#Luz should have been able to talk about these things and been comforted by her new friends about them | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

smokestarrules · 1 year

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Ok, so I'm back. I was pretending to do this in order of appearance but... anyways. I try to number the ideas, so is easier for you to answer :)

1) I think that the part when Luz tells the collector that forgiveness and compassion is not for everyone and the very death of the goop, is just so poetic.

Like, I was just getting Mr wonderful vibes with that message, but then they managed to make the perfect exception of it that make the sentence acquire the full meaning of it.

2) And the death of belos... Incredible. But, do you remember when I also discussed with you that belos was possessing his own death body? I mean, that wasn't his dead body, but you also told me that his human form was just gone.

3) But right before he is stomped to death (I was mid laughing with that, I would have done the same HAHAHA) we see his human form again. AND NOT THE FORM OF "BELOS", BUT OF PHILIP. I mean, I need your explanation for this, for god sake hahaha.

4) I was also kinda disappointed that there weren't so much Lumity moments. I would have loved to see one scene when Amity went full a simp for Luz with her transformation, just as Catra did in one episode with Adora hahaha. But at least we know they will last a lot more as a couple.

5) I also expected another Caleb apparition and, maybe, an Evelyn's one too. But that's Okey, because as Belos was dying as a miserable goop, Luz was watching with the same face and disgust as Caleb ghost/apparition did in FtF. It was Luz but it also felt as it was Caleb. I loved that parallel.

6) Now with the titan itself. I think that the look when talking to Luz was not his real look? I've already read that the titan wanted Luz to be comfortable, so it decided to take that form. It is important, because at first I thought that Hooty was somehow related to the titan and that's why he was so weird.

7) I didn't get why the titan was in the space-in-between. Like, it was dead but also not dead? It was strange. Also because it caught Luz when she died. That means that the titan has the power to bring someone back to life?

8) Also, we get to see the full form of a titan, of the isles, and is really amazing. I assume that is the real form, besides the illusion it plays when talking to Luz.

9) Oh, and the thing the collector narrates at the beginning. Were they trapped in the in-between too? That means that king's dad and the collector were in the same space and could have met or encounter each other?

10) The sequence of the in-between was the most difficult for me to understand. Like, if Luz would have drowned completely in that liquid, that would have meant that she would have died for good? And why did king's dad say that if she "goes down without a portal, indeed she would look dead" (or sth similar, I can't remember well all)? I mean, in the "real world" she was already gone because she turned into a bunch of lights, how could she even look dead when she didn't have a body? Would have that meant that she also would have turned into a rock-looking isle?

11) Ohhh, and the concept of kings dad being, indeed, genderqueer hit me hahaha. I mean, I think that is the most real representation a god should have, because, how a creature that is not from this world could have been ruled by rules of this world? And this applies to binarism and that on.

12) And also, I know this show is about not being the chosen one. Eda makes herself clear in the first or second episode. But at the end it kinda feels like it because Luz is the one to be chosen by the titan itself to give her his powers. I know it's because she was nice to king and she kept her heart opened throughout the entire series and she was so kind to everyone, even with the ones that didn't deserved that (cough... cough... Belos/Philip). But Eda was also very kind to king and was her adoptive mother. You get me. And, at the end, she was almost the only human to be able to travel between realms, and that felt that it was because she was a weirdo and she was the chosen one (for being a weirdo).

13) Also, the titan is dead, so the glyphs don't work. But I don't understand then why witches are able to still doing magic. The magic is supposed to come from the titan and it is already gone. Maybe it can be explained due to the bile sack, but it feels inconsistent to me. Like, the bile sac is only supposed to synthesise magic for the owner using the one the titan gives or segregate, not create new one. Because if that is that way, there's no need for the titan to exist. Like in the human realm. Everyone was able to do magic except Luz, because she didn't have the bile sac. Or maybe is because the magic produced by the bile sac lasts many years? That's a question that has been spinning in my head for a while.

14) And how did they managed to build a portal between realms? The whole season 2 was about that and now, almost all of a sudden they manage to create one? Because I can't find an explanation 😅. Like, did they extract blood weekly from king? Like if that was a blood donation? 😂 Also, it was built in the place the first time Luz went through it and that felt incredibly well hahaha.

15) And I also see some inconsistent thing with the redesigns. I mean, for the timeskip between season 2 and 3, we see a redesign and at the end we see another one. But the first one felt just so different that, only by the looks and how they have aged, I would have said it has been at least 1 hear until they found another way of getting to the demon realm instead of just 2 months. Like, god, hunter grew his hair so fucking long hahaha. And then in the second timeskip it has been 4 years. That's what I see wrong hahaha.

15) But I loved the redesign. What can you tell me about Amity's one? I think she got even more badass, and I thought that wasn't possible hahaha. The undercut with brown is everything, and the clothes she wears. She seems more an adventurer now. And also the detail that she has now more of Odalia's hips now 😅.

16) And I would have loved to see more between those 4 years, but I understand that the crew didn't have more time to do it, so now we will have to be satisfied with moringmark's comics hahaha.

17) Also, I thought the timeskip would be of more years. Like, just to confirm Lumity get their well-deserved wedding hahaha. Not, but talking seriously, it has been theorised so many times that Azura was Luz and Amity's child from the future, that I thought we would have had something related to it, although it was some kind of stupidity cause it crystal clear the answer, hahaha.

18) But it would have been so cool to see them having their child hahaha.

19) But I also think that timeskip is PERFECT, because it shows us that magic hasn't ended and now Luz has a new system of glyphs to learn.

20) I would love more analysis, comments and posts from you about this episode and, in general, about the entire series and how all connected at last

Hoo boy. Okay. I'll go through these under a cut so that this doesn't ruin some peoples' dashes.

2 & 3) Yes, I still entirely believe Philip wasn't capable of being in a human form after King's Tide; if he was capable of it, he wouldn't have spent the remaining episodes of the series running around as a) a really fucked-up looking monster and b) a melting one.

But in the end of this episode, he's just been given a massive power boost. He was attached to the Titan for a fairly significant amount of time, and that undoubtedly gave him enough power to find his original form one last time. This, of course, doesn't last long, and even though the boiling rain surely helped things, I have a feeling he was going to melt into oblivion even if it remained sunny. The appearance of Philip for that brief moment was because of the remaining power left over from his connection to the Titan, but it dwindled extremely quickly.

4) I understand the disappointment, but like I've said before, I'd have rather they cut the Lumity -- a facet of the show that is not meant to be dramatic and uncertain -- than something else in the episode. I think the pacing was about as good as the crew could've made it.

5) I also loved that parallel, and I'm actually working on an entire post about what it means to not have shown Caleb and Evelyn again in the show. It's fascinating.

6) First of all, yeah, that's definitely not how Papa Titan actually looked in their lifetime; the skeleton we see at the end is probably a lot closer to their actual figure those centuries ago. Second, I'm also sure that Hooty is in fact connected to them somehow; Dana said that his origins would be hinted at in this episode, and, I mean, that was a good hint!

7) The Titan gave Luz the rest of their life-force, which I would honestly assume is the only way to bring someone back from the dead in the Demon Realm.

9 & 10) I guess I'm kind of assuming that the Titan wasn't actually in the in-between themselves until they started to die for good; the Collector was trapped in there alone for a long time, and while they may have been near each other, I don't think the Collector and the Titan could communicate between themselves. Also, yes, Luz would have died for good if she stayed in the liquid. That's the implication, and that's where the Titan goes in the very end, too.

12) I can understand why you'd say that, but that's not how I saw that scene myself. The Titan says themselves that part of the reason Luz is getting this second chance is "because [she's] the one here," and in the end, it's Luz who has to choose herself, not the other way around.

13) It's not inconsistent, that's exactly it. Witches and demons have a biological connection to magic, and the Titan's final death wouldn't impair their bile sac in any way. Luz, on the other hand, has spent the entire series doing things in the way that she's Speaking to the Isles, which is why her Glyphs are so different.

14) The Collector made it. That's why his voice rings out when it opens; it's their creation.

15) ...Hunter's hair? In Thanks to Them, I think the fandom pretty much agrees that his hair tends to grow faster than most, due to him not exactly being a regular witch. At the end of Watching and Dreaming, I mean, I'm just assuming he's had multiple haircuts over the years. I'm assuming they all did. Also, Amity's little headpiece is a reference to her Grom Queen, which is something that damn near made me tear up when I realized it.

17) I never liked that theory, and was very happy that they didn't go that route. I liked the time they set the flash-forward in; it wasn't so radically different, but it was just different enough to know good things about the years we've missed out on.

Thanks for the ask!

#toh #toh spoilers #smokey answers #anonymous

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readbyred · 2 years

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maybe toh girls with a fem self harm reader? it doesn’t have to be explicit! just, reader and them are cuddling, readers just dozed off when the girls notice some blood on readers sleeve and they just wrap the scars up? you dont need to do this if you’re uncomfortable and have a good day!

dw, it's all good! i have no problem with writing this. have a good day as well, anon!

luz

at the sight of the blood she instantly knows what might be happening. she sits quietly, mulling it over and it's up to you to notice what is wrong. when you do and you begin to try and explain, she snaps out of her thoughts and hugs you very tightly. she tries to think of what eda or her mom would do if she was in your situation. finally, she settles on trying to distract you from your negative thoughts. after all, that's what she does when she feels down. so, human or witch, you'll be hearing fandom lore from earth and watching lots of movies together while being cuddled and hugged in all the ways you can imagine

amity

she'd be on the calmer side, i think. mostly, she's just very worried that you're struggling alone. she asks you to talk with her when she finds out. during the conversation she is very straightfoward, wants to know for how long has this been happening and why. after all, she's not going to be able to help if you won't talk to her. of course she understands that this is quite sudden and she can't expect you to spill your guts against your will. if you're not ready to open up, she gets it. she tells you that she'll be there to listen when you're ready. ask you to give her a signal (send a text, say a specific thing) when you want to cut again, so that you won't have to talk about it but she will still be able to help

willow

squeezes your hand in shock as soon as she realizes. it allerts you t the fact that something's off, but it's already too late. she knows. immidately, she puts her hand on your back. gently stroking your shoulder, she tells you that she doesn't judge you. this isn't a way to deal with whatever is going on, though. and she's aware that she can't be your therapist, she wouldn't be of any help. but if you want to just open up to her, that is more than fine. she suggests that you should look for a therapist if this is something you're struggling with. assures you it's no shame to look for help. meanwhile she offers emotional support and a warm hug

emira

seeing dried up blood, she curiously wanders with her eyes, looking for the source of it. when it finally becomes apparent that you have been self harming, she gently brings it up in the conversation. she assures you that you don't need to tell her things you aren't ready to tell her yet. throughout the years she had to become a mom figure to her siblings and grow up faster, so at least partially, she knows how to act. of course, she never dealt with self harm before, but she comforted her siblings and healed them, so she tells herself she can be of help here. asks if she can heal your cuts and does so when you allow her. the whole time she holds your hand, as if worried that you'll disappear the second she lets go. you can be sure you'll be recieving a lot of hugs and kisses too. then, she asks what would you need from her in terms of support. she sees no point in trying to help you without asking for your needs first, so she sits with you and lets you explain what kind of support you need. at the end of the talk she reminds you that she loves you and you two will get through it together

bria

oh, she def panics here. she has no idea what to do, so she just straight up rolls up your sleeve and stares at it, then at you. it's all very fast - she asks about the blood and the cuts, about the reason, tells you how much she loves you and then asks if it's bc of her (obvi not to be manipulative, but she's not a great person so she figures it's better to ask). it's honestly a lot to deal with. only when you start getting nervous she tones it down. she still doesn't know what to do though. she asks if she can hug you and is being very gentle with her words, although she might slip up and get a bit demanding, telling you to promise you won't do this again. this is obviously a crappy thing to say and she catches herself. after all, you're her girlfriend, she would do anything to help you with whatever you're going through. not just to make you be happy, she wants you to actually be happy again. her heart is in the right place, but she might be like 'is that bc of sbd? i can beat them up for you, just tell me'. in the end she calms down and cuddles you, gives you some room to speak and tell her what you need. meanwhile, she holds you gently and strokes your head, playing with your hair

boscha

she needs a few saconds to process and think what to do next. after a moment she gently nudges you, then points at your uncovered cuts and asks if you two can talk about it. patiently listens to you. yes, she doesn't know how to make things better, but she'll make sure to shower you with love. assures you that she doesn't judge you for self harming either. though she feels bad for not knowing what to do, she tries to improvise and just do what makes her feel better what she's down. wouldn't seach for ways to help u (on the internet/in books) bc she's too proud to admit she's helpless on her own. offers to do your hair and nails to destress, puts on some music in the background. chats with you, either about things related to the reason why you cut, or just about a random subject. from that day on, she makes sure to be more affectionate and pay more attention to you

#tw s/h mention #toh #toh x reader #the owl house x reader #x reader #boscha x reader #bria x reader #luz x reader #amity x reader #emira x reader #willow x reader

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theprinceandthewitch · 2 years

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I know I've already talked about what happened after Hollow Mind but it still doesn't make any sense to me.

As someone who actually loves storytelling and wants to make some kind of career out of it I just cant wrap my head around WHY it had to happen this way. Hunter and Luz should have bonded over what they just been through and Luz should have made sure he had a safe place to stay before she left to find Kings family. Why would she leave him on his own after seeing what Belos does to Golden Guards when they "betray" him? She even saw Belos attempt to kill him right infront of her...

This contrivance only happened because the writers thought it would be weird for Luz to comfort a boy who is her type... even though he's just a friend. Oh sure, Luz can hug Gus and hold his hand because not only is he younger than her, he's not her type. But she can't do that with Hunter outside of a life or death situation for some reason. Everyone wants to complain about how girls and boys can't just be friends, but then do something like this between boys and girls who are just friends. It's just comes off as... I don't know how else to describe it other than "insecure."

People are so, so funny for insisting these two are siblings when Hunter is literally her type and the show contrives its way into making sure these two cant have any friendly intimate moments.

Another thing: There is no reason for Hunter to be at Hexside. He's only there so that Gus can comfort him and not Luz. But why Gus? Hunter doesn't have a deep connection with him and its not like he can actually talk about what he just went through. Because he's afraid Willow and Gus will not accept him for being a Grimwalker. To make it worse, Hunter was hiding at the school for a whole week before Gus and Willow even knew he was there. I also have to say, that if they are going for Hunter/Willow end game they dropped the ball by not having Willow be the one to comfort him. Maybe i could like Huntter/Willow even juuuust a little bit if they did that. Again... why is Gus the best character to comfort Hunter?

For that matter, HOW exactly is Hunter spending a whole week at school eating food from trashcans and struggling with basic self-care the better option for him than going into hiding with Eda and Lilith? With Eda and Lilith he can learn how to take care of himself and have the protection and guidance of two adults. Because here's the thing, while Flapjack is a great source of emotional support for Hunter, he is incapable of teaching him how to take care of himself. He is also incapable of teaching him new ways to defend himself without a staff. With Eda and Lilith he can learn wild magic so he isn't completely defenseless without a staff. And with Hunter being there Eda and Lilith can form some kind of plan with his insider knowledge.

I just don't get why it had to play out in the worst way possible. Hunter is inevitably going to face off against Belos. Anyone whose been paying attention so far would be able to see that he's going to join Luz in the Not So Final Confrontation. He needs the extra firepower against someone who KNOWS his biggest weaknesses. Because Belos literally created AND raised him.

But nope, instead of letting Hunter learn about wild magic, which he has shown a very keen interest in, lets put him at the very, very unsafe location at school and make him struggle to survive for one week.

OKAY.

#lunter #by all accounts it doesn't make sense #lunters... Rewrite comic or fanfic when?

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l-egionaire · 3 years

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This is something made from a chat between me and @ordinaryschmuck.

Just imagine Vee attending Luz's human school and on her first day, she notices how everyone either avoids her on sight or mocks her. Whenever she tries to talk to people they scoff just call her a freak. Then she runs into one of Luz's old bullied who makes fun of her and even tries to take the hexes-hold um cards she had on hand. Vee is so scared and panicked that she punches the bully hard, but she's the one who gets in trouble because the teachers don't believe her due to Luz's bad reputation and the bully pretending to be innocent

Bully: Come on Noceda, We've been doing this since 4th grade. You should know how this works by now.

Of course, unlike Luz, Vee tells Camila and when she hears about all of this, she knows she has to have a talk with Luz.

Assume that this take place in an AU where Luz is domehow able to contact the Human World using titans blood and a pair of mirrors)

So, the next time Luz contacts home, her friends standing off to the side as she speaks with her mom Camila reveals what Vee had told her about what the kids at school did.

Luz has no choice but to admit that those kids had indeed been bullying her for years and they even made sure that the other kids all ignored her or thought she was a weirdo by spreading terrible rumors about her.

And Camila ends up asking the obvious question: Why had Luz never told her about this?

Luz admits that she saw how long and hard Camila worked and didn't want to burden her with her problems after she already made her deal with so many issues due to her getting into trouble. She also, tearfully, admits there was another reason.

Luz: Whenever I tried to tell a teacher or someone else they....they never believed me. They always took the bullies side. I was just scared that... maybe you wouldn't believe me either. That you would take their side too.

Camila: Mija, I would always take your side

Luz: Then why did you send me to summer camp?

Camila falters.

Camila: Because...Because you kept doing such reckless things! The snakes, and, and the fireworks-!

Luz: I DID THOSE THINGS BECAUSE I WANTED SOMEONE TO NOTICE ME! I just..wanted one person to look at me and not just ignore me or call me a freak. 😪

Luz finally breaks down and admits she doesnt want to go back to Earth to have to face that.

Luz: "Here I have friends and an awesome girlfriend and...and people who care about me besides just you! Mom, I'm sorry. I love you, but I don't want to go back to being that weirdo freak who no one wants to be around! I...I can't go back to being alone."

Camila: But you're not alone. You have me!

Luz: And that's not always enough!

Camila looked at her in shock.

Luz: You're gone so much at work. And, even then, you're the only one who actually cares about me! If I vanished or something happened to me, no one else would care!

Luz begins crying heavily, her whole body shaking with her sobs.

Luz: I just wanted to be able to get someone else to care about me and, and LOVE me. Like you did. But...but I never could. And after a while I started thinking maybe...maybe I just wasn't someone other people could love.

A tear drops from Camila's eye. She wanted nothing more to hold her daughter and help her but she was stuck, both on the other side of the mirror and an entire world away. Hearing Luz say things like that-that no one else cared about her, that she might not be someone that could be loved- shattered her heart into pieces.

But then, Amity comes over and hugs Luz from behind.

Amity: I love you.

Then Willow comes over and hugs her.

Willow: I love you too.

Then Gus.

Gus: Me too.

Next Eda comes and holds her.

Eda: Don't even think for a second I don't too kid.

King hops onto Luz's head with tears in his eyes.

King: IVE NEVER LOVED ANYTHING LIKE IVE LOVED YOU!

And seeing Luz crying into her friends arms, as she was finally getting the love and appreciation she'd craved all these years, it finally hit Camilla. How her daughter had felt so alone and unlovable for so long. How she'd failed to notice how much Luz was hurting. How the bright light of her life who's smile always made her feel better was now so sad and crushed, and in pain and it was because she was so ignorant, Camila just...cracks. she falls to the ground and starts brokenly crying, beating herself up inside for not seeing this before it had become such a problem.

Vee put an arm around Camila to comfort her and once Luz sees her mother crying, she immediately feels guilty because she thinks telling her about all of this made her feel bad.

Luz: Mom, I'm sorry! I-i shouldn't have said all that! I shouldn't have told you-!

Camila: NO! Don't you dare say that! I needed to know that! Don't ever apologize or feel upset about how feeli g how you do!

Luz: But...but I made you cry.

Camila: And I made you feel alone. Unloved.

Luz: No. You didn't. Everyone else made me feel like that.. You were the only person that made me feel like I actually mattered.

Luz wipes away her tears and gets a genuine smile on her face.

Luz: Coming home to be with you after being ignored and bullied at school were the best parts of my days. Hanging out with you, and watching movies with you, or going out into the woods with you to play...those were the times when I never felt alone. Mom, you were never why I left. You're the only reason I even think about going back home.

Overwhelmed by their emotions, Luz and Camila stamp themselves against their sides of the mirror and cry into them. The others just watch in silence as they whisper "I love you" and "I'm sorry" and the like to each other. Letting out all their love for each other and soothing the stings of the past caused by lies.

#The Owl House #Owl House #ToH #Luz Noceda #luz owl house #toh luz #luz noceda #camila owl house #camila noceda #the owl house camila #toh camila #vee noceda #vee owl house

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mochegato · 4 years

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Nannyette

Chapter 9 – A View From the Top

Chapter 1 Chapter 8

Tim studied the pictures on her wall again while he waited for Marinette to change out of her stained shirt. Specifically, he studied the picture of Marinette that looked like it was taken from the top of the Eifel Tower. He studied the background of the photo. Either it was a hell of a photo shop job or it was actually taken from the Eifel Tower, and taking into account the perspective and size of the objects in the background, it was taken at the top of the Tower. But there was no way she could have gotten up there, right? So it must be photo shop. Unless… He thought back to the photos she identified in his townhouse.

“Sorry I made us stop here. I’m such a klutz,” Marinette groaned apologetically.

“You aren’t even trying to hide it, are you?” Tim asked with an amused, teasing lilt to his voice.

Marinette furrowed her brow and gave him a confused shake of her head. She followed his eye line to look at the pictures, specifically the picture Adrien had taken of her from the top of the Eifel Tower. Marinette paled slightly and snapped her eyes back to Tim. “Hide what exactly?” she asked carefully.

“This picture was taken from the top of the Eifel Tower, a place they do not allow civilians. There was no way for you to get up there legally or even illegally.” He moved closer to her with each sentence, a love-struck grin on his face. Marinette subconsciously backed away as he moved forward. “That’s why you were so quick to identify my pictures as outing me. You had pictures that could out you. You were one of the heroes, weren’t you?”

He quirked his head to the side and studied her, trying to figure out which hero she was, still advancing on her, missing the sudden color change and tension in her frame. “That’s how you knew so much about them and how their suits worked, why you’re such a good fighter, why you are so good at patching up wounds, how you knew how worried we would be about our identities.” He looked up and saw a picture of her and Adrien together. “That’s what you and Adrien were talking about earlier with the ‘dealing with giant babies’. I thought you were talking about annoying people but you meant a literal giant baby, an akuma you guys had to deal with because he’s a hero too.” Tim grinned proudly for having figured it out.

Marinette only stopped backing up when her back hit a wall. She looked away to think about her options, a plausible excuse. She may have found out about their identities, but she wasn’t ready for him to find out hers. She carefully controlled her breathing. If she started hyperventilating now, it would be a dead giveaway that he was right. Tim had advanced to the point of almost touching her. He put his arm up on the wall to lean against it, unintentionally boxing her in and making her feel claustrophobic.

She looked back up timidly. “Or… I was friends with a few of them, particularly Chat Noir. I was the target for quite a few akumas and got to know them pretty well. My balcony was along their patrol route and I gave them pastries whenever I could. Chat had a pretty bad home life and he liked to stop at my balcony to think and talk. Plus we gave them pastries and treats when they stopped, so it was a popular spot.”

He looked at her skeptically searching for signs of duplicity, but everything she said seemed truthful. At the very least, she believed what she was saying. “And the picture?” he nodded to the picture of her from the Eifel Tower.

She looked over to the picture and got a nostalgic smile on her face. “Chat took that. He wanted to give me a view I’d never forget.”

Tim raised his eyebrows. “Should I be jealous? Do you have a different favorite hero?”

She chuckled lightly, thankful for the change in focus. “I grew up with Ladybug and Chat Noir and the rest. They mean a lot to me. My life has been saved so many times because of that team.” She raised up her hand to run it along his neck and rest it on his shoulder. “But lately another hero has caught my attention.”

He smiled at her seductively and rested his hands on her hips. “Oh yeah?”

She nodded coyly, looking up at him through her eyelashes and running her finger down his chest. “Perhaps you’ve heard of them?”

“Maybe. Do I get to find out their name?”

She hummed at him and pulled him down until his ear was a few centimeters away from her lips. “Black Bat.”

She grinned as he groaned and dropped his head onto her shoulder. “I want to be mad but I can’t blame you for that. She’s everyone’s favorite.”

Marinette hummed again and lifted his head to look at her. “Maybe, but not mine.” Her previously teasing eyes were now filled with tender affection. “I kind of have a thing for Red Robin, but I heard he has a girlfriend.”

Tim nodded as he moved to cup her face. “He does. I heard he absolutely adores her. He thinks he might be falling in love with her.”

Marinette’s eyes sparkled and she grinned brilliantly. “Yeah?” Tim nodded again, unable to look away from her eyes. Marinette’s smile grew impossibly wider and she wrapped her arms around his waist to pull him closer. “Good. Because I heard she’s falling in love with him too.”

Tim’s smiled excitedly. “Really?” This time Marinette nodded, biting her lip shyly. Tim surged forward to kiss her passionately, but before their lips met, her head snapped to the suddenly opened door and his lips landed on her cheek.

Adrien slammed the door behind him and made his way back toward his room, so focused on what he was thinking about he didn’t see them against the far wall. “Okay Plagg, what do you think? ‘Bug, I’ve decided I’m going to ask Luz to marry me. So… I want to let the cat out of the bag.’ No, no, that isn’t good. She won’t appreciate the, frankly perfect, pun.”

A high pitched voice rose up from Adrien’s jacket. “That was terrible and a lazy effort.”

“What do you know? You don’t like any puns unless they are about cheese. Okay, how about “Marinette, Bugaboo, Bug, LB, best friend ever, sister, I’ve decided I want to spend the rest of my life with Luz and I don’t want to keep any secrets of mine from her. So, I want to tell her about Paris and about me, who I was. I won’t tell her about you. I know how important it is that nobody knows who you are.’ Good right? ‘Oh, and you need to be my Best Man. Best Maid? Best Person?’”

Tim gaped at him and whipped his head back to Marinette whose eyes were clamped shut and her face scrunched up in frustration. “I’m supposed to be lucky,” she groaned out quietly and lightly banged her head against the wall behind her. She took a deep breath and gave Tim an apologetic grimace before turning to address Adrien. “Plagg is right, that was a lazy effort, but I understand you were distracted. Wait until she says yes before you tell her and maybe not in the same night. Give her time to celebrate the engagement before you drop a big bomb on her. She’ll love it,” she rushed to assure him, “but it’s still a lot, so not at the same time.”

Adrien jerked back, whipping his head around to see her and Tim, almost falling but catching himself at the last minute. His face immediately paled as he mentally went through everything he had just admitted to. “Hey Bu… uh… Marinette.” He stuttered awkwardly shifting from foot to foot. “I thought… so you didn’t go to his place then?”

“Nope,” she said popping the p.

“I thought you were going to his place.”

“I had to change my clothes.”

“How much…” he couldn’t even finish the question.

Marinette sighed and moved away from Tim wrapping her arms around herself as she did. “Enough.”

Adrien let out a guilty sigh, “Sorry Bug. I didn’t… I should have checked my surroundings. I really… I’m sorry.”

Marinette gave him a halfhearted smile. “It’s okay. He had actually just asked a few minutes before you came in anyway, so I wasn’t going to be able to hide it for much longer.”

Adrien looked between the two of them surprised Tim picked up on it so quickly when none of their friends or family had been able to after years. “Right. Okay. Well I’ll just… um… go then. Good to see you again, Tim.” He waved to Tim before he remembered the awkward situation he had just created and stiffly retracted his hand before quickly retreating out of the apartment.

Marinette moved to lean against the back of the couch. She didn’t think she would be able to stand on her own for this conversation. “I’m sorry,” she spoke quietly to the floor. “I… I didn’t lie. None of what I said was a lie. Chat did stop by a lot before either of us knew each other’s identity and that picture was… I had a particularly rough day. Chat didn’t know why but it was a lot of things piling up on me both as a civilian and a hero and a… um…” she furrowed her brow as she spoke. She wanted to finish that sentence but she couldn’t. As much as she cared about Tim, she couldn’t risk telling him more than he already knew. “Anyway, Chat didn’t know why exactly it was such a rough day for me but he took me up to the top of the Tower to get me to smile.”

She could hear Tim approaching her slowly, but she wasn’t ready to look in his eyes yet. She wasn’t ready for the betrayal in his eyes she was sure would be there. “We didn’t even know each other’s identity until after we had defeated Hawkmoth, the first one.” She looked to the side, tears starting to fall down her cheeks. “And what I said about the powers, how much danger there is, how much power is involved, that was all true. I can’t tell someone I just met, no matter how I feel about him. I’m sorry, I just can’t. There is too much at stake.” The tears were falling faster now. She knew she was going to lose him over this. He had shared his identity with her and she had basically lied about hers even when he directly asked. He was going to think she didn’t trust him or she was just using him.

She startled when she felt arms wrap around her and pull her into a welcoming chest. “Shhh. It’s okay. I understand. It’s okay. I’m not mad or disappointed,” he reassured her, rubbing comforting circles on her back and kissing her temple.

She pulled back to look him in the eyes to verify his words. His eyes held nothing but honesty and concern for her. She lamented the loss of his hands around her waist until she felt his hands on her face, wiping away her tears. “Do you know how paranoid Batman is about identities? He passed that onto me. I had friends in the superhero community for years before I told them who I was. We saved each other’s lives more times than I could count. I trusted them absolutely, but didn’t tell them my identity. If you hadn’t found out our identities on your own, I probably wouldn’t have told you for a long time and there was a lot less at stake for me than there is for you.”

He cupped her face again and laid a chaste kiss on her lips. “I understand. We just started dating. I don’t expect you to spill all your secrets right away. It’s okay.” He pulled her into his chest again to wrap her in his reassuring embrace and rest his forehead on hers. “And I meant what I said, I’m falling in love with you. Nothing about what just happened changes that, other than to maybe make me even more impressed. And make no mistake, tonight I’m going to scour the internet to find videos of my kickass girlfriend in action so I can feel even more unworthy.”

Marinette gave him a grateful smile. “Thank you,” she whispered barely loudly enough to hear even in the silent apartment.

“The worst part about this is that I don’t get to gush about my superhero girlfriend and lord it over the others. I’m just going to have to know internally you are definitely too good for me,” he sighed out in mock exasperation.

Marinette giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. “I know what you mean. I can’t gush to Adrien about the amazing job my boyfriend did taking down the cartel the other day or the jaw dropping moves he did in the fight.” She sighed pitifully. “I’m just going to have to stick to gushing about the qualities he shows in his civilian identity; being brilliant, kind, funny, sexy, sweet, compassionate, dedicated, loyal…”

She would have continued listing off more of his outstanding characteristics but Tim stopped her mouth with a passionate, hungry kiss. He pulled away breathlessly to look her in the eyes. “I think I was wrong, I’m not falling in love with you. I’m already there. I love you.”

Marinette beamed at him and cupped his face, gazing at him adoringly. “I love you too.”

“But,” he looked down in mock disappointment, “maybe some form of punishment might be in order.” Her face fell and she looked at him confused. He looked back up with a devilish grin. “I’m just not certain if it is more of a snuggles level infraction or cuddles level.”

Her expression morphed to a sultry look. She pulled his face closer to hers again. “This might be severe enough to level up. I was thinking it might be a watching Knives Out level transgression.”

“Ooohhh, that seems harsh, but if you think that’s justified…” He closed the gap to pull her into a searing, passionate kiss, which was quickly followed by many, many more.

The End

Tags:

@timari-month-event @ichigorose @stainedglassm @better-toast @theymakeupfairies @trippingovermyfeet @demonicbusiness @maskedpainter @ladybug-182 @a4-machete

#maribat #Nannyette #timinette #timari #Timari January #prompt - childhood friends

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citadelspires · 3 years

Note

P1 - Given how great you're track record's been for doing hypothetical interactions of Amphibia kids with the Duck kids and Owl House kids, let's try doing the Duck kids meeting the Owl House kids and who they'd like the best. I'll exclude Violet for this for the sake of evenening things out 5 to 5. I'd assume Luz would get along best with Dewey (both jump into adventure), King with Louie (could see em teaming up for a scheme), Willow with Huey (eh, more leftover interaction but can work)

Screenshot of second half of the ask provided. Text: P2 Gus with Webby (would totally ask each other lots of questions about their species), and Amity with Lena (both got abusive figures they stood up to and would totally talk about their crushes on Luz and Webby LOL). Would love to see you take on Duck kids and Owl House kids interactions.

First of all I’m very pleased to hear you find my track record on these posts good, they’ve been really fun to write and it makes me really happy people like them! Second I am so sorry it’s taken so long to get to this ask, it’s a really in depth one and it took a long time to write, I hope you’ll find it was worth the wait!

Aight! Oh and one last thing real quick before I get into it. I hope you wouldn’t mind me adding Violet back in, partially due to the fact I love her, but mostly because there’s actually another owl house character I think works significantly better with Louie than anyone else and I really want the chance to talk about that. Saving that one for last hehe. This’ll be another long one, writing below the cut.

Luz and Webby So I do like a lot of the possible interactions brought up by your suggested grouping but my mind went in a few different directions. I’ll start with Luz, who would fit in best with another excitable adventuring partner, as pointed out, but I think the best fit for her in that regard would actually be Webby. While Dewey would no doubt get along great with Luz, there’s a special element to the potential relationship between Luz and Webby that really elevates the potential of their friendship to another level, that being: they both want to eat a hamburger.

An aspect of Webby I wish the later seasons of the show got into a little more, but is definitely something I would consider a core part of her character, is the fact that she got held up in the mansion her whole childhood, with no opportunities to interact with the world around her, have all the adventures she wanted, and most importantly to just be seen as the kid she wanted to be. And while Luz was technically able to go out into the world, the place she found wasn’t one that was willing to see her, or give her any of the chances she longed for. Both Webby and Luz fully understand that feeling of being trapped in your own life, of finally getting the chance to break out and just doing your best to make the most of it. I think there’s a lot the two could gain from spending some time together.

(Also, to borrow the bit about gushing about their crushes but from the other end, these two would totally get sidetracked talking about their respective crushes and also trying to play wingman for each other. It’s a massive comic disaster in both cases, but somehow both Lena and Amity manage to find it endearing).

Amity and Violet Okay wait lemme explain. While the two of them don’t have a whole lot in common at first glance, I think they would genuinely get along extremely well. While a lot of Amity’s focus on school came at the force of her parents, you cannot honestly expect me to believe that girl isn’t a studious nerd on her own anyway. Heck even outside the realm of studies she throws her full dedication into literally every single thing she does. Remind you of anyone? Beyond just being extremely intelligent Violet is clever and ready for anything. She takes everything in stride and always has a plan, she can go from “we were sleeping over and you said everybody get on the plane, so we got on the plane” to “I brought an axe” in a minute flat.

I like to think the two of them would have a mutual respect for each other based on their respective intellects upon first meeting, but as they become closer friends they find they can move from more serious respect to a casual enjoyment of each other. I would go as far as to say that both of these characters really value dependability in a friend, and that they each provide a lot of that. To wrap back around to the stuff about intelligence I think Violet could provide a lot of insight to Amity as far as showing her that pursuing studies and academic heights of her own volition can be something that she can just do because she wants to, and that’s no excuse for unhealthy parental relationships. Getting along so well with someone like Violet only to see that her parents are actually really loving and supportive, that would be really eye-opening for Amity I think. For Violet’s part she could get a lot of help from Amity as far as her pursuit of the secrets of magic goes. I suspect Amity would be much more interested in the study of her magic than Violet would be able to get Lena to tolerate lol.

Bonus Round: Amity would absolutely be a senior junior woodchuck and she would love it you cannot convince me otherwise. She starts quoting the JWGB around the owl house kids and they all look at her like she’s crazy.

Lena and Willow I feel like this one might seem a little out there at first but trust me on this one. Initially Lena doesn’t think too much of Willow, being as close as she is to Webby she knows liking flowers and cute things doesn’t mean Willow is automatically to be taken lightly but she feels like she’s got a good read on her that she generally prefers to avoid trouble and turns down opportunities for violence, which isn’t really Lena’s deal. Over time Lena figures she was right about her first impressions as Willow doesn’t seem to take many opportunities to expose some hidden power, even when Lena knows the people around her kinda deserve it.

She learns to adjust her opinion when she finally does get the chance to see Willow in action and realizes that girl is more powerful than any of the other kids she’s met in the boiling aisles bar none(yes this is my genuine opinion of willow if you don’t think she could kick your ass you’re wrong). It’s at that moment where she starts to pay more attention to Willow and notices a lot more of the strength she puts into all the little things, how much she cares for everyone and everything, and it does a great deal to show Lena that maybe having super strong magic powers isn’t mutually exclusive with being kind and gentle. And maybe gentle isn’t her thing but still, it’s nice to know.

For Willow’s part she’s just happy to make more friends. Especially if the opportunity arises, as I like to think it would, when they’re close enough friends, that Lena would start to hint around asking questions about how Willow remains so casual and nice with the ability to do so much damage, and Willow takes the chance to help Lena figure out her magic a bit more, and learn how to better appreciate it as an aspect of herself she doesn’t have to be scared of. (I mean come on Lena never really learned how to do any of it except barely kind of from Magica of all people she could really use something like that).

Huey and Gus Now there are some certain things about Gus that would drive Huey absolutely nuts. His lack of primary and reliable sources for any of his information being a big one, but at the end of the day I think he’d enjoy Gus’ desire to learn in the first place. Gus would probably be a little dubious about Huey’s “sources” and “citations” but if it helped him get more info on the human realm he’d certainly go for it in the end. In that way the two balance each other out pretty well. Gus is studious and intelligent but he’s a little off the wall, he’s got a big creative streak, and he’s really excitable. Huey is really really good at facts and analysis but he lacks the strength in imagination that Gus has. Huey is able to take all the grandiose concepts Gus is able to think up and help make them actually happen. Gus has that specific brand of an adventurers soul matched up with the fact he’s not actually the type to get into danger and fights, meaning he’s able to drag Huey out of his comfort zone a little and help him reach new heights with his mind that his struggles with creativity prevent him from reaching, while managing to not make him feel like he’s actually in danger. I actually believe the two of them together could get some really incredible stuff done.

What I’m saying is that with Huey’s help Gus could absolutely complete his tunnels under Hexside.

Dewey and King Now this, this is the pair who would go incredibly well together, at the detriment of literally everyone around them. If there is one person King “I Will Rule Everything” Clawthorne should not be exposed to its Dewey Duck. Within minutes of meeting each other the two of them would immediately have so many bad ideas. Between Dewey’s insistence on being the best and most daring adventurer while putting his name on everything and going down in history & King’s trying to rule everything and everyone, the attempts to raise the stakes would be constant and the two would spend literal hours endlessly trying to one-up each other. All in one day they search for legendary treasure, discover an entirely new civilization, try to take over said civilization, create a new species just to name it after themselves, and build statues of themselves in the middle of Bonesbourough. And that’s all before lunch.

Louie Here it is. The one I waited till the very end for out of sheer excitement. I even kept the second name out of the heading thing. That’s how secretive I’m trying to be about this. See, there’s one character in the owl house that works so well with Louie it’s practically canon. Their interactions have so much potential, they each bring so much to the table, I just couldn’t Not talk about it. And yeah, I know this ask was specifically asking about the owl house and ducktales kids, but I just couldn’t resist talking about the relationship between Louie and Eda.

A con artist from another world who was so successful she became nationally famous? There’s no way Louie would pass up an opportunity like that. For his part I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already managed to set up another underworld identity in the boiling aisles, or at the very least that Eda could totally have been to the ducktales realm and heard of his one there.

Either way I’m convinced the two of them would start planning a heist as soon as they figure out who each other are. Eda is a little prideful and wants to show this kid he can’t out-con her, but Louie knows what he’s doing just as much. Honestly with the two of them combined Eda wouldn’t have to worry about losing her stand for a long time. Over the course of their planning and seeing Louie in action Eda begrudgingly gains some respect for the kid, and while Louie was definitely just using her as a learning/profit opportunity at first, he’s pretty susceptible to getting attached.

For Louie, it’s the fact that she actually respects him for being good at what he does. Even back with his family who all love and care about him and all that he still feels like most of them don’t really get what he does or see what’s special about him, so having someone who made a whole life of it be even a little proud of him feels really nice.

And of course, at the end of their heist when they finally have the money in hand, and Eda just casually hands over his half, he stares at her like she’s crazy.

“You’re just.. Giving it to me?!”

“Well, yeah. That was the deal wasn’t it kid? I mean if you really want I definitely have a few ideas for it.”

“No! Uh, no, thanks, I’ll keep it. It’s just that you really remind me of someone, I guess I was expecting something else.”

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hootysblog · 3 years

Text

Hoot hoot everyone! First off, sorry for not posting in a couple weeks. I got a new job and I forgot to post. I don't know if I'll post here every week or every other week, but I promise it'll get posted.

So, next story was written before "Knock knock knocking on Hooty's Door." Enjoy!

Luz's Deepest Wish

The Owl House crew have been busy the past few days, from Luz and Hunter's team up, the revolution invitation from Raine, to King still trying to find something out about his dad. Now, Hooty's in the mix.

Surprisingly, he's really good at listening to others people's issues and offering solutions. He was able to give Eda and King great advice about their problems. Hooty is up for a challenge, helping Luz with her problem.

Luz has been focusing on the echo mouse almost all day. He has revealed some things about Philip and the portal, but not the key component that Luz is missing.

"C'mon little guy," begged Luz, "can you play one more entry?" The mouse was sleeping and couldn't be bothered. Luz, in frustration, laid down on her sleeping bag.

"Why is this so hard?" Luz thought. "Am I doing something wrong? What if I never get back home? I'll have to stay on the Boiling Isles, which isn't bad. I'll have Eda, Willow, Gus, Amity...." Luz blushed at that thought.

She hasn't seen Amity since that fateful night at Blight Manor. Her thoughts roamed back to Amity and her newly cut and dyed lavender hair, which Luz loved. Of course, she thought of the kiss. The feather light kiss Amity had left on her check. If her brain was working at that moment, she would've kissed her back, but Amity sped off into the Manor, leaving Luz awestruck.

Lost in thought, she didn't hear Hooty pop his head through the window. "HOOT HOOT LUZ! YOU'RE BUDDY IS HERE TO HELP YOU!"

"AHHHH!"Luz screamed while throwing a pillow at him. "Sorry Hooty. You scared me."

"It's okay Luz. I didn't mean to scare you. I thought I could help you with your problems!"

"My problems?"

"Yeah! I've been so good with Eda and King that I wanted to help my Luz out!"

"Please don't call me my Luz ever again. It's creepy" Luz told him.

"But Amity can call you that right?" He smiled, getting a little closer to Luz.

Luz, blushing like mad, choked out "H,h,how did you know that?!"

"I heard you mumbling it up here after the fight, hoot!" he said.

"Please tell me you don't listen to my conversations all the time?"

"I try not to, but sometimes they're interesting!!"

Luz pinches the bridge of her nose. "Okay, you're here to help with my problem?"

"Yes!"

"Do you even know my problem Hooty?"

"Well I know you have problems," he replied smiley, but Luz didn't find that amusing and gave him a death glare. "But I think your problems stem from one problem in general."

"I'm not following."

"Well, take your palisman for example." Luz remembers that day, and she didn't like it, even though she was able to save the palismans and Eda and King were able to steal palistrum wood so she could create her own, when she was ready to. "You said your wish was to be a witch right?"

Luz nodded. "And then you wanted to go back home to your mother, stay in the Boiling Isles, or wait to reveal your wish until you saw your mother hoot hoot?"

"I know what happened that day Hooty, just get to the point," Luz annoyingly said. "Why did I agree to this?" Luz thought.

"Maybe, your wish is to be liked for who you are. I think you came here for a reason. You found a second family that loves you for you and a certain someone who really loves you and your personality." Luz blushed and turned away from Hooty, going that he didn't notice.

"So you're saying, that my wish is that I want someone who loves me for me and doesn't find me weird?" Luz turned to look at Hooty. "And that if I tell this person that I like them that most of my problems will be easier to solve?"

Hooty nods. "And I think you know who that witch is, hoot hoot."

Luz was lost in thought for a few seconds. Suddenly, it hit her. Hooty was right. It all makes sense. "HOOTY, YOU'RE A GENIUS!" Luz exclaimed.

*Gasp* "I've never been called that before!!!" Hooty said, crying tears of joy.

Luz gets up and hugs Hooty. "You're right Hooty. You really did help."

"No problem Luz. Now, are you going to tell her how you feel?"

Luz, feeling confident now, replied yes, sprinted downstairs and bolted out the door. She ran right past her mentor, who didn't even have the time to ask where she was going.

Eda, stunned by Luz's sudden departure, yelled to Hooty "What did you tell her?"

"I was able to help her with her problem!" Hooty exclaimed.

"Which one, the portal or the Blight one?"

"The Blight one, hoot hoot!"

"Huh, never thought I would say this, but," Eda swallowed, "Good job Hooty."

Hooty goes and wraps Eda in one of his signature hugs, which she secretly enjoys.

-----------------------

Luz reaches Blight Manor and knocks on the door, anxiously waiting for the door to open.

"Luz, I haven't seen you all week," Edric said while opening the door.

"Where's Amity?!? I need to talk to her!" Luz loudly said, gasping for air.

"Calm down Luz. She's not here", he explained. Luz felt defeated. "But.." Luz perked up when Ed started talking again, "She's at the library if you need to see her."

"Thanks Ed!" Luz ran away while waving good bye.

Minutes later, she arrives at the library.

"Malphas, have you seen Amity?" Luz asked the head librarian.

"Yeah. She's in, like, her study room" he replied with a smile. Luz thanked him and made her way to Amity's secret room.

Amity, doing research on the human realm, Thank Titan for my own room. I would never hear the end of it from Ed and Em, she thought and heard her secret room starting to open.

Scrambling to hide the book, she was about to go off on the twins. "Can you two please stop bargaining in here?!? It's called a secret room for a..." Amity stopped mid-sentence after she saw Luz standing there.

Luz, closing the room, made her way over to Amity. Amity, starting to blush, was about to say something, but Luz was able to talk first.

"You missed palisman day."

"I know, I wasn't happy about it, but I couldn't go," Amity said, trying to avoid eye contact with Luz.

"I know why you didn't go."

Amity looked at Luz with confusion. Luz continued speaking.

"It's because you were avoiding me. I've done what you did back at home," she nervously admitted.

"Luz...." Amity tried to say.

"No Amity. I need to say this and I think you should know what happened that day. I didn't get a palisman."

Amity was surprised. Surely, Luz, who is the most emotional person she's ever met, would've matched up with a palisman. "Why?"

"I said I wanted to become a witch, then stay here on the Isles, but also go home to see my Mami. Then, later that night, I said that I had to see my Mami before I could decide my future, but Hooty made me realizes something." Amity was in shock. That bird tube was smart?!? "He made me realize that I needed to tell my crush that I like them, and now I'm ready to do that."

Amity, still processing what Luz had said, "I'm sorry you didn't get a palisman, but why do you think telling your crush you like them will help you?"

"Because then my future could be a little bit clearer," Luz said while moving closer to Amity.

"Luz, what are you doing?" Amity said, while backing away from Luz.

"Sneaking into your heart, like I always do", Luz said confidently while grabbing Amity hands.

Amity, turning into a blushing disaster (that Luz loves), tries to talk to Luz, but Luz's lips are on hers and she melts into the kiss.

The kiss, which only last a few seconds, was magical and better than they both could've imagined.

Luz, on cloud nine, pulls her lips away from Amity and looks into Amity's golden eyes and smiled.

Amity was left speechless. She saw Luz, with her goofy smile and her brown eyes sparking in the dim light of her study room. Amity gathered up her courage to speak. "Luz, you shouldn't have done that."

Luz's expression changed. She frowned and felt her heart drop, stammers out "Oh no! What did I do? What did I do? I just ruined our friendship with that kiss! I thought you liked me because you kissed me at your house! Oh no oh no oh no!" Luz falls to the floor, pulling her knees to her chest. Amity was heartbroken.

"Luz, calm down. Luz... Luz... Luz, look at me," Amity rushed over and comforts Luz. Luz looks up at Amity. "How can she be so beautiful after crying?" Amity thought.

"I do like you, like really like you," Amity smiled.

"Then why didn't you want me to kiss you if you say you like me? And why didn't you come to palisman day?" Luz sniffled out.

Amity started laughing, "I didn't mean to avoid you Luz. I'll admit, I was scared to see you at school after what I did, but you are not the reason why I didn't go to school. And I did want to kiss you, but now we're going to have a problem on our hands."

"Why?"

"I was just getting over the Common Mold." Luz looked confused. "It's a sickness we witches get. We sneeze, get a fever, chills...."

"LIKE A COLD!" Luz finally caught on. "Sorry, we call that the common cold in the human realm."

"Oh, well, um, I'm still recovering from it, but I felt okay to come to my study room, but we just kissed so...." Amity looked over at Luz, with an apologetic look on her face.

"Great, now I'm going to get sick with a Boiling Isles disease.....Awesome!" Luz practically screamed.

"Only you would be excited to get a disease from here," Amity said with sarcasm.

"Well, when I get sick...."

"You mean if you get sick?" Amity cuts her off.

"No, when I get sick. I always get sick during cold season at home; I can have my girlfriend take care of me," Luz beamed at Amity. "If that's okay with you?"

Amity, grabbing Luz's hand, replied "Yep. I'll take care of you."

Luz, slightly upset that Amity didn't hear her "girlfriend" comment, didn't notice that Amity was leaning in and kissing her again. Pulling away, Luz had a puzzled look on her face.

"What?" Amity smiled, "I can't get my girlfriend even more sick."

Luz, realizing how happy both her and Amity were, snuggled closer to Amity.

Both finally got their wish, and they can't wait to see how their wishes plays out.

#lumity #the owl house

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anguigenus · 3 years

Text

Arm Bones and Misty Ghosts

Hey, I finally got around to writing something for my Necromancer Gus AU! Shoutout to @bakedbeanchan and their incredible art for this AU that gave me the motivation to write this!

~~~

The roof of the owl house had such a nice view, Gus thought idly. Especially on a morning like this, when mist swirled lazily through the treeline like some kind of ghostly sea. It wasn’t the only ghostly thing out there though. Between the trees, fain shapes flitted to and fro— ghosts that, though dead, still wandered the isles. Some were crisp and clear as the day they died. Others were nothing but wisps.

His eyes flitted between them, following their movements in an almost meditative trance. They were beautiful, in a way. Still, none of them were the one he wanted to see— the one he’d nearly died to see.

Almost unconsciously, he curled his left hand into a fist. Bone clacked gently against bone. He shuddered at the sensation. It was like the touch was being whispered into the back of his brain rather than being actually felt. On some level he knew he should practice touching things so he could get used to the feel, but it’d been almost a week since the arm had been skeletonized and he still couldn’t get himself to do it. Glaring at the hand, he stretched his fingers far apart. There would be no more touching if he had anything to say about it.

“Hey Gus.”

Gus jolted his gaze up as Luz sat down next to him. “Oh, hey Luz! I didn’t hear you come up!” He laughed awkwardly, then trailed off into silence.

“Are you okay man? You’ve been up here a while just staring off into space,” Luz said.

Gus let his eyes drift back from Luz to the trees. How to answer that? After all that’d happened in the past week, could he really say anything to reassure Luz that wouldn’t be a lie? …Should he just lie?

“Ugh, Luz no, that’s a horrible question!” Luz muttered next to him. “Of course he’s not okay, he just lost his dad and most of his arm!”

Gus smiled slightly. He felt a bit bad being comforted by her beating herself up, but he couldn’t help it. She’d tried so hard over the last week to help him out with whatever he needed, whether it was helping him put on his shirt while he was getting used to his new arm, sewing him a new tunic when the feel of his sleeve on his arm had driven him to tears, or even just frequently giving him big hugs. It was almost like he’d imagined having a big sister would be like.

“It’s fine Luz. I was just doing some ghost watching.”

“Really? What do they look like?”

Gus grinned. “Why don’t I show you?”

He puckered his lips and let out a low whistle, pushing a little magic through the circle of his lips. On the edge of the forest one of the ghosts — a wispy cat — perked up its ears and came running over. It jumped into the outstretched palm of his skeletal left hand, its soul gathering around the bones like some sort of spectral flame.

Luz gasped. “Woah, que lindo!”

“You can see it?” Gus asked.

“If you’re talking about the blue flames that just appeared on your hand then yup! Definitely seeing that.”

Well that was very cool. He’d have to experiment more with grabbing spirits later, since if Luz could see the soul while he was holding it, it might be able to affect more than just the spirit world. For now though, he already knew what he wanted to do with it.

“Watch this.” Gus drew a spell circle in midair, focusing on how the cat had looked before. Time to see if he could pull this off again. He held his hand up in front of the circle and gently blew the soul through it. As it went, the illusion magic shaped it — making it look the same as it had before he’d grabbed it, but a little more solid and more visible to people that hadn’t gone through forbidden necromantic rituals.

��Woah,” Luz said again. The cat shook itself and started to frolic about the roof. “Is that what all ghosts look like?”

“Eh, not necessarily.” Gus smiled as the cat pounced on a ladybug, leaving behind a thin trail of mist. “Some are a little more shaped than others, you know?”

“Not really, no. Hey, can I pet it?”

“Probably? Be careful though, illusions are a bit fragile.” Gus sat back and happily watched Luz chase the cat around the roof. Maybe this arm wasn’t so bad after all.

#so in this branch of the AU perry was killed #so gus does a little dark magic and loses an arm #kinda #but then he can't find his dad's ghost for whatever reason #also hey! canon explanation for the cool tunic!#diversity win: this traumatized necromancer with a magical prosthetic has sensory issues!#pretty sure that's the wrong use for the meme but eh #gus porter #luz noceda #necrogus #de anguigeno #the owl house #toh fanfic #my writing

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sergeantsporks · 3 years

Text

Nowhere Else to Go

Rating: Teen, Gen

Graphic depictions of violence, Major character death.

TW: Self-harm, mentioned child abuse, emotional manipulation

Chapter 3/4: Smoke and Mirrors

Ch 1, Ch 2

The sound of shattering glass woke Lilith up.

She rubbed her eyes. Why was she on the floor in Eda’s room? Oh. Right. Hunter. Where was he?

She shuffled towards the direction of the sound she’d heard and opened the bathroom door. Hunter was sitting on the floor, coughing, holding Belos’ mask over his face. The mirror was broken in a spiderweb of cracks, and Lilith glanced at Hunter’s hand to see bruises forming on his knuckles. She slid down the wall to sit next to him.

“I never liked that mirror either.”

His shoulders shook. “I keep looking in the mirror—and it’s his face, and it’s his curse, and I—”

Lilith got up and left, returning with a blanket. She walked up to the mirror, her own face reflecting back at her in a thousand broken shards. She covered up the mirror with the blanket, using a plant glyph to tie it in place. She sat back down to Hunter, imitating his arms-on-knees position. She didn’t say anything, just sat there.

“I just—I think I remember some of it, he had this book, and he had all of this stuff, and then… I don’t know anymore.” Hunter slowly lowered the mask, setting it on the floor. “I woke up, and he was gone, and I was stuck like this.”

“Luz… Luz told me that one of the Palisman chose you. Where did it—”

To Lilith’s surprise, Hunter’s eyes welled up with tears, and he shrank back into himself, burying his face in his arms. She heard a muffled sob, and his shoulders shook even harder

“Oh.” Lilith reached out and tentatively put an arm around his shoulders, giving him a squeeze. “I’m sorry.”

He made surprisingly little noise for how hard his shoulders were heaving. Lilith got up and left, closing the bathroom door. The instant she was out, she heard him start sobbing. Her hand shook on the doorknob, and she dropped with a thud to her knees, leaning against the bathroom door.

“Lilith?” her mother said quietly, poking her head up the stairs.

She got up, making her way down to the kitchen. “Good morning.”

“Is he…”

“I think… I think he’s finally had the time to process what happened to him. Got over the shock.”

“And…”

“He’s angry. Sad. Unsure of what he’s doing.”

“Ah.”

Lilith heard a thud from upstairs, and she grabbed a bottle of elixir, running back to the bathroom. Hunter was choking on the curse again, and he clawed desperately at Lilith’s hand when she knelt next to him.

“I’ve got you,” she promised, tilting the bottle of elixir down his throat, “That’s it. Easy, there.”

He coughed up the remaining slime and curled his knees back up to his chest. “Thank you.”

“Do you… need anything?”

He looked down to the side, chest still heaving from the attack. “No. Thank you.”

Lilith stood there awkwardly for a few more moments. “Right. Okay.”

She went back downstairs. “Another attack,” she explained, “I’m wondering if they’re related to stress, or high emotion, like the owl beast is, or if they’re completely random.”

Her mother shifted uneasily. “If it’s like you said and the curse is going to kill him, it might just be that the attacks are getting worse because he’s closer to the end.”

Lilith’s hands curled into fists. “No. No, that’s not going to be his end. I’m not going to let him die because Belos decided—”

Her mother gently took her hand, uncurling the fist and holding her flat hand between her own. “Lilith, love. Calm down. Take a step back. What do we know about the curse?”

Lilith took in a deep breath. “We know Belos struggled for years to find a cure. He was never successful. We know the curse doesn’t follow a soul—if it did, the swap wouldn’t have worked. It follows a body. We know that the elixir has been staving off attacks, at least, so it must share some qualities with the Owl Beast curse.”

“That’s my girl. Keep it up—I’m almost done with breakfast.”

Lilith paced the kitchen floor. “We know it started on the outward appearance first—hence the mask Belos always wore. As time went on, it moved in on the inner organs, like it’s doing now to Hunter. But what about the palisman, where do they fit in?”

“What?”

“Luz teamed up with Hunter when the Emperor was trying to steal palisman—and Hunter had a palisman, but it’s gone now, and he seems pretty distraught about it, so I don’t think it just got lost or separated. Clearly the Emperor is destroying palisman for some reason, but what?!”

“Why don’t you ask Hunter?”

“You heard him crying, right? I don’t think he’s going to be ready to talk about it for a while.”

“He might not have a while, Sweet Flea.”

“Still. I won’t put him through it again.” Lilith leaned against the kitchen cupboard. “I… think he has nightmares. I’ve had curse-related nightmares before, and Eda said she had some—and in some of them she saw me, or at least a shadowy form of me.”

“You think Hunter might have a clue to where the curse came from in his nightmare.”

“It… wouldn’t be fun. For him to relive it. But Hootsifer sent me a letter about how Eda managed to unlock her harpy form from interacting with her curse in an enchanted sleep. If Hunter is okay with it—we may be able to find out more.”

“If he’s okay with it.”

“Who would want to relive their nightmares at full strength?” Lilith asked quietly, “But our options are closing off. If Eda hasn’t seen Hunter’s body running around, there’s not much we can do about getting that rat Belos to switch back. And even if we did catch him, I’m not sure there’s much we could threaten him with that would make him switch back to a dying body. It may be our best bet to cure Belos’ body instead of trying to get Hunter back in his. That would at least give us time to find Belos. Hunter said that the only thing Belos wouldn’t try was wild magic. He thinks that means there’s a cure in the glyphs. I’m not sure though, it might just be that wild magic did this to Belos.”

“Mmm.” Her mother handed her two plates. “One for you, one for your new apprentice.”

Lilith nearly dropped the plates. “App—mother!”

“What? I saw you teaching him magic! Doesn’t that make him your apprentice?”

“It’s more—I don’t know! He can’t do magic without help, I’m not sure that’s something I can—whatever.” Lilith tightened her grip on the plates, thumping up the stairs. The light was still on in the bathroom, and she slowly pushed the door open.

The plates dropped to the floor, and she skidded down on her knees next to him, grabbing his wrists.

“Hunter, no!”

A broken shard of mirror was in his hands, coated in slime and blood. He’d been gouging at the curse on his face, like he could somehow dig the magic out. His breath hitched in his chest, and he struggled against her, trying to get at his face again. Lilith’s stomach heaved as she looked at his face—he’d managed to cut to the bone, but the curse was already moving to cover it up. Blood dripped down his face, like someone in one of Eda’s grotesque horror movies.

“Hunter! Hunter, stop!”

Lilith managed to pry the shard of broken glass out of Hunter’s hands, wincing and dropping it as it cut her. His palms were bloody and scratched up from gripping the shard. He kept trying to yank away from her, his eyes wide and panicked.

“I can’t—lemme go, I have to—I can’t—”

“Hey—Hey, shhhhhhh. Shhhh, it’s okay—Hunter, please—”

He launched himself into her shoulder, sobbing. Blood and slime and tears all mixed on her dress, but Lilith didn’t care. She let him keep crying into her shoulder, gently rubbing his back.

“Hey. Heeeey,” she soothed, like she might for a frightened animal, “Hey, I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”

“I can’t keep—I just keep thinking—and then there’s the attacks, and I just—”

“Okay. Okay, I know. I know, it’s…” it was what? Okay? It wasn’t okay, this curse was killing him, and it was driving up his anxiety before it did. So she just hugged him tighter. “I’ve got you,” she repeated fiercely

He sniffed and pulled back. Lilith kicked the mirror shard away and opened up a cabinet. “Okay. Let’s take a look at those cuts.” She carefully bandaged up the slices on his face, then his palm. She bandaged up the cuts on her own hand, too, and held it up. “There. We match.”

“S-sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“Nothing to apologize for.”

“I—I just—I—”

“Hunter. It’s okay. Really.”

He coughed, wiping away slime. “Ugh—I… I think…”

“I think you need a nap,” Lilith suggested gently, “You look awful.”

He gripped her wrist, his fingers like a vise. “No!”

“…Nightmares?” Lilith guessed.

“I can’t—I just keep seeing him, and then it’s me, and my palisman—” his eyes filled with tears. “It was an accident!” he blurted, “I didn’t mean to!”

“Didn’t mean… to do what?”

“Belos would sort of… drain palisman, take all of their magic. It staved off the curse, made it better.”

“O-oh. Did he…”

Hunter’s shoulders started to shake again. “I’d just woken up. I was confused. Belos was gone. I didn’t know where I was, or what was going on, and it tried to comfort me, and—” He buried his face in his hands. “I killed it! I killed—”

Almost involuntarily, Lilith wrapped her arms around him again. “It wasn’t your fault,” she said fiercely, “You weren’t trying to—it was Belos’ fault.”

“It was my friend,” Hunter sobbed, his voice cracking, “It was the only one I had! And I—”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Lilith repeated, “It wasn’t.”

Hunter rubbed the bandages covering his face. “This stupid curse.”

Lilith caught his wrists again, gently pulling his hands away from his injured face. “Eda… has been able to control when she transforms. She made peace with her curse. Accepted it as part of who she is. Maybe if—”

Hunter stood up, hands clenched in fists. “Accept it?! Accept what?! This isn’t my curse! I didn’t do anything to get it, Belos did, and then just dumped it on me. I shouldn’t have to accept it!”

“I know—I know it’s not fair, I know it never should have happened to you, but until we can find Belos, or a cure, we have to figure out other ways to keep it from spreading.”

“I can’t accept it! I—”

Hunter broke off in a fit of coughing, gasping and choking. Lilith grabbed an elixir from her room and raced back down the hallway, tilting the bottle. Hunter gasped and sputtered, and panic started to sweep over Lilith like a tidal wave. It wasn’t working!

Hunter gurgled in a final kind of way, twitching and Lilith laid him flat on the ground, tilting his head back and pushing down with the heel of her hands on his chest. “One, two, three, four,” she started counting under her breath. “MOTHER! HELP!”

She kept pushing. “Please,” she murmured, “please work, please work, please work—”

Feathers were starting to sprout on her arms, and she willed them to go away. “Not now, owl beast!” she pleaded, “Not now! Literally any time but now!”

She pushed harder, tears rolling down her face. “Please!”

Hunter gagged and coughed, heaving in desperate, frantic breaths. He latched onto her arm, hacking and coughing.

“Lilith—”

Lilith clutched his arm just as tightly, although she made sure her claws weren’t hurting him. “Oh my magic—okay. Okay, okay, okay.” She took in a deep breath. “Are you okay?”

He coughed, spitting out more curse slime. “I—I think so. The elixir—why didn’t it work, it was working before-!”

Lilith yanked him into a hug. “I thought I’d lost you!” she gasped.

He tensed for a moment, but then slowly wrapped his arms around her. “I’m… still here.”

To Lilith’s surprise, tears were rolling down her cheeks. “I know, I know.”

Her mother finally burst in the door. “What’s wrong?! What’s going on?!”

“The elixirs aren’t working,” Hunter explained quietly.

Lilith hugged him tighter. “We’ll find something else.”

“…Lilith, dear, can I talk to you?”

Lilith sat back, holding Hunter by the shoulders. “We’re going to figure this out,” she promised, then followed her mother out to her room. “What?”

“… Lilith, if the elixirs aren’t working, I don’t think we have much time left. And you’re not any closer to finding a cure for this thing.”

“No! We’re going to fix this, I’m going to fix this! He’s just a kid, he shouldn’t have to go like this!”

“Sweet Flea, it’s like you said when he first got here. It might just be a matter of making him comfortable before—”

“NO!” Lilith took a deep breath as feathers started to sprout around her neck. “No. That’s not an option. Not anymore. I’m going to get rid of this curse if it’s the last thing I do.”

Ch 4

#toh #the owl house #toh fanfiction #hunter wittebane #toh hunter #toh lilith #lilith clawthorne #tw: self harm #my writing

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pizzaboat · 4 years

Text

I kinda wrote a mom eda fic, cause I wanted to try writing. This is like the first fic I've ever writen so keep in mind it's not gonna be perfect.. but I'm happy how it turned out.. so here!

Some honesty before breakfast

To say Eda had noticed something off with her apprentice, would be an understatement.

Luz's cheery attitude had all but disappeared for the past two days, and instead had been replaced with a quite sadness that followed the girl wherever she went in the house. Her smiles seemed forced, never quite reaching her eye's, lacking the warmth and joy they usually had.

Eda knew she should have seen this coming, the slow change in luz's demeanour. The portal had been destroyed a month ago, but she'd been too caught up in mourning the loss of her magic, processing the cluster fuck that had been the last few months and adjusting to her older sister taking up residency in her shed, she hadn't noticed.

She should have acted sooner.

Because Eda now watched Luz half heartedly engage in her and King's infamous and dreaded "comedy hour" with all the enthusiasm of Lilith on hooty's cleaning day.

"Luz, you're not paying attention!" King whined, "my food puns are genius, and not even a smirk!

"Come on, this is some of my best material!" The tiny demon added, dropping what was left of his toast onto his plate.

"Sorry king, I was paying attention" Luz assured pushing her untouched breakfast away "I was just thinking as well, that's all.."

"Sounds like not paying attention to me" He grumbled.

Sounds like a terrible cover up.

Eda finished the last of her Appleblood, pushed away from the counter she was leaning on and picked King up earning a "nyee" from him as she placed him on the floor.

"why don't you go play with your army of dolls or something?" Eda told him.

"They're my army of darkness!" He corrected "and its not playing, it's scheming. machinating if you will"

"Whatever, go do that. I need to talk to Luz" She sighed.

Luz shifted in her seat, and went to leave.

"Actually, I have a ton of homework so-"

"Nope" Eda cut the girl off "you stay, king go" she ordered

King muttered something about world domination as he scurried off, and Luz and Eda were left alone of the kitchen.

"So.. is this about potions delivery's?" Luz asked "because I know I haven't been doing the deliveries alot lately and-"

"Kid, what?-no, that isn't what this is about"

Luz fidgeted with the string of her hoody "then, what is this about?"

"You tell me, you've been acting weird lately- well weirder than usual" Eda said, taking Kings seat at the table and pushing his leftovers aside.

"Its not that big a deal, really" Luz said, but the waver in her voice betrayed her.

Titan help her.

Eda sighed and rubbed her eyes "Look, I'm not an idiot kid, I know somethings up, and I know the past month has been rough. For everyone"

And here comes the emotional mush..

"I know it can't be easy" Eda continued, trying to choose her next words carefully.

"Living under the same roof as Lilith after what's happened, or adjusting to all this crap, the portal door being destroyed.."

Titan she had no clue what she was doing. How do you comfort people?

"But I want you to know that whatever the problem is, I'm here to help. it matters if it upsets you" Eda told her "and I'll be hexed if I'll let my kid suffer in silence"

"So what's bothering you?"

They sat there for a moment. Eda wasn't sure if her lackluster attempt at reassurance had helped the girl, she searched Luz's face for any signs of what she might be thinking.

Finally, Luz let out in a shakey breath "I miss my mom"

Ah, shit. Of course, the poor kid missed her mother. She really should have guessed that.

"I destroyed the door, to stop belos and- and to save you" Luz's voice cracked " but I miss her.. y'know? .. when things would go wrong back home, she was always there, she knew what to do..." Tears started well in her eyes and spill out onto her cheeks.

Luz sucked in a breath of air " I don't know what to do..the doors gone, and it's my fault and she's probably really worried about me, and its MY fault.

"Im scared I'll never see her again. Eda, I miss my home. I miss my mom"

Of course. None of this was Luz's fault though. Not really. It was Eda's. She was the adult and should have sent her home that first day. But she was selfish and now Luz was paying the price.

"I don't regret saving you though" She continued, and Eda blinked in surprise.

"Leaving you guys behind was never an option. being here with you and King.. its kinda like home here too" Another shakey breath.

"I know I shouldn't complain 'cause I did this to my self but-" Luz's voice cut off and gave way to sobbing.

Eda didn't know how it happened but she found herself at the other side of the table, wrapping Luz up in one of those "parallel arm" things.

She scooped the girl up easily and sat her on her lap, holding her close as Luz continued to cry. This poor kid, who'd brought so much light into Eda's life, Changed it for the better, magic be damned, was suffering and there was no way in hell Eda was going to stand back and watch her blame herself.

Luz had given up everything.

In one of the few times where Eda felt compeled to do the right thing, Eda vowed to herself she'd make this right.

"Luz" The witch said with a softness that surprised herself "None of this is your fault, it's OK to be upset"

"it's my fault not yours, I want- no. need you to know that. I'm gonna fix this. I'll find a way to get you back home, and you'll be able to see your mom again" she said, stroking her hair.

"I promise"

Luz looked up from where she had her head buried in Eda's sweater, her eyes were red rimmed and puffey. Luz rubbed at her eyes, and sniffed.

"You promise?" Luz asked, voice horse.

Eda nodded, brushing some of luz's hair back, fixing it.

"I promise, and that's a promise from the most powerful witch on the boiling Isles, kiddo. it's a big deal, infact you should feel kinda honoured"

Luz laughed. And there it was. That smile that had been missing for so long. Eda wasn't going to let anything happen to it again.

"I kind of ruined your sweater" Luz said apologetically as she pulled away.

Eda looked down at her sweater. yep. Human snot. Gross as all hell.

"Don't worry about it, I didn't like the sweater anyway"

Yes she did.

Luz jumped off of Eda's lap "how do you feel now?" Eda asked

"better" Luz smiled, rubbing her eyes still.

"Good, I can't have my apprentice's in emotional distress" eda smirked "it'd be bad for business"

"I'm your only apprentice" Luz shot back grinning.

"details" Eda waved her hand dismissively.

Eda looked at her now. She wasn't crying anymore, which was good. Eda could still see residual tears, but Luz was smiling, no matter how small it was, she was actually smiling again, and that was what mattered.

A loud definitive gurgle sounded through out the room.

"I never ate breakfast" Luz whispered sheepishly.

Luz turned back to her breakfast cereal to see it had long since turned to disgusting mush in the bowl.

"i'll eat something else.." She decided heading towards the cupboards.

Eda had an idea.

"We could make something"

Luz perked up.

"Really?!"

"I mean, yeah why not?" Eda shrugged " I haven't eaten yet and-"

"Can we make pancakes?!" The girl asked with barely contained excitement "I can dress King up in a little chefs outfit, and we could have pancakes!"

"Um.."

"I have so much prep work to do!" Luz exclaimed as she dashed out the door.

"Kid!" Eda called

"Yeah?" Luz popped her head back in the door.

"Don't forget that if your ever worried about anything at all, you can talk to me. I meant what I said, I'm here to help"

"I know, thanks Eda. I love you" and she was gone.

Eda blinked.

"I love you too, Luz"

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pengychan · 3 years

Text

[Coco] Nuestra Iglesia, Pt 22

Title: Nuestra Iglesia Summary: Fake Priest AU. In the midst of the Mexican Revolution, Santa Cecilia is still a relatively safe place; all a young orphan named Miguel has to worry about is how to get novices Héctor and Imelda to switch their religious vows for wedding vows before it’s too late. He’s not having much success until he finds an unlikely ally in their new parish priest, who just arrived from out of town. Fine, so Padre Ernesto is a really odd priest. He’s probably not even a real priest, and the army-issued pistol he carries is more than slightly worrying. But he agrees that Héctor and Imelda would be wasted on religious life, and Miguel will take all the help he can get. It’s either the best idea he’s ever had, or the worst. Characters: Miguel Rivera, Ernesto de la Cruz, Héctor Rivera, Imelda Rivera, Chicharrón, Óscar and Felipe Rivera, OCs. Imector. Rating: T

[All chapters up are tagged as ‘fake priest au’ on my blog.]

A/N: Well, both the events in this chapter and the update were a long time coming. I promise you won't have to wait nearly as much for the next update. I am not sure that is a good thing.

Art is by @lunaescribe and @swanpit

***

Later on, if he’d been in a joking mood - and he most definitely wouldn’t be - Ernesto may have joked that while many were saved by the bell, he was quite literally saved by the bull. Namely, by an especially unimpressive bull who seemed to be unsure as to what to do around a cow, no matter how absolutely eager said cow was to answer nature’s call.

“González wants us to go all the way to his farm and bless a bull, am I understanding this correctly?”

Juan spoke with about as much contempt as he was able to fit into each word, which was a fair lot of contempt. As Ernesto coughed into his hand to hide a laugh, Sofía shrugged.

“Don’t shoot the messenger, Padre. I am simply relaying the message González sent.”

The gringo scoffed, reaching up to rub his forehead. “Does he believe the church to be a joke, that he can call upon us to give a blessing to a bull who believes itself an ox?”

Ernesto chuckled. “Well, to be fair - don’t look at me like that, hear me out! A bull that cannot mount cows is a problem to anyone who makes a living out of their cattle. And the poor hombre spent a lot of his savings on that bull, so if it cannot do its job, that’s a loss he may not recover from anytime soon.”

His words seemed to make Juan marginally less offended, but the frown on his face did not entirely fade. “It still seems rather brazen, asking the church to get involved in such-- matters, Ern-- Father Ernest.”

“Desperate men will ask for any help they can get. Things have not been going all that well for anyone lately. And he does provide milk for the children in our care on Sundays,” Ernesto added, and mentally patted himself on the back when Juan’s scowl softened another fraction.

“... Fair enough. He has shown charity, at least. I cannot entirely fault him for being ignorant of what is and is not beneath the notice of God,” he declared. Behind him, Sofía pointed at her mouth and pretended to gag. Ernesto bit the inside of his cheek to remain serious, but any inclination to smile faded when Juan spoke again. “Well then, I suppose you may go and give this bull your blessing.”

Wait, what?

“Wait, what? Me?” he protested. That was not a turn of events he had expected: the gringo knew any blessing he may give was entirely worthless, and-- ah, the pendejo. That was probably the point, giving González some peace of mind without anyone really giving God’s blessing to an impotent bull.

Juan met his gaze with a raised brow, and for a moment Ernesto could have sworn he’d seen the barest hint of an amused glint in his eye. It almost distracted him from the broad grin on Sofía’s face as she watched the scene. Some friend she was.

The gringo nodded, folding his hands. “You spoke of this man’s plight with such fervor, it seems fair I let you go help him - if anything for his peace of mind.”

Ernesto groaned. To say the González farm was out of the way was an understatement: it was quite a way beyond the first hill south of Santa Cecilia. Truth be told, they tended to consider it part of Santa Cecilia only because it was no closer to any other village, and the family attended Mass and the market each week without fail.

“But it’s almost an hour each way!”

“Two hours, most likely,” the gringo replied with a serene smile. Now the amused glint was… a lot more obvious. Oh, that bastard--! “Doctor Sanchéz borrowed the horse to send his assistant to buy some medical supplies in San Luz. You may have the donkey, though. Don’t push the poor beast, you know it’s elderly. If you get going now, you should make it back by sundown,” he added, making Ernesto rather wish he could grab the closest chair and slap him with it.

“But I-- I mean, surely it is not that urgent--” he tried to backpedal. He really was not looking forward to several hours riding a donkey under the merciless summer sun. Maybe on another day he could get a horse, or ride with the González family’s cart next time they--

“You should definitely be the one to go, Padre Ernesto. You have such a glowing track record with fertility blessings,” Sofía quipped, causing Ernesto to nearly choke on his spit and any words he’d been about to utter to die in his throat.

Entirely unaware of the meaning behind Sofía’s words - if rather taken aback to see one of the sisters taking his side over Ernesto’s in a discussion - Juan nodded. “See, Sister Sophie agrees,” he said, with a decisive nod that made it clear the matter was sealed.

Sofía grinned. Ernesto forced a smile. Oh, he thought, I am going to kill her.

“... Of course. I will be happy to,” he spoke through gritted teeth. Sofía took that as her cue to disappear out of the door with one last grin in his general direction. As the door closed, he allowed himself to groan, no longer having to keep up the pretense of keeping up the pretense in front of Sofía. “Bastardo,” he muttered.

Juan clicked his tongue, wagging a finger at him. “Language,” he chided. “If it is of any comfort, this also means you will be spared Latin for the day.”

“Does this mean you’ll make me study through the night once I’m back?” Ernesto grumbled, and the gringo gave a startlingly sincere laugh. Those had always been rare to come by, even more so after he learned the truth about him. Ernesto’s annoyance faded a little, and just a little.

“Hah! I thought about it, to be entirely sincere, but no.” He stood, giving his arm a light pat. “I will not put you through it tonight, either. We’ll both get to sleep.”

Somehow, he was both absolutely right and disastrously wrong at the same time.

***

Just as a very disgruntled Ernesto de la Cruz disappeared down the first hill south of the village on the back of an elderly donkey, Commander Santiago Hernández rode up the first hill north of the village at the head of a column of sweaty, angry men.

Fewer men than he’d have liked, truth be told. They had succeeded in pushing through the territories under the control of Zapatistas, but resistance had been fierce and their advance hadn’t been without sacrifices. The oppressive heat and the talk going around - they were losing the war, Huerta was going to fall any day now - did nothing to improve morale.

But they had made through the worst, the scum who’d planned to ambush them had been tricked into waiting for them somewhere else entirely, and they had almost reached Santa Cecilia - where they would take supplies and some fresh recruits to replace their fallen comrades. Those things were occasionally offered, far more likely taken, but it did not matter. The end result was the same, and he let his men deal with it.

What he usually kept himself occupied with was taking a very good look at every man he could find and asking everyone if a-- deserter traitor murderer -- man called Ernesto de la Cruz had sought refuge among them. He’d been lucky until then, evading detection, but his luck wouldn’t last forever, Santiago was certain of it. He didn’t allow himself to think he may be forever beyond his reach.

If only I had a photograph of that traitor, Santiago thought, not for the first time, but he chased away the thought. He did not have one; his name and a description was all that he had to work with, and it would have to do.

Santiago frowned, and spurred his horse the last few yards of the way to the top of the hill. He stopped his horse, allowing himself to breathe in the faint breeze caressing his face.

Below him, in the merciless heat of a summer afternoon, lay Santa Cecilia.

***

If only he hadn’t been asleep, Miguel would think later, they would have never caught him.

Granted, a tree branch is not a great place to take a nap. He wasn’t supposed to be asleep, they were playing hide and seek and he was really determined to win that round, so he’d climbed up a large tree at the base of a hill.

It was a really good hiding place, because the branches were wide enough for him to sit comfortably, back against the trunk, while the leaves beneath him hid him from sight. They hid him so well that he got bored of waiting to be found or for Felipe to give up, and he eventually dozed off.

At least until he was startled awake by shouts and rancorous laughter, and the steady clap of more horse hooves than he’d ever heard at once. Somehow, he had enough presence of mind to understand who it had to be - Federales! - but not nearly enough to remember he just so happened to be on top of a tree branch when he tried to stand up to run back and warn everyone.

“Aaaagh!” Miguel fell with a cry, hit a branch on his way down, and somehow managed to grab onto another before he had a very unpleasant meeting with the ground below. There were yells somewhere below him, and he knew he had been spotted.

“Oye!”

“What the-- what are you doing up there, muchacho?”

“Odd bird, that!”

“Oh, bet I can get him down with one shot…”

“What?”

“Hey now, it’s just a kid--”

“A lookout, more like, and there may be more.”

“Put that pistol down, Mendoza, or God be my witness you’ll hang from that branch!”

A voice rose over all the others, and the entire world seemed to go quiet. Miguel looked down, still reeling. A dozen men on horses were a short distance away from the tree, including a squat man quickly lowering a pistol, and more were coming down the hill. The men’s eyes were not on Miguel, however: they were looking at a tall, slender man with a closely trimmed mustache as he spurred his horse to walk beneath the branch Miguel was hanging from. Not a huge drop, but more than he’d like to risk.

“That doesn’t seem comfortable, niño,” he said, and it was only then that Miguel realized the thundering order not to shoot had come from him.

I was almost shot. They almost shot me, Miguel thought. His blood ran cold, and he suddenly understood why Ernesto had been so scared. He’d always known, of course, but seeing them up close - finding how quickly a soldier could joke about shooting a child off a branch like ripe fruit - suddenly made it so real.

It could get me killed, Miguel, Ernesto had said. You must never say it aloud again.

“I… I was…”

“Keeping an eye out for us to come, all the way out here?” the man, clearly someone in command, asked. His voice was cold and Miguel swallowed, still holding onto the branch for dear life. If he so much reached up from atop his horse, he could pull him down by the legs.

“N-no, señor,” he managed, his voice so small. “I... we were playing hide and seek. I hid.”

The man’s cold gaze remained fixed on him for a moment more, then it seemed to soften. “Well, if you hadn’t fallen, I wouldn’t have known you were even there,” he said, and smiled.

It was not an insincere smile, Miguel would think later, but there was something so fundamentally broken about it that he felt all the sweat on his skin had suddenly turned into frost. But at least, he thought, he’d stopped one of his men from shooting him dead. Was it because he balked at the idea of murdering a boy in cold blood? Was it because he thought there may be an ambush and a shot may alert anyone laying in wait of their presence? Miguel would never know, and at the moment he had no time to think about it. The man moved his horse closer, and held out his arm.

“Come then, your arms look ready to give out,” he said. “We’ll take you back to your village.”

No, no, no. Keep away from there. Keep away from Santa Cecilia.

Miguel swallowed again, his own heartbeat thudding in his ears. “I…” he began, but he could think of nothing to say, and his arms finally did give out. The man caught him, his grip surprisingly strong for someone so slender, and pulled him to sit astride his horse as well. Miguel held onto the mane with shaky hands, looking down. He found himself thinking of the day he and Ernesto had met, when he’d saved him from the stream and let him ride on his horse - except that then he’d been elated, and now he was just terrified.

Please God, make them go away. Make them go away without hurting anyone.

“... Gracias,” he murmured, mostly to try and not anger him, and the man let out a noise that seemed almost a chuckle as he spurred the horse into moving again. He shouted an order for his men to get moving again, entirely ignored Miguel’s wince, and spoke again.

“And what is your name, niño?”

“Miguel,” he mumbled. His throat felt like sandpaper, but the soldier kept talking like he hadn't noticed, or did not care, that the hands clenching the horse’s mane were shaking.

“Just Miguel?”

“Sí.”

“Very well, Just Miguel. I’m Commander Santiago Hernández.” His tone was light, but the grip on the reins was tight, the arms at either side of Miguel unyielding. “So, hide and seek? With friends?”

“S-Sí.”

“A good hiding place. I was never much good at hiding when I was your age. Alberto always found me. Now I am the one doing the searching for him.”

Miguel blinked, confusion overriding the fear for a moment. He craned his neck to look back. “Searching?” he repeated. The man’s gaze was like steel, but as he looked down it softened… only a moment. Then the coldness was back, and something in the pit of Miguel’s stomach twisted. He looked away again.

“For traitors. For one in particular, but any traitor will do.” A brief pause. “You seem like a smart boy,” he added, but Miguel didn’t feel smart at the moment. He only felt so stupid for just falling in the Federales’ hands as he had and so very, very scared.

“I-- try to be.”

“You know many people in the village?”

Nearly everyone, but he knew better than to say it. Maybe he had some smarts left, after all. “A few. Not all that many, the Sisters keep us in the church,” he added, hoping it would make a good excuse. To his relief, Commander Hernández hummed in understanding.

“Ah, nuns. I know what you mean. Does the name Ernesto de la Cruz ring any bells to you?”

Oh. Oh, no. Oh God, no.

It could get me killed, Miguel. You must never say it aloud again.

Miguel’s eyes stung with tears, but he was able to keep his voice from shaking too much as he spoke. “No, señor. I don’t think it does.”

“Are you certain? He is a deserter, and a dangerous man. A murderer. It is best for everyone that he is found and taken care of, don’t you agree? If he is here, your village is in danger.”

We are in danger now. If he finds him, he’ll kill him. If he knows we hid him, he’ll kill us all.

“Then I hope you find him,” Miguel managed, fighting back more tears while he watched the first houses of Santa Cecilia drawing closer as the column of men entered the main road in.

***

“... I still can’t believe we each thought the other was the one leaving behind the instructions.”

“Heh. And to think I knew your handwriting is better than… that.”

“Likewise. But I imagined you may have tried to disguise yours.” Imelda frowned a little, emptying the donation box into the basket - not a lot, few had much to give those days, but it would do and keep the poor fed - before returning it to its place. “It still irks me that we don’t know who it was.”

Héctor chuckled. “Maybe it was Cheech all along,” he said, knowing full well that despite being somehow able to read music sheets, the old gravedigger was damn near illiterate. Which was exactly the point Imelda made next.

“Chicharrón doesn’t know how to write anything but his name, Juanita’s, and a few choice words he had the bad taste of teaching my brothers,” she muttered, then she paused, and raised an eyebrow. “... What is it?”

“Uuuuh,” Héctor managed, mind entirely blank of anything he had been thinking. Their church was small and not much to write home about, but it did have one stained glass window thanks to a glassworker who had died almost twenty years prior and who had made it to thank God for saving the life of his son after a bad accident with an angry pig.

A claim doctor Sanchéz had hotly debated, that, considering that it had been him and not Jesus Christ to painstakingly sew torn flesh back together and throw iodine into any open wound, but his protests had been mostly ignored and their humble church now had a beautiful stained glass window, letting in soft light that made Imelda look like an angel straight out of-- well, no. Angels in the Bible were the things nightmares are made of, so not that.

But God, she really was the most lovely being in all creation.

A moment of silence, and then the most lovely being in all creation tilted her head on one side. “... Are you well? You look--”

“Beautiful,” Héctor blurted out, and Imelda let out a chuckle, a smile curling her lips.

“Well, I’ll admit you are a sight for sore eyes…”

Wait, what? Héctor shook his head, taken aback. “Wha-- no, not me. I mean, you. You-- beautiful,” he stammered.

The songwriter, señores y señoras.

As his face made a valiant attempt at reaching the same temperature as the sun, Imelda laughed. “I know what you meant,” she said, and the smile on her face widened just a little. She reached to take his hand, and Héctor let her pull him closer as though in a dream. “I think I can get used to hearing you say that. Once this is all over.”

Ah-- ah, of course. Yes. Once this was all over, and Hurta and his Federales were gone, he would ask her to marry him, and she would say yes, and they would leave the Church - only to return for their wedding to be officiated, and… and…

The thought of seeing Imelda in her best Sunday dress standing beneath that same window, as his bride, made Héctor’s heart skip a beat. Imelda let go of his hand, and he immediately reached to cup her face.

You may now kiss the bride.

“I’ll tell you every day,” he promised. Oh they were so close, and alone in the empty chapel. Or rather under the eyes of God, but Héctor felt no shame over it. God would understand, and if He didn’t-- well, it didn’t matter. “Starting now.”

The coy expression on Imelda’s face had faded a little, her lips parting. She placed her hand on his arm, but didn’t try to push him away. Héctor dared lean in, she tilted her face up, and her eyes fluttered close, and--

“WHAT IN GOD’S NAME!”

“Gah!”

Héctor and Imelda came apart with a yelp, and turned towards the source of the voice. Said source was marching up towards them as though filled with the wrath of God, face somehow even paler than usual and eyes ablaze. “Brother Héctor! What is the meaning of this?”

Oh God. Face quickly turning a deep shade of purple, Héctor cleared his throat. By his side Imelda looked down in a way that may have looked demure, if not for the way the corners of her mouth curled upwards despite everything. It made Héctor struggle to keep himself from laughing.

“Padre Ju-- I mean, Father John!” he exclaimed with a wide smile, hands clasped together. “I can explain.”

“Oh?” The gringo came to a stop in front of him with a huff, arms crossed full of judgment for someone who had been doing… the kind of thing Ernesto claimed they had been doing. “Then please, do explain yourselves!”

“Well…”

“Oh, I’m curious to hear this one,” another voice rang out, insufferably smug and awfully familiar. Héctor looked past the gringo to see Gustavo leaning on one of the front pews, a grin on his face. Had it been him to tell Padre Juan that he and Imelda were alone in the chapel? Of course it had been him, he only needed a look at his face to know it. That cabrón--!

Héctor opened his mouth to tell Gustavo exactly what he thought of him, but before he could spew out a series of expletives that would have probably resulted in his excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church, the chapel’s door was thrown open and someone ran in screaming. Felipe.

“Federales!” he cried out, skidding to a halt on the polished floor. He was panting, hair sticking out in all directions and glasses askew, the sling holding up his broken arm having left an angry red mark on the side of his neck. “The Federales are here!”

Héctor’s blood ran cold and, for a moment, no one moved or spoke. All four adults stared at the panting boy, stunned incredulity on each of their faces.

Just when it was beginning to look like Huerta is done for. Just when we thought we may have escaped them entirely.

“Impossible!” Gustavo almost cried out, reaching to grab the boy by the shoulder. “They can’t be here! They were going to go through San Luz!”

How would you know?, Héctor thought, but he didn’t get to voice the question. The next moment Imelda was no longer by his side: she pushed past a still silent Father John to tear her brother from Gustavo’s grasp, and look at him in the eye.

“Where is Óscar?” she asked, fear plain in her voice. Her horror seemed to grow when Felipe swallowed and shook his head.

“I-- I don’t know. They’re at the plaza, rounding up people--”

“What do you mean, you don’t know! You’re always together!” Imelda crouched before him, even though he was already taller than her. She looked like she was begging him for a different answer. “Do you know where he may be? He needs to go home. He needs to hide.”

“No, I-- we were playing hide and seek, and Miguel--” Felipe let out a shaky breath and looked over at Héctor, eyes huge behind his glasses. “Héctor, their leader has Miguel.”

No. No, no, no, no, no. Not Miguel. Please.

The world around Héctor seemed to fade for a moment, and he seriously thought he may be about to faint; his ears were buzzing and his tongue felt too large. Children were not spared in that war, the Federles would take anyone who could hold a gun and make them fight.

I’ll fight. I’ll go. Just please, not Miguel.

“Very well then.” Father John’s voice rang out, impossibly calm, the full weight of his authority behind it. They all turned to look back at him as though puppets pulled by the same string. His hands were clasped tightly together, his mouth pulled in a thin line; a grim resolve was etched on his every feature. “It seems I need to speak to their leader, then. Philip, you go home. I will handle this.”

Gustavo groaned, rubbing his face. “With all due respect, Padre,” he said, everything in his tone making it clear he didn’t think the respect he was due was all that much, “it may be best you don’t try to confront them.”

“How come?”

“They have a bone to pick with Americans after Veracruz. More than everyone else, I mean.”

The resolve on the gringo’s face did not waver. “Surely, the cloth I wear will mean something to them.”

“Well… I suppose, at least for some, but they don’t love the Church all that much…”

“Then it will have to do.” Father John turned to Héctor and Imelda, who was still kneeling before her brother. “... Do ensure the children here are safe. Your brother may already be safe, if he saw them coming. Philip, you go home. I will do all I can to… smooth things over.”

You were never able to smooth things over with any Mexican ever, Héctor thought, but didn’t get to say as much aloud. The gringo turned and marched out of the church, immediately followed by Gustavo, who was probably thinking someone should make sure he didn’t mess it up too badly. Too bad he was probably the second worst pick for the job. Or the third, if they counted in Cheech. As they walked off, Imelda looked back at her brother.

“... Keep to the back roads, and go straight home. Maybe Óscar is already there. Go out back, through the sacristy - quick!”

Felipe disappeared at the back, and Imelda turned to look at Héctor. She was pale as ash, but her jaw was set; all the terror that had filled her moments earlier had been pushed back. “... I’ll tell Sofía to try and hide the supplies in the basement as well as she can. I’ll go gather all the boys and bring them back to the orphanage. You… you get Miguel away from them.”

“I…” A shaky breath, and Héctor nodded. “Do you think… what if they’re looking for Ernesto?”

“Then thank God he’s all the way out there to bless a bull. We’ll all tell the truth - none of us knows anyone called Ernesto de la Cruz.”

“If someone mentions a Padre Ernesto…”

“It’s a common enough name, and no one would think a deserter and our parish priest are the same person. His plan may have really been stupid enough to work.” She squeezed his arm. “Now think of nothing but Miguel. I’ll see you both later.” A pause. “I love you.”

Héctor swallowed, and leaned for a quick brush of the lips before he tore himself away from her and ran down the church and outside, down the steps, heart hammering in his throat and only one thought in mind: find Miguel, and keep him safe.

Whatever it takes.

***

“No one move, and no one will be harmed.”

Santiago’s voice rose over the plaza, met with almost complete silence from the people of Santa Cecilia - or at least those among them they had caught outside, at what looked like their weekly market - and seemingly went unheard by his men, who were busy taking as much as they could from the stands full of food and produce. Santiago did not try to stop them; they were fighting for Mexico, after all, and taking supplies was well within their rights.

If anyone was unhappy with that, they were smart enough not to voice it.

“I am looking for a deserter,” Santiago spoke again, circling the small crowd, still atop his horse. The boy, Miguel, sat frozen before him. Part of him, the man he had been before the war, felt sorry for the situation he was in, but the much colder man he had become, the one who had survived this far, knew it was a matter of practicality.

Having one of their kids on the horse with him made it… less likely for anyone to think of doing anything rash, such as pointing a gun in his general direction; it was a lesson he had learned after a bullet shot from a window had grazed at his right temple, leaving behind a rather unsightly scar.

Sorry, muchacho. I cannot afford to die. Not until Alberto is avenged.

“His name is Ernesto de la Cruz,” Santiago spoke the name loud and clear, so that all in the plaza could hear. “A large man, doesn’t go unnoticed. Black hair, brown eyes,” he added, painfully aware of how vague that was. “He had a beard, but he may have shaved it off. He is a murderer who did not hesitate to shoot a man in the back, and he’s dangerous. He needs to be put down as the rabid dog he is. If any of you is harboring him, you are not only committing treason - you are putting yourselves and your village at risk. So I ask you all--”

A sudden cry cut him off, followed by a laugh and a man’s furious voice. “Hey! Get your hands off-- agh!”

“Javier! No!”

Santiago turned to the source of the disturbance, as did the rest of the nervous crowd. A glance was enough to tell what had happened: one of his soldiers was still brandishing his rifle like a club, standing above a young man bleeding from the mouth while a girl with a torn blouse knelt over him, crying. He sighed. “... Mendoza. What did I tell you all about what you are and are not allowed to take from the towns we pass through?”

A grin. “Not my fault, Commander. This one was giving me the eyes. You know what I mean, no?”

Santiago gave him a frosty smile. “I understand. It has been a long march, hasn’t it? I believe you have dropped some cartridges.”

“Huh?” Mendoza looked down, searching for cartridges on the dusty ground. Santiago pulled out his pistol. “Cover your ears, muchacho. And close your eyes,” he told Miguel, and did not wait to see if he’d obeyed: he just lifted his pistol, aimed, and pulled the trigger.

There were a few cries, mostly covered by the loud bang, but Mendoza made no noise: he was thrown to the ground and jerked just once before he lay still. As those closer to the body tried to shift away without making themselves targets, Santiago put the pistol back and turned his gaze around, to his other men, who had stilled and were staring back in silence.

“I trust you will need no more reminders to keep your hands to yourselves,” he said. Miguel was shaking on the saddle, hands on his ears. Santiago gave his head a reassuring pat before turning his horse to the side, so that the boy didn’t have the body in his line of sight. “Now - do any of you have any knowledge of the whereabouts of Ernesto de la Cruz?”

As the soldiers around them resumed taking all the supplies they could take, he stared at the face of every villager. They all avoided his gaze, and they all shook their heads. Santiago scowled, anger beginning to stir in his chest. So he wasn’t there, either? Had he once again failed to find him? Where had that bastardo gone?

“We need men, and any men we need we will take!” he screamed, circling them once again, and gesturing for some of his men to leave the plaza and search the houses around them for anyone trying to hide. Young children held onto their mothers’ gown, elderly people huddled together, women held onto the arm of grown men, and somehow that just infuriated him more. They looked at him like he was a monster, but it was all wrong. He was hunting for a monster.

He was doing his duty, fighting for Mexico, risking his life - seen his friends die - and he’d even just protected one of theirs from his own man. Why did they look at him like that? What right did they have? How dare they? “If he is here, hand him over and none of yours will be taken! If you’re hiding him, you will all regret it!”

“Oh, quit yelling, will you!” a voice suddenly snapped. “There is no one by that name here. Now let the kid go.”

Santiago turned his horse, and found himself glaring down at a short, squat old man with a peg leg and a scowl on his face. “Cheech--” Miguel began, his voice shaking, but the man silenced him with a wave of his hand.

“Grownups are talking,” he muttered, and looked back at Santiago. “Listen, we got no deserter here. No one moved in recently, and there are three Ernestos in all of Santa Cecilia. One is old enough to have been at Montezuma’s court, the other is a cobbler wider than he’s tall, and the third is a priest. There is no one called de la Cruz. If the man you’re looking for was here, we’d hand him over in a heartbeat to save our own. I know I would.”

That was true, and Santiago knew it; it was the reason behind his offer, after all. He had grown up in a village much like that one, and he knew how close-knit the community was. The choice between the safety of a newcomer and that of their own people was no choice at all. Still-- ah, it was infuriating. He kept slipping through the net, people looked at him like he was the monster, and it was all wrong. He had left home with Alberto trying to do the right thing. They had wanted to be heroes. Now Beto was dead, Nando was dead, and he… he...

If you think I’m the monster, then I intend to deserve it.

“... Very well,” Santiago sneered, and dropped a heavy hand on Miguel’s shoulder, causing him to wince. “We need thirty able men. Twenty-nine, as it seems I already have a volunteer. Who else will join us and do their duty as Mexicans?”

The old man’s wrinkly face twisted in fury. “Miguel didn’t volunteer for shit!”

“Oh, but he did. Here he is, no? Boys younger than him have fought for the glory of Mexico. I’ll teach him all he needs to know.”

If looks could kill, Santiago would have probably dropped dead off his horse. He found he did not care - even if in the back of his mind he knew the boy was too young to make a decent soldier, even though part of him balked at the thought of forcing him into the front line. Maybe he would make himself useful as a messenger, something not as dangerous as fighting. Santiago would mull on that later; right now, he had to make a point - what the army needed, the army would take.

Not that the old bastard seemed to care for the point he was trying to make. “He won’t even be able to lift a gun. I know how to shoot. I’ll take his place.”

There were murmurs in the crowd, but Santiago laughed. “You? You’re missing a leg and look like you’re one step away from the grave. I said I need able men--”

“Get off that horse, and I’ll show you just how able--!”

“Commander! A word, if you please!”

A voice called out before Santiago could seriously consider pulling out his pistol and blowing off the idiot’s bald head. It wasn’t just any voice: this one had a strong, distinctive accent. Slowly, he turned back to face the man who had spoken and, for a moment, he thought he must be dreaming.

Before him, clad in black priestly robes, stood a gringo.

***

“Well well, what have we got here?”

Sofía froze, the box full of cartridges still in her arms. She slowly turned to see a soldier of the Federal army at the door, rifle in hand, looking around the cellar.

How in the world had he found his way there? Were there more? Had Imelda managed to get the children to safety on time? Feeling as though her stomach had turned into a block of ice and mentally cursing - she had almost managed to move everything! - Sofía managed to smile. “Good afternoon. I am afraid you may be in the wrong place. This is the parish’s--”

“I am here to requisition supplies,” the man cut her off. “What is in there? Food?”

Well, that was it. She needed to come up with something quickly, because if the man so much caught a glance of what was really in those boxes, she and probably the entirety of the parish would end up before the firing squad before the sun had time to set.

I can’t believe I saved Ernesto’s life by having him sent off to heal a bull’s masculinity.

"These donations are for the house of God to help the poor, I am afraid. I cannot let you take them,” she said in her best apologetic tone. “I am certain you understand, our mission--”

"Move aside."

Ah, so that was how it had to be. "... No."

"It is for the glory of Mexico."

"What of the glory of Heaven?"

"You want to go meet that glory, sister?" The soldier snapped, and raised his rifle so that Sofía could stare right into its barrel. It looked impossibly large, impossibly black. If those men held no respect for the Church, there truly was no defense left. "What about now?"

"... It seems I misspoke."

"Of course you did."

"What I meant to say is, absolutely not. Have you no shame?"

The man glared daggers at her, and Sofía could only hold her breath, praying that he did have at least some reservations over shooting a nun after all. He hesitated, so maybe her gamble had paid off. Maybe she could still find a way--

“Ah, here you are! I thought I had seen one of the heroes of Mexico coming in here!”

Gustavo’s voice caused Sofía to blink and the soldier to turn, rifle up. On the doorway, Gustavo held up his hands with a smile. “No need to shoot, I am here to offer help,” he said, as though having a rifle pointed at his face was not bothering him at all. “As the sister correctly said, these are the supplies for the church - but we do have some food and medical supplies aside I am sure you could use.”

“Hhm. Do you now?”

“Of course. I am the sexton here, and I have been keeping some supplies aside just in case you happened to come through our humble village,” he added. The soldier slowly lowered his rifle, and Sofía blinked. She knew Gustavo was a cabrón, but a supporter of the Federal Army of all things? God, had he been working for them all along? How much did he know--

“Now, sister Sofía, we’ll leave you to finish your good work,” Gustavo added, taking a step towards her and taking her hands. “You were always such a tireless servant of the Church, may God bless you.”

Sofía opened her mouth to ask if he’d hit his head, but promptly shut it when she felt something being pushed against her palm - a folded piece of paper. She looked up and shared a long, serious look with Gustavo before he let go of her hands and led the soldier outside, all smiles and questions about his bravery in battle.

Only once she was alone again, heart hammering in her throat, did Sofía unfold the piece of paper to read the message hastily scribbled on it, in the same handwriting she had seen several times. It looked identical to the one in the instructions Imelda had been receiving for months, coordinating their help to the revolutionaries and their cause.

Once they have left, ring the bell to a death toll and don’t stop. Help will come. Tell them to follow the trail. They’ll know.

***

Truth be told, Father John Johnson knew he had very few chances of succeeding.

Gustavo was right: Americans were particularly hated since their attack on Veracruz, and there was little love between Huerta loyalists and the Catholic Church. However, most if not all those men had been raised to go to Mass, and respect God’s servants; the presence of a priest still inspired at least some measure of deference, if the way the soldiers moved aside to let him pass was anything to go by.

And within moments it was obvious, just from the furious glare he received, that the cloth he wore was the only reason why their commander hadn’t shot him on sight.

“What is a gringo doing here?” the man scoffed, and moved the horse to tower over John. Gripping the horse’s mane, Miguel looked down at him with wide, terrified eyes; John gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile and looked back up at the commander.

“I serve at this village’s parish,” he said, his voice quiet. “Most call me Padre Juan. I am here to see if there is anything I may do to assist you, and protect my flock at the same time. Certainly an arrangement can be made.” Anything, he thought, anything to save my flock.

The commander scowled. “Protecting them is what we have been doing all along,” he snapped. Around them soldiers were dragging in more men and boys they must have torn out of their homes, forcing them in the plaza, separating all men from the women, the elderly, and children too young to hold a rifle. A few people cried out, but most were silent and still under the threat of firearms. “It is time they do their part for their country. This war may have been over already if not for your kind, sticking your nose in places where it doesn’t belong!”

John drew a long breath. “I do understand. The attack against Veracruz was unfortunate--”

“THE ATTACK AGAINST VERACRUZ WAS SLAUGHTER!” the man screamed suddenly, causing John to wince - but he did not turn, did not flee. He couldn’t, no more than the shepherd can run from the flock and leave it at the mercy of wolves. There was something in his voice that went beyond anger, raw and full of pain.

“... It was. I pray for all the lives lost that day, that God may take them in his glory,” he said, bowing his head. “Anything I may do would be a drop in the ocean, but if there is anything you require of me-- please, do tell me.”

The man paused, seemingly taken aback by the humble response. The scowl remained etched on his face, but the fury in his eyes burned a little less brightly. After a brief silence, during which one could hear a pin drop across the plaza, he spoke again.

“... You said you serve this parish. You must have heard confessions. Know everything about everyone.”

“I do, sir.”

“Do you have any knowledge of a man called Ernesto de la Cruz hiding nearby?”

Ernesto.

A cold, cold hand grasped John’s hand, and squeezed. He wanted to scream, to cry, to curse at the choice put before him - one he had hoped he would never have to make. He was relieved he had sent him away at a distant farm; he was horrified he may now have to be the one to give him away. Would that man be sated, if he got his hands on him? Would he leave the rest of Santa Cecilia alone? Could he trade the life of one for the lives of many?

There is no place in Mexico that is safe, Ernesto had said. I’m done for the moment you speak.

If the Federal army finds me, I’ll hang.

For all the turmoil in his soul, John managed to let nothing show. He looked up again, hands clasping together. “This man’s crimes must have been grievous--”

“He is a deserter, and he murdered a man far better than himself to escape.” The pain was in the commander’s voice again, a bleeding, open wound. “He must hang for it.”

They won’t give me the kindness of making it a clean fall with a broken neck, he’d said.

“... I see,” John said, and drew in a deep breath. He let his gaze wander around, across the faces of the men gathered by the soldiers - oh Lord, young Óscar was among them, eyes wide and scared behind his glasses - as he silently begged forgiveness from each of them. Anything to save his flock, he’d sworn to himself and to God, but this - this he could not do. Ernesto was of his flock too, the lost sheep. Whatever the consequences, they would be his own to live with.

Finally, he looked up again to meet Miguel’s gaze - and to his utter astonishment, Miguel met his gaze… and shook his head, so slightly.

Don’t tell him.

He knows.

Shock was almost great enough to make John lose his composure, but just almost. He sighed, and shook his head. "I am sorry, commander," he heard himself saying, his own voice distant. "I know no man by such name."

All at once, any humanity that has seemed to have returned to the man’s eyes was gone. “I see. Well, thank you for your useless intervention. Twenty-nine more men!” he screamed, turning to the soldiers. He turned his horse and John acted out on instinct, reaching up to grab the reins.

“Miguel is only a child!” John exclaimed, holding onto the reins despite the commander’s effort to tear it from his grasp. Only a child who reminded him of another he’d been forced to leave behind so long ago.

Michael was so young, I don’t know if he even remembers me. I don’t even know if they’re all still alive. It’s been so long.

But Miguel was there, alive, in need of help. “He’s only nine - and the boy over there with the glasses - they are still too young for this war. In God’s name--”

“God cares not for what happens here! Go preach to someone else, gringo! Let go!”

“For your own soul, if not for their lives! They’re children!”

“Let go, or I’ll shoot the boy in the head right now!”

“You monster! What sort of beast--”

“ENOUGH!”

There was the gleam of metal in the sun, a deafening bang, and screams. A terrible force knocked John back in the dust, tearing all breath out of his lungs. The sun filled his eyes for just a moment, impossibly bright, before cobwebs of darkness clouded his vision. He felt a terrible heat, something filling his mouth and soaking through his clothes. Thoughts ran through his mind like galloping horses, disjointed and increasingly muddled.

Is this it? Is it the end?

I will never see them again.

I am going to Hell, aren’t I?

Oh thank God, thank God he didn’t shoot him.

More cries, and a voice above all others, crying out Miguel’s name, full of the anguish only a father can feel. Hector's voice.

I am sorry, John tried to say, but all that left him was a gurgling sound. I couldn’t do it.

Yet even now, as he slipped out of consciousness, as he begged for God’s forgiveness and for those boys’ safety, he knew he could not regret his choice to give Ernesto a chance to save himself. If it cost him Hell, so be it. He would take the punishment.

Keep them safe, John begged without words, and dropped his head on the cobblestones, letting himself fall into nothingness as the screams around him faded into silence.

***

[Back]

[Next]

***

A/N: Have some additional art by @whattimeisitintokyo to, uh, lighten up the mood, I guess?

#pixar coco #ernesto de la cruz #hector rivera #imelda rivera #miguel rivera #coco #fake priest au

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stillbandofbrothersthirsty · 3 years

Text

As Far As Friends Go

Chapter 8 (Chapter 1; Chapter 2; Chapter 3; Chapter 4; Chapter 5; Chapter 6; Chapter 7)

Nixon - March 1944

The new year saw no improvement to Emily and Nixon’s relationship despite his fumbled attempts at reconciliation. Nixon felt that he went out of his way to make small talk with her, to be friendly (especially in the mornings) and to be enthusiastic about her work. Emily was outwardly friendly, to an appropriate degree, but Nixon could sense the barrier she had put up between them. When they had first met, she had been so open and warm, bordering on desperate for his friendship. Now, she made polite small talk and performed her tasks with a new rigid professionalism. Nixon couldn’t help but feel that this behavior was exclusive to him. He saw how she interacted with the men in the pub, in the mess, and on the rifle range; she didn’t seem to have a problem with any of them.

On more than one occasion Nixon found himself complaining to Winters about Emily’s insufferable behavior.

“Didn’t you find her attitude obnoxious before?” Winters asked.

“Yes, but I got used to that. Now she’s changed it up on me again! It's annoying is what it is,” Nixon said.

Winters dipped a spoon into a bowl of soup and brought it to his mouth, patiently waiting for Nixon to continue, “its the unpredictability, the mood swings! Women.” Nixon scoffed.

“Well,” Winters ate another spoonful of soup, “you were a jerk.”

Nixon’s brow furrowed, “not enough of a jerk for her to give me the cold shoulder for three months.”

“Has it been three months?”

Nixon didn’t answer. “You two still talk, I’ve seen you,” Winters said, “maybe she’s focusing on her work. It has gotten busier.”

“Yeah we talk, but not like before. And she seems to have plenty of time to talk to Harry or George Luz.”

Winters’ mouth crooked into a small, thoughtful smile, “why do you think it bothers you so much, Nix?”

Nixon caught his friends smirk, “Oh no,” he shook his head, “its not like that at all. She’s a kid. Besides, I’m invested elsewhere in this boring town."

Winters cocked an eyebrow, “so this really is just about friendship?”

“Friendship, friendliness - I just want things to go back to normal!”

Winters nodded and turned his attention back to his soup, “maybe this is the new normal.”

Nixon was running out of patience and hope. As March crept along he decided that he would simply have to come to terms with the impersonal working relationship that Winters called the new normal.

“Morning,” Nixon entered the intelligence HQ room with a manila folder already in hand. He was flipping through the aerial photos inside.

“Good morning, sir,” Emily said, barely looking up from her typewriter.

“We received some aerial photos this morning. Here look at this,” Nixon said, stretching out a black and white print to Emily.

She took it, “what’s this of?”

“Undisclosed,” Nixon said, “but we’ll be getting a lot more. Our office needs to piece the photos together and start building sand tables of the geography.”

Emily blew air out of her cheeks, “Wow, so this might be..”

“Yeah,” Nixon caught her gaze, “this might be it.”

“Okay, yeah we’ll get started on this.”

“Great.” Nixon shut the manila folder firmly and threw it on Emily’s desk. “Let me know what you need.”

  “Will do, sir.”

Nixon waited until his back was turned to roll his eyes. He hated it when she called him sir. No one else would hear it, but he could hear the contempt in her voice. She wasn’t saying sir out of respect. He knew that she was doing it purposely to annoy him. Sure, he couldn’t prove it, but he knew it.

Nixon dropped into his desk chair just as Vest entered the room with uncharacteristic hesitance.

“Uh, Miss Rooney?” Nixon’s dark eyes flicked over to Emily. An unexplainable feeling of dread grew in his stomach. It grew stronger as he saw Emily’s face change. She was sensing the difference in Vest’s energy just as he had. Vest made his way over to her desk with a letter in hand.

“A letter for you,” Vest cleared his throat, “from the war department.”

Nixon sat straighter in his chair as Vest made his awkward retreat from the room. Emily ripped the edge of the envelope with trembling hands and slowly pulled the typed letter from its folds.

Nixon watched her eyes run across the ink-black lines. His heart beat in his ears in anticipation for her reaction. Finally, Emily let out a shuddering breath and the letter dropped from her hands. Fat tears began rolling down her cheeks. She pressed a hand to her mouth in an attempt to squash her sobs, her body folding in on itself as if to guard her from the world around her. Jolted into action, Nixon stood abruptly from his chair and was beside her in two strides. He positioned his body on the edge of her desk, blocking her from the curious looks from the other intelligence staff.

“What happened?” he asked in a low voice.

Emily shut her eyes tightly against the tears, she shook her head indicating her inability to speak. Instead, she held up the letter. Nixon took it and read,

Dear Miss Rooney,

The following information is provided in regards to your fiancee, Corporal John Elliott. Your fiancee sustained significant wounds of the left leg and arm and on 11 March, 1944 was reported as being in a naval hospital in London, England for further treatment. You may be sure that he is….

Nixon stopped reading as confused relief softened the knot in his stomach.   “Wounded, wounded in action,” he said.

Emily nodded. She ran her finger tips under her eyes. Her cheeks were sopping wet with tears, her eyelashes heavy with salt.

“Here,” Nixon handed her the handkerchief from his pocket. “It’s clean. Well, cleanish.”

Emily accepted it and swallowed hard, doing her best to compose herself. She patted her cheeks dry with the fold of the linen cloth.

“You okay?” Nixon placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. This was their first physical interaction in months, but neither of them seemed to think anything of it. It was such a natural action considering the circumstances.

“Yeah,” she gulped, “I’m alright.” Emily exhaled, “it took me by surprise is all.”

  “Naturally,” Nixon rubbed her back.

“I don’t know why I’m such a mess,” Emily’s voice cracked with emotion.

“You don’t need to excuse your reaction,” Nixon murmured, “this is big, scary news.”

  “I thought- I just thought that it was going to say he was dead.”

“I know, I thought so too.”

“Lew, I - I was,” she hesitated.

“What?” he encouraged her.

“Never mind,” she screwed her face up as if thinking against what she was about to say. Her lips were swollen from crying, her lipstick slightly smudged from the press of her hand. “If he’s wounded I have to see if I can visit him.”

Nixon nodded, “absolutely.”  

“Do you think we could find out where he’s at?”

Nixon grimaced with uncertainty, “uhm, I mean it’s not our branch. But I’ll see what I can do.” Nixon was conflicted; this seemed awful personal for him to get involved with. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to get involved with Emily’s business considering how things had been between them lately. Then again, this could be his chance to make amends, to show her that he meant well by her.

“Lewis, thank you!” her voice was full of gratitude and looking down at her red rimmed gray eyes, Nixon prayed he would be able to find the hospital easily.

A few days later Nixon interrupted Emily at lunch, which she was once again spending with Welsh.

“I found him,” Nixon announced. He expected Emily look more excited.

“Oh thank you, Nix! Where is he?” Emily asked.

Okay, back to some version of a nickname, Nixon observed. That was a good sign. “Worcestershire.”

“Who’s this?” Welsh looked between Emily and Nixon.

“Worcestershire? I thought he was in London?”

“He was. He was originally with an evacuation hospital but has since been moved to a convalescent hospital in Worcestershire.”

“Ah, okay,” Emily said.

“That’s a good thing,” Nixon said, “he’s on the mend! And Worcestershire is only north of here.”

“Who’s this we’re talking about?” Welsh asked again, this directed just at Emily.  

“Right, I guess I should go up this weekend,” Emily spoke more to herself than the men. “I guess I’ll have to make sure…” she trailed off lost in thought.

“You’ve got my permission. That’s all you need,” Nixon said.

Welsh opened his mouth again but didn’t have the chance to speak before Nixon interjected, “her fiancee Harry, we’re talking about her wounded fiancee.”

“Ah,” Harry looked down at his plate suddenly uninterested in the conversation.

“Get the train Saturday morning and plan to be back by Sunday night, okay?” Nixon rapped his knuckles on the wooden dining table. “Okay, I’ll see you both later,” and he walked off without Emily’s confirmation.

The Friday before she was set to leave Emily was a ball of nerves. She was constantly tapping her foot, or getting up to walk around aimlessly. Her restlessness was grating on Nixon’s nerves, which was the last thing he needed with the headache he was nursing.

“Would you relax?” he finally snapped.

“Sorry, sorry,” Emily stilled her foot. But then only a few minutes later her fingers began drumming against her desk. The rigid tension between them had relaxed slightly since the letter had come but Nixon still felt like he was walking on eggshells. He was worried about being too harsh with her or of saying anything insensitive. The last couple of days he had been careful to be extra kind to her. The stress of seeing her fiancee again for the first time in at least a year, and knowing that he would be both physically and mentally different than he had been, was a lot to carry. Nixon knew this. He had taken it upon himself to offset her edginess but boy was he finding that particularly difficult at that moment.

“What’re you gonna be like when we get to the continent huh?” Nixon demanded, “that’s gonna be stressful too, are you gonna be able to handle it?” So much for not being too harsh or insensitive.

Emily scowled at him from her desk, “leave me alone, Nixon. I’ll be fine when we get to the continent. Will you? Gunfire isn’t great for a hangover.”

Nixon narrowed his eyes at her but didn’t say anything more. Finally, they made it to dinner and she excused herself early due to her early departure in the morning. A peculiar sensation came over him as he watched her leave. Seeing her walk away in her woolen skirt with pieces of her dark, red-brown hair flying away from where they were pinned down felt like some sort of goodbye. An anxiety that she was leaving to join her fiancee never to come back tickled at the back of his mind. Beside him, Harry Welsh was looking after her in just the same way. Nixon couldn’t help but wonder what that meant for both of them.

Nixon didn’t have plans for the weekend. He had a loose arrangement with a beautiful young local woman but didn’t feel particularly motivated to call after her that Saturday. His mind was with Emily, worrying if she had made it to the hospital safely. He squandered the day away in bed, then the pub and during a brief window of sunshine, walking around the outskirts of town.

England was beginning to defrost into Spring. When Nixon looked out at the rolling hills of Wiltshire, he could almost pretend he wasn’t there because of a war. He might have been there to study, or to visit family friends. There was a peacefulness in the open plains that surrounded the town of Aldbourne. Every stone, field, and building held a storied past that seemed to look past the impending events as if to say I have been here before and I will be here after.

Later that night Nixon excused himself from a game of poker for a cigarette outside. It was chilly out, but he was grateful for the fresh air while it wasn’t raining. He was stood just in front of the steps leading ups to the HQ building when he spotted a figure making its way up the driveway, suitcase in hand. It was a woman’s figure and Nixon’s first thought was another nurse was coming to join the ranks. But it was such a late hour for a new member of staff to check in. As the figure grew closer he recognized her.

“Emily?” he asked in confusion. Her features became clearer as she stepped into the dim light coming from the building. There was a bizarre expression on her face. Nixon didn’t know what to think of her. “Emily?” he repeated, “what’re you doing back?”

She didn’t smile, but her countenance was calm, serene even. Her eyes were wide and bright despite the limited light. She parted her red lips and with the intonation of surprise said, “I’m free, Lew.”

#band of brothers #fanfiction #original character #as far as friends go #lewis nixon #lewis nixon x oc #harry welsh x oc #george luz x oc #dick winters #harry welsh #george luz #hbo band of brothers

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sepublic · 4 years

Note

I’ve been binge reading all your amazingly thoughtful analyses and I was wondering, if you could give the Blight Twins their own episode, (like separate one for Edric and one for Emira because I’ve seen how twins don’t want to bunch together all the time and be their own person) what would you want it to be about?

OH-HO, this is SUCH a flattering ask and I really must thank you for it! It means a lot…

With Emira, I hate to be obvious, predictable, main-stream, and pick a low-hanging fruit… But I want her to meet Viney. Emira is someone who is concerned the most of the two about having an actual identity on her own, and this likely includes making friends… So why not go get to know the Detention Kids, who are already rebellious in their own way, but while still managing to flex their individuality?

Just imagine an episode of Emira getting to know Viney, maybe wanting to be close… But Viney, well. She’s someone who’s defensive because she’s been hurt in the past, and after what she’s heard of the Blights and Emira’s penchant for illusions, she is rightfully going to be suspicious. So we’ll have Emira possibly wanting to abuse the Secret Room of Shortcuts for pranks, but then Viney wants to preserve it mostly as an educational tool, and Emira doesn’t CARE for education…

And this could lead to Em perhaps being too dismissive and even harsh towards Viney, because she seems like someone who while she tries to self-reflect, she sometimes doesn’t fully realize when she’s just parroting her parents’ abuse. And so we have Emira learning to be more mature and straight-forward, to cease the pranks and mind Viney’s feelings and uncertainty… Being truthful and tender to lower her guard, and Emira actually having to openherself to another person that isn’t Edric.

Perhaps Em admits WHY she’s like this to Viney, who also introduces her side of the story… And they get to be actual friends! Emira learns to respect who Viney is as well as her interests, Viney gives Em a chance and lets her in figuratively AND literally… Maybe Emira even discovers an actual enjoyment of certain classes beyond Illusions! Or she doesn’t, but either way she may not be too much like Viney, but that doesn’t mean they can’t be friends! And not being like someone she’s close to is… HONESTLY what Emira was aiming for, only now she can still respect these differences too!

As for Edric…

Edric is a dude who prioritizes companionship over all-else. But he’s also kind of a goofy kid sometimes, and that’s worth noting. Depending on how Lilith’s character development goes, and how she ALSO was someone who was clingy towards her own sister and didn’t respect Eda’s autonomy as an individual to be her own person, insisting that being together mattered most… I’d LOVE to see Lilith perhaps give Edric a few pointers on this, maybe here them talk about their feelings of crippling loneliness! Let Ed get to be a dumb kid sometimes while Lilith isn’t sure what to make of his antics while Luz just enables him. It’d be amazing to see Lilith and Edric talk about their respective relationship towards Amity…

Ed knowing this is the lady Amity looked up to, having had reservations because she was a bootlicker; But then Lilith threw it all away –albeit not entirely willingly- for Eda and Luz! So, maybe she IS good for something after all…! Meanwhile, Lilith possibly knows of Amity’s occasional issues with her twin siblings…

And she thinks of her own time with Eda. So, she decides to impart some wisdom to Edric, about how you should always love your sibling and never go too far, while still letting them be a person… And somewhere along the way, Edric realizes this wouldn’t just apply to him and Amity, but him and Emira too.

Then Lilith and Edric form a found-family bond, maybe Ed accidentally calls her Mom as well… Maybe even Lilith lets him have fun with King and Owlbert, because the kid wanted pets as a child but never got them because of his strict parents! Not sure how King would feel about Edric though, but I could also imagine them getting into some WEIRD antics alongside Luz! And come to think of it…

Maybe a pet WOULD help Edric’s issues, though unfortunately I can’t really see Lilith being able to help by getting in a good word with the Blight Parents given her, um, employment status. And if Edric could just get away with hiding a pet through illusions, he’d have probably done it by now, so. On another note, Lilith and Edric both wear glasses (or at least Lilith used to), so I’d LOVE to see the two become more comfortable about doing that around each other.

For either twin, maybe both, I’d also like to explore their thoughts on Willow… They knew she was Amity’s best friend, but did they know WHY Amity cut ties? They seemed legit concerned in Lost in Language over the way ‘Amity treats people’, so I think the twins had worries about Amity pushing away her best friend like that, potentially because of their parents (though to what degree they had no idea)! Not to mention, how do the Twins feel about Boscha…?

Boscha is ALSO a trouble-maker, and a bit of a bully herself; Though I don’t think to the same extent as Ed and Em were, and arguably without as much of a reason for it. This was someone Amity hung around with for years, do they know it was against her will? Surely the Twins realized how little Amity smiled around Boscha and her posse, did they have concerns that Amity was being too cold to them, not realizing Amity was forced to hang out with them to begin with?

How do they feel about Boscha and Amity being on bad terms, about the former breaking the latter’s leg… And what was Boscha’s perspective on the two, and how Amity disliked them? Maybe Ed and Em are harsh towards Boscha for the Grudgby incident, but then they also seem pretty open-minded when it comes to people outside of their family… So maybe they consider Boscha’s side of the story and how Amity WAS cold to her and the others. And maybe the twins learn about what their parents ordered, and tell Boscha to give some peace of mind for her, to give closure…

Sure it hurts for Boscha to hear Amity never DID like her, but in this case, it really IS for her own good. Maybe it’ll be like Understanding Willow, only instead of Luz it’s Ed and Em, and instead of Willow it’s Boscha; Perhaps we learn more of Boscha’s background, and we get to see her and Amity reconcile, perhaps with Boscha finally learning to respect Willow and Luz on Amity’s behalf… Or they at least acknowledge that both were put into a messed-up situation, a false and thus unhealthy friendship, and decide to leave without any grudges. Who knows?

I’d honestly love to see Ed and Em perhaps act as like… surrogate older siblings to Boscha, because now they get to make more friends outside of the family (and at least their parents can’t disapprove of Boscha), and they talk about their own mutual concerns and thoughts of Amity, with the twins vouching for Amity while at the same time considering what Boscha has to say and relaying that… Maybe the twins, who are willing to be self-aware, even if they’re not the best at it, tell Boscha to cut out the bullying, that she doesn’t need to be on top or be beholden to what anyone else says!

I think it’d be sweet, honestly, and I’d love to see more of Boscha’s friends for that matter! Because we know that while Amity was never close to any of them, she’s still an inherently good person and thus felt bad about injuring them in Grudgby; Especially since to Amity’s perspective, she’s no doubt been ‘lying’ to Boscha about their friendship, even if it wasn’t her fault!

But, yeah… Sorry for getting a little off-topic, but given how much this show stresses relationships and found family, and blood-family being obligated to RESPECT the found family of their relatives… I just think it’d be fascinating to see, on top of Emira and Edric having their own personal journeys of self-discovery! Because as we see with Luz, being your own individual doesn’t mean cutting ties from everyone else, and arguably…

Making new connections can HELP one make an identity! Because you still choose to make connections not out of obligation, need, and situation… But because it’s what you want and it’s all YOU as a result, because desires are a reflection of a person! And maybe then, Emira and Edric can go back to being Twins and closest friends, now closer than ever in a healthy sense, because now they’re still their own individuals and respect one another as such, and are fine with letting each other be people!

That they know who they are, and so the Twins don’t need to worry about losing sight of that identity whenever they hang around, because in the end… While MAYBE some of their closeness came as a result of having no one else and needing companionship against their parents, I really do believe that Emira and Edric, despite potential fears suggesting otherwise, DO love and enjoy one another’s company and always will, perhaps more than they do others’! And as long as they’re their own people, that wouldn’t even be a bad thing, honestly…

Just, the idea of Emira and Edric trying to figure out who they are separate from one another, and in learning so, their bond with each other becomes even stronger and healthier! That they become more comfortable, and more close, because they can afford to be truly honest without worrying about losing the other and having nobody else!

Once the confusion of who they are is cleared, the Blight Twins can go back to enjoying one another unconditionally, neither worrying about being different nor the same! Just natural sibling love…! No more concern about losing oneself amidst the other, because Emira and Edric are truly their own people now, and thus they aren’t dependent upon one another and can be fully healthy to each other!

Maybe by the end of their respective journeys, Emira and Edric learn to respect the wishes of one another, while still staying the same… With Edric realizing that he can’t hold onto Emira possessively, and Emira recognizing Edric’s genuine love and concern for her, that she doesn’t need to ‘cut ties’ to be her own person!

…Look, I just have FEELINGS about these twins, because they’re the children of the Blight Parents and that alone implies issues, but we already SEE a few concerning things, and I just want them to reconcile after Grom and heal from the pain of rejection! Them being stood up is the last we see of Emira and Edric both in terms of official content and chronology, I demand CLOSURE and emotional reparations for these kids!

#the owl house #owl house #the owl house emira #emira blight #the owl house edric #edric blight #the owl house viney #vinira #the owl house boscha #the owl house lilith #lilith clawthorne #the owl house willow #ask

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