Thinking about how they could’ve gone for a personal connection between Belos and Luz like there is 90% of the time in this genre but their relationship is entirely made by interacting with each other rather than fate or destiny. And it’s so neat because Luz is the actor, she’s defining how this is going to go and what she’s going to do. I think Hunter is so popular because he has that element of fate and tragedy to him and his character is so loaded and he has a lack of agency which makes us want to root for him but… Luz is the hero, not because she’s got the close relationship with the villain but rather because she makes the choice to go up against him because he threatened her family. There’s also regret in how she deals with him too because despite Belos choosing how he responds to her he manages to shift blame onto her (especially with how she blames herself for Hunter almost dying bc of her actions despite the fact that Belos put them in that situation In the first place) because she has the agency to try and stop him. And I think that’s cool, it’s a different kind of angst. Not to remove Hunter’s agency at all. But I think when people complain that his relationship with Belos is more interesting than Luz’s, they’re missing the point that Luz is the protagonist not bc of Who she is but rather What she does. Eda makes it clear to Luz that if you wait to be chosen, you’re going to wait the rest of your life, it’s your actions that matter. Luz’s agency in the story is so important. She’s not special. She’s important because she CHOSE to go to the Boiling Isles, she CHOSE to fight for her home and she CHOSE to be the hero, whether good or bad.