#I don't like Belos that much

[blueallihc]

why...

WHY THEY ARE SO HOT !?

#the owl house #toh #toh 3 spoilers #raine whispers #toh belos #belos #the collector #for the future #my sketches #my doodles #doodles from work #I don't have time #but I love them so much that I couldn't help but do something #i want to draw so many things #toh spoilers #I don't like Belos that much #but when he takes control of someone #it changes things😳 #I mean Belos and Rein are hot right

[anglerflsh]

why is he canonically gnc

#[.art] #toh #like in the first season he has a black dress I don't what to tell you nonbinary evil catholic tyrant canon #the owl house #philip wittebane #emperor belos #anyways I love the mask look so much still... remind me of hollow knight and I like not having to draw faces

[anistarrose]

After rewatching the Thanks For Watching trilogy, I actually have to double down on my controversial opinion: Hunter never having to directly face off against Belos again after Thanks to Them is actually super satisfying and cathartic in an understated, underrated way. He said everything he needed to say after the worst thing that Belos ever did to him, and from then on, he didn't know it yet but he was free. I'm so happy for him.

#he was in so much pain when he was focused on vengeance in FTF. it's such a moment of relief when WAD lets him breathe #the owl house #the owl house hunter #emperor belos #i don't even think hunter's arc was *completely* unscathed by cancellation-induced pacing issues #i think he would've benefitted from more time to sit with flapjack's death and to flesh out the new magic (esp limitations) #(i think they could've spun up an interesting new angle on the disability metaphor if they'd had like... #an A-plot and two B-plots across half a season. give some payoffs to his prior glyph usage maybe) #but with the cancellation they couldn't have given him that time without taking any away from luz (or others but mostly luz) #and to be clear: i think they made the right choice #because hunter is a great character but nonetheless one that the fanbase needs to be reminded is not the protagonist #anyways he might be the TOH character for which the ending stuck the least for me... BUT the fact that i still enjoyed it overall #is really a testament to the crew handling the cancellation in the best way humanly possible. IMO

[rhineposting]

So is the implication from that headcanon is that Belos sexually a*saulted Hunter? If yes, why did he do it? Is it like a chain of harm thing, like he himself was abused as a child, or was it just to be a prick?

The short answer would be yes, but the long version is a bit more complex than that.

More in-depth, but possibly triggering answer, below the cut

Okay, so. I'll begin with a disclaimer again.

The Belos pictured above is not canon Belos, and never was supposed to be. He exists solely as a device to explore an alternative scenario that would not make sense for canon Belos, as well as the weight behind it.

The main difference between this Belos and the canon one, is that he does not perceive Hunter as his nephew - to him, he was simply the boy he made specifically for being available at the snap of a finger. The abuse depicted in canon was clearly based on familial bonds, so I wanted to stray from that.

Disclaimer over.

So. Let's begin with Hunter.

While he is certainly a victim, assault isn't exactly the word I'd use to describe the specific type of sexual abuse he had gone through. To me, assault always implied something sudden, violent and unwanted from the get go - you know it's wrong from the start.

And that's precisely the opposite of Hunter's situation as depicted in the fic.

He's what I like to call an Unsympathetic Victim - the kind that most people doubt when they describe their story, the kind that doesn't fit into the convenient, tasteful or sometimes fetishized box of what being a victim means. Sucks, but unfortunately, it still happens everywhere. Those people, though their experiences and feelings are viewed unsavory or even sometimes disgusting by society, are still just as valid as those approved by it. Trauma isn’t a fucking measuring contest, and that’s that.

As for what that exactly entails...

Hunter, due to being isolated from peers and other adults, ended up developing an unhealthy infatuation with Belos, which resulted both from him being the only "good" adult in his life, as well as intrusive thoughts based in his already existing trauma, on top of teenage hormonal changes. Of course, he had no idea that it was wrong. He had no reference points whatsoever on what was right and wrong.

At some point he had admitted to those feelings and normal for his age desires - which, unfortunately to him, Belos decided to entertain. I won't go too much into detail, but eventually, Belos and Hunter's already awful relationship ended up gaining a sexual layer to it.

Here is where the "unsympathetic" part starts :

Due to his lack of proper education and severe emotional manipulation from Belos, Hunter never considered himself a victim. Right up until he started watching that movie with Luz, he thought it was perfectly normal for a teenager and an adult to be in a sexual relationship. Of course, for him the adult in question turned out to be a genocidal maniac and narcissist, but he never hated those more intimate parts. If anything, he was always happy to participate as he did enjoy it, as ugly as it may sound.

Of course, his logic skips on the parts where Belos guilt-tripped consent out of him, or that he was afraid of the disappointment that would follow after openly saying no, which as we know resulted in physical abuse in canon. All he knew was that he trusted Belos and that the act itself was physically pleasurable for both of them, so it couldn't have actually been something wrong. That it couldn't have been abuse as well.

That is, again, right up until he was proven otherwise by Luz, to which he reacted with brief panic then shutting down. Not only was that last illusion of normalcy taken away from him, now he believes it was his fault for having those thoughts to begin with. If there was one thing Belos taught him well, it was the art of self-victim blaming.

But in shorter words...

No. Technically speaking Hunter was not assaulted - rather, he was groomed and coerced, and mayhaps gaslit. While those two situations are both sexual abuse, they are two different kinds of it and that kind of distinction is important.

Now, as for Belos...

I personally do not like writing him with a "chain of harm" trope, as likely as it might've been, because I feel like it defeats the point of him consciously making the decision to do the wrong thing for over 400 years.

However, reducing it to him just "being a prick" misses the point as well.

Canon Belos first and foremost, wanted to have complete and utter authority and control over Hunter, while also demanding devotion, adoration and loyalty from him - which applies to This version of Belos as well.

So, when Hunter ended up coming forward with his intrusive thoughts and desires, to Belos it was an opportunity for two things :

Truly becoming Hunter's number one everything - further preventing him from finding someone else to possibly prioritize over him, which is why in canon he detested the sight of Flapjack so much, on top of him being Caleb's/Evelyn's palisman. Anyone from the outside of his influence was a threat to his control over Hunter. So, with him being Hunter's God, mentor, caretaker, superior and then """lover""", he was This close to stopping the redemption arc from happening. Alas, Flapjack and Luz still came around.

Satisfying physical urges without having to look too far, and without the risk of landing with someone who could stab him in the back. Hunter just so happened to be the perfect fit : willing, obedient, not ugly and always available. Sometimes, that's all there is to it with abusers.

In shorter words, again : 

It was more about asserting his control and blowing off steam while at it, not just being an asshole.

Again, I cannot stress enough that this headcanon/interpretation/whatever is NOT meant to be in any way titillating or romanticizing sexual abuse. It is, first and foremost, a character study that’s based and inspired both by personal experiences and observations of both fiction and real life - in hopes of partially bringing light to often overlooked or stigmatized effects and types of trauma. In case you were wondering, no I am still not a therapist or any other kind of licensed professional, so do Not take my word as 100% credible and without fault as I am only human. That will be all for now.

#tw trauma talk #tw csa mention #tw child grooming #toh #the owl house #rhine rambling tag #storyboard belos #toh hunter #alt belos #I should probably get a different tag for this guy so people can filter him out easier if there's a need for that. #empgold #??? is that the right tag??? I dont' ACTUALLY ship them in any way shape or form. #I really don't want people to get the wrong idea. I swear to God I don't view the dynamic like That. #On another note #To the people who had similar experience/s like described above... #I see you. You're not disgusting for that and you didn't deserve it just as much as every other victim/survivor out there. You're not alone

[numericalbridge]

🔥 every time darius is shown to use his abomination form he is using it in a very deliberate and calculating way, and not because he is supposedly so angry/furious

meanwhile every time he shows real strong emotions, whether positive or negative, he is not in the transformed form (though his abomination powers are clearly important to him with how he uses them for affectionate gestures, etc).

and, imo, both times he is seemingly very outwardly furious - with Raine in ER and the kids in the ASiAS - he is playing the role, possibly playing up the real annoyances (because he is more often shown to be annoyed than angry in actual canon). and compare to how he reacts to other coven heads who are his real enemies: focused fighting with Vitimir, concern over Eber AND over failing to stop the spell in KT, and disdainful and stern expression in the finale. It's concern, hurt, or pettiness, annoyance rather than explosive anger.

[added more ramblings in the tags]

#darius deamonne #toh darius #the owl house #obviously there might be situations when he would transform out of anger - like fighting belos in an au #but it would take much more than what fanon prescribes imo #and i think being very deliberately in control of the abomination form (doesn't mean always but most times) #makes a more interesting take on the abomination magic being like his second nature while also being a science or art form he perfected #and i don't think it takes anything out of the supposed parallels with belos either since it doesn't need to be one-to-one comparison #and its not like he doesnt have little outbursts sometimes - just like most characters would get angry when someone flings dirt at them #or his impatience when eda doesnt understand that he is talking about her curse - but i see it as frustration and impatience and not anger #and i agree that when he was a teenager he would have more teenager-y reactions #and the way he had to hide or redirect his emotions during the coven head time is something worth of exploring too #but i dont agree with the way certain parts of fandom flanderize his emotions into this constant outbursting fury #when it is clearly not even to explore his character but to flanderize him solely for the sake of other characters

[goldenglitzer]

Alright, who had "Belos turns into Godzilla on Bald Mountain" on their bingo cards?

#toh spoilers #watching and dreaming #belos #philip wittebane #mostly liked the episode #feel like a lot of interesting character stuff was glossed over but i digress #happens when you don't have nearly as much time as you need #tho i'm definitely kinda pissed at belos' ending #i wanted him to suffer and die #but specifically at the hands of caleb evelyn and his own madness #not as a kinda jokey riff on the “save the villain from the curse they had all along” trope #also no evelyn makes me sad #that being said genderfluid papa titan makes up for everything #bro/gal was chill as hell

[spop-romanticizes-abuse]

Re: Catradora. One could also make a whole separate rant about how a big component of ATLA’s success is how it never stops reminding the audience of the consequences ordinary people face because of the Fire Nation’s actions (see also: “Arcane” taking time to show the human cost of Silco’s experiments with Shimmer or “Wendell and Wild” making us very aware of the human cost of the Klaxons’ machinations or “Centaurworld” showing the real damage caused by the Nowhere King’s war on both realms or “The Owl House” showing how much Belos’ misrule has screwed everything up)…SPOP just doesn’t care at all about the ordinary people of Etheria.

exactly! spop did not need to have the theme of war in it at all, because they barely address it. everything is about the heroes and villains, fuck the other characters. oh, the citizens of etheria are suffering and dying at the hands of the horde? who cares, catra is upset about her girlfriend being a meanie, that's much more important.

the excuse most people use for this is "it's a children's show" … and? ATLA was also a children's show, so is TDP, so are a lot of ghibli movies, and various other shows that address the theme of war really well. children aren't idiots. if they're old enough to understand the themes of abuse and grief, there's no reason why they shouldn't understand the concept of war. like i said in a previous post, spop is more catra vs adora than adora vs the horde or the rebellion vs the horde. hordak doesn't even do anything by myself for the majority of the series, he just sits in his lair, brooding and being an insecure man-child.

#i wouldn't say the owl house sheds much light on the side characters though #like we don't really see much of how the citizens were impacted by belos' rule other than the fact that everyone believes and worships him #spop critical #spop #spop salt #spop criticism #spop discourse #she ra #anti spop

[welcometogrouchland]

We all assign Lilith as the Philip parallel when analyzing the similarities between the clawthorne sisters and the wittebane brothers. But have we stopped to consider for a moment that Belos saw Lilith as the Caleb in her situation? An older sibling who makes a selfish decision (in Philip's eyes) and betrays their younger sibling, leaving them a monster outcast from society??

We as the audience know just how different those situations were, but from Belos' pov...

I'm not saying Lilith was seen as so disposable and worthless by Belos, not just bc she was a witch, but because she was a Clawthorne whom Belos saw as a mirror of Caleb...but that's exactly what I'm saying and I'm realizing that Belos must've hated Lilith's guts more than we thought

#the owl house #toh #lilith clawthorne #toh belos #philip wittebane #obviously we as the audience know Eda is more analogous to Caleb #(someone longing for freedom and seemingly running from responsibility to get it) #(all speculation of course since we know so little about caleb but that seems to be the gist of things) #and that Lilith is the Philip in their relationship #(the more emotionally dependent and socially maladjusted one obsessed with conforming as a way to achieve status and love- #-has a (seeming in Philip's case) inferiority complex and can't comprehend their sibling making choices that don't include them) #but i remembered that Lilith is the older sibling and then this dawned on me lol #and yes i think Belos definitely had some kind of knowledge of the curse thing considering him and Lilith's deal in s1 #my personal hc is once Lilith rose the ranks she had a moment of semi breaking down and confessing to her ''sins'' #both in a creepy christian confessional way but. also i was thinking of andrias and marcy from the frog show hsbsjsnfk #anyway. Belos fucking hated Lilith didn't he. he was just waiting to screw her over #it's honestly kind of sad considering how much Lilith worshipped him and craved his (platonic) love and approval #obviously she was aiding a corrupt system but still. if anything that's just another parallel between her and belos lol #we all wonder why Lilith seemingly never interacted with other coven heads or why she resented hunter and I'm like #i think belos definitely isolated her on purpose yknow? he gave her the mission to find eda and then she put all her time into that #she probably barely talked to anyone other than kiki and the scouts. and the loneliness just fueled her desperation to get eda back y'know? #then for the hunter thing like. obviously it's Lilith's own insecurity at this teen prodigy seemingly favoured by Belos #and like. i doubt anyone in the castle besides kiki and some select coven heads really knew what went on behind closed doors #so Lilith just sees this kid who gets to be by Belos' side all the time and she doesn't get what he has that she doesn't #and because she's an emotionally stunted nightmare woman she turns it into this silly rivalry #and because Belos hates her he's like. lol okay i am not reassuring you abt your place in this hierarchy. i want to watch you suffer #and let's her feel these things and poor hunter is just like WHAT DID I EVER DO TO YOU??? #and he's mad abt it #anyway. Lilith thoughts out of my system for tonight but can you tell i love this cringefail slug woman?

[ashleyeveerson]

#i don't like this trend dana #*chuckles* we're in danger #if they pull an amphibia end where luz and amity are forced to separate i'll sue #this week's ep slaped so much #i'm going feral over the kiss #but i'm still fucking scared bc red lighting always comes with TRAUMA #fuck belos #the owl house #the owl house spoilers #the owl house season 2 #toh #toh spoilers #amphibia #amphibia spoilers #meme #toh meme #dana terrace #disney #lgbtq

[butnobodycame627]

🦾 a disability headcanon

&

😭 A headcanon about the worst thing that happened to them.

For Luz Noceda plz :)

hooo boy

hmm I don't really have any disability headcanons for Luz I don't think. But this got me thinking about maybe almost getting petrified that one time could have had some kind of lasting effect, that might be interesting. Not sure what specifically but I imagine that would really mess with her body so.

The worst thing that happened to Luz I feel like is losing her dad, but she's had a lot of bad things happen to her so there's some competition there I think. I don't have too many headcanons about that specifically I guess, and I don't want to think about it too much because I'll probably get really upset.

#another really bad thing was finding out she helped Belos when she went in the time pool #and I don't have too many thoughts on that either since it was kind of all covered in the show #but considering other characters were tricked by Belos like Hunter and the Collector she would probably feel less alone having talked to- #them so. I like to think they've had conversations about it #I guess a heads up for disability headcanons is that I'm mostly trying to pull from. things I actually know about #which is mostly like. my own experiences oops #so I don't have much for Luz but I would love to ramble about characters that I imagine having chronic illness augh #oh I guess I forgot to mention that Luz has like. ADHD. but I feel like that's just canon? #idk whatever yay

[roadkillip]

I think Belos really suffers from the unfortunate constraints of 1) time, and 2) having to make a manipulative villain's lies obvious because he's in a children's cartoon. I just think Hollow Mind would be very fun if Belos, instead of instantly showing Luz and the audience memories that proved how evil he was, had tried to show himself as in the right. He chose the memories they viewed, after all.

#philip wittebane #emperor belos #I'll talk about this forever (because i want to know more of his backstory) #like! he goes to so much trouble to make himself seem good! but the moment he meets Luz and Hunter in his mind #he's okay with being evil in their eyes? boring! imo #like i guess he can easily write off Hunter. Hunter is very loyal to him at the moment‚ but the Grimwalkers always betray him #he's killed how many versions of his brother? he's resigned to it now‚ at the very least. no use getting attached! #but Luz is seemingly the only other human he's seen in centuries‚ and he likes her - he asks her to work with him multiple times #so. sure. he can give her his entire plan instantly‚ as though she'd ever agree to it. or... he could lie to her too #like he does any other time #if we had had more time‚ i think it would be fun if Belos tried to get Luz in his side by showing his perspective... a twisted view of it #she first met Philip being beaten up by demons! and she believed he was an innocent victim‚ and rushed to protect him #without the context behind that (that he had gotten their companion killed and eaten his palisman) he did seem innocent #i think he could have shown her more memories of that nature. mistreatment from wild witches #things that prove that magic needs to be controlled. that what he's doing is protecting people #but Luz knows wild witches. she knows Eda isn't evil‚ and that Belos's coven system is hurting people who can't be part of covens #or who simply don't want to be. people who aren't evil at all‚ but are forced away from society for not fitting in #and Luz knows all about not fitting in!

[artical3237]

In the new episode, Luz dons an outfit that reminds me of Phillip, wears a ponytail like Phillip, says “Crikey”, and then at the end is taken to Belos.. I think I’m gonna go insane waiting for the next episode and season 3. 

#NO SERIOUSLY I THINK THIS IS IMPORTANT #Also #Huntlow fans will go insane #Props to Ed and Emira for trying to burn down the factory #The Owl House #toh #toh belos #toh phillip whittebane #toh luz #toh luz noceda #I'm a bit mad at Hunter here #Luz cares so much about him #He does care back but he should care more about Luz #Especially after overhearing that convo between Belos and Luz during Hollow Mind #To be fair though he does have more trauma to sort through than her #But still #Don't get the wrong idea #I like Hunter I just don't like how he's not the best friend to Luz #toh spoilers #toh analysis #toh clouds on the horizon

[sergeantsporks]

Oops!!! Saw a Lilith ship piece on accident and now I need to burn my eyes out!!!

#i don't understand ppl who ship belos and lilith i really don't #like aroace lilith aside he's so much OLDER than she is and he ACTIVELY HATES HER and LITERALLY WAS ABUSIVE #like what. why. where is the basis of this ship. it only works in aus where belos isn't awful. please.

[flowery-king]

Hey who's your favorite owl house character??

OAKY OKAY LIKE

CAN I SAY ALL OF THEM BECAUSE ALL OF THEM

#Hunter is Gender af like i identify with him so much wtf #the collector is also very gender ngl love their vibe holy moly #THE OWL LADY MY BELOVED WAHGG #Also also Luz and her friends and her girlfriend my little babies omfg i love them #RAINE MY FELLOW THEY THEM LET'S GO AAAAAHA #like you don't understand all of the characters are so good like even principle bump and Amity's dad omg her dad my beloved #AND KING MY LITTLE MUNCKIN MY BOI MY BIG BOI HOLY SHIT #And also idk Belos is a super cool villain hes so rad but he's such a piece of shit but man is that such a fun character omfg #so yes i love this show and i know I'm leaving out awesome ass characters but i literally love all of them aLL OF THEM #also fuck disney jesus christ fuck em fr

[meatsouuuuup]

I’m not one to be negative online but I’m so bitter about the owl house finale

#yeah just completely disregard belos’ ENTIRE CHARACTER why don’t you #not to mention the wittebane backstory buildup that’s been going on for the past two episodes #and then that was completely disregarded #belos is such a good villain i can't believe they did him dirty like that #this is what i get for being in the wittebane fandom instead of the owl house fandom #also it just felt like a lot of nothing happening and what did happen was mostly fanservice #not that there’s anything wrong with fanservice. but when it takes up the majority of a whole episode. especially the FINALE #it’s uh. not good #there were some thing i enjoyed but overall it wasnt great #not gonna keep talking about it on here bc again i don't want to add too much negativity but if anyone wants to rant about it with me #i'd be so down

[kakusu-shipping]

Art is still being difficult but sense Season 2B is officially at an end and some people have stopped tagging their spoilers I wanted to take a moment to talk about my Owl House self inserts!

The first one is Raine’s friend from St. Epiderm.

I think Vampires as a species are implied to exist in Owl House, so that’s what I am, because I take ever opportunity to be a fictional Vampire. I was in the Beast Keeping track in school, and end up in the Beast Keeping Coven upon graduation.

I didn’t follow Raine to Hexside or anything, after they left Epiderm we lost connection for a long time. We’d end up meeting again after they broke up with Eda, so I didn’t meet her until she ran into the BATs, which I was a part of.

I’m sure we’re gonna get a happy ending to canon, so post happy ending Polycule will be canon when we can get to that point.

My Golden Guard/Grimwalker Sona is sort of a self ship with Belos, but in a twisted toxic kind of way, because I like Belos’ obsession with his brother, Caleb, and I wanted to mess with that.

His name would be something like Evan or Ethan, I was gonna just say Emilio and move on but that doesn’t have the same Biblical name ring as some other’s I’ve seen floating around.

His hair is lighter and his eyes are brighter than other Grimwalkers, he’s also on the shorter side when compared to other Golden Gaurds.

He lives longer than most of the other Golden Guard and this is mostly due to luck and just because Belos gets less and less patient with his Grimwalkers as time goes on, and he was a rather early one.

His “betrayal” of Belos was discovering and attempting to release The Collector. At first discovery he had a second chance, Belos pulled him aside and told him of the child’s dangerous power, tried to “convince” him to leave them alone. Evan called his bluff and attempted to free The Collector behind Belos’ back, ending in his demise.

#Emile's Arts #Self insert #Self ship #Self shippers please interact #Proshippers please interact #I don't have a lot to say about these honestly because they both kind of exist outside the plot more or less #Mostly because Raine exists in VERY plot heavy moments and I don't want to mess up the flow of the story at all #So my S/I is more of a background character atm #Probably wasn't AROUND much during Eda's Requiem either like #I don't think I and Eda have properly met yet she doesn't know I'm with Raine or anything #It just hasn't had a moment to come up yet kdjfdksfjfgk #It's fine it's fine we'll get there #I drew The Collector but they physically interact with my GGsona or anything dkfjdskf they're still in mirror jail #The chance to expand on Belos and his weird obsession with Caleb through Grimwalkers is one I will always take #Yes they have the same Uncle/Nephew dynamic as Hunter and Belos #Just for the sake of consistency #I just want to see GrimwalkerSonas blow up like Spidersonas did