Recap / Luz Clawthorne Two Worlds One Family Chapter 71

Chapter 111: So IFWOT?

Art by Crash X Fusion: Who's got the mettle to win a medal?

Joined by Willow and Dusty, Luz and Nina take on the IFWOT facing off against St. Epiderm's best and brightest, among other schools.

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Tropes that appear in this Chapter:

• 10-Minute Retirement: Bump had still been contemplating whether or not he should retire as principal of Hexside but because of all the unfair changes and punishments Faust dealt, he sees it's necessary to take his job back for the students' sakes.
• Accidental Misnaming: Eda calls Cat "Cathy" upon finding her in the Owl House, immediately correcting herself soon after.
• Accidental Pun: Cross makes one when explaining Zee's matchmaking habits to Danny.
  Cross: I mean, it's not like it didn't cross—no pun intended—my mind, but I'm not so sure if I'm ready for [dating] that kind of thing.
• The Ace:
  • Dog is Merlin Meadows' top bard, Brenda their best healer, and a boy named Kevin Shrubs is the top Beast Keeper.
  • In regards to the IFWOT challenges, Willow proves herself to be Hexside's best competitor as she succeeds in every challenge she competes in.
• Adaptational Early Appearance: The Archivists become involved with the plot before "For the Future" can introduce them.
• Adults Are Useless:
  • Hettie Cutburn is the coven head overseeing the IFWOT this year. Not only are her methods unorthodox and unethical, but she doesn't lift a finger whenever things turn shitways. The one time she does decide to get off her ass (stopping the Ex-Siders), she's rendered immobile.
  • Also worth noting are the proctors who witness the brawl that breaks out between the students and everyone falling under Hogwash.
• Affectionate Nickname: Possibly. Luz labels Cross as "Crisscross", but it's still better than "shady guy".
• Always Someone Better:
  • Danny feels this way about Fan, as she's better at socializing and making connections than he is. He also mentions she tends to show him up with their accomplishments.
  • During the plant-growing competition, Willow instantly summons far more plants than Cross can, which takes him and the proctors by surprise and earns her the win.
• Amazon Chaser: Nina is enamored by Donna KO'ing Larry in one punch.
• Ascended Extra: Unlike canon, the Archivists actually make a physical appearance, or at least one of them anyway.
• Attention Whore: Larry Coppers, full stop. He repeatedly announces his presence to Luz and when he isn't acknowledged by anybody, he'll demand their attention.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • Larry Coppers pisses Luz off by declaring Amity a menace and openly discussing what he'd do to her if she returned to the Isles. One would think the punch he receives came from Luz or even Nina, but no: it's Donna who gives the prick what's coming to him.
  • A group of supervillains show up at the IFWOT for vengeance, and Nina assumes they're there for Luz. The villains, a group of expelled Hexside students, clarifies they want revenge on Faust for kicking them out over offenses he created.
• Batman Gambit: The CAT's need a coven head for an ally to stop the Day of Unity, and Lilith suggests Ulrich since his motives are the most selfless. When her attempts to make him question Belos' motives don't work, she resorts to revealing the emperor's true origins to make him start second guessing.
• Berserk Button: Steve is strongly against allying with Osran, considering he hasn't forgotten how he let several scouts perish during the palismen raid.
• Big Badass Battle Sequence: Once Donna KO's Larry Coppers, the rest of the Hogwash students prepare to fight her leading to Luz and Nina jumping to Donna's defense. Willow and Cross soon back them up and all the participants in the arena proceed to rumble with the Hogwash staff and students until the Ex-Siders arrive and Disco Drew makes them all stop. Another one proceeds when the Ex-Siders face off against the Clawthornes, Skarlow, Nina, Donna, and the Drakescale sibs.
• Big Ball of Violence: When trying to identify a skeleton, Dusty and Kevin end up fighting to the point of creating one of these forcing Nina to separate them.
• Big "WHAT?!": Eda shouts one when she hears King left Kay in custody of the scouts while he went and got a job. It's also parodied when they both shout "Weh!?" after Luz tells them Cat's part human. Cat shouts one too when she learns about Luz nearly losing Maya to the Horned King.
• Body Horror: As one of the IFWOT'S challenges, Hettie has all the healers perform real surgeries with actual patients.
• Brick Joke: To get Minerva out of the way so Gorlei can take her place in St. Epiderm's IFWOT team, the Graux sisters hide her cello. By the time she shows up after finding it, the IFWOT is over.
• The Bus Came Back:
  • The butt-faced demon, frog-faced boy, and witch girl from Hogwash make a highly-unexpected comeback ever since Luz kicked their butts all the way back in "Incidents and Family Secrets".
  • Grip of the Bard Coven returns since debuting in "The Grim Goblin Strikes", serving as a proctor for the IFWOT.
• Call-Back:
  • Steve vetoes recruiting Osran to the CAT's due to the slaughtering of scouts he allowed to happen in Chapter 90.
  • Delara's visions about the Horned King being shown to her by the Titan warning her about them and Belos are brought up, and they played a part in her attempt to recruit Darius and Eberwolf as allies.
  • Nina brings up how she wasn't being genuine when she apologized to Luz in "Hexing Out for a Hero".
  • Luz decides to save the helpless Faust from the Ex-Siders and encourages the others to do so, recalling Eda's words about being better than their enemies.
  • After learning Faust is homeless, Eda puts together that was why he was staying in Hexside back in "How to Save a Life".
• The Cameo: Gus and Eve appear at the end, having returned from an adventure they had at the Human Realm.
• Character Development: Danny has always been judgmental at first glance and hardly has the same kind of social skills that allows his sister Fan to be more likeable than him. After a talk about learning to develop those skills and loosen up with everyone, he begins to dial back said nature.
• Cheaters Never Prosper: Played With. The Graux sisters cheat their way to victory throughout the day by any means necessary, from bribery to threats to blackmail. However, Gorlei didn't get a blue ribbon unlike Luz, Willow, Nina, Donna, and Cross, though that's because she didn't help fight the Ex-Siders.
• Childhood Friends: Tracy states that she and Lindsay have known each other since daycare.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Luz recalls when she first encountered the Horned King the night Amity disappeared at Eclipse Lake.
  • It's noted that Simon's still on the Banshees grudgby team after Boscha made him a member in "Domino Effect".
  • Nina recalls briefly meeting Cross before the rescue missions, officially meeting him now.
  • Muka brings up Danny unknowingly shaking Emily's hand during the EC's visit to St. Epiderm.
  • Nina's collar shocks her because Felicia appears out of nowhere and scares her again. At one point, she ends up expecting it.
  • Nina listens to human music with Lambi, Skara having lent some that Luz swapped with her to the werecat.
  • Donna lists the "Wonderland wedding fiasco" as one of her reasons for not wanting to date anybody.
• Control Freak: Eda realizes this is why Faust took back his old job; so he could control the students like he did in the past.
• The Corrupter:
  • It's hinted that Vina is influencing Lilith after she pressures her to pull out her final ace to get Ulrich to start questioning Belos' motives.
  • Unlike Luz and Zee who want Donna to date Cross for both their sakes, Felicia recommends the healer use the hybrid to make Nina jealous enough to become interested in her again.
• Determinator: Delara was one from the beginning of her life right to the end, refusing to let her weak body keep her from living a long life.
• Didn't See That Coming: While played straight in everyone's reactions with seeing the Ex-Siders' wanting revenge on Faust, the man himself subverts it with the implications that this has happened before.
• Disproportionate Retribution:
  • Luz, as it turns out, send Larry Coppers flying to Palm Stings after an extensive beating.
  • Apparently, Disco Drew was expelled from school just for saying hi to Faust's niece.
    Cross: How has this guy not been locked up in the nuthouse?!
• Dramatic Irony: Donna is convinced to ask Cross out to get her mind off of Nina, yet Cross is legally considered a lycan.
• The Dreaded: Hettie Killington Cutburn lives up to her name the moment she nearly throws her knife into Kyle's face for arriving late at the IFWOT and having interrupted her opening speech, showing everybody that she's not that much better a head proctor than Terra.
• Embarrassing First Name: Fan's full name is Fanny, which only her brother Danny uses...
• Embarrassing Nickname: ...and since Danny calls his sister "Fanny" upon seeing her, Fan retaliates by calling him "Dilweed".
• The Ending Changes Everything: Dusty's dream at the end of the chapter puts whether the Collector is a Fae or not into question.
• Everyone Has Standards: Nina's done a lot of things before her Heel–Face Turn, but she's shocked to hear how aggressive Luz had been before she Took a Level in Kindness.
• Evil-Detecting Dog: Inverted. Sparky, Professor Rashwood's dragon palisman, takes an instant liking to Cross likely due to Sparky immediately sensing what Cross really is, much to his discomfort.
• Exact Eavesdropping: Felicia still uses her ghosts to gather scoops, and one of them overheard Donna talking to Zee about where she and Cross stand.
• Expy:
  • Merlin Meadows Beast Keeper Kevin Shrubs acts as a rival to Dusty who has his own cheerleaders. He's a parody to Gary Oak from Pokémon: The Series and his condescending nature towards Dusty harkens to Gary's initial attitude towards Ash.
  • The Ex-Siders are said to be based on the Enforcers from Jackie Chan Adventures and Marvel Comics.
  • Principal Rashwood acts as one to Miss Grimwood, with her palisman Sparky being based off of Matches, Grimwood's pet dragon.
  • The coyote proctoe is one of Wile E. and Prof. Malcolm Flytrap is a combination of Jeff Goldblum's characters in both The Fly (1986) and Jurassic Park.
• Familiar: Three new palismen are introduced; Dog's dog palisman Snoop, Zee's turtle palisman Aqua, and Professor Rashwood's dragon palisman Sparky.
• Forgettable Character: Larry, seeing as Luz completely forgets he was competing at the IFWOT until he announces his presence to her again after the final challenge.
• The Ghost:
  • Amity's brought up as Luz hopes to revoke her expulsion, Fan gives Luz her condolenses about Amity's situation, Larry insults her which earns him Donna's wrath, and the day ends with Luz wishing she could've joined her at the IFWOT.
  • Simon is mentioned by Willow, as he nominated her to take his place at the IFWOT.
  • Beel and Veronica are mentioned as being unable to participate in the IFWOT (Veronica and her family visiting a unicorn ranch for the day), which is why Cross has to compete.
  • Zee lists Lindsay and Sarah as girls she assumed Cross would go out with along with Veronica.
  • Mordo Freewitch is brought up when Faust decides to call him and apply for the job as Glandus' new future principal.
• Hate Sink: Larry Coppers sinks fast not only from his checkered past of flirting with Luz by being a braggart coming to light, but also by announcing his beliefs that Amity is a threat and he would (likely) gladly hunt her down in the name of the emperor.
• He Is Not My Boyfriend: Donna and Cross are barely friends so when Donna gives her statement to Felicia about not having a relationship, the phrasing makes it come off as this.
  Donna: There's nothing going on between me and Cross!
• Immediate Sequel: Not only does this chapter pick up from the previous one, it simultaneously occurs at the same time as the end of "Cat's Jubilee", Eda and King returning home right after Luz and Cat exchange news and big discoveries about Cat's ancestor Jamila.
• In Spite of a Nail: Luz mentions interrogating Warden Wrath for information and learning he was demoted for stealing his coworkers' lunches.
• Internal Reveal:
  • Eda and King are told of Cat's human ancestry and Jamila's visions.
  • Cat is given the 411 on Luz nearly losing Maya to the Horned King and her looking into him.
  • Luz, Eda, Willow, Skara, Nina, and Donna meet Zee for the first time with Eda, Willow, and Skara meeting the Graux sisters, and Luz, Nina, and Donna meeting Gnashley and Brenda.
  • Luz officially meets Tracy Speedemon while Eda interacts with Lambi and Danny, and several characters learn about Larry Coppers and his history with Luz.
  • Brenda tells Luz that she's Bangles' sister.
  • Star learns about Delara and her short tenure as the Oracle coven head.
  • Lilith informs Ulrich of Belos' human past as part of her plan to turn him against the emperor.
  • Eda discovers that Dusty is not only immortal, but he was also Orange.
  • Nina admits to Luz that she was the one who nearly killed Boscha during the Glandus War.
  • Principal Bump introduces himself to Nina, since he didn't get to meet her when she transferred to Hexside.
  • Eda learns that Nina got Tugs from Ms. Traveler.
• Knew It All Along: It turns out that both Principal Bump and Faust know Dusty's immortal and keeps returning to Hexside as a student, letting him because all he wants is to be a kid having fun and collecting beasts.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Larry insults Amity to Luz's face, which leads to Donna punching him so hard, he gets knocked out.
  • Faust gets his back stomped on by Squeaky-Toed Jack once he's captured and helpless, which the Hexsidians see as this for all the times he "disciplined" them.
• Left the Background Music On: Invoked when Luz asks Grip to perform motivational fighting music as she, her mom, and her friends defend Faust from the Ex-Siders.
• Locked Out of the Loop: None of the CAT's seem to be aware that Calpyso is somehow immune to Terra's tea.
• The Matchmaker: It isn't just Lindsay that Zee tried to get Cross to ask out: she pushes him to date any girl he brings home whenever they're paired up for homework. Now, she tries to kill two birds with one stone by urging Donna to ask him out so both can be eased into dating and get some experience with it.
• Major Injury Underreaction: At one point while Gorlei is shooting arrows, she hits Dusty in the knee. He hardly reacts to it, before leaning hard into faking that he's in agonizing pain.
• Makes Us Even: Muka orders her sisters to refrain from attacking Kyle after he chews out Gorlei for shooting Dusty with an arrow, stating they're even for his healing Muka during the Scarfish incident.
• Mix-and-Match Critters: Zee's beast is a lion with a green armored shell known as a taraskit named Yang.
• Mythology Gag: Faust being the one to marry Terra is based off the MoringMark comic, "A Match made in Hell".
• Named by the Adaptation: The former grudgby captain who Faust expelled for not having squeaky-enough shoes is called Burty, now Squeaky-Toed Jack, and the student who chewed too loudly goes by Ratagouile.
• No Dress Code: Since Merlin Meadows is still relatively new, they don't have uniforms for the students yet.
• Noodle Incident: The Emperor's Coven has attempted to arrest Faust for his ridiculous expulsions and failed.
• Not Afraid of You Anymore: Both Eda and Bump make it quite clear that they aren't scared of Faust anymore after all that he's done, Eda confronting him about forcing Luz to participate in the IFWOT and debunking his continued attempts to "study evil", and Bump taking a stand against him to reclaim his job by dueling him.
• Odd Friendship: With Riley not competing in the IFWOT and Teri MIA, Cross and Danny end up hanging out together for the day. Thanks to Cross, Danny begins to loosen up and stop judging people too easily.
• Oh, No... Not Again!: Eda has this kind of reaction when she learns that Faust is forcing Luz to compete in the IFWOT as part of a deal she made with him, reminding her of her own experiences.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: As part of her real apology to Luz, Nina uses her first name rather than calling her "Clawthorne". This is part of what proves that she's really trying to change.
• Point of Divergence: Luz and Willow participate in an IFWOT competition, the Construction Coven Head learns that Belos was once human causing him to question the emperor's goals, and the Collector's physical form is seen before "King's Tide" takes place.
• Pom-Pom Girl:
  • The Merlin Meadows cheer squad act as Kevin's personal hype girls.
  • While Andrea plays this straight by cheering on all of her friends during the IFWOT, it's downplayed with Skara, Lambi, and Zee supporting Willow, Nina, and Cross by providing moral support.
• Resolved Noodle Incident: Luz's deal with Larry Coppers and beating him up came from his trying to flirt with her while bragging about his "Chosen One" status; after beating him up, she tied him to a rocket that sent him to Palm Stings.
• The Reveal:
  • Bump has been discharged from the Healing Coven.
  • Dog is revealed to have a dog palisman named Snoop.
  • Several things are revealed about Merlin Meadows;
  • The school is within distance to Bonesborough.
    • Their team name is the Night Owls and the student body doesn't have uniforms.
    • Dog, Tracy, Brenda, and Gnashley are top students.
    • Danny's fraternal twin sister Fan Burndil is a student there.
    • Their principal, Ms. Rashwood, has allowed multi-track studies there. Tracy and Gnashley were both illusionists, but now the former is taking bard and construction classes while the latter is in plants.
  • Gnashley was a frequent shopper at Eda's human junk stand, buying ninja memorabilia.
  • Delara was born prematurely but despite people saying she wouldn't live past her teens, she proved them all wrong. She figured out her visions about the Horned King came from the Titan and planned to turn on Belos, warning a skeptical Darius and Eberwolf.
  • Larry Coppers, who's shown to be a Beast Keeper, flirted with Luz in the past, and his bragging is why she beat him up.
  • Zee tried to get Cross to go out with Veronica and Sarah when they previously came over to their house for class projects.
  • Bump and Faust knew that Dusty is immortal and that he's been returning to Hexside under a new name every few years, but let him be as he didn't cause any harm.
  • Brenda and Bangles' parents aren't around often, so the latter took care of the former. Eventually, Bangles became abusive and started blaming Brenda for the neglect. After Bangles was arrested, Brenda was allowed by one of her friends to stay with them.
  • Zee's shown to have a taraskit named Yang for a beast.
  • Faust is Terra's ex-husband and when they got divorced, she took everything from him. That's why he was living in Hexside when Puck attacked the school.
    • Faust applied to join the Emperor's Coven as a result of this, and Lilith rejected his application.
  • Dusty has been having dreams about the Archivists, thus having a link to the Collector. He's also been living on an abandoned ship.
• Running Gag:
  • Fan teasing Danny at every chance she gets.
  • Cross questioning why people haven't been committed after they performed Disproportionate Retribution.
  • Zee trying to convince Donna to go out with her brother.
  • Muka and Ashey helping Gorlei pass challenges by cheating.
• Save the Villain: After the Ex-Siders begin enacting their revenge on a captive Faust, everyone seems content with letting it happen. Luz, on the other hand, convinces them to save the belligerent old prick by reminding them of Eda's advice to be better than their enemies.
• Screams Like a Little Girl: Cross gives off a shriek when Sparky jumps onto his shoulder and nuzzles his face. Given the chance the little dragon can sense one of his own...
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • The Hogwash students make tracks upon seeing Faust has arrived at the Covention center while Larry is demanding attention, and Larry soon follows them when he sees Faust is behind him.
  • Subverted for Grip, who is left unharmed from the first Big Badass Battle Sequence and tries to sneak away only to be spotted by Luz.
• Sequel Hook:
  • Now that Bump is principal again, he plans to undo the damage Faust has done including revoking Amity's expulsion.
  • At Luz and Eda's suggestion, Faust decides to contact Superintendent Freewitch to apply for the job as Glandus High's new principal in the future to weed out any potential "Emily"'s or corrupted teachers by running background checks.
  • With Cross and Donna set to go on a date soon, Nina is left feeling conflicted about it, and who knows how Lindsay'll take it when she finds out.
  • Gus and Eve were in the Human Realm for the day. Odds are they were conducting the séance for Vaggie.
• Shipper on Deck: Downplayed. Like Zee, Luz and Felicia support Donna asking out Cross in order to get her mind off Nina and Lambi, but for different reasons (Luz wants Donna to get out of her shell while Felicia, ever the drama instigator, tells the healer to use Cross to make Nina jealous.)
• Ship Tease:
  • Muka shows constant concern for Kyle, helping him back onto his feet after Hettie throws her knife at him, then calling off her sisters and scolding Gorlei for her dismissal of Kyle's own lecture regarding her reckless usage of arrows. Muka declares she's paid Kyle back for healing her at Tibilias Bay and declares the Graux Sisters have his back now, playing with the tones of a Bodyguard Crush.
  • Throughout the day, Zee pushes Donna to consider dating her brother since they hardly go out with other people, Donna admitting that Cross is good-looking. Once the IFWOT ends, Donna takes the leap and asks him out on the spot, overjoyed when he says yes.
• Shout-Out:
  • Dog's palisman is shown to be a white dog named "Snoop".
  • Kevin's cheerleaders use Kuzco's theme as a cheer towards him.
  • Luz mentions that she hit Larry Coppers by using his glasses.
  • Zee wears an outfit like the one Yang sports in RWBY, but utilizes the sandal boots and shin guards of her namesake.
  • After watching the Dilburn-Burndil and Drakescale siblings bicker, Willow says, "It's times like these I'm glad I'm an only child."
  • The Graux Sisters' cheating with the jelly bee jar is like how Hailey guessed how many jelly beans were in a jar.
  • Hettie's challenge for the healers is a real-life Operation game.
  • Nina and Lambi listen to TLC's "Waterfalls" during their break.
  • Gorlei launching several arrows despite being told to stop is reminiscent of Sadie doing the same thing in the Total Drama Island episode, "Who Can You Trust?"
  • One of the Ex-Siders is named Disco Drew, and he has an afro along with wearing a white collared disco outfit.
  • Grip performs a Song Parody of "Jumping Jack Flash" as Luz's team fight the Ex-Siders.
  • Dusty's dream about the Archivists references Stevonnie's dream where she's in Pink Diamond's place, which also ends with the dreamer punching a mirror.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Larry Coppers again. His classmates from Hogwash keep hyping him up as "The Chosen One" and he proclaims that he's the most important kid in Bonesborough, only for Faust to take the wind out of his sails.
• Status Quo Is God: After being in the Healing Coven since "What is it Good For?" and considering retirement since "Understanding Hunter", Bump has become Hexside's principal once again.
• Talk to the Fist: Disgusted by Larry talking smack about Luz associating with Nina and insulting Amity to her face, Donna punches him so hard she leaves a fist imprint on his face and knocks him out cold.
• Tempting Fate: Eda warns Luz about doing this by assuming the IFWOT will be a breeze, as even something as simple as winning a blue ribbon could become difficult for a Clawthorne.
• Thousand-Yard Stare: Felicia has a brief look of horror when she mentions her failed attempt to interview Head Witch Cutburn.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Even after Luz, Eda, Willow, Skara, Donna, Nina, and the Drakescale siblings save him from the Ex-Siders, Faust refuses to show them any gratitude for it.
• The Un-Reveal:
  • Was Merlin Meadows founded by Merlin himself?
  • Brenda says that she hasn't heard from Bangles since her arrest. Is she still in the Conformatorium, was she trafficked, or has she been assassinated?
    • On top of that, did Bangles start abusing Brenda before or after she got enrolled in Glandus?
• Villain of the Week: The Ex-Siders, a group of former Hexidians who Faust expelled for idiotic reasons, crashes the IFWOT in order to take their revenge on the old man.
• Wham Episode: Luz and Nina come to respect each other enough to develop trust with one another, Principal Bump returns to his position at Hexside, Luz and Eda recommend Faust become Glandus' new principal once it's rebuilt, Donna asks Cross out which Nina seems to be uncomfortable with, Danny starts to ease up on his judgmental nature, Lilith plants doubt in Ulrich's mind after telling him who and what Belos once was (implied to be a result of Vina manipulating her), and Dusty turns out to have ties to the Collector.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Everyone around Luz who hears about how she humiliated and tortured Larry Coppers the last time they met is shocked by her punishment for him.
  Nina: Geez, Luz, and I thought I was too extreme.
• Wizard Duel: To reclaim his position as Hexside's principal, Bump duels Faust for the job. Bump ultimately comes out on top, standing up to Faust at long last.
• The Worf Effect: The moment Hettie decides to take action by putting a stop to the Ex-Siders, Ratagoulie uses his Gumbomination to trap the Head Witch to keep her out of their hair.
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: Once Luz and Nina finally put their rivalry to rest, they stop referring to each other by their last names.

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