#and he could have Eber and the Isles

[thishazeleyeddemon]

Something about Darius and Eberwolf, two people whos jobs by design had them be isolated and pitted against each other ending up "i'd let the world die to save you" is making me feral. That's not even getting to their basic opposing traits!!! They are so *mwah*!

The Coven Heads apparently backstab each other all the time except for these fucking guys who went and fell in love.

which is the one canonical thing we have about their relationship. That they love each other. Wildin

In my head Darius thinks about the incident with Hettie and Osran a lot. He doesn't know what he would do if he had the chance to make a plan, to do more than act on terrified instinct. He doesn't want to think he would deliberately decide to let the Isles be destroyed... but if he tries to imagine himself letting Eber die, there's just. A blank black wall.

[waywardsunlight]

If Hunter and Willow have kids I think they’d adopt. I feel like one of the kids on Willow’s team has an abusive parent + needs a new home, and Willow shows up at the Deamonne-Park House and is like: Hey Hunter... so.... new child that we definitely planned for.

Hunter is nervous about being responsible for living things, he definitely struggles with the concept of being left alone with a child and the fact that they could be hurt so he runs through every single scenario in his head to make sure he protects them. Waffles tries to reassure him but Hunter is a mess whenever he remembers how dangerous the Isles are. Willow is the opposite, she’s very caring and soft, but she can and will throw the kids and challenge them. Hunter sees her do it once (and hey, it’s fine, Willow knows what she’s doing with her magic), and nearly passes out. One of their kids is a powerless witch but thanks to policy changes at the school that Darius pushed for, she can go to Hexside and her parents are protective of her.

Darius makes fun of Hunter because Hunter is just like him now. Gilbert and Harvey love all their grandkids and babysit a lot. Gus is kind of like the new Eber, he comes over and causes trouble for Hunter intentionally and Willow and him goof off. Gus and Hunter go to cons together and they help the kids with cosplays. Willow doesn’t really get Hunter’s hyperfixations but she thinks he’s very silly and she supports him.

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

Two years of Thanks to Them! Have some Luz and Hunter bonding to celebrate.

The knock at the door sent Luz shooting bolt upright, and the others reacted just as quickly. Vee leapt from the top bunk, morphing back into her human disguise, Willow summoned a vine covered in thorns, and Amity drew an abomination as tall as she was up from the floor. 

“It’s just us,” Gus whispered, cracking open the door. 

Amity quickly dispelled her abomination as Willow’s vine retracted and Vee returned to her true form. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be,” Hunter said, following Gus into the room. “It’s been one of those days.”

If that wasn’t an understatement, Luz didn’t know what was. It was impossible to believe that only that morning, she’d awoken among the other CATTs, Eda and King safe and sound beside her, the Isles in one piece. But the rest of the day was all too real. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Belos’s dripping face. Every time the air went silent, she could hear the Collector’s laughter.

“Can we sleep up here tonight?” Gus asked. Quickly, he added, “not that it’s not comfortable downstairs, your mom did great, but—"

“We’re stronger together.” Luz gave him a smile, hoping it didn’t look as tired as it felt. “Come on in.”

Willow and Amity scooted apart, and Gus slid his sleeping bag between them. Hunter took one look at the empty space beside Willow and turned a shade of red that Luz could make out even in the dark, scuttling over to set his bag between Amity and the bunk bed.

There was too much to say, so they didn’t speak at all, and one by one, the breaths in the room evened out. All except Luz’s, whose hitched every time she tried to close her eyes.

“Luz?”

And Hunter’s, apparently. She sat up in bed and turned to look at him. 

“I thought you were awake,” he said, his voice barely audible. “I can’t sleep either.”

Luz scooted over and lifted her blanket, inclining her head in invitation. Hunter stood and carefully came to sit beside her under the covers.

They were silent for a long moment. Then—

“I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

The words sounded crueler than Luz intended them, and she tried to soften her tone. “Sorry. That came out wrong.”

Hunter shrugged. “I understand where you’re coming from. I don’t have anyone back on the Isles to worry about. Except maybe Darius and Eber and Raine, but I haven’t even really known them for more than a few weeks. But that’s kind of the problem. My whole life, I’ve known who I was, what I was for. Now I have no idea. The only person who could tell me is gone. I just… I don’t know what I’m doing.”

The only person who could tell me is gone. The context couldn’t have been more different, but the words registered. Luz took a few deep breaths, testing their steadiness before she spoke.

“My dad died when I was ten.”

Hunter’s eyes went wide. “Oh… Luz. I’m so sorry.”

She could only nod. She never knew what to say to condolences. It’s okay? It wasn’t. Thank you? For what?

Forging ahead as quickly as she could, she continued, “he wasn’t like Belos. He got mad sometimes, sure, but the last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt me. For my whole life, all the way up until the end of his, he was half my world. So when he was gone… I didn’t know who I was without him. I didn’t know what I was supposed to do.”

Hunter nodded, his eyes on his lap. 

“I think… I mean, of course you’re scared. This is terrifying. But I think it’s all right if some of that fear is grief, too. If you need to mourn the space Belos left behind, and feel lost now that he’s gone. He was awful, but he was all you knew. That’s a loss.”

He nodded again. Then, in a hoarse voice, he asked, “how did you get through it?”

“I… I don’t think I did, exactly. I still feel a little lost, all the time. But what really helped was having my mom with me— knowing she would be there to watch me grow, to take care of me.”

Another nod. This one was distinctly sad and, on an impulse, Luz reached out and took Hunter’s hand.

“You have that too, Hunter. I’ll be with you, through whatever comes next. You can count on that.”

He must have known that, deep down, or he never would have confided in the first place. He was scared, and he needed to tell someone, and he’d turned to her because she’d seen him at his very worst, and was still here.

And, she realized, the same could be said for him. He knew she was the reason for all of this pain— his pain included— and he had still taken her hand.

“Thank you, Luz,” he said, finally meeting her eyes. “I mean that. As scary as this is… it’s better than the alternative. I know that for sure.”

She smiled, nudging her head against his. “That’s good to hear.”

“Thanks.” He cleared his throat as though finally realizing how much of his soul he’d bared, summoning a thick cloud of awkwardness on them both. “And, uh. If you ever want to talk about anything, I’m, you know. Around.”

Out of nowhere, Luz wondered if this was what it was like to have a brother. Someone who was linked so thoroughly to you that they’d care about you without condition, but had no idea how to say it. For the first time all day, a real smile spread across her face.

“Thanks, Hunter. I know you are.”

[eepersdoesthings]

owl house empires au masterpost - this will be edited and updated with new ideas!

hello! i am currently in progress of writing an empires owl house au fic, and i am currently in the planning stage! ive decided to show this off to the hellsite because why not

spoilers to the owl house under the cut so dont read this if u havent finished

the plot will be similar to the main series, with some tweaks and extra adventures to add something to it and not just make it a nameswap fic

the characters!

shelby - luz - 15, lives with her gran (camila noceda character)

katherine - amity - 15 and in the plant track at hexside,

gem - eda - the deer lady

sausage - basically just king but he can speak spanish because gem has some spanish books from the human realm

jimmy - willow - healing track, younger but more mature brother to lizzie, romantic interest is scott

lizzie - gus - oracle (and later potions) track, jimmy's older yet less mature sister, tries scamming people occasionally

mattholomule - joel - construction, rivals with jimmy, tries to help with new hexside during the collector's reign, but joey shuts him down.

emperor xornoth - belos - formerly a full human, now half demonic with the palisman curse, who was transported to the boiling isles with his older twin brother, scott. scott found love in a witch in the isles and xornoth murdered scott after finding out

the golden guard, scott - a grimwalker of the original older twin of xornoth, about the age of 16

fwhip - lilith - the older twin brother to gem, cursed her when they were children so he could enter the emperors coven. is the head of the emperors coven. attains half of gem's curse at the end of arc 1, where he becomes a

pearl - raine - beastkeeping coven head, gem's (former) best friend

joey - boscha - oracle (and later beastkeeping) track, katherine's friend(?)

pix - oracle coven head - a part of the rebellion

false - construction coven head - a part of the rebellion

(false and pix take the place of darius and eber, but would have vastly different personalities and motives from the original characters)

oli - steve - bard oriented emperors coven member who doesnt care anymore, is tasked with scott a lot on missions

i have another post in which i am asking for some help on the cast, but if any of yall have ideas, i will gladly take suggestions for chapters in this series! hopefully i can fully flesh out the story, otherwise i might just do one shots, but nonetheless i hope you enjoyed the idea!

(also all of my posts will have the "owl house empires au" tag so hopefully you can find them easily)

edit: new idea from @litteralflower17: gonna have the original xornoth and scott go by cohnal and alinar when they originally come to the boiling isles (like how philip went by belos and named caleb's clones hunter) so the original brothers would be cohnal major (sounds silly but whatever) and alinar major

[somefishycat]

WIP Wednesday 10/2/24

Sentences under cut!

marble wall 2 for @zyrafowe-sny @tamsinswriting @eriquin @kallisto-k @violet-prism-creatively

She hands Vee a couple of paper rectangles. (That's right, humans use paper snails.) While Camila goes to pay for all the stuff, they wait in a line at the food court and decide what they want. Hot dogs, apparently, are just like not dogs. They're still not actually dogs. And just like Luz said, the number next to their image on the board is smaller than anything else listed. “Pretzels, like the little crunchy bread things?” Gus asks. Those were called pretzels too, he thinks. “Sort of,” Luz says. “These ones are really big and soft and warm. You can still get something to dip them in, or you could get them with sugar.” Oh oh oh. Okay. The mustard soup stuff was for dipping. And the pretzels are bland because you add things to them. Gus exercises great restraint and does not run back to the sample cart for a third cup of mustard and more pretzels to try them that way.

marble wall 3 for @quietly-sleeping

Immediately, he wants to disappear again. Because that was possibly the worst way he could have phrased that. And Willow laughs at him.

“Go back… to the Skull? For Eda, you mean?” They definitely do sound interested. “And whoever else might be there. I know,” he adds before Raine can interject, “I know the children have to be gone by now. But Eber can track them.” Maybe they ran off somewhere. Or maybe the CATs (... he really hates that the name stuck) will find whatever's left of them. Either way, they need to know. And they need to know what happened to Belos. Darius needs to know what happened to Belos. He's probably dead. Darius should hope that he's dead. That's what Hunter wanted. Both Hunters. (And if he isn't? What if they find him alive in there, somehow? Darius can't be sure he won't hesitate to finish him off. But that's why he needs Eberwolf and Raine with him. They don't know there's any reason to want the emperor alive. And Titan knows the demon would jump at the chance to maul Belos.) “Of course I want to,” they say. “I just don't know if we should. It seems like too much of a risk to take right now.” “If you have any other ideas, I would love to hear them. We haven't done anything useful in days. Hiding here while the Boiling Isles falls into chaos helps no one.” They try to take another drink, stalling for time. But the glass is empty. They sort of awkwardly hold it to their face for a few seconds anyway. Finally, when they’ve waited just a little bit too long, they speak. “Of course I want to go back. But why are you asking now?”

ones left behind for @aparticularbandit @creative-girl @enigma-the-mysterious @auburnlaughter @asha10100101010

@wizisbored @kalira @whimsicalmeerkat @stonemaskedtaliesin @adhdavinci

@post-and-out

[sepublic]

            I sometimes think back to King’s Tide and how Darius backed down when Hettie threatened Eberwolf, and I think what Raine would’ve done in his situation. Because they are the person who in their debut episode, attempted a one-sided suicide pact to save the isles. Someone who knowingly estranged and hurt Eda, to their own agony, for the sake of Eda’s kids who really needed her and couldn’t risk losing to the rebellion.

         There’s also the fact that Raine was able to make the tough, yet healthy, move to cut Eda out of their life when Eda continued to isolate them with secrets about her condition and push them away. So with all that in mind, Raine continues to support this idea of someone who can and WILL make the tough call, do the unpleasant job, for the greater good. It hurts right now and certainly in the short-term, but Raine does have the larger sight to consider it all in the long-term.

         Compare that to Darius, whose attachment to his relationships is STRONGLY felt, even occasionally detrimental. He backs down for Eberwolf’s life, even though Eber is dead either way, because he cares too much. Darius clings to the memory of his mentor, to the point that he judges Hunter rather unfairly as his successor. While Alador never brings it up on his own, Darius is the one to initiate continued contact with a signed book, telling Kikimora to relay a message, and then checking Al’s Penstagram account in his free time.

         (Makes me wonder if losing Alador and Odalia were really things under Darius’ control either, in addition to the fact that they are their own people capable of making their own decisions. A lack of control in losing people might explain a bit…)

         That isn’t to say that Raine is cold and emotionless, either! They’re very in favor of revealing themselves to Eda in Hollow Mind… Though, you could argue it’s because their original reason for estranging her, keeping her kid safe, was at jeopardy to begin with. Contrast that with Darius, who tries to stick to the mission, but when Hunter is brought up, he immediately loses his cool.

         Anyhow, this is all to loop back and ask; If that was Raine there. And if it was not just Eberwolf, but even Eda being threatened… Would they back down to Hettie’s threat, or keep going? Because I can actually see them keep going. They very much accepted Eda’s own agency and choice in deciding to sacrifice herself to sabotage the ritual, and only stepped in when it was out of Eda’s hands, and because Luz had asked them to; Luz, one of two reasons Raine had done these difficult things for in the first place.

         They’d accepted the murder-suicide pact with Eda, both under the impression it’d save the isles. So with Eda already prepared to die for this… Yeah, I could see Raine just letting it happen, and Eda insisting they do. This is not to judge Darius or Eberwolf; They are their own people with understandable, human flaws. Dana said that Eberwolf trusts Darius a lot, so it’s possible Darius feels more responsible for Eber’s rebellion, and thus the danger they got themselves into. Darius feels very strongly and is very attached to his relationship, he just… clings to people like a pile of goop (I’m sorry).

         Whereas with Raine is fascinating, because they can and have made the tough call to cut themselves away from a loved one, for the greater good. An interesting parallel to Eda pushing them away, really, though arguably more justified and healthy in Raine’s case… But even if it’s healthier, does that make it healthy in general?

         (Man, Raine and Darius both have their shortcomings as rebels, but their own strengths as well. There’s what I mentioned, but on the other hand Darius was a lot more discreet as a rebel, and remained beneath detection until THE last second. They go well together.)

         Again, Raine is hardly cold; Raine gave up Eda and sabotaged their own cause for two kids they never even met and had only heard about once before during the petrification ceremony, having not yet made the familial connection. If that doesn’t betray a bleeding heart, I don’t know what does. Especially since Raine likely related to these kids, guessing correctly that Eda was pushing them away over her curse, and wanted to prevent the tragedy that happened between them and Eda, by reminding Eda to stick with THESE kids this time.

         And she did! Raine couldn’t get Eda to stay by their side those years ago, but they avoided repeating history for Luz and King, who also needed Eda. Man, it’s crazy how much is changed and re-contextualized in Eda’s Requiem with the very next episode afterwards. 

        Anyhow, with Raine being quite the public speaker with their own following, and the aforementioned pattern of making the difficult decision at times to cut others away, even accepting their own death and that of others, all for the greater good… They’re an understated parallel to Philip “I just need to live long enough to see this through” Wittebane, who sacrificed his brother for God’s will. Except, of course. Raine isn’t evil, just forced into actual dilemmas, by Belos himself. Man, so many characters really do reflect different facets of this messed-up puritan, huh?

[hisuian-history-makers]

Post-Series Finale HCs: The Owl House (Spoiler!)

(From days to weeks) Right after;

—Raine spends time between recovering and pitching ideas to rebuild the Isles, reconnecting with Eda. They find out what music range the Owl Beast spirit cannot handle to avoid making their girlfriend (later wife) go deaf. Happiest they have been in years since the breakup.

—To limited degree, witches can use magic outside their coven sigil now. The sigils cannot completely block other magic-types only just restrict it. Biles sacks are pretty fragile though.

—Several cults/religions tried to start up once people learned King was a living Titan. Eda shut them down before they could get established—the Collector has a few cults too.

—Hooty helps Lilith practice her own Harpy form. Has to catch her several times as the other half of Owl Beast is less sentient(?) than Eda’s own curse. It grows to be a Raven. He finds being in his “Porta-Hooty” mode to be more fun since he can hang out with Lily.

—Alador spends time catching up with his kids. He likes to study how various beasts and animal species are adapting to the raised left arm. (If the Abomination track wasn’t expected of his family, he would have joined the Beast track.)

—Luz does, in fact, keep a portion of her Titan form’s power. Being in direct contact with such immense power has left its mark. She has fangs and magic will spark off her fingers whenever she holds Stringbean. Her shouts are loud!

—The decision to tear down the ruins of Belos’ castle is pretty unanimous. They find several thousands of snails hidden away, remains of the Grimwalkers, and old wild magic texts.

—So much rebuilding to be done. Not just buildings but the entire infrastructure of the Boiling Isles. People outside the main cast wonder what in the realm happened for everything to crazy during the Day of Unity.

—Hunter does some soul-searching in between joint custody of the Nocedas, Clawthornes, Parks, and Darius (plus Eber). There is a lot to unpack in his life after everything that went down. He ponders what being a Grimwwalker means, processes Flapjack’s passing, and what he is going to do going forward. The poor boy is traumatized to high heaven being raised under Belos/child soldier/clone of Caleb Clawthorne.

(Yes. I headcanon that Caleb took Evelyn’s last name or they refer to him by that after finding out what his brother did.)

—Eda jokes about Hunter technically being her and Lillith’s however-many-greats-grandfather.

—Wrath has to go through a redemption arc. Seriously! He sees how much Braxas missed him and begrudgingly accepts that the coven system was wrong. It takes a few years though.

—The Collector does not go straight back to the siblings who left him alone. This idea is argued for by the main cast who want them to spend time being a kid. King begs him to stay.

(I do not know how to write pronouns for a person who has He/him and They/them).

—On a side note, everyone who was ever mean to King is now genuinely terrified of him. :)

—People wonder why the Titan’s left arm is stretched out toward the sky. Even Luz does...

Four Years Later;

—The concept of carving a palistrum egg has boomed in popularity. Stringbean inspired many people to respect Palismen as individuals.

—Cultural trade between the Boiling Isles and Earth is still tentative. Unfortunately, Andrias’ invasion made humans wary of other realms. (We know ToH and Amphibia share a universe due to easter eggs. Might as well capitalize~)

—Gus secretly eats movie DVDs. He knows that they are supposed to be watched but they taste good. He will eat some on his lunch breaks.

—A president/representative has been put in charge of the Boiling Isles. Democracy is still new so there are a few kinks to work out. Each town has a few spokespeople for them to really give everyone a voice in how things are run.

—Luz, Amity, Willow, Gus, Hunter, Eda, King, Lillith, Raine, and the others are still the main celebrities on the island. Their popularity has finally died down from fan-worship levels much to their relief (Raine, Hunter, & King mainly).

—King keeps discovering glyph types outside his parent/father’s elemental ones. The combo testing can get a little crazy since this is his new magic language! He is really excited to learn it.

—Funnily enough, future students of Eda’s have visited using the time pools. They never say anything too revealing about the future but the subtle picture they paint is chaotic.

—The Basilisks help the Unversity of Wild Magic keep from burning down/freezing/exploding/imploding/getting damaged by wild studies.

—Willow acts as a motivational speaker for young witches and demons in the Flyer Derby off-season. The still-new freedom of magic can be overwhelming in sheer choices to the kids.

—Camila can only handle a certain amount of the Boiling Isles’ otherness. She loves that her first kid found such an accepting second home, really she does! But it is still a lot to take in...

—The Collector took care of the Titantrappers years ago. Only the youngest members are more open to interacting with King.

—Eda still finds it ironic she became a teacher.

—Amity spends her days exploring the world, though she is always a call away from Luz and her friends. She did not expect to fall in love with exploring different Titan-civilizations.

—Viney has interned under Camila to learn about Earth animals. The difference in biology between the two realms plays a part in how she judges treating pets at her mythical pet clinic. Some species react adversely to magic being used on them which she learns cause of it.

—Hunter gives each past Golden Guard a name based on what little he could find about their personalities. He still sees their ghosts but in a “guardian angel” way. Is for sure dating Willow.

...It. It took a while for him to carve Waffles.

[sokkas-first-fangirl]

Owl House prompt!

Now the leader of the isles’ government, Raine faces the difficult task of cramming their work bag full of paperwork folders to take home and review.

Just when Raine thought the work was done, twenty more papers seemed to magically appear in the pile. If it wasn’t for the fact that Eber was off today, Raine would have thought it was a prank.

Great, they thought tiredly. It was time to head home and they weren’t nearly done with all this stupid paperwork. Barely even halfway.

…How bad would it be to feed it all to Hooty?

Okay, no, no, that would be terrible. And it would require them actually getting this ridiculous pile home in the first place.

They had to get this work done, but Eda would not be pleased if they fell asleep at work again. So it seemed like they were stuck with trying to get it all home anyway.

Yay, they thought, rubbing tiredly at their eyes. They wished they could leave it all here, at their office, where it belonged. But needs must. No one ever said that rebuilding the Boiling Isles would be easy.

But how to get it all home? There was no way this would all fit in their bag…

Bang!

Moments later, Darius was treated to the sight of Raine kicking their office door open, clearly struggling to carry all their work. Their bag was so full of paperwork and folders that it was barely staying closed. They carried three huge folders under each of their arms and clutched another folder in their free hand.

“…You need a hand, Raine?” Darius asked. He resisted the urge to pull out his Scroll and record this.

“Nope, I’m okay!” Raine cheerfully lied. “I’ve got this!”

“Sure you do.”

“I do!” Raine said, and promptly tripped into Lilith’s desk.

Paperwork and folders flew everywhere. Raine’s bag burst open and more papers were added to the chaos.

Darius pulled out his Scroll and hit record.

Hey, at least Hunter and Eber would get a laugh out of this.

[thousand-winters]

While Darius does have a wallet, he also has a collection of purses he sometimes uses. If he feels like using one of his purses, he'll drop his wallet in there and a few other necessities before leaving the house.

He probably starts wearing them more after the whole mess of, well, everything is over, since then he can relax and make more choices purely for fashion rather than practicality (not that the man who wears heels on a regular basis is the epitome of practicality but he had bigger things to worry about most of the time).

Especially since now he's a father, so you bet he's going to be the kind of parent who carries around stuff for their kid, he's got snacks and water and bandaids and anything he can think of that he could need, especially if he's going to watch one of Hunter's Flyer Derby matches. He loves that boy, but he does NOT trust him to keep hydrated.

You bet he's also got a bunch of pictures tucked in there, probably make up, hand sanitizer (or whatever equivalent to it they have on the Boiling Isles) and anything he can fit in there that he might need. He comes very prepared and Eberwolf likes teasing him about it, but just look at him, he's prepared AND a fashion icon, how many people can pull this off, huh, Eber?

I don't think he would have that many colors, just ones he can match well with his outfits, he has everything very calculated.

[sleepingdeath-light]

adopting hunter with his s/o hcs ; darius deamonne

requested by ; okamii79 (14/07/22)

fandom(s) ; the owl house

fandom masterlist(s) ; here

character(s) ; darius deamonne, hunter wittebane (platonic)

outline ; “Hi! I was reading your hcs of The Owl House and I was wondering if u could write hcs of Darius x Reader when they adopt Hunter and how would be their daily life? Obviously if u want to! <3”

warning(s) ; none, just fluff!

the two of you had been discussing potentially fostering an older child or teenager for a long time, and when darius became aware of the extent of hunter’s home life he was the one to start floating his name in conversation with you — the boy needs a stable home, he could do with some healthy parental figures in his life, we have a spare room that he could easily take over, etc., etc.

and when you met him for the first time at the catts headquarters, you were inclined to agree with your husband — the kid needed a home and he had a good head on his shoulders, you wouldn’t mind taking him in (and you found yourselves thinking about how to start that conversation with the ex golden guard between meetings about beating the emperor… it was… complicated to say the least)

but then the day of unity happened, and hunter and his friends went missing, the idea was dropped entirely for a long long time (darius was taken, you went into hiding and there was nothing to talk about anymore)

…

…

…

after everything is said and done (the collector neutralised, the isles mostly recovered, belos killed, darius turned flesh once more, the kids returned from the human realm) and everyone is reunited, you and darius reunite and share a wordless look and then he goes to get hunter — offering him a home and a stage as he asks about his shirt

then when he starts talking about these things called ‘wolves’ you share a smile and hug (earning a joking look of disgust from eberwolf) as you lean into your new future — and you can’t wait to see how it unfolds

and whilst i can’t describe everything, here are a few highlights of this new life for you and your husband (and occasional fun uncle eber):

hunter was extremely excited — downright thrilled, even — to finally have a space of his own to decorate (even hesitating and hedging when you told him it was his — no really you promise!), and he spent a while picking out paint colours and furniture sets and posters and nicknacks to fill his space

there are lots of wolf and carving themed objects, and a dozen sketches of a cardinal covering his walls — it’s eclectic and chaotic and very different to the rest of the house, but it’s very him and you loved helping him out it all together (even if the intentional mismatching colours nearly have darius some grey hairs — grey smears? — when you were painting everything)

he doesn’t use any specific titles with you, calling you by your first names more often than not, but you’ve definitely overheard hunter calling you both ‘his parents’ and ‘his family’ when he’s on call with his friends before (and darius definitely teared up a bit when he heard it, even if you both pretended afterwards that you didn’t)

you and darius were the first people he told when he was accepted by del as an apprentice carver — and, despite being busy working on rebuilding bonesborough, you still took the day off to celebrate with him and help him get the necessary equipment together in advance of his first lesson

your palismen were both destroyed by belos in your youths, so hunter’s first independent pieces were new palismen for you and darius — the whole day is incredibly emotional and hunter is a complete ball of nerves, but it all goes wonderfully (and there are, naturally, plenty of tears)

[neoncherryblossom]

You Hide Your Face Behind a Mask (that no one else can see) 

Living with Darius and Eberwolf, Hunter realized there is a lot about them he doesn’t know about. 

And not just things he wouldn’t know about them because he wasn’t close. They were so many parts of them they kept hidden from the Coven itself, Hunter wonders if they forgot how to be themselves. 

He knows you have to sacrifice a lot to be in the Emperor’s Coven. And even if they weren’t members, they lived in the Castle and Hunter was learning exactly how much of a person that stole. 

Hunter looked up to the Coven Heads. They were the best of the best, the strongest and most worthy of their position. But outside that role, he never actually knew all too much about them. Hunter’s only beginning to realize he’s only ever known the masks of his guardians before, that he only knows what they let him know. 

Darius projected confidence and held high standards of those around him, his iconic abomination hair and cape billowing behind proving how much better he was than anyone else. Hunter thinks he’s only ever seen the man scowl or smile smugly, never anything in between. And Eberwolf… he somehow knew even less about the demon. He knew Eber was powerful, he’s seen Eberwolf’s beast form and knows that he passionately cares about the beasts on the Isles, but that’s about it. Eberwolf would always have that same smile as he stood by the others, silent and unmovable.

He wonders how long it took the both of them to develop those masks. Too fit into a role and stick with it for years. 

One of a man, so powerful no one could touch him.

One of a demon, a permanent smile replacing most words. 

They reminded him of the Golden Guard outfit.  How the mask fit snugly and the cape stood proudly, but still somehow made him uncomfortable those first few times; as if the clothes themselves didn’t truly feel like they were his. How wearing that mask sealed Hunter away to be everything his uncle wanted from him.

(To be the only thing his uncle wanted from him.)

But without that mask on, he was quick to become Hunter. Without that familiar weight, it was easy for him to just be. 

Hunter was just a nephew. 

Hunter wasn’t special. 

And now, Hunter was free of ever wearing that mask again. 

He wished he could free Darius and Eber from theirs too. 

Because even if they were out of the Coven, even if Darius and Eberwolf had no one they needed to hide from, Hunter knew they still wore the masks that got them through the Emperor’s castle. 

Eberwolf is quick to clam up when someone approaches them, keeping a smile while Darius answered. 

Darius was still quick to condescend others, even if he meant no malice towards them.

And even though Eberwolf is frequently on Darius’ shoulder, even when they can, they don’t talk to each other much if others are around. They do around the CATTS and they do around him, but then they just… stop when anyone else enters. 

It’s as if they don’t trust anyone to know they’re close. 

It’s as if they don’t trust anyone to know them. 

He thinks it was several weeks after he started living with them did he realize he’d never heard them truly laugh before. 

And he didn’t remember how it started, but they were all in the kitchen together one day and then they were all laughing and laughing hard.  

When Darius laughs, he hugs his side and covers his nose as he snorts, bowing his head as he wheezes. And Eberwolf just tosses his head back, revealing his teeth and two fangs Hunter never knew were there, one in the upper right corner and one on the bottom left, his very being shaking as he cackles. And Hunter couldn’t help but laugh louder too, the odd whistling behind his laugh growing louder because it can and no one will tell him to stop or that he’s being weird, he can just be. 

Hunter doesn’t know all too much about Darius and Eber all things considered. But as he watched them regain their breaths and wheeze, easy genuine smiles on their face as they teased each other, Hunter knew that he couldn’t wait to get to know the witches under the mask and help them shed them, once and for all. 

[non-bee-knees]

The Owl House Headcanons that I have

Coz my head won’t let me sleep

Raine now has chronic pain. It’s not great. They use their palisman as a mobility aid most of the time.

Hunter also has pain issues, but it’s not as severe for various reasons:

He’s younger (so recovery was faster)

He seems to have been possessed for a significantly less amount of time

He’s got the whole ‘flapjack healing magic’ thing going on

He’s part tree (?) so, idk man, healing or whatever

Raine is afab - I NEED MORE AFAB ENBIES IN STORIES MAN, AND NOT JUST VAGUELY GENDER NEUTRAL AFAB’s, I WANT FEM AFABS ENBIES okay rant over

Willow and Hunter are in a QPR (Queer Platonic Relationship) - I know it was said that they were Bi and Pan respectively, but headcanons are headcanons 🤷

Darius is a pining fool ; Alador is oblivious:)

Darius was in a relationship with the past G.G. Sorry, that headcanon grabbed me and wouldn’t let go, THERES SO MUCH ANGST POTENTIAL

Odalia was abusive. Alador flinches when people touch him randomly or move too fast around him ; Darius is Not Pleased about it

EberWolf uses He/They :)

When they first became friends, Eber cast a spell on Darius that allows him to know what they’re saying. If Darius isn’t around, no one has any idea what Eber is saying

This spell got destroyed during the Day of Unity, and Darius freaked out when he realised.

Eber sleeps in Darius’ room, curled up on the mattress like a dog would

Eda tried to propose to Raine at some point: Raine obvi said no. They explained (once Eda had stopped crying) that while they loved each other and would literally die for each other, they had a lot to work on, and through, after everything

Darius took in Hunter. It took some convincing, and once he was told everything he had such a massive breakdown that everyone reconsidered it for a second, but Hunter chose to go with Darius and that was that, they couldn’t not let him.

It took a while for Raine and Hunter to talk about the Belos stuff. Obvi Hunters friend and Camila knew, and Darius was told before Hunter moved in, coz he needed to know incase anything happened. But Raine didn’t tell anyone for a while. They knew Eda wanted to know, so she could help, and she put some pieces together after hearing about Hunter, but still. She waited for them to go to her.

The only person to know about Raines deal before Eda was Hunter, who Raine found crying in the Owl House kitchen the first night back in the Isles. Hunter started talking about it all (coz it’s a lot of stuff to happen to a kid in 24hrs) and after a minute, in an attempt at comfort, Raine admits to having been captured by Belos too. They don’t go into it, but they know that Hunter knowing helped him.

When Hunter had time to process everything for real, he realised that he technically committed suicide. This freaks him out, especially since by that point ‘he was supposed to be doing better’. Darius, of course has no clue how to handle this, and calls Camilia as soon as he calms Hunter down a bit.

Darius is the kind of guy to shove all his shit aside to help others first, because it’s easier than dealing with it. All his anger and hurt and frustration over The Day of Unity, and the Emperor’s Coven gets shoved aside to help Hunter and the aisles rebuild. His grief over the past G.G is never brought up because he doesn’t want Hunter to blame himself. He pushes his grief about almost loosing his friends, almost dying himself, away, because there are more important things to worry about. It’s not healthy, and he is fully aware, but he doesn’t know how to stop, when it’s kept him going for so long.

Darius knew Hunter was a GrimWalker, because the past G.G told him all of it before he ‘disappeared. What he did *not* know was the extent of it all. When the grave is found in the skull, Darius goes mental, then blacks out, then spends the next week ignoring everyone, even Eber. He sent Hunter to Eda’s for that week. Then he went back to work like nothing has happened. He still refuses to talk about it.

The Draining Spell fucked people up big time, mainly the elderly and the Coven Heads. For a while after, if any of the Coven Heads tried magic, they would almost pass out. This frustrated Darius the most, since he used his for travel a lot.

Also his hair stopped being animated for a while, until he could do magic properly again. He hates it. He has a lot of issues with it not looking the way it normally does, and wears a head wrap for a while because of this.

Eber had the hardest time recovering from it all, and couldn’t do magic for a while. People were starting to get worried he wouldn’t be able to do magic again at all, but he’s fine now.

Darius’s hair goes all funny when he gets emotional. He isn’t aware of this til Eda points it out.

Alador is stronger than Darius. They are both aware of this. Neither acknowledge it

Vitrimir has a personality that’s a cross between Gyro Gearloose from the Ducktales Reboot, and Varian from TTS. He’s an eccentric, genius guy, but a bit of an ass (this is after it all, when he’s stopped being a Belos Ass Kisser :3 )

Hettie was the first to apologise, and offer her help. Terra is still currently the last (she fucked off to live out her retirement alone)

Eda changes her hand every week. It’s payment from Al in exchange for her making sure his kids didn’t die while he was busy being stuck in a toxic relationship.

Eber is older than Darius- technically. In ‘witch years’ he’s older, but because Direwolves age differently to witches, they’re technically only in their early 30’s

Darius, Odalia and Al were all in Liliths year, where Raine and Perry were in Eda’s :)

Aight I think that’s all I have for now :)

Add more if you want

I apologise that most of them were Darius - centric

[bicsbec]

Natural Melodies

Chapter 4: places to rest (ao3 link)

Raine loved every single aspect of performing, except the performance itself. As they saw it, the point of music wasn't to show off natural talent or how well one could perform a particularly nasty piece. Music was nature condensed into sound, the musician its translator. But Raine was a bard, performance came with the job description.

As their little concert came closer, Raine felt queasier at each rehearsal. 

"I think Raine needs a drink," Derwin joked when he saw Raine’s pale face. They were packing up, spelling away their instruments and repertoire. 

"I think Grimgrub's Pub is still open," Katya suggested. Amber immediately perked up.

"We're getting wasted? With Raine? Sign me up."

"Oh, no," Raine interjected. "If I'm drinking anywhere, it's in the comfort of my own home. I can't keep up with you kids."

Katya nudged them with her elbow. "A bottle of apple blood with Eda sounds like a better time than us, that's for sure."

Raine felt their face go red. "I miss when I was your superior. You kept your noses out of my personal life."

"No, we didn't," Amber said. "We just did it behind your back."

"I'm flattered," Raine said sarcastically.

"So, that's a no to Grimgrub's?" Katya asked.

"Thank you for the invitation, but no. I have to get home. Kids and a girlfriend to get to."

Katya and Amber cooed at that, but Derwin gave Raine a smile.

"A family looks good on you, poet," he said.

Raine smiled back. "Thank you. I think so, too."

But Katya wasn't wrong. And Eda always did like to put Raine on their back. 

Darius and Eberwolf had taken up residence near the heart of the Titan, where most Coven Heads had lived during Belos' reign. It was now an empty villa, occupied by them as they set up a council that was separate from the coven system. Raine had given them Luz's notes and they'd taken off with a running start, trying to set up before anyone made a dangerous grab for power.

They seemed busy every time Raine stopped by. Even as they stopped by to pick up Hunter. 

"Raine, what brings you here?" Darius answered the door. Raine was almost surprised to see that Eberwolf wasn't perched on his shoulder.

"Eda sent me to pick up Hunter early," Raine said, holding up Owlbert. "We're having dinner with Camila. She wanted to give Hunter some time to get ready."

"Hm, the human mother, yes," Darius said, looking over his shoulder. "Well, come on in. We've been wondering if we could bother you with a few questions." He stepped aside, opening the door further.

"Uh, sure," Raine gave him a funny look. "What about?"

"More like pick your brain, get your opinion." Darius led them to the office, where Eberwolf was buried under various scrolls. He seemed to be straining his eyes; Raine suspected he had a migraine. 

"Hey, Eber," Raine greeted. He only closed his eyes, raising a hand in return. "So, what did you want my take on?"

"We've been looking into this parliament business, how to set up democratic elections, who can qualify as a candidate," Darius started.

"Sure, right."

"We figure the Isles would have a representative per body part."

"Mm-hm."

"So, uh," Darius was fidgeting, talking with his hands too much. The next words tumbled out of his mouth. "How would you feel about being a candidate for the Knee?"

"Wouldn't I have to live there most of the year or something? And more importantly, I'm not a politician, Darius. Leading a coven and making decisions for the whole population are two different things."

"Yes, but see, most people don't know that. You're already a step ahead."

The proposal wasn't particularly appealing to Raine, as they recalled Coven Head meetings and the headache of dealing with self-important idiots with a fragile ego. But they also considered every other person that might want that seat, being a driving force into the decisions made over the Isles. Raine could see why Eber had a migraine.

"I don’t know, Darius," they said honestly. "I'll think about it. But I'm not moving back to the Knee for this."

"Yep, no, that's perfectly fine," Darius said quickly. "We just couldn't imagine doing this without you." The tension in Eberwolf's shoulders seemed to ease. 

"You'd be fine, I'm sure of it," Raine said dismissively. "Opposition to authority doesn’t equate to having the means to lead." 

"You underestimate yourself, songbird."

"Ha! Sure," Raine smiled at the nickname. "I'll just grab Camila's kid and twitter my ass out of here before you force me to be in your parliament."

Darius laughed at that.

"Dang, you can hold a grudge. Fine, take the princeling. And please give this some thought."

"I will," Raine said, waving to Eberwolf before calling for Hunter. 

They heard his footsteps before they saw him. "Raine? What are you doing here? I told Miss Eda I'd be back before dinner."

"Camila and Luz are coming over, Eda thought you'd like to be there before they arrived."

His eyes lit up, his palisman turning into a staff as soon as Raine finished. They barely had to wait for Hunter to dash and say his goodbyes before he was hurrying out of the house, flying on his palisman.

The flight back to the Owl House was tranquil. Hunter seemed to be in his own head, his passive smile the only hint of what he might be thinking. Even with the damage Flapjack had received in the Human Realm, he seemed to be able to fly smoothly enough, a few hiccups here and there that Hunter didn't seem to mind. 

Raine had always gotten along with Owlbert, the palisman had been playful and endearing, often focusing that energy on Droplet. Their heart thumped heavier at the thought. Magic with no companion to flourish. 

Owlbert was no substitute. No one palisman would be, really, but…

"Hunter, Eda told me you carve palismen now," Raine started, still not loving the idea of a new palisman. Palistrom wood was still so rare.

"Oh, um, yeah. I do. I'm still learning. Mr. Clawthorne says I have a good steady hand."

Raine chuckled. "I suppose you do."

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, I lost my palisman to—um, she's gone. And Eda said you could help me out. But it's not urgent," they said. "I'm aware of the state palistrom trees find themselves in." 

Hunter softened, his eyes falling to Flapjack. "I'd be honored, Raine. I have a feeling that palistrom trees will be fine, we just have to wait a little."

Raine could do that. After all the years in the Bard Coven, ascending ranks, patiently plotting, carefully organizing to strike against Belos, the countless hours spent trying to disentangle themself from the Collector's grip, waiting a little was easy. 

Luz was an eager student. Even when she was away at her human school, she continued to practice on Eda’s lute. Before Tassie had hatched, all Luz could do was learn the pieces and patterns that accompanied bard spells. With Tassie's aid, she could now produce magic. Their lessons had taken off after that.

Every time she saw Raine, she was a little bit better, her fingering and chord progressions growing smoother.

" Mamá really liked Raine's Rhapsody. She told me she wanted to hear its original composer play it," Luz told them, much to their tiny horror. 

"Right, but I'm sure you do it justice," Raine said anxiously. An audience of one was significantly more terrifying than a faceless crowd. Smaller groups, especially if it was just their family, were more manageable. 

"Say, when are you gonna teach me all the cool spells Eda said you knew? Rearranging molecules, manipulation spells, all that stuff," Luz said excitedly. She cradled Tassie in her lap, the weird creature clicking its odd chatter contently. 

Raine brightened at the question, sliding into teacher mode.

"Well, basic bard magic consists of altering the 'mood' around you, working with the atmosphere and how it affects people's feelings. Technically, you're already doing one of the cool things you wanted to do. Bard magic works through sound, which is just variating vibrations, which we can manipulate to our liking. It's anything and everything you want it to be. That's why many overlook it and��underestimate it. They just think it's limited to entertainment," they explained, summoning their violin. "So lets say I were to play a tune with pizzicato," they plucked at the strings with their index, "and my only intention is atmospheric, how does it affect you?"

"Right now it just feels jolly or bright," Luz said, trying to find the right word. It was always difficult to verbalize how Bard magic felt. Raine changed the pattern. "Agitated, like I have to run," Luz amended. 

"Good, now I'm going to move your feet," Raine warned her. It was a subtle shift, like a grace note placed at the end. Luz stood up, Tassie moving toward Raine to avoid her feet, and started marching in place.

"Woah!"

Just for fun, Raine made her feet dance a little before releasing her.

"It takes practice, but you're already messing around with cool spells," Raine said with a smile, dispelling their violin.

Luz got a look of excitement that made Raine understand why Eda said she'd get starry-eyed. It was a spot on description.

"I'm gonna practice 'til my fingers fall off!"

Raine chuckled nervously, believing her entirely capable. "Maybe not until they fall off , perhaps just until they're sore."

"I'll make no such promise." 

Weirdly enough, Luz was very much Eda’s kid.

Unfortunately, not all days could consist of enlightening bard classes, mirthful rehearsals, and family dinners. Some days started with a fright.

"RAT! WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

"EDAAA!"

"HEY!"

The door to their room slammed open, a stumble and a crash making Raine jump awake. They'd taken to waking up a little later ever since moving into the Owl House and were deeply regretting it. They sat up against the weight of Eda’s arm around their waist, startled by the claws crawling up their sweater and the weight settling in the back hood, pulling at their neck. Their bow was in their hand instinctively. 

There were two figures crashing into the room, frozen at the entrance. 

"Sorry, sorry!" It was Luz's voice.

"This is low, King," Hunter accused. 

"What the f—" Eda cleared her throat, starting again. "What the heck is going on? King ."

Raine pulled him out of their hoodie, which made King hug their neck so as to not be pulled off. "Hunter was chasing me," King said desperately.

"Care to tell them why , rat?" He was using his Golden Guard voice. Hunter was pissed .

"Stop calling him that," Luz interjected. "He said he was sorry."

Raine was too blind and too tired to follow the conversation or connect any dots, so they laid back down, hugging King like a pillow and dispelling their bow. 

" Really? All I heard was—"

"Alright! That's enough! Out!" Eda said, getting up and ushering them out. "You, too, King."

King was lifted out of Raine’s arms, picked up by his scruff.

"Weh! Wait! Hunter will skin me!" 

"And why's that?"

"I, uh, I might've scratched up a palistrom log?" King said timidly. "It had the bark off! I didn't know what it was!"

"Ignorance doesn't exempt you from guilt," Raine mumbled, almost asleep again.

"Raine’s right, King. You gotta make it up to Hunter."

"How? I can't just grow a tree!— Wait ." Small feet padded out of the room. And King's voice, now muted, called, " Luz! "

Quiet settled over the room again, Eda’s arm returning to Raine’s waist.

"Sorry about the kids," Eda said in a low voice.

Raine shook their head. "Nah, it's nothing. I know what's the deal. I just wish they'd fight quietly." 

Eda snorted. "You and me both." She held them closer, kissing their cheek. "I lucked out with you, huh?"

Raine shook their head again. I'm the lucky one.

Heart attack and all, Raine would do it again. The headaches and the scream-fights and the occasional wrestling matches that had to be pulled apart. Raine would do it forever; they loved those kids and they loved the woman that mothered them. 

King made it up to Hunter. Raine was still a little dumbfounded by it. King had grown a tree.

As he told it, he asked Luz to help him cast a plant glyph on a palistrom seed they had snatched from the Bonesborough Botanical Garden. Raine thought they probably could've asked to the same effect, but that wasn't likely with a Clawthorne and Eda's apprentice. 

King had excitedly dragged everyone out of the house, even Hooty had slithered out to follow King into the red pine woods. Where there used to be a clearing now stood a young palistrom tree. 

Hunter marveled at the tree before rushing Luz and King into a tight hug.

"Oh, my Titan," Hunter laughed. "Do you know what this means?"

"I've found my next summer project?" Luz half joked. Raine could see she was already set on the idea.

Hunter gave her a bright smile. These kids were going to single handedly change the Isles.

Hunter walked up to the tree, running an appreciative hand over the smooth bark. The bark under Hunter's hand shone, spreading through the rest of the tree. The trunk grew thicker, the bark rougher, the branches taller, the leaves fuller.

He laughed, almost hysterically. " Luz ," Hunter called with a tone of incredulity. 

"You kids are really something," Eda said, taking a step closer to inspect the tree.

Raine was pretty sure their jaw was hanging open. Only Luz seemed unfazed, excitedly jumping on the balls of her feet.

"We are kicking palistrom butt this summer! But, like, in the good sense," Luz said, shaking his shoulder. 

Hunter had been right, the palistroms would be just fine under the care of the Nocedas and King.

Raine picked up King, saddling his weight on their hip. "Nice work, buddy."

"Thanks," King said sheepishly. "It was the least I could do."

"I know it doesn't mean much coming from me, but I'm proud of you. You really owned up to your mistake. And Eda definitely thinks the same," Raine told him.

King hugged them, a reassuring squeeze. "Thank you. It means more than you think."

There was a small lump in their throat that Raine hadn't expected at King's words. A startling sense of relief washed over them when they realized that not only did they love Eda’s kids, but her kids loved them back.

King never told Raine what his nightmares were about, and Raine never really asked, but they had their suspicions. It was likely the same type of nightmare that kept them up at night as well. 

Limp limbs and cold skin and unseeing eyes. Impotence and dread. Moments they didn't quite witness but had a part in. Watching and dreaming, a blur of what was real and what wasn't. 

Sleep was a heavy prospect to face with dreams like that, vividly confined.

The nightmares were less frequent now that they were away from the cold of the Knee, but when they did occur, Raine worked on their reminder that things were different now.

They kept playing around with the name, torn between the nomenclature of its composition or of the poetry it emulated. Raine finally settled on The Owl's Ballad, considering how long they'd been wanting to write something about Eda that wasn't about their breakup. And considering that the piece they'd been working on was every feeling Eda brought to their mind. 

It was taking flight and starting anew, warmth that coursed through their veins and pooled in their heart, magic that roamed free and unbound from strings and strange hands. It was love, young and naive, unrealistic and unreasonable; older and well-worn, compromising and understanding. It was home, she was home. In the same way that grudgby matches on hot summer days were home and quiet sunset duets among flower fields were home. Fleeting moments of happiness that felt too good to be allowed, like their existence broke the rules. 

And breaking the rules always felt like a good place to rest.

Raine spent their sleepless nights transcribing the piece into its first draft, papers scattered over the desk in the corner of their bedroom, a few glyph lights illuminating the scrolls.

"Rainestorm?" Eda’s sleep-ridden voice carried over to them, startling Raine. "What're you doing up?"

"Eda! I didn't mean to wake you," they whispered.

"You didn't," Eda whispered back, peaking over the edge of the nest. "Everything okay?"

"Yes. You can go back to sleep."

Eda crawled out of their nest and looked over Raine’s shoulder, inspecting the notations.

"The Owl's Ballad? Is this about me?"

Raine suppressed a smile, only a little self-conscious. "Yeah, it's about home."

"Will you play it for me?" 

They blushed at that, their nerves mixing with the upcoming performance. Raine had played for Eda all of their works in progress, all of their shit drafts, all the embarrassing firsts. She'd heard them all. This one was like an exposed nerve, everything they still hadn't put into words put into feeling. Eda would feel how they felt about her. It rattled and emboldened them.

"Are you nervous?" Eda asked teasingly.

"A little, which is odd," they said, summoning their violin. 

"I can turn around if you want." She used to do that for them the first few times they showed her a draft. Their heart melted.

"Nonsense, take a seat."

"If you say so." She straddled their lap, a very annoying smirk playing on her lips.

Raine felt their face heat up. " Eda ."

Eda laughed in that contagious way that always ended in a snort. "You barely get flustered! You can't blame me for taking advantage of it." She kissed them chastely and stood, leaning on the desk instead. "Let's hear it."

Raine shook their head with a smile and started to play.

With the first note, moments that were familiar to both of them began to bleed together as Raine weaved each feeling to the next.

The jinxes and mayhem that ran through the school as Eda had her fun and Raine tagged along. The rush of getting in trouble but having no real consequences to show for it; the rush of showing Eda the first draft of their Rhapsody, which they'd written for her to play. Eda's erratic nature, Raine always on their toes, always after her. 

When she dropped out of school, shortly after her duel with Lilith; when she ran from home, showing up at their door weeks later. Their first kiss, their first time, their first fight. Their first secret, the curse, and everything they didn't say about it. 

The melody ran through the contrasts of their days together now, the quiet new things Raine noticed about Eda. The way she carried herself, the way she cared for King and Luz and Hunter, her enthusiasm when she got to teach them about wild magic, the way she had let them in her walls, the way those walls continued to crumble.

This was home, this was where Raine finally got to rest.

The final note died out into the quiet of the room, fading into the darkness of the night.

Raine let out a breath, the kind they held the first few times they ran through a piece, like they weren't sure they wouldn't fumble.

"Well, that was—" Raine looked up to find Eda red-faced. She cleared her throat. "Flattering isn't even the right word. This was keeping you up?"

"Only partially. I, um, sometimes get nightmares. Like King. This helps me calm down," they gestured to their annotations, dispelling their violin. 

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Your curse already makes you so tired, you need to rest. A few late nights won't kill me."

"They won't kill me either, Raine," she said, sliding back onto their lap, kissing their nose. "You can wake me up if you need company."

Her weight trapped them in the chair, leaving them with nowhere to go. But the dread never settled. Eda wasn't imposing, wasn't unwelcome. Raine was there, present, free to move their hands to her waist and feel the warmth of her body and see the shine in her eyes as she smiled at them. She was a salve to the Collector's lingering damage. A good place to rest.

"Yeah, I can do that." 

Sleep didn't come much easier, but it seemed lighter to face now.

prologue | < chapter 3 | chapter 5 >

[mdhwrites]

There's something I don't understand... since the Collector (or one of his siblings) trapped the owl beast in the scroll, but couldn't the Collector remove Eda's (and by extension, Lilith's) curse and free the owl beast from her body since he's basically a young god? Even if they insist on treating the curse like a chronic illness, it wouldn't have hurt to mention it since it just seems like a plot hole.

So the only time this would matter would be in the epilogue. Otherwise, the Collector is never on Eda and Lilith's side and so doing a kindness of that sort for them wouldn't make sense. Maybe taking it away to depower them while the Collector is ruling the Isles but that's frankly more work than just turning them into a puppet. Should he have done it at the end? Eeeeh. I think the creators reasonably decided that Harpy Lilith would be a flashier way that more fans would want to see as a resolution to the curse than simply getting rid of it. It also allows those who see it as a disability or chronic illness to not just have a god whisk away those issues but instead see how these characters are thriving in spite of it. Not that I'm too happy with the allegory in the end with the Harpy forms, I'd rather be rid of my own disability frankly than pretend it's a superpower but *shrug*.

I wouldn't call this a plot hole though. Nothing is actively contradicting this point or is missing from the logic of the show's events to justify it as one. That's what causes plotholes after all. When something actively goes back on what it has shown or done or blatantly changes the rules of reality for what it wants to do. I would personally argue that TOH's biggest plotholes either go to A: Why the fuck was Belos able to make a portal out of a stone arch and Titan's Blood and LITERALLY NOTHING ELSE and it worked better somehow than the explicit instructions that he himself left on how to make a portal door? There's just a LOT of levels of bullshit and contradictions that we're never going to get an explanation for. B: "How do we stop this draining spell that kills people by feeding on their magic?" "I know! Let's mix it with a curse that turns people into monsters by feeding on and corrupting their magic!" And then everyone should have just stared at whoever offered that idea before immediately moving on with the meeting like nothing had happened and that person hadn't said anything. And yes, it's trying to play off of Eda's Requiem but in that, I never got the feeling of "This weakened the spell," I got the feeling of "OH! This made it so she has a disintegration spell!" because let's face it: Her and Raine's spell was not WEAKER than anything else Raine could do. Not if it was their only option to nullify, stop and then murder two coven heads who were actively trying to find them.

God this show's writing got stupid. Then again, in both cases you have plot holes that exist because, well... The show wrote itself in a corner. The show spent so much time on Belos' backstory and on Hunter and Lumity in S2 that they hadn't actually come up with a real way to stop The Day of Unity. Even if you do want to use Eda's Requiem as an excuse, they also have to retcon in that same scene the fact that Darius, Eber and Raine can't just sit out the ceremony anymore like they had previously established, making the one way they HAD established to beat it not matter anymore, even though Odalia could have just told Luz about an off screen raid that was happening on the CAT's hideout and effectively nothing changes except Eda doesn't lose an arm. The other is of course the portal. The portal not working immediately is a cool idea but one they don't explore AT ALL. And it presents the obvious problem of "Okay, what was the missing piece?" Yes, Belos theoretically knows that piece but even his Isles door looked like it needed a lot of extra elements to function and work properly that let you assume that what Luz had gotten before was a prototype door, not the real thing. But... Then it's literally just a stone archway and liberal application of Titan's Blood because Belos is a monster and can't have gotten the materials for a proper door anymore. What leads to these moments in both cases aren't bad ideas but they're also stepping away from the fantasy genre without knowing why the genre uses these tropes. Why can't you just remove one of the things necessary for the villain to win is a common problem for a lot of fantasy stories and most are just smart not to EVER BRING IT UP because of it. Magic working on the first try may not make sense but it means that there isn't further experimentation that's required, or the spell only works once before devouring itself or the like, a trope TOH even played into because suddenly the door required more Titan Blood every time it was opened and yet the key isn't fully drained after probably hundreds of years. It's all a part of that feeling of TOH wanting to be smarter than it's writers are. At least for this genre.

[numericalbridge]

i made the blog to post writing, but this one thing has been my pet peeve since the KT aired, so i might just blabber about it. (the bold text is just there to make it easier for me to reread, i'm not yelling)

I really, really disagree with the interpritation that Darius surrendering for Eberwolf at DoU means that Darius was willing to sacrifice the whole isles for Eber and that it was an ultimately selfish act.

First, i thought it was quite clear that at the very moment Darius didn’t have time to think and consciously weight his options at all, he was in the middle of a fight. And i dont think this is unique to Darius, I doubt Eda and Lilith, for example, would’ve acted differently in his position. 

From the writing point, the moment is there to show that Darius does care about Eber, and to cement the point that he is not as cold and ruthless as he likes to pretend to be. (If going into fanon territory, it can be seen as him being terrified of losing other people he loves in general). His actions are not flawless, and there is definitely both irony and tragedy that he was put in the position where he had to surrender, but that also doesn’t automatically mean he is deliberately willing to sacrifice other people for his loved ones. And also it is a kids show, where a friendship moment like this does represent a positive thing.

Second, about what happened immediately after (and the way it is completely ignored was what irked me from the start) - at that point, when Darius had just surrendered, he still doesn’t know that Raine and Lilith and the rest of the rebels were caught! That would mean that he would assume there is still time while the other CHs need to bring in Raine’s replacement or find real Raine. And since it was shown that Katya and Derwin were disguised as scouts, it is probable that there was some plan B. That could even explain why Eda wasn’t trying to fight more - if the Bard Coven Head isn’t there, there is still hope. And once Raine is in the circle, it seems like no one could stop/physically escape the spell. (this part is also why i dont agree that Raine would have 100% kept fighting in Darius’s position, i think it would depend)

and somehow no one, hopefully, thinks that Raine was ultimately selfish for wanting to be there for Eda and the rest of them, even though it would be smarter for them to be far away so they couldn’t be captured.

Third, when Darius mutters “No, we’re too late” - the way it is worded makes more sense if it is about stopping the spell to save the whole isles, and that is still where his main priority is. And, while it is mainly for the sake of the pacing that he says it at that moment, it can be seen as him despairing only at that moment, and that he still had hope before.

I am not even saying my interpritation is the correct one. And i think it needs to be kept in mind that it is a fictional story aimed at children that often relies more on the rule of cool in the tense scenes, and that in such scenes some details need to be sacrificed for the sake of the proper pacing. And the DoU plan was probably very heavily affected by the shortening of the show (and, unlike some other writing choices, the weird logic lapses in the plan is the thing i will excuse with time being cut), so it might be hard to say what was actually going on with the characters and it's an additional reason why different interpritations are possible. It just irks me that Darius’s actions are seen almost exclusively from the worst possible angle.

And, tbh Darius being someone who cares a lot about people closest to him, but also about doing the right thing and saving others, and yet he is put in a position where is has to chose on an impulse and finds out that he can’t let his loved one die, and has to deal with his hard choice, is much more interesting than a character who just easily choses his loved ones over everyone else as some interpretations make him to be.

And it seems sometimes like the fanon just wants to put him into one category or the other - either he is primary a rebel and is absolutely horrid with personal relationships, or he is all about taking care of the other characters but is a terrible irrational rebel, when actually he can have flaws both as a rebel and with his personal relationships, while still being a good person and a good (for a cartoon) rebel - just like every other positive character.

[oakwolves]

I know it was a while ago you talked about Raine interacting with other characters, but what do you think about Raine interacting with Gus? I can't quite put it to words, but i think there are certain similarities and contrasts with them, and how they present themselves, that it could be interesting. Something with Gus starting to use his illusion magic in more pragmatic way, like with showing Belos his past, too (and parallels to Darius&Willow more obvious parallels, huh)

On a more silly, fanfic-y note, i want to know what was the dynamic between Raine and Eber - did they see how each of them interacts with Darius, and did their braincells immediately combine to tease and troll him together? Or was Raine kinda "awww, Darius cares about you" towards Eber, while Eber was somewhat jealous Darius had an old friend in his life again?

But in the actual show i think just one short dialogue between Raine and Darius about the rebellion and their sacrifices and different approaches would have done so much for both characters. Maybe even make Raine's promise to Luz be more about Raine's approach to Luz as a teacher, rather than only about Eda. And i believe they could have found time for it if in the episode if they structured it differently and didnt waste it on woobifying Alad or. Even in the last episode, instead of Raine doing googly eyes at harpy Eda that does nothing for raeda except cheapest fanservice, they could have just shown Darius and Raine (and Eber) trying to help the civilians while the Collector starts chaos, so Darius's character isn't abandoned completely either.

(Sorry this took a while to respond! Here are my thoughts on it!)

That's an interesting perspective on Gus and Raine's potential dynamic. I think Raine was really gifted with bard magic in the same way Gus is really gifted with illusion magic, but people tend to underestimate them because their magic isn't considered as "useful" or powerful as other forms of magic. Thankfully Gus has a group of friends to help him understand his worth, but even then, he still has some insecurities, some guilt of hiding things from people they love and care about. I'm sure Luz has told Gus a lot about Raine and how talented they are with bard magic. Maybe once they defeat the Collector, after everything's settled down, Gus would go to them on his own when he gets the chance.

Since we didn't see Eberwolf at Hexside (and I'm not sure how exactly how people like them age), I assume Darius met him at young adulthood, I don't think he and Raine are particularly close honestly. Raine doesn't know of his history with Darius, but tbh Darius might have told Eber about an old friend he knew in Hexside. When Raine took their place as the Bard Coven head, I guess Eber started to put two and two together. And once Darius and Raine started to work together again, it's a bit of an adjustment for Eber. I definitely don't think they hate or even dislike each other, it's just really awkward and unfamiliar to them both. They've had to become used to each other as they worked with Darius to stop the complete extinction of witches and demons on the isles. They haven't really gotten the chance to get to know each other in the way that Raine knows Darius and Darius knows Eber (even then with Eber and Darius, their dynamic is most likely influenced by their experiences so close to the Emperor.) Again, post canon will be the opportunity for Raine to have connections with people that they weren't able to under Belos's rule. I can definitely see them having a more playful/teasing dynamic once they don't have to worry about people trying to suppress their magic and kill everyone

Also YESS I would've given anything to see Darius and Raine talk one on one about the rebellion on their own (maybe with Eber, maybe not lol) I really get that the crew was pressed for time but them just having Darius just say "oh yeah i was a turncoat the whole time lol" feels a bit... anticlimactic given it was kind of obvious when he appeared in Hollow Mind.

I also have quite a few questions about what happened in the beginning of For the Future. You'd think at least some of the coven heads would stand a chance against the collector's spies. Maybe Raine and Darius, maybe Hettie. Definitely not Adrian lmao. Maybe they couldn't straight up defeat them, but at least evade them enough to escape. How did Odalia (and Terra I guess) manage to temporarily win the favour of the collector to avoid getting puppetted? (Even with Odalia, her clothes seem "puppeted" but she retains her body autonomy) Maybe it'll be addressed in the final episode but I don't have particularly high hopes.