#whether or not this takes place on the boiling isles is up to you

[scouts-thingsandrps]

@manhattan-city-defenders

The two golden guards quickly looked around, quickly finding the human and pointing their artificial staffs at her.

“For crimes against the emperor, you are under arrest, human!” Hunter yelled out quickly before noticing that there was someone else nearby.

“Oh come on!” Atalanta muttered, as soon as she noticed the other individuals, rubbing the forehead of the mask.

“I…umm…who are you?” Hunter looked puzzled, facing his staff towards the sky.

#closed starter #gargoyles rp #toh rp #verse: off script #au: golden duo #whether or not this takes place on the boiling isles is up to you

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

Oh god now that toh ends with luz being able to travel between worlds ppl are using that to dunk on amphibia. And now that belos died ppl are using that to dunk on su.

They are different shows people! They have different themes! Amphibia is a classic take on isekai as escapism! Marcy went to amphibia to avoid her real life and while she had fun she didnt mature until after she accepted she needed to embrace change in her life! Anne matured in amphibia bc she always recognized that she has her own life to get back to! Sasha matured after realizing that too! Leaving amphibia for good means to embrace the step out of childhood! Something thats inevitable for everyone!

The owl house is about finding a community in midst of ostracization! Luz stayed in the boiling isles because she found people who accepted her quirks! The boiling isles was in danger from a bigot and luz helps her new community defeat him! Its a very queer story! Community is the center of the story so it makes sense for luz to be able to go back to the boiling isles since shes maintaining her place in the community!

Steven universe is about choosing to be kind! Its that everyone has their own specific traumas that they can overcome with the right support! Its about surviving in a world of bigots at any cost, even if it you have to work with the bigots to carve out a space for the people you love! Because people like you exist and theres nothing anyone in power can do about it! Its also a very queer story! The diamonds can never stamp out the off colors because they will always be there! Steven works with the diamonds not because he likes them but because they can improve the world for his family if only he could get through to them! Hes rewarded for choosing to be kind with success because the theme of the show is hope! Hope that anyone can change! But even though the diamonds stop being fascist steven still doesnt like them because its not about forgiveness! Its about fixing things! Stevens just polite about it!

The owl house starts off with the assumption that everyone can change but its not about the potential its about the willingness to change! The focus is on belos, whos had every chance to turn his life around but will never admit that hes wrong! And the show posits that if someone isnt willing to change theyre not worth helping! Its not about whether or not the character is fascist its about if theyre willing to stop being fascist! Several characters stop being fascist and are welcomed by the characters with open arms belos just wasnt one of them! Several characters clean up their acts but dont adequately address the previous harm they did and are STILL fully forgiven eventually! For toh forgiveness is paired with fixing things you just need to give it time!

And theres an argument that some of these shows didnt do their themes well. If you wanted to portray amphibia as an escapism world that the girls need to leave behind to get to their richer futures then having them get such caring found families go against that by giving them a potential of a good life in the isekai world. Steven universe uses the diamonds as metaphors for mental illness and relationships but its hard to stick with that when you also need to consider the countless other gems they hurt. I think its also fair if people prefer one theme over another.

But a lot of stuff i see comparing these shows just go over surface similarities? Like oh shit! These two shows have the same character archetypes! They have the same inciting incident! This must mean that theyre exactly the same in everything but names and artstyle and are trying to say the exact same things! Like. No. Sometimes,,,,,two stories,,,,,,can talk about two different things,,,,,,,

#shut up pandora #the owl house #toh #amphibia #steven universe #su #emperor belos #phillip wittebane #should i tag the other characters mentioned? #not the diamonds actually #marcy wu #sasha waybright #anne boonchuy

[that-ari-blogger]

On Grim Spectacle and Greatest Fears

There's a reason Enchanting Grom Fright is beloved by fans of the Owl House, not only is it just a plain old good story, it's also a phenomenal queer story.

But why is that so, and what makes it so important? That's what this post is about.

And if you're wondering whether I'm going to talk about @moringmark in this post, you bet I am.

Let me explain.

SPOILERS AHEAD

If you look at online discourse, there is a lot of discussion about "good representation" and that is certainly an interesting discussion, but I don't think there is much explanation as to why representation is important in the first place. It is a good thing, we all know this, but why?

One word: Normalisation. Representation of varying identities, cultures, and ethnicities is important because it takes apart the implicit bias inherent in society.

The generic individual in western society is white, male, and straight, and while there is nothing wrong with these character traits, this means that anything added to that template becomes a statement. It becomes an important metaphor for the story which doesn't get applied to someone with the three characteristics I mentioned earlier.

For example, there is a question in analysis of what a character being gay does for a story, where a character being perceived as straight doesn't get that level of scrutiny.

This is a problem for a number of reasons, most notably it abnormalizes certain traits that a large proportion of society (myself included) exhibit, effectively othering those people as a result.

Representation does the opposite of this, it allows real people who are not the generic individual to be treated with the same level of respect and for audience members who don't usually see themselves in media to find characters like themselves, to see their own stories reflected in fiction.

I think the best reason for representation actually comes from Ordinary, by Joriah Kwame, the sequel to Little Miss Perfect. This song, written explicitly from Luz Noceda's perspective, says this:

"The characters I read never act or look like me I can't depend on them to lead me through the right door"

Stories are a way of learning about the world and yourself, and in stories with extremely low representation for marginalised people, that lesson is pretty clear.

@jameswoodall has a video essay on YouTube titled How Much Representation Is Enough. In it Woodall discusses the benefits of representation through a queer lens, and argues about the end goal thusly:

"It's not about achieving a certain percentage. It's about making that percentage stop mattering. When queer representation is no longer noteworthy. When queer inclusion is so naturally assumed that nobody feels the need to count anymore. When even if we did put queer rep in every story, nobody would bat an eyelid. Because we have just as much right to be there as anyone else."

So, let's talk about Grom.

Meromorphic is a channel with a two-hour long video about The Owl House as a whole, and while there is a lot in that video that I disagree with (as is the nature of media analysis) it is comprehensive and fascinating, and I would recommend giving it a watch.

However, I am not bringing up that video to talk about its points, instead, I would like to shamelessly steal borrow a term from it: Magic Literalism. In this context, it means when a piece of media uses magic to make physical an intangible concept. In this case, it turns fear into a monster, that being Grom.

When Grom looks into Luz, she sees Luz's mother, and she sees Luz's fear of disappointment. She sees that Luz has a secret that she hasn't told her mother in case she breaks her heart. It's literally about the Boiling Isles, but there's something written between the lines here.

It is possible to read this as Luz's fear of coming out to her mother, and by "it's possible", I mean that this is how I read this.

Coming out is terrifying, even if you have supportive parents, it's still asking people to accept a part of you, and that comes with risk, because if they don't accept you, what do you do?

That's what I think Luz is afraid of.

Amity, on the other hand, is afraid of getting rejected in a similar way, although hers is more direct. Amity is scared of falling in love and not being loved back.

As a side not, I think it's a really cool detail that of Odalia's many flaws, homophobia isn't one. As in, Amity isn't afraid of coming out to her parents, and when she makes passing remarks about having a girlfriend to her mother and father, their surprise is that it's with Luz, not with another girl. Bellos kind of keeps this going, and the message with that is clear. Homophobia is too low, even for these villains.

Anyway, Amity's experience with Grom is the other side of being queer, the romantic part. I am aware that romance isn't something everyone experiences, but when you do, especially when you are queer, confessing your feelings for someone is terrifying.

So, Amity avoids the question and doesn't really confront it directly at all. Even at the end of the episode, she has everything thrust upon her and still doesn't confess. Luz does the same thing with her mother. Fear is a powerful force, and I would argue that the best time to deal with it is when you are ready, not before.

I really like the scene in the forest. The light gives the two a feeling of warmth and safety, and it wards of the night. Once again, it's Luz giving hope to those around her, and here it is in a more personal sense. Light, do not falter.

The colour palate of the scene (that warm light) conveys that these two people are comfortable in each other's presence and can talk freely around each other. They are already in love; someone just needs to say it.

However, there is another side to Grometheus that also factors into being queer. When Amity explains the event, the art style changes into this style that I want to call classical, even though it probably isn't (art nerds, rise up in the replies and tell me what this is please). But she also directly calls the Grom event a tradition.

"Every year it tries to break out and a student has to defeat it before it invades town. Ever the optimist, Bump holds a party and calls it tradition."

Perhaps tradition, at least in the Boiling Isles, isn't all that it's cracked up to be. Perhaps there is an issue with seeing a problem and instead of trying to fix it, stalling it and making a spectacle out of achieving nothing. Maybe there is an issue with willingly putting children in danger for the drama of it. Maybe the fact that certain sports are just the audience enjoying people getting life threatening injuries might be an issue. I'm just throwing ideas out at this point.

If we link Grom with fear, there is the idea that fear spreads from schools and it is the role of the students, as decreed by the adults, to contain it. See the plot of Footloose for an example of this, or certain places in the real world today, where fear of the other (mainly bigotry) takes the form of arguments about schoolbooks.

This is a valid reading, but I'd like to go a bit wild with my interpretation and talk about @moringmark's comics.

Chapter three of A Little Hint of Blue is a brilliant piece of storytelling that actually characterises Bosha a ton. It carries the theme of fear over to both Skara and Bosha, but it shows them in real time. Skara is scared that Bosha won't let her spend time with... (*checks notes*)... Fledermaus?

She has good reason for this, Bosha is overprotective to the point of toxicity and runs on her own fear. Bosha's hierarchical worldview comes from a place of fear as well, she's afraid of being out of control, and a really subtle thing that gets done in this comic is the association of Bosha with fire.

It doesn't really get done in the original series, but Bosha and fire are such a neat thematic paring. They both consume, they both try to reach out, and fire is heavily associated with strong emotions, like anger and fear.

Bosha tries to control everything in the same way she controls her flames, but as it turns out, people aren't fire. People, when they are free, don't immediately destroy things, and a lot of people actually benefit from that freedom. Most notably, artists and musicians, like Skara.

Grom Factor also deals with the subject matter, but from a slightly different perspective.

First up, the most obvious, at least to me. Enna saves the town but it outcast in the process because what she is scares people, despite her heroism, she is not accepted. The metaphor isn't perfect and reading it as a one-to-one analogy is a detriment to the story. For example, the reason for Enna being outcast is because of a curse, and queer people are generally not magically cursed to be queer, they are born that way.

But, there is also the idea of Luz's fear as an adult being the exact same as when she was a child. She is scared of disappointing people, specifically her family and her daughter. This means that she is acutely aware of Ayzee's own mirror of that, and this line is spectacular:

"Make yourself proud"

It's ok to be afraid of what others think, that's part of being human (or a witch, or a demon. It's part of being sentient), but in the end, the only person who you have to make proud, is yourself.

Final Thoughts

I've been dying to talk about the Moringmark comics, and I do plan on talking about them more, but that will happen when I get there. I will do more gushing about their serious artistic and storytelling skill when that happens, so buckle up.

Enchanting Grom Fright is one of my favourite episodes of the series as a whole, and its a testament to the writing of it that there is more that I am yet to cover, and more that I am discovering as I watch it. For example, the storyline with Gus and King is a big part of the episode, but I didn't mention it because it wasn't really relevant to my main point, and the whole thing with the dance is stellar.

Next week, I am looking at Wing It Like Witches, so stick around if that interests you.

Previous - Next

#rants #literary analysis #literature analysis #character analysis #what's so special about...? #the owl house #toh #toh luz #toh lumity #toh amity #the owl house luz #the owl house lumity #the owl house amity #moringmark #lgbtq #lgbtqia #queer community #queer

[tastesoftamriel]

My grandmother once told me “a way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” which to be fair considering her may have been sword technique advice. However, I was curious if you’ve ever done food for seduction. If you wanted to get someone into your bed, what would you cook them before hand? And do Tamrielic cultures have a standard “come hither” meal?

If it's a romantic meal you're after, you've come to the right place. Whether it's Heart's Day or something a little more low key, you'll make anyone in Tamriel drool over you and your kitchen prowess with these meals!

Altmer

Just like with anything else in the Summerset Isles, subtlety is key when wooing. Relationships can take centuries to build between Altmer, so some choose to speed things up a little with what's known as a courtship basket: a not-so-simple picnic that's bound to wow. First, pick a stunning picnic location and an even more stunning wine. Load up that basket with all of Summerset's finest, from peach blossom indrik ricotta and Russafeld Heights grape honey to freshly baked spiced loaves and caviar. The rest is up to you!

Argonians

As many know, Argonians become life mates through bonding ceremonies, which are a quintessential part of Saxhleel culture. Bonding ceremonies usually entail a feast, usually with foods purported to put the happy couple in an amorous mood. One of the most famous aphrodisiac dishes is juicy Moss-Foot Croaker tree frog legs grilled in pandan leaves with wild bush honey, served atop gratinated witchetty grubs and Spotted Seatrout roe.

Bosmer

Love is a precious thing in Valenwood, and courtship often involves lots of food to test a potential spouse's skill in the kitchen and as a homemaker. The much-loved Husband's or Wife's Pie (known to some as Courtship Pie) tests those culinary skills from the fiddly all-butter thunderbug carapace crust to the twelve-hour meat and jagga filling. It's an exercise in patience and love to be sure!

Bretons

Nothing is quite as romantic as a night in Wayrest at a nondescript, candlelit gourmet restaurant with a two-year waitlist. If you can't wait that long, do the next best thing and host that dinner at home (the bedchamber is just around the corner, no?). Popular courtship dishes are generally rich and include foie gras with wild berry and shallot coulis, lamb saddle served medium rare with black truffle sauce, and salted caramel and brandy custard mille-feuille.

Dunmer

The famous Queen and lover Barenziah was particularly fond of a certain dish, which Dunmer in the many years after her influence still present to potential mates as a not-so-subtle hint at something more. The dish is none other than the notoriously finicky marshmerrow and comberry choux-fflé, which is exactly what it sounds like: a feat of culinary engineering that combines delicate marshmerrow and scuttle soufflé in a clamshell of sweet saltrice choux pastry. Guaranteed to make any Dark Elf fawn over you as if you were Narsis Dren.

Imperials

Imperials aren't exactly renowned for being the best with big feelings (it's all the Divine guilt), so showing someone you love them with food is the most common love language in the Province. Whether it's one of Salmo's sweetrolls, a hearty home cooked meal, or an unforgettable stay at one of the Imperial City's top hotels, there's no wrong way to go about Imperial courtship food. However, if you really want to impress, go for a dark chocolate and pomegranate torte, with a fudgy melting chocolate centre and topped with pomegranate treacle. Indulgent!

Khajiit

It's said that Khajiiti love is as fiery as their curries, but we all know better than to eat a hot curry on a date. So, what does one offer their partner when romantically inclined in Elsweyr? Try a silk-wrapped box of moon sugar bonbons from the closest gourmet sweet shop! A box of moon sugar candy is one of the most thoughtful gifts you can woo a Khajiit with, whether it's cardamom-milk cakes or hard boiled coconut and ginger sweets. Just be careful at the confectioners, because clashing flavours are a sign of bad taste...

Nords

If there's one race whose digestive system is directly linked to their nether regions, it's Nords. Just the mention of a romantic meal of buttery mudcrab legs with sourdough, twice-roasted elk basted in juniper spiced Honningbrew Mead, and snowberry pudding with a Nord Ale caramel drizzle is enough to make any Skyrim native do that thing where they brush their hair behind their ear while biting their lip at you.

Orcs

Historically speaking, there are two food items that are a must for wooing an Orc: echatere cheese, and proper Wrothgarian ale. Put the two together and you'll be planning a spring wedding. Echatere cheese and Orcish ale fondues, pies, sauces, and much more are the best way to use these star ingredients, but I prefer a bit of a twist: echatere cheesecake with a caramelised biscuit crust and berry-ale compote.

Redguards

Redguards are known for being passionate lovers, who write rambling love poetry and frantically check their birthsigns for relationship compatibility. With that in mind, you're going to have to work hard in the kitchen to gain a Redguard's love. If you're not sure where to start, skip the Middas special camel-stomach meatloaf at the inn and get right to the kitchen to make some rasmalai! This unique spiced dessert of sweet cottage cheese balls are served with crushed pistachios, and a cardamom, saffron, and rose-infused cream. The punchier and more balanced the spices, the more likely you are to pull that date.

#Asks #Food #Romance #Cooking #Tes #The Elder Scrolls #World building #Worldbuilding

[hold-your-applause]

Part two, as was requested~

Renewal

You knew the air in the Boiling Isles had felt different from home when you first arrived, but it had been so long since you'd gotten there, you'd forgotten why.

The air in the human realm felt lighter in your lungs, like it didn't take as much effort to breathe. You had chocked it up to the anxiety you felt when you found yourself somewhere unfamiliar, but you still noticed the difference through your tension.

King had forced you all through the door and stayed behind, and everyone you cared about was there with him.

With no way to get back, Luz had led you through the rain to her home, and her mother handled the situation as gracefully as she could. One by one you had all gotten dried off and into new clothes, and everyone split up to take time to themselves to try to process what had happened.

The weather hadn't changed, and you didn't think it would anytime soon.

You were human, and part of you should have felt some relief at returning home after being gone for so long, but all you could think about was the kindness that had been shown to you by complete strangers who you now held close to your heart. They had housed you, fed you, educated you, and had done everything in their power to keep you safe.

The more you thought about it, the more your chest hurt.

You stood from your spot in the living room, walking...

Nowhere inside sounded appealing.

You found the back door in no time at all. You could hear the rain hitting the canopy before you even opened it, so you knew it would be safe to sit outside for just a minute to get some fresh air.

You didn't know you weren't the first to have that same idea.

You blinked at Hunter's wide-eyed look as you stepped outside, his shoulders tense as if he had just been caught doing something he shouldn't.

When he realized it was you, his face and the tips of his ears turned red.

"Hi." He greeted awkwardly.

You felt your own face beginning to heat up. The two of you hadn't had a chance to discuss anything since the airship, what with the world falling apart. You told yourself you'd bring it up when things finally calmed down.

It felt entirely inappropriate now.

"Hi." You said back, trying not to show how nervous you suddenly felt. "Room for one more?"

He didn't say anything, instead stiffly scooting over to give you room on the top step next to him. You did just that, turning your attention to the rain directly in front of you.

You had hoped the air outside would give you some relief, but the atmosphere was just as depressing, and you felt no different.

"Did you know I was out here?"

His question surprised you.

"No, I just didn't feel comfortable inside anymore. Sitting still doesn't feel right."

You should be doing something, anything to find your way back to help.

But where could you even start?

"I know what you mean."

You looked at him out of the corner of your eye. He looked so out of place in the human clothes Camila had scrounged up for him, but part of you thought that was due to you always seeing him in something resembling a uniform. You had never seen him wearing casual clothes, and you never imagined you'd ever see him wearing a hoodie of all things, but here he was, going against your expectations.

You could still feel the sense of familiarity, though, in how lost he looked.

His hands, still gloved, were resting on the wooden stairs on either side of him, and he was looking at the ground at the bottom of the porch. Whether it was to avoid looking at you or because he felt too low to look anywhere else, you weren't sure.

You shifted to face him.

"Is it what you thought it would be?"

He blinked and looked at you, confused.

"What?"

You motioned to the dismal view in front of you. "The human realm. Is it what you imagined it would be?" You clarified.

Hunter didn't answer right away, thinking over his answer.

"Belos told me about the trees, and said the nights were quiet. He said the rain didn't boil, either." He replied, tilting his head up to look at the sky. "So far it seems like it was true."

You nodded, looking out at the thick band of trees not far from you.

"He told me a lot of things that weren't, though."

You winced.

You had been there when Hunter had learned about being a Grimwalker, and even though you didn't necessarily know what that was, you knew it upended his entire life and everything he knew about the world and himself. You hadn't seen him for over a week, and you would be surprised if he hadn't experienced some sort of identity crisis in that time.

It was another reason you wanted so badly to keep him out of Belos' clutches when you thought he'd been captured.

You wished you could tell him something that would put him at ease, but you weren't sure what to say. He'd told you and Luz once that everything had been laid out for him and he knew his place, and you remember feeling pity for him in that moment. You couldn't imagine not being able to figure yourself out or making your own choices.

A thought occurred to you.

"Did he tell you what your favorite color is?"

Hunter looked even more confused by that question than your first one.

"I-- No, of course not." He answered.

"Well, what is it? I don't think I ever asked."

He paused, but you waited patiently as you offered him a smile.

"It-It's red."

Your smile widened knowingly. Anyone with eyes could see how much he cared about Flapjack.

"Did he tell you you like flyer derby?" You continued.

He shook his head. "No. I didn't even tell him about that day."

You nodded.

"Did he tell you how you feel about me?"

His face bloomed with red again and it took a lot of effort for you not to laugh at his clear embarrassment.

"N... No."

"Do you regret not getting those answers from him?"

He hesitated.

"No... No, I don't."

You nodded again. "Things are calm now, but it's still just as scary as when we were still back there. Not knowing what's happening or how to go back, or if our friends are okay, it's terrifying. But for now, you're somewhere totally new where you don't know how anything works. When Luz and I went through that, we had the time of our lives figuring it out, even though we didn't know if we were always going to be safe."

You looked at him again. "You may not know who you are yet, but that doesn't mean you don't know anything. There are things about you not even Belos knew about, things only you know and can tell other people about."

You held out your hand to him.

"I don't regret learning about you, not even the parts you might wish I didn't know about. And I'm excited for you to tell me more about who Hunter is."

He visibly swallowed before taking your hand and allowing you to pull him to his feet. You didn't let go of his hand and continued to smile at him.

"Think you can do that?"

He nodded, gently squeezing your hand as he looked down at it. "Yeah. I can do that."

You squeezed back. "Good."

You noticed the draw strings of his hoodie were uneven, so you reached up to pull the shorter end to straighten it out.

"So, what kind of things does Hunter like?"

You were surprised when he grabbed that hand, too, looking straight at you with the confidence you remember from the first time you saw his face.

"He likes you."

#toh hunter x reader #toh hunter imagine #toh hunter #the owl house x reader #the owl house imagine #the owl house #fluff #director fugue

[crimeronan]

I'm really interested in knowing more about this Vampire AU and how it works. I remember you mentioning before that Luz gives Amity her blood and later ends up giving Hunter her blood too. How does (presumably normal human) Luz find out about all the vampire shenanigans and run into Amity and the others?

oh god, the worldbuilding is one of the things that's fastest and loosest about this concept. is it vampires living secretly in the human world? is it a parallel world where vampires are commonplace and well-known and that has influenced social n cultural norms from the top-down? is it an AU where the boiling isles is home to vampires instead of witches? WHO KNOWWWS

i think the most fun sandbox for me to play in is one where vampires just exist normally among humans and it's fine. in most places there aren't weird cliques or power struggles or isolated vampire-only societies, there's just. dudes who drink blood sometimes

it's almost funnier that that's the case because it means that both amity and hunter are Wild Anomalies, but in different ways.

(sidenote: i'd be remiss not to mention that the whole ~*~vampire elite~*~ concept and vampire lore in general has antisemitic roots and can get unintentionally Weird And Gross. so please for the love of GOD know this is satirizing capitalism & protestant christianity. ALRIGHT)

amity being from an old money vampire family that's now running a fortune 500 corporation, she is insane and out-of-touch because she does not realize how fucking weird her upbringing was. she's certainly MET humans before luz, but mostly.... ones who were either volunteering or paying to get dicked drinked down. SHE'S WEIRD AND OFFPUTTING IN SO MANY WAYS god bless.

whether hunter's a half-vampire or full vampire depends on which timeline we're splashing around in, but either way he thinks he's human. and has been raised in a murder cult. which is even weirder when you're in a world that ostensibly has no reason to HAVE vampire-centric murder cults. you could simply not do this

belos loves to opine about how the world was better back when humans didn't get so uppity about a little serial killing. and then having hunter do murder for him. luz is like hey dude do you like... do you know... do you know that you don't have to do this. like at all. oh my fucking god you've never even fed no wonder you look dead. i'm taking you to my weird offputting vampire girlfriend with no sense of decorum or social norms whatsoever STAT

and it's just like. absolute fucking nonsense full of a million plot holes bc we are just vibing. there's no well-constructed story here there's just us putting hunter amity and luz together in a room and going "what would be the worst and the funniest thing that they could do right now."

#replies #long post #toh #toh vampire au #shitty idiot repression gang #my main priorities are simply. this triad being fucking stupid. the background worldbuilding to get 'em there can be anything

[owlhousetheories]

The Owl House is over and I'm not coping (minor spoilers for finale)

One of the biggest reasons I love this show is how well the writing is. Morals and messages come through without being preachy or obvious - like other kids shows can be. I've never seen a show wherein they show the difference between "I did something wrong, but I did it for the right reasons" and "I did something wrong, but I refuse to admit it I did it, because I'm right."

As early as season two, Luz is so worried that she's caused all the events leading up to the current plot - Belos' rise to power, forced covens, death or imprisonment of wild witches. All because she wanted to help the nice human she had befriended, who immediately betrayed her.  She carries that guilt believing that if she’d never given him that light glyph, his plans would never have happened. No matter what other people tell her, she shoulders all the blame, convinced that her and Belos are one and the same. She even says as much in “Watching and Dreaming” when talking to the Titan.

Luz: Well, Belos says he's trying to save humanity. And we are saying we want to save our families. So, isn't that the same thing? Don't—Don't these feelings come from the same place?

She isn’t aware that by questioning whether she’s done the right thing – whether her goal is more noble than Belos’ – proves that she’s nothing like him. And it’s so refreshing to have a protagonist in a show make a bad decision but make it for the right reason. This idea that the hero can’t screw up, and if they do, it’s purely for selfish or stupid reasons that they must learn from.

Because the reality is that everyone has this capability. Sometimes you’ll make a decision or a choice in life with the best intentions, and it blows up in your face. Does it make you a bad person? Are you doomed to a life of failure because of it? No. Because, just like Luz, you did it for the right reason and you can work to fix your mistakes. And as she learns from the Titan, she’s far from the first person to make that mistake.

Compare her to Belos. Belos shrouds everything he does in the guise of “protecting humanity.”  He came to the Boiling Isles to save his human brother. He wanted to kill Evelyn because she corrupted said brother. He killed his brother to save him. He offered to take Luz with him through his portal to save her. He even uses this mentality while pretending to be the benevolent leader of the Isle. He created covens to protect the people of the Boiling Isles. He persecuted wild witches to ensure they wouldn’t harm the people. I could go on. The point is, for him, he is always in the right - even with actions that directly go against his beliefs. I could understand killing witches wouldn’t conflict with puritan beliefs, but killing your own brother? Practicing magic? Talking to/making a deal with a false god (the Collector)?

Nothing is ever on him – I killed Caleb because he was corrupted, I mutilated myself in order to destroy the witches from the inside, I tricked the Collector in order to accomplish my magic genocide. It doesn’t matter how evil or conflicting the action is, Belos does it because in the end he believes he’s in the right. Nothing demonstrates this more than his actions in season 3. Even while in the human realm – the goal we’ve been led to believe is his end goal – he still feels the need to go back and complete the genocide. Because if he doesn’t, then he was wrong about the witches. He was wrong about everything. The man is a pile of corruption barely hanging on to life, only able to actively control anything so long as he has a host, and he still is convinced that it’s the witches’ fault he's like this. He still has this need to be right.

Titan: You assume Belos's goal comes from a genuine place. But that man doesn't care about about anything but his need to be the hero in his own delusion

And to be honest, his actions mimic those of actual bigots and abusers. The unending need to be right, to be the victor. Using a scapegoat – I’m doing this for humanity/the children/families/government – to justify violence and hatred. Refusing to back down; even when presented with evidence that they're wrong. And above all, the reveal that if you peel back their “justification” all you’d actually find is a hateful person lashing out because they can’t control the narrative and people are doing things they personally don’t approve of.

Keeping in mind, these two perspectives and the thematic importance in both aren’t overtly shown. It’s subtle, but shown just enough to get the message. In short, the writers of Owl House are thematic geniuses and I’m never going to emotionally recover from this show.

(Also screw Disney because this could’ve been explored so much deeper if we’d had more time).

#the owl house finale #the owl house #belos the owl house #why do I keep writing essays about this asshole #luz noceda #character study #minor spoilers #dana terrace #owl house writers #toh season 3 spoilers #how many posts can i make about this show

[desmondkane-of-ao3-fame]

How do you think Skarlow + the other EE & their partners would celebrate after winning a big game?

A great question as always! Had to think about this one a bit. Hmm…

Well, first you gotta talk about the pre-game rituals, right?

The Entrails as a unit developed a tradition of wearing their uniform shirts to bed, as a way to feel pumped up about the next day. Gus even swore she dreamed about their victories, though Hunter suspects it’s more that he spends so much time creating illusions of potential scenarios that he dreams them.

Skara and Willow, meanwhile, have a more informal tradition. Willow would always stress herself out over the game, staying up late and worried about losing. One night, she was so tired she decided to call Skara, who then played her a lullaby to calm her nerves. When Willow did this a second time, Skara recognized the pattern, and now she always calls Willow first, playing her a lullaby around 10 too calm her girlfriends nerves and help her sleep better.

Ed and Hunter, meanwhile, always have the same Pensta exchange the night before:

ED: You better win this, or else I’m not gonna be your BF anymore.

GG: What? Are you gonna propose?

ED: As a matter of fact, I just might. ;)

Ed actually has a toy ring he plans to ‘propose’ to Hunter with if they ever lose to cheer him up. Hunter doesn’t know that though; he’s too busy being a blushing mess.

With Em and Viney, they fly a few laps around Bonesburough in Puddles, Em holding onto her girlfriend while assuring her how hard they’re gonna whoop their opposition. Viney can barely make out most of her words through the sound of air rushing around them, but she’s always appreciative.

Then, the actual post-victory stuff.

After winning a game, the Entrails always head over to Gus’s house for a mostly relaxing sleepover after a long, hard week of practice and play. Sometimes Viney or Hunter will bring their partner, but the time there is usually meant to be spent with the team, so they try to focus on that. Willow and Skara even try to avoid always being on the same team during games or sitting next to each other when watching movies. They fail, every time, of course, but they try.

Speaking of, Willow always returns Skara’s lullaby after a match. Skara likes to cuddle up to Willow at night, and Willow always strokes her hair and whispers a song her dads used to sing to her when she was little, a lullaby about a brave knight rescuing a dragon from an evil damsel. Skara always falls asleep, and Willow does the same, listening to Skara’s heartbeat and steadily sleeping to it.

Ed, on the other hand, has a more explosive way of celebrating with his partner. The night after the game, he likes to take a bunch of custom made (and not entirely legal) fireworks to a clear field, where Hunter and him meet up. Hunter chastises him for doing something so reckless, but always in a joking way, as Ed sets off a series of fireworks one by one. They’re all incredibly explosive, bright, and with a touch of Illusion magic that lets them say things like “YOU’RE THE BEST HUNTER” and “ED+GG” surrounded by hearts. Hunter calls it dorky, but in reality he finds it sweet as all heck. And Ed, with a smirk, always knows that.

Viney and Em, being an adventurous pair, like to take the weekend to fly out on Puddles to somewhere on the Boiling Isles neither of them have ever been to before. Sometimes it’s a town, sometimes it’s a forest, sometimes it’s ancient ruins. Whatever it may be, they both forget about homework, school, even the Entrails, and simply spend the weekend together exploring. They always camp out together and kiss under the stars. On Sunday night (or the BI equivalent) they fly home on Puddles, but Em’s last action before they leave is to mark the location on a map, and write about whether or not it would make a good honeymoon spot in the future.

Bonus; Gus, after everyone’s left and the place is cleaned, get Emmiline Bailey Marcostimo (their Palisman’s canonical name, look it up) throw their own little private dance party, complete with an Illusioned-up club where he MC’s everything. It’s fun. And sometimes, he’ll invite Matt there. Mostly cause he’s kinda chill about it, though. There’s, well, er, no other reason Gus would want to have a dance party with Matt alone. Totally not…

#the owl house #skarlow #willow park #toh skara #vinera #toh viney #emira blight #goldric #hunter toh #edric blight #emerald entrails #gustholomule #gus porter #toh matholomule #ask me for more skarlow headcannons like this

[halfawitch-willow]

Show A Little 'nitiative, Work Up Some Guts ❁ WSoH 5

With the hybrid growing faster every day and more people showing up in Swynlake from the Boiling Isles who know exactly who -- and what -- Willow is, she has to think about whether she's going to try and stick with her 'pretend to be a Mundus' plan or 'fess up before someone does it for her. And also Hunter's here. Takes place Oct 20th 1 // What Do You Want From Me, Blood? 2 // Someone Tell Lady Luck I’m Stuck Here 3 // Long As You Don’t Make A Habit Out Of It 4 // Does This Look Inanimate To You? @thegcldenguard tw: mentioned child abuse, Very Sad Soup

WILLOW

Willow wouldn’t say she was stress baking. Her baking had nothing to do with her stress. She was baking because it gave her a reason to be out of her dorm. 

(And a little bit because of stress. She was just ignoring the stress right now.)

Willow sat at the little island opposite the oven, her feet swinging back and forth. She had her tail tucked in her lap so she didn’t run the risk of someone stepping on it when they passed. Again. She’d already washed up the dishes from mixing up the brownies so now she just had to hurry up and wait for them to bake. The whole kitchen smelled like spiced chocolate, and she’d had a few curious students stop and investigate.

Sighing, Willow reclined back in her seat and let her head fall back. She needed to go to the Grove tonight to get some sleep, even if sleeping in the restricted greenhouse made her dreams all weird…

Willow opened her eyes a bit to look back into the main living hub and yelped in surprise when she realized she was no longer alone.

HUNTER

Hunter nearly jumped at the yelp.

He hadn’t even noticed Willow when he came into the common room. Actually, part of the reason he’d stepped into the common room now was because it was empty.

He hadn’t really felt good all day. He’d slept through his alarm and only barely made it to classes. Then he came back and passed out. Other than the sheer exhaustion, he didn’t feel sick: no sore throat, no stuffy nose, no muscle aches. Nothing. He just felt… drained. 

It was his growling stomach that had woken up and prompted him to go to the common room to microwave some soup. But also, his hair was sticking up on one side and he was sure that the dark circles under his eyes had dark circles.

Willow’s yelp snapped him out of his daze, though. He yelped too — just as the dorm microwave started to beep.

“Titan!” gasped Hunter. “Sorry — you startled me.”

WILLOW

"Sorry," Willow said with a grimace, sitting up straight. Well, she was definitely awake now. 

She considered running, at least until he finished his food or her brownies were done. She was not in the right headspace to deal with people. But then she got a better look at Hunter and her eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"You feeling okay?" Willow asked softly. He looked like he'd just woken up from a coma.

HUNTER

“Yes!” Hunter said, very quickly. “Of course, I’m feeling okay. Just, you know… studying for midterms.” He waved his hand, then glanced at the timer on his phone to start counting down the allocated one minute that the can of soup had instructed him to wait.

“And yourself?” Maybe it was hypocritical to spin the question back on Willow, but looking at her now… well, she looked stressed. “Whatever you’re baking smells delicious, by the way,” he added, a bit shyly. 

WILLOW

"Yeah, I'm okay," Willow said with a small, tired smile of her own. "Just a little stressed with Flower still out of town."

And the rapidly-growing magic hybrid flower in the back of the restricted greenhouse. And the influx of people from the Isles who knew who she was and what was wrong with her. And the one person who knew the actual truth that she was still trying to decide if she trusted or not (it depended on the day). And the growing guilt from lying to people who seemed to genuinely care about her.

… Okay, so there was a lot more than the Flower thing, but Willow kept it to herself and shoved it down. Out of sight, out of mind.

At his compliment, her smile got a little easier. "Thanks," she said softly. "It's my dad's recipe. They uh… they should be done soon, if you want to try one?" Willow checked her own timer on her cheap phone, nodding when she saw she only had a few more minutes before she needed to take the pan of brownies out.

HUNTER

Hunter should say no, because eating a brownie would ruin his (admittedly pathetic) dinner.

But as he opened his mouth, his stomach growled, and he couldn’t deny the delicious smell of the brownies, or his sudden desire for some chocolatey goodness.

“Oh! Well, if you can spare a bite, I’d love to try,” he said. “A sugar rush might be a good thing for a study session.” And Titan knew he had to get studying. He’d wasted the whole damn day asleep. 

Hunter rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, then checked his timer again, before making his way to the microwave and removing the little bowl of soup. He blew on it gently and then stirred it, chunks of pale chicken floating to the top. 

“I have, uh, a paper for my magical ethics class due next week,” said Hunter, trying to both make small talk and also remind himself of his own schedule. 

WILLOW

Willow nodded. "Yeah, they should be cool enough to eat by the time you're done," she said, standing from her own seat and heading to the oven. She glanced at his bowl of soup and had the passing thought that if her dad saw it, Hunter would be the one getting a care package next. 

Maybe she should make something savory for the dorm to snack on for midterms…

She hummed at the mention of his paper, digging through the drawers for the potholders that had probably been left there by someone who graduated in the sixties. Willow thought they might have been blue at some point. "What's your topic?" she asked. With the potholders over her hands, Willow opened the oven door and the smell of spiced chocolate only intensified. It was still weird to use an oven that didn't start drooling whenever the baking was done. She pulled the brownies out and set them on top of the range to cool down.

HUNTER

“Oh, uh.” Hunter blanked for a moment. His brain still felt light and fuzzy and not entirely there. He rubbed his forehead. “It’s on what different cultures deem a “good” life — success, happiness, meaning — and also taking into account what the majority Magick population is. My professor told us to specifically choose cultures that we were unfamiliar with, which I think she directed at me, since I tend to lean on the Boiling Isles for all my examples.”

He chuckled and shrugged.

“So, I’m going with the United States, which is proving to be far more complicated than I thought. I think I might break it down into regions. Maybe I’ll ask Phineas for his input. Or interview some of the other Americans on our floor…” 

WILLOW

She giggled with him. “Take Professor Daemonne’s class, you’ll have the opposite problem,” Willow said with a wry grin. She opened her mouth to ask what the Head Witch was like back on the Isles, but stopped herself. Right. She wouldn’t know that Hunter knew Darius back on the Boiling Isles.

She still hadn’t told him that she was from the Isles.

Objectively, Willow knew she had to. There were too many people from the Isles in Swynlake now who either knew her or her parents personally, and the longer she put it off, the more likely he’d hear it from someone else first. She was putting too much trust in the belief that she was not important enough to be mentioned, no matter how well it had worked so far.

It was just the moment she told Hunter, there was nothing keeping that secret from the rest of their friends. Especially if he took it poorly; either because she’d been lying to his face now for months, or because of her status on the Isles as a social pariah. She wanted so badly to think the best of Hunter -- he’d been nothing but kind to her since they’d met! -- but… well, experience was the greatest teacher, and she’d learned her lessons well.

“Regions sounds good,” Willow said instead, ducking to look through the cabinets under the counter. “Isn’t the United States massive?” 

When she popped back up, she had two energy drinks from her stash in hand, and held one up as if to ask if he wanted it.

HUNTER

At the mention of Darius, Hunter felt himself freeze a little. 

He was still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that Darius was here. Not just Darius — but LIlith and the Blights and so many people who knew him. Darius was just the cherry on the top. 

It was a reminder that he had to be perfect. That he could not make another mistake. 

Hunter blinked, snapping back to the present when Willow offered him a can. He took it, popping open the top, and taking a small sip.

“Apparently New York isn’t New England — what’s up with that? It’s named after an English city! Wouldn’t it make sense to be part of new England?” 

WILLOW

Hunter tensed up a little, and Willow figured she had her answer to the question she didn't ask. 

Her eyebrows furrowed together at his explanation about New York. "Wait, seriously? Why would they even call it New York, then?" she asked, opening her own can. She took a sip and the carbonated drink and sharp taste hit like a punch to her system. She'd bought way more boxes of the stuff recently, thanks to her whackass sleeping schedule.

She shivered at the taste, and behind her, a wilting potted basil that someone had bought from Moon Market seemed to shudder a little as well.

HUNTER

The energy drink popped and fizzed and was sickly sweet on Hunter’s tongue.

It jolted him, though, and he took another sip, longer this time. 

“Wow — what is this?” he asked, looking it over. “It’s not an energy potion? It’s a Mundus creation? Fascinating! I wouldn’t have known. It has all the potency of a Lesser Energy Potion!” 

Add another Mundus marvel to Hunter’s ever-growing list! 

WILLOW 

Willow smiled because yeah, she got it. Aside from all the cultural differences that made Willow feel like she was constantly on the back foot, there were so many things in the Mundus world that made her life so much easier. If the lack of murderous bullies hadn’t already done the trick, then air fryers would have convinced Willow to stay down on Earth easily.

“It’s an energy drink,” she explained as she started to cut into the tray of brownies. Her tail was invisibly swaying back and forth in a content rhythm. “It has a lot of caffeine in it and is supposed to help you stay awake. Though, take it from me, not a good long term solution,” she said dryly, twisting so she could point at him and emphasize her point. “I drank like three in a row once and I was twitchy for four days.”

The part of her that was an apothecary’s daughter really wanted to dive into the Lesser Energy Potion vs Energy Drink debate, because she had Thoughts and Opinions, but Willow kept her mouth shut. Silently, she was delighted he noticed the same similarity she had.

“I keep a stash here and in my dorm, if you need some,” she offered. Willow pulled two mismatched tea plates out of the cabinet and plated one of the brownies for herself. They were still steaming a bit, but they smelled amazing and looked perfectly fudgy with red flecks of cayenne in the chocolate.

“Edge piece or center?” she asked.

HUNTER

Hunter mulled over the offer. He shouldn’t be taking to Mundus culture so quickly. In fact, it alarmed him how easily he’d embraced some of it. Like he was betraying Belos and everything that the Boiling Isles stood for. 

But at the same time, Lesser Energy Potions were expensive and it wasn’t like there was a local potions shop that Hunter could just pop into…

Willow’s question once again snapped him from meandering thoughts.

“Oh! The edge. I like the crispy parts,” he said. 

WILLOW

Willow nodded, plating one of the corner pieces for him and taking both plates back to the table. Her new job at the Court meant she was easily able to balance both plates on one hand and carry her drink in the other. She set Hunter’s plate down near him before taking her seat again and tucking her legs up close to herself.

She picked up the brownie and hissed a bit as the heat lightly stung her fingers. It didn’t stop her from taking a bite that immediately burned her tongue, but it was so delicious that she didn’t mind. She and Dad had the same bad habit of never letting their food cool, which drove her Papa half-crazy.

She hummed happily, fanning off her mouth with one hand. “Uh, maybe give it a second,” she said with an embarrassed grin. Her tail was curling happily, the curly fur on the end tickling her toes with each pass.

HUNTER

“Noted,” Hunter said, with a grave nod.

As tempting as the brownies smelled, he did not want to risk a burnt tongue. It was one of the worst sensory feelings in the world if you asked him. 

Actually, speaking of that… he should probably eat some real food before indulging in sweets. So he took a little sip of soup. It was fine. It tasted exactly like every other can of soup Hunter had made in this dorm room: a little too salty, the temperature slightly off, but it did the job. 

WILLOW

Was it weird that his soup was making her sad? It was probably weird. She blamed a childhood of growing up with Harvey Park, who showed his love via food. She kept her mouth shut, not wanting to be weird or pushy. She had already given him a drink and a brownie, she shouldn't force anything else on him. They weren't really friends, after all. Not so long as she was lying to him.

She wanted to be, though.

It was a scary thought, and Willow took another bite of her brownie - this time a little cooler - to try and distract herself from it. It was a bad idea even being this close. Just because they both hung out with a lot of the same people didn't mean they had to hang out! She could just do the smart thing and keep her distance and keep her mouth shut. That way if the truth did come out, which felt more inevitable with every day, the fallout would be minimal.

But then she thought of the little stuffed bee in a place of honor on her desk, or the gloves he'd helped her save from being scattered to the wind, and she would want to stick around a little longer. Repay some of the kindness he has shown her. It was why she couldn't keep her distance from Eilonwy or Edward either; why she'd so happily accepted the job at the Court and why she gladly took on all the extra responsibility when Flower left to hide in their Hollow.

She opened her mouth, lips moving uselessly around words that wouldn't come.

'There's something I need to tell you.'

'I'm sorry I haven't been honest with you.'

'Thank you for being so kind to me.'

'We need to get you some better soup.'

Instead she just took another bite of her brownie and felt like a coward.

HUNTER

Hunter didn’t really miss the food in the Boiling Isles. 

Belos had been very strict about their diets. He prioritized health and wellness above all, which meant that they only really indulged during special events. Sweets, like chocolate and cookies and brownies, were incredibly rare.

Which is why these brownies smelled so good to Hunter now.

But it was also why he told himself he needed to finish his soup first. That’s what Belos would want, after all. Finish your vegetables and your designated protein intake. (Not that this little can of soup had a lot in the way of vegetables or protein).

It was then that Hunter realized that maybe he should say something.

It’s not like he hadn’t hung out with Willow alone before. It was just that usually there was something else to talk about, be it jello shots or carnival games. Now there was soup and there were brownies, which they had already talked about. There was Hunter’s essay that he should be working on, but they had also addressed that. 

“Er,” he ended up saying. “Do you like soup?”

WILLOW

Willow was starting to seriously regret not bailing when she could have when Hunter spoke up. She looked over at him curiously before glancing down at his soup and realizing he was probably feeling as awkward as she was now that they'd kind of exhausted the obvious topics of conversation. She smiled a little bit.

“Yeah,” she answered, wrapping her arms around the leg tucked up against her chest so she could rest her chin on her knee. “My Papa makes the best red pepper soup, it's my favorite.” 

She didn't mention that the red peppers were the ‘screaming’ variety from the Hips.

“Maybe that could be my next experiment,” she mused. “He'll send me the recipe if I ask, but he always adds like, six other ingredients that aren't written down so I have to do some trial and error. I don't think we have a pot big enough here, but maybe if I ask Eilonwy and Laurel, they'll let me use their kitchen.” Willow had brought plenty of baked goods both sweet and savory over to the Lightfoot house while Eilonwy was recovering from her broken ribs and arm.

Scrounging up her courage, Willow looked at Hunter and gave him a bright smile. “I’d probably need a taste tester again, if you'd want to,” she offered, trying not to look down at his sad canned soup again.

HUNTER

“Oh they definitely would.” Hunter brightened at the mention of Eilonwy. He knew that she’d be absolutely thrilled to let Willow use the Lightwood’s stove. Especially if it was because she wanted to try a family recipe that Willow didn’t know all the details about. He could practically see Eilonwy’s eyes growing wide as Willow poured over ingredients.

“I don’t know if I’d be much help, but I’m happy to taste test,” he said, feeling his cheeks flush a little. “I don’t know much about cooking. Which, uh, makes sense given this soup.” He nodded at the cup. 

“I’ve always wanted to learn how to make pancakes,” he added. “I tried them for the first time in Ingary. I never had them back home. My guardian… well, he wanted to make sure I had the healthiest food options possible. And pancakes are an indulgence. Especially with chocolate chips in them.” He nodded solemnly. 

WILLOW

Oh thank the Titan, he was self-aware about the soup. Willow tried to smother her laugh, grinning behind her hand.

She mirrored his solemn nod before reaching out to tap her hand against the counter near him and gave him a very serious look. “After midterms, we will make pancakes and they will be absurdly loaded with chocolate chips,” she swore, her lips curling as she tried not to grin.

“That way it's a reward for our hard work.”

(On top of the fridge, the basil plant looked fresh and healthy again.)

HUNTER

The corner of Hunter’s lip twitched up. Despite himself, he smiled. 

“Yes, that sounds like a plan,” he said. “With a lot of maple syrup!” 

He slurped up the rest of his soup in record time, then set the empty bowl on the counter.

“Alright, I think I’m ready for that brownie now.” 

#willow shop of horror #c. hunter belos #//this doc and this point in their weird friendship can best be summed up by that picture of the fawn w the 'panicked honk' caption lol #p. daylily

[theprinceandthewitch]

To be honest I really like Separate Tides. I know people get confused about the way Hunter acts in this episode. But it makes alot of sense to me. I know I meme on him for not bothering to check to see if she actually killed the Selkiedomus, but it really doesn't matter all that much.

It's ambiguous whether this was Hunter's plan or Belos' plan. I honestly think this was something Hunter came up with on his own. Because like... it fits with Hunter's theme of being a witch-hunter... so I expect him to actually act like a person who hunts witches. You can't tell me that Hunter has never lead a hunt for "wild" witches... why wouldn't he, when it's something Belos expects him to do and has trained him to do? Like... Why do you think he's even called Hunter to begin with?

Also, just the fact he didn't actually bother to check to see if Luz killed it says to me that this wasn't a plan Belos came up with. If hunting the Selkiedomus was something Belos put him up to he would have made sure to bring back evidence of the kill.

But yeah, Hunter's plan was to lure Luz and Eda into a situation where they would be forced to fight. He did this to gauge how much of a threat Luz and Eda are.

Hunter lured Eda and Luz to the boat using the bounty placed on The Selkiedomus. Hunter knows Luz is the type who doesn't think things through, so she will absolutely join the crew without thinking about how dangerous the hunt will be.

He knows Eda will try robbing the ship despite claiming she wants to keep a low-profile. Because Eda is really desperate for money, so she's not going to pass up an opportunity to steal from one of the Emperors ships.

Hunter lures them off the mainland so they can't call for help and he creates an ultimatum so they will not be able to escape.

Once he's satisfied with what he sees, he gives King back and let's them go with a warning about how the emperor is not a merciful man. He also let's them keep their Selkiedomus kill. Which is a pretty underrated character moment for Hunter. Let me emphasize this: he legitimately believes they killed the Selkiedomus, but let's them keep their kill so they can sell it's body parts.

Like yeah he was a huge asshole to Luz, Eda, and King, but not that big of an asshole where he'll take away a source of money from them. He could have burned the body or throw it onto those flesh-eating plants. There were numerous ways he could have screwed over Luz and Eda with their Selkiedomus kill but chose none of them. He also could have easily captured them if he wanted to.

Remember how I keep talking about the importance of character introduction episodes and how they can make or break a character? Hunter's introduction episode established him as an antagonistic character who isn't completely heartless. This is why Hunter reacting to Luz's disappointment in him and protecting her from Kikimora in Hunting Palismen doesn't come off as a "sudden character change".

Because again, his introduction episode establishes him as a person who isn't completely devoid of kindness, despite being the prince of The Boiling Isles. The only person he owes allegiance to is Belos, yet he isn't so unkind as to deprive Luz and Eda - two witches who cause alot of trouble for Belos - a source of income. Like... that's a really huge detail people tend to miss with Hunter's character.

This is actually why I like Hunter's introduction episode more than Amity's lol.

#toh rambles

[theredjoka]

Show Review 📺: The Owl House

The Owl House Review: POTENTIAL SPOILERS

(Sooooooooo I haven't done a review in a VERY long time, and even then when I did reviews I did very brief ones. So I decided that I would do more in-depth reviews and this one will be my first. If I'm not good please bear with me, I'm new to this. With all that being said let's start.)

I first heard of The Owl House from social media and was very hesitant to watch it for two big reasons: First off, I'm not a fan of Disney after 2014. Secondly, the only thing I've heard people talk about was the romantic couple and that turned me off to the show. Not because it was an LGBT+ couple but because I thought that if romance was the only thing talked about then the rest of the show must not have anything of merit. Then one day a good friend of mine was raving about it and I decided to give it a shot.

Before I get to anything I want to say at the time of this review there is still 1 episode that has yet to be aired so I will try to avoid as many spoilers as possible but success is not guaranteed. The story follows Luz Noceda, a good-hearted human kid who was struggling to fit in due to her odd interest and inability to control her impulses. After some incidents at school, her mom was pressured to send her to a camp to “cure” her. Instead of going to the camp, she ends up stumbling into another dimension full of magic and demons, finally making friends and seemingly finding a place to belong and Adventures ensue. That's all I'm going to say regarding what the plot is about in case anyone wants to check the show out & if I described the entire story I'd lose my mind and this review would take FOREVER! Now, this might sound like me fanboying but I enjoy the writing of this show & I'm struggling to think of something to criticize without nitpicking. I hear a lot of comparisons to Gravity falls but I haven't seen that show so I can't speak for that. I can say that the show has some darker elements to it especially when you get to the main villain of the series. The characters themselves, by and large, are very likable and well-written, and despite how short the series will inevitably be very well developed my favorite being Amity but all that is very hard to get into without spoiling the entire series. Ironically the relationship is the thing that had me hesitant to see the show and it ended up being one of my favorite things in the entire show. It's so well done and comes across naturally and without feeling rushed or forced which is a thing that animated shows struggle with. All relationships whether they are platonic, romantic, siblings, or rivalries are well-written and well-developed. The characters themselves are great: Luz is very likable and relatable, Eda is a great mentor/mother figure, King is a little gremlin, & Hooty is probably the funniest. The boiling isles are interesting from a story standpoint but aren't anything new conceptually; it's like some you would see in an ideal anime.

Now if you think the characters are the only thing going for this series that is not the case, the presentation is also top-notch. The boiling isles from a design standpoint are very interesting, dangerous, and zany world that the human protagonist gets stuck in. The creature designs are more unique while I struggle to tell what they are most of the time they fit in so naturally in this world. The character designs are SUBLIME but that's a subjective topic also Amity gets the best outfits. The animation is also beautiful and if you want proof of that look no further than the dance scene in season 1 and all the fight scenes I mean as a whole the show is well well-animated but that scene specifically is just amazing. 

The voice acting shocked me because when it comes to the main cast I was not familiar with most of these actors & actresses. Eda's actress I recognized immediately it's Wendie Malick who is pretty much just doing her normal voice but it fits the character so well. King and Hooty are bafflingly voiced by Alex Hirsch the creator of Gravity Falls showing his very impressive range (he probably voiced characters in Gravity Falls but again I've never seen it) & Amity is voiced by Mae Whitman a voice actress I'm a huge fan of and very familiar with. Some very high-profile voiced actors play more minor characters: Roger Craig Smith, the late Billy Kametz, and 2 of my absolute favorites Grey DeLisle and Erica Lindbeck. I'm not saying the main cast aren't big actors I'm just not familiar with their work and they all do an amazing job with their respective roles

I wanted to save this last bit for some issues I had with the show, but I have nothing negative to say about it. I guess I can say the soundtrack isnt the most memorable aside from the opening and that lovely end credits theme. The soundtrack as a whole isn't bad but nothing remarkable. The lowest point of the show is episode 2 and even then is pretty good stuff. Honestly, the only issue with the show is something that isn't the show's fault and that's its premature cancellation. Despite being one of their most well-received and highly-rated shows Disney decided to cancel it and not give it a full 3rd season. Disney's reason for this was "It didn't fit the Disney brand".....(ugh). Some say it was because of its darker story elements and Imagery. Some say it's because it was hitting older audiences instead of the intended younger demographic. Some say it's because of the LBGT+ representation although the creator herself seems to think that it wasn't the case and I feel it wouldn't have gotten green-lit in the first place if that was the case. If you ask me I think it simply costs too much to make and the production values reflect that and Disney wanted to make budget cuts. Thankfully it's getting a proper ending unlike another one of my favorite shows (*cough* Teen Titans *cough*).

The Owl House is just a gem; it hits every check mark for me. I have gotten way more into this show than I have any cartoon or anime since 2015 and there is a very passionate and wholesome fan base attached to it. I would put this in the same category as Avatar, Batman TAS, & Teen Titans as one of my top PERSONAL favorite cartoons. Never thought I would be praising a Disney product post-2014 but credit where credit is due. Kudos to Dana Terrace for making such a beautiful show and I'll definitely follow what she works on in the future.

(I might update this review based on the final episode and some other things one I reread it)

Rating: 10/10

#review #animated show #tv shows #the owl house #lumity #toh luz #luz the human #tv show review #disney

[wingsyliveblogs]

The ignorance of the Isles in relation to human stuff can at least be partly attributed to Eda intentionally spreading misinformation/erroneous explanations of her various human products during market selling. After all, it benefits her business model if people don't know she's literally reselling human garbage/junk scavenged from their trashcans like some wily racoon.

1. I've actually debated this point with my siblings a bit before! I assume that you all would have more information about Eda's business practices than I do at this point, but the impression I got from her attempt to sell Luz things in Episode 1 was that she's just as much in the dark as anyone else about what all the human junk is actually for? She seemed legitimately surprised when Luz got the TV to work.

Of course, it's still very plausible that she's pretending to know more than she does about stuff from the human world, and her confidence would lead others to believe what she says about the junk as well, even if it's inaccurate guesswork. It doesn't take much for misinformation to spread when there's no one around to correct it.

2. True! I think the disguise was more to hide her identity as the person banned from Hexside than to hide her identity as a human in this case, but it seems that her ears are still the only identifiable feature about her, seeing as the Abomination track professor didn't recognise her even when she was standing right in front of him.

3. My question wasn't so much about whether or not Willow and Gus believed that Eda had approved the conjuring - Luz did tell them that she had - but about why they chose to hide in the bushes if they didn't have a reason to be sneaking around. However, I could definitely see Luz telling them it was a human custom to hide in the bushes until the rest of the family leaves during a sleepover, or something like that, in order to convince them to play it stealthy. That idea makes a lot of sense!

4. I would argue that the technology in the Boiling Isles isn't behind the human world, necessarily, it just takes a different form. That said, I hadn't considered the implications of the junk pile in the Conformatorium before. Eda said in Episode 1 that stuff from the Boiling Isles slips through into the human world sometimes, but it's definitely looking as if miscellaneous objects and entities travel between the two worlds both ways!

5. I wouldn't be surprised if Eda, and by extension Luz, absolutely reek of trouble at all times, but I hope that won't be a problem once Luz actually starts attending Hexside!

Also, while we're here, I'm going to briefly derail this post to pose two questions about the security guards. naturally I don't want answers if this comes up in-show and all that

a) Why didn't Principal Bump bring these guys in back when Eda was attending Hexside? Or did he, and they just couldn't do anything about her?

b) How was detention enforced before the guards showed up? Did the teachers have to do it themselves?

Also, this one's not about the security guards, but how did they clean the school up after Willow's plant outburst? Principal Bump technically thought that the whole thing was pretty cool (his banning of Luz was less about that, I feel, and more about her breaking into Hexside in the first place), but someone had to get rid of those vines.

...you know, it would be pretty funny if the plants did remind Principal Bump of all the trouble Eda used to get up to, seeing as Eda herself was the one who got Luz to find and hold onto that seed, and thus indirectly caused the vine explosion...

6. I would.

#wingsy liveblogs #ask #wingsy watches owl house #owls ep 9 #why yes I DID go out of my way to collect all the asks to which my answers were basically 'um actually' in this post #because it made my answer to the last ask funnier #thanks for the ask!

[toa-kirhan]

Finally started watching the Owl House. First animated show that I’ve watched since Gravity Falls, so I just decided to post a few thoughts for posterity. Thoughts below for S1E1 (A Lying Witch and a Warden):

Detailed thoughts:

Currently wondering whether we’ll see Luz’s mother again, and if so, what role she’ll play in the series. The fact that she actually appears in the first episode is a positive sign that she’ll appear again (or at least her calls and text messages). Maybe if Luz has to (or is threatened to) leave the Boiling Isles?

How will Luz turn out at the end of this? Will she return to the human world? The story feels like a standard coming-of-age story and the way its framed as taking place over the summer suggests that she will. If she does, will she leave behind the Owl House forever, or will she still be able to visit Eda and King? Will she still have magic if she becomes a witch?

How will Luz and her mother interact after her adventure is over? It’s clear that her mother loves Luz, but can’t seem to accept her fully for who she is (her mother forcing Luz to throw away her book is very relatable). What will it take for Luz to convince her? A simple heartfelt discussion or will she visit (or at least learn about) the Boiling Isles too?

Will whatever happens in the Boiling Isles (does the world have a separate name?) ever come to affect the human world? Eda mentions that human mythology is based on things coming from their world. I can’t imagine we’ll see many (if any) other people coming from the human world, given that Luz’s mother says that Luz doesn’t have any friends, which makes me think that the story will be fairly self-contained.

There’s a lot you can read into and parallels you can make regarding the fact that the Boiling Isles seem to be governed by some sort of authoritarian regime that locks up all dissidents that don’t conform to their concept of how society should be, especially now given what’s going on in America and Iran. With how this first episode has played out, I feel like this will be a reoccurring theme throughout the show. On a less serious note: Fantasy world being forced to conform to mundanity gives me big Lego Movie vibes.

General thoughts:

Before looking it up, I didn’t know that Dana Terrace also worked on Duck Tales and Gravity Falls or that Alex Hirsch was involved w/ the Owl House. I could certainly tell from the humor though (+ King’s voice).

Eda and her human collectibles reminds me of Grunkle Stan and the Mystery Shack. The same for Luz and Mabel w/ the fantasy v. reality angle that the show seems (somewhat) premised on.

The currency is snails? Is it still commodity-backed? If I went to a bank in the Boiling Isles and redeemed a bill, would they hand me back a bucket of snails? God I hope so.

Nothing says greatest witch on the Boiling Isles than openly announcing it knowing the guards can’t catch you. Also, will we get to meet other witches in this series? What does it mean to be a witch?

“If I die here my mom’s going to kill me!”

Why Eda mean to Hooty :c

Really enjoying how one of Eda’s centerpiece decorations is a wanted poster for herself. Also is there any significance to the glowing art of the bird-like creature over her fireplace?

“These guys really have the hots for you.” This line stood out to me when I first heard it. Good to see that it was foreshadowing.

Sorta wish that we could have gone longer without seeing Warden Wrath without his mask, mainly since he reminds me of Ace from Rubyquest who had a similar role, aesthetic, and reveal. Wrath is less creepy than Ace. Instead he’s just more of a creep.

Given the ending, is there any truth to King’s backstory that Eda tells Luz? Was King really a demon king, or is Eda just entertaining him?

What is the significance of humans to the Boiling Isles? There’s never been a human witch before, but also the contraband in the Conformatorium can only be accessed by a human? Is that because humans aren’t common or magical enough to be affected by the shield?

The Boiling Isles have cell reception? Does Luz have a charger? Do they have power outlets on the Boiling Isles?

#toh #first watch #toh season 1 #toh s1 #do i need to tag spoilers for the first episode? #spoilers i guess #the owl house #media analysis

[edoro]

Do you believe there is religious abuse in Hunters life?

what kind of abuse isn't there in Hunter's life

no, but that's actually a really good question. tl;dr: yeah, probably. longer version: i think there's kind of a lot going on there and it's really interesting to get into!

so i mean, for starters, what even is religion on the Boiling Isles? what is the relationship the average citizen has to the Titan? if they do view it as some kind of god, then it's obviously not going to really be analogous to, say, the Christian God. it would be more of an earth-worship kind of thing, or perhaps a kind of animism - the Titan, as their god, isn't a theoretical or abstract creator, but a very materially real being upon whose body they live, and whose energies permeate their world, giving rise to magic. not only is it observably, physically real, but it's also long dead. there are for sure some incredibly interesting theological implications there!

Belos seems to be well-regarded for being able to speak to the Titan, but i have to wonder how much of that is playing on existing feelings and spiritual practices revolving around the Titan and how much of that is his own propaganda. (i also wonder how much the average citizen really buys that, or what role spirituality plays in their life.)

i get the impression that he is a true believer - that's just my take on it. i think you could probably argue either way whether he truly believes or whether he just uses it as a convenient form of propaganda and rhetoric. i just find it more interesting if he is a believer, honestly, and the fact that he references the will of the Titan to Luz, of all people, suggests it's something he himself truly believes in.

(whether or not what he's talking to is actually the Titan is a whole other kettle of worms. i have my thoughts about that.)

so, anyway - it seems that there is some level of reverence towards the Titan in the Boiling Isles, and an acceptance that Belos can communicate with and speak for the Titan, and that this conveys authority upon him, and that his skill in magic is part of his relationship to the Titan, that he's 'favored' in some way. he seems to have the authority to tell people how to live in accordance with the Titan's will, and this seems to be a reason they accept for his commands.

furthermore, i do believe Belos is Philip Wittebane, and that means he would have grown up Puritan. so he would have been raised heavily religiously in a sect considered to be quite extremist even by the standards of the time. so i think Belos himself is operating from a place of religious trauma, and that this influences his relationship with the Titan and how he's going to pass that on to Hunter here.

so we do see, also, that Belos uses 'the will of the Titan' as a way of manipulating Hunter. he tells Hunter that the Titan 'has big plans for him', and honestly i get the impression this is kind of a non-answer for all sorts of questions and concerns Hunter has. it simultaneously sets Hunter up as special, earmarked for an important destiny, having to prove himself as worthy of that destiny, and totally shuts down any questioning he might ever want to do. it's all the will of the Titan, and you're not going to question the Titan, right, Hunter?

not only that, but Hunter clearly doesn't actually know what those plans are. when he talks to Luz about it in s2e6, he seems almost dismissive about it. Belos says the Titan has big plans for him, and he wants to live up to how special Belos thinks he is, but he doesn't entirely seem to buy it himself. and he seems to feel exasperated and a little trapped by these unknown, vague plans. he's locked into some kind of future he doesn't have any say in whatsoever and doesn't even get to know what it is, and whenever he tries to ask or learn more, he just gets told "it's the will of the Titan."

so, yeah, i think Belos leverages spirituality/religion as a way of manipulating, abusing, and controlling Hunter. he tells Hunter he has this special divine destiny handed down from the Titan itself, which therefore means Hunter has to do and be exactly what he wants, and if Hunter ever falls short (and Hunter is always falling short), then he's not only disappointing Belos, he's defying the will of the Titan. in the meantime, he can never ask questions or find anything out, because Belos has total control over that information, and he only tells Hunter what he needs to know. convenient!

what particular flavor of religious trauma Hunter ends up having about it is going to depend a lot on how the religion/spirituality about the Titan actually looks - it might not really end up being like, Catholic guilt with a witchy coat of paint, for instance! but i definitely think that this is a way he's controlled and abused, yeah.

#hunter toh #religious trauma #religious abuse #emperor belos #the owl house #meta #asks

[aquaburst3]

I thought of something. Belos and Luz might also be foils in the sense of male isekai protagonists vs female isekai protagonists.

Belos resembles both male isekai protagonists in modern anime and the classic escapist hero like John Carter or Flash Gordon. These guys have some...questionable overtones sometimes, especailly the classic escapist hero type.

Take John Carter. In the John Carter of Mars books, he's a strong and powerful white man. When he's ieskai'd to Mars, he's gifted with the ability to "jump good" (along with telepathy for some reason). This pretty much allows him to power through the plot with zero effort and becomes the king of Mars by taking power for himself by beating people up and straight up killing them. (Did I mention he's a massive Gary Stu?) He constantly boasts about how strong, handsome and awesome he is like a Gaston in his narration. (Did I mention this is told in first person?) Add in the fact that he's a Confederate General along with the colonizer overtones with this whole situation (ie a white dude conquering and taking power from a place where he's not native to), and you can see how fucked up of a story John Cater is and how that type of character could be twisted to become the villain in a modern tale.

John Carter influenced a lot of genres, even indirectly in the case of something like My Hero Academia along with a lot of superheroes in general, including male leads in modern isekai anime. Even in modern anime they tend to be like that as well due to that adding to the wish fulfillment fantasy on its target audience of teenaged boys. Think Kirito (in the fact that's an OP Gray Stu, not goals), Ainz Ooal Gown, Sora or Diablo. (Though there are exceptions like Naofumi, Subaru and Slime-kun.)

Belos resembles these male leads in the sense that he is always power hungry. He took power by force, becoming the emperor, and puts on the façade of being a hero the people their need. He also might've gave himself a curse in pursuit of more power. If the theory about him being Phillip and not being of that world is true, that means that he did that all the while being a white newcomer to a fantasy universe.

Female isekai leads are not like that. Modern female isekai leads work hard to obtain their goals. A lot of them have more grounded and personal goals like becoming a librarian, survival or trying to get past all of the death flags in the video game they were reincarnated in. Older isekai female heroines like Alice and Dorthey have to make the hard choice of whether or not they want to go home.

Luz is never interested in conquering the Boiling Isles. Or even gaining a ton of power. She enjoys being there, seeing it as an escape from her dull life. She's instead just fascinated about the world around her and wants to learn how to do do her own brand of magic while abiding by its rules, wanting to gain friends along the way. Like those older heroines, she must ultimately decide if she stay or go.

If this is what Dana had in mind while creating Belos, major kudos to her. Because it's interesting commentary on the genre. It's fun to see those two different style of leads clash.

#the owl house meta #the owl house theory #aqua rambles

[mira-blue]

!! little tidbits from matt's preshow !!

matt's struggle with electronics is something i can relate to on a personal level

interview with jill bartlett, maddie flour's VA [this part was kind of choppy and laggy so i couldn't catch a lot]

she thinks people love maddie as much as they do because she's relatable

a little maddie message to the misfits <3

during season one of amphibia, the crew surprised matt by playing the theme song live (he shows a video of that and it's a bop)

matt talks about how he appreciates us and how these last few weeks have been rough on him

technical issues

technical issues solved!

interview with brian maillard, loggle's VA

he...does not look like how i expected loggle's VA to look like

he talks about how he came up with loggle's voice, and that it was a first try thing

loggle is a simpleton who drops bomb jokes

loggle's VA thinks he'd survive if he got transported to amphibia because he lived in new jersey by a river filled with amphibians and reptiles

first set of twitter questions

the glow of the girl's eyes can be seen, but only if you are really close

matt's favourite episode is True Colors and that we'll see why

we'll have to watch and see if we get a sasha redemption arc

sasha sees grime as an equal

when asked if amphibia and the boiling isles are connected, he answers with 'why not?'

we'll get to see more places in amphibia, but not outside of it

free palestine

we will get more polly and sprig centric episodes

regarding whether anne gets her shoe back will be shown in True Colors

matt would live in newtopia

interview with zegra fazal, yunan's VA

oh i already love her

she came up with yunan's voice because she saw yunan's speech and took inspiration from darkwing duck poggle / team rocket

she thinks people like yunan so much because of her design

if she were ever to get transported to amphibia, she'd find a cave and chill there

she'd also avoid the amphibia humans because they have too much drama going on

we get a yunan speech

second set of twitter questions

we'll find out if we'll learn more about hop pop's past

as an asian person, matt's favorite experience to project onto anne was in Lost In Newtopia, in the flashback where her mother tells her no to streetfood

'what's diarrhea anyways' -matt

marcy's favourite ice cream flavour is mint chocolate chip

the other worlds won't be explored, as this is AMPHIbia, not CATbia

the reason the show has three seasons is because the Rule of Three appeals to matt

interview with anna akana, sasha's VA

she straight up uses her own voice for sasha because she feels like it matches a lot of sasha's traits, and because she was similar to her at the ages of 13/14

anna rides a motorcycle, and when she rode off on it, matt told the crew 'that's a sasha, man'

she thinks lots of people would be ecastic to have power

anna likes that sasha goes after what she wants unapologetically, and that she is an anti-hero

sasha's struggle is: how do i endear myself authentically instead of through manipulation

anna plays DND and is somewhat of a gamer addict

if she got transported to amphibia, anna would do what sasha does

matt would not survive in amphibia unless someone takes him in

acting advice from anna: you have to be ready to face a lot of rejection and be prepared to reevaluate your decision; do it for the love it because at the end of the day it is just a job. no one has success without failure

sasha kinnies come get your juice

anna loves all the sasha fanart and appreciation

amphibicrew time!

the crew's discord is called frog. this is important information

there were audio issues and the volume was pretty low for the crew for a while, so i couldn't catch everything they were saying

audio issues solved!

matt does not understand technology

'every time we speak at once it turns into satan' -matt

the crew plays a amphibia trivia quiz game and it is delightful chaos. someone opens a hamburger. frog bible. doremi. greg.

aaaand a little music time with TJ before the preshow ends!

[ i then proceeded to watch True Colors and got absolutely destroyed ]

#amphibia #amphibia season 2 #anne boonchuy #marcy wu #sasha waybright #amphibia deserves better #sprig plantar #hop pop plantar #polly plantar #matt braly #feel free to reblog this