#raine and Luz met finally

[multifandom-but]

The way everyone guessed Raine and Darius’ teasing dynamic accurately in fanfics (specifically the fics where Darius adopts Hunter) and now it’s canon.

I have been fed.

[chazuramen]

was having a pretty rough week but hey at least raeda nation is winning 

[ilovetvtoons]

OH MY GOSH!!!! LUZ MEETS RAINE!!! FINALLY!!!

[astriiformes]

One thing this episode really lingered on is just how much The Owl House is a story about stories -- fandom, and stories told within stories, and breaking the mold to write your own, new one, and history as a narrative and parallels to the past, but also not being beholden to repeat them.

It's Luz stumbling into a magical world and deciding to stay because of the stories she loves. It's Eda telling her there are no chosen ones there, but stories turning out to having real power even when chosen ones don't. It's Luz and Amity having their first real bonding moment in a library, battling a book that came to life. It's Azura bringing them together. It's Luz learning about Philip Wittebane first through the false, polished, carefully curated story he wrote about himself in his diary. It's Eda telling Luz and King the story of how she met Raine before they're ever able to meet them. It's the repeating cycle of grimwalkers, constructed to play roles in a story they were never privy to. It's Caleb only ever being shown through glimpses and snatches of the narrative that swallowed him up, but being present all the same. It's Gus and Hunter stumbling upon Camila's old favorite series and connecting to it the same way she did (and then some). It's the constant meta jokes about various books the characters love mirroring the show. It's the kids on a haunted hayride being told about the Wittebane brothers like they're a ghost story, except they know they were real -- and who the real monster was.

It's meeting your girlfriend because of fandom. It's the book series your dad gifted to you just before he died that brought you much-needed comfort at the time, and so much more in the future. It's looking deep inside and saying "Stories help me be the person I want to be" and "You want me to repeat the way this happened in the past, but I refuse" and "Stories help us remember those who are gone."

It's Luz finally stepping back into the Demon Realm dressed as Azura, the character that lead her there in the first place, at the end of the beginning of the end of the show's own story.

It's about how stories can save your life.

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

I had a long argument with someone on whether or not stomping Belos before he dies was better than letting him die pathetically, and I asked myself if that is what fans really believe in... or if they would hail any Belos' death as the perfect one if Dana choose a different one?

They also justify the stomping as being part of horror-comedy genre and that Belos should not have any dignity what so ever because apparently letting him die in despair with no stomping is running the risk of making the audience feel "sorry" for him.

Honestly, these justifications make The Owl House feel more shallow. Like, why shouldn't the audience be allowed to feel sorry for Belos? What is the danger? That people would agree with Belos' views?

Or are we supposed to develop a black and white view of the world akin to a conservative view but inverted? And then hide behind the horror comedy genre to justify less drama? I hate to say it, but Nostalgia Critic is right about Belos being this strange outlier. The show seems to be afraid of actually doing a complex, tragic and yet irredeemable villain.

It doesn't make any sense to argue that Belos' death fits because of toh's genre as a horror comedy because the scene was neither played for horror nor laughs. At best, you have the image of Philip slowly being dissolved by the rain and then Raine's smug "that was satisfying" line. The overall tone of the scene is one of contempt as Philip tries one last plea to Luz only to be snuffed out (and weirdly validated) by the heroes. Its intent is to be cathartic for both audience (though as you know doubt know, YMMV) and the characters.

Frankly, despite its marketing, I don't see toh as either a horror or a comedy because it spends more time on slice of life stuff and high school teen drama and romance. And even when it does go for the horror and comedy, both are rather tepid. You want a real example of a horror-comedy for kids, then go watch Courage the Cowardly Dog or Invader Zim.

The reason why I argue the heroes validated Belos is because in the moment of his death, he clings to the idea that as humans, "we're better than this!" It's a moment of pathetic delusion that is appropriately met with silence but then it's ruined with Eda and Co. barging in with "Well, we ain't!" only to then prove his point by mercilessly stomping an already dying man to death. There's a reason why kid shows usually end with either the villain being imprisoned or not outright being murdered by the heroes. Evil has to die by its own hubris, not get killed by the heroes after the Big Battle when they're no longer a threat. I made a post about the importance of defeating a major antagonist twice.

Belos' death also doesn't work with a "Kill your oppressors" theme because the show isn't about that. The show barely spends any time showing why the EC is bad for the Boiling Isles and Eda is the only named wild witch we see getting harassed by them and even then, it's mostly played for laughs given how inept the coven scouts are (seriously, they're able to quit without fear of repercussions).

I think a reason fans are split on Belos' death is because of differing expectations; the fans who paid attention to Belos and the implication of his backstory and waited for every lie to come crashing down on him since that's what the show seemed to be building up to only to be unceremoniously ignored in the end were no doubt disappointed. Then you have the other fans who hated the character to the point that any gruesome death will do, regardless whether it made narrative or thematic sense or not.

Ultimately, I think the biggest reason his death doesn't work is because Belos fails as a villain.

Belos' status as a colonial puritan only works on a meta-level; it serves a cathartic release for marginialized people to see a representative of real world oppression beaten by queer characters as it fulfills the fantasy of finally overthrowing an oppressive system. The fatal flaw though is that none of this works on a narrative level because the coven system is either treated as a joke or simply a career path one must choose and we never see the disenfranchisement of wild witches. People largely get off scot-free opposing Belos, which undermines his credibility as both a dictator and a villain because no one cares about him until the plot needs them to. Luz doesn't even care about proving he's evil until Hollow Mind, which is halfway through season 2.

Belos as a villain only works if you project your own feelings and desires in wanting to see the Evil Christian/Evil Parent destroyed. While this is extremely satisfying emotionally, it does not make a sound story.

All the reasons why people like his death ("it's great the evil colonizer died so pathetically!" "omg, the white christian colonizer was killed by two queer people and their adopted son!" etc) are all meta reasons. And to be clear, it's totally fine if you thought his death was satisfying. But for many people, it did not work for a variety of reasons, including narrative ones. And that differing opinion should be respected instead of arguing some nonsense like "we have to make our villain as stupid/evil as possible or run the risk of people liking/sympathizing with him."

Belos should have died in a manner that connected back to his original sin: the murder of his brother. All of his lies and delusions and fear of being wrong should have played a part in the finale. He should have not died thinking he was right. He should have died realizing that all he did was for nothing. And that he is to blame. And that there is no one waiting for him back home.

[jacks-wack-attack]

SHE’S FINALLY CARVING HER PALISMAN! AND STEVE IS A GOOD GUY! AND THEY ARE ALL WITH THE CATS! AND LUZ FINALLY MET RAINE! I ENDED THIS EPISODE WITH A HAPPY HEART! THANK THE TITAN (THANKS KING)!

[waywardsunlight]

Post Hoot 4/28/2023

Cissy, Dana, Rebecca, Sarah, Avi, and Zelda Black

Reactions to the finale? 

Sarah cried really hard when she saw the Quincera (“a whole chapter in my life is over” line). Avi was excited to play a villain, Sarah said they were scary. Avi liked to play with character. Dana loved seeing Avi’s evil Raine, said it was intense. They said they wanted to see more evil Raine, but Dana wanted to avoid it. Rebecca’s birthday was the week the finale came out, talked about their appearance in the episode. Cissy started crying, said it was neat.

Continue reading below:

Cissy had been travelling, and got back right on time to see the finale, she was super tired. Cissy was crying, her kids were asking her if she was crying. Avi cried too. Sarah said she was choked up but she was more excited. Avi felt like it was surreal. Cissy said “no sequel” “we can hope” “It would be fun to do more but it would require Disney to agree” Dana. Sometimes Dana gets so pissed off about the cancelling. Rebecca said the finale aired and they were back to being angry. Wished they had gotten more episodes. Sarah was angry, upset and sad about the cancellation but she loved the finale. “It couldn’t have been more impressive”.“There’s always gonna be a thousand things we want to improve but it came out well” Dana

Dana loved the fight scene between Luz, Eda, and King v Belos. 

Music? How does it work? Brad has been on since season 2, he already knew the style of the show, so for every animatic, you put in temp music, and you send the composer the stuff and the spot notes, follow the concept of the temp music but add a horror genre spin on it. Brad’s first take on the episode was great. TJ did a remix for the epilogue, Dana cried hearing the remix for the epilogue. 

They brought back every single actor for the bye. Everyone’s last line is bye!!! Hooty originally had a line where he kept saying goodbye. Hooty coming out of Papa Titan’s eye? “I won’t say much, in hopes I get to do more in the future (slim chance), this youtube reviewer- The3rdBill got it right in an offhand comment”

“How did the writing change for season 2/season 3?” Dana had an ending she wanted, wasn’t able to do it bc too much set up. All of season 2A was written without the knowledge of the cancellation, Follies was the first episode fully written with the knowledge it was cancelled. Dana wanted to do more with galdorstones, coven heads, Bat Queen, it’s easy to see what we had to prioritize. It was a hard situation in the writer’s room. We did our best and we’re happy people still connected to it.”

“Keep being loud about how much you love the show”

“Support the Etsy artists!” Had a pin by SophieScrubs

“It’s not like we had whole episodes written that were trashed, they were one sentence ideas”- they were in Dana’s head “I’m just happy with what came out” 

“We kinda got to go out, 45 minute specials, it was fun to work with”

Cissy “There’s no way you can’t be a fan”, Cissy was wearing a King beanie and got recognized as a fan in Ireland!

Sarah met people who liked her shirt and the show lol (didn’t say if they knew who she was) Rebecca wore a king sweatshirt in DisneyLand, saw somebody else with a king sweatshirt and they side-eyed her lol “Anyone who ignores Rebecca can catch these claws”

Owlberts in the title of the show, Stringbean is there too, the L and S, when they made the pilot, they had a different logo, it wasn’t made intentionally but they saw it and they liked it.

Luz had a connection with snakes, having her reclaim snakes.

Sarah was a snake believer!!!

A lot of ppl had ideas in the writers room, Dana loves bad puns and loved snakeshifter (the guy who has Barkus named after him), Beastkeeping bc Dana loves animals, Oracle bc she could see the future of the show.

“Avi needs wrangling” Sarah, they joked around.

Raine’s Palisman: The Palisman was disguised as the violin, Raine smashes their violin- it was the staff part of the Palisman that was smashed.

Did they Clawthorne family ever discover they were descendants of Evelyn and Caleb? Eda and Hunter don’t know, the rest I won’t say.

Who had the old house? Who did that belong to? 

Sarah has a Stringbean! 

“The artistry of the fandom is inspiring” Cissy

Somebody’s making Cissy a Lilith one.

Caleb, Evelyn, Flapjack? “Save it for the spinoff” Dana: “One detail I like to think of, is when we were writing TTT, Flapjack is not Evelyn, to Belos he saw Flapjack as the culmination of the corruption in his brother “if it weren’t for you”, you can see a hint at it in the halloween decorations, Evelyn’s hand had Flapjack. First magic Caleb was introduced to, Evelyn was hiding her ears and pretending to be human, follow this bird into this portal? “Dog owners passing eachother and becoming friends and bonding over dogs”. I like to think that Evelyn and Caleb was sweet- platonic curiosity to romantic, it was good for a bit.

“Who did the shack belong to?” We never got to explore this, it was originally the home of Caleb and Philip, Eda comes out there for the first time when coming out of the portal door. Eda fixed it!!! Everything doesn’t matter, google death of the author, I am just a fan now bc the show is finished. If you prefer your version, it’s valid rn.

Eda becomes the owl beast before getting Owlbert. There was going to be an episode where they showed her reclaiming the image of the owl and learning to carve palisman with Dell.

When Luz and Hunter went down to the basement originally, there were graves down there for Philip and Caleb, based off old buildings in connecticut (no story purpose)

Belos concepts when he was taking over animals, didn’t end up in the show, Belos animal designs, alluded to but not shown

Eye on the portal is Papa Titan? Yes. 

Hunter is bisexual, Willow is pansexual.

Amity and Lilith rekindled mentor relationship, Lilith has a lot of history, Amity likes history + reading. They liked the blueprints for the library.

Cissy hadn’t seen anything she didn’t speak lines for, Cissy just got her lines/scenes.

Apparently they’re not supposed to bring the scripts home, before the pandemic they got full scripts

“Excuse me I’m talking” Avi (joking), Avi and Sarah are high energy

Avi didn’t have time to read the script, Sarah was confused when Luz died

Sarah got the script when Flapjack died, she said “no! Take me!” and they said “you’re going too”

Avi had trouble with the “you’re fluffy” line

Rebecca sent animatics to help the actors, it was easier for them to see the animatics

“It’s always up to the showrunner to show as much as they can” we go pitches in house with our own voices, Dana did Terra in For the Future animatic.Dana hates hearing her own voice, she talks really fast in her reads. When you pitch, you also do the sound effects. When they did the pitch for the finale (hour and a half), the line that got Rebecca choked up when Dana did Luz’s “Eda, King, thank you” “we got you kiddo”

There’s a recording of all of season two b  and season three of Dana pitching doing the lines.

If the show had not been cut short, would Amity and Hunter have had more time? Everyone would’ve gotten more of a chance to talk to each other- yes. Hunter would’ve talked to more characters like Vee and human realm kids, Camila. Literally everyone would’ve had more time. Dana loves the sibling relationship.

Luz and Raine barely interact, they’re bickering jokingly. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to hang out” Dana, “we can’t get the hexsquad to hang out”

Where did Luz attend school after WAD? She went to human realm high school, she had renewed motivation, even if high school was difficult, she had a goal, having a safe space for her and a family outside of the human realm made high school more bearable (that was the cause for Dana, having that escape was good).

Gus’s hair!! :D Emmy designed him. Dana designed Emira, Skara, Eber for the finale. Dana had two others but she forgot. 

King’s dad’s name is unpronounable. 

Does the Collector visit often? Has their relationship with their siblings improve? (STRONG LAUGHS) Dana can’t say much about the Archivsts, the Collector didn’t have a flashforward design bc they didn’t grow up that much, got a little taller but not really. Immortal space child. Dana was inspired by creepy dolls, and a nightmare. JBO had a google folder with cool references of creepy dolls, liminal nightmare scapes, stars. We know who is the Collector is gonna be but what’s their vibe. That was one of the most fun parts after the shortening. The Collector was always a part of it, not solidified, but yeah they were a part of it. The Collector has stayed connected, visits. Dana loves fan comics about King and the Collector. 

Won’t answer questions about the archvists. 

Hooty doesn’t have to be vacated from the owl house if he doesn’t want to, the door has a star motif on it, when the door isn’t active, Hooty can be there, but the portal door can fold up but Hooty is buddy. 

Who are the current residents of the Owl House? Raine and Eda’s business is their business, not all love stories end in marriage, that doesn’t diminism any kind of love? They live together in the owl house. Raine moved in.

Zach Markus invented Matt so he gets to answer Matt questions.

Vee and Masha dating? It’s hard to say, bc we didn’t include Masha in the finale, Vee has a crush on them. Yeah! Maybe.

Sarah’s husband is texting saying hi lol.

Odalia? Divorced. The kids happily live away from her. They see her when they have the energy to, they recognize she’s toxic and they don’t have to put up with her if she’s being awful. May have been explored if more episodes. Rachael MacFarlane (VA) is great. She’s not British, she’s just pretentious.

King’s Tower? Dana’s thinking… “dumb answer. The plans we had, it had something to do with… it was related to someone who you all know who may have amnesia

There was gonna be a moment for other characters to get eye glow (strong emotions)

What’s the mouse that looked like alador? In the boards, Dawn animated the scene, he has a pose where he looked like a t-rex, Dana saw it and thought he looked like Remy from Rattatoue, when they got to the scene with the lab, he remembered that convo and drew in the rat and Dana laughed so hard “keep it, don’t change it” “It’s his palisman”

“A show should be enjoyed as is, knowing how it’s made is also cool” “when the show got darker- we got to do the fun stuff we got to do, if we all tried to force ourselves to write a happy go-lucky show they’d be unhappy, we’re gonna put our feelings into this” It was a dark writers room for a bit.

Sarah likes the darker elements, mentioned the masks (maybe TTT?), not totally removed from reality

“It clearly struck a chord, we lived through a global quarantine, we’re feeling the fallout of it”

“What was extremely hopeful for the crew was that the characters would have a happy ending, Luz gets to study magic, the characters stay together and form a community” 

They got questions they couldn’t answer like about the quince 

They don’t know if this is the last post hoot

They opened presents but they didn’t get one for Avi bc they didn’t know they’d be there until 2 days before. Rebecca got them funko pops of Lilith and Luz. Rebecca said thank you.

“Hey disney, if you’re watching, this could be you”

Elizabeth (Camila VA) called her mom to translate stuff into spanish. 

Said byeeee!

[sepublic]

Watching and Dreaming

         It’s over.

         It’s really over.

         …Man! We really had a timeskip and everything!

         Was it Luz’s eighteenth birthday? Sorry, I was just. SO caught off-guard and disoriented and in such a daze. I remember hearing them mention how Luz was there for the 16th and 17th, which confirms what we already know about Luz’s 15th happening during the timeskip to Thanks to Them. So we have a general range for birthday and all and.

         THERE’S SO MUCH TO TALK ABOUT!!!

         I’m feeling numb y’all. Genuinely numb and in a daze. I think I need to sit down and catch my breath. Just… Fine, let me start from the beginning. That’s a good place, right?

         That nightmare sequence was so HORRIFYING, the way it called back to Lilith and Gwen’s betrayals of Eda over the curse, her trauma over Dell with him losing his second eye! King seeing the skulls of his siblings and being confronted by Bill! And Luz’s dream, being told she’s Belos… Seeing everyone dead, having it reminded to her that she helped him meet the Collector!

         But the way she knows her friends enough that in a final moment of crisis… She knows not to trust this! Reminds herself they’d never do that! And just shrugs it off, the way it all comes around to her original light spell! And it’s what saves and awakens everyone from this dream, because it’s called Watching and Dreaming, beat the fantasies of Adegast like before!

         And that reunion! They’re so glad to see each other… Eda’s excitement to see Stringbean, the way it loops back to that original trio! And the Collector, aww the Collector… The way they’re so mad but also still reasonable, they’re not THAT mean just not aware of boundaries.

         And how Belos manipulates them and GAUGH the age-old theory of the Titan being possessed and halfway resurrected by Belos, covered in his goopy mass… It came true!!!

         But first, I loved how everyone befriended the Collector. How even at their most malicious, they weren’t THAT malicious. And the way King counted on Luz to reach out to them, as she always has! The way they recounted Luz’s own journey to one of her narrative parallels!

         Raine and Belos fighting each other REAL… They’ve dedicated themselves so much to stopping him, and now they face off! And how CLOSE they were too… Titan I love Raine.

         Belos’ giant mock-Titan design was PHENOMENAL, he really went Bionicle this finale and I love it! And good Titan the way the Collector tried to apply the kindness and forgiveness to Belos, because they’re just so naïve! They’re still learning Luz’s compassion and they think it’ll work on this man they’ve been stuck with for centuries, because they can see he’s lonely too!

         But as tragic as it is, you can only get help if you accept it. You need to want to change. And he kept refusing, time and time again.

         Luz’s death, AUGH… I was panicking because they wouldn’t ACTUALLY, but the way the Collector was breaking up! In disbelief! They don’t understand death and they’re just. They really are a metaphor, or just a straight up example, of kids finding things out! They were lied to by the Archivists, who presumably got killed in the mutual war between Collectors and Titans.

         Titan, you’re a monster Belos. You really killed Luz. But Luz, she GAVE her life for this kid she just met, who antagonized her for so long! Because she sees herself in him, she’s just bristling with so much COMPASSION, it’s overflowing!

         And finally meeting King’s dad, and Belos killing what’s left of him. That hurts so much, but it was wonderful seeing the full shot of his skeleton. And the Hooty parasite in his eye… Well. I guess that just confirms that Hooty is one of those eye-worms that survived after all these millennia! Damn.

         Harpy Luz!!! But also Titan Luz!!! And she got big hair!!! Just like she always wanted, and Stringbean came back for her! I loved seeing King and Eda go FERAL over Luz, I love that trope to death. But the way Camila shed a tear like she could tell she lost the last member of her family, after losing Manny…

         But nope! Luz’s friends have faith in her, and they manage to save everyone! With the Collector, my boy… Ngl I thought they’d go with the reveal that Belos’ growth sapped their magic and left them powerless, but oh well!

         And the callback! The callback to magic coming from the heart, Luz, Eda, and King diving through! Luz knowing what she wants, getting to wield bile magic for just a brief time! And the animation the ANIMATION…

         Raine was blind as a bat and just whistling lmao! But seriously it’s sad when you consider they were possibly trying to access any bard magic, but were too exhausted. And getting to reunite with Eda after all this time… Those tear scars are metal ngl. We got Possessed Raine scars after all, folks!

         And the way they all came together to finally PRY Belos from the heart, even as they made a final callback to the beginning scene! Just as Eda said, if Luz works, she can make her fantasies happen, bring them to life, and she DID! AND BELOS ATE IT!!!

         Him trying to appeal to her one last time. Blaming the magic, accusing Eda of having been cursed by dark magic, once again relying on the curse as an excuse. But the WAY the show finished him off… Boiled, BURNED to death in the rain, after talking about how he missed the cool rain of the human realm. The ultimate rejection of this world towards him, that rain that acts as a signifier for the different worlds.

         Luz just watched Philip burn to death. That shit was ICE COLD, in spite of rain itself! Just letting him beg for his life, feebly trying to appeal to ‘peace’, but Luz was allowed to be a bit feral and get some revenge herself. And of course, Eda, King, and Raine got some too! The leaf umbrella was hilarious and anyhow I think there’s something poetic about Raine being named after the thing that helped kill Belos in the end. So long, you messed up bastard! Killed by the witches, by the world you despised! I love the way his patience wears away to reveal his hatred and rage and truth, and he dies by the people he loathed.

         Seriously, that underwater coral look to everything was so cool but so fitting, given the Titan was submerged in water and everything… Luz bringing back the red leaves that were another thing to distinguish from the green grass of the isles, against the green of Belos!

         The callback to Really Small Problems with the BREAD PUN, THAT KILLED ME!!! And Luz regretting, trying to think of what to say, realizing when it was seemingly too late, to THANK them like the first episode of S3’s title! And now…

         Now it’s over. The timeskip and reparations. I feel sorry for everyone who lived in Palm Stings or on the left arm in general, Belos still got to wreak havoc and devastation one last time… But everyone’s freed, STEVE AND LILITH’S FRIENDSHIP I LIVE FOR IT SO MUCH!!!

         Everyone reuniting at the Owl House, Raine and Eda those hags having some rest in the nest… The Collector bringing back Hooty! Lilith and Camila and Amity! Gilbert and Harvey kiss, HUNTER WITH DARIUS AND EBERWOLF!!! Amity and Alador… And Odalia, just straight up ignored! Would’ve loved to see her and Kikimora one last time, it’s a shame we didn’t get to see Kiki again. Maybe I missed her later on, but lol what if we just took the opportunity to say Boscha and the others killed her off-screen what then.

         Luz losing the last of the Titan, the original glyph that started it all… The pain!!! But the way she makes a NEW LANGUAGE WITH KING!!! And still has Stringbean, so she still has another way of doing magic! So it’s not the end, just a new beginning all over again!

         AUGH WHY DID THEY MAKE THE COLLECTOR LEAVE! When King said he showed up one last time I wanted to SEE them again, sure they definitely wouldn’t have aged given it was only a few years and they didn’t grow after millions but whatever.

         Timeskip… GOD THE WAY IT THREW US FOR A LOOP! A three-year timeskip, three years of the show. The photos with an older Vee, that barista lady with Hooty, Eda introducing Camila to Apple Blood! AND OLDER VEE AND LUZ!!!

         I love the way the show psyched us out, making us think Luz was just gonna settle for human college lmao. And the way she said ‘After all this time’ like she was gone for years, and I was thinking! Please tell me it’s a joke! AND IT WAS! AS I HOPED, Camila reminds Luz it’s only been a WEEK!

         And seeing everyone again. The Bat Queen start a new forest of Palismen with Gwen and Dell, Hunter learning from his lowkey descendants? THE TRIBUTE TO FLAPJACK I’M CRYING, WILLOW!!! DAMMIT WE SHOULD’VE GOTTEN A HUNTLOW KISS IT’S BEEN YEARS IN-UNIVERSE!!!

         Checking up on everyone, from Morton to the Selkidomus, Wrath and Braxas, Tibbles and the Slitherbeast with its baby! HARPY LILITH! I saw Boscha… Hexside’s faculty, BARCUS AS A TEACHER! Alador figuring out how to remove the sigils, Darius’ joy and becoming tsundere! Emira’s short hair, I was worried about Edric but then we saw him as a teacher, bless! ALONGSIDE GUS, who is ROCKING IT with those golden dreads and being an expert on humans!

         The way the symbol of Belos’ tyranny was replaced with a forest of wild magic, unbridled, for people to learn in. THAT being the college. Raine there, everyone there. And then they all come together one last time to say goodbye, acknowledging how we missed out on the Quincenera… THE MESSED UP CAKES! Steve just letting the spiders crawl as Luz did!

         And the final light show by the Collector. And that META joke… Saying “They’re about to leave” which could refer to our favorite star child, but it also refers to the audience! One final BBBYYYEEEEE is perfect. That running gag. Both by the crew in real life and in the show. This show gets so wonderfully meta and I ADORE it…!

         (Lmao that last look at the Coven Heads, VITIMIR GETTING AN EXTRA BIT!!! Does the crew love him too, is it a bone thrown to his fans! HELL YEAH!!! Still salty over his hat lmao.)

         …It’s over. It’s really over. After all this time, this is the last I’ll ever write something like this, about a new episode. Unless we get that Raeda prequel which the finale even jokes about, but for now. Thank you so much everyone. For listening, for reading to all of these posts I’ve made per episode since Season 1B began. With how much I dump here, I’m amazed anyone’s read it, but…

         Thanks so much you guys. It means everything. I dunno how to end this off, I feel like Luz… Oh wait! I know exactly how! Just as my beloved characters did, just as @danaterrace herself...

        BBBBBBYYYYYYEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!

[levshany]

Would Camila hit Philip with the chancla at least once

every self-respecting toh au must have a scene where Camila hits Philip with a chancla

I don't know if I'm going to put this scene into the plot or make an out-of-context picture but we always can speculate about stuff so. A lot of letters under the cut

If Camila would find out that her daughter has bonded with a giant bird, she would probably be shocked at first, but after they met, she said:

"okay, my daughter always had troubles with making friends and finally found someone who accepts her. And subconsciously, I always knew that it would be either a same crazy kid, or a troll"

I mean in the original show Camila very quickly accepted Vee even she was a salamander who used to pretend her daughter. And I think just one bird here wouldn't be a big deal for her. even if it's a medieval setting

So yeah Camila would quickly got used to Philip and grew bolder when she got to know him better. And she would start setting conditions for Philip, like if you try to steal food from the table, you get hit on the head with a slipper. and he would get these hits. because he thinks that stolen food is tastier than ordinary food, and getting hit in the head with a chancla is worth it

Another idea. Luz and Philip got caught in the rain while flying and returned home soaked to the skin. and Camila was afraid that Luz might get sick and die (and we know that in the middle ages it was not so difficult to die from a cold), and she yelled at Philip and slapped him with a chancla because it was his responsibility to keep the girl safe

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

Post-series headcanons for Eda, King, Vee, Lilith, and The Collector?

Here’s a quick few off the top of my head:

Eda: She has other prosthetics but she likes the hook because it’s the most intimidating to both students and new people. She was the one who proposed to Raine, it was a mess with Luz and King and Hooty and so many others trying to make it perfect even tho’ Eda said she didn’t need help.

King: his glyphs came to him in a dream and random doodling. His blood isn’t ready to use for a power source just yet but he still gives a vial of it to Luz every year for when she’s in the human world to try out the glyphs so that they’ll know when it’s ready to make new portals and other things.

Vee: was formally adopted by Camila and met the rest of the Noceda family, they don’t know she’s a basilisk but they love her nonetheless. She and Masha eventually start dating but it wasn’t until after Vee told them the truth about being a basilisk, disguising herself as Luz and the demon realm, luckily Masha was cool with it after the initial shock and think that their shapeshifter girlfriend is the coolest person ever (which brings Vee into a blushing fit whenever Masha gushes about her).

Lilith: With Eda’s help she was able to make a connection to her Raven Beast and thus the Harpy Lilith from the finale, becoming curator of her own museum was a huge accomplishment for her and even tho’ she didn’t need Flora’s approval, she still liked to know that Flora was happy for her (and that the deadwardian balusters exhibit was a hit).

The Collector: He visits the Isles every once in a while and each time tells King and the Owl House stories of his adventures. While most people of the Isles still fear them, he’s managed to make a few friends outside of the Owl House and Hexsquad 

[jasontoddssuper]

All the lore for my Toh self-insert so far

Tagged canon characters for my own personal organization so i can come back and read this post later,sorry if that causes annoyance!! /gen

@leo-thecactus @peachyblkdemonslayer @user1046 @moonage-gaydream @cottoncandyteeth @cottoncandyspikes @insomniac-jay @julieemarine @theultimatesagavan @catboymoments @rosy-tickles

His name is Verano Azul and he's black/white mixed dominican-Not the Demon Realm equivalent like Willow being korean but as in one of his parent's is from Earth and dominican.The parent in question is named Esta and is something of a dark parallel to Luz,a human who ended up on The Boiling Isles and is instead a magic hater who sides with Belos in that way.His other parent is named Invierno and he has an older brother named Otoño who goes by Oto

Esta and Invierno are abusive to him because of generational trauma from their latino heritage and encourage Oto to bully him and uphold him as the 'sibling they raised right'.Verano had severe self-eestem issues because of this and it was only added on to by being bullied at Hexside for his shyness and obvious hybrid status(see him having non-pointed ears)

He's the same age as Luz and was a trio with Gus and Willow until she came along and made them a quartet.He met his first ever two friends the same day they met eachother when they saw him getting bullied by Boscha and Gus caused a distraction with his illusions so Willow could sneak him away to a hiding spot and Gus hid too to avoid Boscha's wrath.Once school let out,Verano nervously approached them to thank them and hung out with them the next day which turned into every day after that

He's in the healing track/coven and got shit from his family for it because they wanted him to take a 'more useful' one and his palisman is a pink dragon named Fresa

His parents also never truly let him be feminine as a kid and called him an ungrateful brat for asking for things like children's makeup kits and dolls so as part of her redemption arc,Amity teaches him how to be femme and buys him the stuff they refused to and a particularly special item that he's always wearing because it was the first one she bought him is a plain pink choker

His fashion sense is pastel and mostly girly but has some masc hints here and there since he's bigender and it makes him happy with himself.He's short with light brown skin,full lips,a big nose and waist length black hair that's natural thick and curly but he relaxes it and dyes a baby pink streak in it in season 3 as a bonding activity with Willow and Amity until the epilogue where we see he's switched to twists and several streaks and gone from regular pastel to pastel punk

He also has a job making video games since Luz introduced him to them and he learned how to make them as he loved them enough for it to become a special interest

Has a genderfluid pride pin on his dress in Thanks to them

Eda becomes a mother figure to him through his frequent visits to The Owl House to see Luz and adopts him mid-season 1 after finding out he's being abused thanks to him accidentally revealing it during one of their conversations.She went to the Azul house and tricked his parents into giving her custody via adoption papers and easily beat them when they tried to fight her.Oto wasn't around to witness it but is still scared shitless of her and avoids Verano from then on(He does apologize in For the future and Verano says he accepts but dosen't wanna be around him anymore and he respects that).Raine is also his parent due to his and Eda's marriage and there's not a day without both chaos and wholesomeness with them

Considers Camila his official parent too(and she sees him as her son and daughter)and is eternally grateful to her for teaching him about blackness unlike Invierno.Perry,who was never told about Verano's abuse until after Eda came along,did teach him a few things but sadly couldn't get to many because of him still living with his racist parents

And his final parent is Darius.This one has funny reasons because the context is that the two of them got so close thanks to Verano being best friends with Hunter that Darius kept dropping hints to Eda that he wanted shared custody and she teased him into admitting it outright and laughed at his embarrased anger before agreeing to it.Verano was overjoyed when they told him and pulled them into a group hug after giving each of them a platonic cheek kiss,squealing about how much he loves them and what they were going to do as a family

His full name is technically Verano Azul Clawthorne Whispers Noceda Deammone but for the sake of shortness he just uses his first name when introducing himself

When he started unmasking,he turned into a very bubbly and optimistic weirdgirl who slowly became a Team Mom as his friend circle grew.His favorite stims are repeating words and running around,he's good at handling meltdowns,his special interests are dragons cats video games and pink and his safe foods are booding and McDonalds(post/during season 3)

Like the rest of the Hexside Squad,he had an episode dedicated their first meeting with Hunter and his was called 'Little Pink Flying Hood and the Hunter'.It took place post Eclipse Lake but pre Hollow mind and had them bumping forehead first into eachother due to his broom going out of control and getting lost in the forest and trying to find their way back home.They became friends by the end as they bonded deeply,including Verano telling him he dosen't have to be perfect and Hunter responding that they don't need to feel like a freak either.They don't reveal his secret identity in ASIAS but there's a running gag that he thinks they will and at one point they snark that if he keeps at it they'll spill the beans

Verano,Willow,Gus and Hunter are called 'The Four Emeralds' and their group chat that that they created after Darius gave Hunter his phone is titled that and it's extremely chaotic but sweet

His Flapjack tatto is on his right palm

He's Gus and Mat's wingman and finds Mat's cringe to be super cool

Edit:I came up with one more point!!His halloween costume was a pink and white catdragon onesie with blue cat face paint :]

[mothrite]

Eda to heal mother issues or family issues

Since this was vague it was hard to tell whether you wanted Eda x Reader so I ended up doing this!!

You got a new mama now

SUMMERY: Platonic! Edalyn Clawthorne x Abused!Adopted!Reader where Eda adopts you and you become King, Luz and Hunter’s sibling!!<33

WARNINGS: Mentions of parental abuse, child neglect and manipulation, in detail description of fresh wounds and PTSD. Angst to fluff

A/N: I had a few ideas for this but with the request I tried to stay vague. I didn’t use any quotes or describe the reader since I wanted you to be able yourself in their place, This is a short but hopefully sweet oneshot, if requested I might do a part 2!!Proof Read by myself!

The sizzling drops of boiling water falling from the bleak sky were much quieter then the sound of two bare feet running through the forest. They didn’t stop moving ahead, not when they heard the sound of their mother screaming at them to return, not when the boiling rain fell to their exposed skin and not when their legs felt as though a knife was being dragged from their hips to their heels. They couldn’t stop moving, not for a single second. They had been running for what felt like days, but was simply a few hours.

The young child’s eyes glimmered with a small sense of hope as they saw a tall house come into a view. They staggered as they attempted to limp over and knock on the door but failed as the second they reached the wooden surface, they collapsed against the ground. The running finally caught up to them, and now they were hopelessly crying at some stranger’s door, wishing they had just stayed home and listened to their mother’s wishes instead of fighting back against her abuse. They should have asked father for help, but it’s not like he would have done anything, he probably doesn’t even know they exist.

As they tried to lay their back against the white concrete, they almost screamed in pain only now realizing just how many scolds their were on their back. They yelled out for help, shrieking sounds of a strained voice. With their shoulder against the wall of the house they heard a voice. A high pitched voice asking if they were ok in a not so gentle tone. As they forced their eyes to open and look at the being, they were met with a beady eyed owl demon who’s body extended from the door. They could barely make out a sentence before everything went black.

“I couldn’t just leave them out there. The rain is going to be pouring for the next three days. That means NO ONE is allowed out. Not you, not king, not Hunter and certainly not this kid.”

As they slowly pried their eyes open they were surprised to be met with the sight of The Owl Lady, a human a small demon and a young witch. Did she want something from them? Then it clicked. They had stumbled to The Owl Lady’s house and fainted before help could get there, at least that’s what they thought, until the woman in a sleek yet torn red dress noticed them stirring and cut her conversation short and she hurried over and helped them sit up, making sure to avoid touching their now bandaged skin. They looked at the figure now sitting on the edge of the couch where they had been resting.

“You ok kid? I know the rains can be tough. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

They stared at her, confused and almost suspicious. Why was she helped them? Wasn’t she a criminal?

“Now take your time with answering but is it ok if I ask you a few questions?”

They merely nodded in response. She asked their name and they gave an answer with simply their first name. She then asked why they were out in the boiling rain for so long and without the proper protection. Just then it hit them that their mother would be searching for them at this moment. They struggled to answer, only being able to barely explain that they ran away after a fight with their mother. When Luz asked why they would run away over one fight they had to take a few deep breathes and gave their reply while clenching the blanket that wrapped around their legs and torso. They explained how their mother would abuse them and manipulate them and that night they were sick of everything and ran away before she could hit them.

Once they finished talking they looked over at the four individuals, all had gone quiet in the home. The only thing filling in the empty space was the sound of rain rolling off the barrier that covered the house. They looked down, disappointed with themselves. How could they open up and expose their deepest secrets to people they had just met? Suddenly as they spoke up they felt two pairs of arms wrapping around their body. Eda and Luz had hugged their sides and they could feel Luz’s tears silently dropping against their skin. And as they looked at Edalyn her eyes were clenched tight and she pulled the child closer and whispered into their ear.

“It’s ok. I’m here now and I’ll make sure that she never puts a single hand on you ever again.”

[1337wtfomgbbq]

The Lore behind Ullrichstrong

I have been asked to explain the lore behind Ullrichstrong by @lalalabro and, after some drafts and back and forth, I have decided to go in as much of a chronological order of events as I can.

Lance puts it very well when he said in 2018: "He was the most important person in my life. Nobody scared me, motivated me. The other guys… no disrespect to them, didn’t get me up early. He got me up early. He put the fear of god in me."

Lance and Jan met first during the UCI roads in Oslo in 1993. Where Lance raced as a pro and Jan as an amateur.

Lance stuck out because he beat Miguel Fucking Indurain, Jan's literal idol, in the pouring rain. Meanwhile Jan beat the other amateurs in the final sprint.

Both of them still remember this to this day, and Jan even revealed that from that day on he followed Lance's career. And the only other two he was following religiously before that were Miguel Indurain and Marco Pantani.

They would meet again only in 1996 during the Tour de France. But only for about six days as Lance abandoned the Tour after stage 6, only to be diagnosed with cancer.

This pic was taken there.

And this says more than 1000 words actually. Because Jan's English was abysmal back then and he relied heavily on his teammates for translations. But he seemed to have had no problem communicating with Lance here.

Lance would be at the road side during the second solo time trial of the Tour de France in 1997. The year Jan won the Tour de France. And he remembers thinking how nobody would be able to beat Jan for ten years.

And you gotta understand, based on Jan's performance at the Tour de France in 1996 and 1997 everyone thought Jan was the next Indurain. That he would go on and win ten Tours in a row, with nobody able to beat him. You had people like Poulidor at the roadside being baffled and saying, "it's Merckx!"

Instead Jan would end up like Poulidor, the eternal second to Lance Armstrong.

They would only meet again during the UCI Roads at the end of 1999, where Jan beat Lance in the the time trial, after Jan lost the Tour in 1998 to Marco Pantani and couldn't compete in the Tour in 1999 due to injury.

Jan did manage to win the Vuelta in 1999, which was held after the Tour, and which he only rode to, "get back into it".

It's also worth mentioning that back in 1999 Lance winning the Tour was kinda smiled at because his greatest competition, aka Jan and Marco, weren't there.

2000 Jan was unable to beat Lance during the Tour de France but something interesting did happen during stage 15.

Lance's great rivalry that year was with Marco Pantani, who he had the greatest bitch fight ever with.

During stage 15 Marco started an attack on the first of five passes that evoked the move he made in 1998, which destroyed Jan and gifted him the yellow jerseys. Lance, completely riled up, was telling his team to allow Marco to go, thinking he would blow up after riding hard the whole day and they could just blow past him.

Well, Marco did blow up, but so did Lance. Allowing for Richard Virenque and Jan to ride away and finish the stage as first and second.

This picture, taken during that stage, is pretty funny given what would happen a year later.

At the end of the season Jan was also able to remind Lance that he was still a force to be reckoned with as he beat Lance during the Olympics and took home a gold and silver medal.

The 2001 Tour de France is where it really kicks off.

There were some... situations.

"The Look". A bush detour. And a handshake.

• "The Look": during stage 10 Lance faked being in bad shape only to roar back and leave everyone, including Jan, in the dust. He looked back before powering away, at his teammate Chechu Rubiera, but the angle makes it look like he looked straight at Jan.

• When Jan misjudged a corner during the descend on stage 13 Lance waited for him.

• At their arrival at Luz Ardiden, after a hard day of fighting they crossed the finish line almost side by side. Lance actually easing up and allowing Jan to cross first, and Jan reached back and shook his hand.

In 2002 Jan wasn't at the the Tour de France because he got busted for doping and subsequently kicked off his team, Telekom.

And Lance actually went on record advising Jan to race for his former team captain Bjarne Riis.

The 2003 Tour de France is Ullrichstrong big bang.

It was the heat wave of 2003 and as Jan operates amazingly in the heat he absolutely smoked Lance, who doesn't handle heat at all.

The race was so close that year that Lance was considering getting off his bike and abandoning during the first time trial (which Jan won, putting 1 and a half minutes into him). Their time difference was so close before the last, and deciding, time trial that Jan went with the sprinters on stage 18 for ONE bonus second.

But what really cements them as sporting rivalry of epic proportions is what happened during stage 15.

Lance's handle bars caught on a fans bag and he and Ivan Mayo went down, Jan barely avoiding hitting them. And despite Jan's directeur sportif, Rudy Pevenage, telling him to go ahead Jan waited for Lance. Later saying if he had won the stage, or the Tour, because of taking advantage of Lance's bad luck, the stage and the Tour was not worth winning.

And you gotta understand, this is not AT ALL like what Lance did in 2001. Back then the jersey was not in play, in 2003 it ABSOLUTELY WAS. Jan literally passed up his chance to win a second Tour, to be fair toward Lance.

Jan even revealed how he was relieved when Lance was back with them after his fall. While Lance said he would have been annoyed. But, as Lance says, "Jan is just a sweetheart."

And, what you also gotta understand, Jan was the only one Lance was afraid of. Pantani, Mayo, Basso, Vinokurov? They may have been annoyances, but only Jan made him get up earlier and put the fear of god in him.

(And that is despite Pantani working him over so hard in 2000 Lance admittedly considered abandoning the Tour).

Lance apparently trolled the internet and mined contacts to get info on Jan, to the point Tyler Hamilton thought Lance had an intern doing it for him before realizing Lance was doing it HIMSELF.

He would force Postal's team doctor Michele Ferrari to dawn disguises and spy on Jan.

Johan Bruyneel, Lance's directeur sportif, would also mine contacts.

They were watching Jan like fucking hawks.

(Granted Jan's side was pretty much doing the same, although not as obsessively).

In 2004 Jan was back in the flock with Telekom but his Tour de France didn't go all too well as he was severely sick.

He actually noticed early on that he was too sick to compete correctly and encouraged his young teammate Alexander Klöden to attack instead. He would help him as much as he could along the way.

One instance to note though was during the last time trial. Bruyneel said: "You know, Lance and Jan never really spoke that much. They basically didn't speak, but I'll always remember being with Lance at the doping control after he'd won the final time trial in 2004, and Ullrich coming over and giving Lance a hug. He said, "Ach, come on, it's only a bike race.""

This was the only Tour de France Jan raced where he missed the podium.

In 2005 Jan was doing better and managed to come in third. But what's really amazing is what happend after.

Not only the final podium where Lance kept saying, "I'm gonna get to Basso," only to circle right back and gush about Jan.

You see, Jan actually showed up at Lance's victory party, took the mike and gave a speech in Lance's honor in English.

Lance himself says he wouldn't have been man enough to do the same for Jan, and he still tears up to this day while telling this story.

Lance retired in 2005 and Jan was forced to retire after the Fuentes scandal in 2006.

Before Jan could try and win a second Tour in Lance's absence. Even while saying a win in Lance's absence is worth less.

And even after Lance came clean about his doping in 2013, and everything came out about what a dick he was (forcing teammates to dope as well, intimidating whistle blowers, to name just two) Jan maintained, "He never did anything to me, but was always fair and respectful."

Lance apparently decided to hand the 'get out of jail free'-card to the one guy who was the biggest threat to him.

And you gotta understand, Lance literally destroyed people back then. He was not just a grade A asshole, he was insane, and he could have EASILY went and did the same fucking thing to Jan.

But he never did.

They didn't really seem to have had much contact after their retirements.

Jan struggling immensely with depression and burnout after being forced to retire and deciding to not confess to his doping, opting instead to stay silent and shoulder the burden on his own.

He wouldn't even be able to touch a bicycle until 2010.

There were sporadic mentions of Lance from Jan.

How he tried to connect in 2010 but was unable to.

How it isn't good for the Tour de France as a whole that Lance's wins were taken away in 2013.

In 2017 Lance attacked ASO on twitter for not inviting Jan to the start of the Tour de France in Düsseldorf.

Jan, at this point, had already been in a downward spiral, that Lance, admittedly, knew about.

Lemme make it short, Jan was having a life crisis after his wife left him and took the kids in 2018 and was in the midst of destroying himself with alcohol and coke.

His family and friends, old teammates, even his old trainers, the German movie star Til Schweiger, all tried to help and didn't manage to.

So in a last ditch effort Mike Baldinger, Jan's best friend, called Lance to come in and talk to Jan.

Saying Lance is the only man Jan respects and fears too much not to listen to.

So Lance flew in to visit Jan in rehab. And mind you, Lance was willing to fly in lawyers and doctors to help Jan. He organized rehab in the US in fact.

That's not exactly the route Jan took, but his route also led him to 2021, where he had pretty well recovered from his 2018 fall.

It was the first time Jan went on his (now) yearly Mallorca Tour with Lance, George Hincapie and Johan Bruyneel.

During the podcast they recorded Lance revealed how his wife asked him if Jan was still okay and he said, "Anna asked me that the other day. She asked, Jan's still good right? And I said, I'm pretty sure I would be one of the first calls. And I would be on the next flight."

And at the end of 2021, as Jan now revealed in his new amazon documentary, he had a relapse while on vacation in Cuba.

On the flight back to Mexiko he apparently went berserk and had to be taken off the plane and to the hospital. And when Mike learned what happened he called Lance and asked him to go to Mexico and take care of Jan, which Lance did IMMEDIATELY.

Lance explained how he watched Jan come to in his hospital bed and how Jan looked at him so confused and shocked and how he just nodded and went, "Yeah. I'm here."

So Mike and Lance get Jan into another rehad and I find out in the news that Lance APPARENTLY gifted Jan a black ring with stones on the inside for GOOD LUCK?!?!

(Yeah sure "good luck", you two are married)

Add to that, ALWAYS when asked why Lance is helping Jan, why he is going so hard for him, he says, "because I love him."

2022 marked the 25th anniversary of Jan winning the Tour and Lance actually agreed to be interviewed for the documentary series "Being Jan Ullrich" and for the book "Jan Ullrich - the best there never was" by Daniel Friebe that was also released that year.

Even going so far as to telling Friebe that if he was out to write a hatchet piece about Jan, to not even bother coming to Aspen because he would not utter one bad word about Jan.

At the end of 2022 Jan went to California with Paul Ripke (who he did a podcast with an became fast friends with. He is the photographer behind the BottAss calendar btw) and they met up with Lance, and the two of them went to a basketball game together. And who knows what else they got up to😏

Jan saying in a post on instagram: "Lance and I had a lot of mutual respect even as opponents. After our careers, we both went through a lot and were able to understand how the other is doing. And then when I needed help, Lance was there the next day. That's when you realize: I'm really important to him, it's not just a blah blah, there's something behind it. It's a great friendship.”

This year (2023) Lance also agreed to be interviewed for the documentary series Jan did with amazon.

And of course they also met again on Mallorca.

During that podcast Lance was surprised to hear Jan wanted to be at George's Fondo in 2024, and planned to do something similar himself (with George visiting). He stopped the two dead in their tracks and declared, "if Jan is gonna be there I am gonna be there." And that after George was ribbing him for not having been at his Fondo for some years now. But if Jan's gonna be there Lance is gonna be there.

Or when Lance explained that he was fitter this year because apparently George called him fat in April, only to turn to Jan and assure him, "I would never say that to you."

Because, as Lance openly admits, back in the day he was obsessively studying Jan's body, just to know his level of fitness before the Tour; adding to Jan's body image issues.

Then the amazon documentary dropped in November and so did the GAYEST FUCKING MAGAZINE COVER I HAVE EVER SEEN.

Seriously, whos idea was that and who okayed it??

There are probably things I skipped but their history is literally way too fucking rich.

Their story is like Senna v Prost, or Anquetil v Poulidor, you cannot tell one of their stories without also telling the other's. They are way too interwoven and way too emotionally attached to each other.

This is more than just ship tropes, and at the same time they are a walking talking ship trope and literally ship themselves.

Height difference? Check.

Age difference? Check.

Virgo x Sagittarius relationship.

East vs west trope.

Shared daddy issues.

Hot vs Cold.

They are so entirely and fundamentally different.

Lance was a natural leader and had great mental fortitude, while Jan enjoyed way more to follow a leader like Riis and struggled a lot mentally.

Where Jan had immense pressure from the German media, Lance never had any from the US.

Lance was such a dickhead during his pro years. He had a literal 'no friends' rule enforced on US Postal, forbidding his teammates from fraternizing with other teams, meanwhile Jan was such a genuinely nice guy to everyone that you are hard pressed to find someone saying or recalling something bad about him.

On one had it's fun to compare their rivalry and subsequent later friendship to other sports rivalries like Poulidor and Anquetil, or Senna and Prost, while on the other hand what Jan and Lance have is on a fundamentally different level.

Like Bruyneel said, they didn't talk a lot during the races. George even recalls how Jan would scarcely speak during races, but apparently despite this those two had the biggest level of respect and fear and admiration and even love for each other.

To the point where Lance was the literally only person able to get through to Jan at his lowest. Even his fucking mother and brothers couldn't get through to him, but Lance could.

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

Stepping Stones: Chapter 11

The force of the soundwave knocks Raine backwards, blasting them across the living room so hard and fast they slam into Eda’s wanted poster, knocking it sideways. 

“Raine!” King squawks. “You okay?”

Raine checks the back of their head for damage and then looks up, grinning. “All good,” they promise, standing and re-situating the poster. “That was amazing, King!”

Footsteps patter down the stairs and Luz emerges a second later, her eyes wide. “What was that?”

“King finally hit that high note!”

“Hey! Good for you, buddy!” Luz sweeps King into her arms, twirling him around.

“Oh, it was nothing,” King says in imperious tones, waving his hand. 

“Next we’ll start working on hitting notes in sequence. If we can put together a melody, you’ll be able to do multiple waves of damage.” Raine pauses. “We might want to move practice outside.”

If they’re honest with themself, the idea of bard magic being so similar to Titan magic sort of terrifies them. Teaching King some of the tricks they’ve learned is all well and good, but picturing the behemoth both of them are standing on— King’s father— doing anything remotely like this is deeply unsettling. They try not to think about it much.

Luckily, a piercing squawk interrupts that thought process before they can get too deep into it, and they hold out their hand for their phone to fly into. 

“Hey, Darius. What’s going on?”

“Hunter and I found a neighborhood we want to check out, and we’re thinking of booking some showings for later today. Do you have any idea whether you want to come with?”

Raine sighs. “Not yet, Dare. Maybe look at a couple of different models?”

Darius heaves a sigh that lasts a solid twelve seconds. “Fine.”

Raine hangs up, and their phone flies over Luz and King’s curious faces. “Showing?” Luz asks.

Raine nods. “Now that Darius and I are public figures, we don’t really think it’s appropriate to be holing up in the old CATTs headquarters. He, Hunter, and Eber have been looking at moving to Bonesborough to be closer to Hexside, but I’m not sure where I want to go yet.”

Luz’s eyes light up, and she bounces on the balls of her feet. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? You should move in here with Eda!”

King gasps. “Yes! Then you could bring me dessert before dinner every day!”

“Hey, you’d better not tell Eda about that. I shouldn’t even be doing it.”

“Well, maybe if you live with King you’ll get used to his charms,” Luz offers.

“No one gets used to my charms,” King scoffs.

“Look,” Raine says, “it’s Eda’s decision. She’s been so busy with plans for the university anyway, and it's opening in just a few weeks, the last thing I want to do is impose—"

Luz gives them a level look. “Raine. You make time to see each other literally every day. You spend more time in this house than I do. I really don’t think you’d be imposing.”

Raine sighs. They’re not going to say they haven’t thought about it; they’re sure that Darius, Eber, and Hunter all know it’s the reason why they’re not looking at houses with them. But as hard as they try, they can’t shake the memories of when they were younger, when Eda always insisted on staying over at their house instead of hers, when she always met them outside her door, when she protected her space with all her claws rather than let them see the elixirs and feathers and scratch marks inside. 

It isn’t fair, they know— they’ve seen Eda turn enough to carry spare elixirs, and she takes them from them. And Luz is right: they spend more time at the Owl House than they do their actual home. But they can’t shake the fear that this will be too much, too fast, and she’ll pull away again.

They feel a hand slip into theirs and Luz squeezes it gently. When they look at her, it’s to find her gazing at them with big brown puppy eyes they can never resist.

“Please,” she says, “just give her a chance.”

Raine closes their eyes and lets out a long breath, trying to drain their fear out with the air. “Okay.”

…

The only remaining problem: Raine genuinely can’t get the words out.

They could have gotten right to it when Eda met them for lunch on their hill. Eda, there’s something I wanted to ask you. They could have brought it up when she asked how their day had been. Oh, I was talking to Luz about this idea. They could have mentioned it the fifth time they opened their mouth and then lost their nerve and Eda asked if they were being asphyxiated by their sandwich. Oh, no, I just want to ask if I can come live in your house, but I’m so scared you’ll think it’s a terrible idea that every time I try I make these weird noises instead of words.

So they just laugh it off and finish eating, and Eda stands, and they realize they’re out of time. Darius and Hunter found two places they liked, only one of which has room for Raine, and Darius has told them in no uncertain terms that he needs to know where they plan to live before tomorrow if he’s going to be able to get an offer in. If they let Eda walk away, their decision will be made.

“So,” she says, magicking away the basket of empty dishes, “what’s the rest of your day looking like?”

Raine takes a deep breath. “Well,” they say— in a voice about three octaves higher than usual, but at least it’s their voice and not an empty wheeze— “I’m actually going with Darius, Eber, and Hunter to a house showings.”

“The old Headquarters not prestigious enough for our new counsellors?” Eda teases. Is her voice a little tighter? Raine doesn’t know if they’re imagining it or not.

“It's more that we need a house with better security. The CATTs’ place was great for hiding in, but not super defensible.”

“I see.”

Raine studies her. She knows them better than anyone— there’s no way she doesn’t know they’ve thought about the Owl House as an option. Their anxiety wants to say she’s not bringing it up because she doesn’t like the idea— but their rational mind, the one that knows this Eda, knows that’s not it. Even if she didn’t want them there, she would just tell them. The only other explanation Raine can think of is that she’s scared, too. She might have pushed them away all those years ago, but they were the one to end things. 

She’s opened the door, Raine realizes. They have to be the one to cross the threshold.

“They found a place that has a bedroom for me,” they say, “but I, ah, I wanted to check with you… just in case the Owl House was an option. You can say no,” they add quickly, “I just thought I’d ask—“

“Yes. Rainestorm. Are you kidding?”

Raine looks up to find her beaming, a light in her eyes that somehow makes her even more gorgeous, and they let out a huge woosh of breath. “Oh, thank goodness. I made this way harder than it had to be, didn’t I?”

Eda shrugs. “We both did. I mean, we’re together almost all the time anyway, but…”

“It feels like a bigger step,” Raine agrees, nodding.

“But I’m ready for it. I know it’s been less than a year, and there will still be things to work out, but Raine— I want to work them out. I want to be with you for the fun things, and the mundane things, and the awkward things. Everything. I want you to be a part of my life for as long as you’ll have me.”

“Are you sure? Because I’m pretty sure Warden Wrath is still hung up on you, and he’s got that whole strong-guy thing going on—“

Eda shoves them, but she’s laughing, and they grin too as they take her hand in both of theirs and kiss it. 

They lean forward, resting their head against hers, completely content. “That sounds pretty good to me.”

[catgirl-catboy]

Other things I liked about the TOH finale:

that scene with the coven scouts taking off their masks... gold. chefs kiss.

Harpy Lilith??? yes please. I am in awe.

Lilith + Hooty reunion is ADORABLE! Little noodle ball of happiness.

short haired willow??? short haired willow!!!

"NOW EAT THIS SUCKA!"

Titan!Luz's design is a YES. Can she keep the aesthetic if not the powers throughout the rest of the finale? Hell, can we retcon this so that she looks like that through the entire show??? I like horns, okay?

All of the callbacks to past episodessssss

The fact that King, the one who knows the collector the best, was the one to refer to them as a they. It wasn't a "I have not met this supernatural child before and don't want to assume pronouns" they, it was a singular they. We have a canon he/they! In text! No word of god.

Raine!!! fighting off Belos!!! You are so OP Raine and I love you for it

Raine with facial scars??????? yes

Hunter carving palismans and working with Dell!

Short, blue haired Lilith in Eda's nightmare

I unironically loved Belos's final design and his essence invading the isles. It looked so fucking cool.

The titan was with us the whole time. (the one thing I want to see now is Titan!Luz and king playing catch. I'd kill for art of this concept.)

[rosemaidenvixen]

For the Halloween thing: not quite a crossover, but Strickler and Jim swap with Eda and Luz role wise in TOH , (not sure WHAT or who that would make Hooty and King in this AU) Jim doesn't know that Strickler is cursed, not until the elixirs Strickler uses run out. Jim thinks there's a monster in the house. And it's hunting him. (or is it?)

Jim sat huddled behind the couch, holding a hand against his mouth to prevent small sounds from escaping with a small imp-like demon pressed against his side. Both of them hiding from the much larger creature that had prowled in from the hall. Desperately hoping the beast couldn’t smell the sweat trickling down his neck or hear his booming heart.

How had he gotten himself into this mess again?

It had started when he’d accidentally fallen into a magical world while biking to school one morning. Then after breaking and entering and an impromptu prison riot he’d made the decision, admittedly terrible looking back now, to stay in said magical world over the summer so his mom wouldn’t have to pay for an expensive summer camp while she took classes in LA. Sure the ground had teeth and the fairies wanted to eat his skin, but staying with a witch he’d met, trading chores for magic lessons, hadn’t seemed like a bad idea.

Then said witch had turned out to be cursed, which did make things more complicated but still manageable.

Until they ran out of the potion needed to keep said curse at bay. 

So all that brought Jim to where he was now, hiding from a cursed witch stuck in beast mode while he rampaged through the house.

And to top it all off, he was trapped in the house with said cursed witch thanks to the boiling rain.

Boiling. Rain.

Yeah when he’d first seen this place that morning he should have just kept on biking.

A sharp poke in his side pulled him out of his thoughts. Looking down to see the small demon, Notenrique, glaring up at him. 

His teacher refused to describe their relationship with Notenrique as anything beyond roommates, even if that didn’t strike Jim as the full truth. Once he’d asked about the meaning behind the name ‘Notenrique’ only to have the small demon give him a ten minute rant about how stupid the name ‘Jim Lake Jr’ was. Since then he tried not to ask questions.

“Oy beanpole, you got a plan yet?” 

“Working on it,” Jim whispered.

“Well work faster!”

There was a creak of the floorboards behind them and they both instantly went still and silent. After a few seconds Jim risked a peek around the side of the couch. Only to see the doorway obscured by a towering figure. 

Nearly eight feet tall if they stood upright, although even hunched over they were still massive, pale green skin and long ivory horns. Large wings folded against his back and long tail thumping against the ground, giving him an overall draconic look, as he sniffed the air in the room. 

Glowing gold eyes pierced through the gloom, and even in the low light Jim could still see the rows of dagger-like teeth lining his jaw. Quickly ducking back behind the couch, Jim held his breath, beside him he could feel Notenrique doing the same, desperately hoping they remained undetected.

The beast gave the room another sniff and then mercifully started to retreat, moving through the doorway and heading further down the hall away from them. Jim didn’t move, he waited one second, two, five, ten. Only then did he finally allow himself to rela–

“Hello!”

Jim jerked, stifling his scream into a strangled squeak and smacking his head on the side of a table. Notenrique shot straight up in the air and landed on the back of the couch, claws out and hackles raised.

“Hooty…” Jim clutched his chest, struggling to get his breathing under control. He was way too young to be having heart attacks “Don’t do that!”

“Yeah you dumb bird worm!” Notenrique glared at him, crawling from the couch back into Jim’s lap.

“Why the long faces fellas?” Hooty twisted his neck until he was staring at them upside down “Don’t worry, I brought you a present!”

His coils spasmed and he started to gag.

“Wait Hooty could you not do that right he–”

Hooty barfed up an owl pellet straight onto Jim’s lap, Notenrique jumping clear at the last second.

Jim grimaced, picking through the mess. Rat bones, twigs, a live bat that flew free up into the rafters, some unlucky person’s scroll–

And a glowing yellow bottle.

Jim grabbed the bottle, heart pounding, but his time from sheer relief “Is this the elixir? Oh man Hooty you’re a lifesaver!”

Notenrique scurried onto Jim’s shoulder “Bout time you made yourself useful,”

“Hey I’m always useful!”

“Then stop screeching at four in the morning!”

“It’s my duty as the owl house to ensure everyone’s is up on time,”

“On time for what? Our ears bleeding!?”

“Guys guys give it a rest!” Jim angled himself between them “We have bigger things to deal with right now,”

Notenrique glowered but stayed quiet while Hooty harumphed “I like the universe with Luz and King better,”

“I– wai– you what?”

“Beanpole do yourself a favor and don’t pay too close attention to Hooty’s nonsense,”

Jim shook himself off, he had the elixir they needed to cure him. Now all they had to do was get it to him…

“Alright guys, I think I have a plan,”

--

A pounding headache, so forceful it threatened to crack his skull in two, was the first thing he was aware of, the second was an unbearably dry texture to his mouth and a brightness behind his eyelids compounding his headache. Raising a hand to rub at his throbbing skull to try and aleve the pressure.

When it became clear that wasn’t working he reached out with his other arm, fumbling around until he eventually found the side of the nest. Forcing himself to ignore the pain and push himself upright only to get smacked with a wave of nausea.

Strickler groaned, leaning heavily against the side of the nest while rubbing his face. His entire body felt like cement, heavy and cumbersome and barely able to move.

From beyond him there was a soft scuffling sound.

“Hey he’s awake,”

Despite his head pounding in protest, Strickler forced himself to pry his eyes open, bright light assaulting his corneas, and pulled himself upright.

He was lying in his nest in his room, which was a disaster. Furniture torn apart and upended, random bits of debris scattered about. Jim and Notenrique were standing near the window, which it looked like they’d patched with a wooden board, instantly hurrying to his side.

Notenrique jumped from Jim’s shoulder to the edge of the nest “How ya feeling bossman?”

Strickler dragged a hand down his face “Like I got in a battle with a truck and lost,”

Jim winced, running a hand through the back of his hair and refusing to meet Strickler’s eye “Yeah about that…”

Strickler followed his line of sight to a license plate laying in the middle of the nest

All at once it came slamming back to him. Agreeing to take on a human student against his better judgment. Being distracted by Jim’s presence, neglecting to stock up in elixirs–

“My curse…”

“Don’t worry, things kind of got crazy-town-banana-pants for a while, but we were able to get you your elixir and calm things down,”

A sour taste rose up in the back of his throat “I’m so sorry Jim, and to you Notenrique,”

“Oh no don’t be,” Jim held up both hands “It wasn’t my truck, and it looks like you can digest metal ok,”

“No I– wait, I ate a truck!?”

Jim and Notenrique glanced at each other then flashed Strickler matching sheepish grins.

He glanced back and forth between them before letting out a heavy sigh “I’ve let you both down. My curse is my responsibility to manage and I failed to do so. Jim I’ll arrange for you to board somewhere else for the rest of your summer. All I ask is that you care for Notenrique–”

“Whoa whoa–” Jim held up both hands “I’m not going anywhere,”

“I can’t possibly ask you to stay after I lost control–”

“This isn’t your fault,” Jim came up directly to the side of the nest “You had a slip up, it happens. I’m not leaving you over one mistake,”

“But I–”

“No buts bossman,” Notenrique scrambled over to perch himself on top of his head “I don’t care if you hulk out every now and again, you’re stuck with me for life, so no take backs!”

Strickler leaned against the side of the nest, exhaustion weighing on him heavily “Boys I am heartened by your faith in me, but the fact of the matter is my curse is dangerous. And these events have proven that I am a threat to you both,”

No one said anything, the only sound the drumming of the boiling rain against the roof. Then after a long time Jim swung himself over to sit on the edge of the nest.

“Look Strickler I…I’m still learning about magic and curses, but I know a little bit about chronic conditions. And from what you told me it sounds like your curse isn’t something you can control, only manage. And for all the weeks I’ve been here you did manage it. I didn’t even know you were cursed until…”

Jim’s gaze drifted down towards the license plate before he shook himself off and continued “Anyways, this was just one slip up,”

“Yeah,” Notenrique spoke up from his perch on top of Strickler’s head “You managed it real good for years, I can’t even remember a time you went all hulky before,”

Blue eyes twinkled, legs thrown out into the nest with ankles crossed and arms folded across his chest “Point is Strickler, if you want to get rid of us you’re going to have to do better than hulking out on your curse and chasing us around the house,”

Notenrique jumped over to perch on his shoulder, matching his cocky look “Yeah, what he said,”

Strickler glanced back and forth between the two boys, a heaviness settling in his chest. He wanted to call them foolish and naive, he wanted to demand that they leave, forcing them out with an abomination if he had to. That’s what a good pa– a good teacher would do.

But instead Strickler stupidly, selfishly got to his feet “Thank you boys. Now I know the house is a mess but I am exhausted and I imagine you two are feeling much of the same, so what do you say we have some dinner and leave the cleaning for tomorrow,”

He stepped out of the nest, Jim following with Notenrique still on his shoulder, letting out a small chuckle as he stepped over a mangled stop sign lying in the doorway “Although from the looks of things I may have filled up on automobiles and street signs,”

“Nah that’s what beanpole used to smack you in the face so I could pour the elixir down your throat,”

Strickler whirled towards Jim, spotting the boy staring back at him with a nervous grin.

Despite himself Strickler felt a smile tugging at his own lips.

What a student indeed.

“Well then I’m sure you worked up an appetite,”