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numericalbridge · 9 months

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About Darius taking responsibility for the Emerald Entrails in ASIAS

>This is absolutely a headcanon reading based on overthinking and overanalyzing minute details. I don't think the creators had actually thought any deeper than moving the plot and emotional bits from one place to another when they made Darius collect the kids (and it's ok, i think there are several very intentional moments that point to Darius being a good guy in that episode, and those are more important, but that's a topic for a different meta).

>But since the fandom has no problem using headcanon readings based on outright absense of information to paint Darius in the worst possible light, and everyone takes it as THE canon, why can't I write a positive interpretation? At least i realize that my reading is not the ultimate canon, and i try to somewhat base it on what information we have about the characters and the world😁.

So, when Hunter calls Darius, why does Darius even go out of his way to call the scouts and then collect the kids personally?

He certainly doesn't have to do it. He can tell Hunter that it is Hunter's own responsibility to deal with the potential recruits, or he can just stall for time and arrive much too late because "he was busy". Wouldn't it be better if Hunter fails to apprehend the children - both for the interests of the rebellion and for Darius's personal gratification, especially IF Darius is constantly as spiteful towards Hunter as he was just after he saw the previous Golden Guard's sigil? (If it is Darius' usual attitude wouldn't he also be spiteful in the phone scene, or gleefully telling Hunter to finish the mission by himself, instead of just acting annoyed/exasperated? Hmmm... but this is also a topic for another meta.)

From Darius' perspective what would happen if he doesn't collect the kids/the scouts don't collect the kids?

The likely scenarios are:

Either Hunter actually convinces someone to join the Covens - and it's not the best thing from the rebellion's perspective or moral grounds, but it can't be a lot of recruits, and there is a recruiting campaign going on anyway, so bothering with them might be unecessary. Or Hunter causes a scene and possibly someone - either he or other kids - gets hurt; maybe even teachers and parents and random scouts get involved. Actually a potential scandal like this might be a bad PR for the Emperor's Coven or cause a divide between the Emperor and his nephew (i assume that most people who know that they are related also think that Hunter is the heir to the throne), so, again, is it necessary to bother?

But Darius choses to get involved, even though at the moment it might be better not to attract attention to himself - both because of the rebellion, but also just in general potentially getting tangled in some public scandal won't be great, right? Especially with the front Darius puts on of someone who doesn't care and hates to be bothered. So why does he decide to get involved? Maybe you can say that he thinks that afterwards Hunter might shift the blame on to him for giving him the mission. Only Darius is planning to let the children go anyway, and that's something that he can be potentially blamed for (if Hunter doesn't change his mind), so it doesn't seem like he is afraid of it. So, instead, maybe he gets involved because he has morals and doesn't want the children - whether the random kids or Hunter - to get hurt.

And, while we don't know how exactly Darius's teleportation ability works (there should be some limitations obviously), he can probably sneakily teleport the kids away from the cells without anyone noticing. Then he doesn't need to be publicly involved. Just have the random scouts who guarded them take the fall... But maybe Darius is willing to take the full responsibility for those children, instead? Maybe he even realizes that the whole situation was caused by him and sees it as his responsibility to fix it without anyone getting hurt.

Also, if the kids just escape on their own, they will likely involve their parents/teachers, and there might be a real search for them by the scouts/Hunter/EC. And, again, it's bad publicity for the government, but in theory it's won't be a bad situation for the Empire's enemies... except that maybe Darius doesn't want to see the kids get hurt.

So, what was his original plan before Hunter intervened on the Blimp?

With the previous part in mind, while i think it is possible that Darius could have planned to let the kids escape once they were closer to Hexside (or more like, i don't think the writers thought very deep about it). I think it's more likely that he would have let them attempt to escape several times, stop the attempts (though he might've underestimated them, lol), then he would declare them unsuited for the Coven and drop them off at school. Then they know that they are free to go because the authority figure let them go, only Darius would likely need to explain himself in the Castle about his decision and why he went against the Golden Guard's judgement.

And I think his plan after the Blimp crashed was the same: if Hunter doesn't intervene Darius scares them, 'decides' they are unfit for the Covens and lets them go. (I know the fandom decided he was actually full on angry in that scene, but i had that scene screenshoted for drawing, and he was already smiling while 'fighting' Willow, and he could have easily incapacitated/restrained them with the abomination - he had a big abomination right behind them - if he wanted; but instead the abomination was just surrounding the kids' rather gently with its arms. Bonus: I like how Darius wasn't even restraining them on the Blimp at all, only the palismen).

Conclusion?

So according to this reading, Darius is taking full responsibilty for the children, even while he knows there might be questions about his judgement and why he overrode the Golden Guard's authority, even when it is easier to just do nothing and simply let Hunter fail or have Hunter and the scouts take the fall for the escape.

And, maybe he only cares about the other children, and Hunter isn't on his mind, but... somehow he isn't really spiteful or gleeful about the situation when he talks to Hunter from the Blimp (after he just collected the kids from the cell). Maybe he throws the cloak at Hunter in a mean way and looks somewhat strict, but mostly he looks sad and disappointed. [And that scene was absolutely intentional imo, and the first time i watched it that's what made it clear to me that Darius wasn't 100% on the Emperor's side, but again a topic for another time.] And if Darius was always acting the way fandom portraits him, he could have easily put down Hunter's judgement right there too, in public, just gleefully mock him and his recruitment attempt right there (or at least look smug that Hunter confirmed his previous judgement). Then tell the other children to get out of his face, not bother delivering them back by himself.

Idk, to me all this doesn't look like the behaviour of a character who is knowingly complicit in child abuse.🙄

#yes i know i said i wont participate in the fandom anymore #but i couldnt stop the thought spiral so in this case its better to have an output instead of thinking the same thought #the owl house #darius deamonne #toh darius #toh meta #toh analysis #toh headcanons #long post

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