#trying to survive the collector's 'games' as they heal from everything Belos has done

[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.