#also have I mentioned how much I love Eberwolf

[sepublic]

            I sometimes think back to King’s Tide and how Darius backed down when Hettie threatened Eberwolf, and I think what Raine would’ve done in his situation. Because they are the person who in their debut episode, attempted a one-sided suicide pact to save the isles. Someone who knowingly estranged and hurt Eda, to their own agony, for the sake of Eda’s kids who really needed her and couldn’t risk losing to the rebellion.

         There’s also the fact that Raine was able to make the tough, yet healthy, move to cut Eda out of their life when Eda continued to isolate them with secrets about her condition and push them away. So with all that in mind, Raine continues to support this idea of someone who can and WILL make the tough call, do the unpleasant job, for the greater good. It hurts right now and certainly in the short-term, but Raine does have the larger sight to consider it all in the long-term.

         Compare that to Darius, whose attachment to his relationships is STRONGLY felt, even occasionally detrimental. He backs down for Eberwolf’s life, even though Eber is dead either way, because he cares too much. Darius clings to the memory of his mentor, to the point that he judges Hunter rather unfairly as his successor. While Alador never brings it up on his own, Darius is the one to initiate continued contact with a signed book, telling Kikimora to relay a message, and then checking Al’s Penstagram account in his free time.

         (Makes me wonder if losing Alador and Odalia were really things under Darius’ control either, in addition to the fact that they are their own people capable of making their own decisions. A lack of control in losing people might explain a bit…)

         That isn’t to say that Raine is cold and emotionless, either! They’re very in favor of revealing themselves to Eda in Hollow Mind… Though, you could argue it’s because their original reason for estranging her, keeping her kid safe, was at jeopardy to begin with. Contrast that with Darius, who tries to stick to the mission, but when Hunter is brought up, he immediately loses his cool.

         Anyhow, this is all to loop back and ask; If that was Raine there. And if it was not just Eberwolf, but even Eda being threatened… Would they back down to Hettie’s threat, or keep going? Because I can actually see them keep going. They very much accepted Eda’s own agency and choice in deciding to sacrifice herself to sabotage the ritual, and only stepped in when it was out of Eda’s hands, and because Luz had asked them to; Luz, one of two reasons Raine had done these difficult things for in the first place.

         They’d accepted the murder-suicide pact with Eda, both under the impression it’d save the isles. So with Eda already prepared to die for this… Yeah, I could see Raine just letting it happen, and Eda insisting they do. This is not to judge Darius or Eberwolf; They are their own people with understandable, human flaws. Dana said that Eberwolf trusts Darius a lot, so it’s possible Darius feels more responsible for Eber’s rebellion, and thus the danger they got themselves into. Darius feels very strongly and is very attached to his relationship, he just… clings to people like a pile of goop (I’m sorry).

         Whereas with Raine is fascinating, because they can and have made the tough call to cut themselves away from a loved one, for the greater good. An interesting parallel to Eda pushing them away, really, though arguably more justified and healthy in Raine’s case… But even if it’s healthier, does that make it healthy in general?

         (Man, Raine and Darius both have their shortcomings as rebels, but their own strengths as well. There’s what I mentioned, but on the other hand Darius was a lot more discreet as a rebel, and remained beneath detection until THE last second. They go well together.)

         Again, Raine is hardly cold; Raine gave up Eda and sabotaged their own cause for two kids they never even met and had only heard about once before during the petrification ceremony, having not yet made the familial connection. If that doesn’t betray a bleeding heart, I don’t know what does. Especially since Raine likely related to these kids, guessing correctly that Eda was pushing them away over her curse, and wanted to prevent the tragedy that happened between them and Eda, by reminding Eda to stick with THESE kids this time.

         And she did! Raine couldn’t get Eda to stay by their side those years ago, but they avoided repeating history for Luz and King, who also needed Eda. Man, it’s crazy how much is changed and re-contextualized in Eda’s Requiem with the very next episode afterwards. 

        Anyhow, with Raine being quite the public speaker with their own following, and the aforementioned pattern of making the difficult decision at times to cut others away, even accepting their own death and that of others, all for the greater good… They’re an understated parallel to Philip “I just need to live long enough to see this through” Wittebane, who sacrificed his brother for God’s will. Except, of course. Raine isn’t evil, just forced into actual dilemmas, by Belos himself. Man, so many characters really do reflect different facets of this messed-up puritan, huh?

[thousand-winters]

Gonna send two more asks actually. 5 and 6 for the toh thing

5. Favorite platonic relationship?

Okay, I'm gonna have two different answers for this.

You know Dadrius has my heart and soul. Literally over here thinking and discussing Darius and Hunter's dynamic every single day of my life for more than a year already. There's just a lot with them, the problem is that while they do have a lot, it's mostly implied, and we absolutely can deduce some things, theorize others, and run absolutely wild with parallels, symbolism and this and that, but truth is we didn't see too much of them actually onscreen. So they're my favorite platonic relationship that didn't get too much time to develop in front of the audience even if it's very well implied they did.

Special mention to Darius and Eberwolf for the same reasons, lots implied, not much onscreen because we did not have the time.

Now, for the ones we actually had time on the show for...

I think the reasonable thing would be to say the Owl Trio, and while I do love them dearly, I honestly don't tend to seek out art or such with them? I think I'm gonna have to say Lilith and Eda.

I'm just... once again, I don't really talk a lot about Lilith despite how much I love her, but she's there. She's being microwaved in my head. She's rotating. She's under my microscope. She's everything to me.

That, coupled with the fact that you put a complicated siblings relationship in media and you got me, makes it so Eda and Lilith are just fascinating to me. Yeah, perhaps the transition from them being technically enemies to allies and friends again was a little clumsy, but honestly? That sort of feels right when it comes to, again, complicated relationships with siblings.

Honestly, part of why they interested me so much in the first place is because there are aspects of Lilith I see myself in, a LOT. And Eda, well, sort of reminds me of my sister. My sister even pointed it out while we watched. It's a whole thing. We are not talking about it /lh

It's just... gods, so damn interesting, especially when you consider Lilith's side of things, there's so much love and jealousy and resentment and guilt toward Eda, it's such a mess that comes out in the worst and in the best of ways. Because she has all the information on why things happened like they did, her point of view during their relationship especially in season 1 has so many layers, while for Eda it might feel a little puzzling but there's so much about why Lilith acts like she does that she just doesn't understand. So much miscommunication, so much love, so much vitriol at the same time.

They're SO good. Their little scene in King's Tide with them holding hands with their foreheads touched together, Lilith worried sick for Eda and Eda trying to joke to lighten the mood kills me every time.

6. A character you didn't expect to love? What made you start liking them?

The Collector too, actually.

I think for the Collector there's a lot of "well, in hindsight...", because they did seem far more vicious and dangerous than they actually were in that one memory in Hollow Mind, plus they seem somewhat nonchalant in King's Tide as well.

But For the Future truly opens up that perspective, it took me a while to warm up to them even so but I think in retrospective, the way they behaved makes so much sense for the fact that... he's just a kid. A kid trying to act how he has seen adults around him act, a kid that sees someone they want to know and be friends with so badly and the circumstances are SO bad but he's a kid!!! And to a certain point he doesn't get it.

He's just a kid...

I love the Collector so much now. You can tell they were also feeling all the guilt in the world during Watching and Dreaming with that one "you can at least do this" while Belos' curse was all over him and extending over his body, like... baby, no... 😭

4. Favorite romantic relationship?

This was always here, shhhh.

Ultimately I don't think too much about the couples of the show, even though they're in general so good, but I think it's definitely Lumity for me.

In part because of the impact they had, because inevitably, if someone sort of knows about TOH but doesn't really, they sure know about Lumity. But that's more of a general answer rather than a personal one so.

I just think they're so sweet, and so well done. I truly was not expecting their relationship to actually end up being a romantic one when I was watching Season 1, but I'm so glad it did. I think they did such a good job in writing them going from sort of frenemies to friends, to Amity crushing on Luz, to the crush being mutual and them pining for one another, to the nervous first steps of dating to the point we end up seeing them in, just comfortable and loving each other just as much.

There's a lot of relationships in media that become a thing just right at the end so we don't see them develop like that and I love that they got that, I love how real it is for them to have the nervous stages even while already girlfriends and to see how time made them be more natural and comfortable with each other, because of course that happens! And Luz in Thanks to Them was keeping secrets, of course, but even then you could see they were already comfortable, not so much sweating profusely every time they saw each other or anything, it started being just tender and intimate and sweet.

Lumity is just so damn good. I love Raeda and I love them too for being people in their 40s being such messes in love, they're special in a different way but I like Lumity just a little bit more.

From this ask game!

[charizardstolemynickname]

THE OWL HOUSE SEASON 2 HAS CAPTIVATED ME, so here are my reactions/thoughts to episodes 18 and 19

Episode 18: FINALLY MORE GUS TALK!!!! We get so much information about all the other characters I WAS BEGINNING TO THINK MY GUY GUS WAS BEING NEGLECTED!!

His power is so cool, I need more people to be as excited about illusionist magic as me and Gus are! HE LITERALLY CHANGED THE WHOLE SCHOOL AND TRICKED THE HEAD OF ILLUSIONIST COVEN!

Speaking of, the head of the Illusionist Coven being just some wanna be director is fucking hilarious, he is a snob and I hate him with a passion but I want to laugh at him, so much

Gus literally saving all the students at the school too is being SEVERELY looked over right now, like DUDE HE LITERALLY SAVED ALL OF YOU!!!!

All the guards this episode had me in stiches!!! I WANT MORE GUARDS BEING FUNNY IDIOTS!! ESPECIALLY SEVERINE, god, someone get Severine some therapy, like SLAYYY GO BACK TO THE TINY CAT COVEN! GET SOME SELF ESTEEM BACK!

Obviously, i cannot talk about this episode WITHOUT talking about our boy, Hunter.... who was living in the school stage. Listen, I won't judge the guy, he is homeless, his whole life has been thrown upside down, I feel for the guy it was just a surprise! (/lh) ANYWAY, I LOVED THE GUS AND HUNTER FRIENDSHIP GROWTH! From the sharing of the breathing thing (TWICE!!!) and the comforting each other AMAZING

Amity and Willow learning how to be friends again was also an amazing plot line, I love to see how their friendship will expand

Episode 19: THE WEIRD DREAM THING??? AND KING BEING CONNECTED TO THE COLLECTOR?!? Listen, I still don't fully understand who the collector is BUT THIS IS THE SECOND TIME THEY HAVE APPEARED IN ONE OF THE GANG'S DREAMS! Yeah, I haven't forgot about it being in Eda's dream too! I am very confused, it seems lonely, but evil, but also just a chaotic vibe, I am conflicted

POOR KING! He literally just found out traumatising news and THEN people keep treating him differently now?? I spent the whole start of the episode wanting to just hold King and keep him safe from everyone, HE IS JUST A LITTLE GUY!!! HE IS JUST A BABY!!!

BUT! Steve to save the day. I am now a Steve Stan. I am a Steve fangirl. If Steve has 1 fan, its me, if Steve has 0 fans, I am dead. BRING BACK STEVE!!!! I adore Steve, with every essence of my being, HE WAS ACTING LIKE KING WAS FAMILY AND- AHHH, best friends your honour, they are best friends

FUCKKK The Eda and Raine and Luz angst was a plotline I was NOT ready for after the absolute fluff that was King and Steve helping people and vibing. SOMEONE GET MY PAL RAINE OUT OF THERE!!! Plant coven girl is literally obsessed with them, tf

Eda just wanting to save the kids, to protect Luz and King- I will admit, it hit me in my feels, Eda still treating King as a kid (AS HE SHOULD BE) and Luz and wanting them both away from danger AHHHHHHH

Luz bestie, I love you, but PLEASE EDA WAS RIGHT

HOWEVER HARPY EDA CAMEO!!! RAHHHHHH, I am still obsessed with it, we need more of Harpy Eda in this show.

AND FINALLY, THE ALLIES!!!! GOD. I am obsessed DARIUS I KNEW I COULD TRUST YOU!!! I don't know if I posted, but I REALLY liked Darius but knew (well, thought) he was evil, BUT NO I CAN NOW FINALLY LOVE HIM! AND EBERWOLF! Didn't forget him (did just have to search his name tho)

OH AND! The Palisman!!! I was going to mention this as I hadn't been mentioned in a while, BUT CARING FAMILY BONDING BETWEEN EDA, LUZ AND KING!!! I fucking love found family. Can you tell!!#

IN OTHER EXCITING NEWS! I am about to watch the season 2 finale episodes! No idea what to expect, but I am literally addicted so will take anything, i am sad I am so close to finishing it though, as Season 3 has less episodes

BUT it means I can finally interact with the fandom, etc etc

Thank you to all following my journey watching the series for the first time

[lollytea]

i just read your latest fic and it had me so emotional, like it felt very true to them, in darius’s inner thoughts about how hunter ‘snuck into’ his heart, to his dorky ‘HAH’ at hunter, to hunter’s ears basically burning off. then the hug at the end was so funny but also so sweet! do you have any darius and hunter headcanons that weren’t mentioned? no pressure to answer, mainly came here to say i loved ur writing! hope u have a nice day

(This ask is several weeks old. Sorry I forgot about it for so long but I finally feel like talking about Darius again.)

To be honest while I do enjoy this idea of Darius and Hunter forming their own little family, I was definitely drawing a few blanks on how it would realistically get to that point, given what we know from canon interactions. But when sitting down to write the fic, I tried figuring that out. I don't really have any cutesy domestic family hcs about them but I can ramble a little about my hcs about how their dynamic formed? From like. Pre-ASIAS to post King's Tide. Idk if that's what you're asking for but I'll go for that.

-- I see Darius as somebody who is very flawed but ultimately good. He's not very nice but he’s a hero. He risked his life for his cause because he wanted to save the lives of everyone on the Boiling Isles. He cares about people as a whole but he doesn’t really like most of them individually. He believes children should mix with other children and have healthy friendships with each other but he also can’t stand children anywhere near him. 

He’s very much “Yeah I believe in the inherent goodness of witch-kind. I just think witch-kind is very annoying and everyone should stay the fuck away from me.” 

Like he's so self-involved and wrapped up with his own agendas that he really doesn't spare the lives and feelings and motivations of other people a second thought. Unless it's somebody he actually cares about (like Eberwolf.) they just don't matter to him personally. 

-- This was originally his view on Hunter. Darius never really thought about this kid unless he was standing directly in front of him and even then, his only feeling about him was annoyance. Due to that self-involved nature, it never occurred to Darius to maybe analyse for a minute why Hunter might be the way he is. He just believed him to be an uptight, arrogant spoiled brat. 

Based on Lilith’s opinion of Hunter, I personally believe that Belos’s abuse over him was a secret and nobody in the coven had any idea what was going on behind closed doors.(Except for Kikimora cuz shes nosy.)  They all just assumed he was a pampered little prince who got special treatment just for being a prodigy and having a familial connection to Belos, Darius included. 

Plus he was very obviously a snitch and they couldn’t risk having him around. Darius found that when he ignored Hunter, he usually got all pissy and stormed off so this was his go-to method of keeping Hunter’s nose out of their rebellion business. 

There’s also, of course, Darius’s extremely complicated and somewhat stifled feelings of having a kid with his mentor’s eyes running around. I figure Darius largely repressed how deeply this hurt to look at him when Hunter was very young and manages not to think about it most of the time. But it still hits him sometimes when he least expects it.

Like Hunter is his mentor’s replacement. Just looking at him was a reminder that the man Darius knew was dead. In the past Hunter’s existence filled Darius with sadness and anger. This probably had an effect on how icy Darius became when Hunter was around, though it had mostly numbed into indifference by the time he was a teenager. 

-- Hunter’s original feelings towards Darius are interesting. I think he secretly looked up to him even before the events of ASIAS. But of course Darius is nothing but distant and dismissive which infuriates him. (I still think about his palismen recording where he’s like “Darius just IGNORED me. ALSO as per usual.” He sounds so petty. So full of contempt. Its hilarious. It sounds like Darius is in the room across the hall and Hunter is speaking loud enough to make sure he hears.) This causes Hunter to act out to a pathetic extent. Whenever they interact he plucks up all of his Golden Guard-ness to make himself seem more impressive so Darius will stop looking at him like that.

In their first scene together in ASIAS, Hunter is struggling to grip on to his authority over Darius but he just comes across as a petulant child. But the moment Darius starts making those disapproving comments, Hunter folds completely. One conversation with Darius and he’s become a desperate puppy who wants to be told he’s doing a good job. I wonder if he would have reacted like this if it were just anybody or if he specifically wants Darius’s approval so badly because he’s someone who’s never given him any. Obviously Hunter’s self-worth in general is mostly at play, but I think the person who makes him feel shitty being Darius definitely has some influence over it. 

Like Hunter is Darius’s superior and we know that in any other circumstance he would probably be offended that someone who ranks below him has the audacity to order him around. But Hunter spends the whole episode carrying out Darius’s “orders” like a good little child soldier and excitedly blowing up his phone like “I did good! I did so good!! When you see how good I did you’re gonna be like “Hunter you did good!” You’ll see!!”  

(Also “How did you get this number?!”

*shifty eyes* “doesn’t matter.”

HUNTER???) 

So its like. The two of them start off with a very clashing dynamic that is kinda unhealthy for the both of them. But there is hope. There is always hope. 

-- Their final scene in ASIAS is a turning point for this relationship because it’s when they really begin to see each other in an entirely new light. It turns their former dynamic on its head. Hunter wanted Darius’s approval because he was a well respected and intelligent Coven Head, someone who was deeply involved in “Belos’s World”, something that Hunter was so passionate about being a part of. 

But in that moment where Darius expressed how proud he was of Hunter rebelling and making connections outside of the castle and assuring him that he won’t tell Belos about this incident or about Flapjack, this perception Hunter has of him changes.

With this, he has dipped into Hunter’s world, his private messy conflicted little world and he doesn’t judge him for it. Basically Darius encourages Hunter’s identity outside of being the Golden Guard and Belos’s loyal nephew. 

And Hunter doesn’t really know how to wrap his head around this at first. Like he doesn’t smile in the scene. He’s confused. Completely fucking bewildered. He does not have a single clue what is happening or why Darius is suddenly being nice to him for no reason. Like for the whole episode he wanted to hear Darius say he was impressed but now that it’s happened he’s like “huh???” 

But Darius showed Hunter kindness and if there’s one thing Hunter is always grateful for, it’s kindness. So his respect towards Darius doesn’t disappear but it definitely shifts into another direction because it now comes from a different place entirely. He now has a little affection for him too, which did not exist before. So it’s like. Originally antagonistic co-workers but now maybe friends?? Maybe?? Acquaintances at the least. And that’s a start. 

Darius keeps his word and never breathes a word of this to Belos which makes Hunter feel like maybe he can actually trust somebody in this castle. Like maybe he can like. Tell Darius things? And he won’t have to worry about it getting around. There’s definitely a tentative trust building. 

-- On Darius’s end, the ASIAS scene was the first time his brain really saw the whole picture. It made him stop and re-evaluate the boy he had previously written off. It humanized Hunter in Darius’s eyes. Enough so that once the night is over, he might even feel a little guilty that it had taken him so long to realize that he really was just a lonely kid this whole time. But at that moment, he’s so pleasantly surprised and amused that he’s just overtaken by a bout of genuine warmth. His brain is just going “Good kid!! You’re a good kid!!” 

I feel like Darius’s comment about sewing lessons was supposed to imply that the two of them do end up spending some time together after that episode. Which presents this set up. Darius has known Hunter for years but it has always been as the Golden Guard. But what kind of person is he when he’s off duty and he’s just a kid clumsily learning to cross-stich? Well Darius gradually finds out and it’s like meeting someone new. He becomes quite attached, in spite of himself. 

As mentioned above, Darius being his secret-keeper coaxes Hunter into being a little more open during their conversations, which further strengthens then budding bond. And it’s like. He doesn’t say it outright. It’s all about the implications. But Darius soon comes to realize that Hunter’s relationship with Belos is not what everyone thought it was. 

-- Darius does not fully realize just how attached he is getting to Hunter. He sorta figures he just finds him somewhat endearing. Like a friendly neighbour giving a kid life advice but still keeping him at arm’s length. Like he’s bored. Might as well teach some dorky kid to sew idk. 

I love his extreme reaction to Hunter being mentioned during Hollow Mind. The instinctive movement, followed by the sheepish body language. I like to interpret it as Darius being like “Okay yeah sorry I don’t really know what that was either.” It’s him realizing for the first time that the love he has for Hunter has snuck up on him.

But as the night goes on, he comes to fully accept that he really really cannot deal with the thought of that kid getting hurt. Which is kinda huge for Darius “Some of you may die. But that is a sacrifice I am willing to make.” Deamonne. Really the only person alive whose wellbeing worries him to that extent is Eberwolf. 

-- However everything Darius has been working towards is finally building up to a climax so he doesn't have time to focus on his conflicted sense of attachment towards the boy. He doesn't see himself as a very paternal person so its a little too much to unpack right now.

All he knows is that his goal has extended to something more specific. He's always understood the reality that some people might die in the process of saving the Boiling Isles and he has accepted it. But now he's decided that it cannot be Hunter. This Golden Guard needs to survive. If he doesn't, Darius doesn't know if he'll sleep right ever again.

-- Once they come into contact again after the events of Labyrinth Runners, Darius tries to keeps a distance between himself and Hunter, both physically and emotionally. He doesn't freeze him out entirely like the way he acted pre-ASIAS and he keeps up their amicable relationship but he doesn't meet with him in person, only speaking with him sparsely over crystal ball. This is partly because of paranoia over spies possibly picking up on the rebellion leader's fondness for the former golden guard, and partly because he doesn’t want to encourage Hunter into getting involved in all of this and Darius fears that showing too much approval or affection would only egg him on.

However, during their first conversation, it is obvious that Hunter fully intends to be involved. This is obvious from the way he carries himself in Darius's presence, the brusque and businesslike way he speaks, as though this is a government strategy meeting, oblivious to the fact that Darius only called to make sure he was safe. He's also filthy and exhausted looking and as he's rambling away about the EC invasion of Hexside, so obviously having practised it in the mirror beforehand, Darius feels his throat tighten.

This is so obviously a kid, his immaturity is transparent and even after everything he's been through, Hunter still feels an obligation to play the role of a self sacrificial hero. This is the moment when Darius's vow of downplaying his fondness crumbles and he can only sigh, overwhelmed with relief that this child is still alive in spite of everything. Darius tells Hunter that he's proud of him. He didn't plan on it but he just had to.

Darius had to reign himself in after that, swearing not to be so often until the Day of Unity was over. He was rather aloof with Hunter from that point on. Hunter notices the shift in his Darius’s behavior and assumes it's just because their situation is grave. He mirrors it when they converse, just to further prove that he is taking this seriously.

-- Hunter is terrified at the very idea of being involved in this final stand against Belos. It keeps him up at night just thinking about it. However, not being involved simply isn't an option. There's too many lives at stakes and he has never done nothing in his life. Plus at the front of all this is Darius leading the rebellion and Hunter wants to be as brave as Darius. He feels like he would be a disappointment if he doesn't make himself useful.

He's been compensating during their talks by summoning as much as the Golden Guard as he possibly can because all of his confidence has kinda deteriorated since Hollow Mind, which he is desperately trying to hide from Darius. Their relationship just reached a point of mutual respect and he's terrified of losing that.

Despite how much they have come to care about each other, they still don't fully understand each other, due to their own flaws as people and the limited time they've spent together. Hunter is still under the belief that he has to earn this relationship through heroics, despite the fact that he really doesn't want to.

Meanwhile, Darius doesn't understand that maybe he should talk to Hunter a little more, express how much he cares about him, stabilize their relationship in Hunter's eyes. Maybe then they could have come to an honest understanding and Darius could have found a job for Hunter that would have helped the rebellion but wouldn't have put him directly in the crossfire. However Darius has never been good at expressing deeper emotions, so he just doesn't. So they get absolutely nowhere.

-- Darius assigning Hunter as Luz's escort was absolutely a sneaky way of giving him something to do that would keep him out of harm's way, similar to how Eda sent Luz off on the "mission" in the first place.

Darius kept his connection to Hunter to himself. It wasn't something he talked about. But Raine could obviously tell. And of course Raine tells their girlfriend everything. And like. Who would understand what Darius is going through better than Eda? She also took in some dumb kids just for shits and giggles only to become unwillingly attached to them. And though Darius remained tight lipped on his own dilema, he did listen as Eda plonked down beside him, offering him a swig of her apple blood ("Ew. No. Your spit is on that.") and expressed how frustrated she gets with those kids sometimes. Too young and too stubborn and unwilling to back down, even when Eda is begging them to let her keep them safe. But they'd never trust her again if she forced them out of it, so now she just feels completely helpless.

And though Darius never mentioned Hunter, Eda knew that he felt similarly. The Amity mission was the brainchild between the two of them, a way of getting both their children out of the way, without them feeling like they were being pushed out of the way.

-- Once the dust lifts, the draining spell stops and the Boiling Isles is turned upside-down, the BATTS are forced to regroup and adjust to their current dilema. But, as Darius and Eda eventually discover, Hunter, Luz and King are nowhere to be found.

-- There are also 4 distressed and furious fathers who want answers on the whereabouts of their children. With everyone in such hysterics, Darius is obligated to be the level-headed one, despite his own nerves. He assures the parents that wherever their children are, he believes that they are definitely with an amazing boy who will do everything in his power to keep himself. This Darius promises, because he cannot fathom a reality where Hunter is torn away from the other kids. He has to be with them.

Darius later sits down next to Eda, finally opts to take a swig of her flask (Truly a sign that the end is nigh.) And says "You know I meant that. They won't be hurt while he's with them. Luz included."

Eda erupts with a dismissive snorty laugh. "Luz doesn't need that nerd taking care of her. Betcha twenty snails that when they pop up again, we find out that she was the one saving his butt."

Darius scoffs. "Twenty snails? Really, Eda? I know you can make it more interesting than that. Fifty."

It might be an odd way of coping but Darius and Eda making wagers over which of their kids is tougher really reinforces the wishful thinking that their kids are out there somewhere and they're alive. Because Darius and Eda don't know what they would do if they let themselves believe otherwise.

-- So like. At this point Darius and Hunter care very deeply for each other but they haven't had the chance to come to a mutual understanding, which has led to miscommunication and uncertainty and a reluctance to admit just how much they do care. The groundwork is in place but they still have so much building to do. I figure that it'll be after season 3 before their relationship can really grow. But I kinda LOVE how complicated it has the potential to be.

[eda-au]

CoA: I think it was mentioned before that Darius would have also worn a mask as a child since it was a tradition he passed to Hunter. Was the mask Darius wore the same golden owl mask or did he have a different mask? Did Darius also get called “Little Prince” in kinder moments? We know Hunter doesn’t have scars due to lack of physical punishments but does Darius have any from his?

Also, thinking about this Au in particular gives me so many feelings because it’s fathers who are trying to do what’s best for their sons but have had only been taught the worst things and realize at all how fucked up it is. It is absolutely not an excuse but it’s still tragic to think about the fact that, even after he killed his uncle, Darius’s father still thought Belos was doing those horrible things to him out of love. And the fact that he is now doing those things to Darius because he does love Darius and thinks this is the way he has to show it. And Darius thinking he isn’t strong enough or doesn’t love Hunter enough because he can’t bring himself to raise a hand to Hunter, to force him in the proper path the way he was. It probably helped to have Eber when he was younger to at least have an outsider perspective on the abuse even if Darius never accepted it on any level except maybe subconscious. Sorry about the long ask!

Darius' mask did differ, instead of a owl it was some other animal, same with Hunter, whatever mask he wears is different from canon. Darius was raised to be the golden guard to his father's emperor but he didn't go through any trial that would have risked his life. Training was harsh but not dangerous.

When Darius had his child he noped out on training him to be golden guard always getting a bitter taste with the idea of his kid fighting for him even if it was small fights like he used to. Instead Hunter got self defence courses.

Darius does have lots of Scars, especially on his back that he doesn't let anyone see.

Darius does think he's not doing enough for Hunter but he has come to terms and maybe he is subconsciously aware that it was wrong so that's where the not being able to bring himself to do it comes from.

Yes Eberwolf was a huge help as he gave Darius some perspective of the outside world. He was Darius' best friend, confidant, someone who always had his back no matter how many times he pushed Eber away. His brother...

And you are right, that is the point of this au to show tragedy and how much parenting can have a affect down the chain.

Darius was usually called my son or child / kid in softer moments, Darius has a lot more affectionate (and slightly embarrassing) nicknames for his little one.

The one big thing that Darius corrected was the lack of affection he felt, he never wanted his child to feel unloved like he did sometimes. Not that his father wasn't affectionate, it just wasn't enough.

[dratoba]

"Reunion PT 2"

(Forgot to mention that time works differently on the boiling isles)

It's been 4 more hours. Now Darius was a little worried. He understood that Hunter had gone through something extremely traumatic but earlier he dropped off some food and he never ate it. It was around 12:30 when Darius decided to go check on him. Even though he said he wouldn't and he needed space he just thought it would help him sleep better. He knocked on the door. No response "Hunter? Are you alright?" Still no response. "I'm going to come in" Nothing. He opened to door to an empty room and an open window.

Oh how this brought back memories. "Oh how fun." As the golden guard Hunter would love star gazing but he wouldn't do it from his room. He would fly out the window. Wait- He can't fly anymore..oh my Titan he jumped out a two story window. Darius went downstairs and into the backyard. Hunter was sitting on the floor looking up at the stars. "Still doing this I see" "It's nice"

Seeing him so peaceful was nice. "I'm going inside. Try not to stay out here too long" Hunter nodded. He went in and went to bed. After another 1 so around 1:50 he also went to bed. The next morning it was normal-ish. Hunter came out of the room but he didn't talk much. He also didn't eat much. You would think that he would want to talk to someone about when happened but he hadn't.

He actually avoided the topic completely. He was really distant actually. Whenever someone asked him about it he'd either leave or sorta lash out at them. Just a small raise of voice. It has been 4 days staying at Darius's home. Today Eberwolf and Raine were going to the owl house again to make some plans. Darius didn't feel comfortable letting Hunter leave the house or leaving him alone since the collector most likely wants the last grimwalker.

"I'm not a child Darius, I can take care of myself. If you want to go you can go" Did I forget to mention that Hunter often forgets he's 17? "I'm sure you can" "Then why don't go?" "Because Raine and Eberwolf are staying there for 2 days having another person in the house would get crowded" Was Darius lying? Yes. Was it for getting reasons? Also yes. It was 11:26PM I mean he wasn't gonna go out so late. "Alright. I'm going to bed, goodnight"

"Goodnight" Hunter went upstairs and into the room. 20 minutes later Darius also went up to bed. At 2:42AM Darius woke up and decided to get a glass of water. He went to check on Hunter just to see if he was star gazing again. When he went in there was nobody there but the window wasn't open? He came out of the room and was going to go downstairs to check the backyard but on his way he saw the light was on in the bathroom.

Darius went in to turn it off but instead he found Hunter in the corner with his hands gripping on to his hair so hard it looked like it really hurt. His eyes were closed shut very tightly and it sounded like he was whispering something but very quietly. Darius quickly went to Hunter and kneeled down. "Hunter? Hunter snap out of it." As he tried grabbing his hands he started to make out the whispers. "it's all my fault" he just repeated that over and over.

Hunter began to cry a bit. Darius put his hand on his shoulder to see if he would move away, when he didn't he held Hunter in his arms and just let him cry. He fully broke down into tears and let go of his hair. Darius has experienced Hunter's meltdowns/panic attacks so this wasn't new. He wouldn't hold him but he'd comfort him. Hunter's whispers grew a little louder and more understandable. "It's okay..it's not your fault.."

(This paragraph is mostly dialogue) "Yes it is! It should've been me not him.." "Hunter. He sacrificed himself because he loved you. It was his choice" Hunter cried and cried. It seemed like he was holding back those tears for a long time. He said the horrible things that were on his mind and Darius listened and comforted. This went on for about 10 minutes.

Eventually he stopped crying but he still didn't move. "I'm sorry" "For what?" Darius had a feeling he knew what he was gonna say. "For acting like this so late at night it's- it's ridiculous it's weak" He was right. After so long and he still thinks like this. Belos ruined this kid in so many ways. "It's not weak to express yourself it's normal" Hunter smiled and returned the hug. "Thank you" "You're welcome, little prince"

[ticklishbeans4]

okay so if there was anywhere in the toh universe a tk monster would come from, it's the beastkeeping coven! and the two people in the show who handle beastkeeping magic is eber, who is very much a enough of a little shit to 'accidentally' bring one home, and viney, who would be very adamant about making sure it's healthy

so what i can see happening is that during the first few weeks of hunter's stay in the deamonne household, eber is concerned for hunter's mental health. they and darius aren't home all that often during the day (due to them helping run the isles after its political system collapsed), and while hunter hangs out with his friends pretty often, there are large stretches of time where he's just alone

so, eberwolf goes and finds him a tk monster pet thing. but because darius was 'unavailable' and eber was 'going to be late' (blatant excuses), they just leave the egg thing in front of hunter's bedroom door and leave

hunter panics and immediately phones viney, who reassures him that it's completely safe, and explains what it is.

dunno what's better: hunter already knowing what tking is and how ticklish he is and hurriedly and sheepishly cutting the call so that viney won't be able to watch him get his shit wrecked (she already can guess from his furious blushing. she plans to bring it up after the next ee meeting)

or him having absolutely no idea, and her having the time of her life trying to explain what the monster's trying to do, all while hunter whines that he's being attacked and she's just sitting there >:[, and no, he's not pouting (he's enjoying himself, and while he probably wouldn't admit verbally, he feels comfortable enough to not hide it :])

when darius gets home he tries to stand his ground against letting it stay in the house ('what if it sheds!!'), but that softie can't stand a chance between the combined strength of the monster's, hunter's, and eber's puppy dog eyes. he concedes because it makes eber and hunter happy, but as viney starts to end the call, she slyly mentions that the monster loves a good hunt, finding people who either deny their tkish-ness or how much they enjoy it

darius, resident switch in denial, had already left the room, and the house was filled with laughter that day <3

(also its name is pancake. this is very important information)

Oh. My. God. YES!!!!!

I love the idea of a tickle monster pet!! And fully agree that Hunter deserves one!! And Darius denying his ticklishness feels so in character for him lmao!

Though I see him as a ler leaning switch. He much prefers giving tickles to getting them, but he still likes it sometimes if it's someone he trusts!

[xolborsaysstuff]

Owl house spoilers!!! Blight house? Need to figure out a name, maybe Abomaton house? The feline house?? Dunno bad at names.

Owl house swap AU where Amity is the human and her parents aren't biological but basically adopted like Eda. Except with Darius as Raine because my AU my sudden interest in caving into the enemies/rivals to lovers dynamic. Anyways so Odalia? Either bitter witch ex or bad human mom, maybe shove positions aside and just make up my own where Darius and Alador are still bitter e but get better later and Alador and Odalia break up later like in canon.

Also because I love this idea, since Alador is in Eda's position HE finds King. He also finds Kings guardian (forgot the name haven't seen the episode in months and they haven't been mentioned since, give me a break), and immediately goes: Study it? Study it. And takes both of them home ofc though the guard goes limp.

King probably has a different name, but still thinks himself as king cause with or without Eda he still has those memories.

Edric and Em? Alador's kids still! He pays more attention to em if Odalia is out of the picture, but less if she's still there.

Eda is a sales person selling human things from the beach (which she owns) with her partner Raine, and this kid they adopted- I mean employed, Luz. Eda's sister seems to have grown a rivalry with her.

Alador is just doing his own thing, he didn't want to join a coven because he wanted to see how mixing magic would go. Emperor's coven didn't like that. He was cursed by Darius, who is still bitter like in canon but is slightly guilty. He found the door and brought it back because it looked cool (same). His cursed form? I thought it'd be cool if it was an incomplete abomination curse where he'd turn into sorta go Darius looks but more monstrous. Darius found out that he did it wrong, maybe he tried to reverse it and got himself caught in the final spell (maybe if he had not alador with the final spell he thought maybe that'd help, bit maybe not. Not sure if that's canon so do NOT quote me on that.)

Oh also I was considering eberwolf swapping King, but I liked the idea of them staying the same. My AU anyways so-

Amity lived in a very strict home and ran off when her parents revealed she was going to go to a strict summer camp because she's been acting 'disobedient and disrespectful' because she's being her own person (self projection? Self projection) She misses the family's pet kitty though. Also beta design sibling? Mayhaps :)

Luz is not human, but finds humans super interesting. Basically same as normal Luz, except her mom wants her to join a coven instead of going to summer camp, and she doesn't make her do it cause she's just a kid. Sibling Vee who's human or sibling Vee who's still a basilisk but stayed in the boiling isles and lives with Luz.

Nothing much changes, these two families and a few others are the only things swapped though.

As always I'll talk more about this at a later date, as always have a good one, and stay safe!!!

[eldragon-x]

One major issue I take with Raine is that their relationship with Eda is such a focal point to their story.

Don’t get me wrong, they still have things going on outside of that. I don’t want to claim that they’re just Eda’s love interest and that’s the end of it. But I think this dynamic still takes up so much attention in Raine’s arc that everything else feels like barely touched potential.

Looking at all the episodes Raine appeared in (not counting Hunting Palismen) it’s pretty much: 

Raine is a double agent who has dedicated their life to taking down Belos and the Coven System. They have a past with Eda setting up their dynamic going forward. They get captured by Darius, Eberwolf and Kikimora.

Raine is being brainwashed by Terra. They have a confrontation with Eda.

Backstory on how Raine got to know Eda and Terra followed up by showing that they aren’t actually brainwashed. They’re still working against Belos alongside Darius who wants to involve Eda in their plans. Raine refuses because they want to protect Eda.

Raine, Darius and Eberwolf attempt to invade Belos’ mind. Luz and Hunter accidentally end up there instead. The trio goes to the Owl House to check if Eda can manage to get them out by herself. (This one doesn’t have noteable Raeda but it’s also worth to mention that Raine only has a non-speaking role in the B plot here.)

Raine realized their attempt at protecting Eda was a mistake and reunites with her. They’re delighted to properly meet Luz and it’s hinted they were friends with/knew Darius well in high school.

Raine explains the plan to stop the DoU which includes them switching places with Eda. Luz asks them to look out for Eda and we see them concerned for her through the episode.

Raine is worried about Eda. Later they’re forced to take part in the Draining Spell. With the last of their power, they save Eda by removing her branded arm.

I understand their dynamic with Eda is supposed to be one of their most important relationships but Idk, I think there’s other things that deserved to be fleshed out and get more in-depth than they ended up being.

And yes the s3 cut probably took out a lot of stuff ect. ect. but I still think there could’ve been better ways to work around that and I don’t think s3 will shift Raine’s focus onto much else than Eda anymore.

Anyway I think in a better timeline where we got a full s3 there would’ve been an episode exploring Raine’s dynamic with the other BATs as well as their struggles that come with literally dedicating their life to taking down the empire as well as an episode going into Darius’ past that includes showing his relationship with Raine at Hexside and how they grew apart as they both started working up their ways to become Coven Heads because they assumed the other genuinely supported Belos. But when the opposite turns out to be the case they’re both relieved about it but also struggle to connect on a personal level anymore after all this time with the Day of Unity looming over them and Darius still struggling with his fear of loosing people close to him.

Just some ideas that I wish s2b at least touched on a little ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But that’s just how I feel.

[xperimentalranger]

How I run my blog

Tagged by: Stolen from the dash Tagging: Do crimes, just don’t let my ranger catch you.

Speed:

As a general rule, I am a slow roleplayer, it all depends on how active the muse is and if I am busy or not. While crossovers are fun, I have a tendency to reply to the threads from the same franchise first and focus on plotted threads. Sometimes I reply fast, sometimes I take whole months depending how busy I am.

It also depends on what character is currently the main muse. For example, Rough was my main muse for a while until he got replaced with the little can opener (affectionate) and thus became more of a secondary muse and is currently, just like the sideblogs attached to him on low activity.

Replies:

As mentioned above, characters from the same franchise and plotted things take priority for me. The way I work on my replies is that I usually let them pile up if they are not from the same franchise, because I don’t necessarily enjoy replaying to just one thing. Then, I will bury myself in drafts and will throw them out all at once.

Since I am busy during the day, I will write notes on paper for the reply if I can find the time and write the reply on there first. Then, at night when I am able to chill I copy what I wrote on the paper to my google docs - work over it, rewrite stuff or just correct any mistakes.

Starters:

You won’t see me making a starter call anymore, or rather, rarely. My go to method is interacting through memes. For some reason, starter calls stress me out. I will write one, people like it and I will be like “oh now I have to think of something and write them a starter” which is weird because that’s why I post them, but I realized that interacting through memes is so much easier for me. That said, I will gladly like a starter call if I see one. I just don’t…enjoy doing them myself.

Inbox:

Oh, I love my inbox more than I like my drafts. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love writing paragraphs because they are so much easier than shorter posts but sometimes, when I don’t want to work on my drafts but still want to write, I like answering my inbox because it’s more chill. Sometimes it becomes a looooong paragraph because I just can’t keep things short, it’s boring for me and I, including my characters just have a lot of thoughts.

It can get frustrating not having a meme to answer when you reblog a meme post, but nothing I will be truly upset over. I understand that sometimes, it might not work for the characters but because of that feeling, I try my best to send memes to others when they reblog something.

That said, I like a variety of interactions and have a tendency to spam other inboxes with memes or just random things. HOWEVER, nobody is obgliated to answer everything, especially since I know I can get carried away. Generally, I try to leave it at 4-5 things in a day. Not that I will send something every day, just when the muse spikes.

Selectivity:

Yeah, I’m strictly selective. Which is either during past experiences or that sometimes I already feel like I don’t click with a person or their writing.

Though the selectivity also depends on the muse sometimes. XR, Charmy and Rough are more outgoing people, so it’s easier to get interactions with them. But for example Savy, Eberwolf, Sierra and Ty are more reserved and prefer interacting with people they can tolerate instead of everyone.

Honest Note: Uhhh...I tend to be wary of people and I am not exactly the best at communication. I know a lot people here think that mutual = friend, but that doesn’t go for me, because it just doesn’t work like that. It requires communication and trust. You will know when I am comfortable around you. When I goof off and talk to you a lot, then I consider us friends, but not when we just met and still need time to get to know each other, which is even harder because I am bad at keeping up with conversations.

I am also a very blunt person, so I understand that this might not be everyone’s cup of tea. I try to be careful where I can, but the direct and honest approach is more my style.

[sepublic]

Clouds on the Horizon!

            …I know we called Alador a rat man, but THIS is ridiculous! Seriously, how’d he even do that, I’m confused?

         LUMITY KISS LUMITY KISS THE WAY THE ANIMATION UPGRADED!!! The animation was so SMOOTH the animators knew it had to count. The way Luz’s vines were so FLOWER filled like from Reaching Out, responding to what Luz wanted as she mentioned at that episode when showing how to grow flowers… The Lumity and Raeda parallels! The twins! EMIRA AND EDRIC NNNOOOO!!!!! I can’t believe they got put away for the final battle this literally hurts so much, and what about Bump and the other students? Not my Blight twins…

         ODALIA THAT BITCH! Doesn’t Odalia realize SHE’s gonna die too… Or does she really think Belos will exempt her and Alador’s sigils?! I was half-expecting a twist where it’s revealed that Odalia didn’t have a sigil this entire time, making her all the more deplorable, especially in light of her husband having one… Glad we got to see a look at Oracle magic, or rather some confirmation in its ability to summon ghosts to fight with!

         The way Odalia left… It kinda feels like it’s alluding to her finding a new partner, but I’m not sure if we’ll even get to see her again? IS IT GONNA BE TIBBLES?!?! That’d be an embarrassing for her as an ending revisit to all of the cast members… Also, apparently someone’s keeping an eye on the rebels?! Is there a turncloak, is it Eberwolf?! Or Darius… No… NO! Maybe it’s just the Oracle Head using some sophisticated magic… Maybe teaming up with the Potion head to make a scrying potion? Oh fuck…

         LILITH! I love seeing Lilith voluntarily step up to take the fall for her sister this time, what a WONDERFUL culmination to her arc! And King, wanting to help but he’s still the youngest of all and if he bleeds, that could be a revealing liability… This episode seems to confirm the implication that Belos is manipulating even the Collector as well, so will the Collector preemptively betray him in retaliation? He doesn’t seem to realize King can hear him but maybe he does… Either way, that connection is def coming into play! And the Collector pointing out to Belos how much HE’S changed, and he’s still having freakouts… How the human world has likely changed!

         Okay! So they’re not ignoring Hunter’s identity crisis as a grimwalker, or Luz’s guilt for helping Philip! Glad to see that confirmation and I loved seeing them team up together… Also I TOTALLY saw that switcheroo as soon as ‘Luz’ did the golden warp TO PROTECT WILLOW!!! Speaking of which, Willow new design! And Gus, too, flaunting that trophy he took from Adrian! My boi I love him… And just his and Hunter’s teamup, him using that same darkness spell from Bria against Kikimora! I saw it coming, Luz was bamboozling Kikimora as a means to get to the castle! Poor Kiki, she got DEMOTED instead of promoted… YIKES. Imagine if after all this, as a cruel joke, Belos DOES keep his promise and let Kikimora live out of a sick and twisted sense of humor.

         Odalia that BITCH. I’m glad to see Amity get PISSED at her mom so openly, and I’m glad to see Alador go against her! With him destroying the factory, that’s him destroying any more Abomatons in the future… Hopefully we can see him override the Abomatons against Belos this finale, that will DEFINITELY help because Belos has made the mistake of positioning them in fairly critical places, like his own throne room during a private conversation with Hunter!

         I hope this finale we get to see the remaining Coven Heads, at least voices, names, and a brief show of powers. A part of me is hoping we’ll see the remaining four side with Belos in Season 3 so we can learn about them, but I’m not holding my breath… Dammit Disney. And RAINE! Raine wanting to protect Eda, that last banter… Luz asking them to look after her, Raine never needing to be told that but. I REALLY don’t like where this is going. I’m getting kinda scared and concerned for another cliffhanger where Eda is sacrificed… But hey, at least we got Katya hanging out with Luz and King for once, and a look at her beetle palisman! Yes! I’m imagining the off-screen interaction as they flew to Blight Manor.

         Oh god I’m so scared. Things are closing up… I love Luz promising a slice-of-life date and mentioning the trope. And the palisman egg! That’s SO kind of Luz to let her palisman choose that for itself… But will we not see until after the final battle? Will the egg hatch until the final crucial moment? Ngl at first I thought it was a reference to Azura’s blue staff which it could ALSO be that… Just god, I feel like there’s so much we’ve had to drop; This subplot of Odalia’s new partner, the remaining Coven Heads, the beach episode, confirmation that Steve and Mattholomule being half-brothers would be explored. The concealment stone was a nice touch…

        BUT WHO’S KEEPING EYES IS IT EBERWOLF AAKDHFKDAHDKFKGKSK or maybe. Maybe! Maybe the Oracle Head is just POSSESSING someone and there isn’t an actual traitor per se! I wish I hope… THIS CAN’T BE IT! I NEED MORE DANA!!!

[thousand-winters]

How do you think Darius and Eberwolf met?

HELLO, HI, I LOVE THIS QUESTION (I also just remembered I have a wip of that I completely forgot about oops)

See, I find very sweet the possibility that they might have met when they were both children, even if that meant they drifted apart at some point and then reunited, but most of the time I headcanon that they met at the coven.

Despite Eberwolf becoming a Coven Head, I feel like they might have faced some prejudice because it doesn't seem like demons truly hold an equal position in society on the Boiling Isles, other than the bipedal demons, but that's still just one of three types of what seems to be an incredibly abundant race in the demon realm. Now, of course Eber has to be a bipedal demon, he can do magic and, well, he's bipedal, but he does look a lot more beastly than other bipedal demons, so I think there's a good possibility that he's part bipedal, part beast demon, which wouldn't give him a very good standing.

He's powerful, however, and bringing him in as a Coven Head is probably good for an image of "anyone can become a Coven Head" if Belos was going for the publicity angle, though mostly I imagine he must have cared about him being powerful since the Head Witches were the catalysts for the draining spell. We know how the rest of the Coven heads were though, and I don't think they particularly cared for being kind even to one of their peers.

So here's what I'm getting at: Because of all of that and the fact that Eberwolf doesn't speak the "common" language on the Isles, I think to a certain point no one was bothering with them too much, with a general attitude at the castle being like "ah, let someone else deal with that beast", more passive aggressive that straight up rude. Now, I doubt Darius was even interested on them at the beginning, too busy trying to figure out what had happened to his mentor, or being a little bit depressed, or both. He would have learned by this point that connections at the castle are a big no-no anyway.

But "he doesn't give me the time of day" is still better than "he sees me as lesser" so I like to think Eber latched onto that and kinda went "oh, it's too late, you're never getting rid of me now", and no matter how irritated Darius seemed to be, he was still irritated because of Eber's behavior, not because of his nature, so Eber was delighted 😭

I tend to think that there's scarce people who can truly understand Eberwolf, most of them getting by with written messages or rough signing, and Darius learned out of spite just so he could retort properly and then they kinda ended up being stuck together for missions because hey, why not send the one guy who can handle the Beastkeeping Head Witch? And Darius didn't even want to be friendly but now he's stuck with them and uh, oh, overtime he started getting fond of them. It was very much mutual, and once they found out they both had rebel tendencies? Oh, it was for life.

Nobody asked for this but take a fragment of the wip I mentioned at the beginning to see if I can somehow gather motivation from this to actually finish it:

“This is no beast,” He states through gritted teeth, even if the extremely pleased and sharp smile the small furry demon is sending in his direction makes him want to take back his assessment.   The scouts that are still there, watching the spectacle with what Darius guesses must be stunned expressions behind their masks. If they put as much effort on their jobs as they do on staring at him, they could have avoided this whole thing, but he’d rather extricate himself from this situation as swiftly as possible than waste his time by scolding them. “But Head Witch Eberwolf-” “-is right here," He cuts them off, watching with little amusement how they turn their heads so fast behind them that he's fairly sure at least one of them has some extra vertebrae on the neck to make for that ease of movement. "The demon you just pushed at me," He clarifies. The scouts stop moving so abruptly that Darius wonders if they were somehow petrified without him realizing. And with all their clothes staying intact instead of turning to stone alongside them. It’s impressive really, though not enough to lessen his irritation.

[newtsnaturethings]

Tbh Raine probably plays a mean kazoo.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Hollow Mind" from The Owl House

Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won't read this. I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons.

And today, we're talking about "Hollow Mind" from The Owl House. An episode where Luz teams up with Hunter, a sort of friend on the road to redemption. The two of them go on an adventure inside someone else's mind, likely to see the memories of this person and learn more about that character and maybe even more about the sort of friend Luz teamed up with...Wait, didn't we already do this?

Yeah, we already did this.

It was "Understanding Willow." An episode where Luz teamed up with Amity, a sort of friend at the time who was on the road to redemption. The two of them go on an adventure inside Willow's mind, seeing her memories, and learning more about Willow and even Amity.

I mean, I don't mind a show reusing a premise. After all, complete originality is an impossibility that no series should pressure themselves to live up to. However, there's a difference between a show putting its own spin on an premise another had already done and just reusing the same premise from a Season One episode. Though, I'll admit, this is just me judging "Hollow Mind" based on its synopsis. Odds are there will be more differences than similarities in terms of story and circumstance. The question is: Were there?

Hey, um...Future Schmuck, here. I, uh...I wrote that on Wednesday in preparation for today, and...Yeah, I can certainly say that it was different. It was definitely different. Holy s**t, was it different.

How different? Well...

Let's find out together, shall we?

Spoilers ahead.

WHAT I LIKED

The Opening: Instantly, this episode hooks you with an ominous feeling of dread and intrigue. Not only do we start with Luz and Hunter trapped inside the worst place imaginable, which is the mind of a tyrant, but it also leads to the audience wondering how this happened. It's a solid way to begin this adventure into horror, trauma, and heartbreak. Because starting out with them going into his mind just wouldn't feel like as big of a punch.

As for the HOW...

Raine, Darius, and Eberwolf Breaking into Belos’ Mind: Let's get it out of the way: These people in cloaks are undoubtedly Raine, Darius, and Ebberwolf. You see Raine's specs and Eberwolf's eyes, and the Abominations witch got worried the second Hunter got mentioned (which was sweet). There's no one else it could be, so don't pretend it isn't them. Anyway...

I loved this sort of half-reveal. It shows us that the rebellion is both strong and also competent. We've seen how powerful these three are and how crafty they can be. It's also worth mentioning that the plan could have worked if Hunter didn't somehow catch onto them. Granted, we're not sure what the plan was, but it would...probably work out. Maybe...

Look, I'm gonna level with you all. The future's looking bleak for these characters, and I'm going to use every ounce of hope and denial to make it better. Alright? Alright.

Luz Interrupting the Flashback: I like that despite how dark this episode can get, the writers still know when to throw in a few good jokes. It keeps things light, so you don't scar the kiddies too much. And now that we're on Luz's side of the story...

Eda and Luz Needed to Fix Luz’s Cape: Makes sense. We saw the ends of Luz's cape torn at the end of "Yesterday's Lie," so it needs some repairs. And it's sweet of Eda wanting to help fix her kid's cape. Downright adorable, even.

King Learning Spanish: This is also adorable. The fact that Luz is teaching King her language is wholesome as heck, and yes, I'm lingering on the heartwarming moments to prepare myself for the heartbreaking ones. WHAT OF IT?!

The Witch Joining a Coven/Not Helping Eda: This is the first sting in the heart that we get in this episode. The sound of terror and a bit of defeat in the witch's voice when she says she has to join a coven and can't help wild witches anymore is just...yikes. It shows how strong Belos' influence is and how much his words can infect others. And now that we know what those Coven Sigils are...it's even more of a yikes moment for me.

And as for why so many people are STILL falling for Belos' BS...Well, King explains it perfectly.

“No one wants to know they spent years wasting their life following the wrong person.”: Do you want to know why real-life tyrants still get away with so much in their countries? It's because people choose to be ignorant of their leadership. Now, that's on them, that's true. But picture the alternative: You're told this person you've put your faith into is also a lying, genocidal maniac. Not only that, but you indulged this person for years. Decades, even. So, the realization that you're partially responsible for this same tyrant's evil and self-righteous quest will tear you apart. So, to avoid emotional/mental torment, you'll believe it's better to ignore it and pretend that perhaps this factual evidence is wrong. It's the worst thing to do, but for your own self-preservation, you still do it. Because, at the time being, it's better to be in self-denial than to let yourself feel hurt. I mean, it isn't, but you'd think it is. And kudos to the show for nailing that feeling perfectly.

Belos’ “Mind”: Speaking of self-denial, let's now talk about the first layer of Belos' mindscape.

It speaks volumes of Belos' character in his interpretation of events that even he knows aren't true. The way Belos believes he conquered wild magic on the day he lost to a teenage girl or portrayed himself as a hero to the town he just burned down really tells us that the man is blind to his own mistakes and malice. And, seeing how this is the first layer of Belos' mind, it even acts as the perfect security system. If someone somehow snuck into his mind, which this episode proves is possible, they'll see how Belos wants them to see it: As him being the hero that the Isles needs and the ruler who can lead them to victory. So, not only do we know how full of himself Belos can be, but we now know how little he's willing to leave to chance. Because if he can't even trust his own mind to be defenseless, he can't trust anything.

Baby Belos: And then we have this to show us how much of a conniving little d**k he can be.

Just like Luz and Hunter, I saw Baby Belos and thought, "Oh, he must be the last good part of him. I mean, it's weird how he's taking random stuff, but he's not the big scary demon thing. Surely he's the good guy." No. He wasn't. At all.

If anything, Baby Belos is another example of Big Belos' master manipulation. He knew what it would exactly take for Luz and Hunter to trust him and get them to do what he wanted. It's sick, twisted, and, MAN, could I use some wholesomeness to distract how much I hate Belos right now...

Hunter So Worried for Flapjack: ...That'll do.

I mean, come on. The fact that Hunter gets so worried for Flapjack's safety and how he explicitly states that he loves the bird? That's wholesome as heck, and I'm all for it...Alright, back to the madness.

Belos’ Real Mind: Once again, we learn so much about Belos here. It's in tatters, raggy, and has portions of his memories scratched out, visually telling us that there are parts of his past that he chooses to repress. As for his past, we see snippets of how he became the monster we know him as. I'm not talking about the memories Luz and Hunter walked into (though I will get into that in a minute). I'm talking about the paintings hidden in the background that details Philip's path into becoming Belos. We see who he and his brother were, their relationship, how they came to the Isles, how and why Philip killed his brother, how he got those marks on his arms, and even why Belos' ears are pointed. It's all there, and it's all hidden in the background, telling us the history of Belos while leaving some details out for a future story to reveal. Still, what they did show hints at something pretty twisted, and I'm both excited and scared to see what happens next.

Eda Making A Way Back: And while that's going on, we got a nice little B-plot about Eda doing everything she can to get Luz back. What gets to me about this plot is how panicked you can tell Eda is during this situation. Her baby is currently stuck in the mind of a dictator that's probably worse than Hitler himself. You can't blame her for running around wildly, trying everything she can while having Hooty lock down the Owl House so no one can interrupt them. It's going further beyond Mom-mode, telling us more about how much she deeply cares about Luz.

Raine Not Knowing What Hooty Is: And this episode still got jokes! And a funny one at that, which I appreciate...because it all goes downhill from here.

The Result of the First Coven Patches: ...I hate this.

I mean, I love this scene because it did its intended job of me hating it...but I still hate it.

The lack of even an ounce of sympathy as he left a group of people brain dead, their bodies probably buried under the snow to this day, is just...it is the worst thing a Disney antagonist has done. They were just sacks of meat to Belos, and he had no qualms that his experiment all but took the lives of what were good people. And...I hate it.

The Collector: This character, though. This I love.

Their design and the way they are animated are pretty unique. Sure, it's twisted that they're so excited for the complete genocide of the Boiling Isles, but...at least they're kind of cute in their excitement?

Fine, let's get back to the horror.

The Hall of Dead Golden Guards: ...Remember when Hunter said he loved Flapjack? Yeah, that was a sweet moment...when it lasted.

The Demon Thing Was Palismans: AND SEEING HOW I BROUGHT UP A PALISMAN...F**K!

I didn't need this. I didn't need the revelation that the thing we were supposed to be afraid of turned out to be the souls of dead palismans trying to warn Luz and Hunter that they're helping Belos kill them.

I didn't need that horrific and mildly depressing reveal. DID NOT NEED IT!

Hunter IS a Grimwalker: NOR DID I NEED THIS! OH...F**KING F**K!

The fact that Hunter really is a copy of Belos' brother, and a replaceable one at that, hurts me deeply just for the identity crisis it will undoubtedly give Hunter.

PLEASE tell me there's at least some wholesomeness that can heal this pain?

Luz Trying to Save Hunter: ...I mean...I guess that kind of works.

Luz having zero hesitation to save a person who has mostly tried to kill her in the past is nice to see. It also happened because of Belos' zero hesitation to murder Hunter in his own mind...but at least Luz saving him is wholesome?

...There's no going back, is there?

Belos is a Witch Hunter: NOPE! There really isn't! Oh...FRICK! They're really going there, huh?

Ok, are we SURE this is a kids' show? Because our main antagonist is confirmed to be a living member of the Salem Witch Trials. A member who wants to commit genocide on an entire race because he was raised to believe his holy mission justifies the hundreds upon thousands of deaths based on his own prejudice. A man who could very much exist in real life if the Boiling Isles wasn't a work of fiction. A villain who isn't just evil but realistically evil. A character that teaches us that the most prejudiced and ignorant have the power to be the most dangerous people on the planet. And that is...that is...ARE WE SURE THIS IS A KIDS' SHOW?!

Luz Learns Belos is Philip: Oh, the hits keep on coming...

Remember what I said that it would tear a person up inside when they realized they're partially responsible for helping a tyrant? This is what I mean. Luz finds out that she has some credit for giving Belos everything he wants, and it destroys her. She even tries to deny it at first. The evidence is right there, in front of her face, and all she can say is, "No, it's not possible." Because it's better to live in denial than to believe you've helped create a monster. A monster who thinks it's better to sacrifice the lives of innocent people for his own self-interest.

Sacrificing Titan’s Blood for Luz: When, in reality, the best sacrifices come from the heart. The Titan's blood is the most essential thing Luz has at the moment, and Eda uses it to get her kid back home. Though, I really hope Eda didn't use all of it and just ripped off a finger of Amity's glove. It still gives the feeling of sacrifice as Luz now has fewer do-overs to make a new door while also not overtly screwing Luz over in finding a way back home. Still, it was a tough call Eda made, and no one can blame her for going through this decision. I worry about what this means for the future, but...there's something worse on my mind.

Hunter’s Panic Attack: This...broke me. The horror in Hunter's voice when he realizes Belos will kill him if they meet again. The way Hunter tears his cloak off as if it burned him, now knowing how it only leads to death. And the fact, despite being in a place where people will show him what real love looks like, he runs.

Hunter runs because it's all he can do. The most powerful man on the planet will want Hunter dead, and he fears that there's nowhere that he is safe. It is soul-crushingly well written, making it another perfect ending.

WHAT I DISLIKED

...Uh...I guess it's kind of weird how Raine, Darius, and Eberwolf stay silent? I get that the writers want to keep it a "secret," but contextually, it makes little sense why they keep quiet.

However, that's quite possibly the nitpickiest of nitpicks I could have ever nitpicked. This episode's another A+

IN CONCLUSION

"Hollow Mind" might have a similar idea to "Understanding Willow," but the differences matter with who's mind we go into. "Understanding Willow" shows us the tragedy behind the character we already love. "Hollow Mind" also has tragedy, but by revealing the history and motivation behind an evil, evil, EVIL man. What follows is the trauma of one of our favorite characters and hints of a future that makes me more scared than I am excited to see. To compare it with "Understanding Willow" would be a hollow comparison at best.

[bloodyshadow1]

I really like that we got to see what the actual magical coven types can do this season because a lot of them were told to us but not much was actually revealed about what they can do, or what the could do in the first season wasn’t very impressive. most of them were self explanatory like the plant, potion, healing, oracle, and illusion was pretty self explanatory with knowledge fo other fantasy series, but the rest were more confusing.  The construction coven we were told used power glyphs, be we also find out that there also seems to have some form of earth bending or earth/stone magic.  The others from our first introduction seemed lacking compared to the rest.

Like with Beast Keeping we seen Viney have her griffin fight the basilisk in the “First Day,” but it seemed more like her pet doing what she wanted instead of actual magic they have in the show.  I don’t think she did any circles with her griffin to command them, when they combo attacked the Basilisk and I think that was the only time we saw a beast keeper in the show until season 2.  It was fine, but it seemed like care for magical creatures in HP, something neat but odd to have it be one of your 9 major powers when it didn’t seem to take any magic, just heart.  But this season we see from Gwen that Beast Keepers can command magical beasts, which could have been assumed but the way she used those bees against the gremlins was a huge display of magic, not just animal handling skills.  And in the most recent episode “Eda’s Requiem”  we see Eberwolf, the coven leader of the beast keepers demonstrate a huge assortment of powers that we haven’t seen before.  It’s shown that she can summon magical creatures, dig through the dirt like a mole, augment her sight to track foot prints, and have a war form for herself with extra claws and teeth when about to fight.  In dnd terms it looks like beast keepers are actually like rangers or druids, they can summon magical beasts in aid and combat, but additionally buff themselves with the abilities of magical beasts to make themselves more powerful. That’s a lot more than care for magical creatures as it was demonstrated in HP.

We also see a lot more of the Abomination casters abilities in season 2 which I love because personally I felt it was a very lacking magical subset, probably the least impressive in the show in my opinion from season 1.  For almost all of season 1 we only see abominations being used as slow mindless slaves, that aren’t particularly strong or durable.  Luz was able to destroy a bunch of them with punches when she tried to escape Hexide with Willow and Willow was able to tear through a bunch of them with the plants she created from a single seed.  Amity who is the best student at Hexide and in the abomination coven has her biggest show of strength and abilities when buffed by a power glyph is to create a really big abomination, one that still got tossed around by spells Eda put in the ground as traps.  It’s not until ‘Wing it like Witches,’ that we see Amity create a massive arm that can stop a guillotine ax, that we see any real creative application to abomination magic, and that’s the only instance, done by Amity who is again, the best student at Hexide.  It’s understandably useful creating an army of mindless servants that can do simple tasks for day to day things, but seemed lacking compared to what the other covens can do.  But then we see in “Escaping Expulsion” with all the abomination themed weapons that Alador created some more creative applications of them, especially with the Abomiton creating weapons, a far more durable Abomination that can tank more than one hit as well as move with some sort of intention and speed when attacking a foe.  And now in “Eda’s Requiem,” we see Darius, the head of the Abomination Coven, and his application of Abomination magic was incredibly creative and powerful compared to what we’ve seen so far like with Eberwolf and her Beast Keeping magic.  He was able to set a trap with the Abomination Goo, capable of holding 3 people easily, he was able to teleport said people at least a mile away to the conformitorium easily, he was able to use the Abomination Goo as a way to travel quickly through the forest, and perhaps most impressively he was able to merge with his abomination goo to become a giant power ranger monster form with the ability to create weapons.  We didn’t get to see much of his abilities because Eda and Rain’s combo spell took out everything in the area, including them, but it was still something to see. 

Bard magic still seems to hard to pin down, I’m not sure if we saw any examples of bardic magic in the first season.  From ‘Eda’s Requiem’ it’s obviously music based, as could be assumed, but other than that, it seems to be anything you can do with music, completely different from the other 8.  Most of what we see in the episode seem to be like the enchantment school in dnd, being able to put people to sleep, control the movements of people against their will, and other mental magic things.  However it an also do other things like make objects and people float in the aura created when they play music, summon physical objects like instruments out of thin air (granted we’re not sure how much and what was Eda’s curse interfering with her attempts at bard magic vs what normal bards can do).  Rain, perhaps because they are the head of the bard coven, seems to be able to do a lot with their bardic magic that other bards might not be able to do,  being able to control objects (ex when they made the Emperor’s coven Captain’s cloak dr strange themselves), disrupt another person’s circle they summon to cast spells, being able to send out a shockwave of sound from their lute to maybe use as echolocation to scout an area out, and was even able to use their music as a cutting weapon when they escaped Darius’ Abomination trap.  

Bardic magic also seems unique in other ways compared to the other magics we seen, like it has an actual weakness, if the target can’t hear the spells being played it seems like they’re unaffected.  I suppose that might be similar to the weakness of illusion magic where it only seems to affect the visual and auditory senses (so far at least), and can’t physically touch you so if you know about it you can mentally power your way through, but no hearing = unaffected seems a bigger drawback and an actual weakness.  It also seems to be a type of magic that doesn’t require a circle to cast spells, Rain was able to summon instruments with their circles, but most of the spells bards cast seem to be without circles at all as long as it’s played through an instrument (though maybe the items themselves have circles carved into them or something to allow bard magic to be used through them, like oracles in their crystal balls, but I can only talk about what I’ve seen and what I can speculate.  It seems foggy since when Eda initially played her instrument she wondered if her magic was back only for the objects she was levitating to fall the second she stopped so maybe extra confusing).  Granted some spells seem to not require circles in the show, but for the most part the rules seem to be you need a circle to cast most spells, ever since Eda told Luz about them in the ‘Intruder.’  So far it also seems to be maybe more powerful witches don’t need circles for their spells, Eberwolf and Darius were able to go into their powered up forms without casting a spell or traveling under their magic, but Eberwolf needed a circle to summon her rat worm and give her eyes the ability to track something that didn’t leave footprints.  Regardless, the last unique thing about Bard magic that I’ve noticed is that so far it’s the one magic type that Eda seems to be able to cast even thought the rest of her innate magic seems sealed away due to her curse.  She’s still able to use glyph magic like Luz, but Luz as a human with no magic bile sack can’t do witch magic like most on the boiling isles. Even if she doesn’t seem to have control of it and it’s affected by her curse, it is bard magic, like the other bard witches we’ve seen in the episode use.  (Eda and Lilith can also create potions another form of coven magic , but I’m not sure if the potion coven is actual casting magic or more Alchemy and application of ingredients, more science magic than spellcasting)

I’m just really glad we see more applications of the magic system in the Owl House because I felt it was lacking in the first season.  It made sense because Luz as a human can’t learn the same magic witches in the Demon World can do, and she had to learn about glyphs to get power, so we as an audience learned about glyphs and only got the gist of the coven system magic through the bare minimum of appearances.  Not to mention that the people Luz was around to use magic were either other kids who had no reason to be skilled or super creative, members of the Emperor’s coven who in addition to the nine forms of magic taught on the boiling Isles also know other magic that doesn’t fit in the 9 types, or Eda and Lilith who can do all forms of magic because Eda never had her power sealed away by a coven and Lilith was a member of the Emperor’s coven until the finale.  The world of the Owl House is so unique and creative, it felt like a shame that the actual magic system seemed stale and uncreative.  If that was a point since the coven system itself seems to be a bad thing, that would make sense, but it seemed odd all the same.  Season 1 was great but it had a lot of things lacking and seemed to lean too hard on Luz doing the stranger in a strange land trope, that it limited itself to what it could show the audience.  

[eldragon-x]

two faves and a newbie: darius, raine and kris :0?

Darius

Sexuality Headcanon: ace

Gender Headcanon: demiguy

A ship I have with said character: None

A BROTP I have with said character: I want to say Eberwolf because that's his canon bestie but I'm almost more invested in the potential between him and Raine that sadly gets pretty much no exploration, and there's already so little with Eber too. But as it stands, I'll just say Eberwolf because we did get a scene in King's Tide that shows a deeper part of their relationship than the surface-level teasing that's usually shown and they have some good potential too.

A NOTP I have with said character: with Alador or Adrian, tho I'd say the ship with Adrian is worse but I dislike both of them and the one with Alador is the most popular Darius ship so it gets a dishonorable mention here

A random headcanon: His VA recently said that Darius would have a hawk Palisman and I've been obsessed with that since so I like to think he adopts a hawk Palisman from Bat Queen once things have settled down. Said hawk Palisman's previous witch died in an incident and since then they've had the ambition to protect people. Darius' own desire to do what's best for others causes the two of them to bond.

General Opinion over said character: The Owl House would be a better show if we got a whole episode dedicated to him, and between him, Raine, and Hunter he's the one character out of my current top favourites who I am fully confident will have his story end in a satisfying way and I think that about sums it up.

Additional thing that I don't know where else to put but want to bring up: I'd honestly rather have him end up as Hunter's mentor rather than his parental figure both beause I love the idea of the dynamic between Darius and the previous Golden Guard, and Hunter and Darius paralelling like that but also because I don't see Dadrius realistically happen even if it's a nice concept. Additionally, I'm just tired of so much Darius-related fan content revolving around Hunter but that just adds to it.

Raine

Sexuality Headcanon: lesbian

Gender Headcanon: they're canonically nonbinary and I don't have any specific hc on that

A ship I have with said character: Eeerugh none really. I mean there's Raeda but that's just mostly on the basis on it already being canon and I wrote this whole post about why I think Raine's story revolves a bit too much mostly around their dynamic with Eda but anyway,

A BROTP I have with said character: I believe in Raine and Darius highschool besties to enemies to maybe friends again but not really due to unfortunate circumstances

A NOTP I have with said character: I haven't seen any bad ships with them

A random headcanon: They're prone to overworking themselves and the BATs have to remind them to take care of themself and keep an eye on the time. Their sleep schedule is a mess.

General Opinion over said character: I love their personality, the fact that they use music-magic immediately put my attention towards them, overall very cool character but I just really wish their untouched potential wasn't untouched. Season three show me the BATs dynamic and how working towards overthrowing an emperor for most of their life has messed Raine up. They were willing to sacrifice their life, you cannot tell me they were healthy to themselves.

Kris

Sexuality Headcanon: aroace or bi

Gender Headcanon: canon nonbinary, specifically headcanon them as bigender

A ship I have with said character: none

A BROTP I have with said character: Their friendship with Susie is so good, I think about that scene where she and Ralsei try to comfort Kris after fighting Spamton everyday.

A NOTP I have with said character: with Ralsei

A random headcanon: I think Kris feels like an outsider not just as the only human in their hometown, but even among other humans. The bit where they see a picture of humans in a book and react by quickly closing it reads to me as discomfort and considering the only other two human characters in utdr ended up being adopted by Toriel and have an implied history of abuse, I think it's the same case with Kris. Anyway, they finally found a sense of belonging outside their family since the events of the game.

General Opinion over said character: Really enjoy how we always keep getting bits of Kris' personality and feelings even as the player has literal control over them, far more than we've seen of Frisk, and I'm looking forward to how that'll play out.