#i think eda is more afraid of king and luz leaving her than something bad happening to them

[mmikmmik2]

Owl House season one Mediocre Parent Eda Clawthorne is so real and so underrated. She does so much child endangerment. She has multiple "oh whoops, yeah, I guess I haven't actually been teaching you anything" moments with Luz. When Eda misses the bell ringing in Understanding Willow, Luz says "yeah... she is not super reliable". Eda called King her roommate. He's based his entire self-image on the outright lies she's been telling him about his past for years. Eda loves King and Luz, she takes care of them, she's good for them, she wouldn't actually let them (or any kid, I think) get seriously hurt, but it takes her time to step up as a really great parent and that's not where she's at throughout most of S1.

This is way more interesting and complicated than Eda being a good parent all along who just got a little more openly affectionate over time. Eda talking about how much Luz improved her life in Agony of a Witch and Separate Tides wasn't just lip service - Eda had serious problems. There's a lot going on with how she kept pushing people away and refusing to admit that anyone is important to her. And I mean, no wonder - as soon as she let herself acknowledge that she's a mother in Eda's Requiem, she opened herself up to all the pain and fear of possibly losing those relationships.

[drabbles-of-writing]

Stitched Back Together

AO3

first Owl Fight attack, woo! The prompt for this one was “Luz and Raine hanging out”

Summary: Free of Kikimora's control, with scars carved into their skin, Raine is taken back to the Owl House. Awake in the middle of the night, unable to sleep after their whole ordeal, they officially meet Luz. Talking to one of Eda's kids really shouldn't be as intimidating as it feels.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

When Raine first saw the kids, truly and consciously, there were thorns retreating from their eyes and scars etched onto their skin as Eda held them tightly.

Eda’s sclera had turned black, hands hooked into talons with wings arched over their heads, and was at least two feet taller than when they had last seen her. And there had been a lot to ask about there, and possibly some gawking, but this isn’t about that.

Because as soon as Raine could stand, Eda holding their hands tightly and almost brought to tears at how relieved she was to see them alright, to know there would be no more harm done to them, Raine noticed the two figures far across from them, holding back the few guards trying to intervene.

They recognized them quickly, from the photo that had twisted a hole into their chest, because Eda had kids and she had spoken of them with such desperation and love--

The girl had turned, and Raine knew then they hadn’t been imagining the round ears when they first saw the photo. She had the young demon they recognized earlier clinging to her back, and they both looked at Raine with confusion. The demon’s had been accusatory, but the humans, she had to be a human, looked nothing but curious.

It had all passed by in a blur, the escape from the guards and Eda bundling them into the Owl House, frantic as she continued to check them over, never slowing in her talking as the wings and sharp edges retreated back into her body, which Raine may have quietly mourned the loss of. They suited her.

The human and demon had watched from the background, occasionally offering assistance towards or around the two, but more or less giving them space as Eda fretted and explained all she could to Raine, clinging like she was afraid if she didn’t, Raine would vanish again.

They heard of what Kikimora had done to them, of what Belos had done to them, of what they had done. Of Eda’s acceptance of the curse, of the rest of the BATs being in the Conformatorium (something they both agreed on fixing as soon as they could), of everything that Eda could think to catch them up on.

There would be time to unpack all of that, to formulate plans, to talk about everything beyond what Raine had missed out on. But that could wait until another day, could wait until Raine had gotten rest, and a moment to reorient themselves.

And yet, they still found themself in Eda’s kitchen, nearing midnight, with a cup of tea that looked suspiciously like the one Lilith had liked in their hands.

They knew they should be asleep, it was late, and knowing Eda, there would be far more to fret about in the morning. Eda had offered her nest, but Raine had taken the couch, not exactly willing to voice their opinion on how Eda’s nest did not look comfortable.

They were thankful for it later, too, when they awoke after barely an hour of sleep with the feeling of vines wrapped around their throat and muffled, begging cries as their hands moved of their own accord.

They sighed and slumped against the counter, setting down the cup for a moment to rub at their wrist, where scars from the reaching thorns still lay. They faded the further the scars stretched up their body, but they figured the ones along their wrist and arm would last for the rest of their life.

It wasn’t too bad, a scar was really the best thing they could’ve asked for. They stared down at their tea, thoughts swirling and not even bothering to try and sort any of them out. Later, when their wrist didn’t have a phantom ache.

“Oh, hey.”

Raine startled, almost knocking their cup over as they whirled their head around.

The human stood in the doorway, looking a bit surprised at Raine’s reaction. She had clearly just woken up, hair a frizzy mess and eyes still blinking with sleep.

“Oh, um, hello.” Raine said, forcing themself to relax. “Sorry, is there something you need?” They asked, wrapping a hand around their tea.

“I just came here for a snack,” The human shrugged, breezing right by the counter and towards the cabinets. 

Raine nodded, mostly just to themself, and went back to staring into space, trying to pretend the awkward tension hadn’t suddenly arisen.

They realized after a moment that the girl had paused in what she was doing, hand still in the cabinet door, but taking nothing out. They looked up for a moment, and caught the girl watching them with a contemplative look on her face until she realized she had been staring and jerked back to shuffling through the cabinets.

“So,” Raine said, in some attempt to break the tension, leaning their arms across the counter. “You’re Eda’s kid?” They said, grimacing slightly at how off that had come off sounding.

“Er, yeah,” The human said, frowning at the cabinet before shutting it again and opening a different one. “And you’re...Raine.”

“You’ve heard of me, then?” Raine guessed, taking a sip of their tea.

“Vaguely,” The human admitted, opening another cabinet door. “I know you’re--er, were, the head of the Bard Coven. I know Eda mentioned some group called the BATs you lead. I know that...Eda knows you.” She said, voice becoming more mumbly as she spoke.

“Ah, Eda didn’t speak of me much, then?” Raine inquired, telling themself that they shouldn't really be surprised.

“Not until you, uh, had the whole...thing happening.” The girl nodded. “Then Eda got really worried and me and King asked why she was so worked up, and then she told us you were an old friend, which I maybe halfway trust, and that you had this group with the BATs...and I still don’t think I understand it completely.” She admitted with a sheepish look.

“Sounds like Eda.” Raine chuckled, shaking their head slightly as they smiled down at their tea. “Wait, halfway trust?” They added right after, back straightening.

“I mean, I trust you mean a lot to Eda,” The human said, her raiding of the cabinets forgotten. “And I trust Eda means a lot to you,” Raine did not flush at that, thank you. “But pretty much everyone Eda knows she has a very complicated relationship with, and I’d be surprised if you were the one exception.”

“Ah,” Raine said, rubbing the back of their neck. Is this what it felt like to be interrogated by a kid? “You got me there. We haven’t...seen each other in a while.” They admitted.

“How long?” The human asked, interest sparking in her eyes as she leaned next to the cabinets.

“Erm, two...maybe two and half decades?” Raine said, lifting a hand and tilting it. “Titan, it sounds much longer than it feels when I say it out loud.” They murmured.

“Oooh, another piece of the mysterious backstory!” The human grinned, perking up, all the hesitation from earlier melting away at a probably concerning speed. “Why’d ya stop talking?”

“Ah, well, you know,” Raine said, flushing again as their ears pressed back. “Just...a split, really. Seeing other people. Eda had some things she still needed to work out, and I suppose I had to reflect a bit, too.” They mumbled.

“Wait,” The girl narrowed her eyes, and when Raine focused on where she was again, they pulled back when they realized Luz was on the other side of the counter. “Are you one of her exes?” She gasped, eyes wide.

“Oh dear,” Raine sighed, face falling in their hands.

“You are!” The girl exclaimed, and they sincerely hoped it didn’t wake anyone else up. “Man, and I thought all her exes hated her from how she talked about some of them.” She whistled. “Explains a bit, though.”

“Is that so?” Raine mumbled, knowing that they were blushing up to their ears.

“Yeah, I mean, explains why she seemed so freaked out. She's gotta know you pretty well.” The human said casually. “She goes all out when she gets attached, as I’m sure you know.” She added with a light tease.

“Oh, I know.” Raine sighed, memories of holding back a feral Eda back in Hexside from mauling Odalia still vivid in their mind. “And, since we’re talking, I apologize, but,” They said, raising their head from their hands when they were sure they didn’t look like they’d had a nasty sunburn across their face. “I don’t believe I...caught your name.”

“Eda didn’t mention it?” The human blinked, graciously taking the change in conversation.

“She might’ve, but I’ll be honest, I caught maybe two of every five words she said.” Raine admitted, flicking an ear. “I’m sorry, but I figure I should ask now before it turns into something where I ask at a much worse moment.”

“Ah, don’t worry about it,” The human waved her hand. “You went through a lot. My name’s Luz.” She said cheerfully, offering a hand. “The other little guy is King.”

Raine blinked at it for a moment before reaching out and taking it, giving a single shake until Luz pulled back. She was practically rocking on her heels from how excited she seemed, and Raine may have allowed a small half-smile in return.

“Have you lived with Eda long?” Raine asked, because they could still remember Eda’s pained explanation that the kids weren’t hers hers, and found themself wondering where in the world she had picked up a human.

“Few months,” Luz said. “Four, maybe? I dunno, the calendars here are different from the human realm.”

“Four months?” Raine blinked, surprised. “I would’ve thought you’d known her longer.”

“Nah, I’m just a recent addition.” Luz shrugged, looking away with a hint of nervousness. “King’s been here for years, though.”

“Huh, odd.” Raine said with a shrug as they went back to drinking their tea. “You act a lot like her, I would’ve thought you’d have picked up those habits from her.”

“I do?” Luz repeated, straightening.

“Yes?” Raine lowered their cup. “When she was younger, at least. Very curious, couldn’t leave any questions unanswered. And stubborn. And maybe a little too attentive for her own good.” They added with a lighthearted tone.

“Oh, yeah, that-that sounds familiar.” Luz coughed into her fist, and Raine smiled at her embarrassment. “You knew her when you were younger, then?” She asked, and Raine chose not to comment on the slight diversion in conversation.

“Since Hexside,” Raine nodded. “I want to say we were eleven or so? Maybe twelve. Never had a moment of peace since.”

“Aw, Eda’s backstory just keeps getting more and more convoluted. At least yours isn’t as crazy as Lilith or her moms. Even after the whole mind-control thing.” Luz said with a fiery curiosity in her eyes, and Raine was impressed at their lack of visible reaction to how casually Luz brought up the mind-control. Another thing like Eda, Raine thought. No amount of answers would be satisfactory, and treated every odd thing like it was just another day.

“Well, I’m glad I got her daughter's approval. Wouldn’t want to fight my way in now, would I?” Raine chuckled, tilting their cup back and finishing the last of it.

When they lowered their cup again, Luz was staring at them like a spooked rabbit, hands gripping the counter. They blinked slowly, brow raised in confusion.

“I-I’m not,” Luz stuttered, coughing to clear her throat and forcibly releasing the counter. “I’m not her daughter, you thought I was her daughter?”

“You aren’t?” Raine frowned, ears perking up. “But you said you were her kid.”

“That’s--I thought you meant--like when Eda just casually calls me and and King kids, or when I’m out with my friends and she’s watching us we’re just ‘her kids,’ you know?” Luz said, looking a little frantic as she did so, wildly waving her hands around. “Not--no I’m not, related to her or anything--”

“Oh, I knew that.” Raine brushed it off. “But Eda told me you and King were her kids?”

“I--when did that happen?” Luz asked, near sounding like a demand.

Raine hesitated, for a brief moment. They doubted someone like Eda would so casually tell a teenager and young demon about that time she, you know, almost died, and it really wasn’t their place to tell them as such if she hadn’t.

“The last time we spoke.” They settled on. “Before the...thing.” They said, mimicking Luz’s words from earlier. “I learned she had kids, and I told her that if she had something to lose, she had to get back to them.”

“I...oh.” Luz said quietly, slowly relaxing and turning her head down to stare at the counter.

“I’m…” Raine hesitated. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to overstep, I didn’t know it was a touchy subject--”

“No, no! It’s not, you’re fine.” Luz waved them off. “I just...didn’t know Eda had said it like that.”

Raine would’ve thought something along the lines of ‘Eda didn’t tell you she thought of you as her kid?’ if they didn’t know that Eda was the same person who hadn’t even truly thought of them as dating until Raine had introduced her as their girlfriend with earshot. She’d been so touched over the whole ordeal that Raine had to remind her, repeatedly, that they had been dating for over a month. Apparently knowing, and having a title for it, were two very different things.

They wouldn’t be surprised if this kid was the same. 

“She cares about you, you know that, right?” Raine asked softly, and Luz looked up to meet their eyes.

“Yeah,” She said, cracking a small smile. “I know.”

Raine nodded in satisfaction, stepping around the counter to set their cup in the sink. It was late, they could wash it in the morning. How Eda could've ever thought about leaving a kid like her, they don't think they'd want to know.

“She cares about you, too.”

Raine paused, going still as one hand lightly gripped the edge of the sink.

“I know,” They said, almost surprised that they believed it so easily, inhaling as they set their shoulders back. “It’s almost scary how little that seems to have changed.” They mumbled.

“For the both of you, huh?” Luz teased.

Raine whirled around, ears pressed back as their face lit up again, being greeted with the girl's smug face that she had to have picked up from Eda, it was almost uncanny. 

“I--you--she just--there was--shouldn’t you be asleep at this hour?” Raine managed to strangle out, getting a gleeful giggle out of Luz as they did so.

“I got hungry,” Luz shrugged simply, her smug expression never falling.

“Then grab a snack and go to bed.” Raine huffed, crossing their arms, as if that would hide the embarrassment as they stepped aside.

“I will, once I find where Eda put the cookies. She keeps hiding them from King and doesn’t tell me where she put them.” Luz muttered, stepping up to the cabinets again and opening a new one.

“I think that means she’s hiding them from both of you.” Raine raised a brow.

“She should find better hiding spots, then.” Luz said, retracting a hand from the cabinet with a container full of cookies in her hand, shaking them. “Cover for me if she asks why some went missing?” She asked, a pleading look on her face.

“I’ll cover you if one goes missing.” Raine bargained, and Luz gave them a disgruntled look before sighing and taking a single cookie from the container.

“Can’t believe you.” Luz huffed good-naturedly, putting the cookies away.

“Just because you're Eda’s kid doesn’t mean I’m going to let you get away with everything, Titan knows how Eda would’ve ended up if that happened.” They muttered, shaking their head. “I fear the day you and Amber meet.”

“Who?” Luz tilted her head, taking a large bite of her cookie.

“One of my crew, she’s about your age.” Raine said simply. “I think you’ll get along. Now go, shoo, I’m willing to bet tomorrow will be quite hectic, and you need your sleep.” They said, herding Luz out of the kitchen.

“I’m going, I’m going!” Luz said, smiling as she lightly batted at Raine’s hands, darting out of the kitchen. “Remember, you saw nothing.” She warned, walking backwards as she narrowed her eyes on Raine.

“Lips are sealed, I was fast asleep the whole night.” Raine said, leaning against the doorway to the kitchen. “Though I figure she’ll find out, anyway.”

“Yeah, but I’ve got backup now.” Luz said, shoving the last half of the cookie in her mouth before slipping away through the doorway that led to the staircase.

Raine chuckled, shaking their head as they pushed themself off of the doorway. They should probably hit the couch again, too. Eda would only fret more if they were falling asleep all day tomorrow.

“Oh, almost forgot!” Luz said, head suddenly poking through the doorway and causing Raine to pause. “Welcome to the Owl House,” She said cheerily. “Since I take it you’ll be staying a while.”

Raine’s ears flicked back and they mumbled under their breath as Luz’s smile only widened, and Raine couldn’t help but mirror it.

“Night!” She chirped, vanishing around the corner yet again.

Raine watched the place where she’d vanished again, rubbing their wrist and noting it didn’t ache as much as before. 

“Goodnight,” They said to the empty air.

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" from The Owl House

Wow. They are really pushing it for that secret message, huh?

Anywho--Salutations, random people on the internet who certainly won’t read this! I am an Ordinary Schmuck. I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

I think it goes without saying at this point that Season Two of The Owl House is setting itself up as a season without filler. Now, filler episodes aren't always bad. Yes, it hurts when a series turns away from the main plot for a week. But at best, they're utilized as a chance for the writers to play around with the characters and developing said characters without it relating to the overarching story. So, some people who see that consider it a bad thing that a series doesn't have that many filler episodes.

I like to call those people: F**king morons.

Don't get me wrong, I see where some of you are coming from. And I'd be willing to agree...if The Owl House was a plot-driven series. Which it's not. It is a character-driven series. Because for every plot thread and narrative that the show presents, they always relate to the characters and develop them further each time these threads get brought up. For example, look at "Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty's Door" (It pains me just to write that). Several narratives move forward, and it’s all done to make the characters grow. And to explain how requires going into spoilers. So keep that in mind as you continue reading.

Now, let's review, shall we?

WHAT I LIKED

Hooty: Might as well start with the character that this episode is about.

To tell you the truth, I wasn't a huge fan when I found out we're getting a Hooty-centered episode. I've grown to love him over time, but he is a comedic character that's best used in small doses. Primarily due to how his voice is grating to me (My ears are still bleeding...). With that said, I do really love his contributions in "Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (Seriously, there couldn't have been a less awkward title?). Hooty's antics when trying to help everyone are as hilarious as they are heartwarming. He deeply cares for his friends but just doesn't understand how his plans could do some unintended harm, which is pretty lovable if you ask me. We also get some surprisingly great insight into his character, as he feels insecure about basically being the comic relief who doesn't really do that much other than being funny. Rarely do you get that level of dimension from a comedic character, and it's even more uncommon for that to work out as well as it does here. It once again proves just how competent the writing is in this series to the point where we get an episode about Hooty, and it's funny and heartwarming instead of being annoying. And whoever is responsible for that, you're the best.

Lilith’s Letter to Hooty: I mean it when I say that I love how Lilith kept her word about her and Hooty becoming penpals. Their friendship was something I would have never expected to love, and I'm still shocked that it works so well, so seeing it continue like this just warms me to the bone. Plus, it is pretty sweet that Lilith's kind words are what inspired Hooty to do what he's done in this episode...meaning it's Lilith we should thank here--SON OF A WITCH! Even when she's gone, she's still working her way into my heart!

King going through Puberty: What?! KING IS EVOLVING!

(There, I made a Pokemon reference. Do I get my cookie now?)

Eda Keeping Herself Awake to Train Herself: I'm willing to bet a large sum of money that this has everything to with Raine getting captured last week. If Eda was still the most powerful witch in the Isles, she might have actually saved them. But she isn't, and now the love of her life is in the clutches of a tyrant planning something that could potentially be the end of everything. So I can understand Eda pushing herself to her limit to get back on top again, as I would probably do the same. It's not healthy in any way, and Eda would be doing more harm than good. But when it comes to the people you love, logic doesn't always win out in the end.

Luz Wanting to Make her Way into Amity’s Heart by Making the Echo Mouse Happy: ...That's it. I Just...I just love everything about it, ok?

This was also when I knew that I was wrong to doubt that there would be zero Lumity in this episode. I realize my follies now, and I humbly apologize.

Hooty Teaching King About Demons: This was so funny. So, so funny. Probably doesn't come as a surprise, especially since The Owl House proves itself as a comedy before, but the jokes have never hit as frequently and as hard as they did here. From Hooty getting offended by King's dance to him and Dana's insert wanting a "DNA sample," everything managed to successfully make me lose my s**t. It does come at the expense of King suffering, but I can stomach that much more than if it were Eda or Luz. And, as a bonus, we get lore about how demons work, added with another great joke of King getting in trouble with Hooty for saying he already knows this stuff. Humor isn't always the show's strong suit, but when it works, it f**king works.

King Wanting to Know What he Is: But despite how funny King's vignette was, we still get to see more of his character grow. We learn that he's frustrated now that there's this big question mark over his life now, feeling extra angry that his father "abandoned" him to leave such a present mystery. It shows the hidden resentment he has that Lilith inadvertently brought out, made even worse when King's father hasn't responded to the video yet. King hasn't really gotten that much development until "Echoes of the Past," so it's pretty cool that the writers haven't really slowed down on it. Especially when it leads to these great moments of King venting his frustrations.

King’s Shouting Powers: KING learned FUS RO DAH!

(And now that's a Pokemon reference AND a Skyrim reference. WHERE'S MY GOSH DANG COOKIE!?)

Eda’s Nightmare: If King's vignette hits you hard with the laughs, Eda's will absolutely hit you harder with the feels (never make me say "feels" unironically again). Knowing that Eda's life got thoroughly screwed over by the curse is something we could figure out on her own. But seeing just how much the curse ruined her life and tore apart relationships that mean the world to her really does a swell job at ripping apart the soul. What's even more tragic is, technically speaking, it's all sort of Eda's fault too. She kept hiding the curse, refusing to be a burden to others who would do all they could to help. If she had only been open and honest, things probably wouldn't have changed much, but they most likely would have been better than they are now.

Eda Attacked her Father as the Owl Beast: ...I don't know what I was expecting when "Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances" hinted that there was some possible tension between Eda and her father...but it definitely wasn't this.

The fact that we see blood where his eye used to be doesn't make things any happier, either.

Raine Broke Up with Eda: Before we get into anything else, let's celebrate the fact that it's now confirmed that Eda and Raine really did use to date in the past. Because this show is just f**king phenomenal with its LGBTQA+ representation!

But, seriously, this is a fantastic reveal that goes far beyond just shipping...well, sort of. It shines a new light on Eda and Raine's interactions from last week, revealing that while they're not a couple anymore, they still very much love each other. It helps make their last interaction especially tragic, as they were both on the same page now and could very well be together again. Only for them to be forced apart for the second time in a way that's much worse than the first. And I frickin' adore that this series changes the impact of one episode one week later. Again, it shows just how competent these writers are, and kudos to them for making something so...perfect.

The Moon Person: WHO THE FU--Nope. Nope! We have more than enough mystery bulls**t to deal with through CreepyLuz and Philip Wittebane, so I am PUTTING YOU ON THE BACKBURNER FOR NOW!

(They're probably nothing more than a one-off character, anyway)

The Owl Beast and Eda are Connected: Through visuals alone, we, the audience, can clue into what the curse really means. The Owl Beast doesn't want to be a part of Eda as much as she doesn't want it to be a part of her. Whether they like it or not, and they very much don't, they're stuck together. The thing is, and this is what I love the most, they still decide to make the best of their situation rather than let it ruin their lives even more. This might be the best possible turn Eda's curse could have made. It'll still affect her, and there are probably more negatives than positives, but at least now, it's not the worst thing in the world. And I feel like that's all anyone can ask when in a position like her own.

Eda's “Pretty Dream”: I don't know what emotions are toiling inside me more with this moment. Awe and wonder over how beautiful Eda's dream is, or heartbreak over the implication that she has only had nightmares since getting cursed...I'm gonna say both. Yeah, it's definitely both.

Eda’s Harpie Form: Well, fan artists are gonna have a field day with this...especially the freaks.

(You know who you are. And you're weird!)

Luz Calling Amity a “Cotton-Candy Haired Goddess”: ...Have I ever mentioned how much I love this show?

Hooty Kidnapped Amity: ...Hooty, if your stupidity wasn't charming, I would be more than willing to call the authorities over how you kidnapped a girl in your version of a knapsack and locked her in the basement. For that is going to ring SO MANY alarm bells in people's heads.

Amity and Luz Stuck in a Tunnel of Love: *Smacks lips* Mmm. The adorable awkwardness of this moment is just *chef's kiss* magnifique!

Luz being afraid of getting made fun of:

Amity’s look of hope: I mean...just...f**king--LOOK AT HER:

That is the look of a girl who, while embarrassed as hell, still is ecstatic to learn for a brief moment, everything that she is hoping for has a high chance of being real. Who, in their right mind, wouldn't go "Aw!" at something so pure and innocent?!

Luz Destroying the Tunnel of Love: This is how to effectively utilize dramatic irony. The audience can understand why Luz is tearing the place apart because she explicitly states that she's afraid of Amity rejecting her in the end. They also know that's bogus, thus making it extra painful to watch Amity's heart break more and more with each second (which is perfectly represented through Amity's expressions). You feel bad for both of them, and even worse when you know that it can easily be prevented by the simple art of communication. That's what makes it great dramatic irony. Knowing the point of view of each character results in a scene that evokes emotions in two different ways.

Hooty’s Breakdown: This was...genuinely hard to watch. Not that it was badly written, far from it. It just...hurt seeing how destroyed Hooty was when he realized he failed the people he has such an admiration for. On the upside, a wholesome moment follows soon after as the Owl House gang tries to reassure Hooty that he's done a lot of good that night. It's a pure action that shows even though Hooty gets on their nerves all the time, they still care about him...damn it. I think I'm gonna cry.

Eda’s Advice for Luz: ...Eda...You're the best.

You found out that your surrogate daughter wants to ask a girl out, and not only were you quick to deliver the best possible advice ("Just go for it!"), but you also quickly reassure her that it doesn't need to be perfect.

And you know what? That's it. Eda is the best cartoon mom! She might not technically be Luz's mom, but I don't give a s**t because she is the best!

Luz and Amity Ask Each Other Out: Shh-sh-sh-sh...

Do you hear that?

...

...

...It's the sound of dozens of Lumity fans collectively losing their s**t...and I'm one of them.

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!

HOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!

IT!

IS!

CANON!

AH-HAHAHAHAHA!

HOLY S**T! Holy s**t! Holy s**t...might just be the best way I could possibly describe this! Finally, after all the waiting, speculating, and praying, THESE TWO IDIOTS FINALLY GOT TOGETHER! AND IT WAS PERFECT! I mean, it was awkward as s**t, but that's what makes it perfect! You know why? You wanna--Hey! *snaps fingers*. You want to know why? It's because they're teenagers. Of f**king course, it's going to be awkward! This is their first relationship, so there will be a lot of missteps along the way. And that, in itself, brings me to the best (second best part?) thing about it happening in episode eight of the new seasons. Most endgame couples get together in the climax or even at the end of the series. But to have them get together this early on, means there will be quite a few episodes dedicated to showing them grow as a couple.

And better than that--EVEN F**KING BETTER THAN THAT--dozens of kids are going to see these two, a realistic depiction of young love that just so happens to involve two girls, and are going to learn once and for all that there is nothing wrong with being who they are. That fact alone is f**king incredible. Yes, it sucks that season three got cut short, and we'll have even less time with Luz and Amity, but knowing how many kids have felt seen today almost makes it worth it in the end.

And if I see one mother f**ker saying this was poorly paced, I might just hunt them down for SPORT...Sorry if that was an overreaction. I'M JUST SO HAPPY! Because they're happy! Look at them. Listen to them! It's so...GAH-HAHAHA!

“They’re adorable! And deserve all the happiness!”: You're darn right, Hooty! You're darn right.

King’s Father(?) Shows Up: What the--WHAT?! They're doing this now?! Here?! After everything else?

Oh, man. What could this mean? What dynamic changes will this cause in the main cast? How could the writers fit this in during the next two episodes? And what--

Hooty Eats the Letter: ...Pfffft--HAHAHAHA!

Oh, man...I should be mad, and I wouldn't blame others if they are...but that is too much of a brilliant f**k you that I can't help but appreciate it. Bravo writers. Bravo.

WHAT I DISLIKED

...Dislikes? Dislikes? You would honestly believe that after everything I witnessed in this episode, that I would have the gull to list anything wrong with it?!

HOW DARE YOU ASSUME THAT I WOULD BE SO CALLUS TO--Actually, I do kind of have an issue with the episode's title. It's just too much of an awkward mouthful for me to get behind. I understand that the writers wanted to sneak the K into the secret message, but were there really no other titles starting with K that they couldn't come up with?

But that's just a personal issue, and in no way do I think anybody else would feel the same way. Especially with how well-written everything else is anyway.

IN CONCLUSION

"Knock Knock Knockin' on Hooty's Door" (title aside) is another A+ episode. It was hilarious, heart-wrenching, and downright adorable while keeping me entertained with every minute. I'm sure there are some issues I was willing to ignore due to how expertly written everything else was, but why bother looking for the chinks in the armor when I could just enjoy a perfect episode for being so...perfect! Some of you might be willing to disagree with me, but to that, I say: Don't knock it till you've tried it.

(Now, if you don't excuse me, I'm going to go lie down. It's...It's been a day.)

[ramblingguy54]

Edalyn Clawthorne: A Loner Created Through Tragedy

     Seeing what happened to Edalyn’s father in Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door greatly explains why she looked so saddened by Lilith talking about hanging around their dad more by Keeping Up A-Fear-Ances conclusion. She harbors a lot of guilt in scratching his face up badly from years ago. After an incident like that for someone around an age that young in their life definitely contributed to Eda’s resolve of keeping herself away from others not just solely because of her own ideals about magic and how to properly use it, but also to prevent more people from getting badly hurt because of the owl curse, too. It’s sad to look back on what Lilith said to her mother, “Mom, I heard you, but I couldn’t stop myself.”, because that’s exactly what Eda went through when she attacked her dad. 

     No matter what her father could’ve said it wouldn’t have reached Edalyn, due to not having much experience with controlling the curse at that time. The amount of guilt running through Edalyn’s mind after coming back to her senses must’ve been unbearable as Hell. It’s already bad enough when hurting random people under a nasty spell, but to injure someone who helped bring you into the world? Anyone would want to put a large gap between themselves after such an awful experience of this magnitude. Season 2 of The Owl House has been doing a lot of great things in its story, such as showing more of Eda’s vulnerability being the point of my post I’d like to delve more into about.

     Eda’s development of opening up emotionally more in Season 1 was certainly good, however we didn’t get a real look into what makes Edalyn who she is as a whole. Season 2 has been allowing more in-depth exploration about why she guards herself as frequently as possible from others. It isn’t a matter of, “I like being a loner, who lives by their own rules about how our world operates.”, rather it centers around, “I’m a bad influence and don’t want to hurt others I care deeply about, or even possibly could grow to, because of my cursed affliction.”. Gwendolyn stating her curse was something that should be cut it out if need be certainly didn’t help in contributing to Eda’s loner nature she develop onward. These moments made her feel ashamed as if she didn’t deserve to be apart something greater like a family, having friends, or finding her own respective lover to boot.

     Eda’s long amount of solitude made her into a more powerfully independent and capable person, magically speaking, but it came at a serious cost of something important, one’s own self-esteem. The curse stunted Eda’s emotional growth for a very long while in having to take up the mantle of being unable to face her fears head on. Even in spite of her lesson to Raine about not running away from your own demons, the saying of practice what you preach rang unfortunately true here. Edalyn has been a very closed off person for so many years, where the idea of having to present yourself to someone else, warts and all, scared this witch away into living in seclusion at her Owl House. Despite gaining a family eventually through Luz & King, Eda never told them about her curse until it happened, wasn’t big on showing affection, and struggled with teaching Luz consistently in a good chunk of Season 1.

     Eda’s biggest challenge to overcome has been actually letting people into her life which costed her a healthy social lifestyle, became distant toward the Clawthorne family tree, and resulted in Raine calling off their romantic relationship. They were tired of Eda’s distant attitude in not being able to commit emotionally with expressing more of her compassion, vulnerability, or love either. This is something problematic Eda’s Requiem did explore too when King wanted to speak with Eda, yet she kept on either changing the subject last second, or made up a convenient excuse to hold off on discussing this matter. Edalyn was afraid of change because she had finally become used to King being around for so long. Knowing Luz would have to leave inevitably hurt already, so now finding out King possibly wanted to go find his actual father and stay there with him instead scared Eda outta her mind in facing a reality without the both of them. 

     Change is a word for Eda that’s a thing she never wants to hear. It’s why she makes the decisions that went on to define her serious solitude. Eda is used to being alone without having to rely on much of anyone else, but that doesn’t mean she obviously has enjoyed it, either. Edalyn only lived in seclusion because she thought it was necessary for safety reasons not outta love for a hermit lifestyle. The tragedy of Eda’s personal background is she allowed this curse to rule over her life for those three decades. Now, to be fair, Gwendolyn contributed to Eda’s baggage with viewing her curse as a disgusting attribute does indeed share the blame here in these events, but regardless Edalyn made unwise decisions she clearly regrets. The biggest ones being not letting anyone, as seen with Raine, get closer to her and avoiding changes to a status quo in Eda’s complicated life. What happened to Eda’s dad was obviously not her fault whatsoever, as it was entirely out of her control. However, Eda’s choice to live in seclusion away from many, make things impossible for a healthy honest relationship work with Raine, and running away from King’s possible separation in Requiem’s story paints a different picture on Eda’s loner nature. 

     Eda may try to carry herself as this loner with a sassy attitude, but it’s all just a facade to mask deeper issues of self-esteem, loneliness, and regrets. I find it so beautiful in how she didn’t want Luz running away from her feelings to Amity because she didn’t want her to make the same mistake, like what happened with Raine. Eda let her fear of commitment get to herself and it caused nothing but a mountain of regrets, so she’s correcting this flawed mindset through helping Luz & Amity’s romance. Like, real talk, the way Owl House has explored LGBTQ+ has been simply excellent in building organic romances with Luz/Amity & Eda/Raine, but still giving important development to their characters in making sure their sexuality isn’t the only defining trait they have. That’s been like a pet peeve of mine when incorporating representation for this community of people. I’m all for seeing this kind of equality in fictional entertainment, but don’t make this the only thing that defines their characterization as a whole and Owl House totally understands this about using LGBTQ+ related content.

     Season 2 of Owl House has been greatly expanding upon Eda’s emotional dilemmas around her curse, which I love as it deepens this character’s motivations on bettering herself. Edalyn has become a super relatable mentor figure in these recent episodes taking time to showcase the complexities of Clawthorne’s family dynamic being shaken by Eda’s curse and how she finally comes to term with it here in Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door. Rather than viewing it as a monster to be afraid of, Eda is viewing this creature as another living thing deserving to be treated as an equal and not a threat thanks to the help of those elixirs she drinks on a daily basis. I thought Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door would be a serious comedic breather, but instead it gave us more insight on this cast of main protagonists. Edalyn’s backstory revelations were such an amazing surprise, as I didn’t think we’d be getting to see her father this soon and what caused a big rift between the two, as well.

Knock Knock Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door exceeded my expectations in more ways than one. Season 2 of The Owl House has been continuing to impress me. 

[pyroclastic727]

Luz is kinda right to be oblivious

I know you all are relentlessly teasing Luz for being completely oblivious to Amity’s clear romantic advances. And while you definitely have a point, Luz isn’t entirely wrong to do this. Luz’s assumption that her and Amity are just friends is her way of protecting herself and Amity.

Let’s start by laying out the scenario from Luz’s POV. You’re a human from another realm who visits a magic realm. There you meet a bunch of amazing people, but one lettuce-headed blushy mess sticks out to you. You start doing all these favors for her, things you would only do for Eda and King in the past. She returns a few of them. Then she starts getting comfortable around you, where she feels good enough to hug you and stuff. Well, then there’s this dance, and she doesn’t ask you out, and she feels bad because she’s afraid of being rejected by the person she does want to ask out. 

Well, duh, of course Amity likes her! But Luz has quite a few things to disprove that.

First off, we’ll start with the psychology that makes this possible. (This is what happens when the analysis blog takes a psych class). There’s this thing called confirmation bias, which I’d say a good proportion of you are familiar with. For those that aren’t: if you have a preconceived opinion, you’re more likely to look for things that support that, rather than those that disprove it. Everyone uses this all the time. Usually it’s fairly harmless, but when in the wrong hands, it is a powerful tool that can be used to influence elections and such.

In Luz’s case, her confirmation bias comes from good evidence. Any wlw who has actually lived on Earth knows that it’s dangerous to assume your friend likes you. First off, there’s the selfish aspect of it (you know, the “who am I to assume that I’m cool enough for someone to have a crush on me? You can’t control those things!”). Second, there’s the fact that straight girls on Earth can be very affectionate. One of my straight friends kissed me twice until I asked her to stop because I did not want to fall for her. In Luz’s mind, Amity could easily be one of those touchy straight girls. So of course she’s looking for evidence to stockpile and convince herself that Amity doesn’t like her like that.

And there sure is a lot of evidence to stockpile.

To start with, Luz doesn’t think she knows Amity that well. I mean, the girl has been to Luz’s house twice. They haven’t had a lot of time to spend together. And even their dates have been sporadic: Luz took her top student badge so Amity watched her get dissected, Luz and Amity fought to what should have been their death, Luz almost got Amity killed at the library, Luz almost got Amity’s friends killed at the Knee, Amity almost got Luz’s friend killed, and then they danced. That’s it. As for the rest of Amity’s life...that’s largely a mystery. Luz didn’t figure out that Amity’s parents are abusive until last episode! Amity was actively avoiding her on the first day (hiding out in the halls and such), so who knows what she was doing then? And she spends a lot of time with rich kids: what if one of them was her crush? There’s a lot of Amity’s life that Luz can leave up to her imagination.

Secondly, Amity has shown Luz explicit proof of liking non-girls. Particularly, Malingale the Soothsayer. While their gender was never confirmed, Malingale seems to be male or nonbinary. With Luz, this could be some extra proof of not liking girls.

Okay, well how has she not even noticed all of Amity’s blushing? She has. But here’s the thing about white people: we blush a lot. As a blush-prone white person myself, I will blush when I’m angry, when I’m humiliated, when it’s too hot, when I exercise, when I’m uncomfortable, when I’m insecure...the list goes on. From Luz’s point of view, Amity really has permanent redness. I mean, she’ll hold her breath when she’s angry and her face will go red. She could be always angry to be around Luz. And especially in the past two episodes, whenever she so much as looks at Luz, she blushes. With how red her face is, Luz could even think it’s how her face always is. Or, that it’s a skin condition she got recently. Yeah, a lot of that evidence is grasping for straws, but remember that Luz has confirmation bias working against her.

How about all those times that Amity did heroic things? Luz’s love language is literally acts of service, and Amity has done those several times. Like when she caged Luz because “you’ll only get hurt.” Or when she burst from the trees as the leaves formed a heart around her and T-posed in front of Luz. The truth behind that is that Amity is starting to pick up on how Luz shows affection and is reciprocating it in her attempts to be the type of person Luz can love. But there’s another interpretation, which Luz could easily be using. 

Luz was the one who started the acts of service. She was the one who decided to befriend the Amity, to burst in as Luzura and save her, to say she’s not actually a witch, to save her siblings, to learn an extra spell and be in Amity’s class, to go fix Willow’s memories...the list goes on. So for Amity to reciprocate that? Maybe she’s just making it up to Luz. Amity probably feels bad about all the times she has let Luz be the hero, and wants to make her feel better about it.

Amity has also shown Luz proof of liking another girl. Right before Grom was Understanding Willow, which was an episode about Amity reminiscing over her childhood crush and fixing the damage between them. Sounds like friends to enemies to lovers, the trope that She Ra showed us to be an emotional and rewarding trope. Since Luz is a fanfic type, she could totally be looking for that trope.

And besides, you saw Luz in Willow’s mind. She literally watched Amity and Willow hold hands, gaze into each other’s eyes, apologize, make up, and look like they were going to get married. Sure, Luz wanted to go in there and claim Amity, which is part of why she put her hand on Amity’s shoulder there. But she is big enough to know that when her crush likes someone else, she should back off and support it. She would rather see Amity happy than see Amity with her, if those happen to be mutually exclusive. Which she thinks they are.

Going off that, Amity’s last words before her fear was revealed were a bit suspicious. She said “I’m sorry.” Who the hell would apologize as she was saving her friend?

As audience members, Amity’s reasoning for this is clear to us. She did this because she thought Grom was going to out her in front of everyone. She thought Luz would see her crush and hate her for it. Which makes sense if you assume the point of view of Amity’s repressed self, where her only crush was literally removed by her parents, and proceeded to hate her for years afterwards. If Luz knew that a monster like Amity liked her, she would remember what happened to Willow and cut Amity off like she was a long hairstyle.

From Luz’s point of view, it’s much worse. Deep down, Luz knows that she likes Amity and wants Amity to like her back (although she might not have the words for it). And think about it: if Amity’s fear is romance-related and she’s apologizing to Luz for something, wouldn’t it be for not liking her? From Luz’s point of view, she has been pretty obvious about her crush. She literally risked her life countless times for her. She even faced her worst fear for Amity, even though Eda strongly cautioned her against it. And besides, it wouldn’t even occur to Luz to hate Amity for liking her. So Luz thinks Amity is apologizing because Amity knows that Luz likes her, and she knows that her crush will hurt Luz. That also explains why Luz didn’t recognize her own mudsona: she was looking for someone else’s face to be reflected in it, so she could maybe help Amity by being her wingman.

Also, Luz can’t even stay in the Boiling Isles. Let’s say that everything goes perfectly. Luz falls for Amity, Amity falls for Luz, they date, they kiss, they face the Emperor’s Coven together, they face whoever’s writing notes to Luz’s mom together, they call each other girlfriends...all that won’t last, because Luz has to go home. 

Luz knows this. She already knows that making attachments is bad. That’s why her mom is her worst fear: it means she loses her real mother figure Eda, her best friend King, her love interest Amity, and her friends Willow and Gus. So of course she wouldn’t want to fall in love! She’ll only end up breaking Amity’s heart, and breaking her own. She saw how Amity reacted to having to leave Willow. Do you really think she would do that to Amity?

So can you blame her for the pain in her voice when she said “that’s what friends do?” She knows that’s not what friends do. But she has to put up that wall or risk hurting everyone.

[kraviolis]

sorting the owl house characters into hogwarts houses, because im cringe

luz - ravenclaw

she’s creative and clever and is always searching to learn new things and loves learning just for the sake of learning. shes incredibly witty and quick thinking and open-minded. she’s constantly finding clever, creative, and original ways to solve her problems. she hardly blinked when given the opportunity to learn magic, and only continued to show an intense amount of intelligence and appreciation for academics. shes very resourceful as a human learning magic, finding a entirely new form of magic when it was apparent that she couldnt do it the traditional way. she’s very aspiring, wanting to be a witch and an author since she was very young. she’s very logical about a lot of things, like how it doesnt make sense to not allow witches to study multiple tracks or that people were imprisoned just for being themselves. she’s highly encouraging of individuality which is a lesser known trait of ravenclaw but very important. she can be a perfectionist at times and tended to avoid social interaction so she could persue her creativity. she’s outspoken, an overthinker, and very competitive. i think a lot of people might say she’s a hufflepuff, as she’s loyal and kind and hardworking, but luz values learning and creativity above any of those other things— this is evident, when she makes the decision to stay in the boiling isles to learn magic rather than go home to her mom, thus putting knowledge and creativity over her own family.

eda - gryffindor

she’s not afraid to stand up for herself and others and will never back down from a challenge. she would rather die as herself than live unauthentically. she’s very passionate and empathetic. she’s rebellious against rules that dont make sense to her and cares intensely for her friends and family. she has a strong internal moral code that she sticks to intensely, never straying from it. in the very first episode, she breaks into the conformatorium just to get a paper crown thats important to king. she let raine break up with her because she didnt want to burden them with her curse. she forfeited the match with lily because she knew her sister wanted to be in the emperor’s coven more than she ever did. she’s sacrifices herself for luz & king over and over again because she cares so deeply for her.

king - slytherin

he’s self-centered, smart, arrogant, and highly ambitious. he would do anything to achieve his goals— which was at first reclaiming his throne as the king of demons, and then turned into finding out where he came from. he tried to use luz as a means to reach his goals when he became an author, nearly sacrificing their friendship. he became incredibly loyal to luz after that in the same way he’s loyal to eda, the one who raised him.

(other characters under the cut)

lily - slytherin

it was between this and ravenclaw, because she’s incredibly intelligent and does seem to enjoy learning and has a great mind, she’s also incredibly ambitious and prideful. the deciding factor was that she cursed eda just to reach her own goals. she’s still loyal to eda even when working for belos, which says a lot to how she’s loyal to only a select few people. to her, the ends justify the means (making amity cheat to appear like the better teacher, cursing eda to win the duel, kidnapping luz to get belos to cure eda, losing her magic to help eda)

amity - gryffindor

this one was hard, i swapped between slytherin and gryffindor a lot for her. she’s ambitious and intelligent, but also not afraid to do whats right even if means breaking the rules. she’s self-sacrificing and empathetic and prideful. she ended her friendship with boscha to help luz and willow win. she didnt like luz at first because luz kept cheating and messing up her life, which means she has a strong moral code against cheating and bullies. she’s rebellious in small ways at first but once she started realizing how terrible her parents and belos really were, she pulled away extremely quickly.

willow - slytherin

not surprising, if you take into her account of self-preservation and bending of the rules to suit her ambitions. in the first episode she agrees to cheating just to get ahead in school because she wants to make her parents proud, and in the end she switches to the plants track so to her the ends justify the means. she pulled out of the grudgby game when luz pushed her & gus too far, a perfect example of that self preservation. she has a sense of loyalty that extends to very specific people but she always makes sure those people are taken care of. her parents, luz, gus, and eventually king, eda, and amity, too. she wouldn’t die for them, but she would kill for them.

gus - hufflepuff

sure, he has the ravenclaw curiousity and thirst for knowledge, but he’s very kind, hard working, has a strong inner sense of justice and fairness, and is tolerant of others. he helps mattholomule even if he’d been a jerk before because it was unfair if he didnt. he helps luz break into belos’s castle to find a cure for eda, lets luz borrow his library card to see amity, and hated it when mattholomule tried to lie about the human objects. he knows what it feels like to be left behind and underestimated, so he makes an effort to be kind to others who seem to be in the same boat. he’s very young but already so accomplished which is a testament to how hard he works.

hunter - hufflepuff

this one was HARD. it was either slytherin or this, and a deciding factor for this is the fact that he is self-sacrificing. he sacrifices a lot for other people, even if it doesnt seem like it. in the palisman episode, he sacrifices the palismen getting away despite knowing he would be punished for returning empty-handed. in eclipse lake, he leaves to find the titans blood for belos when he simply could have stayed in the castle and been safe. he’s viciously hard-working, dedicated, and loyal to his family. he lets people’s actions speak for them. he doesn’t immediately judge luz for using wild magic and actually seems interested in it before remembering to be loyal to belos. he’s patient, too, as seen by his interactions with luz. he gets frustrated, sure, but he still works with her. he’s modest about his rank and title, preferring to not flaunt it more than needed. but he does take pride in it. he’s kind in his own way, specifically to belos and lil rascal, but you can see it in his interactions with amity & luz, too. with amity, he empathizes with her and gives her advice that he thinks is true, and offers to dig a grave for her too when its apparent that neither of them are getting any titans blood. with luz, he gives up the palismen and protects her from kikimora. that boy is a hufflepuff for sure.

raine - gryffindor

oh buddy theyre the biggest gryffindor ever. they extremely, extremely brave. they have terrible stage fright and anxiety but they still became head bard, and they still ran an underground resistance group, and they still gave everything up just to help eda. they have a strong sense of whats right and whats wrong and incredible amount of passion, empathy, and integrity. they have a great sense of pride— “How did someone with stage fright end up as Head Witch?” “I’m just that good.”— and are very selfless. they stopped eda from sacrificing herself because they knew her kids needed her more, they sacrificed themselves in eda’s place and gave up everything they had just so eda wouldnt have to.

camila - hufflepuff

she’s extraordinarily kind, even when she’s terrified. she’s accepting and open-minded and hardworking, making sure to show luz that she loves her creativity but still wants to make sure luz can do well in school and can make friends. sometimes you can do something you think is kind but isnt really. she’s also a single mother doing her best to give her daughter a good life, which is a credit to how hard she works and how dedicated she is to her daughter. she even took the day off of work to drive luz to camp because she knew luz was anxious and wanted to reassure her. she’s patient with luz, and even when faced with the scariest moment of her life, she’s still thinking of how luz feels rather than her own fears and anger. she’s very much a hufflepuff in the way that she’s quiet and unassuming but fiercely protective of her family.

vee - slytherin

she’s opportunistic and has a sense of self-preservation. she’d rather save her own skin than do that right thing. she’s cunning, having pretended to be camila’s daughter just to have a place for herself. this isnt a bad thing at all, though. she’s also loyal to camila, who she sees as her family, and even got into a fight with luz over how she treated camila. she still listened to luz and let luz help her so that vee could remain living as luz. she doesnt feel guilty about valuing herself ahead of luz.

belos - ravenclaw

honestly? not a hard decision. he’s smart, sure, but he’s not people-smart. he didnt think lilith would betray him after he admitted to lying about healing eda. he doesnt understand loyalty, not even to those close to him. he’s rational and logical rather than emotional. if the theory that he is philip wittebane is to be believed, then its obvious he has an appreciation for learning and knowledge. belos distinctly reminds me of lockhart, or even quirrell, who were also in ravenclaw. he’s got an arrogance to him that blinds him, believing himself to be the smartest and strongest witch on the isles and thus underestimating others, which will only lead him to ruin.

[beau-draws-and-cries]

Third-first kiss - Raeda oneshot

Summary:   Raine and Eda finally are reunited  

Rating: Teen and up audiences

Tags: Mutual pining, fluff, yearning

AO3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33629347

 Raine wouldn't wake up and that was driving Eda crazy. The tattoo had paralyzed them and to get rid of the red vine-like stuff, they had to scrape the tattoo with fire magic, their wrist still healing from the burn, wrapped in bandages and healing herbs. They briefly woke up when rescued, just to register what was happening and then passed out, to stay 4 days like that, and that was making her bite her inner cheek and lips, walk around the house like crazy and check on them every ten minutes or so.

 When asked about who they were (besides a coven head) Eda just blurted out that they were old friends, but King and Luz obviously caught on something more intimate than that for the way she would touch their cheek and gently rubbed it (then feel bad about it and get away from them for approximately 7 minutes and 34 seconds), and the way she kneeled besides the couch they were in and softly ask then to please, please wake up.

 Eda wouldn't deny she was losing hope over being reunited with them again. Of course she wouldn't get nice things, nothing never worked out for her. She was cursed, not only as the Owl Beast, but to be alone forever, because she just wasn't good enough for things like this. Not good enough to have someone as sweet as Raine with her.

 "Hey, Eda." Luz called her "How are they?"

 "Their breath is steady.... Also heartbeat. But they haven't woken up yet." She muttered, looking at their face. God, they were so lovely without their glasses. They sure got old, but they still were cute (and hot) as hell, Eda hated to admit it. They seemed to get old in a much healthier way than Eda (after all, the curse made her look older than she was) and they still had that spark of life they had when Eda dated them back in their young years.

 God, they were so handsome.

 King sat down beside her, with a book on demonics that Luz checked out from the library for him.

 "We decided to check on them with you! I brought a book."

 Eda sighed, petting King.

 "Thank you, King."

 When the night fell, Luz got her sleeping bag and put it near the couch, and Eda installed her blankets beside her. King cuddled on Luz and fell asleep quickly, and Luz, who had promised to stay awake to make company to Eda, ended up dozing off.

 But Eda couldn't sleep.

 She decided then to talk to the Owl Beast, to make sure they wouldn't freak out and turn into owl beast when Raine eventually ditched them (because that was what Eda had sure about Raine, that after that terrible breakup,they would never love her again) and she would have to be Raine's friend and ex. Agh, thinking about it before didn't make the possibility any better. She closed her eyes.

     Owl beast?     She called, afraid.      Listen, you know Raine. Last time they broke up with us, you freaked out and that made them go away. Raine saying they don't want to be with us isn't the end of the world, ok? Please, let's try to remain calm. I don't wanna lose them again.  

 The owl beast seemed to pay attention. They made an agreeing sound that was a deep snarl, they were talking more lately, even on regular days.

 She ended up dozing off while that, sitting down, with her head near Raine's arm.

 She dreamt of Raine again. The dream was less real than the ones she had drugged, but they were still real enough to make her heart ache at the possibility of being together with Raine again. Now she had her own owlets (adopted, not hers hers, but still her owlets and she would kill for Luz and King), and she dreamt of a calm life with Raine. Maybe even another adopted owlet, if they wished for. She would do anything to make Raine stay, she would be honest at every step she took, she would tell the truth and the truth only, she didn't care what, she would do it---

 There was something playing with her hair when she woke up. She barely registered, thinking it was King.

 "Eda? Is that you?" The voice was hoarse, kinda weird, but Eda would recognize that voice anywhere. She woke up quickly, looking at Raine.

 "Raine?" Her voice trembled with emotion, almost becoming a sob.

 "Good morning, Calamity." They muttered, coughing a bit "Missed me?"

 "RAINSTORM!" She sobbed, jumping on the couch to hug them, ending up on top of a very giggly and blushed Raine "Oh my god I missed you so much I thought I was going to--- I thought I would never see you again, Raine, oh my Titan, I will hug you tight and never let go again." She was interrupted by sobs, Raine hugging back tightly as well, huge tears streaming down their face.

 (The last time she saw tears this size was when they had a fight while drunk)

 But now they were happy to be reunited, and when they stopped the reunion, Eda blushed and got away from them.

 (But not that much, she couldn’t stand the idea of being distant once again. A hand still was on their cheek)

 "Sorry, I got carried away."

 "Hey, it's no problem." Raine muttered, blushed as well.

 (Raine couldn't deny that this was the person he most loved on the world and they would do anything to have her again)

 "Do you need something? Water, food,  violin, to kill who hurted you?" She joked. Old Eda was back, smiling widely and still wiping tears.

 (Gosh, she was so pretty, so breathtaking.)

 "I would like some food and water. I am feeling like the saddest raisin you have ever seen." Raine chuckled, trying to look around. Eda helped them to sit up on the couch, by hugging them and slowly bringing them up.

 (The contact made both blush and Raine was holding back from kissing her)

 Luz woke up during that, and she gasped.

 "THEY'RE AWAKE!" She commemorated it.

 "Awake and apparently alive." Raine smiled, recognizing Luz from Eda's picture. They saw King snoring on her lap. Eda went to the kitchen, to get Raine a decent meal, and came back with what used to be their favorite meal when they hung out together. Raine smiled and took the plate, slowly eating, since they had spent 4 days with food, testing the waters slowly about what would make them feel good or bad. The food was being accepted, apparently, so they kept eating, in silence.

 (Eda couldn’t be more than 10 feet apart for them for too long)

 (Raine wouldn’t stop grabbing Eda’s hand when she was around)

 Slowly, the mood in the house got better. Raine was recovering from being knocked out, slowly going back to stand up and walk around the house. They still used the couch to sleep.

 (But Eda was sleeping on the floor next to them every night)

 King and Luz witnessed the long stares at each other, the soft touches, the tension between the two, something that Luz would call “Pining” from her human fictions, and King thought that was the most annoying thing ever.

 Raine would laugh and Eda would give them the most in love expression ever, then they would blush and look away.

 (They looked like teens having their first crushes)

 Luz and King were just seeing this mutual yearning between the two, which was very fun to watch but was getting embarrassing pretty quickly.

 “Agh, my back.” Eda stretched, making a worryingly loud cracking noise, and Raine rubbed their neck, also trying to get rid of the pain they were having because of the couch. They smiled weakly, having their breakfast.

 “We are getting old.” They said, and King huffed.

 “There are easier ways to sleep next to each other, you know.”

 This made both of them blush, and Eda sipped her apple blood loudly, Raine looked at their breakfast with an entirely red face, trying to make it less noticeable.

 “King.” Eda just said that, as a warning.

 “What? You guys have been on this for 2 weeks, I think Eda’s nest has enough space for two. Then you guys won’t be in pain everyday because of sleeping in places that aren’t made for sleeping.”

 “King we-- Huh, I don’t want to talk about this now.” She was blushing in a deep red tone. Raine quickly got up from their chair, almost knocking over their own mug.

 “S-sorry.” They put the mug on the table again. “Huh, I will be going, uh, STUFF.” They couldn’t talk right, quickly leaving the kitchen.

 Eda sighed, looking at them leaving, still embarrassed.

 “I CAN HELP WITH THE TUNNEL OF LOVE.” Hooty suddenly yelled, making Eda jump on her skin, and blushing more “I AM AN EXPERT ON MAKING PEOPLE DATE.”

 “No! No tunnel of love!” Eda shouted “Last time it almost didn’t go right!”

 “Yeah, it’s better to let them go at their own time.” Luz said, looking at Hooty “Sorry.”

 "It's okay!" Hooty yelled and then left.

 It's not that Eda didn't want Raine. Eda wanted Raine a bit too much, she wanted to kiss them, to cuddle them, to have every inch of them for her and for her only. That was her Rainstorm, and she would do      anything     to get them back.

 Later, Luz said she was going to hang out with Amity, while King was passed out on the couch. Eda was fixing dinner, and Raine was sitting on the kitchen table, and everytime they and Eda crossed their eyes, they blushed and looked away. Hooty appeared on the window, looking at that.

 "You know, my idea of a tunnel of love is still up if you---" Eda didn't let him finish the sentence, quickly closing the window on his face.

 "Those old house demons, am I right?" She let out a shy laugh, red all over her cheeks and now ears too. She was finishing to fry some meat with vegetables and make pasta for them.

 "Yeah, hum, those house demons." Raine muttered, looking at Eda. This took some seconds to end, with both looking away "So, hum, you're a single mom?"

 "Yeah, apparently. After you, no ex wanted a cursed girlfriend, you know." Eda laughed it off, but it really bothered her "I apparently couldn't get pregnant as well, and well, I thought King was a pet at first. He's trying to contact his real family…. Then Luz just came into my life. She still is going to go back to her real mom, but…. I am happy to have them here for the time being."

 Raine nodded, now the self-sacrifice made sense. Many things were spiraling onto his head, Eda would make them dizzy.

 (Like it was the first time having a crush)

 "You know, there's nothing sexier than a single mom." They teased.

 "Is that flirting, Rainstorm? Aren't we too old for that?" She snorted, getting a noodle from the pan to test if it was ready.

 "Just if you are too old for that." They looked at her, dreamy expression and thinking about how they could finally be together, even if they weren't in a relationship.

 "I haven't had a partner for 3 years now, I think I am doing well by myself." She noticed what she said and tried to correct herself. "I mean, I suppose that if someone was really nice, they could stay. I am not set in stone, like you know."

 "Oh, so you're waiting for your enchanted prince?" Raine smirked, playing with some napkins on the table.

 "No! That was when I had like, ten! I have changed since then. But you know me, I…. I always wanted a big family until… This happened." She pointed at the gemstone, which was entirely black "And since I can't use magic anymore, well, things got harder. Luz taught me glyphs, but they aren't as powerful.

 "I can imagine that not being the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles anymore sucks." Raine gave her an understanding look, not pity, but understanding. It made Eda feel safer.

     See, Owlet, we're being comforted. Doesn't that feel good? Doesn't it feel safe?     She silently told the owl beast. She was getting better at talking to them without much effort. And Owlet sounded a lot better than Owl Beast, less scary.

 "Yeah, but I'll fix it as I can, you know? Since Luz and King came into my life, things have gotten better. I am not more mature, and well, you tell me the difference."

 "What's a heart without responsibility?" Raine muttered, smiling "I am so, so happy you have grown as a person."

 (Raine couldn't stop thinking about the when they reunited, while she met the BATs and at some point during the time Eda joined them and Raine wss captured, they ended up making out in some alley, like teens again, hidden, and then they didn't touch the subject anymore)

 "C'mon, not all the credit for me. I learned with you that I shouldn't keep secrets. And talk about stuff." She was finishing mixing the pasta with the sauce, getting it on two plates. "King and Luz had a part in it. I started to deal with the curse better….. And well, now I can turn into Harpy Eda? It's like me but 100% hotter."

 "Woah, I can't even begin to imagine how you would be able to be hotter than you already are." Raine grinned, that was to bring her self-esteem up.

 "Silly witch. I can show you later. When we rescued you, I was like Harpy Eda but I don't think you had the time to see it."

 "Unfortunately, no, I was busy." They joked.

 "Too busy to witness my hottest version? Damn, that must be some serious business." She sat on the table with them, plates ready. Raine thanked Eda for the food, starting to eat slowly, and they ended up in silence until they finished the pasta.

 "Hey, Eda?" They muttered, now red "King is probably right, about the bed thing. Maybe you should go back to using your nest." They took a deep breath, looking at the empty place "And if you don't mind…. Could I sleep with you? I mean that's totally okay if you don't want to and it's totally okay if you think that's too much, I can--"

 "Of course, Rainstorm. Well, a nest isn't a mattress, but…."

 "You say it as we didn't share it like, a million times before." Raine smiled, and they hoped that sleeping on the same bed could end up making them re-tie.

 That was a bad plan, they thought as the sleeping time was almost there. Luz had come back home, rambling about Amity but all that Raine could think was that it was an extremely bad idea to ask Eda to sleep with her. That was the worst idea they ever had and it would blow directly into their face when---

 "Hey, Rainstorm? Are you ok?" Eda asked, worried. They were clenching their fists and entirely red. Luz had moved to her bedroom with King already, saying that she would get ready to sleep.

 "I-- I just was t-thinking…. Huh, I a-asked to sleep with you but n-not that way, I mean, unless you want??? I am sorry sorry I am just an anxious mess!" They hide their face, rubbing their eyes.

 Eda blushed as well. Well, she thought they would just sleep as friends, but now it was more than obvious that Raine was thinking about more than just the friendly cuddling.

 "Raine, it's ok! To be honest, it's cute." She was being sincere, and she took their hands out of their face. "You're cute."

 Raine gently squeezed her hands, looking at her skin. Both had hands that were worn by time and by their experiences. They felt old, but still somehow in a young way. Raine liked to feel the roughness on her hands, and the little scars she had from working as a trash collector.

 "I missed you, Calamity."

 "I missed you too, Rainstorm." She muttered, close to their face. They could feel her breath mixing with theirs and the heat emanating from her skin, that felt so right, their heart skipping a few beats, their mind a mess from many feelings mixed about this.

 They couldn't deny, they      wanted     it. Not like a small desire, but as something taking over their whole body and mind. They      needed     her.

 "Can we go to the bedroom?" Eda whispered. If she was going to have their third-first kiss, she was not going to do it in the living room with Luz's abomination track homework there. It had to be soft and cute. They were finally reuniting after all of those years. It had to be special.

 They silently climbed the stairs, holding hands and giving each other caring looks. Soon, they were in the bedroom, and Eda found pillows for Raine, and laid down on the nest, turned to each other and exchanged tender touches and cuddles.

 "I thought this would never happen." Eda muttered, with a finger going through Raine's arm "When was the last time we laid down in peace? Like, without the lingering feeling of 'this relationship isn't going to last?'. It feels like an eternity."

 "We just pushed that last 2 years because we were afraid of breaking up, didn't we." Raine sighed.

 "I would say that it doesn't matter now…. But it does matter. I am sorry for never telling the truth and pushing you away." Eda whispered, not looking at them "I wanted to protect you, I couldn't understand why someone so sweet as you was with such a monster like me."

 "Eda, you weren't a monster. You were just a hurt person. I felt so bad for abandoning you when  you most needed me…." Raine closed their eyes, trying to control the tears. They felt bad to this day because of it.

 "Hey, hey. It wouldn't be healthy for us to continue going like that, ok? It's not your fault. We grew as people because of that, and… and I think that right now, we can try to build something better." She looked at them, hopeful of a positive reaction. Raine didn't answer, pulling them closer and kissing her like that was the thing they most desired in the world and they would die without it.

 (That was how they felt about it)

 Eda kissed back, surprised but with the same intensity, getting Raine closer, all the closeness didn't seem enough at this moment. That was supposed to be a cute third-first kiss, but Eda didn't mind that it was hungry instead. She discovered she was hungry to have them again as well, she wanted them up close and personal, she wanted everything they had to give, she loved Raine, and Raine loved her and that was the truth and the only thing that existed right now, even the bedroom seemed to disappear around them while they finally got the proximity they yearned for so long.

 When they stopped to catch their breaths, Eda only smiled.

 "Wow."

 "Wow." Raine agreed, blushing and hiding their face on Eda’s chest. Eda cuddled them, grinning ear to ear.

 “So, can I call you my partner?”

 “Only if you accept to be my girlfriend.” Raine muttered.

 What a beautiful way to end their day.

[azulirawrites]

Favors of A. Blight Ch. 1

Rating: High T/Low M Word Count: 2,821 Contains: Mentions of Drug Use and Abuse, Mentions of Child Neglect, Domestic Abuse, Heavily Implied Character Death by Suffocation (You don’t see the death, but you do see the actions leading up to it) Nobody went outside when it rained on the Boiling Isles. To do so was extremely dangerous, even if one had the proper protections. Needless to say, the residents of the Owl House were surprised when Hooty swung open, announcing, “Luz, that mean friend of yours is here! And she brought friends for me!” On the other side of the threshold, only barely inside the barrier Lilith had managed to conjure that afternoon, were the Blight siblings, huddled together, underneath a massive Abomination.

“Amity!” Luz shouted, vaulting off the couch to latch onto her friend, “Are you ok? It’s raining!” She quickly pulled Amity inside, with Amity’s grip on her elder siblings dragging them in after her.

“Baby Blights?” Eda questioned, “What's going on? Did Odalia see sending your kids out to get mauled by the weather becoming the latest fashion in that busted crystal ball of hers?" When there was no response, beyond Luz shooting her a glare, Eda prodded more, "Seriously kids. What possessed you to come here in this weather? This place isn't exactly 'Blight Appropriate'." As Eda made air quotes, Amity practically collapsed into Luz on the sofa, and so did her Abomination, loosing three bags just inside the doorway as it collapsed into a puddle of goop and boiling water. "Ah, crap. Bug out bags."

"Bug out bags?" Luz questioned, worry creasing her brow as she laid Amity safely on the couch. 

"I guess," Edric mumbles, his eyes focused on Amity as he and Emira huddled together tightly. 

"How long have you had them?" Eda asks, watching the twins. 

"Father packed them," it was Emira who answered, perhaps slightly too loudly, as she quieted her next words, "he gave them to us today. Before he sent us out in the rain."

"Hooty, wake Lily," Eda commanded.

"One Lulu, coming up!" Hooty agreed, almost gleeful as he shut himself.

"Luz, go pour three glasses of apple blood." 

"But-" Luz tried to argue

"Now," Eda didn't leave room for argument, and Luz reluctantly got up, casting a look at the gently displaced form of Amity, and then the twins, before making her way to the kitchen.

"We don't drink apple blood," Emira said, before quietly adding, "Mother doesn't allow it."

"Hypocrite," Eda muttered, before saying, "it's not for you. It's gonna keep me up, wake up Lily, and hopefully keep the kid from the worst of the burnout." Neither of them argued against her, though Emira cast a worried look at Amity. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Edric mumbled, reaching into his pocket, “but father gave me a letter, for you.” He pulled out a plain white envelope with ‘Edalyn’ written on it, in handwriting that almost rivalled chicken scratch in decipherability, extending it to the Owl Lady.

“And I have one for Lilith,” Emira said, producing a similar envelope, with Lilith’s name on it, as Eda unceremoniously ripped open hers with her nail. The room went silent for several moments, as Eda quickly scanned her letter.

The silence was only interrupted by Luz’s entry, carrying three mugs, “I got the apple blood,” she announced, placing the mugs on the coffee table. Eda’s hand quickly shot down, grasping the “30 and flirty” mug and bringing it to her mouth, taking a long, slow drink. Then, she pulled a straw out of her hair, placing it in one of the mugs, a plain black one.

“Give this one to the kid,” Eda told Luz, adding “It’s just to give her bile sac a little boost,” when she saw Luz’s hesitant look. 

Luz grabbed the mug,moving to sit beside Amity, who hadn’t moved since Luz had left. “Amity,” Luz said, gently shaking the witch with her free hand, “You need to drink this.” 

“I don’t wanna.” Amity mumbled, barely audible, “it smells bad.” She almost burrowed deeper into the couch, as much as she could in her exhausted state.

“Eda said it would help,” Luz promised. 

“Medicine?” Amity questioned, her eyes squinting open to look at Luz before shutting quickly

“Yeah, medicine,” Luz agreed, pushing it yet closer to Amity. Amity, seemingly reluctantly, took the straw. 

“Disgusting,” Amity commented as her face seemed to pale from the taste, before drinking again as Luz held the mug.

“I paid for that,” Eda grumbled, before gesturing to Edric and Emira. “You two, take a seat. We need to have a serious talk when Lily gets down here.”

“A serious talk about what?” Lilith asked from the hall door as the twins sat down beside their sister. “Why are the Blight children here?” She yawned, leaning against the doorway. 

“I have a letter for you,” Emira answered, extending the letter over the coffee table, though careful as to not extend so far as to lose contact with her twin.

“A letter is hardly a good reason to be out at this hour, in this weather,” Lilith said, taking the letter. She looked at the letter, adding, “And I doubt Alador would send all three of his children if it were just to send me a letter.”

“Read the letter Lily,” Eda said, notably somber. Lilith gently opened her letter, pulling out the pages within. The next few moments were silent, broken only when Lilith shifted the papers in her hands. Then again, she shifted the papers, almost frantically seeming to double check something.

“What’s going on?” Luz asked, watching Lilith flip between the pages.

Eda looked at her own letter, then back up to Luz. "I'm not gonna say it twice," she nodded towards Amity, who seemed only present enough to slowly sip the apple blood Luz held for her, "and I think everyone would prefer to be rested to hear it. The baby Blights are gonna be rooming with you tonight."

"Like a sleep over," Luz tried to be cheerful, smiling at the twins, both of whom returned the smile. 

"Right, one of those," Eda agreed, "now take them up there." Luz nodded, putting Amity's mug of apple blood in Edric's hands before scooping the exhausted girl into her arms.

"Come on," Luz said, "you can help me make an Amity burrito."

"I don't know what a burrito is," Edric said, following Luz and dragging Emira with him, "but it sounds like it will inconvenience Mittens." 

"Shit," Eda said, once the coast was clear.

"That is putting it lightly," Lilith agreed, taking a seat on the now free couch. A moment later, after grabbing her mug of apple blood "What are we going to tell them?"

"Hey kids, we got some good news and some bad news. Good news is Odalia's getting the stick up her ass removed, bad news is Alador's the surgeon?"

"Edalyn!" Lilith nearly spat out her drink as she quietly yelled her admonishment.

"What? We're going to have to rip the bandage off somehow!” “No! Not like that! This needs a delicate touch!”

“That was delicate,” Eda answered, to a shocked look from Lilith, “I’m not telling you the not delicate option because you’ll get judgy.” There was a brief pause, before Eda amended, “Judgier.”

“Take this seriously!”

“Take what seriously?” King asked as he made his way into the living room from the hallway, “Also I’m sleeping in your nest tonight. Luz invited over the cupcake smasher and two new minions and the room is small as is.”

“Crap. That’s right. We’re gonna need a lot more room,” Eda realized, with some frustration.

“For what?” King asked, before noting the three bags just inside the doorway, “Ooh, bug out bags. Did one of your exes figure out how easy Hooty is to bribe again and we’re gonna leave Lilith to deal with them?”

“He can be bribed?” Lilith questioned.

“No, I fixed that when I told him he could take the bribe and still have his fun,” Eda answered, “The bags are-”

“Wait, no, I got it,” King interrupted, “tax collectors found us and we’re gonna leave Lilith to deal with them?”

“Why am I the one getting left behind”

“No, King,” Eda said, “These aren’t our bags.”

“Then whose,” King began to question, before looking at the bags, and then to the hallway, and finally back to Eda, “No. No? You can’t be serious.”

“Afraid so King,” Eda confirmed

“But I don’t want the cupcake smasher here! The two big minions we can put in a shed, but the little one needs to go. I mean, think about how Hooty feels, she beats him up every chance she gets!”

“Yeah, think about how I feel,” Hooty agreed.

“Shut up Hooty,” Eda and King said in unison, causing the tube to grumble. Eda added, “And while you’re here, grab those bags and take them upstairs.” She signalled the bags on the ground, which Hooty began to devour, causing everyone to look away. “Besides, we can’t send them away. Lily’s their legal guardian now.”

“Well then kick out Lilith,” King suggested.

“Hey! I’m right here!” Eda reminded the demon

“I’m not kicking out my sister,” Eda said, “and I’m not kicking out the kids either. Or putting them in the shed.”

“Why not?” King demanded

“Because I said so,” Eda responded, making King grumble and stare at her. Eda returned the stare, and eventually King looked away, making his way back to the hallway.

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Lilith sighed, “the little demon does have a point. There’s not very much room as is.”

“I’m not gonna make you move out Lily,” Eda said, before looking up at the ceiling.

“Alador left more than enough money for a modest home,” Lilith protested.

“Which is more than enough to get the Construction Coven to do some off-the-books work for a lot more space.” Eda suggested, “And I’m sure Hooty wouldn’t mind the expansion.”

“So you want to keep them here so you get a bigger house?” 

“Of course not Lily! It’s just… I know what it’s like to have your whole world shaken apart,” Lilith looked down and away from her sister at the comment, “and the last thing you need at a time like that is to have your world shaken more.”

“Edalyn, I-” Lilith tried to apologize. 

“Not what we’re talking about right now,” Eda said, finishing off her apple blood and setting her mug on the coffee table, “I’m too sober for more than one serious conversation tonight.” Eda paused for a moment, eyeing the empty mug. “I would have done anything for the kind of stability they can have here. I’m not gonna rip it away from them.”

“Thank you,” Lilith said, adding, after a moment, “I’m sorry for snapping at you. All of this happening at once is… Overwhelming. I would never imagine Alador to do what he says he’s going to. He’s always been more gentle.”

“Withdrawal can do a lot,” Eda commented, “Add in the guilt and all the other emotions he’s got to be feeling. It’s not so unimaginable.”

“Withdrawal? Withdrawal from what?” Lilith questioned, turning to her sister.

“Did your letter,” Eda asked slowly, “not mention anything about it?”

“Obviously not,” Lilith focused on her sister.

“Distraction spell!” Eda yelled, pulling a bag of Hex Mix out of her hair to throw at her sister, and jumped up, only to  be caught at the last moment by Lilith. 

“Edalyn, that hasn’t worked since I was eight,” Lilith complained, “Now what do you mean by withdrawal?”

“You know how Oracle magic can really start to screw with your head if you’re good at it?” Eda asked

“Yes?”

“And you know how memory wiping potions can help?”

“Edalyn!” Lilith was scandalized, “Those are highly illegal!”

“So is everything else I do!” Eda answered, “and he’s hardly the only person who bought them. I thought he was doing it because Odalia was too uptight to get it herself. I didn’t think he was taking it! Let alone mixing it with alcohol.”

“He was mixing an illegal memory potion with alcohol?” Lilith looked like she was ready to feint from shock.

“Should we just trade letters and see what he didn’t tell both of us?” Eda suggested

“No!” Lilith snapped, “He obviously intended us to keep the letters private. Otherwise he'd have sent only one, addressed to both of us."

"Who cares what he intended? It's your letter now," Edalyn reasoned, "Besides shouldn't we both know everything we can about what we're getting into? I thought you'd agree with the smart thing to do."

"I don't think it is the smart thing to do," Lilith answered simply. 

"Why not?" Eda demanded, watching her sister.

"I just don't," Lilith stood her ground.

"You're hiding something," Eda stated.

"That's ridiculous."

"Oh yeah? Then why won't you tell me why sharing our letters is a bad idea?" 

"Because it's personal, Edalyn!" Lilith snapped. 

"Who cares? Do you think I'm gonna judge you for whatever Alador told you about looking after his kids?"

"Yes!" Lilith said, to which Eda responded with a curious, almost scheming, look. "Edalyn, no!" It was too late. Eda pounced, grabbing at the letter with one hand and using her other to hold Lilith down by her face. Holding the letter out of Lilith's flailing reach, Eda began to read. 

(Line break)

"Alador," Odalia called into her husband's workshop, "where are the children?" When no answer came, she proceeded down the stairs, into the workshop proper. "Alador, answer me," Odalia commanded, approaching her husband, hunched over the work bench against the far wall, placing her hand on it's shoulder

"I'm tired, Odalia," Alador's voice called from beside the stairs. Odalia turned to look, seeing Alador step forward from behind one of the workshop's numerous tarps. Odalia took a step towards Alador, but was stopped when her hand refused to move, beginning to sink into the form slumped over the workbench. 

"What is the meaning of this?" Odalia asked, struggling to remove her hand from the Abomination as Alador's features melted away from it. 

"I told you, Odalia," Alador's voice was steady, "I'm tired." He grabbed her free hand, pulling it away from her trapped appendage. "I'm tired of this life," he told her, forcing the hand deep into the Abomination. 

"Where's your coven mark?" Odalia whispered, her eyes fixed on her husband's bare forearm. 

"I left the coven, Odalia," he answered simply, "Didn't you already know?"

"What are you talking about?" Odalia's voice grew more frightened, as she failed to recall any such memory.

"We were going to discuss it, this morning," he crouched down, beginning to move Odalia's legs into the Abomination, "And then I gave you your coffee, and you seemed to just… forget."

"Alador, what did you do?'

"What I had to, Odalia!" He shouted, breaking his calm facade, angry tears beginning to well up as he knelt before his wife. "I've spent the last ten years of our marriage forgetting every moment we spent in the same room. I can't stand you, Odalia."

"Alador!"

"SHUT UP!" he roared, "I'm so tired of hearing your Titan damned voice!" He stood up and turned away from her, "I used almost the last bit of my memory potion in your coffee. To get you to shut up and just leave!"

He took a deep, shuddering breath, before he continued, more steadily, "And you left. And I was alone with my thoughts. About you. About us. Our children."

"Alador," Odalia said meekly, "where are the children?"

"Don't pretend to care now," Alador's voice rumbled.

"I'm not pretending!"

"YES YOU ARE! NEITHER OF US CARE FOR OUR CHILDREN!" Before Odalia could respond to the accusation, Alador started a barrage of questions, "What kind of glasses does Edric need? Who's Emira's favorite bard? What is Amity's favorite book series?" When Odalia failed to answer after one second, Alador shouted, "I didn't know either! I spent hours learning about our children by snooping around their rooms to get them what they need! What kind of father does that make me? And what kind of mother, that you've never even wanted to learn."

"I am not a terrible parent," Odalia defended.

"Do you remember our children ever smiling in front of us? At us? I don't, but I can blame that on the memory potion. You can't."

"A Blight doesn't-" 

"WHY DO YOU CARE SO MUCH FOR A DAMN NAME THAT DOESN'T EVEN BELONG TO YOU?" The tears of anger rained freely as he shouted at her, "OUR CHILDREN SHOULD MEAN MORE TO US THAN THEM BEING SOME STUPID LEGACY!" It was a moment before he added, "That's why I sent them to the Owl House. I trust Edalyn Clawthorne to look after our children better than us. And Lily."

"I thought you agreed to stop calling her that."

"I lied. She's the only bright spot I have in these last ten years. I'm not giving that up. Not for you."

"Alador!"

"I'm done," he began to walk away, before adding, "Abomination, suffocate."

[reefartandwriting]

Sleepover (Inspired Oneshot)

When Luz had first asked her to sleepover, Amity had declined, saying her parents would never allow it. But later that day Amity had come back with a flushed face, asking if the offer was still available. Luz’s face lit up as it often did in excitement, and she pulled the fellow witch into a tight hug.

Luz didn’t even ask why or how Amity changed her mind, she was so happy to be able to hang out with the girl she didn’t care. Unbeknownst to her, Edric and Emira had found out and covered for their dear baby sister to go “Hang out” with her new “Friend”.

The rest of the school day wasn’t too eventful, Amity forced herself to focus on her assignments so she didn’t have to think about how hard it would be to stay calm in the presence of her crush. Luz however, was openly very excited, telling Willow and Gus about all her plans for the evening, allowed time for a mini Azura book club, some board games she had taken from the weekly human trash day, and a lineup of hilarious videos she picked out just for Amity.

“The last time and only time I ever really had a sleepover was the night of the moonlight conjuring! and I mean obviously that was fun, but it wasn’t as much of a sleepover as I expected.” Luz went on, crossing her arms loosely and smiling.

“Yeah, too bad we couldn’t come tonight…” Willow muttered, feigning disappointment. “All that sounds super fun too.” She likely could have came, but when she had heard Amity was able to go, she decided maybe the green haired WItchling and the clueless human could benefit from spending the time alone. Since Grom, hearing about their dance, and how Amity had acted since, she had guessed they liked each other.

“Aww, Willow…” Luz said with a smile, “...don’t worry, We will have a full owl house gang sleepover soon. I just gotta find out when Eda would be okay with it again.” She turned her attention back up to the teacher, while Willow turned back to Gus with a wink.

The poor illusionist was down, accepting of Willow’s plan, but still saddened he wouldn’t get to learn more about humans. Willow felt bad for making him miss out, but she couldn’t watch her two friends continue to dance around each other like they had been doing without losing her own mind. She offered the younger boy a comforting pat on the back.

The minute the bell rang, Luz was off, spinning around while running to wave goodbye to her friends, bumping into another student, then disappearing out the door and down the hallway. Willow just rolled her eyes with a smile.

Amity had debated on whether to wait for Luz, or to go home to pack a quick set of clothes for the next day. While debating however, Luz came bolting out the front doors of Hexside and skidded to a stop at her side, startling her into dropping one of her books.

“Oh gosh, sorry Amity!” The human apologized, quickly picking up and dusting off the book. “I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m just excited.”

Amity blushed, offering a small smile. “m-me too.” She took the book back, breathing deeply to calm herself. “I’ll have to just meet you back at the Owl House in a bit, I need to go home for a minute first.” SHe looked back up, concerned. “If that’s okay? Do humans have any rules about that?”

“not really?” Luz shrugged. “I can walk you that way, if you want. At least for a little. I know it’s probably not the best idea to get too close, in case your parents see you with me.”

“yeah…I think it would be better if I just walked alone.” the witch said sadly. “I’m sorry I have to kinda hide our friendship… at least, yknow, from them.”

Luz just smiled, making Amity’s heart speed up. “Don’t worry about it. I know you just want to make sure we get to stay friends. I’ll see you soon?” Luz turned just a bit, toward the Owl house.

“y-yeah.” Amity stuttered, mentally kicking herself for not being able to speak normally. “It shouldn’t be more than an hour.”

“Coolio!” she said with pep, starting to walk away, offering a cute little wave as she went. Amity watched for a moment before turning, covering part of her face with one of her hands in embarrassment. 

“This is gonna be rough…” She murmured, as she started her walk home. Thankfully, she arrived quickly and escaped with only a tad of sibling teasing, shutting a door in their face as mild punishment. The walk to the Owl House was quiet and Amity was grateful, taking the time to psych herself up and calm herself down. 

She emerged from some trees and there it was, hooty visible and poking at the ground for some reason that Amity didn’t really care to ask about. She walked up calmly, Hooty perking up.

“Amity! HOOT!”

“I’m here to see Luz, Bird tube.” she said flatly, getting uncomfortable even just looking at him.

“Aye aye! hooty hoot!” he opened the door, and she walked through, grateful to be done with him till the next morning. She turned to see Luz on the couch with King, drawing something with her tongue sticking out in concentration. Immediately her only thought was how cute it was. 

Luz didn’t notice her for another second, looking up and brightening up again, leaving the art to walk over and pull her once again, into a hug. She wondered if she would ever get used to Luz’s touchy nature. She never minded, but the heat that rose in her face every time was something she hoped would fade.

The human pulled back, keeping her arms on her shoulders. “The walk okay? I mean- sorry, uh… that sounded weird. I meant like, the trip over here, walking…” She flushed, laughing at herself nervously. “...Nevermind it was a stupid question.”

“Its okay…” Amity chuckled back, smiling. “...what’s the plan?”

“I am SOOO glad you asked!” Luz answered, sweeping to the side it a goofily grande gesture. “Upstairs, we shall begin tonight’s activity’s!”

Amity laughed again, walking towards the stairs with Luz following close behind. “I just remembered I never came up here last time I was here... “

“Oh it’s nothing super secret or interesting. Me and Eda’s rooms are up here, and further up is just kinda... “ She stepped ahead, waving her hands. “...Magicaaaaal storage!”

Luz over took her on the stairs, silently leading her towards the balcony, where a handful of board games sat out, ready to be played. Amity tilted her head, and Luz turned to gesture at them.

“Some of the pieces are missing, so I improvised, but they're still playable. I even made a tiny Azura and Hecate, if you want to play one of them!” Luz looked excitedly back to meet Amity’s eyes, waiting silently for a response.

Again, the witch found herself flushing red. Did Luz mean to be this cute all the time? Of course not, she was just a stupid adorable human, Not aware of her effects on the poor green haired girl. “Thats really… sweet, Luz,” She managed after a minute. “ I’d love to learn how to even play. Is it complicated?” she glanced at the busy looking board.

“Oh no, it just looks that way. Here come sit, I’ll explain the basics and then anything I miss I’ll explain as we go.” She plopped down on the opposite side of the board from where Amity stood, waiting for her to sit. 

A few hours later, they had managed to play two of the board games a couple times, and Amity had even won! though, she couldn’t be sure if Luz went easy on her that round to let her win. Which, either way, made her feel great. Her nervousness had faded, and while they played they discussed Azura. After a 7th or 8th round, Luz led her back by her hand to her bedroom, showing off some of her stuff that Amity hadn’t cared to look at when she came here the day of Grom.

They then ended up side by side leaning against the trunk holding Luz’s clothes, watching stupid videos that made the little witch laugh until she was crying, Luz smiling goofily everytime she did. It made her so happy to see the girl laughing and smiling and crying happily to stupid videos. A familiar gut feeling emerged after AMity doubled over laughing at a child running into a door, But the the human immediately pushed it down. Amity sat back up chuckling and the two met eyes, turning away collectively with blushes on their faces.

Luz was the first to speak, scooting forward and standing up. "It's getting a little late, give me a sec and I'll go get you a pillow and blanket." She walked out of the room, and Amity looked around the room again, trying to distract herself. She saw Luz's notebook for spells, the one she had during the Convention when they officially met. Next to it were prepped sticker spells like the one she used at Grom. A few Azura books layed lazily on top of each other not too far from that.

Luz came back in, plopping a soft looking blanket and a pillow down right next to her own sleeping mat. Amity almost asked why they were so close, but just watched Luz arrange it loosely into a decent sleeping place before plopping down and smiling. 

The witch got up to take the few steps, pausing for a second and making a decision she wasn't even really sure about. But they were both tired. Maybe the memory would fade. She took a breath and looked away as she crouched, on her way to laying down. "Hey, Luz…"

"Yeah?" She replied, finally laid down and facing Amity.

"Have you ever thought about kissing a girl?" Her voice went a bit quieter, as if she was afraid of saying it for anyone to hear. She layed down, mirroring Luz's position and meeting her eyes.

The human girl froze, and for one of the first times ever, Amity saw her tanned skin flush into a full reddish blush. The pause made her nervous, waiting for Luz to answer, her mind racing silently through what she could say. 

After another moment she smiled goofily but with a hint of nervousness to it. "Well, I am now." She breathed out a bit heavier than usual, almost a Huff of laughter.

Amity was quick to feel her face heat up. Of all her split second expected answers, that was not one of them. Oh god-

"Amity?" Her friend said, worried. She scooted closer, taking Amity's hands and looking concerned. "Are you okay?"

Her brain scrambled to find an excuse for her face, chuckling a bit as she did. "What, me? I'm fine! It was a dumb question-" it was fast. Luz was so close she felt like she was malfunctioning. That this nervous energy would consume her, maybe even kill her. This girl is gonna kill her by being this close. Another split second after that she felt she had to defend the fact she asked the question, and went off. "I mean- who likes y- girls, d-definitely not Amity Bligh-"

Luz had listened, a mixture of worried and confused, but feeling the same feeling in her gut from before. Is that what she was feeling? She wanted to kiss Amity? The rambling could go on, or she could… she didn't think much about it, grabbing Amity's face gently but firmly, and planting a kiss on her lips. For just a moment she stayed, then moved back, Amity freezing up. 

Somehow her face managed to get redder, and Luz laughed at how cute it was. "Was that okay?" The witch continued to struggle to form a word, sputtering and freezing, blinking quickly while looking back at her. "Amity?"

Her heartbeat had never been more audible, and her brain was officially fried. Luz had kissed her. Her first kiss was with Luz. She was asking if it was okay. Form words, say yes, say something. But she just sputtered, and after a moment more she groaned, covering her face and shrinking up to try and hide her embarassment. This girl-

"I'm… I shouldn't have, Amity, I'm sorry… I just thought- and feelings-" Luz muttered out, trying to justify it, or make Amity feel better. Did she just screw everything up?

Amity shook her head, peeking and then moving quickly to pull the stupid human closer, hiding her face in her chest instead of her own hands. It was sort of relieving to know that her heart wasn't the only one beating fast, and she finally managed to speak. "N-no don't… I just- I really… uhm…" she breathed in and out one more time. 

"I-i liked it…"

Inspired by a 11 part comic by @nullehero on Instagram they make great art 👌😗

[sepublic]

Wing it like Witches!

           Let me tell you- I was WORRIED this episode would make me sad and angsty, but instead it just made me happy and all warm inside! I know that sounds super-corny but like…

           I LOVED this episode! I was worried from the promo pic that Boscha’s bullying would really get to Luz, Gus, and Willow, but… It didn’t! I mean, it still got to WILLOW hence the entire episode, but otherwise Luz and Gus were less “Wow I’m really being reminded of my insecurities from bullying” and more “I can’t believe she ACTUALLY did that. She wasted her entire school day doing that. This girl is NUTS, is she okay back home?”

           (The more I see of Boscha, the more I have to wonder if she IS okay back home… Obviously not crippled with self-loathing to the extent that Amity is, but never mind.)

           What’s really surprise to see though; LILITH IS A RED-HEAD!?!? I remember seeing that first pic of young Eda with two other classmates, one of whom was obscured and the other had glasses; And I thought, is THAT girl Lilith, could it be? Is the girl with the obscured face the one who stole Lilith’s lunch money, potentially that favorite character from Season 2 that Dana alluded to? My mind is racing, but either way young Eda and Lilith are utterly adorable! I do have to wonder if what Lilith had to say about Eda’s bad memory was just a jab, or something more… Given that the show has alluded to Eda possibly having amnesia with MORE than just her curse…!

           Speaking of which; LILITH AND EDA GETTING ALONG! Well, sort of- I mean they’re technically adversarial by the end of this episode, but only technically. Lilith knows where the Owl House is, finally; And we get to see in this episode just how capable Hooty really IS as a security system, surprisingly enough! He even manages to capture LILITH; Though to be fair, she may not have been super-invested in the mission given this was her sister we’re talking about, but still! Coupled with Hooty mercilessly tearing apart those toys in Adventures in the Elements, and I have to wonder if he’s ever, like… KILLED people before, y’know?

           …Maybe I don’t want that answer. Regardless, I love Luz’s little cheeky interference with Eda’s game, but Eda still manages to win by her last trick; Just pure, genuine skill and talent! That was a twist, I was expecting Eda to have another cheat or to be caught by Lilith, but as I said before… Eda isn’t humble, and for a GOOD reason! Lilith ain’t no slouch either, and I love that King willingly donned a cheerleader outfit just to offer support! I mean, maybe Eda MADE him, but otherwise he didn’t seem to have much of an issue so long as it was just at home!

           And… I LOVE the little small moments between Eda and Lilith, where… Lilith KNOWS she has to turn her sister in, she’s getting desperate, but it’s also low-key breaking her heart to do this! And when she loses the match and just… FALLS on her knees in despair, questioning herself, and Eda picking her up? Giving her that signature ring, just to make Lilith look better? I… I LOVE these sisters, why can’t they make up?! Lilith isn’t even aiming to imprison Eda, she just wants her to join the Emperor’s Coven and continue doing stuff alongside her, like old times!

           And Eda… Eda still needs her autonomy, but she knows that Lilith isn’t some cruel person. She knows that Lilith loves her sister and wants the best, that she’s in a terrible position; Eda knows how stifling the Coven System is, and while being beneath Belos provides a lot of power… It also provides a lot of PRESSURE as well! Sure, Lilith chose this… But Eda still believes that Lilith is deserving of kindness and compassion!

           (Let me tell you, considering I don’t think we’ve seen any Eda clips past this episode, I was LEGIT afraid she’d get captured by the end… thank goodness!)

           What’s also fascinating to note is that Emperor Belos was in charge since fiftyyears ago; Given the speculation that Eda isn’t as old as she looks, this indicates Belos is PRETTY old himself, by a large margin; Especially when one considers how long-lived Bump is! It’s a small moment telling us how he established the Coven Heads five decades ago, but I really appreciated it; And in general, this episode seems to be our final, light-hearted breather before we get into the REALLY heavy stuff… Keep in mind, our last two episodes were originally planned to air side-by-side, like a two-part season finale! On a lesser note, we see the Heximal System teacher giving a History lesson, confirming what I suspected earlier; That some subjects include students from all tracks, simply because the subject-matter applies across any and all covens, and History is one of them! Love the small world-building here!

           Given how we don’t see anything else of Willow and Gus past that scene in Belos’ treasury, I have to wonder… What if those two get captured, and only Luz can escape? Amidst King –and possibly Eda- being taken as well, Luz might be looking at a one-man operation here! Which just makes her all the more impressive… Like looking at her now, even if she DOES lose against Lilith; She’d still have been going toe-to-toe with the Head of the Emperor’s Coven, even if only briefly! Luz has come a far way away from where she started as just a powerless human, and has amassed FOUR glyphs; Light, Ice, Plant, and Fire!

           And BOY HOWDY is she good at them! Seriously, I bet she could’ve easily beaten Boscha in a Witch’s Duel if she wanted; Though it’s worth noting that according to Willow, Grudgby is apparently the only language she speaks… Given that shot of her room at the beginning, I have to wonder if that’s where her MAIN self-worth lies in! In the beginning Boscha acknowledges to herself that she’s hated, ‘so long as she is feared’; And her monologue low-key gives me, “Doesn’t know how to make friends so copes by putting herself above everybody else and overinflating her own self-importance under the impression that people are just secretly jealous!” vibes. (In some ways she’s like Grace from Infinity Train…)

That aside, I just get a sensation of pride from seeing how adept and adaptable Luz is, and the way she learned Fire from Boscha of all people –Which I called!- is both hilarious but goes to show what kind of a learner she is… I feel like Eda, like we’ve watched our kid grow and get stronger and I can’t WAIT to see what she pulls off next! Amidst her learning Magic and then defying the Coven System… you go Luz, YOU GO!

           And, it seems I’m not the only person who shares this sentiment! Even after Boscha’s bullying, we don’t see anybody beyond her gang make fun of Luz and co.! When Willow gets trashed poured on her, some students are watching, but… They seem kind of disturbed by it all? They’re not outright vouching on her behalf like Luz, possibly because Boscha is watching; But still! It is SO cathartic to see Willow being beloved by the entire school like that, even if she’s keeping her friend-circle to a select few; People LIKE her, and it’s what she deserves! Like Luz, I’m SO proud…!

           I’m still disappointed we didn’t get the names of Boscha’s other friends, but I really like their inclusion here! I liked how they all seemed rather uncomfortable with seeing Luz forfeit, only to be made Boscha’s target practice; And how Luz is so bright, bubbly, and infectiously-cheerful, spreading her good will to others! Like, this girl is TOO kind, and so loving… She has no bounds and I love how those other girls are even affected by Luz, genuinely enjoying her and wanting to be friends, alongside having Willow as a teammate! I have to wonder if they’ll ditch Boscha after this… Or at the very least, try to talk her down as friends of Boscha that she actually cares about and vice-versa (compared to Amity, who has always been cold towards Boscha, hence why her talking wouldn’t have made a difference)!

           Speaking of Amity… C’mon, girl. Your CRUSH is showing, the way you’re getting flustered, imagining seeing Luz in a ‘cute’ uniform and everything… Gus being utterly confused, but you can tell that the gears in Willow’s head are turning and honestly; She’s all for it, likely! I think this is the first time Amity has had an ACTUAL crush on someone she can talk to, instead of some distant figure or a fictional character! It’s so heartwarming seeing her navigate it, getting to actually deal with feelings like a kid is supposed to be allowed to do! And Luz being clueless… That, or she thinks Amity is into WILLOW, which makes a lot of sense too!

           (After all, Luz knows that her parents wouldn’t approve of her being Amity’s girlfriend… But Luz, you have NO idea how much she cares, she literally loves you more than she fears them! And Amity, knowing that her parents wouldn’t approve and struggling with this no doubt, but her love for Luz is really shining through over all of that!)

           To put it simply; Luz is FRIEND-shaped, she’s lovable, there’s no escaping liking her! Maybe Boscha will always be a bully, and I know one might call it ‘cliché’… But honestly I’d love to see Boscha eventually warm up to Luz and HER infectious positivity as well! Also, I saw that twist with the Rusty Smidge coming from a mile away, and I love how Luz low-key gets into a genuine rant over it! Although the loss doesn’t matter, as Luz’s team was clearly more adept and Boscha’s friends don’t seem interested in forcing Luz and her friends to do all of that other stuff…

           Anyhow, I love seeing Amity stand up for her friends, and when she says that her social life has improved because she’s with Luz, in spite of Boscha’s claims… I really CAN see her standing up to her parents, sometime later! I speculated a while back that depending on how her and Luz’s relationship in Enchanting Grom Fright goes, it’d really impact what Amity does later down the line, and I was right! But it IS worth noting that Amity may not yet know that Luz has to leave… King and Eda know, and the former mentioned this in front of Willow and Gus! It’s possible that Luz has laid out her plans to return every summer (and during winter break and whatnot), which would definitely lessen Amity’s angst by an infinite amount! And seeing as how she has instantaneous access to the Demon Realm, who’s to say she can’t pop in every day, after school! Sure she might not be actively living in the Owl House anymore, but otherwise…!

           On another note with Amity, I love her and Luz getting to geek out over The Good Witch Azura, and it’s funny to see the show confirm what I wondered about earlier; About Amity secretly making Azura references in public, under the knowledge that nobody would recognize them and realize she’s a nerd… But LUZ does now, and the two can bond! Also, Amity getting to have fun with Luz and co. at the end, being CARRIED by Luz, fully accepted into the home… I know you also have the library as a safe space Amity, but you’ve also got the Owl House as well! And it seems Hooty bears no grudges, either!

           Also, someone speculated recently that Amity has her goth-sense from Lilith… and given the implication that Lilith dyed her hair, I can REALLY SEE IT! I’m disappointed we didn’t get any interactions between the two… But the way it was set up, I feel like if Eda and Lilith were there they’d be too busy cheering on their kids respectively! Or not, we’ve seen them prioritize their feud in Covention… But back then Luz and Amity weren’t on the same team!

           Back to Amity, it’s interesting that she used to be on the Grudgby team, and was good at it, even being CAPTAIN when Boscha wasn’t; But then explicitly quit when she accidentally hurt some of her ‘friends’ merely once. Even if she never cared for them in the past, even if this was before she met Luz and learned to be kind and open again… She was ALWAYS someone who was self-conscious of her actions! And sure, the issue is that Amity is a LITTLE too self-conscious, constantly berating herself, holding herself accountable for every mistake… But regardless, it says a lot how guilty she feels to have hurt her teammates, even if it was an accident and a one-time incident that resulted in victory!

           I’ll probably do ANOTHER post about it later, but it says a lot; How Amity feels like she should step up as a Blight, and she DOES outshine the others… But because of that inherent guilt but also compassion, she actually quits Grudgby out of guilt! Which leads me to the idea that even if she tolerated Boscha and co., she wouldn’t have wanted to hurt them; Again, because she’s critical of herself, but also because Amity isn’t cruel and it may have reminded her of how she treated Willow! I have to respect and fear for Amity on quitting Grudgby after that…

           Again, I think she has the issue of being too overtly-critical of herself, and that it’s honestly THE issue that defines her problems; But on the other hand, I feel like Amity’s parents would’ve been displeased to see their star child quit the team, just for hurting some ‘lesser’ witches? I’m scared for what may have happened to Amity, but it also says a lot that she made a potentially defiant move simply because she didn’t want to hurt yet another friend…

           (That, or her parents wanted Amity to focus on Abominations and other studies, and coupled with Amity’s guilt, it was the perfect opportunity to get her off the team. Which would be sad, but not surprising.)

           Anyhow, I just think it’s interesting that Boscha and co. don’t ever seem to have any resentment towards Amity until recently. It’s possible Boscha DID dislike Amity up until she stepped down… But it makes me wonder if Boscha, like, looked up to Amity and wanted her approval and attention? Given how she’s always framed as following Amity… Perhaps Amity stepping down led to Boscha taking the spotlight, and so Boscha feels indebted towards Amity for her fame (and potential source of self-worth)?

           Last but DEFINITELY not least; Somebody else (I’m sorry I keep forgetting) alluded to how in Understanding Willow, there was the issue set up of Luz meaning the best for friends… But also sometimes invading their privacy, or overriding what they want, so she can live out her fantasies at the same time! And, like- A big part of her IS doing this for her friends, that much is clear… But Luz does have an issue sometimes with clearing fantasy from reality! It’s a more advanced lesson from the one she learned in Episode 2, continuing off of that, and I LOVE it!

           Like, I really do LOVE how Luz recognizes in this episode that even if a part of her is motivated in helping Willow, she’s also using this as a chance to live out her underdog Azura fantasies, and how Willow points this out to her… and Luz realizes that she’s right! She actively MAKES a change to her behavior, and makes up for it by fixing Willow’s hairclip and even forfeiting on Willow’s behalf and taking all the punishment… All because she doesn’t want her friend to be uncomfortable! Man, Luz is SO ridiculously kind, I keep saying she’s my favorite but she REALLY IS! What a lovable dork, no wonder Boscha and her friends are falling for her!

           (Also RIP Skara, you were the fourth one in a team of three. Although given how she helped carry Luz and Amity in the previous episode, amidst already having more screen time… I can see this as a way for the writers to give more of a spotlight to Boscha’s other friends, while subtly acknowledging that Skara likely has gotten over her bias towards Luz and the others. I wonder if Boscha also noticed and that’s why she was left out; That, or she’s the least-skilled? I dunno, but it was neat to see and I’ll overanalyze the moment regardless!)

           On a lesser note; Willow’s last name is Park, which is a Korean surname! Coupled with her VA’s ethnicity and Willow/Tati Gabrielle being listed amongst other Asian rep characters and VAs, and I think it’s safe to say that she’s the Boiling Isles equivalent to Asian; Which let me tell you, is VERY nice to see!

           Overall, this was an AMAZING episode! It was a heartwarming, feel-good episode that reaffirmed character relationships and love while still expanding on them, adding in more friends to the group… It was pretty much nothing but happy moments and revelations! Obviously things are setting up in the next two episodes to go REALLY crazy, especially with Luz potentially getting banned from Hexside for defying Lilith and Belos… But it’s clear to say that she’s left QUITE the good impression on the administration and students! And I can see some even vibing with Luz’s ideas even after she gets kicked out… Perhaps Luz will unknowingly start a rebellion of sorts?

[robbyrobinson]

OWL HOUSE X CTHULHU MYTHOS: GODS AWAKEN: Pt. IX: ASTRAL VISITOR 

"Boscha!?"

Luz jolted back with a startle. She found herself once more in the gaze in one of her most tensely hated enemies. With her vision crystal clear now, she could see that she was indeed hit over the head with one of the three-eyed pink girl's crutches. In fact, she was slugged pretty good. Luz rubbed the side of her temple, and she felt a round bump protruding from it.

"Oh, good to see that I didn't kill you," Boscha said putting on a false sense of concern, "I would've wanted to humiliate you first before killing you."

Luz tried to push herself up, but Boscha weighed her down with her foot. Nyarlathotep transformed back into the bat like monstrosity and held Eda and King in his clutches. King still did not regain consciousness. Luz stared at Boscha again. Something felt different about the spoiled brat since she last met her. An unknown power surged through the pink girl's body; an ancient, primordial force predating the known universe.

"Boscha, I know that you are a real jerk and all, but how did you even meet up with this..." Luz stared at Nyarlathotep with contempt. "Ugly, hideous thing."

"Guilty as charged!" Nyarlathotep remarked.

Boscha restrained her foot and walked an inch away from Luz. "It was after what was probably the worst day of my life."

Luz scoffed. "You have only yourself to blame for what happened."

Boscha kicked Luz in the side invoking Luz to groan.

"You have been a constant thorn in my side ever since you first started attending school. Amity and I used to be closer, but now she had gotten soft; she won't even bully any of the bottom of the rank."

Luz rolled her eyes. "Amity told me everything; about how she always felt miserable when she was forced to hang out with you."

"Miserable?" Boscha asked "all I did was teach her to be tough; no one would ever step on her."

Luz stared at Boscha again. How could anyone that cruel be so clueless? She looked at Eda who was squirming to free herself and King from Nyarlathotep.

"Amity told me your secret."

Boscha had pulled out her purple scroll and was looking at Penstagram when Luz informed her. Boscha tensed up and dropped the scroll. "I said that in confidence and Amity promised to keep it a secret..."

While she was distracted, Luz got up on her feet and grabbed a stick. With quiet precision, she sketched the ice glyph and pressed the palm of her hand on it. When Boscha turned around, a thick icicle was poking dangerously close to her third eye.

"You're a half-witch, aren't you?" Luz asked.

Boscha grabbed the icicle and tore a piece of it. Nerves were forming on the surfaces of her eyes. "Don't call me that!"

She ran towards the human girl unprovoked. Luz dropped to the ground, stick in hand, and crafted a larger version of the ice glyph. Boscha was within arm's reach when Luz jumped on the glyph. Boscha held the icicle firmly and jabbed it in a savage fashion. Before it could make contact, a huge column of ice erupted from the ground catapulting Luz.

Enraged, Boscha drew a spell circle in the air and shot a wall of fire towards the beam of ice.

"Luz, look out!" Eda yelled.

Luz turned to stare at her mentor to see what the commotion was, but she could more than feel it. The intensity of the heat seared a gaping hole within the ice column and was melting. The bottom of the column was waning thin forcing her to dash further towards the top but with the rush of wind and downward spiral, Luz had difficulty with staying on.

Boscha shot balls of fire towards the human girl in unprovoked precision. Luz saw the fire hurdling towards her. The top of the column was receding faster as a result of the fire. Droplets of water wrapped around the human girl like a blanket; shielding her, the fire was dosed. Luz fell to the ground on some soft shrubbery.

"You seem awfully stronger since we last saw each other, Boscha," Luz noted.

"What gave it away?" Boscha asked half-heartedly. "But I should expect something of that sort from a human pet like yourself."

Luz got up again and held her fists out. "So that is why you bully Willow so much."

Boscha clenched her fists. "Amity promised that she would never tell anyone."

"You thought you would make yourself feel superior to Willow by lying about being a fully-fledged witch when your Dad was..."

Boscha shot out fire ball after fire ball but Luz swiftly dodged each one. "Don't you dare say it!"

"A jinn."

Something broke within the three-eyed girl. Instead of firing at Luz again, Boscha instead lunged at her and pressed her against the ground. All Luz could see were fists of fury flying down on her. Luz instinctively dodged most of the blows except for the instances where she was hit on the jaw.

"Yeah, that's right, your father isn't a full witch either isn't he?" Luz screamed. "What makes you think that gives you permission to mistreat Willow?"

"I hate Willow because she is too much like how the old me was!" Boscha shrieked. She got on top of Luz and slammed her fists on Luz's chest. "I was a weak, friendless, loser like how that half-a-witch was."

Eda's squirming became more forceful, but the grip Nyarlathotep held on her was infinite. "Let me go, you black floormat!"

Nyarlathotep ignored the Owl Lady's protests and quietly observed the fight. "Wonderful show isn't it?"

"I swear if you let Boscha kill Luz, I-"

Nyarlathotep placed one of his large claws over Eda's mouth. "Honey, no, you misunderstand; the human girl is much too valuable to let perish." He stared at King's lifeless body for a couple minutes. "I've just made it possible for my dear Boscha to – for a lack of a better term – sort out her troubles."

Boscha was tiring herself out rather quickly. She had already beat Luz's chest for what felt like hours and now she was growing bored with it. Luz refused to say anything further and it too took the fun out for the three-eyed girl. Her fists also felt numb from the consistent pounding she did. "I was bullied every day for when I was at school, at least until I met Amity."

"And so you thought that befriending a Blight would make you stand out in your social ranking?" Luz inquired.

"Because of that, I became someone that was feared." Boscha got off Luz and eyed her with disgust. "And when she introduced me to Grudgby, I became one of the biggest students on the campus."

Luz snickered.

"What are you laughing about?" Boscha asked. She was clearly becoming annoyed.

"Your story," Luz said in between her chuckles, "is just...pathetic."

The pupils in Boscha's eyes shrank. "What did you just say?"

Luz lifted her upper body from the ground. "You are nothing like Willow."

"Well, of course not," Boscha stated, "unlike her, I decided to not be someone's target practice anymore."

"You bullied Willow her whole life for every little thing," Luz retorted, "her appearance; her kind nature; and yet not once did Willow ever feel that she needed to pick on others."

"What are you saying?" Boscha, her rage feeling reinvigorated, drew another fire ball into her hand. She waited for whatever bad word Luz would say next.

"I am saying that for all the acting toughing and dominant, you are really just an insecure brat who decided to belittle others because you felt inadequate."

The fire ball disappeared from Boscha's hands. She went speechless for a few moments Luz's words still buzzing around like an invasive pest. She gritted her teeth loudly.

"That's right," Luz spoke defiantly, "you are nothing more than an insecure girl who bullies others to look cool, but you are desperately afraid that if you don't do so, then your social life is over."

A low growl came from her attacker. "You're dead!"

Pain surged through Boscha's leg. "Wha-"

The bones holding up her leg splintered and fractured. Without any indication, Boscha fell on the ground just shy of Luz. She grabbed her shin to ease the pain. "By the Titan, this hurts!"

Luz stood up and scratched her chin. "Huh. Looks like your leg got rebroken."

Boscha shot Luz a look. "I know that you ingrate!"

She wanted to strike the human girl once more, but her leg was shot. Nyarlathotep saw this and released his hold over Eda. "Come on, Boscha, we should get going."

The first thing that Eda did was hold her staff and held it in front of Nyarlathotep to intimidate him. "You're not going anywhere!"

Nyarlathotep scoffed. "Oh, I have had more than enough of my fill in fun, thank you very much."

Nyarlathotep flapped his wings and lifted his large frame off the ground. "I'm very delighted to have finally met you, Luz."

He gently grabbed Boscha with his right arm and tucked her in his hand. "I hope to see you all again soon."

With that, Nyarlathotep began to fly in the air. Luz, seeing them leave, held out a stick.

"Come back here, you...you...tree murderer!"

Eda tapped her hand. "I think that will do for today."

"But...but..."

Eda gave Luz a stern glare. Luz put her arms down to her sides and sighed. "Okay."

Boscha thrashed around in Nyarlathotep's hand. "Why...Why did you stop me from accomplishing my revenge?"

Nyarlathotep placed his finger on his mouth. "Hush now, we shall get our due justice soon, just trust me."

"I thought you healed my leg," Boscha whined, "you tricked me!"

"No, dear," Nyarlathotep said in a sympathetic voice, "I only gave you a small fragment of my power so that you could fight her."

"A small fragment?"

"Yes; I have acquired a small bit of my power back from the palismans and their source, but I am far from being all-powerful."

Boscha's head lowered. "So..we lost?"

Nyarlathotep grinned and his grin reached the tips of his mouth and wrapped around his head. "Far from it! Remember how I explained that my powers were stripped due to those glyphs?"

Boscha perked up. "Yeah?"

"What she did not realize was that she helped our cause."

"How?"

"By using the ice glyph," Nyarlathotep clarified. "When she used it, she unwittingly broke that seal, so chin up, dear, we are moving ever so closer to our goals!"

Boscha smiled back in response to the news. "What shall we do now?"

"I need you to recuperate," Nyarlathotep answered.

Boscha's eyes widened again. She shook her head in defiance. "So you are just going to throw me away too?"

Nyarlathotep rubbed a claw on her cheek. "No, as your mentor, I need to keep you safe; what good are you to die without fulfilling your purpose?"

Boscha nodded. She knew that he was right, but she still thought she was being discarded like trash. "Then who will you get to help us now?"

Nyarlathotep chuckled. "There are many pawns to weave through, but I sense that someone is totally willing to assist us."

"Who is it?" Boscha asked.

"I'll explain it to you soon, my dear child. Now, it's time to sleep. Do dream about chaos and other unpleasantries."

The gang returned to the Owl House sometime after. Hooty, once again, greeted them.

"Hey, guys!" Hooty hooted "you were gone all day; wanna know what I have been doing?"

Eda covered her head with her hand. "Look, we don't have all day to listen."

"Hoot, hoot! I have a riddle for you!" He hooted louder than before with his high-pitched voice. "I begin with four legs; then two; then three! Guess and I-"

Eda jabbed him in the eyes. "I ain't playing charades now, bird."

"OW!" Hooty lamented "fine, fine, sheesh!"

Hooty opens the door and the gang walks in. Before they could react, they saw the bat baby flying everywhere wreaking havoc throughout the house. The furniture, sans the couch, were ripped and shredded to chunks. Potions were poured all over the floor one in particular being a green, liquid that corroded through the floor leaving a gaping hole.

Toys were discarded and massacred and Luz's sleeping mat was somehow hanging on the ceiling. Lilith was still on the couch, but this time, she held a frying pan in her hand thus meaning that she did leave the couch while they were away. She cowered at the flying bat beast before her.

"What the hey, hey!" Eda remarked, "what happened?"

Lilith looked at her younger sister with fearful eyes. "You don't want to know."

"I just needed you to babysit the kid," Eda stated, "not make the house a warzone."

Lilith crossed her arms. "I told you that I couldn't raise a child."

She glanced over at Luz and saw her injuries. "Woah, what happened to your kid?"

"King? King, time to wake up."

King slowly opened his eyes but only through a small dint due to the light being too bright. "What happened?"

Luz pat his head. "You passed out little guy."

King looked around the house seeing the faces of those he recognized. "How did I get back here?" He took a longer glance around. "And why is the house a wreck? Did a goblin get loose in here?"

"Easy, easy on the questions," Eda said, "you really had us going when you saw that monster back there."

King could feel his head hurt again much akin to glass shards being pressed into the tender parts of his brain. "Would you guys believe that I might have seen this...thing before?"

Lilith tilted her head. "Really? Where?"

"In one of my dreams," King stated, "I feel like I remember being chased by it, and then there was some woman there...and...that is all, actually."

"What did she look like?" Luz asked.

"Maybe...brown-haired, and...I don't know, wearing a cloak, or something?"

King plopped down on a seat of the couch. Eda clapped her hands.

"Eh, we shouldn't bother trying to force him to say anything."

They agreed in unison and concluded that King needed some time to recover before he could provide other information to them. Instead, their minds were still on Boscha and Nyarlathotep. Somehow, Boscha came into contact with this mysterious entity who claimed to have some plans for the Boiling Isles. But to what extent his plans were they could not decipher.

"Well, what of this little guy's mother?" Lilith asked. She had managed to grab ahold of the monster and held it in her arms. They looked at her depressed.

"The Bat Queen is dead, Lilith," Eda said in a melancholic tone, "we are sure that the baby's siblings are also gone."

"Oh," Lilith said. "Tragic; what did this thing?"

"Nyarlathotep," Luz clarified.

Lilith shook her head. "Right, right...this Nyarlathotep fellow. What did he want with her?"

"He killed all the palismans to get to the tree that me and you carved to make our palismans," Eda explained.

Lilith's mouth dropped. "And of the tree?"

"Burned to ashes," Luz interjected. "He killed it to satiate himself."

Lilith dropped a bag of chips she was eating. "That means that Luz will never be able to make her own." Lilith caught Luz's glimpse. She was uncertain of whether or not Luz, as a human, could've even made one anyway, but now, she would never be given the chance to because it was taken from her. Lilith then stared at her sister's palisman. It was still safe and appeared fresh as though it was her first time using it. Lilith decided to change the subject as a means of clearing the air.

"So...Nyarlathotep, huh?" Lilith asked. She was eating more junk food and dropping the bags on the ground.

Eda rolled her eyes at her sister's newfound uncleanliness. "Yeah, ring a bell at all?"

"When I was in the Emperor's Coven, they did have some archives that Belos had strictly ordered to be locked away in the heart of the coven. I...actually never had any access to the hidden texts as Belos would like to call them."

"That makes it even worse!" Luz remarked. "We have to do something to stop him and Boscha!"

"But we hardly know anything about him," Eda emphasized, "who can possibly help us?"

"Oh, I can be of some assistance, madam."

The group jumped in shock at hearing an unfamiliar voice speak to them after overhearing their conversation. They glanced at each other somehow convinced that the voice – a monotonous one – came out from any of them.

There came a chuckle. "No, no, silly mortals, I am over here."

They turned to see someone standing at the far side of the room. It was a man. He was a visibly charming young man with a full beard. On his head was a crown of lively poppies that appeared to glow from the small fractals of light reflecting from them. His most startling trait, however, was his large, luminous eyes. When he opened them, his eyes were black and perfectly round. There were small glints in his massive eyes which felt like looking into the Milky Way galaxy and its celestial bodies. But through it all, what was also significant was his body.

"Are you a ghost?" Eda asked clearly fixated on the other spectre.

His body was translucent. He shook his head, but he still maintained his smile. For some reason while the smile was genuine, the gang also got the sense it was artificial or let alone forced.

"No, Owl Lady," he said, "I am no ghost; just a traveler is all."

Luz walked towards the man. Eda held her arm out to try to stop her. "Wait, Luz, this man just popped up, we can't trust him."

Luz ignored her mentor and continued her walk. Luz was in a daze, amazed by the being standing in front of her, but there was still that sense of urgency bubbling inside of her.

"Who are you and how did you know Eda's nickname?"

He chuckled once more, his deep voice shaking the house. He crossed his arms in amusement.

"Please, just call me Hypnos."

[azulirawrites]

Favors of A. Blight ch 3

Rating: T

Word Count: 2,927 (2,910 excluding parentheticals)

Contains: Description of Panic attack and associated thoughts, starting in the second paragraph, mention of death

Edric awoke suddenly, with nothing but a sharp intake of breath. He let his eyes remain closed and relaxed his breathing as he strained his ears. Closest to him, he could hear Emira, still asleep, and took comfort in her presence. Then, just beyond Emira, he could hear Amity’s light snoring. He was half-tempted to summon his scroll so he could record it, and finally prove to her that she did indeed snore, but he quickly dismissed the idea. Then, he heard someone he didn’t recognize, mumbling sleepily. He dared to open eyes, and his breath caught in his throat.

(Warning, depiction of a panic attack in the next six paragraphs)

This wasn’t his room. This wasn’t the manor. Judging by the noises from outside, they weren’t even in Bonesborough, or any city, for that matter. His thoughts began to race, imagining any number of scenarios that could be going. He clenched his eyes shut, and tried to will his breathing to calm. But it wouldn’t, and he could feel his breath escaping in bursts. His eyes hurt, even as he squeezed them shut even tighter, and his ears were ringing and his throat hurt because he couldn’t control his breath. He couldn’t breathe, even though he knew he had to be breathing because he could hear it, he could feel it in his throat but it didn’t matter because he couldn’t breathe and he was going to pass out, or possibly-

“Edric,” a voice. He recognized the voice. It was Emira. She was close. He reached out to her and grabbed. He could feel his heart beating rapidly, and he was sure Emira could too. His face flushed; ashamed. Here they were in an unfamiliar building, and he was useless. Just like mother warned him. He was useless and he couldn’t even do anything to protect his sisters and they were gonna- “Edric, breathe!” Emira said.

“I’m trying!” he wanted to yell, but what came out was more of a mangled gasp. Couldn’t she tell he was doing his best! Even though his best wasn’t good enough, he was trying! He felt something warm running down his face.He couldn’t even fake being alright? Emira was still talking, but he couldn’t hear the words, even though she was right there. She was drowned out by his ragged breathing and the ringing in his ears!

Suddenly, there was someone else at his side; he refused to open his eyes, but he could feel their presence there. He gripped Emira tighter. There was a hand on his shoulder. He clenched his fists, and he swung. And a pained grunt broke through the ringing in his ears and his ragged breathing. He chanced to open his eyes, and saw… Luz? They got Luz too? And she was holding her arm over her stomach? He’d hit Luz? He hadn’t meant to. Luz was nice, he didn’t want to hurt her. More tears slipped down his face.

“Edric,” Luz’s voice managed to cut through, and she was looking at him. “Can you see me?” Of course he could see her! He nodded. “Good. What’s something else you can see?” He looked around, and his eyes landed on Emira. He lifted the arm he was grasping. “Good. Can you focus on Emira while I look through my stuff for something?” He nodded, and turned to look more fully towards his twin, seeing the worry in her eyes. He felt the shame rise in his cheeks. She was worried about him because he couldn’t handle himself. What kind of brother was he? He gripped her tighter as he tried again to get his breathing under control.It was still ragged, but it didn’t hurt as much as it had.

Luz returned, and placed something in his hand, “It’s a fidget cube,” Luz explains, and Edric turns his attention to it. It’s… certainly cube shaped, for the most part. He regards it wearily, moving his thumb on a circular pad on one of the faces, noting that it moved with his thumb. “Can you focus on it for me? See what it does?” He nodded, and focused on the cube as best he could, using his thumb and fingers to manipulate the various sides.

(Descriptions relating to panic attack over)

A few moments later, he realized he wasn’t breathing as hard, and his ears weren’t ringing. His throat and eyes still hurt, and there were still a few tears washing down his face, but he could breathe. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Emira and Luz both hugged him, “Edric what was that?” his sister asked, “Are you okay? You’ve never done that before.”

“I don’t know,” he says, even though he wants to tell her that he’s never had something that bad before.

“I think you had a panic attack?” Luz said, and he turned to her. Emira did too, judging by how she suddenly looked between the two, “It’s a thing, in the Human Realm. My mom gets them sometimes. She says having something physical to focus on and work with helps her with them, and sometimes that’s ADHD toys, or a stress ball, and she also has a mantra that helps. But I happened to find that in some of the junk Eda’s been collecting from trash slugs.” With an exaggerated gag, Edric dropped the toy, causing Luz and Emira to laugh. “Don’t worry,” Luz said, “I made sure to scrub it totally clean! I think I might have used more soap on it than on Hooty last month.”

“That just makes me worry about how clean Hooty is,” Emira joked.

“We try, but,” Luz shuddered, and changed the subject, “Anyway, getting some food and drink will also help, Ed.  So let me wake Amity-”

“I’m awake,” the girl in the blanket burrito said, “but somebody,” Edric knew that if Amity were facing them, she’d be glaring at him and Emira,  “trapped me.”

“Right,” Luz said, “I’ll help with that, and then we’ll go see about breakfast.”

Luz was able to unwrap Amity, and managed to keep her from much more than glaring at the twins as they all got ready to head downstairs. A cursory glance in the living room revealed only King, curled up on the couch, and Hooty missing from the door. Edric was curious about that, but noticed Luz shuddered at the hole and turned away. Better not to ask, he assumed.

Instead, Luz led them to the kitchen, where the group discovered Eda tiredly mixing something in a cauldron. “Morning kids,” she greeted with a yawn.

"Morning Eda!" Luz beamed, "Where did Lilith and Hooty go?"

Eda was silent for a moment, mixing her potion, before she responded, "I'm thinking about expanding the Owl House, so I sent Hooty out with Lilith a few hours ago so he could shop around at the construction coven. Because for SOME reason he doesn't trust me to make the expansions any more."

"Expansions? I thought the Owl House was just… like this?" Luz questioned.

"House demons don't usually take to expansions well," Edric commented, "Is Hooty different?"

"I'd need more hands if I was gonna list how Hooty's different," Eda commented, "but you're right that house demons don't usually like expansions. But it's not because they prefer growing naturally or anything. It's because most witches only care for what they want, not what the house demon wants. Design, functionality, floor plans, even what materials are used. That ends up choking the house demon until they decide to just tear down the offending bit."

"That's," Luz commented, "kind of sad."

"Yeah. It's why house demons are a lot less popular now. Most witches don't know anything about compromise. All you have to do is work with and trust your house demon, and they'll be more than happy to let you expand them."

"Most house demons also can't remove themselves from the house without dying?" Edric questioned curiously. Eda gestured towards the living room, the hole in the door clearly visible. "I mean, how is it Hooty can just leave, when most house demons can't?"

"Hooty has experience and I have know-how," Eda commented, "There's a reason they call me the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles.How come you know so much about house demons anyway?"

Edric felt his face heat up as he mumbled his answer, “I’ve been looking at them for when I get my own place.”

“Huh,” Eda commented, “Didn’t expect that. Well, tell you what, if Hooty ends up meeting a nice shack, I’ll tell you where they leave the egg.” Eda laughed, and Edric cracked a small smile at the offer

(Line Break)

Lilith was tired. Well, that wasn’t exactly true; she and Eda had each whipped up an invigorating potion to make up for the night of lost sleep, so she was more than awake. She was just processing. There was… a lot to process. Hooty seemed to recognize this; he’d draped himself over her shoulders, and seemed to be doing his best to comfort her. She patted his head, and decided to make idle conversation, “What kind of rooms are you thinking about getting, Hootsifer?”

“At least four bedrooms, and a bathroom. And a library! Luz and the angry one like books, and I’ve always wanted to be a smart, sophisticated house! Or I could play up my fun loving nature and get a rec room! Or an indoor pool!”

“Those all sound quite lovely,” she placed her hand on his hand and patted him gently, “but an outdoor pool would attract more bugs, don’t you think?”

Hooty gasped, “You’re so smart Lulu! It would be like a stew and I could drink it whenever!” She laughed, and continued to pet her friend for a while, until they arrived at a shop operated by the Construction Coven.

“What can I do you for?” Asked the burly witch behind the counter.

“Good morning ma’am,” Lilith greeted, “My sister is looking to expand her home. Have you by chance heard of the Owl House?”

“Heard of it?” The witch guffawed, “The place is a legend in the Construction Coven! No one knows who built it, or how they managed to get one of the most violent house demons known to witch kind to cooperate!”

“I’m not that violent!” Hooty complained, causing the witch, who likely hadn’t realized Hooty was more than an accessory, to scream. “I’m a caring and gentle soul!”

“You’re the Owl House house demon?” the witch seemed afraid, and was backing away from them.

“Yep! I’m Hooty! And this,” he took a moment to wrap Lilith in a hug, “is my best friend, Lulu!”

“Pleasure to meet you,” the witch managed to stutter out, “but it's a coven policy we don’t do work on house demons.” The witch let out a nervous laugh, “Sorry about that.”

“Ah, but I thought you guys wanted to know all about me!” Hooty complained, drooping.

“Yes,” Lilith said, hiding a smirk as an idea presented itself, “It really is a shame they’ll never learn the secret to working on house demons. Especially ones that want at least six new rooms, and a pool. It’s a shame to think we’ll have to keep all that knowledge, and money, to ourselves. I imagine all that could put someone in line for coven head.”

“I know you’re playing me,” the witch acknowledged, timidly, “but you’re right.” The witch, reluctantly, began to guide them around the story. They spent, by Lilith’s count, at least two hours in the store, talking about different woods and stones, with a promise that the witch would come by that afternoon to begin the actual project.

In another hour, following a quick stop at one of the new chain-restaurants that had been popping up recently,  they returned to the Owl House, the mid-morning sun shining brightly. “Could you get the door?” Lilith asked, gesturing with her head, as her arms were occupied by a number of sacks, and at least one box. She hoped she had gotten enough food for breakfast. Hooty obliged, opening the door, before grabbing a number of sacks from her with his beak, extending towards the kitchen.

Carefully, she sat down what she still carried, and removed the backpack Hooty resided in, setting it on the floor. She picked up what she still had to carry, and made her way to the kitchen as Hooty returned. She did her best to ignore the sounds behind her, closing the door to the living room once she made it through.

She was greeted by everyone’s faces, as she entered, save Eda who was focused intently on downing her apple blood.’Good morning,” she greeted.

“Yeah yeah, it’s morning. Are we going to eat already?” King responded before anyone else, and Lilith sighed.

“Of course, King,” Lilith said, placing the box on the table and opening it to reveal a large assortment of pastries, most of which had a notable yellow filling.

“Oooh!” called King, “Slitherbeast claws!” as he scampered across the table to grab two of the paw shaped treats.He held them up in either hand, and let out a roar. Lilith noted, as did King judging by his “Weh?” that everyone else at the table blanched. Thankfully, after a moment, Luz let out a small laugh, which seemed to satisfy the young demon.

When King had made his way back to his seat, Emira spoke, “We aren’t normally allowed sweets for breakfast.”

“Since when has that stopped us?” Edric asked, having already absconded with a number of tarts.

“Since it’s being allowed,” she said, looking carefully at Lillith. Edric, for what it was worth, put down the tart he had just been about to bite into, though kept it in front of him.

“Emira’s right,” Amity said, making a quick show of disgust at the words, “Our parents would never allow this.”

“That’s what makes this sweeter,” Edric replied, before Lilith could get a word in. He took a bite, adding, “Besides, it’s thornberry!”

“Doesn’t this strike you as a little odd?” Emira almost pleaded with her brother.

“Yeah,” he answered, “Dad sent us out in the middle of a boiling rain storm, to have us stay overnight, at the house of two of the formerly most wanted-”

“Hey!” Eda attempted to interrupt, though didn’t manage to stop Edric’s speech.

“-individuals in the Boiling Isles, with not so much as a message from Mom since yesterday morning. So yeah, it’s a little odd.” There was a small bite to Edric’s voice, and it was apparently unusual, judging by how both Emira and Amity reacted to it, “So let’s just enjoy some pastries before the other shoe drops. Please.”

“Is Edric right?” Emira asked, turning to Lilith, who weighed her two choices in her mind. Either say yes, and risk freaking out Emira, Amity, and possibly Luz, or saying no, and making it hurt more later.

“Yeah, mostly.” Eda made the decision for her, “Except I’m still topping the wanted charts.” Lilith noted Emira looking to Edric, and then Amity, with concern, before wordlessly grabbing a few pastries for herself. Amity followed her siblings’ lead, and then so did Luz, leaving Eda and Lilith to split the rest, as Lilith took her own seat at the table.

The breakfast passed slowly in the silence, and there was an unmistakable tension in the room. King finished first, and Lilith noted that he was exceptionally quick to leave the room. Luz finished next, followed by Eda, and then Edric, Emira and Amity. Lilith set down her remaining pastry. “There has been some… upsetting news.” When the children all remained silent, even Luz. “Luz, could you go make sure King isn’t getting into anything?”

“No,” Amity refused, quickly grabbing Luz by the arm as she tried to stand, “Please, stay.” Wordlessly, Luz sat back down, gripping Amity’s hand in an attempt to comfort her.

“Very well,” Lilith said, “Right… Last night, your father sent you to us, even though it was a rather brutal rain storm. “ Emira was the first one to nod in acknowledgement, followed by Edric. “And there was a reason for that.”

After a moment of silence, Eda spoke, “Odalia saw that there was going to be an attack at the manor yesterday.” Lilith almost spoke up, but Eda continued after giving the children a second to digest the news, “She didn’t think you guys were gonna get hurt, but she didn’t want to risk it, so she had Alador send you kids somewhere no one would think to look for you.”

“Oh,” the twins managed to chorus, and Lilith noted Amity squeezing Luz’s hand tightly as she tried to keep her expression neutral.

Lilith picked up the silence, “This morning, I passed the manor. The wards had been undone, and… there were already guards and members of the Oracle coven investigating.” It was silent, as the children stared at her with the almost blank looks that Lilith knew meant ‘Please don’t say what you’re going to say.’ But it was too late now. “Your father…. Wasn’t found in the building’s remains.” What went unspoken, but very clearly heard, was that their mother had been.

“Excuse me,” Amity said, her voice barely holding together, before she got up from the table and ran back to the room she and her twins had spent the previous night in. The twins followed suit, leaving only Lilith, Eda, and Luz at the table. After a small eternity, Luz said, “I’m going to go check on them.”

[sepublic]

I have an hc partially inspired by your posts. But Emira share everything with Edric. Like if it’s something bad major bad, she won’t because if she cries, Edric will cry and feel bad on her behalf and she comforts him. And the Blights are on him for being too emotional. She can’t tell Amity cuz she’s the baby. But then one day Edric finds out and he’s like, “Em, you could have. I won’t fall apart. You’ve been my rock, I can be yours. You don’t have to be emotionally strong for both of us.”

           Well, THAT both breaks and makes my heart! I like this idea A LOT, and now that I’m thinking from it…

           …This does make me wonder if the main issue as to why Emira wants to be her own person, separate from Edric… Is because she feels like she has to take care of him AND Amity, so it requires her to adopt the persona of being the older, more mature sibling? And these Blight Kids were already forced to mature quickly as-is, so as a result Emira feels dissatisfied? Like maybe she feels bad for wanting to be away from Edric, but she’s afraid that he’s acting parasitically to them in their relationship, not providing enough for her and preventing Emira from being her own person…

           …When really, she just needs to open up about how she feels, and Edric will happily provide! He’ll let Emira be the immature one, let her have dumb, stupid fun while he looks out! And because Emira can be herself around Edric and not have to worry about being the more responsible twin, it basically solves her issue of feeling like she needs to be away from Edric to be her own person!

           …Or… That’s what Edric thinks will fix the issue. That he tries to get Emira to stay by being extra-helpful and caring, doing everything for her, giving it his all to treat his twin sister like royalty so she’ll stay… Anything for Emira to keep hanging out with him! But really this just makes him more toxicly dependent upon his sister, and regardless of whether or not Emira recognizes this, she still feels the need to leave! She’s gotta be her own person and even if she can relax around Edric now, Emira still needs to do some soul-searching of her own! Discover who she is, by herself!

           Perhaps in a parallel to Lilith and Eda, Edric will focus the issue and simplify it to just this one issue, namely Emira feeling like she has to take care of him; And focus on fixing that, just as Lilith focused on curing the curse… Without taking into account that this problem is just symptomatic of a larger one, that in general Emira doesn’t want to be coddled by Edric necessarily, she just wants to figure things out for herself and being deferred to won’t solve this! Just as Eda’s curse being cured won’t solve her issues with the Coven System, or her anger at Lilith for taking Luz hostage!

          Emira doesn’t want blind support from Edric, just as Amity didn’t want this from Boscha… She wants someone who can help her self-reflect and realize who she is! Emira doesn’t want to be like their parents, with one blindly supporting the other and enabling them… She’s not always self-aware but she definitely knows how awful their parents can be. Perhaps Edric will try to resort to finding new purpose, and (if my speculation on Mr. Blight is correct) find this by devoting himself to a loved one, either his sister, or another friend, in the hopes of not losing them… Maybe he’ll even become like King from Really Small Problems?

          This is all of course a worst-case scenario though, and my mind going wild with all possibilities. Hopefully this isn’t the case, and it’s not nearly as bad; That yeah there a few issues to work around, but otherwise Emira and Edric aren’t just going to leave one another drying, and they’ve still got access to other people to support them, like Amity, Luz… And hopefully the rest of Luz’s friends by extension! Because while it’s fun to speculate on Twin Angst, it’s ultimately with the end goal of the two becoming even closer and healthier than before!