#but hunter is smart he knows belos would try to go after the blood

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

Yes yes fire imagery with belos but american witch trials never burned witches at the stake. European trials did that. American witch trials hanged them. (Except for a few fringe cases lmao i think a dude was pressed to death with stones)

Drowning was used as evidence to prove someone was a witch. People would tie you to a chair weighed down with rocks and if you drowned then you were innocent, but if you survived you would be deemed a witch and probably executed. It was a situation where youd die either way and that was kind of the point because a lot of these accusations really were just people trying to get rid of social outcasts.

Hunter almost definitely didnt know any of this but the scene where he tries to drown himself was. So thematically appropriate. Identity crisis aside, he was a witch in everything but biology. And by now he is even a wild witch, the exact kind that phillip despised the most. But phillip is no longer human. No longer a good puritan man, even if he still believes he is.

So a wild witch tries to drown himself to bring down a not-human. Both of them, in belos's eyes, an abomination of god and the natural order. hunter didnt know but given how easily belos left his body later belos could have avoided drowning at any time. But he keeps possessing hunter to hold him underwater and kill his brother (who had fallen in with the witches and was now no better than one himself) once and for all.

But hunter doesnt drown. Not because he has witch powers to save him but because camilla, his new mother figure, dives in to save him. Because unlike the "witches" of phillips time, hunter is no longer a social outcast. He has a family now. He is loved. Something that belos no longer has

[theprinceandthewitch]

Eclipse Lake is very funny, but also super annoying. The plot for this episode makes no sense, because the writers want me to suspend my disbelief and believe neither Eda or Luz can figure out there is Titan Blood in the key. Even though Eda has had the key and doorway for 30 years and Luz has been using this doorway up until the end of season 1...

... Amity figures out there's titan blood in the key towards the last third of the episode - after Hunter says you can't get to the human realm without it... She puts two and two together in this moment even though she knows her literal girlfriend has been using this key to travel between worlds.

Luz is trying to build a doorway back home, and neither Eda or Luz think "hey, we don't have to go to Eclipse Lake to get Titan Blood because we already have it in this key. All we need to do is find the right combination of ingredients to build the door."

Luz and Eda don't put two and two together because they want Hunter to take the Titan Blood back to Belos. So, Luz and Eda get lobotomized for contrived plot progression.

HOWEVER, this episode is soooo funny to me, because they insert some weird pseudo-drama between Luz and Amity that serves no purpose to the story. It just exists to take up screentime. It also doesn't benefit Hunter to make Amity feel shitty about her relationship with Luz.

At first, Hunter is trying to draw parallels between him and Amity - how unlike Eda and King, they actually have alot at stake.

... BUT THEN the focus pivots to Lumity because they created "conflict" between them at the start of the episode.

Then Hunter continues on about how Amity and him are The Same...

Hunter being the Biggest Lumity Hater doesn't benefit him at all in this scenario. It doesn't contribute to Amity's decision to unbind him. She just does it because she, Luz, and Eda need to be braindead for the plot to move in the direction the writers want it to move in. That's why despite Amity straight up saying she doesn't trust Hunter, she let's him go. And Hunter hating on Lumity doesn't give Hunter an edge over Amity in their fight for the key.

They could have just had Hunter try and find commonality with Amity because of their similar upbringings. Hunter would know Amity's history - why wouldn't he when The Blights make Abomitrons for his family? Hunter is also smart enough to be able to get an idea of someone's intentions and personality just by monitoring their behavior. That's how he's able to tell Luz was bluffing in HP. Amity is also in her Trying to Be Nice like Luz Era, so Hunter would have had a relatively easy time manipulating Amity into freeing him from her binds. He could have just made up a backstory that was similar to Amity's to get her to trust him.

But nope, bringing up Amity's past would mean Amity is allowed to be anything more than Luz's awesome girlfriend. So, we gotta insert meaningless conflict between Luz and Amity... which doesn't even work as conflict because Luz has no idea her gf thinks she's not good enough for her.

It makes you wonder why they chose to insert psuedo-drama into the first episode featuring Luz and Amity as a couple. Why did they skip Lumity's honeymoon phase and just barrel into pseudo-relationship drama?

They really had Luz's type of boy make Luz's type of girl feel shitty about her relationship with Luz... okay, interesting... why did they do that? Why was that a thing lol. That's, hmm, that's very interesting how you did that knowing you wrote a whole spoiler episode where Luz kisses a prince.

That's so interesting... too bad the conflict in this episode means absolutely nothing and will not be relevant later on! Like, at all!

Hunter trying to homewreck Lumity and Amity feeling insecure about her relationship with Luz means absolutely nothing - not in this episode, or to the story as a whole. There are no potential consequences for Hunter and/or Lumity - Luz doesn't even know her girlfriend is feeling insecure over their relationship. It's just there to remind you that Amity will only ever be Luz's awesome girlfriend and nothing more.

Basically the Lumity "drama" is there to distract you from this episodes nonsensical plot.

Oh right, and the other reason why I love EL is because they had to write Luz out of the episode. Luz literally couldn't be there, because: 1. Luz would have made sure Hunter couldn't take any titan blood back to Belos. She destroyed the door at the end of season 1, once she figures out Belos rebuilt the door, she's gonna name sure that Titan Blood never gets back to him. So they had to lobotomize Luz via magical disease.

2. They didn't want to decide if Hunter would win or lose in this fight, because they didn't want to deal with the consequences of this choice. They wanted Yesterday's Lie and Hollow Mind to happen - so they're gonna do it in a way that is easy for them to write. If Luz was at EL, it is entirely possible for Hunter to lose this fight without it feeling forced, because he values her opinion of him. That's... literally why he bulks and tells her his name in Hunting Palismen after Luz shows the slightest bit of disappointment in him. So, the writing team decided to make their lives easy by writing Luz out of Eclipse Lake.

In conclusion, while this episode is annoying and braindead THAT'S the reason why I think it's very funny and enjoyable. I am particularly fond of the way Eclipse Lake tries to dress itself up as a Lumity episode in an attempt to distract you from its contrived plot.

[enchantedchocolatebars]

The Rock🪨

Story inspired by this ask.

"Pip, catch!" Caleb happily exclaims, tossing the grey pebble he had to his little brother who stood across from him.

The two boys were outside playing their third favorite game - catch.

When Philip catches the small stone, he hops up and down in glee. "I caught it!" The brunette exults to the blonde.

"Good job!" Caleb beams, the older boy raising his opened hands in the air. "Now throw it back, but not too far. Okay?"

Philip nods. He's got this. He sticks his tongue out in concentration.

Cocking his arm back, Pip throws the pebble with all his might past Caleb. Both boys watch as the rock disappears into the woods.

The corners of Pip's mouth instantly draw downwards.

"Aww," He starts off with a sad coo. "It's gone now." His small shoulders slouch in disappointment.

How was he and Caleb going to continue their game now?

"Don't worry!" Caleb reassures his little bro, a look of confidence crossing his face. "I'll get it back! I promise. Wait here!" He then rushes into the woods to retrieve their rock.

...

Meanwhile, Belos, without his mask, was wandering aimlessly around in the same woods, his eyes taking in the earthly environment.

The green trees and blue skies said it all - he was back in the human realm. Back in Gravesfield, he assumed, due to the forest feeling familiar.

Home at last, he thought.

But how?

Suddenly, something small and round strikes him on the head.

"Ow!" he yelps, gently rubbing the spot that was hit.

He growls in pure annoyance.

That hurt!

What in heaven's even was that?

Bringing his attention to the brown ground, he spots a pebble and picks it up.

He begins examining it.

Looks like he found his answer, but who was the culprit?

In an instant, his cut ears pick up on the sound of twigs being crunched under feet.

He looks forward.

Someone was approaching.

But who?

Perhaps another human?

When Caleb appeared, he froze. He didn't dare take another step. His eyes widened at what he saw. A witch! A really old one. He looked to be a thousand. Maybe even older.

The blonde couldn't believe it.

The employer's eyes copy Caleb's. Before him was his little big brother. He looked to be about twelve. His shock soon shifts to anger at the boy. Caleb! The name alone made his blood boil. That traitor! That witch lover! How he hated him so.

Belos felt like morphing his arm into something sharp and shoving it through him, but he refrains from doing so. The action remains a thought. This version of his brother hasn't betrayed him yet. The one that did was dead.

Though, that didn't stop the tyrant from sending a glare at the young elder.

As Caleb was deciding in his head to fight or flight, he spots his rock in the witch's hand.

He points a finger at him.

"H-Hey!" he shouts, his voice terribly shaky. Despite his fear, the boy was trying his best to sound brave. He was a witch hunter after all. "That's mine! G-Give it back, you witch!"

Witch? Tch! Philip rolled his eyes.

"This is yours?" Belos asked, holding the pebble up in irritation. Looks like he found his culprit.

"Yes! N-Now give it back right now o-or else!"

Or else? Philip raised a brow at this. Arms are then crossed as chapped lips curl up in a smirk.

This could be fun.

"Or else what?"

Not a word was spoken.

Belos smugly chuckles at this.

"Well, I'm waiting."

Terrible man.

"I'll... I'll... I'll..." Caleb was stumped. What would he do? Could he do anything? As he thinks, the answer suddenly hits him. Aha! >:D He gives the witch a cute, cocky smile.

"I'll snitch by yelling. My screams will get the attention of someone in town. Maybe even a mob. They'll flock in droves here. Once they see you, they'll tie you up and you'll get taken to--"

"The gallows?" Belos rudely interrupts, his smirk spreading. He knows he's right.

Caleb shakes his head. "Not there. You'll probably be tossed in the pyre."

"Pyre?" Philip had to laugh. "Please. Don't be ridiculous. The people of Gravesfield are far too smart to burn their witch hunter general alive."

Witch hunter general? Now it was Caleb's turn to laugh. "Witch hunter generals don't have pointy witch ears," The little elder informs. "They have normal round ears like mine."

Looking at both his ears, Belos begins to realize something. Caleb was right. He goes back to glaring at him.

"Not so funny now, is it?" Caleb snickers, crossing his arms.

Philip narrows his eyes. "You wouldn't dare..."

This only made Caleb's grin grow.

As he's about to scream, a goopy, green hand lunges forth and grabs him.

He squeaks.

When he's brought over to Belos, he felt frightened. Being face-to-face with a witch made the small blonde tremble.

Philip took note of his terrified expression, it looking all too familiar.

...

"Please, Philip, you can't! You mustn't do this!" An adult Caleb begged his little brother as he stood across from him, a knife in hand.

The two were facing off inside a fiery cave as the flames burned strongly, smoke drifting into the atmosphere.

A beyond vexed Philip starts to slowly approach Caleb, his grip tight on his dagger.

He was ready to strike.

The blonde begins to take a step back, his brown eyes filling with tears.

"Please, don't do this..."

...

A sigh at the past memory, pain and grief swelling inside his chest. His grip slowly loosens. When Caleb was released, he was surprised to see the old witch look so... hollow. Like he was lacking something. Someone? Did he... have a family? Nonsense. Witches can't feel sadness, or have families. They weren't human. Was this witch... different? Only one way to find out.

"Mr. Witch, what's wrong?" Caleb would go on to ask, concern in his voice.

"Nothing," Philip grumbles, trying not to tear up.

"Are you sad because you're all alone in the woods? And you're old? And you... smell funny?"

A gasp emits. Belos took great offense at that blatant lie Caleb had said at the end. "I smell just fine!" He shouts, defending his "amazing" scent.

"...You mustn't yell to get your point across. I always tell my brother that," Caleb notifies the senior.

A groan came from Belos. He couldn't believe he of all people was being lectured by a child.

A child who was technically his older brother, but still a child.

"Perhaps you're disheartened because you lost your family." Caleb takes the old man's hand as if he were a child far younger than him. A little brother almost. "Shall we go look for them?"

Belos immediately pulls his hand away. "No," He refuses in a stern, authoritative voice. He was still the adult here. "I don't need some snot-nosed little..." His arm suddenly morphs into slime and falls off. A pressed sigh passes his lips. How fun.

A second squeak left Little Caleb as he saw the limb lying down on the forest floor.

He directs a pointer finger at it.

"I-Is that normal for you!?"

"Unfortunately," Belos murmurs, bending down to pick up his own arm with his free hand. When he fixes it back on, it falls again.

The emperor frowns in frustration at this.

"Looks like you could use a hand." Or rather, an arm in this situation. Caleb was willing to offer just that. He picks up the upper limb. "Hold still," He instructs Belos, who does just that.

Standing on his tippy toes, the blonde sticks the arm back onto the shoulder joint.

The limb manages to reattach, green goo forming back into human skin.

With his upper arm connected, Belos was already begining to feel better. "Thank you," He mumbles, scratching the back of his head as he looks away in slight embarrassment.

This causes Caleb to give him a sunny smile.

"You're welcome! I think you might need to sit down after all that." Coincidentally, the blonde spots two side-by-side stumps close by.

Sitting down on the first stump, Caleb looks to Belos and happily pats the second one.

It was quite obvious what he wanted the old man to do.

As Belos takes a seat beside him on the other stump, he can't but help raise a suspicious brow at the boy.

"I thought you said I smelled funny."

Caleb chuckles before giving an honest answer. "You do."

Philip gave the child a glare. This younger Caleb was being a thorn in his side. One more crass comment about his scent, just one more, and he'll--

"But you also seem harmless. I'm not sure if you're a good witch or a bad witch, but you haven't used your powers to hurt or curse me or take my soul, so... thank you."

His words were genuine as he continued. He then holds out a hand for the old witch to shake. "My name is Caleb," he'd go on to say. "Caleb Wittebane. What's yours?"

Blue eyes glance at Caleb's hand before looking back at him. Belos was reluctant to shake hands and share his real name. His guilt wouldn't allow it.

Instead, he pulls out Caleb's pebble, holding it between his forefinger and thumb.

"Take your rock and leave."

Caleb shakes his head, smiling again. "Actually, you can keep it. Who knows, you might find someone to play catch with... if you're nice enough," he chuckles.

"CALEB, HURRY UP!" A young, impatient voice yells from out of the woods.

The blonde knew who it belonged to. He rose from his seat, turning to Belos. "That was my little brother. I have to go now." Before Little Caleb leaves, he wraps his small arms around the witch.

Eyes closed, he clings to him fondly.

The sudden embrace catches Philip off guard, his eyes wide.

...

Adult Caleb's eyes were closed as he continued to hug the dark figure that was his baby brother, a gentle smile on his face.

"Oh Philip, I'm so happy to see you again..."

...

Letting go, Caleb bids Belos a farewell. "Bye!" The boy beams as he rushes off, leaving the old fart flabbergasted.

...

"There you are!" Little Philip watched as Caleb came back to him safe and sound. "What took you so long? Did you find our rock?"

Caleb gives him a head shake. "Sorry," He says. Despite the white lie, his apology was sincere.

Seeing the sad puppy look appear on Pip's face, the blonde lifts a hand above his head, gently patting it. "Aww, don't be sad."

He shined his sibling a sympathetic smile.

"How about I take you to the pond? They'll be plenty of rocks there. We can even skip a few in the water. Would you like that?"

Such a suggestion greatly excites Philip, his blue eyes gleaming in delight. He liked the sound of that! Quickly nodding his head, Caleb chuckles, taking his hand. "Let's go then."

...

As the two were on their way to Pious Pond, a thought crossed Caleb's mind. The witch. He thought about the hug he gave him. It felt instinctive for some reason.

Would the two ever meet again?

Only time would tell.

...

Inside the Emperor's bedroom, the ruler awoke from his slumber.

He let out a neutral sigh.

It was all just a dream.

[floof-writes]

could you do a fic where hunter returns to belos after hollow mind? i think that hurt no comfort would be very nice

Hi, virusgarden! Thank you for the prompt! I'll be honest, I wasn't super into it at first, about halfway through I was like, "okay, let's be done now" and then half an hour had passed and I was having to tag major character death. I would love to blame you for what's under the cut, but really it's my fault for letting my worldbuilding brain go brr.

Title: "More Weight"

Words: 2050

Warnings: graphic violence and injury description, MCD

Ao3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/43461781

Hunter’s skin stung, every layer and every pore smarting with memories of how unsuited a magickless witch was to the Boiling Isles. His childhood had lent itself to pain and now to resilience as he ran, low hanging branches scraping his face and bloodying his scar because on the Boiling Isles every twig was filed to a point and every leaf had a serrated edge. The dew that flicked off the ferns turned memories to reality, burning harshly, and Hunter had always wondered how rain hurt so much but humidity and morning condensation only harmed those it particularly hated. 

Hunter hadn’t been running from anything in particular at the beginning, but now he could hear his footsteps behind him echoed ten-fold, a dozen doppelgangers doggedly mimicking his every move. He only stopped himself from looking back because he knew he’d see corpses if not bones and that thought terrified him more than not knowing if they were really there. 

A particularly sharp branch sliced his cheek and he stumbled. He'd always been alone in a world designed to kill and hurt and now he was alone with versions of himself who hadn’t survived it. They were walking evidence of what awaited him if he ever returned to the only family he’d ever known, and as he knew now, the only family that had ever been real. 

Something white fluttered out from a crease between his boot and his leggings and before he could even think his next step had stamped it into the ground. Hunter barely had time to blink before he was slamming into the nearest tree trunk, glyph-made vines erupting beneath his feet and launching him sideways. 

He hit the ground hard and gasped. It burned, his skin peppered with the glass that masqueraded as pebbles and pine needles. He jerked his cheek away only to drop it back down as his ribs shifted in and out of place, like a creaky floorboard with a bunch of cracks. He took another panicked breath, trying to process as he registered the hot blood dripping down his arm and the large tear in his sleeve.

Hunter blinked, trying to get the world to come back in focus, his palm burning as he tried to sit up, but in front of him the edges of the spent glyph and its viney creation doubled and overlapped and fuzzed, and his next blink yielded a glimpse of something he shouldn’t be able to see at all. Between the seams of reality were its origins. He saw glyphs, glancing off the glass and shimmering between layers of tree bark, writing the code that made up the universe.

Nothing more wild than that. 

Flapjack was suddenly in front of his face, frantically chirping. Hunter went cross eyed and jerked back, head pounding. He pushed himself upright, throwing an arm out to shove his palisman away along with what he’d just seen. 

He looked, but behind him there were no ghosts, no echoes, no whispers of the Golden Guards long dead. Hunter shivered, grabbing his ribs. His heart was pumping so clearly and so loudly, in the odd, lopsided way it always had because of his missing bile sack (although Hunter supposed it wasn’t so much missing as it was never meant to be a part of him at all. Humans didn’t have bile sacks.)

Hunter didn’t see the ghosts but there was a new hallucination plaguing him now, because the the same glyphs he’d momentarily seen reflected between Flapjack’s feathers had been strung through his own stinging pores, his skin momentarily bearing the distinct lines of smooth palisman wood. 

Hunter hysterically wondered: would his chest sound hollow if he knocked? Had his lopsided heartbeat been the hallucination all along?

His body was as wild as the world around him, more inherently magical than any witch's. He was everything his uncle intended to destroy and no matter how much his body tried to mimic a human’s that wouldn’t change. Even in death his bones would have the dry and cracked texture of dead wood. He was of the Boiling Isles, he lived and died by it's wildest form of magic. 

But dew still burned him like rain. 

Hunter started to sob and Flapjack ceased his frantic hovering to burrow into his chest. Hunter brought up his hands to hold him. His body itself was a betrayal, since birth Hunter had been magic masquerading as magickless, and in retaliation the Titan had revoked his ability to be safe here. 

But through every stinging second, Belos had protected him. When the world itself rejected him, Belos had picked him up and taught him how to survive. And Hunter couldn't keep doing it without him. 

Belos may have killed all the past Golden Guards, but they had something Hunter hadn’t: a choice. They chose to betray Belos, Hunter hadn’t. Hunter was loyal, still and always, and Belos wouldn’t throw away someone- something he’d worked so hard to make. 

Right?

The other Golden Guards had tried to be something they were not- tried to mimic the magic instead of the human, had tried to defy their nature, and look where that had gotten them. There was no point in pretending his origin made him any more magical than Luz the human or Caleb himself. 

Hunter had only one place in the Boiling Isles, and if he needed to, he would beg for it back. 

***

Hunter trembled outside the door. His knees clacked but they didn’t sound like wood. No, they creaked like human knees subjected to sixteen years of hell. 

Flapjack hadn’t stopped trying to tug him further from it the entire way here, but Hunter had ordered him to hide the moment they got on castle grounds. Maybe it had been something in his voice, in his eyes that echoed back a hundred lifetimes, because Flapjack had fled.  

Now alone, Hunter pushed open the door. 

His uncle was hunched over the throne, mask off, breath labored. His head snapped up when he heard the door open, face half gone to the curse in a horrible, animalistic roar before he force it back. “I said not to en-” 

Then he saw who it was. 

Hunter tried to believe the silence was a good thing. He’d never seen his uncle silent before. Never seen him frozen before. When he couldn’t take it anymore he spoke, voice cracking. “Hey.” He cringed, regretting the it immediately. It was a turn of phrase that must've rubbed off on him from spending too much time with Luz and Willow and the team, but it was too late to go back. 

Belos’ expression twitched, head cocking in curiosity, eyes and voice carrying what Hunter could’ve sworn was the slightest hint of amusement and surprise. “Hello, Hunter.” 

Hunter had never had this expression turned on him before, Belos had never been so interested in him. His uncle’s eyes traced over him, cataloging every scrape and every twitch, the way he was holding himself to the way he breathed, calculating. 

“You returned?” Even after all that looking he was still surprised, and Hunter suddenly felt as though he’d done something right. Belos straightened and stepped off the dias, another conclusion ready on his tongue. “And not to confront me?” 

Hunter shook his head. 

“Then why?” Belos’ voice was smooth, curious, soft. He came closer, steps imperceptible beneath his robe. 

Hunter swallowed and dropped to one knee, ignoring the way his entire body shuddered. “Golden Guard reporting for duty, sir.” 

“Are you dense?” Belos asked, words reactive and uncalculated, truly taken aback. 

Hunter grit his teeth. “No sir. Awaiting your orders, sir.” 

“Don’t you want to betray me? The others did.” 

“That was their choice," Hunter said, trying to keep his voice from shaking. "This is mine.” He should’ve left it at that, but he couldn’t stop. “I’m loyal to you, Uncle, I want to continue serving you, I-” 

Belos crouched down in front of him and Hunter flinched to a stop as the man cupped his cheek with one freezing hand, studying his face.

“I killed the others, Hunter,” he explained gently. “Did you come here to die?” It was a genuine question. 

“No sir,” Hunter said, still reeling from the admittance from his mouth, lopsided heart beat threatening to give out. 

“Then for what?” Belos asked, nails brushing Hunter’s bloody cheek as he rose. 

Hunter searched for an answer that would ring true, only finding the courage to speak once Belos’ back was to him. 

“For the truth,” he said, and that surprised him more than anything, took more out of him than the branch that sliced his arm. “Was I ever meant to be anything more than a copy?”

“No,” Belos said, in a tone that prompted him to keep talking. 

“Then the others were stupid,” Hunter said, the words torn from his chest so deep it hurt. “They tried to belong to something they didn’t. The Boiling Isles hate me. I was born- or, I guess made to be a betrayal of it. Made to serve you. Why defy my nature?” 

There was silence, but Hunter didn’t have anything left in his chest to offer up for parts except a lopsided heartbeat that was going far too fast. He was certain his chest would sound hollow now. 

Then Belos laughed, and Hunter’s heartbeat stopped. 

It was genuine, hysterical, full, like he’d just heard something truly funny, and Hunter didn’t get the joke. 

And he just kept laughing.

Hunter finally got enough of himself back to start to stand up when Belos turned, moldy green overtaking his body, the door Hunter had left open a crack slamming shut. Hunter couldn’t make it to his feet before Belos’ limbs had him pinned against the door, feet dangling in the air. He choked in pain, his ribs groaning. 

“Fool,” Belos growled, eyes glowing yellow orange, mouth dripping foam. “There is nothing more in Caleb’s nature than betraying me in favor of a world that wants him dead.” 

Oh titan, he’d fucked up. He’d fucked up. 

Hunter struggled against Belos’ hold but it was no use, the living wood was growing around him, over him, in him, bruisingly tight without regard for their existence as separate beings. It was almost a part of him at this point, and Hunter realized belatedly that at one point it might have been. Oh titan, was Belos trying to reabsorb him?

The wood got tighter and tighter and tighter and Hunter got less and less air until- It cracked, loosening as Belos’ muscles seemed to give out from the strain. Hunter sucked in a desperate breath. 

“Damn, it never works,” Belos groused, and Hunter found himself airborne, thrown across the room by Belos’ creeping limbs. 

He crashed into the throne, now absolutely certain that he had not a single intact rib to his name. His next breath was a cough that came with blood and not just a little either. His chest hurt so bad and he couldn’t breathe but still he pushed himself upright, trying to see straight, past the pain in his head and the way the world was fuzzing. He looked up just in time to see another speeding limb pin him against the throne, Belos’ form becoming more and more wild. 

He hadn’t created Hunter to defy magic. He’d created Hunter to prove his own dominance over it, again and again. 

But this was him losing control. 

Belos squeezed tighter and Hunter found that in the absence of oxygen everything was going quiet, there was ringing in his ears and he couldn’t feel his limbs or anything but the pressure in his head, really. He blinked, failing again to take another breath, and realized the glyphs that wove the fabric of his body matched those of Belos’: palisman wood hiding behind the face of a human. 

Hunter’s head lolled as black spots started to speckle his vision. His gaze landed on the torches lining the room, the glyphs dancing in their flames. His scrabbling fingers slowed to a stop and Hunter's eyes slid shut. 

Belo's suddenly shouted, grip loosening as Flapjack bombarded his face. Hunter gasped in a sudden breath, nearly passing out from the rush anyway. The torches danced in his vision, their symbols sparking cheerily. 

Hunter’s hand twitched, creating a line through the smear of blood on the arm rest, and he didn’t even have time to assign his thought words before Flapjack screamed and Belos’ grip tightened again, crunching his abdomen well beyond repair. 

Maybe Belos was shouting at him still, Hunter didn’t know. He didn't spare the man's seething face another glance. He was focused on the glyphs in the torch to his left, dragging his finger through his blood as carefully as he could manage. 

‘There is nothing more in Caleb’s nature than betraying me in favor of a world that wants him dead.’

Hunter tapped the glyph. It barely yielded a spark, but it was enough. His hand lit. Then Belos' nearest limb Maybe Hunter screamed as the flames spread across his chest and down Belos' arm. He couldn't really hear much beyond the crackling of burning wood. 

Who needs a stake, after all, when the witches double as the tinder?

[jess-the-vampire]

Sooooo whatya think of the new episodeee?

Oh it’s definitely my favorite episode of the series so far, i was having such a good time at every turn. I’m glad i went out of my way to avoid spoilers, cause i was glad to actually be surprised by some elements on first watch.

I think this had by far the best opening for an episode so far, we finally get back to the villians, we meet the coven heads, we get insight on belos’s plans-

and then belos gets constipated, which starts getting into the more character driven lore, which is the best part. You instantly can tell GG and Kiki have some bit of tension between them to be Belo’s favorite, though granted i wonder if hunter is the only one to know belos is cursed and actually just always insists to help belos with his fits to prevent others from seeing them.

Including kiki.

It’s honestly unclear how aware anyone is that belos is cursed, like him eating pailsmans is apparently not something he hides, but like....i feel him being cursed is something that people would know universally if it got out...so i’m left wondering if anyone knows besides hunter.

Regardless, belos turns into a goop monster with an angry side, and i guess his mask doesn’t transform with him compared to the rest of his body so he breaks it again because i guess he goes though masks like crazy.

Hunter turns away in this scene from his outburst and even though he’s masked here i can already tell he’s most likely pained in these scenes. Like he’s probably seen this happen so many times, and i can’t imagine it gets any easier for him, it’s probably awful to watch belos suffer like this for him (Regardless of the abuse)

And to be honest, it seems pretty painful for him, i think this ep seems to at least confirm whatever this thing is that takes over belos’s body.....belos never actually wanted it in the first place. 

Yeah so after Hunter tells belos there’s not enough trees to medicate him anymore, we’re hit with the “UNCLE”. Which, when i first watched it i needed a second to even process the fact they confirmed their relation.

and i was like “CLOSE ENOUGH”, not his kid but uncle still works just fine for me, i’m just happy my assumption they were related actually came to ahead.

And i rewatched this episode a few times, and on second watch i realized more what happened in this scene. Hunter was talking about his interest in wild magic, and making more pailsman to help belos, and some method that could heal him and as soon as belos looked at him he instantly shut down.

He was clearly rambling about wild magic cures for belos because of his interest in it, and then suddenly remembered his uncle hates wild magic and felt super awkward.

It seems highly likely his interest in wild magic came from trying to cure belos and spending a lot of time reading up on the stuff. 

And then we get hit with the whole “Our family is dead because of wild magic” line, which.....i’m curious to know what happened there. But it does at least explain why belos feels how he does, if wild magic both killed his family beside hunter AND cursed him in the first place. We’re just gonna need more info on what exactly happened.

Also while Belos is def abusive and does not treat hunter how he should, this scene actually does read off to me like belos does care about hunter to some degree. If belos is cursed and his curse works in similar ways to how Eda’s curse works, then it’s worth reminding ppl that eda mentions early this season how stress can amplify the curse even more.

And sure enough, belos goes goopy on hunter’s shoulder all of a sudden when he grasps him. Which could be considered a sign of stress and that the idea of hunter dying or being in danger actually does stress him.

You could very much also assume this is just due to his curse not being fully handled and just getting worse, or that belos only cares about hunter for selfish reasons....but i’m not taking anything off the table here.

Belos can still be a shitty uncle, and still care about hunter, these aren’t mutually exclusive traits. But we need more episodes for now on this.

But anyways he asks hunter if he can rely on him, kiki is pissed......and we move on.

So i’m glad luz’s impulsiveness is addressed a ton in this episode, they actually bring up a lot of good points. That luz has no plan, that the time she’s spending here might render moot if she goes back to earth, ect ect.

Hunter even calls her out a lot later for not thinking things through, it’s a whole deal in this episode. I’m glad it was brought up cause it’s actually worth asking a lot of these things.

the set up here works, they actually made a good reason for why a pailsman didn’t bond with her. Speaking of which the adoption thing is cute and i love it, it’s a great idea. The designs are all very cute and fun.

Bump face reveal was a lot for me to process, but i find the idea of his pailsman being a pet that can help with his disabilities a good idea.

Also like, i did find it odd that they got staffs so early because we’ve never seen kids their ages with them before, but i guess it’s a new tradition? Does everyone at hexside now have one?

Honesty not sure why batqueen left the nest there overnight, i meant i guess she assumed they were safe with that shield but in context i dunno why she didn’t take them home after the school day was over.

but whatever, luz stays there overnight hoping  a pailsman will bond with her and GG just kidnapps them cause of pure luck on his part a bunch of pailsman were in a vulnerable spot tonight.

So GG continues to be charming, by whistling the theme song and then being blasted off his ship hilariously, before cockily teleporting himself right back on it seconds later. Like he and luz have great banter, he’s so extra like this it’s so funny, and god he’s so FAST with that staff it’s scary but so awesome.

Yeah so then hand dragon crashes them and i was so excited cause it meant face reveal. Poor dude looked so in pain and then we find out kiki tried to effing murder him because of course she did. But like, i think killing your boss’s nephew is the WORST way to get a promotion tbh.

(Also i got confused for a bit cause his mask has always been drawn as a mask, but now it’s a helmet in this scene for whatever reason but-)

Anyways, face reveal, Like honestly ppl weren’t too far off with their guesses, really the only thing people didn’t get was the tooth gap (That was fair tho, we couldn’t have guessed that). But it did make him even cuter.

like the banter is funny, he licks her hand, she slaps him, he looks SO pissed at her for this mess.

and i guess that outfit is his under armor apparently.

He’s lucky she didn’t run away immediately and followed him, but maybe he assumed she would since she had no where else to go.

Also his expressions in this ep are glorious, these had to be fun to draw.

Also we find out that the coven team members have never seen his face i guess? They just assume he’s a silly kid and are awful to him, so i guess he’s not only the youngest member of the coven but he never really shows his face much.

(”Call your parents”, ha ha.....whose gonna tell them who his uncle is?)

He is however, REALLY good at parkour and he’s fast even without his staff, so he’s well trained alright.

And then they reveal he’s not magical and i was SO happy cause i was so sure something was up when he wasn’t doing magic like the other witches despite his pointy ears. So they outright confirmed what i thought.

Hunter is pretty smart tho, like he can tell luz wouldn’t hurt him and wouldn’t flee so he knows he has the high ground here. Like he might be being a bit of a dick, but to be fair luz has been nothing but a dick to him throughout the whole episode (Everyone in this episode has been a dick to him tbh)

They team up and i get excited cause i love this kinda stuff and it gets more wholesome because hunter is super interested in her magic, he thinks it’s cool and you can tell how much he actually loves wild magic but then again...shuts himself down because of belos making him fear the stuff.

An then because luz asks, he tells her his backstory.

honestly with how this world treats people who aren’t magically powerful, living and growing up in a world that would find you useless sounds....awful. Hunter must be an anomaly around here, human blood or not.

Luz coming here to learn is different then growing up in a world and being the only one with no abilities and no future without them. Belos provides him with magic and a future, it’s no wonder he stays with him despite everything.

the whole “Found me” thing is weird, cause belos implies they’re blood related and hunter makes it sound like belos semi-adopted him. Which....if he did i dunno why “Uncle” and not “Adopted dad”, but ok....guess that’s for later.

Apparently hunter is important for something tho with the “Titan has big plans for me” thing, not sure what, but-

But yeah as soon as Hunter talked about wanting to make his own future and Rascal tried to land on him i knew EXACTLY where this was going, it was so cuteeeeee. The lil birb wanted to be with hunter, that’s so wholesome.

And he’s so terrified because of belos and what wild magic did to him, the poor bab.

But yeah, luz then trusts him with his staff back, because again....impulsive. But hunter does actually ask if she’s sure, so he might as well be asking if she trusts him.

The plan goes ahead, and hunter nearly betrays her.

though granted, hunter never promised her he’d stop and let her take them away, the truce was supposed to last till kiki was stopped and they were gonna fight out who got the pailsman. But it does bother luz cause she was hopeful he was better then this.

But just like he did before, she calls him out and he doesn’t betray her, because he’s ALSO too nice to do it, just like he said she was. He says his name (Which also took a moment to process), and then beats the crap out of kiki while letting luz get away and protecting her like a badass.

He might not have magic, but he’s good at fighting

like he can easily teleport to luz and take the pailsman, but he doesn’t, he lets them get away and luz knows this. Even though she also knows hunter has to go back to the emperor too and they have to separate.

It’s only slightly bitter terms, because in the end he came through for her and she knows it.

honestly, the worst part is i can’t even be mad at hunter for it, i’m sure he was terrified to fail belos. Both because he loves him and doesn’t want him to suffer....but also because of well...being punished. Really says something when his near betrayal doesn’t even make me mad at him, and i can understand why he nearly did it.

He let her go, knowing he’d be in SERIOUS trouble and that it would hurt someone he actually loves, so....ouch.

so yeah at this point i knew rascal wanted him so it was only of matter of what happened next.

Which was, luz getting the wood, which i like more anyway. Eda and King doing this offscreen and coming home like this is actually very funny, and honestly i appreciate the message of it being ok to wait.....means a lot to me.

yeah so belos is like...being an ass, like the kid tried his hardest, you don’t need to hit him with the “Is this the thanks i get?”. He’s a kid and he’s trying to cure you you dick, give him a break he doesn’t remotely have to help you like this.

Also apparently belos has not even told hunter HOW this happened, like...dude. Hunter is trying to be entirely reasonable here and belos spikes at him, which does imply some physical abuse though the only reason hunter doesn’t get a new scar is because he moves.

but how he reacts implies this has happened before, he is bracing for impact and he flinches. It’s pretty sad tbh, especially since hunter loves him and belos’s respect means something to him.

Belos is such an idiot, like c’mon dude, hunter is trying to help you and you don’t listen to him you dick. Kid shouldn’t have to say sorry for anything he did nothing wrong, he was just trying to help.

Anyways, he gloats at kiki (So at the very least she knows what he looks like under the mask), which he deserves a chance to do anyway. So i guess he didn’t rat her out for trying to kill him, personally my guess why is blackmail.....he was gonna hold it over her head to keep her from doing it again and threaten to tell belos.

But kiki quickly tells he LET the pailsman get away since he was the one to fight her (Curse his cute loose hair strand). So i guess now they have dirt on each other, so that’s fun.

His room is adorable, though the med kit by the bed is concerning.

Rascal comes for him and it;s so cute....though you can tell hunter nearly hurts him on instinct because of force of habit, but it’s so cute how he cares and how the birb loves him and is his new staff.

it was well hinted to as well, it’s so subtle, but the bird being cheery, curious, and his constant habit of escaping boundaries was perfect for hunter. He represents what hunter wants to be and why they got matched is done so well, all without explaining anything.

Hunter indirectly stated his deepest wish, to make his own choices, and rascal resonated with that. 

can’t wait to see where this goes.

great ending shot, love me some conflicted shots looking out of windows like trapped birds.

also this title was a pun the whole time i can’t-

[lilyclawthorne]

Separate Tides Thoughts

HAPPY SEASON 2 PREMIERE DAY!!

This is literally just a bunch of very stream of consciousness writing, from pretty much every time i had a thought about something while rewatching the episode so it may be messy/all over the place

my immediate concern about these videos luz is sending that aren’t going through, is what if the emperor does manage to even briefly open a portal?? would all of her messages suddenly go through only to not be able to contact again?? and maybe that’s why it kinda looks like a detective/conspiracy board behind camila in the trailer because she has plenty of information from luz herself that she now needs to piece together. 

completely unimportant detail but i figured lilith’s gem was like eda’s, in how eda’s gem seems to be a part of her, but we can see in luz’s video that it seems to be attached to lilith’s old dress so just what the fuck is up with eda having a gem in her body 

also the fact that they decided to be bounty hunters was odd to me, but it’s clear they really need the money. it was also clear later on that not only did eda not want luz to go after the selkidomus to keep her safe, but also because it was an innocent creature. part of me can’t help but wonder if internally a part of eda didn’t want to go after bigger bounties because having once been the biggest bounty herself, she knows that if the emperor wants them that badly then they may actually not be bad at all

i hate that last season everyone was cheering for eda to be freed, but now without magic they’re very willing to take advantage of her and talk about her. it’s mean and i expected public gossip to happen more for lilith for being a traitor, but then again people may not know about her magic yet so maybe they do still fear her a bit. all of this kinda tells me though that people bought belos’ crap about eda being stripped of her magic because she’s a wild witch, so they’re all judging her again

i love how bitter lilith is about the golden guard. also teen? kinda curious if any of our teens would’ve known him when very young or if he was raised specifically for this role

i like the detail on belos’ statue where there’s a crack over his eye around the same spot luz broke his mask

love how much eda cares for luz and puts her needs first and buying her the only foods she can digest and likes. such a mom. it’s also very clear that she’s struggling and doesn’t want luz to worry about it at all. also side note, love that lilith was asking about apple blood, pls let these sisters get drunk together.

it does not surprise me that eda likes to bring up the curse pretty casually as a retort back at lilith. it seems very in her nature to use it like that, but i can’t help but wonder if she’s avoiding actually addressing it. and if she keeps joking, will that affect lilith into like, idk a breakdown that forces the two of them to talk about it. 

LULU?? BESTIE?? thanks hooty i hate it

Luz you’re doing amazing sweetie, show them you’re no sea squirt. 

okay so now we can clearly see lilith’s magic is on it’s last legs. almost got herself fucking killed by some fire bees. that being said i’m very concerned about her whole “who am i without magic? without a coven?” i think she kinda misses the structure, and is still used to only knowing what to do simply because she had a leader to follow. 

“I AM A WITCH, UNHINGED” i think she’ll be adapting to the chaotic nature of the owl house crew in no time though if she keeps acting like this

“some kind of weird bird worm” i mean she’s not wrong....

“you have no idea what im going through” dramatic emo ass bitch

it does not surprise me that after pardoning eda, the coven would jump at the first opportunity to arrest her again. pretty sure she’ll be a wanted criminal again in no time.

golden guard very much concerns me. villains that go from really fun to intimidating or threatening as fast he seems to do here are ones i worry about. it kinda feels like he enjoys scaring people?? idk im not sure how to describe it. anyways threatening to hold them over the boiling seas where even the steam will give them third degrees feels really fucking cruel but maybe im empathizing here because at the time of writing this im still suffering from second degree burns i got three weeks ago so third degree sounds horrifying rn

love how excited lilith is seeing hooty at work when she’s not the one getting beaten up. 

I’m glad luz and eda are talking about luz’s guilt and that eda knows what she’s been carrying around now. i didn’t want to see luz carry around all that guilt for so long she’s too good for that AND its misplaced guilt. 

i do love though how at the beginning of the episodes we see the lengths eda will go to by prioritizing food for luz first and doing everything she can to keep the girl safe, and then we come back full circle to seeing the lengths luz is willing to go to for eda as well 

“my life is pretty great because i’m friends with luz the human” brb im CRYING.

Luz is SO clever. This girl is so smart and creative and her solution for helping the selkidomus is just wonderful. And also look at that fake selkidomus she made!! That is amazing!!

pls the raspberry Luz gave the golden guard was adorable

i LOVE the parallel between eda doing her first light glyphs and when luz did her first ones. i’m also glad eda didn’t struggle with the glyph like i’ve seen some people worry could have happened

just occurred to me that eda mentioned the gris will sell at the night market. its probably nothing but does make me concerned about them becoming night market vendors instead.

HOOTCIFER? thanks lilith i hate it. also combine it with lulu and you get lucifer. 

it’s hard to hear but as we go further into the scrying potion and see the emperor, and the very end of the “what are we eating” conversation that’s fading out from the owl house we hear lilith say “i’m fine with whatever, things are starting to feel right again” and idk if she means since she left the coven or for the first time since she was a kid but either way im so glad to hear it

also my brother pointed out belos is probably saying “knock knock human” because he knows he’s being spied on by the owl house with the potion and i hate that because if the emperor takes any action because of it, it’ll probably be another lilith fucked up moment because she didn’t think it through.

also, one other thing i couldn’t help but do in this episode was notice some parallels between luz and lilith! they’re both going out of their way to try and do something for eda, and are both insistent that they have to do this alone. but also lilith’s line about “you have no idea what im going through” really did make me think perhaps underneath everything she has a dramatic personality, and luz does too at times for fun and wouldn’t it be cute if they got along over something like that.

also this episode? great for pictures of lilith with messy hair, of her screaming, or general annoyance, so, enjoy:

pls i love this face and the noise she makes at this moment as well as her little ear twitch ^

this is my favorite messy hair screenshot  simply because it looks SO fluffy here and i want that for her ^

this particular screenshot ain’t about lilith, it’s about the face eda is making here and how cute it is!! ^

[pandoratheprocrasticreator]

like hunter was purposely going to drown himself right. thats a thing that happened in the episode right. people are saying because belos took over and jumped in the water after the titan’s blood it means hunter wasn’t trying to drown himself but like. what else did he expect belos to do?

hunter said he didn’t want belos to hurt anyone else. throwing the titan’s blood into the water was to keep him from going back to the boiling isles. but if hunter didn’t expect belos to jump in after it then in his mind belos would just be angry from that, while his friends are nearby for him to attack. hunter is smart. he knows how desperate belos would be to get what he wants. so the way i see it hunter threw the titan blood in the water knowing belos would go after it, and tried to drown belos to keep him from hurting the others.

and like. hunter is a child soldier. he definitely knows how to swim. we even see him hanging around in the water in the season 2 premiere. and belos has been adventuring for centuries there’s no way he figured out how to turn someone to stone before learning how to swim. not to mention if he didn’t know how to swim jumping into the water after the blood was a really bad idea lmao (not that phillip doesn’t have a track record of bad ideas) so i feel like hunter was more active in trying to drown belos

like belos jumped into the water and immediately started drowning but no people can hold their breath for a long time. and hunter was already fighting for control at that point so it seems like to me that hunter waited until belos jumped in and took over and breathed in a bunch of water to drown him. ofc they had to keep it ambiguous because this is a show on disney channel but how quickly belos started drowning plus hunter’s whole monologue about how he wanted to have a happy life but defeating belos was more important really screams that this was all on purpose.