#Belos hates them. he wants to burn them to hell for what they did

[crimeronan]

imagining Raine, Darius and Eberwolf doing there whole Hollow Mind scheme to figure out what the new empress’ plan for the isles are, and upon entering her mindspace finding a very stressed teenager who wants to burn down the empire as much as they do.

GOD.

this concept is so juicy i might HAVE to fic it at some point. GOD!!! it would be HARD to engineer a situation where the three of them felt like invading luz's mindscape was their best bet -- they'd have to 1) feel like she's keeping dangerous enough secrets to warrant taking such an Enormous and invasive risk to find out more, and 2) feel like she's dangerous enough Just By Herself to warrant needing to know Now, as opposed to taking extra time for subtle spy work

but there are honestly. a Lot of ways to meet those conditions. especially given the circumstances in the AU. luz says herself that it doesn't make any sense for her to assassinate the emperor just a few weeks before she would have taken power anyway -- so IF raine and darius and eber suspect her (like any reasonable person might), then that Alone raises the stakes. because then their question is yeah, actually!! why DID she do it!! and what DOES she want with this power!! and why IS she being so obviously secretive about her plans and politics and alliances!! who Theeee Fuck is she working with and what did THEY get out of the assassination?? even if luz herself doesn't set off genocide-adjacent alarm bells, the potential for political instability would have the rebels on heightened alert

and then there's a potential additional layer here that would make me Fucking Crazy, in that. darius and hunter have had a pretty friendly rapport in this AU for much longer than they have in canon. and darius has also always been intensely mistrustful of luz's whole Bright-Eyed Curiosity thing. so if darius happens to be observant enough to notice just how strangely tense and stressed out and upset hunter is during the time leading up to n immediately following the assassination...... i can only IMAGINE what kind of theories he might have about what went down between hunter and luz. and how that might shape his own actions.

(the funniest irony would be if darius is worried that luz forced hunter to help her with assassinating belos and/or that she's blackmailing him. meanwhile in actuality hunter is like "god i would LOVE for luz to blackmail me. at least that would mean she's talking to me again")

i'm certain that luz and raine would have a positive rapport in this AU, given that they're both sweet people who hate playing political word games and have similar senses of humor. they likely wouldn't be Close due to all of the politics at play, but like. raine at least is like. i don't think she wants the same things that belos did. i don't know what she DOES want but. it can't really be any worse, can it.

& darius being insistent that raine shouldn't trust the very calculated doe-eyed innocent persona that luz projects, because No One around the castle is Actually as kind or helpful or earnest or weird as luz pretends to be. she's manipulating you whispers!! you're giving her exactly what she wants!!

so they enter her mindscape warily prepared for anything, not sure what they'll find, basically braced for anything Except the straightforward teen girl that luz seems to be. & then within like Minutes, raine is like. alright. darius. you overthought this one. this is a baby.

& darius is just like. jesus FUCKING hell. this is a BABY.

[opinated-user]

Now that I think about it what's hilariously crazy is the fact Lily hates Hunter but considers Zuko a good character. Don't get me wrong when all is said and done Zuko is technically better due to the sheer amount of screentime he got but what's crazy that Lily fails to realize is between Hunter and Zuko, Hunter has more reason to be doing the bad shit he does than Zuko does. As great of a character as Zuko is he literally had a wise mentor giving him advice, saw first hand the damage the fire nation was doing, even as a kid disagreed with their practices and since he's banished if he really wanted to he could've tried to start over anytime. The point is Zuko's perception was warped but there was still enough for him to see the fire nation was in the wrong at any time and again had a wise mentor giving him advice the whole time. Hunter on the other hand like everyone else on the boiling Isles is just raised from the start to believe this is the way the world is with no reason to believe otherwise until he learns the truth and that truth was buried by Belos to the point Hunter wouldn't have even known the horrific details if Luz hadn't bumped into him. The point is I don't care which one people like more, they are both good characters. The problem with Lily however is the weird "angsty boy helping a fascist is taking too long to figure it out" attitude while praising Zuko when between the two of them Hunter has more reason to be blind to Belos true horrific nature than Zuko does for the fire nation. Hell according to Lily's attitude Zuko should've figured it all out the moment Ozai burned his sons face. Meanwhile Belos IS abusive to Hunter but Belos is careful to know when and when not to strike and to show some level of kindness in order to manipulate Hunter into believing he's truly a loving caring uncle that "only strikes because you did something wrong" when most people know a real loving guardian would never strike or threaten to strike as a form of punishment.

Hell according to Lily's attitude Zuko should've figured it all out the moment Ozai burned his sons face

another example of LO believing that victims of abuse should recognize it immediately, get away from it and dennounce it as quickly as possible or else they're lazy complacent martyrs who must enjoy the suffering. zuko was also raised believing not only on his father, but also on the "glory of the fire nation", just like Hunter grew up believing that the way of Belos was ultimately what was keeping everyone safe and things in order. they're were both children raised by fascist father figures and literally had no contact with anyone from the outside until their worlds fell appart in front of their eyes, seeing the "glory/order" for what it really was. when they finally started breaking away from that mindset it wasn't just accept they were abused (already a hard thing to do), but that the worldview that they believed in all their life was wrong and they were mere instruments of not just an awful man but an awful system that never caused anything else but pain and suffering for the rest of the world. considering how difficult is for full grown adults to unlearn so many things taught by society, then it's no surprising that two teens won't have an easier time either.

[toa-kirhan]

First time watching ToH S2E12 (Elsewhere and Elsewhen). Thoughts below:

Detailed thoughts:

WHAT AN EPISODE. There’s so much to unpack here it’s enough to make my head spin.

First thing’s first: the big reveal. Philip Wittebane is Emperor Belos. There’s so much to that reveal and what it means for Belos’ motivations and plan. The episode has made it abundantly clear that Philip hates witches and holds a vendetta against them. Presumably, it was a witch that cursed Philip, and possibly another that led to his brother’s death. Perhaps his brother was burned as a witch while Philip escaped into the Demon Realm.

Philip’s journal makes it clear that he considers the Demon Realm to be both horrid and fantastic, perhaps the writers were being clever and using fantastic in its original sense (describing something that is like a fantasy). Perhaps Philip’s fascination w/ the Demon Realm is limited solely to the world itself and not the witches that inhabit it. Though, if that was the case, then why did he donate his journal to the library?

If Philip just wanted to return home, he could have done that at any time once he created the portal. He likely has returned to the Human Realm, but what compelled him to come back? Why did he lose the portal door? Philip has stated his plans to unite the Demon Realm w/ the Human Realm, but to what end? Just to rule over it? Why do that now? What’s keeping him from recreating the portal door?

Is it the Collector? What is it that the Collector has or is able to do that makes seeking him out necessary to create a portal to the Human Realm? Does Belos need to find the Collector again? What happened to the glass disk to summon him?

If Philip is Belos, how did he change his appearance? We see him w/ pointed ears when he had his mask off. How has he lived for so long if he’s really been living since the 17th century? If Belos is actually a human, then what does that make Hunter? Is he part human too? Is Hunter the son of Philip’s missing brother?

What does Belos mean by the will of the Titan? Was that just convenient propaganda that he crafted based on the natural religious/spiritual beliefs of the Boiling Isle’s inhabitants? I mean, I suspected that was the case, but how does Belos actually substantiate his claim?

From what I can tell, Belos’ plan is to unite the Human and Demon Realms like he claims, but in the process, he plans on draining the magic of everyone else to do so (using what he learned from the Basilisks). Philip hates witches and I’d imagine he’d do anything to weaken them and break their power for good (the original purpose of the Coven system).

If witches can no longer use magic, then the only magic users that will remain are those that can master glyphs, “the worthy” that Belos often talks about. I assume that Belos also plans on continuing to drain the magic of witches after the Day of Unity by having them create more Palismen so he can drain the magic from them for his curse.

Belos has to have recognized Luz back from his days as Philip, but what does he want from her? Does he just want another sacrifice? A sacrifice for the Collector?

Is Hunter the sacrifice? When Philip gave his compliments to Lilith and Luz, it was right before he was going to sacrifice them to the Stone Sleeper behind the door. Now, Philip, as Belos, is doing the same thing to Hunter.

Stepping back from the hell that is that reveal, let’s move on to Eda. Like Raine said, Eda has always been one to run away from her problems, hiding her insecurities from others, running from her problems, pushing away those who try to help her, and blaming all of her problems on the Owl Beast.

While the Owl Beast was what directly caused events like Dell losing her eye, it was Eda’s unwillingness to be open w/ others that caused Raine to break up w/ her, and it was Eda’s choice to run away instead of talking to her parents. Even now, after all of the progress that she’s made, Eda is still unable to confront her father.

Eda views herself as unforgivable for what she did to her father, for injuring him to the point that he can’t continue working his job of making Palismen. Instead, Dell simply tells Eda to let the past go and to start moving on. It’s not Dell whom Eda needs forgiveness from, I doubt he ever blamed her, it’s herself.

While Belos turned his antipathy out toward the world and the countless innocent witches who are in no way responsible for what happened to him, Eda turned her antipathy towards inward, blaming herself and the Owl Beast for her problems.

The question is whether Belos is capable of the type of self-reflection that Eda has been going through recently. How much to blame are witches for his problems vs himself or just fate? Can Philip step back from the monster that he created that is Belos? I fear that it’s already too late for him.

General thoughts:

Luz is still working on understanding the portal door.

Lovely note from King and really cute that Luz has the same photo of her, Eda, and King on her board that Eda has by her mirror.

It’s stunning to see Luz go through all those books to find out where she went wrong when making the new portal door.

Lilith and Gwendolyn! Morton! NOSE GIRL! STEVE!!!

Lilith is the new assistant curator of the supernatural museum of history. How’d she get that job? Is Belos not on the hunt for her too? Is there an ordinary museum of history on the Boiling Isles?

Owl-pellet-tizers!

Flora’s an old teacher of Lilith’s.

Oh, Lilith got the job so Belos could keep an eye on her.

Flora Desplora. Man, I cannot believe we got another bad girl historian as a character. Also, Flora was part of the EC too? Is she still part of it?

“And I have questions about my life!” Don’t we all girl, don’t we all.

I don’t think the Titan wears socks.

OH NO WHAT HAPPENED TO THE INTRO?! Is it really going to be one of those episodes?

Another Philip flashback! How long has Philip been in the Demon Realm? Over 10 years at least, but likely much, much longer.

The Collector? Philip and his companions(!) must face what? Or whom?

Go back in time? Is this going to be a time travel episode? Is Lilith going to time travel w/ them to create her exhibit?

Twigfoot, Lenderman, and the fearsome Possum!

Time pools? Sounds a lot like those Titan’s Blood portals.

Lilith is a model maker! And a fan of architecture!

Cool aunt Lilith!

Hey! It’s Eaglebert out of his staff form!

Time pools do have to do w/ Titan’s Blood!

Lilith made a time pool finding device too! What can’t Lilith do?

Luz is really going to use the last of the Titan’s Blood she has to find this time pool. She really is determined to get back.

Oh! Time beach! It’s a time pool in the past but not the present! Aw, Lilith! :c

Yeah! In your face, self doubt!

Lilith is a dinosaur nut too! Man, this show is doing everything it can to make me love her, and it’s working!

That’s the fastest time b/w setup and payoff for a brick joke that I’ve seen a time travel story.

Baby’s Borough!

They’re both so excited about their discoveries!

I love that Luz thinks Lilith is cool but that dance is losing points from me.

Eda and Gwendolyn again! Eda’s still hiding from her problems. In this case, her dad and the eye he lost to her.

The Savage Ages were so much better! #born in the wrong generation

I LOVE LILITH! I LOVE THATCHWORK! LOVE HER LOVE HER LOVE HER!

Nobody knows Philip? Oh! There he is!

So Luz actually gets to meet Philip! And save him and his research!

Hawksley and Hooty keeping Eda from escaping.

What did happen to Blue Fang? Was it the Collector? WAIT IS LUZ PHILIP’S COMPANION FROM THE FLASHBACK?

Did Philip lose his brother in the Demon Realm too? Was it the Collector?

Luzura and Dirtrude. :3

Lying to Philip totally won’t backfire. Especially when Luz loses her helmet (which will definitely happen). Picto-glyphs? Philip used glyphs too?

What was w/ that facial expression?

LOOK AT THAT GLYPH ARRAY! That’s the most complicated magic we’ve ever seen!

Well, that’s a bold escape attempt.

OMG, Eda is really meeting her father again!

The Collector is in the Titan’s head? Philip created a teleportation spell?

The Titan’s head is sacred ground?

That door reminds me of the one in King’s castle.

Philip has met the Collector before hasn’t he? Is he going to sacrifice one of them to the Collector? Like Blue Fang?

What is that in Philip’s bag? IS THAT BLUE FANG’S FANG? IS THAT HIS PALISMAN TOO? I don’t like this... I don’t like what it’s implying. I don’t like this at all.

LILITH!

That glass disk, what is it? Does it summon the Collector?

I THOUGHT IT LOOKED LIKE A STONE SLEEPER!

A round boi!

YEAH! THE POWER OF PUNCHING WINS ONCE AGAIN!

COPE AND SEETHE!

The Owl House was Dell’s?! No wonder how Gwendolyn found Eda! They knew where she was for that long but Eda kept running from them that entire time? :c

TWENTY YEARS!

A Palistrom seed? Dell’s been working w/ the Bat Queen too?

;_;

THOSE ARE ALL PALISMANS! OH MY GOD, PHILIP IS BELOS!!!

HE HATES MAGIC AND WITCHES! HE WANTS TO TAKE ALL THEIR POWERS AWAY! THAT’S WHAT THE DAY OF UNITY IS ACTUALLY ABOUT! THAT’S WHAT THE BASILISKS ARE FOR!

[spaceecoffe]

The Owl House x Slavic Mythology, Part 2 (this one will be longer)

Okay, so in this post I will tell you about few things. First of all you need to know something: slavic mythology is hard to uncover. It is not so easy to find true informations about this like about Greek, Roman or Norse mythology. A lot of Slavic beliefs were twisted by christian propaganda (like in last post I told you about Domovoy bringing good luck to you house -> with a time christians started to tell a story about mean house demon Domovoy and that all the good things he did were actually done by Angels, ugh). It is also twisted by patriarchy that with time didn't want people to believe in some powerful female demons or goddesses.

Slavic mythology for sure was kinda like Boiling Isles: most of demons and nature wants to kill you in some strange ways, but there were also some good demons, good characters and good gods/goddesses. And when you search for some informations you need to remember this. I'm writing it here because one of characters in this post suffers from her story being twisted by christians and men. And you can also see influence of patriarchy in first part.

But lets start the main stuff:

1. Witches and Wizards

Oh, yes, first thing you can think of is a second episode of first season "Witches before Wizards" AND I LOVE IT. Why? Because it destroys traditional look on the witches and wizards, of course! But from the beginning.

In slavic beliefs witches were women who signed a pact with the devil and gained from it magic powers. They used it to turn other people lives into hell by hexes and all that stuff. It was hard to recognise them, but people say that normally woman drinks a glass of vodka (or apple blood!) on three times while witches do it in one sip! Also, if you look deep in their eyes you will see head of a goat. But it could be any women in yours surrounding: single one, old one, married, young... You couldn't trust any woman!

And that is the misogynistic view on witches. The truth is that witches were a wise women who helped other. They often were herbalists and healers in their villages. But people didn't understand how they did their "elixirs", they only knew they worked, so the ones that were jealous about their knowledge create this story about "terrible and scary witches".

At the same time there were Wizards. They were the ones that people looked up to. And it's all because Wizards used their magic for a science and not hexing people! Like, you know... The only thing women can do is to be mean to other people and only think about how to make others lives worse, while man think about more important stuff. But, fortunately, wizards had also some bad traits, like being too ambitious.

So when Luz goes to Boiling Isles it appears that it is full of witches. Not only women witches, but also men. And this is kind of amazing because we finally abandon this archetype of only women being witches. At the same time (in second episode) we can hear King saying:

"Wizards are only old people with glitter in their pockets"

Oh, how I love this! Why? Because there always been a discourse in the topic of magic. When magic was used from science (by wizards or by alchemists) it was good, but when it was coming from nature (used by witches or folks) it was satanic and scary. But here? Here everything is opposite. We know now, thanks to Lilith, that magic in Boiling Isles is highly bonded to the nature and it is used from it. That's why everyone there is called witch, regardless of gender.

Why it is so important for me that witches are cool on Boiling Isles and wizards are only having glitter in their pockets? It's because at the same time that witches were burned on piles in Poland (1600s), you could go on Cracovian Academy (now Jagiellonian University) and get education in being Wizard or Alchemist.

So yeah, this episode just destroyed the archetype of good and wise wizards against bad and wild witches which should happen more often. But until Tolkien's books will still be "best fantasy" I doubt we will se more of breaking this stupid rule (and also sexism in fantasy).

Also, fun fact, in this episode we see Radegast in clothes with stars:

and also we hear that he was "looking at the stars" when Luz came. I know that wizards are usually depicted with some star-theme, but he really reminds me of the legend of Pan Twardowski, the most powerful wizard in Polish (some says he was a German actually) history. He signed the pact with the Devil to gain his power but run away from him to the other side of the moon, were some says, he still lives. He also probably was a real person (Jan Twardowski) who worked on Zygmunt August's court as magician and astrologist, sometime between 1530 - 1570, while as I said, witches were burned on piles.

But let's move to the second thing!

2. Eda, The Baba Yaga

Oh, yes! You've seen this coming. And also it was greatly showed in this amazing post, which you have to read! But I will put in my tuppence here.

First of all, who was Baba Yaga? You heard about her for sure, but probably all of this were lies. Surly, she was the most powerful known witch. She could do almost anything with her magic and she also could brew any potion. As you probably know she lived in the house on chicken legs deep in the forest.

As for her look she was small, old with a big nose and a lot of wrinkles:

She doesn't look nice, does she? Isn't that strange that the most powerful witch in our beliefs has to be so "ugly" (ugh, I hate this word but I have to use it here I think)? The truth is that probably she never looked like this. Historians thinks that at the beginning she was one of the most important goddesses in Slavic Mythology. She was in control of life and death, she was the personification of nature and its power. Some people also believe that she was the one responsible for children initiation to adult life. One of the historians, Zygmunt Krzak, said:

"This is about the reviled figure of the ancient goddess, a characterisation created by religious and secular male elites fighting against matriarchal religion."

So now we can see how Eda works as alternative Baba Yaga from Boiling Isles.

First of all, she IS the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles. She lives deep in the forest and she is great at brewing potions. Everyone is scared of her but at the same time, if someone is in trouble, she will totally help. Also, in episode one of season two we can see how she actually care about animals (and probably all nature).

But, most importantly, she is against Emperor's rules. As I said in subsection 1, being a witch is all about taking your power from nature. And actually what Emperor is doing is fighting with this, just like christianity when it started to appear on slavic lands. Emperor forbids to use wild magic, he tries to cut witches away from nature. He makes them join covens that can control their magic so they are becoming more and more distant from the natural magic. And Eda is this one person on whole Boiling Isles that is against it and that's why Emperor's Coven tries to change her image so people would think of her as a scary and wild witch which should meet her punishment for being that close to nature.

Another thing that reminds me of Baba Yaga is, of course, how she took care of Luz and helped her to became the witch. This is how initiation of children looks like. Yes, Eda did this in her own way but if not for her, Luz would never went do Hexside and problady wouldn't ever found out about glyphs. So yes, Eda was that one witch who helped Luz, the child (or "her kid") to become real witch, and that is probably what real Baba Yaga was doing.

Also...

Yes, I don't have to comment that, you know what I'm showing to you. But I just want to remind you that Kikimores hate chicken so it naturally goes that Kikimora is on the opposite side to Eda, The Baba Yaga.

The last thing I want to add is that Belos clearly do the same thing to witches on Boiling Isles that christians did to slavic folks (and yes, a lot more cultures in the world but here I'm focusing on Slavs). That is why I am almost sure that he is a human, probably Philippe, because this is just what people of middle and west Europe always did to different cultures -> "Veni, Vidi, Vici" as Julius Cesar said.

Part 1

[sepublic]

Agony of a Witch...

           …This episode. It BROKE me.

           I was afraid this episode would be intense, but my heart is GENUINELY beating, like Belos’!

           Where… where do I begin.

           Lilith cursed Eda. She really did. She said there was more to the story, and asked Eda to explain herself first… I remember speculating that if it HAD been Lilith, what would’ve been the motive?

           Either way, Luz is OUT FOR BLOOD in this episode. Can we… can we appreciate that she felt like she had to pay back Eda for anything, as if just being in her life wasn’t enough? And that in her last moments conscious, Eda made this clear to Luz? Luz is someone who’s always thinking about what she can do for others, that sometimes she forgets herself. She underestimates how much she can mean to OTHERS, and now…

           She KNOWS how much she means to Eda! And it’s tearing her up inside that she FAILED Eda, that she wasn’t good enough… She must feel like a failure, because her attempt to heal Eda got her captured and cursed! And she must hate herself, and King waiting for her… That cold twist on the ending title! I knew this episode was Agony of a Witch, but it really was TRUE agony.

           I feel like I’m hyperventilating, I almost feel faint… I feel like CRYING, I can’t remember if I’ve ever felt this intense before! The intensity of that duel with Eda and Lilith, Eda really IS the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles! What’s interesting is that Willow doesn’t directly dispute this, she merely states that Belos is the most skilled…

           Does this have to do with ‘wild magic’, not being restrained by a coven binding? Or is it something more… Eda is glowing with a golden power and summons some sort of Owl Deity, is this the effect of the curse? Is the curse her physically manifesting the power of this being that she’s the avatar of? But Lilith caused the curse, but then again we don’t know WHY the curse was placed… Was it just to restrain her magic? What was Lilith doing…

           This episode was a fucking nightmare for me. The intensity, the FEAR in my heart seeing that flashback of Eda, asleep and so happy… Only for her older sister to open the door, the FEAR in my heart… The BETRAYAL, of a little sister being cursed by her older sibling, it was like something out of a horror movie… This episode BROKE me, I’m shaking I really am I swear…! It’s almost hard to breathe, I…

           Why Lilith, WHY?! You clearly cared so much before, was it just guilt? What was your reasoning?! Why the HELL would you curse your own sister?!

           And Belos! Emperor Belos himself… He’s got a coldly mechanical, yet viscerally biological feel to him, I know I keep invoking Bionicle but it really IS like it, that biomechanical aesthetic! I was right, I WAS RIGHT, that the chasm in the titan’s chest, that the subject of its heart would come into play… It seems that Belos himself penetrated the titan’s sternum and built this mechanical, iron-lung castle around its heart, having total control.

           Why? Is it control the power of the titan’s bile, the magic flowing from its heart? When Belos gets agitated, the heart starts beating faster… Is he the Titan, reincarnated? Or is he a usurper, seeking to control the Titan? To direct the flow of its magic… Could he stop the flow entirely? Does he control bile, or ALL magic, period…?

           I love his mechanical voice, something about him is just… It’s CREEPY, it’s eerie, like he’s barely holding himself together, when he cracks open that creature and gets back his sight… Is he dying, is he incredibly ancient? Has he attached himself to the titan’s own heart and bile to survive? Why does he want control, he claims to be able to speak with the Titan…

           …And so can Luz. More parallels between him and Luz, no doubt. Does he mean well, his VA called Belos ‘misunderstood’ in a sense… Regardless, he is WONDERFULLY creepy, and the way he’s drawn, the shots of him watching silently, it was TERRIFYING… He claims to be the most skilled, does this relate to knowledge from the Titan itself? What of its BRAIN…?

           Oh, god. What if the Titan is DYING, and this Iron Lung castle is meant to keep it alive? Or worse… What if he’s trying to resuscitate the Titan, but with himself in control? Just like Makuta from Bionicle… And he needs BILE to do that! Bile to power its veins, to course through… And what of that furnace, that chimney? What is it burning…

           …Oh god. Remember those jokes about witches being burned? And what Belos alluded to rogue witches without a coven, and what would happen to Lilith?

           Is he harvesting them for bile? Burning them as fuel, as energy to power something?!?

           This episode TERRIFIES me, holy fucking shit. What’s interesting is that the Coven System itself is apparently new, relatively speaking, only about fifty years or so… Eda describes bile magic as having been around long enough for glyphs to be forgotten, but was it really? Did Belos… Did Belos harvest the titan’s bile and graft it to the hearts of others as well?!

           And the atmosphere, the mood around his castle is just so HAUNTING and foreboding… My heart is still racing, people.

           Anyhow, I… I like the beginning, we get to see how messed up Hooty can be beneath it all! And it’s funny that King gets to pop out of the cake first, but not Gus! Eda was making the cloak for Luz, was it in preparation for the day she’d be unable to take care of her? I love the touch of Luz not wanting to go the castle because of the kind of person Belos is, but going just for EDA… And poor Amity! Her broken leg really DID stop her… Maybe that was for the best, though. I don’t think her heart could’ve taken seeing her crush defy the very order she strives to join. On a side note, maybe I’ll need to update my Boscha fic to include the detail of her leg still being broken…

           Belos calls the pre-Coven System the Savage Ages, but was it really? This reeks of colonialism. Whatever he is, I feel like if the mask were to be peeled back, it’d be a scenario of a robot being punctured and explosing FLESH inside… Flesh, I suspect, may not be so well-put together. Flesh barely holding itself together, cooped up inside a metal exoskeleton, more a tin container and a prosthetic than anything… There’s something so disgusting about Belos’ vibes just from this brief clip, like he’s both organic and mechanical, I love it!

           I like the touch of Luz having been in an eating contest, she’s always so wild like that! And jeez Lilith… Her elitist bias really shines here, with how she regards Luz and just tells her to go back to her own world…

           Also, the chest gem is finally acknowledged! Apparently it’s connected to Eda’s magic, after all, or an indicator based on how much the curse is advancing. What do gems do? Are they merely a fixture of the bile sac, or something more? Could Belos’ castle be his attempt at recreating one?

           What’s interesting is that the relics from the ‘Savage Age’ are deemed useless by Lilith, and the Healing Hat so quickly burns and she just dismisses it! Given how she sees this but isn’t at all concerned about Eda not being able to be healed, I imagine Belos had another method and she knew of it…

           And JEEZ Lilith, I had a feeling that you had the flaw of feeling like Eda’s true family and prioritizing what you knew for her as an older sister, feeling more entitled to Eda than Luz!

           I wonder why the relics are weak… ARE they weak, the Greenthumb Gauntlet seemed somewhat powerful? Or did Belos just drain them of power, or maybe they’re fakes? I thought it was sweet for the Oracle orb to say that Gus is always his best self, but now I’m afraid its guidance may not have been so accurate after this revelation…

           Goodness. I’m WEAK. This episode had an increasing sense of foreboding that made my heart race, more and more, slightly easing only to go back to full-pumping! Which makes sense, given the heart-motif of this episode and the setting…

           I’m… I’m done y’all. Peace. I am BREAKING.