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kindestegg · 1 year

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Collector, the Isles, assimilation, Luz, grief and escapism

Okay, as per promised the last post in which I went slightly into depth about how much Collector actually seems to LIKE titans, here's a much bigger one playing off of the idea that for all his care, this dynamic is incredibly flawed, and how that relates to his relationship with the Isles and how that parallels Luz eventually, as well as... another thing. (Buckle up. This is a long one).

In a post-hoot that's actually... a pre-hoot, if you think about it, Dana and a few others gathered to talk about For the Future and what was to come, Dana dropped some interesting commentary on how Collector's magic interacts with the Isles...

"Well, the Boiling Isles is supposed to be death and rebirth and rejuvenation like wrapped up in like, a kind of horrifying and beautiful set piece, which is kind of how I see nature as a whole, it's like that bug is horrifying but it's beautiful that it exists, y'know. Maybe that's a vapid observation, but... (laughs) It's something that I like exploring.

But for the Collector I wanted everything to feel the opposite it should feel (...) yeah, unnaturally vibrant, not so much unpredictable but factory made. Like toys, like so many plastic toys. It should feel the opposite of what the Boiling Isles feels, it should be so sugary, it should be so toy box that it hurts. (...) Unnatural. (...)

And I also wanted it to feel like what Luz thought she was gonna get in Season 1. She goes into this fantasy world and (...) you can see it in the episode, and in episode 2 you can see that, you can see some cute little cat villages, you can see all these beautiful fantasy tropes and it quickly gets smashed down because we didn't wanna focus on that too much, but the Collector's whole image was supposed to be growing from that. 'Oh, this is what Luz's dream is, but now it's a nightmare'."

She also says this juxtaposition ended up being overshadowed then by the Collector as a character coming into his own and being a character they enjoy writing so much, but I feel like this assessment could not be further from the truth. I and a lot of fans have caught onto this and very much would like to discuss these themes.

This quote is incredibly interesting to me because I feel like it relates on multiple levels to the themes if this show, the characters in it, and even external motivations in the writing decisions.

Let's start with what I promised first. In the earlier post I referenced at the start, I said although Collector doesn't act out of malice when it comes to changing up the Isles to his will, he regardless is still enacting a violence upon them. And I don't just mean through turning people into puppets.

When the hexsquad finally arrives back on the Isles and you see the state Collector put it at, they state that the Titan Skull is the normal part, but everything else is "wrong". During the entirety of For the Future, there is an emphasis on how unnatural Collector's magic is for the Boiling Isles. It shapes this place that witches and demons call home into something it never was.

Multiple times, we are made to see a clear juxtaposition between what the Boiling Isles is normally like VS how the Collector's magic interacts with it. Another line that stuck with me is Camila going "so the eyeballs on the ground are normal, but the little space cherub is the danger?"

And yet, despite all her negative reactions to the uglier parts of the Boiling Isles, she goes out of her way to try and understand why Luz likes it, and be supportive of Luz regardless. In a way, Camila's journey so far in the Boiling Isles is like a quick redux of Luz's own journey. At first, her daughter, too, had been weirded out by all the strangest in the demon realm, but it was her determination to find brightness in it despite it all.

It is in this that we find the meaning in Dana's words when she says that nature, in all of its weirdness and grossness, is beautiful. Because the Boiling Isles exists in its natural state, and not just that, but in a state that is culturally relevant and important to all witches and demons inhabiting it.

Luz was only able to learn her second glyph when she embraced that magic in the isles was different than just waving a wand and doing magic just like that. That magic was a gift from the isles, from nature. The way that witches connect to the isles is to giving thanks to the Titan, understanding and never forgetting their roots and that all of the bodily manifestations that life sprouts from are part of magic.

When Collector swoops in and covers it all in artificial glitter and plastic and toys, he takes away that natural part of the isles, he covers up the manifestation of the isles' culture that is meant to entwine so deeply with this nature. Regardless of how much he's liked the titans before and how much he doesn't think he's hurting anyone, he is still assimilating and erasing this culture of the isles.

Similarly, when he captures people to be his puppets, he does not just make them into puppets in their regular appearance, but also their appearance is changed, specially their outfits and hairstyles, which is a denial of their self expression and the way the Boiling Isles culture itself informs such choices. The style Collector enforces on the people he turns into puppets is not like anything we see the people on the isles usually wearing, but it sure as hell seems incredibly close to what Luz would have wished to see. We will definitely get back to that, specially with how that relates to Witches before Wizards, which is paralleled hardcore in this episode and even Dana points it out.

Point is: Collector is enacting a violence upon the Isles of a much subtler type than the already pretty damning "turning people into puppets and leaving the survivors to fend for themselves" thing. He is erasing its culture, running over its wildlife, reshaping the environment to his own wants. Regardless if he realizes how harmful this is to the Isles, it is extremely harmful, and I've discussed before in a more informal ask answer, but to me it seems like collectors in general parallel pretty closely the uglier parts of humanity, specially those relating to invading whatever lands we see fit and thinking we are justified in not only drastically altering the landscape but also forcing the people to conform.

Again, though, I feel wrong about going too close with the real world parallels here because I feel it isn't my place to speak on this. I can talk about, however, how once again the Collector is paralleling both Belos and his own ancestors here.

I've already discussed this here, but the way Belos introduces the coven system upon the Isles is a violence that he enacts onto its people to make them easier to control. He straight up rises to the top and changes the entire social norms and societal structure to benefit himself and creates a myriad of problems along with it, some I've discussed in that post like the fact the Emperor's Coven is made the strongest just to make it easier for him to establish his rule and benefit his power structure.

But there's more to this: I have not been the first one to point out that the way Belos denounces "wild magic" and the witches that used it as being in the "savage ages", to the point even historians such as Lilith were made to believe that venturing into an old Bonesborough before the established rule would be dangerous (which is interesting in and of itself: this signifies that the state controls even the historical material given to academics, and the implications here are horrifying) is also a form of imperialistic conquering and scrubbing the Boiling Isles of its original culture.

In this, it is also particularly interesting here to us to remind ourselves Collector very much did have a hand in the Day of Unity, and therefore, its connection to the coven system as well. We don't know how much of a hand it was when it comes to covens, maybe he suggested all of it or only told Belos he needed to siphon witches' magic through something and gather them all in one place, but the fact of the matter is that Collector's been implicated now in not one, but two instances of robbing the Boiling Isles - and its people- of its identity.

Like I stated in my analysis on cycles of violence, Collector is not just a victim despite having his own issues and trauma, he is very much a perpetrator as well. And once again, this is equally related to his upbringing with those of his own kind. Regardless of the fact he did change his mind and went out of his way to rebel and befriend the titans, he still spent a considerable amount of time learning from his family that collectors are meant to claim a world for their own to then take whatever they want from.

And because of all that, they are still very much in the habit of enacting a system of cultural violence upon those that they encounter. Even King, the one whom they consider their best friend, cannot escape this, as he is made to wear the same clothes as they do and denied the lifestyle he actually wishes for.

Once again, though, Collector does not seem to be doing this all out of malice. There is no indication that they are hunched over rubbing their hands laughing maniacally to themself about how they are finally making that ugly horrible Boiling Isles into something better and that with everyone turned into puppets there'll be no one to stop them. In fact... he rejects the very notion when Odalia brings it up that they could reshape the entire Boiling Isles...

And, as I have come to realize and discussed here, Collector doesn't actually seem to think turning everyone into puppets is the best end goal, he is most likely acting out of what he falsely understood the Owl House game to be. That isn't to say he regrets it or is doing so unwillingly, that's also a misreading, but at the very least, it's not something he would default to as a form of play, usually.

But that is just another incredibly important facet of this type of violence that we can discuss: most people who enact such erasure will not realize at first that what they are doing is wrong, they think that what they're doing is what's best for the culture they are bulldozing, and believe this to be just how the world works. While most of the time in real life this takes an incredibly frightening scale because it relates to structural oppression and concentrates itself in many powerful adult figures which are hard to empathize with, the Collector being a child in this sense lends itself to a different type of moral lesson here.

Put simply, this layer of his character and actions is there so that the audience may recognize that despite how he means well, he needs to change his ways. He is there for any members of the audience, particularly young ones, because, you know, this is still a show for kids, to project themselves into and understand that just because you think what you're doing isn't hurting anyone and everything looks prettier in your view, you're regardless still doing something very wrong by taking away what is natural and what is part of the identity of a people and a place.

To any younger viewers who may be just getting introduced to a concept like this, or even older viewers who have simply not given themselves the chance to think of these subjects for whatever reason and might be needing to, this is one valuable lesson to learn, and it is put in a way where you are made to understand that yes, you can hurt people in different ways than physically hurting them like Belos did, or even through direct but emotional abuse, and you can hurt people even when you think you're not doing anything wrong.

But, alright, we've discussed how the reshaping of the Isles by the Collector is important from a metanarrative standpoint. How does Luz fit into all of this? When does she come in?

I wanna get back to what Dana said in the post-hoot, about how this represents what was once Luz's dream becoming her nightmare. As I had stated before, it was only through Luz's determination of understanding and embracing the Boiling Isles as it is that she was able to have the adventures that she grew to love so much and meet the people she did and become the hero of the Isles and protector of its people.

But before she could ever do that, she had to be faced with the harsh reality that she couldn't will her journey to be better or more magical, that just because she couldn't find the world she wanted when she came into the Isles, doesn't mean that there isn't beauty to it.

In fact...

"Eda: The bones of the Isles. Up close, the Isles can be slimy—

King: And very stinky.

Eda: And gross. But if you look at it from a different perspective...

[The three of them look to the sky above the Titan's skull, where stars are beginning to appear. As they watch, a shooting star crosses the sky, there for only a moment.]

Luz: It's beautiful."

(Courtesy of the transcript from the TOH Wiki.)

This line from Witches before Wizards only cements what Dana said about the Isles showing the beauty in nature, in the cycle of life that we are all bound to. Luz's journey throughout that episode, and then adjusting through most of season 1, was coming to understand just that. And only because now she's learned to appreciate the Isles for what it is, she can denounce the violence that the Collector is doing to it as a result.

I think Witches before Wizards being such a parallel to For the Future that this latest episode ends up reminding us of such an early episode speaks to another one of the central themes of The Owl House: escapism.

The Owl House seems to have a great grasp of nuance when it comes to escapism. It simultaneously acknowledges exactly why someone like Luz might feel the need to elope to a fantasy realm where they may feel more understood, not shying away with themes of bullying, neurodivergence, and just in general any sort of alienation that can lead to seeking refuge in fantasy, while also reminding us that shutting yourself off from the world too much and refusing to deal with your emotions can be dangerous.

This is where Luz Noceda comes full circle, from a naive young girl whose dream of being a witch just like the pretty and powerful one from the books she reads guides her every action, to a now responsible and caring heroic figure who fights not just for her dream, but for the people of the Isles that she has grown to love to be able to live in peace, free from a controlling force attempting to overwrite their identities.

And it is also where our Collector's circle is about to begin. Collector, too, is enacting a form of escapism, not just through the Owl House game itself as it involves pretending they are the hero of the Isles along with King always by their side, not even just through the fact they are overwriting the identity of the Isles and its people...

But also they're pretending everything is fine, denying their own trauma. Let me explain.

So, some people have already caught onto this, but I'll just echo their sentiment: hey, isn't it really fucking weird that Collector seems to be so put off by their people's history, and also knows all of it pretty well, yet they still have King read that lore book to them before going to bed?

Well, let's analyze again what parts of the book Collector does want read and what parts he doesn't, and how does that line up with what we know of his backstory.

"Collectors live long, we watch things pass. To preserve, to observe, we must amass. What flies, what swims, be it predator, or prey, seal them up so they may never fade."

I think it's safe to say our Collector knows very well what this is and isn't too bothered by it. His eyes gets small and tired as he watches King read this, indicating he is comfortable enough hearing this part to fall asleep to it.

However, when it comes to this part...

"But should they meddle in our affairs, we’ll clean the planet and scorch the air."

That is precisely when our Collector gets incredibly upset, as if he is actively dreading hearing this be said out loud, and he begs King to skip over it.

This lines up a lot with his backstory and also his overall more explicit behavior in the episode. We know he wanted to befriend the titans rather than hurt them, and was likely upset when the other collectors killed off the last of his new friends. Many people have pointed out how upset Collector's expression gets when spying on King and hearing him and Lilith mention how the collectors wiped out all the titans.

And if you look at the edit that he made, claiming he fixed it...

"But playing is more fun, make friends instead, the others stink, boo!"

Hey, doesn't it seem like Collector is trying to make himself live out a fantasy in which he denies his past of having witnessed his species destroying the titans?

To Collector, the sweetest lullaby is one where the collectors learned to not trap everything on instinct and kill what doesn't agree, but instead, came to befriend the beings of this realm, and played with them in peace. One where he did not receive a horribly unjust punishment of fate for even trying to approach the titans and deny his own nature, but rather, where his best friend is a baby titan who reads bedtime stories to him.

All is well, echoes in his mind. All is well, so there's no need to think about what happened now.

Of course, I don't want to deny there is a possible counter argument to this. After all, if Collector is trying to escape his past, then why are there still pictures of the collectors vs. titans war hanging around the halls of the Archive House?

And to that, I can only guess that maybe this structure is not something he built entirely of his own conscious accord but is rather largely reminiscent of him trying to faithfully imitate what the original archives and structures collectors may have kept back in the day.

It does somewhat make sense: there are a ton of books being kept in the archives if you look at some of the backgrounds, and some of them even have further upsetting information. So I don't think Collector curated specifically every form of content in the archives, and it's possible he put those murals up due to a feeling of obligation, his collector instinct kicks in and tells him he has to catalogue his adventures up til then.

It's also worth noting that if we go with the second timeline suggestion, the one from Andy's post, it abruptly stopping when Collector meets the baby titans makes a ton of sense: he doesn't want to catalogue what happened after he met the baby titans, even though we all know that it didn't last.

Whatever the case, this form of radical escapism, one that denies even real life happenings to try and further close yourself off from allowing yourself to really feel any negative emotion, is something that is clearly unhealthy and has been called out before multiple times in the show, specially when it comes to Luz.

Dana has said in an interview that Season 3 would deal with themes of grief and how it affects our lives, and I can definitely see that with Luz and how she and Camila still process their grief over Manny, Luz's dad. Hence another parallel between Collector and Luz. Once upon a time, Luz, too, was using escapism as a way to cope with her father's death.

The Good Witch Azura was the last thing Luz's dad ever gifted to her. As such, it informed much of how she coped after his death, becoming an incredibly important comfort item that she treasured very much. Once again, this book very well represents the themes of balance in escapism: no one can argue that receiving the book wasn't incredibly important in helping Luz heal and cope well with her father's death, but eventually she also started having trouble realizing how her way of expressing herself might affect others and even having anyone to socialize with.

And listen, I know we all agree sending Luz to Summer Camp was kind of a bad idea on Camila's part that definitely scared Luz away, but we cannot ignore the motivation to want Luz to better herself was there. Because I want to talk about the fact that Demon Realm was Luz's Reality Check Summer Camp.

There is where she learned that even a fantasy where she could learn real magic and unlock her true potential world would not accommodate to her expectations, and that she would still have to work hard if she wanted to meet her goal. Not only that, but several episodes also focused on Luz learning emotional intelligence and responsibility.

We even had one episode that was exactly about trying to distract yourself from grief with games to the point you put people around you at risk! Reaching Out was literally about that! Do you understand! Do you see how Luz is literally just like Collector but older and given a proper system of support and not overpowered!

And yes, Collector is grieving. Just because the titans were not their actual family, doesn't mean they didn't care about them deeply, and so of course their deaths would affect them in a similar way.

Once again, we return to Dana's words about how the Isles encapsulates life, death and rejuvenation. Death is part of that. It must be accepted as a fact. And Collector's magic, once again, is one of keeping everything in plastic, factory made stasis. Denying this nature. Therefore, denying grief.

If the Collector is to grow as a character sufficiently to join our heroes, they will need to stop denying the past and covering it all up with sparkles and glitter and filling their time with only playing, and admit they are sad, they are grieving, and that they know horrible things were done to the Isles in their people's name. And that, even if they mean well, they are still continuing part of that when they mess with the Isles. Is this what the titans would have wanted?

And hey, who better to realize their need and call them out on it than Miss "Local troublemaker, nerdy bookworm, Azura fangirl, fanfiction writer, experienced grief-dodger" Luz Noceda?

#the owl house #luz noceda #the collector #toh analysis #toh theory #toh collector #for the future #Commander's orders #screamiiiing this took so long but its finally done #taking a long break from writing analysis after this one i promise

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owlhousetarot · 1 year

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Temperance: Camila and Luz - Fantasy vs. Reality

Upright: Balance, moderation, patience, harmony, peace, perspective

Reversed: Imbalance, excess, extremes, disharmony, recklessness, hastiness, clashing priorities

The Temperance card presents us with a major theme of the show, and the initial conflict between Luz and Camila: Luz’s need to temper her love for fantasy with a healthy dose of reality. At the very beginning of the show, we see both of them go to opposite extremes; Camila sends (or at least tries to send) Luz to a three-month-long camp in hopes that she will learn to conform to “normal” social rules and make friends, and to escape this, Luz abandons the human realm entirely in hopes that she’ll be able to live out the fantasy adventure of her dreams in the demon realm. Both of them are reacting to their respective traumas; Camila herself was bullied for not conforming when she was younger and wants to spare her daughter that pain, and Luz is clinging to her most powerful remaining connection to her father, the Azura series, as a form of escapism. It’s clear they’re not fully seeing things from the other’s perspective, nor are they ready to meet in the middle quite yet.

Eventually, though, their perspectives shift. Luz ironically gets that reality check in her fantasy world, developing a sense of responsibility and learning not to project her expectations for adventure on a foreign world. Likewise, Camila comes to realize that camp would cause Luz more harm than good when "Luz” comes back and has seemingly suppressed her sense of creativity and individuality. In season 3, with Luz more grounded and Camila openly supporting her daughter’s fantastical life, they are both more prepared to answer the question not of which world Luz will choose in the end, but how they’ll strike a balance between the two.

Deck Order:

< Previous: Death | Next: The Devil >

Show Chronology:

Next: The Fool >

#the owl house #toh tarot #major arcana #camila noceda #luz noceda #a lying witch and a warden

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mdhwrites · 22 hours

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I’m honest to god baffled that fantasy shows like Steven Universe, Amphibia, Star Vs The Forces Of Evil, and Gravity Falls have an abundance of memorable human characters with memorable locations that make you want to live in that human community while The Owl House BARELY has any of that.

Camila, Jacob, and Masha are probably the only human side characters that are memorable and have a impact on the story, and Gravesfield is too forgettable and full of not so good people (which even then is questionable considering Luz’s antics) that it makes it hard to want to live there.

It’s almost as if TOH is desperate to want people to want to live in the demon realm and forget about appreciating Earth and being human, which ends up making it even more immature compared to other shows that at least TRY to express how important it is to appreciate your human side and it makes the main human characters much more likable cause they know being human is just as important.

If Luz doesn’t bother to appreciate her human world more, why should I care about her?

This isn't a bug; It's a feature.

(Before I begin, just as a reminder: Fuck JK Rowling. I hate how much I have to praise Harry Potter for this.)

There is a LOT to say about TOH wanting to be the Harry Potter for a new generation. The concept that all of humanity is worthless so you should escape into our other side of reality is a big thing there too. Part of why Harry Potter, and ESPECIALLY Hogwarts, means so much to people that they literally can't give it up is because of the escapist fantasy involved with it. The story made one believe anyone could be whisked away to a fantasy realm where they were important. Where they could face the bullies and win. Where they could be so much more than reality made them feel.

The Isles is pretty clearly meant to feel similar. It's the ONLY explanation for why Belos' tyranny isn't actually present besides to make being an apprentice to Eda even cooler than it normally would be. The Coven System could be inspired by a lot of things, like D&D, but it's hard to deny that Harry Potter is the easiest example, especially with The First Day reinforcing that even the school is divided up by these covens. There is ZERO bigotry, of literally any sort, even magical preference, because that would make the Isles unappealing. It wouldn't be somewhere anyone would want to escape to because the world would be too much like our own.

This is further reinforced by how Harry Potter has the Dursleys while TOH has just implied repression of Luz... Except that it DOES have more, doesn't it?

This is part of why I think TOH fails in this regard. Why we don't see a lot of TOH OCs, or Hexside OCs, minus future kids which is just mashing the canon characters together. It's too insincere and too modern a work in order to actually be the escapist fiction it wants to be. Again: There are MAJOR storytelling concessions to make it more attractive as escapist fiction but it won't commit.

This is why we have Camila as our main representative of humanity. The 'trope' is to make her awful. The worst person imaginable. The Dursleys fit that after all. But modern writing trends are too self aware for that sort of thing. They need to try and twist tropes to look clever (I would date the start of this somewhere around Frozen) or else they look silly and are to be thrown away. So instead of the evil home life to run away from like in Harry Potter, where that gives Harry permission to only care about the new world he's entering, even if it's just a secret society, we instead have Camila. The saint. The one who is first wronged by Luz and never really gets made up to by Luz because, well, that goes against the fact that Luz is clearly meant to, even by the end of S1, want to choose the Isles over humanity EVERY TIME. Why she starts an entirely new life there without even thinking about things like, I dunno, how the fuck do I keep dating this witch when I go home. Amity and her never do have a real conversation about the promise because that's inconvenient to the escapist fantasy.

This attempt at being 'clever' over being sincere is also why Hogwarts is a much more magical, literally and figuratively, setting than the ENTIRE ISLES. There is magic and secrets and interesting discoveries at literally every turn at this one school. Meanwhile, TOH wants to be able to make modern social commentary despite the fantasy land its in, and also wants to be taken more seriously than fantasy often is, so it needs to be grounded and mundane and mostly like our own world because otherwise they might actually have to make a world that's interesting. It fits into modern writing trends that give Twitter easy fodder to talk about THEMES, regardless of how well those are actually tackled, but get in the way of being escapist. Of creating a world that you'd actively beg to live in.

This is actually something I'll give modern isekai and is a large part of why it's so popular: It is extremely escapist. Even the more serious ones still make the main character be the biggest badass ever and the 'dark' elements actually conform just to make him a bigger badass. To give him more than he already would have by genre convention. They do that mostly through sincerity of concepts. By going "This is what we're doing, this is what we're giving the audience, FUCKING GO."

TOH never has that unity of purpose.

BUT

This lack of unity of purpose also meant that while PLENTY of anime are bigger, more popular and more influential than TOH, as far as western media goes, it was a strength. Like I said, it leans into current trends with writing. It is unique, even amongst anime, for having an explicitly LGBTQIA+ main character, adding to the escapism for those specific groups. All while packaged as a kids show for those who don't like kids shows, much like how Avatar for many is anime for those who don't like anime.

Now this is where I might talk about the other shows you brought up, especially Amphibia but, well... None of them are going for such pure escapism. Bare minimum, their main influences aren't pure escapism. They're more rooted in old isekai or just straight aren't influenced by isekai or Harry Potter. They're genuinely more complex about the relationship between the worlds because for their stories, both worlds actually matter. Neither is meant to be entirely abandoned like TOH wants to abandon the human realm.

There is a reason why Luz ends the series only learning about magic after all despite claiming to live in both realms because she has no interest in the human realm. There's a reason the villain is pro-human realm. It's all meant to point to not just wanting to run away but encouraging it. That's not even always a bad thing. I've written porn for god's sake, the last thing I can criticize is the desire for escapist fiction. It has its place.

TOH would fill that place better if it would just be honest about what it was. I'm still glad it comforts those who need it to be their escape though. See you next tale.

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

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.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical

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found-family-tournament · 9 months

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Found Family Tournament Round 2 Part 6 Group 29

Propaganda and further images under the cut

Crystal Gems: Steven, Pearl, Amethyst, Garnet, Lapis, Peridot, Bismuth

Clawthorne-Nocedas: Luz Noceda, Hunter Noceda, Camila Noceda, Eda Clawthorne, Lilith Clawthorne, Raine Whispers, Gus, Amity, WIllow, Vee, King Clawthorne, Hooty, Owlbert & Stringbean

Crystal Gems:

Sorry, I got no propaganda for them yet :(

Clawthorne-Nocedas:

Camila has one daughter. Daughter wanders into Demon Realm and is immediately replaced by a shapeshifter who wants a safe haven. Shapeshifter is revealed and Camila loves her and lets her be herself. Daughter returns from the Demon Realm with four traumatized teenagers. This single mother tries to understand their culture, and keeps them under her roof and never asks anything of them except to pitch in around the house. Embraces them and loves them, despite the strain on her wallet. And helps her OG daughter embrace her deepest desire and become a witch.

So freaking adorable

I fucking love Luz and hunters sibling dynamic, they’re all so silly and precious and they make me want to cry, Eda and Camila are both such mother figures for Luz and I just BCHSJSHSIDHDUOSNDHD

unapologetically weird

one of them is literally a living house and he's possibly the funniest being alive

gay af, neurodivergent af, and as culturally diverse as it gets

character styles are adorable

actual exploration and resolution for daddy issues, alcoholism, etc

illegal activity encouraged, they're one step from being communist revolutionaries and literally would/do commit arson for each other

fantastic character development in learning how to take care of each other

perfect balance of "cool parent" vs "unfit parent" slippery slope (there may be gambling

exploration of found family within bio family and how those relationships evolve

ALEX HIRSCH DOES ALEX HIRSCH THINGS

massive extended family not fully listed here

THEY HAVE MERCH (both in universe and irl)

they don't try to do too much or be too perfect. They're all traumatized people with wild experiences but they're what each other needed at the time -did I mention they're super cute

THEYRE MISFITS. WEIRDOS. WHO HAVE TO STICK TOGETHER.

They are super cute and have all gone through enough trauma and deserve to just live their lives in peace.

saved the world with the found familyness

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justsomeguypoll · 1 year

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JUST SOME GUY: ROUND 1

Arthur Dent (The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy) vs. Camila Noceda (The Owl House)

Reasons provided for Arthur Dent:

His house was going to be knocked down to create a bypass, then his eccentric friend suddenly whisked him off to space before the Earth was destroyed to make a Space Bypass. He's still in his dressing gown. He knows nothing about space (luckily there's a handy book for that!). He's not overly invested in his adventures, preferring to spend his time trying to get a spaceship to make a decent cup of tea.

Reasons provided for Camila Noceda:

her daughter happens to be a magical protagonist. she's a vet. she'll grab a baseball bat to join the teenage heroes in the demon realm

#arthur dent #camila noceda #the hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy #the owl house #just some guy poll #round one #tumblr tournament #sorry arthur is so pixelated. this movie is from 2005.

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armenianwriterman · 1 year

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Owl House Liveblog I typed while watching the episode

THAT PROMO WAS SO GOOD!!!!

Power Noodle 😭😭😭

Amity vs Luz Noooooo

EDA I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!

OH GOD THAT VISION OF DELL

King poor baby

Going through all Luz's friends blaming her is rough, but it's nice to see Luz defending herself after all the self blaming.

AND ALL THAT WAS JUST THE COLD OPEN!

The big reunion awwww

Oh god Belos knows King is a Titan

I forgot how much of a slimy creep he was

Possessed Raine is so creepy

COLLECTOR PACMAN OH MY GOD

This montage is really neat

Oh poor baby

EWW BELOS IS SO FUCKING GROSS

The Hexsquad in the archives, that should be interesting

Them going through Luz's adventures is so cute

NOT LUZ SAYING SHE WANTS A YOUNG EDA SPIN OFF, ME TOO!!!

THE TITAN IS NOW SANS UNDERTALE!

OH GOD THAT BODY HORROR THOUGH

Oh collector you can't reason with Belos

NO LUZ ISTG DID YOU JUST GET ASSIMILATED

CAMILY CRYING NOOOOO

MONSTER KING AND EDA HOLY FUCK

ASDFGHDAJDJASNDSA THAT TITAN DESIGN IS SO GOOD I love it

I love this whole converstaion

Aww Camila breaking out the glyphs

Luz went Super sayian of course she would

Titan Empowered Luz has such a great design

This whole battle sequence is so good I love it

Raine whistling Eda's Reqiuem one last time!!!

NOW EAT THIS SUCKAAAAAAA!!!!!

EAT SHIT BELOS!!!!

Awwww bread pun

THE REUNIONS!!!

Awwww I love the camila eda meeting

AWWW King giving the Collector Francois!!!

NOT THE GLYPHS

She's going to College in the demon realm!!!

Older Vee has such a great design

Awww that Hunter Willow moment

FLAPJACK!!!!!

These older character designs are so great!!!

HARPY LILITH!!!

I love the moment where they undo the Glyphs

ALADARIUS MOMENT HOLY CRAP

They're really touching on everyne aren't they

KING-CENERA!!!!!

THE ECHO MOUSE!!!

I'm actually tearing up this is a lot.

Oh that was so good, such a fantastic ending. I love this show so much and I love the way it came to a close. It's sad to see it go and I'll miss it so much, but it was so good to be there along the way. Thanks to Dana, the VAs, the animation crew and everyone who made it along the way. Thanks for everything Owl House, Hoot Hoot.

BYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!

#the owl house #toh spoilers

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the-owl-house-takes · 8 months

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ngl i rly love the idea of both philip AND caleb being evil assholes

imagine if caleb wanted to wipe out humanity bc his view of them had become so warped after growing up in a town full of witch hunters, so he had this twisted desire to protect witchkind by killing all humans (sound familiar?)

i also like to think caleb initially kept up his "whoa calm down bro" facade during the knife fight but then eventually dropped it and told philip "i shouldve killed you before i left" and went absolutely apeshit on him

(i dont think philip wouldve ever known abt calebs hatred of humanity tho bc imo caleb wouldve been smart enough to not tell him. so philip attacking caleb was still rooted solely on his anti-witch bigotry and does NOT make him a "hero" whatsoever lol)

ik (iirc) dana said evelyn chose caleb bc he seemed to be the nicest person in gravesfield but 1. caleb wouldve been hiding his hatred of humanity for obvious reasons and 2. we dont know shit abt evelyn herself, for all we know her standards couldve been "someone who wouldnt kill a witch on sight"

(speaking of evelyn i personally dont think she was evil in any way. i hc her as more of a batshit chaotic neutral character who did whatever she wanted as long as its fun anyways)

in this case caleb would be interesting foils to philip (anti-human vs anti-witch), hunter (who has an affinity to the human realm and is close to some humans like luz and camila) and the clawthorne sisters (both eda and lilith are flawed but still ultimately good ppl. both the clawthornes and the wittebanes subvert the "good sibling evil sibling" trope this way)

idk exactly what caleb and flapjacks relationship wouldve been like tho they had to have been close to some degree right? but at the same time i think flapjack had always disagreed with calebs anti-human sentiments but was afraid to actively oppose him, and ofc flap was happy that hunter was able to befriend a human and enjoy the human realm

speaking of hunter i. i was gonna say "imagine if hunter found out abt caleb wanting to wipe out humanity lol so angsty" but tbh i think that would just be TOO traumatic to him (even for an angst enjoyer like me) like he straight up wont be able to recover from that imo. or at least take a REALLY long time to recover but either way i dont think he should learn abt that kinda stuff. i do think it would be interesting if luz, eda and lilith found out tho

i also originally had the hc that caleb built the cat eye portal with the purpose of ambushing gravesfield once he was ready, but after the papa titan eye reveal in wad im not even sure who built that portal anymore- well either way caleb still wouldve wanted to build A portal ig (not the other one that led to the clawthorne house, i think that was probably evelyns)

also. the irony of both caleb and philip dying as smth that theyve hated (caleb died as a human and philip died as a "witch/demon", not literally the species in philips case but more luzs definition of "powerful magic user", and we can all agree that monster philip is demonic). i do think caleb was trying to find ways to turn himself into a real witch but philip killed him before he could succeed

uhh idk how to end this long ass post lmao- actually yk what im just gonna go ahead and say ik this will probably never be canon even if we get more official toh content in the future, its just a fun idea/hc i rly like!!! i have so much more to say abt this hc but imma stop here for now bc i dont want this ask to be TOO long lol

#the owl house #toh #caleb wittebane #philip wittebane #emperor belos #hunter noceda #long post

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runemyth0 · 3 months

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Walnut Season Chapter 9

The cardinal falls out of the nest. The fox nurses him back to health.

[Start at the beginning]

#my fics #the owl house #toh #the owl house fanfiction #toh fanfic #camila vs the demon realm #hunter noceda #raine whispers #I'm glad this chapter is finally done #now it can torment y'all instead of me

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lyledraws · 1 year

Photo

And... done! Presenting the finished cover for Camila Noceda Versus The Demon Realm. I’ll probably drop it in chapter 1 in a few days. To everyone that’s read Camila Versus and said nice things, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get back to working on Walnut Season.

Textless version under the cut.

#my art #colored lineart #camila vs the demon realm #the owl house #the owl house fanart #fanfic fanart #fanfic cover #camila noceda #luz noceda #vee noceda #hunter noceda

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sepublic · 11 months

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It’s wild to me that the storyboards for Watching and Dreaming depict Odalia taking Camila’s place during this scene, and at a notable distance from the kids here, no less…

It really makes me wonder if the original plan was for Odalia to use the light glyph to awaken the kids from their puppet states, hence the setup of her being in the Archives as the Collector’s servant. She would’ve helped the kids save the people of the Demon Realm, perhaps realizing that her way of life was simply unsustainable, and that she contributed to Belos possessing the Boiling Isles as both knowing bystander and supporter.

They’d ultimately succeed, but Odalia being at a distance from the kids implies that they don’t ever forgive her; They won’t go out of their way to kill Odalia, nor keep her from improving as a person. But they don’t owe her personal forgiveness, which I appreciate. We may still have some variation of this scene where Amity reunites with Alador;

Odalia may or may not be salty, but it still reminds the viewer that even after all that, Amity rightfully doesn’t forgive Odalia, and chooses Alador; While Odalia is visibly upset, but can’t do anything about this but just maintain distance and accept it (Hence why she looks so awkward and closed-off, compared to Camila rejoicing with the kids in the final product).

That makes me wonder if we would’ve seen her in the epilogue, with the group shot depicting Odalia notably isolated from the rest of her family, instead besides Tibbles or something like that, as redeemed capitalists (maybe we should put her at the top left). Her redemption IS accepted, but not by her family members, who still maintain a distance;

Odalia improving herself could also be a way to emphasize one of the themes of the finale; That people can and should be allowed to change, but also they must choose to do so for themselves. Having Odalia be a contrast to Belos would’ve further hammered in that idea; They’re both detested by the fandom as abusive, controlling parents who mold their kids into the image of someone else, are complicit in the same genocide (to varying degrees), represent a particular real-world social ill, etc. Both claim to act on behalf of their families, but it’s clear they’re actually just self-interested.

These parallels highlight that the main difference between these two, why Belos is killed unmourned while Odalia has hopes for a brighter future, is that Odalia actually chose to change. It’s Restorative VS Retributive Justice taken to its natural conclusion; The fact that Odalia is much younger, and thus has turned down far less chances to turn back, also contributes to why she’s actually willing to change, as she hasn’t doubled down the same way Belos did, while still being guilty of some heinous things (Note that Blight Industries, as an arms manufacturer, always got its wealth off of the expectation that others will be hurt and even killed; It’s blood money).

It may also add to the Collector’s story; They’ve failed to redeem Belos, so it’d be easy to believe that their compassion is an inherent mistake, as is giving others a chance, the agency to decide for themselves, etc. So when Luz reassures the Collector that they DID do good… Well, they end up going to the Archives to prevent it from collapsing. And THAT leads to the Collector potentially seeing Odalia, maybe being wary after what happened with Belos (Odalia and Belos are both adults who sought to exploit the Collector for their own ends)…

But the Collector doesn’t let Belos ruin their compassion and accepts Odalia’s change, even if they personally may not forgive her (They have less of a past with Odalia than the other kids, so it’s not as unlikely). Just as Gus felt like his kindness was taken advantage of, only to be reminded afterwards that it’s still worth it in the end when Hunter does reciprocate, we could’ve gotten something like that with the Collector and Odalia.

And on another note, I also wonder if this was the writers’ way of addressing criticisms regarding how Odalia was handled in Clouds on the Horizon, by providing a sympathetic side to her character as compensation; We’re reminded in the episode right after that Eda still remembers her as a stand-offish friend and not an Evil Child, instead of the writers doubling down by excluding Odalia from that flashback. Eda thinks she’s about to die here, but the memory of who Odalia once was is included to comfort her alongside other childhood companions, reminding us she wasn’t always like this and isn’t pure evil (not without working to become that at least).

But by the end of the day, it seems the writers opted to exchange Odalia’s role for Camila having more of a story in the finale, and tbh… I think that’s the right call, I agree with them there. This is the series finale to a show that’s ultimately about Luz, our main protagonist, and it’s why the finale places particular emphasis on Luz, and her relationship with her fellow main protagonists Eda and King. If they did take the Odalia route, I think we still would’ve seen Camila reunite with Luz at the Owl House, meet Eda and King, etc. But…

Camila is Luz’s mother, and their relationship is the inciting, beginning incident of the series. To see it all start because Camila was worried for her daughter, only to finally encounter a worst-case scenario with Luz despite everything she did to improve… and emphasizing her reaction to it, how Camila handles herself, picks herself up because as much as it hurts, she’s got other kids to look after? Just as Camila picked herself up after Manny’s death for Luz’s sake? Or kept herself strong in Yesterday’s Lie for Vee? Good stuff.

It wraps up Camila’s storyline more nicely, as someone whom we began the series with Luz; Camila is more important than Odalia, so I don’t blame the writers at all for prioritizing her. Odalia having a redemption of sorts likely would’ve felt too rushed, and while she contributes to the narrative of Belos, the Collector, and Amity, Camila contributes to Luz’s story and thus takes precedent, especially at this point in the story.

Especially since some have criticized TOH’s handling of characters of color; The crew has shown themselves responsive to these points, hence Luz and Camila’s hair changing in S3. So I wouldn’t be surprised if the criticism of white characters being prioritized over PoC stuck, and contributed to them having Odalia get shafted for Camila, rather than the other way around. It’s not perfect (an ideal situation in terms of budget and/or writing would’ve had both), but it does show a willingness to listen and actually respond to criticism, which I appreciate.

So in the end, the kids are awakened from their puppet states, not by a conscious Odalia who isn’t transformed and stumbles across the light glyph, but because like Camila, Amity is able to muster enough emotional will over her love of Luz to barely nudge her finger... just enough to tap the light glyph and activate it, freeing herself! The kids go out of their way to free Camila for help, and we get to reap the rewards of Camila’s development in how she copes with her daughter’s death, when fear for Luz was what incited the series and led to a less-than-ideal handling of the situation.

Camila gets to guide the kids with glyphs like her daughter does, showing an engagement with the isles after being apprehensive in the previous episode; And a connection to Luz, who has the Titan’s magic and is powering these spells… Camila is unwittingly calling upon her daughter for help and Luz is answering! And when it’s done, Camila gets to stand by the kids and not at a distance, because they love and accept her for having always been a good mother to them.

#the owl house #odalia blight #camila noceda #emperor belos #philip wittebane #the owl house collector #luz noceda #parallels #foils #analysis #speculation #meta

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