justarandomsideblog

[justarandomsideblog]

I just binge watched cbs ghosts this weekend (is it October yet….) and I’m just thinking about Hetty, Sasappis, Thor and Isaac.

Specifically I’m thinking about how those three watched her grow up. Like we know Thor interacted with her and Sas and Isaac were there, even if she has no memories of them, but like…. 150 years go by, they find out that the little girl they watched grow up killed herself??

Ouch man

[justarandomsideblog]

okay, now that I've had a few days to think, I wanna talk about the coffee theory.

Spoilers below the cut for Good Omens S2. Also it's nearly 3 am so if this doesn't make sense that's why-

So I'm not a fan of plot devices that completely absolve characters of guilt, but I legitimately do believe the coffee theory is at least somewhat right.

Metatron, ordering the coffee, says a dash of almond syrup, while giving it to Aziraphale he says a hefty jigger, which is as everyone and their mothers have pointed out completely different. It's established in an earlier episode poison affects angels and demons differently, almost like a drug rather than a deadly poison, and as has also been discussed multiple times cyanide tastes like almond.

Before drinking the coffee Aziraphale is steadfast, saying there's nothing to talk about, I've made my position clear (paraphrased I can't remember it direct). It isn't until after drinking the coffee he... looks to Crowley, who is like "go ahead yeah whatever," even though before that he had made up his mind himself.

So I'm gonna make a suggestion here. The coffee theory is right, insofar that it doesn't brainwash him as it makes him... susceptible to suggestion. What we witnessed in those last 10 minutes was Aziraphale hard sliding back into the "status quo" established by millennia of religious trauma, after witnessing him learning again and again that heaven is not inherently good- that heaven is, in many ways, just as bad and that morality isn't black and white.

After drinking the coffee and talking to the Metatron, he backslides hard into the biases he'd had hammered into his head- angels = good, demons = bad, even though he has multiple times defied heaven, just as Crowley defied hell, to do the right thing, rather than the thing heaven wanted. He lied to Archangel Gabriel's face, for goodness' sake. And the Metatron knew just the right suggestions to make to Aziraphale- telling him how he can keep Crowley with him in heaven- to make Crowley leave. To split them up. Not just using the influence of the poisoned coffee, but by using Aziraphale's own ingrained biases against him. Drawing them to the surface.

We also see him trying to backpedal, using the shop as an excuse to stay after Crowley kissed him. Metatron just says "I've entrusted it to Muriel" and he's torn, before simply... accepting. I want to think Aziraphale- the same angel who realized the Great Plan and the Ineffable Plan are unlikely to be the same thing, since the Great Plan was known but the Ineffable Plan is not possible to know; the same angel who somehow used a party trick to outmaneuver a demon- has a plan. I want to think he's plotting, bc god the expressions on his face in the elevator and that last smile... but I don't think he can do whatever he's planning alone.

I bet that coffee will come back. I bet the Metatron will keep bringing him that oat milk latte with a "hefty jigger" of almond syrup, from the Give Me Coffee or Give Me Death shop- and I bet if Aziraphale ever rejects that coffee, Metatron would strike him from the Book of Life. Literal Take This Coffee or Die. Under the influence of the coffee, Aziraphale will be susceptible to the Metatron, if not the Archangels too, and even while he's working towards his goal (stop the Second Coming/Apocalypse, protect Crowley and Earth, reform heaven, etc) he's being... slowed down, maybe even controlled to a degree. And just like with that photograph, maybe Aziraphale figures out how to... change it.

I do think ultimately Crowley and Aziraphale need to reunite in order to actually succeed, which is also why the Metatron wants so badly to split them apart- a half a miracle each, if even that, done together could raise a human 25 times???? Yeah no, Metatron isn't afraid of them apart, but them together.... absolutely unacceptable to them. But Aziraphale is gonna have to face and dismantle the ingrained biases and beliefs he holds, and he will need to take responsibility for his actions and accept Crowley completely as he is now.

Anyway this is a very wordy way to say that even though I 100% believe the coffee theory is correct I'm hoping they don't absolve Aziraphale of blame (which, considering Neil Gaiman has said Aziraphale has more to learn than just that he deserves to be loved, I am feeling pretty confident for)

it's almost 3 am forgive me I cannot articulate my thoughts

[justarandomsideblog]

Aziraphale, before drinking the coffee: We have nothing to talk about, I've made my position clear.

Aziraphale, after drinking the coffee: Okay let's talk, oh yes I'll go back to Heaven even though you've technically tried to destroy me twice now......

Nah you can't convince me that coffee wasn't drugged/miracled, Aziraphale wasn't even willing to speak to the Metatron one-on-one until after he drank it. And so much emphasis was put on that coffee....... on Aziraphale drinking it....

[justarandomsideblog]

I swear if in season 3, bc I refuse to believe we won't get a season 3-

I swear if the coffee theory is true and during the third season Aziraphale and Crowley are on opposite sides but Aziraphale keeps saying things like "coffee" or "latte" or "caramel" or "oat milk" trying through Metatron's miracle to tell Crowley what's going on-

[justarandomsideblog]

scuttling in real fast bc I'm seeing "Crowley was Raphael/Lucifer" theories, the latter of which we know is false bc he mentions lucifer by name in s1, and i would like to make a suggestion here;

Crowley was Kokabiel

Kokabiel was an angel heavily associated with the stars, even being called the "star of god," who was so fascinated by the stars and completely blinded by their beauty.

Most importantly though... Kokabiel is most famously depicted as a Fallen Angel.

Crowley, as revealed in s2, was one of the angels who put the stars in the sky on God's command, and he marveled at them. Throughout Good Omens he talks about the stars and going there. The questions he had came about because of the stars.

[justarandomsideblog]

binged good omens s2 last night and

oh man that shit HURTED but

we're gonna just ignore that Aziraphale drank the coffee the Metatron offered him? Like a little sip but the Metatron didn't drink any of it.

What was in that coffee, Metatron. I refuse to believe they would have taken up space with that coffee scene, there's something to it.

[justarandomsideblog]

So I just wanted to really go through Hunter's expressions in Hollow Mind, namely "the lies are unraveling and I can't keep making excuses" expressions

First we have this one, after Belos tells Past Golden Guard to "put on a bigger show." This one would be so much better in gif format, unfortunately I do not have a gif on hand, but we see his expression change, going from

to

That is not a pleased expression. In fact that is a very displeased expression. This is the moment that Hunter realizes (but does not yet accept) that he has been lied to his entire life, and he isn't on the "good side" like he's always thought. He struggles to rationalize it later because he doesn't want to accept it, but I definitely think this is That Moment- after this scene, he doesn't smile again. He's stopped trying to get Luz on his side and he's trying to rationalize everything to himself, to try and convince himself that he's on the Right Side, that his entire life hasn't been a lie.

Look at this boy, he knows that wasn't right- no matter how it is spun. He just doesn't accept it yet.

His expression throughout Belos' speech to the people on the Knee is stoic, he isn't smiling and watches almost dispassionately, not awed or taken in like he was in the town square. His expression when he watches the witch dying on the ground, though... he can't rationalize this. Still, after this he sticks to denial, insisting it must be remembered wrong, that he was the one who was wrong about how mindscapes work, because- again- this is his entire life we're talking about. The only person he's ever allowed himself to love, the only life he's known, the entire purpose he's dedicated himself to.

Then of course we get to the scene with the Collector, throughout most of which we don't actually see his expression/reaction (we see Luz's instead), but afterwards we get;

He has accepted that Belos is not only bad and he has been lied to his whole life, but also that Belos has never cared about him... at all. Even once. His entire life has been a lie and now nothing will ever be the same again- mind you, he doesn't even realize how bad it'll be for him, this is before they find the hall of masks, but he knows his life as he knew it is over- not just because Belos knows he's in there, but because Hunter, just like his predecessors, cannot justify Belos' plans or his actions.

And then... this moment comes.

Knowing what he knows now, the realization that Kid Belos was actually Inner Belos is horrible, and the monster they were running from was Belos' victim and they inadvertently aided Belos in destroying it... He's afraid, unlike earlier when he thought the Palisman amalgamation was Inner Belos and he immediately bowed down to it.

When Belos forms into his current self and greets Hunter and Luz, Hunter is wearing this expression. It's openly almost hostile, an expression I don't remember seeing him wear around Belos before.

But then, and I don't think I've seen anyone mention this, Belos actually gives Hunter a chance to prove his loyalty.

Belos thanks Hunter for distracting the amalgamation of Palismen souls and gives him this seemingly-warm smile, praise and (faux) affection that Hunter would have eaten up just a few hours before- he gives Hunter a chance to prove he's still loyal, despite everything he's seen. Belos led Hunter through those horrible memories, showing him exactly who he was (just like Luz asked), and instead of deciding to kill Hunter on that fact alone, he gave Hunter a chance to stay by his side, to declare himself loyal and say that he understood why, that he was honored to help Belos.

Instead Hunter ignores the praise, ignores the fond/kind smile (because now he knows it's all lies, just a manipulation tactic) and asks him; "What did you do to the other guards? To our family?" He accuses Belos of doing what Belos always told him wild magic did- showing that this was something he couldn't forgive, that now he knew the truth that wild magic wasn't dangerous, that it was all lies, that Belos is the one to blame.

And it's then that Belos decides Hunter is like all the others- that if he is allowed to live, he will ultimately betray him.

[justarandomsideblog]

If I had to pick a song for Belos, it'd totally be "Hard to Kill" by Beth Crowley, featuring such lines as;

"I have a way of finding out their sins and secrets, bringing them to their knees"

"The world owes me a debt and now I've come to collect, so don't get in my way"

"So I let the rumors turn me into a legend, 'cuz I'm only human but a good myth is hard to kill"

"Maybe I'm too obsessed with retribution, somebody has to pay. By the time you figure out the rules I broke, I've already won the game."

Like. Like. I need to learn how to draw these people ugh-

[justarandomsideblog]

Spoilers for Edge of the World but

Are we gonna talk about how the Titan Trappers basically claim the Titans are evil, meanwhile they wear Titan CHILDREN skulls (and you know they're children b/c they're around the same size as King's, some bigger and some SMALLER) and skins likely to A) trick other Titan children into trusting/letting their guard down around them and B) luring in adult Titans who are probably worried about this teeny tiny baby out in the middle of nowhere, too small to walk through the water on their own?

Like who is the monster and who is the man, geez

[justarandomsideblog]

I know very well that once Belos is deposed they're gonna end the empire and return to the way things used to be (as it's been shown that things were peaceful and fine before there was ever an emperor, and there was no emperor before 50 years ago) but just remember somewhere out there is a timeline where Hunter ends up becoming the next emperor since he is, technically, Belos' heir and ended up helping depose him

(Also definitely not gonna happen since the show is stressing how kids should be able to be kids and not get swept up in issues like these, they should be attending (or skipping coughcough) school and texting friends and sneaking out in the middle of the night and hiding secrets from their parents/guardians and disobeying unfair rules/unreasonable orders, not fighting wars or solving adults' problems and definitely not leading countries lmao)

[justarandomsideblog]

I mean. A lot of people thought this. I think it tapered off around the time season 2b came around but "King is a Titan/the child of the Titan/the Titan reborn" were a subcategory of theories pretty early on!

But it definitely hasn't been as popular recently lol

i have to respect how literally NO ONE guessed that king was a titan. grimwalker hunter? yep. philip belos? for sure. hunter being made from philip’s dead brother’s image? absolutely. of course. obvious isn’t it.

KING BEING A TITAN???? did anyone see that coming

[justarandomsideblog]

Spoilers but IS BELOS GONNA GET LUZ' PALISTROM WOOD??

[justarandomsideblog]

Spoilers for Edge of the World and Hollow Mind

Consider; the Collector manipulated/is manipulating the Titan Trappers, but is not manipulating Belos. The Collector possibly happened upon Bill one day and promised him immense power, but Belos actually went seeking them out. Bill & Co want to free the Collector in exchange for that power, directly tying their intentions together (and I doubt the Collector plans to keep their part of the deal).

The Collector and Belos, on the other hand, have completely different goals that do not interfere or tie into each other's but can be used to help each other; Belos wants to wipe out witches and the Collector wants to be freed. Belos doesn't care about what the Collector can do for him; he just wants to destroy witches. The Collector finds amusement in what Belos is doing and just wants to be free. Belos can help the Collector get free and the Collector can help Belos destroy witches, it's a mutual relationship, and they're both equally awful people who are using but not manipulating each other.

[justarandomsideblog]

So I admit I have a thing for characters with parental issues and existential issues and honestly just Issues so that's why I've attached myself to Hunter in ToH but because I have many Thoughts I won't shut up :)

Anyway AU? Not much different from Canon, but where after every Golden Guard has betrayed Belos he decides to take a different approach with Hunter, who ofc wasn't one of the grimwalkers helping his rise to power/establish his authority but was instead the second grimwalker created after Belos became emperor (assuming Darius' mentor was the first (and longest lasting, old enough to be a mentor to a teen/young adult in his final years), created within the first 20 years of Belos' 50 year reign).

This approach he took with Hunter would have had Hunter being raised and taught as the prince, while the Golden Guard was a high ranking official who only went out by direct order of Belos and was rarely, if ever, seen in public outside of an important, highly classified mission. No one, not even the coven heads, would be aware that their prince and the Golden Guard are one in the same, and most thinking each one is spoiled in their own way (the prince being isolated and taught by tutors handpicked by the emperor, and in some cases the emperor himself, and seemingly always getting what he wants, while the Golden Guard is seen a having been handed his position without earning it). Of course Belos is still terrible and abusive and Hunter is still suffering, doubly so with a forced secret identity that keeps him in check with and without the mask, and unable to socialize in either identity because the Boiling Isles know his face as well as his mask.

I gotta get to work soon but basically just Hunter being depressed and isolated and always either with Belos, his teachers, or on a secret dangerous mission and trying to just keep his sanity intact.

[justarandomsideblog]

Vague Hollow mind spoilers

.

If that's what happens when a palisman's lifeforce/magic is stolen, I wonder what happens if a palisman willingly gives it up? (Or at least partially... hmm)

[justarandomsideblog]

HC(/j) that Hunter was taught how to write ~properly~ by Belos himself and has that tiny swirly cursive super-hard-to-read-but-aesthetically-pleasing handwriting you so often see in journals from the 17th/18th centuries

[justarandomsideblog]

Just a small little blurb without context, contains Hollow Mind/Owl House spoilers so be warned!

Hunter took an instinctive step back as the emperor rose to his feet, as if Luz's spellbinding circle meant nothing to him. Maybe it didn't.

Belos chuckled darkly, staring down at the child he once called nephew. Under that withering gaze Hunter felt his chest tighten and fear claw its way up his throat, because- because-

How was he supposed to defeat the emperor? Luz's trap didn't work and now Hunter was all alone on the dais with him, the rebellion fighting against the emperor's loyalists and the eyes of innocent citizens, trapped in the arena around the dais, were squarely on them.

He took another step back as Belos stood to his full height, slowly advancing closer to him.

"I have defeated you dozens of times," Belos said, voice echoing despite never raising above its soft, controlled level. "I have killed you over and over and over again, and yet you truly thought you could defeat me?"

Hunter swallowed, clenching his fists. He was right- how could he ever think this would work? That he could defeat the emperor of all people? Human though he may have been, he rose to power for a reason.

He lowered his gaze away from Belos and-

Willow was there, fighting her way through the army, and Gus wasn't far behind. Luz and Eda were flying, shooting exploding potions and glyphs and no doubt trying to come up with a new plan. Amity and her father- Raine and Darius and Eberwolf- Lilith and even the Owl House itself- they were all fighting, stubborn and strong and determined and so confident while he was just there, shaking and head bowed and once more reduced to nothing more than the small child he had always been to Belos- reduced to just being the disobedient Golden Guard, the unloved nephew, the Grimwalker who had nothing.

Not even a life of his own.

Not even his own name.

"I created you," Belos continued, towering over Hunter and raising a hand. "Time and time again, I created you, I loved you, I made you the most important member of my coven- and time and time again you have betrayed me. And time and time again, you have failed."

Hunter could already see his skin morphing, it reshaping, and he closed his eyes and held his breath and he couldn't move, couldn't think, couldn't breathe-

"Caleb!"

The voice- the name- cut through him like a blade and his eyes snapped open. Everything seemed to slow- he breathed in sharply and there was Flapjack on his shoulder, blood rushing through his ears and his once-uncle in front of him. Darius was there running to the dais, followed closely by Eberwolf and Viney, but they'd never make it in time. There was Luz turning to look at them with glyphs already clutched in her hand, and Willow- Willow just trying to keep Terra at bay, keep Terra from coming to Belos' aid, calling for him to move, run, do anything but stand there and die, please, we're all here for you please-

"No!" Hunter screamed, ripping himself from the panic and in a flash Flapjack was in his hands- and Hunter was two feet to the left and Belos' arm slammed into the ground, splashing muck and mud across the shattered surface of the dais.

"What?" Belos snarled, whipping around to face him but Hunter didn't give him a chance to recover, pulling glyphs of his own out of his tunic. Belos didn't even get a chance to move before Hunter teleported forward, slamming a fire glyph into the cloak hanging over Belos' chest, and teleported away as it ignited.

He appeared in the air, next to Belos' head and hit him with another- and another- and another-

Ice glyph, fire glyph, mixed glyphs, anything to get Belos down- to keep him down- and he dropped back to the dais, Flapjack in one hand and a fist full of glyphs in the other. Belos snarled, covered in burns and chunks of ice sliced into his skin, covered in goo and other things Hunter didn't even know how to describe.

"No!" Hunter repeated, voice raising above the cacophony of the battle. He lifted his staff and pointed at Belos with the glyphs.

"You may have killed dozens of Golden Guards! You may have killed all my predecessors and every Grimwalker you ever made," he said, advancing quickly as Belos cracked the ice rooting him to the stage. The glyphs in Hunter's hands lit up as, for the first time in his life, Hunter looked down at Belos.

"But you have never killed me."