#grometheus

[catboymoments]

✨Grom King part 5✨

Sometimes you just need a little time to breathe and be reminded that you’re loved, yk?

Thank you so much for supporting me and loving my characters, I couldn’t have done this without y’all!!!

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

[redeyesgeatsdragon24]

What would happen if the Grom had consumed the boiling islands, losing control due to the fear of Amity, killing our favorite characters due to their fears and those who would survive in this new world...?

[cletusthurstonbeauregard]

Friday dance party

[ladykatastrid]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: The Owl House (Cartoon) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Emira Blight/Viney Characters: Emira Blight, Viney (The Owl House), Edric Blight Additional Tags: Canon Compliant, Fluff, Teasing, Mutual Pining, First Meetings, Humor, sad with a happy ending if you squint Summary:

Emira had been stood up for Grom, but when a certain someone bumps into her, her night might still be full of surprises...

[lollytea]

Thinking very hard about the creature known as Grometheus

Next to no canon information has ever been provided about this thing. Where it came from, how long it's been around, nothing. It's unknown if it's categorized as a beast or a demon or what. Maybe a distant relative of the basilisk? Idk. The wiki just calls it an animorph.

Buuuuuuuut its full name has a very familiar rhythm to it.

Grometheus the Fear Bringer

Do you know what it sounds like?

A title granted to a talented illusionist.

Which just leaves me wondering.

The Boiling Isles is a world of transformative curses. Its a world where humanoid witches can become beasts via various methods. (E.g. Eda and Lilith, Darius, Belos, Luz)

So....hypothetically. If there was a witch named Grometheus a long time ago who excelled at illusion magic....just what happened to them?

I imagine that the area of illusion magic comes with the threat of mental deterioration, for both the illusionist and the victim. And based on the magic amplifier that Gus has, it has the potential to violate other peoples minds and tear the most depraved frightening memories out of them.

In TTLGR, Bria stated that illusion magic "Can't even touch [her]" but LR and KT proves that it can. Just not in a conventional sense.

Illusion magic can dig into the mind. It can be so intense that it causes physical pain.

So what's the key aspect for an illusionist to achieve that level of power?

Fear and memories.

Once an illusionist realizes the potential that fear and memories have, they start working towards utilizing it in their experimental spellwork.

Maybe that's how Grometheus started off.

Maybe they were the one who invented Gus' magical amplifier.

However, imagine living like that. Extracting all the depravity from several people across the Isles for the sake of research. It's a lot for one person's mind to handle. It's like a slow gradual rot inside the brain.

I don't know exactly how the transformation would have happened. Maybe it was a mutation of negative emotions.

Maybe Grometheus was lonely. Maybe they were angry. Or maybe there were just so many memories and fears in their mind that weren't their own, that they couldn't hear their own thoughts anymore.

Maybe they lost themself.

Maybe they drowned in it. They drowned in all the fear that was hoarded inside of them and they became fear itself.

Maybe?

Nobody ever expected history to repeat itself. What happened to Grometheus was not likely to ever happen again. Because Grometheus' magical battery was so overwhelmingly potent that it ate them from the inside.

Surely, there would never be an illusionist that powerful again.

Surely.

Anyway, fast forward to a sixteen year old Gus Porter at his final year of Hexside. He's Grom King.

And Grometheus the Fear Bringer didn't stand a chance.

Gus is standing on wobbly legs as the crowd's cheers pound against his eardrums.

He was supposed to defeat the monster and send it slithering away again for another year.

But instead, there's a creature's corpse withered at Gus' feet, and as the rotting gunk melts away, he's not surprised to see a witch's skull.

Why would he be surprised? He saw it all.

Gus is standing there, horrorstruck, as some stupid crown materializes on his brow.

He killed one of his own.

And now....all of that creature's memories and fear belong to him.

It's like a rot inside of him.

He could drown in it.

Do the spooky/horror centric Gus enjoyers wanna hear an idea?

[zibiscusloon]

Boutta watch Grometheus get its ass kicked!

[sepublic]

Dana’s doing some Luz at the Olympics doodles on Patreon called TOHlympics and now I wanna imagine the Boiling Isles Olympics are called the Ow-Limp-Picks. Luz misinterprets it as OWLympics and repeats this, looking up at Eda hopefully? Eda corrects her kid, OW-LIMP-PICKS, because that’s what participating athletes find themselves doing, in that order; Get hurt, limp, and then have winners (and losers…) chosen by how much who gets hurt!!! It’s like how Grom is actually short for Grometheus, a monster that must be fought (which makes me imagine a universe where Prom is about Prometheus’ daily disembowelment); While the original draft of that pun was PROM, a Perennial Ritual Offering Maiden… to a monster.

I could see Ow-Limp-Picks being a S1 plot where Luz signs up only to learn the actual dangerous meaning, but then commits anyway. And the resolution comes from Eda reminding Luz that she doesn’t have to prove how tough she is by withstanding pain, contributing to both her arc about letting go of the fear of being a weak burden, as well as the show’s critique towards the Christian concept of quiet, noble suffering (something that ties into TOH’s disability aspect).

[thebeeecoven]

I wonder how long they were all stuck in Hexside so what if during the Collector apocalypse, grometheus came out right on schedule and the New Hexside squad had to throw a mock grom to fight it 🚬 super cute and also inspired by Doomcoming in Yellowjackets but less morbid

[poolseason]

you will not believe how much an owlhouse-amphiba au's been rotating in my head ever since i made those doodles last night. it's not REALLY a 1:1

but. basically luz and her friends (all 5 of them) are humans who get transported to the BI through the music box and get scattered to different parts of the titan. Witches and demons don't have any innate type of magic on this version of the isles.

Luz lands in the forest and gets taken in by Eda and her kid, King. Eda is actually an owl-witch hybrid, but she lost a wing so she cant fly anymore and uses a cane to get around. Eda's a couple hundred years old but has amnesia from becoming an owl person. Hooty is their trusty transport snail. birdtube.Eda runs a mildly successful speakeasy in Bonesborough, which is a small town by the wayside. The residents of Bonesborough are scared of Luz and her weirdly round ears until they start thinking of her as a local hero after she started fighting the monsters that keep terrorizing the locals and stood up to them against the tax collector demons from Latissa

Amity lands at a sentry tower in Latissa and eventually become the leader of the demon militia that stationed there there. Amity was kind of the "leader" of their friend group of five back on Earth and after defeating Grometheus to gain the trust of.... Raine? she become second in command of the Latissa troop, that's run by Raine, who's plotting a rebellion against the queen of the Isles. Luz and Amity had some feelings for each other in the human realm but their relationship was kind of toxic, Reunion is extra messy lol

Luz finds Willow and Gus when she and the Clawthornes are stopping in various towns on their way to the Heart. Unlike her and Amity, the two of them had somewhat normal experiences in the Isles. Willow found herself in a small farming community, and Gus ended working for a sideshow performer. They all link up during these reunions.

The trio reunite with Hunter who's been at the Heart this whole time and has been a ranger for the queen... Lilith Clawthorne! Lilith and Eda don't know their sisters due to some messy conflict that happened 400 years ago between them where Eda lost her memories. Lilith used to be mentored by Belos, the previous king. Anyways now Lilith is still following through on the multiverse domination plan that Belos set up. Anyways back to Hunter, he's enough of a nerd that it charms Lilith's inner academic and she takes him under her wing. He becomes pretty well known and handy enough for posters of him to go up.

The reason the gang got stranded here is because of Hunter. lol. It seems like the friend group was about to be separated, Amity was about to transfer to a different private school, Luz was going away to the taxes summer camp, Gus and his dad was going to move to a different town. Hunter's an orphan living with his abusive nasty uncle Philip, and he finds the music box after running away one night. And decides to strand him and all his best friends in the Demon Realm because he didn't want to go back to Philip and didn't want to "lose" his friends. Well to be honest he didn't actually think it was magical until he landed in the Demon Realm. Whoops...!

The music box that stranded the kids in the Isles is actually made of Titan magic, and is powered by the 4 glyphs and a mysterious 5th thing (Titan Blood). Each member of the Hexsquad hosts the power of one of the glyphs, and Luz's is the Blood power, which is the strongest! In order to recharge the box, they need to travel to different ruins around the Isles and reconnect each glyph with their element.

That's all i got for now. stay tuned for more brainworms ~

[belleski]

Here's my artist preview for the @tohtarot zine! Preorders are currently open so go and check out the rest of the bundle if you want to get yourself something nice.

Had fun with both of these cards though i still cant believe I got tasked with drawing Grometheus of all things 😂

[Image description] A preview image of two pieces of art featuring characters from The Owl House. On the left, there is a cropped drawing of Grometheus the fear bringer and on the right, there is a cropped image of Darius and Eberwolf. In the centre, there is a white artist profile that reads 'Duck brings us the C.A.T.T.S as the Knight of Wands and Grometheus as the 8 of Wands' under the artist's profile picture. END ID

[childlikegoblinqueen]

SCOM Next Chapter Preview:

Trying to get this one out before I head out further on vacation tomorrow.

Here's a quick preview from the beginning of the chapter. It's going to be a longer installment, but we're going to get a bit more context around the grudge that Bosch's held on Hunter specifically in a flashback ...

“Hey freak? Wanna know what else hits back?” 

From behind her back Boscha produced a small black ball. A piece of Grometheus the Fear Bringer that she’d kept after the fight.

And like the Grudgeby star she was, Boscha threw it perfectly to hit its target. 

Hunter’s heartbeat sped up. The crowds began to gather around flashing cameras as the Grom-ball hit Hunter in the head and fell to the floor. 

[catboymoments]

✨Grom King part 2✨

Uoooohhhh what’s happenningggggg ..?????

1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5

[lampmanliveblogs]

Here I am, back with more The Owl House! Where we last off, Philip, bastard that he is, had just possessed Raine, ready to mess everything up.

We cut back to Hexside where Willow’s been busy extracting Luz’ traumatic memories. I don’t feel like taking individual screenshots of all the photos, so you guys are just gonna have to trust me as I describe them:

The first photo I believe is from the very first episode, when Luz is looking at the portal door, just before she decides to stay in the Demon Realm and learn magic. The second is from Adventures in the Elements, when she stol-I mean, borrowed Amity’s training wand without asking. I’m not 100% sure on the third one, but I think it’s from Agony of a Witch? Right after the duel between Lilith and Eda.

The fourth photo is from Yesterday’s Lie, showing the conversation Luz and Camila had in the rain. The fifth photo is from Elsewhere and Elsewhen, when Luz showed Philip the light glyph. The sixth photo is from Hollow Mind, and unless I’m mistaken, that particular frame is from when Philip was like ”Out of all the grimwalkers [Hunter] looked the most like him.”

The seventh photo is from King’s Tide, right before King pushes Luz through the portal door and into the (relative) safety of the Human Realm. The eight photo is from Enchanting Grom Fright, when Grometheus the Fearbringer transformed into Luz’ greatest fear.

If I were to try and establish some kind of through-line (or a red string, as every swedish teacher would call it) I’d say that each of these memories show some situation or decision Luz feels guilty about.

She feels guilty about the time she stole Amity’s training wand and put everyone in danger of the slitherbeast. She feels guilty about teaching Philip the light glyph, helping him meet The Collector, and for him nearly killing Hunter in Hollow Mind. She feels guilty because she couldn’t keep the family together during the event of the Day of Unity.

Then we have the case of Camila. Luz feels guilty over staying in the Demon Realm and lying to her mother about it. I mean, the fact that it was her greatest fear during Grom kinda says it all, doesn’t it?

Speaking of Camila, and I CANNOT believe I didn’t remember this earlier, but Camila did make Luz promise she’d stay in the Human Realm in Yesterday’s Lie. She did that, and Luz agreed, and then I go acting like Luz saying she was going to stay in the Human Realm forever in Thanks to Them came out of nowhere. Actually, I didn’t think it came out of nowhere, but you get my point. The idea of staying in the Human Realm forever is not a new one to Luz, Camila put it in her head.

As for Camila… I think i said it pretty well last episode; Camila has come to realize that Luz will likely never truly be happy staying in the Human Realm. And now, looking at these photographs, she sees a monster taking on a twisted form of herself, locked in combat with her own daughter. 

(I wrote HOW MUCH about this ten-second shot of Camila looking at some photographs??)

Aw geez, I’m still not used to seeing how much more scarring Hunter got after the possession.

And, hm… Willow’s gonna show Hunter the picture from the Flyer Derby game in Any Sport in a Storm, with Flapjack. Hm, hm, hm… that might not be a great way to cheer him up.

(somewhat unrelated, but I just thought of it. How long have they been awake? It was nighttime when they left the Human Realm and it’s been pretty non-stop since then. I dunno, maybe they all took a nap at the owl house)

”And we just wanna let you know, we don’t care who you’re supposed to be, cause you’re one of us now.”

Oh, Willow knows, doesn’t she? I mean yeah, maybe it could be interpreted as ”we don’t care that you brainwashed since a little kid to be a child soldier and helped the bad guy do evil things.” But it could also be read as ”we don’t care if you were made as a clone of someone else because you are your own person.”

It could also be read as both, which is probably the case. Even a few words can convey complex meanings.

(Future Lampman here: Yeah, duh, of course Willow knows, Luz blurted it out in the last episode while Hunter was unconscious. I must’ve been tired when I was writing this part)

Okay, not as bad a reaction as I was fearing. The picture didn’t really do much to cheer Hunter up it seems, but it at least didn’t make things worse. And in the long run, having a physical memory of Flapjack is probably a good thing. For now he’s not sure what to feel about it.

And, like… it literally happened a couple of hours ago. I wanna see Hunter be happy again as much as the next guy, but maybe give the boy some space to grieve and be sad and we can start working on acceptance later.

”I didn’t mean to make things worse.”

Did you though? Cause Hunter’s reaction was rather subdued, not a whole lot to indicate that you made anything worse per se. Or is it not that you made things ”worse” that is the failure, but rather that you failed to make it ”better,” is that’s what’s getting to you?

Going back to that conversation in The Owl House, Willow is the reliable one. The one to save everyone’s asses. She’s The Big Guy, to use a TV Tropes term.

So what about when she can’t be The Big Guy? What about when she can’t protect her friends (or family, let’s not forget her parents are turned into puppets), or when she can’t help them with their emotional troubles? What does that make her then? Less than herself? Just half-a-witch Willow, a dubious figure, not really good for much.

I think I said previously that there are only so many storms a single tree can take before it falls. But that’s why they need other trees around them, to help them stand against the wind. 

[vickysaurus]

"Medieval torture seems like a strange theme for Grom, but hey!"

Amity: "They're not for decoration. This arena's where I'll make my debut as Grom Queen."

"Right. Why don't you seem excited?"

"Because this isn't just some dance party. That's Grom. Short for Grometheus, the Fear-Bringer. It's a monster that lives under the school."

"Every year it tries to break out, and a student has to defeat it before it invades the town. Ever the optimist, Bump holds a party and calls it tradition. The worst thing is that Grom can read minds and shape-shift into your worst fear. And mine… is very embarrassing."

[lollytea]

GUS GUS GUS GUS MY BOY GUSSSSSSSS

How I feel about this character

Gus is so fucking cool, man. I love him!! I especially like his characterization in season 1 as a really cutesy silly geeky little fellow with a surprisingly morbid streak. Like season 1 Gus is probably the funniest character in the show to me. They definitely toned down his chaos a bit in later seasons, but his transition into something more than a supporting comic relief character was also good stuff to chew on.

I find Gus, as he's written in the show itself, to be a character who lacks a solid foundation. Even though I personally enjoy him a lot, it often felt like the crew was struggling to find his emotional core. What makes Gus tick yknow. At least that's the vibe I got from Gus centric episodes where they give him a new complex every time. They knew he was insecure deep down but it was like they couldn't decide on the reason WHY. First they tried "being younger than everyone is hard", then it was "my area of magical expertise isn't taken seriously" and then finally "I'm way too trusting."

I'm not saying he can't be a complex character with MULTIPLE insecurities. I just feel like the writing in this regard is kinda weak in terms of consistency. It really did feel like they just kept introducing new Gus angst every time and forgetting about the Gus angst they had already established. I would have liked to see it all weave together instead, yknow?

Overall Gus is fantastic. I love Gus. When it comes to how the character was ultilized, they might have flopped a bit. But yknow. Gus has potential to be SO interesting. All the ingredients are there. So he's a lot of fun to play with. So much to build and expand on. He is the brightest most neon shade of blue putty.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Rumpelstilskin or whatever that gay little freak is called

My non-romantic OTP for this character

They make me giggle

My unpopular opinion about this character

I kinda like aroace Gus. Idk if that's an unpopular opinion tho. But I don't really have a solid headcanon for his orientation, so sometimes I see him as bi and kissing that one guy. And sometimes he is aroace.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

MAN!!! I've made multiple posts about stuff that I wish they did with Gus in canon. I'll try to briefly repeat a few of them

- I wish Gus and Eda were familiar with each other before Luz came into the picture. Like the Owl Lady who sells human junk and the little witch boy who's obsessed with human junk.

- I wish Gus' fixation on the human realm was used as a parallel for Luz' fixation on the fantasy genre. I wish it was used as the thing that helped them to understand each other. Two kids who feel like a bit of an outsider in their own world and use their obsession with another realm as a form of escapism.

- I wish Gus had an arc involving Grometheus.

- I wish Gus had played a role in the finale. Specifically I wish his problem with trusting too easily had been brought up again and tied into the situation with Belos, who sits on a thrown of lies. Would have been fun. But what do I know

[lauren-likes-to-type]

Make Up for It

[The Owl House] Boscha x Female Reader

Word Count: 5.01k

Proofread: Yes

Content Warnings: Mentions of abandonment.

[A/N]: None!

Enjoy!

A heavy sigh pushed its way through Boscha’s lips, echoing throughout her bedroom as she sat at her vanity, waiting impatiently for her scroll to ping the way she had been expecting it to for over an hour. Three eyes met her reflection in the mirror that sat in front of her. She seemed to search her own gaze and think to herself, wondering if any of this had been a good idea. Ever since the defeat of Belos and the peace brought upon the island by The Collector, the citizens of the Boiling Isles worked together tirelessly to reconstruct their home–both physically and diplomatically.

Boscha had been one of the students at Hexide who worked among others to help rebuild the school. Just recently, they had finally repaired the auditorium where every school event–every pep rally and dance–was held. Principal Bump, after talking it over with multiple teachers, decided to bring Grom Royalty back to tradition, although he made sure more than one student was allowed to fight at a time to ensure there wasn’t a repeat of Grometheus’s near-escape.

Thankfully, Boscha hadn’t been chosen as Grom Royalty. A few random girls from the Beast Keeping Track were selected instead. It was a relief to know she wouldn’t have to face her greatest fear, especially considering how humiliated she would feel if everyone knew just how vulnerable she could get over something so small.

In her mind, she knew it wasn’t necessarily small, but her insecurities festered underneath the surface like the same boiling concoctions Boscha found herself working with almost every day. She felt as though no one would take her seriously if they found out about her worst fear: abandonment.

They’d see me as weak, she’d tell herself, and that was something she couldn’t allow.

Although Grudgby had been put on hold during the repairs, Boscha’s teammates still looked up to her when it came to the sport–amongst other things. As she had told Willow during their confrontation several months prior, everyone else seemed to fall apart the moment the leader was to show any sign of weakness. She wanted her friends to rely on her–to feel as though they could trust her strength.

How could they possibly trust that strength if they knew what broke her? With that information at their disposal, they could shatter her already crumbling reputation at any instant. All she had at that time was her reputation, and she did her best to maintain it.

That included now. As she sat in front of the mirror, gazing absentmindedly at all she had done in the past half hour, she wondered if her plan falling to ruin that evening would dampen her reputation even further. She had gone all out for her date to the dance: she made sure her suit was flawlessly cut and lacking any wrinkles, her perfume was high-dollar, and that her hair was perfect. The usual strands of hair that framed her face remained there, though they had been curled to give a more gentle effect. She styled the rest of her hair to match. Half-up half-down is ultimately what she decided on, and each strand was waved to match her curtain bangs, including the ones that were pinned up on the back of her head.

Everything about her outfit had been meticulously planned. She just hoped it would get the ultimate approval of her peers. More importantly, she hoped it would get the approval of her date for the night.

After a while longer of waiting, she finally decided to head to the dance alone, telling herself that her date for the evening just forgot to let her know that she had already left. How that would be possible, considering it was the biggest event of the school year, she didn’t know, but she refused to believe she was being ditched. As she hopped onto her palisman, Maya, she sent a quick message off to Skara to let her know she was headed towards the school.

On the flight there, she searched the ground below in hopes of spotting her date. Even as her eyes scanned the land without fail, she didn’t spot her there. Occasionally, she’d feel a spark of excitement, thinking she spotted her among the scattered students headed in the same direction, only to feel utterly deflated.

With a huff, she stopped at the entrance of Hexside, allowing Maya to retreat from her physical form as she headed inside, all the way to the auditorium. The large, wide doors were propped open, revealing the scenery behind them: the glowing floor of the stadium, littered with students laughing and cracking jokes together as they danced. Streamers were hung high on the walls, providing enough room for the disco ball to stand out and aid the colorful lights in shimmering around the room.

Boscha couldn’t help but smile at the sight. After all that had happened recently, it was a breath of fresh air to see everyone so carefree. She’d never admit that to anyone though.

She sauntered inside, once again checking her scroll for the message she had been waiting for. Nothing, of course. “Boscha!” She jumped at the sudden voice, her head perking up to let her eyes search for the source. She found Skara waving her over to get her attention. She stood beside Amelia and Cat, who waved to her as well.

A small smile cracked across her lips, Boscha waved back and headed over. She hugged the three before asking if any of them had seen her date. “No, I don’t think I’ve seen her tonight,” Amelia hummed in thought as she recalled seeing the other students throughout the evening. “Me either,” Skara started, “but didn’t she say she’d message you to let you know when she got here?” Boscha nodded. “Yeah, but I haven’t gotten anything.”

“Maybe she’s just running late?”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Even as she agreed, Boscha couldn’t help the feeling of overwhelming doubt that crept over her senses. Surely she had to be here somewhere. The service on the Isles hadn’t been great in the area, so maybe her message just didn’t send through? She didn’t know. Instead of physically walking around to find her, she opted for heading up to the top of the bleachers to scan the crowds alone. She told Skara it was so she had a better chance of spotting her, but the reality was she didn’t want anyone to see the pure worry on her face.

An hour and a half had passed, and if Boscha’s nerves hadn’t gotten the better of her before, they certainly did now. Still no word of her date, and no sight of her either. After a while, she had rejoined her friends back on the dance floor, awkwardly ignoring their suggestions to dance for a bit to ease up with a forced grin. “I just wanna save my energy for my “big dance,” you know?”

To try and shake the nerves, she walked around the room here and there, all while checking her scroll. Still nothing.

Just as she made it a few feet away from her friend group again, her scroll finally pinged. She clicked it, and confusion riddled her features at the sight that her date had posted something on Penstagram. So much for her reception being bad.

With a newfound hesitancy, she clicked on the post to view it. Her heart dropped at the sight of her date with someone else at the party that was being held at Glandus High, their opposing school. She held the stranger tight in the photo, clearly posing for a selfie. She felt her limbs grow numb as her gaze dropped down to skim over the caption, unable to swallow or hear any of the surrounding noises as she processed the words.

There wasn’t even the slightest mention of her name, but she knew that it was directed towards her.

“Ditched a would’ve-been mistake, loving this party! Shoutout to Glandus for giving me the best replacement for both a lame party and date!”

She hadn’t even realized she had finally looked up from her scroll. One moment, she was reading the caption in shock, and the next, she was met with several gazes from the other students in the room, all of which were a mix of pity, confusion, and sorrow. Skara and Amelia motioned for her to come over, likely to try and sympathize with her and comfort her.

She’d have none of that.

The night had been ruined long ago, she just wasn’t made aware of it until then.

Her date didn’t think she deserved to be spared the humiliation, and decided to publicize it on top of everything? She hadn’t let the girl know about her worst fear, and yet she somehow managed to make it known to everyone anyway.

How predictable.

How pathetic.

Through blurred vision, in which she cursed herself for starting to cry, she shook her head and began to walk backwards. It soon turned into a sprint once she turned, then she was quickly running. How could she have been so stupid? She should’ve noticed the signs immediately, and yet she decided to turn a blind eye and only embarrass herself further by going all out. She ignored the concerned calls from her friends and desperately rushed to the furthest bathroom from there that she could find.

Once she stumbled across one, she wobbled inside and stood in front of one of the mirrors to the sinks. Her hand shook violently as it twisted the knob, and only shook harder as she dunked it under the running water before letting it resurface to splash the water in her face. She repeated this motion with both hands, all while letting out several curses under her breath.

She lost count of how many times she splashed herself, going on and on until she could no longer tell the difference from the tears that streaked her face and the sink water that soaked her skin. Her hearing had returned, though everything sounded muffled. She had been rejected here and there in the past, but she had never been publicly made fun of and humiliated in the process. It was heartbreaking. That was the only way she could possibly describe it at that moment.

Eventually, she pried herself away from the sink, barely mustering the courage to turn it off before wandering to the roll of paper towels and using a few to pathetically pat her face dry. She shivered, barely realizing then that she had soaked part of her blazer. She glanced down to find that a large amount of the water had trickled down her jaw and neck and soaked through the collar of her shirt as well.

Reluctantly, she tore the blazer from her torso, tossing it on top of the lid of the trashcan. With the same paper towels she had already partially soaked, she lazily tried to dry her shirt as well. After one failed attempt of wringing the collar dry, she sniffled and gave up, tossing the crumpled up sheets aside. She shakily left the room and subconsciously found herself roaming the halls. She couldn’t go home just yet, she knew, or her moms would ask what had happened. She didn’t have the energy to explain it all.

And she couldn’t return to the party. She just couldn’t. She didn’t want to deal with giving any fake responses when people offered their sympathy, nor did she want to hear anyone else mentioning what had happened while watching them side-eye her from a distance.

Again, she found herself scolding her mind for sobbing, though when she let her fingers graze her face to wipe the tears, she studied them with confusion upon seeing they were dry. She strained her ears, forcing them to hear past the dull ringing. Somewhere nearby, she could hear someone weeping. Although she knew she didn’t have the energy to talk to whoever it was, her curiosity got the better of her. Maybe knowing she wasn’t the only one having a horrible night was what gave her a small burst of energy–enough to find the source anyway.

She narrowed down the possibilities of which hall they could possibly be, grumbling at how the empty halls amplified the noise and had the echoes reverberating throughout the walls. Finally, after pin-pointing where the sound was coming from, she neared the corner to the intersecting hallway ahead of her and slowed her steps before ultimately stopping to listen.

Around the corner, a strangely familiar voice choked out pained sobs and murmurs, unaware they were no longer talking to themself. She peeked out cautiously and found [Y/N] [L/N], a girl she knew of but didn’t know personally, curled into herself against the wall, her body trembling with every heave and wail.

“What the hell did I do?” She asked herself repeatedly in between sharp gasps for air, her phone tossed to the side and long forgotten. Boscha glanced down and found the small device near her feet, face-down on the chilled, marble floor. As silently as she could, she picked it up and studied the screen, which was somehow still on. Her eyebrows lifted in shock, surprised to discover this girl was in the exact same situation as she was.

She sighed inaudibly. With one hand still holding onto the phone and the other tucked into the pocket of her slacks, she walked forward, clearing her throat to push past the voice cracks she knew she’d produce if she tried to talk. Startled, [Y/N] jumped and reeled back. She wiped furiously at her eyes and peered up at Boscha, who held the phone up a bit further. “Rough night?”

“I-I’m so sorry, I didn’t know anyone was over here.”

“No, you’re fine.”

They stayed there in silence, unsure of what to say. With a small grimace, Boscha moved forward and sat a couple of feet from [Y/N], leaning against the wall and handing over her phone. “Thank you,” was her soft reply. She only nodded before turning her head to stare blankly at the lockers across from them.

She wondered if there was any possible way to salvage the night. Even if she returned to the party, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy it. There was no one to dance with, and she’d constantly be stared at the entire time. Maybe she should’ve just stayed in the bathroom and locked herself away. Or even gone home after all and snuck back into her bedroom. She just didn’t want to face the world anytime soon.

“So…you’re Boscha, right?” A gentle voice questioned beside her. She turned her attention to [Y/N] again and nodded. “Yeah. And you’re [Y/N], right? The human?” “Yeah, that’s me. Why aren’t you at the party?” Boscha scoffed and scratched the back of her neck anxiously. “My date ditched me, that’s why. Decided I was a mistake, and that I deserved to feel ridiculous by not telling me ahead of time that she wasn’t interested.”

“Oh…”

She hummed, then turned back to her again. “What about you?” “Same here.”

She wished she could’ve been surprised, but after seeing what had been left on the screen just a moment ago, she couldn’t even muster a proper reaction. “Guess we’re in the same boat then, huh?” She muttered with a fake chuckle after waiting for a beat. “I guess so.”

Silence settled upon the two of them again, though it wasn’t as uncomfortable as before. Boscha wracked her brain for something to say to lighten the mood, grasping desperately at anything that could make the night better. If she knew the situation better, coming up with a solution would be far easier. She thought of what Willow or one of the others would do in her place, wincing at herself for becoming so soft in the past few months.

“Do you wanna talk about it?”

The two had sat there for a little under an hour, just talking about what had happened at first, but eventually started chatting about more positive things. It was relieving when the two of them shared a laugh for the first time that evening. Their situations were pretty much the same, although [Y/N] was able to escape the auditorium without much notice. Her date had bailed on her and made it public pretty early on in the evening, meaning there were very few students around when she saw the post.

All the while as they talked about whatever came to mind, Boscha couldn’t help but find herself urging to ask [Y/N] to come back to the auditorium with her and prove both of their dates wrong–to show them that they were better off without them. She wasn’t sure how to ask in a smooth manner, so ultimately, she built up the courage to ask it as bluntly as possible.

While [Y/N] searched on her phone for something that related to a story she was talking about, Boscha scooted a bit closer. “So, what would you think about just heading back and going as each other’s dates instead?” Shocked by the sudden question, [Y/N] glanced over at her and tilted her head. “Huh? What do you mean?” Boscha shrugged, unable to bite back her smirk. “Well, I mean…we shouldn’t let the night go to waste. We can still salvage it. Plus, we’d get to prove to everyone that we don’t need people who’ll ditch us.”

She gently nudged her shoulder with her own. “We can show them that we’re better than that, y’know?” [Y/N] stared at her for a moment before laughing anxiously. “I don’t know, Boscha. I’m not sure I could go face everyone in there again. Aren’t you afraid of how they’d look at us? At you?”

“Of course I am. Ever since I made it to high school here at Hexside, I’ve had to work hard to make sure people look at me with respect. Didn’t matter if they hated me or not, I had to pretend not to care. I was the “star,” the Team Captain of the Grudgby Team. I’m always terrified of how they look at me, if I’m being honest. But…you kinda learn to ignore it after a while and just do your own thing. Shouldn’t we be allowed to enjoy our night, even if we get weird looks for it?”

For the first time that evening, [Y/N] felt confident. Not drastically more confident than before, but Boscha’s words got the gears in her head working again after being rusted with stress and tears. She had been so distraught by the whole incident that she hadn’t been able to think logically about how she still deserved a good night.

Maybe dancing with Boscha that night would make up for it.

She glanced down for a moment in thought. At length, she looked up again and smiled with excitement. “Yeah, you know what? Let’s do it!”

At that, Boscha laughed and pumped her arm triumphantly the way she did when she won a Grudgby match. She stood and offered her hand for [Y/N] to take, hoisting her up to stand in front of her when she did. [Y/N] pocketed her phone, giggling as Boscha tugged her forward towards the auditorium with a newfound pep in her step. The two laughed the entire journey there, Boscha’s hand never leaving [Y/N]’s.

Before they made it, they stopped and glanced at each other to suck in a quick breath, steeling their nerves and grinning as they walked inside. Boscha was quick to bring her over to her friend group, introducing her to the others and explaining what had happened–first asking [Y/N] and confirming that it was okay to talk about the situation. They seemed confused, but ultimately were glad that the two of them had found a way to improve what they went through.

They smiled and waved at them as they headed to the dance floor, Boscha hugging [Y/N] tightly against her as they swayed to the beat of the song. As they circled the others, occasionally having to apologize as they bumped into a couple here or there, they kept their eyes trained on one another, warmth growing in their chests as they studied the smallest features.

Boscha watched in awe as [Y/N]’s eyes squinted shut tight enough for the bridge of her nose to crinkle slightly with every wide smile and laugh. She could swear that she’d catch [Y/N]’s [h/c] eyes flickering down to her lips when she’d crack another joke.

[Y/N] noticed with pure glee that not once did Boscha’s eyes leave her own. Her third eye seemed to focus on her the most, seemingly showing what the witch was truly thinking in that moment as its pupil overtook the majority of the iris.

By the time Grom royalty headed to the arena, once everyone parted to sit in the bleachers of course, Boscha and [Y/N] were in tears. They were glad, however, that they were from the constant laughter they shared rather than from the initial heartbreak they experienced merely two hours ago. They waited until everyone was settled and focused on the fight before sneaking out and jogging out the front doors, laughing all the while.

Finally, the two of them made it outside, a good distance away from the building. They fell to the floor in yet another fit of giggles, struggling to gasp for breath as they added on to the previous jokes. [Y/N] playfully reached over far enough to smack Boscha on the shoulder, snorting in the process and laughing even harder at the sound. “Boscha, stop it! I can’t breathe!”

They continued like that for a while until the jokes settled down. They snickered occasionally, but sighed once they were able to calm all the way down. As [Y/N] let her hands move up to swipe the stray tears from her face, Boscha couldn’t help but stare with a smile that could only be described as smitten or lovestruck. How had she never met this girl before tonight? She was so carefree and warm. They had only spent the past few hours together, but in that time, in between all of the playful banter and dancing, they had learned so much about each other. It felt like they had known each other for so long.

Like they were old, close friends.

Although the mere thought of her ex-date was painful, she was a thing of the past at that moment. She was able to keep her mind clear with [Y/N], and she wondered if it was because they knew what the other had been through, or if it was because they had actually managed to grow pretty close in such a short amount of time. Either way, she was grateful that they had met. Maybe she was being too bold, but she felt like this wasn’t just going to be something that lasted for one night.

As cheesy as it sounded, she had never felt that way before. Usually, she only spent time with people if she pitied them or wanted to leech off of their status. With [Y/N], however, she wanted to spend time with her because it felt right–it felt natural. It wasn’t a forced formality like what she had had with Amity. It was genuine. There didn’t seem to be any kind of ill-intent or fake gentleness that she sensed with others.

She couldn’t recall the last time she was able to laugh like they had together, or even when she was able to talk so casually about things she could remember from her past–the memories that brought joy and didn’t have to make her look good, anyway.

It was an amazing, freeing feeling that she never wanted to let go of. She told herself, no matter what anyone else thought, she’d make sure this continues. Just looking into [Y/N]’s eyes as they talked told her that she didn’t want this to end either.

“You know, as weird as it sounds, I’m actually kinda glad we were ditched tonight,” [Y/N] admitted softly. Almost immediately after, she covered her face and laughed anxiously. “Oh god, that really did sound horrible. That’s not what I meant by that at all.” Boscha chortled and shook her head, letting the back of her knuckle tap [Y/N]’s arm. “No, it didn’t sound bad at all. I know what you mean. I feel the same way. I mean, if that hadn’t happened, we wouldn’t have met, and…well, even if our dates had both shown up, I don’t think we would’ve enjoyed the night.

“Not to assume anything, but it seems like my date tonight wasn’t the only asshole in this situation. Whoever ditched you didn’t realize what they were losing.” [Y/N] rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her arm to gaze down at Boscha, a confused grin toying at her lips. “What are you talking about? I’m not much of a loss.” Boscha rolled over as well, though she stayed solid against the ground, peering up at [Y/N] from below. “You are so. You’re amazing. They don’t know what they’re missing.”

Again, a soft, confused chuckle sounded from [Y/N]. “C’mon, Boscha. You don’t know that. I mean, we just met, for god’s sake.” At that, the three-eyed witch finally sat up to make direct eye contact with her. “Well, yeah, maybe. But I can already tell how incredible of a person you are. Not once during this entire night have you judged me for anything. You’ve made it clear that you’re attentive and aren’t selfish. I just…I hope I don’t come across as selfish to you. It would honestly surprise me more if you didn’t think of me that way, actually. I’m not exactly the most compassionate witch.”

[Y/N] scoffed and scooted over to gently bump her shoulder against the other girl’s. “What? Are you crazy? Of course you’re compassionate.” “Huh?” “Boscha, all you’ve done since we’ve met is make sure I’m happy. You’ve cracked jokes nonstop to make me laugh. I probably would’ve still been in that hallway crying right now if you hadn’t checked on me to make sure I was alright. And you didn’t just ask if I was okay and then move along when I said I wasn’t. You sat with me and helped me talk things through until I really was.

“And then you convinced me to save the night by going back into the auditorium and enjoying the dance, even after all that had happened. I don’t think I’ve had this much fun since…well, ever, actually. You made tonight worth it. I loved being able to meet you and spend time with you.”

Boscha could only gawk at her in awe. No one had ever thought that way of her–not in a genuine way that they would actually admit aloud. It brought forth a new feeling that she had no idea how to process. As far back as she could remember, people would stare at her with pure fear or disgust. But now, as she looked up and gazed into [Y/N]’s eyes, all she could see was admiration. And from what had just been said, it seemed that admiration stemmed from affection rather than terror.

She couldn’t think of anything to say for a long while, and she could see [Y/N] growing unsure of herself.

“I loved spending time with you too,” she finally whispered at length. After a moment or so, she steeled her nerves and gently took [Y/N]’s free hand into her own. She glanced down and watched as she let the pad of her thumb gently caress the back of her knuckles. “And I really hope I get to spend more time with you in the future.” She tried her best to glance back up to gauge her reaction, but her eyes averted that direction each time and settled back down at their connected hands.

The soft blades of grass that were once comforting merely minutes ago now made her exposed skin burn and itch uncomfortably as she shifted around, unable to sit still and maintain her composure.

“I’d love that,” was her response after a while. Finally, she managed to glance back up, her breath shuttering as she studied the breathtaking smile that graced [Y/N]’s lips. Her face brightened at the answer, turning a soft shade of red. “Really?”

“Yes.”

She knew then, at that very moment, that everything that had happened was for a reason. She never thought she’d be thankful for the fact that someone had ditched her, but she knew she never would’ve met [Y/N] otherwise. Likewise, she never thought she’d think of anything other than showing off to others about what she had achieved. She figured she would’ve wanted to take the best possible photo with the other girl to post online–a silent jab at her ex-date from that night. She thought she would’ve used PDA as a way to “claim what’s hers,” but none of that ever happened.

It was a few weeks after the two started dating–at a much later date, of course–that she finally posted something relating to her relationship. There were no undertones of bitterness towards her ex, nor were there any mentions of being controlling or overprotective of her girlfriend. Instead, she showed off her favorite videos and photos she had taken during their first few dates with pride, simply feeling honored to be able to show off the girl she loved most of all.

She didn’t want the world to think that [Y/N] was hers.

She wanted to show that she felt lucky to have her.

She wanted to make [Y/N] feel like the most beautiful girl in the world.

To give her everything she deserved.

To help her see that just by being herself, she was worth everything.