#all my friends hate belos

[boygirlctommy]

oh my god i had a dream that i was constructing this huge convoluted theory that hooty was philip wittebane and it was supported by canon

[drev-the-procrastinator]

oh i should rewatch hunting palismen, i said.

surely it'll be fine, i said.

it'll be fine, i said.

it was not fine

[sepublic]

Alright, let's talk about some details from the TOH pitch bible;

A lot of the stuff is what we've already seen and/or in line with the show. What's interesting is that King WAS a former King of Demons at one point, and we would've had an episode where he runs into his old gang and chooses Luz and Eda over them. It makes me wonder if he even had a connection to the Titan in earlier drafts, if he wasn't recognized as one back in the day because he just wasn't big enough, etc. Eda makes a deal to help remove the collar, which IS the source of King's woes, placed by a 'mysterious wizard', I wouldn't be surprised if it was Obron AKA Proto-Belos.

What gets me is that Tibbles originally started off as a friend to the protagonists, while Bump was an antagonist! Coupled with Tibbles being re-elected as mayor after Bump is deposed for corruption. I like the detail of Bump being a parasite controlling a body from the head, because it carried over into his final design with Frewin, and before we got confirmation Frewin was a separate entity, I loved the joke theory that the imp on Bump's head was the REAL Bump!!! Seems that was always the implied story of the design, I love it. Tibbles being the demon fan of human stuff would eventually become Gus instead, so this is technically Proto-Gus too…?

Interesting how Bump and Tibbles' alignments switch completely with one another, and it makes sense that with Lilith no longer the principal in the final draft, it goes to Bump, who ends up being really chill and a subversion in his own right! Interesting, but I do prefer the final Bump we got, and that's fine by me, because when the concepts aren't as interesting as the final product, it means we got the best possible version.

I've already discussed Obron and William in a separate post, and Pupa is someone we've been told about in a previous livestream. Lilith would've been both head of all covens (and not just the Emperor's Coven) AND principal at the same time, and she seems much more of a jerk to Eda in general; She has no qualms with cursing Eda because of a direct order from Obron.

Apparently the curse would've been an AGING spell, which settles my questions on how it would've been portrayed in earlier drafts! This goes along with Eda's older look. Likewise, there would've been a subplot of Eda considering Luz's sacrifice as a way to restore her youth, which likely goes hand in hand with Obron's orders to bring Luz to her, etc. The 'Bloom of Eternal Youth' quest, which Eda and Lilith go through together as their sisterly relationship is explored, feels like a carryover from this past idea.

I think I prefer the final draft; I like that the curse isn't just aging Eda, but also takes away her magic, makes her turn into a beast, etc. I like Lilith being a lot more complicated in her relationship with Eda, instead of just hating her and cursing her without hesitation. The redefining of the curse makes it less about age, and more a chronic illness metaphor, and I like how Eda in the final draft is upfront about having to learn to live with it, deal with it, on her own terms. She isn't trying to find a cure (although Lilith being promised one by Obron feels like a carryover of Eda's moral dilemma with Luz), and that adds another nice dimension to her conflict with Lilith, as well as Gwen. It's pretty frank in its own right about normalizing disability, and those who play an antagonistic role (however brief) are the real weirdoes for making such a fuss about it.

The Bat Queen would've had more of a recurring role based on the description, which saddens me; I always got the vibe she was planned for more, but between all of the other stuff the show had to juggle, plus the shortening, she ended up getting shafted despite being one of the earlier characters. Sashley, Pasha, and Bruno are also interesting, with Pasha in particular giving me freaking Philip Wittebane vibes with his grossness, beard, and anti-demon attitude; He even starts off as a potential friend to Luz because fellow human, only for his true bigotry to show. Makes me wonder if Philip ended up incorporating Pasha, we also have bodily transformation because of consuming magical stuff... P-names.

(Also, I like how in the drawing of typical Demon Realm denizens, I can see an eye demon who resembles a past drawing of Dana's!!!)

Eda was actually a late bloomer, which creates a parallel with Luz in one way, and their relationship is referred to as sisterly (in the final draft it’s explicitly maternal). So Eda wouldn't have been the talented youth, in fact things may have switched between her and Lilith; Lilith's disdain may have partially come from Eda not being as innately talented as her.

Luz and Amity's dynamic seems like it would've had Amity retain a lot of her more stand-offish, pragmatic personality even as a friend with Luz, and this would've come up more; So basically, she'd remain more like S1 Amity. That, or this part of their relationship would've lasted longer, and then we would've seen character development as Amity unlearns a lot of the issues her parents passed on. I also wonder if the Willow who cameos in the pilot was originally supposed to just be an extra separate from ‘Paulina’, but then they combined the two together.

The themes are exactly as I expected, glad to see they're still there, nothing changed! Luz becoming a witch and defying all odds to do so, putting in real work and passion. Celebrating individuality amidst conformity, plus Luz trying to impose her own fictional tropes onto the world, only to have to put that aside... Just like Wing it like Witches. It seems Amity would've had more involvement with Luz's journey to become a witch, though we still do have a carryover of that disconnect with her rant near the end of Covention.

I love the Demon Realm being situated BELOW the Human Realm, way to be subtle about being Hell you guys lol... Apparently portals to the human world are a lot rarer to find and use, which makes me wonder if the pilot's 'dimension port' doesn't have access to the human world; Meaning Amity is Luz's only way back, so her improved relationship with her is linked to getting back home. There's a gag about the Knee having service with the human world, but I can see how that didn't make the cut, for dramatic purposes; It seems like the premise for a S1 episode or at least a B-plot. Would Luz have struggled to communicate with Camila through this, or would her search for wi-fi be for mundane reasons?

Apparently Luz's magic would've required a lot more steps to complete, and I see why the show simplified things down to just glyphs. I wonder if there was always going to be the connection of glyphs as a gift from the Titan, or if the Titan and her story was going to be less intertwined in the overall narrative. There also don't seem to be nine main covens, just the many, many covens, some of which are pretty ridiculous, and Covention's sub-covens seem a callback to that.

Luz's first spell would've been levitation, and THEN she would've infiltrated Hexside, with Amity being a lot subtler about exposing Luz, though in the final draft she does figure that out as the way to go in I was a Teenage Abomination. Yeah, I prefer Light being her original spell, feels so much more symbolic and personal, etc. I wonder if the Titan is even as much of a character in early drafts, and if there's still the whole connection/relationship with the land and learning to respect it aspect. Some of these hypothetical episodes push the idea of Amity as a more episodic, typical popular kid antagonist, though in the final draft, the show goes through her character development and explores Amity's romantic relationship with Luz and its complications.

It seems the idea of the Mirror Ghost was split into Adegast and Vee, with Adegast being the one who offers the easier narrative for Luz to believe in about becoming a witch (only to be a fraud who uses uncanny puppets), and Vee being a doppelganger whom Luz communicates through with mirrors. Interesting how Yesterday's Lie was born from this. We saw the test animation from Spencer Wan for TOH, so I guess we know what Luz's puppet-doppelganger is called! And we can safely call her Proto-Vee. I wonder if she also would've been a sympathetic character, I always thought she reminded me of Lake from Infinity Train (and speculated her to be as such since Enchanting Grom Fright), and now the similarities are even MORE apparent!

Alas, The Good Witch Azura, or 'The Unassuming Princess' seems like it'd have been a lot less dear to Luz's heart, as the pilot also reflects; In the end, it turns out the author is just Eda's ex using her adventures as basis, and including private information. I remember when I once speculated that Raine, before we saw their face, would've been just like this as the author of Azura... Again, I think I prefer Azura as being a lot less mean-spirited in the final draft, and instead a celebration of who Luz is as a person, her relationship with fantasy and fiction, etc. We also would've had a Luz birthday party, the Quincenera we've been hoping for since S1...! In the final draft (and episode) we still get that Human-Demon Realm disconnect, though by that point, Luz is much more attuned and chill with the isles.

There’s definitely more of an episodic, sitcom feel to this pitch bible, especially when you compare Proto-Yesterday’s Lie to its final version. Makes sense, Dana is pitching this to Disney executives, though her statement on Understanding Willow feeling truly like her show makes me wonder if she always intended to push TOH in that more serious, emotional route we got.

[penny-anna]

Post s2 Luz would vent to Hunter like 'im worried I'm a bad person and everyone's gonna hate me' and he'd be like 'full sympathy but as someone who's actually a bad person who's done bad stuff I think you're doing ok' and she'd be like 'no you don't get it, I helped Belos free the collector and it's technically my fault that the day of unity happened and all my friends are stuck in another dimension and might never see their families again and-' and Hunter would cut her off like 'Luz I've killed people'

[adorethedistance]

I Don’t Just Like You - Trevor Zegras x Hughes!Reader

Hockey Masterlist

Warnings: swearing, tension/fighting, jealousy, Dixie lmao

Words: 2161

Summary: Tension builds with Trevor over his new partnership until the two of you confess your feelings.

A/n: Y'all I am so not doing well rn. I am processing a break up and questioning my social circle and im so lonely that I needed to write some angst to cope with it all. Hope yall like this one and maybe it'll get a smut part two depending on whether or not I can handle writing that rn lol. Enjoy!

Moose: call me ASAP

Me: sorry Luke. can’t rn

Moose: Awesome 😎

My hands quake with anxiety as I fiddle with the tarnished silver ring adorning my pointer finger. The moisture of my skin eases the movement of turning the ring around my finger. I hiss when the gemstone catches on the skin of my middle finger and immediately drop my hands. 

Currently, I’m staring down at the risky text I just sent Trevor. About an hour ago he had messaged me:

Trev: hey sorry can’t swing tn after all 

Trev: rain check?

My jaw tightens with contempt and I huff out a sigh as my bottom lip trembles. I feel pathetic for just how impacted I am by his every word. I angrily hit the digital keys of my phone’s keyboard as I type my reply.

Me: really? 

Me: again??

Trev: don’t be like that

I’m not the most confrontational person. On any given day some might say I’m the furthest thing from confrontational. To put it rather plainly, I just don’t like it. I hate the way I get anxiety butterflies in my stomach. I hate absorbing the emotions of the other person, especially when rejection is involved. I hate what projections I’m opening myself up to receiving from the other person. There are too many pitfalls and not enough landing pads. Which is why it’s so out of character for me to press him on this.

Me: like what Trev?

This is the third time in a row Trevor has cancelled plans on me. I don’t know if he’s aware of that. I don’t even know what he’s been up to lately. He’s refused to tell me what he’s been doing instead, which didn’t raise my suspicions by any means until mom sent me an article. She knows about how my crush on Trevor has had roots in our childhoods. 

Trev: you know what I’m talking about

After I stopped playing hockey with my brothers, I was still always around to notice Trevor’s presence in our home. When I moved to California for college, I wanted to chase my music dreams but I didn’t realize it would come at the expense of my support system. Being long distance with my family put me in a hard spot, but having a familiar face to rely on made the adjustment easier. As we spent more time together independent of my brothers, Trevor and I became close friends. The problem was my crush has been growing ever since we became friends, hence why mom sent me an article called, “Did Dixie D’Amelio admit to dating Trevor Zegras?”.

Me: at least say it with your chest

Sent. Delivered. I wait. Trevor’s response bubble appears for a second. It disappears, then reappears, then disappears again. I’m about ready to toss my phone across the room when his message delivers.

Trev: call me

I groan out in frustration and this time actually end up chucking my phone onto my bed. I run my hands through my hair, along the warm expanse of my scalp. A self-soothing gesture by all means. I pace to one side of my room before using the momentum of my steps to start back towards my phone. Just as I have it in my hand, Trevor’s contact picture covers the screen and illuminates in my grasp. I scoff out a sort of half groan and then answer.

“What, Trevor?”

“Hey, Y/n I’m great. Thanks for asking! How are you?” He responds sardonically to my cold greeting. I bite my tongue, torn between tearing into him and the stronger desire to laugh through my rage. He takes my exhale as a cue to continue. “What’s going on, Hughesy?”

In a single moment, my anger dissolves. The tenderness of that nickname, which was once reserved solely for my brothers, now belongs to me. In this moment, I find myself thinking about how grateful I am that Trevor was there for me as I transitioned into college. But the looming threat of a smile quickly vanishes as I remember how that care is nullified by Trevor’s abundantly active dating life.

“Y/nnnn?” Trevor hums into the phone.

“What?” I respond dryly.

“What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong is you cancelling on me for the third time in a row.”

“Is it really the third time in a row?” He asks under his breath, indicating he may not have intended to say it out loud at all. I roll my eyes, still actively fighting the urge to just lay into him.

“Yes, Trevor, it is!” I can practically hear him wince through the phone at the fact that I’m calling him Trevor instead of the default nickname permanently programmed into my phone. 

“Who’s that?” I hear softly over the phone. My heart flutters like a coal mine parakeet in a cage and I bite my lip, willing myself not to cry if it turns out Dixie is on the other side. Trevor whispers back,

“It’s Y/n.”

“Hey, Y/n!” Mason’s on the other end. 

“Not a good time,” Trevor tells him. Mason curses and then apologizes before retreating from Trevor’s general area. “Sorry, you were saying?” Trevor tells me at regular volume.

“You were cancelling on me again.”

“Oh. Right. I…” he switches the phone to the other ear, “I…don’t know what you want me to say.” Hello?! Could he be any more oblivious?!

“I want you to tell me what is going on!” I whine into the phone, “What is it you’re so busy with doing that you can’t see me for a week, huh? I get that you’re a professional athlete and you have a busy schedule. But I know your schedule and I know you still have a decent amount of free time. So what have you been doing?” Trevor breathes, in, then out and says,

“I’ve been seeing someone lately…” I feel my heart shatter into the tiniest fractals of what it once was and I cover my mouth to choke back the growing lump in my throat.

“I can’t do this right now,” I say with the utmost hurt lacing my voice, pulling the phone away from my ear to abruptly hang up on Trevor. I toss my phone on my bed once more, ignoring how the screen lights up with Trevor’s contact picture. It’s a new breed of psychological torture to sit here and ignore the calls, so I leave my phone in my bedroom as I go to splash cold water on my face. 

When I reenter my bedroom, I ignore the buzzing device to put on a comfortable pair of pajamas. He’s called once, twice, a fourth, and a fifth before finally giving up. Despite my phone being silent, I don’t trust it enough to take it with me and leave it to charge on my bed. I settle on the couch to open my new pint of Ben and Jerry’s, putting on my favorite show in the hopes of laughing through the pain. 

Somewhere between first and second episode, I had dozed off after returning the ice cream to the freezer. I’m not sure what it is about crying that knocks me on my ass like that, all I know is that it works. 

I’m abruptly pulled from my sleep when I hear the harsh banging on my front door. I jump up from the couch, the spike in adrenaline carrying me out of my sleepy haze. When I get to the front door, some of the tiredness catches up with me again and I groggily open the front door. Behind it stands Trevor, with sad puppy eyes and a sheepish expression. I can’t help the scowl that comes to rest on my face when I see him, but he doesn’t falter. Instead, he pushes past me to come into the apartment and sits on the couch expectantly. Since there’s no way to physically remove him from my space, I bargain, sitting down on the opposite end of the couch, as far from Trevor as I can manage. He doesn’t let the cold gesture phase him, and scooches obliviously into the center of the couch.

“What’s going on Hughsey?” I scoff at the nickname and Trevor cringes in frustration. “What is this?”

“I don’t know what you’re referring to.”

“Why are you icing me out all of a sudden?”

“Don’t you have somewhere to be?” I ask, spiteful, with malice. 

“Clearly not since I’m here spending time with you.”

“Was that so hard for you to do? I mean, with your busy schedule and all?”

“What are you-” Trevor pauses for a split second. “Wait, are you… jealous? Y/n?”

I want to protest. I want to scream and rant and bite back, how he could be so conceited to think I’d be jealous of a relationship that I previously thought was rumored? But I can’t. 

Because he’s right.

I bite my tongue. There’s nothing else I can do. Not unless I want to make an even bigger fool of myself than I already have.

“Oh my god, that’s totally it. You’re jealous.” Trevor says, complete with a laugh and a sigh. The shame of actually being jealous of a girl I’ve never met, the disappointment of finding out Trevor is dating someone, and the exhaustion from already having cried earlier comes collapsing down on me at once. Hot tears well on the lining of my lashes and I stare at the ground, afraid to draw attention to myself. Upon seeing me cry, Trevor’s smile immediately vanishes and he scoots closer once more.

“Hey, shhh, it’s okay.” He envelops me in a hug that I’m too overwhelmed to reciprocate. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I’m sorry.” 

I merely shake my head, unaware of what I could even say in this moment.

“I was… I was just laughing ‘cause I should’ve known.”

“Should’ve known what?”

“That you’d be jealous.” I wriggle out of the hug and look at Trevor sincerely.

“How would you have known?”

“You know, for as long as I can remember, your brothers have talked about you having a crush on me.” I cower in humiliation, my face glowing hotter than the surface of the sun.

“I wish they wouldn’t have.”

“No?” Trevor asks, genuinely.

“It’s embarrassing,” I confess, fully recoiling from the physical contact he had initiated before. 

“It’s cute.” Trevor earnestly admits as he takes my hand in his. I scoff instinctively but don’t pull my hand away again.

“I don’t need your pity, Trev.” I say so softly he nearly misses the sentiment. Once he processes my worlds, I feel him physically relax next to me at the sound of his familiar nickname.

“Well, what do you need? I’m here now.”

“I honestly don’t know.” I finally dare to meet his eyes. He’s looking at me so sweetly, earnestly. As if I hadn’t just chewed him out two minutes earlier. Then, I look away before I can say what I’m about to say next. “I don’t just like you.” Trevor’s face lifts ever so slightly. The extent of which, one might miss had they not known him a lifetime the way I have.

 “You know… the only reason I started seeing her was to get over you.”

“What?” I ask, sharply whipping my head to stare at Trevor, as if awaiting the reveal that this was just some elaborate prank from the start.

“Yeah. I started dating Dixie because I thought dating someone different would distract me. You know, it’s not a good look to have a crush on your best friend’s little sister.”

My heartrate picks up with his confession. This feels too good to be true. As if real life is waiting for us right outside the front door. The real life that doesn’t see me and Trevor together ever in our lifetimes. Terrified of the change that would occur from letting him walk away, I reach up and hold his face in my hands, kissing him passionately. Trevor wraps his hand around my wrist and kisses me back with twice as much fervor. 

We break apart, out of breath and full of smiles. Trevor looks at me for guidance and we fizzle into a nervous laughter. I reach up and brush my thumb tenderly across his cheekbone. He grabs my hand and turns his head, placing a sweet kiss on my palm. I then reach up and break the moment by ruffling my hand through his hair to mess it up.

“Hey!” He yells, grabbing waist to dig his hands into my sides. I screech with laughter as I try to escape. Trevor eventually yields and slips his hands from my sides to interlace with one another and pull me closer. I scoot in to sit against him, sitting half on top of him as our breathing falls in sync.

“I don’t just like you, too, Hughesy.” I smile.

“...You should probably call Dixie.”

“Oh shit.”

***

A/N: not my best work but not my worst either!

[kindestegg]

The plush under Collector's bed: A totally necessary analysis, trust me

So, as a recap of this scene, before King leaves to visit Eda and Lilith, Collector asks King if he could sleep with François that night.

King reminds Collector that only himself and Luz can hold François, and Collector obliges but asks that he at least leave François there to "watch over him", claiming he "doesn't like being alone".

King does so, and Collector seems satisfied. It's very telling of Collector's development that they never touch François after this interaction, showing respect for King's boundaries.

... Except! This sweet little angel is actually a master trickster! A liar and a fiend!

He had a plush under his bed the whole time!!! In fact I'm pretty sure every shot of their little bedroom planet has the underside of Collector's bed obscured UNTIL King starts to leave and we pan to see the beds from an angle which reveals the plush!

You know what this means, right? Collector could have easily pulled his plush from under his bed and cuddled up with that if he hated sleeping alone so much, but he didn't. Why?

Well, I don't think he was lying about being lonely. Loneliness seems to be a prominent common theme for Collector, both declaring his loneliness back at the start of O' Titan, during a vulnerable moment where he didn't expect anyone to hear him, so he'd have no reason to lie there...

And then also having this acknowledged by King in the current episode, who has been living with him for about two months now, so he would know Collector's state of mind better than most here.

So... what gives? Was Collector really only out to force King to give François to him? Why?

Well, my current theory about this is what François means in this scenario: a connection to King. We know François is very important to King and King does not hide this when he expresses to Collector how he won't let them hold him.

To Collector, being able to sleep with François is the ultimate foolproof way to ensure King won't leave them. First, if King eventually lets them hold him, it signifies King would trust them enough with this and hold them to a regard as high as Luz, which we know Collector seems to be jealous of. I... just realized I should probably analyze that too, huh. Well, all in its due time.

And second, even if King won't allow them to hold François, but leaves them close to Collector in their room, that already acts as a guarantee. A guarantee that King will come back for François eventually, that King won't leave them to sleep alone the entire night.

Whatever the case, François is a symbol, a meter to test their closeness for Collector and King, and considering how many times Collector has lost people they considered friends before (whether those were real friends - in the case of the titan babies - or not - in the other collectors and Belos' case -) and have been double crossed by Belos, it's no wonder they have trust issues and want to make sure King does care about keeping them company.

So... that's it, then? He probably threw his original plush under the bed and then lied to King he lost it and is now constantly trying to get King to let him either hold François or at least keep him close to him as a connection between him and King?

Well... yeah, but if you'd allow me, I'd also like to talk a little on the symbology of the plush here. You see, while we can't make out the full of what the plush looks like, it appears to be some sort of canine with pointed ears and a poofy tail. Maybe it could be a titan, even a plush replica of King, but... I don't think so. There seems to be no stitching around the neck to signify it has a skull like titans do.

See, I think this is a fox plush. And why it is important in a metatextual sense that it is a fox requires a look into lots of different possibilities, each enriching the narrative in a different way.

For one, in popular folklore, foxes are seen as tricksters, lying and cheating their way into what's most convenient for them. Villain or hero, the fox is always winning people over through tricks.

This would align with the very nature of the plush being thrown under Collector's bed: it calls back to the fact he's tricking King with this. And yes, while Collector does have his problem with "fibbers", I don't think he's above more harmless tricks, we've seen him joke around with King before, purposefully feigning ignorance to mess with him, and the very nature of how he splattered Belos was through him lying that he wasn't mad. He may dislike it when a major lie is told, but little lies and sarcasm are no stranger to him.

Another possible connotation is the fact that rabbits and foxes are naturally prey and predator. François is a rabbit, Collector's plush is a fox. King, the member of the species that was hunted by the collectors, holds the prey animal, while Collector holds the predator animal...

The position of the plushes is also important here if we go with this interpretation: François is on top of King's bed, indicating he does not conceal he is the prey here and is well aware of this. He says so as much: "this whole time I was scared of making him mad". In general he behaves like a scared animal around Collector, despite their efforts to put them in equal grounds and the fact they have spent so long together and made considerable progress in their friendship.

Collector's fox on the other hand is under their bed, signifying Collector has concealed their fox, or maybe more appropriately, buried and left the fox behind. They may be part of the species that wiped out all the titans, the predators that so mercilessly hunted King's species as prey, but they want no part in this. Their backstory seems to involve wanting to play with titans and denouncing the other collectors after all, likely being bitter at them for ruining everything and hunting their new playmates to near extinction.

Alternative readings also include a few possible pop culture references. A possible one is the prominent role of the Fox in the Little Prince. While Hunter is the one who has been nicknamed "little prince" by Darius, Collector still seems more thematically similar to the character, being a child who came from space:

The similarity also hands itself to the fact King does somewhat resemble a fox with his canine qualities and fluffy tail, and in the story, the Fox was one of the first friends the Little Prince makes on Earth, and the one to teach him how to approach someone who does not trust you yet, to "tame" them.

Yet another possible reference this could be is the Disney movie "The Fox and the Hound":

Which seems like something I should frankly make a whole separate post comparing the eerie similarities it harbors to the current dynamic Collector and King hold. But to summarize, if you don't know the movie, it follows a hunting dog pup and a fox pup that become friends at a young age, and their friendship must overcome advertisities unique to their species.

If this is a reference to this particular movie, this once again has a different reading: Collector is clearly the hunting dog here, not the fox. For him to keep a fox under his bed would signify he wants to keep King close to him, safe under his bed and protected. This could even be a call back to the very last scene the titular fox and hound in the movie share: Copper, the hound, positions himself above the fallen Todd, the fox, protecting him. The plush being under the bed to mirror this would make sense.

Whew! I think that's everything that I had in mind to comment on this particular tiny easter egg. Whatever meaning you take from this about Collector's mysterious plush, I hope I could at least inspire something in you!

[thousandyearphantombunker]

The Owl House Critical Post, scroll away now I don't know if I am being too harsh in this post but I wrote it anyway so if you don't wanna read something potentially upsetting this is a warning (to those who decide to read please tell me if I'm being too harsh)

I remember initially hating how the show handled its villains, they all felt like jokes, they never felt like threats or like they provided a meaningful challenges for the main cast, they never had any real depth or complexity. but i bit my tongue, I was told that I was basically a dumbass for complaining that Bump openly breaks a law that's supposed to be punishable by death so that Luz could fulfill her witchy fantasy and that he wasn't arrested. the show could've had him make the multiclass student thing be something underground- boom it lets luz live out her fantasy but doesn't ignore what was established about the setting and creates potential stakes if these underground classes ever got discovered! That already made me angry but the cult thing is what I wanted to complain about- i only had basic ass knowledge about cults and TOH fails at portraying that crap, most people in the EC can just quit and do so in a way that makes it feel like they're just quitting a job, it doesn't feel like they fear losing their friends or sense belonging and community, they don't feel like they're anything but jokes. Leaving a cult is scary, often times cults will send their followers into the real world and set them up to have bad experiences so they'll come running back, they'll hire thugs to scare them into staying or position them in away so that they suffer (sending them out without money or the skills to survive), they humiliate those who begin to ask questions so that they stay in line. guilt tripping, putting members against each other, cutting off contact with the rest of the world! The show only adds the whole 'forced to fight on a mountain' thing for flavor! Everytime it brings up actual stuff cults do it feels like it's more for flavor than actually writing this topic with sensitivity- look at how they treat Lilith! Imo It feels like the show insulting people for ever trusting belos, treating them like they're braindead and could've just realized fairly easily that he was evil. It's the most egregious with hunter who was basically fucking born into the EC. the show is also pretty black and white, which is curious for a show that gets praise for its portrayal of religious trauma. You think the show would be more grey. I did deeper research into cults and just got SO tired of people talking about how good the show was at conveying such a heavy topic. The titan reveal also doesn't help- Luz is told by an all powerful deity that she is the chosen one basically and is told that old man is evil and needs to go down- isn't that the same justification that belos uses for his actions- not saying belos should've gotten redemption or forgiveness but this feels wrong. He deserved to die don't get me wrong but using this justification feels gross. What's even worse is that the titan made Philip's life harder on purpose- ah yeah that brainwashed cult victim would totally change his mind especially if you make his life harder- yeah I would've preferred if belos was depicted in a flashback just having a bad time on the boiling isles and cherry picked those bad experiences to justify his actions. Also I hate that the show just writes belos off as greedy and glory seeking when it could've conveyed a message about how people can get absolutely get warped by religious dogma. I do wonder though if I'm being too harsh because TOH is for kids and I was told it would be hard to portray this stuff in a way kids could understand. I can come up with ways to make the breaking the law openly thing less egregious but I am struggling to think of ways the show could have handled the cult thing, I am aware that maybe I'm accidentally saying stuff that is kind of bad faith but this is my truth. I feel like TOH wasn't good at villains and it sure as hell didn't write cults well

[fandom-discussions-with-avery]

Lumity: wasted potential of the show

Lumity isn't as bad as Huntlow. They were planned since the beginning, they had time for development, even if it was a bit rushed. But they still have writing problems that we should address:

1. Amity's character almost dissapeared. During first season she was the most interesting character out of all, despite the fact that her arc was rushed and involved retcone. But after her redemption, she turned into sweet awkward nerdy girl. It's not realistic in any way to become completely different person in a couple of months, and it also made her boring. She's the second of three ex-villians who got the same new characterisation, which is bad by itself, but she also lost her special chemistry with Luz which we saw in Grom episode. This episode was Lumity's peak you can't deny it

2. Amity is just Luz's gf and nothing more. She has nothing to wish except being with Luz and seeing her being happy. No ambitions, no goals, no new friends. Just Luz. She thinks only about her, she talks only about her, she does everything only when it's about Luz. Only exception is Reaching Out, but it was also turned into Luz's thing. As much as I hate Huntlow, Hunter at least had something except love for Willow. It's bad not only because it makes Lumity a copy of awful mlw couple trope, it also doesn't show hurmful tendency (dependence on a partner and being obsessed with them) as something bad.

3. Lumity made Luz look bad. You know, dating your first friend's ex bestie and ex main bully is kinda messed up. It wouldn't be that problematic if Willow and Amity had already become friends again, but it's not what we've got.

4. Mistrust between Luz and Amity. I agree that the reason is that Luz is a bully victim and Amity reacted hurshly several times when Luz did something wrong. But it doesn't change the fact that it shows another hurmful idea that good partner has to forgive every bad thing and in the wrong for being offended. This moment of Amity would be cute if it appeared ones and clearly showed that she has changed and now she's much more patient with Luz. But in canon, Amity just allows Luz to treat herself like shit bu lying to her (and not only her) over and over again. And Luz lying three times (even if lie about Belos is justified) about things that are important for their shared future and for Amity's safety don't paint her in a good light. There's a line between not being too hursh to partner when they did something wrong and being a doormat for a partner because you were wrong in the past.

5. Imbalance in the effort invested in the relationship. As it is clear from my points that I made earlier, Luz is everything to Amity, while Amity for Luz is just a girlfriend. Amity's doing everything for Luz (which is not good), while Luz isn't even prioritize saving Amity over just being with Eda. In season three they barely interact at all. And now it isn't about Luz being the wrong one: it wasn't the right time for cute couple stuff. Actually, if you think about it, Luz's attitude towards Amity is much healthier. It's just too miserable to see Amity being Luz's loyal puppy who buried all her goals and ambitions, while Luz treating Amity like she treats other friends.

In conclusion, I don't say that they had to be like catr*dora or stol*z, no way. Healthy relationship should be portrayed in media, especially for kids. But there's the difference between being called healthy and being actually healthy. Lumity isn't abusive, isn't even toxic, it's just not a relationship goal. In the ideal world, their flaws should've been addressed and resolved in the show, so they can actually become healthy couple.

[flower-boi16]

Hunter's Insecurities About Being a GrimWalker and Season 3's Poor Resolution To It.

So since my last post covering my issues with how Season 3 handles Hunter's grief of lossing FlapJack is gaining some traction I think It's best to mention another part of Hunter's character that Season 3 kinda fumbles; Hunter's insecruities about being a grimwalker.

In Hollow Mind Hunter finds out that he isn't really Belos' nephew but rather the latest addition to a long line up of clones of Belos' brother called grimwalkers, and that Belos has been lying to him for his whole life about who he is and is true origin. This is truama that follows Hunter for the rest of the series just like Luz's truama she gains in the same episode.

And also like Luz, Hunter keeps his origins a secret from the rest of the hexsquad because he believes that they'll all hate him once they find out his true origins, and so he'll lose the first real friends he ever had. Thanks to Them is the climax of Hunter's arc but this is a loose end that it chooses to leave, and For the Future tries to resolve this like it tried to do with Hunter's grief of lossing FlapJack...and it fails to do that as well.

It's at least more of a resolution than what it gave for Hunter's new truama but it still leaves a lot to be desired. The way this gets resolved is Gus just. Randomly, out of nowhere, telling Hunter that he knew he was a grimwalker this whole time and but didn't know how to tell him. This feels like a very...unnatural and rushed resolution to Hunter's insecruity of who he is and even then it still doesn't feel like much of a resolution.

We never get a scene where the others find out about this and tell Hunter that they still love him no matter who or what he is, which would be akin to how they comforted Luz in Thanks to Them once her secret got out. Instead, Hunter's insecruity involving being a grimwalker and how is friends will react doesn't get properly addressed and glossed over, just like Hunter's grief of lossing FlapJack. His insecruities are just ignored by the narrative and we're supposed to assume he over came off-screen like with his grief involving FlapJack, which sucks.

Season 3 (particularly FTF), feels like it tries to resolve the loose ends of Hunter's character that were left over but it can't really do that in satisfying way because of it's restrictions.

[anti-spop]

Hello! I just saw ur post saying g hintlow is badly written in your opinion. Could you please tell me why you think so? I'm kinda curious?

I also didn't really like huntlow since it kinda came outta no where all of a sudden but what do you think??

*cracks knuckles* (just kidding lol)

Honestly, I just think H/untlow has several writing problems. I'll be pointing out the main reasons I think so under the cut. If anyone who follows me or comes across this post ships H/untlow, it's totally fine, just please don't send me hate for what I'll say here:

Hunter and Willow have nothing in common. The show forces the "half a witch" thing onto Hunter despite the fact he was never called that anywhere in the show, he's usually just called annoying or a brat. Besides, Hunter could be a metaphor for disability considering he doesn't have natural magic powers (until the show decided to kill off Flapjack, but I'll get into that later). However, Willow is not the case. She may not be good at abomination magic, but she's incredibly powerful with plant magic. But for some reason, the show treats these experiences as equals, even though that's a thing Hunter has more in common with Luz than Willow (and in this case I'm not talking through a romantic lens).

Hunter and Willow are out of character. Hunter, the prodigy and the emperor's right hand, becomes utterly pathetic and wimpy just so Willow can look like a badass girlboss. And Willow then just comes off as cruel sometimes. I appreciate Willow for being nice but also being a badass, but even then, Willow was never cruel prior to her meeting Hunter. She apologized to Luz when she realized she could've hurt her, and when Willow met Gus she was patient and understanding, teaching him a breathing technique to calm him down. I'm not saying Willow has to be overly nice, but she just randomly captures Hunter to make him join her flyer derby team. And at this point she doesn't even know that Hunter is the Golden Guard, so she just... attacks a random kid and scares him for no reason. Worse yet the fact that she drags him into the ground THE SAME WAY BELOS DOES in Hollow Mind. Even after Hunter tells her he's "half a witch", Willow isn't patient with him, she's just a brute again. Which is my next point:

Unhealthy power dynamic. Hunter refers to Willow as "captain", and it's honestly a red flag to me. I am NOT saying Willow is abusive. However, we have to remember that Hunter's abuser uses his position of power to mistreat him. Hunter looks up to someone who's not an equal to him and in turn, he does not value himself. And Willow never seems to realize it and explicitly say that she's not his leader, she's his friend. This pairing is basically the girlboss/malewife model, but not only does it not make sense, it's not healthy for Hunter to fall in love with someone who has power over him, and who might be paralleled to his abuser as I pointed out before.

Ruined character arcs. I think most of us agree that Hunter's character arc was unsatisfactory as he became another Caleb without ever processing it, but Willow was definitely done dirty as well. Willow never had her own episode, not even Understanding Willow was about her, it was more about Amity. Any Sport in a Storm also focuses more on Hunter. Even Gus had more character development than Willow, despite the fact he was also done dirty in the end. Willow's breakdown wasn't carefully developed, it was never hinted in Thanks to Them or anywhere before that. It came out of nowhere in For the Future, and in turn it just pushed Hunter's character (and Gus, literally) aside so he could save Willow. And this is yet ANOTHER point I hate:

Willow only reciprocates Hunter's crush when he gains powers. Seriously, for the longest time I didn't even think H/untlow was going to be mutual. Only Hunter seemed to be attracted to Willow, by blushing and being shy around her. Willow never seems to see Hunter in another light in the following episodes, not even in Thanks to Them despite them living with each other for months. That only happens in For the Future, which left a bad taste in my mouth. Like I said before, Hunter might be considered disabled, but his disability is "cured" with magic, and ONLY THEN does Willow fall for him. That contradicts the entire message of the show, which welcomes and celebrates disabilities.

And overall, Hunter and Willow never have a genuine emotional connection. Hunter has more connection and things in common with Luz, Gus, and even Amity (and sadly, his parallels with Amity were never really explored after Eclipse Lake). Hunter and Luz don't have magical powers. Hunter and Gus are both taken advantage of by others, and they have an identity crisis, not knowing how to trust themselves anymore. Hunter and Amity then, they were both raised in an abusive household and they're expected to be someone they're not, and they have to push everyone else down so they can be better. But Hunter and Willow don't share this kind of connection. They might touch on the "half a witch" thing but that never deepens. And in For the Future, it comes off as rushed, and Hunter has to push down his grief for Flapjack to save Willow. Not to mention Gus and Hunter never get to talk about Caleb - Gus always knew about Hunter's secret, and not even THAT gets a satisfying payoff because the show is more concerned in making H/untlow canon. But that would have to be its own post.

Sorry this got long, lmao. I have very strong feelings about how H/untlow was handled. I actually used to ship it at first, I think it COULD'VE worked. But they don't even seem to be close friends at the very least. It sucks because even R/aeda was written better despite the fact it had less screentime than L/umity. Sure, Eda and Raine were ex-lovers, but I thought their relationship was written very well for the most part. I don't know how the writers dropped the ball with H/untlow this way.

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

I always thought it was strange that Philip donated his diary to the library. The book literally contains information on how to create a portal.Luz was only able to create a defective portal, but still a portal, imagine what would have happened if it had fallen into the hands of a very intelligent witch. That would have complicated his plans even more. I know that the book was stored in the Forbidden Stacks with other forgotten books and that the chances of someone getting the book were very low. But the risk was still very high, and we're talking about the super genius who discovered quantum mechanics in the 1700s.

Philip Fucking Wittebane: I'm going to donate my diary with important information on how to create a portal and I mentioned the existence of an unknown entity to a bookstore that is run by the vile creature that I hate so much for no apparent reason! It's not like there are intelligent witches who can steal your life's work to cause trouble!

I understand that Luz needs the diary to advance the plot, but a puritan witch hunter donating a book with important information to a library with beings he hates for unknown reasons is very difficult to digest.

The only theory I've heard that could explain this is the Stable Time Loop one: Philip needs Luz and Lilith to go back in time to look for him and help him get the Collector disc. This means that in Elsewhere and Elsewhen, he realizes that the Crab Maiden and Aunt Gertrude are actually time travelers who used his diary, they help him obtain the disc, so to ensure that the duo arrive in the first place, Philip has to leave his diary in a public yet secure setting, hence the library.

It is a risky move, especially since at any point in time it could've been lost, stolen, or as you said, used to build a different portal. And as we saw in the show, the echo mouse ate a good chunk of it. Fortunately, it was an echo mouse and not some other critter. But I guess that was a risk Philip knew he had to take.

My problem is that the narrative ties in ALL of Luz's season 3 arc to this one episode and how she feels guilty about it when she really shouldn't. Within the episode itself, Lilith did most of the work by solving the puzzle, Luz was just bait. Philip had been working on getting the Collector disc for probably months and he even had a complex teleportation glyph to get to the Titan skull. This guy was prepared, he just needed people gullible yet smart enough to help him. If it weren't for Luz and Lilith, then someone else would've been the sacrifice. The Collector disc would still be found. He already found 3 of the 4 glyphs (which apparently, Titan magic is incredibly rare and difficult to see!), so Luz showing him the light glyph doesn't really have any long term effects.

The same is true for her "helping" find the Collector. It was bound to happen eventually because the narrative ties everything evil back to Belos while the other characters are mere victims of him. All she did was save him time and effort and frankly, that's not enough to justify 3 long episodes of wangsting. All it is is a convoluted way to make the hero "help" the villain while still making them the purest example of victimhood possible.

Lastly, the narrative NEVER brings up Lilith's involvement; there's never a moment that the two realize that they were played and how terrible they would feel that they played a part in the Collector's destruction (only for Eda to conk their heads together, tell them to stop moping, and take this Collector kid down).

It's all about how Luz feels and then is given 4 different conclusions that she apparently doesn't learn from: Hunter tells her it's not her fault because Belos always uses people (the fact that the boy who was just possessed and had his best friend killed has to emotionally support her is sickening to me), her mom tells her it's okay to make mistakes and that she made a mistake in not allowing Luz to be who she was, (to which she responds that all she wanted was to be understood. Not sure how that connects to her guilt but whatever), Luz thinks her friends secretly hate her for helping Belos so she might as well be him (but then she snaps out of this when Puppet Amity misquotes Azura.........ok then), and finally, Papa Titan validates her by calling her a Good Witch and that Belos is just a big ol' meanie.

This isn't an arc, this is a series of characters coddling her but she doesn't take any of their words to heart until God herself intervenes. There's this huge imbalance between what the character did and how they react to it and the narrative wastes so much time on an arc that just makes Luz feel selfish and just serves to demonstrate how little she's grown as a character.

[crimeronan]

Imagine Luz waking up in the in between realm and seeing the fight with the cubes. Seeing Hunter’s desperate fury and Belos’s struggle to finish him off 👀. The fight could probably be big enough to alert some people. Perhaps… even Lilith and Amity? Who just arrive and see Luz lying there…? Belos being like “he killed the princess, get him”, while Amity and Lilith know that’s not possible and are just shellshocked. All the while Luz is in the in between watching everything go down and desperately wanting to go kick Belos’s ass and tell everyone she’s actually ok and the titan is cool.

When she eventually comes back as Titan Luz, Belos’s christian puritan ass being so freaking shocked he’s like wait a minute you were dead. What did you see? How are you back? And then she delivers the final blow, “i can talk to the titan bish and he hates you” and bam destroys him.

What would even go on in Hunter’s mind? Belos’? Amity’s? Luz as she wakes up and realizes she’s dead? OooOooOoo goodness I LOVE THIS

HELL YEAH, LET'S GET LILITH AND AMITY IN HERE. always need as many people to witness the temporary character death as possible. Maximum Drama Baybey

belos going from trying to kill hunter to an immediate "he's MURDERED my POOR SWEET DAUGHTER" as soon as there are witnesses.... jesus christ. yeah that's on brand.

i think lilith would freeze and not know how to react, at first. but amity.....

this is back early enough in the timeline that amity and hunter aren't yet friends -- if anything, they're the Opposite of friendly. so hunter shouts at amity that he's Lying, he's making it up, he killed luz, don't LISTEN to him-

but he doesn't expect it to Work. because amity is a coven soldier before she's anything else. and amity only knows hunter as someone who can be violent, and nasty, and cruel.

except, like. amity has Seen hunter interact with luz. she knows he loves her, even if she doesn't exactly Get It. and more importantly, hunter is clearly out of his fucking mind with grief. and pain. while belos is clearly trying to save face.

so amity is like. yeah. alright. the emperor is full of bullshit.

time to wreck my entire life for a guy i hate!!

and she jumps into the fight. to protect hunter. i'm particularly fond of the idea of her dragging him across the room with teleportation magic & hunter being like "no, blight, you've gotta believe me, LISTEN to me" while she's like SHHH. SHUT UP SHUT UP DUMBASS. LET ME GET YOU OUT OF THIS

except belos makes it clear that he intends to execute hunter on the spot. and amity is like. well. unfortunately i will Not be holding him still for you. so. i guess we have to fight :/

and you Know that the moment belos lashes out at amity, lilith is going to go apeshit. the luz situation might make her freeze in horror/uncertainty, but when amity is threatened, lilith can move So Fucking Fast.

SOOOOOO fucking fast.

Delicious. touches the soil.

[astrolavas]

what are your favourite toh dynamics?

AGHGHGHHHHH OKAY, SO- this is mostly gonna be me talking abt hunter dynamics cuz kxjsjks i'm predictable, that's where my brainrot lies, but boy. i love toh dynamics so much

my probably Favorite favorite dynamics are hunter & flapjack and hunter & luz.

like, flapjack being hunter's first ever friend, the first instance of someone caring abt him genuinely and unconditionally, the first step to him breaking free from belos... the fact that he brought so much love and joy into hunter's life.

hunter had always had so much love in his heart, he loved his "uncle", but he'd never known what being loved was supposed to feel like; he thought love was conditional, and angry outbursts were just a normal part of it. but then flapjack came into his life and showed hunter what it felt like to love and BE LOVED BACK. he helped him open up, helped him find ppl who'd care abt him, helped him realize that whatever belos felt towards him…. wasn't love, that being loved wasn't supposed to feel like how he felt near belos; but that being loved was supposed to feel GOOD and WARM. (hunter being near tears because flapjack offered him a half of his berry instead of getting angry and lashing out at him like he'd predicted he would, since that's what he was always used to..... not comprehending this amount of kindness was even a possibility UGHHHGH)

they genuinely cared abt/for each other so much. flapjack was with hunter every step of the way, he supported him ALWAYS and he helped him and was such a big comfort in the scariest and most uncertain moments of hunter's life; like, this little magical bird loved his boy like no one else in the entire world. he was always by hunter's side and always indulging that boy's dumb ideas kxjsjk ughhh... the way flapjack didn't even hesitate to sacrifice his own life so that his boy could live, and even though he's gone, a part of his soul will always live inside of hunter. and hunter also cared abt flapjack so much, that was his BEST FRIEND. the apple of his eye!!!! the way belos almost crushing flapjack was the only thing that managed to give hunter enough strength and motivation to break through belos' possession and take back control of his own body. the way hunter always made sure that flapjack had the best care he could possibly have offered him, he loved him and still DOES... and always will. just!!!! gah. hunter and flapjack...

now, hunter and luz's dynamic is also just...... SOOOO SO interesting and full of SO many little nuances. how much it progresses, how much they go through together, how much they change. the fact that they started off on the wrong foot, on "opposite sites", but even then luz didn't consider hunter an enemy- they bickered a lot and luz didn't hold back from calling hunter out but ever since hunting palismen she saw him as hunter, not just the golden guard; and then as time progressed, they slowly grew to care abt each other and became some of the most important ppl in each other's lives.

thinking abt hollow mind, how traumatic of an event it was and how that mutual shared trauma that only they can understand affected and strengthened their bond. how luz gradually went from being angry/irritated at hunter for defending belos to being more protective of him and worried for his safety when she saw what his and belos' relationship REALLY looked like, that this situation wasn't safe for hunter, that he needed help, that he needed to be away from belos asap. her offering him to stay at the owl house, assuring him that everything was going to be okay as he was being pulled underground..... GOD. hunter immediately switching from calling luz "human" to her name after finding out the truth.

thinking abt their secret-keeping deal and how it rly wasn't healthy for them at ALL because they kept comforting each other from their VERY similar perspectives/stances, which just further locked in their mentality of "haha yeah they'll hate both of us when they find out our secrets!" during their stay in the human realm. how they were ensuring each other's fears by relating to each other; like a circle. but nevertheless, they still cared about each other and have only grown to care about each other even more throughout the few months and, ah!!!! them becoming so comfortable in each other's presence to the point where they allowed themselves to be vulnerable and voice their fears and worries around each other. luz calling hunter family and hunter truly letting his emotions out and letting himself cry next to another person for the first time in, like… EVER…….. HHHGHGHGHHH !!!!!

there's just so many factors to their dynamic, i love it so much....

but just in general, i love all the different relationships hunter has with everyone so much. emerald trio and all the distinctive dynamics within it... GAHHHHH hunter and gus, hunter and willow, willow and gus; they're all so unique and independently interesting and built upon, which makes the whole trio just WORK, so naturally. they're best friends, they're the trio ever, they care abt each other... ugh. LOVE THEM. you don't understand how much emerald trio brainrot i've got, they torment me on a daily basis.

hunter and gus... labyrinth brothers... they've got such fun, supportive friendship. both treated as "prodigies" of sort, both knowing what it's like to feel naive or used. both just wanting the best for one another. nerds (affectionate), i love them sm...

huntlow, how well they fit together and how supportive they are of one another... they just work so well because they're truly equals, their relationship is full of understanding and respect, but also comfort, and silliness. they're silly! and fun! and they get each other, and comfort/protect each other when the other truly needs it, just- ughhgh the bi4pan couple ever...... they're so good.

gus and willow, how they were each other's first ever friend (willow was gus' first genuine friend and gus was willow's first friend ever since amity suddenly broke it off with her)... how they've been inseparable since they met and know each other so well.

emerald trio, man

i love the potential of hunter and amity's dynamic as well; he may not be as close with her as he is with other members of hexsquad but there's stuff that they just get abt each other's home/family situations. them having this... playful/bickery dynamic at times but still being able to have serious, comforting conversations abt things they both relate to when they need to >>>> (also no, they wouldn't genuinely hate each other, and amity wouldn't ever threaten hunter or hold a grudge cuz of what happened at eclipse lake, like some ppl seem to think; that's not what their canon interactions or personalities suggest to us at all)

hunter and vee's dynamic also had SOOOO much potential, i will forever mourn that we didn't get to see it on-screen cuz of the shortening. ugh... the complex nature of hunter having been the golden guard and vee also having had a very traumatizing past related to the emperor's coven. her being distrustful of hunter at first, being uneasy in his presence; hunter also feeling guilty solely cuz of his past involvement in the emperor's coven and staying away from vee himself, in order not to make her more uncomfortable. then, slowly, gradually, them becoming friends... hunter assuring vee he isn't going to hurt her; vee noticing that some of hunter's behaviors are worrying (like maybe him flinching when camila raises her hand a little too fast near him, or him saying sth deeply disturbing that he considers normal, etc etc); them talking... vee finding out what hunter's life at the emperor's coven was actually like, what his relationship with belos was like. them realizing they actually have a lot in common, that they were both mistreated by belos, both his victims. getting to know each other and being supportive of each other's experiences. i could even imagine that hunter could tell vee that he's a grimwalker at some point, before ttt, making her the second person to know. if she expressed sth abt being one of the few last remaining basilisks or belos' experiment, or a species brought back from the dead, hunter would want to show that he sympathizes by relating to her, cuz that's how he shows he cares and understands. and the thing that relates him to this the most is his grimwalker identity. and so they could talk abt it too, maybe... (and the stakes here wouldn't be as high as sharing his secret to willow and gus was to hunter, since he was truly afraid of being rejected there; he thought he'd lose his best friends forever if they knew the truth abt him)

hunter and darius' dynamic..... gah. there's so much complexity and nuance here, so much potential to explore their past as well as future. with darius taking hunter in, there's definitely a LOT they must've worked on during those first few months. there's this specific trauma that has come from their stay in the coven, the specific ways in which this hostile environment had affected their behaviours and the way they both acted... that's definitely not sth that was just automatically dealt with, they had to work through that.

we know darius cared abt and respected his mentor a lot, so much to the point where he thought hunter wasn't worthy to be the next golden guard and was taking that feeling out on him, thinking he didn't deserve to inherit such important title after the previous GG's death; didn't rly respect or care abt hunter until any sport in a storm. i feel like darius definitely had a lot of guilt abt the way he treated hunter in the past, so moving forward he really tried his best, especially since hunter's had this deep need to impress him and make him proud and all. he wanted that kid to have a good life and to stay safe. we know their relationship has progressed throughout the rest of season 2, with the implication of them growing closer and spending more time together, but even as of watching & dreaming, it all definitely wasn't just sunshine and rainbows + darius rly didn't have much experience in being a parent. but he tried his best, darius (and eberwolf) definitely did everything in their power so that hunter could have the best possible environment to live in, and eventually they've worked through this complicated past and post-coven habits, and made their living space a comfortable home... made sure to always be supportive to hunter, to accomodate his needs, made sure he isn't overworking himself or trying to "earn" the right to live with them; made sure that he's flourishing and taking care of himself and being a kid. made sure he feels loved and safe and sleeps well and hgghh yeah....... also, thinking abt darius and hunter sharing that experience of grief, abt darius teaching hunter how to sew, abt how darius sent hunter on that mission to "keep luz safe" to keep him away from the danger of the day of unity... man!!!! (i do wish we'd seen their relationship progress and develop on-screen more though, rather than in the background/through subtext... but h)

hunter and camila's relationship is also... SO precious to me. the fact that during their first meeting, she made sure to let him know he doesn't have to be overly respectful to her, that they're on an equal ground; he kneeled and she told him to never do that again. hunter's stay at camila's was the first time he was under long-term care of an adult who truly cared abt his well-being. lots of it was probably so confusing to him, cuz of how different it was from his relationship dynamic with belos, and it was definitely trial-and-error in many instances, and it was a while until these more healthy habits started to feel more natural to hunter, but it also made him feel loved. apprecciated. safe. i just know camila was always just... so patient with hunter. never raised a hand at him, made sure he'd never fear her, didn't let him overwork himself... she taught him how to use a sewing machine, told him all abt wolves. she definitely picked up on some of hunter's behaviours and deduced what it meant regarding his family past, and tried her best to make him feel comfortable. just!!!!! the fact that this was the first time where hunter truly felt cared for, where he lived in safe conditions..... GAHghghhhh (thinks abt the scrapped ttt credits idea featuring hunter helping camila out at her vet clinic. so normal abt it... i love winning... brainrot lvl 2000. man...)

there are so many more hunter dynamics that exist in my head...... hunter and raine, them being able to bond abt their (very traumatic) possession experience and their post-possession scars; raine being one of the very few ppl who seemed to have been nice to hunter in the coven, rather than cruel or dismissive of him. the fact that hunter (and dell) canonically helped fix raine's palisman after their battle with belos. GAHHHGHH...

hunter and the clawthornes; the fact that he works with dell, gwendolyn and the bat queen, that he canonically has been mentored by them!!! the fact that he and the clawthornes are in a way related but haven't discovered it yet, but are going to discover it eventually (love to imagine eda and lilith's reactions cuz this is like, comedy material). he works with them, he spends there so much time... i just know they've grown to be fond of that boy, he's like their unofficial grandson.

hunter and king, and their identity-related arcs. finding out you've been lied to your whole life and that you're the last representant of an extinct/legendary species, after thinking you were sth else all these years.... man! also the fact that king wrote one of hunter's favorite books xksjjsk AND hunter's whole...... religious trauma thing with "titan has big plans for you" versus king being an actual titan. AND the fact that king saw the uncountable piles of bones and skeletons of hunter's "family", the other golden guards, grimwalkers. do you see the vision-

even hunter and the collector! the fact that since the collector didn't understand death, they thought belos murdering all the grimwalkers and then making new ones was him just playing and then "fixing" the grimwalker, rather than actually KILLING a whole bunch of people. the collector realizing this... hunter having mixed feelings knowing how they didn't see grimwalkers (him included) as people and feeling bitter remembering how they spoke abt him with belos in the memory he'd seen in hollow mind, but also knowing they were belos' victim too, and it wasn't entirely their fault; that they know better now. sympathizing with that... the fact that both hunter and the collector have a traumatic, abusive past with belos; they were both manipulated and mistreated by him, used for his own selfish goals. it all coming together to just two kids with a complicated past who've gone through terrible things, trying to heal… hhgh

and soooo many more! i love lumity, i love raeda, i love the collector and king's friendship, the owl trio, luz and camila's dynamic, i hate-love belos and hunter's relationship cuz i love how it's written but Uggh. GOD. PAIN.... but it's written so very well. philip and caleb's dynamic is too, it's so interesting. and more! there are just so, so many good, interesting dynamics in toh, i could brainrot abt them forever...... man.

[sepublic]

Speaking of; The Owl House's pitch bible got leaked as well! So while I look for the rest of it, let’s examine some interesting tidbits I found on Proto-Belos, or 'Obron' as he was once known, and William AKA Proto-Hunter!

Can I just say, I'm quite smug to know that Belos resurrecting the Titan as his endgame was always the original plan? I called it from the start! It was also kinda obvious, but c'mon. The Bionicle fan in me was obsessed.

I'm not surprised about the mentions of Pupa, or the name Obron or even the appearance; We've actually seen all of this before! But what does make me curious is the mention of two other councilors... So there's supposed to be a trio? Again, I always bring up the three statue motif in my speculation about the original plans of the show, I wonder if there's any connection there. Would Kikimora have been one of the other councilors, and who would've been the third? And it seems the coven system was always a thing, early on at least.

Yeah, the mention of '500 years' and the connection to William, etc. Even as Obron he was supposed to have been a human witch hunter turned actual witch. Comparing this to the pilot we got, it may not be Obron that the characters are referring to, since he's not the Emperor. But maybe he declared himself Emperor since he was basically the only one in charge by that point.

Makes me wonder if he hates humans under the delusion of 'I hate modern humans'. He hates what humanity has become and he's taking out his anger on modern humans; We also know the main reason he wants Luz in the pilot, to awaken the Titan. I presume Obron preserved William in stasis and hid him away, only for Luz to wake him up earlier than intended. I can imagine the scene/episode where Obron realizes William has been awake and roaming about for a while now...

There's the confirmation that Prince William and Hunter are the same character, or were. As I guessed, his witch-hunting tendencies would've been established early on as a strange gag, a quirk, only to become so much more darkly significant. I wonder if in this draft, Obron's past as a witch hunter also has relevance; Does he think he's 'saving' humanity by using the Titan to conquer both worlds, wiping out the denizens of one? Also him being a feral kid subsisting off of food given to him by friends is such Labyrinth Runners vibes. Was William always going to have his dynamic with Willow, given Luz plays a bigger role in him opening his mind?

Given we had a 'proof of concept' animation leaked a while back, I wonder if that was an even earlier draft to the pitch bible, given William is PRINCE William. Maybe he's meant to be an actual European human, because European bigotry towards witches existed back then I think, even if it wasn't as pronounced. And Obron does bear a resemblance to one of the Proto-Belos designs, though I'm not sure which came first.

…Huh. Would William have been Obron’s nephew or. God. Would he have been his brother. And while William never grew up because magical stasis, Obron did and now sees his brother be the exact same but also change. Man. And William just has to reconcile, when he gets his memories back, the jump from his brother, a kid like him, to Obron. So we still got the desperate attempt to preserve his brother, only for his brother/Hunter to ‘betray’ him.

[mayandjuly1811]

i hate huntlow and I also hate willow. one of her fans was toxic. they doxxed me and called me a fatphobe and racist just because I dont like her

I'm sorry that happened to you. I hope you're okay. Overall, Willow is a good character with good development. Nevertheless, she has some bad behaviors in the show that I couldn't bring myself to like her.

Warning: this is my personal thought about my disliking for this character, I'm not attacking or hating other people who like Willow.

1.Academic cheating.

I think that Amity is wrong for bullying Willow, but Willow isn't in the right for cheating either.

No matter what the reasons are, cheating on exams is wrong. Willow literally cheats, which takes away the top student badge that Amity works hard to earn. She has to find better ways to get a passing grade instead of cheating.

She's bad at Abomination magic, so she can never get a passing grade without cheating. Okay, if she was gonna cheat, then don't let it affect other people. She should have stopped when she received the A+, not taking the top student badge because all Willow wants is the passing grade, not that badge. She could just refuse when the Professor gives her the badge. It's not that hard. She could say, “Sorry Professor, but I only received one A+. I think giving me the top student badge after one good test is not an exhaustive evaluation. If I get more As in the future, then I'll accept the badge.” It's unfair that Willow only earns one A+ but can get the badge from Amity, who has been working hard to achieve many good grades.

In the end, after cheating, sneaking a human at school, taking away the badge that she doesn't deserve, putting the school in vines and jeopardy, hurting the school Principal, Willow gets rewarded by being transferred to the Plant Track. She faces no consequences. She still keeps the top student badge that she gained by cheating at the end of that episode.

2.Being controlling and violent sometimes.

This is proved in Understanding Willow, Willow literally throws both Luz and Amity forcefully inside the picture. She throws Luz inside so hard that she may have a concussion. I understand why she does that to Amity, but why Luz, her best friend? All Luz wants is to help Willow, at that time, she's innocent. Willow only gets suspicious of Luz turning her memories photo back at the end of that episode.

Next is the first time she met Hunter. Willow seems to be violent for no reason at all. Hunter disguises as a Hexside student so to Willow, he's just a student that she doesn't know. He's not a threat at all. She then summons the vines to capture him and drags him down so hard that the asphalt gets damaged. How could anyone treat strangers like this?

When Hunter is about to leave again, Willow, with a satisfying smirk, drags him down the ground and takes him to the field without asking his permission. And this scene is so traumatizing for Hunter because it's the same as when Belos drags him down the ground. Hunter looks utterly scared and suffocated. She doesn't respect Hunter's boundaries and decision at all, it's like she's forcing him to join the team.

3.Lack of understanding in some episodes.

In Something Ventured, Something Framed, Gus secretly sneaks Luz inside Hexside although Luz is still banned. Willow sees Luz there, yet she doesn't stop Gus or at least warns Luz about it. She's the one who knows more clearly than anyone else about what consequences Luz may face. Last time, Luz was chased after by Principal Bump and Amity for trespassing. All for helping Willow get a passing grade. Is it too difficult for her to tell Gus that "Gus, stop!" or warns Luz that "You're still banned from Hexside"? She doesn't say anything and only makes a face like this.

In Really Small Problems, Willow is being inconsiderate of King's feelings. King shows how sad he is when he's neglected from the group the whole time. He has abandonment issues. Yet, Willow, along with Gus, keeps talking about the three-people games in front of King, as if they just want to exclude King from the group, not to mention King is there with Luz first, while Willow and Gus only tag along.

After losing Flapjack and being possessed by Belos, Hunter is grieving over the loss of his best friend. Yet, Willow, along with Gus, still laugh and make jokes. Therefore, it makes Hunter feel uncomfortable. Willow doesn't have to cry or feel depressed like Hunter when he lost Flapjack, but at least have some seriousness and respect. If she can't comfort him or say anything nice, then it's better to stay silent. It's offensive when a person is in grief over their loved one and their close friends make jokes instead of comforting them. That's insensitive of Willow and I feel uncomfortable like Hunter in that scene.

Willow has good intentions of comforting Hunter in For the Future but it's not in a good way. Hunter just lost Flapjack and he's grieving. The fact Willow gives him the Flapjack picture is like rubbing salt to his wound. When Hunter looks upset, Willow should have stayed to continue to comfort him, not leaving and making it all about her. Dealing with the loss of Flapjack and Belos's possession is too much for Hunter, yet now he feels guilty because his own grief makes Willow feel sad. How is Hunter supposed to act around Willow after that? Bottling up his sadness and trauma from Willow anytime in fear of upsetting her? That scene is one of the reasons why I dislike Huntlow.

Also, she teases a stranger in the store in Thanks to Them and interrupts other people's business. Seriously, that man just minds his own business of buying stuff in the store, he doesn't deserve to be poked in the bottom by a stranger and receive no apology at all. It also affects the shop's owner when seeing her customer get bothered like that. Worse, when running away, Willow even smiles and shows no remorse at all. After that, she just goes back and gives the owner a coin? I don't find this funny at all.

4.Being too arrogant in For the Future.

She keeps talking about getting revenge, punching Belos in the face even though her power isn't strong enough to fight him. Willow is a powerful witch, but she doesn't take into account that the whole Hexsquad group had two fights with Belos and all five of them couldn't take him down. She can't even defeat Kikimora and the Abomaton, much less Belos.

Willow isn't fast enough to dodge Kikimora's attack even with Gus's help, then Hunter has to come in to save her.

5.Taking photos without permission or asking first.

This one is from my personal experience so I take this seriously.

As a person who is insecure about looks and hates having photos taken without permission, I would feel uncomfortable if I were Luz and Amity. In this picture, Luz and Amity are having a date. And a date is supposed to be private between the two. Yet, Willow secretly stalks them, interrupts their date and takes this embarrassing photo to put in the album.

How would you feel when your friend stalked you and your date partner, interrupted your date and took a bad photo without asking?

When Amity is being serious about finding ways to go back home, Willow interrupts her speaking by taking a bad picture of her without asking again and puts it in the scrapbook.

This is my personal opinion, if anyone disagrees with anything, please comment in a civil way.

[numericalbridge]

This is more of a first draft for a serious meta post i am planning to write, but since it would take me a few weeks (and the proper post will have screenshots, etc) i just wanted to address the popular fanon that Hunter had to prove himself for Darius to start to care about him/that Darius' care was conditional and he was just same as Belos.

And i feel like that notion just completely ignores the scene just after Darius collects the Emerald Entrails to his Blimp. And, yes, i will never shut up about that scene because that's my favourite Darius scene and - completely regardless of Darius and Hunter's relationship - showed that Darius had his own morals independent of the Coven expansionism and propaganda, and in this way that scene was clearly very intentional. There was no point for Darius to lie to manipulate Hunter, as some people had thought, since that wasn't what Hunter would want to hear/be asked about, so we can assume Darius was sincere.

And... Darius looked stern and strict and disappointed, not mean-spirited, not gloating about being proven right about Hunter - and if the fanon verison of Darius and Hunter's relationship was correct then in this, very intentional scene there was the perfect opportunity for that kind of reaction. And it was the first time we saw Darius as completely serious, without playing, and serious and stern in a very quite way. Same with the scene when they talk on the crow phone where Darius is complaining but, again, is not meanspirited or agressive, but since that scene is more comedic it might not have been that intentional. Back to the Blimp scene - as other people had said, if Darius truly didn't care or hated Hunter there would be no point for him to look disappointed.

And i don't mean he would care about Hunter in a very personal manner at this point, but as i see it he probably realized he had fucked up after the crow call (my headcanon-y interpretation of Darius' way of thinking in ASIAS here) and at the Blimp scene he saw that even if Hunter was a spoiled prince the kid clearly had problems. And thus Darius even nudged him in the direction of thinking for himself by just asking back whether this was something Hunter should be proud off. Yes, it might not be super gentle, but it is a far cry from what fandom usually sees in Darius' reactions. So with all this in mind, it seems like even if Hunter didn't change his mind, Darius still would have some notion of care to be disappointed and sad over this, and, imo, it would have set him towards more compassion or at least understanding towards Hunter even if Hunter didn't help his friends.

(and btw, nothing points towards Darius seeing Hunter as anything but the spoiled royality since there is a huge difference between a child soldier and a relative of the emperor assuming an important position at a young-ish age; and the Coven Heads are not even some inner court to be privy to the Emperor's life since he wouldn't allow witches to be this close. And even in their first scene while Darius was mean initially - especially with the cloak - it wasn't anything that s1 Eda wouldn't say, and we didn't even get to see how the cloak scene would've ended if Darius wasn't set off by his mentor's sigil).

And the thing is, sure there might be unfortunate implications with the way ASIAS ends, just as there are unfortunate implications with how 8 years old King was the one reaching out towards Eda with 'no more lies' while she barely had to apologize. And in the same way as King's development and choices are prioritized because the target audience is meant to relate to him and understand him more, i think the same happens with ASIAS. Yes, it is important to show that the adults shouldn't mistreat Hunter, but for a 10 years old watching it it is also important to show that, no matter how sympathetic the backstory, a 16 years old shouldn't push you to do something you don't want. So Hunter makes mistakes, learns from them and then gets rewarded by a nearest adult figure. It is a standart cartoon structure, and sure, it also shouldn't be free of criticism, but just not via demonizing and bad faith interpretations of Darius and only Darius.

And even in that scene, i feel like it is notable that Darius says 'make your predecessorS proud'. If Darius' care about Hunter was truly just conditional or if there was no intention to that scene, it would've been easy to say 'predecessor' or 'the previous golden guard' since that's who Darius cared about and in the beginning unfairly compared Hunter to, that's what the audience remembers, but Darius doesn't seem to have any connection to other golden guards, it is Hunter who cares about them and their legacy, so this, if intentional, also points towards Darius already realizing his mistakes and trying to just genuinely encourage Hunter.

And i feel like you need to look at the episode and Darius' character as a whole rather than focusing on only 2 scenes to decide whether there was the intention to paint him the way fanon sees him or not. And even if it is how the show intended us to see Darius - then maybe the fandom should examine this writing choice in the context of how the show prioritizes white and light skinned characters and their development, and how the show treats black characters, and why Darius is the one who wouldn't get a proper resolution or a way to verbalise his thoughts and opinions while Alador or Gwen or even Steve are allowed to do it.