#hooty is also mentioned

[the-cosmic-blogger]

GAH!!! FINALLY!!!! CH16 OF ANOTHER FORM, ANOTHER TIME IS DONE!!! AND IT ONLY TOOK TWO YEARS!! :D

Here's Ch1 for a MUCH-needed refresher!! and I also updated the one on FF.net! :3

Enjoy!!

[cartooniack1994]

Lilith is reunited with her best friend Hooty, who still has some consciousness despite being in puppet form.

Oh, and Eda still has her sass even after all this time.

[worstcharacterpoll]

[Image description: A tournament bracket of 32 contenders, labeled "Tumblr's most hated." The matchups on the left are Vriska vs. Pearl from SU; Rex from Victorious vs. Rick Sanchez; Ansem the Wise vs. Gul Dukat; Kylo Ren vs. Kokichi Ouma; Scrappy Doo vs. Sheldon Cooper; Pierre from Stardew vs. Mort from Madagascar; Seraphine from League vs. Heimskr; and Jurgen Leitner vs. Andre Glacier. The matchups on the right are Walter White vs. Light Yagami; Buck Cluck vs. Ross Geller; Bramblestar vs. Starlight Glimmer; Goro Akechi vs. Pariston Hill; Katsuki Bakugo vs. Berdly; Angel Dust vs. the Impostor; Olaf from Frozen vs. Hooty; and Zenos viator Galvus vs. Tony Stark. The bracket is red on a black background. End ID]

Here is the official bracket for the most Hated Character on Tumblr! Each round will last 24 hours, with a 12 hour break in between. Round 1 should start Feb 9, 2023 at 9:00 AM CST.

As a reminder, this tournament is for the characters that you hate the most, so always vote for your least favorite of the two options. The winner will be publicly executed.

FAQ under cut:

Q: Why did you put in x character and not y character? Aren't there more hateable characters from that franchise?

A: I wanted to keep the competition light-hearted, funny, and interesting. I intentionally avoided most shitty parent characters, dictators, characters who were meant to be hated, etc., as well as characters heavily associated with bigotry and sexual assault, and gravitated towards characters that were more divisive in fandom. Exceptions were only made for characters I am familiar enough with and can use my own judgement for. Using Zenos as an example: He is a villain who is very evil and meant to be hated, which I mostly avoided when taking suggestions for things I wasn't familiar with myself. However, he's very divisive between people who think he's a good interesting villain, people who don't think he's a good villain and don't like him in the story at all, and people who want him carnally. Walter White is also meant to be hated, but he has a meme status, and as a villain protagonist I think he's more interesting than most "meant to be hated" characters. Also, there are certain franchises that I simply didn't want to include. If JK Rowling wasn't such a real and horrible political presence, owing all her influence to Harry Potter, I would've definitely put Snape on the poll. As it stands, I don't really want to give HP any attention. TL;DR answer: Because it's funnier that way

Q: But I LIKE that character :(

A: As mentioned before, I specifically gravitated more towards characters who are more divisive rather than universally hated. They are usually more interesting, and there is more variety with those types of characters - you don't have shitty dad character #1 vs. shitty dad character #2. I actually looked for "anti-(character)" tags and discourse about that character when making decisions about who to include. lol If you actually like some of these characters (uh, my condolences), vote against them in their respective matchups.

Q: Is it too late to suggest a replacement?

A: Yes.

Q: Why are you doing this?

A: I feed off of hatred and violence. I want to see who tumblr users REALLY hate.

Q: Why Pearl?

A: It was quite a while ago now so I get it if people don't remember, but Pearl discourse used to be a big thing and people argued that she was irredeemable for many of the things she did early on in the show. If you remember the "Pearl hates the Irish" meme, that was a parody of how much people hated her

Q: Why Hooty?

A: I haven't seen the Owl House but I'm told many people think he's annoying. Also he's voiced by Alex Hirsch and fuck that guy he did my boy Ford so dirty I'm still mad about this

Q: Why Starlight Glimmer?

A: MLP:FiM is another show I didn't really watch but she was a villain who got redeemed and became a main character and a lot of people think her redemption arc was rushed and botched and she actually made a lot of people quit watching the show. One of my close friends really really really hates her and I don't think that's an isolated incident

Q: Why Berdly?

A: Annoying. Personally I think his arc of becoming less annoying was pretty fun but a lot of people still hate him.

Q: Why Bakugo (instead of Mineta)?

A: I actually debated this a lot and held a preliminary poll which Mineta actually won. But then I decided democracy is dead because Mineta really wouldn't be as interesting as Bakugo in this tournament because he's basically universally hated. Bakugo is more interesting because people who hate him REALLY hate him, while people who love him REALLY love him. Kind of like Vriska. I think. I never read Homestuck and I don't plan on ever doing so.

Q: Why Tony Stark?

A: He's a heavily divisive character because he's a war profiteer billionaire with a superiority complex, but the narrative treats him as a morally pure hero. Also, he's MCU Spider-Man's mentor and most of MCU Spider-Man is basically defined by Tony Stark and he's not allowed to be his own character. There's a bunch of other stuff but I didn't watch and I don't care about most of the MCU. Personally I'm a really big Spider-Man fan and I despise him for what he did to Peter Parker but I shall refrain from making this a long rant.

Q: Why did you include characters that you're not familiar with?

A: I didn't want to exclusively have characters from my interests. I wanted a bit of variety. Before the poll started, I accepted submissions for candidates, and basically trusted submitters to send in decent characters. Some of the characters I ended up with may go against the vague guidelines I set for myself, which kind of sucks, but that's how it is now.

Q: This bracket sucks.

A: Make your own tournament then. I'm just some guy making a tournament on tumblr dot com for free. Don't take it too seriously.

[aquaaquila]

The Owl House Family Tree

Behold, the family of the Owl House mixed with my headcanons that I made because I felt like it, and gosh is it crazy. Explanation under the cut lol

The Grimwalkers (and Hunter who's a grimwalker) were created by Philip, essentially being his children, but Philip created them using Caleb's DNA and modeled them in his image. So yeah, they pretty much are both parents of Grimwalkers as they're not perfect clones of Caleb and it's fucked up in plenty of ways

Since both Gwen and Dell are theorized to be descendants of Clawthorne with how Gwendolyn follows the mold of Clawthorne women with her looks, power, and name. Still, then there's Dell who has an uncanny resemblance to Philip and Caleb, along with being the best wood-carver in the wood-carving family, so it's not clear who's the Clawthorne and who was married to Clawthornes, I went a different route. I made Gwendolyn a very very distant descendant of Clawthorne's ancestor (16 generations and possibly even more), whereas Dell is the descendant of Caleb as a compromise.

Lilith and Hooty are in QPR.

I included Hooty's mom along with possible ancestors and used the tapeworm in Titan's eye as a point of reference.

The BATTs are adopted children of Raine and Eda's co-parent to them. She however adopted the Collector, King, and Luz individually, even though Raine also would co-parent them to an extent. Granted Eda was called "mama Eda" by Amber, whereas Luz, King, and the Collector never referred to Raine as their parent.

Raine and Eda are neither dating nor married, but a secret third thing. And the same applies to Darius and Alador

Camila and Perry Porter (Gus's dad) are in QPR as well.

Professor Hermonculus is Amity's grandparent because yes xD

Eberwolf and Darius are "like brothers" but they aren't officially brothers by either blood or adoption, or they're necessarily in QPR. They're just bros.

Darius had a failed relationship that resulted in Gavin (that abomination Glandus kid). That's rather a leftover theory with plenty of story-telling potential that came back from season 2A days when we knew nothing about Darius and were looking for some connections. The picture of the mom came from the old photo from Reaching Out.

Gavin is dating Cat (Amity's former friend, she set them up).

There was a funny theory that once I heard about Mason being dad of Willow's dad and I decided to go along with it because A) I find it funny, especially since the point of connection is how alike they look, and B) explains where Willow got her green eyes from.

Mason is a grandparent of Matt and Steve, as I figured he's too old to maybe be just their dad IMO, but he could still be. It's also an old and forgotten theory from times of TOH S2B when Steve got revealed to be Matt's step-brother (meaning they share one parent and have 2 different parents of their own) and there were storyboards of ASIAS that revealed there was a storyline with Mason and Tholomules, granted as I said, it was forgotten so I can't say it's really valid.

Steve and Katya are dating. @secretly-of-course here is your Stevatya mention.

Any other questions? The ones that aren't asking who is who, unless it is a really obscure character then let me know.

[captainmera]

I love ur art, but why a spider palisman specifically? Is there a particular reason or just because its cute?

Also do they have a name?

From Philip's journal! :)

The spider is named Artemis, he's mute and only speaks bugish! :D (bugish = a dance sign language, the one Hooty mentioned bug demons speak)

[tartsinarat]

Heres an extremely dumbass idea I thought of while rewatching parks and rec through clips

Belos: “Depressed? I’m the furthest thing from depressed. I mean, look at what I’ve accomplished. Do you see them? Do you think a depressed person could make this? No.”

Hunter:” uh…father who are you talking to? There’s no one there”

Here’s the live Caleb reaction

But yeah I just find Caleb showing up to haunt Belos’s ass at random points and judging every life decision he’s making, so then every time Belos has to miserably fail to try to justify everything he’s done ever to (quite literally) dead silent Caleb is kinda funny in a morbid way

This time he is showing off and brings up his two grimwalkers that have lasted the longest beating his record of two years as an example of a good life decision as well as proving that he totally doesn’t need therapy

Ngl I feel bad for Pip as the poor guy just wanted to nap and got picked up just for Belos to prove a point but he stayed asleep through all of it tho

Btw Caleb is trying so hard not to loose his shit just because there’s youngins there and he doesn’t want to wake up Pip by making Belos pissed off so he’s going to stand there in silence even more menacingly and judgemental

I like the idea that despite the weird as fuck origins of Pip and Hunter, Caleb still sees them as his nephews and likes to check up on them every once in a while when he’s not haunting Belos, Caleb checks on Hunter the most because he’s constantly in dangerous situations even inside the castle so it helps Hunter a lot to have Caleb staring daggers at Belos whenever he gets violent towards Hunter because it usually stops him

On the other hand Caleb does like checking on Pip because it’s nice seeing a version of what could have been if Philip had learnt to accept the boiling isles :( also I can imagine it’s nice seeing your great x(insert number) granddaughter continue your wife’s tradition of being a menace to a stuck up society and teaching those ways to your weird mini brother/ nephew.

also fun fact Hooty can see Caleb (don’t ask how) and greatly enjoys chatting to him as Caleb was the one who managed to convince Eve to let hooty stay in their house’s door as a “guard” but really Caleb just felt bad for the wee bug demon as hooty didn’t have a home at the time and thought so he would be a fun addition to the family hence why alongside Lilith, Caleb was one of Hooty’s favourite people

btw nobody really cares or finds it unusual for hooty to just be talking to himself so not one single person has asked about it lmao

Almost forgot to mention but this is actually still a weird memory that Hunter remembers and used to wonder why on the boiling isles did Belos have those random fits of “hallucinations” until he talked about it with Pip.

Pip was just causally like “wait you couldn’t see him?” And walked off… Hunter has never found out or gotten a clear answer if Pip was actually joking or if he could straight up see dead people, Pip refuses to reveal the real answer because he finds Hunter being confused as fuck hilarious

Also if your wondering why Belos doesn’t have the cool mechanical prosthetic staff arm, he usually hides it with a glove :p (this is because a) I’m too lazy to draw such a detailed prosthetic all the time and b) I doubt Belos would like people to know he’s missing an arm as I doubt he would like the idea of seeming “weak” because in his day this would essentially be a death sentence either due to infection or being classed as less than due to not being able to work properly)

[mr-walkingrainbow]

Hey Anxienn fans!!!! I gotta lil treat for you!!!!

SO! Remember how I mentioned I was writing some Anxiety x Ennui fics?

well one of them is done!!!!

I have the wonderful honor to be doing a collab with the one and only @hootbon ! Their going to be lending some wonderful art skills while I provide the fanfic!!!

Currently the fanfic is finished!!!! However me and Hooty are still ironing out some of the details! So it will be a little bit before it’s published, BUT! I didn’t want to leave you guys hanging with nothing, so here I offer you a humble little sneak peak of, ABC’s it’s easy as a Une, Deux, Trois?

(also ps. I’m still working on the Jealous! Ennui fic, but that one’s not a collab so as soon as I’m done with it I can post!!!!)

Sneak peek below!

Ennui shrugged, looking away. She knew what Anxiety was talking about. 

For the past few months, Anxiety had been pestering her to let her teach her how to read and write in English. 

It wasn’t necessarily surprising that she didn’t know how. She was French after all. But the other emotions just sorta assumed she knew, since she spoke the language. 

Embarrassment and Envy knew of her little secret. They had all grown close together in the waiting rooms for years on end. And they never needed to learn how to read and write English down there. Ennui had her phone, which translated everything she could want. And nothing ever depended on her comprehension. 

However, they finally made it to headquarters. Riley’s mind making room for new emotions and feelings. 

With all of the commotion and adjustment, Ennui’s lack of knowledge was forgotten. 

Until one fateful day where she was manning the console alone. A history class with a teach with voice more monotone then her own. 

She had been frozen. Unsure on what to do. Her translator app on her phone wasn’t working. And Riley had been tasked with doing a history packet. A packet full of words Ennui would not understand nor interpret. 

She had no idea on whether an emotion was needed or not. And she must have stood there for twenty minutes, useless to help. Which normally she’d be happy with. Able to goof off and lounge around. 

But Riley was directly relying on her. She may relish being lazy, but never at the expense of their girl. 

She was stuck, pride stopping her from asking for help. Which again, is ironic considering normally she’d do anything to get out of doing more work. 

But this? This was different. This was a lack of knowledge everyone else knew. It made her feel…. Lesser. 

Thankfully Anxiety had walked across. Casually joining her. Ennui’s face had burned, too ashamed to explain why she was just standing there. 

Anxiety looked on, back and forth between the screen and her girlfriend. Realization finally hitting her in a silent ‘O’. 

She didn’t say anything else. Just casually read what was on screen. Translating without calling her out. 

Ennui had never been more grateful. And definitely made it up to her later, in a more private way, if you catch her drift. 

And there you go!!! I hope you liked the sneak peek and stay tuned for further updates!!! ❤️❤️❤️

[pizzaboat]

Eda Clawthorne and BPD

Eda is a character I never really associated with something like BPD(Borderline Personality Disorder) until I’d done more research on the disorder myself. Initially, I’d had a one size fits all idea in my mind for what a manifestation of BPD could look like.

But after finishing the Owl House in its entirety, and dispelling some of my ignorance around the topic I’ve come to the headcanon that Eda has BPD.

So to start, what I understand about BPD(Borderline Personality Disorder) is that it’s a personality disorder belonging to the cluster B section in the DSM-5.

It’s generally described that people living with it, might engage in risky/self harming behaviour, have an intense fear of abandonment, struggle with addiction, and have unstable/turbulent relationships with others. People with BPD also struggle with an intense feeling of internalised shame and numbness.

BPD usually manifests after some sort of prolonged mental abuse/physical abuse/sexual abuse/ psychological abuse or trauma, and that usually happens in childhood.

Well, what does any of that have to do with Eda? How does her character link in any way to what I've described? Let’s go through it;

(I’m not an expert, this is just a headcanon that I use to look at Eda)

Addiction/Substance Abuse

Eda is implied to be an alcoholic in the show. Apple blood, her infamous favourite drink, is often used as a stand-in or a direct reference to the topic of intoxication or turning to the bottle to cope with big feelings.

Proof of apple blood being an alcohol signal can be when Luz mentions in early S2, that Eda was hard to get off the roof after she drank too much apple blood, implying she became irrational and unreasonable after drinking too much.

Another example is when Eda was seen in a tavern in Eda’s Requiem, she canonically has a large and unpaid tab in that tavern, and was drinking apple blood (from a juice box) while lamenting about the current events of her life.

A scene like that is a heavy reference to the trope of getting drunk and venting to your local bartender that can be seen in a lot of movies and tv-shows.

Eda is also potentially implied to have Depression during the show and is typically grumpy/unapproachable before her first drink, early in the morning.

I’ve headcanons before that Eda uses Apple Blood to self medicate her mood after the implications in season 2 that she is drinking more heavily (the joke about the roof, her chasing free appleblood, drinking in the tavern when she’s sad), and after season1, and during all of season 2 her mental health had taken a clear nose dive after traumatic events and perceived abandonments.

I also mentioned that people with BPD struggle with a feeling of emptiness and numbness, and Eda’s low and irritable mood could be interpreted as coming from a place of feeling hollow. (That’s my headcanon).

Addiction is also considered a risky/self harming behaviour, which leads me to my next point.

Risky/Self Harming behaviours

Eda is an impulsive and risk taking person, that usually contributes to a pretty popular ADHD headcanon for her character, but I’d also like to argue that her risk taking behaviour could also be a sign of BPD, as it typically leads her to dangerous or life threatening situations, often on purpose.

A small example of this is when searching for titan blood, she pushes herself in front of a laser beam and urges King to shoot her with it to trigger her harpy powers. In that episode she was struggling to go harpy mode;

And the episode before that, Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door, she was shown depriving herself of sleep and worrying about not being ready for the day of unity. Eda had proved she was anxious to be ready and willing to hurt herself to be so, stemming from an internal feeling of frustration and worthlessness because she didn’t have what she needed to be ready.

In the cave, I think her action to jump in front of the laser, disguising her actions as a childish and silly request of bone-headedness was her hiding her self-destructive instincts and inner frustration in plain sight.

Her risky behaviours are driven by a deep self hatred and that leads me to her most risky action of all…

Fear of Abandonment

When Eda overhears the kids talking about telling her something, she spirals and assumes the worst. She spends that episode devaluing herself, trying to self-soothe with apple blood, and distancing herself from the kids in response to her assumption that they only have the worst news for her.

Luz is leaving and King wants to live with his dad.

She spends the day living out what appears to be a fantasy with Raine, where she is ‘Mama Eda’ to the younger BATTs members and she and Raine are playfully dancing around each other with some not so subtle flirting. It resembles a family life, where her and Raine are married, or atleast happily together, and the BATTs are like her very own kids that need her.

(it’s key to point out that Raine did most of the heavy flirting and was active, while Eda just bathed herself in the situation. Likely because while it was what she wanted, she’d also expressed earlier in the episode that she felt everyone left her in the end and all good things ended).

When this fanasy/substition falls through and the rebellion is busted, her and Raine play a murder-suicide duet attempt together, where Raine then learns that there’s more to the story than Eda is letting on, and that she isn’t just being motivated to do the heroic thing because she has nothing to lose.

Raine clearly realises Eda is trying to die because she has something to lose, and she assumes she is losing it. Dying to Eda is less painful and scary than being abandoned again.

I mentioned that childhood trauma/abuse can cause BPD to develop, and I’d argue that having a curse that caused the people she loved to leave her because she pushed them away, or because it seemed like her curse made her too monstrous to love, is pretty traumatising.

And that fear of abandonment predates even the curse, as it was revealed in the flashback episode where her and Raine met, that Eda had no friends, was ostracised by her teachers/principle and that she was terrified of being separate from Lilith; her only friend. Eda didn't know what an expulsion would mean for their relationship, if Lilith would still be her best friend, or if Lilith progressed onwards without her, would she abandon Eda?

Well, that worry was validated when it was revealed their sister relationship fell apart sometime between their late teens and mid-forties, when Lilith is introduced as Eda’s rival and Eda’s expression is stormy when she first sees Lilith on screen, it’s laos important to note that Lilith attacked first at the convention with her words, and Eda, having some very stormy feelings about her sister, responds to the greeting by cutting Lilith down in front of young fans in a way she knows will rile up her sister.

She basically attacks Lilith’s mask by mentioning that Lilith peed herself at a convention as a kid, and then proceeds to act childish in Lilith’s presence to wind her up and prove to Lilith that she is no better than Eda and that she’s not changed a bit since they were kids where it counts, according to Lilith.

We don’t know what caused Eda and Lilith to feud like this, but it can be assumed that LIlith joining a coven that allows only two days off a year made Eda feel like she was abandoned by her sister in some of the worst years of her life, by the person she once called her best friend.

The breakdown of such an important relationship would be upsetting to anyone, but to Eda, in the situation she was in, that would have to be further traumatising.

To add to the familial issues, Eda has issues with Gwen.

The entirety of keeping up a-fear-ances was about how gwen had failed both her daughters, but for this post, it’s that Gwen treated the curse, something so integral to Eda and her life at this point, something that Eda cannot change or separate herself from, like something her mom needed to cure her of.

To eradicate. So much so that she disregarded Eda’s bodily autonomy and safety at multiple points in just one episode and caused Eda to snap. She scared Eda into running away as a teenager, and she had to apologise to Eda in that episode for making her daughter feel like she didn’t love her. “I love every part of you.” - to paraphrase what Gwen said.

It’s not hard to imagine that feeling like your own mother would rather risk your health and happiness, disregard your wishes and try to remove an unremovable part of your person, would make you feel more unlovable and broken than you already feel.

I’m sure that this contributed to Eda’s fear of abandonment and would help cultivate the already existing internal shame she feels just for existing next to her loved ones and feeling like she’s not good enough to be in their lives because all she does is hurt them.

Yup, this is setting up my next point…

Shame/Low Sense of Self-Worth

Proof that Eda’s self-worth is low and her inner shame is high comes from how she treats her kids and her father. Eda struggles to look at people she feels she’s let down. While some individuals with BPD might do everything to avoid abandonment, Eda tends to abandon people first and devalues herself in the process, convincing herself she doesn’t deserve to fight for them or be in their company.

Her inner shame mostly stems from how she handles her curse, its impact on her life, and her past relationships. With Luz and King, she initially keeps up a protective wall and avoids physical affection. When she believes they are leaving her, she justifies her suicidal thoughts to Raine by denying her role as their "mother," revealing her deep-seated belief that she's unworthy of such a title.

Despite considering them her children, Eda questions her ability to be a suitable mother figure, expressing doubts about her worthiness. It takes reassurance from Raine for Eda to begin to accept that she is needed and, consequently, good enough.

Her relationship with Dell, though mentioned sparingly, has left lasting scars. Eda blames herself for hurting him and struggles to forgive herself, even when her father asks her to move on from the past.

In Knock Knock-Knocking on Hooty’s Door, Eda implies that she is haunted by nightmares of her breakup with Raine, blaming herself entirely for their breakup. This implied consistent rumination suggests that she feels responsible for every abandonment and rejection she has experienced, exacerbating her inner shame.

Raine was likely the last stable influence in Eda’s life, and her breakup further solidified Eda’s belief that she is the cause of her own abandonment. This cycle of self-blame and perceived rejection has left lasting mental scars, reinforcing Eda’s sense of brokenness and perpetuating her feelings of endless abandonment.

By examining Eda’s behaviour and internal struggles, it becomes evident that her shame and low sense of self-worth are deeply ingrained, shaping her relationships and interactions throughout the series.

Splitting

I can’t really talk about a BPD headcanon without mentioning its most famous feature. Splitting, from what I understand, is when a person's mood, sense of self, or perception of others shifts dramatically in the other direction in response to a threat, stressor, or trigger.

It might not just look like, “I like this person.” “Now I hate this person.” It can manifest as more dynamic, extreme black-and-white thinking, where something is either all or nothing:

“She always does this.”

“He never does that.”

“Things always go wrong.”

“This always goes right.”

The black-and-white thinking can be either positive or negative and can even be about a person's own self. And this is where my headcanon goes a bit shaky, because all I really have to go off of is Eda’s initial attitude of “We weirdos stick together,” and then how she switches those ideals up when she’s devaluing herself and her importance within the relationships she has with friends and family.

This is particularly evident with the kids and her extreme and impulsive suicide attempt, where I get this feeling of “I’m not good enough, and I will never be good enough.” off of her.

She also changes her mood with Lilith very quickly during the season 1 finale. A few minutes ago, she was ready to kill her sister and saw her as the most vile person she’d ever met. The next minute, she is letting her sister back into her house and wanting a relationship with her again after she split the curse.

There is this kind of emotional impermanence where she forgives Lilith and goes straight back to wanting to be friends with her at a speed and level that isn’t common at all. No matter what is done to Eda, she seems to bounce back quickly, no matter how badly she’s hurt in the end.

That's all I've really got for that, to be honest. If I find more that explores this idea better, I will probably make a post about it.

Conclusion

I think that turbulent relationships, a massive fear of abandonment, risky and impulsive behaviours and high shame/low self esteem are key parts of Eda’s character and that’s why I headcanon her to have BPD(borderline personality disorder.)

[sepublic]

TL;DR at the bottom... Even before the decision to include the Collector, I have to wonder if the writers always intended the backstory of a great war between the Titans and a group of celestial beings that descended from above, who smote each other and left only King behind as the survivor. The Season 1 finale alludes to other Titan corpses, with the Boiling Isles being the only fully intact one discovered; So there’s already that implicit question of What killed the Titans?

Likewise, there’s the angelic imagery surrounding Belos, that we also see introduced in S1. And while this could just be a reference to actual Christianity in-universe, I do recall speculating there having been a war between the Titans and divine beings from above during that time in response to this... Not to mention!

The Elsewhere and Elsewhen storyboards have Philip seeking a Song of Stars instead of the Collector, and we know there originally would’ve been three figures that cornered the Owl Beast in Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door’s storyboards. Sounds like...

I’ve speculated on these three as a motif since S1, with their first appearance being in Young Blood, Old Souls, where we first learned of the other Titans and their butchered state. Obviously, we must keep in mind that the crew changed the story after writing Eda’s Requiem, in response to the show’s shortening (this was told to them the week after Agony of a Witch aired, production takes a while), so K3oHD and EE’s storyboards may not mean much in regards to the pre-shortening plans.

But storyboards could’ve been written concurrently; They may have always intended an Angels vs Demons war between the Titans and visitors from the stars, that resulted in a mutual extinction. And the Collector and their backstory wasn’t totally made up in response to the shortening, either; Dana said they were a character concept the writers always wanted to explore.

So it could be that the shortening convinced the writers to make the Collector the face/representative of that extinct species, rather than a more conventional Archivist. And/or the Collectors would’ve remained purely posthumous characters in the backstory, the way Caleb and Evelyn are. The Collector was suggested as a kid of this celestial species to flesh them out, only to be truncated into just the trio; But with the shortening, the crew chose to actualize them as the lens through which we learn of their people’s genocide against the Titans, since they had so much fun with their concept.

Even before the show was shortened and the story changed, the writers might’ve always intended for the Titans to have been wiped out in a war against some celestial beings from space. They entertained the idea of a kid of that species, just as King is for the Titans; And when the shortening was announced in Summer 2020, Dana went F it and decided to elevate this cosmic child from the backstory and into the main story for our protagonists to actually deal with. Instead of an adult trio being this species’ representatives, the writers settled for the Collector.

Even if we didn’t get the Collector, that trio may have taken their place anyway. The background of their species’ genocide against the Titans would’ve remained; Philip’s plan would’ve been to use a leftover spell from that war, the Song of Stars, to enact a genocide upon witches as it was used for Titans (he may have mistaken the Collectors for literal angels whose mission he was finishing; Not unlike how he gets people to project divinity onto the Titan).

And since S1, he was always intended to be aware of and inspired by these celestial beings, who may have come in the form of a trio; Hence the Petrification statue, with the Owl Beast scroll as another hint. The curse is also red magic, which I compared to Belos’, and since he learned from the Collector...!

TL;DR I don’t think the Collector’s inclusion in the story changed it that much, since they’re just an extension of lore that was always planned, possibly filling a role originally intended for others of their kind anyhow; And it sounds as if Dana always considered the Collector, and thus might’ve gone through with them even if TOH hadn’t been shortened. Not that it really matters, because I find the Collector a legitimately compelling character in their own right, who in addition to their contributions to the themes, story, and other characters’ arcs, has justified their inclusion.

[sunnyrealist]

Chapter 56: Keep Me Close

The Sun, the Moon, and All Our Stars

Summary and Details…

Previous Chapter Recap/Context: Sebastian wrote a letter to Ominis, contacting him for the first time in nearly a decade in hopes of reconnecting and learning about Anne's final years and marriage. Unfortunately, Kate's owl returned a day later with the same letter Sebastian had sent out. He was devastated, assuming that Ominis didn't want anything to do with him post-Azkaban. Kate and Sebastian discussed it over a hot cup of tea. He decided he would still attempt to contact Ruby, his close friend from his fifth year at Hogwarts. In this chapter, we see Seb's final day off of work from the DMLE, in which he sends the letter; in addition, he arranges for some romantic surprises for Kate, and takes part in a portrait session with her.

Pairing: 25-year-old, post-Azkaban Sebastian Sallow x 24-year-old Kate Mayflower (my OC), the assistant librarian at Hogwarts

Art Credit: @giselsann-opencommissions made all three of these gorgeous portraits.

Content warnings: In general, this is rated 18+, so minors should not read or interact with this story. This chapter is overall pretty sweet and romantic, but there's a brief mention of making love.

The full chapter is available below the cut; it can also be found on AO3 (link is posted below). Please leave some feedback if possible, especially if you like what you read! 🥰

Chapter 56: Keep Me Close

The next afternoon, Sebastian amends his letter to Ruby to inform her that he was unable to contact Ominis. Maybe she would have some news to share on that front, or maybe she would ignore his correspondence entirely. He wouldn’t know unless he tried, and with the disappointment of Ominis’ silence, he figured it couldn’t hurt much more to take another blow. 

He had taken far worse.

“I’m so sorry about last time, Hootie,” he murmurs soothingly to Kate’s owl, holding up the letter. “Hopefully this won’t be a repeat. I’ve got a field mouse right here as a special treat for your trouble, just in case.” 

Hootie makes an excited noise, chomping onto the dead mouse’s tail and then accepting the letter in his talons.

“Please bring this to Ruby McKinnon.”

Sebastian sighs nervously as the snowy owl takes off, not sure if it is worth the effort to hope.

It had been a busy morning. 

Kate had informed him, without a hint of exaggeration, that it would take her a great deal of time to prepare for their portrait session, and that she did not want him to see her until she was completely ready. It was clear she planned to pull out all the stops when it came to her clothing, accessories, hair, and perhaps even makeup. 

Sebastian knew getting ready would not take him all that long, so he threw himself into rewriting Ruby’s letter and he had gone into town to “run some errands.” Kate hadn’t questioned him at all, which was perfect. 

He smiles, pulling the custom gold locket out of his pocket to admire it. 

The jeweler had made quick work of the engraving, and Sebastian was quite impressed. He definitely planned to return there for future purchases… and perhaps to sell future treasure. He and Kate would have more adventures - of that he was certain. With the money he kept from the centuries-old jewelry and precious uncut gems he sold, he was also sure that he would likely be back to buy more gifts for Kate. Christmas, Valentine’s Day, her birthday next year… and maybe even surprises in between.

He had also stopped at the Three Broomsticks to make a reservation for a private room on an upper level.

A few moments later, Sebastian knocks on the bathroom door. “Kate - how much more time do you need in there? I still have to shower.”

“Oh!” was her response from behind the door. “Erm… I’ll be moving into the bedroom in just a few minutes, but I’ll still need time in there, too.”

He chuckles. “That’s fine. I’ll lay out my clothes in the study now so that I don’t disturb you.”

“Okay. Tell me when you’re done, and I’ll sneak back into the room,” she requests. 

“Not a problem,” he replies, finding her secretive preparation amusing. He heads right into the bedroom to grab his new tailored suit and undergarments. 

About an hour later, Sebastian is ready. He strolls into the bathroom to view himself in the mirror and to make sure his hair is still mostly cooperating. 

His eyebrows shoot up as he examines himself in the black formal evening suit. He has never seen himself dressed in such… fancy clothing. For his entire life, he never had a need for this kind of attire. He fixes a stray hair, then straightens the tan vest. 

Though he feels a bit out of his element, Sebastian has to admit to himself that he looks good. 

“Almost ready, Kate?” he calls out towards the bedroom.

“Just a few more minutes!” Kate answers. “I’ll come out soon - I promise!”

Sebastian chuffs under his breath and figures he ought to find a way to pass the time. He wanders into the living room and sits, then thinks better of it. He doesn’t want to wrinkle the suit before pictures are taken. 

He wanders towards a shelf with books, reading off some of the titles, none of which he recognizes. Emma, Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, Little Women, Jo’s Boys, Wuthering Heights, Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing… Likely all Muggle books. He pulls out the only title he recognizes - Homer’s Epics: The Iliad and The Odyssey, flipping through the pages to view the illustrations of the ancient Greek gods and goddesses and fierce mortal warriors, lingering on a picture of Odysseus reuniting with Penelope in Ithaca. He’s about to continue on, when he finally realizes he is being stared at.

“Hi,” Kate says shyly, poking her head around the corner. “I’m ready.”

Sebastian immediately shelves the book, then watches her step out, his jaw dropping unironically. He swallows, his eyebrows lifting and pupils dilating.

She looks like an angel. A golden angel.

Kate’s hair is arranged elegantly, half up and half down with soft, blonde curls flowing to her waist. A light dusting of makeup is on her face, showing off curled eyelashes, rosy lips, and a glowing complexion. She’s wearing golden earrings and a golden necklace that perfectly compliment her golden gown, which perfectly accentuates her figure. There are delicate straps on her shoulders and additional wider sleeves that hang just off her shoulders in a gauzy fabric that flows across the top of the bodice. Just a touch of cleavage is visible. The bodice features embroidered golden leaves. In the center of the neckline, the leaves form a kind of flower. The gown hugs her waist, and then the skirt flows out, sweeping the floor with a ruched fabric trim. The skirt features many embroidered leaves in various earth tones, connected by vines. Her shoes are hard to see, but the light yellow shoes poke out just enough that he can see a shiny little accent bow on each.

“You- You look… stunning,” Sebastian stammers, his face getting red. “Gods… you are gorgeous.”

Kate blushes, her cheeks turning a little pink. “Thank you.” She eyes Sebastian up and down, then adds, “And you are incredibly handsome. The formalwear suits you. You look very dapper.” She takes a few steps towards him and kisses his cheek.

Sebastian tells her in a serious tone, “I mean it. You look absolutely beautiful. I don’t think… I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone as beautiful as you.”

Kate smiles, basking in the compliment for a moment. Then, she says, “We should probably apparate. I’d hate to see our clothes get dirty on a walk.”

“Agreed. Let’s go.”

Sebastian had never been inside of a portrait studio. Whenever his family had had pictures taken in the past, a photographer had always come to their home. His parents were proud of their house and always wanted it featured in mementos. 

The photographer was skilled and prepared, with backdrops and furniture ready. He assured the couple that their portraits would be in color and available in just about an hour. That was new. Sebastian had always remembered the development process taking weeks, if not over a month. Kate inquired about new advancements in America that her friends had written about. Lottie and Otty had been able to take moving photographs, just like paintings could be enchanted to do. It became a long conversation, with the photographer excitedly chattering about the intricate spellwork and materials that were supposedly required and that perhaps in a year or so, moving photos would be available in Europe.

About to leave, they finish up by confirming the number of prints and sizes for each. They step out, but Sebastian stops and says, “Oh, wait, I forgot something,” ducking back into the studio on his own.

“Excuse me… I wanted to make another request if I could. I would also like a small portrait of my girlfriend - pocket size. And… also a portrait of myself and our portrait as a couple made for a locket in this size,” he requests, showing the locket to the photographer, who nods in understanding. “I’ll come back later for the prints. It’s for a surprise.”

“This… is lovely. And such a wonderful surprise,” Kate murmurs, dabbing her cloth napkin over her lips. 

Sebastian admires her across the table, their private dinner illuminated by candlelight and accompanied by soft music from a gramophone. He refills their wine and tucks back into their meal of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, buttery dinner rolls, with a medley of seasoned carrots and green beans. 

Kate sips the Pinot Noir. “Did you know this is my favorite meal?”

He smiles. “You told me when we were hiking in the Highlands.”

Kate gazes at him, raising an eyebrow. “So… What is the occasion? It’s clearly an occasion. I’ve never dined in a private room here, and you’ve arranged my favorite meal.” 

Sebastian replies, “I wanted to end my week off of work perfectly with you.” He pauses, studying her reaction. “It has been… the happiest week of my entire life. Being with you… makes me feel complete. And after all that has happened, all that we have learned, moving in together… Well, a celebration was in order.” 

“It truly has been wonderful,” she agrees. “Thank you for arranging everything. Our trip was a fascinating experience, and… I’m excited to live with you and… experience all that lies ahead. I love you, Sebastian.”

“And I love you,” he echoes, “so deeply, Kate. You’re my sunshine. You’re all that is good in the world, and… I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you as my… future wife.”

Their eyes meet, both of them smiling.

Sebastian glances at his pocketwatch. “I know this might seem a bit silly, but… I am so anxious to see the photographs. Do you mind if I quickly apparate over to the studio after I order dessert and settle the bill? We can look at them here.”

Kate grins even more widely. “By all means, yes. I can’t wait to see them.”

Once they finish up with their dinner, Sebastian heads downstairs to order a blackberry crumble for them to share, which he was told would pair excellently with the Pinot Noir. He pays the bill. Then, he ducks out of the restaurant to head to the studio.

After a refreshing dessert, they finally are ready to look at the portraits. Sebastian scoots his chair right next to Kate, handing the envelope to her. 

She carefully opens the packaging, and the first portrait she pulls out is the portrait of them as a couple. She gasps upon seeing it. They are seated at a bench with the backdrop of a garden. Kate was given a matching parasol as a prop, and the two of them smile, appearing to read a book together with Sebastian leaning in, their foreheads practically touching.

The next portrait is of Kate. The photographer had asked her to pose for a close-up, insisting this was the most current fashionable style - it would make the subject appear glamorous, soft, and romantic. The photo features her from the bust and above. Her hair is flowing and is voluminous. She rests her hand on her cheek. Sebastian whistles.

“A goddess,” he murmurs.

Finally, the portrait of Sebastian is revealed. He is seated on a chair, looking right at the camera with a bit of a smirk on his face - an apt depiction.

“Merlin, what a good-looking man,” Kate murmurs, looking closely at it and then flashing a grin at her boyfriend.

“I suppose we are a rather attractive couple,” he replies with a smirk.

Kate continues looking at the pictures for several minutes, then places them all back inside the envelope.

Sebastian has been waiting for this moment. He reaches over to take Kate’s hand. “I have something for you.”

“You do?” Kate seems surprised.

He pulls out a small box from his pocket and opens it for her. There lies the golden locket. Kate gasps, then examines it closer. 

“It has… a moon! That’s you! And flowers… I suppose that’s… me!” she notes with an excited laugh. “Sebastian… it’s perfect. Absolutely perfect. Just what I would have chosen myself.”

“I’m glad you like it. Here, take it. Open it,” he requests.

She obeys, opening it carefully, and inside are tiny photographs - their portrait as a couple and a portrait of Sebastian. She studies it adoringly, then closes it. Throwing her arms around him, she murmurs “Thank you” in his ear. When she pulls back, she kisses him tenderly and repeats the sentiment: “Thank you.”

Sebastian stands behind her, and she holds her hair up as he fastens the necklace. “You can always keep me close. And I’ll be able to do the same.” He reveals the pocket portrait he had made of her. “It will help me survive being away from you.” He chuckles. “No easy task. I cannot even fathom having to wake up for work tomorrow and leaving you in bed alone.”

Kate reaches out to caress his cheek. “I don’t want you to go back to the Ministry tomorrow. I wish you could have the entire summer off with me.”

“Me, too, sunshine. Me, too,” he whispers wistfully. 

After a few moments, he suggests apparating home, where they immediately make the most of Sebastian’s final evening without responsibilities. Their lovemaking is slow, unhurried, as they thoroughly explore each other’s bodies. 

The only thing Kate wears to bed that night is the locket.

[that-ari-blogger]

That's My Boy (Eclipse Lake)

Eclipse Lake is one of those episodes that anyone who’s aware of The Owl House knows by name. This is one of the episodes that is used to recommend the series, and it earns that reputation pretty much through one scene.

I mentioned last time that Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door carries the series by taking most of the pacing issues from a shortened season into itself, and this is what I mean. Eclipse Lake is a slow burn that focuses in on one theme and explores it in detail, that being relationships.

Essentially, this episode characterises by implication. It positions Hunter and Amity as mirrors in order to shed light on Belos as a father figure and boss, as well as Luz as a girlfriend. It even throws in Eda as a spanner out of left field to orbit around this thematic as well.

This metaphor has gotten away from me.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD: (The Owl House; Jurassic Park; Critical Role Campaigns 1, 2, and 3)

This is a Hunter episode, and I want to clarify my reading of this character and his story before I begin anything specific. I don’t see this character as a villain, or in need of a redemption arc. When he switches sides later on in the series, it’s because he learns about what is happening behind his back. His moral code doesn’t change, he doesn’t get redeemed. He gets a support group.

Which brings me to his connection to Amity. Hunter and Amity are remarkably similar characters. They both have an abusive parental figure, whether through physical violence or emotional manipulation or both, and that has informed their personalities. The specifics are different, yes, they are different characters and that needs to be understood. But their similarities are also important.

In that vein, the biggest difference between Amity and Hunter is that Amity has people outside of her family who will look after her and back her up. The opening crawl of the episode sets this out really well, with the Owl House crew dealing with a problem without a hitch. These people trust each other, and their biggest difference of opinion is about music.

Meanwhile, I believe this is the episode in which Belos’ face is revealed, and I mean that in a literal sense and a metaphorical one. We see the most about his parenting tactics from Hunter’s behaviours, at the same time as learning what his villainy actually looks like. I will talk about all of Belos’ character designs in a later blog, for reasons that will become obvious. Instead, I want to talk about his relationship with Hunter.

“Would you like to see how it works, Hunter?”

So, this exchange, on paper, isn’t that bad. Belos is telling his nephew about the world he will give him. He is reassuring him and telling him to stay safe. There are only two things that make it unnerving. Well, two obvious things, and both of them are Hunter.

“I didn’t mean to hide, Emperor Belos.”

Thing One, is Hunter himself, or more specifically, the fact that this relationship is so one sided it almost hurts to watch. Belos speaks of grandeur, and yet his nephew is palpably uncomfortable in his presence, and eternally seeking to prove himself. The affection feels hollow because Hunter doesn’t understand it as affection, he understands it as a test. Hunter will only be happy when he is useful to his uncle, and he treats any acceptance he receives as transactional, as if he has to earn it. I wonder where he learned that.

Thing Two, is “Hunter,” the word, and how Matthew Rhys delivers it. Because it isn’t treated as a name. The tone of everything Belos says in this scene is informal, except for that one word. It reads to me like an insult, or a title. Belos addresses Hunter by his job title and has given the child no name beyond it. He sees his nephew only as a tool, and so all of the affection reads as hollow.

Notice how, as Belos speaks, he guides Hunter to the doorway, into darkness. He leads Hunter away from the light, away from knowledge, into ignorance. Almost as if willful ignorance is something Belos thrives in.

Which has a weird affect on the audience perception. The thing about humans is that when we perceive something as normal, we tend to not examine it further. So, the unsettling nature of the conversation provokes us to look deeper at what Belos is actually saying, and we see… not much.

By which, I mean that Belos never actually says anything in this conversation, nothing of meaning. He just agrees with Hunter and lets him drive his own conclusions.

“The Titan has big plans for you.”

That sounds great, but it isn’t anything. It's like a book report given by a year seven. It’s an awful lot of nothing to try and convince you there is more behind it. It’s a nebulous saying that translates to “watch this space.”

Now, people say things like this in real life, and they work because the saying means something. For an example that won’t ruffle too many feathers, Jurassic Park has the iconic “life finds away” line. Which, in isolation, doesn’t really mean much.

You could say this to make yourself feel better if you wanted, perhaps as a form of optimism. But the line doesn’t carry that meaning in the story. It’s about nature and evolution and what that means for the humans. It means that in order to survive and thrive, you need to change. Sometimes physically, sometimes intellectually. It’s also a line about freedom, and that life cannot truly be contained.

Saying “life finds a way” to reassure someone is all well and good, but it's an empty saying without its context.

For another example, this time with absolutely zero subtext, Taliesin Jaffe. To avoid gushing too much, the man is one of the few D&D players who can accurately roleplay a high wisdom score, and has displayed this many a time during the, as of current writing, three campaigns of Critical Role.

During the first campaign, Mr Jaffe’s character, said, off handedly, “life needs things to live” in regard to a specific tree requiring sustenance. An orchard can’t grow in a desert, there are certain criteria that need to be met. However, the context amplified the meaning. The first campaign was centred around the idea of community, and the idiom “no man is an island”. Companions will hold you up, keep you alive, and make your life worth living.

This gets taken out of context twice in later campaigns, and it gets poked fun at both times.

In campaign three, in a moment of exploration and new self-understanding, the line is said again, and the cast points out how little it makes sense here. The phrase is here meant to encourage a character to fill time and do something interesting because life needs things to live. On a surface level, it's kind of appropriate, but not really. It's about life worth living, not time worth spending.

Campaign two is interesting, because the saying applies 100% to what is being said, but because of the characters, it gets joked at anyway. Taliesin has just given a monologue (because of course he has) about how you only get one life, and you need to use it well and fill it with things that make it worthwhile, and so “life needs things to live” is said in response.

But the Mighty Nein were a more plain-spoken troop than the previous adventure. This speech happens less than two percent into the story, and the characters at this point don’t really care for the philosophy and poetry of the idea. Instead, they point out how easily it could have been said any other way without seeming pretentious. In this case, the line was less meaningful than explaining the character’s mindset in simple terms.

Hey look at that, Grimwalkers have a thing about eyes. Artificial humans with a thing about eyes. That's very Bladerunner. A possible Grimwalker character might have a theme of agency and justifying existence beyond their assumed use. I am going to use this in my analysis of Hollow Mind, so hold onto it for now.

Linking this back to Belos, the line about the Titan would be really poetic if it was said in earnest and in context. Because yes, a line about how fate can make martyrs or monsters of anyone would be really powerful. It could talk about being born with talents or discovering you have a gift and putting that to use, seeing your destiny laid out because of skills only you possess. But here, it just means “pipe down and follow me blindly.”

Which is either emotional abuse or spiritual abuse, depending on how you square it. I read it as both.

Keep that in mind for the rest of my series on The Owl House, because it will colour how I read Belos. Everything this man does is a façade of critical thinking, cut down by his own lack of commitment. Essentially, the man is a hypocrite pretending to be deep, and I think that was an intentional decision on behalf of the writers.

“Seem’s clear to me. Come back with results or else, you can figure out the rest.” “Luz wouldn’t make that kind of a threat. I’m an awesome girlfriend.” “Has she told you that?”

I genuinely went into this episode planning to write a whole spiel about Odalia, but it took this exchange to for me to realise that Odalia is kind of irrelevant at this point in the series. Amity doesn’t need her affection anymore and has moved past her. This episode is about the difference between Luz and Belos.

Because, just from this exchange, we can see that Hunter assumes the worst from everything. He assumes affection is transactional, as has been stated above, but he has a scuffed idea of what affection looks like. Because if someone loves you, truly, they don’t have to say it. Affection and a healthy relationship is shown not told.

The best way I can explain this is through the song Nobody, by the Crane Wives. The band has a reputation for dealing with complex emotions through their songs and have a choke hold on the AMV side of the internet only rivalled by the songs from Epic The Musical.

“She woke me up at dawn, soft spoken as a spider Spinning webs of holy words while she was still asleep Kill the moon beneath my window, pull the covers tighter And hear her voice go swinging like a hatchet through the trees”

The opening verse sets up the story. The lover is represented as a predator, the spider who has caught the perspective character in a web made of compliments. A voice that can be both divine, and violent like a hatchet. This builds, adding addiction imagery through the invocation of cigarettes, as well as contrasting the lover with what is ostensibly a beast outside. Then the chorus:

“Nobody ever loved me, ever loved me. Nobody ever loved me Like she tells me, she does.”

Show don’t tell isn’t a rule for how to write, it’s a tool for how to make a story feel real. If you want your audience to trust you, show it to them. If you don’t, highlight that they are being told it.

Here, the affection between the singer and her lover is entirely conveyed by the idea that the lover tells the protagonist that she is affectionate. She tells her that she cares about her more than anybody else. But this is being told to the protagonist, which makes the audience doubtful, and more inclined to trust what we are being shown, which isn’t a healthy relationship at all.

Then there is the fact that the repetition implies this is a mantra, something the protagonist tells herself to make her feel better.

“I’m trembling in the eye of the only storm I’ve ever known.”

The song also implies that this is the protagonist’s first relationship, and she doesn’t know better. She thinks this is what true love actually is, which leads me back to Hunter.

Hunter thinks this is normal, and so assumes that it is normal for everyone else.

“We have a lot in common, Blight. We’re both trying to show what we can bring to the table. And we can’t fail, because there’s nothing worse than disappointing someone who thinks you’re special.”

Something Hunter doesn’t get enough credit for is how he is almost perfect at reading people. In a previous episode, he psychoanalysed Luz, and here is calling Amity’s bluff with uncomfortable accuracy. Amity has been raised by Odalia fear failure just like him. But there was an almost there, and it is a pretty glaring flaw, Hunter doesn’t understand relationships.

In the previous episode, Hunter was blindsided by Luz’s ability to befriend him and give him kindness despite their opposing allegiance, and here he doesn’t understand that an affectionate relationship doesn’t include ultimatums. Luz has chosen emojis that could be misconstrued because it doesn’t occur to her that you could read the messages like that. The ultimatum doesn’t cross her mind, so she doesn’t go out of her way to clarify. Why would she? What option is there other than kindness?

And that is Luz in a nutshell, isn’t it? A character who is fundamentally kind and uses that to change people and inspire them to be better.

This isn’t the only time Belos and Luz are shown as parallels, and it is telling that, on a surface level they are similar in just about every aspect. The difference is in the nuance. Luz is genuine, for one, but there are a ton of other little differences that completely alter the meaning.

For example, both are trickster characters who don’t rely on physical prowess to defeat opponents. But where Luz is a tactician by necessity, Belos pretends to be the underdog. Also, Luz choses to subdue her opponents instead of killing them because she’s kind. Belos does it because they will be useful to him later, and he can hold the mercy over their head like a bargaining chip.

Also, Luz and Belos both rely on other people to help them achieve their goals. They are leaders and organisers. However, Luz leads from the front and inspires people to achieve great things, while Belos scares people forwards and pushes them to their extremes against their better judgement.

The two are superficially similar, but their differences are significant. Belos pretends to be the person that Luz is naturally. Although not specifically Luz. Belos creates an ideal and claims it to be himself, which is why he is so infuriated when Luz achieves it effortlessly. Belos' name means beauty, but light is what truly shines.

“Fool’s blood bad. U okay? Come home? Of course, this is Luz we are talking about.”

I mentioned at the start of this post that this episode only works because of its predecessor, and here’s why: This episode is filler.

If you think about this, the episode doesn’t push the plot forward in any meaningful way. The Harpy Eda storyline is artificial and added in this episode, so you could theoretically skip the episode and not miss anything.

So why am I wrong here?

Well, the episode not pushing the plot forward plays into its actual purpose, psychological storytelling. The fact that this episode is a dead end is the point, it’s a dead end that could have been avoided if Amity had understood the relationship she was in, and over the course of the episode, she does realise, and the futility sinks in.

This episode pushes the emotional story forward, rather than the overarching plot.

Fool’s blood is a play on fool’s gold, a substance that looks shiny but is in actuality useless. Amity can accept the failed job because she learned something about herself, and the fact that nothing will change if things go wrong is reassuring to her.

Take a guess at for whom this isn’t true.

“Since I failed my last mission, I thought: Hey, a chance to make up for it! But I can’t go back empty handed. [Laughs] Not again. Long story short, this is my grave. Want me to make you one?” “This is really bumming me out.” “That’s just life, rat. Everyone has a use, and if you don’t, bye bye. Your friend gets it.”

Please, don’t let Zeno Robinson’s phenomenal acting skill distract you from the fact that Hunter is wrong here. Like, he has reason to believe what he says, but that’s just not how life works. People don’t have uses; you don’t have to justify your existence or value. Your innate value is the benchmark for everything.

In other words:

“You know, you were right. We do have a lot in common. I grew up thinking everything was an opportunity to justify existing, but there are people out where who won’t make you feel worthless. You just have to let yourself meet them.”

The fact that Flapjack is a key player in an episode about Hunter suffering in an unhealthy relationship and rejecting positive reinforcement is a neat metaphor. Specifically, because he acts as the personification of that relationship, a creature with wings that can go wherever and give its wielder the ultimate freedom. But Hunter rejects him, and the relationship.

The teleport thing is Hunter's signature spell, as it were. But we've seen this before. Eda and Lilith used this in their duel at the end of season one. I wonder what that means.

Amity’s speech doesn’t work because Hunter doesn’t have that support group, instead he has desperation bordering on madness. Not everyone will accept help, some people need to help themselves.

Eda is a weird tie into this theme, but I think its worth discussing her interaction with the Owl Beast. In this episode, it is revealed that her ideas for how to effectively communicate have not involved actually talking.

Eda’s relationship with the Owl Beast isn’t romantic or parental, it’s a relationship with herself. It hasn’t occurred to her until now that being nice to herself is an option. The Owl Beast’s side of the bargain is literally just “eat”. Basically, Eda should take care of herself, and in exchange, she will be able to do great things.

That’s a weirdly thematic backing to a comedy subplot.

Final Thoughts

I could do a shot for shot breakdown of any scene in this episode. The cinematography and direction are impeccable. From the fact that Hunter’s POV is almost always looking up, and therefore making him seem less powerful, to the little moment when Amity has been captured and the camera uses Kikimora’s robot to frame her as trapped and boxed in.

If I get enough requests for it, I might to a breakdown for the fight sequence, because that needs its own post. So, if you want that, lemme know.

Next week is Yesterday’s lie, and I get to talk about Camilla Noceda. So stick around if that interests you.

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[brother-bon3s]

One thing that no one has mentioned once is that Philip, being a fragment of Belos’s mind, really hates witches and so he might be very hostile towards Luz and the others.

Like he would try to steal William’s giant ass sword and try to kill Eda only to fail to even lift it due to its weight or trying to set her house on fire but be thwarted by Hooty.

SORRY TO REPLY SO FAST but I saw this as an opportunity to yap about Philip in my au before I leave for work

Philip is absolutely terrified of everyone once he is initially pulled out of the mindscape, he’s surrounded by witches and demons and he’s under the impression that if they find out just exactly who he is they will waste no time in killing him. In his mind he is at the mercy of these witches and if he so dares as to show discomfort to them they may kill him. This is why he finds comfort in William because William seems to share these thoughts and feelings, so much so that the two inadvertently feed off of each other’s fear and anxiety.

A lot of these submissive and timid behaviors come from the fact that he is a manifestation of Belos’s guilt, all of Belos’s wrong doings are on his mind constantly, especially when he sees Hunter. Philip is also a tiny child, if he were to try and run away he could be killed or eaten

I WOULD WRITE MORE BUT I HAVE TO LEAVE WORK NOW

Edit: forgot tags

[sporesgalaxy]

grumpy bc the TOH wiki clearly sourced the Collector defualt image's color palette from this scene (we don't have an official, finalized color ref sheet for the Collector's true form)

but makes no note of the fact that they did so / this is not actually neutral lighting, the way scene/lighting are mentioned for these other images.

Compare actual neutral outdoor lighting (left) to how pink all the same characters look during the scene they got those colors from (right)

And the lighting is the same in the Collector's archive house. Compare Odalia's face and hair to how she looks in neutral lighting.

Besides the obviously dark scenes, we also have the opening scene, but I think it's still a little washed out based on Lilith and Hooty.

SO. PSA if you're trying to use the wiki for color references like I am right now. There's not ACTUALLY a good neutral color ref for the Collector's true form.

I'm out of images for a mobile post, but the credits art might be the closest bet for a neutral color reference. It's not quite neutral either (and it varies between the images), but none show the Collector quite as washed out or as heavily shadowed as the scenes we've gotten in the show so far.

[urfavbri-ish]

SOME DADRIUS (+ Uncle Eberwolf) headcanons!!

When they apologise to Hunter for the years of mistreatment there in literal tears and Hunter is just stood there 🧍🏼‍♂️🧍🏼‍♂️🧍🏼‍♂️.

Trans masc! Hunter having to admit to Darius he gets periods and needs pads and Darius goes ALL OUT. Heating pads, scented pads, thin pads, overnight pads, he even gets a little box of tampons just in case. As well as that, Darius gets him sweets, chocolate, among other things. Hunter is mortified and embarrassed at how much research Darius did and how much stuff he bought, but also feels incredibly choked up because let’s be real Belos would probably think Periods are disgusting and reprimand Hunter for mentioning his, and let him suffer in silence with cramps and never get him the things he need and make him suffer through it.

Eberwolf getting all overprotective whenever Hunter mentions dating and immediately being all ‘Your not aloud to date because nobody is good enough for you.’ Or ‘If anyone breaks your heart I’ll snap there neck while there sleeping.’ Despite this he ends up really liking Willow.

Hunter literally had no free time. He only went on missions at the weekend, which forced him awake for hours on end, and during the week he just studied. From 5am till 2am. He rarely ever stopped to eat, or drink. He would never have admitted it, but he was miserable and tired, because of this Darius and Eber feel guilty because of the somewhat obvious signs of neglect and abuse and mistreatment that was practically begging them to look in the right direction and stop only seeing what they wanted to about Hunter.

They both thought Hunter had been savagely mauled when they first saw him. Darius was holding back tears, and Eber was just mortified.

Hunter used to sleep about three hours a night but Darius makes him have ATLEAST eight hours every night.

Hunter was so overwhelmed by the amount of people who offered to take him in. Camila offered, Eda offered (in fact Eda had seemed pretty desperate to take him, he’s still not sure why.). Hooty offered to take him in, and Amity threatened to beat Hooty up in the same conversation. He ended up going with Darius and Eber.

He’s also overwhelmed by the amount of people who want to give him affection and love. Whether it’s Darius’s forehead kisses, Eber nuzzling into his chin, Willow kissing his cheek, Vee hugging him, Amity putting a gentle hand on his shoulder, Luz ‘bear hugging’ him, Edas one armed hugs around the waist, Gus in general. He just confesses all this to his caretakers and how he’s so confused and how anyone could love him, and gets a strong talk about how much he deserves to be loved, and how much they love him.

They try not to talk about Belos to much, but child abuse isn’t easy to recover from, and they’ve had multiple long conversations about Belos’s less than ideal treatment of Hunter. They don’t make him feel any better.

Hunter has on old journal from his time as the Golden Guard, which he unknowingly confesses a lifetime of abuse into. His friends read it by mistake. Darius and Eber found it and also read it by mistake.

[zfiledh]

Headcanons: The Owl House

In no particular order:

Luz and Camila took Amity, Hunter, Gus and Willow to Comic Con dressed like characters from Cosmic Frontier. They actually got to meet the creator(s) of Cosmic Frontier, who were very bemused by Gus and Hunter asking a multitude of questions and Gus’ warning about the giraffes. Luz and Amity got to hang out with fans of The Good Witch Azura.

After the Collector installed the new portal door, Jacob Hopkins managed to get out of jail and attempted to sneak into the house. The last anyone heard from Jacob, he was trying to set up an online fundraiser to get home from Mars (when he really was sent to a place called Quinhagak, Alaska.)

Months after Belos fell, Alador and Odalia divorced. Odalia tried to revive their original arms business, but it fell flat. Amity, Edric and Emira never spoke to her again.

Masha learned the truth about Vee and the Demon Realm. In fact, they’re one of the first humans to attend Gus’ Human Student Exchange Program.

Some sketchy ex-Coven Heads (the Potions Head, Terra, & Adrian) and Kikimora attempted to take over the Boiling Isles and replace the vacancy left by Belos. This was quickly thwarted by the B.A.T.T.s C.A.T.T.s and the Hexside squad and a thorough investigation and trial took place. Unsurprisingly, Odalia was also implicated in the plot because of the subpar Abomotons that were used. The plotters and Odalia were banished from the Boiling Isles and sent to Titan Trapper Island to live out their sentence. Kikimora worked out a plea deal and that’s how she was found working with Matt Tholomule to rebuild Bonesborough.

Eda and her dad have a better relationship these days, to Gwendolyn’s delight. Dell and Gwendolyn have also doted on King and Hunter. In fact, Eda was the one who introduced Hunter to Dell after Luz mentioned that Hunter wanted to learn how to carve Palismen.

A delegation was sent to Titan Trapper Island, and Bill is no longer the leader there. Tarak was appointed as the new leader and he promised that he and his people will not to go after the last Titan (King). It also helped that The Collector was included in that delegation to seal the deal and promised to build a portal between the two islands if the Titan Trappers behaved...and changed their way of dressing and the name of their island.

Lilith unlocked her harpy form the same way Eda did: with cookies made by Hooty. However, it wasn’t as “smooth” as Eda’s transformation, but with the help from Eda, Gwendolyn, and Camila, she was able to take control of her transformations. Hooty was also temporarily banned from the kitchen. Right after she managed this, Lilith showed off her transformation in front of Flora.

Luz told Eda what Papa Titan told her, and Eda felt honored. Though Eda was a bit offended about the Titan questioning her homemade apple blood recipe.

The Therapy Coven had never been busy after the fall of Belos. Hunter and Raine in particular spent some time with them because of the shared trauma of possession by Belos.

Hunter elected to stay with Darius, though he's always welcome with the Nocedas back in the Human Realm, with the Parks, the Blights (minus Odalia), Eda, and the senior Clawthornes.

Willow introduced Hunter to her dads after Hunter finished gushing about sewing and wolves with Darius and Eberwolf.

Boscha peaked in high school.

The Bat Queen sensed that there was something about Hunter, and Hunter told her about Flapjack’s sacrifice. After that talk, Hunter also became welcome in The Bat Queen’s forest.

Luz and Amity got more “mundane, slice-of-life dates”, both in the human realm and the demon realm.

The Collector visits King from time to time, and the Hexside squad learned to relax around them and teach them about how to approach people and play other games.

There was an attempt to introduce Camila to the food in the Boiling Isles. Suffice to say, she was only able to eat griffin eggs like Luz, though she found the animals there quite fascinating.

Viney and Jerbo eventually became friends again, to Barkus’ relief. (Barkus knew they would become friends, it was a matter of when.)

Principal Bump officially retired as Principal the following year. That was not the end of his love of education because he spent the next year to reach out to Glandus and St. Epiderm about revising their curriculum and offering multiple magic tracks.

[toh-tagteam-au]

Tag Team AU Synopsis – Hooty's Moving Hassle

Synopsis Masterpost Link

Previous Part [Covention]

Next Part [Lost in Language + Once Upon a Swap]

My personal favorite of the season 1 concepts. Notice how we’re skipping The Intruder. This will be important later.

It pretty much opens the same as canon, with Eda, King, and Hunter at the market while Eda gets her elixir. Hunter has been informed about her system at this point. They run into Willow and Gus, who are talking about the moonlight conjuring. The fact that Hunter is powerless comes up.

Amity comes up at this point, inviting Willow to her Moonlight Conjuring party as an awkward symbol of friendship, to which Willow declines saying she has better things to do. When she leaves, she reveals she actually doesn’t have anything planned, but Gus suggests they have their own conjuring. Eda initially says no because she just finished talking with the potions guy who told her to head to the night market and that Hunter has to watch the house, but Hunter declines that as well, saying that he has his own plans tonight.

CUT TO THE EMPEROR’S CASTLE! Time skip: Luz and Hunter are in uniform (save for the masks) and discussing how likely it would be that Belos would say yes to joining their own midnight conjuring. Luz is optimistic, while Hunter is not, citing the last outburst as a point against them. Belos hears them whispering behind a pillar, and calls them out into the open.

Belos is in Nice Grandpa mode, no mask and just doing paperwork at a long table. 

(I’m probably just gonna end up putting all of Belos’s lines on here because I worked HARD on these ones dammit. I wrote this shit pre-season 2b)

Cut to Willow and Gus, looking for plants, when they hear a scary noise. They realize they’re at the Owl House, which is completely trashed: Hooty is off his hinges, the window is shattered, etc. They decide to call for help, Willow using the GG’s business card since she knows Hunter is involved with them.

Cut back to Hunter and Luz, excited out of their minds that Belos will be joining them, when Luz gets a call on a crow phone. Confused, she answers it to Willow, who says something is wrong at the Owl House. The siblings immediately figure Eda is under the influence of her curse, and Hunter tentatively leaves to go help. 

Hunter arrives at the Owl House and meets Willow and Gus, who go into the house to help. Together they find King, who explains that they got carried away playing Hexus Holdem when Eda turned into a monster, and they take down Eda using illusions, plants, and light glyphs (surprise, Hooty’s Moving Hassle was The Intruder this whole time!!!!).

Cut back to Luz in the castle. The moon has set, and Hunter is not back yet. Luz and Belos have a conversation.

Cut to Eda waking up.

Hunter explains to Eda what happened, and is visibly surprised when Eda apologizes.

Intermission time. Slight time skip as Eda goes through the portal into the human realm, and walks to Camila’s house with a large bag over her shoulder. She knocks on the door, and Vee answers! They welcome Eda in, where she drops off the hexus holdum cards for Vee to eat and Camila thanks her for looking for Luz. Also – implication that Vee is dating Masha at this point.

EDIT: I SHOULD MENTION. Eda hasn't seen Luz's face yet! She doesn't know the Golden Guard she made the deal with is Camila's daughter! Important stuff.

Previous Part [Covention]

Next Part [Lost in Language + Once Upon a Swap]

Synopsis Masterpost Link