#at least luz didn't really go to hell

[awakefor48hours]

I just had a horrible image of the destiel "I love you" meme but with Lumity and now I'm forcing you guys to think about it.

[theloganator101]

Why Vaggie is my least favorite of the cast

Now I KNOW this is going to get me some hate so let me explain.

This isn't me saying she's a bad character or anything of the sorts since she's still a good character in her own way, I just... didn't connect with her like I did with the rest of the cast.

For one thing, she really doesn't have much of a personality outside of her relationship with Charlie. Her whole thing is doing things for Charlie, so we don't really get to see who Vaggie is.

I'm indifferent to Viv, but it's very fucking clear that she doesn't know how to write characters in a relationship. She seems to think two people in one are each other's world, nothing else. so in a way this relationship kind of holds Vaggie back as a character.

Thinking about other ships such as Lumity and Vegebul, the one thing they have that Chaggie doesn't is that those two relationships have the characters be their own character even with the relationship. Amilty and Bulma are still characters within their own rights, and the same goes for Luz and Vegeta.

Hell, even Moxxie and Millie get this somewhat right despite my own gripes with it! Because at least those two feel like their own characters somewhat!

And again, I'm sorry for those who do like her and her relationship with Charlie, it's just not my cup of tea and I DO hope Vaggie gets some characterization in Season 2 to make her more interesting than she is.

[mdhwrites]

honestly, Amity's hair color is the perfect metaphor for her character. She's still hiding her true colors, she's just trying to match Luz instead of Odalia.

So even at the time, when I was still deep in the paint of TOH, I had a major problem with it as far as the themes, metaphors and just designs of TOH went. Put both Amity and Luz at that time into their Hexside uniforms. Then silhouette them so you have no colors. Now try to tell me which is which.

It was a genuine problem for me during that time period where I'd see sketch fanart of Lumity and have to look for Amity's ears because otherwise the two are indistinguishable from each other. Like yes, it's a MUCH more boring hairstyle and I'm with others that there's just way too much purple in the show so Amity's green hair helped her actually stand out but this really was a big problem and got worse as I got more critical of Lumity. After all, this moment of making sure she has her own identity, stands out from others and will decide her own fate... And she looks the fucking same as another character now, blending in more easily with them. Then she just goes on to slowly have the rest of her personality and life (which were already doing this, thank you "your grades are slipping" from Escaping Expulsion for that one) consumed by her role of girlfriend.

It makes what should be such a character defining moment anything but that. Hell, it isn't even a complete schism from her family's desires and wishes. She still goes on to effectively helm Blight Industries after all, or so I presume unless she started her own competing abominations factory which still doesn't fix that that's STILL what Odalia would have wanted had Amity failed to get into the EC. It's still living in the shadow of her father's legacy and following in his own footsteps.

It's actually the one major cue from Hunter that Amity takes for her arc which really doesn't help the two feel like they aren't the same character. At least with Hunter, we only have one action that's confirmed as being the same as those he's supposed to be rejecting so as to find his own personhood: Rejecting Belos. There's a lot more we can claim but that's the only one 100% confirmed.

Amity though? Her future includes dedicating herself to a potentially unhealthy degree to her partner while also commercializing her magic into mech-infused abominations. Even if Lumity is healthy post the series, nothing about Amity's behavior doesn't imply she'd drop everything for Luz at a moment's notice and Alador gave the same impression. So... She just became her dad? Why?

Then again, when you are a show that seems to actually struggle to write a diverse cast of characters (I mean personality wise, not ethnicity), this is going to happen. Dana is a good enough artist though that the silhouette problem shouldn't have happened. That should have been caught and stopped immediately, not when it's so antithetical to the point of the moment. I guess you could say it's to show she still needs to make another step to becoming her own person but that never really happens, does it? And we explicitly know they didn't have proper plans for it to happen.

So yeah, it really is just perfect for who Amity became, even right down to being a worse design to go alongside girlfriend Amity being such a worse character.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[captainimprobable]

Huntlow: "I've got my suit, we have a full tank of gas, and you look beautiful."

(Hope things get easier soon.)

Willow could tell that something was very wrong, because Hunter had been quiet for at least three minutes straight. She loved her boyfriend with everything she had, but, more importantly, she knew him. And after three years of dating, she was quite aware of the fact that Hunter liked to talk. The topic of conversation varied greatly; depending on the hour it could be anything from a one sided debate on the mechanics of the Cosmic Frontier ships to a rant about how gorgeous his girlfriend was. (Willow was rather partial to the second, but she was happy to listen to anything he had to say, really.) So when Hunter went quiet in the living room, she exited the bathroom mildly concerned that he'd passed out at the computer where she'd left him. "Hunter?" she asked as she walked across the room. Hunter didn't respond, but he did turn his chair around to slowly face her with a look of great shame on his face. "I'm so sorry Willow," he said, nervously biting his thumbnail, "I, uh, I kind of fucked up." Willow smiled reassuringly and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure it's not as bad as you're making it seem, babe."

In addition to being a certified yapper, Hunter also happened to be extremely hard on himself. Hunter flinched. "No, it's actually bad this time," he assured her. "You know those plane tickets we got? The ones for Tuesday?" "The tickets to get to Connecticut?" "Yeah..." Willow started to feel a great sense of unease in the pit of her stomach. "What happened?"

Hunter took a deep breath and then finally blurted it out: "We don't actually have tickets for Tuesday. I'm so sorry." Willow blinked at him, not quite certain she was hearing this right. "What...what do you mean?" "I mean, I just got an email confirming our tickets to Connecticut....for Friday. And yes, before you ask, I looked up literally every single airline in existence for seats on any plane for Tuesday. Or Wednesday, or Thursday, or even Monday." Willow closed her eyes and backed up a few feet until she was sitting on the couch. "Shit. How...?"

Hunter stood up, dawdling in the middle of the room like he wasn't sure whether he was allowed to join Willow on the couch or not. "It's my fault. I was distracted when I bought the tickets back in May, and I must have clicked the wrong day, and now-" "-And now we're going to miss our best friends' wedding," Willow finished.

"I'm so sorry, I feel awful, I didn't do it on purpose, I-"

"I know," Willow said gently, "I don't blame you. It's just...what are we gonna do? Not being there is not an option." "Yeah, I know, which is why I got a kind of....crazy idea." There was suddenly a mischievous glint in Hunter's eye, and in spite of herself and in spite of the situation, Willow found herself smiling. Whatever Hunter was going to say next was sure to be at best helpful and at least entertaining. Hunter smiled back at her, and Willow was not surprised to feel the butterflies in her stomach. Even after all these years, she still felt them all the time. "What if we drove there?" Willow let that sit in the air for a second before saying "As in, road trip across the country? In four days?" "I mean, we've done crazier things, and besides, this is Luz and Amity. I know you'd do anything for them, and I sure as hell would too. So..."

"Hmmm. When would we leave?" Hunter's grin got even bigger. "I was thinking...maybe now?" "Now???" Hunter shrugged. "Why not? I've got my suit, we have a full tank of gas, and you look beautiful." Willow giggled. "What does me looking beautiful have to do with anything?" "Nothing, really, but I've only told you like two times today, which definitely wasn't enough." God, Willow loved this man. "Okay." "Okay?" Willow stood up and stretched before walking over to her boyfriend and giving him a kiss. "Let's do this," she said, "Think you can handle being stuck in a car with me for four days?" Hunter snorted. "As if being stuck with you for four days isn't, like, the best thing that could ever possibly happen to me? Come on, Willow, you know me better than that." Willow laughed again and got on her tiptoes to ruffle Hunter's hair. "I love you," she said, as if he didn't know, as if she could ever, in any universe, pretend she was anything other than deeply in love with him. "I love you too," he said, "Now let's get our butts to Connecticut." ~ (I CANNOT THANK YOU FOR THIS ENOUGH ANON! This is the first time I've been able to write in MONTHS, ty ty ty!!! <3)

[ironwitchau]

Here we go again with more of this au. I don't know, I kinda like it. I feel like people don't understand the horror of being dropped into your favorite video game or show. Like you could easily be killed and you don't know if you will be revived? Nah, sorry man, I ain't here for this getting killed plot. Anyway, you can get caught up here:

Part 1, Part 2

---

The Knee:

One of the features Luz loved about Titan’s Will was that the player could find the glyphs at any point, time, and order, so long as the player knew where to look. For instance, normally players get the light glyph first by using a demonic disposable camera with a cracked lens while Eda performed the light spell at the beginning of the Owl Beast Arc. However, there is a moment, between beating Wrath and the group of three leaving, where the player could roam the courtyard. Most players and speed-runners went straight to Eda and King, in a rush to get the game going. If they had looked around, specifically at a scorch mark on one wall, and interacted with it a few times they would get the fire glyph. Luz had discovered it by accident on her first New Game + run.

This information became invaluable to the human after she ran into Amity for the first time. After that meeting, Luz decided she at least needed the four main glyphs but when she sat down with a pen and paper and made the circle to put the light glyph in, she realized a problem. She couldn't remember what the glyph looked like. Any of them.

Luz, who had doodled them onto the corners of her school work because she was bored, couldn't remember what the glyphs looked like. She had panicked that first night but eventually calmed down enough to plan. She refused to get involved with the plot even though it would give her the chance to find the glyphs. Thankfully she remembered the Knee Event.

The Knee Event was the canonical time where the protagonist found their second glyph, the ice glyph. During the event, the protagonist has to learn a second spell so they won’t fail the Hexside Placement Test. If the player already had two spells at this point, they still go with Eda mentioning that they are “really dedicated to getting in”. Eda and the protagonist head to the Knee and usually end up running into Amity and the Blight twins. By the end of it, the player got another spell and leveled up some bonds.

Luz didn't care about that. At least, not now as she tried to stay out of the story. What mattered was that while learning the ice glyph this way, the player learns that the light glyph is also a constellation.

She was in no rush to get to the Knee, until she ran into Eda. It had to be a bad sign to run into two plot important characters and Luz refused to get dragged into the game now. She might get caught off guard but she wouldn't be unarmed.

---

They left for the Knee Friday afternoon, closing Raven’s Nest early. The plan was to spend two days and two nights there, which should be enough time for Luz to learn her two spells. She spent that first night staring up at the sky, connecting the stars in hope of finding a glyph. She even used Observe until it leveled up. Nothing.

Eventually, Raven told her it was time to call it a night and the two entered their respective tents. Luz woke up the next morning to a softly spoken conversation.

“Aren't you two a little young to be out here all on your own?” Raven had asked. Luz figured it was probably just some traveliers, or some St. Epiderm kids. That school was said to be on the Knee, an hour or two’s walk from the ruins Luz and Raven were camping at.

“With Willow around?” A younger, boyish voice laughed. “We’ll be fine.”

Wait a damn minute. She knew that voice. That was-

“You flatter me, Augustus.” A third voice said. It was feminine with a teasing undertone. Luz knew that voice too.

What the hell were Augustus ‘Gus’ Porter and Willow Park doing on the Knee?

---

It was mentioned earlier that when players took part in the Knee Event they usually ran into Amity Blight. The keyword being usually. The second purpose of the Knee Event was to level up two bonds, the Owl Lady’s and the lowest Hexside bond available at the point in the game. More often than not it would be Amity who’s social bond was just made a few event’s back, but it was possible for other characters to take part of the event.

Luz exited her tent and was met with said characters. The first was a girl, the same age as her. She was taller than Luz by a few inches, with short navy hair and olive-green eyes behind a pair of black rimmed glasses. Like most witches she had pointed ears. The second was a dark skinned boy who was two years younger than them. Luz easily had a head, maybe one and half, on him. Then again Luz was rather tall. He had short black hair that was shaved on the sides and dark eyes. These two were Willow and Augustus.

“Look, Luz,” Raven joked, “I've met a few more strays.”

Luz chuckled nervously and used Observe on the two just in case she was wrong.

[Observe!]

[Name: Willow Park

Species: witch

Titles: Half-A-Witch]

[Observe!]

[Name: Augustus Porter

Species: Witch

Titles: Illusion Prodigy]

She was two members away from meeting the entire Hexsquad. Thankfully the two didn't show until mid-game.

“We aren't strays.” Willow deadpanned.

“We are if we can get some free food!” Augustus argued. Willow elbowed the teen.

“I have no issues with that.” Raven smiled and offered the younger teen a bowl of warm soup.

Luz wanted to tell Raven that they probably shouldn't give food away to strangers, even if Luz knew who they were. She really didn't want to get involved with plot shenanigans. Instead, she sat down and accepted a bowl of her own. Raven was too nice anyway.

The human busied herself with her food before rushing off to try and learn her glyphs.

---

There were three options for the Knee Event. Amity’s, Willow’s, and Gus’s.

In Amity’s, the youngest Blight was at the Knee to beat the twins' score on some test. The protagonist, frustrated with Eda’s lessons, steals Amity’s training wand and accidentally angers a Slitherbeast. The demon native to the knee ends up taking Eda and the twins hostage, Amity traps the protagonist and goes to save them. The protagonist ends up discovering the light constellation after activating the light glyph, which leads to them discovering the ice glyph in a snowflake. They escape and help by distracting the slitherbeast while Amity saves the others.

In Willow’s, the plant witch was at the Knee to find a special plant that emitted an icy fog. Luz forgot the name of the plant but Willow wanted to take care of one and none of the markets on the Knee seem to have it. The two would meet up and mess around during a break. Willow ends up being the one who angered the Slitherbeast, by accidentally flinging it into the air. The beast knocks Eda out, takes Willow hostage, and shoves the protagonist into a cavern as it leaves. Much like with Amity’s, the protagonist discovers the ice glyph and uses it to escape. They wake up the Owl Lady and go to save Willow. Except, she’s already escaped by the time the two track the Slitherbeast down.

Then there was Gus’. He comes to the Knee to practice a complex spell, only to get frustrated. The protagonist, annoyed with Eda, joins him in lying in the snow. Gus confides in them that he hates being younger than everyone, that his classmates either treat him like a child or use him, and the teachers put so much pressure on him. He says that’s why he likes being friends with the protagonist. They treat him like a normal person. If the player chooses to tell Gus that they enjoy being friends with him too, the protagonist places a light glyph between them. Gus activates it and they watch it float up into the sky and join the constellation. This inspires the protagonist to look into a snowflake, and so they discover the ice glyph. It’s presumed that they thank Gus because as the two lie down he says “you're welcome”.

Gus’ was the only one where the Slitherbeast is left alone. It was Luz’s favorite.

---

“Fraah!” Luz screamed at the top of her lungs as she still couldn't find the ice glyph. The snow in her hand ended up thrown against a tree.

“What did the tree do to you?” Willow said from behind her.

“Nothing.” Luz huffed. She watched as the vapors that were her breath floated up.

“Hate to see what you'd do to someone who wronged you.” She could hear the playful smirk on Willow’s face. Usually Luz found it endearing, but she really wasn't in the mood right now.

“What do you want.” It wasn't a question.

“To find a Misty Mint but I’ll settle for your name.”

That was the name of the plant. A Misty Miny. If Luz got dropped into a cavern, that Slitherbeast will have more to worry about than whatever Willow did to it.

“Rude to ask for someone else's when you don't offer your own.”

“Willow Park.”

‘I know.’

“Luz Noceda.”

“You done being pissy, now?”

Luz groaned and let herself flop back onto the snow, kicking up a small flurry. The chill of the snow was nice. Made her muscles relax some.

“Yeah, I think I am.”

“Cool, because Augustus has been dying to meet you ever since Raven told us she met you around here too.”

“Great.” Just what she needed.

[auralady181-v2]

Ok. Here we go so buckle up kids!

1. They ignored or forgot the story line. What was the point of drawing SO FREAKING BLATANT MANY parallels between Luz/Hunter and Evelyn/Caleb if you were going to just say "F it!"?! I mean they dragged the freaking thing out into the semi-final episode and made such a huge freaking deal about the Grimwalker and Belos being a Witch Hunter Reveals for nada!

2. So I guess bullying and harassment is ok now? Good to know. I may drop by the Lumity server, who knows. I know two wrongs don't make a right, but the second wrong was the show ignoring this fact and when I have privet messages from people commenting on my fanfictions saying they enjoy them and want to comment but are TOO AFRAID!? You seriously expect me to keep my mouth shut?! Though I probably will not because it'll just give more fuel for their hate, but rants will work nice enough.

3. Not so much as a hand shake or a nod between Luz and Hunter. WTF! You want to talk about ooc! It's pretty damn bad when you do it with your own characters you designed from your own imagination. A line. A. Line. We got a line. Where was at least the friendly  hug after the stuff they went through!?

4. Pro Tip: sacrificing plot and story telling for making a point is the dumbest most fatal flaw ever for a writer. Especially when there were other ways, or you have other ways, you've made your point. Raine and Eda. Amity and Willow. Lilith.

5. Acid Rain? Thats how you kill off Belos? ACID RAIN!? Oh wait..... No sorry let me correct myself.....you kill off Belos by melting him with Acid Rain and then STOMPING ON HIM! It would have been better if you just let The Collector smush him in King's Tide for good!

6. I get it but that fight should have been Luz and Hunter VS Belos! It makes sense but this show goes against everything that makes sense sooooo....yeah. But he could have at least been present there.

7. Where is the romantic drama? They had everything for multiple occasions of romantic drama and nada!?

8. Flapjack's headstone. "Thank you for finding me.", um it was actually Luz that introduced Hunter to Flapjack right? Did I miss something there?

9. Um King's dad's forms didn't match. Am I missing something?

10. They stuck with Lumity. Grant it I really wasn't expecting much given FTF, but I did have a smidgen of hope and to have that yanked out too hurts. I still want to know what Willow did significant for Hunter that Luz didn't do first and want to know what one on one time they got on screen without Gus.

11. So you only gave Hunter Waffles so he could play Flyer Derby and be with Willow right? For some reason thats where my head is.

12. Where the hell was Evelyn!?

13. Human-Titan Hybrid Luz. Sooooo what was the point of gaining Flap's powers and Stringbean if they were going to just do the make-protagonist-a-temp-hybrid thing?

[sergeantsporks]

"A Certain Coven-head" you say?

It's Amity, isn't it?

Damn, girl not only has more influence than the rest of the Coven-heads combined thanks to her sleeping with dating the Empress, but she's been worming her way to a spot beside the throne since childhood!

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

Actually...

Now that I think about it, I hope that the "Coven-head who knew the former Red Rogue" isn't Amity.

I mean, I have no issue with Witch Switch's take on Lumity as it stands. Sure, Luz is four hundred-something years old and in a relationship with Amity, whose probably only forty-ish. But! Regardless of the age difference, it's still a relationship between two adults. No problem with that, especially since I believe you've mentioned before, that in this AU, the denizens of the Isles are aware that Luz is *ancient?

(*Maybe not to the extent of "four hundred years ancient", but everyone knows that she's at least older than a hundred, right?)

So... it's not like Amity didn't already know ahead of time that she was pursuing an older woman. Lol.

But the idea of Luz "knowing of" Amity as a child, even if it's something more along the lines of "Yes, I know of your existence because my guard mentioned you a couple of times." than "Amity, Luz, and the previous Red Rouge used to have dinner once a week together." makes WS!Lumity come across, as, uh...

Skeevy.

Even if nothing romantic happened between Luz and Amity until after Amity was an adult, it still feels... discomforting to think that Luz could've known her as a child via the Red Rogue. You get what I mean?

Amity isn't the one who has a connection with the last RR, don't worry. That would be. Weird. Yeah. Wouldn't like it if Luzura had known Amity when she was a child. And yeah, the people of the BI are pretty aware that Luz is Really Old, but they're also pretty sure titans/whatever the hell Luz is don't really work the same way witches do in terms of aging.

Anyway, besides telling you it's Not Amity, no more guessing which coven head gets to be Darius. By which I mean I'm not going to answer any other guesses, you're obviously free to theorize.

[gaybananabread]

Hi!

Can I put in a request for lee! Alador and lers! Ed, Em, and Amity? That guy needs a laugh🥺. Basically, Ed and Em are busy tickling him because those two totally would. Alador thinks that hope is to come when he sees Amity passing by. But no, being Luz's girlfriend and specializing in abominations, Amity ends up tickling him too.

Feel free to decline!

I LOVE where your mind is, Anon! This is just- adorably tooth-rotting. I had a lot of fun writing this, definitely a mood booster. And, I know, two fics in one week! I smell progress! Thank you for requesting, and Enjoy!

Lee: Alador

Lers: Edric, Emira and Amity

Summary: Alador is moping about his workshop, tired and burnt out. Lucky for him, his children have a fun way of boosting his mood.

Warnings: none! This is a tickle fic, so if you don't like that, scroll away!!

Alador was done, to say the least. The week wasn't going how he thought it would.

His latest design for one of his abometons was apparently very flawed, his tired mind making more than a few mistakes. The thing practically melted when he tried to use it.

That design had been giving him hell. He had tried tweaking it, using stronger magic, different metals, even asking Amity to assist him. Odalia had been riding him on the deadline, stressing him out and making everything worse. He was burnt out and so, *so* very tired.

He let his head slam on the desk, just hard enough to make a loud "thunk" noise. Edric and Emira, who were creeping nearby, quickly rushed in when they heard the it. Seeing their dad slumped at the desk, tired and frustrated, flipped their "playful comfort" switches on overdrive.

"Hey dad, you alive?" Emira walked over to the desk, her brother right behind her. He grunted, giving her a weak thumbs-up. Yeah right...

"C'mon, don't lie." She gently poked at his side, trying to get his attention. He huffed, swatting at her hands without sitting up. This sparked an idea in the twins, the same idea popping into both of their heads.

Edric smirked and placed a hand near his dad's ribs. Emira patted his knees. Chuckling, they nodded to eachother before beginning their attack. Edric poked and scratched at Alador's ribs while Emira went for his knees.

The inventor snorted, jolting and trying to shove at his kid's hands. He was tired, his squirming weak and slow. It was a matter of seconds before he broke, his laughter loud and deep.

"HEHEHEY! KIHIDS- QUIHIT IT!" The twins chuckled, happy to hear their father laugh. He rarely lets himself go, always stressed and serious. Em scribbled under his knees, close to giggling herself. His laugh is contagious. "Nah, I don't think we will."

He kicked out, grabbing her wrist. He didn't really try to push her away, just laughing. Edric, not wanting to be outdone, pressed his knuckles into Alador's ribcage. The man squealed, both of his worst spots too much to handle. His laughter was loud and frantic.

Emira laughed, moving her hands to his belly. "C'mon, Ed. Don't wanna kill him, we'd be stuck with mom." Edric smiled as he switched to scribbling on his dad's back. Alador's loud laughter calmed to bubbly, sweet giggles.

"Ehehedric! Emiraha! Gehet off!" He squirmed, his efforts to escape useless. If he managed to stop one twin, the other would poke his bad spot and send him back to square one. He didn't really mind the tickling, but he couldn't just let them do whatever they wanted. That spelled disaster waiting to happen.

Meanwhile, Amity slowly crept down the stairs, an abomination poised and ready for attack. She had heard the commotion and assumed the worst. You can imagine her surprise when she rounded the corner. The twins tickling her dad silly wasn't what she expected.

Emira was the first to notice her, nodding her head so her hands could stay busy. "Hey mittens! Dad here was just telling us about how sad he was. We're helping him let loose. Wanna join?"

Looking over at Amity, Alador felt some hope for escape. "Ahamity! Hehehelp!" Surely his no-nonsense daughter would stop this, right? That hope died when he saw the playful smile on her face. The same one she gets whenever Luz is trying to provoke her. He was *screwed*.

The twins snickered when Amity joined them, making room for their sister. Her dad needed to laugh, and this was always fun with Luz. She fluttered her fingers against his neck, occasionally scratching the shell of his ear.

Alador's giggling doubled, small squeaks and hiccups joining the sound. His face turned a deep red as he squirmed and pushed at their hands. Three on one wasn't exactly fair, making it near impossible for him to get them all off. They poked and scribbled, pulling squeaky giggle after squeaky giggle from their father.

"Kihihids! Ihi- *hic* Quihit!" At this point, he had practically gone limp, weakly batting at Emira's hands on his belly. He was tired, and the lighter tickling wasn't all that bad. It was a nice distraction from his work, and was honestly helping to ease some of his tension.

The Blight children smiled, continuing their father's "torment." His light, bubbly giggling was the only thing they rated to hear in that moment. Alador was always way too stressed out. It was nice for them to see him so happy and care-free.

Eventually, he reached his limit, tapping his older daughter's shoulder in surrender. She stopped, nudging Amity and Edric to do the same. Ed ran off to get some water while Amity set up the couch in his workshop.

Emira wheeled his chair over to the couch, helping him sit down. Alador let himself go limp on the soft cushions, giggly softly as he caught his breath. Ed came back with the water, which Alador quickly gulped down. "Thahank you..."

Ed, Em and Amity could tell their dad wasn't gonna last much longer. He needed a nap, and they'd done a good job of tiring him out enough to get one. His kids sat down beside him, Amity to his left and the twins on his right.

The added warmth and softness of the couch paired just right with Alador's exhaustion, quickly leading him into a peaceful sleep. True, he would have to get back to work later, and Odalia wouldn't be happy he put it off. But he doesn't really care. In that moment, him and his kids were happy. In his eyes, that's all that matters.

[waywardsunlight]

Second headcanon. This one got really long. Sorry not sorry.

Luz finding glyphs so easily while Belos took forever isn't because Monarch (King's dad) liked Luz or didn't like Belos.

It's because Luz actually likes the system, and Monarch has no power outside the In-Between.

Think about it:

Belos is a witch hunter who's been stuck in a world he hates, full of people he hates, and suffused by a system (magic) that he hates. He hates the Demon Realm so much that he spends the better part of 400 years plotting and enacting a genocide. That's dedication.

This guy would not want to go looking for magic, and he would most assuredly not enjoy using magic in any capacity. In Watching and Dreaming, he literally calls the Demon Realm "this perdition". You know, Hell.

Belos spent literal centuries becoming a mass murderer. This is not a sign of a happy person who likes where he is, and he's not going to devote his energy to figuring out a system he hates that much.

In contrast, Luz shows up and is so immediately enthralled that she asks to become a witch's apprentice the FIRST DAY she spends in the Boiling Isles. DAY 1.

This girl up and decides to drop her entire life back home to learn magic (from a wanted criminal no less!!), and we see her study it obsessively throughout the show. Luz thinks magic is a delight.

Luz doesn't need to be shown the glyphs because her passion for merely existing in the Demon Realm is more than enough to let her find the glyphs and figure out the magic system.

Additional evidence: in Any Sport in a Storm, Luz says part of the reason she loves the Good Witch Azura books is because of the "convoluted magic system"; in Thanks to Them in one of her video diary entries, she says she "can read and write Witch Tongue in five different dialects". This is a girl who loves magic as much as anyone can love a thing.

I also feel like it cheapens both Luz's and Belos' characters and arcs if Monarch was actively trying to help or hinder either of them. The show goes out of its way to shit on the Chosen One trope, and Luz getting active help from a god during the entire show would feel very Chosen One-y. Similarly, it's very in character for Belos to blame an external force (The Titan hiding glyphs from him) for Belos' personal failings (his inability to find glyphs) because Belos is a raging narcissist. Don't take that away from him!

Finally, we saw from Yesterday's Lie that the most you seem to be able to do from the In-Between is talk through reflections. If Monarch were able to do more than that, why would he not have? He's been dead for probably millions of years, because life had to evolve the ability to use magic while living on his body (Young Blood, Old Souls). There was plenty of time for him to try to do more if he were able to. He even says in Watching and Dreaming that he's "been stuck here for quite some time, but at least I can keep an eye on my child...". That doesn't sound like something you'd say if you had any influence over the physical world.

Clearly, yes, he could do more in that he gave Luz his powers and resurrected her, but that also killed him, so it was a single-use-only kind of move.

I think this covers it.

Yeah! I saw this art possibly from the show/cut materials of Philip chopping down plants to find the plant glyph (I haven't seen this in ages, I don't remember where it came from/ I can't verify it so I might guess it's fanart), where you realize that bc Philip's coming at this from a colonial approach and seeing everything as a threat to his way of life unless he can study it and Luz coming at this with awe and a love of a world she's in, it makes a lot of sense that it's easier for her to find glyphs.

I think it's the whole 'Slitherbeast doesn't attack unless you hurt it' thing, that's also true for the Selkidominus and the people of the Boiling Isles. They're all existing on the island and are welcoming to outsiders but when Philip starts chopping down plants and hurting people, the island and the people respond to that negatively and make it harder for him to find the glyphs.

[haystarlight]

Okay, I have something for the "Red String of Fate" prompt. Fucking hell. Here goes:

"Gold String of Fate"

Most witches have a single red string of fate, connected to their hearts. It's supposed to lead them to their true love, the person they're meant to be with. It's not always visible, only when you pay really close attention are you able to see it. It doesn't lead you directly to your person, sometimes it just pulls you gently in the right direction; helping you a little but also letting you figure it out on your own.

Some witches, with hearts meant to love more than one, would have multiple red strings that connected them to different partners in different ways. Witches like Lilith Clawthorne had no red string, for they felt complete and secure without one, they felt no need for a romantic soulmate, instead filling their life with platonic ones.

Willow and Amity, they were different. They were a special case.

The string on Amity's heart was purple.

The string on Willow's heart was gold.

When the two were kids and they were still friends, they would look at their strings and wonder why theirs were different from the pictures and the stories. They felt a kinship with each other, a comfort that, at the very least, they weren't the only odd ones around. Even if they didn't know the answer to this mystery, they were in this together.

They looked in books and crystal balls, searching for answers. Apparently, centuries ago, there had once been a witch whose heart string had been black, but the information on her was scarce. Almost as if someone had tried to erase her from history.

They asked their parents and teachers, but they had no information. Amity's parents made her promise she would only marry a powerful, successful witch that could help them with the family business.

Amity's parents also made her leave her only real friend.

Now abandoned, alone and bullied by her classmates, Willow looked at her string and wondered if there truly was someone out there meant for her. If there was someone out there who would fall in love with Half A Witch.

_______________________________________

Years passed and Luz the human arrived at the Boiling Isles, quickly discovering a purple string that only she could see. Eda had explained it to her and she had been incredibly excited to learn that she was predestined to fall in love with a witch.

At first, the pull of the string wasn't really obvious. They were both too distracted to notice it. But Luz always felt an inexplicable need to follow Amity around whenever she saw her, she felt that she had to go wherever she went. Around the time of Grom, Amity started to feel the pull as well.

And the string kept pulling and pulling until they finally realized where it was leading them. Towards each other.

Now Amity knew why her heart string was a different color! Her soulmate was a human!

Which led Willow to wonder, was that why her heart string was a different color, too? Was her soulmate also a non-witch? Her true love was another species?

What were they? Another human? A demon? Willow thought, she wouldn't mind falling in love with a demon as long as they weren't too grotesque. Or maybe one day Luz would show her around the human world and intoduce her to a human friend who would be her match.

Or maybe her soulmate was another creature entirely.

___________________________________

Meanwhile, on the palace, Hunter had grown to ignore the gold string pulling at his heart. The Golden Guard was not meant to be concerned with silly things like romance or relationships! He was too worried about helping his uncle, making him proud, fulfilling the big plans the Titan had for him.

His uncle said that love was a weakness! That his heart was only supposed to devote itself fully to the coven and nothing else. When Hunter had asked, at the tender age of 5, how his parents had fallen in love, let's just say that Belos had not been eager to give him a clear answer.

So, Hunter concluded, it didn't matter if he had a string or what color it was. He had more important things to worry about.

And it wasn't like anyone would be soulbound to someone like him.

_________________________________________

"After all, it'll be 52 weeks till Caleb's next day off,"

The Emerald Entrails walked away. Gus looked back, confused, unsure of what to make of him. The other 3 didn't look back at all. Hunter watched them leave, his cheeks slightly flushed, but he didn't know why.

He felt a strange pull, a small, subtle thing that could easily be dismissed. But it was telling him to follow them. He stared, feeling the need to go after them... To go after her? But, at the end, he stayed.

Because he didn't know what that feeling meant yet.

_______________________________________

When he saw her again ... or rather, he thought he saw her again, they were in the corridors of Hexside. He was wearing his old uniform, dirty and torn. He hadn't showered in days and his hair was terrible. And damn it.

He forgot how beautiful she was in real life.

He felt his cheeks go red, but he also felt off. He expected something to pull at him, to guide him closer to her. He expected that pulling feeling but it never came.

Somehow, he knew in his heart right off the bat, that wasn't her. She was a fake.

And he was right.

_____________________________________

"I was with Gus the whole time! There was a sandwich... he showed me this breathing thing... please you gotta believe me!"

The breathing exercise. The breathing exercise her parents had taught her when she was a kid and that she had in turn taught Gus.

There was no way Hunter could be lying about that. How else would he know? He had to be telling the truth.

She had never been sure whether or not to trust this odd boy that had literally flown into her life. Whenever she thought she had him figured out, he showed another new detail that confused her even more. She had no idea what to make of him.

But, in that moment, she felt something pulling at her. Just a little bit. A feeling in her heart told her to trust him. To believe in him. And she decided to trust that feeling.

_________________________________

"I'm gonna have to borrow that book when you're done with it."

As she left, closing the door behind her, Hunter felt a pull coming from his heart again. He had been feeling it for months. He knew what it meant now.

She was his soulmate.

The golden string. Oh, what an ironic color fate had chosen for him.

The golden string was pulling him towards Willow.

He had taken a while to figure it out but now he understood. And the Grimwalker was overjoyed, for he could not have asked for a better soulmate.

He wondered if she felt the pull towards him, too, but he wouldn't dare talk to her about it. He didn't want to put more on her plate, what with having to build a portal and missing her parents. Hunter knew it wasn't the right time to talk to her about this.

And a part of him was also scared if she would be unhappy to be soulbound to a Grimwalker.

_______________________________________

"Do human doctors know about possession?!"

"Or Grimwalkers?"

"POSSESSION?!"

"GRIMWALKERS?!"

Willow wasn't exactly sure what a Grimwalker was. She remembered reading about them at school long ago. They weren't humans, they weren't witches either. But a third, secret thing.

Hunter was a Grimwalker? He wasn't a witch?

That made so much sense. That explained so much.

____________________________________

Gold.

Gold.

Her heart string was gold.

It was so obvious, it was so clear now.

How had she not seen it before?

__________________________________

"Hey, Hunter? Can we talk? In private?"

The C.A.T.'s hideout was bigger now that it was located on the old Clawthorne home. It had room for a lot more members, which was nice and comfortable. Or at least it would be if they weren't hiding from The Collector. There were lots of empty rooms that allowed for privacy.

"What's up, Captain?" Hunter asked, sitting down on the bed.

"This is completely out of nowhere and I know the timing is super off but I'd rather talk about it now than get killed in battle tomorrow and never get to talk about it."

The boy's smile faded. His Captain only made that tone of voice when it was something truly serious.

"What's wrong?"

"You know the red string of fate?"

"Of course, everyone knows about those."

"I have one, obviously... but mine is a little weird..."

Hunter's ears perked up. If she wanted to talk about the red string of fate... had she figured out they were soulmates? Did she feel the pull, too? Was she happy or disappointed?

"What do you mean?"

"My heart string is not red, like a normal heart string, it's gold," she explained "and I never understood why, but lately I've been feeling the pull and, when I found out you were a Grimwalker, that's when I knew where it was leading me..."

Here goes.

"It was leading to you. Hunter, I think you're my soulmate," she finished, peridot eyes shining with fresh tears, smile brighter than the moonlight coming from the window.

"Yes, and how does that make you feel?"

Willow stopped crying and smiling. She looked bewildered.

"Why aren't you more surprised? I'd figure you'd be shocked... did you already know?"

Hunter nodded. "I've been feeling the pull, too. I felt it the night after we first met. I've been feeling it all this time."

"What?! You knew we were soulmates?! You've known for months?! You didn't say anything?!"

"I'm sorry," he said, softly. Genuinely remorseful. "I just... I wasn't sure how you were gonna react."

"You weren't sure how I was going to react?!" She repeated "Hunter, I'm obviously thrilled to be your soulmate. You have no idea, how overjoyed I am that it's you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, dummy!" She laughed "you're brave and you're funny and you're kind and you're passionate. You're somehow the smartest and dumbest witch I know at the same time. You're a great friend and you'll surely be an amazing soulmate."

Hunter laughed, relief filling his lungs as the weight fell from his shoulders. He stood up and hugged Willow as strongly as he could. She hugged him back. He was so lucky, he had the most wonderful witch ever as his soulmate, and she was equally happy to have him.

"I love you," he said, sure that there would never be a better opportunity to say it.

"I love you, too."

The kiss that followed felt like shivers and dragonflies in both their stomachs. Like warmth on their cheeks and somehow both calm and fear at the same time. The pull from their heart strings ceased, the string didn't need to keep pulling anymore. They'd finally found each other.

[branmuffins22]

for the toh ask game- 2, 8, 12?

from this ask game:

2. Ramble about your favorite character of all time as much as you want. We're listening

Ohhhh boy. Oh man. Oh geez. You play a dangerous game, starting out with the kicker.

The obvious choice would be Luz, right? because she's like, the perfect main character. Lovable, relatable, flawed, believable (mostly; those fireworks were a bit much), clever, emotional, funny, the list goes on.

But.

However.

I have to go with Vee.

To me, Vee is all those things and more. She's still relatable, but for completely different (some unaddressed by canon, some completely made up by me) reasons. She's the cutest sweetest little shapeshifter we actually got the chance to get to know (sorry Stringbean). She's flawed, she'd completely given up on Luz's return and was ready to throw away whatever parts of her life she didn't jive with, and then even after most of a day of hanging out with her, she was STILL kinda mad at her! She's got confusing emotions and she was able to admit it! She's a tortured and traumatized kid who's trying maybe a bit too hard to put it all behind her, and even her more fantastical struggles are made to make perfect sense in that context. She's clever and observant enough to blend in with humans (and even convince Camila she was Luz for a while), and she was instrumental in solving the rebus. She's funny not just in her sense of humor (which is anywhere from awkward to earnest to dry, all hilarious), but also in the dichotomy of being one of the more "normal" "human" characters in the show, despite not really being either of those things (part of a thought-extinct species, and unique even among others of that species. said species is a kind of magic-eating shape-shifting demon from another realm, and here she is in suburban connecticut, idly learning spanish with her friends).

She's my precious baby blorbo and I love her. She's chubby (I'm chubby), she's awkward around her crush (I'm awkward around my crush (and also in general)), she likes to wear warm colors and big boots (I like to wear warm colors and big boots (not that I have any that fit well enough for daily wear)), she's got a bit of an overbite (I had one when I was young), she is (or, I guess, was?) kinda sorta something like a twin (I'm a twin), her hair is poofy and long (at least in her epilogue design) (my hair is poofy and long), augh, she feels basically tailor-made for me. I'm not exaggerating when I say I learned to love certain parts of myself by loving them first in her.

She's perfect.

also. im gonna rant about her even more in the next bit, sorrynotsorry.

8. Any headcanons? If so, which are your favorite?

Soooo many. Like, enough that I'm writing a whole ass barely-even-canon-divergent AU just to give myself the excuse to explore them. Actually, kinda writing two if you count MatVNN, but it's more of a post-canon affair.

Probably my favorite, though, is Vee being trans (and a bunch of other flavors of queer). I'll admit, a lot of the things that make me like Vee so much are just Sorta Plausible Shit I Came Up With, and chief among them is my trans Vee theory.

So, I'll start with the canon stuff:

Vee is rather unique, even among basilisks. Her tail has 3 fins rather than the other basilisks' 1 or 2 fins, her eyes have a different structure (and more individual colors) than the others', and she has a distinct head and neck that the other basilisks don't have. She's also a lot smaller than the other basilisks: about half the size of III and IV, and even smaller compared to the "greater basilisk" which attacked Hexside (we'll call her the Inspector). In the epilogue, Vee's size doesn't appear to have changed much, if at all (hell, even in her human form, she doesn't look much taller), nor have the sizes of III and IV. The only change any of them appear to have gone through is that Vee has more/longer hair, some of which is a lighter cyan than the previous navy blue, which still remains at her roots and on her ears.

Those are the facts. Now, there could be any number of reasons for her unique traits.

The doylist reason is the easiest: she was designed to look smaller and more humanoid to appear to the audience as more sympathetic. Her strange eyes could just be a bit of fun character design, something to make her stand out on screen. No biggie.

The watsonian reasons are a lot more compelling to me though.

She could very well be quite young for a basilisk. Perhaps their eyes change shape and lose some of their color as they grow up. Perhaps the neck becomes less distinct as they get older. Perhaps even after the 3+ year timeskip before the epilogue, Vee was still prepubescent for a basilisk.

Perhaps the various basilisks are representative of different species within the same family (ex. the Inspector is called a "greater basilisk", but the others are just referred to as "basilisks"), and Vee's unique traits are staples of whatever specific species she is (I first came across this theory in A Blight on Bonesborough, by GeminiAlchemist, and they proposed "fat-tailed basilisk" as the name of Vee's species, mostly for the sake of a gag)

One of the more interesting theories is that she's only half basilisk. I wasn't the one to come up with it, but I don't remember who was, so for that I apologize, but basically, there was a theory going around for a little while after her introduction, that Vee was actually the bastard child of one of the other basilisks and Warden Wrath. The biggest point of evidence was the yellow pupils, a trait only shared between Vee and Wrath, as well as the fact that Wrath was clearly involved in the basilisk project, as shown in Vee's flashbacks in Yesterday's Lie. It's not my favorite theory by any means, but it's a super interesting one, very angsty.

My personal theory, however, and the theory on which I base a few of my other Vee headcanons, is that all the myriad differences between Vee and the other basilisks can be explained away by a simple case of sexual dimorphism in the basilisk species. "Number 5" was simply the only "male" basilisk shown on screen.

Now, what's the evidence for this theory? There is none! As with all the best headcanons, there's no real reason it should be true, but there's ALSO no definitive evidence it isn't true.

So, Number 5 escaped the labs, wandered into the Human Realm, took the form of the only human he'd seen, and spent 3 months at summer camp incidentally trying out being a girl. Turns out, she liked it! So when the time came to give Luz back her identity, Vee made her own new form a girl too.

Now, this headcanon comes with some... caveats? Complications? Sprinkles of realism? I like to imagine some extraneous silly little plot points surrounding this.

Gonna mention 'nads & stuff in purple, so skip past it if you're squeamish about people having body parts or whatever.

When Vee took on Luz's form, she didn't really know what was going on under all those clothes, so she improvised, and kept things as close to her basilisk form as possible. It was partly to conserve magic during the shift, and partly just because she couldn't imagine what to put there. This meant she had a dick, and probably a pretty funny-looking one, too, until she came across a human health textbook and got a better picture of what that whole situation is supposed to look like.

Eventually, during an accident with someone in the Cabin 7 crew (probably standard "woops, didnt realize you were changing in here" shenanigans), someone catches her with her pants down, and she accidentally makes them think Luz is trans. A silly little mixup, definitely no consequences in the future, for sure.

After this, Vee ends up learning about pride flags and their meanings, and starts collecting those things like trading cards. She is staggeringly queer. I tend to think of her as bi/pan/demi-rose, genderqueer, genderfluid (usually on a sliding scale between fem and neutral, but outside that range often enough to be noteworthy), and polyam (in theory, anyways, but even by the epilogue she's still only had one partner, Masha. Granted, she's only maybe 18 by then, so she's got a LOT of time left to try things out), but because that's So Many Labels, she tends to simplify down to Queer. Am I projecting? Yeah, a little. Maybe a lot. So what?

Anyways, when Luz comes back and Vee picks out her own human form, she mostly performs a 1-1 translation from her basilisk form to her human form (matching her standing height, size, approximate face shape, etc), and in so doing, takes on a few typically-masculine characteristics (like a mostly-flat, somewhat-wide chest, bodyfat mostly at her belly, and of course, a (normal, human) dick (most of the time, anyways; she is a shapeshifter, and can do whatever she wants forever)), resulting in her rather androgynous appearance. If her human form is gonna be her, it's gonna reflect her truth: she wasn't always a girl, but she is now. In the epilogue, her human form looks a bit more feminine/less androgynous than before (most notably with wider hips), as if she'd been on HRT for long enough to see some changes.

Now, I've also got all manner of general Basilisk Biology Headcanons, such as how shapeshifting works (magic is used to perform transformations, and reverting to their natural form doesn't use any; holding a transformation only burns calories, not magic; transformations are holistic, inside-and-out, with the two exceptions being the brain and whatever organ stores collected magic), how magical hunger works (it doesn't quite exist, they're not vampires, eating/draining magic is just a thing they Can do in order to transform, not a thing they Have to do to live; however, when a basilisk is hungry, it begins burning through its magic to stave off malnutrition, causing them to seek out magically dense food (really just magic in general, kinda maladaptive like humans' sugar cravings)), how mass distribution works when they transform (they retain their weight when they take on new forms, which limits their transformed size by how far they can compress/decompress their mass. this is part of why the Inspector was so hungry; they were near the limits of how far they could compress, and burning through calories like crazy to stay that way), their natural habitat (fins on their tails suggest they're at least semi-aquatic, but the fact that they stayed on the Boiling Isles as they fled from Belos suggests that they're not immune to (and thus not native to) the Boiling Sea, therefore I propose that they were native to lakes, the only bodies of water shown not to be boiling all the time. also they use their shapeshifting to change their bouyancy as they dive for mollusks or whatever), reproduction (internal fertilization, followed by egg laying; they can change their physical sex pretty much at will, because they're shapeshifters, but if it's not their "natural" form, it still consumes magic to get into that form and burns extra calories to hold the form; fertilization and pregnancy tends to go quite poorly if a basilisk changes/reverts to a form that doesn't have the proper equipment for whatever child they're currently bearing), and so on (basilisk eyes are adapted for underwater, leaving them relatively nearsighted unless transformed to be otherwise, and they have a short-term photographic memory to make assembling accurate disguises on the fly easier/possible), but I don't really feel the need to go tooooo into detail with all that >.>

12. What do you consider the most memorable scene? Why?

That's a very tough choice, between the graveyard fight in Thanks to Them (Very intense. Very beautiful, very powerful) and the Lumity dance in Enchanting Grom Fright (Very romantic. Very beautiful, very powerful). They both basically defined the fandom brainrot after their respective releases, and unlike the various season finales, there was little else cutting in to interrupt and distract from them. Just tasty, tasty action, one at the breathtaking height of fluff, and the other in the soul-crushing depths of angst.

A close third, to whichever one of those is only second-best, would be the duel for the portal key in Eclipse Lake (Very dramatic. Very beautiful, very powerful). Another big action scene, who'd'a thunk it, and another angsty one, too.

[takerfoxx]

The Owl House, Season 3, Episode 3, "Watching and Dreaming," SERIES FINALE!

Well folks, the much-anticipated finale to The Owl House has finally dropped. Quite a bit...prematurely, true, but at the very least they had time to wrap things up with some measure of foresight.

So, how was it?

...you even need to ask?

Yeah, I loved it. No, it didn't really break away a whole lot from established norms for these finales. The bad guy gets an eleventh hour powerup and turns into a Kaiju, the misunderstood trickster antagonist is made to see the error of their ways and has a redemption arc, the hero has their big heroic sacrifice only to be resurrected with a Super Saiyan powerup, and we have a big fight. The bad guy is finally defeated, everyone is reunited, people get to work rebuilding, and we have the future epilogue touching base with everyone's happy ending. Nothin' we ain't seen before.

But it was still glorious.

Obviously, a lot of moving parts, so here's some personal highlights.

First, only my usual followers will get this, but I got a huge kick about how things started with basically the Restless arc from RD. I mean, the main characters being confronted with their deepest fears through personal nightmares? Sign me the fuck up! And lol, Luz was willing to accept that everyone hates her, but Amity misquoting their geeky hyper-fixation? Never!

I also like how it was the actual characters instead of dream copies, only controlled by the Collector. That was neat.

Part of me was bummed by how little Camilla and the Hexside gang had to do. Basically, keep everyone in the Archives safe until the reformed Collector came in with the save. I get it, it's the finale, but I really wanted to see Camilla go after Belos with la chancala. But then, things did start with Luz, Eda, and King, so it's fitting that they ended with that trio as well.

Okay, look. I'm a jaded, cynical guy. I've seen it all, and I know my tropes. So I knew there was no way in hell that Luz was actually dead. Still, when they've made me care that much about a character and pull things off that well...I was a little concerned. As if in, I kept telling myself that she wasn't dead, that she would be resurrected in minutes, it's a kid's show, yadda yadda yadda. Still. It did affect me. Well done.

Oh, the Titan! You know, I had forgotten the hints about them being caught in the in-between world, but we finally get to meet King's...dad? Mom? Parent? It wasn't super clear. I'm guessing gender-neutral being who appears rocking the Dad-bod because that's what Luz expected. Voice by Arin Hanson, no less! That was a pleasant surprise.

Also, does this confirm that Hooty is basically the Titan's grave worm? Wow.

ANYWAY, it was nice to finally meet the big guy. And it was cute how they were there watching the Owl House along with us, and Luz ended up being their blorbo. I mean, if your dying act was to reach into your favorite show and empower your favorite character to finally earn a happy ending, wouldn't you take it?

And okay, look. I know this is kind of hypocritical coming from me, given that Hordak is one of my favorite She-Ra characters, but I'm so glad that this show took such a definitive stand against not only redeeming Belos, but also shutting down the idea that just because the hero has done superficially similar things to the villain, it means that they're somehow the same. I always hated that trope.

I also love how it made it clear how some antagonists can be redeemed and others can't. For all the harm that the Collector did, they're still a little kid with no real concept of mortality. It doesn't make what they did okay, but it did give them a path to do better. And I loved how they immediately tried to redeem Belos with the power of friendship, only for the show to be like, "Yeah, that don't work with some people."

And in the end, the hero didn't bother justifying herself to Belos. She just stepped back and let the people that he hurt literally curbstomp him to death. And it was beautiful.

Now, again, much like the Human World montage in Thanks to Them, I would have loved for certain things to have room to breathe, like Camilla meeting Eda, all the reunions, finding out what happened to Odalia, repairing the Boiling Isles, etc. But with what they had to work with, seeing the healing happening, seeing the sort of people everyone would become (of course Eda would go with a giant hook), really felt right. It was a well-earned happy ending.

You know, it's funny. When this show first started, I often complained about how its episodic nature made it difficult to really get invested, and I still stand by that. But man, once the fetters came off, things really kicked into high gear and this show became magical! Yes, it was prematurely ended, and I would have loved for season 3 to have as much space to be as awesome as season 2. But what they gave us was still incredible.

Goodbye, Boiling Isles. I loved the time I spent with you. Here's to the brighter future you helped build.

...you have no idea how hard it was to find this screenshot.

[mdhwrites]

The Lumity Kiss is Bad

Which is really weird when the actual, physical kiss is pretty much textbook perfect. However, this isn't a quick kiss or a throwaway one. It's the BIG kiss in a romantic subplot. The second half of the resolution we got in Knock Knock Knocking with the confession and the show frames it that way. As such... The kiss is more than just the kiss and it's every element around the physical action that ruins it, making even the textbook nature of it somehow flawed.

Let's start with the positive though. Now I've actually said I don't like how the kiss is animated and I do kind of stick to that. If you go to the 57 mark of this clip of the kiss, you can literally watch as Amity's face slides back to being on model.

And kind of like a lot of moments in the show with big budget animation, that's not a HUGE issue but it is deciding that frame rate and smoothness is king for good animation without considering how jarring it is to watch in the show and if it actually fits within the style of the show. I find TOH fights WAY more enjoyable to watch when isolated by themselves because of this because they aren't in an uncanny valley where they feel like a well produced fan animation than something official and I do still hold to that with the kiss itself. I just wish I could better describe why.

BUT! I said I had a positive to talk about and I do. For three seconds, the scene is just right. Luz says the date will be perfect before then Amity, looking at Luz, the person who the mere thought of was comforting her and who she's been worried about for a week, decides to go in and kiss her. Her hands are gentle as they take Luz's face and she leans in. Luz is shocked that this is happening but then quickly gives into the bliss and holds Amity's hand in her own. It is sweet, quick but incredibly impactful. It is a textbook example of how to do a kiss that one half of the pair didn't see coming and the couple are meant to be deeply in love. It's nothing new but doing the classic spot on is never a bad thing.

Those three seconds die the second Luz says, "Crikey," let alone the fact that it's in an Australian accent. And don't get me wrong: You do not have to make a kiss like this sappy. I Was A Teenage Exocolonist has a romance route with a very clinical, scientific person and when you two get together, she snarks at you if you ask what next. That I should know her well enough to know she has a logical decision deduced from what is correct for the situation.

"So are you going to kiss me or am I going to kiss you?"

Great. Amazing. Silly and not taking itself too seriously but above all else IN. CHARACTER.

I'm sorry to break it to you all but Luz is NOWHERE NEAR "Lol, random" enough for this. Hell, in both this scene and Looking Glass Ruins, the writers point out how Amity is driven to act on emotion and on what her brain pulls her towards more than Luz, especially on this topic. It's why Amity is ALWAYS the one to do the firsts in their relationship. Meanwhile, Luz's only times where she blurts out something random is "Snorses" which had a clear correlation to what was happening and "You damn rat!" which also was explicitly tied to the stimuli causing it.

What stimuli here makes her go "Crikey" and turn FUCKING AUSTRALIAN!? The only reasonable excuse I could even think of is to say she's a huge Crocodile Dundee fan but Luz was born theoretically somewhere around 2006, literally TWENTY YEARS after that movie came out and I don't feel like Camila would push something like that for her to watch or really fits in with most of what else Luz seems to enjoy.

Fucking BAZINGA would have been more in character because at least nerds still mock Big Bang Theory. Other options for a random word or reference would have been "Excelsior!" or "Wahoo!" as she jumps into the air like the hyperactive gremlin she's supposed to be.

Neither one would work though in general because the tone and framing of the scene isn't right for a joke, let alone this sort of joke. Part of what makes the kiss feel so justified in this moment is the setup... Though only on Amity's side. I'll get to the problems with Luz's setup for the kiss in a bit.

Amity has thought Luz might be dead for a week. She hasn't heard back from her, she's scared, distressed and strung out. She wants things to go back to simpler times like in Season 1 when things weren't so scary. She's emotional and is actively using the thought of Luz as a way to comfort herself. Then, out of nowhere, Luz comes in, promising romance, better times and safety, all while proving she herself is safe.

It is perfect setup in a story like this for the first kiss. Honestly, they could have gone one step farther and mentioned that they haven't even had a big kiss but they went with the missing out on the date element, which works just as well. It's nothing new but it's correct. It's good. However... It's also genuinely serious. Like this is effectively Amity laying out exactly why she likes Luz. The strength she gets from Luz. Why this relationship is important to her. It is great setup for an "I love you," or a first kiss.

It is a REALLY bad setup for a joke. However... as bad Luz's joke is... Amity's is actually worse.

"I can't believe I just did that!"

Yeah and I can't believe that in this moment that should show how far Luz and Amity have come as a couple, the strength and joy they've gained after being a couple for half a season, you're literally reacting the EXACT same way as you did when you kissed her on the cheek back in Looking Glass Ruins. It doesn't matter that you have nicknames now. That you two keep twirling each other about. Have had deep conversations about Luz's pain while Luz ignored yours. *eye twitch at Reaching Out* And it doesn't matter that in this moment, you have EVERY justification to be confident in this choice. To simply happy and overcome with emotion that your partner is simply ALIVE.

Her response should have been, "I'm so happy to see you," not literally going back an entire half a season for a cheap, repeat gag.

To be fair though, while this entire scene, from the moment it cuts to Amity talking to Emira and Edric, is obviously paying reverence to how big of a deal this is and trying to make the kiss be correct... The jokes are in keeping with how quite literally the rest of the episode treats Lumity. Remember, this episode starts with Luz claiming she'd like to pull a romantic rescue but deciding to opt out because despite having literally nothing to do with the plan, and likely being detrimental to how stealthy they need to be because fewer numbers are better here, she would rather be prepared to help Eda and King than actually break her girlfriend out from being grounded by the EC. This is despite, in Luz's own words, "You know me. I'll always choose the chaotic option." That... Isn't a good starting point.

Then the rescue is comically easy and Luz doesn't actually do any of it. It's all Gus, Willow and Hunter. Luz just gets to take the credit and get the big hero kiss, which this ABSOLUTELY IS. Amity was a damsel in distress for Luz to save, complete with a kiss for doing so. That's also without getting into how pathetically easy the save is. Like Willow doesn't even have to try to bury one dude and an abomaton ALIVE under ground. Frankly, I'm amazed that guard is still alive.

It's just a lot of stuff way too easy to be leading into what is the final payoff for your romantic subplot, let alone one that has taken up a THIRD of your story so far.

The rest of the episode isn't any better though. This should be an episode about Lumity. It starts with talking about Amity in trouble. Then it saves Amity and does the big, climactic kiss... But we haven't gotten Luz's side of the relationship yet, have we? We haven't gotten her speech like we did Amity's. We haven't gotten anything to show her deeper care for Amity and while Amity is talking about Luz's quirks and her kindness and the strength she gets from her, Knock Knock Knocking is really the closest we've gotten with "Awesome and pretty" which is vague and shallow. This is your chance to fix that.

There's even a perfect moment. Odalia threatens their relationship and says Luz isn't worthy. Have Luz agree... But then say it doesn't matter what her or Odalia think. That she is lucky to have someone as smart, dedicated, and passionate while having a sweet center that despite all her fears, anytime she's with Amity, she knows Amity is going to give her the chances she needs. Is going to understand what she's trying to say instead of looking at how weird she is and rejecting her. Take ten, twenty seconds to do that... While in the background, we can see Gus obviously thinking about something, glance at Luz, and then start working on a spell circle.

The shield comes down, get the dramatic reveal of Alador and then cut back to where Hunter is holding Amity's hand. Same effect as the show but allow Gus to make the plan of his own volition because he wants to protect his bro and this was the best he could think of. He thought Luz would be more capable of defending herself due to glyphs and that Belos was less likely to kill her than Hunter. Also, it was in a panic and the best he could think of.

INSTEAD, we get Luz ignoring Amity's problems with her parents for the THIRD FUCKING TIME and focusing on the white boy in the cast instead. In fact, I don't think Lumity talk to each other ONCE after the kiss scene. The focus is too much on the plot and Amity's angst and I could do an entire blog about how little Luz actually engages with Amity's character arc and plot elements. It makes it real rough analyzing old episodes for Amity's arc when you realize how much Amity jumps in her arc without almost any input from Luz on elements that are suddenly gone.

And this would be OKAY... But it makes the kiss feel like... Well, honestly like a gag. We're at a point in the show after all where very little of it is trying to be funny. Even Gus and King are being taken seriously now and Amity will be a joke for most of S3, especially in Thanks to Them. Even her standing up to her mother is lightly mocked by Alador sounding like he's just saying sweet lies in telling Amity that she was close to breaking the barrier. It's WEIRD the treatment of it when it has consumed so much time and the framing of the actual moment is so serious.

And I want to be clear: I am happy they kissed. I am not against this because it's two girls or anything like that. I'd criticize this no matter the gender, race, etc. of any element here because it is just flatly bad romance writing. The only parts that function are either cut off at the knees or the one part that has the characters too silent to actually harm the moment.

And I think the last thing any of us wanted for Lumity was for it to be treated like a joke.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[violetjedisylveon]

Unearthed Secrets

Owl House Blue Guard au chap 12

Summary: The students of hexside hear from their guest speaker, Argi messes with Luz, and then screws with Boscha.

Word count: 3.1k

Warnings: No warnings except for swearing, I think it's pretty chill this chapter

A/N: I'm back with more Blue Guard! I have had this written for a while, I just haven't posted it 😅 sorry

Blue Guard AU Masterpost

____________________________________________________________________________________________

Argi stayed in the shadows of the assembly room, Miss Nazik had given her permission to be invisible here at least. But since there weren't any students yet, she didn't see any reason.

Principal Bump was going over note cards he had prepared. Argi knew he wouldn't get the chance to use many of them, Miss Nazik would steal the show from him. She supposed he wouldn't mind due to their friendship.

She just hung around in the shadows until she heard students coming. She went invisible and hid under the bleachers.

She spotted Skara and the demon student she had been talking with entering together, Skara was following a step behind them. Argi focused on the conversation they were having.

"I know the best place where no one will bother us." Skara was saying.

Her new friend offered small words and followed Skara, Argi's ears tracked them to a high spot in a corner of the gym, hearing Skara talk about how she'd go here to spy on the gym classes and stay away from people when she didn't want to deal with them. She made some comment about how someone didn't even know it existed.

Argi's senses became too preoccupied with everyone else coming in and talking for her to keep track of Skara's conversation. She turned her ears to Miss Nazik and Mister Bump, waiting to hear what they had to say.

Once everyone was settled into their seats and the chatter somewhat quieted, Mister Bump approached the microphone. He tapped to make sure it was working then started speaking.

"Students of Hexside, I have no doubt that you have heard of our special guest touring our school today, some of you have even had her visit your classes, but I am pleased to present to you, our speaker for today's assembly and my good friend, Carlyne Nazik!" Mister Bump announced.

The students cheered. There wasn't a single person on the isles who didn't know who Miss Nazik was. She was iconic and important. Argi didn't know how she dealt with the pressure of everyone watching her, maybe it was just part of getting old, not caring about how she appeared was definitely up Nazik's isle. Hell, she didn't even cover her prosthetic, which was fairly uncommon.

Miss Nazik took the stage. Her impressive stature and scarred appearance easily made her the focus of attention in any crowd. She took the microphone from Mister Bump and it was like she'd put a spell on everyone to snare their attention.

"Hello students of Hexside, I should probably let you know up front that I sincerely like your mixed track program, and as long as I'm around, no one will be stopping it, not even the Emporer." Nazik said.

There were a few cautious laughs, mostly hushed silence tinged with fear.

"Hmm, I guess it's easier for me to make fun of him since he's scared of me." Noticeably more laughter now.

"If I were him I'd be scared of me too based on size alone, you've got no idea what sort of dirt I've got on that little bastard." Nazik said.

Bump cleared his throat and Nazik rolled her eyes.

"They're all teenagers, they can hear cuss words." Nazik argued.

Mister Bump put his hands up, conceding to Nazik before she got really into that argument. Nazik nodded to him approvingly.

"Now that is a smart choice. Don't try to argue with me kids, I've got over four hundred years of arguing on you all." Nazik commented, eliciting more laughter from the school.

It went on for a bit, Argi had heard this particular presentation, or something similar to it, plenty of times. She opted to zone out her mentor and eavesdrop on the students. Silently, she hoped she'd be able to pick up on Skara and her new friend's conversation in their hidden space.

More time had gone by than she thought because soon the students were leaving for their next classes, some were staying to meet Miss Nazik. Argi stepped out from under the bleachers and observed the passing crowd. She caught sight of Willow waiting with Gus in line to speak with Nazik, and saw the human and her girlfriend leaving for their next class. She followed the pair and wound up in their abominations class.

The Blight sure was skilled with abominations, Luz practically had hearts in her eyes as she watched her demonstrate for the class. Argi leaned over from her place beside the human and adjusted her spell.

"I think you're focused on the wrong thing." She teased.

Luz jolted, not enough to get any weird looks, but she was definitely surprised. Luz glanced around for her, she tapped Luz's shoulder and suppressed a giggle when the human looked right at her but still didn't see her. Invisibility was so much fun to mess with.

"Are you taking notes or just watching your girlfriend?" Argi asked.

Luz's cheeks flushed and she glowered in Argi's direction. She spotted a notepad hanging out of the human's bag and picked it up. They were in the back so no one would notice much, and the notepad was soon affected by her spell too. She flipped through the pages, most of it was those glyphs the human did magic with and combinations, both proven and to be tested.

Some of the combinations looked like what she'd seen in spell circles, the human might be onto something.

"Come to think of it, how do you do abominations with your magic? Doesn't exactly seem like you have anything to do that." Argi asked as she set the notepad on the desk.

Luz gave her a frustrated glare and snatched the notepad up, checking through its pages.

"Relax, I didn't take anything." Argi hopped up onto the table and sat in front of Luz, who still had no idea where she was.

Argi kicked her legs back and forth as she watched the human become increasingly frustrated. She giggled and decided to end the little game.

"So, got any guesses yet?" She asked, leaning over to the human.

"What do you want, Silver?" Luz asked, gritting her teeth.

"I'm bored, obviously." Argi said.

"Why are you here anyway?" Luz said in a whisper.

"Miss Nazik brought me, she's my mentor so I kinda had to come." Argi shrugged and pull a twig out of her sack to snack on.

"You are her apprentice?" Luz gawked.

"Yeah, why's everyone so surprised by that?" Argi rolled her eyes.

Despite the oddly amicable conversation they'd had last night, Argi felt like messing with Luz right now. It was fun, like the way she'd mess around with Hunter when she was younger.

"So, do you just take this class to make lovey dovey eyes at Amity or do you actually learn in it?" Argi asked.

Again, Luz blushed and glared at her. Or at least glared at where she thought she was.

"Don't you have anywhere to be?" Luz muttered.

"Nope." Argi chirped.

Luz rolled her eyes and grumbled something Argi didn't bother to catch, it sounded like cursing anyway.

"I do actually learn things, even if I can't use them, yet." Luz said.

Argi hummed and continued kicking her legs.

"You're a Palisde, right?" Luz suddenly asked after a moment of silence.

"Sure am." Argi nodded.

"Eda's got a book that says you guys live really long, and you can see through any illusion." Luz said.

Argi frowned at the owl lady's mention. She didn't like the cursed witch.

"I can see through any illusion, but I can also choose to see it as it is intended, so I enjoyed Gus's spectacles." Argi said.

"You've seen that?" Luz asked.

"Miss Nazik went to his class, she was very impressed with his skill." Argi nodded.

"He'll be on a high about that for the rest of the week." Luz said fondly.

They sat in silence again.

Argi sighed, she should probably be getting back to Miss Nazik by now. She hopped off the desk, she hit the ground and it sent a wave of shock through her body. Her back, which hadn't been as much of a bitch as it had been, suddenly reminded her of the pain she had been in. She grunted and shifted her weight from foot to foot.

"Are you okay?" Luz whispered.

"Old injury, comes with the job." Argi grunted.

It wasn't a total lie, she did have injuries that would suddenly flare up, she just wasn't having one now. She stretched her back and tails, the urge to fly rose with the action.

Outside. I'll go outside. That usually solved the urge.

"Have fun with your girlfriend, Luz." She waved and left before the human could say anything.

She quickly located the nearest exit and practically threw herself out the door, shedding her invisibility. The fresh air was a welcome feeling on her warm cheeks. She wanted to be higher, wanted to fly.

She called Phoebe to her, and greeted the Palisman with a chirp of her own to match their excited greeting.

"Wanna go for a little flight?" She asked.

"Oh yes!" Phoebe chirped.

"Great." She said.

Phoebe took her staff form and she took off into the clear skies. The wind on her face felt so good.

She soared straight up until she was far above the school, it was tiny below her. Then she let go of her staff and let herself go free falling.

The feeling was one that filled her with exhilaration. She had no fear, she knew Phoebe would catch her, and some part of her knew she would be safe, should be safe, whether she had a Palisman or not. She cheered as she fell. It was just as fun as flying sometimes.

Hunter would kill me if he found out. She chuckled.

She was nearing the ground now, Phoebe cawed loudly and swooped in, catching her, dispelling the shock from the sudden stop and gradually descended. Argi pulled her tousled hair back into a ponytail again, it had come out on the way down.

Her feet brushed the solid ground and Argi got off, the quick fall had already made her feel much better.

"What are you doing here?"

Her ears twitched at the sour voice behind her. She turned, a witch with light pink skin, magenta colored hair tied into a bun and three eyes, was sitting in the shadows of the school. She was upset and sulking from the smell of it.

"Just flying, none of your business." Argi told her.

"Well go fly somewhere else, this is my place!" She shouted.

Argi glared at her, the witch hesitated for a moment at her glowing red eyes and ominous mask.

"I fly where I want, but I think I will go, nobody wants to be around someone who's such a jerk for no reason." She said.

Apparently, she struck a nerve with that. The witch got visibly angry.

"I'm not a jerk!" She shouted.

"Well you acted like one just now." Argi shot back.

"What do you know? You're not from around here, you don't know who I am." The witch spat.

Argi looked the witch over again. Three eyes, potion track, over confident. Nettles's kid. Ah, that made sense. Nettles was extremely proud of her daughter, probably overly boosting her ego without meaning to. In some of the meetings she had been in the background for, she had seen the kid measuring contest between Nettles and Blight.

Yet in those meetings, she could clearly tell that Nettles loved her daughter. She couldn't tell the same with Blight. She knew enough about that family to know Boscha was the only child they could have. Boscha was a tad spoiled, and definitely had a superiority complex.

"Boscha Nettles." She stated.

Boscha looked surprised, Argi cocked her head, amused.

"Blue Guard, I've worked around your mother." She introduced herself.

"And I know a lot more than you think, Boscha, I've got good ears." She twitched her large ears to emphasize the point.

Boscha paled and turned her face away. She kicked a pebble towards the wall with a grunt.

"I suppose you are upset because one of your 'friends' doesn't want to be your friend anymore?" Argi guessed.

With all she knew, this almost definitely had something to do with Skara.

Boscha glared at her and Argi felt the tug towards Boscha's mind. She was thrust into a brief flash of recent memories.

Boscha intercepted Skara and Viney on their way to class, Viney got defensive immediately, Skara remained calm.

"What are you doing?" Boscha asked.

"Heading to class." Skara answered shortly.

"What are you doing hanging around those pathetic excuses for witches?!" Boscha exclaimed.

Viney bristled, Skara put a hand on her shoulder, a silent signal that she would handle it. Boscha didn't get the hint and continued taunting the pair.

"You're even playing that stupid flyer derby game, it's so lame, I can't believe you would go that low." Boscha said.

"At least they let me play instead of putting me on the bench making tactics every game." Skara spat.

Boscha took an alarmed half step back.

"What's that got to do with any of this?" She asked.

"It's got a lot to do with this." Skara said, looking her dead in the eye.

"I wanted to check out the new club, I got the jist of it and got some tactics going for the game, I offered them up, and I assumed I'd be the bench tactician again, but she let me join the team." Skara paused for a moment, guilt flashing across her face.

"She had every reason not to."

"Who? That half-a-" Boscha started confidently.

A single, sharp note cut her off. The second hand fear and confusion was intense.

"Don't call her that. She's more of a witch than you'll ever be." Skara said darkly.

"She's also a way better person. She didn't laugh or make fun of it." Skara added.

A silent stand still followed.

"Now, I think we're done here. If you'll excuse us, we have to go to class." Viney said, cutting through the tension.

Together, the pair walked around Boscha. Confusion, anger and dread. The witch swirled and grabbed Skara by her sleeve.

"You are not going to leave me, not like she did." Her words may have been threatening, but the desperation in her tone ruined the effect.

"I should have left years ago. You are a bad friend, you aren't even my friend." Skara snapped.

"You'll be nothing, just like all those losers!" Boscha shouted.

Skara flinched slightly, but remained unfazed by the threat.

"It's good company then. Better than you." She said calmly.

Boscha didn't have a comeback for that. She resorted to nasty.

"Whatever, I don't need you, you're just a weak loser like all that dumb plant bitch." Boscha turned her head up at her former friend.

"This should be a wake-up call, Boscha, you keep acting like this and nobody will want to deal with it. Then you'll be nothing." Skara said coldly.

She summoned her Palisman staff and pointed it at Boscha.

"And don't call Willow a bitch." She snarled.

The two witches left, Boscha stared after her former friend in confused anger.

Argi pulled herself from Boscha's mind.

That filled in the puzzle for her.

"It doesn't make any sense! She played on that stupid half witch's team in that stupid game one time and now she wants nothing to do with me!" Boscha shouted.

Argi leveled a red tinted glare in the witch's direction.

"It's more than just that. There are several reasons why, most of them revolve around you being fairly terrible to everyone around you." She said.

"What are you talking about? I've never-"

"When you found out she had a prosthetic leg you called her stumpy for two months." Argi cut her off.

Boscha crossed her arms and huffed.

"Oh c'mon, that was ages ago and it's not like it matters." Boscha puffed.

"You weren't harassed by your "friend" after a traumatic incident that resulted in amputation." Argi stated.

"How do you know about that?!" Boscha shouted.

"I hear a lot, and I'm good at listening." Argi wiggled her ears.

"Besides, maybe she's happier with a new team that has members willing to learn how to help her instead of shoving her to the side all the time, hmm? Maybe she just likes them more. I can obviously see why." Argi stated firmly.

"Why's that? What do you know about people that you're so sure you know people better than me?" Boscha challenged.

Argi stared her straight in the eye.

"I know you're a bitch. And trust me, I know a lot of nasty people."

Boscha's face was bright red with anger, she summoned her staff and took a threatening step towards Argi. She didn't even blink as she restrained Boscha with vines, she wouldn't be much of a threat in a fight.

"If two of your friends have left, maybe you should start looking for a common thread and that will lead you to find out the source of this problem." Argi advised.

Boscha's mind immediately started turning, searching for someone to pin the blame on.

"It's all that human's fault!" Boscha shouted.

Argi laughed, Boscha couldn't even consider the possibility that she was at fault.

"Nope, that's definitely wrong." She said.

"How do you know?" Boscha shouted, she was screaming now.

"Skara hardly knows Luz, you can't pin this on her." Argi explained coolly.

She turned and started to walk away, it was a beautiful day and she didn't want to squander it talking to some annoying witch.

"Maybe the problem is you, ever think about that?" She asked over her shoulder.

She cast her spell and vanished from Boscha's view, her vines retreated and left Boscha standing in shock. Boscha stood there almost pathetically, Argi wasn't sympathetic.

Willow was a good witch, she didn't need any of this shit from someone like Boscha.

She left Boscha to stew in whatever she was feeling. She didn't care. The skies were beautiful and they called her to fly through them.

XXX

Luz held Amity's hand and followed along behind Willow and Gus, the latter was rambling excitedly about his day and how awesome it was.

A pencil fell out of her bag and rolled away, she let go of Amity's hand to retrieve it. The pencil rolled to a stop against a flat, pale green yellow foot. She bent to pick it up when it vanished.

Abomination goop tapped her shoulder, she looked up into a singular icy blue eye within a pool of deep blue and a glowing Palisman curled up in a monocle shape over the other. A heavily scarred face regarded her before a smirk curled on the leathery lips.

"Luzura." The ten foot tall demon paused, letting the effect sink Luz's heart to the bottom of her stomach.

"the crab maiden, I'd like to talk to you."

____________________________________________________________________________________________

I hope you enjoyed it!

Thanks for reading!

VJS Out!

[ironwitchau]

A continuation of this post. Because I got bored and people leave me alone with pen and paper. Oh well. I might keep updating this, so if anyone is interested and want to be alerted when this specific au gets updated, let me know.

---

Leaving The Nest:

Prim & Proper was a store in the Night Market that had a physical building, making it unique from the other shops.

A casual player wouldn't find the little shop until the Golden Arc had neared its climax and the Unity Arc was about to hit full force. At that point the shop was all but closed and the owner had joined the Oracle Coven. This led people to believe the shop could never be accessed but in truth, much like the Night Market itself, you merely needed to be careful.

Luz didn't like going to the market. She was always nervous that she would go to the market on the day the plot started and she would run into the Owl Lady. Today however she didn't have much of a choice. Raven had all but forced the girl to take the day off. Something about overworking herself, Luz didn't really care. The only good thing about the day off was the quest.

[Leaving the Nest: spend at least an hour out of the store

Rewards: 1000 EXP, +1 reputation with Raven, ?

Fail: -2 reputation with Raven]

The question mark made Luz take the quest. Usually that meant some rare item or a skill she couldn't get otherwise. So Luz accepted and now walked the Market in search of Prim & Proper.

While the average player may think Prim & Proper was used as a hint of what was to come, a player of Luz’s caliber knew that you could find the store earlier in the game and buy some enchanted items. And because it was a building, rather than a tent, it was open during the day, hidden behind an illusion.

[It is a regular building, no magic detected]

[Observe!]

[Someone lives here, no magic detected]

[A skill has leveled up!

Observe: 9 → 10]

It was great her skill had leveled up so much in the past hour but where the hell was the shop?! It probably didn't help that Luz gained the detecting magic bit around three levels ago.

[Observe!]

Likely she would have to go back and [observe] some buildings again. Just to make sure she co-

[Illusion magic has been placed over this building]

Or not. Luz squinted her eyes and noticed a light blue tint on the two story building. Had she not been looking for such things, Luz never would have thought the building was out of place. The illusion seemed to flicker as she focused on it, revealing a familiar sign. ‘Prim & Proper’.

[New skill unlocked!

Illusionist’s Eyes (Passive) Lv 1/100:

The ability to see an illusion for what it is. No one can fool you. The more you focus the more the illusion falls apart]

That could be useful if she ever ran into an Illusionist. She blinked the pop up away and entered the store.

The demon atop the door shrieked as its tail was pulled with the door opening. Luz winced at the sound. She hated it when playing the game and she hated it now.

The shop was mostly empty, no one out front. The only evidence that someone was there was the bustling noises coming from the back of the store.

“Hello?” Luz called. Something fell and there was a yelp. She felt bad for startling whoever was back there, likely Prim herself.

A short old woman with auburn hair walked out and glared at the teen through squinted eyes. She tensed and gave a sheepish smile.

“Go away.” Prim commanded. “I’m busy and closing right now.”

“I can’t even browse?” Luz tried, a bit shocked that Prim was closing so early. The Night Market wasn't for a few more days, so there was no need to close so early.

“No, I don't have the time. So unless you have an appointment, get out.”

“Can’t I just look? It’s bad for business if you don't, right?”

“I already said I don't have the time. I need to get some supplies for a customer with an appointment.” She stressed. Luz hummed and grinned.

“If I got the supplies for you, will you let me browse?”

Prim paused.

[To convinced Prim, user needs to have 10 or higher in Charisma

You have: 13

Passed]

Oh thank god for that. Prim looked her up and down. “You have an hour to get me what I need. Let me get you the address.”

Luz mentally cheered as a screen came into existence.

[Secret Quest Unlocked!

A New Fit: find Prim’s supplier and bring her order back within an hour

Rewards: 2000 EXP, +5 reputation with Prim, +2 reputation with supplier

Fail: -5 reputation with Prim, Coven Scouts are alerted of your presence

Accept?

Y/N]

‘Yes!’ Once she had the paper with the address she was out the door, ignoring the small stopwatch that appeared in the corner of her eye.

---

Maybe having to deal with the scouts wouldn't be so bad? She should have realized how familiar this part of the market was or that the two had to have known each other somehow.

The Human Collectable stand was the exact spot that the slip had led her to. And running the stand was a pale woman with gray hair, golden eyes, and a gold fang that stuck out of her mouth.

[Observe!]

[Name: Edalyn Clawthorne, ?

Species: witch, ?

Titles: The Owl Lady, Cursed One, ?]

That was it. The world hated her, and was laughing at her despair. This was the second plot-important person she met and had a bigger role than Amity.

Maybe she could get out of this without being dragged into the Wrath Arc. Do whatever she did with Amity and hope for the best. She just had to act natural. Luz could do that.

The human shoved her hands into her pockets and approached the Owl Lady. Gold eyes seemed to brighten as Luz glanced over the stand.

It was implied in-game that Eda’s human collectable side hustle only stayed in business because Trash Slugs ate the items and the witch raided their dead bodies. It was never explained how human things got to the isles but there was no technology more advanced than a typewriter. Some fans created theories as to why this was.

Luz’s favorite was that there was once a portal to the human realm that got destroyed before the game began. There wasn't any evidence of it but that never stopped her in the past. Speaking of typewriters, a dark blue one sat front and center of the stand and Luz was tempted to buy it.

“300 snails.” Eda said, so suddenly that Luz almost jumped.

“What?”

“300 snails for the oversized clicker.”

“Oh, no.” Luz shook her head and dug the paper Prim gave her out of her pocket. “I’m running an errand for Prim.”

Eda took the slip from her and gave Luz a side-eye. The human stood there hoping her stimming didn't come across as nervous. Curse her ADHD and lack of Gamer’s Body.

“I didn't realize Prim had a go-for.” She finally said.

“It’s hopefully a one time deal.” Luz responded.

“What? Don't want to be fraternizing with a wanted criminal?”

Luz eyed the Coven Scout that passed then warily. “More like I don't need the attention.”

Eda laughed, “I like you, kid. Give me a sec.”

The witch slipped into the tent as a new screen appeared.

[+3 reputation with Eda]

How the hell did that happen? She thought reputation could only go up from quests. She couldn't think of it much as Eda came back holding a box with fabric sticking out. “50 snails.”

“Oh, come on! Hasn't Prim paid already?”

“Pay on pick up or delivery only.”

“Damn you, Owl Lady.” Luz grumbled as she dug the requested amount out of her pocket. She slammed it onto the table and took the box.

‘For the clothes, for the clothes, for the clothes.’ She reminded herself.

---

“I’m back!” Luz called as the demon shrieked again.

“Just a moment!” Prim yelled back. There were soft, hushed voices before the witch entered the main store. “You get everything?”

Luz placed the box onto the counter. “Of course, but maybe tell me your supplier is the Owl Lady next time. Almost gave me a heart attack.”

Prim looked over the box's contents, ignoring Luz. That was fine because it allowed Luz to look at the various pins on the counter.

[Observe!]

[A flame pin: 

A small pin with a flame design on it

Effect: boosts fire magic by 20%]

That could be helpful when she got a fire glyph but now? Useless.

[Construction pin:

A pin in the shape of the Construction Coven symbol

Effect: construct time is shorten by 16%]

Also useless to her. There had to be something.

[Oracle pin:

A purple pin with a dark purple eye in the center

Effect: boosts user’s resistance to Oracle magic by 25%]

Oh shit! This was perfect. Odalia Blight was an Oracle Witch and, even if Luz was avoiding the plot like it was her ex, such a pin would be crucial if she wanted to get close to Amity. If she could figure out how to do so without plot happening.

“Everything seems to be in order.” Prim finally said, gaining the human’s attention. “Good job. Feel free to look around.

Luz nodded.

[Secret Quest Complete!

A New Fit: find Prim’s supplier and bring her order back within an hour

Rewards: 2000 EXP, +5 reputation with Prim, +2 reputation with supplier]

Luz made her way through the store looking for a certain set of clothes. A new screen popped up.

[You leveled up!

Lv: 3 → 4

+1 spending point]

Wow. Her levels were low. Oh, well, it didn't matter if she wasn't going to fight anyone. She was only here for some reassurances and for a trip.

She came across a green army jacket and grinned.

[Observe!]

[Hunter’s Jacket:

A green Jacket often given to Coven-Trained Hunters. Good for cold environments

Effects: +2 resistance to attacks with slashing damage, strong against Cold, 25% chance to absorb fire magic]

The slashing could have been better but this was perfect for the knee. She took it off the hook and continued looking.

Next she found an orange beanie.

[Observe!]

[Wool Beanie:

An orange beanie made from wool. A good way to keep you warm

Effects: strong against Cold]

Luz took it too, finding it stylish. Once done, she went back to the counter.

She placed the items down and put the Oracle pin on top.

“That's everything?” Prim asked, calculating the amount.

“Yup. How much?” She pulled out a bag of snails.

“83 snails.”

Luz frowned. She wished it was less, she already spent a good bit of her pay, but if she wanted to go to the knee she needed to be prepared.

“Fine.” She counted the snails and gave Prim the coins.

“You want a bag for this?”

“Is it going to cost extra?”

Prim laughed and shook her head. “No, I suppose not.”

“Then please and thank you.”

“Have a good day, young lady.” The old woman passed her the bag of clothes and Luz was on her way.

---

Luz entered the Raven’s Nest, tired beyond belief.

“Welcome back, Luz.” Raven greeted with a wide smile. “How was your day?”

She merely groaned as she collapsed on one of the comfy chairs available to the customers.

“Long day?”

“Yeah.”

“Did you at least have fun?”

Luz chuckled and nodded. In spite of the anxiety she felt all day, she did have fun.

“Hey, can I take a trip to the knee?”

“Sure, when do you want to go?”

“I was thinking over the weekend.”

Eda would be too busy at the market so Luz wouldn't need to worry.

“Alright.” Raven stood, stretching her arms. “I’ll prep some camping supplies for us.”

“Us?”

“You think I’m going to let you go alone?” Raven laughed. “Titan, no. Rest up, I’m heading home for the night.”

Luz didn't respond. Just blinked as the demon left.

[Quest Complete!

Leaving the Nest: spend at least an hour out of the store

Rewards: 1000 EXP, +1 reputation with Raven, Fast Travel to Prim & Proper unlocked]

Huh. That was a new mechanic for her. Did that mean she could fast travel to Raven’s Nest too? Things to think about later. Right now, she was tired.

[disregardcanon]

toh the witches of Thistle Grove au from my drafts

context: the witches of thistle grove is a new adult fantasy series about a small town in illinois called thistle grove which was founded by four families of witches as a safe haven for them and their kind. the main character is a member of the least consequential founding family and she hasn't been back home from chicago in YEARS because of a very messy breakup with a boy who shattered her heart, who's a member of the most influential family.

after many years, there's going to be a shakeup in the power in the town because the main character's family is going to arbitrate a competition between the families to decide who will gain the town's power. she has a romance with a VERY attractive girl who's the heir of a different family, reconnects with her friends and family, and has a fun adventure. it's gay and great <3

the au is lumity. here we goooooooo

Blights- Blackmoores (the most influential family)

Porters- Thornes (the family the MCs best friend belongs to)

Montagues- Avramovs (this is the last name I give boscha in my fics and also the love interest's family. no she is not the love interest)

Clawthornes- Harlows (the MC's family who has traditionally stayed out of the competition and arbitrated it.)

i don't remember if this was my worldbuilding or the book's, but part of this premise is that marrying or being adopted into a founding family can give someone without magic magic, but not marrying into a family that doesn't have the magic of the town on their side.

additional families that have magic but aren't founders

Deamonnes, Whispers, Parks, Calliopes (last name I give skara)

amity is living in chicagoland with her fiance, luz. she has to return to her hometown for some important family thing that she won't elaborate on and refuses to bring luz. so luz has to IMPROVISE

cue luz making her own way to the town of thistle grove, talking her way into staying with eda and king clawthorne, and getting involved in amity's checkered past.

details

alador is a normal townie that wasn't born with magic. he figured out at a young age that magic WAS real and ended up best friends with and then high school sweethearts with him. he ends up leaving him for odalia, though, because of the fact that marrying into the blights will give him magic whereas marrying darius... will not

willow and amity were besties as kids and then the blight parents made amity dump her because willow is from a family that isn't influential and seems to only have a trace of magic (as a kid, at least)

in high school, amity dates boscha. it's a match made in heaven for her parents but in hell for her. they really want her to stay with boscha because the montagues are a good, powerful family, but she's also. mean. possessive. and amity feels so stifled here in this town. she breaks up with her, runs off to chicagoland for college, meets luz, and never looks back. at least until it's demanded of her by tradition

a few years after that, willow opens up to boscha and falls in love with her. and then boscha takes her heart and stomps all over it, feeling like an idiot for every letting it happen in the first place.

amity and willow reconnect when amity comes to town for the arbitration and bond over boscha being The Worst. luz tries to figure out what's going on and bonds with eda the owl lady.

it's hard to work out a balance because luz sees MAGIC! and witches! and cool secret town of cool secret people! and goes why would you ever want to leave? this is my dream? wait you're saying if i married you i could get magic????~!?!?!?!?!?! amity this is AMAZING why didn't you ever tell me about this wonderful fantastic thing! and amity can't see it as anything but awful because not only did her parents control all of her actions here, her mother, quite literally, has a hold on all of the family magic. so any magic she could give to luz would only come through her mother, just the way it does with amity. which is why despite loving magic amity was able to go live so far away from its source.

i don't remember how we were going to get there, but gus was going to win the tournament for the porters and wrest control of the town magic away from both the blights and the montagues, eda was going to think luz is The Bees Knees enough to adopt her (and as a clawthorne that WOULD give her magic) and amity was going to marry her so that she could have magic that isn't controlled by her mother, but goes through gwendolyn clawthorne who is a lot cooler about Everything Always.

<3