#also belos is right about One thing and its this | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

lotus-pear · 3 months

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Writing a complex character such as Dazai is actually really hard even for people who understand him because he is, as you said, extremely unpredictable. I don't know exactly what to tell you, but I'll try to help a little bit!

The whole thing about Dazai is that he doesn't understand humanity. He understands the basics and why people do what they do because he is analytical and has been studying people's behavior and human connections forever. But he doesn't feel connected with humanity and empathy the same way other people do. He perceives others from like, the other side of a barrier. He studies them carefully. Manages to care about them deeply sometimes. Even deeper when they're able to see him and get to him (Odasaku, Atsushi, Chuuya, the whole agency in fact means something to him). But there's always this layer of disconnection and apathy and emptiness he doesn't know how to get rid of. It's like he cares, but he actually doesn't because he rationalizes everything and turns it into a game of chess, more or less? And I think that frustrates him. He isn't used to caring about people because he doesn't understand them, but he takes an interest in the people he finds amusing to study and once he cares deeply, they're taken away from him (that's why he mourns and regrets Oda's death so much. He feels like the world takes everything away from him the second he manages to feel human). Hence the whole thing about not feeling human (amongst other things). He cares and yet he is realistic. He has regrets and suffers and feels pain and he can care about others (ignore all the people who keep portraying him as an emotionless monster, please) but he doesn't drown in self-pity when it comes to all the people he has killed and his past because he can rationalize that. It was another era. He has moved on. And if it's for the greater good of the mission or his journey to find something to live for, he doesn't care how many random people he has to kill (when he was younger he valued other people's lives way less, of course. Now that has changed because his apathy is something he doesn't turn into cruelty and instead uses to rationalize plans and help the world and the agency. Basically, when he was part of the mafia it was kind of "I don't give a fuck about random people" because he genuinely didn't feel anything for them, but now, even if he doesn't genuinely care for them, he protects even random people because that's what the image of kindness Oda had planned for him). Oda tells him that, if the good side and the bad one are the same and he hasn't found anything to live for yet, why not help the world while he's at it? And it's such a beautiful thought because Dazai has this issue with understanding humanity and making bonds. But he understands, now more than ever after Oda's death, what living and killing means. He might not actually care that much for society and its well-being, but maybe he can find something to live for in the light more than he would in the darkness. He keeps wanting to kill himself, right? He keeps trying. But he doesn't actually want to. It's common sense. If he truly wanted to, he already would've done it. "I don't like pain" is the most common thing to say when you don't actually want to do it. I think that, unlike Nikolai, who actually craves to die as a representation of freedom, Dazai only wants to keep trying and trying to find a reason for living. Chuuya was that thing when he was in the Mafia. Chuuya and Oda, because Chuuya is quite literally his soulmate (in the sense of bringing amusement to his life and also making him feel human, as his ability is the only thing that can help Chuuya. And also Chuuya not being human but being the most empathetic and emotional of all the people Dazai has met in the mafia) and Oda was the first one to actually understand him and see him for who he is, something I don't think he'll ever find again and that's why Oda's death fucked him up so bad. He found a place to belong and somebody to live for, and then he dies and leaves him alone? It's not fair, but he'll try to fight for good and live in the light if that's what Oda wanted for him. As if Oda knew him better than he knows himself because I also think he has a hard time with his own perception and personality.

In simpler words: Dazai has a hard time understanding humanity because he feels disconnected from it by a layer of apathy and the fact that he doesn't understand basic human needs/actions because he doesn't share them. One of the things that makes us human is desires, right? Wanting. Loving. Longing. Dazai rejects all of that because he doesn't know what he wants and nothing he tries ends up making him feel whole. In "No Longer Human", actually, you can read things like "It is almost impossible for me to converse with other people" and "I have never known what it means to be hungry / Eat or die, the saying goes, but to my ears, it sounded like just one more unpleasant threat". So he isn't a monster, his brain just functions in a different way. He sees everything. Analyzes every little thing. He's smarter than everybody else and he's aware of that, but he feels lonely there and only wants somebody to understand or something to fight for. Oda gave him both things, and the agency gave him a reason to keep going because he genuinely cares about doing good and keeping them safe. I don't think Dazai's journey has ended, because he still fights against.... So many things with himself. His past. His future. His desires. But at least now he has a thing to enjoy and bring him happiness. His constant act of being "silly" isn't that much of a facade. I mean, I think it is because if he acts like a clown, nobody will ever see the true self he hides. But I think he ends up having fun with the agency and annoying Chuuya because he sees them respond to his behavior and he finds it amusing. I think being extremely smart and lonely and tormented can coexist with being fun sometimes.

As per writing in his POV.... It depends on what you want to write, really. I think his brain functions differently depending on his mood. I guess the most important thing is to keep in mind his surroundings because he's always hyperaware of every little thing. But it frustrates him not knowing how he's feeling or not understanding what he actually truly needs, often focusing on others instead of looking into himself, because every time he does, he only finds himself empty and craving for something he doesn't know what it is. In his worst moments, I think it's quite obvious he tries to fix things with distractions and impulsive actions like substance abuse. In his more analytical moments, it's when he becomes more apathetic and sees the world as his game of chess and people as only pawns. He knows he's human, he just doesn't feel like it. Fyodor has a sense of superiority Dazai doesn't share. He's smarter because his brain functions differently, but he is no God. He is no entity. He analyzes from the POV of somebody external to humanity but knowing quite well he isn't God. And when he's having genuine fun and feeling some type of care/love? I think he's grateful. The emptiness is always there, though. Always haunting him. In the back of his brain. But he sees hope in Atsushi and a place to keep his promise in the agency and maybe fulfill his heart. He might always have a fucked up perception of himself, but at least he's aware that doing the right thing fills the hole in his chest more than tormenting others. As I said, he likes it there (and Chuuya) because it makes him experience humanity even if he keeps telling himself he isn't human (No Longer Human quote: "You miss her, don't you?" / "Yes." / "That's human nature, I guess").

I don't know if I helped you?? I think it's a bit of a mess, sorry 😭 It's like 3am and I don't know if what I said makes any sense, but I really hope I was able to help you!

holy FUCK it took me fifteen minutes to read all of this and i'm glad i did because this is the most succinct and articulate analysis i have ever seen of dazai's underlying nature and his ambitions in relevance to the plot OP I THINK IF ASIGIRI CANT WRITE ANYMORE YOU SHOULD TAKE OVER BSD MANGA BC I THINK U UNDERSTAND DAZAI BETTER THAN HE DOES SOMETIMES TBH💀💀 aaaa jkjk i digress you were so real for bringing up the yozo/dazai parallels bc there's genuinely so many and if i still had my fucking BOOK :side eye: i could go through the intricate and profound commentary i left in the margins but alas my dear friend insists on keeping it longer. there's nothing more i can say on this topic bc i agree w you on everything wholeheartedly i think you deserve a scholarship to harvard or smth bc god DAMN you would slay as a lit or lang major

#one more thing i will add is dazai's inherently selfish nature in the mafia which he lashes out against due to oda's last words #bc he rly DID only care abt his own interests and wouldn't take action unless he reaped mutual benefit #massive slay when he entered his redemption arc good for him good for him #anyway TY FOR THE ANALYSIS U ARE THE BEST MWAH MWAH💞💞💞#best ask i've received EVER <333333333 #lotus’s asks

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cutesytwt · 2 months

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Alastor x Collector! child reader

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(GENDER NEUTRAL READER!)

Also this takes place before Alastor lets his appearance after 7 years be fully known.

I will try to write more parts to this with more interactions of us with Alastor and other characters while trying to also continue the story 😭

@belos-simp69 let me know what you think so far

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

He wasn’t expecting to meet someone, a kid in fact, like you. He was curious. What was a shadow doing all the way down here in a cave within hell, with no person it belongs to? It seemed to be as if you were trapped.. which you were and he realized that.

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

As he walked in the cave, lanterns illuminated, allowing him to see the scattered bones that littered the place. He walked deeper into the cave, meeting its end… but at the very center was a pedestal where a circular mirror lied with a crescent moon symbol in the middle.

“My my what’s this?” Someone with a radio static voice said walking forward before he was stopped in his tracks due to an unrecognized voice.

“Who said that!? Who’s there?” You yelled out, waiting to hear that voice again. It sounded interesting… fun.

Immediately, a shadow emerged from the mirror like object, traveling around the cave walls, stopping at a certain distance due to restricted movement.

“Well hello there little one!” The man turned his head to the wall the shadow stayed on tilting his head, smiling wildly. He held out his staff pointing it at you. You saw that it had a shielded microphone at the top.

You were surprised to get a response, even more surprised that he saw you. The lanterns that illuminated the cave were dull. Most people don’t see you because of that. Most people get scared and run back to the entrance of the cave wanting to get out as fast as they can.

You are a shadow…in a cave, after all.

You pushed those thoughts away quickly.

“A Person! Hi, hello! It’s been so long since I’ve seen someone!” You say extending and waving your arms. Your hands making a “hello” motion. Going a bit too fast though.

You saying that made him curious.

“Yes yes, a person! Now what might your name be?” He said getting closer to your shadow as he held his staff down. Un-tilting his head, but he was still smiling.

As he got closer, you could see that it looked like he had two long pointy ears on his head and small dear antlers…?

“Y/N! My names Y/N!” you say with excitement coursing through your voice

“What’s your name mister!?” You say questioning him back, waiting for a response.

“The names Alastor dear! Now that we’ve got past the introductions, what’s a little kid like you doing all the way in this cave?”

“Uh uh, I’m not answering another question until you play a game with me!” You say turning your head in the opposite direction of Alastor, turning your head to glare back at him right after before turning back.

“A Game you say? And what game is this?”

“Hide and seek! You know how to play hide and seek righhhttt?” You didn’t give him the chance to answer. “I’ll hide you seek! … and count to ten!” You say before you move from the wall to go to find a hiding spot.

Alastor decided to play along with you and play your little game of hide and seek. For answers. He was curious about why you were down here. Why you were a shadow, and just what was that circular thing with a moon in the middle you emerged from?

⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅ ⋅•⋅⊰∙∘☽༓☾∘∙⊱⋅•⋅

You laughed, you were having so much fun. Something you hadn’t had in a while. Your game of hide and seek turned into a game of tag.

“You caught meee!”

You started to sing

To you, who strayed to far from home!

To me, who’s trapped beneath these bones!

We’ll play forever me and you!

When you paint the land,

In nine bright hues!

You burst out laughing once again

“Trapped you say?” Alastor says, thinking. You were trapped? Why were you, a child even trapped down here? This intrigued him.

“Uh huhhhh.. I’m trapped.” You say sadly.

“We’re friends now, right? We played games together! You can help me get free right?” You yelled out expectingly, your mood immediately changing once again.

“I guess I could help you out a bit! …

but what would I get in return?”

“Anything! I’ll do anything! I just want out of this stupid cave!” You whined. You were willing to do anything if it meant finally being able to be free again.

“Anything? Then, let’s make a deal.” Alastor said, as the certain area in the room you both were illuminated in a spooky green color. You could now see that the deer horns that you made out to be on his head were getting bigger and his smiling grin got wider.

“I’ll help you get out of this cave, and free you, and in return for those two things, you can give me your soul! Do we have a deal?” Alastor said holding out his unoccupied hand.

You thought about it for a few seconds, letting out “hmmm” noises.

“Okay!” You agreed almost immediately, not knowing what you were getting yourself into.

His eyes widened and turned into radio dials…? Then green stitches appeared on his face.

“Wait, you’re not tricking me are you?! You promise to help me out?” You say as you grow suspicious and cross your arms. You’ve learned to not trust people too easily from past encounters.

“Pinky promise!” You said before moving your shadow from the wall to the ground so you could stand in front of him. You held out your pinky finger.

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• After you guys made your deal, Alastor helped you get out of the cave. Not too sure how to actually free you just yet. You told him how he could just carry around your moon mirror for now

“What?! But you said you could free me! You promised. We pinky swore!” You said throwing a tantrum

“I’ve fulfilled the first part of our deal, but I’m not too sure how to fully free you just yet. I’ll just have to figure that out dear!”

• People would give weird looks and stares to Alastor and you as he carried your moon mirror around and you would just be hiding behind him. Everyone looked to be shocked and afraid. Of you? No. Afraid of him.

“Isn’t that the radio demon? Wait, what’s that behind him?”

The radio demon?

“He’s back after seven years?”

“What’s the thing he’s carrying?”

• A few people would start recording with their phones but their phones would start to glitch out and overheat causing them to power off.

“What the heck?”

• Alastor took you to his radio tower where you stayed most of the time, was he even searching for a way to free you from your moon mirror?! It was pretty boring, and he would just barely make an appearance back at his own place. You found it weird. Just where is he? This was no different from being trapped up in that cave.

The doors of his radio tower opened and you came out from your moon mirror

“Where have you been! It’s so boring here, there’s nothing to do!”

“I’ve been out running errands,” he started before you cut him off

Betrayed, beguiled, alone, deceived!

I’ll have my revenge on… ugh. Unity is so hard to rhyme.

“Now now, I am not deceiving you nor am I betraying you. I’m still figuring out how to free you from this.. thing.” He says pointing at your moon mirror.

“In the time being, how about I take you somewhere new. It’s called the Happy Hotel. At the moment.” He says bending down and smiling while staring at you wide eyed.

“Would you like that? Think of it as my apology for keeping you locked up in here for so long.”

“Would I!? Yes yes yes yes yes! Let’s go, right now!” You said excitedly, circling him in your shadow.

“Well then let’s not waste anytime shall we?”

#alastor x reader #hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #the collector #owl house

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jess-the-vampire · 1 year

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I genuinely don't understand the gripes a few people have with how Belos was handled in the finale. "Dont just brush him off as being evil" Well, why the fuck not? Dude wasnt born evil but he purposefully chose destruction and death at every possible opportunity for 400+ years. Nothing about his backstory would have made any impact on the characters affected, because its not an excuse, its not even an explanation! Caleb had the same childhood and he loved the Boiling isles. Eat boots Belos.

Ok, buckle up cause this is gonna be a long one, we gotta have a chat about Belos as a character, because there's been so many takes about this i keep seeing about " he never accepted the isles the way luz did" and "He had 400 years to change and he never took the took the offer", because it just seems like the fandom wants to kinda ignore a lot of the nuance about his situation and why it's not that simple?

and i'm for sure certain it's because the fandom is obviously already pretty biased against him since he's the villain, and what he does to the main characters as well as represents.

And that's fine, obviously he becomes a pretty bad person, no one is obligated to like him and it's ok to feel uncomfortable given the character he is.

But i think a lot of these issues as to why people have such mixed opinions about the finale has a lot to do directly with the fact the show DID keep his backstory as vague as they did, when if they had gone into it i think we would've had less of this discourse.

Now none of this is me excusing him obviously, but the fandom is very adamant to just not allow him to have depth either, when....he's allowed to be irredeemable and have depth at the same time. He's meant to be a very human villain, a character that could happen to anyone under the right circumstances

So not exploring that depth, why it got how it did, and how things like it can be prevented is a flaw within the show and among a lot of fans.

And to be fair, the show does not HAVE to do it, but the show also clearly wrote his character to have a lot of implied depth whether people like it or not, him coming from a very real religious group alone and making him a foil to luz has turned what could of been a very one note villain into one with a lot of layers to his villainy.

And if the show wants to make belos a very one note villian, no depth, they could of very easily done this by just cutting out details like his love and care for his brother, or just make make him want to destroy witches simply because he decided on his own they were worth destroying.

But that's not exactly what they've presented belos as being.

The show thrives in having characters who aren't just simple nor cookie cutter.

Hunter isn't just some cocky sidekick, he's an abused teenager who craves love and affection, and is willing to go high and low to earn it, terrified to be thrown away and replaced and constantly is forced into a mold just to get the affection he craves. He's highly sheltered and isolated just because his father figure doesn't want him to be his own person since that wasn't what he was created for

King isn't just a tiny little brat who craves power, he's a child whose been lied to about his past, and he wanted nothing more then to be taken seriously and feel a sense of belonging. He believes that he wants power, but finds out he really only wanted to be treated like anyone else, and that he's far happier with a family that loves and cares about him rather then being a powerful demon king.

Lilith isn't just a self important antagonist who wants to force eda to do what she wants, she grew up close to her sister and wanting to be by her side well into the future, but felt a sense of inadequacy in comparison to eda. The pressures of the coven system and need to win against her sister made her make a drastic choice she regrets and she wants nothing more then to fix it and make everything the ideal fantasy they grew up wanting to have together. She's also a large nerd, craves the attention of higher figures since her own mother used to put all the attention on eda, and changed her appearance just so people would take her seriously.

And the show does this with most of it's cast, obvi there's the exception like tibbles and even bosha who don't have too much to them, but they're also very minor antagonists and there's still stuff you can pick up on.

Belos however is the main antagonist, everything that happens in the show, happens because of him, his entire backstory is basically why the plot of the show happens.

Not just that, but also caleb and evelyn, if it weren't for the drama between these three, there would be no show.

And people are WELL aware these three aren't the main leads, they aren't going to be the main focus of most episodes and obviously the show was going to end in the favor of the main characters.

But

the story the show tells between these three ties very strongly into the ones with the leads too. We are given at least enough details to notice parallels between stuff that happens with characters like luz, and characters like philip.

We know philip and luz grew up in gravesfield, we know there were outcasts there, and they had one family member they relied on to support them there. They ended up in the demon realm, they both learned magic, and they both are strongly motivated by their beliefs regarding the isles.

So there's a lot they share in common, which makes it really easy to take a look at philip and say "Well it's his fault for not being like luz and accepting the isles like she did".

But, there's a lot of differences here

Luz grew up with fantasy, with magic stories about witches and heroes and demons. Philip grew up in a 1600s puritan village which demonized this stuff, he was a young child growing up being told this stuff was evil and he was taught to fight against it.

Luz felt odd for her interests and out there personality but at worst she felt isolated and misunderstood, she didn't like her mom's efforts to change her to be "Normal". Philip actually conformed to gravesfield, caleb clearly encouraging his brother to do so, just so both of them could fit in with the town. Had they not conformed at best they'd be isolated, but at worst they'd be dead.

Camilia is an adult who eventually opens up and talks to luz about how it was wrong to try and change her to be "Normal", that she herself hid her own interests to do so.

Caleb, was a child, he did not have any open conversations with his younger brother. Caleb hid evelyn and his interests with witches from philip and then on top of this, left philip behind.

You could absolutely say the fact caleb didn't talk to philip is pure speculation, and not confirmed at all. That all of this could be summed up to unreliable narrators.

But we know caleb left for the isles before philip did, we know it took time for philip to find him again (because his beard grew out), we know caleb had a wife who seems to be pregnant, that he was introducing philip to (Implying he not only hasn't seen philip in awhile, but that eve and philip have never met to caleb) and all of that alone feeds into the fact caleb left him behind to start another life. This is all shown in his memories alone, stuff we can't chalk up to unreliable narrators.

So the most logical conclusion to come to is caleb left philip to start a new family, we don't have a lot of details as to if caleb ever planned to return, if caleb had good reasons to do what he did, or much about his mindset.

But we have enough to know Philip loved and looked up to caleb, that he relied on caleb, and caleb lied and left him.

There is again, reason to tie this back to camila and luz.

but this is not a child leaving a parent behind, this is a parental figure leaving a child behind.

This is what i mean by the issue being lack of clear answers, people claim caleb left when philip was an adult, but we actually have no confirmed evidence for this. We have enough of philip's memories to know 2 things, that he was still a teenager when caleb was meeting evelyn, and he was an adult when he arrived.

You could argue philip was an adult by the time caleb left, but it's so vauge you can also argue caleb left when philip was a child and philip didn't figure out his way to the demon realm till adulthood and there's not enough proof to go one way or another.

now titan dad says philip had no genuine reasons for his actions, that he did this all for glory, but as steve put it back in OTWAT, the titan is just a guy.

And given the collector situation, he can make mistakes and screw up just like anyone else.

Titan dad only sees what he can see and make observations based on what he sees. He saw a human come to the isles with a bias already against witches, who ended up killing his brother, who claimed to come here to save others and that's all he's going to see philip as being. Someone who wants to save others but just hurts them instead.

He has no reason to know what philip grew up under, nor does he have reason to know philip and caleb's story before they arrived. There's no denying philip did love caleb, and that they were close, but that caleb leaving him behind for witches drove them apart.

I think the problem ppl even have with what titan dad says is purely because the fans take it at face value, because let's be honest, most fans will believe the objective heroes for what they assume over the villians. And since the show again, leaves philip's story vauge, and never puts it in the main focus, people will just assume what titan dad says must be the truth.

Like yes, you can pick up on these details if you are paying attention, but most people won't do that, so a lot of fans will listen to the god telling them what philip's motivations are coming from rather then put together the sense of betrayal from caleb that hurt philip that most of the evidence is actually pointing to.

philip had no parents, and had no one but caleb as far as we can tell, and then caleb left him too, like he didn't want him anymore.

And he left him in a bigoted town, alone.

the damage this could of done if he was a child is pretty darn bad, and for philip to assume this happened because of a witch means reinforcing everything he's been taught about witches.

Caleb lied about his changes, so when caleb sees him again, caleb seems to be a different person, which does fit with what philip says to luz about the isles "Brainwashing people".

tho you can argue that that's not the truth, that philip knows caleb did it on purpose and killed him for betraying him, cause of how he blames him in episodes like FTF.

But again, this is the result of leaving things vague, because either situation is plausible.

it's plausible philip never intended to kill caleb at all and he died as the result of trying to protect eve because the show says he was trying to target evelyn to save caleb, and it's plausible he died on purpose out of philip's rage for caleb leaving him. Because guess what? That means caleb had the means to go see him and could've seen him but made the choice NOT to, so yeah, that's pretty heartbreaking.

again, this also comes into play regarding Philips's guilt.

People objectively keep saying philip HAS no guilt regarding caleb, but we have evidence for both guilt and non guilt.

Now, sure, his portrait of dead caleb implies philip is not guilty for his death based on his expression after the fact. We also have the fact philip shows distain towards the grimwalkers, that he never outright expresses he feels bad to anyone.

But, we also have caleb's death being treated as one of philip's worst memories in KT that he objectively recalls in horror, he says he "Tried" to save caleb in FTF, which implies he wanted to save him and that he's mad he didn't manage to do so. The grimwalkers and caleb could be seen as ghosts, but also as hallucinations, and if you are seeing them as the latter then it makes sense he'd be seeing them out of some level of guilt towards having them killed.

If the show had these details explained more fully, it would be easy to either deem belos as being a murderous dick with no remorse who thinks killing was the right thing, or as a guilt ridded stubborn murderer who wants to not acknowledge he was wrong and screwed up.

it's why people are split, because you could objectively choose to see him both ways and the ending will affect you differently depending on what you picked up on.

But now let's talk about philip not changing, because people have bashed him for not doing so in the 400 years he's been there and that he had opportunities to do so but didn't.

And i think this is half right, half wrong.

Philip came to the isles with biases, he basically grew up in a cult, he came in thinking he was traveling into hell to go find caleb. Caleb encouraged his hatred, and then his hatred got further pushed when caleb seemed to be kidnapped, and then further pushed when he was surrounded by nothing but bigots.

So this man was already on a bad foot compared to luz, who was here to live out the fantasy books she grew up on, and objectively would have no reason to hate or fear witches nearly as much.

And we do know while the BI can be compassionate, it also has it's issues, even luz faced discrimination for being human herself while on the isles. Being powerless there is well, not great, it's why luz had to figure out her own way to do things alongside everyone else.

And the Bi ARE dangerous, especially for humans, so it's at least understandable philip is not going to just show up and look past the flesh eating plants, the evil weather, and the lack of anything he can even objectively eat.

Now philip could of considered things outside of his bias, and made the effort to try and look at things from a new perspective. But we also have to acknowledge that it's not easy to come out of this long time brainwashing either, and that it takes time and help to do so.

And philip, didn't seem to have that.

Yes, caleb grew up the same way, but not only was he older, which already set him up to question things more. But he had evelyn, he had someone to challenge him and his views and change his mind.

Philp, doesn't have that, there is no confirmation anyone ever really chose to challenge his views or make him realize he was following a lie.

Caleb could of but caleb left.

All we see is philip, isolated, following the beliefs he was taught and being hostile to witches, and witches rightfully being hostile back, which just further is feeding into his bias.

You can assume philip had chances to change but didn't, but there's no real strong evidence of that being offered to him either. That any witch ever tried to make him question anything.

It's pure speculation.

Now Philip is a stubborn ass dude for sure, so yeah, we can claim he just simply didn't want to consider it.

But people are claiming Philip was shown help that he didn't take and that's just not true. We never see anyone asking him to do the right thing or making him question things, at least not compassionately.

no one to our knowledge ever did challenge him, or did reach out to him, not even in the show itself.

Luz is rightfully hostile towards him even when trying to challenge him, hunter does attempt to try and come up with helpful ideas but he would silence himself if his uncle didn't like it (Not to mention the existing fact that he is supposed to be a caleb replacement so his existence comes from philip not wanting him to change or question things philip thinks caleb should not), and well....collector giving him a hug isn't gonna do anything at that point to stop him from thinking the worst of the isles.

This is partially because belos has the power in scenes, that if he hears what he doesn't want to hear he can quickly silence the individual and ignore it.

He's basically put in situations where no one is challenging him and if they are, they're usually doing it with distain and he's responding like a dick right back.

So maybe not much could of been done when belos has become emperor, outside of some rare occurrences where he has no choice but to listen or if he was challenged by someone he respected and would be less willing to hurt. Maybe he's too far gone to back out now and has too much power to even allow himself to consider what anyone had to say, even if they did do it kindly and wouldn't face his wrath.

but he was only emperor for 50 years too.

So ok, what about before that?

Well, yeah, maybe there were chances he could of been, but that's a period of time we only see so much of, and none of it shows one way or the other that Philip was offered the chance to improve.

I think had we gotten a scene of philip being offered a chance to do good, to consider things, that he knew he was wrong and still rejected it, it would back up this whole "Philip made the choice to not get better" thing people claim.

but truth is, it's speculation, we don't know.

A guy who spent his life buying into where he grew up and came in with biases that became a cycle of him being terrible and witches reinforcing what he thought isn't just suddenly going to change his mind and be nice now on a whim unless those biases are challenged in a way he can't deny.

it's on him for not considering looking on things outside of his bias for sure, but people seem to think doing that is simple and easy and it's really not.

Philip had no evelyn, he was left with no one but his bias and stubborn mind.

It's like king said back in hollow mind " People don't want to believe they've been following the wrong person their whole lives", and philip didn't have a luz like hunter did to help him realize how wrong he really was.

Instead it got worse and worse.

This is why philip feels real, because this can happen to people, that they can grow up with hate and never receive the help they needed to pull them out of the mindset. So they get worse, they become worse people.

and we can argue philip didn't deserve the chance to get better, but you'll never know if you don't try and we don't know if anyone did try before he was too far gone.

to think all of this could of been avoided if caleb actually spoke to his brother and gave him the chance to change...

Tying this all back to the beginning-

Philip's story ties into luz, they are foils in a lot of ways, but people need to remember they have differences outside of luz being a good person and philip being a bad person. Those differences make them into the people they are.

That luz was set up to love the isles in a way philip was set up to come in with a bias against it.

That it is not as simple as "Philip should of just got better" given what happened to him and the lack of help he had.

That philip never really is objectively shown to be offered genuine chances to reconsider his views on the show as much as people keep claiming so, and it's mostly all assumption at this point.

That so much of this argument over whether he's one way or the other could of been fixed if the show hadn't kept things vague.

By doing so, it leaves a lot for interpretation about him and therefore means people will have different views on what he thinks and feels and therefore will have different views on how his death should of been handled.

Caleb and philip tie into camila and luz, they tie into the clawthrone sisters, they are the basis for the plot of the series, they tie into hunter and the themes of being understood and being honest about yourself and conformity and it is no wonder people care about them.

It is incredibly valid if anyone expecting this story, that tied into the plot so hard ,as well as the themes, was upset it felt unexplained or dropped in the finale.

Especially since the fandom, with an obvious hatred for belos, responded to it by treating titan dad's word as god and simplifies philip's story completely despite everything i just mentioned here.

It is perfectly fine if you are not someone who cares about belos, but the people who do are perfectly allowed to be bothered that the show itself kept the complexity vague and not addressed and none of it mattered when it came to how his arc ended.

And that the only person who properly gives a personal opinion of what he thinks his motives are, simplifies him to being evil, and the fandom roles with that and the show never tries to do much to prove otherwise despite the evidence.

because this is a fascinating story about how conformity and bigotry can drive two close brothers apart and it feels like a story the show should of at least dedicated more of an episode to.

Especially since there's no clear idea if we'll ever get extra toh content to really tie any of this up.

Again, none of this excuses belos/philip for what he did, does, or tries to do, no amount of his life being screwed over and people treating him bad and not reaching out to him will ever excuse the fact he went so far.

But let's also just, not pretend it was an easy fix either, that someone can just....stop believing what they believe with the drop of a hat.

Especially given how this can reflect real people who are made into people like this.

He is nuanced, and people are attached to this villain for good reasons.

Nothing is simple about him, and it's just a product of how the show has handled his character.

#the owl house #toh #emperor belos #philip wittebane

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whoistrash · 7 months

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Why change matters and how Amphibia did it better than The Owl House.

"Watching and Dreaming" made me cry a lot during its premiere. I was amazed and, I'd say, dazed by it. Then I forgot about it for a while. Now I finished re-watching Amphibia for the first time since TOH ended. My hype died down, and I have some thoughts. A lot, actually.

Amphibia's ending was incredibly painful and made me sob like a baby for two whole weeks the first time I watched it. That's because it was not only beautiful and heartbreaking, but truly GOOD. Brilliant, actually. I absolutely agree with a statement that any other ending would literally be a contradiction to the whole main plot, especially Anne's arc. The girls had to learn to let go in order to grow as individuals - the thing they had the biggest problem with. Saying goodbye was the only logical option, plot-wise. It still hurt like hell, though. Separating the multidimensional, against-all-odds relationships (especially my beloved spranne. Ouch, ouch, ouch). The Owl House does no such thing - everybody stays together. They live happily ever after.

Paradoxically, I think that it's the main reason why I'd choose "The Hardest Thing" over "Watching and Dreaming" every single time. I know we shouldn't really compare them in EVERY aspect, since TOH had way more things to deal with in the final episode, but the fact that Luz got to not only stay, but to freely travel between worlds as she pleases really took the whole "growing up and finding your true self no matter what the other people do/say about you" thing out the door. Luz from season one, episode one, and Luz from the finale are not really that different. Well, she certainly became more traumatised and depressed than before, but in terms of personal growth? Nope. Luz - from the very beginning - was cheerful, open, caring and very selfless, willing to literally help every stranger she met no matter how it would affect her. She had little to no boundaries, but, well, you can't argue that she was A GOOD, SELFLESS PERSON. Now, we could say that her arc here would be learning that sometimes you should put yourself before others, that you can't save everyone, that you can't trust every person you meet. And she learns it! She fucking does! She helps Philip not knowing who he will become, and then suffers from the consequences, because she helped the wrong person. And then it's all erased, when she saves Collector's life and meets Papa Titan (or whatever we call them).

I have so much to say about this. All of TOH's "villains" (Amity, Lilith, Hunter, The Collector) that were given a redemption arc literally get turned into lifeless, edgy trauma dumpsters, that suddenly loose all of their previous character, quirks and sass (well, maybe except for Lilith, she just started to express them differently, I think, but still, it was WAY too big of a change). I won't dwell on it (since many, many fans called it out already - as they should), and will focus on something different. The only one marked as irredeemable is Belos. Good. Okay. He's irredeemable, because he's a white, christian puritan who won't listen to anyone but himself. Also a genocidal maniac. That's the lesson for Luz here. "You can't save everyone. Some people are just straight up evil". And it's very, very true. But.

From all of the "villains" I mentioned before, Belos is the one that had the most reasons to, let's say, take a dark turn. Those reasons are what makes him irredeemable - he's just too convinced he's right, because, in his mind, he has evidence to prove it. But how do we learn about this? Maybe by seeing his part of the story? Maybe by learning about his brother and Evelyn, about their relationship? It couldn't be straight up awful, since Philip literally brought his brother back to life over and over again, he wanted his brother, or at least the picture of Caleb that satisfied him the most. There was more to it than only "you betrayed me and now I will hate you forever". Do we get to see any of that? No. Instead we get an all-knowing, all-doing being that literally choose Luz as "the one" for being kind and trusting, that convinces her that Belos is, indeed, a lost cause. Do you see where I'm going with this?

Luz, the person that on the literal episode two was told that there is no such thing as a "chosen one" and that she can't always hop into action to save everybody, because, it's, well, not always possible, DOES EXACTLY THAT in the finale by taking a bullet for The Collector, the, you know, very freshly redeemed and suddenly cute and funky villain, whom Luz trusts immediately. AND SHE IS REWARDED FOR IT BY BEING MADE THE CHOSEN ONE. BY A GOD-LIKE BEING THAT CLAIMS TO BE ALL-KNOWING AND CAN DECIDE WHO IS RIGHT AND WHO IS WRONG, BECAUSE OF PERSONAL (King) REASONS. Just like, you know... Belos? The irredeemable villain? And then Luz lets go of the moral dilemmas that's been keeping her up at night for the past months, makes up her mind, defeats the bad guy, learns nothing, and gets to stay in the Boiling Isles and on Earth. With her beautifully redeemed girlfriend and friends whom she kept secrets from and lied to out of fear of being ostracised (you see the pattern here, right?) for, again, months.

I love Amphibia. I love The Owl House. But Amphibia handles it's "villains", generally wronged characters and the whole change/no change thing way better. Well, maybe besides the Core - they got a bit wasted in my opinion. But still. Sasha. Grime. Marcy. Andrias. Anne herself. They learn and change. And more importantly, they face consequences and come to understand and accept them. There's no "chosen one" here. Anne gets the proposition because she's the first one to use the music box for good in literal millenia. A fact, plain and simple (not an opinion based on personal motivations), that makes sense plot-wise, and adds so, so much to Anne's arc. Because Anne from season one, episode one wouldn't care. The one from the finale cares very damn much. And that's the biggest difference.

Saying goodbye makes the message way stronger. The more I think about it, however, the more I'm starting to be afraid that there's no The Message in The Owl House to begin with. Luz learns very little, yet ends up with everything she ever wanted. There's no power behind it. The "find the right people and choose to trust them, not everyone will be your friend" and "some things are out of your control, some people are just bad" aspect is even weaker, as proven by basically the whole season 3. I will end it by my favorite quote from Amphibia, that I think about on daily basis. Have a good day, y'all.

"Change can be difficult, but it's how we grow. It can be the hardest thing to realize you can't hold on to something forever. Sometimes, you have to let it go; but, of the things you let go, you'd be surprised what makes its way back to you."

#the owl house #amphibia #watching and dreaming #the hardest thing #luz noceda #philip wittebane #anne boonchuy #sprig plantar #toh critical #kinda?#i love this show too much to fully criticize it but i had to write this #it was cathartic

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regular-gnome · 2 months

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Through many AUs I've been through, yours are the one I like the most, because it's a more realistic one.

I can see that the "cruelty" of other Collectors are not like that they are evil.

For a being that is older than universe, they are like the Gardeners of Stars, as a gardener you have to cut it out what is dead, you have to treat the soil, prepare it for a new tree, now with planets it's kind the same, they visit, they watch, and so they decide if some species is worth to keep and if they are not worth for keeping.

And so, this process of leaving a juvenile collector in a planet till the dominant species dies is kinda a hardening process, in order for them to grow mature and to not let feelings intervene in the decision process, like being a doctor, you must put aside the fear of hurting the patient in order to heal the patient.

But in TOH things got different, they found a species that represented danger to themselves, so they used another species to kill the titans and the little collector paid the piper.

Im very glad you enjoy the AU:D

The concept is rooted in the idea that generally, people or characters don't choose evil simply for the sake of being evil. But nobody is omnicent, they react to whats happening, trying to figure out what might be "best" as they go without really a way to know for sure if its a right call. Having power to destroy a planet with swipe of finger rises the stakes for literally everyone. When the Collector was releashed during King's Tide the game changed. If Belos had managed to control them - nobody would have been able to challenge him. Even Odalia tried to suggest totally reshaping the isles. Seeing anyone as mostly/ only dangerous power sources creates power imbalance, something that can evolve into very shaky and actually dangerous relation when the other side realises they were never really considered a equal person and having the ability to revange. There is a lot of implications and possibilities when someone possesses such power with no oversight and unlimited time but also is a person that doesnt want to be alone:D

If involvement with mortals ends in some kind of complications the collectors will be around to see the consequences, even if they don't directly experience them so sort of desensitization toward the very life they are trying to preserve is bound to happen. "They live for so short and can cause so much change in their own system, its best to control the situation" type of mindset. Also thinking of ecosystem like gardens that need work on makes it easier to deal with, especially since with the scale of galaxy they cant just spend unlimited amout of time in one place full of creatures that do not want to be preserved. Their actions come from a place of care but there is inherent cruelty in their concern

Sooo yeah, its the perspective that might develop in that kind of situation and might end up with leaving one of their own alone for eons. But who knows, this AU is a lot of theories in a trenchcoat and i dont want to defend their actions. Killing all titans? yeah thats bad. It's more about theorizing why anyone would consider that a reasonable option while also not being evil just cuz

#wow i hope its comprehensible #also speaking of gardens #So sorry to every slug that “lived” in my pumpkin patch #your sacriface was an vital element for this au to be created #...and it serves you right for killing 26 pumpkins #my poor pumpkins #i couldnt save you #the owl house #toh #toh fanart #owl house #toh collector #the collector #the collector toh #collector toh #the archivists #toh archivists #toh collectors #ask

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astrolavas · 10 months

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Ok ok, but now is turn for the grimwalker HCs!! Give us the creature👀

!!!!! BET

once a grimwalker is "formed" they simply turn mostly organic, just like how palismen are live animals instead of wood (when activated). so even though the ingredients are still THERE technically, they appear as just like... normal stuff, so grimwalkers are mostly biologically the species that their ortet was, almost indistinguishable (hair is hair, skin is skin, there's blood flow despite there not initially being a heart, the galdorstone is there but it functions very similarly to a heart, etc etc) and yet sometimes the original ingredients' features somehow still "show up" in unique-to-grimwalkers ways. ㅤ

i imagine grimwalkers used to be like a more popular/frequent occurence in ancient demon realm. the process of creating a grimwalker was like a sacred magic ritual, only allowed in special cases (like maybe if a witch lost a child early and wasn't able to have another one, sth of the sort) so it was still very rare even back then and would have to be approved of by most of the community. however, then the tradition died off as ingredients started becoming more scarce, and most of knowledge about it was eventually lost to time. nowadays, grimwalkers are considered to be an extinct species as well as an urban legend/myth by boiling isles habitants, like a "supposedly extinct but there's no certainty if they ever even actually existed" situation (without taking hunter and his possibly-openly-a-grimwalker-in-the-future thing into account just yet). the books we saw hunter read in labyrinth runners have some right information but also lots of misinformation in them, since they're far removed from the direct source, based on only tidbits of actual info, and have been written by witches/demons, with no grimwalkers consulted (obviously); lots of it is speculation, and lots of it is wrong. (i imagine the only actual, entirely truthful info is in those scrolls and books we saw in belos' grimwalker lab, but even that isn't fully complete; and belos wouldn't have wanted to share it with the public anyway, for obvious reasons) additionally, i feel like grimwalkers have a sort of cryptid-like reputation in the boiling isles' pop culture. there are stories made up about them. there are teens making pink-eyed grimwalker ocs on the demon realm equivalent of deviantart and making up things like "grimwalkers can shoot lasers out of their eyes" or "they can raise the dead with their thoughts" LMAO. hunter gets a headache when he discovers all that. ㅤ

grimwalkers are semi-immune to boiling water. the selkidomus scales give them a lot of immunity so boiling water is not actually lethal to them but still, being exposed to boiling rain for a long while or full-on diving into the boiling sea may hurt a bit and prolonged contact with boiling water may leave them with blisters/burns. ㅤ

when grimwalkers' skin is wet for a long time, it gets somewhat scaley ??? scales-resembling texture ?? instead of just being pruney/wrinkled. when dry, their fingertips have a sort of wood-rings-y look. ㅤ

grimwalkers' hair naturally grows incredibly fast, but especially when they spend lots of time in the sun. plant magic may also affect its growth positively. ㅤ

grimwalkers' eyes are reflective and can glow/shine in the dark. ㅤ

when it comes to human-based grimwalkers (the golden guards), sometimes their ears would turn out rounder and human-looking, sometimes they'd look pointier but still not fully witch-like. belos preferred them to be round cuz obviously he preferred "caleb" to be human-looking, but with time he started modifying some grimwalkers' naturally round ears to be pointier just so that they could blend in easier and so they'd believe that they're witches too. he'd "mold" their ears during early creation or sometimes modify/cut them after, like he did his. (hunter's ears are naturally pointy and generally look like a witch's ears but, upon closer inspection, the details of his ears differ from a normal witch's ears juuuust slightly) (ears of the grimwalker that we saw in ftf were fully round because belos was counting on this one to be the golden guard post-day of unity, seemingly brought up as human and in the human realm) ㅤ

just like stonesleepers, grimwalkers often have a slightly sensitive spot behind their ears. ㅤㅤㅤ

palismen can somewhat sense that grimwalkers are also made of palistrom wood so they naturally cling to them more (big win for mr palisman enthusiast/carver hunter owlhouse!) ㅤㅤ

again, when it comes to specifically caleb-based/the golden guard grimwalkers, i can imagine that belos' first attempts were....... FAR from perfect. since i imagine he got all the information from different incomplete ancient scrolls, there were many things he had to come up with and re-discover himself. the very first grimwalkers he made probably didn't even survive for longer than a few minutes/hours. and when they did survive, i feel like the ingredients used were much more distinguishable at first too, not fully transformed into their organic counterparts; like for example some grimwalkers had more selkidomus-like or stonesleeper-like features, or were visibly wooden in some places, etc etc. i feel like belos didn't succeed in making a fully functional, stable and human/witch-looking grimwalker until he met the collector, and then did so thanks to their help. ㅤ

grimwalkers are already "harvestable" at early infancy and that's when you're "supposed" to unbury them, but they can technically emerge at any age (they just have to stay underground and age for the amount of time). i feel like there were also times when belos tried to speed up the process and age his grimwalkers up faster so that they'd be of use to him quicker, but that would also often result in the grimwalkers being unstable; so not really a good idea. (i envision that hunter was probably one of the youngest- if not the youngest- grimwalker belos had ever made, and that's also why he had high hopes for him lasting longer than the others; because he manipulated him since early childhood, starting in his most pivotal developmental years) ㅤ

i like to believe that the reason why flapjack was able to save hunter in thanks to them was because hunter's a grimwalker. if hunter had been a normal witch or a human, i don't think flapjack could do anything to help. (something abt the thing that hunter was ashamed of and hated abt himself ending up being the exact thing that makes saving him possible... you know?) ㅤ

for specifically caleb-based grimwalkers, i imagine that since they're mostly human in biology, they might also have issues with eating some particular demon realm food. not as much as luz of course, since they're not completely human + after years of living in the demon realm and basically eating ONLY demon realm food i can imagine your stomach would get mostly used to it, acclimated and all, but it probably still could result in some problems and discomfort. ㅤ

because of their stonesleeper lungs, grimwalkers are usually pretty still and motionless sleepers. they breathe very slowly when sleeping. ㅤ

you can't make a grimwalker out of a grimwalker. you can try, but the magic simply won't work correctly.

#i'm normal abt grimwalker lore...... GRHRGRRR i feel like i have so many more hcs that i'm forgetting rn #my toh talk #hunter toh #grimwalker #hunter #nicole answers #Anonymous

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anthurak · 10 months

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So I recently saw some discussion on Luz being a ‘Chosen One’-type character. And it really got me thinking about how Luz is, if not an outright subversion, certainly a very interesting exploration and twist on the ‘Chosen One’ trope.

See, Luz technically fits most of the criteria for being a Chosen One, namely being ‘chosen’ by a greater/higher power (the Titan) and gifted great power (glyphs) which she winds up using to defeat the big bad (Belos). However, when we look at the context, execution and subtle nuances of Luz’s relationship with the Titan, we see a lot of differences from what we would expect from a more ‘typical’ Chosen One.

Consider for a moment when most Chosen-Ones are actually ‘chosen’. Usually it’s from the moment they’re born, or in some cases even long BEFORE even that. Alternatively it’s at the very start of the story as part of whatever inciting incident kicks off the protagonist’s role in the plot. Basically, a protagonist being a ‘Chosen One’ is almost always closely tied up in whatever is bringing them into the story in the first place.

But that’s NOT what happened with Luz. She’s not some ‘destined savior’ who was singled out by the Titan when she was born, or even when she first entered the Boiling Isles. No, the first time Luz became known to the Titan (barring time-travel chicanery*) was almost certainly when she began to befriend their son.

I mean, think about this: it’s not until episode FOUR that Luz actually becomes ‘chosen’ by the Titan when they show her the first glyph.

On top of that, there is nothing ‘destined’ about the Titan showing Luz the glyphs. I mean I think it’s pretty clear that the first time they showed Luz the light glyph they were simply trying to help Luz and King to pacify Eda. And after that, they kept showing Luz more glyphs… simply because they wanted to.

The Titan didn’t show Luz the glyphs as part of some grand, thought-out plan for her to defeat Belos and bring peace to the Boiling Isles. Luz didn’t pass some ‘secret test of character’ to become ‘chosen’ by the Titan. She was simply kind and befriended King, and so the Titan decided to just… help her out. First by showing her the first couple glyphs and then showing her more because, well… they LIKE Luz.

The Titan may fill the role of some greater, higher power of the series, but when we finally meet them, they aren’t really presented as one. The Titan is characterized as being quite grounded and down to earth. For all of the incredible power and influence they have over the series, the Titan isn’t presented as some ‘godly’ figure, but simply as ‘King’s Dad’. And not even in some ‘all-knowing, omnipotent entity taking on a form the protagonist can comprehend’ way either (see Amphibia’s finale), but instead simply as a person who wanted to do the right thing, made some major mistakes, and now in large part just wants their son and his new family to be safe and happy.

Again, it all frames the Titan reaching out to Luz to show her the glyphs not as part of some grand plan to defeat Belos or some other ‘destined purpose’, but as the Titan simply wanting to help Luz.

Contrary to what I think a lot of people think, I would call Luz’s story fundamentally distinct from the typical ‘Chosen One’ narrative. Despite the surface-level similarities her story might have, there is nothing ‘destined’, ‘predetermined’ or ‘chosen’ about Luz’s story. She really did stumble through Eda’s portal door chasing Owlbert by pure chance. And it wasn’t some hidden, secret, inborn ‘quality’ about Luz that led to her receiving knowledge from the Titan, or even pure, random happenstance either. Luz simply befriended the Titan’s son and slowly grew into his adoptive older sister.

Just as Luz’s friendliness, kind heart and love for the Boiling Isles and its people endeared her to Eda, King, Amity and so many others, it also endeared her to the very Titan themself.

*If anyone is going to bring up the time-travel point, I would like to remind everyone that is the ‘Stable Time Loop’ trope. NOT ‘The Chosen One’ trope.

#toh #the owl house #toh analysis #toh rambling #Luz Noceda #toh the titan #King Clawthorne #discussing narrative tropes #the chosen one #subverting tropes #how luz unintentionally stumbled into chosen-one status through sheer power of friendship and found-family #when the higher powers make you the chosen one because they think you're pretty cool and you've been really nice to their kid

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chaoticnebu · 10 months

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I want to know more about your palistrom au Hunter. Anything. Everything. When does it start happening to him? Did any other Grimwalkers experience this? Was there an event or exposure that triggered the tree growth? (Palisman blood perhaps? Belos needs to be more careful when he eats those things.)

What kind of jokes does Gus tease Hunter with? Does Willow use plant magic on him? Does Hunter find it ticklish if/when she does? What do palistrom tree flowers look like and would Hunter give them to the Captain?

Did Belos use Hunter's condition to advance his 'evils of wild magic' narrative? Does Dell have a professional opinion on Hunter's condition? Does Eda have an unprofessional opinion? Has Flapjack ever tried to build a nest against the twigs on Hunter's head? Just how hard is it to find clothes/uniforms for Hunter and does Darius help out with modifications?

The people have a right to know!

cracks my knuckles and hits that readmore because there’s a lot to write

(( CW for a sketch with blood and bruising + mention of fantasy SH ))

so! I imagined multiple instances where the palistrom mutation happens (aus of the au, if you will.) the main one happens at the end of season 2/during season 3 BECAUSE of the Draining Spell

I always thought that grimwalkers are 100% living beings with the same organs and tissues as other demons and witches (minus a magic bile sac in Hunter's case because he originated from a human) because the various ingredients for making grimwalkers simply transform into living organs and tissues. the Galdorstone becomes a real heart, the one bone of Ortet turns into a whole skeleton, the palistrom wood turns into skin, hair and nails, and so on.

BUT the Draining Spell, due to its nature as a magic nullifier, made the Grimwalker Spell on Hunter regress

their blood turned to green magic (the same of palismen)

and the skin of his right arm, scar tissue and right shoulder turned into blue bark

had the draining spell run its course they would've probably turned into a plant monstrosity :) (i also tried to imagine his heart going back to its galdorstone state, but that would’ve probably been excruciating if not lethal, so idk if it would work at all)

having the Draining Spell been stopped in time, though, the mutation happens slowly and only after Hunter and the rest of Hexsquad have fled to the human realm. it takes about a month for the first palistrom leaves to sprout and before that, Hunter has only suffered a terrible itch (everyone thought it was just mosquito bites at first)

when branches finally start to grow and his arm looks less and less human, hunter realizes that hiding his nature as a grimwalker is impossible even with Luz’s help at that point and he leaves the noceda household during a panic attack (he just can’t stop running off into the woods) they eventually reunite and the grimwalker reveal happens WAY EARLIER than TTT (i like it to be a lot deeper conversation.) they also have to deal with Jacob (the museum asshole) being even more determined to catch and expose the kids after finding out that there's a tree boy with them

the second instance of the AU happens earlier, when Hunter is still the golden guard and the cause of the mutation is the Collector. star kid was feeling especially bitter towards Belos and they tried to mess up the grimwaler spell, which resulted into this one grimwalker to mutate at some point during season 2

this AU develops into two scenarios:

Belos tries to dispose of Hunter before Hollow Mind, but the kid flees thanks to Flapjack and finds shelter in Bat Queen’s cave, where she welcomes them as yet another lost thing despite all the harm he caused in the past. he ends up joining the BATS, attacking scouts who confiscate palismen to save them and made up for all those that died because he brought them to the Emperor

Belos decides to keep Hunter and tries to convince him that he was cursed with wild magic just like the Emperor, manipulating the kid into considering himself unworthy of love and acceptance, that his uncle is the only one who understands what it’s like. it takes Hunter A LOT MORE to distance himself from Belos and learn to trust Flapjack and Hexsquad. this is also the instance where Belos has to be more careful about feeding off palismen

So, about Willow! She totally can use plant magic on Hunter after the mutation manifests (limited to his right arm) but unlike healing magic, plant magic is a manipulating kind of energy that could make the bark grow even more and she would rather not try that. IF she tried i’d assume it would itch just like when the palistrom grows naturally

I never thought about palistrom flowers, i think that it might be a fun art challenge coming up with a design for them :) but Hunter would not give them to anyone because pulling them (like pulling leaves or snapping the branches) hurts like hell. a dark bit about Golden Guard Tree Boy if that he plucks leaves and flowers despite it hurting a lot just because he hopes to look "less wild" to the eyes of the Emperor

BUT a cute thing I like to imagine is that when the flowers bloom (around march/april like it happens to most plants) Hunter becomes especially affectionate!

Gus (and Luz!) totally pester him with tree puns! They never leaf him alone :)c ( /shot )

Dell… don’t know what kind of professional opinion he would have, but I like to think he’d be the one helping Hunter recovering after Belos’ possession (because it happens, it’s uglier than canon, and Hunter’s palistrom comes out of it burned and cracked)

Eda’s also very professional opinion is that she’s sorry she can’t stomp Belos MORE after hearing all that the poor kid has gone through

Flapjack totally tried to make a nest in his branches. Actually he still does because he’s very much alive in Palistrom AU :) He was just so badly damaged that he can’t fly anymore. Being beyond repair Hunter had to carve Waffles as a movement aid for them both and Flap gets to hang out with a silly little sister!

finding clothes with accomodations for Hunter's branches is literaly hell (i know it is because i never know how to draw them) so boy has to make his own. Camila helps with it a lot when the kids are in the Human Realm, while Darius helps when they're back to the Demon Realm :D

#palistrom au #this is all that i remembered #feel free to ask more if you're curious!#also i know for sure i probably made typose so i'll fix it better later

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spookberry · 1 year

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Recently seen a couple takes comparing that last scene with Belos groveling towards Luz with Steven Universe, particularly when he sings Change to Spinel. And I know its all in jest, but the comparisons always feel to me like they're missing the point. Because Belos does not "think he is Steven Universe" in that moment. He is using the fact that Luz is a good person who cares about people and is willing to give 2nd chances and trying to Manipulate her. He is lying through his teeth doing absolutely anything he can to not lose this already lost fight.

Which is just like not what happened in Change. For one thing Steven isn't really losing in that fight, its just the climax of the movie and his fighting style has always been about defense.

Also important is thar Spinel says "you cant change how i feel" because like thats the point of the song. That's whats being sung about, bettering yourself and healing from past traumas, its not really about trying to right wrongs against the world or anything. Getting Spinel to stop saves the world yeah but Steven is always out to help people and offer second chances while still protecting the people he cares about.(plus Spinel and Belos arent really comparible, maybe the diamond authority tho). Also its a song that doesnt work, like she literally ignores him lol which is comparible i guess.

But imo if you're going to compare the two you could compare how the shows both teach valuable lessons about forgiveness and compassion, I feel like that offers a more lucrative and less surface level line of thought. The Owl House's message is a very good companion piece to Steven Universe's tbh.

#the owl house #toh #toh spoilers #steven universe

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they-call-me-haiku · 6 months

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can we talk about how useless lilith is to the plot? she's introduced as this really mysterious antagonist with a complicated relationship with one of our heroes. but then, she's shown to be incompetent, impatient and immature in a bunch of episodes where she tries to capture eda. she's portrayed almost as pathetic as kikimora sometimes.

but then she captures luz and we find out the truth about her. how she cursed her sister in order to get into the emperor's coven and how she's trying to fix her mistake by doing the wrong thing. okay, now her character is getting more interesting. maybe we can see how hard she has to work to right her wrongs and get forgiven and— nope. we're just gonna have her share eda's curse and now everyone loves her. she's forgiven instantaneously.

and after that? she's mostly just… there. either as a comic relief or as emotional support for the other characters. “she went back in time and punched belos!” anyone could have done that. there were multiple other characters in the show who knew a lot about the boiling isles and could have helped luz with time traveling. there were multiple other characters in the show who wouldn't have hesitated to deck philip in the face. lilith could have easily been replaced by any other character in the show.

besides, the punch didn't do much other than give belos a bump on his nose bridge and more of a reason to hate witches. it wasn't his driving force, he would have hated witches even if lilith hadn't punched him. he was already knee-deep in villainy at that point.

i just feel like lilith's character had a lot more potential. i feel like toh has a trend of turning all its redeemed characters into the same old "awkward loveable nerd" archetype. and it strips them of their entire personality. oh, amity was this stuck-up bully who was suffering from her mother's abuse? she got a haircut and she's just luz's cute awkward girlfriend now. personality? we don't know her. hunter was a trained soldier who spent years under the influence of his abusive uncle and recently found out that he was a clone made solely to replace his uncle's long-dead brother, and now has to deal with that life-shattering realization? nah, he's just willow's pathetic wet cat male wife now.

i just— i don't know, man. all these characters had potential. especially hunter. he was the most popular character in the show for a reason and it's not only because some viewers found him hot. it's because people could relate to him and also because his snarky and petty personality was a fun addition to the show. by the end of the series, none of these characters are themselves.

i love romantic subplots in shows but if a character has to change entirely in order to fit in a romantic narrative, maybe you're not doing it right. maybe those characters just don't belong together.

#mind you i don't hate lumity #i still think it's good representation #i just wish they didnt have to entirely change amity's personality in order to fit in with luz #toh criticism #toh critical #toh salt #toh discourse #anti lilith

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sepublic · 9 months

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“You assume Belos’ goal comes from a genuine place. But that man doesn’t care about anything but his need to be the hero in his own delusion, and because of that, he fears what he can’t control.”

I think of this line in the context of the previous episode being For the Future, and how the Titan’s description of Belos is meant to contrast with who Luz is as a person. Because in FtF’s climax, Camila has a breakthrough with Luz regarding her self-loathing for mistakes and things that frankly were out of her control, that Luz shouldn’t blame herself for; As Camila reminds her daughter, mistakes happen sometimes. That’s okay. And we try to prevent bad things from happening…

But in Camila’s case especially, that attempt to control things to protect her daughter just alienated Luz, hurt her deeply. Likewise, Luz’s hero complex evolves over the course of the series… It becomes less openly glamorous and more ‘humble’, but in a way it still exists. When Luz blames herself for her friends being separated from their parents even though that wasn’t even her call, it’s because she thinks she’s the hero. When she blames herself for helping Philip, it’s because Luz is the hero. When Luz, a freaking teenager, can’t help Eda against this genocidal dictatorship, it’s because Luz is the hero and she’s failed.

Luz still has this unhealthy expectation of herself; Where she’s supposed to actively repent for her past selfishness and mistakes by fixing everything. She’s supposed to be the friend who takes the burden for others, who doesn’t saddle them with her own issues. Luz is supposed to help Eda with her curse, and later with her family situation with Gwen. Luz is trying to direct her attention outwards, towards others, but there’s ultimately this unintentionally self-centered approach where if bad things happen, it’s a reflection on Luz as a person, and she is basically the only who can determine what happens, the input of others ignored.

That leads to risky maneuvers, like when Luz attempts to take Hunter's place against Belos at the skull, or hides the truth to keep the others from worrying. It’s this misguided desire to be the self-sacrificial martyr, another kind of hero. It’s this need to feel like Luz is in control; That she CAN fix things on her own, that she CAN help, and she COULD have done something, meaning if things go wrong regardless, it’s Luz’s fault.

It’s a double-edged sword of claiming autonomy, because it means Luz refuses to blame outside factors for her failures, it’s all on her. It’s comforting in its own way to think she could’ve done something better, because it means Luz can do better next time, right? It means Luz doesn’t have to worry about the uncertainty of the future if she just tries hard enough, correct?

But Camila has to remind her daughter that you can try your best and still fail. You’re still human (for lack of a better term), just as Willow is when she isn’t able to keep everything going smoothly in that same episode. And that’s alright; You can take responsibility, but you can’t overcompensate and consider yourself the ‘hero’ in charge of everyone’s wellbeing. Which brings me back to that point about the Titan summarizing the differences between Luz and Belos, what makes one good and the other bad, so to speak;

Belos fears what he can’t control, because he needs to be the hero who controls everything and can accomplish whatever he wants; Look how much he thrives on having control over people, manipulating them, adapting to a situation, it makes him feel clever and superior. But Luz, while she afraid for a bit… Thanks to her mother, she’s finally begun to accept that she can’t control things. Luz isn’t the perfect hero, she needs the help of others. She’ll make mistakes, or even make no mistakes and still lose! Luz can’t do everything to look after her mother or vice-versa, you have to let people do their own thing, and that also includes herself.

Luz does legitimately care about others; She’ll consider other points of view, like she did when showing sympathy to Amity early in their interactions. Luz can reevaluate what she does because it’s about doing right, not being right, even if it might not be as glamorous. Contrast that with Belos, who refuses to admit that he could’ve made the wrong call about witches and his brother, because then he’s not the hero.

And his need to be right matters more than helping people, which is why Belos sacrifices his own brother rather than letting go of that narrative of himself as the one saving humanity. If he were just misguided, he’d have eventually accepted there was nothing to worry about (Philip is very perceptive, he can tell), but Belos didn’t because that meant no longer being the hero, and he knew his priorities when pushed to choose only one. A classic case of bias distorting reasonable analysis.

They both wanted to be the hero, and there’s nothing inherently wrong with that; After all, Eda specifies at the end of Witches before Wizards that you can still healthily engage with reality, while also working to achieve your dreams. That’s how Luz’s character arc ends, too; She gets to become the hero she wanted to be, while still engaging with the people and world around her and not becoming entitled or arrogant.

There’s nothing wrong with Luz wanting things for herself, nothing wrong with Luz thinking about or prioritizing herself, despite what her self-loathing claims. Despite her decision to stay in the human world because choosing a place she’s happy is a mistake that hurt her mother. But you have to keep other people in mind… You have to critically examine and ask yourself; Is it really about helping others and making sure all is okay, or is it simply the satisfaction of being the savior who corrects these NPCs, and wants an evil to campaign against? Which will you prioritize? This is especially relevant in progressive circles, which fits given TOH’s politics.

Likewise, you gotta remember yourself, too. You don’t have to be 100% pure and selfless in your motives when helping people, it’s okay to want to be loved in return. You don’t have to necessarily choose between others and yourself, and Luz doesn’t have to choose between both worlds, or what kind of magic she uses, her type of Palisman, etc.

#the owl house #luz noceda #character analysis #meta

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cubicle-eyes · 1 year

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Home

(Not Requested)

Hunter x Male!Reader

Y/N is Willow's older brother- aged 17. Also, the lack of gayness for Hunter is sad. Maybe I'm just hopeless. We Don't judge here. We.. eat fudge? Somebody stop me before I start making puns.

---

"WILLOW!?"

Y/N cried, stumbling from the hallway of New Hexside and shoving his way past the crowd of his classmates. Willow perks up, gasping.

"Y/N!"

Her older brother crashes into her, nearly sending them both to the floor. He grasps onto her, fisting her costume and letting out a sob into her shoulder.

"Papa- Dad- They aren't- I can't- I can't fix it."

"I know," she pulls away, but the siblings hands stay linked together. Her hands are shaking, and Y/N registers her "keeping it together" expression. "It's okay."

"And then you were missing- and I was with Edric and he broke- Willow."

He let's out another cry and she pulls him back in. "I thought you were dead, or at least puppet-fied. I was so scared, Willow."

"I know. I'm here. I can't wait to tell you all about the Human Realm, Y/N. You'd really love it there."

Gus comes over and punches Y/N's shoulder, automatically lightening the mood.

"Hey, big bro. Long time no see."

"Yeah. Miss your boyfriend?"

"Me and Matty aren't-"

"Boyfriend!"

Y/N cries, shaking Willow's shoulders and looking around. He spots Hunter, and runs over before Willow can stop him.

"Hunter!"

"Y/N?"

Hunter opens his arms just in time for Y/N to crash into them.

"I thought you were dead! Oh my titan, Hunter, your scars."

He traces his fingers over the base to the corner as it ends at his eyes, and Y/N blinks.

"Your eyes."

His lip quivers before he busts into tears, burying his face in Y/N's shirt as he fists at the fabric. He's trying to form words, but is nearly suffocating himself. Y/N inhales shakily, then helps him up and gestures to Willow.

"We'll be right back! Maybe!"

"Okay..! I love you!" She waves her arms, and Y/N smiles wearily.

"I love you too!"

As soon as they're in an empty hallway, Y/N picks him up bridal style to carry him to one of the empty classrooms. Hunter has stopped crying, but now he can't meet Y/N's eyes, holding his arms and keeping his body tense. Y/N sets him down and Hunter stumbles slightly, legs weak. Y/N catches him as he shuts the door, locking it. He turns back to Hunter, watching him sit down on the edge of a desk that isn't flipped from the previous panics.

"Hunter?"

"Yeah?" His voice cracks and Y/N sits next to him, the blonde automatically leaning against him.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have run at you like that. Maybe the last thing you needed after all of the shock."

"It's.. okay. I needed that." He was silent for a moment before he sniffled. He leaned off of Y/N, gripping the end of the table so tight his knuckles turned white. Y/N furrowed his brows.

"Why isn't... oh."

"Yeah. Flap.. isn't here."

"Is that why your eyes changed color?"

Y/N gently turned Hunter's head, and his newly brown eyes were sad. He shut them, grimacing as he leaned into his touch.

"He's the reason I'm alive."

After Hunter explained the story, Y/N was shocked. He couldn't help his lip from quivering, or the tears slowly pooling in his eyes.

"That's.. I'm so sorry. I should've gone with you. Dunce." Y/N sighed, lying back on the table. Hunter shifted to lie his back over his chest, the two forming a makeshift plus-sign on the table. Y/N ran his hands through Hunter's hair before the boy sat up, leaning on one arm but keeping himself draped over his boyfriend.

"Don't.. say that. I'm so glad you weren't there to see what I did."

"Belos did."

Hunter smiles, but Y/N knows its really one of his hiding expressions. "Yeah. Belos did. Besides.. I don't think Flap would've wanted you there, either."

"I know." Y/N whispered. His voice was always infinitely gentle, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself it were true. Hunter sat up before he could start crying again, standing and unlocking the door.

"Alright, let's not keep everybody waiting."

"Okay, but.. we'll talk more, right?"

"Sure." He mentally punches himself for sounded so unconvincing. Y/N sighs.

"Alright. Hey, Hunter?"

"Mm?"

Y/N kisses his forehead, hands sneaking up to cup his face. Hunter's own, shaking hands place themselves over Y/N's. The slightly taller boy pulls away, smiles, and pecks Hunter on the lips.

"I'm so glad you're home."

---

💙

#the owl house #the owl house x reader #the owl house x male reader #gay #the owl house hunter #the owl house golden guard #golden guard #hunter noceda #toh hunter #hunter x male reader #hunter noceda x male reader #toh hunter x male reader

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mdhwrites · 1 month

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Belos' Empire Was Perfect

In theory. For a kid's show dictatorship, I don't know how much better you could do with your concept, especially with the themes that TOH was going for.

I want to emphasize this because it's going to sound like this is praise for a bit: IN. CONCEPT.

Belos' dictatorship has a very easy methodology to it as presented by literally the only three elements of oppression we ever see. The Conformatorium in episode one and the prejudice of wild witches which... Wait on that one. And finally the last one is of course the coven system. This forms the backbone what is frankly one of the most basic elements of any dictatorship: The loss of self. Without individuality, you do not have self worth and thus do not consider whether the treatment you are being given is what you should be getting.

This is coupled by the Wild Witches being the enemy of all. You do not question the state because they are the only thing protecting you from that boogeyman under your bed that will destroy all that you know if not for them. Adding theology to that is honestly barely a change. It just means you worship the government approved god rather than the government itself. It really cannot be understated how that BARELY changes the actual mechanics of a dictatorship besides them likely implementing prayer more.

But none of this is violent besides the wild witch stuff and even TOH tried to be clever in showing that the enemy never existed (in the dumbest possible ways that I have discussed before but I couldn't find my blog about it). So... No violence but all the oppression of a dictatorship! That's literally perfect for a kid's show about rebelling against a system that wants to push you down and put you in a box.

Partially because it allows for some of the best parts of being a kid to be the driving method for success: Friendship and Creativity. Your open heart and open mind. In a world that is stagnant, you will bust it open with your ideas and your unique personality, especially while mixing with others and giving them back their own individuality. This isn't complicated but it works EXTREMELY well.

And TOH executed on none of this concept.

That isn't even an understatement. Wild Witches DO exist, we see them being round up in Eda's Requiem, but that's also the ONLY time we see them. So the main enemy is only humanized through Eda who is a genuine piece of shit before Luz so Belos is kind of right about her unfortunately. So the boogeyman is real and indeed the only people who give a shit about them is the EC so yeah, the populace is just correct to fear them.

And why wouldn't they when they have complete freedom under the government? We see PLENTY of weird people during the time of TOH and none of them go to the Conformatorium. The prison may as well exist just for the pilot for how much it actually matters or does its job. The idea that being different and unique will get you jailed just straight up does not exist after the first episode except for a VERY discordant moment of Luz and King being jailed for walking on grass. Otherwise, NOTHING.

(To drive this home briefly: Someone in my Discord pointed out while I wrote this that Gus' interest in humans is seen as weird and discordant from the rest of the populace. It is why he isn't more popular despite his skills. So... Why is he able to be loud and proud about that interest if your unique interests get you jailed?)

And in return for submitting to the coven system, the citizens of the Isles enjoy protections they don't appear to have had before, have a level of technology that COULD NOT have been a thing during Belos' rise or else he literally couldn't have done it because his rise to power is genuinely terrible, and they have freedoms that anyone in America shares. As far as we know they don't even censor which is dictatorship 101. They don't even enforce their own rules because so long as Eda, the most wanted criminal on the Isles, doesn't literally point herself out and scream at the top of her lungs who she is, no one, not even the guards, will bother coming for her. The Isles is genuinely idealic in this way.

And it comes back to a problem that TOH has of well... Yeah. It had to be appealing and easy because Luz is a genuinely terrible person. If the Isles had been awful, a place truly hostile to her like Amphibia was to Anne, then she would have just gone home. The only way she decides to stay in the Isles is because she's cosplaying. Not because she actually has a sense of justice or duty against corruption, otherwise Luz might not have taken until HOLLOW MIND to actually for once speak against Belos or do literally anything against the EC (and only once she doesn't get to have her witch cloak because of it because these writers have no idea how to write a genuine hero or honestly a properly good person. Just nice ones.) but because she can pretend to be Azura. We even somewhat got confirmation because she literally ends the series just admitting she sees Azura as her. She quotes the god damn book and what is supposed to be cyclical is actually INCREDIBLY toxic because it's just a fulfillment of her fantasies rather than any acknowledgement of reality or growth besides "I only can exist in a fantasy world," which is GREAT messaging to your LGBTQIA+ and Nuerodivergent fans. Thanks show.

So this concept they have for their themes essentially REQUIRES that there be a dictatorship, and allows for one you can do in kid's shows (reminder: there is somehow a stock trope of a villain getting ultimate power and immediately going Nazi with it in kids' shows. They ABSOLUTELY could have shown more than what TOH did.). They just also couldn't because the protagonist they wrote and the wish fulfillment they wanted to play into, as well its 'subversive' elements, literally couldn't function with it actually existing. With the show actually being about taking down that hates you just for being you.

And I REALLY want to emphasize that that's not new. POKEMON has their main villains, including Team Rocket, not care about the individuality of their Pokemon, and thus be willing to brutalize them, because all they care about are results. The main villain for Slugterra's whole thing is robbing slugs of who they are, turning them nasty and violent, just to make them 'more powerful' and that WAS a Disney show. TOH could have done this...

They just didn't and I cannot tell you why besides them not actually being interested in telling their own story or themes because otherwise, why did you include this?

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #toh #the owl house

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