I’d like to be able to call Philip an idiot for putting Glyphs, which consume the thing they’ve been drawn on, onto his own body, but I have to admit, that had I been him I would’ve either:
A) Have gotten Curious and drawn them on myself to see what would happen
B) Wanted to know if putting Glyphs on myself would give me magic, and would have done it despite all of the obvious risks (I know it’s stupid but It’s for science and maybe the slightest bit of curiosity)
or
C) Absentmindedly doodling on my arm, deciding to draw a glyph. Which is quite possibly the dumbest way to get yourself cursed
Kikimora heard Emperor Belos speaking about his plans for the day of unity with The Collector. To the point that she knew EXACTLY what The Collector was.
Kikimora witnessed first hand Belos discarding children that were hyper loyal to him and replacing them without batting an eye. To the point that she knew where their remains were.
Kikimora knew that the Coven Sigils could be used AGAINST those that had them. To the point that she could wield that magic.
AND KNOWING ALL OF THIS THE BITCH DECIDED TO REMAIN LOYAL????????
TO THE POINT THAT WHEN BELOS TOLD HER TO FIND A HOLE TO ROT IN SHE DID EXACTLY THAT??!?
Holy shit, I know I should feel bad cause Im sure there are underlying reasons for desiring praisal so bad.
But you cannot fucking tell me that a part of it also wasn’t the benefits that came from being part of the oppresors circle perpetuating the cycle of oppression.
Kikimora had more information on Belos than anyone else on the Isles, shit, she might have even figured out that his name was Phillip and he was a human but she was too fucking happy running The Emperors Coven to give two shits.
She got comfortable placing the boot on everyones neck that forgot she also had one on hers.
Something I’ve been trying to figure out - if she knew about this pit with all the Golden Guards remains, if she knew how he discarded the “failures”, how could she WANT to be a Golden Guard?
Maybe she believed that she couldn’t fail, not like all the other Golden Guards and Hunter had.
Maybe the one thing she didn’t know, was that the golden guards and Hunter are grimwalkers of Belos’ dead brother and she simply thought that they were recruited people.
Recruits, who outshone her by being the golden guards.
Also keep in mind that shes been watching for so long. Shes been watching each of these children fail over and over again, so shes probabbly taken note of what their failures were and learned about them.
But again, he forgets that at the end of the day it doesnt matter. Your proximity to the oppresor will not save you when push comes to shove.
[ID: Two drawings based off Belos’ memories from The Owl House. The first one is child Philip and his brother in a dull brown color palette. They’re standing in front of trees, smiling and holding sticks. Philip looks eager and exited. His brother’s face is scribbled out, but you can still see him smiling. The second image is in a color palette consisting of dark reddish-purples, and bright orange and yellows. His brother is standing in a defensive pose, holding a knife to the side, and his hand up in front of him, as if not wanting to fight. His expression looks upset. Fire and smoke fill the background behind him. End ID]
Belos encourages it, of course, but the way Zev did it was…dangerous, he felt. Zev was passionate about this world, about the Titan, in ways that Belos had never even really been able to completely fake. He really, really believed in the stuff Belos said - that the Titan watched over them, that it cared for them, but he had an irritating tendency to extend that to other things.
Plantmorepalistromwood, Zeventien would say, the ecosystem needs it, we are the Titan’s gravekeepers and we need to be kind to our parent’s final resting place.
As if Belos had ever cared about the final ecological health of this den of devilry and sin. He resolved to make the next Golden Guard - if there was one, he added unconvincingly - less loyal to the Titan and more loyal to him specifically. He would get it right in the end.
(You weave abominations beautifully, Zeventien told Darius. It’s a sacred art, you know. You do your teachers proud.)
(If there is one thing that Darius regrets - and there is many - it is that in death Zeventien stands frozen in stone in Belos’s hall, instead of returned to the earth he so loved, that he was willing to die for.)
what i’m worried most about is Hunter’s sense of identity, and how for the entirety of his existence it was so fully determined by Belos’ manipulation and abuse. he literally cannot conceive of a life that is not of use to his abuser -> if he cannot be of service he might as well just die. he barely has anything inhis life other than his duty as the Golden Guard, and the purpose he was told he had in the grand scheme of the entire world
i cannot even begin to comprehend how much is going through his mind right now, and do not know how able he would be to process the overwhelming degree of Belos’ mistreatment, how much he’d be able to actually Rightfully blame Belos for. so i’m just really dreading the possibility of him processing some of this immense traumatizing revelation by instead absorbing the idea that there is something wrong with him, not the man who’d hurt him and every prior incarnation of him for centuries. that, knowing that every other Grimwalker that came before him ended up betraying the man he’d learned to be so, so loyal to, that the original person he “comes” from did the same, Hunter will internalize it as being, cosmically, a failure. that in his eyes, he is just another failed attempt at the end of a long chain of failed attempts, with, undoubtedly, some fatal flaw that makes him unable to just do what he’s here for, to ever properly serve any real purpose
so yeah, can’t begin to explain how glad i am his world finally started expanding beyond just his service to Belos just in time for ALL OF THIS to happen. especially with his deep connection to Flapjack, a creature with a real, living soul that, like Hunter, was made instead of born, but still needs and deserves to be handled with love and care, instead of being used and then discarded
You know what I noticed now that I’ve reflected on this episode?
If all the previous Golden Guards didn’t last as long as the current one, and Hunter is 16, how old were all the other Golden Guards when they betrayed Phillip? Like, was there a 11 year old Golden Guard that didn’t follow orders well enough, so Phillp just killed him off even though, you know, it’s a kid and kids dont naturally work as soldiers??
I’m also super curious about the ages of the previous Guards, but I’m gonna say no here because Hunter has stated that he was the youngest witch ever to be given the title. None of the Guards necessarily started as infants. Hunter might even have started younger than the rest.
Also I just want to say like I actually LOVE the dynamic with the collector and belos? Like something about that ~childish but everyone knows they’re the more powerful one~ and ~serious evil old man~ combo gets me every time like it’s SO effective and brings out some really great contrasts!
I really just can’t wait to see more of the collector in general like they just seem really interesting already and the way they’re being portrayed immediately makes me want to know more-
Effed-up Prospero and Ariel vibes. Oberon and Puck vibes.
Summary: The first time that Phillip makes a grimwalker of his brother, it dies before it ever takes a breath- screaming itself to death in the darkness. The second time, it fully forms and does, actually, take a breath. And then it dies.
Try, try again, they say, and Phillip Wittebane keeps making and killing clones of his brother until he finally makes one that he’s sure he can control.
This one hurts. Bravo.
CW for death, suicide, toxic family dynamics, manipulation, and everything that comes with Belos.
