Caleb. He was all Belos had and Belos would go to great lengths to “save” his brother from damnation. I went over it last time, and I won’t repeat myself here, but while the show makes it clear that Belos’ twisted love for his brother is what drove him, we never really know how much Caleb cared for Philip. Through the memories in Belos’ mindscape, we can see that they cared much for each other as kids and Caleb was happy to see Philip again in the Boiling Isles. There’s some definite brotherly love there, but people keep circling back to how Caleb abandoned Philip. To me, with the information we have, it’s more like how Luz went to the Boiling Isles without telling Camila. There was never any malice behind the action. Some carelessness, perhaps, but neither Luz nor Caleb meant any harm to disappear into this new world and make life-changing relationships. They were both willing to come back to this person that means the world to them. Just look at Caleb’s smile upon seeing Philip again. You don’t smile like that when you resent someone or feel glad to have abandoned them. I’m sure there was love there, but again, we never get to see Caleb’s perspective of things aside from implications from Belos’ memories. For all we know, Caleb WAS a bastard bitch who hated his little brother. There’s never really an answer and I’m kind of glad there isn’t. Because Belos’ admiration for someone, even if he does or doesn’t deserve it, is still an engaging aspect for his motivation even if we don’t know the whole story.

Belos’ obsession towards his brother caused a monster to be born. He already hated witches, but losing what mattered most caused him to become genocidal. Again, I’ll skip past it because I went over it enough last time. But one thing I don’t think I can skip over is how Belos’ feelings towards his brother reflected over how he treated Hunter.

Belos and Hunter: Once again, I’ve talked a lot about their relationship last time, primarily how Hunter feared Belos. I don’t think Hunter was ever looking for love from his so-called uncle, likely because he didn’t understand the concept of love upon his creation. What Hunter looked more for was respect, to be seen as the perfect soldier that he thought Belos wanted. The problem is that Belos wanted more than a soldier and perhaps more than a tool. What Belos wanted was an outlet to project his issues toward Caleb onto.

Granted, Belos likely wasn’t aware what he was doing with Hunter, or ANY of the Golden Guards for that matter. He was creating tools for his own evil plans, but because Belos made these tools through the literal bones of his dead brother, it creates this sort of power dynamic that I think psychiatrists could make entire books about when trying to dissect it. Belos practically brought his brother back from the dead, but each time, he was always younger than Belos, reflecting the perfect brother he remembered. Only this time BELOS is the older one who knows better and gets to decide what they do and how they do it. Not only did he create a role reversal between him and Caleb, but he created a version of Caleb he hopes to have no free will. To Belos, he wanted his brother back, one that would never betray him again. Except that he did. They ALL did. Every single Golden Guard found free will and willingly went against Belos. This always leads to Belos killing these “failures,” these unusable copies of Caleb that fail to understand that Belos knows best. He refuses to accept that no version of Caleb will ever see Belos’ way, so he keeps trying to make one that does.

By the time Belos gets to Hunter, he does all he can to wipe away ANY sense of rebellion, even if he has to beat it out of him. Sorry if that statement was dark or triggering, but it reigns true for Hunter and Belos. Their relationship and everything Belos does to Hunter is a result of one man’s incapability to accept his brother’s choices and takes that as an excuse to hurt Hunter. It’s a painful reflection of real life abusive parental figures as a lot of them treat children as an object to take frustrations out on. It’s never healthy and no one should forgive an evil bastard like that no matter WHAT justification they have. All you can do is hope the child gets out of this situation and learn what real love is.

Thankfully, Hunter got that happy ending through Darius. And I WOULD go over that, but I think I said as much as I could about those two last time. The real meat of it is on Darius’ side of things as we never really got to see how Hunter felt about him aside from how the love was mutual. It’s sweet, despite not having much to talk about. As for Eda and Dell, I said about all I could last time and the same goes for Gwen. They’re characters defined by their relationships of their kids and I’d ONLY repeat myself here. But don’t fret, there’s still ONE OTHER good parent/child relationship we can talk about.

Willow and Gilbert and Harvey: No, not Gus and Perry. Due to how little of an impact Perry had in the series and how he and Gus barely interacted, we don’t get much of an idea about what their relationship is. We know they love each other, but there’s not much aside from that. With Willow and her fathers, we don’t get much with them either, but the crumbs we DO get offer some decent insight.

Willow LOVES her dads, that much is sure. Two of her biggest core memories involve her spending time with her papas, having fun and laughing with them. But more than that, Willow idolizes her dads. “Any Sport in a Storm” shows us pictures of her dads when they were younger AND that they were on the same flier derby team. It hints that Willow got her love for the game through them and wanted to become the best player she could be to honor them. It’s SORT OF stretching the facts because we don’t know for sure, but it’s still a sweet thought and how much Willow loves her dads as they love her.

Gilbert and Harvey were willing to quit their jobs just to homeschool Willow and give her the best possible education after she got expelled from Hexside. That is…an intense amount of dedication to caring for your daughter. Sure, the previous scene had them ground Willow for an insane amount of time, but that’s clearly a reaction that comes from being upset over your child being suspended. Odds are they were going to relax on that grounding with time. And even then, Gilbert was willing to let Willow sneak out and to pretend he didn’t see anything. There’s a definite love all three of them have for each other, and you have an easier understanding of why Willow misses her dads the most in the final season. With Gus, we don’t know enough to really GET how much he misses Perry, and we all know the complicated mess between Amity and Alador. It’s easier with Willow and HER dads because while we don’t have much, we have ENOUGH to get a better picture. Though I DO wish we had more time with them all together to make the relationship feel stronger, and to give more appreciation to gay parents. They keep showing up in media, especially animation, but rarely do they feel like actual characters with defining relationships with their children. While I appreciate what’s done between these three, I AM left demanding for a little bit more.

And with that, I’m finally done talking about families. But don’t worry, there’s TONS more to talk about with our next category.

Friends

There are a LOT of friends in this show, mainly because The Owl House is the kind of series that values the friendships one has with other individuals. Families are important, but the friends we make, the groups we create, can lead to more changes in our lives. They can sometimes bring out the best of us just as effectively as any family member, while also providing a great escape if our families become too much. Most of the friendships in the show are all about this, and we’re going to go through all the ones that are important.

Starting with what’s probably the most talked about friendship in the show…

Amity and Willow: The second that Willow revealed she used to be friends with Amity, the intrigue behind their dynamic SKYROCKETED. Because it would be one thing if Amity was simply a bully to Willow, but knowing that they were once close friends brings up a ton of questions. Why were they friends? Could they be friends AGAIN? Why did they STOP? Er, well, okay, that last one was answered pretty quickly by Willow in the same episode, but after “Lost in Language” hinted that Amity’s bullying is an act to not show weakness, it begs the question if there is more to it. And “Understanding Willow” proved that Amity WAS forced to end the friendship, meaning that every interaction she had with Willow since then was Amity pushing Willow further and further away to save her from a worse fate. It’s another interesting way to look at Amity’s bullying, because she DOES care about Willow. The problem is that, as Amity perfectly puts it, she wasn’t brave enough to be Willow’s friend, to fight for something she WANTED. Finally, thanks to a certain human, Amity started to gain that courage and apologize to Willow, promising to be better. Thankfully, Amity does, talking Boscha down for making fun of Willow and not even hesitating to step up and join Willow’s grudgby team when they need a third member. It’s a reflection of both Amity’s character growth AND her platonic love for Willow. She wanted to be friends again and, once gaining the courage, she set out to do just that…The problem is that Amity might have been TOO willing to be friends again.

My absolute favorite scene between these two comes in “Follies At The Coven Day parade.” Amity comes over to Willow’s after stressing over something going on with Luz and Willow, in turn, offers a healthy distraction to take Amity’s mind off her worries. At that moment, Amity says she’s glad to be friends again, but Willow’s response to that is fascinating. She doesn’t disagree, nor does she nod. Willow just…keeps quiet, frowns a bit, and lets Amity braid her hair, leaving Amity’s comment hanging with no real response aside from a light hum. While Amity’s more than happy to pick things up where they left off, this moment shows that Willow’s not exactly there yet. She’s not entirely AGAINST the idea, she would have been more vocal about her disapproval otherwise. But Willow’s not willing to COMMIT to their friendship again, feeling like there’s still more to do before getting to that point. And I love that the next episode that focuses on Amity and Willow’s relationship, “Labyrinth Runners,” expands on this idea. Amity is trying too hard to pick things back up where they left off, acting like Willow’s someone to be protected. The problem is Amity's thinking of the Willow of the past and not acknowledging the Willow of the present, who’s capable and willing to kick ass if necessary. Willow’s trying to take Amity’s attempts at support on the chin, but it doesn’t stop Willow from finally blowing up and telling Amity to back off. It wasn’t out of anger but frustration, as Willow gets Amity’s attempts to be better, but things won’t work unless Amity accepts that WILLOW changed too. It’s a great progression from how this relationship started and where it would inevitably go, and I’m glad that Willow presented boundaries that Amity needed to respect…I wish they stretched THAT aspect out a little bit more.

After “Labyrinth Runners” established that Amity needed to learn to see who Willow is NOW, the episode ends with her doing just that…and the rest of the series goes on thinking that’s enough. Yes, it’s a good start for Amity to see the error of her ways in the same episode Willow calls her out on, but then they go straight to fist bumps, counseling one another, and jumping with glee together with their arms intertwined. They’re right back to being the same friends they started as after one major hiccup. In fairness, there could have been MORE interactions offscreen where they worked through more stuff, but we never see that. All we have is what the series showed us, and it’s…fine. It’s FUNCTIONAL. But after an intriguing concept of two friends reconnecting after a BAD ending to their relationship, it could have had stronger pacing to make it feel more impactful. But despite how rough things got with Willow and Amity, at least Willow had TWO friends to count on.

Willow, Gus, and Luz: Gus and Luz were the exact friends that Willow needed after falling out with Amity. With Gus and Willow, they share a camaraderie through being near the bottom of the social ladder. Willow’s picked on for not being powerful enough with her magic and Gus was a kid whose naivety was taken advantage of by older kids who had no brains of their own. They didn’t have anyone else for friends in school, but they always had each other. That idea alone is sweet enough, but the things these two did for each other is even sweeter. Because all they had was one another, they protected one another in different ways. Willow was there to keep Gus emotionally stable, calming him down when he feels stressed or lifting his spirits when he’s down in the dumps. Gus, of course, repays that by supporting Willow’s interests, being protective when he’s suspicious of someone like Hunter, and hyping Willow up whenever possible. They both care IMMENSELY about each other, which makes sense when you become friends with someone you met at your lowest moment. But as great as Gus is for Willow, he was never really there to help her grow. Oh, don’t get me wrong, he was always a shoulder to cry on and all, but both were content to be at the bottom at the bottom. It’s until a certain someone ELSE came along did Willow realize she deserved more.

Here’s where Luz comes in, as a friend Willow needs to push her FORWARD. Luz would support Willow no matter what, but in almost every instance of character growth Willow went through, Luz was almost always responsible for it. Helping Willow cheat at Abominations class led to her proving her great strengths as a plant witch and allowing shenanigans to happen ended up jumpstarting Amity and Willow reconnecting. Of course, Luz could be TOO pushy, like training Gus and Willow too hard for a game she didn’t want to compete in, but there’s a reason for that: Willow’s the first and only friend Luz has ever had, so she goes above and beyond to make Willow’s life better. Even if Luz can sometimes go overboard, it all works out in the end, with Willow appreciating all the ways Luz helped her blossom (Haha). And in turn, Willow was there for Luz in a lot of ways, either by being her magical muscle in a dangerous situation, supporting some crazy scheme Luz comes up with, or being the voice of reason when one crazy scheme goes too far. Luz went out of her way to help Willow, so Willow returns the favor by protecting Luz to the best of her ability. It’s a perfect give and take relationship where both get something out of it. However, there’s something to be said about how Luz and Gus are the best friends Willow could ask for, they don’t really act like they’re best friends with each other.

Don’t misconstrue my words, Luz and Gus DO care about each other. Gus hypes up Luz as much as he does Willow and Luz is as supportive and counseling towards Gus as she is towards everyone she cares about. The problem is that you don’t FEEL that friendship. You get it, but you don’t FEEL it as effectively as you do with Gus and Willow or Willow and Luz. And that’s because there’s not many interactions between Gus and Luz. Throughout the course of the entire series, there has only been TWO episodes that focused on Luz and Gus’ relationship, and Gus was using Luz for selfish reasons in one and they both ditched the other to hang out with crushes in another. There’s not many positive moments between these two, which wouldn’t be TOO bad if the show didn’t paint Luz, Gus, and Willow as a TRIO. They’re ALL supposed to have this big connection together, and there’s a piece of the puzzle that’s missing. Willow and Gus are often paired together as they’re often shoved to the side, and Willow’s often treated as Luz’s first true friend, but there’s hardly anything with Luz and Gus. It doesn’t help matters that Luz barely interacts with EITHER of her best friends in Season Two onward, which is especially weird given how much importance Season One gave their friendship. Still, at least we got a lot of cute moments and two great dynamics that warms the heart, even if it wasn’t as effective as it could have been as a trio. Which gets odder when you remember that Luz and Gus have a common friendship with someone ELSE, and still not with each other. Still, to be fair, Luz barely has a strong connection with this other person too.

Luz and Hunter: Luz’s friendship with Hunter is interesting but underdeveloped. They start off strong with this dynamic that has big brother/little sister energy with the two of them annoying each other easily, more so with Luz annoying Hunter than the other way around. But despite their annoyance with each other, there’s this connection through a shared interest of wild magic…only for the show to drop that idea. Yeah, there was something there about Hunter being fascinated and even excited about wild magic, but hides it due to fearing what Belos might do to Hunter if he gets too curious. It could have been a great way to establish a connection between him and Luz, but that idea’s forgotten as quickly as it’s brought up. I’m not entirely complaining as the sibling-like bickering was fun enough as is and there was even a BETTER connection formed between them: Shared guilt.

“Hollow Mind” is an episode that chewed Luz and Hunter up and spit them out with a TON of issues. It was an unintentional mission for Luz to show Hunter how evil Belos really is, with Hunter being in denial throughout most of it while Luz becomes more and more frustrated with him. But despite that frustration, she’s still willing to help Hunter leave Belos and be there for him when confronting how disposable Hunter is in Belos’ eyes. It tells us that Luz cares about Hunter and wants him to be safe, which is a given with Luz. She’s a caring person in general to people who have a good heart shielded by a rough exterior, and that’s no different from Hunter. There were brief moments of warmth between him and her in “Hunting Palisman” and I’m sure Willow talked up the good parts of Hunter after “Any Sport in a Storm.” Luz knows there’s something worth protecting, likely why she’s working so hard to convince Hunter Belos is evil and have him be on HER side so she can help and protect him. She just didn’t expect things to be more messed up, making Hunter realize how severely screwed he is and the type of monster he helped. Things didn’t get any better when Luz realized that Belos was actually Philip and that she accidentally helped this demon of a man. So after BARELY escaping death, Luz and Hunter were left with the knowledge that they helped the most evil person alive and indirectly caused so much pain to others, including people they deeply cared about. Needless to say, it left Luz and Hunter severely messed up. And when Belos almost won and a NEW threat came to be, Luz and Hunter would feel WORSE about the pain they had a SLIGHT part in causing. They didn’t have anyone else to talk to about it due to fear of rejection and isolation from the ones they care about, but Luz and Hunter still had each other to confide in with their issues. It’s why Hunter goes to Luz about his fears that Belos is back. Neither wants the others to worry and both know that Belos is likely to spill the beans just to mess with heads. These fears give Luz and Hunter something great to bond over…And it STILL feels like their relationship is underdeveloped. Despite this big thing that brings them together, there’s hardly any attention on it as it's only focused during ONE episode. Now, don’t get me wrong, they feel SOMETHING for each other. Hunter broke down in tears when Luz said he’s worth being protected too since he’s part of the family. He HAS to care about Luz’s feelings for him if that was the case. And in “Watching and Dreaming,” Luz’s nightmare revealed that she feels a little guilty for getting a palisman in less than twenty four hours after Hunter lost Flapjack. Hunter doesn’t even blame her for that one, but it proves how Luz cares about him like she would for any other friend. But that’s the thing: Out of everyone in the friend group, Luz probably has the most one-on-one time with Hunter, yet he’s still just one of her friends. There could have been a stronger connection, and it’s not there. What they DO have is fine, it works, but when Luz has a personal bond with most of the Hexsquad and barely has anything with Hunter, it feels a little off. And it gets even weirder when Hunter accidentally steals Luz’s best friends out from under her.

Gus and Hunter: Oh, don’t worry, we’ll get to Hunter and Willow’s relationship later. For now, I want to talk about how CRAZY it is that Gus and Hunter have this brotherly dynamic. I mean, it was inevitable that Gus and Hunter would go on an adventure together. Hunter shared the spotlight with the others in previous episodes, so Gus was due a turn by the time we got to “Labyrinth Runners.” And at that point, most of Hunter’s walls were cracked and crumbling, with him trying and failing to build them back up. By the time Gus found Hunter, the poor boy was emotionally vulnerable and capable of breaking down at any moment. When he finally DOES, Gus was there to pick up the pieces and help Hunter through his panic attacks and offer advice about what could help Hunter in the future. Hunter, in turn, tried to save Gus from danger and provide some comfort too, even if Hunter is a little awkward at it. This dynamic ends up being what these two share through the rest of the series. When Gus figured that Hunter was hurting about being a grimwalker, Gus offered him a book series that gave Hunter the exact thing he didn’t know he needed with a story that had a character Hunter could relate to. This helped him a lot, and it’s an obvious attempt from Gus to get Hunter to slowly work through what ails him, and I’m certain that Hunter appreciates all of it. The same goes with the way Gus might appreciate Hunter protecting him. It was Hunter who had a protective arm around Gus after “King’s Tide” and he saved Gus’ palisman, not wanting his little buddy to go through the same pain he did. There’s an equal amount of care and comfort with these two, added with secret handshakes and the two wrestling with each other in one after-credits image. It really does feel like they’re brothers to each other, and it’s crazy to me that despite having comparatively less interactions together, Gus has a closer bond with Hunter than he does with Luz. Or, I should say, a more well-defined bond that’s easier to understand and describe. Luz and Gus are close, but you FEEL how close Gus and Hunter are. And that’s great, every guy needs a bro, but how does this happen? How does a central character done dirty by lack of screentime ends up being more of a best friend to a reformed baddie than his best friend who’s the main character? It feels crazy, and the only way it could be crazier if it was a comic relief character who became besties a reformed—

Lilith and Hooty: How?! No, seriously, on paper, this sounds LUDICROUS! Yet it WORKS!

By Season Two, Lilith is at the lowest point of her life. She lost her magic, career, and the respect of hundreds of witches. So when Lilith is stuck with Hooty, a bird tube so desperate for friendship that he’ll take it from ANYBODY, including trash like Lilith, she takes it. At first, like any reasonable person, Lilith REFUSED Hooty’s attempts at friendship, feeling like she was better than him. But when it finally occurred to Lilith how much she NEEDED Hooty, she gave in and became his first REAL friend. The best part is that she didn’t fake it. Lilith was kind to Hooty, laughed at his jokes, and gave him caring words of advice when he started doubting his place in “Knock, Knock, Knockin’ On Hooty’s Door.” Lilith DID treat Hooty as a friend because he was the only one who gave her respect in a time when she didn’t get any from anyone else. This leads to Hooty treating Lilith as his favorite person…maybe a LITTLE obsessed at times, asking for hair and beating up anyone who he thinks might steal Lilith away (Poor Steve). But Hooty being so…let’s say, ENTHUSIASTIC about Lilith is because she’s the first ever person to treat Hooty right. Everyone else either verbally berated or physically assaulted Hooty due to disgust, annoyance, fear, or all of the above. Sure, Lilith acted the same way at first, but after giving in, she became friendlier and Hooty decided he would do ANYTHING for her because of it. Whether it's to face enemies for Lilith or even step in the line of fire for her, Hooty’s willing to go above and beyond for his Lulu. Heck, it was HER voice that somewhat broke whatever spell The Collector had on him. And Lilith, in turn, was so happy to see his face again while trying to bring him back. And it’s…adorable! I can’t believe that’s the word I’m using to describe Lilith and Hooty’s friendship, but it fits! Despite how ludicrous it sounds to give Lilith and Hooty one of the most wholesome friendships in the series, the writers ran with that idea and made something that worked when it had no right to. What’s next? Making one of the main characters befriend someone that  fans expected to be a new main antagonist?

King and The Collector: WHAT THE F**K?!

But jokes aside, things between The Collector and King are more or less one-sided, and I’m willing to bet that was intentional. King treated The Collector as something to be controlled, to be reigned in so he wouldn’t cause too much damage. Meanwhile, The Collector treated King as a true best friend, someone to play with and have adventures together. They never clued in how King was never really ALL IN with the friendship. He acted nice with The Collector, but the line is somewhat blurred with whether or not it’s genuine or King trying to prevent a cosmic sized meltdown. But The Collector appreciated it all the same, having a similar reaction to Hooty in which he was all alone for so long that someone genuinely being NICE to The Collector caused them to treat King better than he would with anyone else. When asking to have Francois sleep with them, The Collector was fine with the boundaries King set and respected them instead of getting angry. Sure, The Collector pushed to have King leave Francois on the nightstand, but he still kept their promise to leave Francois alone like a good little godling. And, heck, when assuming King was considering a FINAL solution for The Collector, he looked about ready to cry. The kid was angry, throwing a temper tantrum with Belos the second he dropped The Collector down a cliff. It only hurt more with King because, despite having different intentions with The Collector, he WAS genuinely nice. There may have been some annoyance about being The Collector’s playmate and the OCCASIONAL raised voice, but for the most part, King treated The Collector with kindness and patience. He knew that The Collector was just a kid who needed to mature a little and learn how to treat others properly. King acted as both a voice of reason AND a conscience, acting as The Collector’s friend to keep him happy AND maybe because he learned from Luz that it’s better to befriend your enemies. It explains why he was so patient and even believing that The Collector can be reasoned with. He knows that they’re POWERS are dangerous, but The Collector is still a lonely kid who just doesn’t know better. It’s why despite all the missteps, King wasn’t willing to give up on The Collector, hoping for the best with acting as his friend and maybe being genuine near the end there. I believe King when he says he hopes that The Collector comes back soon, because there couldn’t have ALWAYS been bad times during their months together. And now that The Collector proved that they DO know better, it could mean a better friendship for him and King. Things were definitely rocky for them both at first, but the finale left them off on what could be a good start, even if what we see will be all we’ll get. As for what we DO get, it’s a complicated relationship that I say works well enough leaving it up to interpretation to how close King and The Collector are.

But seriously, how many characters end up befriending characters we thought we would hate?

Gus and Matt: Gus befriended ANOTHER baddie?!

Okay, but seriously? I wasn’t sure where to put these two. Gus and Matt were definite rivals only to become FRIENDLY with each other near the end of “Through the Looking Glass Ruins.” Still, even then, Matt admitted that he wasn’t sure if he and Gus were friends. It felt IMPLIED, but future episodes didn’t really prove that they were friends now. At least, it doesn’t prove it on Gus’ end. He still acts annoyed with Matt while Matt seems more…indifferent? He doesn’t clap back, but he doesn’t really react at all. I guess that’s not a bad thing, but it doesn’t give a definitive answer to whether or not these two are friends, and I’m willing to blame the fact that Gus got screwed over as a character with little to no solo episodes to develop him and his relationships. Gus is friends with characters who are important in the plot or are within the main cast so that he has more of a chance to develop bonds because the story moves WITH them all. Matt is a very minor character so there’s less of a need to develop a friendship between him and Gus. This results in a weak connection between them, making it feel like they would have been better off as rivals than friends. Which is a shame because I do like the idea of Gus making peace with a bully instead of continuing a never ending cycle of them constantly trying to one up each other. Now, that’s not ALWAYS the case in life, but it’s not a horrible thing to teach kids. Especially when the show proves that there are bullies best NOT to be friends with.

Amity and Boscha: Hey, not every friendship has to be good.

There’s not many interactions between Amity and Boscha, but despite that, so much of their relationship is easy to understand and dissect. From the first time we see them together, it’s clear that their friendship is as real as Amity’s hair color. Boscha seemed to believe that she and Amity were friends, but it’s pretty telling that in the end of “Hooty’s Moving Hassle” that Amity chose to sit AWAY from everyone during the Moonlight Conjuring. Amity doesn’t see the other girls, especially Boscha, as real friends. “Understanding Willow” confirms this as it’s revealed that the only real reason why Amity’s friends with Boscha is because her parents approved it. So, believing that she had no better options, Amity kept the charade going to keep her parents happy and Amity safe. But when Amity finally found someone worth fighting for, and the bravery to match, she dumped Boscha for REAL friends. It was freeing for Amity to be rid of something, only for the writers to later decide that it wasn’t fake for Boscha.

I know that I said last time that the reveal that Boscha had a form of obsession with Amity felt rushed and forced, but that doesn’t stop it from being an interesting idea. Despite the friendship being forced upon them, Boscha DID consider Amity a real friend to do everything together. What she didn’t know was that those feelings were very much one-sided because…A. Amity didn’t appreciate having a friend forced upon her after losing another. And B. Boscha wasn’t a good friend. Not just with Amity either, as Boscha had this bossy, controlling attitude with ALL her “friends.” Now, we never saw Boscha act this way towards Amity, but there’s not really any evidence that proves she wouldn’t, either. And given how Boscha inevitably became the most controlling president of the entire school during the apocalypse, I wouldn’t put it behind her. Despite that, though, Boscha never saw herself as a bad friend and initially believed Amity’s making a mistake by aligning with “losers.” Amity never cared, and that just made Boscha frustrated, even jealous when Luz and Amity became close. Those feelings were easy for the audience to pick up, only for “For the Future” to further confirm them and put Boscha’s reactions in a new light. We now understand more about how torn up Boscha was in previous episodes and that’s why I don’t hate this last minute idea that the writers threw in. It’s still rushed and forced, but the potential it COULD have had makes it interesting. If there were more episodes to develop this idea, then it could have been a better relationship to dissect. As is, things are still fine, but weakened by doing too much too late.

But that’s enough about friends. Now that we started something negative, it’s time to lean into it by going over some enemies.

Rivalries/Enemies

The Owl House may be a show about friendship, family, and being kind to those you didn’t expect to deserve it, but there are still some characters who hate each other. These are more than negative, toxic relationships. These are pairings between characters who mutually hate each other, even if one side strongly dislikes the other more. And we’re going through a lot of hate, so let’s start with something light.

Willow vs. Boscha: It’s a classic dynamic: A bully and her nerd. That’s how it’s treated, that’s how it’s mostly seen, but I understand it as something more. I said so last time that Boscha is the perfect rival to Willow. There’s similarities in how they’re physically driven girls who need to affirm that they’re capable of being strong. The difference is their attitudes, as Willow goes out to prove that she’s as good as ANY witch and Boscha insists that she’s better than EVERY witch. Boscha believes that she has nothing to prove because she’s already perfect. So it makes sense that she feels threatened when Willow gets more attention. Boscha thinks that Willow is at the very bottom of the social ladder due to her lack of magical talent and made fun of her for years because of it. So when Willow gets a confidence boost and people notice her more as a result, it infuriates Boscha down to her core. So it’s no big surprise that Boscha doubles down on her bullying to make Willow’s life worse…For one episode.

Yeah, you would think Boscha’s worsened bullying would be continuous, but instead she lets up after the end of “Wing It Like Witches.” To be fair, it makes sense NARRATIVELY that Boscha would stop as the episode presents this idea that no matter how superior she ACTS, people will still praise how cool Willow is. That look of fear on Boscha’s face when her friends swarm Willow and ask her to join the team is a sweeter victory for Willow than beating Boscha at grudgby. And it SHOULD work…but it’d be better if Boscha was just a one-off bully. Except that she’s not. She’s WILLOW’S bully who spent so much time making Willow’s life miserable. So while it makes narrative sense for Boscha to back off, it doesn’t make sense for her CHARACTER and her place in Willow’s life. Plus, “Wing It Like Witches” isn’t exactly a satisfying end to their rivalry. It becomes more noticeable as an issue in “For the Future” when Willow finally stands up to Boscha without anyone else doing it for her. That’s a great start but then Boscha gets a forced redemption and Willow goes “This isn’t over” in a more playful tone instead of a spiteful one. And…that’s the end of that. Willow doesn’t have any final fight to shut Boscha up for good or even say, “Stay away now and forever.” They just end things on friendly terms and that doesn’t seem right? I mean, it fits with this whole “Make friends, not enemies” idea that The Owl House loves to use, but not only does this seem like a case where it would have been fine NOT to use it, it also feels a little cheap. Like, that’s how the rivalry ends? They hardly interacted in the very last episode that they’re together in, and all they did to each other comes to a close with one-sided playful banter? It definitely could use more punch to it, preferably one from Willow. And sure, you could argue that they weren’t meant to be rivals in the first place, but even if that’s true, which I honestly believe it isn’t, it would be a missed opportunity to take, which it honestly kind of is anyway. I like MOST of what we got with these two, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want more.

But, hey, at least SOME rivalries lived up to their potential.

Kikimora vs. Hunter: Okay, this one’s definitely more or less one-sided, but it’s everything it needed to be.

Kikimora had an INTENSE jealousy towards Hunter, and that’s putting it VERY lightly. She tried to kill him three times, with her not knowing it was him the second time, and Kikimora decided her new life purpose was to prove that she was better than Hunter. And Hunter…couldn’t care less. It’s actually kind of funny how much he considers Kikimora as a non-threat. If anything, he’s threatened by what Kikimora USES, whether it’s a dragon, a mech, or a small battalion of grunts. As for Kikimora herself, Hunter reacts to her surprising the others in “For the Future” the same way a person would if they forgot to buy milk. She’s a minor inconvenience to him at best, and Hunter has no fear dealing with her. Meanwhile, Kikimora continues to plan his death as if their rivalry was on equal terms, even though it very much is NOT. And while the conclusion to this one isn’t strong either, it doesn’t really need to be. It’s a rivalry used for entertainment value and to further emphasize how detached from reality Kikimora is to believe that the Emperor’s right hand considers an angry little gremlin as a worthy opponent. It’s a short and fun dynamic that works because the show didn’t need it to be anything more. It’s not like they’re the BIGGEST enemies in the show…That’s the next relationship.

Luz vs. Belos: Out of everything in the story, the relationship between the main protagonist and antagonist is one of the most important things to get right. Fortunately, The Owl House understands this with Luz and Belos. Like most antagonists, Belos is a dark reflection of Luz. They’re both humans who came to the Isles, worked hard to find a way to do magic like everyone else, made connections with others to help get by, and changed the world through their actions. However, that’s where all the similarities end with these two, because even though they have surface level comparisons, they couldn’t be more different with what they did and why they’ve done it. Luz changed lives for the better, all because she loved the Boiling Isles and all the friends she made in it. Belos changed lives for the worse because he despised witch kind and wanted to eradicate them all from the inside out. And when both faced the other, Luz and Belos had different ideas of who was the hero of this story. To Luz, it was obvious. Almost ANNOYINGLY obvious, as she couldn’t get how no one else could see how Belos was clearly evil. As for Belos, he didn’t necessarily see Luz as the villain, but instead as a tragedy. Just like his brother, Luz was taken in by the witches and their sinful allure and was too far gone to fix. Belos is still “merciful” to her, but that’s because Luz is the first human he has met in years and he’s willing to refrain from eradicating her like a common witch because there’s a chance that she might see the light. It’s why, even during his death, he is begging for Luz to reclaim her humanity again and be better than those witches. There’s just one problem: Everything Belos believes Luz to be is complete horseshit.

Luz isn’t a tragic loss, she’s a GOOD PERSON. Hell, she’s more human than Belos could ever be as Luz treats everyone in the Isles as actual PEOPLE instead of sinful monsters. Luz chose to help witches because she genuinely cares about them and wants to save THEM from danger. Right from the beginning, Eda was more than willing to let Luz run away back home only for Luz to stay because these witches and demons needed her help. That doesn’t make her a tragedy but a person who’s actually pure of heart. And as for Belos’ “mercy,” it was out of selfishness despite how much he’d tell himself otherwise. When letting Luz free to save Eda, he practically did it with a gun to Eda’s head so Luz would be willing to give up the portal door. That and likely because he deduced that he needed Luz’s help to get The Collector. And after nearly killing Luz in “King’s Tide,” he decided to stop because Luz convinced him that she could be his guide in the modern human realm and verify his achievements. Belos may have believed that he was being altruistic, but in reality he backed Luz in the corner, forcing her to do and say what Belos wanted. Only for Luz to prove that she’s NOT an idiot by outsmarting him both of those times, nearly killing Belos the second. It shows that not only does Belos misunderstand the kind of person Luz is, he underestimates her. The man who lied and tricked his way to the top got beaten at own game by some teenage girl who is great at sleight of hand and appealing to someone’s needs. Yet despite this, Belos still thinks that he can outsmart Luz one last time by blaming his actions on a curse. Because he still believes he knows that Luz is a misguided girl and tries to use her kindness towards others as a way to convince her. But while Belos fails to understand Luz, Luz came to learn EXACTLY the kind of person Belos is.

Being a fan of fantasy as a genre, Luz could tell upon seeing Belos that he was evil. And, again, it’s pretty telling how Luz feels about him when she, the kindest character in the show, immediately went for the head. But while Luz was aware that Belos was obviously evil, she didn’t know with Philip. Her first impression of Philip was that he was a wise man who could potentially help her, which is the exact image Belos tried to portray with Luz years later. The only reason why it works with Luz when she meets Philip is because she read his adventures, which were personally revised by Philip himself, and he didn’t look like much of a threat. It isn’t until Luz catches onto what type of con artist Philip was that she soon switched gears to hating the old bastard. Rightly so, of course, but it would unfortunately come too late as Luz already helped Philip without even knowing that he was on his way to becoming Belos. The realization that Luz accidentally created a monster haunts her and will continue to do so for years. It’s why she REFUSES to buy any other trick or lie Belos tries to pull and kills him without any mercy. She knows that there’s nothing he could say to change Luz’s mind, because all the tricks in the past proves that he’s full of it. And as he berates witches with his last breath, it’s all Luz needs to know that she’s making the right choice. Belos was a monster that ruined lives, including Luz’s, and she’s most definitely glad to be rid of him.

Luz and Belos has a perfect hero/villain dynamic that I adored. I DO wish they interacted more to further sell that dynamic, but that’s nitpicking at best as they’re both still wonderfully written. There was definitely no missed potential with these two…Speaking of missed potential…

Darius vs. Alador: Alright, in fairness, this one might not have had much attention on it anyway, even if the show had more time. And large and part because it’s something that’s more or less written in the background of everyone else’s stories. Just small comments like Darius calling Alador a hack and actions where Alador tosses Darius’ book away in disgust. They were never a focus of an episode, but the writers still made it a fact that Alador and Darius couldn’t stand each other. And it works for what it is…but then there’s this level of intrigue presented in “Them’s the Breaks, Kid,” a flashback episode that briefly revealed that Alador and Darius were once friends. That inevitably led to questions, all circling around what could have happened between then and now to cause their friendship to change into a rivalry. There’s some definite intrigue to what could have happened, and it’s why I’m willing to say it’s a missed opportunity to not explore it…HOWEVER, I will also admit that it’s not a HUGE thing to focus on. Out of everything in the series, there’s bigger fish to fry than explaining why a secondary character’s dad came to hate a side character. If the show had all the time in the world, it would definitely feel more like a missed opportunity. As is, it’s still perfectly functional as a rivalry with a bit of unresolved intrigue. I would have loved more, but I’m not losing hair over it.

And yes, I know, there’s a possibility that these two could be a couple, but that’s more or less hinted as a possibility because of ONE interaction near the end. I wouldn’t say it’s anything official outside of that…But since we brought up SHIPS…

Couples/Ships

Quick stipulation, this isn’t about popular ships within the fandom. You’re not going to see Viney and Emira or Viney and Skara just because there’s a lot of fan fics and MoringMark comics about them. There’s also not going to be any POSSIBLE ships here. We’re discussing what’s canon and official based on what we’ve seen in the show. So no Veesha, despite how adorable and crazy it is to have a crack ship actually be a possibility.

No, instead, we’re discussing the ships that were built up within the show, their ups and downs, and how they worked as a couple. And to start, let’s just go ahead and rip off the bandaid. There’s one ship we ALL know deserves to be talked about, and it’s best to start off with…

Alador/Odalia: Hey, not every couple is good for each other. 

Full disclosure, I had NO idea where to place these two. I THOUGHT about putting Alador and Odalia in the family section, but their relationship cannot be described as that. Even putting them HERE feels like a stretch. But there’s not really any better place for these two. I could call them enemies, but that also feels like an oversimplification because they don’t really hate each other…At least not until “Clouds on the Horizon,” but we’ll get to that.

Just like asking if Odalia loved Amity, I have to wonder if she loved Alador. Because, truthfully, I think she DID, once upon a time. I look at that photo of Alador winning the Bonesborough Brawl, and it definitely hints that there was SOME infatuation there on Odalia’s face. Granted, being attracted to someone and loving them are two different things. Dozens of fans hate Odalia with their final breath, but will go on record saying that she’s pretty hot. And…yeah, fair. But I definitely feel like she felt SOMETHING that went beyond physical attraction once. As for whether she feels the same in the PRESENT, I definitely say that same spark no longer exists as Odalia sees Alador as nothing more than a business partner than a romantic one. She compliments his work, but you can argue that’s just Odalia being glad that she’ll be getting richer instead of admiring Alador’s passion in his craft. And when Alador says something Odalia doesn’t like, she doesn’t waste a second to threaten divorce and take away what Alador really cares about: The kids. Odalia may not fully care about her children, but she knows Alador does and is too willing to use them as leverage. Any attraction Odalia may have felt is certainly gone, with the only thing she has left to feel is maybe physical, but I wouldn’t bet on it. Mainly because Odalia seems like a woman who would have private affairs with better looking men, and can get away with it because she’s in charge of every aspect of the relationship. And Alador suffered for it.

Now, as for whether or not ALADOR loved Odalia, I’m once again willing to say yes…to a point. Some say that their marriage was more or less arranged for the sake of business or Odalia pitched their marriage as a business proposition rather than anything romantic. And while I can definitely see that, a part of me believes that there WAS something there and that Alador stuck with Odalia because he initially fell for her. If it was strictly a business thing, Alador would have walked out any time with how Odalia treated him as an employee rather than a partner. And the arranged marriage seems off too because Alador, even before working through hell, seemed too messy to be from a rich family willing to do business with Odalia’s. So I believe that the best explanation is that Alador used to love Odalia once, but that love would fade away over the years. The only thing that kept Alador by her side despite the anguish is both the kids and, quite possibly, because Alador’s feelings didn’t COMPLETELY fade until “Clouds on the Horizon.” Trust me when I say that for some couples, even married ones, find it hard to get out of a relationship that’s toxic because they cling too tightly to the good times. You know you can do better, but you stick it out because your brain keeps telling you “Well, they’re not ALWAYS this bad.” I feel like the show hints how THAT’S how Alador feels with Odalia. Look at that smile he gives her in the end of “Escaping Expulsion.” Odalia’s compliment might not have been wholly genuine, but Alador’s smile was. It’s almost as if he’s taking the compliment at face value and sees it as an example of Odalia being not so bad. He takes little moments like that until finally meeting his wits end in “Clouds on the Horizon,” where after learning that he missed so much of Amity’s life in “Reaching Out,” Alador’s a bit more willing to fight back against Odalia. Still, there’s that part of him saying, “Well, she’s not THAT bad.” And just like Amity, Alador’s telling himself that Odalia couldn’t be THAT evil in selling weapons to a genocidal maniac. But once finding out that she IS, it’s the last push Alador needed to shut up that voice inside his head and officially cut ties with Odalia forever. It’s a great representation of how a toxic marriage can grow over time and that even men can face abuse from women…At least, that’s how it should be on paper. But much like the rest of Alador’s character, everything is better on paper than it is in practice.

A lot of what the writers do with Alador and Odalia still works…enough. It’s right on that line where everything the writers try is still functional but could still be better. A lot of my analysis between them is based on looking deeply at minor implications at best and seeing something that isn’t there at worst. It would benefit MORE if we saw the good times Alador and Odalia had together or if we saw more of a conflict with Alador’s perception of Odalia. As is, I still LIKE what’s done and what it represents, but I still admit that it could have been better. Maybe with more time, it COULD have been, but alas, that’s not the case.

But that’s enough of a ship that sank. Let’s talk about one that had SOME fans at first only to SKYROCKET into popularity when the writers started making it a possibility. To the point where you see them almost everywhere. And that is…

Willow/Hunter: I’m not kidding, it feels like these two are EVERYWHERE now. I remember seeing, like, one or two bits of fan works of Willow and Hunter together that made me question people’s sanity. And then “Any Sport in a Storm” happened and a lot of people, including myself, went, “I get it now…”

There’s a lot of potential present with Willow and Hunter. They’re both people who work hard to prove that they’re stronger than anyone expects. Willow is quick to identify with Hunter’s self-deprecating view of being “Half a witch,” and Hunter admires Willow’s show of strength and determination. The ideas of these two becoming a couple grow stronger the more “Any Sport in a Storm” goes on, with Willow showing that while she understands Hunter’s plight, she doesn’t treat him like a wounded puppy and YANKS him away to prove that NO ONE should be underestimated. It shows that while Willow cares, she will be direct and to the point, the type of language Hunter understands. And to Willow, it’s really smart that she was introduced to HUNTER first instead of the Golden Guard. To her, Hunter wasn’t a threat, but a kid. A weird kid, sure, but one who still has insecurities and comes across as a little awkward in a charming way. Even when the truth comes out, Willow’s taken in by the charm of how Hunter clearly doesn’t know how to act as a kid. As for Hunter, he’s definitely the one who developed a crush first, proven by that little hint of a blush near the end of the episode. It makes sense, given how Willow was the first person Hunter met that was BEAMING with positivity and didn’t immediately want to kill him. Add that with the fact that Willow is a no nonsense person who has some of the most powerful magical abilities he’s ever seen, she likely checks the boxes that Hunter believes to be noteworthy. But it’s Willow’s kindness that sucked Hunter in.

Hunter knows Willow is tough, but he appreciates the way she seemed willing to forgive Hunter despite kidnapping her and the rest of the Emerald Entrails. Willow’s nice, and she continues to be so when stuck in the human realm. Willow cuts Hunter’s hair as he’s having an identity crisis and supports his bizarre fashion choices after he reads Cosmic Frontier and gains a better understanding of himself. The best part is that Willow didn’t know the full picture during these moments. She just thought Hunter wanted his hair cut and was trying something new and fashionable, but the facts didn’t matter because she was a hundred percent on board anyway. That level of support was something Hunter rarely got in his life, and he got it from Willow the most. It all adds up to why Hunter has a crush on Willow, making it easy to buy why he does…The problem is that I can’t exactly say the same about Willow’s crush on Hunter.

I get that Willow likes Hunter and that she cares deeply about him. She’s crying the most when it looks like Hunter’s dying in “Thanks to Them” and it’s when Willow fails to help him in “For the Future” that almost breaks her. We GET that she cares, but there’s never really that MOMENT where Willow’s clearly crushing on Hunter beyond implications and two “blink and you’ll miss it” blushes that come near the end of “For the Future.” There could be the argument that Willow likes Hunter the MOST out of the friend group, with some pointing out that she went the most feral in “Clouds on the Horizon” when she thought it was HUNTER who was in danger. A friend of mine pointed out that Willow would have acted the same way if she knew it was Luz, and while that’s definitely true with her attacks on Kikimora, Willow went from the first to hijack an airship to save Hunter to the most held together when she found out it was Luz. So I could definitely see the case that Willow cared a lot about Hunter but never realized it was a crush. What bothers me is that it doesn’t feel BIG when Willow discovers her crush. I mean, yeah, it’s sweet that Hunter admitted how much Willow means to him and that he’s willing to be a shoulder to cry on…but that’s the same with Willow’s other friends. There’s nothing that different with Hunter as there is with Luz or Gus, and by the time Willow’s blushing it feels like something that NEEDS to happen to confirm her crush. And I fully blame how underdeveloped it is on the show’s shortening.

Hunter and Willow becoming a couple was an idea brought up when the show was nearing the end, leaving the writers with a handful of episodes and three specials to make it make sense. What went wrong was that they focused more on Hunter’s feelings than Willow’s and made it canon as quickly as they could. And even then, the canonicity of their relationship is more implied if anything else. Like, it’s obvious to anyone with EYES and a BRAIN that Hunter and Willow are a couple, but there’s never this verbal or physical confirmation that they’re together. They have their arms around each other in the finale, but there’s not much other than that. On the one hand, that’s great role reversal as shows for YEARS had to rely on implications towards their same sex couples while being as explicit as possible with straight ones, where The Owl House is the exact opposite. But on the other hand, why even make these two a couple when you’re not even going to make them kiss?

Back when I said “I get it now” after “Any Sport in a Storm,” I realized I was excited more by the IDEA of Hunter and Willow without knowing the actual execution. We could have seen Hunter deal with his first ever crush and Willow learn that she has someone who loves her no matter how “powerless” she can be to others (Primarily Boscha). What we got instead was HALF of that, watching some great stuff with Hunter but not much with Willow. Still, these two have their fans and I can definitely see why. The IDEA of them together is great and it’s why I still like them being a pair. However, based on what the show gave us, their love didn’t bloom (Hahaha) as effectively as it should.

But I know the REAL couple you want me to talk about. It’s one of the biggest relationships in the show, due to how effectively it appeals to the LGBTQA+ community. And that is…

Raine/Eda: Because, let’s face it, older people can be queer too.

On top of being a stellar representation to have one of the main characters fall in love with someone non-binary, The Owl House does great at telling Raine and Eda’s love story. Cleverly, the writers introduce Raine as someone Eda knew and was obviously in love with. By withholding most of their past for future episodes, it leaves this first assumption that they were both in love with each other for years but likely never bite the bullet by asking each other out. I mean, they were nervous together with Eda being a blushing mess half the time. It’s not like they were exes, because people don’t act that way towards someone they broke up with…Then, literally, the next episode later, it was revealed that they WERE exes. Even better, Eda didn’t want to break up. She DID want Raine, but Raine felt like they weren’t wanted because Eda wouldn’t let Raine in to help with the curse. Eda left them at arms length to keep them safe, only for Raine to break things off because, well, how would YOU feel about your partner being distant when all you want is to be close? This brilliantly recontextualizes “Eda’s Requiem,” as Eda’s the one always blushing and looking away, as if she doesn’t want to let on how much she still loves Raine. Yet, upon seeing them for the first time in YEARS, Eda practically jumps at the chance to work with Raine in rebelling against Belos, partially because of the chaos she’s excited to cause and because struggling to grasp that her kids might leave one day so Eda throws herself into the first relationship she can think of reconnecting with. Raine, albeit too late, catches onto this and stops Eda before she makes a mistake she can’t take back, helping her live so that she can be better to her kids than she was to Raine, letting them stay instead of pushing away when it feels easier. And likely because Raine still loves Eda too.

Then Raine grew kidnapped…sort of. They ARE taken away with Terra trying to brainwash Raine into changing everything they are, but Raine’s smart enough to avoid the obvious trap and tricks everyone into believing that they WERE under Terra’s influence. The thing is, though, that Eda AND the audience didn’t get this information until FOUR episodes after being fed information that they’re brainwashed. So when Eda tries to rescue Raine, they had to keep up the act because Eda would ABSOLUTELY interfere or throw herself into danger for Raine. But Raine doesn’t want Eda in danger, so they lie and keep her as far away as they possibly can…doing almost the same thing Eda did years ago that caused Raine to break up with her. The details aren’t exact and the circumstances are more complicated, but the spirit is still there as Raine tries to keep Eda as far as possible from any danger so she won’t get hurt. Only for Eda to prove that she’s one to face danger head on for the ones she loves and that the safest place is right by Raine. It also helps that Eda initially contacted them, begging Raine to save Luz because she needs to be FAR from danger and Eda doesn’t care what’s going on with Raine at the time doing this. Eda trusts them more than anything, and this moment of fragility helps Raine realize they’ve been thinking backwards in trying to help Eda. And helping Eda is all Raine set out to do, trying to give her any out possible from being branded with a sigil and ripping Eda’s arm off so she wouldn’t die with the others…It sounds horrific out of context, but trust me that it proves how much Raine cares for Eda, willing to do anything for her survival. The love between these two is as clear as day, and how the writers went about showing Raine and Eda’s feelings is smart…BUT…

As good as this ship is, a ship like Princess Bubblegum and Marceline the Vampire Queen from Adventure Time shows what Raine and Eda could and SHOULD be. It’s a similar dynamic, as Bubblegum and Marcy broke up in their younger days only to reconnect MUCH later because they needed more time to grow before becoming the perfect couple they were meant to be. It’s to show that your first love CAN be your true love, but sometimes people need time apart to become better before realizing you never wanted this person out of your life in the first place. That’s not the same for everybody, but for these old gays, it is. The difference between Raeda and Bubbline, though, is that Bubbline focuses on the growth BOTH characters have to go through. Bubblegum and Marceline have their own baggage to overcome and the majority of their time on the show is about them learning to deal with it not necessarily for each other but for themselves and the people they love. With Raeda, it’s the same idea, but it’s Eda who grows more. And that’s because Eda, upon conception, was her own character where Raine, as I said last time, was a love interest. Still wouldn’t say that makes Raine less of a character, but for this relationship that means there’s less attention on THEM to grow as they’re often treated as this perfect person who Eda tries hard to fight back for. Now, there’s stuff that Raine did wrong too, with pushing Eda away from danger and constantly putting Eda’s needs in front of their own. However, the show never really digs deep into those issues, nor is there a moment where Eda confronts Raine for how THEY acted. Granted, Eda doesn’t have a leg of her own to stand on, but we’ve at least seen her grow past pushing people out of her life and letting them back in. Most of Raine’s development coincides with Eda’s, making it where Raine can’t adequately grow past their own failings. It makes it feel like it’s EDA that has to grow more to get Raine back, which would be fine, but it also makes Raine feel more like a prize Eda needs to earn instead of a character who has their own stakes in the relationship. It’s the part of Raine and Eda’s love story that gets to me a little, but, even then…I still loved that these two got back together.

Raine and Eda’s chemistry is on point and you get why they love each other. They’re both agents of chaos, Raine going for more controlled chaos while Eda is just all in for pure havoc. Eda brings extra fun into Raine’s life while Raine makes sure they BOTH don’t get into trouble. It’s like Raine and Eda were made for each other and you DO want them to get back together. Those scenes where Eda peppers Raine’s face with kisses and later snuggles up to them when all the craziness is over is ALL I ever wanted. I’m glad I got it, even if the development of their relationship could’ve been better, I’m still happy that they BOTH got their deserved happy ending.

But that’s enough teasing. You may have noticed that I haven’t talked about ONE relationship yet. One that is HUGE within this series. A relationship so big, so important, that to lump it in with all these others is a disservice to how major it is. A relationship SO GOOD that it deserves its own category as…

It’s Own Thing

You all know who they are. They’re a relationship that makes the show what it is and are the very reason why it’s so good. They’re so important that The Owl House wouldn’t be the same without them. And they are…

Luz, King, and Eda: Or our main trio, to be short.

Yeah, crazy enough, the most essential relationship in the show happens to involve the three main characters in it. The Owl House starts with them, ends with them, and features them almost always going on adventures, sometimes alone but always ending up back together. Together, they’re more than a group of weirdos stuck together. They’re a family.

Luz and Eda have this VERY obvious mother/daughter dynamic. Eda may have called Luz her human, apprentice, and, most times, KID, but it always felt like she was one slip of the tongue away from saying “daughter.” Eda’s motherly instincts kicked in nearly instantly, where the second Luz is put into too much danger, all the woman can think of is getting Luz FAR away from it. It’s large in part because Eda’s a naturally caring person, whether she likes to admit it or not, and doesn’t want this young girl to get hurt. But the more time Eda spends with Luz, getting to know this crafty kid with a good heart, the more it becomes clear that Eda wants to protect Luz because Eda sees Luz as her own. Not only can see it in all the ways Eda smiles at Luz’s antics or comforts Luz when she needs it, but Eda’s motherly love for Luz is clear as day when you notice that Eda’s at her most panicked and angry when Luz is in danger. Anyone can be nice to some random teen that refuses to leave their home, but it takes a mother to be equally soft and protective towards that child. And let it be known that the feelings are very mutual, as Luz often looks up to Eda as a second mother. Just like how Eda is always SO CLOSE to saying “daughter,” Luz always sounds like she means “mother” when she says “mentor.” Luz constantly goes right to Eda for help, information, and advice on pretty much every aspect of her new magical life. Sure, this could be because Eda’s the closest thing to an adult that could take Luz in, but Luz ALSO forms a better bond the more time they spend together. Luz cares so much about how Eda sees her and wants Eda to be happy above all else. You could say that it’s the least Luz could do for freeloading in Eda’s home (and you’d be a prick for saying that), but it comes from a genuine love, respect, and admiration for Eda. Hell, it’s LUZ who’s the first to admit that they’re like family and to say, “I love you” in “Young Blood, Old Souls.” They both clearly see each other as a mother and her daughter, even if neither of them use the actual words “mother” or “daughter.” The spirit is definitely there and it’s adorable and entertaining to see each episode.

However, out of the three, I feel like it’s King who’s often treated as an afterthought. For Luz and Eda, King’s either treated as a sidekick, a friend, a son/brother, and a pet. Although, this is primarily because the writers clearly didn’t know what to do with King until Season Two, which is around the same time Luz and Eda started treating King more consistently. Luz became more of a protective order sister and Eda became more of a mother (Mainly because King legally made himself her son). BUUUUUUUUUT, it doesn’t change how off the inconsistencies felt early on, nor was there enough time to make these dynamic changes feel like they stick. Especially since King rarely showed any genuine care until near the end of Season One. He still showed that he appreciated Luz and Eda and was happy to have them, but also treated them both VERY poorly, like with how much he intentionally annoyed Eda or cracked jokes at Luz’s expense. He didn’t hate them, but it definitely took King more time to love the family he has. Likely because Season Two made him realize that he didn’t have any biological family outside of Luz and Eda (and sometimes Hooty). Even when the idea that his real family is out there, King still considers Luz and Eda a part of it. It’s all sweet to see even if it feels a little late to the game.

The best part about these three, though, is the mutual amount of love and care for each other. Some of the sweetest scenes in the show feature Luz, King, and Eda lifting each other up, comforting one another, or just…goofing off and having fun. Their bond and chemistry as a trio is on point and you get how important it is when this trio splits up for Season Three. Because Season Three…was better than it had any right to be. “Thanks to Them” started the season out strong as the best episode in the series, “For the Future” also existed as good but not great, but it wasn't until “Watching and Dreaming” did things start to feel right. As good as “Thanks to Them” was, it felt like one of the pieces of the puzzle was missing. I loved almost every minute, but there was something that made “Thanks to Them” unable to be the best representation of what makes the show so good. And what was missing was King and Eda. It felt so wrong to watch an episode without either of them being right there with Luz, almost as if the show was incomplete without them. Things didn’t feel much better in “For the Future.” King and Eda were there, but separated from Luz as they dealt with The Collector while Luz was dealing with…a lot more. We saw all of them in the same episode, but something STILL felt missing. It’s not until we get to “Watching and Dreaming” does it become clear: What was missing was seeing the trio TOGETHER. Seeing all three of them reunite and interact with each other again finally made it feel like I was finally watching The Owl House again. You could have a great show if it was Luz with her mom and friends, dealing with teen drama. You can even have an okay show if it was Eda and King going through some magical nonsense. But when you bring them together, have them go through everything with each other close by or by their side, then you get The Owl House. All these other relationships could’ve been cut and the show wouldn’t suffer, but The Owl House wouldn’t be the same without Luz, King, and Eda’s bond.

And…Yeah, that’s about it.

The relationships in this show are varied, both in the different dynamics each character has and the quality of how they’re written. There’s a lot of great ideas, but some seem like there’s not enough time to make them meet their full potential. Regardless, the ones that DO work succeeds in bringing more warmth and intrigue to an already great show. There’s much more ups than downs, and it’s always endearing seeing great characters forming perfect bonds with other great characters.

That’s all for now, though. So I will see you all next time as I discuss—What? Why are you looking at me like that? Did I forget something?

…OH! You thought I forgot ANOTHER relationship. One that features two of the best characters in the series. 

A relationship that’s adorable and gave me so much happiness in this dark place we call Earth.

A relationship that is IMPRESSIVE LGBTQA+ representation due to its normalization and how much attention is given to it.

A relationship that, while The Owl House wouldn’t be the same without our main trio, the very same could be said about this other relationship.

A relationship SO GOOD, that to just go over it as simply as I went over the others would be too great of a disservice.

Because that relationship is, without a doubt, the best thing about the series. And no, I’m not kidding.

You’ll see why…next time.

Next Part >

[ametistacollinsworld]

★ Wally, Howdy and Barnaby x Gyaru! Reader ★

My 51 request! Hope you like!

━━━━━━ ● ━━━━━━

You were the newest resident of the neighborhood, which quickly gained the attention of Wally, Howdy and Barnaby's eyes. You looked so interesting and different from them! Always being followed by your unique gyaru style, which for them was so cute and charming!

You always looked tanned, accompanied by your beautiful blonde hair flowing in the wind and signature outfit, which consisted of short shorts/short skirts, with white long-sleeved blouses, baggy socks and nice boots! Just full of character, really!

Just another day ahead in the neighborhood, with you waking up a little later than usual, having had last minute practice last night for Sally's newest play, she was so excited about it so you just nodded... She would owe you some Poppy's cookies after that-

The sound of someone slamming the door brought you out of your thoughts, which made you go to the door, rubbing your eyes gently, then opening it slowly to find your three sweet boyfriends there.

" Oh! Wally! Howdy! Barnaby! What brings you three here sweeties? " You asked in a happy tone, giving the three of them a soft smile.

" Well, we wanted to invite you to a picnic dear! But it looks like you just woke up, are we bothering you? " Wally spoke with a sweet smile, soon replaced by a slightly embarrassed smile.

" Yes! Your face is puffed up! Like cheese muffins! " Barnaby spoke in a playful tone, cradling your face carefully with both paws, gently squeezing your cheeks making you do silly grimaces. You held his paws with a smile, giving a small giggle looking at the worried faces of the other two.

" I'm fine guys! I just got up late because I helped Sally with a new play at the last minute! I would love to have a picnic with you guys" You spoke in a soft tone, taking Barnaby's paws off your cheeks slowly giving him a smile

" Well, if you say so my dear! Get ready and meet us at apple tree hill, we'll be waiting for you there! " Howdy said in a cheerful tone, giving a little 'boop' to your nose, which made you chuckle.

" Okay! I'll meet you there! See you guys soon! " You said in a cheerful tone, giving the three of them a small wave before closing the door, giving a goofy smile and leaning against the door. You had to get ready!

You then ran to your room, wanting to get ready as soon as possible for them. What clothes could you wear?

You had decided to wear some colorful hair clips, nice white shorts, a white short-sleeved blouse plus your pair of fuzzy socks with summer boots.

You left the house closing the door carefully behind you, just humming as you walked up to the apple tree hill, greeting Sally and Julie on the way.

You then arrived at the top of the hill, being greeted by your three boyfriends who had already assembled their picnic blanket, just chatting waiting for you to arrive.

" Hey boys! I am here! " You exclaimed with a smile, soon seeing how their cheeks turned slightly red when they saw you.

" You are beautiful as always dear! " Howdy said giving you a blushing smile, which Barnaby agreed with a silly smile, while Wally just stared at you with an admiring smile. You giggled, feeling your cheeks rosy, then sat down with them.

" Don't be like that! Or I'll turn as red as an apple- " You said in a playfully embarrassed tone, placing your hands on your cheeks dramatically, which made the three of them chuckle.

" I wouldn't complain to see that~ " Wally said in a teasing playful tone, which made you give him a little slap on the arm playfully, pouting. Barnaby and Howdy just watched the scene, hiding their giggles behind their paws/hands.

" Don't be like that, you two! Let's eat some jelly sandwiches Howdy brought! Haha " Barnaby said with a goofy smile, letting a small chuckle finally escape.

" Yeah! I made it myself, with your (favorite jelly)! " Howdy said with an amused smile, stroking your hair gently.

" Okay, fine- " You rolled your eyes playfully, giving Barnaby and Howdy a smile, but then sticking your tongue out playfully at Wally, which the other two just laughed once more, while that Wally just rolled his eyes playfully, giving you a smile while crossing his arms.

You, Wally, Howdy and Barnaby had a very nice picnic that day.

[magica-witch-project]

☆Welcome to Magica Witch Project☆

Howdy folks! My name is Mod Mami and I am the main moderator for this page. Magica Witch Project is a little writing project I started about 6 years ago where I take YOUR wishes and create magical girls and witches based on them. Included in this is a description of your costume, powers, weapon, relationship to other magia in the community, your downfall, and your witch form. Are you interested? Great! Here’s how to get a wish of your very own 💛

1. Decide on your wish. Anything goes here! I’ve written everything from illness curing, to undying pets, to pocket dimensions. No wish is too grand or too small- just remember it all comes back in the end. To keep the blog interesting, here are a few wishes we have done TO DEATH. If you want to still send them, please take care to elaborate more on EXACTLY what you want so I have something to go on.

- I wish for infinite wealth/gold/money/etc

- I wish to protect my friends/family

2. What else should I know? In order to get your piece as personal to you as possible, tell me a little about yourself. Favorite colors or animals, hobbies, personality, etc. Anything you care to share might be helpful in creating your character! This is also where you should let me know if you are NOT a magical girl or if you have specific pronouns. They don’t come up often but magical boys and magical NB folks (who I call Magia here) are always welcome.

3. Specific story details you want (optional). Have a specific way you envision something for your story? Maybe you REALLY want pants rather than a skirt? Or perhaps you have always wanted to use a bow? Maybe there is a very specific way you want to set off your transformation into a witch. Put it here! This is completely optional and if you want to see what I can do, I appreciate it. But if there’s something you just can’t miss, toss it in there and I’ll be sure to include it.

Once you’ve put that all together in an ask, just send it in and you’ll be added to the queue! As always, if the work you receive is not to your liking and you need minor changes, let me know and I am happy to edit for you. I look forward to bringing you even more magical girls!

-Mod Mami 🖊️

[herbofgraceandpeace]

My informal review of The Last Graduate (here be spoilers)

Well, I just finished The Last Graduate, and I’m just sitting with all my muscles clenched in tension and sorrow, lol

But seriously, what an interesting ending……I’m not sure what to make of it yet? The narrative was leading you to expect a big push/big sacrifice from El when something inevitably went wrong, and I was hoping that everything would simply go right (obviously), but I wasnt unaware of Orion’s opportunity to make the self-sacrifice play. WAS IT NECESSARY THOUGH???? *insert look how they massacred my boy meme. i think i read way too much of this book late last night (whoops), so my comprehension of it is not as developed as with the first book (shame on me for reading too fast like a glutton), but what a great sequel! I liked watching El wrestle with learning to trust people and work as a team, I loved watching her relationship with sisters sorry her friends develop, and I loved the growth of her relationship with Orion as well*. I will say I think his character has been a little underutilized at times, in a way not untypical for a romantic interest of either gender, but Novik that’s my mannnnnnnnnnnn, I wanna read about him! But we definitely did get some good scenes that developed he and El’s relationship and seemed the seeds for some of his own character development (let this man GROW). I’m not sure yet how I think the ending plays into that. If Patience-Fortitude was truly going to recenter the world, then his sacrifice was noble and necessary. But if it wasn’t, then why does my precious child need to kill it himself instead of letting El cast it into the void, hmmm? Side note: I loved El finally coming to appreciate the Scholomance cause I was freaking devastated by her willingness to condemn it. Maybe if I had suffered as much as she had, I’d hate my Alma mater too, but the loss of a place you know so well, a place where you have the happy memories of making your first friends—that’s gotta count for something, right?

I forgot to mention this in my review of A Deadly Education, but El’s Mom and their relationship is so important. God bless her, I’d love to meet her. I’d be exasperated at her character role as the Sole Voice of Truth and Goodness, except that’s the truths attributed to her are valuable, nuanced, and beautiful, and her knowledge of them makes sense in the context of how she has chosen to live her life. A life of uncomprising, open-hearted service and self-sacrifice teaches you a lot! Which brings us to one of my favorite bits of the book. I adore that Novik, Scholomance, and El all realize that you have to be faithful in the little moments because they shape you!!!! She had grown accustomed to saving the freshman instead of sacrificing them for her own benefit, and this shaped her character and prepared her to realize and then do what needed to be done to save them all. (I have so many good quotes saved without page numbers, so you’ll get those later, but boy howdy, these books have so beautiful things to say)

I’m so, so invested in what’s going to happen in the next book, but I’m not ready to have finished this delightful trilogy either. They’re going to be great rereads for sure! Here’s hoping things turn out okay for Orion (also why did El’s mother warn her off him? We do not know.) I’d love to see El get to change the world with her tiny enclaves, despite my dislike of large stakes in a story since they often render the plot unwieldy to the point of disbelief. It’s hard to write a story about something that changes the world without either 1. Writing Lord of the Rings or 2. Being massively and disgustingly reductive about what it takes to change the world and the u comfortable, uncontrollable consequences of doing so. Nevertheless, I am ready to be hurt again!

*I am once again asking for people not to put sex scenes in books. Please. Don’t do it. Ever.

[boldlyspeedydreamerreturns]

this is a very silly request but could you write a Helluva one shot about the characters decorating for a party only for Blitzo, Fizzaroli and Stolas to all get distracted by inhaling helium balloons and joking around together with squeaky helium voices?

feel free to add any other characters you want like Ozzie or Loona for example

Aww, this is silly, but yes, I can do it. 👍

At Asmodeus' palace, Blitz and Stolas are running around with Fizz trying to get everything set up quickly. Fizz smiles at the two.

"Thanks for helping me put together Ozzie's surprise birthday party. He always makes a fuss that he's too old to celebrate his birthday, but I love to spoil him."

*Stolas and Blitz both nod.*

"It was our pleasure, dear Fizzarolli. Asmodeus is a good friend, of course we were happy to assist."

"Yeah, plus you went all out on dinner. Who knew big Ozz had such a thing for comfort food?"

Fizz grabbed the helium tank and started blowing up more balloons. He then got an idea and chuckled to himself. He got Blitz's attention.

"Hey Blitz, remember this?"

He took a puff of the helium.

"Howdy boys and girls. It's time for the clown parade!"

Blitz burst out laughing. Fizz started marching in a circle, singing in the high pitched helium voice.

"Yes today, yes today, yes today is the clown parade. Grab your shoes, grab your nose, grab your friends and here we go~!"

The two couldn't stop laughing, falling over themselves as they almost couldn't breathe anymore. Stolas watched them curiously for a minute.

"Is this...a reference to something? I'm afraid I don't get the joke."

Blitz stopped laughing just enough to talk.

"Growing up in the circus, to drum up business my dad would make all of us walk around town in a "clown parade" it was so stupid. He would suck in a bunch of helium and sing that damn song."

He started laughing harder again, which made Stolas laugh too. Fizz took another hit of the helium.

"Blitzo, how many times do I have to tell you, don't throw too much confetti. That shit ain't cheap ya know!"

They all started laughing harder, not even noticing that Asmodeus had returned. He watched the trio amused. He looked around and saw the mostly finished party, as well as the fabulous dinner.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Fizz, Blitz, and Stolas all jumped when Ozzie spoke. Fizz grinned and jumped into his boyfriend's arms.

"Ozz, you're home early! Happy birthday, babe."

Asmodeus couldn't help a chuckle as Fizz still had the high voice. They kissed, then he smiled at Stolas and Blitz.

"Did you two help him with this silly plan?'

Stolas nodded happily while Blitz was still trying to compose himself from laughing so hard.

"Indeed we did. Fizzarolli asked us to assist in getting your party set up. Surprise! Happy birthday, Asmodeus."

Ozzie felt a swell in his heart. His boyfriend, and his two newest friends all coming together to give him a surprise like this.

"Thank you, Stolas. Now, let's eat before the food gets cold. I see some baked mac and cheese that's calling my name."

The four all sat down at the table, enjoying the small feast that was before them. Once dinner was finished Ozzie enjoyed opening his gifts and chatting with everyone. It was a nice evening. Nothing big or extravagant. Just a simple, fun time with people he cared for. A while later Stolas and Blitz both left, leaving Ozz and Fizz alone.

"This was perfect, froggie. Thank you. I love you so much."

Fizz nuzzled Ozzie and kissed him tenderly.

"The night's not over yet. You still have one more gift. But it's in the bedroom."

Asmodeus had a good idea of what this gift is. He took Fizz into his arms and started towards their room. The night was just beginning for them.

[sundayroadkill]

i started watching btvs because of u. am on episode 1, when does this get good /gen

ok ok lemme give u some vibes for the seasons

season 1: camp camp camp this is the filler vibes lets learn these characters season, they have no budget, and were playing in the goosebumps silly space, the finale is the Best episode of the season

season 2: oh no romance is in the air and what is that? the emotional consequences of our actions? oh god noooo. this season is often people faves and the middle to second half is emotionally devastating. (still beware it has some of the lowest rated episodes) a season of finally some vamps with CHARACTER (if ur interested in spike and buffy then this is when we meet spike as the season antagonisttt)

season 3: the homoerotic subtext is in the AIR and buffy is not ok. this is the last highschool season and it has one of my all time fave fictional characters so i cannot have an unbiased opinion on most of this season (even tho it has the worst romance of the show by far in it) (if ur interested in faith and buffy tHIS is when we meeettt herrrr and god its messsyyy)

season 4: ok listen this is the lowest rated season of the show, but im so in love with it. the vibes are iNSANE, everyons trying to find their way after highschool and its clunky and have such weird polarizing eps but also one of the best episodes of television ive ever seen. also spike is back but this time hes their domesticated pet they have chained up in the bathroom

season 5: if u wanna know when things really pick up and get bonkers crazy its here. widely known as the best seaosn of the show and one of the best finales of all time and god i think its deserves that title. the story pacing is wild, spike is sure something this season, heartbreak, triumph, confusion, clever storytelling, this seasons so well done and u can watch buffys intense struggle into being an adult women

season 6: the most polarizing season. we explore buffys intense depression in the face of her own debilitating trauma and how it affects her ability to caretake for her family as well at take care of herself this season and its personally my favorite season of the whole show. spike and buffy are fucking insane this season, they are fucking a literal house down this season

season 7: final season of the show and it feels like it. the vibes are very oh boy howdy this is it huh. i think they make mostly good decisions this season that send me off to some amazing post series fanfictions so ultimately im happy

ok i got pretty high halfway thru that so if it makes no sense that would be why. but if ur interested in me making an essential episode list to help guide u thru earlier more filler seasons to get to the meat and bones just send an ask my way again 👍👍 id say give it to halfway season 2 and see how u feel

[obsidiancreates]

For your consideration, in the turtles meet eachother AU: 2012 Donatello 'I feel like a freak and just want to be human' Hamato meeting Casey 'Physically a human, culturally a mutant turtle' Jones Jr.

I feel like this can only end in them trying out a Body Swap.

"Hey, Other Master Donatello?"

"For the last time, please just say Donnie."

"Sorry. Um, I was thinking. You know how you wish you could be human?"

"Gee, no, I forgot about that."

"Right. Well, I always wondered- see, even though my Mom raised me for most of my life until she- well, I spent most of my time training, usually with Master Leonardo and my other Sensei's, and they kept forgetting I was a turtle like them. A lot of what they taught me was sort of turtle-specific and we had to work on how to adjust it for humans."

"Okay..."

"So, at some point it made me start feeling sort of, weird, about my body. Disconnected."

"We're just commiserating over shared species identity issues now?"

"No! I was thinking, maybe, we could try... swapping. You said it happened to your Ma- your Raph, once, right?"

"You- you're willing to swap bodies? You want to be a mutant?"

"I'm curious! And, besides, I want to try a few things I was taught but could never do myself!"

"... I... suppose as long as we know we can swap back..."

They do NOT tell anyone else because They Would Be Stopped. But boy howdy they go through with it (I just know Rise Donnie has a body-swap machine laying around somewhere that he made at like 4 am one night after too many coffees and promptly forgot about, 2012 just needs to check it over and tinker a bit and bam) and everyone else is just-

"Okay, tell me right now what you two were doing in my lab unsupervi-! Wait, something is off here."

Casey in Donnie's body is ooohing and ahhhing over how weird but strong he feels and how the shell actually has feeling, which he didn't expect, and Donnie in Casey's body is just still and staring into a mirror with wide eyes.

"Oh, no." Rise Donnie looks between them, and then at the machine. "You- I- OTHER LEO, YOUR BROTHER DID SOMETHING INCREDIBLY STUPID!"

Literally everyone rushes downstairs at that, there's a moment of confusion because 2012 Leo was certain it must have been Mikey or Raph, but then-

"They swapped!"

"They- Donnie what-"

"Look at me!" The voice is probably the only part Donnie wishes transferred over, but ah well, small sacrifice. "I- ha! I'm human! I- this is amazing! Even the sensation of the air is different, my skin is so much thinner now!"

"So this is why Sensei always worried so much about me having armor," Casey marvels, scratching at the plastron in amazement at how protected he feels. He startles. "Wow, your voice sounds weird with my speech patterns."

"I know!" Donnie is full-on giddy, bouncing in place. "And-and I feel so light! How do human ever have trouble sneaking?!"

"Sooo... this is probably unhealthy, right?" Rise Leo whispers to 2012 Leo. "Because we cannot let them stay like that forever."

"If they're both happy though, why not?" Rise Mikey whispers back. "All that could happen is instinct could cause them to misuse the bodies, and Donnie could get Casey's spine broken in a fight forgetting he doesn't have a shell and Casey could hurt himself not realizing how strong he is nooooooohhhhh oh okay, I get it."

"Well, they'll have to stay like this for at least a day," Rise Donnie says, scowling as he checks the machine. "It's going to take a while to charge enough to do that again."

"I'm going to go the park!" 2012 Donnie is buzzing with excitement. "And I'm going to get ice cream, and-and talk to other people! I'm going to wear- what should I wear? Ha, I've never had to consider clothes before! Okay, um, I always thought big hoodies looked nice, and- jeans! I want to know why people love jeans so much!"

"I have to do some sparring before we swap back!" Casey goes up to Rise Leo and grins hopefully. "You always had to hold back so much in the future, now we can spar for real!"

"This is going to be a long day," 2012 Leo grumbles.

In the end they both enjoy the experiences very much but also miss their own bodies, but I think they do like. A once-a-month body swap from then on so Donnie can enjoy Human Activities and Casey can mess around while being like 20 times less vulnerable and stronger (those mutants are strong as FUCK and no-one can change my mind, yes including 2012).

Everyone worries a little about Donnie's mental health in the whole situation and keep an eye out for if it worsens his whole dysphoria thing he has going on but for the most part it actually seems to be alleviating it a lot. They're all quite surprised as how well Casey can use Donnie's body in training (never real combat if it can helped, just in case) and realize he really was trained to fight like a turtle and BOY does he excel at it.

[echos-girlfriend]

Ayoo! I hope you're doing well friend! I was wondering if I could request a Crosshair x Reader fic where Crosshair is trying to figure out the whole Valentines day thing? like he asks reader out on a date (after some hesitation) and the rest of the batch are like in the background giving him pointers and all sorts of shenanigans ensue but it turns out great in the end?

Howdy!

I love this idea! So freaking cute! Well let’s go on Valentine’s Day date with Crosshair shall we? Also I am so sorry this didn’t get out before Valentine’s Day.. I wanted to make sure it was good💜I hope you still like it lovely💙

will you be mine?

Crosshair x reader

Master list

❤️~_~_~_~❤️

“I don’t know what I’m doing..”

“You got this cross!! All you have to do it ask her to be your Valentine!”

“Wrecker.. crosshair’s primary issue that is stopping him IS the asking part..”

“Oh..”

“Just shut up! It’s now or never.. don’t ruin it.”

He walked over to you slowly.. maybe a little too slowly because when you saw him, you jumped. Crosshair stopped dead in his tracks and looked Down at you.

“Do you need something Crosshair?”

“Y-yes.. I.”

He took a giant gulp and let out a heavy sigh. He turned to his brothers who all gave him thumbs up and nods.

He took a deep breath and-

“Will you be my Valentine..?”

“You want me to be your Valentine??”

“Y-yes.. you can say no if y-“

You stopped him dead in his tracks and wrapped your arms tightly around him. You knew he wasn’t much of a cuddler so you didn’t expect much.. but his arms wrapped around you slowly.

You could hear wrecker laugh and the shushing of hunter, tech and echo. You giggled in response.

“Well.. what do you want to do?”

“I had dinner plans if.. you want”

“Of course!!”

Crosshair was taken back by your excitement and looked a little flushed.

“Sorry.. I’m just really happy”

Crosshair smiled.. actually smiled and you felt like the luckiest girl in the Galaxy.

~_~_~_~

The dinner place was beautiful! You and Crosshair got a nice table by the window.. and so did some ‘guests’..

You couldn’t help but giggle that crosshair’s brothers came with you both.. you were wondering why they came, until you saw the comm on crosshair’s ear.

They thought they were being quiet but you could hear all of their advice and tips..

‘Make sure to compliment her appearance’

“You’re very.. pretty”

You gave him a large smile.

‘It seems her response was in the positive.. now ask her how’s she do-‘

‘Tech she isn’t an experiment..’

‘Ask her to get to the good stuff!! The stuff in bed!’

At this point you and Crosshair both couldn’t help but laugh at his brothers. You took crosshair’s hand across the table.

“You don’t need someone to give you advice.. I said yes because I love you the way you are.”

You gave him a quick peck on the lips. He looked back to you stunned. He put his hand on your cheek and put your hand on top of his, holding him there.

“I think this mission was a success..”

Hunter shook his head.

“I’d have to agree with you tech..”

The boys caught you whispering something to Crosshair.. when he pulled away from you his face was bright red.. before a giant smirk plastered his face.

“Oh yeah! I think Crosshair is gettin’ something tonight!”

Wrecker’s comment was followed by his brothers loud shushing..

“Maybe we should get a head start back to my apartment..”

“I agree. Let’s get going cyare..”

~_~_~_~

[count-von-kit]

I'm never really sure how to sell myself, or rather garner interest to a fandom that has yet to really be established. But it's a small and wholesome group that I adore regardless. And I hope one day it will grow, because these goons have been the serotonin ride that's gotten me out of many tough spots time and time again. I'm finally in the position to slowly migrate my stuff from KoFi onto Ao3, and the reason I'm doing so is because KoFi outside of just being tipped doesn't really assist much for writers. I've lost many one-shot series because their blogging system does not allow to track posts by calendar dates like other spaces. But that's a personal rant for another time. That said, while I migrate my works to another site I still struggle to garner interest for some things I worked hard to write, even with having created a fandom tag for my very own family. And I know some things take time, but on the same token it still feels discouraging to a lesser degree. Namely because I'm not really sure just how to get people interested? If you're looking for wholesome and queer to read, I would be happy to present the following:

"Happy Birthday, Rose!" is a piece dedicated to Camp Boolieve's very own plant-loving gremlin. It's short, and to the point. More or less a birthday present I wrote for Rose's player. Some minor revisions were done to this when migrating it from my KoFi page, seeing as this was written before the series concluded. Now it holds a bit more accuracy. I would recommend this one specifically if you've listened to our playthrough, as there is a reference to a very specific episode.

"Hoodie" is a canonical piece written for the sake of gay fluff. It was written either right as Camp Boolieve was ending or immediately after? Or like right before our last episode? I can't quite remember exactly, but I wanted to write an important bit of how Abel likes to take Willy's hoodies. I did have to edit some things as I was nowhere near where I was when this got written. And while it's not perfect, it's still cute enough to sate those looking for fluff. Because we do love fluff.

A more spicy tale. "Merry Christmas, I Could Care Less [Unless]" is the Christmas piece I was posting about back in November/December. My group finally helped me deliver this live back in January. They also convinced me to put it up on Ao3. So with that, I added in some spicier bits that we could not deliver on Twitch. :) This canonical piece does have some trigger warnings to it, but I'm really happy with it. It was not fun to format when transferring it over there, but it's still something I'm proud of. And it's only part one! The rest of the tale will not be delivered until later this year. I had to split it into two parts as there was no way we'd be able to read the whole thing otherwise.

So if you're looking for a longer piece with a little bit of spice, then I would gladly suggest this one. Also if you're able to count all the FOB references in this one, then I will virtually give you a cookie. If you want a slightly less spicier version, you can listen to the stream on our VOD channel below [I am sorry in advance for the audio quality...]. But I am uh... trying to cater to getting those hits on my Ao3 stuff...

And heck. If you like the series that much and want to check out where it all began, then boy howdy do I have a Playlist for you!

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to read through this. Likes and reblogs are always appreciated. I'm always so nervous to share my stuff with people outside of my comfort zone, but at the same time I'm also very eager to share it and always hope folks like what they read. So if you do take the time to read through pieces I've invested so much of myself into, I want you to know that I super appreciate you and the time you've given me. Thank you, and I love you.

-Alexander

[wannab-urs]

The Spreadsheet Digest - Fic Recs | Vol 6

Howdy friends! Happy Friday and happy Fic Rec Day!

Here's everything I read this week and my silly little thoughts about them.

As always you can find The Spreadsheet here

Recs below the cut :)

June - a Joel series by @atinylittlepain

-> The writing in this is just... absolutely beautiful. I love the story that's being set up here and I love the way it's being told. This is definitely one to keep an eye on. Fell in love immediately. Warning, though, this one is probably gonna hurt a little.

Heat - an Ezra one shot by @ezrasversion

This fic had me in javi p, smoking a cigarette, hand pressed into forehead era. It was hot. Ezra talking dirty is just... top fucking tier man.

PMAMC 2023 - (almost) all the boys got pegged and I made a masterlist! Fics by @wannab-urs, @jksprincess10, @beskarandblasters, @cutesyscreenname, @serenaxpedro, and @atinylittlepain

-> All the major boys except Marcus Pike (coming soon), Dave York (coming soon), and Jack Daniels (unclaimed) get the rides of their lives! We pegged all of them... so if that's your thing, click the link for enough to keep you fed for weeks

Catalyst - a Joel/Frankie series @ezrasbirdie

-> I think I'm in my "I want two guys to rail me while also being into each other" era, but anyway... this was so fucking hot. I loved all the little details and story bits in there. Made it feel like a believable situation, which is not alway the case with Pedro boy on Pedro Boy action lol.

Shots - a Jack series by @julesonrecord

-> Uh... oh my god??? I love the rewrite of the ending (I like when authors keep Whiskey's actions but change that terrible ending ugh). I am so fucking into the plot of this story. I am riveted. I cannot wait for more. What is he doing? What's gonna happen? AH. Oh and it wouldn't be a certified Gin Fic Rec if I didn't tell you that the smut is delicious. Riding that line between explicit description and fucking poetry. You really uh... feel it... you know?

Hokaanir Riduurok - a Din one shot by @proxima-writes

-> Din with tattoos... shirtless,,, marrying you... then fucking while totally blissed out on some crazy mando wine... If I need to say more there's something wrong with you. This is everything.

put your lips close to mine a Joel one shot by @swiftispunk

-> A gorgeous follow up to her other masseuse!reader x Joel fic. I think I could read about Pedro boys getting or giving massages forever. It will literally never get old. All the luscious fuckin descriptions of his body.... PLEASE. And who doesn't love a happy ending?

buried - a Jack series by @something-tofightfor

I love this story so much I think I could recite it from memory. Jack is literal perfection in every way in this. I love a sad broken man who slowly learns to love again YESSSSS. The plot? immaculate. The smut? worth the god damn wait.

Speechless - an Ezra one shot by @sneetsnootyoit

-> Someone finally learned how to shut Ezra up... all it took was a good dickin down lmao. (AMAB Reader, sorry if you didn't get into fandom through a gay ship like me and this isn't your thing).

------------ things i read months ago and never recced -------------

Grays - a Frankie series by @fuckyeahdindjarin

Starstruck - a Dieter series by @ezrasbirdie

Possession - a Din one shot @prolix-yuy

Sin Without Limits a Javi P one shot by @jake-g-lockley

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

Happy reading, dear friends <3

[frannyzooey]

Do you have any advice for new writers? It can feel a little sad when you pour your heart and soul into something and it feels like it isn’t being read. I definitely am experiencing a writers block and I can’t tell if its because it’s hurting me emotionally to keep writing stories that feel like they may be underwhelming to the fandom. I still love reading fics and am thinking of possibly just writing for myself but not posting anymore. I hate to feel that way, especially when this is a virtual space lol, but just trying to understand from other authors what kept/keeps them going.

BOY HOWDY DO I

First of all, give yourself a hug, okay? A nice big squeeze -- you were brave and strong and creative and made something from nothing and took the steps to share it and that takes fucking GUTS, okay? The nerves you have to overcome to even do that in the first place are immense, and YOU DID IT. ❤

Second of all, lemme hit on a few points here:

"It can feel a little sad when you pour your heart and soul into something and it feels like it isn’t being read"

Listen, I know this pain. I know it might seem like I don't since I do get interaction, but I didn't always (and still don't, depending on the subject of the fic) -- and I get this. It's really sad! Writing is something that can be so personal, by default it affects you emotionally no matter what reception it gets. But also, when feels like it isn't being read is a special kind of pain, because the whole reason we share on this site in the first place is to find the people who want to scream with us. If you don't have those people, it can seem very very lonely. I get it.

"I definitely am experiencing a writers block and I can’t tell if its because it’s hurting me emotionally to keep writing stories that feel like they may be underwhelming to the fandom."

If you aren't in a good headspace, it's going to affect your ability to create. Period. ESPECIALLY when you're hurting emotionally. Feelings like those take up all the brain space, and I would never encourage anyone to force themselves to write while they feel like that. Give yourself some grace, be kind to yourself, and take a break from the site. I have many, many thoughts on this place and how it has a direct correlation to self esteem and self worth, and if you're feeling these things, I can tell you right now, it's this site. Take a break, my lovely ❤ I take them all the time when I get this way! They help immensely.

"I still love reading fics and am thinking of possibly just writing for myself but not posting anymore."

Honest to God, this is legitimately the only way to go. You HAVE to write for yourself, because if you don't, what are you writing for? The story is YOURS to tell. The characters are YOURS to shape. The ideas come from YOUR mind and YOUR heart. No one else can write it the way you do. Everyone wants interaction and yes, finding your community to share these personal things with makes it all the more fun and satisfying, but it HAS to start with you writing it for yourself.

This might not be true for everyone, but what keeps me motivated to write is exactly that: writing for myself. I think "what do I want to read", or "what do I want to share", or "what scenario do I want to explore" -- and the entire time, I am only considering myself as the audience. That way, when I do work on it and write it, it's all the more satisfying because I am the only one I am trying to please -- if that makes sense? If you wrote it for yourself and you are happy with it, then you have accomplished the greatest, hardest part about writing and you should be fucking PROUD. "I'm gonna give myself everything I've ever wanted" is the theme!

Sharing it with others is a privilege you extent to strangers, and if they don't take to it like you hope, the blow will be softened because you have this cushion of joy and contentment that you wrapped yourself in before sharing. ❤

If you feel like taking the time to write for yourself and not post, do it! What I typically find is that a break from this site allows your self esteem to build back up, which decreases the bad headspace, which allows you more room for creative thoughts, which lends itself to better (and happier) writing, which makes it easier at the end of the day to share with a nice hefty inner heart full of self confidence and worth, which makes everything easier. ❤

This is very long lol and I am SORRY -- I have a lot of opinions on this topic. If you want to chat more, DM me!