#LUZ TRYING TO LEARN TO TAKE UP VEE'S PLACE WHO TOOK UP HER PLACE

[haystarlight]

I stared at this picture for a little too long and wrote this:

"Mom says I have to go back to school soon," Luz lamented, like she was giving them some terrible news. She laid down on the grass, next to her girlfriend, feeling the warm sunlight on her tan skin.

"Yeah, that makes sense; I couldn't go in your place forever," reasoned Vee, who was on her basilisk form, laying on her stomach and playing with a leaf she'd found on the ground. "I'm gonna have to lend you my notes, you have a lot of homework to catch up on."

All 6 kids were hanging out on the front yard of the abandoned house taking a little break from all the research they had been doing trying to build a portal. Being on an isolated location rarely visited by unknown humans allowed them the freedom to uncover their ears, let out their Palismen and use magic as they pleased. It was a very comfortable place.

Amity noticed her girlfriend's bad mood and closed the book she was reading to look at her.

"Maybe we can come with you?" she suggested, on an attempt to cheer Luz up.

"Oh, oh!" Gus exclaimed, jumping up and down on the tree branch he had climbed. The others worried that he would fall, but they knew they could catch him if he did. "We can attend human classes and learn like you did at Hexside! I can take notes and show the kids from the H.A.S. when we get back!"

"Aww, that's really sweet, you guys," smiled Luz, endeared by the image. "but I don't think that's a good idea."

"Aaww, why not?" Gus pouted.

"Well, for starters, none of you have birth certificates or any legal documents to get enrolled."

"And?"

"And you guys still don't know a lot about humans, you're probably going to blow your cover."

"And?"

"And human school is actually really horrible and boring," Luz frowned, fighting back old memories of bullying and bad grades and rude teachers.

"I honestly really like human school," said Vee "it's fun!"

"You're insane," whispered Luz, though it was clear that she was joking.

"Guys, I'm actually with Luz on this one," Hunter said. He was sitting cross-legged under Gus's tree, idly petting Flapjack.

"Who are you and what have you done with our Hunter?" Gus leaned down to glare daggers at his older friend.

Hunter laughed. "But seriously, going to human school is quite risky and we need to stay focused on building the portal!"

"Come on, Hunter!" argued Amity "I thought you of all witches would've jumped at the chance to study and learn new things."

"Not saying I don't want to, I'm saying it's a bad idea," Hunter got defensive "you're with me; right, Willow?"

Willow, who had been laying at Amity's side and looking away from them this whole time, didn't respond.

"Willow?" Hunter asked again.

This time, Willow turned around and let out the biggest, loudest, ugliest snore ever. The girls, especially Amity, looked disgusted while Gus laughed. Hunter, meanwhile, stared at her open-mouthed like this was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen.

"That explains why she hasn't talked for like, 20 minutes," said Gus, still laughing.

"Shhhh!! Don't wake her!" Hunter shushed him "let her sleep, she needs it."

"You're kidding, right? She's the one always keeping us awake with her ungodly noises," Amity rolled her eyes as she said this.

" 'Sides, Willow can sleep through pretty much anything," added Luz.

Vee suddenly smiled maniacally. "Let's test that theory."

She took her leaf and started tickling Willow's face with it.

While Vee kept at it, the other 3 observed with quiet giggles. Hunter rolled his eyes, a little annoyance, a little fondness. Honestly, if it had been anyone else, he probably would've been onboard with the joke but his soft spot for Willow made it difficult to make fun of her.

He sighed, hopeless. She was just so adorable and delicate and beautiful. He watched her, still snoring and drooling and kicking Amity in her sleep a little bit. The sunlight reflected on her glasses in the most perfect way and he suddenly wanted to keep this moment with him and commit it to memory.

That's when he remembered that Willow's (originally Camila's) camera was still in her bag and, without really thinking, he took it and snapped a picture of this absolutely wonderful image.

Unfortunately, the flash from the camera attracted attention from the rest of the group. They all stared at him strangely, making his face and ears go a deep shade of red.

"What was that?" asked Luz, though her smile implied she already knew.

"I-I j-just..." he stuttered, scrambling for a good answer "I w-wanted to capture the moment cause... it seemed like it'd make a good picture because... uh..." he sighed, defeated "she just looked so cute."

"Cute?" Amity laughed "are you sure? that starfish creature next to me?"

That made Hunter's face even redder. "I think it's actually weirdly endearing!"

The other 4 laughed and Gus especially shaked his head in disbelief. Love really did make you blind and deaf. If what he'd seen from Luz, Amity, Hunter and Willow was any indication, he feared the day he would find the love of his life, for that would be the day he'd forever lose all his braincells.

Not long after that, Willow stirred awake. She stretched her arms, took off her glasses to rub her eyes and groaned.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty!" said Luz, cheerfully.

"Did you have a nice nap?" asked Vee, dropping the leaf.

"Yeah," Willow smiled, still a little sleepy.

"Oh! Willow, look!" Luz called her attention, quickly grabbing the photograph from Hunter's grasp and handing it to his crush.

Willow looked at the picture, pleasantly surprised.

"Aww, what a nice photo! It's a really cute and fun moment and the light is hitting my face just right!"

Hunter felt an odd mix of embarrassment from her seeing the picture and pride from her liking it. Willow was really passionate about photography, not to mention the most amazing witch he knew, so the compliment meant a lot.

"This is really good, who took it?" she looked at the 2 boys, because it was obvious none of the girls had done it.

Hunter avoided eye contact and fidgeted with Flapjack's feathers shyly while Gus got a shit-eating grin on his little face.

"Hunter took it!"

Hunter looked up at his younger friend, feeling betrayed.

"Wow, Hunter!" Willow smiled at him "I didn't know you were such a good photographer."

Hunter was blushing much more happily now. He allowed himself to return her smile, showing off his tooth gap.

"I learned from the best," he miraculously managed to say without fainting.

[zfiledh]

Headcanons: The Owl House

In no particular order:

Luz and Camila took Amity, Hunter, Gus and Willow to Comic Con dressed like characters from Cosmic Frontier. They actually got to meet the creator(s) of Cosmic Frontier, who were very bemused by Gus and Hunter asking a multitude of questions and Gus’ warning about the giraffes. Luz and Amity got to hang out with fans of The Good Witch Azura.

After the Collector installed the new portal door, Jacob Hopkins managed to get out of jail and attempted to sneak into the house. The last anyone heard from Jacob, he was trying to set up an online fundraiser to get home from Mars (when he really was sent to a place called Quinhagak, Alaska.)

Months after Belos fell, Alador and Odalia divorced. Odalia tried to revive their original arms business, but it fell flat. Amity, Edric and Emira never spoke to her again.

Masha learned the truth about Vee and the Demon Realm. In fact, they’re one of the first humans to attend Gus’ Human Student Exchange Program.

Some sketchy ex-Coven Heads (the Potions Head, Terra, & Adrian) and Kikimora attempted to take over the Boiling Isles and replace the vacancy left by Belos. This was quickly thwarted by the B.A.T.T.s C.A.T.T.s and the Hexside squad and a thorough investigation and trial took place. Unsurprisingly, Odalia was also implicated in the plot because of the subpar Abomotons that were used. The plotters and Odalia were banished from the Boiling Isles and sent to Titan Trapper Island to live out their sentence. Kikimora worked out a plea deal and that’s how she was found working with Matt Tholomule to rebuild Bonesborough.

Eda and her dad have a better relationship these days, to Gwendolyn’s delight. Dell and Gwendolyn have also doted on King and Hunter. In fact, Eda was the one who introduced Hunter to Dell after Luz mentioned that Hunter wanted to learn how to carve Palismen.

A delegation was sent to Titan Trapper Island, and Bill is no longer the leader there. Tarak was appointed as the new leader and he promised that he and his people will not to go after the last Titan (King). It also helped that The Collector was included in that delegation to seal the deal and promised to build a portal between the two islands if the Titan Trappers behaved...and changed their way of dressing and the name of their island.

Lilith unlocked her harpy form the same way Eda did: with cookies made by Hooty. However, it wasn’t as “smooth” as Eda’s transformation, but with the help from Eda, Gwendolyn, and Camila, she was able to take control of her transformations. Hooty was also temporarily banned from the kitchen. Right after she managed this, Lilith showed off her transformation in front of Flora.

Luz told Eda what Papa Titan told her, and Eda felt honored. Though Eda was a bit offended about the Titan questioning her homemade apple blood recipe.

The Therapy Coven had never been busy after the fall of Belos. Hunter and Raine in particular spent some time with them because of the shared trauma of possession by Belos.

Hunter elected to stay with Darius, though he's always welcome with the Nocedas back in the Human Realm, with the Parks, the Blights (minus Odalia), Eda, and the senior Clawthornes.

Willow introduced Hunter to her dads after Hunter finished gushing about sewing and wolves with Darius and Eberwolf.

Boscha peaked in high school.

The Bat Queen sensed that there was something about Hunter, and Hunter told her about Flapjack’s sacrifice. After that talk, Hunter also became welcome in The Bat Queen’s forest.

Luz and Amity got more “mundane, slice-of-life dates”, both in the human realm and the demon realm.

The Collector visits King from time to time, and the Hexside squad learned to relax around them and teach them about how to approach people and play other games.

There was an attempt to introduce Camila to the food in the Boiling Isles. Suffice to say, she was only able to eat griffin eggs like Luz, though she found the animals there quite fascinating.

Viney and Jerbo eventually became friends again, to Barkus’ relief. (Barkus knew they would become friends, it was a matter of when.)

Principal Bump officially retired as Principal the following year. That was not the end of his love of education because he spent the next year to reach out to Glandus and St. Epiderm about revising their curriculum and offering multiple magic tracks.

[drabbles-of-writing]

how would your aus be like now that we know more stuff about the show?

oh god there would be sooooooo incredibly many changes. some I'm gonna leave alone unless directly asked but for some main ones atm--

Four Years: oh dear god so many changes. both just from learning more and also from the fact of being an au I came up with when I was 14 and I would never recommend anyone ever be the age of 14, my sincerest apologies to one luz noceda. I could make a whole other post about this but just to keep it simple lets sayyyyyy...first of all, Amity doesn't go into the Emperor's Coven. I personally still like the idea, but it doesnt really fit. theres helping her mom show off to customers, and then theres being forced into a Coven that wants to murder her crush and her crush's adoptive mom. Amity gives me the impressive of someone who would just start biting. Escaping Expulsion was Amity's "standing up to her mom" episode and I love that sm for her, I'm thinking maybe it could be redone in this au to also involve refusing to even consider the Coven? Dunno, but I know Amity doesn't join it, and neither do the twins.

Keene doesn't exist anymore, obviously. we're back on the Hunter show babey and his redemption arc (like most arcs here) take a much longer time to get on with. most remains the same, but he has a lot more interaction with Luz & the gang prior to Eclipse Lake. that episode becomes more of a "we were making so much progress but then the Panic Button hit in and everything collapsed in on itself" and then some tension between the gang of Hunter feeling shitty and not talking, the guys trying to figure out whats with him, and then Hollow Mind comes in an fucks up everything, as per usual

No more angsty fics about Camila missing her daughter because Vee's here now! yaaaaay. but this does mean Camila went a longer time without ever realizing her daughter was someone else, although I imagine at some point she WOULD feel that something was just Off. obviously shes a regular human shes not gonna think a shapeshifter took the place of her daughter, but shes gonna know something is Off and Strange but she cant put her finger on it and Luz seems happy...most of Yesterday's Lie remains the same but since it's at least been two years, maybe three, since Luz has seen her mom, she looks MUCH different than how Vee changed her appearance, so it throws Camila off quite a bit

smaller things will also stay, such as Luz becoming the Owlet and everyone being their own kinda brand of rebel. I'd have to figure out how to slide in Raine, Darius, Eberwolf, etc, somewhere in here. I'll figure it out

Beta: this one stays the most unchanged I think? granted I was updating it slightly more with updates in the show than Four Years. Hunter is still local nephew of principal and Belos's plan still involves killing all witches but its just in the "saving humanity from these evils" instead of "saving humanity from these evils and then going home". still unsure how the grimwalkers would tie into this, if my guy was just continuously making kids or if hes not actually a puritan and just a nasty old guy, and all the other golden guards are Hunter's older brothers? and he was possibly kidnapped when he was a baby or something? that part im the least sure on

Emperor: well, first of all, the duo of Amity & Luz becomes the trio of Amity, Luz & Hunter. none of them get along. Amity is constantly exasperated by Luz and her dumbassery & Luz thinks shes uptight and a tryhard at times. Luz and Hunter are dumbass on dumbass hatecrimes because Luz also thinks hes uptight but also a massive brat who thinks hes better than everyone & Hunter thinks shes annoying as hell and beneath him on every level. Hunter and Amity just take one look at each other, smell the Gifted Child With Parental Issues Trying To Be Perfect In Every Single Way on each other, and immediately drop into offensive hissing cat positions.

Luz and Hunter are the ones who get along first, mostly cause Luz getting brought over to the Emperor's Coven kind of guaranteed she'd run into Hunter first and they'd end up sticking to each other and realize they're massive nerds. Luz and Amity get along next through the power of Luz being stubborn and wlw. Hunter and Amity are last and technically it only really happens because they may be petty and spiteful but they can and will set that aside for one goal: being even pettier and even more spiteful to anyone being mildly annoying to Luz

This AU in particular hasn't had a lot of updates to it so theres a lot of room to work with her. Luz technically becomes friends with Willow and Gus because shes undercover trying to get new recruits (shes terrible at it). this also means that Hunter is more easily converted to the side of Oh Belos Fucking Sucks because he already has adopted sister Luz telling him to Run and her mildly okay girlfriend yoinking him along. course this also means it fucks up Luz even more to see that Hunter is a grimwalker and, per paraphrased word of Belos, she was the favorite. if it came down to it, Belos would've happily let Hunter die, hell, would've even done it on purpose. by virtue of being human, and Hunter being a clone, she was, in fact, given special treatment, and if anything went slightly wrong then Hunter would've died. these kids are fucked up

[imhumanguysiswear]

Ok so I wanted to try to write a little fic (first fic ever guys) based on yesterday post, unfortunately things got out of hand (I don’t know when to stop writing) so… enjoy?

Five weeks passed since Vee got caught and Camila learned of her real nature, since Camila had realized that all these past months she had been living with a refugee from another world and that her daughter was now stuck in said world.

The first week she had a lot of distrust toward Vee, at the end she had lied for months, only during the second week something clicked for Camila: if Vee was dangerous she would have hurt her already; since then she started to see Vee for what she actually was, a scared kid who desperately needed a home.

By the end of the third week they had started bonding over cooking (Vee absolutely loved Camila empanadas) and documentaries, and finally after a month of getting to know her as the real Vee Camila realized she was beginning to see the kid as one of her daughters.

Five weeks passed and Camila was freaking out. It all started some days ago, during a particular cold day while they were watching a wildlife documentary on the Tv before going to sleep, as part of the now familiar routine they fell into.

“Can I snuggle closer? I’m feeling cold”

“Sure mija, com’here”

And as Camila hugged Vee she noticed her skin was actually very cold.

“Vee, sorry for asking but you’re cold-blooded right?”

“Cold what?”

“Oh, it means your body takes its heat only from external sources, I’m asking because you’re very cold Vee”

“Ohhh yeah probably, maybe that’s why I like standing in the sun so much now that I think about it”

And Vee settled back listening to the Tv, while Camila thoughts started racing: “She’s not human, her needs are different from mines, have I been neglecting her without knowing?”

The clock signed 3a.m, Camila was in her studio, her desk covered in notes and a dozen of various books about reptiles from her vet clinic and the library, in front of her her pc on a eBay page, searching for the biggest heat lamp she could find without making it look like she was keeping an alligator.

Camila had been on the brink of sleep for hours at this point, but a tiny voice from the back of her mind kept her awake: “you’re a bad mom, Camila. First you drive away Luz, and now you can’t even take care of Vee properly! What a good mother you are!”

And now Camila was on her third day without sleep, all day closed in her office trying to figure out how to care for Vee in the best way possible.

Her unusual behavior didn’t pass unnoticed though, as Vee, who just woke up from a nightmare and noticed the light coming from Camila room, decided to finally see what was going on

“Camila? It’s late, are you still awake?”

“Mija, remember what i told you last week, you can call me mom! And don’t worry I’m just looking some stuff up. Actually, now that you’re here I’d need your help” she said, gesturing for her to come closer and look at the screen with her.

“Mom? What are those?”

“Oh, those are heat lamps, it’s to get cold blooded animals warm in colder climates. You’re always feeling so cold and I thought you’d like something like this! Now, which one do you like more?” Pointing at various options on the screen.

“But mama! Did you see the price? Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure mija, I have been neglecting you long enough”

“Neglecting? What do you mean? I took your daughter place and instead of throwing me out you told me to call you mom! I have lied to you for months! You’re the kindest person ever!”

“Vee, you still have needs that can’t be filled with just love, you’re a basilisk and I have been treating you like a human for months, your needs are different and I failed to meet them, that’s neglecting!”

Vee was a bit taken aback by her mother outburst, surprised

“Seriously, I don’t ne-“

“Vee, mija, please, I don’t know how they treated you before you came here but I’m a vet and first of all a mother, I notice things! You’re always so cold and you always look so hungry even after eating!” She was pointing at her notes now “from what I figured out you’re a reptile, you’re cold blooded and your teeth and fangs suggest a meat based diet and-“

“Mom, is this why you’ve been locked up here the last three days?” Interrupted Vee “I thought you just didn’t want to see me” she added with a tiny voice

“What? No, no, Vee, mija, I would never do that! You’re mi pequeña serpiente hija! I was worried about you! I don’t know what to feed you and your scales look so dull and you never shed and-“

“Mom, wait that’s what worried you?” Vee interrupted again, before continuing “I don’t need to eat, I just need the magic, but I only have the cards and they taste like cardboard. I eat because like the taste of your food! And you didn’t notice me shedding because it’s magic! The skin just poofs into the air and then i ate it!”

A surprised “Oh” came from Camila, realizing only now she should have asked Vee from the start

“I wouldn’t mind a heat lamp though” Vee said, looking at the various articles on the screen

“Well then, choose the one you prefer! Just nothing too big, ok mija? We don’t want people to think we’re keeping an animal without license here! And what if I cook the empanadas you like that much? Maybe I could sprinkle some of those magic cards in there…”

“It would be great, thanks mom! And can we get that one?” Vee said pointing at the screen

“Yes mija, now that we sorted this out what if we go to bed? It’s late” Camila yawned, the little voice finally shutting up for the first time in days and all the lost hours of sleep crushing back in

“Can I sleep with you tonight? I had a nightmare, I actually woke up for that in the first place…”

“Sure mija, com’here”

Fast forward a few days, Camila is making a very confused technician mount a very big heat lamp on top her newly adopted daughter bed, while said daughter is eating homemade biscuits infused with shredded magic cards and is trying to not laugh at the excuses her mom is making to said technician

[animation-recaps-by-sean]

The Owl House-Thanks to Them Recap

Luz and the witches struggle to adapt to the human realm while dark forces gather. Also Camila is MVP of cartoon moms. Spoilers below.

Well, this was fantastic. There was some fear as to see if the shortened season would hurt it. Answer, not yet. Now The Owl House was always a lean show, even its most fillery episodes contained some plot momentum, so the shortened time doesn’t seem to be affecting them as much as it did star vs or steven universe.

So we began right where we left off. I’m a little surprised at this as I thought we would get a time skip, but we do get to see mother and daughter reunite. So that’s nice. We do get a montage of the kids hanging out on Earth. Including Luz coming out to her mom in a sweet video and some nice lumity moments. I know everyone is talking about this as an abridged season and it’s hard not to, but this does work on its own. If you didn’t know about the cancellation, it works as a good montage. The whole episode is like this. The pacing of the whole episode is perfect. I’d rather celebrate what we have than mourn what might have been if that makes sense.

Luz is not dealing well with school, with the painful reminders of her past, that look the art teacher gives man, and Luz projecting onto a character in a class book, egg is still egg, and she’s the only one who can’t do magic. We do get some foreshadowing with Luz's pailsmen, which the egg is placed next to some snake skin.

Camila is the real MVP of this episode. She’s trying to research on how best to raise nonhuman kids and she's down to find them blood. She’s even reading into gender nonbinary; I do wonder if it’s for the gender nonconforming Luz or the shapeshifting Vee. We also learn that she was a god damn trekkie. That’s so cute. What’s not so cute, Camila too was bullied as a teen and was pressured into sending Luz to the camp. It was so heartbreaking to watch Camila just get beaten down by society.

And we get to see the goth teen again. Who it turns out is non binary. Good for them. And they reveal the Whitbane brothers backstory. It’s what the fandom assumed, Caleb dating a witch, Philip kills him, but it’s nice to see it confirmed. It is weird that they don’t notice how different Luz is. Did Luz keep up with Vee’s friends when he took her life back? I think this is the only part I felt the loss of a full season. We do get to see them hang out with Vee in credits so that’s something.

Hunter is living his best life free of Belos, getting into wolves and the star trek knock off. So naturally he gets processed by Belos. They discover a bit of Titans blood, which makes Luz’s glyphs work again. The whole graveyard fight is wonderfully done. Both actionwise and thematic wise. And they went full smooth for the fight.  Vee, you would think would be super helpful here but Willow pushes her to the side after Belos nearly punches her.

Hunter takes back control and drowns himself, but Belos just slimes out of him and opens the portal. An injured flapjack gives his life to save Hunter. God, listening to everyone talk about if the hospital could even help Hunter gave me chills. Hunter lives with a renewed view of his identity. He tells Luz she’s not to blame, Belos tricks people, that's what he does. Camila declares that she’ll go with the gang to the demon realm, helping to save Luz’s relationship with the people she loves.

Willow acts like she’ll be back, Vee stays behind which is a little sad but a) she has trauma associated with the Boiling Isles and b) the writers have enough characters to juggle for the finale two specials.

This was a fantastic episode and kudos to the crew making some damn fine lemonade from some sour lemons. 4/4

[juliettedunn]

The Surprise Party (Part 4)

Part 1 can be found here

Part 2 can be found here

Part 3 can be found here

Part 5 can be found here

Hey everyone! I am back with the Hunter and Camila chapter; enjoy the wholesomeness.

***

When they first received their ice cream, Camila had forgotten to warn Hunter before he took a massive bite. He had squeaked at the chill, but after it had worn off he was able to appreciate the flavor,  and was now happily licking it every so often as he paused in his infodump, only to launch right back into it a moment later.

Camila, seated with him at one of the pink metal outdoor tables the ice cream parlor provided, listened with an unrestrained smile. The sun shone down, warm but not boiling, and a striped green umbrella provided adequate shade.

For their day out, she had first taken him to the movie theater, and while she usually enforced the rule of leaving the Palismen at home for discreteness, Flapjack was such a grounding presence for Hunter that it would have been more harmful to leave him behind.

The cardinal had nestled inside Hunter’s jacket while they watched the film, and Hunter had slipped him so many pieces of popcorn that Camila was certain he was going to leave the theater much fatter than before. As a vet, she would never encourage such a practice, though she wasn’t sure if Palismen had the same biological health issues as regular animals did. Could an animated piece of wood even digest popcorn?

She had so many questions, and Hunter was only too happy to supply the answers or speculate along with her, though right now he was busy talking about his favorite Earth animal.

The ice cream was a last minute idea Camila came up with. She often visited this place with Luz, since it was the only one to give a variety of non-dairy options; flavors good enough that she started ordering them that way too. Taking Hunter here gave the other kids more time for picking their gifts. She hoped they were having fun; she had aided Vee and Luz in explaining as much as possible to them, but even Camila got confused in the mall at times, and these kids certainly had a knack for getting into trouble.

“Camila?” Camila refocused on Hunter, who was looking at her nervously. “Sorry if I’m rambling too much, I just, uh…I’m excited you told me about wolves.”

“Oh, no, don’t be sorry. I love hearing about what you learned.”

“Well, you were right!” he said happily. “The alpha isn’t mean to the others! It’s not a huge competition, they all work together!”

Camila laughed. “Did you doubt me?”

Hunter flinched. “N-no, sorry ma’am.”

Camila internally reprimanded herself. She had never been an overly sarcastic person, but she was used to teasing Luz and Vee, and she had to remind herself that Hunter wasn’t comfortable with it.

Or rather, he enjoyed teasing when it came from his friends, but not from adults.

“Oh sweetie, no, you’re not in trouble. I was trying to tease you, I’m sorry if I scared you.”

Hunter visibly relaxed once more. “Oh. Of course, I knew that. Sorry.”

He was clearly uncomfortable, so Camila changed the subject. “Humans have a lot to learn from wolves, huh? Oh! I mean, humans and witches. Or…or maybe not. Maybe you witches have it figured out better.” Sometimes she really needed to stop talking. As much as she wanted to be sensitive, there weren’t any guides on witch culture and how to be respectful of it; she couldn’t research it the way she’d been researching sexuality and gender identity. She hoped she wasn’t being wildly offensive.

“Yeah,” said Hunter. “I think we all can.”

Camila was proud she had been able to introduce Hunter to wolves. When she first saw the timid boy, soaking wet from the rain, shivering, and mistrustful, Camila instantly wanted to comfort him and tell him everything would be okay, just like with all the other kids Luz had brought home. 

And, with very little time, she had been able to bond with all of them. But Hunter spent the most time with her of any of them besides Luz and Vee. Almost immediately he had taken to following her around the house, asking if he could do little tasks for her.

He shared this in common with the sweet, lavender-haired girl Luz loved; both seemed extra eager to please Camila, and tensed up in a similar manner  when she first entered a room.

The first time Hunter leapt up excitedly and greeted her when she got home was one of her happiest moments. 

He had even started to share some of what he had been through with her. She could tell he was holding back, but she knew enough to understand who had given him the scar on his cheek. 

When he talked about authority and what leadership meant to him, she knew she had to show him another way. She told him about wolves, and the misconceptions about what an “alpha” was. 

His eyes had grown wider as she described wolf packs and the respect wolves had for each other. She made sure to emphasize the way the  pack looked out for the pups, and treated them as precious.

She hadn’t expected him to be so taken with the animals, but he had made them his passion, and she couldn’t be more delighted. A lifetime of defending wolves from misconceptions had exhausted Camila, and it was nice to have someone to share cute wolf pictures with.

After about ten minutes of Hunter’s rambling, Flapjack peeped his head out from Hunter’s pocket and chirped at him.

“Yes, birds are still my favorite animal, don’t worry,” said Hunter, giving the cardinal an affectionate rub on the head.

Of all the things she learned about the Boiling Isles, the concept of Palismen was Camila’s favorite. She loved having critters in the house that didn’t need to be cleaned up after, especially ones that were so irresistibly adorable.

As much as she knew typical animals were more intelligent than people gave them credit for, Palismen were even more so, and she often caught them doing little things to help out their people.

Gus occasionally went nonverbal, and they had worked out a system where Emmeline would change color to signal if he wanted them to interact with him or leave him alone. He could use his illusions to communicate sometimes, but if he had too much anxiety sometimes Emmeline was the only one that could help.

Ghost had run and fetched Camila when Amity was in the midst of an anxiety attack, and as soon as they entered the room Ghost had rubbed her head against Amity, grounding her while Camila figured out the best way to help.

Willow, though she always seemed the most put-together, would show tell-tale signs of burnout, and Camila caught Clover buzzing at her once or twice, almost like she was giving a firm reminder that Willow needed to quit trying to manage everything for once, before giving Willow a comforting nuzzle.

And Flapjack…Flapjack almost never left Hunter’s side. Hunter had admitted that for a while Flapjack was his only friend, though now Camila could see he was able to seek comfort from the others. Still, the bird was immeasurably important to him.

As if mirroring Camila’s thoughts, Hunter stroked Flapjack’s feathers absently, and Flapjack closed his eyes, content. 

“You have such a wonderful bond with him,” said Camila. “You take good care of each other.”

Hunter looked up, frowning. “Well, I hope I take care of him as much as he takes care of me. I didn’t exactly treat him the best when we first met, but he’s always been kind to me.”

“You treat him wonderfully. You’re so good with animals.”

“I…I am?”

“Not everyone has such a natural instinct.  The world needs more of your tenderness toward animals.”

Hunter blushed. “Oh. Th-thanks. I guess I never thought of myself as good with animals.”

“Really? It seems like it’s a natural gift you have.”

“Well I guess I never got much experience with them, until lately. It’s really nice, having someone trust me. I never expected it. I guess I…I just assumed I was a cold, tough person. That was who I was. But now, I don’t really want to be that way. I like being soft. I love animals. Do you…do you think I could help out at your vet clinic some time?”

“Of course! I think everyone would love that. And it would get you out of the house.”

“Okay! Though I don’t mind being in the house, really. You’ve been so kind to us.”

“I know, but I can imagine it gets boring.”

“Well, ever since you let us start using the computer, it’s been a lot better.”

“I noticed you use that a lot. Are you making some online friends?”

Camila had been worried about letting the group onto the internet, but Vee had promised to monitor them, and at a certain point she felt cruel for not allowing it, given how limited their world already was.

“Sort of,” said Hunter. “I discovered these people called ‘furries.’”

Vaguely, Camila remembered hearing something about that from Luz, but she couldn’t remember what a furry was. “And…what is that?”

Hunter brightened. “It’s an animal that talks and dresses up and walks on two legs! Like demons in the Boiling Isles, but with human realm animals. And people can make these things called ‘fursonas.’ It’s an animal that represents you! You can make it look however you want, and some people even dress up in costumes of their fursona!”

Camila had no clue what Hunter was talking about, but his excitement was infectious. “Muy chévere! Do you have a fursona?”

Hunter fidgeted. “I’m working on one. Luz was helping me with the design, she knows a lot more about that stuff than I do.”

“Oh, I’m so glad you have each other.”

“Yeah. Ha. Luz is great. I owe a lot to her.”

“And you are a big support to her as well.”

Hunter smiled. “I’d like to be.” 

He went quiet, like he didn’t know what to say next, so Camila prompted him. “And what kind of animal is your fursona?”

“She’s…she’s a wolf. But I might change it.”

“Why?”

“Well I…I’ve been seeing some stuff and people say wolves aren’t a cool fursona anymore. Especially if it's multicolored and things. They use a word…cringey? Yeah. Everyone uses a wolf, so I should pick something cooler.”

Camila was all too familiar with that pattern of thinking. “Hunter, why did you choose a wolf in the first place?”

“Because I really like them, and what you were saying about them. I think they’re a cool animal to be.”

“So you chose them because of their personal meaning to you, not because everyone else did them.”

“Yeah, I didn’t know they were so common. But now I do, I’m kind of embarrassed about it.”

“Hmm. Didn’t you say a fursona was about your identity? Why would you choose something just to seem cooler? You know, maybe wolves are popular for a reason. I bet I’d choose a wolf fursona if I had one.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! Luz has mentioned this ‘cringe culture’ thing. Es disparate. People who do that are just scared to love things.Yu are a being from another world! You came here from an interdimensional portal! Why would you care what boring humans think? If a wolf fits you, then choose a wolf.”

Hunter wiped his eyes. “Th-thanks, Camila. I will. I actually think I’m going to make her a hybrid. She’s mostly wolf, but with wings and feathers on her legs!”

“Ooh, do you have a drawing?”

Hunter nodded. “I’m not the greatest at art; I never really had much time to practice. But Luz has been working on sketches for me. She made this.”

He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. Camila chuckled to herself at the reveal that he carried around a drawing of his fursona. How dare those internet teenagers make him feel bad?

He held up the drawing, and it was indeed Luz’s cutesy style. 

“Wow, I love it! She looks so cool. Tough, but kind.”

“Yeah, exactly! She’s really strong but also loving; she’s super loyal to her friends. I’m going to ask Luz to give her some wings. It’s really nice of her to do that for me.”

“That’s my daughter.”

Having finished the ice cream, Hunter broke off a few pieces of the cone and slipped them to Flapjack, then bit into the rest. Crumbs went flying and he tensed, the old fear returning in his eyes.

Camila laughed to show him it was alright, and he laughed back, swiping up the crumbs. “This was really good! Thank you so much for having this day with me.”

“Of course, mijo.” The term just slipped out, and Camila worried it would make him uncomfortable. She had been thinking of him as "mijo" in her head for quite some time now, ever since she learned he had no parents, but she didn’t know how he would feel about it.

“What’s that mean?” he asked, tilting his head. “I’m sorry, I haven’t learned that word yet.”

“It’s a loving nickname,” said Camila. 

“Oh.” He smiled, then furrowed his brow. “You call Luz and Vee mija, right? I’ve…never heard you call anyone else that before.”

Camila hesitated. “You mean to me, Hunter. To all of us."

Flapjack chirped in agreement.

Hunter looked briefly taken aback, then his smile returned in full force. “Thanks. I think I’m finally starting to believe that.”

***

Let me know what you think! The fic is almost over, just a bit more to go. I appreciate all the comments I've gotten; I am so glad people are enjoying it so much.

Part 1 can be found here

Part 2 can be found here

Part 3 can be found here

Part 5 can be found here

[tedturneriscrazy]

And here we are with Yesterday's Lie, the season 2A finale!

Wow, this came up quick, huh?

Anyways...

What are you doing with all that, not-Luz?

(Also, cute photo of younger Luz. She had hair!)

That musical cue when not-Luz adjusted her hair was rather unnerving

Judging by Camila's reaction to that box being set out, she wasn't lying when she said she loved Luz's creativity

Freeing the rabbit from the trap did a lot to establish more of Camila's character. I'm glad we're finally getting more of her.

OH SHIT REAL LUZ IN THE MIRROR

"Are you sure this isn't gonna blow our faces off?" "Nope!"

That's a rather eclectic collection of ingredients for the door

I wonder if Amity also provided the abomination head

Group hug❤

There's the trailer shot

You only appear in reflections, huh? Interesting...

Jeez, Luz, priorities!

(Oh who am I kidding, the fact she's still thinking about her girlfriend is adorable)

I do love it when her accent comes through

Whoops, looks like wherever this is the magic of the Isles doesn't reach

Previously unmentioned dad whose face is obscured in the photo

GASP

Spider-Man moment

Oh, voice change in not-Luz!

Classic "I ain't goin' back, man!" moment

Also, it's beta Luz's bat!

"Monster Slayer Academia" I'm not entirely sure that doesn't actually exist...

"I will never understand anime..."😂😂😂

Oh, true form time!

Vee's gonna be a fan favorite, isn't she? (I ask, full well knowing the answer)

I mean, I've already seen plenty of Luca x Owl House fan art, so I imagine that may intensify

Luz seems to be quite understanding all things considered. I suppose all the people in the "Doppelganger isn't evil, actually" camp have been vindicated.

Oh, Eda

I don't think I like that camera...

So Gravesfield, Connecticut, huh?

Welp, there's a statue of a man that's probably Philip Wittebane

Oh, partially transformed Vee is gonna be irresistible to fanartists

Witch obsessed guy? Pamphlets? Hmm...

Wait, MARILYN?! As in Stan's ex?!

(I know she wasn't actually since the two shows don't take place in the same universe, but no way that nod wasn't deliberate)

"She tried to pay for a latte with a live raccoon" Eda I'm saying this in the nicest way possible: What the fuck

Those rats...buh

"BREAD OF WISDOM GRANTS US SPEECH! WE DESIRE MORE!"

Can't say I don't relate to Vee wrt confrontation

Luz has definitely had some...previous experiences with other kids. Creepy talking rats? Yes. Human high schoolers? No thank you.

Oh, fellow campers! Luz isn't the only one who had off-screen experiences.

That reading seemed...ominous

Right...contacts...

Side note: seems like that camp doesn't stomp out weirdness as thoroughly as previously speculated

Oh shit it's Sonic the Hedgehog! I mean Warden Wrath! I mean Roger Craig Smith!

I saw someone take issue with how Vee reacted to Luz running away to the Demon Realm, but considering her past experience and trauma, her reaction is understandable

Belos I don't care how much of a foxy grandpa you are, you fucking suck

"Skin's sure weird!"

She took the day off work to drive "Luz" to camp I just😭

Whether you think camp was a bad idea or not, Camila's a good mom

Oh dear, Sonic is a conspiracy bro

I guess we know who set up that camera. And the traps.

Oh, seems Eda didn't have elixir with her on one of her trips to the human realm...

"After watching a few Mew-tube videos I learned the truth!" Yup he's a conspiracy bro. Goddamnit, Sonic!

(I can rag on Sonic the Hedgehog all I want, I've been into the games since the Genesis days, well before most of y'all were even born)

Luz having a "BOI" moment

This guy definitely watches Alex Jones. Props to the TOH crew for teaching a new generation about these conspiracy creeps.

Vee is accustomed to a life on the run, but apparently not with Luz's determination and quick thinking.

Also, all this talk about being "outed?" Yeah I'm definitely seeing the trans allegory everyone's talking about.

Now Luz turns to the one person who can help

That "boop"❤ (Now we know where Luz gets it from)

Camila not believing all the Demon Realm stuff. Shocked. SHOCKED, I say.

Well shit, Camila's been a veterinarian all this time! Don't we all have egg on our faces!

It would explain how Luz is so good with animals

Sonic the Curator sure is something, huh

The scary thing is that there are people like him in real life. Worse, even.

Okay, I know this is a dire situation, but I am enamored with Camila's mom energy here. She's adorable.

Dude with a ponytail and cardinal on his shoulder to send the theorists in a tizzy. It'll be interesting to see how this all eventually comes together.

I just realized that that's a training wand on the table

And now Camila realizes this is no game

Further props to the TOH crew for making the antagonist of the episode a crackpot white dude. This is correct.

Yup, further trans allegory. Plus a nice example of a supportive-if-not-quite-understanding-everything parent.

And there's Camila going ham on a motherfucker. Turns out there was no lie in the "Two Truths and a Lie!" Rather, the lie was that there was a lie in the first place...My brain hurts.

Oh, she can appear in the rain. That's cool!

Now is time for Real Sad Hours

The way Camila is reacting...god...it hurts...

"Is this the only way I can touch you?" STOP😢

"Staying here was the best decision I ever made!" Uh oh...

That promise is totally not gonna come back up later in the most tragic, gutwrenching way possible. Nope. Nuh uh. No way that'll happen.

Dammit, Luz, not more lies! Oh, right. The episode title.

Her face really says it all.

Well, it wasn't quite the continuous pain train we convinced ourselves it was gonna be, but that ending? Ow. I'm glad Vee has the support she needs, but my heart hurts for the Nocedas. I really hope they can resolve the issues they clearly still have, because damn.

And now we get to chew on all that for the next however many months! Hooray! I knew I said I was ready for a hiatus, but it turns out I'm a big fat liar, because I'm not! Augh!

Well, I'll try to look on the bright side: At least my sleep schedule can normalize again? Also I can cancel my Sling subscription once 6-10 drop on D+. Neither DisneyNow nor Sling are optimal VOD experiences.

[traceofexistence]

Camila Talk

Important Note: Deleted, edited and reposted after @animerunner pointed out a major flaw on my part on how Luz would react to abuse. My original idea didn't take into consideration other ways that a response could play out, and for that I'm at fault.

I think at this point we have heard all about Camila, but the one thing that sticks out to me the most is the very extreme of Camila sending her queer neurodivergent child to conversion therapy for both of those parts of Luz’s individuality, to get abused and harmed.

I really REALLY think (AND TO MAKE IT CLEAR THIS IS MY VERY PERSONAL OPINION) that this is the furthest from the truth.

Here’s why:

the fact that we all know is that Luz brought snakes and spiders in school, she got in trouble for it, and was most probably going to get expelled if nothing change. The principal if I’m not mistaken gave Camila the flyer of the summer camp.

To imply that Camila never looked into the camp at all to see what they are about, and based her trust on the principal and that flyer alone, and sent her kid there first thing the next morning, implies 2 things, 1. either Camila is the worst parent to ever parent, or  2. you are young enough to have never been a parent or put a thought of what it means to be a parent, which is very normal, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing (I don’t have kids of my own but I have been trying to put context on my parents behaviours good and bad as an adult, and parenting is an occupation that interests me in a psychological level so not showing anything beyond “luz trouble=sent to camp” in the show itself was not black and white to me, I instantly implied that things have happened in between).

As we learn from the latest episode, she took the day off from work to take Luz to the camp, after Luz expressed that she didn’t want to go. That shows care from Camila.

What I get from that is that they had conversations about what happened and the camp for days (if not weeks), that Luz agreed to go, but at the day of leaving she changed her mind (because she’s a kid, and has feelings and second thoughts, it’s normal). That changed the plans for Camila, so she had to skip work.

If Camila was forcing Luz to go or was abusive Luz's initial reaction would be along the lines of “you ship me off because you don’t wont me” instead of the “yeah mom I don’t know, I don’t feel like going” we got. whether she would exhibit that reaction in an internal or external manner it would have been shown in animation to inform the audience. I lean more on an external reaction if that was the case (which was what I aimed for with the wording of the original post) because she usually express herself and her feelings.

I believe Camila looked the summer camp up, did research, read reviews etc and when Luz was not sure about going, she went with her to make sure everything was okay. On top of that, if Luz (in this case Vee) had written to her mom that she was not doing well in the camp or that she was not treated well, Camila would have not driven there she would manifest teleportation to take her child from there as fast as possible!

Now do we know anything about the camp? We do

The friends Vee made, they called it prison, but is seemed more of a place that they were bored to oblivion instead of being mistreated and abused. (of course for Vee was million times better than her previous situation, but for the other kids was just boring summer camp, that didn’t changed them to the slightest, they were still weirdos but with a less exciting summer.) If they were mistreated in the camp they would show signs of it when they interacted with each other, but they seemed happy they had made friends. So it seems it was just a normal summer camp with very boring activities.

Could Camila know what happened in the camp 100%? No.

Did she sent Luz there without any knowledge of what this camp was about? Absolutely not, that would be neglect and it makes zero sense with what we have seen of Camila.

Camila is shown as a caring parent, who loves her child, not someone who would ship their child off to wherever without care.

Does Camila make mistakes? Of course, she’s a human and she’s not perfect, but her mistakes are not out of malice.

Could she handle the school situation better? Probably, but she was between a hard place and a rock, so I’m not sure what would be better in this case. One thing is for sure though, she could have done much worst (again not out of malice), because sometimes not knowing how to handle a situation like this can lead to much worse mistakes.