#giving himself up to the collector for the sake of luz and his family and the isles

[wolfsnooze]

where does everything go when everything’s gone? / for my heart cannot break much more

[sepublic]

            Honestly, I just… Feel BAD for Belos at this point. He’s easily the most pitiable character in the entire show, Philip Wittebane has probably suffered more than anyone else, in a way that is 100% deserved, karmic, that he totally brought on himself and can’t blame anyone or anything else for. Belos has just been constantly wallowing in this cold bitterness for the vast majority of his existence, been defined by it; He’s like freaking Ebenezer Scrooge.

         Philip’s so lonely and desperate for validation that it’ll make him act stupid around Luz as he latches onto her for validation, even as poor Luz cringes because she does NOT want this guy, she didn’t ask for him, but at the same time she has to humor Philip’s pathetic delusions for the sake of everyone else. Thinking you’re better than everyone else, that they’re all lowly and subhuman, is inevitably an isolating experience.

         And like! He very easily COULD have companionship, he has an entire SOCIETY and its generations fawning at his feet. But he refuses it, because it doesn’t match Philip’s arbitrary criteria. It’s such a sad waste, really. He wants a playmate and best friend, but under a VERY specific set of circumstances, in his own way, and it’s just… As Eda said, you sometimes just gotta step out and make your own family with what you have, instead of waiting and expecting it; Even IF it’s technically destiny for Philip to have another human ‘friend’ show up.

         Is that part of his unhealthy obsession with Luz? She’s a human who helped him back when he was Philip, and even after centuries as Belos, she still didn’t fail to return to him after all that time and effort. It could’ve fed his delusions that Caleb would do the same. Belos is a manchild who misses and longs for his older brother to take care of him like before, and he’s throwing a tantrum over the loss. He wants a replacement, but on his own specific terms, because any other way would acknowledge that he can’t go back to the way things were, and isn’t that something we can all relate to? But even as he does everything to keep things the same or restore them, perform damage control, it just keeps getting worse.

         He’s so clearly insecure, needling Luz for approval and validation from a peer. He’s like playdough in the palm of her hands under the right circumstances, look at how she makes Philip feel self-conscious over his fit! He knows and suspects that the world has changed, he’s collected the human garbage over the years, no doubt as some twisted form of sentimentality. The false vision he gives the Coven Heads proves that he’s aware of modern architecture. But maybe that’s just a SURFACE-level change, right?

         He’s “How do you do fellow kids” but also to humans because he’s realizing he’s out of touch with THEM too, he’s become so lonely his monstrous form is symbolic, losing for himself what he sought for in others; So yet another thing he’s missed, a specific definition of humanity, is gone too. Belos wants to be told he’s still doing the “human” thing correctly even as he becomes something very much not.

         Philip just flips back and forth between so easily vulnerable in his desperation, to frighteningly dangerous and petulant when he doesn’t get what he wants after sacrificing and prostrating himself; It must be terrifying, being on the receiving end of someone who places so much faith and responsibility as a burden on your shoulders, the pressure! He really is like the Collector, more than he’d like to admit. And now that cursed mirror of his, reflected in a literal mirror, has taken everything from him; As did Luz, playing into Belos’ insecurities, it must be utterly humiliating. 

        All in a way he brought on himself, of course; He CHOSE to project onto poor Luz, convinced himself he was her Eda, her jaded older mentor who finds a kid to adopt and teach, even as she fills the emptiness in his heart left by his forsaken older sibling, lost to the wrong cause. She PLAYED him, how could Luz be so cruel, Philip feels so bad for his poor self and wants to curl up and cry! Eda sometimes acted a bit rash in wanting to impress Luz for her approval, but this…!

        It’s like he’s being punished for opening up, exposing his own soft spots in the process to someone he expects to be tender with, and then shuts himself up again once hurt; Because NEVER again, he just gets more and more embittered and cynical, more certain of the world as this cruel place that’s targeting HIM specifically. He rejects humans and thus his own humanity in the process. First Caleb, then the Grimwalkers, now Luz…

         And now, Philip’s back home, and it’s all changed, the original idyllic vision that he depended on. It’s all been for nothing. Philip has tortured himself with the transformations, the mutations, and it’s all for nothing. Everyone loves Halloween and witches now. His home is unrecognizable to himself, as is he. He’s gone from a human to a drop of green goop. He’s become the feared cryptid monster alluded to in bedtime stories, the one Caleb would’ve protected him from. Philip’s been through so much mourning and agony over Caleb, over his idyllic and nostalgic childhood. I can’t imagine the physical agony as Philip rebuilt himself, wanting to scream but not allowing himself to remain hidden.

         At this point, I HOPE he dies; Not because I’m sick of his character. But because it’d be a mercy killing. With all of his pain and agony and unsustainable wishes, with the childish and naïve certainty that he’s right, leaping at the chance to be told he’s right, the worn-down feeling over the years… For all my scorn, I also feel sympathy for the devil. He’s like Senator Armstrong, despicable but also legitimately hurt, he just wants this stupid world to make sense!

         I hope that in death, Philip Wittebane can finally find the peace he’s been searching for, the rest he’s agonized and longed for over lifetimes beyond what any human should endure, amidst the green, green grass of home. There just isn’t any other course for this sad, tormented soul, beyond some blissful ignorance and denial in his dying visions of Caleb accepting him in the afterlife, having made it to heaven after all thanks to Philip’s timely intervention, having been shown the light after all! He DID save Caleb, they can be together, are you proud of me Caleb…?

        I fucking LOVE villains with very human grief and loneliness who also totally brought this on themselves and are just so desperately deluded and isolated in their denial, in their futile coping by throwing themselves against this unsustainable idea, just the most PITIABLE and pathetic fucker ever. Still clinging because they’ll have nothing left if they let go. Philip is a sobbing child, kicking and screaming and burping because someone was mean to him, hurt his feelings and took his favorite toy away. 

        The world is always revolving around HIM and HIS comfort, so Pip can’t comprehend how anyone could be mean to him because he’s like the Main Character or something. He can’t understand that other people have their own lives and needs and wants outside of him, as Caleb did; It drives him MAD. He can’t keep living like this, with this shattered innocence and realization, and hopefully Philip won’t have to anymore. Not by living denial, because that clearly hasn’t worked across centuries of trial and error, chances; But with ignorant death. What a disturbing dude, not just to us but even himself.

        It’s funny. Philip convinced himself of a recognition of the self in the other (affectionate) in Luz, while desperately ignoring the recognition of the self in the other (derogatory) in the Collector, whom he’s spent more time with than anyone else. I suppose a kid who truly reminds himself of who he really is would be the worst, because seeing another Main Character like you just hammers in that you’re not THE Main Character if others are; You’re not special if others feel the same as you. Empathy is the worst idea ever to a racist colonizer, imagine.

[justahumblesideblog]

More Belos and Hunter Relationship Observations Because I Guess My Brain Likes it Here

Depsite clearly keeping Hunter in the dark about almost everything and conditioning him to be his loyal “nephew,” Belos also surprisingly let’s him “get away” with quite a few things. I’m not talking about Flapjack because it’s still very unclear on how much Belos was aware about Hunter’s secret little friend. What I am talking about is Hunter’s interest in Wild Magic.

From what I’ve seen from fanon, it seems pretty accepted that Hunter studies Wild Magic behind his uncle’s back and is secretive about it in general, but that’s actually not true in canon. In fact, in the same scene when they revealed that Hunter is Belos’ “nephew,” Hunter just casually brings up that he was looking into a method using Wild Magic right to Belos, only to be silenced by a brief glance. Rather than scold Hunter in his studies, Belos just warns Hunter to be careful before giving him the BS about their family being “gone because of Wild Magic” with only a small but controlling squeeze on Hunter’s shoulder as the real warning.

Later in the same episode, we see Hunter and Luz start to bond a little over their shared interests in Wild Magic. Even though their are absolutely enemies by Hunter’s standards, he still feels comfortable (in lack of a better word) to casually mention that he read a book specifically about Wild Magic to her and only seems pleasantly surprised that she read the same book. It’s only when he gets a bit too carried away with the excitement of sharing his knowledge that Hunter reins himself back.

“Actually, not a lot of people know this, but-No nononono…. This stuff is restricted for a reason.”

Notice the word “restricted” rather than saying the it’s straight up banned. Restricted tells me that the information is indeed available somewhere, but it’s heavily controlled in who is allowed access to it. As the Golden Guard, it isn’t that big of a stretch to think he is one of the few with that access. Perhaps some books are out there in the world for the public to see, but the actual very informative books seem to be kept in the castle with flfew eyes allowed to read them.

I’m going to briefly touch on the final scene with Belos and Hunter in Hunting Palismen because it’s mostly the same as the scene with them before. Hunter freely offers to research more about Wild Magic for a cure and Belos shuts him down. The only thing different I can get from this interaction is the fact that Belos makes the threat of harm into Hunter much more obvious, telling me that maybe there is a “strike rule” with these two.

1) first offense is a purely verbal warning

2) second offense is a very visible threat at physical harm

3) …. Well, the three strikes you’re out rule seems like it would be fitting with these two, so let’s just assume that the third strike resulted in that scar on Hunter’s face.

Again, it’s not “don’t study Wild Magic,” but it’s more of a “know your place” warning from Belos to Hunter. Depsite this though, Hunter is still very much invested in his plan to studs more for his uncle’s sake. Again Hunter just apologized for “speaking out of turn” not for studying Wild Magic.

Then we get to Eclipse Lake, where we actively see Hunter disobey direct orders Belos gave him. Not only is he so bold as to try to steal away a mission from his fellow co-worker, but later on we learn that Hunter didn’t even try to conceal his actions from Belos. In Hollow Mind, we see a Hunter fresh from Eclipse Lake confessing outright to not staying in the castle, but hoping that getting the portal key to Belos would make up for his defiance. Yes Belos was forceful, visibly angry, and dismissive towards Hunter, but he once again surprisingly doesn’t scold him. He merely dismisses him. The Collector confirms to us that Belos was mad and possibly was about to physically punish Hunter, but Belos merely toys with the key, looking rather pleased despite of Hunter’s disobedience.

Now the last scene I want to talk about is by the end of Hollow Mind once Belos reveals himself to Hunter and Luz. He actually is quite casual about the two of them being in his mind. Belos merely walks pass them to observed the captured spirits of the palismen he consumed, and it show off his powers to the kids. Then shockingly, Belos thanks Hunter for distracting the spirits long enough for him to dispose of them. He is still playing the role as Hunter’s uncle despite everything he has shown Hunter about his past. Despite knowing that Hunter knows the extent of his manipulation. Despite Hunter discovering the gruesome ends of all the other Golden Guards before him.

I believe this was Belos’ attempt of giving Hunter an out. Of course he isn’t offering it out of charity or any actual care, but as a power play. In Belos’ mind, he has given Hunter a lot of access to knowledge as long as he continues to obey. It’s way he doesn’t outright order Hunter to not study Wild Magic. It’s why he doesn’t punish Hunter for obeying orders to stay in the castle because Hunter still got something valuable out of his insubordination. In theory, Hunter can know and do almost anything he pleases under two very strict conditions: He continues to do everything for Belos’ sake and does not question him.

In the end though, Hunter fails to meet those conditions. He doesn’t even think of taking the out Belos “so graciously” has offered to him, but instead sorrowfully demands answers. This is what ultimately sealed his fate in Belos’ mind. What a shame to lose the Grimwalker that looked the most like his “friend.” Belos had hoped that he would last longer than the others, but it was “Luz’ fault” that he has to make another one.

In short, Hunter was only allowed to “get away” with so much because Belos recognized that everything he did was out of loyalty. Once that loyalty ran out, so did Hunter’s “privilege” to live.

[kinghijinx22]

The Owl House Watching and Dreaming review/analysis part 3

Part 3 Luz's Death and Meeting King's Dad

It's at this moment where the Owl family notices the influence of Belos, spreading his goo self across the land in a desperate attempt to take control of the Titan's corpse. Like a disease running through someone's body. Along with this he even creates a kaiju body for himself that comes from the Emporor's castle which is was just absolutely wild and unexpected. When the Owl family and the Collector go to confront Belos, the Collector tries to use what they just learnt about kindness and forgiveness on Belos which very obviously doesn't work and Luz ends up having to sacrifice herself to protect the Collector from Belos's blast. Luz gets in the way and disintegrates into balls of light that float across the Boiling Isles, the place that she'd learnt to call her home and that she fought so hard to protect. This scene is not only a good way of showing that there are some people that are so evil and stuck in their ways that kindness and forgiveness doesn't work which is a brilliant subversion of the "befriend all your enemies" trope that a lot of stories do and is much more realistic, but it also brings back what we learnt about how the Collector perceives death earlier in the episode and this was a devastating but effective way to teach him the weight of what it really means. He'd started to make friends with Luz, but now she's gone and they can't bring her back they've finally started to regret their actions helped lead to this.

Another tragic thing about this scene is that while the balls of lights that once made up Luz reach their destination, they go the Archives where her girlfriend Amity, her friends Willow, Gus and Hunter, and her mother Camilla are. As this happens we see that even while Camilla is a puppet and even if she didn't see what happened to Luz, we see tears come from her eyes. Like she knew what had happened to her baby, and it's hearbreaking. It's almost like Luz just wanted to see her mum again, but also the light is what turns back into a human just like it did with Amity and friends. She wakes up and talks to the kids who still don't really know what happened to Luz, but even with their bad feelings Camilla is able to take some insipiration from daughter by not giving up. She comes up with a plan to draw glyshs on the sticky notes she bought to help the kids to rescue the Puppets, using the knowledge she had learnt from her daughter. I have to mention here that I've always loved Camilla learning to draw gylphs throughout season 3, it really goes to show with everything else that she's been doing that she fully embraces her daughter and wants to a part of her world by leanring about it and understanding.

As Eda and King get taken over by their sadness and anger, going into super beast forms to fight Belos, one last bit of Luz's light drifts into the Inbetween. She turns back into herself as she starts to drown, but the Titan himself appears to pull Luz up before it's too late. Luz finally gets to meets King's dad, the Boiling Isles Titan themself. Or rather King's parent, as he says when they quote their son "I am both king and queen, best of both things." Luz met the equivalent of god and he is genderqueer which is just awesome. I assume you could refer to the Titan with any pronouns, but they do say "but dads fine" so I'll keep referring to him as King's dad and in this situation I'll use "he" and "they" but not she for the sake of not getting confused with Luz. So we learn that they have been using the mirror cubes to watch Luz and the Owl family this whole time, watching over the people who have been looking after son. As it turns out, it really was the Titan who in a mystical was helping Luz to find the glyphs this whole time. In fact the first glyph Luz had found was the light glyph and it helped her to protect King from Eda when she turned into the Owl beast which makes this knowledge even more poetic.

So this whole scene of Luz meeting King's dad is one of the best in the entire show and besides what I've already mentioned about it, the biggest thing that really makes this so good is the conversation about Luz's guilt and how she irrationally compares herself to Belos. She says that her and her friends wanting to protect their families and Belos wanting to protect humanity must come from same place, and so she feels guilty for wanting this. The response from King's dad however is incredibly important and has a powerful truth to it. He points out that Luz's feelings come from a genuine place, she has the heart and she's come to love the Boiling Isles and the friends and family she met while their. Meanwhile Belos's feeling are disingenuous, he just wants to be the hero of his own dilusional world and it's because of this that he fears what he can't control. I think it's pretty obvious what King's dad is talking about here but to get real, this perfectly discribes why bigots exist and the way that the people of right leaning idelogies think the way that they do. They have an idea of what an acceptable human should be and it always happens to benefit them. They want the praise that heroes get but need somebody that they can call an enemy to overcome. They lust for violence but need a justification for hurting others. So they manipulate the public perception of vulnerable minorities by fabricating scary stories about those that are different, othering their victims and creating an "us and them" scenario which justifies the violence they get a rush from. It also ensures that they are perceived as heroes who deserve to rule, and sends a message that anyone who steps out line will feel their wrath. It's evil, that's the only word to desrcibe it and the fact that this show is speaking out against this toxic mindset and the evil people who perpetuate it is especially relevant right now with the unfortunate rise of Rubuplican Conservative efforts to attack and eventually genocide queer minorities. Make no mistake these people are not doing these thing's for some sort of "greater good" or because the "care about the children." They just need someone to point their fingers at so they can indulge their violent nature and appear as the heroes in the process.

This is also how Belos thinks and why he's the perfect villain for the this story. For a story that celebrates what makes use different, encourages self love and understanding of others, having a villain who refuses to understand and sees nothing but reasons to hurt when looking at the differences of others, Belos is a perfect villain. He is a perfect depiction of the old timey Puritanism that he comes from and unfortunately the Fascism that is still rampant to this day. But this is also what makes Luz the perfect hero. She is the opposite of him in every way. She's kind, accepting of others and is always trying to help people to the point of being self sacrificing. She came to the demon realm and saw the beauty in the land and it's people. She was able to make a positive impact on the lives of so many witches since her arrival, meanwhile Belos had the exact opposite impact and has bought nothing but pain and suffering. Luz herself is a bisexual neurodivergent afro Latina girl. She belongs to several historically oppressed groups and is exactly the type of person that a bigot like Belos would discriminate against in real life. They are complete opposites in everyway which makes them the perfect hero and villain for the story of the Owl House.

King's dad tells Luz the truth that she needs to hear to put her mind at ease before deciding to give the rest of their power to her. He's fading away because of Belos's influence, but they've put all of their trust in Luz to save the Boiling Isles and defeat Belos for good. As Luz returns to the demon realm, King's Dad tells her one thing that they want her to tell his son which you don't get to hear until after the fight is over but it is really cute and funny. One last thing to mention about this perfect scene is that Luz's Dad turns into the giant skeleton version of themself, and what I take from this is that this is what he actually looks like currently but was taking the form of a human sized version of King with a dad bod, a Badgirl Coven Shirt and glyph cover pyjama pants which is just really funny to think about. Also have to mention it, what was the mini Hooty coming out of their eye? Is this a hunt to Hooty's origin? Is Hooty a part of a titan? Definitely gets the imagination running.