You're not my friend. You're just The Golden Guard

icon by @zuhcat TOH fanbase's #1 Lunter apologist and Huntlow "hater". Not a bot. Bisexual woman. Biphobic Huntlow and Lumity fans are the most smoothed brained mfs on the planet. Imagine being biphobic in a fanbase dedicated to a show where the main character is bisexual. Truly demonic tbh.

[theprinceandthewitch]

Okay, so this is a revision of that huge asf Lunter post i made before FTF aired:

Here's how the Luz/Caleb parallels don't work: here

So, for this one I'm going to point out all the... totally Sibling symbolism... between the two of them and specific details that tie them to Caleb/Evelyn.

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Okay so before I even begin...I just want to show you these images of Hunter's early designs:

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A post shared by Ricky Cometa (@rickycometa)

Hunters early designs:

The Owl House (Disney TV), Fabien Mense

Early research on "The Owl House", the Disney TV series created by Dana Terrace.

God... I really need to know whats in the TOH bible... He may have been conceptualized as a friend of Luzs before he became her enemy...

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Witches Before Wizards: Luz crushing on the prince character. First of all, you do know Nevareth didn't have to be a prince right? He could have literally been any other archetype. Also, Hunter is nearly identical to him character design wise, because:

He's older than her.

2. The angsty, warrior teen prince archetype

3. Has a compelling and tragic backstory.

4. Is on a quest of vengeance with Luz [after the events of Thanks to Them].

5. Had an animal sidekick.

6. Very similar shoulder armor Hunter has when he's in his GG uniform. There's no reason for him to wear gold shoulder armor so similar to the only other prince character in the show. it's also on the same shoulder Hunter wears his on.

7. Their hair length is the same and the hair on the top of their heads is slicked back [after Thanks to Them].

8. Nevareth and Hunter now have the same eye color.

9. I thought Nevareth's anime sword was just a anime reference, but we can see Hunter was initially conceptualized as a sword wielder

The curvy sword he used to have was repurposed into the dagger Philip uses to kill Caleb. You can also see this dagger in Hunters room in ASIAS and HP. And the character in the stain glass window is Hunter because they have the same profile:

10. This one is self explanatory.

I also want to show you the way their first appearances are contrasted... cuz I think it's neat

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The hints that will forever haunt me in Sense and Insensitivity:

"Luzura's tears fell on the frozen prince bringing him back to life."

So, I just wanted to highlight the dialouge here:

King: Luzura's tears fell on the frozen prince bringing him back to life? It feels a little unrealistic.

Luz: I see what you're saying, but in your version Ruler just destroys everything. I think a little romantic tension can help the scene.

2. Luz's drawing of herself kissing a prince that looks like Hunters early design in a story she wrote about her self-insert character. This is very suspicious because this episode actually does spoil some plot points that happen later in the series. The example i used in the first point foreshadowed Hunter dying and coming back to life. Im also going to include King's dialogue while this kiss is in the foreground, so you can see why this scene drives me fucking crazy

3. Look I know Huntlows are gonna chug their copium and pretend like this kiss is supposed to be between Hunter and Willow. But if they actually payed attention to this episode they'd realize that the story the lizard man is holding is about Luz's self-insert character. Here's what her self-insert character looks like BTW:

As you can clearly see, her self insert has POINTY EARS, not round ones! So this kiss is obviously supposed to be Luz and Hunter and not Willow and Hunter lol.

We ALSO know Luz has a thing for princes as this was presented in Witches Before Wizards [kind of suspicious its being brought up again... in an episode that foreshadows other events that have come to pass in the series]. So this is... obviously supposed to be Luz and not Willow.

This kiss is extra sus when you remember this card is in the episode:

This isn't Luz - it's Amity. In this episode, Luz and King are writing a story about their self-inserts. So the Prince and this girl on the heartbreak card are stand-ins for Hunter and Amity... because they are her Love Interests... Again, this episode spoils some plot points that happen later in the series... so you can see why this is something Im going to be wondering about for years to come. Why is Amity on a heartbreak card?

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"The First Day"

"And maybe [I'll] meet a hot yet vulnerable upperclassmen."

Look... this show is filled with shit that makes no sense to me in hindsight. I dont know if this dialogue was hinting at Hunter appearing at school at some point, but Im taking this line for the Lunter shippers since Hunter's the only kid in the main cast thats older than Luz. He's the only one who qualifies to be an upperclassman.

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Hunting Palismen:

Okay so before I even get to the fakeout kiss moment I want to tell you this is what Hunter looks like when he teleports back to the ship...

People say this is just him being confident... but idk man this looks more firty than confident. He also says "Hiiiiiii" in a sus manner... Later in the episode he talks to Luz in a way that sounds confident and weirdly flirty... and he never sounds like this again... I cant upload more clips and I dont really want to make separate posts just for those clips... but like, just go and watch these parts of the episode to see what i mean.

Fake Out Kiss moment:

This...

Is literally a callback to this (proof of concept video)

Despite this biphobic fanbases insistence Luz is a lesbian and think the story would somehow be "better" if she was one... she is not and she will never be one. Cry about it. Luz is also into boys - and she's into boys like Hunter - the angsty warrior princes who are older than her. So you can see why I think people who headcanon them as siblings are weird as fuck. Especially after they see this obvious fake-out kiss moment. Like seriously, people who draw them as siblings are fucking weirdos - this is something ill never EVER change my mind on lmao.

Moving on....

2. Flapjack connects Luz and Hunter the same way he connects Evelyn and Caleb:

Without Evelyn, Caleb would have never received Flapjack. If Evelyn never showed him how magic wasn't this evil and dangerous thing that should be feared and destroyed, Flapjack would have never been created. We still dont know WHO carved Flapjack. What Dana said in her post series Livestream was just her HEADCANON. This is something we'll never know most likely. As i doubt TOH is going to get a spin-off. But the point is... without Evelyn, Caleb would have never received Flapjack.

Hunter was taught to fear wild magic because it's dangerous. Wild magic is the reason why his family was wiped out. Luz's and Hunter's meeting in Hunting Palismen was integral for Hunter's growth. If Luz didn't show him wild magic wasn't dangerous, Hunter would have shunned Flapjack. Without Luz, Hunter would have never received his greatest source of emotional support. Without Flapjack, Hunter would not have gone back to save Willow and Gus from Darius. Hunter only went back to save them because he knew Willow's and Gus' palismen would get killed by Belos.

Flapjack is also the physical representation of Caleb and Evelyns love... So, now do you see why Luz giving Flapjack to Hunter is inherently a romantic gesture? Like lol...

3. Hunter could have taken the palismen from Luz

Hunter can teleport... he could have literally teleported to Luz as she was flying away on Kikimora's dragon and restrained her with ease if he really wanted to... like he did literally at the beginning of the episode. He could have also sent scouts to retrieve the palismen at the school. BUT HE DIDNT.

Hunter willingly disobeys the man who gave him everything knowing full well his physical safety could be put at risk. In Hunting Palismen and ASIAS it is implied Belos gave him his cheek scar. In the past, Hunter did something that required him to "earn" a second chance from Belos. Whatever this was we dont know - but Hunter's cheek scar is most likely something Belos gave him to teach him a "lesson".

Again, Hunter is choosing to disobey Belos - his abuser - for Luz even though he barely knows her, she's a wild witch, she's the protégé of a notorious wild witch AND he has the power to take those palismen away from her. Like... this is a big fucking deal lol. ESPECIALLY when you remember Caleb "betrayed" Philip for a witch. A witch - a.k.a a person that was considered evil and dangerous during Philips time period. Wild Witches are considered evil and dangerous in Hunter's time...

Hunter has been raised to believe wild magic wiped out his family, so him helping out a wild witch knowing his abuser could physically harm him for failing to bring him any palismen is FUCKING HUGE. This is why its weird to me when people call Hunter selfish... like the kid literally let Luz go and didnt bother to send any scouts to the school to get the palsimen... it didnt benefit him at all to show Luz this kindness.

4. Hunter tells Luz his name after she expresses disappointment in him and he protects her from Kikimora. Again, he doesnt have to protect Luz but he does... cuz hes not completely devoid of humanity.

It really is funny... like people dont realize Luz needed to be written out of ASIAS and Eclipse Lake because Hunter would have folded like an envelope the moment Luz expresses disappointment in him.

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Any Sport In a Storm:

When looking for a first and last name to call himself by, Flapjack coins in the name "Caleb". Which Hunter uses for his first name. Again, Luz is forced into a b-plot because if she was there, Hunter would have joined her side right then and there LOL.

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Hollow Mind:

We have the Grimwalker that looks the most like Caleb running away from Philip with a witch from another world... Both at the end of the episode and during the episode. You might be thinking, " but that monster wasn't Philip"... but... it doesnt matter because that is what Philip's monster form looks like...

2.) The jacket Luz wears in Hollow Mind has a big ol' "E" on it. It's a jacket that belongs to Eda... a Clawthorn... Evelyn also begins with an "E"... Golly, I wonder what the significance of an "E" on Luz's jacket could possibly mean in an episode that directly parallels Luz and Hunter with Caleb and Evelyn... It really is a mystery! [If you cant tell im being sarcastic]

Here's a picture of Luzs jacket:

Another thing... Look at whats going on here in this scene...

^ This portrait is in the the background of the above scene just so you know. And the scene with Luz, Hunter and "Philip" looks nearly identical to this painting...

3. This is the episode where we get these portraits, which by the way were not shown in this order during the episode. Someone on reddit put these images in this order. Again, TOH was made for nerds who like to look for the hidden details and find out how they fit together (me, im the nerd this show was made for.):

... The first portrait in the second row is a memory of Caleb choosing to go with Evelyn over Philip... shown to us in an episode where Hunter - the Grimwalker who looks the most like Caleb - runs away from Philip with a witch from another world... Like Hunter literally turns around to look at Philip as he's running away with Luz just like Caleb turns around to look at Philip when Evelyn is leading him away. Haunting, absolutely haunting.

4. I just want to say: in the painting where Caleb and Philip meet Evelyn for the first time, Caleb looks around Hunter's age - I'm basing this on how young Philip looks here and that he's holding the mask Caleb carved for him. Actually,, Here's the updated Hollow Mind portraits posted on TWT so you can see what Im talking about:

[link]

So, while the play in TTT and the book in Yesterday's Lie implied they met Evelyn as adults it actually looks like they met her when they were teenagers.

OH WAIT, I need to point out that they did these parallels WHILE LUZ IS DATING AMITY. This episode comes after Knock Knock Knockin on Hootys door, the episode where they officially start dating.

5. Another connection Hunter has with Caleb is that he's also a witch-hunter... His name is a short-hand for witch-hunter... Belos has been training him to be a witch-hunter because he expects every clone of his brother to be a witch-hunter... because you know... Caleb WAS a witch-hunter before he "betrayed" Philip...

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Kings Tide:

This is the first instance where we get Philip calling Hunter "Caleb".

2. Both Caleb and Hunter run away to another world with an expecting witch. Philip crosses worlds to track down both pairs.

Luz counts as an "expecting" witch because she is waiting for her palisman to hatch... Evelyn was pregnant when Caleb chose to "run away" with her

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Thanks to Them:

Okay where do I begin with this one... Let me say this again, pretty much confirm Hunter/Luz = Caleb/Evelyn AND they confirm these parallels WHILE LUZ IS STILL DATING AMITY.

First of all, they didnt need to give Hunter Calebs hairstyle. It's the same length but Hunter's is more unkept. They could have done that trope where the possessed characters hair returns to normal after they're unpossessed. Like... WHY did Hunter need to have a change in eye color and hair color if it wasnt going to go anywhere?

2. They did not need to make Luz look like Evelyn. Like... why does Evelyn have brown hair lol.

3. The framing on the carriage ride is really... interesting. First of all, they make Hunter sit next to Luz and not Willow as Masha is telling everyone The Tale of The Brothers Wittebane... a story where Caleb and Philip meet a witch from another world.... as Hunter is dressed as a human character and Luz is dressed as a witch character... and we know from Hollow Mind that Calebs and Evelyns relationship was a romantic one...

Oh right, and they only frame Luz's and Hunter's reactions to hearing Masha say how the brothers met a witch from another world name Evelyn... And Luz is the only character in the cast who fits the whole "witch from another world" theme

This is exactly how this scene happens btw

AND THEN Luzs and Hunters reactions are framed again while Masha says that maybe Philip is still chasing his brother, caught in a cycle of horror and strife...

Also in the storyboard version of this scene only Hunter and Luz have a negative facial expression.

Oh right and Flapjack is in this play... Evelyn is presenting Caleb with Flapjack, which neatly ties in with Hunting Palismen where Luz introduces Flapjack to Hunter

4. Philip calls Luz Evelyn before he tries killing Flapjack right in front of her. Then moments later, when Philip leaves Hunters body, he calls him Caleb AGAIN.

5. So, this isn't a parallel but I still want to talk about it: When Hunter asks Luz how she feels after what happened in Hollow Mind, she gives him a straight answer and even tears up in front of him. This is a big deal because when Luz has been prompted by other people, including her own girlfriend, about how she feels after a great emotional upset, she'll be vague, make something up, or tell them not to worry about it. Which is very fucking strange given what happens in FTF - where Luzs and Hunters bond is completely discarded even though TTT focuses on their relationship. Like Hunter literally asks her to help him fight Philip and he died and came back right before her eyes... but they treat each other more like strangers in FTF. Also in FTF Luz is the only one to ask Hunter if hes okay after Willow shows him the picture of Flapjack. Luz asking Hunter if hes okay comes a little to late in the episode to feel natural, but its still so fucking funny how LUZ asks Hunter if he's okay and not Willow... Like Willow deadass shows hunter a picture of his dead friend and for some reason HUNTER has to be the one to apologize to Willow when she gets upset over Hunter not responding the way she expected him to... Like my god... Anyways here are some links examining how Luz tends to keep her real feelings bottled up with other people vs Hunter.

(more in detail here. and here, aaaaand here. one more)

6. Hunter has his most vulnerable moment with Luz and not the girl he's crushing on. This writing choice makes no sense given what happens in FTF, where they focus on Hunter's relationship with Willow... but they dont actually canonize Huntlow. You... kind of have to make one character confess to the other in order for a relationship to start. Very, very strange to me... Yes even if its m/f you have to have a confession because... that's romance 101, buddy.

Again, FTF makes no sense with the context of Thanks to Them. In Thanks to Them, they focus on Luzs and Hunters relationship and bring Caleb and Evelyn to the forefront. So you think FTF and WAD are going to focus more on Hunters and Luzs relationship because theyve been established as Caleb/Evelyn.... they do not. All of Luzs scenes with Hunter could have gone to Willow in TTT considering what happens in FTF and WAD.

Like seriously, why didnt they make Huntlow canon is TTT and give all of Luzs scenes to Willow? Fanservice thats why, lol.

7. While I don't know every single detail about Hecate (the goddess) i do notice some similarities between her and Hunter. I also want to point out that the wolves on the shirt are Luz, the Hexside gang, Vee and Camila.

... People do not fucking get that this shirt didn't need to look like this... but they went out of their way to make it pretty clear this is supposed to be Luz, Camila, Vee and the Hexside gang.

The wolf with red eyes is obviously Hunter, the one behind it is Luz, the biggest one on the bottom left-hand side is Camila, the brown one is Vee, the blue one is Gus, the magenta one is Amity, and the greenish one is Willow.

But isn't it suspicious that the wolf representing Luz is right behind the one that represents Hunter...

Also just so you know, Luz's school team is called "Wolves". AND this scene at school comes BEFORE Hunter shows Gus his wolf shirt:

As of WAD this choice to color-code the wolves on Hunters shirt AND to put the wolf that's obviously Luz behind Hunter AND to call Luz's school team Wolves is going to haunt me for the rest of my life :)

8. Hunter has the same death pose as Caleb:

9. Philip : "Caleb, you would stab me in the back?"

Luz : "You did it to him first."

... Please just look at the painting of dead Caleb...

10. Flapjack only let Hunter and Luz use him. And he flies to Luz when he's mortally wounded.

11. They also made sure Luz was the one to express the most worry over Hunter drowning and not the girl he's crushing on. Luz was about to jump into the water to get Hunter if Camila wasn't faster on the response. I also need to point out Luz was the ONLY ONE who couldnt fight Hunter. She was the only one holding back. Im not counting Vee in the same group as Luz because while she didn't throw anything at him her magic absorption abilities could have damaged him. Hunter is a GRIMWALKER, Vee's attempt to such the magic out of him could have had negative consequences on him.

Sooooo.... again... Why did Thanks to Them focus on Luz's and Hunter's bond if they were going to pretend like it didnt exist in FTF and focus on Willows and Hunter's dynamic instead? So fucking weird.

The fact that they dont even show us Evelyn is very suspicious. I still do not understand why her appearance is kept in the dark. She couldnt even appear as a "ghost" in FTF. "They didn't have time" BULLSHIT - they had time, they just wasted it on FUCKING BOSCHA and school shit that exists specifically for Huntlow bait. They had the time but focused on the wrong shit because they didnt have the spine to show us Evelyns face.

Also i want to point out that Caleb's ghost is him when he was a teenager. Caleb died when he was a grown ass man and he didnt have a pony tail when he died. So like... Why does his "ghost" look like that?

12.) Evelyn was a Clawthorn

The way she is depicted in the play in TTT is heavily inspired by Eda. Her name is very similar to Eda's actual name: Edalyn (who is an actual Clawthorn by blood btw)

Luz is not a Clawthorn, but he is heavily associated with the Clawthorns - she is Eda's protégé. Also Luz does count as a witch even if she is not an "actual witch". God damn, do I really need to explain how Luz doesn't need a bile sac to be considered a witch? Im sure the people who are reading this have paid enough attention to TOH to realize Luz is considered a wild witch since she practices wild magic. She is also the ONLY CHARACTER who shares the whole "witch from another world" theme with Evelyn.

I also want to point out Hunter and Luz's costumes again: Luz is dressed as a witch while Hunter is cosplaying as a human... A witch and a human... gee that sounds familiar dont it?

I also want to point out that Willow's costume takes design cues from both of Evelyns INNACURATE and STEREOTYPICAL appearances. She has Evelyns devil tale from Jacobs book [Yesterdays Lie. Theres a picture of this depiction in the point that comes after this one] and she has the striped green tights from her depiction in Thanks to Them.

I also want to point out another thing that makes Evelyn a Clawthorn: the vial of titan blood has an owl head on it - which is another symbol that associates her with Eda. Also all the Clawthorns we've seen in the show have bird themed palismen

13.) Flapjack belonged to Caleb and not Evelyn: Flapjack was searching the house for the rebus... because that was Caleb's house... he knew Caleb hid it somewhere under the floorboards, but couldnt remember its exact location. Flapjack was with Caleb enough for people to record him of him in a "history" book:

there he is sitting on Calebs shoulder

14.) Oh right, So another obvious detail that connects Hunter to Caleb is that during the carriage ride, a piece of animation from Hollow Mind plays with Masha voicing over it. This piece of animation is the part where Belos flicks Hunters hair before he tries killing him. Masha address Hunter as Caleb during this voice over... like i have no fucking idea how yall could have missed that detail lmao.

[theprinceandthewitch]

Astruc saying we could get a crossover with Code Lyoko is so funny to me, cuz the Code Lyoko kids would have to be written OOC to make another Marinette shilling diatribe "work".

For those of you who haven't watched Code Lyoko: The Code Lyoko kids are experts in the art of "EMOTIONAL DAMAGE." They aren't afraid to put anyone in their place if they're acting like a bully or a clown [especially in Season 4 when the meanness is bumped up to legitimately unlikeable levels.] They would actually "bully" Marinette to tears if she tries bossing them around on their home turf.

If the kids go to to the Miraculous reality, then they'd still be "mean" to her because they've dealt with actual world ending and life ending threats that aren't just some rando superpowered human throwing a tantrum.

If this Code Lyoko crossover episode/special was written in character for the CL kids, then it wouldn't be a happy go lucky kind of thing where Marinette befriends the Lyoko Warriors. They'd clock Marinette's rancid vibes right out the gate and find a way to permanently prevent her from entering their reality ever again. All she will ever be to them is an inside joke they'd bring up from time to time.

[Actually, the near life ending threats the CL kids have to deal with makes Marinette's revolving closet of clown costumed villains look like a joke. To think she could lead the Lyoko Warriors is laughable.]

[theprinceandthewitch]

Now that Code Lyoko is going to get a fifth season [Code Lyoko Evolution is considered canon by Moonscoop, but not by one of the head writers, Sophie Descroisette.] I'm going to have to do another rewatch of Code Lyoko...

Because there is actually alot of stuff I want to talk about, especially the issues centered around Yumi. Most of her issues as a character are a by product of her being replaced by Aelita as the heart of the group and Jeremy's second in command. There is also a bit of racism thrown into the mix, but I can't really talk about that without doxxing myself... let's just say the writers treat Yumi differently than the other characters.

[theprinceandthewitch]

Code Lyoko is getting a fifth season with the original cast of writers coming back...

Honestly, the only fear I have is that they're going to solve the Ulrich/Yumi/William love triangle by having Yumi get together with Ulrich. I mean... it's not really a fear, but I KNOW they're going to go there because Ulrich is able to get away with treating Yumi like a toy he doesn't want to share with the other boys.

Also, William isn't treated with kiddie gloves by the narrative like Ulrich is. [For example: William wasn't able to join the team as a reward for his heroism in "The Secret", because he was an asshole to Yumi earlier in the episode.]Plus, tv series like Code Lyoko have never had "The Other Guy" "get the girl" so... I'm low key dreading this new season...

[theprinceandthewitch]

Right, so, I want to add a few more "Luka is a knockoff of William Dunbar" points to the list of Code Lyoko rip-offs in Miraculous: both of them have an alternative punk/rocker aesthetic, both have an interest in music and both play an instrument. I don't know if it's ever been specified what that instrument in William's dorm room is, but based on his alternative punk/rocker style it is most likely a guitar.

While Luka doesn't have any of William's prideful tendencies he does have William's sensitive romantic side and his good heart. So I'm also going to add "both of them are hopeless romantics with good hearts" to the list.

Luka being a defanged William Dunbar is actually really funny to me... First of all, defanging a copied and pasted William Dunbar didn't work to hide the "inspiration" for Luka's character. But more importantly, Luka is actually worse than William when we look at their actions through a morality lense.

I know I'm really whacking the hornets nest with this one, but William uncovering Yumi's secret in "The Secret" isn't nearly as fucked as Luka uncovering Adrien's secret identity, because William doesn't have access to a power that allows him to reveal Yumi's secret without her knowledge. The Lyoko Warriors have access to the time travel power, so they are the ones who get to decide what William does or doesn't know. Like, this is literally the plot of "The Secret" LMAO

William gets spurred on to uncover Yumi's secret after she humiliates him and tells him off for being an annoying asshole [paraphrased]. He follows Ulrich and Odd to the factory and discovers the supercomputer, but instead of causing trouble for the Lyoko Warriors he offers them his assistance. He delivers a warning message to Yumi and helps her fend off a possessed demolition man. He even puts his life on the line to disarm an active detonator the possessed demolition man installed earlier in the episode to prevent the factory from being destroyed. Even though William saves the day in "The Secret" Yumi still votes against him joining the team, because she doesnt trust him. This prompts them to use "Return to the Past" to erase William's memory [he remembers the events from The Secret in his dreams, but he can't consciously access these memories.] William has to earn Yumi's trust before he can join the team.

Anyway... I honestly want to pick apart Astrucs psyche because I think it's kind of amazing how he can make a knockoff version of a likable character unlikeable. I think it's kind of... special how he had the audacity to copy and paste William Dunbar into his show and didn't have any interest in making him interesting and fun. I'm starting to think Astruc takes characters from shows/comics he's watched/read or shows he's worked on and tries to make his knockoffs "better" than the characters his knockoffs are based on.

[theprinceandthewitch]

I actually took a detour and watched Code Lyoko Evolution, because I didn't even know it was a thing until this year and... it's not that bad.

Like, it is very low budget... But liked this season because I'm a fan of Yumi and William. So of course I was eating up all of their big picture moments and the Willumi propaganda. Overall I enjoyed this season, but I can see why people dislike it or outright hate it.

[theprinceandthewitch]

I forgot to mention that the reason why Xana's Kiss isn't annoying to watch like Heartfixer is is because Code Lyoko doesn't have a decade of subpar romance "progression" preceding this episode.

Like, I don't care to argue if it's in character or out of character for the Miraculous kids to be duped by the akumatized villains because this plot idea is preceded by literal years of the narrative and creator telling us that Adrien and Marinette are a healthy pairing. Astruc doesn't know what he's doing because if he did know what he was doing he would have used this plot idea in an earlier season. This is why people should be pedantic about ALL of Miraculous' writing choices instead of looking at it from a fair and objective lense lol.

[theprinceandthewitch]

I am having too much fun with my Code Lyoko rewatch to care about Miraculous Ladybug tbh.

Also, I'm going to add "Mr. Damocles as a knockoff of Principal Delmas" to the ever growing list of Code Lyoko rip-offs in Miraculous.

[theprinceandthewitch]

I'm nearing the end of season one and I got to say... the Ulrich/Yumi romance becomes more annoying with each passing episode.

See, the only roadblock to them getting together is actually Ulrich's emotional immaturity. He's completely incapable of being vulnerable with her. Yumi likes him, but the narrative puts the onus to kickstart this relationship onto Ulrich and not her. But Ulrich never actually takes the advice William gives him and basically strings Yumi along FOR THE ENTIRE SHOW. All this did was demonstrate that while Ulrich and Yumi have common interests their personalities clash in a subtly toxic way. [You could even argue that Ulrich is only interested in Yumi from a physical perspective and vice versa.]

Another reason why this romance is grating is because the writers want me to feel bad whenever Yumi engages with William as a form of retaliation to Ulrich's actions [like in The Chips Are Down]. I genuinely don't feel bad. Ulrich is characterized as the coolest and most popular boy in the cast who has other female characters vying for him. So why should I feel bad if Yumi moves on from him?

Ulrich should have lost his chance with Yumi because he treats her like a toy he doesn't want to share with the other boys. He's not exactly satisfied with being just friends, but he won't date Yumi either because he doesn't want her to move on from him. So he only shows occasional interest in her to keep her around - I think the term for this is called breadcrumbing. Yumi is basically getting strung along, cuz she thinks Ulrich is going to be serious with her for one day.

This is also why I don't feel bad whenever William makes a move on Yumi or hangs out with her while Ulrich glares at them from the side. Like the show wants me to feel bad for Ulrich, but I actually think it's funny seeing him receive psychic damage from William/Yumi. And it's not just because William outclasses Ulrich in looks and personality - it's because William was able to do what Ulrich couldn't do for the entire series: which was to tell AND SHOW Yumi he was serious about her.

But of course, girls don't care about silly things like physical attractiveness, personality, the ability to grow as a person and put aside ones ego to lend a helping hand, what girls really like is to be strung along by boys who aren't all that serious about them. Especially if these boys are the coolest, most sporty and most popular boy in the show.

[theprinceandthewitch]

William's parallels to Mr. Puck are definitely intentional and they make sense when you factor in William's naming convention and his Scottish ethnicity. I don't have the time to talk about Scottish fairies in detail, but fairies in Scottish folklore can be divided into Seelie Courts and Unseelie Courts. Mr. Puck's name is derived from the púca, which is a spirit that can be either benevolent or malevolent towards humans.

Lyoko avatars were theorized by Jeremy to be linked to someone's subconscious desire. However, this explanation doesn't explain why William would look like Mr. Puck. While William does have a tendency to be rebellious and cause trouble for the Lyoko Warriors at times, there really isn't anything about him that ties him to fairy themes - UNLESS you stake a step back and look at William's naming convention. William's name means "vehement protector" and it has ties to a well-known conqueror.

Basically, William looks like Mr. Puck because he subverts the positive and protective role Mr. Puck plays in Aelita's story. Mr. Puck was a gift from Aelita's missing parents - he is essentially the only physical connection she has to them. He was also key to revealing Franz Hopper/Waldo Schaeffers motivation behind the creation of Lyoko. William was supposed to be Aelita's greatest protector on Lyoko - this is highlighted by him and Aelita going to Lyoko together on his first day as a warrior. But he ends up getting captured and becoming XANAfied do to his own hubris. William turns into a malevolent fairy and brings apocalyptic annihilation to the world she used to call home.

[In all honesty, I kind of want to know if he would have kept the fairy motif post XANAfication if the show wasn't cut short... like I don't think he would have continued looking like Mr. Puck because he is supposed to subvert Mr. Pucks role in the story... but I'm not sure what other theme he would get. I also want to note William gives Tam Lin vibes and i don't know if that was intentional. I mean it might be intentional because Tam Lin originates from the Scottish borders. Like he's got that whole "I used to be a mortal man until I was captured by an otherwordly being and I need someone to rescue me before I am delivered to Hell as an offering" thing going on...]

[theprinceandthewitch]

I might talk about this more in depth after my rewatch, but the William/Yumi/Ulrich love triangle has a really subtle flavor of misogyny that alot of people don't pick up on.

I already mentioned how Ulrich gets treated with kiddie gloves whenever he does something legitimately messed up - like using "Return to the Past" to win the lottery for Yumi when he knew returning to the past made XANA stronger. He also didn't consult Yumi or the other warriors before using Return to the Past. He is excommunicated from the group, but even then that only lasted until the end of the episode. There's also the time he indirectly put Yumi in a life threatening situation in "The Pretender" because he was jealous that Hiroki's friend had a crush on Yumi. Plus, in Marabounta, Ulrich chooses not to help the Lyko Warriors because he made a fool of himself while trying to out perform William at the pool.

There's also the overt misogyny with Ulrich and William objectifying Yumi in their distinct Toxic Straight Boy modus operandi. Ulrich leans towards possessiveness and jealousy while William is more aggressive and physical.

But the subtle part of the misogyny is actually the way the show villainizes William for having certain qualities that girls would actually find attractive. William is the handsome older boy who outclasses Ulrich in both looks and personality. He demonstrates a capacity to be the bigger person in his rivalry with Ulrich by offering him advice in "Marabounta" or inviting Ulrich to hang out with him in "A Bad Turn." William will also help Ulrich when he is in trouble - in Marabounta he fished Ulrich out of the pool when he thought he hurt himself and even checked up on him later in the episode. In "The Secret" William helps Yumi fight off a possessed demolition worker and risks blowing himself up to save Ulrich and the other Lyoko Warriors, despite getting rightfully chewed out by Yumi earlier in the episode. William will also help Yumi in "Double Trouble" with no strings attached, because his feelings for her are legitimate and serious. He also gets bonus points for not seeing Yumi's friends as obstacles getting in the way of dating her.

But who cares about silly things like physical attractiveness, personality, and the capacity to put aside ones ego? Girls totally don't like those things and if they did it doesn't matter because they're vapid harpies and it's all about what the main male character wants anyway.

Even though you're not as physically attractive as The Other Guy and you're personality is more childish than his is, The Girl is going to pick you because you're the hero of this story. You're so special and so cool. If she doesn't want to date you, then there's something wrong with her and not you. It doesn't matter that you endlessly string her along or that you treat her like a toy you don't want to share with other boys - You're just trying your best after all. You don't have to question whether or not your actions are sabotaging your chance with The Girl because it's only a matter of time before she changes herself to suit your needs. So don't worry champ, she'll realize how earnest you truly are if you keep witling away at her.

[This is the general vibe I'm getting while rewatching Code Lyoko. However I will say that I'm actually enjoying my rewatch of the series. It doesn't sound like it but Im actually having a blast lol. Claustrophobia had me dying laughing because Ulrich gets cucked by a kid who has the same voice actor as William. It was so genuinely so funny seeing Ulrich lose his chance to walk Yumi home from school.]

[theprinceandthewitch]

Another reason why I don't like season 4 is because their outfits, both as civilians and as warriors, look really ugly to me. Their warrior outfits received a redesign because they were too complicated for 2D animation, but the redesign still looks like a nightmare to animate in 2D.Ulrich's color palette and outfit looks fine to me, but the rest of them don't look good.

I especially hate the metal[?] thing that goes around Yumi's chest. It is literally just there to accentuate her breasts. I also don't like how they gave Yumi a pinkish/purplish color scheme when her original color scheme was yellow/red. She and Ulrich actually shared the same color palette for the most part, but they made her more pink because... she's a girl I guess? Like I don't really know what other reason they would change her color palette when all the other warriors kept theirs.

Aelita also has a similar problem - she has this random patch on color on her chest that is there to make her breasts stand out. The other problem with her outfit is that there are so many lines that mess with the overall flow of the design. Also that muted yellowish/greenish color they're using to make her shoulder transparent blue shoulder pads stand out against the pink on her chest doesn't look good with the pink and blue they're using.

Odd's outfit is hard for me to look at because the magenta lines on his outfit don't mesh well with the darker purple colors. This is especially distracting with the yellow patches outlined with the magenta color on his abdomen. I also don't like the greyish color they used for his shoulder pads because it doesn't look visually interesting. Speaking of visual interest, the yellow lines going down his legs don't draw my eye as easily as the yellow+pinkish purple knee pads and yellow shoes he used to wear. His outfit is the most visually unappealing of the group.

Ulrich's outfit is the best because his colors don't clash with each other, which creates a better "flow" for your eyes to follow.

As for their civilian outfits, Ulrich and William have the best color palettes, but their jackets have these tiny unnecessary details. The color of Aelita's pants doesn't mesh well with the color of her hair and those blue stars on Yumi's shirt aren't doing it for me. The blue color of the stars doesn't go well with the purple color on her jeans. I could maybe like Odd's outfit if they removed the highlights running down the sides of his jeans, at the bottom of his jeans, and at the arms of his tshirt. Those blue pockets also need to go and he needs some yellow shoes with less details on them - the yellow shows draw my eye better than the red shoes. Jeremy's outfit is actually the worst one. The red color of his sweater doesn't mesh with the yellowish/greenish color of his pants and the neon blue line of his pants makes the red and green colors clash even worse. The navy colored shoes don't mesh well with the greenish pants.

Jeremy's outfit is also the worst one because he's the only one who deviates the most from his original color theme, which is blue. The rest of the characters stay within their main color theme, except for Jeremy who's veering more into William's main color theme [red]. Seasons 1-3 outfits are better than season 4's outfits because the characters have a clear color theme and their outfits don't have unnecessary details.

[theprinceandthewitch]

As much as I love Code Lyoko and genuinely want to see it get a fandom renaissance type of movement... it is really hard for me to recommend to other people. If you don't have a high tolerance threshold for "Are the straights okay?" type of teen romances then you're going to have a bad time.

Especially with the Yumi/Ulrich/William love triangle. William and Ulrich are two distinct flavors of Toxic Straight Male and both of them treat Yumi more like an object to be won rather than as an autonomous human being with her own goals and desires. There is one exception with William in "Double Trouble" where he covers for her absence without asking for anything in return. But generally, their behavior is more in line with typical straight male toxicity.

Ulrich is the worse of the two and it's not just because he gets the lions share of screen time. He's worse because the story doesn't present his possessiveness and jealousy as problems that need to be rectified like William's pride and entitlement does.

Ulrich can tell William that he wasn't going to save him from the Krab [A Bad Turn], or stay behind to sulk in his room while XANA launches an attack [Marabounta], or his jealousy can indirectly put Yumi in a situation where she nearly dies [The Pretender] and the show will only slap him on the wrist for it.

William doesn't get off scot-free like Ulrich. William being a toxic entitled straight boy to Yumi in "The Secret" came with the consequence of him being locked out of his chance to become a Lyoko Warrior indefinitely, UNLESS he proved his trustworthiness to Yumi. It didn't matter that he literally risked his life to save everyone, he needed to get her approval to become a part of the team. William needed to follow the advice he gave to Ulrich in Marabounta to convince Yumi he could be trusted; which required him to put aside his pride and be honest with his feelings. Then there's that whole "arc" with William getting XANAfied because he got a little too full of himself on his first day at the job. William doesn't get treated with the same kiddie gloves as Ulrich, because he's not the male character designed for the audience to project onto. You're not supposed to give him any grace, because he's the "pretty boy" love rival who's an obstacle to Ulrich "getting the girl."

I should note that when William does come back, after spending at least a few months as a hostage to an evil AI program, Ulrich becomes jealous when he sees Yumi interacting with him.

Yumi and Ulrich's will-they-wont they is genuinely obnoxious to sit through and the characterization in season 4 makes it so much worse. Like, I am being so serious when I say you need to have a high tolerance for toxic straight people antics to enjoy this show.

[theprinceandthewitch]

The arguments about William's and Yumi's relationship and William as a character are genuinely awful because people try to gaslight you into thinking William is an actual threat to Yumi, even though she deals with legitimate life ending threats on the regular.

Yumi can handle some 14-15 year old douchebag and it's not just because she is a martial artist. She is literally one phone call away from replacing William with a clone of himself if he happens to go "missing" - which is what they did when he got taken by XANA by the way. People want to act like William has power over her when it's actually Yumi who has all the cards in her favor.

William has never been a legitimate threat to Yumi pre-XANAfication and no amount of mental gymnastics pertaining to "realism" is going to convince me otherwise. Yumi is not some damsel in distress who needs Ulrich to save her from William and I hate how this is still a popular take nearly twenty years after the show has ended.

[theprinceandthewitch]

Another topic I would rather not debate on is whether or not William's Xanafication "arc" was the best way to address his pride. I don't think so, so let me try to articulate why I don't like it:

The reason why they did that with William is because they wanted him to have a redemption arc. William is a prideful character and we get to see his prideful tendencies surface in his interactions with Yumi and Ulrich. However, despite his exaggerated sense of self importance he has his moments where his good heart gets to shine through. He's willing to sacrifice himself for the Lyoko Warriors even when he's not on good of terms with them [especially with Ulrich and Yumi.] He even helps Yumi escape the dark room and covers for her absence without any strings attached because he legitimately enjoys helping her. There are also moments where he'll help the Lyoko warriors fight XANA's monsters.

Although William has proven himself to be a valuable ally the Lyoko Warriors can relay on, he still has issues with pride that need to be addressed. They thought the best way to do this was to have him get XANAfied as a direct result of his own hubris. After the Lyoko Warriors save him from XANA, he then has to redeem himself to earn back their trust. This is where my problem with it stems from...

In order for this to work, we would have had to spend time with William outside of his role as a love rival for Ulrich. It's hard for the audience to get invested in a redemption arc if they don't actually spend alot of time with the character. The other reason why this doesn't work is because William hasn't been friends with the Lyoko Warriors for that long. He was basically just their friendly acquaintance before XANA yoinked him.

He's not in alot of episodes and most of his screentime is either dedicated to him interacting with Yumi and Ulrich or helping the Lyoko Warriors when they're in trouble. There are some outliers where he's in an episode but doesn't do anything or he takes on an antagonistic role [the zombie episode.] He gets such little screentime that we don't even know what his relationship with his parents is like or if he even has a friend group outside of the Lyoko Warriors before XANAfication.

The other reason why I don't like this is because William's redemption predicates on him doing exactly what he did before becoming a Lyoko Warrior. And it's like... Do we really need to see him do the same thing twice? It would need to be the same thing twice, because there's nothing else you can get out of William's character in this particular situation. Also, how can you top William risking his life for the Lyoko Warriors while he's still not on great terms with them or William earning Yumi's trust because he told her how much he enjoyed helping her and offered to cover for her with no strings attached?

If I had to pick a way to address William's pride I would have picked something along the lines of "William almost loses his parents because he underestimated XANA's brutality and didn't listen to the Lyoko Warriors advice." This blow to William's ego will chill him out just enough for him to form actual friendships with the Lyoko Warriors. And just to shake things up even more I would also propose Ulrich as the better option for XANA's puppet. It makes the fight between XANA and the Lyoko Warriors more personal, because we actually care about Ulrich as a character. Ulrich' also has a flaw can easily be exploited by XANA if William is on the team.

BASICALLY, I would have preferred arrogant newbie William struggling to fill in the void left behind by Ulrich's absence over William getting trapped in Lyoko as XANA's puppet.

I think the reason why they didn't go this route despite it being a no brainer option is because Ulrich is supposed to be the self insert character for the male audience. Taking away the self insert and giving the spotlight to The Other Guy, whose main purpose is to be an obstacle to Ulrich "getting the girl", would have been a turn off for most of the male audience. This kind of "arc" also puts the spotlight on Yumi, since she is the one who is closest to Ulrich.

Speaking of romance: Code Lyoko works better if the love triangle doesn't get resolved. I know I said that if I had to pick Ulrich or William, I would pick William, but Code Lyoko does work better with you lean into the Betty Cooper vs Veronica Lodge dichotomy. This is another no brainer option they should have gone with, since it allows them to develop William and Yumi without actually resolving the love triangle.

LOL The Other Guy AND The Girl sharing the spotlight so they can develop as individual characters completely separate from Ulrich? Perish the thought. You are going to sit through Yumi and Ulrich's will-they-won't-they that concludes with them not dating because Ulrich doesn't actually take William's advice from episode 39 and you are going to like it.

See, this is why I didn't feel bad about Ulrich's "You vs. the guy she tells you not to worry about" plight back in the day. If he couldn't confess his feelings to Yumi when William was literally trapped in XANA's gulag then he should have lost his chance with her.

[theprinceandthewitch]

Even though the Ulrich/Yumi vs William/Yumi ship war isn't as divisive and toxic as the Kataang vs Zutara ship war... I would rather eat glass than get into debates with faceless strangers over it.

My issues with the Code Lyoko love triangle are actually the same issues I have with the love triangle in Avatar the last Airbender:

1.) I don't think the character created specifically for the male audience to project onto is a good match for the female love interest. The self insert male character has a flaw that's never actually presented as something he needs to work on even though it is actively getting in the way of what he wants.

2.)The Other Guy, who was added to the story to be a hate sink, is actually a better fit for the female love interest. He's a more interesting character than the self-insert male lead AND he has qualities that girls actually like. I'm not talking about physical qualities, but rather he has positive personality traits that girls find appealing.

3.) The Other Guy is briefly taken out of the story by giving him an arc that completely disregards his character development. This arc also has the added consequence of robbing the female character of having agency in the love triangle. ATLA takes it a step further by introducing Mai as Zuko's 2nd love interest.

4.) Overall, Yumi's and Katara's agency doesn't matter in the love triangle. Actually, in Code Lyoko's case, Yumi's agency did matter when it came to William's initiation as a Lyoko Warrior. His initiation predicated entirely on her, as she was the only one who didn't think he could be trusted. However, William's XANAfication "arc" renders the love triangle pointless, because he can't actually do his job as Ulrich's love rival.

I mean... I still like these shows, but I'm not watching Code Lyoko past season 3 and I'm tuning out right after Katara brings Zuko back from the brink of death lol.

[theprinceandthewitch]

I just realized after doing my mini rewatch of Code Lyoko that the reason why I like Luka/Kagami is actually just because they're discounted versions of William and Yumi...

Cuz like, I recently did a rewrite exercise for Miraculous where I wanted to see how I'd answer this question: What if the love triangles came before the lovesquare?

... And when I reread what I wrote after rewatching Code Lyoko I was a bit creeped out. First of all, I overhauled Luka's personality and subconsciously made him a 1:1 clone of Willaim. This actually wasn't surprising to me because I clocked Luka as a William knockoff since day one. What actually spooked me was that I wrote Lukagami as a 1:1: of Yumi/William, despite not having seen Code Lyoko in literal years.

I don't think I've ever said this but: I never really liked Luka's character. There ain't nothing inherently wrong with soft boy characters, but I just think that if Astruc is going to trace over William he might as well copy and paste his personality onto Luka too lmao.