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#I mean... good (witch) Azura is right there...
penny-anna · 27 days
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Luz: hey Hunter have you seen-
Hunter, falling off the couch, scrambling to hide what he's holding: what no I wasn't
Luz:
Luz: is that The Good Witch Azura: Book 2: Hecate's Revenge?
Hunter: no?
Luz: yes? did you get that out my room?
Hunter: no, I - I found it, in, uh, the kitchen -
Luz: no you didn't?
Luz: were you actually reading that? why?
Hunter:
Luz: I'm not mad they just don't seem like your kind of thing?
Hunter: ok fine you're always talking about how much you like these Azura books and they seem to make you so happy so I wanted to see why you love them so much, okay? okay??
Luz: oh my god
Hunter: I'm sorry I'll put it back in your room
Luz: .....oh my god :D
Hunter: no no stop
Luz: you care about my interests!
Hunter: no I don't I hate books
Luz: you wanted to read The Good Witch Azura because you like me!
Hunter: noooo
Luz: oh my god you're the sweetest
Hunter: shut up I'm not sweet I'm scary stop looking at me like that
Luz: aww Hunter
Luz: okay but also you need to start with book 1, you can't read them out of order
Hunter: *mumbling*
Luz: huh?
Hunter: I said I finished book 1 last night!
Luz: whoa really? What did you think of the ending?
Hunter: uh I'm just reading them I'm not forming opinions or anything
Luz:
Hunter: ...................Hecate didn't mean that stuff she said, right? she's gonna come back?
Luz: well I'm not gonna spoil it but ohmygosh you're gonna love how this plays out
Luz: ooh favourite character? no - no - favourite chapter - actually, no we can get together with Amity after dinner and all three of us can talk
Hunter: uh-oh
Luz: I can't believe you're actually reading them this is so exciting *squeeing*
Luz: okay but seriously don't ever take stuff out my room without asking again
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mdhwrites · 2 months
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Can you explain to me how the Titan enforces Christian Fundamentalism?
The Titan makes the only crime Belos committed be that he was a false prophet. Luz is beyond reproach though because she is a true prophet and a true believer. She is then sent to murder a men, blessed with holy power and strength in her convictions, by that God... And we are supposed to cheer.
This isn't even much of an exaggeration or dramatization. The Titan's answer to Luz's fears about justifying horrible acts in the name of protecting others is essentially this. That Belos' true crime wasn't in wanting to kill, oppress or lie. It's that he did it for selfish, self aggrandizing reasons. That if he'd simply been honest and earnest, he might feel a little bad for a mistake or two here or there, like the Titan is about the Collector, but he would have been entirely justified in his genocide. Just like they are beyond approach for wanting this man dead.
As the show says "He wants to be a hero and have the power," but then Luz comes in, trying to have a badass one liner for her return and even says "Darn it, I still can't think of what to say" which isn't even a reference to an earlier part of the show (I don't think at least). It implies Luz waited to come back when it would be the most dramatic and when she was most ready to look the part of the hero. She even references Azura, the FICTIONAL HERO, in her last speech and goes back to the catchphrase she wanted for a hero just nuking a bitch. She TOOOOTALLY doesn't care about being a hero though and because of that, she's all good to be doing all of this. That's what the Titan claimed at least.
Worse yet is that we only really have the Titan's word for glory and power being all Belos cared about. The fucker spent CENTURIES on the Isles. He deformed his body and probably doesn't believe he'll go to Heaven anymore with how much magic he had to internalize in order to pursue the goal of genocide. Even when alone, with no one to prove anything to, he still talks about saving souls and just needing to survive to do this. He's okay with dying afterwards because he DOESN'T care about the glory. Literally the only time he seems to give a shit about other people's approval and the status this might get him is the Witch Hunter General lines and you know what, I don't think it's entirely unfair for him to hope to get some recognition out of four hundred years of work, even if that work was pure evil. You could maybe say Philip's journal shows a hero complex but A: that still doesn't make his belief in protecting others a lie, just means that he has an ego about it, and B: is from hundreds of years ago and he literally abandoned the journal eventually. Abandoned his own heroic tale. By the finale... His intentions are pure. At bare minimum, that's how they are framed by the show itself with his desperation to do this, even at the cost of ending himself. So why does he deserve to die by the show's logic?
Well... He doesn't. He doesn't even deserve to be stopped because his faith is earnest. Except... It's not the right faith, is it? Belos doesn't believe in magic. Doesn't believe in the Titan. He is a blasphemer and false prophet. But now Luz has actually spoken with the Titan, been friends with his son and spread her ideals across the Isles, ideals which are strictly not the Isle's ways but that do theoretically make the basis of the Titan claiming she's a good witch (which is also referencing Azura potentially). The literal first person we meet on the Isles doesn't give a shit about things like lying, cheating, etc. and the early episodes give the impression that no one here does. That Belos doesn't force conformity on that matter even, making it so that these baseline morals that Luz disagrees with are earnest and honest. And yet, none of them are allowed to stay that way. They all enter her fold and listen to explicitly her morality. A morality that happens to line up with Christian morals and that the Titan seems to approve of.
And again, that's not interpretation. The finale actually straight up confirms this isn't the Isle's morality and REVELS in that fact. Belos begs for his life, saying they are not murderers, scoundrels and killers. That their culture demands better of them because they're human. Luz doesn't disagree... But she also doesn't do the act herself (unless you want to say she brought on the rain, but then you have her boiling a man to death which is just HORRIFYING.) Then, in a moment we're supposed to cheer for, Luz's closest connections with the Isles, and Raine tacked on, show up, proudly say they're not better than murderers, and stomp the fucker out. Not a quick mercy killing like a blast of magic or a magic scream might have done. Not the eviscerating explosion Luz had to do as a part of stopping him. No, instead, they brutally stomp out a defenseless, dying man before Raine literally says, "That was satisfying."
Our. Heroes.
And don't get me wrong: Belos needed to die. Thematically it's correct and narratively it's correct. The problem is how the show frames this final conflict. It literally asks if it's okay to kill him. What is a reasonable justification for murder. For even wanting another person to die. For a lot of kids, this might be the first time they hear ANY nuance on this topic. So what is the lesson imparted? Is it that sometimes force is necessary but we should only do it when we are certain that more lives will be lost otherwise and that there is no other option? That'd be a great way to show the Titan actually learned something from his mistake with the Collector. Is it that we can't show tolerance to the intolerant because they will only ever take and destroy? Refute an argument that modern racists use to allow hate speech and actions against others. Is it the simple fact that because Luz actually fears being monstrous, she won't end up the same way because that fear and hesitation will never let her commit the sort of genocide that Belos desires? Or heck, say they aren't racist without saying the word by going "We judge him for his actions and the cruelties he has committed, not by the cruelties of a people or the circumstances of their birth." All of which would be varying degrees of fine morality wise and are genuinely ways good people cope with having to commit horrific violence.
No. Instead, it's just that one did it while excusing it with lies while Luz will do it with pure faith in her heart. You... You do know that the VAST majority of Christians literally use this as a way to dismiss bad actors in the church itself? "He doesn't represent all Christians! He didn't actually hold the faith!" Do you think every brimstone and fire preacher is just a complete liar and not a SINGLE one of them genuinely believes what they preach? Because I'm sorry to break it to you but even as far back as the fucking Crusades, while sure the leaders were corrupt, secular men, most of the soldiers were genuinely god fearing people, terrified for their souls and seeking this as their only form of penance, especially as they saw it as protecting Christianity. It's one of the reasons they were able to do so much damage because the goal for the common soldier wasn't conquest or national pride. It was to murder the other culture who had taken sacred land. They believed earnestly... So were they justified in the massacres of civilians that they committed?
And this is without getting into how we have literally a Holy Trinity of the father (the Titan's corpse), the son (King, who is exceptionally self sacrificing eventually), and the holy ghost, in a very literal sense. Or how about the glyphs being called the Titan's Language and given to Luz to empower her? How invoking simply his words grants one exceptional power? The Hexside Squad in the finale use glyphs, half of them for the first time, to supplement their powers while dead exhausted and it doesn't seem to just be able to help them, it is still keeping them close to their normal power level and potentially energizing them with how not tired they appear to be while doing this. Almost like they're prayers, pulling on the power of a higher being.
But those elements don't matter. For the sake of the Titan supporting Christian Fundamentalism, all that matters is that he puts faith above what is morally correct. That you can excuse any action so long as you are genuine in the belief that you are doing it for the right reasons. Eda could be making this same argument and it would still be wrong and morally reprehensible.
It's literally "The ends justify the means," and how is that your final lesson, for your main character, in a KID'S SHOW? Let alone when that is EXACTLY the argument Belos, THE VILLAIN, has always made. Not just with wiping out witches but with petrification, lying to Lilith, manipulating Hunter, etc. etc. That it was all justified for his grand, 'good' ends.
I already stated arguments that could have been made, that wouldn't have taken much more time to do (if any), that would fix this so don't you DARE even consider bringing up the shortening with this. It is one scene that does the vast majority of this. Arguably, like five lines tops. Five lines that destroy the morality of your very show and any chance at saying Christian Fundamentalism is wrong.
All because its last message wasn't that prophets should be questioned. Only that there are prophets to listen to explicitly and that you should avoid false prophets... Somehow. Maybe just ask if they like anime I guess?
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This was first written before I saw the finale, then I tried to make minor adjustments because of the better absorption of events but ended up rewriting the whole thing because I wanted to better focus on just the hypocrisy and god awful morals than talking about if the Titan counted as God or god.
Also, just for those curious: I was raised on Christian morals and did go to church when I was VERY young. My faith nowadays is that I consider there to be comfort in there being a higher power but that I do not care what form they take, nor do I really like organized religion as while it brings comfort and community to many, it also is all too easy to corrupt with personal greed and anger. I've been told the closest label to this is agnostic.
I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!
I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.
A Twitter you can follow too
And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.
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sepublic · 1 year
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            We got ANOTHER promo y’all!!! It’s technically a trailer but it’s thankfully very brief, given the runtime it’s hyping up is only two episodes, compared to usual TOH trailers that are advertising at least nine episodes! This is an official release and NOT a leak!
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         First off, Luz’s laptop!!! She’s doing this 11:09 pm at just 20%, she’s got references to Stardew Valley and Hollow Knight on her desktop, and I think that one Hades game? The one with Zagreus? Anyhow the Hollow Knight references are REAL, coupled with the S1 intro, makes you wonder if it influenced stuff like Hollow Mind…!
         Luz also has a Good Witch Azura fanfic file! And she’s recently made art since her return to the human world; You can’t see all of it, but it appears to the Owl House’s roof, in a parallel to how the intro usually ends with Luz, Eda, and King on the roof when she ignites a light spell and pushes it into the sky! Augghhhh she’s coping…! And her username is @FriendofOwlsandTitans… Oh my GAWD! She accepts King as a TITAN she’s a friend to TITANS!!! Original art do not steal, just like her GF!
         “All I ever wanted was to be good at something”… Good lord, if that doesn’t summize SO much about Luz. Her feelings of inadequacy. Her initial dreams of being a chosen one. Her desire to help others and be of service to them. Her need to JUSTIFY her own existence, to quote her girlfriend… That hit hard. Like I know but OW.
         She’s making video diaries again as we guessed, but this time to HERSELF; Girl needs a place to vent, good for her! She probably stayed up and snuck to the kitchen to let herself indulge in her dark feelings and thoughts alone. Did Luz make a video for Eda and King and eventually give up, being forced to confront herself inward without any distractions? She says she knows what she has to do now, is… Is Luz about to do something rash? Something involving Belos? Babey don’t hurt yourself, or maybe she just means the general principle of making thing right!
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         Then skipping past stuff we DO know, we see Luz and Hunter dressed up for Halloween! Hunter has a HOOTY mask, likely meant to invoke his Golden Guard persona, and Luz is honoring King OH MY GAWD WAAAIIIIII!!!!! She’s MOURNING her Titan brother, just like she mourned Eda! They’re in a dilapidated house, the shack where the Portal opens? They’re armed… Probably investigating paranormal activity, AKA Belos. This fits with another shot of them entering a basement with the same coloring as the house, atop the stairs!
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         We get a proper look at Amity and Gus’ new designs in the show’s own art style! They look AMAZING… They painted Hooty’s face on the door, pffft, but also ouch. The longing. Treating this place as an earthly version of the Owl House because it kind of is with its role and even coloration! If they miss Hooty you KNOW it’s been a while. Willow must’ve grown flowery vines outside to spruce up the place, it seems to have been converted into a fulltime hideout! If this was the old Wittebane home, I’m sure Caleb would appreciate it… Philip on the other hand.
         The door seems to have just… Opened on its own as Amity looks back. Or did somebody, probably Luz and/or Hunter (seeing a glimpse of Gooplos?) quietly leave, and Amity only notices when she hears the door swinging behind them?
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         We have a hand, either Amity, Willow, or Hunter’s, reaching out to some glow-in-the-dark night decorations; Including a symbol of the moon and sun. This is likely one of the characters mourning and being reminded of the Collector, rather than in-universe connection.
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         We see our cast, sans Luz, looking at some sort of box with styling reminiscent of the Portal! Not only does it suggest it was actually Caleb and his wife who made it (and Philip plagiarized), but also! Caleb must’ve left it behind in the human world. When Flapjack was pecking at the floorboards, was it to find this? It must be a clue, perhaps on how to make a portal, a Titan’s blood rift, etc.! Is this distraction what got Luz to sneak out earlier?
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         There’s some sort of book page we see next, presumably the contents of the box the kids found given their hands! I’m not sure the significance of the symbols, but the bottom one reminds me of the curse… Or is it just a reference to Clawthornes loving birds, AKA his wife? Is that some sort of teardrop? Maybe it’s Titan’s Blood and that’s meant to be a FURRY arm of a Titan! And what even IS that thing to the right?!
         Hunter says “Did you know that HE was here?!” In a distressed voice. Is this him potentially confronting one of our protagonists for keeping information about Gooplos’ potential survival, regardless if they actually knew and were hiding? Or him talking about Philip and Caleb to perhaps Luz, with the realization that either was a town founder, and inquring as to how Luz didn’t notice!
         Then we get Gus and Hunter THE BROS dressed up for Halloween, Hunter doesn’t want to hear spoilers because Gus is likely talking about a recent human hyperfixation of theirs! Brothers.
         And then, finally… Luz and Hunter aren’t here, it’s just the other kids, maybe those two are at some other part of the zoo more personal like the aviary…
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         WE GET THE LONG-AWAITED ANSWER TO THE GIRAFFES!!! AFTER TWO YEARS, ARGUABLY THREE IF YOU CONSIDER WHEN THE FIRST TEASER THAT MENTIONED GIRAFFES WAS RELEASED!!! Since the very beginning, we have been haunted by this question and whether they’d answer it, but now… NOW…! It all comes to light.
        The kids are obviously scared and locking arms in preparation, that’s so cute, venturing into ancient territory that hasn’t been traversed for generations. WILLOW HAS HER HAIRCLIP FROM WING IT LIKE WITCHES!!! Was it a gift from Amity, I MISSED IT SO MUCH! She takes a picture and a Giraffe, recognizing natives from its home realm, FREAKS… 
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       We get one idea of why Giraffes were banned and it makes sense. God the kids’ reactions are so funny. Of course Willow the Bravest is bold enough to step ahead and take pictures for the rest! This is such adorable levity and I appreciate the closure, this is their one chance so of course they’d take it after two months of debating if they should risk it! Mayhaps they regret that risk now.
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procyon-kiryu-heaven · 10 months
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Ramble time: Willow's Halloween Costume
Willow's Halloween costume always seemed strange to me, I dismissed it as Luz had told her about "human witches", and I didn't give it importance until I saw [this post] by @theprinceandthewitch
ANTI-HUNTLOW/PRO-HUNTCEDA/PRO-GUSNTER under the cut.
Don't like don't read.
Willow's costume. As I said at first I thought it was just that Luz had explained about the human "witches" to Willow. And she had decided to try looking like one.
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Then I saw the post mentioned before and realized that it was a representation of this image of Evelyn.
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And that just feels…off. I mean, did they try to make willow look like Evelyn here to make a parallel between CalebXEvelyn and Huntlow? Because they didn't archieved it.
I mean…
Number 1: Couples costumes. We know that for Halloween Luz and Amity were dressed up as Azura and Hecate.
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So…who Hunter had a matching Halloween costume with? No with Willow, but with Gus.
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(And don't lie to me if Gus had 1 (one) year more, then half of the fandom shipped them. I mean, look at this, it's like he hands him a wedding ring. But, you know, no homo/s)
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*Sighs*
Anyway if they were trying to make a couple metaphor with the Willow costume… Well, they definitely haven't achieved it
Number 2: Willow's costume represents Evelyn, okay. But it's not the "real" Evelyn, it's a portrait of her seen through the eyes of witch hunters. This Evelyn is evil. And Willow wearing a costume to represent her…IDK, just rubs in the bad way
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We also know that Evelyn was a good witch, not a bad one. And who represents a good witch in these Halloween costumes?
Yes, that's right, Luz in her Good Witch Azura costume.
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Anyway, TTT was a Lunter chapter
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jacksdinonuggets · 5 months
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Agere fic!
Age regressor Amity had a fight with her mother but can relax with Eda and Luz.
Btw, im sorry to those who voted on the birthday thing, I got de-motivated.
After another fight with her mother, Amity was walking to the owl house. She needed to cope from everything going on and she felt like regressing was the best option. But she couldn’t do at the Manor, not with her mother and father there. She knew Luz and Eda were very accepting of it and told her she could come over whenever she was feeling upset or small. Luz was the most understanding in the whole thing because she also sometimes used it to cope as well. However, she was more of a caregiver than a little. 
Hooty noticed Amity looking upset when she came up to the house. He let her in without saying much and went to alert Eda that she was here.
Eda came into the living room with Luz and saw Amity curled up into a ball on the couch. They looked at each other with sympathetic looks on their faces, deciding on what to do and how to comfort the sad Blight. 
Since Eda keeps adopting kids and becoming a mother-figure to almost everyone, she decided that she would try to comfort the kid while Luz grabbed Amity’s little stuff that she kept in a spare bedroom. 
“Hey, kiddo,” Eda sat down next to the curled up blight. She wasn’t crying or anything, she just seemed distressed or sad.
“Wanna tell Mama Eda what happened?” She placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder. She didn’t seem to move away from the touch, so she wasn’t feeling an overload of senses. 
“She was being mean again…” Amity mumbled into her sleeves. Eda knew who ‘she’ was. It was clear she was talking about Odalia. 
“I’m so sorry, kid. But you’re here now, and you can relax while we take care of you,” She offered to the purple haired teen.
“How old are ya feeling?” Eda asked.
“Two or fwee…” She lisped.
“Alright, kiddo. Luz’ll be back any second with your stuff.” Eda assured the kid.
“Otay…” Amity curled in on herself further, looking ready to cry any second.
Not too long later, and Luz showed up in the living room, holding Amity’s Little bag. It was a big, cute, pink, fantasy themed bag. There were knights and dragons on it with castles and witches. 
“Hey, Bebe, I got your stuff!” Luz grinned, shaking the bag a bit before handing it to Amity. The sad girl got excited when she saw the bag and dug through it, finding her white and purple pacifier and plopping it into her mouth. She grabbed her stuffed demon that had tusks and looked sort of like a bear. It also had a cute shirt that said “Emotional support” on it too. Amity hugged it tightly and felt its soft fur. 
“Do you wanna play with your toys?” Eda asked, holding up the azura action figure that was inside the bag. Amity nodded, grabbed the figure and got onto the floor with her stuffy. Eda knew she would get bored of it easily, so she went over to the “little” closet. It was just a closet that had a bunch of communal little gear or just little items that couldn’t fit into a bag, like high chairs, diapers, staff booster seats, and other stuff. There were also a couple bags of toys like blocks and big versions of legos. She got the bag out and set it in front of amity. The witchlet saw it and got excited, opening up the bag and beginning to build with them. She tried to make a tall tower but it fell after it got too tall and didn't have a good base. 
When the tower had fallen down, it made a really loud noise, making Amity cover her ears. The waterworks started and she began to cry due to the startling noise. Her paci had fallen out of her mouth and she couldn’t suckle on anything. The pacifier was a huge comfort item for her and didn’t feel right to not have it. Luz had left to get Amity warm milk in her sippy cup a minute earlier, so Eda was the only one able to comfort her so she rushed to Amity’s side
“Hey, hey, its okay, sweetie, nothing is going to hurt you,” Eda pulled the little into her lap and began rocking her to try and calm her down. Luz came in right after she was done and gave Amity the sippy. She drank the warm milk and finally relaxed in Eda’s arms.
“Th-thankies, mama eda,” Amity mumbled into her shoulder. Eda smiled and stroked her hair.
“You okay now?” 
“Mhm! I wanna build a fowt now!” She crawled out of Eda’s lap and went towards the pillows.
“Ooh! I’ll grab some chairs for you and pillows from the closet!” Luz exclaimed before running over to the closet. She got a bunch of couch pillows and tall, hard pillows. She also found some chairs in the basement that they could use.
Luz returned with all the stuff and they began building. Amity was the main one building as she tried to shoo everyone away from the fort. But they knew she was just having a hard time asking for help (she tends to neglect her needs and wants while little and has a tough time asking for help). So they tried to build as much as they could while being as friendly as they could to her. 
Soon, they were done building and could go inside. Amity brought in her stuffies and blanket and got cozy in the corner of the fort. Luz put up a little lantern in it while Eda brought in snacks. Luz set up a cute disney movie on her phone for her and snuggled up with her.
Amity held her stuffy in her lap so they could see the movie too. She and Luz cuddled while watching it. She started to flap her hands around when the movie got to a really good part.
Eventually the movie ended and Amity was jumping out of her seat and stimming. She looked so happy and adorable. Eda and Luz were getting cramped while in the fort so they decided to probably take it down when Amity was napping. However, there was no way they could get her down to sleep now. So they figured she would get tired from playing pretend.
Amity, Luz, the stuffy, and Eda played pretend while waiting for her to get sleepy. She and her stuffy were two good witches and luz and Eda were bad guys during the game. It made Amity really happy to be able to do things like this. She was almost never able to play when she was physically younger. 
But soon enough she and her sidekick (stuffy) got sleepy. She didn’t even need to say that she wanted to take a nap, Luz and Eda already knew and helped her get changed into pajamas and a pull-up, just in case of any nighttime accidents. Since she was so sleepy, she didn’t realize that the two caregivers were taking down the fort and used a bunch of it’s pillows and blankets to make the couch more comfortable. Luz set up short vined walls on the edge of the couch so they could act like bed bumpers. Eda kissed her and her stuffy’s forehead before shutting off the lights to let the little have a sweet and peaceful sleep.
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evanox · 8 months
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rewatching TOH pt2: I’ve seen some arguments about how the final season bent back over to coddle Luz and how it felt like she had everything to gain and nothing to lose, and the counterarguments that “not every end needs to be doom and gloom to be good.” I mean, I get where the latter is coming from; there’s too much media out there obsessed with angst because oooh realism but I still find myself siding with the first opinion, because the show makes a point of calling out the Chosen One trope, and there was a significant amount of screentime dedicated to Luz stressing about having to choose between Earth (real world) and Boiling Isles (fantasy land) only for her to get both anyway, and become the chosen one. It feels like the Luz we started the show with is the same Luz with whom we ended the show. And like, having to lose/sacrifice something doesn’t necessarily make the ending sad yk? Maybe bittersweet but not necessarily bad.
What really cemented this for me was s1ep11/Sense and Insensitivity, where Luz mentions that she was aware that becoming a witch on Earth was impossible, so her runner up dream was to become a writer and I wish that was how the series ended---Luz choosing to stay with her mom before the gateway between both worlds is destroyed, thus choosing the real world with all its dread and dullness, but realizes that doesn’t mean she has to become dull too. Instead she channels her creativity and love for magic through writing and shares the stories of the heroes of the Boiling Isles. In a way she does get both real life and fantasy but it feels like she actually grew up. And she herself says in s2ep13/Any Sport in a Storm (after finding out Azura’s writer was human after all): “Some times it’s nice to be reminded that you don’t need to be a powerful ancient witch to make something special.” 
I’m gonna get a bit fanfic-y here but I like to imagine her on her first book signing/reading/whatever in the epilogue. In the first page she dedicates the book to her father, with whom she found her love for magic and books, to her mother, the kindest and most patient mom anyone could ask for, and finally to the Owl Lady and her magical friends who helped find her real ambition and grow into the person she has become today. A bright-eyed child asks if the Owl Lady, Amity, and King are really real, which Luz answers vaguely, with a distant but affectionate gaze.
Move on to the Boiling Isles and everything they need to show us about how it changed including the reformed schools of magic, and end with Amity walking by the beach where she discovers what resembles the human trash Eda used to collect (and maybe Tibbles picking through it to find his next scam). Among these is a book, its cover art a dramatic witch duel between somewhat familiar face, and it reminds her of all these years ago when she first found the Azura series. Unlike that series, however, this book is signed by a name she knows very well. 
Boom happy where everyone finds their place in life and is doing what they love and even though it’s sad that they separated you still have an open ending that gives hope for the gang finding each other again.
Idk I just think it’s a shame ep11 is the only episode where we see Luz’s passion towards writing fantasy (rather than just reading or dreaming about it), besides maybe teasing starting a writing club with Amity in s2e13. If not to foreshadow where her future was headed, the whole episode was kinda pointless since the episode right before this one where King manipulates a half-transformed Eda could’ve already served the purpose of bringing to light King’s tendency to step over others for his Demon King fantasies (but he gets away with it scot-free because Eda conveniently turns a blind eye every time Luz or King do her dirty lmao) so why do we need 2 of those in a row? Tbh there’s too many King-focused eps towards the second half of the show when I’d rather there was more time dedicated to seeing Luz actually learning magic. Why’s there 3 episodes between the episode where she gets signed up for school and the one where she actually has her first day? So much for a magical girl show.
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pikablob · 5 months
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Trick or Treat! :D
"So, w-what do you think...?"
"I think it looks really good," Camila noted earnestly. She didn't miss the slight quaver in the star-child's voice, looking up at her with big, arcane-red eyes, but she chose not to press that. Her newest adopted child, of several, was still getting used to family and everything else, and she knew how much they needed approval sometimes.
When the Collector didn't say anything else, one hand playing loosely in their suddenly-long hair, she went on softly. "I mean it, mijo. I think growing it out suits you."
"Well, I didn't really grow it," they replied, shifting over to sit slightly closer to her side; their smile grew. "I still don't really know how to make this form grow. But I can change stuff like this!" They ran their hand through the soft white curls, sending flecks of starlight sparkling out onto the sofa.
Camila chuckled warmly; seeing them like this, the way her kids did, the way Eda did, the way Belos or the Titans had never been able to; as just the little kid they were, made a familiar warmth settle in her chest. "So, what made you decide to change it?"
"It's kinda Luz's fault actually," the Collector admitted softly, head tilting over. "She let me read some of her witch books, cause I wanted to know what her and Amity were so obsessed with." They shifted a little, legs kicking restlessly. "And they're actually really good! I can see why Luz wanted to be like Azura, cause she's so cool, and pretty, and she cares about everyone and I..."
They paused for a second, breathing in sharply, before their voice turned down to a quiet whisper, as if what they were saying was the most important secret in their entire mortal life. "I started wishing that I was like her, too."
That gave Camila pause. She knew it was probably too early to call, to little to go on, but instincts born in the books she'd read when Luz had come out to her, instincts she'd already been right on once with her oldest child, were suddenly very awake. Still, she quietly held herself back; whoever the Collector, with their own astral ideas of self and gender, really was was up to them. All she had to do was support her child.
But the star-child wasn't done. "And then that made me think some other stuff, about what parts of Azura I really want to be like, and what I could be that I get to choose and I... I...
"I think I'm maybe like Erin? Kinda?"
Ah. Ahhh. There it was.
"Oh," Camila breathed, "well, maybe you are." She took a moment, choosing her next words carefully and watching for the Collector's reaction "Wanting to have long hair and look pretty doesn't have to mean anything, and sometimes it doesn't. But for some people, like Erin, it means a lot. Whichever way you are, it's okay."
"But I don't know which way I am," the star-child replied quickly, voice suddenly shaking. "I think... I think I like the idea of being a girl, at least sometimes, but everything I know about it comes from a couple of books! It's... Erin took ages to realise, right, but once she did, it was always kinda there? But I've been around for ages and I've never even thought about it until now."
"Well..." Camila trailed off softly, keeping her voice level as she reached for the right thing to say. "Erin grew up in a really harmful environment. The man she thought was her uncle would never have let her transition; he didn't even let her know people like her existed." She had to take another breath to steady herself, old memories of what she'd merely heard of Belos making her heart ache. "So she grew up thinking everything about her identity had to be what Belos said it was, and all the discomfort she felt with being called a boy, or using the name we don't say anymore, was just normal. That's why it took her a long time.
"For some people, it's like that. They're in a bad situation, one way or another, and they just don't have a chance to realise or be themself. But not everyone has those uncomfortable feelings; sometimes you're fine, but you'd just feel happier using different words, and if nobody ever uses those words for you, you might never realise."
"Huh," the Collector added after a moment of silence, shaking their... or her? maybe? head softly to one side. "And I guess I never really had anyone to even ask about it until Luz and King and you and Eda and... and everyone." The kid sniffled just a little, and in response Camila reached out, putting one arm around small, shaking shoulders.
"Mhmm," the woman murmured sympathetically, giving her youngest child a gentle squeeze. "There's nothing wrong with only finding yourself now, mija, or with it being sudden." The Collector tensed up at that, but in her eyes, there were only stars, that little word sinking in deep. "It's different for everyone, and that's okay. Trying to make everyone the same only hurts them."
"Yeah," the kid breathed, her own voice still shaky. For a moment she just sat there, letting it sink in, new and uncertain ground underfoot. But then she seemed to find herself, and all-at-once she launched herself at Camila's side, stardust trailing, arms wrapping tightly around the woman's warm sweater.
"Thanks, mom."
"It's alright, mjia, it's alright."
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the-resurrection-3d · 10 months
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Decided to post the essay I wrote a few days ago. Of course, this isn't meant to shit on anyone, but to work through my feelings on TOH's themes and how I see the fandom working through them.
TOH has a very – let’s say uneasy relationship with its fantasy elements—or at least, that’s how the fandom has received them. I just saw someone talking about how Luz shouldn’t have gotten a Palisman of her own because she “doesn’t need to look any more like Azura,” considering that Luz’s whole thing at the beginning of the series was needing to better “tell fantasy from reality.” But I feel like that’s only getting half the point—the issue with not being able to tell fantasy from reality rests, as the series argues, with expecting the world to cater to you and then lashing out when it doesn’t.
The series makes this most clear with Belos, who rejects the traditional high fantasy genre signifiers as spiritual pollutants and yet is living in as much of a fantasy world as Luz was. “[He needs] to be the hero of his own delusion” locates Belos’s major flaw—in a character way and in a thematic way—in his refusal to see himself as just another part of the world, rather than its center. All of this is spoken to us directly by the embodiment of the Boiling Isles and its magic. This character flaw is then reinforced by how Belos gets defeated and starts rambling on about how humans are innately “better than this” Because Reasons.
I think part of this disconnect might be happening because we’re used to anti-escapist stories rejecting the fantasy world in its entirety. For example, Ready Player One ends with the reveal that the creator of the VR world—it was called the OASIS, wasn’t it?—regretted not spending enough time in the “real world,” and the main character rectifies this by enforcing a weekly one-day service outage. Even though the book explores reasons why people would want to escape into the VR fantasy, including escaping the confines of marginalized identity categories like gender and race, it still asserts that you’re missing out by leaving the “real world” behind. I think also of modern fantasy stories with creatures like vampires and werewolves that bend over backwards to justify why being a human is still totally the best option— “Be glad of your human heart, Feyre,” and so on. Even in series where the human main character becomes inhuman, it’s often through force—characters like Feyre and Elena Gilbert are killed and then revived as monsters, but only Bella Swan actively wants to become one. (It really is the equal-but-opposite response to the question Robert McRuer says is asked of disabled people IRL in his article about compulsory able-bodiedness: “Yeah, but in the end, wouldn’t you rather be like me?” In both cases—whether disabled or super-abled—the normate, abled, “regular” human position has to be reinforced as the ideal.)
And let’s be real, it’s all cope. We can agree it’s just cope, right? But even besides that, I think we also need to keep in mind that, contrary to what internet discourse would have you believe, subverting tropes is not good writing in and of itself — subversion and deconstruction need to be ways of creating meaning within the work, rather than the meaning itself.
I think, then, we can see TOH’s conversation with escapism from s1 to s3 as a way of asking, “What parts of our childhood should we keep?” In Luz’s case, like in many of our own childhoods, the fantasy elements are from the actual fantasy genre because Luz wants to imagine a bigger life for herself than Earth allows, one that is scary and dangerous but in the end still caters to her/us. (See also Freud’s concept of the family romance, wherein a child dreams that their parents aren’t their “real” parents and that their “real” parents are magic space fairy royalty who will one day reclaim their child and everything will be awesome forever.)
In episodes like “Witches Before Wizards,” these genre signifiers provide Luz with a set kind of “script” for how she believes interactions should go—the disappointment and restlessness she feels in the episode is from the fact that it’s not catered to her just because she’s there, in a similar way that Belos believes humans are better just Because They Are. Worth noting that even in that episode, the “reality” Luz needs to learn to accept is still based in a fantasy setting—signaling that the word “fantasy” in “differentiate fantasy from reality” should not be about the genre or the act of consuming fantasy in and of itself. Season three then literalizes this with The Collector turning people into puppets and acting out “The Owl House” as a game with suffering participants.
Conversely, season three adds more nuance by revealing that Luz’s hyperfixation stems from her relationship with her father. The season does a lot to explore the relationship-building potential of fiction, from Amity suggesting her and Luz dress as Hecate and Azura to the reveal that Camila is a secret Trekkie.
A fellow autistic person once described their special interest not just as something they’re obsessed with, but as part of how they processed the world. We can see this kinda play out in Camila’s conversation with Luz right before Stringbean hatches: she says she has forgotten the “Astral Oath” and responds to Luz’s question of her being a “secret nerd” with the admission that she shouldn’t have let her own fears of and experiences with being non-conforming compel her to try and change Luz. The Astral Oath and how it played out within Cosmic Frontier provided a framework for Camila that she admits she should have followed: “My biggest mistake was trying to protect you by changing this beautiful, good witch into something she wasn’t.” The best things about Luz are also the things that make her more drawn to the fantasy genre.
The rampant egoism of the genre should be left behind, the show says, but not the good lessons and the relationships you’ve built from it.
This anti-egoism does, of course, run up against the fact that Luz is still the main character. If Luz getting a Palisman makes her too much like Azura and therefore undermines the message, then honestly I don’t see how the final battle itself isn’t just a colossal fuck-up. Not even in the sense that Luz got Titan magic, which I have seen people say is now suddenly Luz being A Chosen One all along, but in the sense that Luz straight up shouldn’t have been in the final battle at all. (Honestly, if you want YA with a good anti-egoism message imparted through its structure, you’re looking for Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War—book, not movie.)
I said on Twitter while I was reading Charlie Ledbetter’s “The Dysphoric Body Politic” that TOH has an interesting relationship with its escapism messaging because Luz DOES leave the human world. Even though she had to finish high school in the human world, the finale makes it clear that she’s been putting all of her spare energy and labor into the literal rebuild of the Boiling Isles. She entirely gives up on making a life for herself on Earth.
This isn’t super surprising, (I was always sure it would happen) but I do think it’s where the uneasiness—the messiness—between TOH and its genre comes into play. Yes, Luz needed to dial back her daydreaming and yes, her being in the demon realm ultimately led to it almost being destroyed, but it still is the worst possible ending if she doesn’t get to stay there.
In the article, Ledbetter, a transmasc who discovered themselves through fandom, writes that “Escapism is not a departure from reality. Rather, escape decenters the hegemony of oppressive systems that announce themselves as real and creates space to imagine alternatives.” And yet within the show, it’s a closed circuit—the threat to diversity and self-expression comes from the human realm, and yet there is no attempt to save it. Ledbetter, writing of fandom’s political potential, suggests using fanfic to imagine alternatives specifically so we can give ourselves the drive to try and enact them in the real world.
TOH’s sister show, Amphibia, gives us a taste of this in its finale: in the ten years since the Calamity Trio has left, the once-evil king lives out his final days planting seeds, and the girls themselves are dedicated to either educating others or creating art. They honor the memories of their childhood fantasy—Sasha with two crossing swords as a patch on her jacket and a charm dangling from her rearview mirror, Anne with her entire career—but the portal is closed. It’s not coming back.
Given everything TOH does in season three to reaffirm the value of fantasy as a lifelong interest, though, I think what it wanted to avoid suggesting, like a lot of traditional portal stories do, that the fantasy world is the world of childhood and needs to be escaped. Aslan tells Peter and Susan, after all, that they’re getting too old for Narnia. Peter and his siblings return there only in death; Susan isn’t so lucky. If Luz shouldn’t have gotten a Palisman, something which symbolizes she’s discovered a fundamental truth about herself and has “earned” her place as a Witch, then honestly she shouldn’t have been able to come back to the Boiling Isles, either. How many of us would've been happy with that?
If we want to square this with the show’s politics, I think we can read this as the show saying that, yes, there are some things you have to do as a child, but once you’re free, you aren’t obligated to stay with the society and people who won’t ever see you for who you are. In a way, Luz going back and forth between the human and demon realms parallels the teenage fantasy fan, making space in their lives for fandom as a place of joy and connection after all the boring hard “adult” work is done for the day. You don’t have to leave it behind; building outside of the system and making your life centered around your joy is hard work, yes, but worth doing.
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tohisprettyc00l · 9 months
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Responsibilities? No. Amity x reader
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You gripped at your sleeves. You were staring at your homework blankly. No matter how hard you tried you couldn't figure out how to do it. Which resulted in you calling your girlfriend, Amity. You asked her to come over. About twenty minutes ago... So not only could you not find out what to do for twenty minutes, you were losing hope Amity was even coming. You hit your head against the table.
Right then you heard your door open. "Sorry for taking so long! Mom wouldn't stop asking who I was studying with- Are you okay?" Your face lit up and stood up. You tackled Amity in a hug. "You have no clue how happy I am to see you! You need to help me please." You groaned, "You do good in school, right?" Amity paused. "I guess? I mainly specialized in abominations, but I do get okay grades in other subjects." "How okay?" "Mmmm, like 85-90%." You narrowed your eyes. "You are being such a stereotypical smart kid." Amity tilted her head slightly.
You both went over to your table. "So what are you having trouble with?" "Ehhh, everything?" You chuckled awkwardly. "Really? This is pretty simple-" She slapped herself, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say it like that." "Nah it's fine." Amity looked unsure. "Okay if you say so. Well, let's get started!"
It's been two hours and you've gotten thru three questions. Both of you were super tired. "Ugh, I'm sorry I'm being so dumb." You grumbled. Suddenly she stood up. "Okay, we're taking a break!" "What, this is due soon!" "It's due in a week we can work on it later. It's going to be there tomorrow. Your mental health is more important, trust me I've learned it through experience." Amity said sweetly. "Okay." You said, still not fully trusting her.
"So what do you want to do?" Amity asked. "Want to re-read The Good Witch Azura?" "You know me so well." And as you said you started reading the book. It defiantly felt calming. It was nice. Maybe both you and your girlfriend need to limit your workload. But hey, there's no rush.
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jess-the-vampire · 8 months
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So... My AU, which is basically just, this would be cool, and, The Owl House is cool. Meaning a lot of stuff does not make sense, and will probably be changed, also, I don't actually.. have much. But I do have the basic setup!
Belos finds King at some point, but not The Collector. With access to Titan's Blood Belos, at some point during being the emperor ends up creating a rift, this rift ends up bring Luz through, who is at this point much younger, and has lost her dad fairly recently, but does have the Azura book, and has enjoyed it. Belos uses this to get her to his side, being both a "Good Witch" and a parental male figure. He makes Luz believe she and him are better than everybody else, still not revealing he's human just incase, but making sure to emotionally separate her from others. He already had a Grimwalker at this point, young, but no longer needed with another human here. And it may be detrimental to have the two together, he decides to exterminate this Grimwalker for now. After failing to find the Grimwalker, makes a point to have lookouts for it so it can be brought to him. He claims it is a rogue witch gone mad with Wild Magic, the same that killed his family. Of course, he keeps it from the public, only telling this sob story to his most loyal, incase the Grimwalker makes claims that could sway some.
At some point, Eda while trying to find a safe place to stay, finds The Collector, a kid with fuzzy memories, that claims not to be a living shadow despite definitely being a living shadow. She accepts it, and takes the Glass they're attached to with her, at the request of The Collector.
During the time the rift was open, Hunter ended up going through it. After a while of straight up just starving, is found by Camilla Noceda, who has basically just lost her entire family. She found him while searching for Luz. And gets him to come to her house with her to call about, where is this kid from. With maroon eyes, long ears, and looking like he came right out of a fantasy book, she has a lot of questions, barely any of them get answered. She ends up taking in Hunter for until his actual family is found, which is apparently made up of just his uncle. She assumes a lot of it is just a child's loose understanding of big scary concepts, since apparently his entire family other than his uncle, is dead. Of course, she never finds her daughter, or Hunter's Uncle.
Hunter Noceda ends up being bullied, because yeah he looks different, maroon eyes and long ears don't make you popular. He ends up being a bit of a loner and kinda edgy. These traits are kinda because he was bullied, but end up making him even more a target of bullying... Not great. He ends up being sent to a summer camp to hopefully make some actual friends. Not Reality Check of course. But a Summer Camp. He ends up throwing away the pamphlet, but feels bad and goes back to grab it.. Until he sees that an OWL is carrying their trash away. And he is PRETTY sure Owl's cannot hold that much weight! Things happen, plot stuff I haven't written, plans I have for cool stuff. Yeah. Another change that was purely because I thought it'd be cool, Glyphs! I changed the Glyphs, purely because it'd be cool, nothing to explain why just because it's an AU, maybe it's why certain things happened different butterfly effect and all. Electricity, Crystal, Air, Liquid. Electricity creating sparks of lightning, a big flash of light and shower of sparks, as well as being able to charge things. Crystal, basically Ice, but not as cold, and will probably be used as a shank or direct weapon more, and can creep up things, encase stuff, yeah. Air, usually just a really strong gust of wind, but can turn liquids to steam or vapor... Which will probably be the first clue to try Glyph combos! Liquid, the second component to that, can create a splash of boiling sea by default, I'm thinking soaked in specific liquids can recreate them. But boiling.
As I said earlier at the top, this was made because I thought it'd be cool, and then did it, and because I think The Owl House is cool.
that sounds super fascinating, i like the idea of having belos find king for once, and i like your take on the glyphs too.
you put a lot of thoughts into this, you gonna make some fanart, or even a fic for it?
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goatlilly · 4 months
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I’ve heard a lot of people citing Hunter from the Owl House as Autistic, and while I have no intention of ruining anyone’s enjoyment of this character and this particular head-canon, I always thought this take was odd. Having interacted with many Autistic individuals during my life, my brother and Uncle included, as well as a few of my close friends, I never really saw it in Hunter. Sure, he’s a bit socially awkward and doesn’t always understand the other kids his age, but that’s about as far as the symptoms go before the argument sort of stops making sense. Maybe Hunter is Autistic, but I think it’s criminal that everyone talks about him being Autistic without mentioning another character in the Owl House that exhibits far more symptoms of the disorder than he ever has in the show. Any guesses? I’ll give you a hint—her name is Luz.
              You heard me right. Luz Noceda is autistic—or at least I think she is. I know Luz has already been confirmed to have ADHD, and those symptoms are definitely present, but just because she’s already neuro-divergent in one way doesn’t mean she can’t be in another. Luz has always been known to be quirky. She hyper fixates on her witch obsession without ever losing interest, is constantly missing important social cues from others, misreading the mood in a room or other people’s intentions, and most importantly has never once seemed bothered by anyone else’s unusual behavior. Luz sees people for people and nothing else. She doesn’t attribute labels to others and never seems to be bothered when others call her weird—in fact, Luz seems to take it as a compliment.  The autistic individuals that I know are extremely interested in other people and have no problem thinking highly of others for characteristics that many neurotypical individuals would never notice about another person. They get completely absorbed in their hobbies and interests, eager to share them with anyone and everyone they bump into without seeming bothered that others don’t share their passion. Luz loves the Azura books, and when others insult them to her face it never seems to bother her. However, when someone does finally share her passion, that person being Amity, Luz is over the moon about it. And speaking of Amity, Luz doesn’t ever really seem to pick up on Amity’s feelings towards her until they’re stated directly to her in the Hooty episode. (We all know the one.) Despite Amity constantly showing clear interest in Luz, Luz doesn’t seem to realize this prior to the episode where the two of them become a couple, and completely misreads Amity’s mood when the two of them are on the ride Hooty made for them in the basement, not realizing how happy she is at all and jumping to rip everything down.
              Any one of these things on its own isn’t really enough to say Luz is autistic but put together they create a character who seriously reminds me of many of the autistic friends I’ve had. Maybe I’m wrong, but I have a good feeling about this. And compared to Hunter, who while being somewhat socially behind others of his own age is extremely adept at communicating with individuals who are older than him, Luz interacts with pretty much everyone the same, needing to check in constantly with others to know where they’re at. She’s very understanding, but so are most autistic people I’ve met. Just because she’s something of a social butterfly and gets along with others easily doesn’t mean she’s always completely on the same page, and she usually needs to be caught up on what others around her are feeling to get there. Anyways, that’s just my take on her. I’ll stick to it for now, but feel free to share your thoughts with me and let me know if I’ve missed anything important about her character.
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homunculusalphonse · 11 months
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i love luz, i do, but honestly her selfishness - and/or impulsivity? - even in s1 already... bothered me. as in, it was never actually called out. i'm not talking about her hyperfixation or anything, i mean it like luz, for instance, challenging boscha on willow's behalf, or luz stealing amity's training wand(?). yeah, her actions have consequences and the characters get upset with her, but even still luz never actively CHANGES, bc she still gets everything she wants by not changing at all. does she learn new glyphs? yeah, sure, but her personality doesn't change.
luz is reckless and dishonest, and while i appreciate she's not a "perfect" protagonist, i also dislike that luz is still "the chosen one", and she gets to travel between realms and keep the girlfriend that she lied to more than once. even when luz tries to do the right thing after messing up, she ends up getting herself in trouble, and she ALWAYS gets away with her mistakes.
no, i am certainly not saying that luz doesn't deserve to be happy. i definitely disagree that luz deserved to be hated because of belos. again, i like that luz is flawed, but the narrative never actually challenges that, at least not in the deeper sense. luz's unhealthy attachment to good witch azura and the fantasy genre is never confronted, mainly bc it was revealed only in s3 that luz got into azura bc of her dad. true, toh suffered a lot with the cut, but like i always say, toh was good at deconstructing common tropes, yet luz still gets away with everything and she never grows up.
anyway, these thoughts have been in my head since i even began watching toh lmao, but i didn't want to sound like a jerk, especially given that luz is adhd coded (i'm not sure if they confirmed that anywhere) too. i certainly don't mean to demonize ppl with adhd or anyone who's impulsive or mourning a loved one, i just meant that luz needed to grow up for her journey to actually make sense.
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mdhwrites · 2 months
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I agree that Luz "inheriting" Owlbert would be a really good way to end her arc about palismen on the surface, but do you think it could also interfere with her arc about becoming her own witch?
Looks within the fathoms of Pandora's box. There is... So much that could be unpacked with this. I won't cover it entirely here but Luz's 'arc' of becoming her own witch actually is fraught with topics like where she gets her magic, what her magic says about her, how the show frames her at the end, whether or not she actually ever becomes her own witch, whether or not Stringbean even counts as an extension of that with how he was made, if that theme was actually important to the show, let alone when put against themes like found family, etc. etc.
I'm going to TRY and keep this mostly to a fundamental flaw in your argument.
Just because a craftsman uses their master's tools does not mean they will make the same things the craftsman did.
Your argument says that Luz using a tool made by her to emulate someone else and make what they would (like... I dunno, Azura, who she quotes for her final lines while still having magic) is more herself than if she uses someone else's tools in order to make something that is truly unique to herself. That what a person does is less important than that which they use to do it. It robs Luz (and fucks over Hunter's arc from literally his second appearance) of agency in choosing what type of witch she wants to be.
Because, you know, if the palisman entirely decides the witch, are Gus and Willow now no longer their own people? They now must follow the paths that their palisman are okay with? The statement of intent helps but it isn't the whole person and also begs the question of if the statement even dictates the sort of person you are. Gus says he wants to be an ambassador to the human realm but that doesn't dictate if he'll do it with friendship, manipulation, tricks, illusions, etc. etc. which I would place WAY MORE importance on how he is an ambassador than literally the title of ambassador. Willow is similar. When she wants strength to protect her friends, is that to stop them being harmed from when they get into stupid situations or the power to be able to stop them from doing the thing in the first place if she thinks they'll hurt themselves doing something? And these two statements are awkward next to each other because one is a statement of morals and character while the other is just what they want to do in the future. Why are these both equally valid answers?
It's almost like it's really hard to boil someone down to a single sentence.
This is without getting into more abstract statements like "I want to be able to choose my own future." Cool. WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN AMITY!? That is actually just what Luz said that made it so she COULDN'T get a palisman so why did it work for you? Sure, it's nice to want choice but does that mean you intend to fight for other people to have that right? To become so powerful no one can dictate who you are? It's a meaningless statement without any further context and doesn't even have the morality or future plans that Gus or Willow had.
"I want to be understood," is the exact same. What does that say about the sort of person Luz wants to be, let alone what type of witch she wants to be. Worse yet is that Stringbean does react to the words but... Luz literally gave up agency with her palisman. She let Stringbean decide with no actual intent behind them. While nice for the meta theme of individuality and choosing your own way, it fucks over the ability for Stringbean to say ANYTHING about Luz, her relationships, her interest in what type of person she wants to be, etc. like that.
Worse yet, it's all tell, no show. How one uses their palisman should be way more indicative of who they are and the sort of witch they are than simply a single line said to them during creation, especially since people change. Circumstances change. The show even admits that having your entire world figured out at fourteen is not really a thing. It's part of why Luz doesn't make a choice or the like. Her statement is just a feel good one for her that entirely ignores the fact that everyone has shown her MOUNTAINS of understanding over the course of the series but apparently that wasn't good enough. Just one episode ago before that after all, she was forgiven for something she thought was unforgivable because her friends knew better than to think Luz would do something like this out of malice or on purpose. You know... Because they showed her understanding. But then we're told she needs MORE understanding.
Which one of these is more effective?
And hey, if the show really was worried that a palisman overrode who you were A: they wouldn't have given Hunter Caleb's palisman, let alone had Hunter absorb CALEB'S palisman because that kind of fucks his arc immediately of trying to be his own person. B: You can do something with that. We could have seen, even in just steps instead of a focused episode, that Luz and Owlbert struggle to work together at first because they are expecting different things out of each other. As the two show more understanding to each other though, accept who the other is, one of the other major themes of the show, they are stronger for it. There's enough familiarity to work together after all but they need to actually get in sync. Again, show this bond instead of just stating it.
Not only that but Luz is portrayed as someone who helps bring in others. That she theoretically helps people in bad situations find a place where they can be themselves. Taking in a palisman who no longer has a use would actually be a great follow up to that part of her character and a more explicit version of that hypothetical theme than what she does with most of the other characters. Instead, she is one of two Hexside members who gets to make their palisman (unless Amity didn't I guess). The only one who customizes specifically to her, in theory since she doesn't. Why didn't she take one in? Give them a place instead of leaving them as an outcast?
Unless we want to say that's not a part of who Luz wants to be. That that's on accident, which does feel accurate to a lot of what Luz does on this topic. That's also an inherent issue with her statement. "I want to be understood." It is an inherently selfish one. One that asks others to show endless understanding... Even if she doesn't have to. After all, she's allowed to lie, ENDLESSLY, break her word and act behind people's back but the one time Eda does that, for Luz's safety? Luz doesn't show her ANY understanding. Doesn't give her even a chance to explain or talk. Instead, she gets into a fight with Eda. That plus her statement seems to imply that Luz being her own witch is... Selfish. Self serving. That who she wants to be as this mythical figure is for herself.
The final part of TOH doesn't help with it either. An older Luz should have had a real statement for what she wanted to study. "I'm choosing X because of Y goal." Instead her goal is just... Magic. To do as much as she wants. Actually putting it to use? Who needs that? That's actual work and having to make decisions instead of being an eternal student. Of having to take a title beyond just 'witch'.
This still isn't even all of it. Siiiiiigh.
What's worse is that even the action of Luz trying to give Stringbean their own option in this is the facsimile of compassion. Sure, she let it be up to her but... Couldn't you come out already? I know I left you in an egg because I refused to be open and honest with you and make an actual bond but come on, stop making me sad because you're not awake yet. After all, Amity even has to comfort Luz about the fact Stringbean hasn't hatched. If Luz actually gave a fuck about the thing's agency... She would just grin and bear it because that's part of allowing someone else to make a choice: Dealing with the consequences.
Luz, and to some extent the show, didn't want those though. Instead, they wanted a couple nice lines that make NO SENSE in context but sound really nice to the people projecting onto Luz. Because they TOLD us nice things, they stopped caring about what the actions were saying.
And actions will always speak louder than words so no, I don't think Owlbert would have gotten in the way of Luz defining what sort of witch she wants to be. No worse than Stringbean did at least.
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I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!
I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.
A Twitter you can follow too
And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.
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sepublic · 1 year
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Thanks to Them.
            Flapjack.
         …And then, just. MASHA! They/Them Masha!!! Vee’s witch GF! Not yet I mean, but…
         EVELYN CLAWTHORNE?!?!
         1613 was it, when the brothers arrived? Canonically ORPHANS too…
         Belos still lives. And he’s in the Demon Realm… Guys there’s still hope yet that our other protagonists can GET THEIR REVENGE ON HIM!!! There’s a chance now that Darius and Eda and Lilith and ALL OF THEM get to pummel Belos for what he’s done!!!
         Imagine being Philip and listening to Masha’s story and how it seems to portray you in a sympathetic light and Caleb as the victim of that evil Evelyn… Only for Masha to roast you SO hard.
         AND THEY SAID IT! They said what we’ve been ALL saying! That if it had been Luz, it’d have been someone else that Philip used; But also, that it’s good it’s Luz, because now she’s there to fight back when others wouldn’t!
         Her palisman… NNNOOOOO THEY LEFT IT AUGH THEY KEEP TEASING US!!! But it was right by the gartersnake skin in that shot, which DEEPLY increases the chance of snake palisman! But then, Luz DID acknowledged that as a possibility, so does that rule it out from a meta standpoint?
         I’m sweating so hard y’all, my heart was BEATING… Especially when they went into the basement for Belos.
         I thought the rebus meant “I hear” but now I realize the eye WAS meant to invoke the Portal and thus mean “Portal here”. Why did Caleb leave it, under what circumstances? How did Evelyn travel, did she just have a LOT of Titan’s Blood before she and Caleb made a sustainable method via the Portal???
         Flapjack… He’s a part of our BOY, THE PARALLELS TO BELOS! The longer hair at the montage, the scar, having a palisman absorbed, but the OPPOSITES and consensual sacrifice! Love Willow dropping the word Revenge. Love that for her.
         And dammit… We don’t get to see what’s on the other end! AND VEEEEEEE WHY COULDN’T YOU TAG ALONG!!!! I’m glad they gave us some more Vee content and characterization but still… And CAMILA! SHE’S GONNA MEET THEM ALL!!!
         Imagine they step out into the Demon Realm and see Belos, in horrific awe of what the Collector has done. And then the Collector smooshes him.
         Just, this hit ALL the right notes. Did everything we wanted. Hunter coping with fiction, THIS IS WHY REP MATTERS, and how it’s a parallel to Luz… Manny Noceda is her dad! Camila’s dream, YIKES… The guilt, but also Camila was just like Luz confirmed! The Azura book was a gift from her DAD, Manny died RECENTLY, because Luz mentions the funeral still being fresh right before episode 1! She’s coping over Manny, and it seems it was a prolonged sickness that did him in…
         Flapjack. OH GAWD THAT BASTARD HE CAN’T KEEP GETTING AWAY WITH THIS! HE KILLED FLAPJACK! And even treated her like Evelyn… Did Evelyn make Flapjack, since she was shown presenting him to Caleb in Masha’s retelling?
         I’m shook y’all. Still sweating. NO SIGN OF MY HAGS! AUGH… That can’t be IT, I need it back NOW!!! GOD YOU CAN’T DO THIS TO ME DANA!!!
        Welp. See you… next YEAR, you guys. Because the crew hates us. And loves us. Signing out…
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lampmanliveblogs · 6 months
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Even when talking about the difficulties of life, this Luz still looked and sounded so positive and upbeat. A far cry from the current state our beloved protagonist girl finds herself in.
And wow, this entire episode really was a targeted attack against me specifically, huh? I mean, even Luz’ line about being able to read witch tongue reminds me how back in the days, I could read gnommish (from the Artemis Fowl books) and decode the messages along the bottom of the pages. It doesn’t hit as hard as that one previous scene, but it still hits pretty close to home.
Camila believed that if Luz applied herself more, then she could do great things. She was right about that; just look at what she’s been able to do with glyphs in such a short time. Even Philip, who’s spent the last four hundred years or so thinking he was literally the only real person in the world admitted that he was impressed by her.
The point being that ”normal” subject like math or social studies might not be able to hold Luz interest for long, but given the right subject and the right environment, she will excel.
Timeline wise, this takes place right before the disastrous book report we saw at the beginning of episode one, season one.
I believe the ”Domicile Evil 4” poster is a reference to the Resident Evil franchise.
Down in the right corner we have… ”Night of [the?] Zombie S-” Night of the Zombie S…squirrel? That doesn’t look like a squirrel on the poster though. Maybe it’s a shrew or something, I dunno.
There are also a bunch of books in the bookcase: mostly Azura books, no surprise. There are also three books that have titles. One says ”Ghosts” on it, so I think it’s the same book that Gordon Ramsay read in that one episode of Hotel Hell that was in Connecticut.
Now, despite my brand new glasses, I have a hard time making out the other two. I think one of them says ”Taxi-something” on it, and there’s a skull next to it, so it might be about taxidermy.
That one pink jacket with the golden star in the wardrobe is giving me Steven Universe vibes. I bet Steven would love it. Is it organic though?
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”…I’m staying in the Human Realm. Permanently.”
Oh, so that’s what Luz was planning, that makes sense. I mean, it’s a terrible idea, but it makes sense. I’m surprised I didn’t think of that possibility.
I guess Luz though there was still a real possibility that they could create a new portal, even before Hunter told her about the hidden Titan’s Blood. And she thought the other Exiles could return back home… and that they’d be okay with leaving her behind? And I guess she was willing to send them into a world where who knows what has happened ever since they left it at the whims of a hyperactive kid with the power to move celestial bodies around.
Luz, sweetie, I know you hate yourself right now, and I know fourteen-year-olds aren’t the best at making good long-term decisions, but please think about this.
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I should probably talk a little bit about Camila’s reactions as well.
Her facial journey throughout this playlist fairly subtle, and I am not the best at reading faces, but here goes:
When the videos first start playing, she looks a little unsure. Probably because she shouldn’t be watching her daughter’s video diary.
Then Luz talks about Manny’s death. And while that is undoubtedly still a great source of sadness for her, Camila’s first instinct is to reach out towards the image of her grieving daughter.
We then move on to the videos showing off Luz’ antics, her trying to cut her hair with the sword, and Camila’s expression becomes fond. She’s missed this side of her daughter, her silly ideas, wonderful creativity, and endless optimism… even if her ideas don’t always work out.
Her smile fades as in the next video, Luz talks about the conversation she had with Camila about school. I get the sense that Camila feels guilty that she didn’t appreciate her daughter for the things she was good at or passionate about, trying instead to get her to fit into a box. 
Finally, we arrives at the last entry, where Luz says she’s going to stay in the Human Realm forever. Camila looks shocked and then… this expression. I believe she’s reached the same conclusion as me, that it is a bad idea. Even without bringing Luz’ extended family in the form of Eda & King (and also Hooty and Cool Aunt Lilith) into the equation, all of Luz’ best friends, and her awesome girlfriend are from that other world. I think Camila on some level knows that Luz will never truly be happy in this ordinary human world.
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This is why we wash our wounds and make sure to change our bandaids regularly, Hunter.
Also, nononononono, it’s happening, it’s happening, oh no-
Also, also, eeeeeeww!
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Turns out I was right!
To be more precise, my third proposed theory of why Luz’ burnt her hand on the glyph back at the vet clinic was right. It was because of the hidden Titan’s Blood, which makes glyph magic work… at least to some extent, those light orbs look a bit wobbly.
Not only does this give Luz a way to find the blood, but it also gives her some way to defend herself against the monster waiting in the woods.
Hey, let’s think positively! Maybe Hunter isn’t possessed by his creepy uncle, but is actually just turning into a werewolf! Yeah, that’s what’s happening. And Luz is exactly the kind of nerd who knows how to deal with a werewolf.
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SEASON 3 EPISODE 1 REACTION PART 2!!
I am a big ranter and don't shut up so I have had to make it a second part, sorry people, anyway, LETS GO
"You're family now" WELL DAMN, Hunter is just getting adopted left right and centre! As he should be, HUNTER BABY, NO DON'T CRY, god nobody has ever shown him kindness in his like, 16 years of life huh (me neither pal, me neither)
I will never get over how cute Gus and Hunter being nerds about this sci-fi book, like damn bro. BUT CAMILA, what are you hiding?! Either she wrote this book or it was her husband's
AHHH LUZ AND AMITY COSPLAYING THEIR FAVOURITE FICTIONAL GIRLFRIENDS, I am going feral, god someone be the Luz to my Amity. ALSO Azura's green hair is iconic, I will one day dye my hair that green, just you wait
THE COMPUTER WALLPAPER?! Fuckkkkkkk, they are so goals it literally hurts my soul, I am going to cry in a minute!
The costumes are so good!! However Amity's costume (I think the character's name was Hecate?) reminds me of Rosaline but with Daisy's hair colour (Mario characters if you get me) but also some other character but I have 0 idea who, I'll think about it
BUT HEY, GREEN GOOP DON'T BE ON HUNTER'S SKIN!
Oooo Belos lore! And his brother, who is barely mentioned so i am desperate to know more
THE BROTHER'S NAME WAS CALEB! FUCKING KNEW IT, but that means a lot..... Are "Grimwalkers" just a clone of Caleb? Philip's weird attempt to keep his brother? And maybe he died because of a palisman? God I don't know, BUT WAIT, BECAUSE FLAPJACK WAS AN ABANDONED PALISMAN BECAUSE OF THE BATQUEEN HAD HIM, MAYBE HE WAS CALEB'S!
OH FUCK YEAH I WAS RIGHT, however this was probably obvious considering we immediately find it out after I guessed it, damn
"Sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset. But, that's just me" Masha, I fucking love you
Hunter is sweating and stressing though, bless him
YEAH HUNTER WHAT THE HECK, poor flapjack, but also I get it, still feel bad for flapjack but Hunter be going through a lot, i get him
THE CUTTING THE HAIR WITH A SWORD IS SO RELATABLE, but also these video diaries being from when she was young and everything with her dad AND HER DAD LEAVING HER THE BOOK, AH
OH GOD I JUST REMEMBERED THE FIRST SCENE OF SEASON 1 WAS LUZ'S BOOK REPORT WHERE SHE BROUGHT IN A SNAKE! OHHHH God.
WOAH, Hunter is being controlled by this green goop! I swear if he turns into the Belos creature and Hunter becomes the villain I will have to sob
WOAH IS BELOS CONTROLLING HUNTER! HELL NAH DAMN IT, WE HAVE TO WATCH HUNTER BECOME THE MAYBE VILLAIN, this is horrible
WHY ARE YOU CALLING LUZ/FLAPJACK EVELYN! WASN'T THAT THE WITCH!?! FUCK
DO NOT KILL FLAPJACK YOU PIECE OF SHIT! NOOOOOOOOOO
WAIT NO HE IS ALIVE, I swear if flapjack dies I will sue the studio
CAMILA TO THE RESCUE! Woah, cool portal, but that shouldn't be what I focus on
I am not kidding, if Flapjack and/or Hunter dies, I will go insane and nobody will see me for the next 100 days
NOOOOOOOOOOOOO DON'T TURN INTO PARTICLES FLAPJACK, YOU CAN STILL LIVE, please, i swear
"Is everyone else okay?" YES YOU SELFISH PRICK, OF COURSE BUT STOP ASKING ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE
.................................... YOU MUST BE KIDDING, they wouldn't kill off flapjack right!? He comes back, I know he does. You'll see. This isn't "delusional" or "denial" IT WILL HAPPEN
"TOOK YOUR MOTHER TO THE DEMON REALM!" Again, Camila to the rescue, fucking love her, CAN'T WAIT FOR CAMILA AND EDA TO MEET
VEE MY ICON, good luck trying to be everything sweetie, I BELIEVE IN YOU!
OKAY! Episode 1 done people! That was, scary, damn. But we survived the first episode! AND nobody died! FLAPJACK DIDN'T DIE OKAY, I WILL DIE ON THIS HILL, HE SHOWS UP LATER IN THIS SEASON, I CAN TELL
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