#it was originally supposed to be that moment that luz says the actual line but then i got carried away

[tizzymcwizzy]

what do you do when you look into your father's eye and all you see reflected back at you is a damned, broken boy

it's finally finished,,, man i spent so long on this holy cow djdbhdgbf i first started this back when clouds on the horizon aired and only just finished it, but im really happy with it!! :D ive never done something this complicated, and at that paint it all as well

also here's some closeups and the full background,

[waywardsunlight]

I think Luz's trauma due to being an abuse victim gets ignored a lot in favor of other characters. Luz has an odd role in the fandom as this character who other characters rely on, or who isn't an abuse victim but is supportive of her friends who are, and I think that ends up missing a huge part of her story.

Belos compliments her a lot, which is partially because he wants to reach out to her and mostly because he thinks he can manipulate her. He does some backhanded compliments, telling her she's improved but she still has work to do to catch up to him. He also thanks her quite a few times. The way he thanks her intentionally triggers her guilt, especially when he thanks her for helping him with Hunter. He also compliments her to put other people down, like when he tells her she's "better than this" (implying their race makes them morally superior).

He also uses the same manipulation tactic on Luz that he does on Hunter, although it doesn't work as well on her. He tries to remove his own agency for his physical violence by blaming the Curse. The biggest example is in King's Tide, when he pretends he can't hear her as he's racing after her to try and kill her. He ends up cutting her face while pretending to be out of control and then in the same sequence has full control and clarity to talk to Hunter and the Collector. He gaslights Luz by trying to make it seem like it was The Curse causing him to act in the way he did.

He refers to Luz as "crazy" to invalidate her emotions and harming Hunter in front of her also is a form of abuse. He's obviously aware that hurting Hunter traumatizes Luz (and everyone else) but as his focus transfers from Hunter to Luz in Hollow Mind, he starts targeting her specifically by harming Hunter to hurt her (especially in TTT). Belos shifts the blame for events from himself to Luz and also attempts to make her feel guilty. Hunter seems to understand that Luz is also being abused and tries to reassure her that Belos is an abuser and she shouldn't take what he says at face value. Luz ends up taking that advice to heart after she's able to forgive herself and face Belos. She doesn't speak to him but is able to hear his manipulation tactics and just. stare at him bc he's full of bullshit.

Just because he 'only' hits her a few times and isn't her guardian doesn't mean he can't abuse her or that he didn't. It's not really a protagonist-antagonist relationship as much as it is "adult man nuking 14 year old repeatedly until she becomes god and kills him". The idea that child abuse can only come from parents and not role models or other adults in your life is odd, because he distinctly holds a position of power over her (literally an Emperor and an adult who intentionally isolates her and the other kids alone to abuse them) and uses it to emotionally and physically harm her.

Papa Titan has to reassure her that she's okay to kill Belos because he's literally a serial killer who's lying about his intentions. Luz still slightly falls for Belos's sympathetic line until that moment because he very intentionally tried to get her to feel bad for him and also feel guilt about herself.

This is also why I really detest any fandom takes where Belos canonically is supposed to care about her, or Luz owes him anything. Manipulation is not sympathetic. Belos committed premeditated murder and then used the remains of his murder victim to try to make a "Better Version" of his murder victim which was actually just a way to punish him repeatedly and keep taking out revenge on kids who had nothing to do with the original conflict. Belos is Luz's abuser also, and Luz doesn't owe him any sort of kindness or consideration and her anger is valid.

Luz is an abuse victim of Belos's in addition to Hunter and the Collector (and Vee/Lilith by extension), and she should be considered as such rather than her trauma being invalidated in favor of other characters.

[sp-ud]

So back when "Edge of the World" aired, I made a post noting the main variations of titans we saw Here, so I thought I'd take a look at the new (likely) titan we see in "For the Future".

This guy, BTW. If you don't know what I'm talking about. From when Luz was briefly in the "In Between Realm". They were also upside down this is just a flipped screenshot. They're giving Luz a little wave.

While my 1st instinct is to go "This is the Boiling Isles Titan aka King's Dad's spirit or something!", let's see how that holds up.

So the 1st thing that instantly clocks as "off" to me is the hands. The BI titan is shown to have 5 fingers, while our new guy seems to have the same 3 that King has (and the trapper's disguises also have).

There's also the lack of obvious spikes jutting out from the shoulders or legs, but that could just be due to the low quality and odd lighting. And the lack of wings the BI has could just be due to them being in the water. Plus the obvious lack of a size difference could just be chalked up to "It's his spirit, not the actual guy."

But then, there's this.

In the halls of the Archive House, there are paintings that line the walls that seem to tell the Collectors (both our Collector and the general species) story

And while the closer one seems to be of a titan trapper wearing a skull and an adult collector with our Collector also trying on some titan skulls, I want to focus on the one further back.

Look familiar? It should.

Because it is the exact same, but now complete, mural from King's original home.

Now, at first I didn't notice this until I was literally making this post, but there's something very important in the complete one that was eroded away in the other mural. Down by what we now know to actually be a depiction of King's dad on the right's feet. (Unlike the original assumption that the titan trapper on the left was King's dad)

An egg and another, much smaller titan. Which explains why this mural of what originally appeared to likely be the moment a titan trapper struck down King's dad, appears in the place he was supposed to grow up in.

Because it's supposed to be a mural showing how much King's dad cared for him, how he died protecting his egg. That was (quite literally) the missing piece from the original mural.

But what about the other smaller titan we see here? And I'm assuming it's an actual titan due to the fact it has a drawn lower jaw, unlike the disguises the TT use which always have large scruffs to disguise the fact they're only wearing the top half of a skull.

I think this is the titan we see stuck in the Inbetween Realm, who waves to Luz. This is who might have drawn the mural after King's dad was struck down.

As for why they're in the In Between Realm? Well, what's the (literal) key component that both Luz and Belos were initially missing? Titan Blood. And I think they've been stuck there a while, which would explain why no one was seemingly ever coming for King after he hatched, despite the fact Jean Luc and the other stone guards only were there to stop intruders, not raise him.

But then I remembered that oh yeah, the Collector has a line where he says it was King's dad, aka the BI Titan, who locked him in the In Between Realm.

Unless... unless we have something else wrong, or more accurately, assumed something wrong. Now, while we do have confirmation from crew members the BI titan is King's dad...

But... who's to say the King's dad who died and became the Boiling Isles and King's dad who sealed away the Collector (and seemingly got trapped in the same realm) are the same King's dad?

Yup, I'm saying King has two dads, one who fought off the titan trappers and perished with one last cry to his unhatched son, and one who sacrificed himself to seal away the Collector to hopefully help guarantee his son would grow up safe.

But that does leave one more question. Why is this proposed 2nd dad drawn as barely taller than King's egg? Well aside from "it's an artistic recreation, so maybe they either drew themselves smaller to emphasize how BI Dad was protecting them, or King's egg bigger so it was obviously present", which I believe is partially the case, but I think there might be more explanation for this.

And for why all the drawings of conquered titans show them not wearing clothes, even though the TT wear clothes as a part of their disguises (Which are clearly implied to be believable), and this In Between Titan also seems to have at least some kind of jacket or coat on.

Along with already being noticeably even boney before death, having extra things like more fingers and well-defined claws, and the spikes some of them seem to have grown from their body.

Or how exactly King's parents expected to take care of him in that small place, as once again, the stone guardians clearly had no idea how to actually raise him. The little dude was literally eating bugs.

Getting back to my actual point, I think titans aren't naturally... well. Titan-sized. I think it's something they transform into, likely when threatened by something that they can't take on at their normal size. They grow into these larger, more monstrous forms, which obviously their clothes aren't meant to handle.

This also has the added benefit of making the TT a little less horrible. Because it means that just because the skulls are small enough for them to wear, doesn't mean they're from not fully grown titans, they could be from adult titans who just didn't transform before death.

Alright, I have no idea how to properly end this post so I'm just gonna...

TL:DR; I think the Titan seen in FtF isn't the Boiling Isles Titan (AKA King's Dad), but is the Titan who trapped the Collector (AKA, also King's Dad). Because we have crew confirmation BI is King's dad, and the Collector said King is the kid of the guy who trapped him there, but there's nothing saying these are the same King's Dad.

Oh and I theorize that maybe titans can size-shift.

[wildflowers-of-trolberg]

How about a directors cut (if you haven’t already down them) for Get Out, YNMM, and uhhh… any wildflower fic of your choosing. And I supposed it would be neat to know if there’s anything I don’t know about Swim Until You Can’t See Land :3

Okie so:

Get Out I think I have talked about before? But I'll talk about it again, cause it is interesting - while a lot of the final fic's inspiration came from the song Good For You, from Dear Evan Hansen, which I initially connected to Hilda because I think it really fits her worst fears in the Runaway AU, it wasn't the origin point; it just provided a lot of the vibes for the nightmare scene. This entire fic actually exists specifically because of two things, the first being this fanart of Luz:

Which made me think about wanting to put Hilda in a similar amount of hurt; I actually directly referenced it for the description of Hilda right after her nightmare, and sent it to @sarasplenda (yes I know you sent the ask :)) as reference for the comic version of this fic.

Hilda was sitting up in bed, hunched over, the covers around her a crumpled mess of red fabric. She was outright sobbing; her mouth hung open, her face twisted with horrible pain, tears running in rivers down her face.

The second thing that inspired this fic was a meme, specifically this one:

I think the specific version I saw had Hilda saying "Terraria is just 2D Minecraft"; I know it's just for fun, but I just couldn't stop thinking about this, and about what it would be like if Johanna had actually reacted to that moment in the Stone Forest by kicking Hilda out. And once I had a thought about hurting Hilda, and a way to hurt her, the fic was inevitable.

Looking back, though, my feelings on Get Out aren't perfect. I don't hate any of my older works, but I think it's probably the weakest Wildflowers fic. That being said, there's really only one line in it I don;t like, and I can see why it's so beloved :))

You're Not My Mum was a weird one, because I think a lot of people have the order of events confused. I actually didn't come up with the idea after reading the Hilda tie-in novels; I came up with the idea after asking @walruses-hilda-variety-hour about his experience of them, because I'd already seen that one bit from Hilda and the Nowhere Space, and was worried about the books' portrayal of Johanna. When he said she was genuinely abusive, I started making plans, and I bought the first three novels specifically to reference for this project.

I didn't expect the situation to be even worse than Walrus had mentioned, but it was, and I ended up having much more to address than I planned. But I think the fic came out really well - the only thing it doesn't really get at is Novel Hilda has a tendency to sass her friends more than Show Hilda, but since Novel Hilda spends the whole thing distraught, and her friends really suck anyway, I don't think it really matters; if she does ever get a sequel where she interacts with David and Frida, and comes out of her shell a bit more, we'll see more of that side of her.

My final fun fact about YNMM is that it's technically not the first thing I made for this AU. That honour goes to this image:

Which is a fairly shonky edit of my mental image for Novel Johanna after losing her daughter (thanks to some comments I got on this, in my head she's now Norwegian Crime Drama Johanna).

I think you do already know everything about Swim Until You Can't See Land. I came up with the thing by combining two of the ideas your headcanons gave me (Summoning Sickness, a Wildflowers about dispelling the Tide Mice making Hilda sick, and Big Sister, a fic about Alfur using his nickname for Hilda and her having to ask Kaisa what it means - I might actually still have to write that, as a sequel to Swim...)

I will say that the final chapter is much longer than the others because my plans changed; originally, Chapter 4 would have ended with Hilda deciding to come back to shore, and then there would have been a separate Chapter 5 from either Alfur or Johanna's perspective, about the final reconcilliation. But I just never can get away from Hilda's POV, so this was the result.

Also - I genuinely have no idea who recommended me the song, which ended up inspiring the whole fic. I'm sure it was somebody, but I asked all the friends I could think of a while ago and none of them had.

And finally, I'll take that Wildflowers offer to talk about When She Wasn't There. That fic basically only exists because of the scene in Mountain King where Trylla shuts Johanna outside; the thing is, in the graphic novel, I don't think it's clear whether Trylla actually saw Johanna, so I wasn't able to acknowledge it in There Was A Kindness In Her, and wanted to retread the concept as a result.

That meant a greater focus on Johanna and her trauma from the incident; because she goes through an awful lot (I would genuinely argue a couple of moments actually go too far for the tone of the show, although it's not as bad as The Fifty Year Night and it being a movie helps it get away with more). The original concept was actually to have her be out when Hilda got home, because she'd gone to talk to a potential therapist, and didn't want to tell Hilda. But I just couldn't get the scene break between Hilda deciding to wait for her and her returning home to work right, so I recycled what I'd written and turned most of it into the start of Hilda's nightmare.

And that's the other thing I wanted to do. There are some fantastic fics about Hilda coping with Mountain King (this fic was a gift specifically because @sarasplenda wrote what I think is the absolute best one and one of the best Hilda fics, period), but one thing I wanted to explore myself was the idea of Hilda getting Separation Anxiety. Especially for a kid like her, who's very independent and really doesn't like imposing on her mum, it would be really hard for her to feel like that, I think. I actually took a lot of inspiration from the graphic novel version of Bird Parade, where Hilda actually does get really worried when she comes home and her mum isn't there, and it ends with Johanna offering to join Hilda on her adventures at the end of the Bird Parade (both versions of that story have Johanna at her absolute best, even if the Johannas are very different characters and good for very different reasons) so I stole that directly (I am still annoyed that the graphic novels never really made good on what was implied to be a change for the better in their relationship).

Still, part of me genuinely thinks this might be the most spiteful fic I've ever published. I have similar bitter feelings towards Infinity Train, and Forests of Oregon does address those in its final Book, but it's never been written; the Afraid series gets some of it, especially in the second part, and so does Authorisation Void, but who would've thought Hilda would be the show to really get it out of me?

[sepublic]

TOH deserves better

           Y’know what?

           Now that I’ve… Had time to really focus and think and process about the news for The Owl House and its shortened Season 3, now that I’ve really dealt with other things in my life, I’m…

           I’m angry. I’m genuinely MAD…

           The Owl House has always been a comfort show for me! It’s a show I’ve loved, its characters and worldbuilding and mystery is fascinating to me and it’s inspired me! When Season 1 ended... I was excited. I was prepared. I braced myself for the story that Dana Terrace and the writers intended to tell us. I knew we had at LEAST two more full seasons to go, based on Dana’s comment about a third season.

           Season 2 would’ve been a safe season in a sense. A season where we’re in the middle of the action, where we can get onto things that have been planned and set up; But at the same time, it’s not the final season! It’s not the end. There would’ve been an entire, full season, twenty or something episodes after that. I could’ve sat back and enjoyed Season 2 in all its entirety, as another phase of the story set in the middle, and when it was all said and done, I could speculate and hope and wish and think about this final third season; Assuming we wouldn’t even get a fourth!

           But no… NO, Season 3 is literally just. THREE episodes, each twice the normal length, so like six episodes; But still, it’s obvious with how it’s formatted into a trio that Season 3 will be less a season, and more the final battle and climax of the show, the culmination of everything else! Which means for all intents and purposes… Season 2 IS the final season of the show. That everything we want to see, we hope to see; It can only happen in Season 2, because Season 3 is the final battle in a sense.

           Warning: A LOT of text and upset ramblings below!!!

           And that deeply angers me. I’ve done the calculations and there are fourteen episodes we’re missing out on, due to Season 3 being cut down. Fourteen episodes to do any wide variety of things; To focus on side characters, to flesh out lore and plot. To extend and focus on character arcs, to introduce and establish things; Fourteen episodes to introduce, develop, and finish various arcs and smaller plots! There’s SO much to do in fourteen episodes, especially in regards to relationships, and even representation as we talk about Luz and Amity and everyone else!

           And out of NOWHERE, out of the blue- We don’t get that! Dana Terrace herself admitted on Twitter that she left in December to focus on the news. I’m not entirely sure on how production works, but I imagine she and the crew were working on Season 2A when they got this news… Which means they’re going to have to COMPLETELY rehaul and rehash their plans for Season 2B as a result. They’re going to have to hastily pull together and rush the arcs they had planned out, so it can lead up to Season 3.

           They expected fourteen episodes of development; And now they have to resolve that within the remaining ten or so episodes of Season 2, which is already jam-packed with the original plans. At this point, any criticisms for the show’s writing or pacing that might come later down the line… I can’t take it seriously in good faith. Not when I know how Disney just screwed over Dana and the crew so suddenly, so abruptly, so HUGELY. Season 2 was supposed to be the mid-point, and you KNOW there are a bunch of arcs and little plot points that will never see the light of day, or be rushed, to accommodate the change!

           And it really angers me. Season 3 would’ve been made after a lot of fandom response- So all you fans of the Detention Kids, who would’ve liked to see more of them? Season 3 would’ve been the time for Dana and the crew to throw the fandom a bone… EXCEPT, because it’s only three/six episodes, there’s no way the Detention Kids will get focus now. Not when there’s the actual climax of the show left. There’s no room to have fun, to focus on side characters or expand even more on pre-established ones. Fourteen episodes’ worth of kind, small little moments that stand out- Gone, down the drain, never to see the light of day to begin with!

           I just… Feel so BAD for Dana and the crew; Dana fought so hard for this story! Her roommate said that nobody wanted to see a story about an old witch and her young apprentice, and you know what, Dana FOUGHT for that story and got it for us! She had to deal with censors for Lumity, but she fought for that! Dana and the crew were EXCITED to tell us, they no doubt had so much planned and in store, you can tell from the tone of the Reddit AMA and the Charity Livestream, all of which were done months before Disney told Dana and the crew about Season 3 being downsized.

           And like… Dana herself said that she’s still down to do future Owl House content. If Disney asks her to –with pushback from fans- then yeah, she could do more! We might get an epilogue or sequel series… But that doesn’t change how the pacing of the show will be disrupted. How a lot of arcs will have to be prematurely rushed through and finished, instead of having the loving time taken to develop and appreciate them.

          Characters will be rushed through, we had FOURTEEN episodes taken from us! Characters like Belos or Kikimora, or Odalia and Alador, the antagonists- They’re not guaranteed to survive or make it past the end of Season 3, so even if we got more content post-S3, it wouldn’t really be able to remedy for their drastically-shortened screen time, unless through flashbacks or resurrection or whatever. Characters, arcs, development, all are being shafted here.

           And this ANGERS me! Like I said, The Owl House is my comfort show. I finished Season 1 with the full understanding that we weren’t even halfway through yet; We still had SO much more to do, so much more to see, amidst all of the wonders that Season 1 had provided! But now I feel cheated. I feel cheated, because sike! Actually you WERE halfway through, and that changes everything about the tone, the pacing, the setting of the show. Suddenly I’m already looking forward to and anticipating the end, because the end is DIRECTLY after Season 2; And I can’t enjoy it as much, because now I have that anxiety and dread as Season 2 ends that… THIS is the final, full, regular season.

           It was just supposed to be another season for me to enjoy, to further flesh out the show- And out of nowhere, I have to approach this with a sudden sense of finality, I’m forced to really appreciate it even further, because this is it! This is all we have left, when until then, I thought we had so much more! And it’s angering. It’s abrupt. Season 2 was in many ways supposed to be carefree and hands-off…

           But now, I have to approach it in an existential sense. With the full understanding that the show is essentially ENDING by this point, with each new episode, we’re on a timer now. We’ve lost the luxury of Season 1, that Season 2 would’ve had, if it was the midpoint in the series. And now I can’t enjoy things as much because just as quickly as I got these new arcs and characters and developments, I have to watch them be quickly wrapped up. 

          I barely even got them, I was looking forward to more of it, there should’ve been more, and then bam! It’s already done, just kidding! Like it was handed to me, and then abruptly torn out of my hands barely a few seconds later, after I’d anticipated an entire day alone with it.

           I hate this. I’m angry, I’m sad, I’m disappointed. I had so much wonder and joy that this was only the beginning, but now it’s actually the ending! I had so much to look forward to, so much promised- And this show was doing well! It was SUCCESSFUL, Lumity brought a HUGE influx of popularity, and you know what? The show deserves that! 

          Not just for being good in general, but also- This is SUCH a huge step forward in representation, especially given how this is DISNEY of all channels… With Luz being a bisexual, ADHD, character of color! Amity fully being a lesbian ON-SCREEN, no censors, nothing held back, her crush treated and fully indulged the way a straight person’s would’ve been!

           The Owl House deserves so much for just that alone. So much attention, and it got attention, it was arguably at a peak because now so much fans are tuning in… And Disney, those paradoxical cowards, they decide to end it early!? I’m angry. I’m frustrated, I’m sad, I was told to expect more, to just enjoy myself in the moment, but now I have to readjust my sense and perception of everything in anticipation of a sudden end.

          And I’m sure that’s what Dana and the crew have to do as well, they were so excited, no doubt planting things in Season 2A to be resolved later in Season 3… But nope, now they have to rush it through and finish it in Season 2B, along with everything else they had planned! And they might have to cut out stuff from Season 2B, to make room for the ending of those pre-established arcs!

           It’s frustrating and clumsy and sudden, and it just… ANGERS ME! It makes me genuinely mad and frustrated, like I want to punch a wall… And I hate it! And a part of me hopes and wishes that if the fans really DO give enough of a backlash and demand, maybe Disney will change its mind. 

          If we say enough, ASAP, then maybe Disney will delay Season 2B so that Season 3 can be extended back to its proper length, allowing Dana and the crew to redo Season 2B as they originally intended. I’d be fine with waiting additional time, as much as the crew needs, to redo Season 2B with the understanding that they have that full third season back!

           I’d GLADLY, happily, let the crew take their time to redo Season 2B to its original glory and plans, to better set up a full Season 3! I’d let them take their time, I wouldn’t complain at all, I’d still watch! So Disney, go ahead, change your plans abruptly AGAIN, it’s not like you have no qualms screwing over this show or other content creators with this kind of back-and-forth, look at Matt Braly having to contend with True Colors being delayed and almost censored, only for the whole thing to be useless because the original episode was leaked anyway! He had to rush out the Season 3 intro, I’m betting this RIGHT now!

           But even if it was delayed, even if it was released early… It doesn’t change the actual show itself. It doesn’t change the actual story, just how it was presented- But the story itself, it remains intact. The Owl House doesn’t even get that. Brevity can be the soul of wit, but if you’re suddenly told out of nowhere to chop it down, it’s not gonna be the soul of anything. 

          It’s just… SO UNFAIR, and it makes me genuinely pissed off. Like, I could handle True Colors being delayed by the end of the day, because the show is otherwise the exact same- But TOH being so drastically reduced, abruptly shortened, I think that’s honestly objectively worse… So I braced myself for and adapted to one bad thing, and then got another thing even MORE terrible! Much more terrible, in fact- Amazing.

           I’m just… Tired and frustrated. Like it feels like I had this happy thing in my life and it was taken away from me, I can’t even have that, I can’t have the hope and anticipation for more, that’s it! It’s already done and gone! I knew I’d have to prepare for that eventually, but in a manner that felt fleshed-out and well-rounded, like I’d really had my time to enjoy and appreciate… But just kidding! It’s like a punch in the face, and it makes me honestly depressed and sad, and I kind of don’t know what to do besides… Ask for more, and hope?

          A part of me feels like the investment, the enjoyment, was lowkey all for nothing, meaningless and worthless, now that so much was cut down- And obviously it IS worth it, it always is! But in the moment of despair, I’m asking… Is that it? It was all for nothing, then… All that effort. All of that speculation and enjoyment and anticipation. 

          All you had look forward to, all of that emotion you put in- So much of it is going to be left unresolved because how the show was so enormously cut down. And now it makes me hesitant to invest in other shows, I’m afraid, in case they get cut down like this, in case my attention is punished and deprived for engaging with the material like that to begin with.

           As a viewer and someone who loves and enjoys media, I feel like there’s a trust that’s being breached, I can’t really rely or depend on things I enjoy to last or stay there, so why bother getting invested? Why put in the effort for fandom and content if it’s going to be gone like THAT, if all plans are thrown out the window, and all attention and feedback is meaningless! 

          What’s the point of showing that you love this, of expressing yourself, if you’re going to get even LESS than what you’d cautiously hoped for? Why hope at all? There’s this bitterness left inside of me, that you shouldn’t have bothered enjoying or getting invested, or pouring yourself into this, because in the end you weren’t going to get anything close to that.

           Which, fan content is ALWAYS valid! But it’s usually done to expand on stuff that’s already there… But if there was nothing there because it got pulled last second, then why bother? Why enjoy if it’s so brief? Why invest if the conclusion is so sudden and out of nowhere? Why care at all? And I know that shouldn’t change how I feel… 

          But with Infinity Train and Amphibia, I guess I really can’t count on anything, not even the mutual solidarity of numbers, to change a thing. So why hope for and ask for more and better? Why even enjoy what I have, knowing it’ll be cut off by itself in the future because the planned arcs were forcibly dropped? I can’t enjoy an episode as part of a larger story now, just a shorter one, and now there’s this pressure.

           Pressure, that’s it- A pressure on the show. A pressure on the writers and audience. To suddenly cram in and make the most of this time. Pressure on every Season 2 episode to go above and beyond to make up for the almost complete and utter lack of Season 3; Season 2 will practically have to carry the weight of TWO seasons on its back, two condensed into one! And it just… There’s so much pressure. No time to breathe or enjoy myself or relax, because now it’s all suddenly ending and fleeting in front of my eyes when I hadn’t done that, and now I go back and yell “Come back!” 

          I wish I’d enjoyed it more knowing it was already ending, but it’s too late. I wish I could’ve done something, but what could I have done? And I really did try to appreciate and cherish this to my ability, but I did so expecting more, as I should’ve- And now it feels I didn’t do enough. I feel cheated. Like the rug was pulled under me, that my effort was rendered naught and never enough no matter how hard I tried, the game is rigged.

           I’m frantic. I’m paranoid. I’m already having to say goodbye and brace myself for the end, when I expected at least another full year to unapologetically not have to worry about that, to just be in my zone and be myself and ENJOY… To not have to worry existentially like that. I can’t have that peace, I can’t have that longing, lasting fun. 

          I knew it’d come to an end, but now I can’t have the time to properly enjoy and relax and appreciate it, to truly live it out meaningfully and deliberately… I’m going to have to laser-focus now and put aside other things, because this thing is NOW and won’t last, unlike the rest; And in a way, that kind of rush and pressure, it just ends up paradoxically making the whole thing LESS fun, even!

          So in my attempts to appreciate and enjoy it more, I enjoy it less. It’s like a punch in the face in direct retaliation for getting invested and attached, for actually being connected to the story. I’m being punished for enjoying, for letting myself feel, so why ever bother with that, ever again? Why should I get attached? I’m just punished for that, so I won’t bother. I won’t put myself out there so even if it DOES see itself through, I won’t have been there for it from justified paranoia, and then I’ll miss out when it IS there. Like I can’t win, no matter what- So why participate?

          It doesn’t matter, it’s all useless. “It makes me happy”, well, maybe that’s no longer even a reason to do and make and enjoy things anymore, huh! And now I’m just… Bitterly putting it aside. Feeling like I should’ve known better, that at least I’m being more ���mature’. I feel like Luz in the first episode, throwing her book away, her prized hyperfixation that invigorated and brought so much meaning to her… I feel like Luz, just almost apathetically, in resignation, throwing it into the trash while someone smiles and tells me it’s okay and good and I SHOULD have done that, actually!

           It’s making me tired and exhausted. I didn’t want to have to suddenly feel and deliberate over all of this, all at once, right now- But I feel I’d regret it even more if I DIDN’T do that, and then it ended, and the time and moment, the opportunity, it passed! It’s a frantic dread and paranoia that means I can’t appreciate and enjoy properly, because every little thing I so desperately claw at and prize and treasure, but also I keep telling myself not to get my hopes up, and…

          It lowkey makes me want to curl up and cry? And sob, because now that insecurity, that voice in the back of my head, it was RIGHT, I really should’ve listened to it to begin with, and not ever bothered! Don’t risk the trust in connecting with someone else’s story that’s still in process, only ever engage with stuff fully finished. 

          I can never enjoy that anticipation and hope now, of being along the ride for the journey, of just getting to look out the window and wonder; Not knowing the ending, but looking forward to it! And I can’t do that anymore, not when I’m afraid of the trip suddenly grinding to a screeching halt out of nowhere!

           But yeah, I’m just… I…

           …I’m sad. I’m angry, and now I’m sad. Depressed, outright, directly because of this, when otherwise I wouldn’t have been- And that’s painful and frustrating and makes me feel like I’m being tossed around a whirlwind, with no hope. No say or agency, just a constant bad hand I have to brace myself for. So all I can do is curl up and lie down and hope for the worst to be over, and never dare to be so ungrateful or greedy to ask or hope for more, for good things, just for the bad things to lessen or stop.

          In the end, it didn’t even matter, so I should just throw it all away, never try again; And everything I did beforehand, up until then, I’ll look back at it all, those fond and innocent memories, and I’ll look back with an eternal bitterness that will forever corrupt and scar those recollections. So even the past, which allegedly can never change, is ruined for me! The past never gets better, it only gets worse, so WHY… Why believe and hope, and love and live???

          I’m just a stupid fool for being so invested in this cartoon, in fiction, why don’t I just GROW UP and focus on REAL things that matter, huh?!? I really do feel like Luz genuinely thinking and resigning herself to the Reality Check camp, having that childlike passion and joy just whittled down and strangled, feeling it die out; Knowing it will, so just getting it over with and killing it now, before I have to mourn later.

          I shouldn’t ever put forth the trust in engaging with others’ stories, just my own because I at least have control there, I should just be alone and by myself with only my stories, and never get to connect with or experience companionship with others’ stories, ever again. Just build up my walls and hide and be alone and isolated as I’ve always been- It seems even with fiction or media, I’m STILL by myself! There’s an intimacy in reading and emotionally engaging with others’ stories, where other writers put a piece of themselves into that… Hoping others will read and respond and reciprocate, and feel the same!

           Well, maybe I shouldn’t put myself out there, either, in fears of being punished and cut off and whittled down like that! Why express myself, why be, why live? Why be invested into the soul of others, manifested in their own content, if it’ll never come to fruition, if my own soul will only hurt for connecting?! This is worse than a fave or a comfort character dying, because at least the integrity of the story itself remains and is worth it.

          There’s always the chance of a return or a revival or a flashback to appreciate, but THIS… This is real life. And it’s THE ending in the most abrupt and literal and tangible sense, of the media itself; An ending more powerful and harsh than any resolution to an arc. Because now NOTHING will ever be expected to come out from this, ever again- No new content, nothing else to enjoy. Media is like a fantasy, an escapism from real life, but even when I fully expected and accepted and saw the boundary and end between fantasy and reality… I still get punished with reality regardless! I can’t escape that real life because it WILL go out of its way to directly cut in and interfere, and ruin, what I love.

           So why escape? Why invested? Why love? Why should I ever feel comfort??? It’s all stupid. I’m stupid. Life is finite and it’s merely what’s directly in front of you, don’t dare to dream or imagine, or think or hope, just focus on what’s in front and get by and try to live… Or at least ‘survive’. Or ‘not die’, I guess.

          And now I resent real life even more for ruining this for me, when beforehand I could still like and appreciate it, even if I still needed some time away every now and then. So paradoxically, trying to get me to focus on real life, has made me detest it moreso! It’s that whole thing of don’t bother trying because you’ll just get punished for it, just passively wait and receive, don’t LIVE. Don’t stake initiative or agency.

          At least if a character dies, the universe and immersion is still intact, if not moreso because then you feel and become even MORE connected and get that emotional catharsis, everything up until then and after takes on a whole new meaning and appreciation; But if it ends in real life, the immersion is gone. The fantasy is permanently shattered, and now it’s all worthless in hindsight because you’re reminded that it was never real to begin with.

          And what little you DID get, is now ruined; And you’re not going to get anything else new, either! You can’t even KEEP things anymore… You’re just a bitter fool who’s going to get old and wither, look back, and become even MORE bitter and miserable. All of the emotion you felt, it’s been rendered worthless and meaningless, that connection once made… And I hate to see things ruined like that, so maybe don’t have things to begin with!

          I’m bitterly, enviously jealous of others who still manage to enjoy, because why are you still invested?! Why still keep trying, don’t you realize how pointless it is!? And now I’m just ruining that for them, I’m ruining THEM, in my own mind and heart and place in life. How can you still keep going!? So even that stuff they make, that fandom content that exists on its own more or less in a sense, even THAT is marred and ruined for me… And I feel like I’m internally ruining that for others, that makes me feel guilty as I loathe myself for being so awful, so why believe that I can be better? Why try to be better then?!

           I’m envious, because you guys still manage to cope and handle this in a realistic way, in a safe and mature manner. And anything others make, it’s just a cruel, cold reminder, a mockery even, of what I’ve lost, of my dashed and ruined hopes. And then I can’t bear to look at or even enjoy THAT, especially stuff made post-announcement, because you guys managed to keep making it anyway. And me, I didn’t, so what does that say about miserable old me? But then don’t make this about MYSELF…

          Seriously though, if you’re going to still enjoy and create, please do so! Don’t let this bitter fool stop you. Don’t let me hurt you. Just keep going out there and be yourself, me, I’ll… I’ll figure something out I guess? But yeah, that’s MY problem, not yours, those of you who keep creating anyway, you’re everything I admire and more! You’re all heroes in a sense, and I encourage and fully support you- If my ramblings make you hesitate or discourage you, then just throw them aside and disregard that! I’d never want to intrude or interrupt someone’s own expression, not when I mourn my own, that’s for sure!

           And y’know what? Other people who keep creating… You remind me that there IS hope. That there maybe is a point in going on and being invested, especially indie creators, because y’all have control and agency and take over what you make, and don’t have to depend or rely on, or fear, some gross corporation butting in and pulling the strings, threatening to revoke and take it all away! Thank you, I’m grateful, truly I am, I’m eternally indebted in a way I can never fully repay. Maybe I can try to make up for this by continuing to make my own things… So now this depressed, cynical rant, suddenly it takes a more hopeful turn as I write it, because of others!

           And now I’m thinking to myself… It IS worth it to connect. For those little moments of inspiration and joy and hope that others can instill. Thanks, you guys. Out of nowhere, you suddenly made it better for me, and kind of helped me overcome this depressive slump; And here I was, just thinking and resigning myself to the end! I guess it never really IS the end… And what I said about feeling like Luz, throwing away her beloved book and joy of her life? Well, she DID go back to grab that book, and in doing so, found love, found family, and happiness she couldn’t have anticipated beyond her wildest dreams!

           …Even so, wishful thinking aside, this has all been a whirlwind to me;

           I’m tired.

[drabbles-of-writing]

Meet Me in the Void (pt 3)

This is part of my Fallen AU Part 1, Part 2

AO3

Masterpost

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Purple either has to be remarkably stubborn or ridiculously inhuman, because Luz is pretty sure any regular human, or even witch, would’ve collapsed from blood loss at this point.

She decides it's probably a bit of both.

Purple had insisted on moving as soon as their injuries were bandaged up. Luz protested, but clearly, when Purple had an idea in their head, they couldn’t quit. Because despite that, Purple still got up and limped their way through the trench. Luz couldn’t do much but follow. Or, really, lead.

Every few minutes Luz would stop and turn around, seeing that Purple had fallen back a bit and was struggling to keep up. And Luz found Purple was...a lot less intimidating. Obviously, because of the whole injured thing, but they had taken off their cloak and wrapped it around their side, leaving them just in black. They seemed far skinnier than Luz imagined, like they hadn’t eaten in weeks. Who knows, maybe those animals who made themselves look bigger had the right idea on intimidation.

But back to the topic at hand.

Luz would insist on slowing down whenever Purple seemed to take an extra minute to catch up, but at this point, they’d stopped responding. Luz figured they were just tuning her out.

So, clearly that wasn’t going to work. But what else was Luz supposed to do? Walk in awkward silence for hours on end? She’d rather try to climb the trench with her bare hands. 

And for the dozenth time in half an hour (she thinks, time is weird when you're underground and lost in a ravine), Luz was leaning against the wall of the pit, arms crossed as she waited for Purple to limp their way over.

“So,” She started. Upon no reaction from Purple as they continued limping by, she took it as a go-ahead. “Do you have a name?”

Purple finally looked up at her (progress!), giving her a tired look. They then went right back to limping, now beginning to pass Luz.

“...okay, no name then.” Luz said, pushing off the wall and deciding to walk slowly alongside them. “Is it cool if I call you Purple, then? Cause that’s kind of what I’ve been doing lately.”

Purple blinked, or at least gave the impression of it, and looked over at Luz incredulously. 

“So I’m not original, sue me.” Luz mumbled, shoving her hands into her pockets. “You got a preference for something else?”

Purple grumbled a few throaty clicking sounds, turning their head back to paying attention to what was in front of them.

“Well, I can’t pronounce that, so I think Purple will have to suffice.” Luz said simply.

She could’ve sworn the light chuffing sound Purple made was almost a laugh.

The silence started up again, and Luz reached for anything to talk about. Or, ask, really. It was a little hard to keep up a conversation with someone who couldn’t talk, but she could make this work.

“I’ve also just been calling you a they,” Luz started, waving her hand around. “Is that alright, too?”

Purple glanced over at her again, and Luz got the feeling they very much didn’t want to entertain her questions or pestering. To their credit, they weren’t outright ignoring Luz anymore.

“Do you go by he?” Luz guessed, kicking at the small pebbles beneath her feet in some attempt to not have to focus solely on the conversation. “She?”

Purple raised a claw, chirping as they pointed at Luz and nodded. Praise them for using gestures that Luz could understand.

“You're a she?” Luz guessed. Purple nodded calmly, going right back to dragging herself over the stones.

Luz resisted the urge to pump a fist in the air. She was getting somewhere! Purple seemed to not have an aversion to yes or no questions, probably because they were easy to answer, so if she just kept asking those, she could maybe not get murdered after all this.

Or at least be entertained for a while.

“Uh, lets see,” Luz thought aloud, searching for questions. “Well, since we’re down here, did you see where anyone else fell off?”

Purple shook her head, not bothering to look over at Luz this time.

“Not even the other two Chasers?” Luz inquired. “Actually, do they have names, too? I never managed to get any for them. We kind of just identify those two as ‘the one with darts’ and ‘the one with the rivet.’” 

Purple snorted, raising a brow as she looked to her side, where her needle was resting on her belt. She pointed to the needle, then to her, with a faint amused air to her.

“What, you think we should’ve called you Needle?” Luz huffed. “That...huh,” She paused. “That actually might’ve been more creative than Purple.”

Purple snickered, Luz was sure of it this time, their body shaking slightly with a laugh. Luz will admit, she felt quite proud of her feat. For a solid five seconds.

The movement made Purple wince, and she hunched her shoulders as she stopped in her tracks, hissing.

“Crap, are you alright?” Luz fretted, stepping closer. “I told you, we really should rest, that wound could--” 

Her hand brushed Purple’s shoulder, and it was like a switch was flipped.

Purple snarled, a feral, guttural noise Luz would be terrified to hear at night. And was more than a little scary to hear in the moment.

Purple jerked away from Luz, claws unsheathing as she stumbled right towards the edge.

Luz was somehow thinking clearly enough to sharply back away instead of reaching out, fearing the Chaser would fall right off into the Void.

And, thankfully, Purple didn’t take a step too far. The edge of her heel went over the edge for barely a moment, pebbles clicking and falling silently in the blackness beneath them. It was enough for Purple to look back and retract her foot.

Once again, the Void almost seemed to reach for her, like a hundred hands towards a raft in the middle of a sea. Though none were close enough to be anywhere near actually grabbing her.

Luz swallowed and Purple stepped away from the ledge, shaking herself and tightening her hold around her wounded side.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t--”

Purple growled, glancing at Luz before straightening up somewhat, though it was clear doing so completely would be too painful. With a gruff and a sharp turn of her head, she went right on walking (poorly so). At a much brisker pace this time.

Luz, who personally didn’t want to see how else Purple would react if further prodded, resigned to keeping her mouth shut and shuffling after her.

Well, at least she had made some progress.

,

The next pits of walking were far more silent than earlier. Luz wasn’t even rambling or saying something brief to break the anxious silence like before. She didn’t even bother walking ahead of Purple, even though her regular pace was still faster than hers. Being in Purple’s line of sight and having to wait for her seemed like a death sentence at this point.

Purple either knew Luz was doing this on purpose or didn’t care, because she hadn’t looked back once. Only hobbling along and growling quietly if she stumbled, to which Luz had to bite her tongue and let happen.

It continued like that for what seemed like an eternity, though now that Luz thought back, it was probably about fifteen minutes or so. And Luz had been so wrapped up in feeling awful for startling Purple that she hadn’t noticed said Chaser had stopped moving.

It was a miracle Luz managed to realize it in time before walking right into her, giving a small squeak as she jumped back.

Purple glanced back, for the first time, with nothing short of an annoyed glare.

“Uh, sorry,” Luz mumbled with a shy smile. “What’s the hold...up…”

Luz trailed off as she peered around the assassin. There, in front of them both, was nothing but a gaping hole straight into the Void.

The large jut of rock they had been walking across had ended, leaving a sizable gap before them. There was another ledge a few feet in front of them, though it was also well above the height of their current standing. Not an impossible jump, but Luz was a little antsy about someone as banged up as Purple trying to traverse it.

Purple paced, limping to the side as she looked between their ledge and the one above and across from them. Her eyes were narrowed, and she made a lot of odd steps as she tried to figure out how to make the leap.

Luz, meanwhile, was pretty sure she could make it in one bounce.

Easily? No, but she was fairly certain she’d made worse before. And Purple was definitely going to have some trouble getting over that.

So Luz took a few steps back, sizing up the gap between the two ledges. This would be a lot easier with her sword, but it would have to do.

Purple chirped quietly as she looked between the distance. Her hand went to her needle right as Luz crouched down, bunching up her legs.

Now, were anyone else here, they probably would’ve caught on right away to Luz’s (heart-attack inducing) plan. But fortunately for her, none of her friends were here right now. And Purple had yet to get used to how impulsive Luz’s plans could be.

So when Purple turned around, she had no time to prepare or stop Luz as she took off straight towards the gap between the ledges.

Purple’s eyes widened and a sound similar to a cat’s wail and yelp came from her as Luz leapt off at the very end of the rock, completely untethered in the air for a few seconds. Right before she slammed, rather harshly, into the other jut of stone.

“Woo!” Luz cheered, despite the fact that only her hands had a good grip, and half her body was dangling precariously over the Void.

Purple was now rapidly pacing across the rock she was still on, sounding like a strained, slightly less painful chalkboard. Luz paid no heed, instead moving her feet around to try and get a good grip on the rocks to hoist herself up.

“Don’t worry, I got it!” Luz called (rather optimistically) behind her.

Purple’s distressed calls didn’t cease, neither did her lopsided pacing. It took a few more agonizing moments before Luz had managed to get her foot caught on a nook in the rocks and heave herself up, rolling over onto her back once she did so.

“I’m okay!” She assured, not even bothering to lift her head as she caught her breath, calming from her adrenaline rush.

Then, and only then, did Purple finally stop. Luz sat up then, looking down and seeing a thoroughly pissed off witch (if Purple counted as one) glaring up at her.

“Oh, so you can walk for hours on end while bleeding out, but when I jump a gap, suddenly it's an issue?” Luz demanded.

Many loud, chittering squawks came from Purple as she began waving her hands around and gesturing to Luz, her irked tone not lost on the human in the slightest. She still held the needle, and Luz was rather grateful she wasn’t within stabbing distance.

“Yeah, yeah, should’ve warned you,” Luz mumbled, crawling to the edge of the ledge. “But look on the bright side! Now I can help you cross over. So I’d say it was worth it.”

Luz swears she saw Purple’s eye twitch.

And then, immediately after, Purple raised the needle in her hand and stepped back. Luz knew that stance well enough and quickly backed away.

In a mostly fluid movement, she threw the needle like a spear almost towards the exact spot Luz had been sitting. It embedded into the stone right below where Luz had been, albeit not very deep. Either Purple’s aim was failing, or the rocks were very tough down here.

“Is that a good ide--”

Luz was cut off by Purple giving her a dirty look, and Luz slowly shut her mouth. Right, not her place to bring up how bad an idea is.

Purple tugged on the string connecting her belt to her needle, experimentally testing it out. Luz, fairly certain that needle would hold about as well as the first time Purple tried that stunt, made sure to grab the other end of it with her hands. A safety-line of sorts.

Purple seemed exasperated but didn’t argue. Instead, she crouched at the edge and bunched her legs up like a cat underneath her. One wrist had the string loosely wrapped around it, her hands free to become clawed and grip the stone underneath her.

With far more grace than Luz, Purple sprung.

Granted, it was as much grace as someone bleeding from two injuries could muster.

Purple hit the rock, a little lighter, and instantly dug her claws in and gave a hiss, coiling in on herself. Luz winced, that had to hurt.

Purple was quick to begin pulling herself up, and Luz began to offer her hand for a moment before deciding better of it and scooting to the side. She gave the Chaser room as she kept her hands tightly around the safety needle.

The assassin flopped onto her front when she climbed up, her feet hanging off the edge as she deflated with a groan. Luz, who felt assured Purple wouldn’t roll off to her demise, wiggled the needle for a few moments until it popped loose. She set it down before looking back to Purple, crawling closer until she was peering over the bug.

One of Purple’s eyes opened, landing on Luz. Her ragged breathing slowed then as she growled and pushed herself onto her knees. Luz didn’t move back, instead gazing over Purple’s side and noting that the cloak had gotten dirty once more.

“You should probably change that up again.” Luz mentioned, a lot more casual than one should probably be when next to an upset assassin.

Purple grumbled, flicking her wrist that was still wrapped up in the string. It quickly brought the needle closer to her, and in one movement, Purple had grabbed the needle and raised it to Luz’s face.

Luz instinctively stiffened, the point of the needle pressed right on the bridge of her nose. Luz crossed her eyes to look at the point.

“So,” Luz said with a click of her tongue. “I take it...you're still mad at me?” She guessed sheepishly, her eyes uncrossing for a moment to look towards Purple, who seemed like she was debating if she was too tired to be bothered.

Instead, Purple sighed and pushed at the needle, causing Luz to lean and then stumble back so as to avoid getting a new injury on her face.

Which ended up not working when Purple gave one last tiny push and pierced the skin between Luz’s eyes.

“Ow!” Luz yelped, jerking away and pressed a hand to the wound. Purple snickered and sat back, strapping the needle to her belt.

It wasn’t bleeding very much, barely anything really, but Luz was still miffed. Purple didn’t seem to care and rolled to her feet, muttering as she shuffled towards the stone wall.

Luz blinked, watching her from where she sat as Purple flopped against the wall, already messing with her cloak wrapped around her injury so she could press slightly-cleaner cloth against it.

“A...are we resting now?” Luz asked incredulously.

Purple raised a brow, looking around and gesturing with a hand as though the answer were obvious and not at all a legitimate question in these circumstances.

“Seriously?” Luz groaned. “I ask you to break for hours, and all I have to do to get you to take a break is to be quiet for fifteen minutes? Or was it the reckless behavior that made you decide it's time to have a break?”

Purple puffed with a shrug, and Luz had a sneaking suspicion she was grinning under that mask. If there was anything under the mask. Maybe it was just void, that’d be cool.

The assassin then gestured with her claws to a spot a couple feet from her, even snapping her claws in emphasis. Luz, who was in a mix of being excited that Purple didn’t appear to want her gutted and very mildly annoyed, decided it was alright to talk more.

“What, think I’m going to dive off headfirst for fun?” Luz grumbled, though she did get up and walk to the spot Purple wanted her to sit in.

Purple nodded calmly, to which Luz gave an offended gasp. 

“I’ll have you know that I have some impulse control,” Luz scoffed with mock-annoyance. “And I am honestly appalled that you’d think otherwise.”

Purple looked at her strangely then, her head tilting like she was looking between Luz and whatever else was around them. As though she were confused at Luz’s dramatized outrage.

“I…” Luz hesitated, but decided she’d already made enough bad decisions that she could risk looking like a further idiot by guessing incorrectly. “You know I was joking, right?”

Purple’s brows raised at that (mimicking doing so, really), humming in realization. She looked far more assured before nodding and going back to re-tying her cloak around her side.

So, Purple had a little trouble with sarcasm at times. Good to know.

Luz took the moment of calmness to look up the chasm. She could see faded lights from nearby towns shining just over the trench. Luz had no idea what time it was now, the Boiling Isles didn’t really have a sense of night and day, but she could figure that now was generally when most people were asleep. Though knowing Eda, she’d be wide awake right now. She’d always insisted the ‘normal time’ for everyone else was stupid.

“Do you think we’ll find the others?” Luz wondered aloud, turning her head slightly to the Chaser. “I’d say I’m pretty alright at finding wherever my friends run off to, but that’s usually because Eda leaves a wake of destruction in her path. You gotta be good with tracking to find us all the time, right?”

Purple didn’t respond, as per usual. But she did glance up to Luz, her claws twitching. Her shoulders seemed to raise, becoming stiffer as she looked out at the canyon they were in. She didn’t look at Luz as she shrugged and leaned back against the wall, one hand laying across her wounded leg and pressing at it.

“Do you need new bandages for your leg?” Luz asked, perking up and leaning just a bit closer. “I can help with--”

Luz cut herself off when Purple shrank away from her getting closer. There was still at least a two foot distance between them, and yet Purple coiled right back in on herself.

“Right,” Luz mumbled, moving back to her previous position.

And that was that, she supposed. 

Luz drew her knees close to her chest, noting that Purple had turned her back to her and was likely attempting to sleep. Or at least get some rest.

Luz figured she should probably try to rest, too. She had a lot more walking ahead of her. So she stretched her legs out, using her hands as a pillow on the very uncomfortable ground.

“Night, guys.” She whispered to no one in particular. Nobody around right now, at least.

Silence answered her.

[shipping-is-the-shit]

My Loud House Sin kids AU

(Sin Kids meaning- a fandom term for fictional sibling x sibling ship kids or fictional adult/minor ship kids)

So I’ve been getting into the loud house fandom lately and i found out the “sin kids” concept/AU where Lincoln has kids with his sisters and stuff, so yeah you know how that is, anyway i decided to create my own sin kids but between Bobby x Lincoln. The ship was first inspired by @samsuchan​ and by then i hadn’t really thought of the idea of bobby x lincoln but when I actually thought about it it sounded cute so decided to draw their sin kids

(yes i am aware that bobby looks different here, i just don’t really like his headshape plus this is easier to draw)

So this is how my AU goes, It all started normally till after the episode where Lincoln and Bobby hang out,Lincoln finds out that he unfortunately has a crush on Bobby and tries to surpress the feelings because of the age gap and cause he’s dating Lori so later on they find out they have feelings for each other and then start having their secret relationship, it’s all fine and good till one day Bobby drinks Lisa’s potion and then one day unknowingly has a kid, he had no idea about it cause his stomach didn’t even swell and he wasn’t even showing the usual pregnancy symptoms, he just went to take a dump one day and found a fucking baby that looked identical to him and Lincoln, Bobby asks to move out and tries to keep the birth of the kid a secret from everyone except Lincoln, they keep unknowingly having more kids, thinking the effects of the potion would’ve worn off but it didn’t till their seventh kid, when Lincoln turned eighteen he moved out to go live with bobby and the kids but it didn’t take long for everyone to find out what was going on and be surprised and furious, well furious mostly referring to Mr and Mrs Loud, Lori,Ronnie Anne and the Casagrandes of course. They currently have seven kids though i’m still struggling with whether or not this takes place in the original sin kids AU of the loud house especially since Bobby is supposed to be dead in that AU, Well anyways time to introduce the kids!

LUISA   LOUD, 16 years old

She is sixteen years old but mature for her age. She has a studious, serious and formal personality. She dislikes her buck teeth because she thinks less people might take her seriously because of it. She does smile but it doesn’t happen much. She loves reading adventure/mystery novels and is neat and organized like her father Bobby. She is responsible so she gets easily annoyed with her other sisters’s irresponsibility and she always does her best to please people and abide by rules.

  LILIANA LOUD, 15 years old

A total comic book enthusiast,she does play video games but spends most of her time drawing comics and manga and watching anime. She has anxiety and stutters with her words. She can be kind and sweet but likes saying humorous depressed and suicidal lines from time to time which can most times annoy or creep out her sisters and parents. She is an anti-social shut in with no friends and just like her dad Bobby she is very clingy to people she’s close to. She can’t even imagine a single day without her dads and is very clearly not independent on her own. Her favorite comic book series is Ace Savvy which she likes to read with her dad Lincoln plus she also has a hobby of drawing hentai which she tries to hide from everyone.

   LUPE   LOUD, 14 years old

Lupe is extremely irresponsible, feared by almost all of her sisters and sometimes even her parents!, she is considered to be “that one sibling you just don’t want to fuck with” in the house of the Loud and sees herself as a badass and regularly makes snarky comments . She likes to be on her own with her own private space but is not as anti-social as Lilianna . She gets annoyed easily and regularly yells at her siblings (tho its mostly the younger ones). She is not as petty as to do random shit just to piss people off but she’ll do it if she hates you. She also finds it fun to regularly tease people(not in a sexual way) and also likes to play videogames. Her favorite band is also “SMOOCH” though she can’t play any musical instruments so she just listens to music.She can sometimes be close with her sisters Liliana and Luz.She also regularly swears in spanish.

LUPITA  LOUD, 13 years old

She is as cool as a cucumber and is very level headed and chill like her father and doesn’t really care or get bothered by most things though unlike Bobby she is extremely lazy and mostly spends her time lazing around the house much to Bobby’s disappointment. She sees herself as cool and is also obsessed with being cool . She gets unhappy when she has to do work even if it’s for her own good. Her favorite past time is sleeping, she doesn’t really have any skills and even if she does it’s probably something stupid like being able to make a fart sound with your armpit or being able to get your toe to touch your nose, she also uses the word “dude” in almost every sentence. Her laziness can also annoy her siblings from time to time.

    LUZ     LOUD, 12 years old

(yes she’s inspired from the owl house)

  Luz is the main character of my Lincoln x Bobby AU, she is a very happy go lucky girl and is always optimistic. She is trustworthy of everyone around her which can make her a victim of her sisters’s plans as she is gullible, despite being dimwitted she is very good at making plans to get out of sticky or difficult  situations. She also dreams to be an astronaut when she grows up and likes designing spaceship ideas. Her favorite past time is playing video games with her dad Lincoln though other times she considers Lupa as her gaming partner. Lupa and Luz constantly argue but they have their moments. Luz also reads comics from time to time though only if they have something to do with space.

LORENA   LOUD, 11 years old

Lorena is a very mischeivious girl who is always looking for new ways to piss people off all in the name of getting a reaction, she does this to everybody though her favorite victim is Lupa. She likes to be an annoying asshole to almost everyone and rarely abides by the rules. Her favorite past time is pulling ghost pranks and making fun of people,she finds joy in laughing at others misfortunes,she also makes ghost jokes. She likes reading comics about ghosts and has a big interest for paranormal stuff. She is a big fan of ghostbusters and dreams of being an excorcist when she grows up.She also has a bit of a gothish personality. Just think of her entire personality as that annoying and buggy little sister,yeah thats her.

LUCIANA    LOUD, 10 years old

  Despite her age, her street smarts is on a whole other level. She has a huge interest in business or commerce topics or subjects. She has a calm personality but is most times obnoxious, she also really likes money, especially gaining it. She is known to be a trickster both in the house of the louds and even out in the streets. She helps her dad Bobby to run his store and one day hopes to be a successful businesswoman in the future. Her partner in crime and the one she hangs out the most with is Lorena.

Hope you guys like my idea and the characters!

Content about the characters or my AU will always be appreciated!

The original sin kids AU was inspired by (or atleast i think it was) @liosdoodles , @trillhouse-lh , @patanu102​ , @sadistcshy​ 

This is hands down the most cursed thing i have ever drawn lol.

[serenlyss]

Parallel

Fandom: The Owl House Rating: G Relationships: lumity, luz & her mom, amity & her family Summary: Luz and Amity have more in common than just their favorite book series. Crossposted to AO3: Parallel

This one-shot is set between Enchanting Grom Fright and Wing it like Witches. I just can't stop thinking about how Amity and Luz are kind of foils for each other and how their families are so different but similar in certain ways. I feel like they'd bond over their respective parental drama. Anyway this show has stolen my heart and Lumity slays me so have some gay bonding.

---

Something’s off with Luz.

It isn’t difficult for Amity to notice. She’s a perceptive young witch; it’s a quality she’s always considered to be a strength of hers, and she knows more than she lets on, but Luz is also notoriously easy to read. She wears her heart on her sleeve, and she doesn’t mince her words--not when she really means it. It’s a trait of hers that makes Amity feel simultaneously warm and envious, but it also means that Amity is acutely aware of every shift in her friend’s moods and mannerisms. Today, it would seem, her balance is especially skewed.

The two of them had retreated to Amity’s library hideout after classes for their now-frequent reading sessions, a tradition Luz had dubbed the “Azura Book Club” despite the fact that Amity’s personal collection is far larger than just a handful of fantasy novels. Over the past few sessions, Amity had begun to introduce to Luz a few of her favorite novels that originated from the Boiling Isles itself, and for the last few sessions, the human girl had been practically glued to her side while she eagerly read over Amity’s shoulder. Amity would swear up and down that the close proximity definitely does not make her so nervous that she can hardly focus on the page in front of her, but if Luz notices her slower reading pace and persistently flushed face, she has yet to comment on it.

This afternoon, however, Luz is keeping her distance. She still sits close enough to Amity that their knees touch where they’re sharing the same giant beanbag chair, and it’s still intimate enough to set off the alarm bells in Amity’s definitely-not-distracted mind, but she’s been uncharacteristically quiet all afternoon. There are no excited comments, no involuntary noises in response to the surprising events happening in the narrative, not even a quiet chuckle at the book’s various jokes and hijinks. In fact, now that Amity reflects on the prior school day and even into that morning, Luz has been kind of spacey and distracted all day. Well, more than usual, and in a different way than Amity has learned is typical of her. She keeps pulling out her phone and fiddling with it, unlocking it with some kind of purpose only to hesitate and return it to her pocket every time. Even now, when Amity turns her head to see if Luz has finished the page they’re on, she sees that her friend isn’t even looking at the book at all, and she’s holding her phone in both hands. Her gaze has wandered over to a shelf to her right, but when Amity tilts her head to get a better look, she sees that Luz isn’t looking at anything in particular at all. She seems lost in her own head, unfocused. From this angle she even looks a little sad, her mouth turned down into a persistent frown that Amity doesn’t see very often.

Amity swallows, contemplating what she should do. Should she play dumb and act like nothing’s wrong, try to smooth things over? She’s never been a very… emotionally intimate person, at least not on the outside, and she doesn’t want to pry into anything personal Luz might be experiencing for fear that it might drive her away. Stop overthinking things so much, she mentally berates herself, recognizing her bad habit and attempting to squash it. Luz isn’t the kind of person to get angry over something like this. It’s Amity who dislikes the prying.

“Um,” she finally speaks up, attempting to grab Luz’s attention. It works, and she watches Luz blink and straighten up in her seat, as though awakening from a trance. Immediately, the sad fog that had been enveloping her gaze subsides, and she musters a meaningful--if unusually small--smile, quietly prompting Amity to continue. Once again, Amity considers playing it off, turning the subject to a new book or a happier, more lighthearted conversation, and again she corrects herself. “Are you okay?” she asks instead, nervously thumbing the corner of the book’s page to release some of her apprehension. “You’ve been spacing out, and you keep pulling out your phone. Are you expecting a call or something?”

Amity’s never seen a person stuff their phone into their pocket faster than Luz. Her smile turns sheepish, and Amity almost misses the flash of guilt that passes through her expression for just a moment. “Oh! Nah, I’m not expecting anything. Just antsy, I guess,” she deflects. It only serves to make Amity more worried.

“Are you sure? You just seem… out of it, I guess.” She turns her gaze down to the book still open in her lap, frown deepening. “I mean, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to, especially if it’s something personal, but, um…” She trails off, feeling the telltale rise of a blush on her face. What a time to start feeling bashful! “W-we’re friends, right? You can tell me if something is bothering you. Because we’re friends.” She stumbles over her words a bit, wincing internally at her own lack of tact. Could she be any more awkward?

Still, Luz does look a bit relieved to hear this, and she nods her head. “Yeah, of course,” she says immediately, with full confidence in the statement. It eases Amity’s nerves every so slightly, but it also brings with it a tinge of disappointment. Somehow the word “friend” doesn’t feel quite right. But now isn’t the time for that, Amity reminds herself, pushing that thought out of her mind for the time being.

Luz lets out a loud sigh and flops back on the beanbag, jostling Amity in the process. “I really am okay,” she continues, her voice more self-assured this time. “I just… I’m worried about my mom.”

Amity blinks, a little surprised by the admission. Luz doesn’t talk about her parents very often; it seems to be a sore subject for her, and Amity doesn’t dare bring it up with her, not after Grom. Apparently it’s been eating at her more than she’s let on, for it to lead to this. “What about her?” she prompts, swallowing back her own worry. She slips a bookmark between the pages of the novel they’d been reading to mark their place, then sets it aside to focus all her attention on Luz. “Is she not responding to you?”

Luz musters up a wry smile. “Kind of the opposite, actually. She sends me texts almost every day,” she replies, an obvious fondness creeping into her voice.

Amity is… confused. It’s obvious that Luz loves her mother, and from what little Luz has said, her mother loves her just as much. “I don’t understand,” she says with a shake of her head. “Do you not like getting messages from her?”

“I do!” Amity says quickly, almost in a panic, like she’s afraid of anyone thinking otherwise. “That's not what I meant.” She lets out a groan of frustration, giving her legs a kick and scrubbing her hands over her face. She’s silent for a moment, hands hiding her expression, before she finally peeks out from under them to glance in Amity’s direction. “Hey, if I tell you something, can you, um, keep it between us?”

Her voice is quieter now, layered with an air of secrecy, and it just makes Amity more curious. Still, she suppresses her inner gossip for the sake of respecting Luz’s feelings. “Of course,” she responds honestly. “What happens in the club, stays in the club.” She recites a line Luz is fond of repeating whenever their club discussions turn more personal, but this feels like an extra weighty secret for Luz to be sharing.

Still, her attempt at humor pays off, winning a genuine smile from Luz, who immediately blurts out, “My mom doesn’t know I’m here.”

Amity blinks, shocked, and is quiet for a few seconds as she processes this information. “Wait, what? How does she-I mean, she knows you’re not home, right?” she presses, frantically trying to wrap her head around this situation.

“She thinks I’m at summer camp,” Luz clarifies, clear disdain for the camp tinging her words. “She’d freak out if she knew I was here!” Guilt starts to take over her expression again, tugging her lips into a deep frown. “You saw her at Grom, right? That’s what I’m afraid will happen when she finds out I ditched her camp. I’m supposed to be learning boring adult stuff, like how to be polite and not say weird things and, I dunno, file taxes? Adults do that, right?” She throws her hands up in the air, huffing.

Amity shakes her head, a little overwhelmed. Sure, she’d suspected something was up at Grom, but she hadn’t known just how deep her rabbit hole goes. “Taxes?” she mumbles to herself in confusion, then gives her head a shake. That isn’t the important part. Staring down at Luz’s expression, Amity feels bad. Luz is obviously agonizing over this on the inside, and has been since the day she’d arrived at the Boiling Isles. Something in Amity really hates seeing the way Luz avoids her gaze, like she’s ashamed to be admitting this. She’s twitchy, too, looking for any way to let out her nervous energy. At the moment, she fiddles with her fingers, crossing and uncrossing them, and picking imaginary dirt from underneath her fingernails.

Amity lets out a long breath, steeling her nerve, and flops back onto the beanbag at Luz’s side. The force of it jostles them both, and despite herself, Luz can’t help but let out a little laugh when she’s nearly thrown onto the ground. She wiggles around to reposition herself, and Amity nearly chokes on a breath when Luz’s arm presses against hers and comes to rest there. She’s suddenly very aware of how hard her heart is beating, sitting so close to Luz like this, but she doesn’t dare move, for fear of disrupting the moment. Her voice cracks just a bit when she says, softly, “Why are you so intent on hiding it from her? I don’t know much about humans, but is it really so bad for you to be spending time here, with us?”

Luz sighs dejectedly. “That’s the thing. Everything about this place, everything that I love, is the reason she wanted to send me away in the first place!” she says. “You may not get it, but I’m not just a weirdo here, Amity. I’m a weirdo on Earth, too.”

“Of course you’re a weirdo, I already know that,” Amity says before she can stop herself. She can’t hide the snickers that bubble up in her throat when Luz hits her on the shoulder good-naturedly.

    “Not funny,” Luz complains, but Amity can see the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.

    Amity swallows down her laughter. “Sorry, sorry. It’s not an insult, promise. I like your weirdness,” she admits, hastily turning away before Luz can see the easy blush that comes to her face so often these days.

    She hears Luz laugh softly beside her, and takes it as a victory. “Thanks,” she murmurs. “I wish everyone could accept it like you and Willow and Gus do. My mom sent me away to camp because she wanted to fix my weirdness. No fanfiction, no cat ear sweaters, no fantasy novels. I know she’s just worried about me, but it’s not like I’m hurting anyone! Is it really so bad that I like nerdy things and want to geek out about them?” Turning to look at Amity, she forces a grin. “Don’t answer that. I promise it’s no big deal, it’s just something I worry about sometimes-”

    Luz keeps talking, but Amity is frozen. She hesitates to admit it out loud, but Luz’s words hit a little too close to home for her liking. Flashbacks of her younger self being scolded by her parents crop up in her mind, punishments for silly things; associating with the wrong people, participating in activities they didn’t approve of, ditching her studying in favor of something fun. Instances where her parents had pushed her away from what she wanted and towards their own ideal. It all made so much sense now. “I totally get it,” she blurts out, surprised and astounded that she and Luz, from two completely different worlds, maybe even different dimensions, could have something so intimate and personal in common.

    Luz looks surprised, too. “You do?” she says.

“Yeah, I really do,” Amity echoes, and a smile breaks out on her face despite the heaviness of the topic. Of everyone she’s ever met on the Boiling Isle, only her own siblings have really related to her family’s… complicated dynamic, and Edric and Emira aren’t exactly people Amity is keen on confiding in. “My parents do it too. You saw them, in Willow’s mind. They do stuff like that all the time. I’m a Blight, after all, I have a reputation to uphold on their behalf. If you don’t do things their way, you get scolded, right? Can’t go giving off “the wrong impression” or it reflects badly on them. Your mom wants you to do what she wants, not what you want. That’s exactly how my parents are with me and my siblings.”

Luz is staring at Amity in stunned silence, sympathy clouding her gaze. “Yeah, that’s exactly what it’s like,” she sighs. “It’s hard, trying to live up to her expectations without feeling like I’m giving up everything I love. Is it hard for you, too?”

Amity shrugs. “I guess. My parents are easier on me than on my siblings, though,” she admits, clasping her hands over her stomach. Her elbow rubs against Luz’s in the process, but her friend doesn’t seem to notice. “Ed and Em were under super strict control when they were younger. I guess they coped with it by rebelling wherever they could. They still do.” She shrugs her shoulders. “Mom and Dad still try to keep them under control, but, well, you’ve seen them. They don’t take orders easily.”

Luz giggles softly at this, nodding her head. “I’m an only child. I think Mom feels like if I keep going down the path I’m on, that I’ll somehow ruin my life and make her out to be a bad mother, but it’s not true. I don’t know how to explain to her that I’m just fine the way I am, and that I’m not going to end up a failure just because I still like to read fantasy books.”

“You’ll figure it out,” Amity reassures her. “In the meantime, you can be as weird as you want around me.”

To her surprise, Luz actually blushes at this, her tan face going ever so slightly darker. It’s so unlike Amity’s own pale skin, which could and would turn bright red at the slightest provocation, that she can't help but stare. “Thanks, Amity. I'm really glad that you're my friend,” Luz confesses.

Humbled and more than a little embarrassed, Amity opens her mouth to deflect, but her words get tangled up in her mouth when Luz suddenly reaches into the space between them and takes her hand in hers, giving it a gentle squeeze. All coherent thought immediately leaves Amity's mind, and she's certain that she's red to the tips of her ears from the way her face burns. “N-No problem,” she manages to stutter out breathlessly, and she thanks whatever gods are watching that she’s able to string together a reply at all.

Amity has held Luz’s hand before, but it’s never been like this. She sees now how big of a difference there is between grabbing someone’s hand to help them stand up, or to steady them, or to keep from being separated in a crowd, and holding hands just because you want to. Luz’s palm is warm and firm against her smaller, daintier one, and she’s fitted their fingers together in a way that is decidedly, unnecessarily intimate. There is no practical reason for Luz to make this kind of gesture, she just does it because she wants to, and because it feels right to her. Amity can’t help but admire how brave she must be to make such a gesture so casually, when Amity herself can barely share the same space with Luz without combusting into a stuttering, rambling, disorganized mess. “Did you, uh, want to keep reading?” she asks, her voice soft in the hidden room, but the close proximity means her voice doesn’t have to carry far.

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to stay like this for a little while,” Luz replies. It’s not often that Amity hears the rambunctious human speak so quietly. Luz shifts to get more comfortable, slipping her cell phone into her pocket and out of sight. Her shoulder presses against Amity’s and stays there as the two of them stare up at the glow-in-the-dark stars Amity had once climbed the shelves to stick on the ceiling.

“Okay,” Amity says, turning to give Luz a small smile. She wonders if Luz notices how red in the face she is. She wonders if Luz recognizes what it means, if she’s known all along, or if she writes it off as some magical quirk or another, oblivious to the way her actions make Amity feel.

Right here, in the moment, Amity can’t bring herself to care whether or not she notices. She holds Luz’s hand, looks up at the ceiling, and feels that everything is going to be okay.

[robbyrobinson]

Weighing Owl House Theories

1) King is Bill Cipher: Personal favorite theory combining two shows I liked. In the finale of Gravity Falls, Bill Cipher is destroyed by Grunkle Stan when he traps him in his mind so that Bill could be erased by the memory gun. However, this may not have been the end of the dastardly tortilla chip after all. Playing the dialogue backwards reveals that Bill - in his last moments - begged to the Axolotl to allow him to return. The Axolotl is a godlike being of the GF universe who is met by the Pine Twins and explains how Bill missed his home and wished to return to it...while ignoring that it was his own fault that his home dimension was destroyed. According to the riddle, if Bill were to shirk the blame, one way to absolve his crime was to take on a different form at a different time. And then in The Owl House, you have the cute little demon King who believes himself to be the king of demons and is megalomaniacal like a certain Dorito we know. Adding onto this, both characters are voiced by Alex Hirsch who for whatever reason decided to use his Bill voice for King (try to defy that you couldn’t hear Bill saying these lines). But of it is true that King and Bill are one and the same, it means that Bill’s prayer to the Axolotl was heard, but he was reborn with none of his supernatural powers which is probably more humiliating than being punched out of existence by a man in his boxers.

2) Belos is a human: One theory I believe, it is speculated that Emperor Belos is actually a human much like Luz who somehow arrived in the Boiling Isles and became its defacto ruler.  For instance, he has a seemingly high-tech staff and rarely draws a circle in the air to access his magic. Though I also kind of think of Belos as actually being more like a magic parasite that feeds on magic and the Boiling Isles is rife with it. 

3) Everything is in Luz’s Head: It is one of those theories that I greatly hate. Pretty much in the beginning of the series when Luz is supposed to go to that summer camp, Luz imagined everything in the show, or perhaps she dare even had some kind of life-altering accident that resulted in her falling into a coma. These kinds of theories are the most lazy because you could easily apply that idea to any show where fantastical elements happen. Plus if everything really was in Luz’s head, why would things start out going wrong for her when she first arrived? I mean wouldn’t it make more sense that if she was really having these imaginative adventures wouldn’t she make herself the most powerful witch in the Boiling Isles? And why would she create a world where the setting doesn’t follow tropes common to that genre? 

4) Camila is Azura: Kind of can see this happening. Camila wanting Luz to have her wild imagination under control would make a huge deal of sense if Camila had experienced it all herself. The other thing about Azura being that in the books, she is often illustrated with her ears being obscured. Really sus. 

5) Who was the Bat Queen’s Owner?: When the Bat Queen is revealed to have been a palisman herself, that begged the question of who her owner was. Consensus states that it was more than likely a giant some taking it a step further and implicating that the Titan itself was the original owner. 

6) The Day of Unity: Ever since “Young Blood and Old Souls,” the Day of Unity is something that we know Belos is planning but for what it would entail it is uncertain. The likeliest scenario is merging the Boiling Isles with the human realm since Belos stated that the Titan’s will wasn’t to “take over” (though I am taking what he said with skepticism). I do think that it has to do with the Titan and likely resurrecting it, but I hope it isn’t that the two worlds become “cleaved” together given how SVTFOE dropped the ball on that.

[k7l4d4]

Midnight Striga: Fairy Tail/Owl House Cross Fic Episode 4 Part 3

Hello all, once again, I have returned with more of Midnight Striga! Everybody Clap Your Hands!!

King grumbled as he stomped off to read Luz’s gracious gift to her ruler in peace. Seriously, what was the big issue anyway? So the girl had to start all over, big deal! People have to do that everyday, all the time. She was lucky she had someone as understanding and gracious as Luz willing to abandon their personal pursuits to accommodate her.

“Hmmphh! As the King of Demons, I would never stoop to such pitiful despair!” He boldly proclaimed, conveniently ignoring the multiple times he has, in fact, given in to despair, and often for much sillier reasons than an existential crisis. But, then again, he is a King, it is only natural that the pettiest of his woes are beyond the frustrations of an underling!! ...Except for Luz, her woes were most definitely something to be taken seriously. After all, SHE gave her ruler the respect he richly deserved. “Now, what chapter did I leave off on?”

As King flipped through the book, he carefully practiced some of the diagrams on how to perform this voice based Sound Magic; he drew the magic from his core, allowing it to circulate through his body, then slowly fed it into a cycling formation in his throat, pooling into a bubble-like shape, or that’s how he pictured the result in his mind, and how it physically felt, as if he had a little bubble in his throat. Slowly breathing in, and breathing out, he focused on how the bubble expanded and contracted in response to his breaths; that was something the book mentioned a practitioner should take care to control to some extent. He didn’t understand at first, but when he got a better look at the warning instruction, it made a bit more sense, as his ability to control the shape and size of his bubble of magic would better help him control the result!!...Or that’s what he got from the book at any rate.

To be honest with himself, King found the book pretty difficult to understand; while he did manage to glean some information from the actual words, he was mostly going off the diagrams, and the paragraphs connected to them. He really hoped this worked. What Luz could do, that Light-based Magic of hers, it was like nothing he’d ever seen before. Luz was his friend, even more than she was his subject. Sure, she was snarky, disinterested, and had a mean sense of humor sometimes, but she respected him, treated him like a person instead of a toy or a baby. She made him feel… big. If he could master this gift from her… maybe he could start repaying some of that feeling. A King must never let themselves be held to debts!!

“Hey King!” Luz's voice rang out, grabbing the young demon’s attention. “Boscha and I are gonna train! You want to join in!?”

King’s heart leapt at being included, though he quickly tamped it down so as to not influence his decision-making. “Hmph! As if you peons could get anything done without my presence!! Count me in!”

Boscha grit her teeth, ignoring the building annoyance as best she could. When she recalled that day when her whole world changed, she would admit that most of her recollection was occupied by the sheer awe she felt at seeing Luz’s power, her magic, in action. What she didn’t recall, however…

“As the King of Demons, surely I must demonstrate my skills first!” The adorable menace before her shrieked, Luz looking on indulgently.

-Was how absolutely ANNOYING the little demon that was with Luz that day actually was! ...To be fair, she only met him for a short time, and she was mostly concerned with fussing over how utterly adorable he was. She literally never got the chance to see just how much of a pompous menace he was!! If she was being honest with herself, he reminded her of how she was herself for most of her life; loud, aggressive, self-deluded, and utterly demanding of respect and compliance, no matter how ridiculous the reasoning was. 

The only difference was that she had actual authority and respect to leverage, and influence over others, and far less experience with consequences in regards to her actions, whereas he had essentially no power or authority beyond his own delusions, and was regularly subjected to consequences, even if they didn’t phase him. Boscha internally composed a list of people she’d have to apologize to at some point for being such a brat if she was even half as difficult as this guy.

“Alright, King,” Luz said calmly, gesturing to the area before them, a wide open space in the basement, the path opened by that *Shudder* house demon from before. “Show me what you’ve managed to get down, okay?”

“With pleasure.” The little menace stated. Walking out for about 10 feet, before stopping. Spreading his legs for balance, the demon took a deep breath, almost exaggeratedly deep, before speaking loudly and clearly. “Sound Magic: Demon King’s Rocking Roar!” With an explosive burst, a solid mass of sound screamed across the length of the impromptu training room. Boscha clutched her head as the sheer loudness ripped through her head, her ears ringing in agony at the bleedingly loud volume. How was his little body creating such a huge noise!? Fighting the urge to screw her eyes shut from the pain, Boscha blearily focused on the sight before her; a clear, drill-like structure punching into the far wall, originating from the little demon’s head, the whole thing being three times his height in all directions.

“HOW IS HE DOING THAT!?” Boscha shouted to Luz, who was similarly clutching her head, albeit not as tightly as Boscha herself. Was it not as loud to her for some reason?

“I CAN’T SAY FOR CERTAIN, BUT I THINK HE’S AMPLIFYING THE SOUND OF HIS VOICE AND SHAPING IT INTO PHYSICAL STRUCTURES TO ATTACK!! HE REALLY IS DOING A LOT BETTER THAN I THOUGHT HE WOULD!!” Luz yelled back. As King finally, blissfully, cut off, the two collapsed to the ground, sighing in relief at the mercy granted to their ears.

“So, was that a feat worthy of a King, or what!?” King cockily demanded, preening at his accomplishments. Boscha was willing to admit, however grudgingly, the spell was impressive. It was big, flashy, and, if the way King was subtly panting was anything to go off of, draining as hell, but it was also powerful, loud, and disorienting. Boscha genuinely dreaded the idea of getting hit with a spell like that in the future, especially with her seemingly heightened hearing.

“Yeah!” Luz said, just a little too loudly, before clapping her hands on her ears, and speaking in a more even tone of voice. “That sure was something King! I almost can’t believe you figured out how to cast a proper spell that fast.”

“Hmph, such a feat is nothing to the King of Demons!” King said as he posed gleefully at the praise he received. However, he quickly calmed down, a slightly nervous look on his face. “So, do you think there’s anything I need to work on?”

“Oh plenty,” Luz bluntly replied, prompting King to stare down at the floor and mope. “But that can wait until we get Boscha tested.”

Boscha gulped, feeling nervous. She intimately remembered what had happened the Last time she cast magic, and she wasn’t eager to try again. Nonetheless, her coach was requesting a demonstration. Better to get it over with. Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself, beginning to trace a circle-

“Hold it!”

-Only to stop at Luz’s interruption. “What?” Boscha sighed, hoping they took it as a sign of irritation as opposed to relief.

“I need to record this.” Luz said simply, setting up some sort of rectangular piece of flat crystal paired to another. “And… ready! You can start now!”

Boscha sighed, not understanding what was going on but hoping that it could actually help. She really didn’t want to blow up.

“Oh wait!” Luz piped up, interrupting the beginning of Boscha’s casting again. “I think I have an idea that might help, maybe. When you’ve been practising, have you been using a spell you are very familiar with, or one that’s basic?”

Boscha blinked, slightly confused at the line of questioning. “One I’m familiar with, a fireball spell. Why do you ask?”

Luz smiled. “Well, it occurred to me that you might have slightly better odds if you try a basic or simple spell as a way to start. Something that doesn’t take a lot of effort to do, you know? Try and do this using the most simple spell you can think of!” She offered.

Boscha turned the idea over in her head; she couldn’t really see anything wrong with the idea, and since her biggest problem was her control at the moment, maybe starting small was a better idea. Either way, it wouldn’t hurt to try. Bracing herself to move, Boscha slowly traced a circle for the absolutely simplest spell she could think of; the light spell. Not to riff on her coach’s preferred element, but the Light Spell was the absolute most basic spell kids on the Isles learned, but considering most spells just did one thing or had a simple function, she supposed it made sense that a spell meant to create light wouldn’t have a lot of flexibility to it, not like Luz’s crafts.

As she completed the spell, Boscha held her breath as the circle flickered and shuddered in the air. ‘Don’t explode.’ She pleaded in her mind. ‘By the Titan, please don’t explode!’

The spell flickered, shuddered… and transformed into a ball of light. It was small, delicate, almost innocent. Boscha had never been happier to perform the most basic of magic. “I did it.” She muttered to herself. “Did you see that, I did it!” She cheered, a wide goofy grin flashing across her face as she cupped the spell in her hands. As she noticed the amused grins sported by Luz and King, she flushed, and tucked the spell behind her back, glancing at anywhere but them. “I-I mean, so, yeah, I did it. That’s… that’s cool.” Boscha felt a little bit of her self respect die inside.

Luz cupped her face as she mentally tallied everything she had seen. Honestly, the two were good, if noticeably amateurish in their own ways. King was a literal amateur, having only just learned the magic he had demonstrated (Her ears were still ringing!), but he had enthusiasm and a surprisingly large amount of Magical Power to call upon, particularly for his size; if he could work on his stamina and physical fitness, along with some general practice to hone his abilities and find some new applications for his magic, he could easily become a powerhouse in time. Boscha had a rather different problem.

Luz sighed, knowing this was partially her own fault, even if it was unavoidable at the time. Boscha’s skills were… unusual, as she seemed to have literally regressed in skill. Her previous abilities had been nothing to write home about, being mainly powerful by the standards of the Isles and highly orthodox, but she was noticeably practiced. Now…

*BOOM!* “DANG IT!”

Luz winced at the sound of Another explosion going off as Boscha and King sparred. Boscha’s control had been utterly shot; every spell she cast had a painfully high rate of failure, and the unfortunate tendency to detonate as a result. Her only spell that didn’t seem to have any failure rate was the Light Spell, so she could cast it reliably, but it was literally a floating ball of light, not much combat application to that beyond a very short range diversion or distraction. Still, the fact that she was now actively trying to cast spells and some of them were working had massively bolstered Boscha’s confidence. There was just one problem… Luz wasn’t doing anything!! 

She was supposed to be a teacher, and her alleged students were actively figuring things out on their own, no input from her needed! It was humiliating! The fact that they hadn’t noticed made it even worse! What was she even doing? Sighing to herself, Luz wallowed in self-pity, much to her own disgust. Ah well, at least she could review the footage from Boscha’s test. As she slowed down the footage, trying to figure out the spell structure with so little input, all she had was a circle and Witches apparently compressed the entire spellform into that little ring. It was maddening to figure out how it worked. A Bile-Sack had been mentioned several times before, and while her morbid side was definitely interested, she needed to pace these things.

‘Wait a minute…’ Luz thought, catching sight of something in the footage. ‘Is that… a symbol?’ She slowed the footage down to a stand-still, at the precise moment Boscha completed the circle. And there it was. A symbol floating in the center. She took out her notebook, slowly copied it, and stashed it away. This was definitely something to look into.

As she finished, Luz turned back to the fight. Well, if you could properly call it that. It mostly consisted of Boscha trying to get in close and cast a spell, which usually backfired, and King running away to give himself some range to launch his own spell, which took just a shade too much time for him to pull off before Boscha closed in. Oh sure, King had managed it two or three times, but each time he pulled it off left him vulnerable to an irate Boscha’s counterattack. 

Luz groaned internally. This hadn’t been what she’d intended when she proposed a training session. She thought it would be like the good old days back with Teach; throwing spells at her eager students faster than they could process while they desperately ducked and dodged, before they spotted an opening to counterattack, which she would block, and start the process all over again. But ~NO~, she had to have a conscience. Stupid conscience, always talking her out of fun stuff. Still, she had to admit they were making some progress, and this would give her good experience for when she had to do it for real when she went back to Hexside officially.

She grinned cheekily, before frowning. Boscha was only using her old spells, and avoiding her Devil Slayer Magic. On the one hand, it could be said that she was focusing on rebuilding her foundation, which was smart. But… that wasn’t the actual reason. Boscha was afraid of her flames. Every time Luz tried to broach the subject, Boscha gained a wild, panicked look, almost seconds away from bolting, forcing Luz to backpedal. She sighed. Boscha could run for now, but she couldn’t ignore what had happened forever. No matter how much it hurt, the past was always going to be a part of you. Her arm and back throbbed in sympathy.

Eda groaned, painfully dragging herself out of her nest. Woozily, she pulled herself to her feet, looking for her potion. She couldn’t believe she had allowed herself to forget taking it, and when she had a new tenant, King, and a guest in the house! As she rushed for her closet, she tripped, crashing to the ground. Lightning crashed outside, illuminating the feathers popping up along her arms, and the curved talons forming on her fingers.

[indigosandviolets]

The Secrets a Book Can Tell

Pairing: Joseph Liebgott x OC x George Luz

Word Count: 2,564

Summary: Andrew and Luz watch a movie even though Luz just can’t seem to shut up, but soon they’re all called to Bastogne. Andrew remembers how he came into the possession of the book he refuses to die without, but then the possibility of dying seems to only get worse as they start the march to Bastogne.

Notes: This chapter was originally just gonna have a minor flashback with Albert, but since someone said something about wanting to learn more about Andrew’s past, I made that a whole part!

Part Eleven of We Happy Few

-

The darkness of the room would have been perfectly coupled with silence, moving and working together to create a peaceful place as the men of Easy Company watched a movie.

That silence, of course, was not going to happen, all in favor of Geroge Luz.

“Gotta penny?” He said as the scene changed. Andrew nudged his side, trying to get him to shut up. Andrew had just wanted to hold hands with the lovable goofball, but because he kept talking he kept drawing attention to himself.

“Shut up, Luz,” Toye said, not turning around.

“Come on, I’ve seen the move seventeen times.”

“And I haven’t,” Toye replies, turning his head to look at Luz. “So shut up.”

Luz, being Luz, didn’t pay any mind. “Gotta penny?”

Andrew nudged him again. “George, stop,” he whispered. He had only seen the movie once before, and he barely remembered where that line even was, if it existed. It seemed to be Luz’s favorite, and he persisted.

“Gotta penny?” His voice was becoming more exaggerated, and Andrew was a blushing mess.

“George, please, quit it.”

“C’mon, it’s my favorite part,” He whispers to Andrew before saying the line again. “Gotta penny?”

Toye looked back at him again, ready to kill and Andrew could see it. He prayed that Toye didn’t have his brass knuckles. Luz stayed focus on the screen. “Gotta pen-ny?”

The woman finally says it, and Luz cheers. “For fuck’s sake, George,” Andrew says, pinching the bridge of his nose. Admittedly, he did love the idiot, but he wanted a quiet movie where they wouldn’t get caught while doing slight, domestic things. Luz had deflected that by, well, being Luz. Luz turned to Andrew after, his always present goofy smile lurking on his face.

He leans over into Andrew’s ear, whispering, “You know you love me.”

As Luz pulls away, Andrew glares at him. It’s not a mean one, it’s just an annoyed one, and Luz knows it based on the little laugh that he lets out.

Going to the movie had already been a strangely emotional thing for Andrew. He didn’t let it show, but he couldn’t stop thinking about the first time he and Luz kissed before the movie (which they did before this one, just a lot more hastily than that first time) and the circumstances around that kiss. He also couldn’t stop thinking about how he had been pulled out of the said movie to kiss Liebgott.

Now, this time it wasn’t Liebgott, but they were pulled out of the movie -- everyone was. Welsh took up the attention of the room, standing up at the top of the stage in the front of the makeshift theatre. “Get your gear, everyone, we’re moving out. Take everything you’re gonna need.”

That’s not really what Welsh said, but Andrew was sent straight into getting ready so quickly that he couldn’t remember exactly what the Lieutenant said.

Andrew buttoned up his jacket as fast as possible, threw as many warm clothes his combat bag would carry as far down as possible, followed by a few packs of cigarettes and half a bar of chocolate that he had stolen with Liebgott from the canteen.

He slipped on his winter coat and hat before throwing the bag over his shoulder. As he did so, a book fell off his bed in the haste. He picked it up carefully like the book was so fragile that it would snap in half at too harsh of a touch.

It was All Quiet on the Western Front, the same copy and edition he had carried with him from Toccoa. He rubbed his finger over the now worn spine, moving to the corners of the cover. They had been bent over, rumpled, becoming soft. He opened the book, and other than his name written in a soft pencil, a message had been written in on the back of the front cover.

Remember, read to Luz!

Andrew’s fingertips touched the messy note, remembering how Luz had asked him to read to him that fateful night in Normandy. He sighed, slipping the book into the inside pocket of his winter coat and stepping out with the rest of the men, ready to get in the douche-and-a-half’s.

-

Andrew acquired All Quiet on the Western Front from his brother, Albert. Albert had always been a novice reader, in fact, his second choice for his major in college was literature, but he stuck with finance and business instead. Having no other real male figure to try and emulate in his day-to-day life, Andrew too picked up a love and real passion for reading.

It had started off small, with reading a new book once a month after Albert had moved out. It became a rock and grounding for Andrew to become more in tune with himself -- and to tune out his parents as well.

This soon escalated to two, to three, to four, averaging one a week. He couldn’t get enough of the words as they seemed to fly off the page, and he also couldn’t get enough from the escape of his parents. He read anything he could get his hands on, it was like an obsession.

All Quiet on the Western Front, though, wasn’t one of those books that he read in a week. Albert had left a copy behind, but it was well-read, torn in many places. There were even whole chapters missing from here they had been ripped out (Albert used them for inspiration and note-giving). What he could read, though, was mostly in German. Albert had went out and gone and bought a German edition of the book, learning the language just to translate the book. Andrew couldn’t understand it, other than the simple “Ja” here and there. It was a nightmare to read, and it was one of the things that Andrew had taken with him when he stole the truck and drove to Chicago.

“Al,” Andrew said one night as they sat on the couch after dinner. They had been listening to the radio, hearing updates about the war in the Pacific. Andrew had already looked into enlisting for the Army that morning. “Why in the name of God did you have to leave me a book in German?”

Albert shrugged. “Motivation, I guess.”

“Motivation for what?”

“To get you to visit me,” Albert said, smile wide on his face. Andrew now remembers that he and Albert did share a smile. There were several things that the two of them didn’t even come close to being similar in, but you couldn’t deny that the Marin boys had the same smile. “Took you, what, three, four years?”

Andrew hit his older brother’s shoulder. “I hardly call it a visit.”

“Then what is it?”

“An escape.”

“Yeah, that works.”

Andrew held the German edition in his hands for a moment before giving it over to Albert. “Half of it’s gone, by the way. You ripped out a lot.”

“I know,” Albert replied, taking the book and holding it up to the light. “You know, I forgot half of it.”

“The book?”

“Well, that, but I forgot half the German I learned.”

Andrew laughed. “What good you are to the Army.”

“That is why, my dear brother, you are going instead.”

Andrew sighed. “If they’ll take me.”

Albert looked over to Andrew. “They’ll take you, don’t worry. I hear they need guys for their new Airborne program.”

“The hell is that?”

“You think I know?”

Albert got up, placing the book on the coffee table before he walked over to his bookshelf. He scanned it for a minute before pulling out a newer copy of the same book -- this time, in English.

“Here,” Albert said as he gave Andrew the copy. “It’s brand new. You’re gonna need something to read when you have downtime.”

Albert and Andrew couldn’t have expected that downtime for reading to happen where the book actually took place, but that night, Andrew tucked the book away into his bag after writing his name on the inside cover, not sure when he was going to read it.

-

Andrew sat beside Liebgott and Babe, nestled between the two, his knees pulled up towards him to keep in as much warmth as possible. Everyone was talking to a replacement -the name he didn’t quite catch, maybe Ray? - what why he had so little on him.

“You need four pairs of socks,” Skip Muck tells him. “One for your feet, one for your hands, one for your neck and pair for the balls.”

Everyone seemed to agree. Everyone was asking the replacement of what he had on him and what he needed.

“You got cigarettes?” Someone asks, and the replacement nods.

“Yeah, I got a half-”

Andrew can’t hear the rest of the sentence as everyone grabs for cigarettes, even Liebgott and Babe. Andrew puts his hand on Lieb’s shoulder. “I got you a pack, calm down. I’ll get it out when we stop.”

“You gotta coat?” Liebgott asks. And he asks it again. He keeps asking it until another matter is deemed more pressing, that of which he turns to look at Babe and Andrew to say, “I gotta piss.”

“Bit late for that, isn’t it?” Andrew tells him.

“No shit,” Liebgott says, turning away. Andrew knows that Lieb is being a little short with him, but that’s mainly due to the fact that he still felt awkward around Babe after what happened before Eindhoven. Despite this, Liebgott moved his hand around Andrew’s waist, most of their bodies covered by the winter coats so that no one would see it. He accomplished this by timing it with when the truck lurched as it went over a rough patch on the dirt road, knocking everyone into each other. This was a perfect time, Liebgott seemed to decide, that he give a little reassuring squeeze to Andrew.

“Why the hell are we even comin’ over here anyway?” Guarnere asks everyone. “We’re supposed to jump outta planes, not ride out and march to the battlefield.” Andrew knew that Guarnere was always somewhat passionate about the things he thought were problems. “This is the fourth Army problem, right? They should be sendin’ in the sixty-eighth, not the one-o-one.”

Andrew leaned his head up to get his voice over to Guarnere. “We’re still Army, Guarnere. They’re gonna send us wherever the hell they want to. It doesn’t matter if we’re armored or not.”

“The hell do you know, Marin?” Guarnere says.

“Guarnere, where the hell have you been the last two years?” Andrew replies. “You of all people should know that Mister Eisenhower doesn’t give a shit about who gets sent in. As long as the problem gets resolved, they could send in the fucking coast guard and he couldn’t give a shit.”

Guarnere turns, patting the replacement on the shoulder. “That’s Andrew Marin. Second smartest guy in the company.”

“Who’s first?”

“That’s Bull.”

Andrew looked down, smiling to himself. It didn’t sound like a lot, but to be second to Bull? He could only dream.

As the truck came to a stop, Andrew, Babe, and Liebgott were the first out, and Babe and Andrew stood by a pit that had been filled with gas, waiting for one of the Lieutenants to get it lit. Andrew almost did it with his lighter, but he needed it -- he smoked too much to not have one on him. They also waited on Liebgott, who had gone to resolve the pressing matter of having to piss.

“It’s so goddamn cold, Babe,” Andrew says as the fire finally reaches them. Andrew didn’t think that the smell of burning gas would actually be comforting.

“Remember how they said we’d be home by Christmas?” Babe tells him. “Way back before Market Garden?”

“Jesus, yeah, I do,” Andrew laughs. “I wrote to my brother about it too. What a load of good that does now.”

“Hey, at least you and Liebgott will be together for Christmas.”

“Yeah, if we don’t freeze our asses off.”

“Hey, kiddos,” Liebgott says as he returns to Babe and Andrew. “How’s the fire?”

“No one else is gonna here us, you don’t have to say kiddos, Lieb,” Andrew tells him. “It’s good. How was the piss?”

“As good as a piss can get while you’re freezing your ass off,” Liebgott replies, standing beside Andrew. “I would not recommend it.”

Andrew chuckles, looking up from the fire and out to the road. He doesn’t quite see it at first, but there’s movement. A lot of movement. Men, disheveled and battered and bruised, walking on the road, out of the town they were supposed to go into. Andrew taps on Liebgott, making him look at the marching men.

“What the hell happened to them?” Babe asked. “They look like complete shit.”

“I have no idea, Babe.”

Andrew looked over to Liebgott, who didn’t say anything. He just looked back at Andrew, and Andrew could feel just how scared they both were. Not of what was ahead, but for each other, worried if they would get through the hell that walked before them alive. If the guys there had only been in for a month and looked like this when they were pulling out — while it was starting to get cold — what the hell was going to happen to the rest of them?

Out of the corner of his eye, Andrew saw Guarnere talking to one of the men. Now, if there was anyone who only took the absolute truth, it was Guarnere.

“I’ll go talk to Gonorrhea,” Andrew tells them. “Just get what you can find, yeah?”

“Drew, what-“ Liebgott starts, and Andrew turns around. “What do you expect him to know?”

“He’s talking to one of ‘em, so he knows more than us,” Andrew says. “Plus, he holds more power, being as we’re only tech corporals and he’s a goddamn sergeant.”

Liebgott purses his lips before he sighs. “Fine, but be careful, alright?”

“I will be. We promised, remember?”

With that, Andrew turned and walked to Guarnere, who had just stopped talking to the soldier from the fourth army. “Bill, what’s going on?”

Guarnere looks at Andrew. “It’s a goddamn suicide mission, that’s what it is,” Guarnere tells him. “They probably went in there with 200 guys, now they’re comin’ out with 93. Just get their ammo and pray to God you’re not gonna be dead before your birthday, Marin.”

Guarnere walks off to get ammo from the men before Andrew can ask another question. He steps back from the road. His birthday is in less than two weeks and Guarnere was telling him that he might die before then. Terrible thought, he knows, but that’s the truth. Anyone could die out there, be it God’s will or good ol’ Mr. Hitler’s.

Maybe that’s why Andrew brought his book, because he knew he wouldn’t die without it. Because he knew that if he did die, no one else could have that copy, with the worn cover and dog eared pages and cracked spine and message about Luz talking about a promise he hadn’t quite carried out yet, because if he wasn’t able to read it to Luz, no one would know but him and Luz. Not another soul could have known what happened on that night in D-Day, only Andrew, Luz, and All Quiet on the Western Front.

-

tag list: @alienoresimagines @fromcrossroadstoking @easyroses @leximus98 if you want to be added, please let me know!

[define-deicide]

CHAPTER II: The Things You Kill For

“This is it, Atropos. Your first kill.”

Olivia Fox and Atropos Leitmotif were assassins. Bounty hunters. Mercenaries. Hired guns. Agents of the ancient craft of death. Apathetic predators trained to make a single bullet count. Their greatest weapon was patience, and no prey would be considered impossible. While Olivia had years of experience under her belt, Atropos was fresh out of training, but eager to prove that she wasn’t green around the gills. She didn’t plan on being a reason for the two of them to return to their client with failure. They’d spent weeks together preparing specifically for this kill, a high stakes mission that one might think the fate of nations depended on. No mistakes could be made, and no bullshit would be tolerated. If anyone was nervous about the operation, it was Olivia, for she was concerned that Atropos was too eager to make the mission count and would incidentally set the both of them up to bust.  

           “How do you feel?” Olivia asked as her statement was met with silence.

           “Eh. My neck hurts a little,” Atropos joked. Olivia nudged her and the pair laughed. They sat together on an empty tram that was headed for the destination of their kill. It weaved through tunnels of unfinished walls lined with metal beams and wiring that put off the occasional spark. It was obvious that the speed of the tram had not yet been tested, as the curvature of the railway caused Atropos and Olivia to jerk back and forth for balance. Their black, steel gun cases shrieked as they slid slightly along the tram floor. The lighting inside the tram was minimal, with only a few security lights intact along the roof. It was amazing that the tram was even running, Olivia thought, but it was integral to the success of the operation.

           Suddenly, the tram emerged from the tunnel system. It was now running along the outer surface of the one and only Ereshkigal Interplanetary Detention Facility, mere hours before it was set to begin operating with an impromptu ribbon cutting ceremony. Somebody on the inside of Hydrangea’s operations had informed Olivia and Atropos’ client when and where the ceremony would be precisely, which allowed them not only to be prepared to board the facility, but swiftly make their way to it without being detected thanks to the technically finished and mazelike tram system. The tram was headed to the loading bay, where prisoners from across the Cosmos were destined to make their way into the facility by way of specially designed detainment ships. It was there that a crowd of reporters, politicians, and protestors had gathered to witness the ceremony. Thankfully, also according to the inside source, a catwalk was constructed above the loading bay, allowing for a perfect angle and opportunity to take out the target. While simple in theory, the operation’s preparations were a cacophony of espionage, bribery, and a little bit of mathematics. However, none of this had anything to do with our dear trained killers. All they had to do was put a bullet in a skull. This, however, would prove to be harder than anticipated with the procurement of some unexpected events.

            The tram wrapped around the facility, and finally, arrived at the perimeter of the brightly lit loading bay with a jerking halt, the both exuberant and agitated crowd of supporters and dissenters now in sight. As Olivia and Atropos peered out of the contrastingly dim tram car, the heraldry of some of the banners and flags hanging along the walls of the bay caught Olivia’s eye. The black and crimson icon depicting a steel-plated dragon was emblazoned on banners on either side of the podium where their target was no-doubt going to be speaking, a ceremonial red ribbon to the right of it, strung up between two fanciful aluminum poles that sparked in the light of the overhead fluorescents. These emblems belonged to the militaristic forces of a planet called Eltess, famed for its military power and powerful industries that supported it. Their presence had come as a shock to Olivia, as the ceremony had not been cited to have quite so much security. Some improvising was going to be necessary, as the Eltessians were sure to be monitoring the crowd for suspicious behavior, and neither huntress had to speak a word for that to be obvious. Weapon cases in tow, the pair stepped off of the tram and joined the crowd in the loading bay, a nearby ladder tucked away into a corner behind the crowd catching Olivia’s eye.

 ══╬══

 With only minutes before the ribbon cutting ceremony’s impromptu commencement, an entourage of Hydrangea Tech constituents were enroute to the loading bay in a wide, cylindrical elevator that traveled quite slowly thanks to the safety precautions in place, as the Ereshkigal Detention Facility had not, in fact, been finished. Among the constituents were three advisors, two engineers, two programmers, two armed guards of the Eltessian Legion, a personal bodyguard dressed in black plated armor and a sheathed katana whose duty was to protect, last but not least, Siebold Luz. Siebold had recently become the face of Hydrangea Technologies, handling public affairs and interviews for the company in lieu of Hydrangea’s elusive CEO. It was thanks to the success of his original ENKIDU mobile device design that he had garnered such interest and popularity with the public. The company decided to assign him the protective assistance of Goemon Otani, his samurai-like companion who was also visible behind Siebold in all of his public appearances. News media and paparazzi across the Cosmos had deigned to piece together the puzzle of Goemon Otani, who dressed and possessed the stoicism of a comic book character, but to no avail.

Goemon stood with his arms crossed, leaning against the back of the elevator while the advisors showed Siebold charts and data on their clipboards, murmuring statistics and projections to his half-listening ears. The engineers and programmers just waited patiently for the elevator to arrive at the loading bay, and the Eltessian guards held their plasma rifles at the ready, as if a horrendous meteorite-borne creature would lunge through the elevator doors at any moment. Siebold nodded solemnly to the advisors as they clung to his side, trying desperately to be as stoic as his bodyguard in the face of his slightly sweating colleagues who were struggling desperately to keep him abreast of any and all situations within the barely functioning facility.

The elevator finally stopped, but visible confusion was instilled in the expressions of everyone except for Goemon when the curved doors slid open and revealed the freckled face of Legatus Sybil Voltaire, who was responsible for commanding the entirety of the 447th Legion of Eltessian Knights, the security force employed for the ribbon cutting ceremony. She looked, at least to Siebold, nonplussed, and a momentary air of annoyance seemed to emanate from her before she passed across the elevator’s threshold and took a place beside Siebold. The two Eltessian guards saluted her a few moments too late as they recovered from the shock of her appearance. Her auburn hair was tucked into a complimentary baseball cap with “HYDRANGEA TECH” sewn into it in bold white lettering. The hat was quite out of place alongside her legionnaire armor and appropriately equipped dual firearms resting in their holsters.

“So,” the Legatus began, staring at the closing elevator doors and certainly addressing none other than Siebold, “Everything moving along seamlessly?” The elevator began its descent to the loading bay once again at the same snail’s pace.

Siebold chuckled. “Why, of course. Why else would we be holding the ceremony?” As the lie came through his lips, sweat formed on his forehead.

“Well, I can think of a few reasons, actually,” Sybil said, turning her head to glance at Siebold, “Wouldn’t look too good on the news if you cancelled now. But the trams aren’t done, and this damn elevator is still moving way too damn slow. Don’t get me started on the wiring around here, either.”

“And what do you care? Your duty right now is to be a glorified mall cap, no?” Siebold’s slight annoyance at the inquiry accidentally slipped through his teeth.

“Hey, ease up, baldy. I was just curious.”

Siebold scoffed, “I have alopecia.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t get to your autobiography yet.” The Legatus threw a wink over her shoulder to the grimacing Siebold, but the pair quickly lightened up quickly and laughed at each other’s quips and continued the elevator ride in silence. Their tense back-and-forth had filled all of their fellow elevator patrons with a permeating terror (except, of course, for Goemon), which seemed to make the two elites smile slightly.

“I don’t suppose you know why Hydrangea hired a last-minute security force for a tiny little ribbon cutting ceremony, do you?” the Legatus asked.

“Let’s just say that not everyone is happy about our little super prison,” Siebold seemed to moan. “Though I truly don’t understand why they hired out. There are plenty of capable Hydrangea security teams.”

“Well, I’m not complaining. I’m off-planet and I get a paycheck? Might as well be a vacation,” the Legatus sighed dreamily.

The elevator finally slowed to a halt, and the doors slid open to reveal the loading bay, abuzz with the chatter as the room failed to notice their arrival. Silence washed over the crowd as more and more people turned to notice the Hydrangea representatives stepping from the elevator toward the stage and podium. Siebold situated himself at the podium, Goemon directly behind him. Legatus Voltaire organized her soldiers and ensured that they were staunchly defending the stage from the potentially volatile crowd members. The other Hydrangea employees took seats in folding chairs that were positioned across the stage in a line ahead of the podium. One of the engineers brushed past one of the ornamental ribbon posts and fumbled to recover it from hitting the ground, earning nervous glares from his colleagues. All was now seemingly in place for the grand opening of Hydrangea’s newest pride and enjoy. That is, until something out of the ordinary caught the Legatus’ eye.

As Legatus Voltaire looked around the room, double checking the positions of her legionnaires, she noticed that an empty tram had arrived along the far wall of the loading bay, despite the fact that they weren’t supposed to be active. The doors had been left wide open, and whoever had arrived couldn’t be neither a Hydrangea employee nor an onlooker who would’ve arrived by shuttle. Something was most definitely afoot, and the Legatus was determined to ensure that the ceremony went smoothly. She rounded the crowd and scanned its faces, looking for any individuals who may be out of place. It didn’t help that some of the crowd was against the opening of the facility, their aggressive cries of dissent blocking out any other possible commotion. The Legatus was right about to be wary, but she hadn’t the slightest idea what was going to happen.

Far above the crowd and stage was a sprawling network of catwalks, and at the center of them Olivia and Atropos had set up their rifles on the catwalk railing, just in time for Siebold’s arrival. Their instructions were to wait until the end of the speech so that the masses would be well tuned in before the assassination. Atropos gazed in awe at the size of the amorphous crowd, trembling with excitement and rage. Dozens of cameras were positioned at the back of the crowd, ready to capture the making of history for news stations across the Cosmos.

“Remind me,” Atropos said, still looking over the railing, “why were we both assigned to this job?”

“Well, it is your first one. Client wanted to make sure it didn’t get screwed up. Besides, I’m the one who spotted the ladder up to the catwalk tucked away in the corner.”

“I was never told who our client is,” Atropos looked up at Olivia, “just some exposition about the fate of nations and planets. Did you get that spiel?”

“Oh yeah,” Olivia laughed as she threw her long, waist-length braid over her shoulder, getting into position behind her rifle, “I got that one.”

“I was kind of surprised that the Organization wanted to give me such a big job.”

“Well, that’s why I’m here, sweets.”

Atropos nodded in resignation, affirmed that Olivia had no answers for these strange circumstances. She took the same stance behind her own rifle right next to Olivia. “Who’s taking the kill shot?”

“Oh, for sure you. I’ll just be at the ready if you, y’know, fuck up.”

“Ah, well, gee thanks.”

“No problemo.”

Atropos relaxed her posture when it became obvious that there were still minutes before the speech in again. She watched with disinterest as the young scientist frantically sorted through papers atop the podium, attempting to organize his speech. The atmosphere was tense with the murmurs of the crowd who, whether eagerly or disapprovingly, anxiously awaited a message from the most influential scientific mind of our time and face of the entire Cosmos’ most depended upon mega corporation.

Small talk, it is, Atropos thought.

“I never did ask you how long you’d been with the ol’ Org’,” she offered.

“You sure didn’t. And if you had, I would’ve been pretty annoyed.” Swing and a miss. Olivia’s tone was steely.

“Oh. Oh?”

“Yeah,” Olivia sighed, “the ‘Org’’ doesn’t have employees.” She looked up from the scope of her rifle, her arms still staunchly at the ready. “They just have jobs that need doing, and we want to do them. Speaking of which, my turn,” her eye returned to the scope. “When you’re paid to be a killer- which, God knows how you ended up here and I’m not sure I want to know- you’re either doing it for the money or the notoriety. So, what’s the dream for you?”

Atropos hummed. “I wish I could say I had a simple answer. I don’t know. Fancy tech apartment on Charys with an accent-toting butler, sitcom-y type of thing, maybe?”

“Right, I should’ve known,” Olivia laughed, retiring her inquiry.

However, Atropos latched on to it. “Well, what about you?”

“Well, definitely the money. I don’t have a tragic backstory that involves hunting down the lifelong token of my hatred. Your thing sounds good, I’ll get that.”

Atropos then tried to reword her original interest. “And how long have you been in the game? Surely long enough for the manservant.” She tried to laugh at her own joke and cover up the curious tone of her question.

“Too long,” Olivia said, slowly, “and not long enough.”

I tried, Atropos thought.

You tried, Olivia thought.

“AHEM.” The first sound heard through the microphone on Siebold’s podium was an earthshattering, ear-piercing throat clearing, effectively peaking a microphone whose volume was somehow much too high. The sound was punctuated with the shock of mic squeal, causing both Olivia and Atropos to wince with their entire bodies.

“Sorry, sorry,” Siebold said as the mic volume gradually decreased. The two killers overhead recovered and got back into their positions. Atropos moved the crosshair of her scope across Siebold’s neck, as the client had specifically requested that Mr. Luz be shot through the throat. A symbol of the silencing of the corporations, or something.

“To begin,” Siebold’s voice rang out through the hanger, “I’d like to thank you all for coming to the unveiling of Hydrangea’s newest project. I think you’ll find that everything in this facility was designed with the best intentions and will put the entire Cosmos on a fast track to more peaceful living. This facility is not just a prison, but a place for reformation. Our goal is not to hide criminals away from the outside world, but to ensure that they get to enjoy it once more, without rotting away for years on end at the cost of the taxpayer’s money. As you know, I have been made the director of this facility, and it is my wish to see that every soul that passes through this facility will return to life as a decent person that will contribute to society in a constructive manner. Our staff has been dutifully trained and prepared for the handling of some of the Cosmos’ most bitter threats, all for the benefit of not only themselves but the Cosmos as a whole. The CCCP has happily sanctioned all of our efforts here in the months leading up to this ribbon cutting ceremony, and without further ado, it would be my honor to commence the operations of this here facility today, with this crowd before me to witness its glory.”

           Siebold stepped down from the podium, pulling from it a set of standard household scissors. He approached the ribbon tied between the two ceremonial pillars, unaware of the sniper still carefully trained on his throat.

           Impatient and ripe with tension, Olivia finally spoke up. “Well, what are you waiting for? I don’t think you were meant to wait this long.”

           “Relax,” Atropos said, “I just want to make it count. All the more powerful while he’s cutting the ribbon, no?”

           As the snip of the scissors in Siebold’s hand snipped the crimson ribbon, a voice rang out sharply from the already bustling crowd, calling out over the cheers of approval and cries of dissent. “SIEBOLD, GET DOWN!”

           Siebold snapped to face the crowd, jerking his neck out of Atropos’s crosshair just as she pulled the trigger. The bullet passed through the rifle’s silencer with little noise, but the sound of it ricocheting off of the floor cast horror throughout the entire hanger. The crowd fell to shambles as people pushed over each other to escape from the scene. Legatus Voltaire and the ominous bodyguard Goemon rushed to Siebold’s side and held him down as she directed her men to the rafters. The eyes of the entire legion were now on Atropos and Olivia, both now panicking thanks to their failed objective.

           “Fuck! I knew I should’ve taken the shot for you!” cried Olivia as she quickly packed up her own rifle. “What the hell were you thinking, waiting like that?” Atropos didn’t answer, knowing any response she could muster would fall upon ears deafened with annoyance. The two rushed across the winding catwalks as the legionnaires began scrambling towards the ladders situated against the walls of the hangar. “Unprofessional as shit!” Olivia threw the words over her shoulder as the pair dashed along the catwalk. Atropos trailed behind, her expression awash with shame and self-loathing. As the legionnaires scrambled up the ladders, Olivia and Atropos were running out of options. The screams of the crowd blotted out any potential idea-hatching.

           Finally, Atropos seemed to come to her senses. “Why don’t we use the AAED?”

           Olivia scoffed. “Are you kidding me? We’ll die trying!”

           “Well, its that,” Atropos gestured to the legionnaires reaching the catwalk, closing in on their position, “or a hefty prison sentence. Take your pick.”

           “Dammit!” Olivia reached into her gun case and pulled out what looked like a silver writing pen, fitted with a cap and all. She uncapped it revealing a point that blinked with a cerulean light. A small button on the side of the pen began flashing as well. “This is it, okay? I’ll get you back this time, but only because helping you is in my job description. After this, we’re finished, you hear me?”

           “God, yes Olivia! Just do it!”

           Olivia hit the flashing button on the pen, and within moments the pair became enveloped in an orb of cerulean light that burst forth from the tip of the pen. As the legionnaires crossed the catwalk, they flinched as the blinding light flashed before them. Legatus Voltaire below, still holding down Siebold, rolled her eyes as she watched the escape unfold. As the orb dissipated and the pair of assassins vanished from the hangar, the Legatus stood and pulled Siebold to his feet.

           “Well, Siebold,” said the Legatus, “looks like somebody’s out to get ya.”

           As the crisis abated, Goemon sheathed his katana and glanced out over the horrified crowd and confused legionnaires, finally uttering a response to the madness. “A new hunt begins,” he said in a gravelly voice.

[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?

[drabbles-of-writing]

Your Turn

This is part of my Uncursed AU

AO3

Masterpost

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

Lilith, as of recently, had been training Amity far more often. She wasn’t sure when it started happening, but it always made her feel better when she knew Amity was out of that forlorn mansion.

Which worked out wonderfully for her, since Amity loved training. She was always one to be on time, and rarely did she ever miss a lesson.

So, needless to say, Lilith was rather concerned when, one day, Amity was over ten minutes late.

,

They trained in many spots across Bonesborough, so to be prepared for any kind of terrain. Today, she decided to be a little easier and train in a clearing in the woods, opposite of the Owl House.

She would rather not run into Hooty, if she could avoid it.

Lilith tapped her foot impatiently, each minute feeling like an hour. The witch was about to pull out her scroll to call the young witch when a sound from the foliage caught her attention.

“I’m here! I’m here!” Amity called, rushing into the clearing and nearly tripping over herself.

“Amity! There you are.” Lilith said, hurrying over to the young witch. “Are you alright? Normally you would inform me if there’s to be a delay.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Amity apologized, ears pressed back. “I, uh...slept in…” She mumbled refusing to meet the coven leader's eyes.

“Slept in?” Lilith repeated. “It’s...late afternoon?”

Amity lightly kicked at the ground beneath her and held her hands behind her back, refusing to meet the witches eyes.

“Amity,” Lilith said, crouching down so as to be eye-level with the girl. “Did something happen?” She asked, concerned.

Call her a worrywart, but a million bad ideas ran through her head. Amity being late and sleeping in was very unlike her. Did something keep her up? Was there an issue at the mansion? Was it stress? Was she being too hard on her?

Amity sighed and her shoulders sagged.

“You remember the human, Luz?” Amity asked.

“Of course,” Lilith blinked, surprised at this. “Why?”

“So, I was in the library to, erm, grab something I left,” Amity stuttered, fiddling with her hands. “And it was the night of the Wailing Star, so I knew Ed and Em were going to be there. But turns out they also...brought Luz…” She trailed off.

Lilith tilted her head, slowly processing the words Amity had said.

“Oh, I see.” Lilith chuckled. “Let me guess, she pulled you into some far too chaotic adventure last night?”

“Yeah,” Amity sighed, looking relieved. “It was crazy! We had to fight the character Otabin, and Luz actually didn’t have that bad of an idea, and we almost got sewn into a book, and turns out Luz is, like, a huge nerd.” Amity rambled on.

Lilith only smiled and listened. She shouldn’t have been all that surprised. The residents of the Owl House had always been a troublesome bunch, it was to be expected Luz would be the same.

And Lilith knew from a lot of experience that once you’ve met the people of the Owl House, you're never completely free of them.

“I take it you're a bit too tired for training today, then?” Lilith inquired.

“Oh, no, no, I can train!” Amity insisted. “I’ll be totally fine.”

“Amity, I can see the bags under your eyes,” Lilith pointed out. “You’d do best to spend more time on your concealer.”

Amity poked at the makeup under her eyes and grumbled under her breath, embarrassed.

“Don’t worry, we can do something else today.” Lilith said, standing up again. “I heard that new merchants came to the marketplace today. We could go browse. If you’d like.” She added the last part quickly.

“Are you sure?” Amity asked, looking up at Lilith with such a shy hopeful look that she had to mentally reign herself back in.

“Yes, of course I am.” Lilith said with a smile. “So long you can keep yourself upright, that is.”

“Obviously, I’m a Blight.” Amity said, standing up straighter. “I can handle a few hours of walking.”

“If you insist.”

,

Lilith pulled up the hood of her cloak, obscuring her face from anyone passing by. Obviously, if they looked closer they could see who she really was, but it was better than walking out in the open.

“As much as I admire the attention,” Lilith said to Amity. “I doubt you want us to be swarmed today.”

“Definitely not,” Amity agreed, almost shyly. “Where did you say the merchants should be?”

“Somewhere near the middle of the marketplace,” Lilith said, unconsciously side-eyeing any stand they passed that was selling junk. “Come along.”

The two had a more of a vague wander towards the middle, as Amity, and sometimes Lilith, would get distracted by the odd objects being sold. Ranging from baked goods to knick-knacks that looked like they’d been scrounged up from someone's basement.

There were a few moments she had to stop herself from impulse-buying raven sculptures. What was she, Eda? The lady who bases her entire theme around one type of bird?

A sudden crash tore her out of her line of thought.

,

She and Amity looked towards the noise, and a part of Lilith wanted to be surprised at the sight...but she really wasn’t.

A worm the width of a human and triple the length had its head stuck underneath the rubble of a broken stand. It was thrashing about and knocking into other stands, causing what was, to the people of Bonesborough, no more than an annoyance.

King, of course, was clutching onto the worm's tail with his claws and mouth, trying to tug it back. Luz herself was pulling on the relentless demon.

“King! Te lo ruego, let go!” Luz demanded, digging her heels into the dirt.

King mumbled something back, but it was inaudible from the fact he was still biting the worm.

Lilith and Amity glanced at each other. Lilith’s face reflected that of someone who had seen this many times before, and was tired. Amity’s showing pure unease and confusion as to what to do.

Luz yanked on King, hard. The worm finally popped free of the rubble and spun around, revealing wide, circle jaws filled to the brim with spinning razor sharp teeth.

Yeah, that was more of a problem.

Luz yelped and scooped up King, stepping back as the worm lunged at them with a hiss.

Lilith had barely summoned her staff to help the two before Amity threw a handful of magenta fire at the beasts face.

The beast snarled and whirled towards them, opening its jaws wide.

“Amity?” Luz blinked, now noticing the two.

The worm shot at them, arching itself and whirring its teeth around.

Lilith raised her staff and the beast froze, enveloped in blue magic. Lilith drew a circle in the air and the monster shrunk back to the size this species was supposed to be at; barely bigger than a finger.

The worm fell to the ground, now as small as it once was. Upon realizing this, it dug back into the ground and vanished.

The surrounding shopkeepers breathed a sigh of relief and began fixing up their stands again.

“Are you two alright?” Lilith asked, walking over to the two.

“Yeah, we’re fine--” Luz’s relieved face turned to that of pleasant surprise when she looked up at the woman. “Oh! Hey, Lilith!”

“Lilith!” King exclaimed at the same time, happily bounding up onto a wooden poll that had been cut in half by the chaos.

“How in the world did you get a razorworm that big?” Amity wondered, hovering behind the coven leader.

“Oh man, long story.” Luz said, taking Lilith’s offered hand and brushing herself off. “See, first I was just helping Eda around the house, and then King wandered off to go dig, you know? And then--”

Lilith tuned Luz out as she rambled on her explanation to Amity, who was looking a little overwhelmed, but not like she needed immediate help.

“How’s you?” Lilith asked King.

“Great! Well, almost great. Then that razorworm got away.” King grumbled. “Oh, oh! I got Eda’s message! And I say hi back!” King said happily, tail wagging.

“That’s good to hear,” Lilith smiled, scratching the demon's chin. “It seems you’ve infected another one with whatever bad luck you’ve got.” She said, glancing over at Luz, who was still babbling on and gesturing wildly.

Amity looked less overwhelmed, and now was just politely confused, but still listening. Luz seemed calmer and happier at explaining now, whereas originally she had seemed nervous, like Amity was going to tell her to shut up.

Lilith didn’t realize she had been watching a bit too long until she felt King grab her hand and hug it, getting her attention.

“Do you still make those green cookie things?” King asked. “Those were the best!”

“Mm, not as much anymore.” Lilith shook her head. “But I can send a few to the Owl House if you miss them.”

“Yes!” King pumped a fist in the air. “Luz is gonna love those!”

“I have a feeling that if Eda is hesitant to eat something, Luz won’t be much better.” Lilith said, sounding uncertain. “Where is Eda, anyway?”

“Back at her shop,” King said casually. “She made Luz help me with the worm while she cleaned up the mess we made of her stand.”

“Of course,” Lilith chuckled.

“And then the worm broke some stand selling pottery, and then you showed up!” Luz finished at last.

“...you’re not used to having normal days here, are you?” Amity said after a moment, the corners of her mouth slightly raised.

“Nope!” Luz shook her head, still giddy off of excitement and adrenaline. “I’m still all wound up from last night, so Eda said I should spend all my energy now so I can crash later.”

“You haven’t slept?” Amity gasped.

“I think I had a thirty-minute nap when I got home?” Luz squinted her eyes in thought. “But other than that? Not really.”

“You really are Eda’s apprentice,” Lilith sighed with a shake of her head, causing both girls to look towards her. “Let’s get you back to her, then.” She said, her staff vanishing in a small flash of blue.

“Best not to cause more trouble than you already have.”

“That’s fair,” King shrugged, hopping off the pole and onto the ground.

“Oh, no, we don’t want to cause--er, inconvenience you further.” Luz quickly corrected. “Aren’t you here to buy something?”

“Just browse,” Amity shrugged, crossing her arms. “We decided not to train today, so it’s no big deal.” She said politely.

“You’re still training?” Luz blinked.

“Always are,” Lilith said. “Though you’re recent... adventure, lets say, put a bit of a halt on today's lesson.”

“Oh,” Luz winced. “Sorry, Amity.”

“It's...fine,” Amity said after a moment. “Let’s just find wherever that witch’s stand is.”

“Agreed,” Lilith nodded, gesturing down the marketplace road and looking down at King. “Demons first.”

“Ha, ha, very funny.”

,

“There you two are!” Eda exclaimed, looking up from her stand. “How’d the worm go?”

“Almost got eaten by it,” Luz said casually. “Oh, but we met Lilith and Amity!” She added, gesturing to the two behind her.

“...wonderful,” Eda grumbled, pushing aside whatever gadgets she had gathered. “Whadda want?”

“We just wanted to make sure Luz made it back safely.” Lilith said calmly, occasionally glancing over at Amity, who was being shown human relics by a gleeful Luz. “I don’t even want to know how you made a worm that large.”

“Long story, Luz could probably recite it to you.” Eda waved her hand. “Sure you don’t want to buy anything?” She inquired, pulling her best con-artist look.

“Positive.” Lilith said firmly. “I take it you already heard the disaster Luz got my protégé into last night?” She said. “Do you often let your human do that?”

“Luz is her own person and can make her own near-death experiences,” Eda huffed, crossing her arms, though she seemed far from offended. “And yes, I did hear about it. Luz talked about it non-stop when I woke up.” She muttered.

“It was sweet, but she kept going on and on about ‘befriending ones rivals’ or something like that.”

“She wishes to befriend Amity?” Lilith blinked, turning her head to where the girls were now.

Luz was showing off a strange colorful cube to Amity while King, much to both of their dismay, kept trying to eat it.

“My kid likes yours, for some reason.” Eda shrugged. “Hope that won’t get in the way of your perfect image.” She taunted.

“Amity can make her own image, thank you very much.” Lilith huffed. “And if that image means becoming friends with a human…” She glanced at the girls again.

Amity smiled and tried to smother a laugh as Luz got her fingers stuck in a strange paper contraption.

“Then so be it.” Lilith said simply.

“Couldn’t agree more, Sis.” Eda grinned. “And if I’m lucky, she might start feeling generous if she befriends Luz.” She added thoughtfully.

“You are not going to scam a child, Edalyn.” Lilith said strictly.

“Of course not! I have standards, Lilith.” Eda snorted. “I’m just saying that if it ever comes up, or she has an offer, it’d be rude of me to say no.” She said simply. “Kids rich, you expect me to ignore that?”

“I shouldn’t have expected more from you.” Lilith sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“You really shouldn’t have.”

“Uh, Eda?”

The two sisters turned, seeing that Luz, Amity and King had been cornered by some strange gray almost dog-like creature with a ringed tail. Luz had a stick in front of her to poke at the creature before it hissed and recoiled.

King was standing behind Luz, as was Amity. Although Amity looked ready to chuck a ball of fire at the animal.

“A raccoon snuck in with your stash!” Luz called, poking at the beast again before it suddenly bit down on the stick and began thrashing about.

Luz screamed and dropped the stick, jumping back. She tripped over King and fell over, crushing him beneath her as she scuttled back. At the same time, Amity threw a handful of magenta fire at the animal. It missed and instead set fire to the torn-up carpet it was perched on.

The sisters glanced at each other with a tired look as the three began yelling and shouting at each other, trying to herd the gray demon-thing as it ran about.

“Don’t look at me. I just dealt with the worm.” Lilith said, crossing her arms. “It’s your turn now.”

“Ugh, fine.” Eda sighed, summoning her staff and stepping out from around the table. “Nice to know you’re still the same, even with disasters.”

“Likewise,”