#Eda Raises Two Gods AU

[violetjedisylveon]

I'm working on an animatic for my toh au rn, I thought this frame was funny so here

[luminoushane]

I just saw your "Amity raised by Lilith AU" and now I really want to know more.

What's going on with the other Blights, if Lilith had to take Amity where are the twins?

What was Amity's life in the castle like? Did Lilith send her to Hexside and if so is she still friends with Willow?

What's Amity's relationship with Raine and Darius (and by extension Lilith's) like?

How about other people in the EC like Steve? Does Amity know Hunter and share Lilith's animosity with him and view him as a rival (queue "rival jealousy" from Luz) or are they friends?

Does Belos take advantage if Amity's presence in the castle to manipulate Lilith?

How does parenthood change Lilith and her view of Hunter?

Not a question but I also have this image if a tiny (4 or 5 yr old Amity) in a baby carrier thing on Lilith's chest when she goes to arrest Eda, and then Eda turning around to reveal King in a similar baby carrier on her chest. (Queue Spider-Man pointing name and mutual aunt realizations)

Haha, I get asked these a lot too, and I had a few tweets explaining is messily, but let's get this organized in the much better site, shall we?

• Amity was taken shortly after her birth. Prior to her arrival, Alador had already gotten sick of Odalia's mistreatment of him and in extension, the twins. He takes Amity away, pays a few healers to keep it a secret, and (with much hesitation) calls up Darius. He practically begs him to take Amity away from them, and even though Darius CLEARLY still doesn't like Alador, he just has a soft spot for kids. He takes Amity and Odalia is under the impression that Amity had died.

Now, remember, with this in mind, Odalia and the twins DON'T know her existence. If you ask me WHY Lilith ended up with Amity instead of with Darius, I'd tell you that Darius let her watch over her and she came back with adoption papers bc god forbid she has impulse control.

The twins are not aware of Amity's existence (at least until later) and neither is Odalia, but not for long. Alador is still trying to figure out how he can get himself and his two other children out without Odalia realizing. Lilith tries to keep it a secret. Amity's aware she's adopted though lol.

• Amity was practically raised in the castle. She learned to walk there 😭 Imagine a little Amity taking her first steps and the coven guards just cooing over her in the hallway. Like that. When she got older, she was allowed to go back to Darius' house alone (Lilith does not have a house and Darius is kind of like a guardian to her too, so...)

She personally prefers to stay in the castle though.

And no, Amity doesn't go to Hexside.

She's in St. Epiderm! You have to understand, Odalia's part of the Student Creature Association in Hexside, and Lilith CANNOT risk having her find out about Amity. Raine had her enrolled in their old school so she doesn't accidentally come across Odalia. Willow DOES know about her, but thinks she's some spoiled girl who gets a bit too competitive. (They become friends later on!)

• Raine and Darius are her secondary guardians! Kind of like how Uncles and Aunties work. Darius doesn't hold any bitterness towards her for being Alador's child. If anything, it's making him want to rebel more because Amity and Hunter, who are just two children, are being forced into the castle by circumstances they can't control. He can't wait to take them both back home and give them a better life than what the castle has to offer.

He sees Amity as his little sunshine, though you couldn't pay him to admit that to ANYONE. That's his baby, he raised her too ❤️.

Raine was a bit late addition to the parent trio. Though they didn't hesitate to help out if needed. They usually were the one to watch over a hyperactive 4 year old Amity and an equally active 6 year old Hunter during their time as an apprentice to the Bard Covenhead. Amity also talked to Raine about Luz, who she was "feeling funny about" (she is falling so hard) and Raine was watching in amusement.

And y'know. Lilith is her mom. Lilith doesn't get much free time, but she's dedicated it to taking care of Amity as much as she can. Amity is her heart, she could absolutely not take the idea that she could get hurt. She's trying to give her all the attention and love she wished she had gotten from Gwendolyn.

• HUNTER HATRED?? NOOO...!

Do not even suggest such a thing!

But in all seriousness, she grew up with him! Of course she doesn't hate him!

They see each other as siblings, though none of them have admitted it out loud. Hunter gets a bit sad when he sees Amity with Emira and Edric ("Her real family") and Amity was quick to get that thought off. He was her family too. The two of them are fairly close, both having grown up in the castle. On occasion, Amity sneaks him some snacks and books and stuff he can do on his free time whenever her was on shifts.

They had a MAJOR fallout by the end of season 1 (which I will not disclose yet), so you can imagine how absolutely rage-fueled their duel in Eclipse Lake was in this AU.

• And YES, HE DOES. Belos is a manipulative asshole we all know that. In addition, he does NOT like Amity. He took one look at her, with her brown hair, pointy ears and golden eyes and was reminded of a certain witch 400 years ago. It doesn't help that she likes to hang around with Hunter, either. Belos being haunted by the past because of two gay kids in his castle is so funny to me actually. He constantly holds Amity safety over Lilith's head because he knows how desperate she is to keep her daughter safe.

• And finally. Hunter and Lilith's relationship is much complicated in this AU. She realizes he's just as much of a child as Amity is. She doesn't really have this "animosity" towards him, especially since she takes care of him like Darius does (in secret).

-

So anyways! Don't be afraid to ask more, I like getting questions! And yes, Lilith does, in fact, bring baby Amity along when she goes on missions to capture Eda. Amity likes her Auntie Eda, goes over to the Owl House and plays with King if she can. Eda doesn't really mind her randomly popping up in her house lol.

[polyhexian]

Eda refers to the Martlet as Marty. I feel like Jasper would find this endearing. Idk if they're friends (does Jasper even HAVE friends in this AU? sad) but they'd at least be running in the same circles. Casual acquaintances who appreciate each other's work. They exchange idle chit-chat in the night market.

If anyone figures out who the Martlet is before Jasper makes his identity known, it's Luz. She's smart, she's genre-savvy, she still low-key thinks she's in a fantasy story (lol), and she IMMEDIATELY clocks the Martlet as 1) Having a mysterious identity, 2) Having a mysterious BACKSTORY, 3) Being low-key sad, like, ALL the time despite his cheerful badass persona, clearly he is HIDING INNER PAIN, 4) HE'S GOT A SERIOUS SOFT SPOT FOR KIDS AND AN APPARENTLY-PERSONAL HATRED FOR BELOS, THIS IS NOT ADDING UP TO ANYTHING NICE, 5) It is entirely possible she gets a glimpse of his Emperor's Coven sigil at some point.

It's not a priority for her to figure the guy out, and it'd take a while for her to collect all the pieces to the puzzle. But after meeting Hunter she pesters Lilith for information about the Golden Guard, which leads to talk of the old one, so she knows Jasper existed. She knows Hunter is an orphan being raised by an Evil Emperor, which is just…welp, there are stories that go like that and they ALWAYS involve parental drama. She sees the Martlet and Hunter fight and notes that Marty's not as antagonistic as he could be.

…Bahaha, I have no idea how to make the timeline on THIS concept make sense, cuz she doesn't know Belos = Philip until Hollow Mind and who knows how that episode would even go down in this AU, BUT imagine her cornering Jasper like "ARE YOU CALEB WITTEBANE???" and Jasper just. fucking losing it. XD

(Does Jasper know Belos's name is Philip? Does he know the surname Wittebane? Does he even know he's human? Or does he put two and two together when he catches Luz watching an echomouse journal entry? Does he get just as interested in the journal as she is, but his interest is more morbid curiosity?)

Once Luz figures things out, or once things come out, she is just, like. Unholy screeching. OH MY GOD IT'S LIKE A REVERSE DARTH VADER SITUATION.

"Human," Hunter says, infinitely tired, "WHAT are you talking about?"

"Huh, yeah, it kinda is," Eda muses.

Jasper says that bullshit "people like me don't survive stories like this" line exactly one time around Luz and she is NOT having it. NUH-UH. NO SIR. You are NOT allowed to become a sacrificial father figure immediately after being reunited with your son! Her insistence on this is only PARTIALLY due to her own paternal loss trauma, it is also very much fueled by her love of storytelling! She drags out a whiteboard and does an impromptu presentation on TROPES and CHARACTER ARCS! She gasps as she realizes - it's not HUNTER'S redemption arc that's the big one here, it's JASPER'S. He's been riding a redemption arc for 16 years! You don't just kill off a character after that kind of development! Everyone knows Redemption Equals Death happens, like, IMMEDIATELY after the Heel-Face Turn, we are WAY past that threshold! Jasper is kinda overwhelmed but appreciates her optimism.

YEASSSSS

He doesnt have FRIENDS.... but he knows people. Like he works with the CATTs fairly often. He probably shows up to meetings and stuff and hangs around. People KNOW him. He probably does know eda, they're very similar and both hate Belos. He's cagey and he's not going to reveal much but I imagine there's been a time or two he's gotten seriously injured and it's her doorstep he shows up on. He might work with the CATTs but he doesn't trust them. He feels in his bones a trust for eda. She won't turn him in, she won't pull his mask off or tear his identity from him. She'll annoy him sure. But she won't MAKE him do anything. So once in a blue moon he shows up bloody and miserable on her doorstep to ask for help. He stays the night and he's gone by morning. He probably leaves something as a thank you. Maybe some stolen snails. Maybe a stolen owl beast potion. Potion ingredients. Whatever he has.

Luz ABSOLUTELY clocks his shit IMMEDIATELY. The only thing is she doesn't know about Grimwalkers. She's missing info on the golden guards. But it's obvious he's Hunter's dad and it's obvious Hunter doesn't know that. So she thinks like... maybe he escaped Belos but left Hunter behind... but like he is still his like biological dad. She thinks he left Hunter behind and is filled with guilt.

It's not until he is unconscious on Camila's couch and she knows what Grimwalkers are that she's like... putting the pieces together

AND ABSOLUTELY SHES ON THE "NO MOTHRRFUCKER YOU DONT GET TK DIE TRAGICALLY NOW"

[crimeronan]

Would Empress Luz (once things are cleared up with Raine and Darius via mindscape trauma adventures) want to try reuniting with Camila via portal? I can see things re her and Vee and everything else coming to light (if Vee could even keep up the illusion that long) being very interesting/traumatising. Both for Luz, Vee and Camila and for Hunter and the rest of her newer adoptive family (Raine, Darius and Eda. I'd hope there'd eventually be a happy ending to it, but it would take some work.

ooh i actually do have an answer for this one!

in this AU, luz has been in the isles since she was about four, so her memories of the human world are vague and dreamy. she remembers having had human parents who loved her, but she wouldn't be able to pick them out of a lineup. (this also led to some upsetting discussions in my writing group chat about the consequences of her being raised by a colonizer - she's lost her spanish, is slightly more anxious about gender roles, etc, it's...... deeply sad and shitty)

the idea of returning to the human realm honestly scares the crap out of luz.

for one, she's much more comfortable around magic than she would be in a magic-less world; even though she KNOWS that she wouldn't be physically disabled in the human world like she is in the isles, and that she'd have an easier time finding food that doesn't make her sick, etc. she has some anxieties about how maybe she ~*~belongs~*~ there, because belos coming to the isles was clearly Not Fucking Good For Anyone. and on a more pointed note, belos used the human world to threaten her when they were fighting about hunter. so she has Very Few positive associations with the place

i'm FASCINATED by the concept of vee managing to escape and switch places with her around that time, i hadn't considered that before and it's. harrowing. it becomes kind of a changeling fairytale, right, except the changeling Knows she isn't human and remembers just enough to be TERRIFIED of being found out and sent back to the fae world.... GOD. poor vee. this is DELICIOUS.

the version of the story i've been working with so far, though, is one with this idea from my friend mock, because it fucking Haunts Me:

vee ends up escaping at around the same time as canon (well -- two years later, since luz is sixteen when the major events of the story play out). and when vee sees camila coming in the house, she takes the shape of the first person she sees in photos.

toddler luz.

aka. the daughter that camila is reasonably certain has been dead for over a decade.

i'm just imagining camila like. having a shaky near-sobbing breakdown and scooping vee-luz up and calling a friend like, i need you to come over and tell me if i'm hallucinating or if i'm seeing a real ghost. because camila KNOWS that if her daughter was alive, she'd be sixteen now.

i THINK vee would fess up pretty fast after that. because she feels Horrifically Guilty, AND because she can't play a Miracle Baby without inviting questions from much scarier humans, And because camila seems both so kind and so upset that vee is hoping she can make a break for it if she has to.

it's common knowledge in the isles that the princess is human, even though belos isn't out as human himself. because belos has been using luz as an excuse to do some human-supremacist white-savior-trope "the titan brought her from Real civilization to save you from yourselves <3" bullshit

and i think that vee would probably tell camila that. i'm 50/50 on whether vee knows luz's name or not (she certainly wouldn't know the name 'noceda,' at least). but either way, i think that camila would be like. okay. i have to be practical. i can't get my hopes up like this. my daughter is dead and it would be insane of me to chase this fantasy.

.....but i Have to know.

and like. she ESPECIALLY fucking has to know if she's heard even a Fraction of what vee has been through. vee has probably characterized the princess as just as evil as the rest of the royal family. but camila knows that even IF that's true, upbringing has a big impact on someone's character, and if her daughter was raised by an evil fascist then..... someone has to help her. no matter how terrible she is.

so i just imagine like. camila managing to find her way into the boiling isles (how this happens is up in the air. i haven't figured out exact portal logistics), IMMEDIATELY outing herself as a human, and demanding to see the emperor. and being told that the emperor died very recently, but she can meet the empress instead.

and it's luz. and luz's public-facing persona is made of steel (albeit friendly and kind steel), but her private self is transparently fragile in ways that are Extremely Alarming, and camila is like.

okay.

what. the fuck. did that man do to you.

(there's a background fic here. for anyone looking for expansion on uh. what exactly that man did to her. yikes!)

[bat-in-the-machine]

Gonna share some of the Owl House fics that have entered the orbit of my hyperfixation lately, and hope some of you enjoy them:

Light's Song

by PitbullsRLife

This is my favorite crossover fic. In this story, Luz Noceda is the half-sister of the Winchester brothers, with all the emotional baggage that entails. The story places the beginning of The Owl House in the middle of Supernatural's seventh season, about a week after the death of Bobby Singer, who had been raising Luz up until his death.

It makes changes to the canon of both shows, but mostly the Owl House. It's currently 118 chapters long and just updated today.

In the Name of the Light

by MagnusBarefoot

This is a relatively new (6 chapters in) fic that was last updated mid-November. It shows a lot of promise in the "This ought to be fun" sense: One of two AUs in this post that involve some kind of pagan divinity (in this case a constructed pantheon with shades of Roman, Greek, and Celtic, along with probably others). This is sort of an invert AU: a lot of Boiling Isles characters live in Gravesfield, and Luz and Vee are avatars of their mother, the goddess Camila, in order to stop a human granted the ability to be untouched by god or demon.

An Everlasting Vow

by RiseAboveTheAshes_203

This is probably the most interesting Titan Luz story, one of a few that place a younger Luz, as a titan hybrid, in the Boiling Isles. This one reads like a dark fairy tale. A five year old Luz accidentally breaks the vial of titan's blood in the Old Gravesfield Graveyard, getting the blood into her bloodstream in the process. She is pulled through into the Demon Realm and found by a member of the Emperor's Coven adrift in the Boiling Sea.

This is kind of a Red String of Fate story, with the caveat that Luz and Amity, as small children, irrevocably bind their fates together by means of the titular Vow. There's a melancholy to the story that seems to be building into a catharsis. The current chapter, 31 at time of posting, seems to be the moment that catharsis starts.

Light of Hel

by BullFragGrenade

This is pure power fantasy, and the second of the pantheon fics. As indicated by the title, this one involves the Norse pantheon. This story, as narrated by the Norns, concerns a universe where Luz is the part-human child of Camila Noceda, Hel (Eda), and Baldr (Raine). When a member of a white nationalist cult kills her, Luz wakes up in Helheim, where she learns that her mama Eda is a half-dead goddess, her other parent is a dead god, her baby brother is a Jotunn, her sister a Tatzlwurm, and there are dead people everywhere getting made-to-order punishments.

[sergeantsporks]

So if you subtract the deadwardian era from the modern day and divide it by the number of golden guards, do you get a rough idea of how long they lasted?

The anons are on the same wavelengths.

Okay, so Phillip says in his diary that it's either 1660 or 1670. Current date in the show being 2020ish, that gives us 360 to 350 years to play with. I'm going to go with 360 because that gives us the most time. Divided by the twenty six grimwalkers (twenty five masks plus Hunter), that puts us at about 14 years average. Obviously, unless like the one anon said and the aging was speeding up, or unless the grimwalkers were staggered, that doesn't work, because Hunter's sixteen and the youngest of the guards. That being said, if we just go off of the sixteen portraits plus hunter, we do get 21 years on average, which would be SO easy to just call it a day, there were only seventeen grimwalkers, but you know what, I want more work for myself with the Gilded Family AU, I want Hunter to have as MANY brothers as possible, and have to come up with twenty five new names. God rest my soul.

Sped up age process is the easiest, but I feel like it was more of a staggering situation. I imagine what occurred was after the first three or so betrayals (perceived or otherwise), Belos started thinking "Yeah, these guys aren't lasting long, and I don't have the time to raise a new kid in between, I need to start one early." We'll say that each of those grimwalkers lived to be twenty. We are now playing with 300 years for 23 grimwalkers. Assuming Darius was mentored while young, there's a 14 year gap between Darius meeting the previous GG and Hunter being made where a new grimwalker couldn't have been made. Keep that in your brain.

Okay, let's say they were staggered so that every 12 years, Belos made a new one. His Grimwalker turns twelve, he makes a new one, hands it off to someone else to raise, and grabs the twelve year old. They become scouts around sixteenish (with Hunter being an exception and becoming a scout and guard earlier), golden guard a year or two later, die a few years later when they "betray" Belos. Each of them living to about 24 and the make baby kill grimwalker cycle even to make the math easier, that takes us to 336 years out of our allotted 360, we are now 24 years out from canon, 6 years after Eda's curse (and presumably Darius' graduation), with 8 years until Hunter's creation, perhaps Hunter wasn't staggered because there weren't enough resources and more palistrom wood had to be grown. [INHALE] 8 years is just about enough time for the 10 years where Phillip STRAIGHT UP DIDN'T KNOW WHAT DECADE IT WAS and/or figuring the grimwalker recipe out, so the numbers more or less work out, each grimwalker lived to about 24 years with some variations I'm sure, some living longer than others and some living shorter, and giving Darius a mentor roughly 3 years older than him (with probably variations, I feel like the last golden guard lived longer than the others) that he got for sixish years before his untimely death. Good god, that's more math than I EVER care to do again, and someone should probably check my numbers because I suck at math.

[drabbles-of-writing]

Adopted AU

Same anon as before, let us see that post of Hunter and King as brothers

Eda pops in with a very traumatized child who may have left Belos at 11, but was still covered in physical and mental scars, and puts him in the same general area as a three year old demon with a napoleon complex. cue Hunter occasionally sneaking up behind King and curiously poking him until the demon gets annoyed and starts trying to grab him and Hunter scurries back to the corner to hiss at him, meanwhile King just wants to know Who The Weird Witch Is. its like trying to introduce cats but you forgot they gotta smell each other through the door first.

more under the cut

Hunter was very much Not on board with King calling him a minion or a subject, because you know, Belos trauma with him feeling like a lesser pawn in his plan, and after yelling at the itty bitty boy a few times and King feeling kind of bad when Eda scolded Hunter for doing so since King is Young and Hunter has no other idea how to express his emotions since he had no real healthy outlets at that point, King settled on calling him "the vagrant witch who remains in my kingdom but at a Price" and that price is the two of them teaming up to steal cookies, stuffed animals for King's kingdom, and hiding in small impossible spots around the Owl House which ends up in Eda whacking them with a broom to get 'em out. Hunter may have used King as a stuffed animal to sleep with in random spots around the house before he realized he had an actual bed now and King may have been forced to put up with it. kids went from mortal enemies to best partners in crime in the span of like 6 months. Hunter I imagine also would've felt he and King could bond over the fact they both have scars, Hunter's being literal and King's being his broken horn. he assumed King never brought it up because it was hard for him like how Belos was a tough topic for Belos but by the time he was like 13 he realized King just. didn't know

King also grew up with Hunter having night terrors and some ptsd. kids messed up as all hell and has had moments where he wakes up freaked out or starts suddenly shaking and falling to the floor seemingly out of the blue. took him a few years until he stopped getting terrified if someones voice raised even a little at him but even at 16 he still gets visibly nervous and his hands can shake sometimes. King didn't understand what was happening when those happened or why Eda looked so scared for him. first few times were a nightmare, and Hunter would curl up in the furthest corner where nobody could reach him and shrink away from everyone. King could almost always get to the same places as Hunter, so eventually he just started. crawling up to Hunter. wouldn't touch him, but he'd sit there quietly until Hunter calmed down or decided he Did actually want to hug the fluffy demon. King never really completely understood it because he only ever asked when he was like 4-5 and Eda has no idea how to explain to him that Hunter went through a lot of shit. so she best explained it as that certain things scare Hunter more than others because he had a bad experience with them, and thus he needed some help with it. worked enough for King. its also due to this and Hunter's aversion to any topics on Belos that King doesn't know Eda or Hunter's backstory. He grew up believing that most witches were like Hunter (not all, but a good few) and would go out of his way to not do certain things in public or to other witches he knew that upset Hunter. he thought that Hunter's scars were normal and that they were the coolest thing, because they meant he'd been in a lot of battles and he had to be really powerful to get that many scars. and he told Hunter as such, and it helped, just a bit.

Hunter and Luz have a 'god you annoy the hell out of me but unfortunately we also bond over similar things and I love you' sibling bond whereas Hunter and King is a 'we don't understand a thing about each other but we work well in crime and doing our best. also mildly bullying each others failures' sibling bond. King was more than a little shocked to learn that Emperor Belos was Hunter's uncle, and was 100% ready to dethrone him on the spot when he realized Belos was the cause of his trauma. he absolutely claimed that Hunter clearly must've beat Belos hard to come out alive after getting all those scars and Hunter wasn't going to dispute him. Hunter also didn't much get why King was so insistent on finding his father, what with Hunter having a pretty iffy bio family, but it was important to King, so he added research on demons like King to his never ending list of things to study for hours on in the dead of night. don't even get me STARTED on when King legally changed his last name to Clawthorne.

[cordycep-creations]

The Raven Lady: FAQ

Or rather HAQ, for Hypothetically Asked Questions? We really haven't gotten that many but I'll definitely add to this if something comes up.

1) What is the premise of this AU? Raven Lady is a loose role swap AU, keeping the personalities of the characters the same but changing up some backstories to fit the new scenarios and still have a similar effect on their behavior (While still being new and interesting). Lilith is cursed to transform into the beast, (though was not cursed by Eda) but is still the head of the Emperor's Coven. Eda is not cursed but is still off being a scam artist. Mostly. Luz is a witch born and raised on the boiling isles by Camila, and Amity is a human who finds her way onto the isles. The story follows Amity and Lilith, though Luz Willow and Gus all have important roles and some very fun things planned.

2) Will the story be translated 1-1? No! The story's set to follow a very different path from the canon one, with some different themes and focuses. There will be a few parallel episodes, like equivalents for Covention, The First Day, and Grom, but that's about it.

3) What content from season 2/season 3 is being used in this AU? While it'll be very difficult to keep up with the new reveals the further into this I go, I'm kinda just deciding based on how well I can fit it into the story and whether or not it conflicts with anything else. For example, the presence of the Golden Guard and Lilith's interest in history will carry over, but King's father will not. Still on the fence about Blight Industries.

4) What's the deal with the "Pilot"? I first tackled this AU about... God, how long ago was that at this point? Global pandemic fucks with time but it was a while. I wrote two chapters and then decided that I really didn't like any of it. But I did like the idea, a lot, and I wanted to keep working on it. Those first two chapters are still up on AO3 now listed as a sort of "Pilot", the propper first act will be listed as a separate work in the same series.

5) When does it come out though? That's a great question. Right now I think I'mm a bit under halfway done with the first draft of chapter one? It's hard to say though, and progress has been inconsistent. It's coming though, I guarantee you that. Will be releasing chapter-by-chapter, with each act (or "season) as a separate work in the series, about 15-20 chapters ("episodes") each.

That's... Honestly all the questions I can think of right now, but I think it covers our bases. If you've got more questions send them in, I'll gladly add them to this post! In the meantime, if you want to see more of my work my AO3 is here and my Carrd (which has just about everything I've worked on) is here.

[justanartsysideblog]

Old God, New Tricks

Old Dog Sanctuary AU

I finally managed to finish the first part of the Old Dog Sanctuary AU! I’m sorry this took so long, writer’s block has not been kind. This is mostly just setting the scene for what’s to come, but I hope you enjoy! 

This version of Dirthamen, Fear, and Deceit (mention) belong to @feynites.

Eda (mention) belongs to @palindromekomori.

Olwyn's alarm goes off at 4am and it takes all her willpower not to turn it off and roll back over. Her blankets seem especially warm and inviting this morning, and one of the sanctuary dogs is curled up at the foot of her bed and it would be cruel to wake them, wouldn't it?

But then she feels something pecking at her head and sighs.

Fear is not going to let her sleep in.

“I'm up,” She grumbles, reaching up a hand to pat the raven that's tugging on her curls. She tries her hardest not to disturb her bedmate—correction bedmates, there's two other dogs sprawled out on the other side of the bed—as she crawls out from under the covers in the darkness of early morning.

The dogs barely stir as she fumbles into a pair of jeans; one lifts her head, lets out a tired boof, and settles back down. Lucky girl, Olwyn thinks wryly, pulling on a pair of socks.

First things first...time to feed the dogs.

It's almost mechanical, as she fills food bowls on the porch, deftly maneuvering around wiggling bodies as the dogs crowd around her feet. The early autumn air is cool, especially this high up in the mountains, but nothing a sweatshirt won't fix; it'll warm up by early afternoon anyway. She administers the proper medicine to the ones that need it, and then heads out to the kennels to feed the rest, Fear flying overhead to perch atop the old barn beams.

Some days are harder than others.

The dogs keep her from drifting; from slipping into uthenera where she doesn't need to feel the guilt of all she's done and left undone. The world doesn't need her anymore, and it was getting harder and harder to keep awake. But the dogs help. If she does not get up in the morning no one will be there to feed them, or give them their medicine.

She needs the dogs as much as they need her.

And then, of course, there are the wolves.

Olwyn doesn't own the mountain, per se—such a strange concept, when thousands of years ago she had, and had no need for deeds to show it. She has a rather gargantuan chunk of land in her name though, enough that some would call it a nature reserve rather than a private residence. And even the parts of it she doesn't own are heavily warded and legally are counted as a national forest. It keeps the loggers away, and Haurshos keeps away the rest.

She's always felt responsible for the wolves, with the steady decline of their numbers; it isn't their fault they're associated with a disgraced god. There's a few packs in the area that she'd introduce to the mountain; enough territory between them to keep them all satisfied and out of each others' hair...and away from the locals in the towns on the eastern side of the Hunterhorns.

Not all of the wolves sent her way are those that can make it in the wild. Some were pets, or rescued from haphazard zoos and exotic animal shops; wolves that were raised as dogs until the owners saw that they wouldn't be cute and cuddly and domesticated the way they wanted, or wolf hybrids that people thought were tame enough to keep as pets, only to learn otherwise.

People know to call her when there's a wolf problem, and all the local vets have her number.  

The wolves remind her of Adahlan's hounds to a painful degree. They remind her of her Emerald Knights, and of their namesake that emerged when the Dalish held onto the remnants of culture that had been stolen from them through no fault of their own.

She tried her hardest to help, and failed all the same. At least she can give the wolves a fighting chance.

Olwyn steps into the 'wolf barn' and immediately finds herself the recipient of several enthusiastic greetings. Mossfur, the resident alpha male of the domestic pack, trots forward and gives a play bow, tail wagging.

Olwyn laughs, “Should we play for a bit?”

---

The first thing she notices when she enters the kitchen two hours later is that she's out of coffee.

Olwyn lets out a small, defeated sigh as she looks down at the empty coffee canister. She thought she'd bought some on her last trip into town, but apparently she'd forgotten to pick it up. This is why you should make lists, she thinks. Maybe she hadn't had a coupon for any at the time, and had thought she'd be able to stretch her stores until then.

The sanctuary is closed today, which means Eda won't be coming in. She can't call her and ask her to pick some up with the cleaning supplies she'll be bringing tomorrow morning.

It isn't that Olwyn likes being alone. She's always been a social person, and isolation can be suffocating at times. But seeing the passage of time, walking among those that live and die because of her own folly...that is worse. It chips away at her, bit by bit.

It's hard, especially when her brother sleeps. Isolation suits him more than it does her, and so does silence. The span of time between his visits varies, and each time a bit of her thinks he is not going to wake up this time. She knows better, of course. They are two parts of a whole, and he would not leave her, not after everything they've lived through and done.

Their brother is dead, Dirthamen would not subject her to that loss a second time.

Still, it is...it is maddening, to not know, even with either Fear or Deceit flitting around, making certain she has physical reassurance of Dirthamen's presence. But it is not the same as seeing her brother sitting at the kitchen table, clipping coupons from the newspaper as rain pelts against the windowpane.

Fear catches on to her thoughts, and lands on her shoulder and begins to preen.  

“I'm heading into town,” Olwyn decides, “You're in charge while I'm gone, Fear, but no answering the telephone, you know what happened last time.” Fear glances at her, the picture of feigned innocence, and Olwyn shakes her head as she heads for the front door, grabbing her keys as she goes.

She finds Hopper, a ten-year-old bloodhound, lounging in a patch of sunlight on the porch. His tail begins to wag when he spots her, thumping loudly against the wood. She always takes one of the dogs with her when she goes into town; it's a nice little adventure for them, to go somewhere new, and to meet other people aside from herself and Eda.

“Wanna come to town with me, hm?” Olwyn asks, and is rewarded with an increase in tail wags and thumps, before Hopper gets to his feet and slowly follows her off the porch.

“Here we go,” She lifts the old bloodhound into the passenger's seat of her jeep and gives his ears an idle scratch, earning a slobbery kiss in return.

The small town of Haven is a forty five minute drive down the mountain. It's got one main street and a population in the triple digits; she's lucky it's even got a local grocery store and a post office. 

It's become a bit of a tourist trap as of late, due to the old ruins of the Temple of Sacred Ashes. Someone had thought it would be good for business to make a historic sector, with everyone in period dress from the Dragon Age; it's a bit tacky, and more than a little historically inaccurate, but it means that every summer there's an upswell of visitors, and far too many souvenir shops. There'd even been talk of putting in a hotel to handle the growing seasonal crowds.

There are lots of things she can't get at the local grocery, of course. Supplies for the dogs, medicine, clothes...for that she takes a day trip to Redcliffe. But all she needs is coffee today.

So Haven it is.

Hopper gives a low woof and leans his head out the window as Olwyn pulls away from the house and down the long and winding driveway to the main road. Getting radio reception this far up the mountain is hit or miss, so after a minute or so of hiccup-y static she turns it off and drives the rest of the way in silence.

There's very little traffic this time of year, and plenty of empty parking spots along the main street. Olwyn manages to snag one right in front of the general store, and comes around to the other side to help Hopper out, and is greeted with another kiss that has her smiling brightly as she walks into the store.

The bell at the front jingles, and Seggrit, the owner, looks up with a surprised smile, “Serah Olwyn! What a pleasant surprise!”

“I needed some caffeine,” Olwyn holds up a coffee canister from the nearby shelf, “So I thought I'd make a short run into town.” She glances around and picks up a coke and a bag of barbecue chips before placing it all on the counter.

Seggrit nods, “Just be sure to steer clear of the main square on your way back, unless you want to get dragged into Grand Chancellor Roderick's latest tirade.”

Olwyn tries to hide her grimace as she watches Seggrit ring up her items. She and Grand Chancellor Roderick were not on good terms. With such a small community, it was very obvious who worshiped the Maker and who didn't, and her absence at Chantry gatherings is noted and remarked upon frequently.

There is also the fact that Grand Chancellor Roderick had strongly railed against her wolf sanctuary. He said it was too close to Haven, and that the wild beasts were dangerous and would only cause trouble. He'd cited several over-inflated and easily refuted stories of wolf attacks in Ferelden, and the rising number of tourists during the summer months. There'd been about five town meetings and several petitions, but in the end enough of the residents of Haven had refused to take his outcry seriously.

Olwyn has a feeling the majority of them were apathetic, and had taken Olwyn's side for the simple reason that she hadn't gone door to door trying to get residents to sign a petition for the local government to take action.

Besides, Olwyn has all the proper paperwork and licenses needed, none of the sanctuary wolves had ever escaped the grounds or had any reason to, and the wild nature reserve packs don't come anywhere near the local towns. They and Olwyn have an understanding, and the wards keep them as safe from people as they do the people from the wolves.

People can be far more dangerous.

“Who is the current target?” Olwyn asks, reaching down a hand to scratch Hopper behind the ears.

“Flissa,” Seggrit shakes his head, “He's mad she won't close The Singing Maiden on Sundays.”

Olwyn finds herself shaking her head as well. Chancellor Roderick can be persistent, she'll give him that. Still, she hopes nothing comes of it; Flissa always has dog treats to give out when Olwyn stops in for a drink. “Some people aren't happy unless they're complaining about something. Thanks for the warning.”

Seggrit nods as he closes the register and pauses, “Hey, when is that brother of yours visiting again?”

Olwyn blinks, trying to shove down the hollow feeling that comes when she’s reminded of his absence. “I'm not sure. He's been busy with his research.”

Seggrit shrugs, “Just wanted to ask. Last year my cousin came to visit for the summer and won't shut up about him. She keeps asking me if I know if he'll be back next year.”

Olwyn grins, “I'll be sure to tell him he has an admirer. See you next time, Seggrit.”

---

The drive back to the sanctuary is a little more lively than the drive down the mountain. Olwyn puts on an old CD—Eda has commented that Olwyn's taste in music is, to put it kindly, dated—and Hopper drools out the window, and Olwyn only has to stop once; a small herd of deer comes bounding out of the trees severl yards up, but she's going slow enough that she has time to slow without slamming on the brakes, and Hopper's tail thumps against her arm as his nose twitches and he watches the deer disappear back into the forest.

She lets Hopper down from the Jeep, and heads into the kitchen to start some much-deserved coffee. Fear is in the living room, watching reruns of an old tv show that Olwyn's forgotten the name of. Fear doesn't seem too interested, but when he spots Olwyn he flies to the counter and lets out a loud greeting.

“Just taking a small break before I go clean the kennels,” Olwyn explains, throwing a few pieces of bread in the toaster. She contemplates making some scrambled eggs, but decides against it. “Anything exciting happen while I was gone?”

It's meant as a joke, so she's surprised when Fear squawks a yes and flies into the front office. Olwyn follows, intrigued. Fear hops down next to the phone, and Olwyn sees the answering machine light flash.

A message? She presses the button, and heads back into the kitchen to check on her toast. The recording filters in as she grabs the butter from the fridge.

“Hello, I am Keeper Deshana, of Clan Lavellan. I was given this number to call by Keeper Marethari, of Clan Sabrae. A wolf has been spotted within our reservation, and I fear it is becoming used to people and will soon come into contact with my clan. I would like to see what could be done for it, as it seems to be without a pack, and I was told you were the leading authority for such things...”

There isn't much more; a mention that Keeper Deshana is calling from a landline from one of the few permanent structures on their lands, and that she will be staying for several days, to wait for Olwyn's response, and the number to call to contact, just in case Olwyn doesn't have caller ID.

It's an interesting situation.

Lone wolves in the wild are rarer than most people think. They are pack animals by nature, and it is dangerous and counter-intuitive to their survival to go at it alone. But if it is the case and there is a pack within the area of Clan Lavellan's lands, then the lone wolf would likely be driven closer to the populated areas of the reservation in order to avoid an aggressive alpha. It happens sometimes; an omega wolf or a sickly alpha wolf that can no longer lead its pack may be picked on or physically challenged to the point of leaving the group. Especially when food is scarce, the weaker wolves may not receive adequate nutrition and leave out of necessity.

Olwyn has been able to...maintain a stable growth and weather pattern for the mountain to make certain her wild pack finds no reason to venture further toward civilization. The hunting is good, enough to support them and keep the population stable. But she doesn't know how scarce food is up north.

Clan Lavellan's lands are in the northern Free Marches, if Olwyn's knowledge is correct. That's quite a distance to go for a lone wolf. She'd need to have Eda stay at the Sanctuary while she was away, and the paperwork for transporting a wild animal over that many borders...the best way to go about it would be by boat, but Kirkwall is a city Olwyn would rather not visit anymore than she has to.

No need to make plans yet, you need to call Keeper Deshana first and see the scale of the problem, she thinks, picking up the phone.

Fear gives an encouraging caw.

Well, no harm can come from a phone call.

---

[violetjedisylveon]

:3

*drops this and scurries away*

[violetjedisylveon]

I call this frame The Splash Zone

[violetjedisylveon]

>:3

I really like how the blood turned out

Look at it, isn't it pretty?

*scurries away cackling madly*

OwO

><

[violetjedisylveon]

Another frame I thought was funny/cute

Papa Titan is holding Collector like a kitten, collector is very confused

[violetjedisylveon]

Ira, Archivist OC

She/her/they/them, demi girl god. Eda Raises Two Gods AU Masterpost

Ira is a nebula based Archivist, so I got to go crazy with the hair and the patterns, it was really fun, especially the bottom angry one. Ira means watchful and is the name of a sky goddess in Polynesian mythology.

Ira is the archivist who took the collector we know and love, Enzo in my AU, under their wing and raised them. Enzo was born out of a nebula eons after it first formed. Ira taught them how to be a good archivist, how to tend to the archives and how to interact with mortal species. Ira was the only archivist at the time suited to raising a Nova*, and the others who didn't have higher responsibilities couldn't care less for the little kid who would tattle to Ira whenever they did something she didn't like.

Since Ira is extremely patient and nurturing, they were put in charge of the Main Archives from a relatively young age, annoying her peers since they were unable to hang out like they did before and making them a little jealous Ira advanced so quickly.

The Archives have many living creatures and environments in biomes that need to be monitored and cared for attentively, so an archivist like Ira was perfect for the position due to her being nebula based instead of star or planet based. (Nebulae are sometimes called star nurseries cause they are where new stars form).

Ira mainly stays in the Archives taking care of the creatures and the records, since stories and cultures are equally as important as species are, they don't go out collecting species much because they believe they shouldn't actively intervene in mortal affairs unless absolutely necessary. She does go out to collect culture records, she likes to do that a lot, she's a story teller at heart.

She's very passive and encourages others to be since it causes less problems, after all how many species have had to be removed for knowing to much because of their premature intervention. This is part of why she and Themis don't get along anymore.

Themis is the red star archivist.

This one:

yeah, her and Ira do not get along anymore. They didn't get along well before the Titan incident, and it got way worse after that. There is a lot of bad blood between them. It's Themis Ira is pissed at in the image.

They will continue the tradition in this fandom of having duos being mapped onto "Two Birds on a Wire", that song feels like it was made for TOH.

Here's a look at my design for Themis, I only have a side view cause this is for an animatic I'm working on.

I'll give them a proper design soon, the goal is to get a sort of ring leader type of vibe. I hope it works here.

Themis is very fun character to play with.

Ira cared for Enzo to the best of her ability until scheming from Themis got in the way. To protect them from having to deal with the ramifications of Themis's actions, Ira suggested that Enzo go explore a planet near her claimed section of the cosmos, do a little exploration on their own and they could come back later.

She kind of pushed Enzo to leave the Archives, souring their relationship from Enzo's perspective.

After that? Enzo found the Titan's World and the rest is history.

*Nova is what young archivists are called, based on a fun little idea I had a while ago about the Archivist. Our collector is who Ira is referring to in the right side pic, they haven't gotten the Enzo name yet.

[violetjedisylveon]

To Grandma's House We Go!

Eda Raises Two Gods AU chapter 22

Summary: Eda and the kids go to Datura's house for the weekend.

Word count: 3.6k

Warnings: 🚫mostly fluff but references to trauma🚫

A/N: Happy Pride Month! It is the month of gays! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ Gwendolyn is not the grandma mentioned in the title, she and Eda still aren't on good terms, and won't be for a long while. The grandma is the swamp grandma.

Ira, archivist OC

Eda Raises Two Gods AU Masterpost

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Guilt.

Guilt was the reason they breathed, the reason their lungs expanded, taking air in and pushing it out.

Regret.

Regret was the reason they moved, the reason their muscles pulled and released, pushing them ever onward.

A desire to fix the bond that was broken was the reason star touched blood coursed through their veins.

A terrible mistake was the reason they lived.

A guilty conscience was the reason they would not die.

Their heart forever pumped blood that did not belong to them.

Emotions that were not theirs brought them back.

Yet they believed in them just as strongly.

The Star-Touched God was not their creator.

Their creator died.

But the Star-Touched God did give them a second life.

A second life and a request.

To look after this world for her.

The Star-Touched God believed she was not welcomed here, but her guilty conscience could not leave this world unattended.

They agreed to watch over their world, to tell the Star-Touched God what was happening and to alert her if anything noteworthy happened.

The Star-Touched God checked in every couple of centuries, never coming here herself, though they knew she remained close by.

The Guardianship of this world was their responsibility.

They didn't interfere with much, they stayed away from the witches unless they caused problems, like those Trappers, those they would gladly skewer.

Mostly they made sure the environment remained stable. The aftermath had been chaotic for those from before, those who came from the Titans were less affected.

They made sure to stay away from the Stain. Their muzzle wrinkled at the thought of him.

The Stain only knew of them from old legends and stories, and that was how it would stay.

They stopped, their hooves splashing the surface of the water they stood on.

The domain of the Serpent and the Tree stood before them, Boiling Mangroves guarded the shoreline, allowing for a transition between boiling seas and swamp water.

The Serpent and Tree were fiercely defensive of their lands, the Stain was not permitted here either, making it a perfect place to hide out for their former species.

They may have looked like the unicorns that once raced across the Boiling Seas with Titans, but they were something different now.

They approached the swamps.

The Serpent and Tree greeted them passively, opening themselves to let them in.

They kindly thanked their allies and trotted off to check on the herds that had made the swamps their home since the Stain started hunting them.

XXX

Enzo was practically vibrating next to her on her staff.

The kid had been more excitable, almost giddy, since yesterday. They were so excited to be going back to Datura's.

The owl beast was equally excited to be going back to Datura's, she could feel the damn bird vibrating in the back of her mind.

She swerved around the swamp growth, finally exiting the maze surrounding Datura’s dwelling.

Smoke came from the chimney.

Datura was home, preparing for their arrival in her typical fashion.

Enzo tumbled off the staff, King shooting off after him, and ran off at full speed towards the door. They knocked excitedly, bouncing in anticipation.

“Relax starshine, she's not going anywhere.” Eda chuckled, ruffling her kid's hair.

They batted playfully at her hand.

The door got thrown wide open.

“Edalyn!” A bright, happy voice exclaimed.

Eda barely had time to register who it was before the woman was giving her a bone crushing Ursa hug. She let out a pained wheeze.

“Chusi darling, you're suffocating her.” Datura called from inside the house.

“Oh, right.” Chusi chuckled, setting her back down.

“It's so good to see you!” She told her, squeezing her arms lightly.

Eda just nodded, still trying to catch her breath. The dragon woman towered over her and the kids at well over eight feet tall, she was giant. Enzo's jaw had dropped open the moment they saw her.

Datura came around from the kitchen, drying her hands as she approached her mate. Titan! Chusi made Datura look small.

“I think you've blown the children’s mind.” She whispered.

Chusi's floppy dragon ears perked up at the mention of the kids.

“Are you going to introduce us to your children, kit?” Datura prompted with a smug grin.

Eda glared up at her, the smug old witch would certainly be rubbing this in once her kids were sleeping.

“Chusi, these are Enzo and King, they're my kids.” Eda introduced her kids.

She was officially introducing Enzo and King as her kids for the first time.

She'd be lying if the pride in Datura's eyes didn't make her feel good.

“H-hello!” Enzo waved shyly, clinging to her dress with one hand.

“Hello there you little cutie.” Chusi cooed, bending down to Enzo's level, or as far as she could.

“It's wonderful to finally meet you, Marigold has told me all about you.” Chusi greeted them.

“You're a dragon!” Enzo exclaimed, immediately covering their mouth, giving Chusi an apologetic look.

“I know, it's cool right?” Chusi laughed.

“It's the coolest! I've never seen a dragon up close before!” Enzo shouted.

“Well aren't you just the sweetest thing?” Chusi ruffled Enzo's hair.

“I think there's something as sweet as you waiting in the kitchen.” She whispered, leaning closer.

Enzo’s eyes lit up with excitement, they looked to her for permission.

“Go ahead starshine.” She told them.

Both her kids raced off, Datura and Chusi watched them go fondly 

“Aw, we're grannies.” Chusi gushed, holding a hand over her heart.

“Aren't you both already great grandparents?” Eda asked.

“Soon to be double great grandparents, Altalune is going to be due in a few weeks.” Datura said warmly.

Eda knew Altalune, she was one of the pair’s younger family members, he hung around while she lived here quite a bit. Datura’s many kids and grandkids all made time to visit her throughout the year; it was a werebeast thing, even if they were more on the solitary end, they still sought to maintain a strong connection with their families.

“That's good.” she said.

Nibs slithered out of their spot in her hair, hissing for attention.

“Oh? How's our future Great Serpent doing?” Datura asked, booping Nibs’s nose.

The insufferable little noodle puffed out confidently.

“Don't boost their ego too much.” Eda pleaded.

“Aw, there's nothing wrong with giving the little guy a little confidence boost.” Chusi laughed.

“You don't have to live with the shit.” Eda huffed.

“She can't be that bad, look at that sweet little noodle.” Chusi said, lifting Nibs out of her hair.

Nibs preened at the praise, Eda rolled her eyes, Chusi was a huge softy for anything feline or serpentine. Maybe that's why she likes Datura so much. Eda thought passively as she headed inside the house.

Enzo and King were already happily eating, King had a plate piled high with all the tasty things he liked, Enzo had significantly less, the kid was still awkward about asking for stuff or doing things for themself.

Given what she'd just learned, the poor kid had an incredibly negative self perception and didn't think they deserved anything.

“Do you want some more?” She prompted them.

“Can I?” They asked, eyes shining with excitement.

“Course kiddo, didn't Datura say you can help yourself at her house?” She said, ruffling the kid's hair.

They didn't answer, instead happily reaching for another piece of blossom bread. I really need to learn how to make that. Eda thought.

“You should eat something too, kit, you're looking thin.” Datura said, coming up behind her.

The werebeast guided her to a seat right in front of all her favorites, Eda glared while the werebeast gave her a smug, cat-like grin. She crossed her arms, refusing to give Datura the easy win.

“Listen to your mother, Edalyn.” Chusi chuckled, ruffling her hair as she set Nibs down at a little spot set for them.

“She's not my- ugh!” Eda groaned, conceding defeat and slumping down at her seat.

Datura smiled happily, handing her a plate piled high with food. Eda accepted and begrudgingly ate the very delicious food, ignoring her mentor's happy, self satisfied look.

She let the kids fill Datura and Chusi in on everything that happened since they last visited, it was mostly ramblings about the shenanigans they got up to with Gailine.

Datura cooed and gushed over every little thing the kids told her, watching them with heavily dilated pupils.

A little weird for the typically more reserved werebeast, that was the kind of behavior she expected from Chusi.

She leaned over to the dragon sitting next to her, covering her mouth as she asked, “What's with Datura today?”

Chusi glanced between her and her mate, then grinned.

“Oh, she's all broody because I laid a slug* the other week, and with a new cub, she's getting all hormonal and protective. It's mostly the new baby, the slug didn't help.” Chusi said.

A biscuit hit the dragon square in the forehead. Datura was glowering at them with a face Eda could only describe as pouty.

“I'm not broody.” Datura huffed.

“Yes, Nightshade, you are.” Chusi told her, tail swaying slightly.

“Oh.” Eda hummed.

She'd heard about this from the other family members when she was younger, Datura got very cuddly apparently.

“Yep. She gets like this every time. It's adorable.” Chusi beamed.

Datura tossed another biscuit at her, Chusi caught it, smiling smugly at her wife.

“Thank you Marigold.” She said with a wink.

Datura huffed and turned away, stuffing her face with some blossom bread to hide her blushing face.

“I thought they were all pulling my leg about this! I didn't think it actually happened!” Eda snorted, covering her mouth as she tried not to laugh.

“You laugh now but you won't laugh when she drags you off to her nest.” Chusi said.

“huh?”

“Mama?” Enzo piped up.

“Yeah starshine?” Eda glanced at her kids, their plates were cleaned and stacked.

“Can we play outside?” They asked.

“Sure, you can go in the swamp but don't stray too far.” She said.

“Thanks Mama!” Enzo exclaimed, giving her a tight hug before running outside with King and Nibs on his shoulders.

She watched the kids head right for the swamps, no doubt Enzo was heading to visit Amanita’s colony to see the kittens.

“You've sure got some sweet kids.” Chusi hummed.

“Yeah, Enzo's a good kid.” Eda agreed.

“And King?” Datura raised an eyebrow.

“He's still a shit.”

XXX

“King! Slow down!” Enzo called out.

King, defiant as always, charged ahead into the dense foliage. Chuckling, Enzo ran after him, the soggy ground squelched under their feet.

Enzo leaped forward, snatching King off the ground and rolling into a rotting, mushroom covered log. Their little brother squealed in his grasp, Enzo tickled his tummy, eliciting a shrill squeak.

He stopped so King didn't end up peeing on him, again. They sat up, looking at where they had ended up in their chase.

They were at the edge of an opening in the swampy jungle containing a slightly raised grassy hill with dense clusters of berry bushes on it.

Don't think we've been here before. They thought, standing up with King in their arms.

“Wanna see if we can make any friends here?” They asked King.

Their little brother nodded eagerly. He loved getting new playmates, the ducky sock could only entertain him for so long.

Enzo stepped out of the forested area, climbing up the hill towards the nearest bunch of berries. King wiggled in their arms at the thought of more food, as though he hadn't eaten less than an hour ago.

“Little glutton.” Enzo giggled.

They leaned over the thorny bush, examining the berries. They didn't remember the name, but they did recognize the orange and yellow berries. They were safe, as safe as anything on the Isles, to eat, and they were ripe. He plucked a few, popping them into their mouth.

The berries exploded into a delightful mix of sweet and sour tang.

Citrusy!

They grabbed a few for King.

“Want some? They're tasty.” They offered.

King sniffed the brightly colored berries curiously, then shoved his face into them, squishing more berries than he ate.

“Ew, King!” Enzo whined, shaking their sticky hand in the air.

King didn't even look guilty, he just wiggled out of their grasp and started chowing down on berries. Enzo wiped his hand on their pants.

“Silly.” They said, grabbing a handful of berries for themself.

They sat next to King, observing the little critters scavenging the hill and forest from afar. It was nice.

A small group of jackalopes were scavenging around the bottom of the hill. A lookout was watching for trouble from a log, it's ears suddenly perked, flicking back.

The lookout gave a loud shriek, the rest of the jackalopes bolted up, racing off for the cover of the forest. Their own ears flicked back at the rumbling sound heading in their direction.

Before they could move, a shrill cry rang through the air.

A unicorn.

A herd of unicorns was approaching the hill.

Slowly, Enzo turned around, crouching in the bushes to obverse the familiar creatures.

They remembered playing with Este, the others, and the unicorns.

Este had shown them how unicorns got made, the effort and skill that went into carving the body properly. The blood that gave them life and immunity to the boiling waters.

The species could reproduce by itself, they wouldn't have lasted long if they couldn't, but it was like a rite of passage to create one, to carve and make life from nothing but Palistrom wood. Kinda like Palisman and witches. Este made a Palisman, she made it so they could grow with her.

Este and Papa had begun guiding them through making one of their own, they never got to finish it.

I wonder if it's still around somewhere… Palistrom wood doesn't- no! I don't deserve to finish it. Enzo shook the thought away.

The unicorns came into view, they'd changed a little, more adapted to the swamps with flowers and mushrooms growing in their manes and tails, but they weren't that different from the ones they knew, unicorns were made to fit in all environments.

The herd spread out over the hill, digging into the bushes for tasty berries. Each moved gracefully, even the clumsy babies. They looked so delicate and fragile, they knew how tough they really were. They used their horns with deadly efficiency.

Enzo leaned forwards, wanting to see them better.

A twig snapped.

“King.” Enzo hissed, grabbing hold of the little gremlin.

There was a unicorn close to the bush they were hiding behind.

The unicorn’s head snapped up in their direction, fixing them with hauntingly familiar colored eyes.

The blue was the same shade as the blood shed to first breathe life into the creatures.

They froze, staring into the delicate, dangerous creature’s eyes.

It's ear twitched, it didn't look away, even as all the others did. A happy whinny came from one of the younger ones. It cheerfully raced off towards something.

The unicorn stepped closer to them, lowering its head in preparation for an attack.

A commanding neigh got the unicorn's attention, its head turned in the direction of the sound. It gave them a side glance, the edges of its muzzle flicked.

Its face opened like a flower. The concealing flaps of skin pulling back, revealing the true, fanged mouth hidden under the horse-like muzzle. It snarled, a sharp tongue lashed around, before closing its mouth and galloping back up the hill towards whatever had the other unicorn’s attention.

Standing at the top of the hill was another unicorn, taller and bigger than all the rest, with a mane that floated all around it.

The unicorn that had been near them ran to its side and whinnied, flicking its tail in their direction.

The unicorn on the hill looked towards them, it gave a command to the rest to stay back.

Enzo ducked, thinking quickly to cover King in an illusion spell to make him look like some kind of dog or cat, then covered themself with their own illusion.

Their heart raced.

They knew who that was, what that was. The animals whispered about it, they called it the Star-Touched One.

They knew who where it came from.

Enzo felt a warm breath on his head, they jolted, looking up into eyes that held galaxies in them.

The Star-Touched unicorn stared down at them, nebula mane floating around their neck.

It stared into their soul.

They couldn't look away from its star filled eyes.

It was like a trance, or an interrogation.

The Star-Touched’s muzzle flaps flicked slightly.

Enzo broke eye contact, glancing down at its mouth briefly. They froze as the Star-Touched pressed it's soft, velvety muzzle into their hair, they could feel it taking in long, deep breaths.

It's trying to get my scent! Enzo realized.

Despite how long they'd been here, they still smelled like the stars, it was unmistakable if you knew what to look for.

The Star-Touched pulled back, nostrils flaring like it caught a whiff of something bad.

It eyed them curiously, Enzo couldn't meet that star filled gaze for very long.

It was too familiar.

The Star-Touched nuzzled their cheek with its soft nose, they let out a sigh of relief.

It nudged him slightly, pushing them back onto their feet. They cast a bewildered look at the once-unicorn, it flicked its mane back towards the herd, all the unicorns were on edge and antsy.

Oh, I'm scaring them. It's just protecting them. They realized.

“I-i’ll leave… if you want me to.” Enzo told the Star-Touched.

The creature’s ears flicked, it scanned the forest with narrowed eyes. It neighed disapprovingly, shaking its head.

“Is something wrong?” They asked it.

The Star-Touched nudged them forward, they tightened their grip on King, he'd been uncharacteristically calm for this whole exchange. It walked ahead of them, wrapping its tail around his arm as it passed them. It gave them a gentle tug, looking back over its shoulder when they didn't move.

“A-are you guiding me?” Enzo asked.

The Star-Touched nodded.

“O-oh, y-you don't, you don't need to, I can get back on my own.” They said.

It shook its head, snorting in disapproval. It tugged their arm again.

Guess I don't have a choice. They thought.

It tugged again, stomping impatiently.

“I'm coming, I'm coming.” They told it, following the former unicorn through the trees.

I hope it doesn't freak Mama out.

XXX

Surprisingly, the Star-Touched knew exactly where they had come from, and guided them straight back to Datura's home.

“Uh, thanks? Bye now.” Enzo awkwardly waved it goodbye, trying to walk away from the creature.

It tugged them back, shooting them a dirty look like they'd just tried to get away with something naughty.

“She said we could play, you know.” Enzo mumbled as the Star-Touched marched him to the door.

The Star-Touched had to crane its neck down to knock on the door with its horn. Enzo covered their face to hide their burning cheeks.

Chusi opened the door, Nibs was napping in her hair. She glanced at them then the Star-Touched holding them by the arm, and back to them.

“There you are kid, we were starting to get worried.” Chusi said, ruffling their hair.

They stared at her in shock.

“You're not questioning this?” They gestured to the massive creature that had decided it needed to bring them home.

“Kid, I'm literally a dragon.” She responded calmly.

“I'll take it from here.” She told the Star-Touched.

It released their arm, giving them a little nudge into the house, Enzo shot a glare over their shoulder. It snorted in a suspiciously laugh-like way.

“See ya later.” Chusi said, closing the door once the Star-Touched headed off.

“Who was that, darling?” Datura asked from the living room.

“Just Bluey, it decided Enzo here needed to come home.” Chusi said, ruffling up their hair again.

“You okay starshine?” Mama asked, standing up from her spot in the living room.

“Yeah I'm fine, King's fine too.” They said cheerfully.

Some of the tension left Mama's shoulders, she sat back down. Enzo peered at whatever they had all been sitting around.

“What’re you doing?” He asked.

“Chusi and I are doing some weaving, and I'm helping Edalyn refresh her knitting skills.” Datura said.

She was sitting on the couch facing the fireplace, to the far side of her was a really big loom, there was another on the other side that looked like Chusi was working on. Datura was working away at hers with her three back tentacles, her hands were busy with knitting something. Mama was sitting next to her with her own knitting needles, hers looked a lot messier than Datura's.

Mama noticed them staring and snorted.

“Go ahead, laugh all you want you little turd.” She said teasingly, waving her attempt around lazily.

“No, I think it's pretty good!” Enzo said.

“Your songbird always was better with textile work.” Datura chuckled.

Mama's face reddened and she hid her face in her hands.

“Not in front of the kids.” She pleaded.

Enzo cocked their head to the side.

“Who's the songbird?” They asked.

Datura and Chusi glanced at each other with matching grins.

“Well, owlet, your little disguise looks an awful lot like them.” Datura snickered.

Mama mumbled something under her breath.

“What's that supposed to mean?” Enzo asked.

“Your mom will tell you when she's ready. Or you'll bump into them.” Chusi told them.

Enzo frowned slightly at the less than satisfactory answer.

“Would you like to try knitting, Owlet?” Datura asked, offering them a pair of knitting needles.

“Really?!” Enzo nearly dropped King in their excitement.

He snarled at them in irritation, wiggling free of their grasp to go curl by the fireplace.

Enzo sat down between Datura and Mama, eagerly taking the needles from Datura.

“First step, loop the yarn on the needle…”

____________________________________________________________________________________________

*a slug is an infertile egg in the reptile world, Chusi had an infertile egg not a literal slug.

Fun fact! Unicorn muzzles open up like demigorgons, they have a true mouth hidden within the false one, their skin peels back and opens like a flower, revealing their sharp, dangerous true mouth. I thought it'd be fitting for the Boiling Isles.

The Serpent and the Tree are the ones from the story Datura told a few chapters back.

Things like the Great Serpent and the Great Tree are all beings that came about after the extinction of the Titans that were exposed to the freshly spilled Titan's Blood and did not die from it. They aren't as powerful as the Titans, but collectively they've taken over the role of Titans, protectors and guardians of their own areas, they have much smaller ranges than the Titans did, so there are more around the isles and in other parts of the world, they all have a collective beef with Titan Trappers naturally. So they've become Demi gods or the new gods.

The Guardian/Star-Touched One is not like the demi god beings, they're older and made from a different type of blood.

[violetjedisylveon]

Enzo And Swamp Kittens

Eda raises two gods AU link here. This AU is officially a year old today(June 6th, happy pride month).

Tada! Enzo is now a glorified nap spot for kittens. They are very happy about it.

I said mushroom hat, I give you a mushroom hat. It's based on blue milk mushrooms which are a real thing, look it up they are amazing.

Enzo's left arm is bandaged cause it got burned a couple chapters back in case you don't remember. You can see a bit of the burning too!

Drawing all those kittens feels like it took a lot longer than it actually did, there's five of them and I had to make sure I hadn't missed anything on all of them or left things incomplete and while it was a lot of fun, not gonna draw that many extra, tiny things in an image for a while.

I really love this one, it's just so cute and I got really into all the mushrooms and now I need mushroom boots and hat of my own.

Summer's here so that means graduating and more importantly time to draw! Lots of it.

I was thinking about maybe making some swamp cat stickers, with the cute and deadly design from this, but also some other various swamp cat ideas I have. I originally made it up while bored at school and incorporated the idea into the AU.

I dunno, don't want anything to traceable back to me cause all this is a secret. If it's too much then it'll get suspicious to my family and my parents will ask questions and the whole reason I picked Tumblr in the first place was to avoid the chances of being seen by family members.

This was super fun and it's really exciting to celebrate the first full year of this silly lil au idea exisitng and being a full thing.

So thank you all and I hope you all have a good day, whatever that is for you!

VJS Out!