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yallthemwitches · 8 days ago

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The Storm, The Aftermath

A smutty, fluffy continuation of my jilytober fic 'The Storm' ( Rated T: Link Here) though it is not necessary to read them together. Also a portion of this is based off a @blvnk-art comic which I posted previously.

NSFW Warning! AO3 Here

“James…” Lily watches him from the bed, his shoulders tight, hands moving flustered as they search for some unknown item of clothing. Even from behind she can tell he is trying to regulate his breathing. “James,” she repeats, taking a small pause, “I wasn’t planning on needing anything to sleep in.” She feels her whole face flush.. If implications were heavy before, all nuance is now thrown out into the storm.

“If your mum or dad ask, we fell asleep working on the assignment,” Lily murmurs, a hand curling deep into his hair while the other brushes a thumb over his bottom lip.

“Right…assignment.” He pushes their bodies flush together and propels them backwards towards the open door to his room. His teeth nip at her thumb, sending her nervous system rampant.

“We can say I suggested we keep at it—you know, since I had to stay the night anyhow.” Her voice turns into a sigh as James skims his teeth against her cheek, grazing to her chin with an open mouth.

“Had to,” he teases, eyes fighting to stay open. His hands find where her shirt allows entrance to the skin underneath and he presses in.

“Plus,” she sighs at the feel of his rough hands on her back, “ I didn’t quite like the look of the guest bedroom anyhow—too sterile.”

"Are you calling my room dirty, Evans? How rude.”

Their bodies push their way into the open door. Despite the efforts of his hands to erase all thought, Lily can’t help but relish in entering his personal space. It’s a rarity—she has seen his four poster bed back at school in fleeting moments from before they started hooking up, but even then that was a shared living space, marked by other boys past and present. This was his territory, completely unfiltered by anyone but himself.

He makes a small noise of dissent as she untangles herself to get a better look at the room: his broom leans against a much too large mahogany bed and the static eyes of The Beatles stare back from the walls while quidditch heroes zoom across posters. Books are stacked on the floor at the bedside and a large bay window opens out to the gardens next to the house, now darkened by the incoming storm.

With a shot of confidence, Lily turns to give him a coy smile before bounding over to the foot of the bed, taking a seat on the edge. James watches her go, barely capable of keeping his jaw from unhinging as his heart rattles in his chest.

“Nice room Potter.” She leans back on her hands. The bedding feels expensive, higher quality than the stuff at Hogwarts and certainly the ones she has back in her room in Cokeworth. She imagines James curled underneath it, lying awake before another day of messing around with Sirius or practicing quidditch out in the field which flanks the Potter Estate, maybe just maybe also thinking of her…

They watch each other for a moment, sizing up the scenario. The wind from the snowstorm rattles the window, serving as a gentle reminder that they aren’t suspended outside of reality. It has been months since they started snogging in secret, but it isn’t until this moment they have actually achieved true, comfortable solitude.

It’s an understatement to say that James can feel the implications of her presence. His whole body is burdened by the fact— years of imagining her sitting exactly where she is now are catching up to him, mixing with all the other fantasies that include words such as Lily, bed, and alone. She watches him with a smirk as he fiddles with the ends of his hair, shifting his weight to hide the feeling of arousal taking over despite his best efforts.

“Uh…let me find you something to sleep in–” he says, becoming red around the cheeks. He turns towards an ornate dresser against the side wall and rips open a drawer, sticking his hand in to fish through the fabric before closing it and repeating with another.

“James,” she repeats, taking a small pause, “I wasn’t planning on needing anything to sleep in.”

She feels her whole face flush. If implications were heavy before, all nuance is now thrown out into the storm.

“Oh?” His hands tighten around the knobs. The wood groans underneath and he grips onto it as though it is the only thing holding him back from lunging at her. He turns around slowly, eyes burning with something feral and raw.

“Yeah.”

Her thoughts scramble as he takes slow steps towards her and she knows she is too close already to drowning in him. The smell of his room, the feel of his bed, him looking at her with that stare and hands capable of completely unwinding her—she doesn’t want to give in. She was the one who planned this all out, not him. She can’t let him take over so easily.

He stands in front of her and lets his fingers skim across the tops of her shoulders, eyes searching her face. She takes a breath, mustering months worth of desire into one single moment of bravery. She reaches for his belt.

It isn’t something they haven’t done before, but it feels reckless out of the context of fumbling moments in broom closets. James lets out a strained breath, eyes fluttering closed with his fingers now pressing into her shoulders, willing her to not move from against him.

“Is this ok?”

He responds with a groan as her other hand slides over the bulge that appeared long before they had entered the room. She can feel how turned on he is already, and it occurs to her that this is the first time they have ever been able to fully explore each other with the patience and dedication they deserve.

“More than ok—-eons better than ok.” His eyes are glassy and wide, watching her like someone in the midst of sleepwalking.

“And you don’t think your parents will—”

“Evans.” James groans out, “Can we not talk about my parents at a time like this.” He makes a small choking sound when her hand adds more pressure. “They never come over to this part of the house anyways.”

It isn’t the most satisfying answer, but she is in no state to complain. Moving her fingers around him, she feels every hard line of his erection straining into the fabric. She stares up at him with wonder as his face changes with her movements, his heart visibility erratic. She has to admit, it feels powerful to be like this—to watch as his jaw drops open and breath goes ragged and deep just by her fingers on trousers alone.

“I have to admit something to you,” she murmurs, her other hand still working on his belt, “I didn’t want to come to your house just for the assignment.”

He lets out a strangled laugh and tries to help her with his belt but she swats him away.

“I figured when you lied to our parents about needing to stay over,” he mumbles, eyes fighting to stay open. “Though I’m very interested in what excuse you would have come up with if there hadn’t already been a storm coming–”

His breath hitches as she gets his belt and pants undone, hand now edging around the waistband of his underpants.

“That's the thing-” his skin feels scorching under her hand as it dips farther down, slowly crawling to the base of his erection, “I planned to come today, because of the storm.”

She wraps her palm around him and he hisses, body arching forward as she gives him a small tug. They have only done this a number of times, but he always reacts in the same way: like his soul is leaving his body for some greater plane of consciousness.

“Didn’t realize you had it in you,” he groans out, hands finding her neck and thumbs rubbing circles there.

“What?”

“Mischief.”

She pumps up his length and he lets out a soft string of swear words.

“What can I say, you’ve been a bad influence.”

She lets him go and he gasps in disappointment. Flashing a smile, she pushes herself farther up the bed until she reaches the headboard. He crawls after her, reaching her legs and pulling them apart at the knees, easily flipping up the skirt that has pooled down by her waist. Looking up at her through skewed glasses, he begins dotting kisses into her inner thigh, each one more lavish than the next.

“So what did you plan to do Miss Evans? Seeing as this is all your orchestration?”

She doesn’t answer, instead melting under the heat of his mouth. He is relentless, giving open kisses up her thighs, letting his tongue slide over her skin as he goes. She isn’t used to being able to watch him do it—more attuned to the dark shadows of shifting bodies against boxes of cleaning supplies. Here, she can clearly watch every movement, finally putting a visual to the sensation.

“Sleep, I suppose.” She finally gasps out and he chuckles against her thigh, sending a shiver up her body.

“I think we’re past the point of sleeping, Evans.”

He’s moving painfully slow, but she tries to savor it. His mouth nipping and teasing as he gets closer to the apex of her legs. It’s the one thing she yearns for more than anything else they have already done: his mouth on her center. The first time he ever did it, he fell to his knees as though in prayer in an empty classroom and she thought she was going to explode from the feeling—his mouth, his tongue, his fingers moving in complete synchronicity against her. Ever since, she didn’t care if they had five minutes to spare or if Filch was just around the corner— she wanted him between her legs, making her whimper by the softness of his tongue. She wants it so much and so often that it worries her to think that she will feel just as insatiable about another part of his body when the time comes.

“Is this ok?” He breathes into her inner thigh. Both of them can see the result of desire pooling between her legs and James stares shamelessly, wonder etched across his face.

“Merlin— you are so wet…because of me?”

“Don’t be arrogant.” Her voice turns into a moan as he bites down against the uppermost part of her thigh before licking over it to ease any pain. The newfound sight of her arousal awakens an urgency in him and his hands and mouth are moving more erratic against her, trying to take as much of her in as he possibly can.

“Lily, you have no idea. No idea how many nights I’ve thought of you in this bed.”

She can’t help but giggle at the teenage lust of it all. It’s not like she is any better—before they started hooking up she would wake up with her hand already between her legs, body covered in sweat as she broke from the dream of his mouth crawling its way around her chest.

“Is it better or worse than you imagined?” She quips and his mouth stills. She looks down to catch his gaze burning up at her, a hand hovering dangerously close to her center.

“Don’t even joke Evans.”

She plans to make another cheeky remark but it’s cut short by his mouth making contact with her knickers. He kisses her through the wet fabric, running his tongue into the grooves of her flesh that he already knows so well. Her back arches for him instinctively and he uses it as leverage to hold her body in a hovered state, fingers circling at the top of her ass.

“Christ Potter.” She can feel him smile against her as he continues his ministrations, teeth pulling back the side of her knickers and slipping his tongue onto slick skin. The feel of his raw mouth makes her gasp and he lets out a small chuckle, pleased he is capable of making her react so viscerally.

“You are so lovely, so lovely .” He’s breathing straight inside her and his air makes her body feel feverish. “I don’t know how I deserve you, but I will never never let you go if I can help it.”

A finger slides into her and it takes everything to not let her head fall completely back. She doesn’t want to look away—completely mesmerized by how his tongue works her clit while his fingers twist inside her. He adds another finger and she lets out a cry, happy that his parents are presumably on the other side of the house.

“James, wait, I—” The feeling builds faster than she can fight it. With one last lick, she is sent over the edge, grasping onto his hair and her legs squeeze around him.

“Oh fuck—Lily—” his eyes are wide, watching as she shudders through the last of her climax. She pulls at his shoulders and he rises back up, wiping his mouth with his shirt.

“That was incredible—Lily, you taste…I can’t even describe it—” He genuinely looks dumbstruck, sitting beside her.

She watches him catch his breath, a hand caressing his leg slowly as he smiles back at her. It’s the place they usually stop: where one of both of them is sated by a mouth or a hand before they put their clothes back on and go their separate ways. But tonight, they have nowhere to run off to, no reason to leave things just short of full completion.

“Lily—” He starts in, but she is already ahead of him. Sitting up, she pulls her jumper over her head and the rush of cold hits her bare breasts. Anything he was about to say gets stuck in his throat at the sight of her.

“Dear sweet Godric–” he breathes out, eyes jumping from one breast to the other.

“Don’t act like you haven’t seen them plenty of times.”

“But I haven’t,” James gives her an incredulous stare, “Between my glasses and the near black of those bloody closets, I might as well be experiencing this for the first time.”

“Well—” Lily stammers, “Seeing as you just, you know, licked me out , my tits are hardly something to—”

James lunges at her, knocking her fully back on the bed. He slots himself between her legs and she can feel his arousal pressing through the fabric and into her waist.

“Don’t you ever, ever undermine your body like that,” he growls out. A hand slides from her cheek, down her neck, to her clavicle, circling just under one of her breasts but not making contact.

“Can I—”

“Touch them? Yes.” Lily cuts him off. She’s surprised he is even asking, seeing as he has done it hundreds of times before.

“No—can I take off my clothes too?”

Another wave of vulnerability enters the room. They have seen each other in various levels of undress, but never fully and never together .

“I don’t want to push anything—and I know we agreed that this is all just for a laugh, but I just—” He lets his voice get away from him, insecurity getting the best of his thoughts.

“Is that what you think?” she says quietly, “That I came here, lied to your parents and mine…for a laugh?”

James makes a coughing sound, eyes darting around her face, waiting for an elaboration.

“You’re right, I have worries about telling our mates for various reasons–” He opens his mouth to interrupt her, but she silences him with a hand on his mouth.

“-But that doesn’t mean that this isn’t real for me. That I don’t want you just as much as you want me.”

He looks down at her, feelings shifting on his face faster than she can read them.

“Lily, I really fancy you,” he whispers, strained. “And if—if we do something, y’know more , I don’t know if I’ll be able to go back.”

She reaches her hands up to his cheeks and rests them there, fingers catching falling hair out of his face.

“You say that like I don’t feel the same way,” her pulse quickens, “you say that like you don’t already know that I don’t want to go back.”

His eyes blaze raw and hopeful, and she feels the blood rush through her body, giving her the bravery she needs to move her hands back to his unbuttoned trousers and tug them down. His lips crash onto hers, and she can feel the hard line of his body pressing into her chest as he cups her face with one hand and helps ease his pants off with another. Just as quick, he removes his shirt, letting their bare chests slide together, his skin burning.

“Lily, Lily, Lily.” He says her name like a lullaby, kissing down the column of her neck until he reaches one of her breasts. Taking her nipple into his mouth, she arches up as his tongue swirls around it, him somehow finding new ways for her to feel impossibly good.

She can’t get enough of him, the feverish heat of his skin, the sturdy pulse of his body. She knows she is breathing yet it feels like there is not enough air for the two of them, the sound of the storm just adding to the fervent nature of their movements. He is as close to her as he has ever been, but she wants him closer still .

Pulling off of her slightly, he dips a hand down to unbutton her skirt, pulling it and her knickers down with a tug. Now completely nude, he rises up to look at her, his eyes brimming with awe.

“You are so beautiful.”

It’s something she’s seen people say in movies, but she can tell the words hold all the sincerity in the world. His eyes are wide, trying to commit every part of her to memory, hand lightly grazing her hip as he takes her in. Satisfied, he drops down to capture her mouth in a searing kiss, a smile evident on his lips.

“Lily, I meant it, he gasps out when he breaks for air, “What I said earlier—I don’t want anyone else. I never want to lose you.”

“I know,” she breathes against his lips, “good thing you aren’t losing me.”

He closes in for another kiss, his lips soft but urgent, tongue begging to twist with hers. Through the haze she senses some shuffling at their waists until she can feel the bare skin of his arousal pressing in against her, warm and throbbing.

“Wait, I want to see you too.”

She wiggles her way out from under him and he obliges, falling onto his back. It’s her turn to regard him—she thought she knew his body so well already but in the light it takes on a whole new meaning. He is muscular yet slim, something she always thought made him look so effortlessly fit in comparison to his bulking teammates, and she holds back a gasp when she finally sees his cock, hard and erect with the smallest bit of liquid crowning at the tip.

“I did that?” She says, knowing how childish it sounds.

“Look who is arrogant now,” James teases, squeezing her thigh, “You’re killing me, Evans. C’mere.”

She puts a leg over his hips and settles down against him. His cock slides easily into her folds and both of them hum in approval, now realizing how much better it feels without the barrier of clothes.

“Are you sure?”

She doesn’t need to respond, instead rolling her hips forward until she can feel his tip lining up with her entrance. His head falls back, but his eyes refuse to leave hers, the question still hanging between them.

“Let me lead,” she says, not waiting another second to slide herself onto him.

A gasp escapes as her body stretches around him, learning to accommodate the new sensation. She stalls, rocking her hips slightly to let the smallest bit of him slide in and out of her, testing the waters before daring to continue further. He grabs onto her thighs, following her rhythm as she moves back and forth, eyes wild and adoring. Deep sighs leave his throat with each small movement, reassuring her to keep going.

They continue like this until she has pushed him fully inside and their bottom halves connect. Her hips move more languorously now, waving up and down the length of him in steady movements. Her mouth hangs open, trying to take full breaths between the noises that keep pouring out of her mouth with every thrust.

“James— Christ.”

He leans upwards and takes one of her breasts into his mouth, and she cries from the over stimulation of it all. It feels better than anything she could ever imagine—not even the added pleasures of all their cupboard trysts would equate to the sensation occurring at that moment. They are utterly complete, moving as one.

James grabs hold of her torso and carefully flips them over without slipping out of her. Now with the upperhand, he is able to press deeper, hitting a ball of nerves tucked deep inside her that makes her stomach clench in ecstasy.

When he is not moaning hot kisses into her breasts or neck, he is watching her—keeping a steady gaze on her face to make sure that she is enjoying every single moment as much as he is. Strings of words chant out of his mouth—some affirmations, some swears, some just her name over and over until it sounds like a foreign language.

“Lily, I won’t last much longer, I want you to come for me.”

It’s instinctual. She reaches one hand between her legs to rub the tip of her clit while the other cups the curve of her breast, jutting it outwards as an offering to his mouth. His eyes grow impossibly wider, ducking down to take her tit between his teeth.

Her second climax is more violent than the first. She can feel herself squeezing around him, her whole body seizing up until it feels like a rubber band in mid snap. He holds her against him, mouth breathing onto her chest as he continues his rhythm through her release.

“So beautiful, so good, Godric Lily, I can feel it.”

It sends him over the edge. His hips snap forward, now erratic and urgent. Slick with the sweat of her climax, she grabs both of his cheeks and forces him to look at her. His eyes drowning in desire and anticipation.

“Come for me James—you can come inside me, it's ok.”

“Lily—” He looks unsure, but he’s losing time. She can feel his body quivering over her.

“I took the potion, I want you to come inside me. Please James.”

“ Lily—-ah.” She feels his release instantaneously. She remarks that it’s weirdly warm and comforting despite it being such a carnal act.

With a sigh, he collapses on her, hands dancing across her collar bone as he catches his breath into her shoulder.

“Incredible. You’re just—” he doesn’t finish his thought, opting to press his lips gently into her neck.

She wraps her arms around him. He’s sweaty and heaving and hers. She had never felt like that about him before even in their most intimate moments, but now it is solidified, maybe not in words but in action.

Snow makes pattering noises against the windowpane, the wind too slow to dust it off before another blanket appears. They lay in each other’s arms, feeling their heart beats go from wild to steady, hands lazily tracing the other’s skin until they halt into calm.

“Are you sleeping now?” He whispers into the crook of her neck, his nose nuzzling into her skin.

“Not yet,” she smiles, a laugh already bubbling up, “Why? You keen on working on that Charms assignment?”

James laughs and the sound cuts through the night air.

“Not quite.” He raises himself to hover back over her, mouth skimming hers.

“But I am keen on working on something else.”

~ ~ ~

She awakes exactly how she fell asleep, tangled up in him. At some point in the night he had pulled the blankets over them, and their bodies radiated heat. Her face is pushed into his chest, and one leg is hitched up against his thigh, his fingers contracting in sleep against her ass.

He must have taken off his glasses at some point in the night, because when she looks up at him, his eyes are unobscured. He has eyelashes much longer than she imagined and his hair falls in unruly tangles around his face. A warmth rises in her chest as she watches his mouth hang slightly open and a moan drift out.

She doesn’t want it to end. They might be melded together now, but their time is coming to a close—soon she will have to go back to Cokeworth, Sirius will return from his uncle’s, and he will stay in this room with only the memory to keep him company.

They need to talk about what will happen when they return back to Hogwarts, but she lets the thought drift away as he stirs. Blinking his eyes open to look down at her, a lazy, irresistible smile pulls at his lips.

“Morning.”

“Morning,” she echoes, giggling at the absurdity of it all. “How did you sleep?”

He leans in and gives a kiss to her forehead, his arm tightening to keep her leg from unwinding around him.

“Brilliant because you are here…but terribly because every time I woke up I was randy for you all over again.”

She knows he isn’t lying, she can feel the proof of it pressing into her pelvis.

“Poor you,” she teases. “Sounds like you should do something about it.” She gives him a smile and his face goes alight with happiness. He rolls them over so he is back over her, their lips pressing together with already panting kisses.

“JAMES DARLING! BREAKFAST IS READY!”

He doesn’t stall, his hand already teasing at her breast and Lily gasping into his mouth.

“JAMES! YOU AND LILY CAN’T ROLL AROUND ALL DAY— BESIDES I’VE MADE THE POTTER SPECIAL...”

James' eyes rip open and they share a mutual look of embarrassment and horror. Lily can feel her whole body turning red, burrowing her face into his chest.

“Er—Thanks Dad.” James calls out, voice cracking a little. He looks down at her and lightly brushes some knotted hair out of her eyes.

“The Potter Special?”

“You’re going to love it,” he pulls her chin up and gives her a soft kiss on the mouth, eyes still dreamy.

“Before we face death by utter embarrassment at the hands of my parents, can we—”

She threads her hands in his hair, an act now as familiar as blinking.

“I’m not going anywhere, Potter.”

His face nearly breaks in two from a grin and he swoops down to catch her in a fierce, desperate kiss. Around them the room spins, and everything beyond the bed starts to melt away again.

“Fuck it—I’m not hungry,” he gasps when they part to catch their breaths. Lily's laugh transforms into a moan, feeling his body already lining up against hers.

“Me either,” she sighs. He presses into her she tugs him closer, savoring him for as long as possible.

“It can wait.”

#jily smut #jily #jily fanfiction #first time fic #james potter #lily evans #a little treat after halloween #fic continuation #marauders era #yallthemwitches #james x lily

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ordinaryschmuck · 8 months ago

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Why I Love The Owl House: Part 3-The BEST Thing About The Owl House (I'm Not Kidding)

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Salutations, random people on the internet who are already skimming past this! I am—The best thing is Lumity.

Yeah, might as well rip that bandaid off right now. I’ve done enough teasing last time, so the least I could do is jump right into it NOW.

If you were to ask a fan to pick five things that perfectly capture The Owl House, I’m willing to bet a good chunk of them would bring up Luz, Amity, and their adorable relationship. And for good reason, because Lumity is the one thing that Dana Terrace set out to do when making her show. The woman wanted to make the gayest show Disney could allow, and went about it by creating a bisexual main protagonist with a lesbian love interest. The reason WHY is because Dana is bisexual too and wanted to give kids who were just like her a character to identify with. So given how Luz and Amity are a couple who the fandom obsesses over the most, I like to think Dana rubbed her hands together like a cartoon villain, going, “Good, good…”

And BOY did the fans obsess. Even before the writers gave the TINIEST confirmation that Lumity would be canon, these two were EVERYWHERE. There was fan art, fan fiction, fan comics, and even an animatic that was SO popular that its creator deleted it because fans were being too annoying about it. A lot of fans LOVED Lumity…and a lot more grew to despise them.

Yes, like most things that grew intensely popular, showing up everywhere no matter WHERE you look, it grew tiring to those who didn’t get the hype. Some members of the fandom grew sick of Lumity’s popularity and said that there’s more to love about the show than the love between two teenagers. And then there were the fans who DID like Lumity but hate that they had to dig through MOUNTAINS of Lumity to get fan content of THEIR favorite characters and ships. As for me, an INTENSELY biased Lumity shipper, I definitely see where both kinds of fans are coming from and even sympathize with a few of them. But you CAN’T hate Lumity in the actual show just because the fandom blew them up. They’re the one aspect of the show that the writers put EVERYTHING into, crafting a love story that’s MOSTLY perfect. You might doubt that, but allow me to explain how well their relationship went throughout the series.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: “Shmuck, you handsome bastard, didn’t you already analyze their relationship last year?” And you’re right. I AM a handsome bastard…Oh, and I DID in fact write two posts that went through Lumity’s journey into becoming a canon couple, one focusing on Luz and the other on Amity. But that’s not…ENTIRELY what I’m doing here. I mean, yes, I WILL have to discuss how their relationship developed, but I’m also going to focus on how well it WORKS. The ups and downs, pros and cons, and overall quality of their relationship. I love these two with all my heart and will gush over every bit of cuteness, but I would be lying if I said there weren’t SOME criticisms that I have with their love story. Not a lot, mind you, but enough worth discussing. And let’s finally discuss it before this review turns into forty pages…

(It's actually thirty three, gosh dang it...)

“I Was a Teenage Abomination”: Ah, where it all TECHNICALLY started. In this episode, Luz and Amity were in the enemies phase of their relationship. Amity was a bully that needed to be taken down a peg and Luz was an annoyance that made Amity look bad. That’s how they saw each other, and, as a result, they didn’t care how poorly they treated one another. It was worth it to Luz to cheat because it helps Willow and annoys a bully who looked down at her. Just like how it’s worth it to Amity to almost get Luz dissected because it proves that Amity isn’t one to be messed with. This is the most these two have been directly against each other, neither willing to talk, hear the other out, or apologize. It works out in their favor, because if Luz and Amity spent most of the series wanting to kill each other before becoming friends, it would make their inevitable romance feel…inappropriate. Like, NO ONE should want to go out with a person that continuously wanted to kill them. The enemies portion of the enemies-to-lovers trope is best used briefly to better sell that the romance works despite the early hatred. It would also help if the attacks on each other aren’t too heinous, and Amity nearly getting Luz dissected…isn’t that, but I’m more than willing to say that Amity either wasn’t sure what Luz was or that she expected Willow to come clean the second Bump pulled out the knife. It’s not too much of a stretch to think, as it has enough believability to make it line up more with the Amity we know now, a version of the character that Luz would know better the next time they meet.

Covention: Another and FINAL moment where these two were at each other’s throats, this time much more directly. Luz starts off nice enough, willing to bury the hatchet instead of making an enemy. She’s not really looking for a friend, either, but you can tell in the way Luz holds her hand out for peace that she wants to squash out all animosity between them and start over. Amity, still reeling from the fact that a HUMAN tarnished her reputation, rejects Luz’s attempts at peace and further sells that she’s not to be messed with by treating Luz and King with disrespect. Luz, who is likely numb to people bullying her, doesn’t react too much to how Amity puts her down. But when it’s KING that Amity messes with, that’s when Luz takes a stand. She cares more about her friends and found family than she does about herself, willing to go above and beyond for them. Even if it means doing something incredibly stupid.

Challenging Amity to a witch’s duel was NOT the smartest thing Luz has ever done. What it IS, though, is a moment where Luz directly goes up against Amity. Helping Willow cheat caused Amity to be upset, but the main reason Luz did it all was to help Willow. Annoying Amity just came out as a happy accident. But for the witch’s duel, Luz does it for the sole fact that she’ll go against Amity and make her stop being mean. It’s partially influenced by The Good Witch Azura teaching her that to stop your enemies from being so negative, you must best them in combat. Only for the consequences to quickly meet her head-on when Amity forces Luz in an everlasting oath that could potentially stop her from learning magic forever. Because while Luz wants Amity to apologize to King, Amity just wants Luz out of her life as efficiently as possible, so she’s perfectly fine with messing with Luz’s life like this if it means never dealing with her again. It’s that unexpected consequence mixed with Luz realizing how more proficient Amity is with magic that she gains a bit of a reality check. Ironic, considering she ran away to the Boiling Isles to escape getting that exact same thing.

Luz definitely learned to regret it during the fight, not because Amity was SEEMINGLY more powerful with a giant abomination, but due to Eda overcompensating Luz’s lack of skill with magical mines. Luz, the good person that she is, has major objections to this plan. First off, cheating goes against the whole point of the duel. Luz won’t prove that she’s the better witch if she has to cheat her way to victory. Like she said, “Even if I win, I still lose.” Then there’s the fact that Luz doesn’t want to really HURT Amity. Yes, it’s a fight and Amity’s out for blood, but Luz is still the one to stop Amity from stepping on a mine because she doesn’t want to MAIM the girl. Luz is on schoolyard fight rules where the worst that could happen is scraped knuckles and maybe a black eye. Not third degree burns and a potential impalement. So to prevent Amity from getting killed, Luz tries to stop her from taking a step too far. Only for Amity to get extra angry because Luz still cheated. To her, this is confirmation that all Luz is is a cheater who causes nothing but trouble. She’s about ready to leave, accepting that she’s the better witch…only for it to be revealed that Amity cheated too. Well, technically. She was unwillingly a tool for LILITH’S cheating because she expected Eda to cheat first. Didn’t matter to Amity, because just like Luz, Amity never wanted to cheat. What’s the point in proving that she’s the best if she didn’t earn it though cheating? Amity is as prideful as she is vengeful, being someone who worked so hard to prove everyday that she’s the best. So when it’s revealed to an entire stadium of her peers that Amity CHEATED…yeah, it breaks her a bit. Breaks her enough to run away crying and Luz, the kind person that she is, goes after her.

What follows is quite possibly the most pivotal moment in their relationship, one so good that I made a scene breakdown to it a few years back. To keep it brief, this moment is Luz once again trying to bury the hatchet, not wanting to have a relationship where she and Amity almost kill each other and one of them runs away crying. Seeing Amity in such a vulnerable state proves that it’s not good for EITHER of them, so Luz tries her best to apologize. Amity, of course, isn’t having any of it and chooses instead to yell at Luz for all the strife she caused her…and accidentally reveals some angst about Amity working so hard to be where she is now. It’s a taste of the real person behind the bully facade that Amity puts up to prove that she really is the greatest witch she worked hard to become. It’s why she’s DEMANDING that Luz admits to being the worst witch. Amity wants this brief moment of confirmation that all her work wasn’t for nothing and that she IS the best witch, the one that beat this scrappy human. And Luz caves, giving Amity what she wants…but a little something more: Perspective. Luz DOES admit that she’s not a real witch, but instead of leaving it at that, Luz performs a light glyph, explaining that while she isn’t a real witch like Amity, Luz still wants to be one. With that explanation comes this image:

THIS IMAGE! The beginnings of Luz and Amity’s relationship is perfectly surmised in this image of Amity being in the dark while Luz holds out the light. Of course, Amity recedes back into the dark at first, playing Luz’s efforts off as nothing special. But because of that moment of perspective and Luz doing what must have been this mind blowing thing with just a pen and paper, it’s enough to get Amity curious and point out that she’s never seen a spell cast the way Luz did before. Luz points out how she’s willing to work hard for her goals, not wanting to be the best but just to be a witch in general. After that, Amity unbounds the oath and walks away. And I really love how it’s up to interpretation for WHY she did it. Was it because Amity decided that because they both cheated that Amity decided that the oath was null and void? Or was it because Amity saw the passion in Luz’s desire to learn magic? There’s no direct answer, but either way you look at it, Amity unbounding the oath is still a moment of mercy. She didn’t NEED to do it and, knowing Odalia’s conditioning, it’s likely that Amity would have been encouraged to let Luz be unable to learn magic. Gets rid of even the POSSIBILITY of competition. But she unbounds the oath anyway, probably telling herself there’s a logical excuse for it when, in reality, it’s Amity doing something nice for someone.

“Covention” perfectly takes Luz and Amity’s relationship to a better direction. This is the last time they’ll actively go against each other as rivals, and for good reason. By the episode’s end, they gain new perspectives towards each other, Luz seeing a fragile side to Amity’s rough exterior and Amity seeing that there's a harmless desire in Luz wanting to learn magic. This perspective comes AFTER almost killing each other, but this is a work of fiction and you learn to accept an exaggerated reality. So the big fight doesn’t take away the sweet ending of these two making a sort of…LIGHT connection. They’re definitely not willing to be CLOSE, but they’re at least in a better place with each other. They’re not friends, not enemies. Just two young girls who acknowledge each other’s existence and are fine with it being just that.

Hooty’s Moving Hassle: Even though there was a BIT of back sliding. Amity all but directly called out Luz in a Penstagram post and Luz was more than willing to get back at her for it. It’s definitely a moment where they’re against each other, but it’s quick and comes across as two teens being bitter. We’ve all been there. Plus, I’m willing to bet that Amity was goaded by her peers into telling Luz to “bite it.” Knowing Boscha, she definitely wouldn’t stand someone in the group being showed up by a human and the last thing Amity wants is for Boscha to get suspicious of why Amity is soft on the human. OR it could be Gus pulling an illusion. Him and Willow were already dead set on showing up Amity and he just HAPPENS to find the Penstagram post that would convince Luz to join them? Even though Amity had no idea that Luz would see it because she has no way of knowing if Luz has Penstagram? I don’t know, I’m calling shenanigans on that.

Regardless, no matter what reason there is, this was clearly a blip in the relationship. The meat in the episode is mostly about WILLOW and Amity, not Luz and Amity. There wasn’t much of a need to develop their bond when it’s not a central focus. Still a LITTLE weird that they went back to old habits of being enemies despite the decent spot they were in last time, but I can wave it away. They got a GLIMPSE of who the other was, but nothing more to make them willing to commit to being friendly. But when they meet again…

Lost in Language: Things get more interesting.

Luz, recently swooning over the idea of befriending rivals, has the desire to befriend her own. I’ve heard some complain that it’s a weak excuse for Luz to reach out to Amity because she got inspired by a kids book. In fairness to Luz, not only does she CONSTANTLY use Azura as a source for inspiration towards EVERYTHING in the Isles (It’s the INITIAL motivation for why Luz wanted to stay), but with the way Luz said she wish she could befriend her rival, it almost sounds like she wanted to for a while. She got a glimpse of a complicated person at the Covention and likely saw someone worth being friends with. The problem is that Luz wasn’t willing to commit to that idea because all she got was a glimpse. And, yeah, being told to bite it wasn’t helpful either. Still, the way Luz swoons tells me that she isn’t AGAINST the idea. She just needs more of a reason to befriend Amity, and gets one pretty quick.

While avoiding the hell that is babysitting demons, Luz spends her day being taken in by the magic of a magical library. Everything amazes Luz about it, but what stuns her the most is seeing Amity reading to kids and being so happy while doing it. There is true joy and delight in Amity’s eyes and smile as she treats these kids nicely when reading to them. THIS is what Luz needed. In this moment, Luz has visual proof that there’s a sweetness to Amity’s sour personality. Amity tries to play it off as her trying to get extra credit, but there was no putting the genie back in that bottle. Luz saw the kindness in Amity’s eyes and knew that it couldn’t be faked. So, she goes all in with Friendship Mode, being over enthusiastic about wanting to help Amity read to kids so it can be something that they could bond over. What Luz isn’t aware of is that the library is Amity’s safe space, a place for her to go to, without her family getting in her face. At least, most of the time. And then here comes this human who caused nothing but stress in Amity’s life, even if accidentally, who then shows up to suggest that she could ALWAYS invade Amity’s space. Needless to say, you can’t blame Amity for snapping at Luz. She’s fine with Luz existing as long as she stays far away from Amity. Luz, very quickly taking the hint, apologizes and heads off. She really doesn’t want to cause conflict anymore, and it at least shows that Luz learned that it’s better to squash issues with Amity than make things worse with confrontation. She literally almost died in “Covention” and “Hooty’s Moving Hassle” all because she HAD to show up Amity for being mean. In a way, it IS Luz just not wanting to tempt fate, but you CAN tell in the tone of Luz’s voice that she DOES regret pushing Amity. And even Amity regrets something too. We’ll later learn in this episode that Amity doesn’t WANT to come across as a cruel person. The scene even hints at that with the way Amity almost reached out to Luz after she apologized. Except Amity stopped herself because, thanks to the conditioning of her family, she believes that kindness is a weakness. So there’s no apologies for Luz unless Amity wants that softness getting to her mother. Which she very much does NOT. But on the topic of her family…

After Luz is about to give up on befriending Amity, Edric and Emira showed up to do two things in this episode. First off, they confirm Luz’s bisexuality, because while she was VERY attracted to Nevereth and his angsty muscular energy, Luz still blushes at both Edric AND Emira when they wink at her. And when you want to start a romance between two girls, it’s important to prove that both of them are attracted to, well, girls. Ed and Em accomplish that feat while also providing MORE perspective for Luz. Through them, Luz gets a peek at Amity's home life. Or, at least, an assumption of it. With the way Ed and Em stand up for Luz and humble Amity, it leaves the impression that they’re the nicer members of the family and are as fed up with Amity’s behavior as Luz once was. And that’s…partially true. Luz will learn the truth later, but at that point they were, to her, cool kids that were more than fine to hang out with Luz. They got along perfectly with her, having what were originally harmless pranks and goofing around where no one got hurt. Luz went along with it because she’s living the teen girl fantasy of having cooler, older kids liking her (Ten bucks say that she was mentally debating on who to go out with). On top of that, Luz thought that it would be a great way to befriend Amity, getting to know her better by dating—I mean, hanging out with her older siblings. And I do like that Luz doesn’t give up on befriending Amity despite her earlier outburst. She’s still all for the idea of hanging out with her, but wants to go at it from a different angle, believing that connecting with Amity’s family would present a connection between her and Luz. It’s a valid plan…that goes to pieces that night.

At first, when the Wailing Star flew across the library, it was still harmless fun between Luz, Edric, and Emira. But when Edric and Emira find out that crazy things happen when you vandalize a book, it’s the first red flag Edric and Emira present that night. I really adore how obvious the episode makes it that Luz is uncomfortable with making innocent book characters suffer disfigurement. It shows that while Luz is up for fun and games, there are lines she’s unwilling to cross. That will become more relevant later, after Ed and Em take Luz to Amity’s secret room. Before we get to what goes down, I find it interesting how Luz adores the clubhouse, saying how much it’s something SHE would want to have. She COULD be saying that to appease her crushes, but it sounds like she was genuinely delighted by it. To me, it feels like a subtle hint that Luz and Amity have similar mindsets of what makes them comfortable, hinting that they’re not so different after all. An idea that is strengthened by the reveal that Amity is just as big of a fan of The Good Witch Azura as Luz is, shown by the collection of books and the fan art of Amity as Azura on her diary’s cover. BUT I’m getting ahead of myself. While this secret room reveals so much about Amity, it indirectly reveals Ed and Em’s true nature as they want to leak Amity's diary pages. While Luz was more than willing to brush off how sickly entertained they were to mess with that poor cartoon duck, likely thinking it was a little thing, Luz is IMMEDIATELY against it. For one, she still wants to earn Amity’s friendship, and there’s nothing that could ruin that more than DIRECTLY ruining Amity’s life. It’s also because Luz’s good nature would prevent her from stooping so low. She doesn’t care how sour Amity can be, she doesn’t deserve to have her private thoughts revealed to everyone. Edric and Emira tries making excuses about how it’s tough love and that Amity DOES deserve it, all to justify their actions that Luz finally realizes are awful. It’s why Luz tries to get them to stop and try to hide the diary when finding it… but not without taking a peek. It was involuntary, yes, but Luz STILL lingers on the diary’s passage a little longer than she should have. She should have closed it the second she realizes it’s the diary, but still leaves it open as a tiny Amity admits that she doesn’t want to be cruel. To me, this is showing a bit of selfishness in Luz. She WANTS to know more about Amity and here’s the very thing that tells her more about Amity. So Luz listens a bit, but stops herself when coming to her senses. She shouldn’t be hearing ANY of this, and goes about making sure that NO ONE does. Even when pages fall, revealing more about Amity’s loneliness, awkwardness, and occasional frustration, all Luz thinks is to grab each page before more is revealed. And, of course, that’s the moment Amity finally shows up.

Amity didn’t hear Luz defending her privacy, so when she finds her grabbing at diary pages, it really DOES look like she’s stealing Amity’s secrets instead of protecting them. What’s most interesting is Amity’s reaction. At first, she’s furious, and rightly so. But when she simmers down, Amity sounds almost disappointed with Luz. Amity admits that she was struggling to figure Luz out, proving that “Covention” DID have an affect on her in that she was willing to except that Luz wasn’t a bad person. An annoyance, maybe, but that moment they shared after the duel proved that Luz isn’t one to be malicious. But after causing chaos with her siblings and trying to steal her diary, Amity feels as though she was wrong from the beginning and assumes Luz IS a bully for all the ways she messed with Amity’s life. So, feeling both embarrassed and little betrayed, Amity runs off…from her room hidden away in the “romance” section. Don’t TELL ME that wasn’t an intentional hint from the show to where these two were heading in their future. But enough about obvious symbolism about Amity running away from her inevitable future. Luz rightfully ditches the twins to go make things right with Amity. She doesn’t want to leave things on a bad note and if Luz could bring out peace once, surely she could do it again. Except that Luz doesn’t get the chance, not just because Amity isn’t having it this time, but also because a twisted children’s book character shows up to kill them.

Now, it WOULD be bad that a monster attack spoiled a heart-to-heart moment, but Otabin’s useful for the fact that he shows what Luz and Amity are willing to do for each other despite everything. If Luz really was a bully, she wouldn’t have tried all she could to save Amity’s life. Sure…she fails. But Luz still tries, and doesn’t stop trying as she keeps coming up with plans to try to get them out of this situation. And when she acts all goofy despite the danger they’re in, showing her true self, Amity laughs. For what might be the first time in years, she lets down her walls just long enough to appreciate this small moment and laugh at the madness. By the time it was LUZ who’s in danger, it’s Amity’s turn to do all she can to save her. Amity was free and could have left, but she’s not a monster or a bitter rival to leave the hero to her fate. Amity’s a good person who is willing to help this weirdo girl who may have brought chaos into Amity’s life, but doesn’t deserve to be in a book forever. This crazy moment of escaping death led to Luz and Amity realizing that neither of them are bad people and are willing to help despite how they treated each other in the past few days. Even when the danger has passed, Amity sticks around to help clean up the mess Luz made. Things seem to be going well…until Amity decides to pretend that nothing they went through happened and is more than willing to move on. It’s a moment where Luz has an out. Amity now knows Luz isn’t a bully and they can go about their lives as they did before. But after everything, Luz doesn’t want that. So she does the best thing she could think of: Give a peace offering. Through astute observation, Luz notices that Amity is missing the last Azura book in her collection. Luz offers hers as a way of apologizing further, and you can tell that Amity appreciates it dearly in the soft way she says “Thank you.” This is likely the nicest thing anyone has done for her in forever, and I think it’s that reason Amity’s willing to let her walls stay down a little longer to admit that she’ll consider friendlier things with Luz. Amity didn’t HAVE to say that, she could have just said thank you and left, but this one small act of kindness that meant the WORLD to Amity helped make her realize that this annoying human isn’t so bad after all. So she leaves Luz, this sense of hope in the air that things might be better between them.

This whole episode does wonders to jumpstart Luz and Amity’s relationship. It allows both characters to see the true versions of each other, past the antagonism and annoyances. And given how this episode takes place in a library, the “Don’t judge a book by its cover” metaphor practically writes itself. By the end, I’d say the enemies phase has faded. I wouldn’t say they’re FRIENDS yet (I don’t think even THEY would say they’re friends), but it ends with BOTH of them being more open to the possibility. It’s smart to have them at this stage by the THIRD big episode together. The sooner enemies make peace, the easier it is to accept the very possibility of a romance. “Lost in Language” does that well, while also perfectly giving us cute moments like Amity laughing WITH Luz and showing how they have things in common. The pieces were there for an eventual romance and fans couldn’t wait for Luz and Amity to meet again to strengthen their romance. And by the time they did…

Adventures in the Elements: it was in a lackluster episode. If you love it, love it. That’s fine. For me, I’ve explained well enough in separate reviews how I feel about this episode and how it’s pacing makes Luz feel unreasonably impatient and whiny. BUT one addendum I WOULD like to make is how this was the ONE episode where I agree with the complaint about how Lumity feels rushed. For the most part, I don’t think they're rushed at all. I think that complaint is from people who are too used to an endgame couple becoming official near the end of the series, especially for same sex couples. To me, Lumity isn’t really badly paced, but instead…differently paced. I think it’s great that we got a couple who grew closer together with every episode they shared, giving us EXACT phases of their relationship. At first, I thought that “Adventures in the Elements” was the only time things felt poorly paced, as Luz and Amity seemed too friendly with each other. Amity went from “I’ll think about it,” to waving at Luz as if they were already friends. But then I looked at some subtle touches that makes me realize this is less of an episode where they’re starting out as friends, but more like they’re testing out a friendship.

Luz acting friendly is a given. She’s friendly with almost everyone, so when she’s engaging with Amity about the book, it’s no different than if it was anyone else. There’s a bit of excitement, but that could be attributed to the fact that she’s finally interacting with another fan for the first time in her life. It’s pretty obvious that, for both Luz AND Amity, their love for Azura isn’t common among their peers and they’re the only teens they met who really enjoy the books. So Luz is noticeably excited to talk about Azura with Amity, and Amity is a BIT more closed off. She simply calls the fifth book fine and burns her self-insert fan art out of embarrassment and being unwilling to let her nerd flag fly. Amity’s grateful for the book, there’s no doubt about it, but she’s not comfortable with fully expressing that gratitude. But she’s still polite enough to engage in Luz’s conversation, Amity just holds back a lot more of her feelings. In fact, being polite is the best way to describe Amity in this episode, especially with what happens next. When Luz announces that she’s going to Hexside, Amity’s voice, face, and even the musical cue in the background makes it clear that she is NOT ecstatic about this news. At least, initially. Once the shock comes and goes, Amity calmly explains to Luz the requirements to be in Amity’s class and asks if Luz knows enough to register. There may be a part of Amity that doesn’t want to see Luz more than necessary, but her willingness to act politely proves that Amity still wants to give Luz a chance.

The politeness continues later when they’re on The Knee. The parts where I always felt like we skipped a step was when Amity confided in Luz about breaking Ed and Em’s record and waved at her during practice. To me, it seemed like Amity was being too comfortable and friendly with Luz at this stage of their relationship. But again, I looked at the subtleties of these moments. Amity admits that she’s trying to break her siblings’ record, but she never shared about feeling under pressure to beat them or even that she’s struggling. It’s Edric and Emira who share that Amity can’t perform a fire spell without a wand, a clear attempt to annoy Amity by hitting where it hurts: Her pride. But what also annoys Amity is that they revealed that to Luz when she didn’t really want to. Heck, when Amity was telling Luz, she wouldn’t even look at Luz’s face, almost as if she couldn’t admit something as basic as beating a record. It’s exactly how Amity acted when discussing the Azura book. She’s willing to engage with Luz but is still holding back a lot of her TRUE feelings because, simply put, they’re not there yet. The most Amity is willing to do is wave at Luz from across the way. That was another short, albeit adorable, moment that made me think that they speeded past things, but now I’m starting to see it as a showcase of Amity TRYING. She’s trying her best to be better, even if she’s not willing to fully commit to a full on friendship. Unfortunately, Luz isn’t appreciating any of it at the moment due to being hyper focused on learning a second spell. The last thing she wants is to be in a baby class and be seen as a loser by her peers. She tries to hide it from Amity because they’re not at a point where Luz can confidently confide in her about problems like she does with Gus and Willow. Plus, Ed and Em are always there and something tells me that Luz doesn’t want to come across as a loser to two cool teens she still has a baby crush on. Either that or Luz is worried about being a target to their teasing, and judging by what they would do to Amity (Despite the constant apologies), it’s a justified worry. Any of those possibilities are equally valid, making Luz’s desire to hide her lack of skills understandable. Still wish we spent time on Luz’s impatience with Eda’s teaching methods, just so it can better justify what Luz does next.

Luz stealing Amity’s wand makes sense narratively, at least for where they’re at. It’s more than Luz wanting to hide that she doesn’t know two spells. They’re at a point in the relationship where Luz can’t simply come up to Amity and ask to borrow the wand for a few minutes. After all the strife Luz accidentally caused, she’s in no position to ask for favors, especially when Amity would likely say no. And the thing is that Amity wouldn’t have said no due to a dislike towards Luz. It’s more like Amity’s wand was low on charge and she didn’t entirely trust Luz to be careful enough with it. She gets mad later, sure, but it’s because Luz, once more, lied and cheated for her benefit. When Amity catches Luz with the wand and spell book, her expression is that of betrayal. Amity was actually trying—And say what you about the pacing of this episode, but it actually shows that Amity was TRYING to be better towards Luz. There’s no denying that. She’s actually putting in the effort and being as polite as possible, and here Luz is doing the exact same thing that made Amity assume that Luz was a bully. Narratively, this all lines up. But the piss poor pacing doesn’t do Luz any favors as it makes her uncharacteristically selfish. She is quick to regret it, both because of the scolding and the monster attack she indirectly caused, and you can tell through Luz’s voice and body language that she couldn’t be more remorseful. Regardless, it doesn’t change how bad this makes Luz looks and justified Amity’s anger. Though, I do like what happens next.

While Amity yells at Luz for putting Eda, Edric, and Emira, and rightfully tells Luz to stay put instead of helping, what Amity says next speaks VOLUMES. Instead of telling Luz that she’ll only make things worse, she says, “You’ll only get hurt.” Amity has every right to tell Luz off further and rub extra salt in the wound, but she doesn’t. Amity understands that Luz doesn’t cause problems out of malice. She just doesn’t think things through and ACCIDENTALLY makes things difficult. It’s one of Luz’s biggest flaws and Amity saying Luz will only get hurt by helping proves that she finally gets who Luz is. And I love that while Amity COULD stop trying with Luz, she still keeps at it because the night in the library didn’t JUST make Amity rethink being friends with Luz. The night made her rethink being mean in general, trying not to see kindness as a weakness and trying to treat others a little nicer. Her holding back what she likely WANTED to say to Luz is a testament to that. Though, I don’t think she’s likely be friends with Luz at this rate. Thankfully, Luz proves that she’s not too bad…again.

Once Luz slows down and allows herself to concentrate, she finally learns a second spell and comes up with a plan to save everyone. A plan that puts LUZ in the most danger and proves that she has enough power to back herself up…sort of. Eda’s the one to finish the fight and Luz is there to do most of the work. Still, the whole thing is a gesture that shows Amity the true extent of Luz’s selflessness and capabilities. This was Luz’s mess and she wanted to do all she could to clean it up. It proves that while she may not be perfect, there’s nothing Luz won’t do for the ones she cares about. Seeing that in action miraculously makes Amity willing to forgive and forget about the whole wand thing. Luz can and likely always will mess up, but will always make up for it. And I think at that moment, Amity decides that being friends with Luz isn’t too bad of an idea. She sounds genuinely excited by the idea of Luz going to Hexside now, and is willing to indulge in Luz’s desire for an Azura book club, albeit on Amity’s terms of keeping it secret. She’s finally gave in and decided to give Luz a chance, now knowing that Luz is GOOD despite her faults. It’s the right decision to make and it’s great that the episode ends with them being friends…but it’s still a mess.

“Adventures in the Elements” does great in showing the subtleties of Luz and Amity trying the POSSIBILITY of friendship. Luz is all in, while acknowledging that they’re not too close yet, whereas Amity’s on the fence but willing to be polite before deciding to make the friendship official. The pieces are there for a decent picture but Luz’s actions and the episode’s pacing makes her unreasonable, making it a miracle that Amity was willing to become friends. Luz’s rescue plan saves things, though it doesn’t stop this idea that if Amity wasn’t willing to be nice, she would have distanced herself from Luz further. Luckily, for Luz, Amity WAS trying and is willing to give the benefit of the doubt in the end. It works ENOUGH, but the journey to get there still feels a little messy. Regardless, this is the ONLY time that the relationship feels this way, as it’s handled perfectly from here on out. If you accept that this is the start of the friendship phase for Lumity, then the progression of their relationship will feel natural from there. Especially when you look at Amity’s little blush at the end of this episode. Now, I personally don’t think that this is a subtle hint that Amity has a crush, as this could easily be explained away as her being embarrassed of her siblings overhearing her CONSIDERING a book club. So when I hear people saying that this is the moment Amity has a crush on Luz, I feel like they’re jumping the gun a bit…but that doesn’t mean she isn’t questioning things.

The First Day-Not many Lumity moments in this episode. In fact, if you squint, there’s two. That’s because the meat of this episode is having Luz finally becoming a student at Hexside and making new, easily betrayed friends. But with the two moments we DO get, we see how they are as friends and hints of what’s to come.

Things start out nice, with Amity welcoming Luz to Hexside and congratulating her for getting out of the baby class. It’s genuinely sweet seeing Amity act this way towards Luz, even out in the open. It shows that Amity doesn’t really care who sees her being nice with Luz, because Luz tried harder to be nice to Amity despite every outburst and despicable action. Luz is her friend now, and Amity is willing to be a better person to her than she was with Willow (We’ll get to that). There’s some awkwardness with Amity’s abomination slapping Luz’s face with goo as Amity went for a high five, but it’s still sweet that Amity’s trying and Luz isn’t bothered by it. If anything, Luz is ecstatic to have this new friend, already treating Amity the same as Gus and Willow. And Amity is just as happy…but she is questioning her feelings.

Once alone in the hall, Amity tells herself that her and Luz going to the same school doesn’t change anything. Many people point at this moment as Amity denying she has a crush on Luz. For me, this is more like Amity questioning her friendship with Luz. She isn’t against it, but the two of them going to the same school presents changes to Amity’s status quo. She’s still the top student of her class and has a reputation to keep up. This could potentially lead to a strained friendship of Amity being forced to choose between Luz and a false image to keep up. Except that Amity likes Luz. She isn’t entirely sure why or aware of how much she likes Luz, but the fact remains the same that Amity likes her and is willing to be friends. Now that they go to the same school, Amity is questioning how she should treat Luz further, continuing to be nice or keeping up a rough exterior for her image. And then we get to her saying “That doesn’t change anything.” One way of looking at that line could be Amity deciding that just because they go to the same school now, that doesn’t mean she should change how people see her for Luz’s friendship. She should still act all high and mighty without worrying about coming across as soft. Another is that, despite being in the same school and people seeing them together, Amity shouldn’t change how she currently acts with Luz. I like to believe it’s the latter because it lines up with how Amity acts in the school courtyard. Amity is willing to be BETTER for Luz, reminding herself that things shouldn’t change just because more people will see that they’re friends now. Amity wants to be a good friend this time and NOT mess things up like her last friendship…

Understanding Willow-This is an episode about the friendship between Amity and Willow more than anything that goes on between Luz and Amity. Regardless, some big developments happen here.

Things start off great with the reveal that Luz wants to make Amity and Willow friends again. This could partially be Luz wanting her two new friends to be friends to make the group bigger and stronger, but I prefer to think that this is Luz wanting to make peace now that she knows the kind of person that Amity is. Amity wasn’t the one-dimensional bully Luz was introduced to, as there’s reasons behind her behavior and evidence that proves that Amity wants to become better. Willow, understandably, doesn’t want to be friends with Amity yet, likely still feeling the pain of how they separated. Though, it is interesting that Willow has no objections to Luz and Amity’s relationship. Some would say that it’s a missed opportunity to not have Willow get upset, but this episode reveals that she has a very unhealthy motto of “Out of sight, out of mind.” Add that with Willow’s more passive attitude (At this point), and it’s easy to believe that Willow is accepting of Luz and Amity’s friendship just as long as she doesn’t see it. Just like how she doesn't want to be friends with Amity, thinking it's best not to even SEE her. Luz is a little blind to this knowledge, though, and is still persistent to cause shenanigans, believing that it’s worth it because she knows Amity isn’t a horrible person and is willing to be better. Only for Amity to prove that wrong by burning Willow’s memories.

Effectively causing Willow brain damage was NOT Amity’s intention. She only wanted hide her face from Willow’s memory, to keep people from learning about that part of their history. It’s selfish and the way Amity did it was stupid, but you will come to understand the reason WHY she did it. Amity only kept her reasons a secret from Luz, because A. They’re not there yet. Amity likes Luz, she’s happy to be her friend, but is a little unwilling to disclose heavy stuff. And B. Amity likely doesn’t want Luz to see that part of her. The memory Amity burned features Amity at her worst, something that she doesn’t want Luz to see. Here’s a girl that, by some miracle, was willing to see the good parts of Amity, and seeing Amity’s worst traits, being a part of her since she was seven, could ruin a lot of how Luz sees her. So Amity keeps it secret, no matter how much Luz pries. Though, it is worth noting that while Luz does keep asking why Amity did all this, she never really FORCES Amity to explain. She knows that there’s a reason WHY, but also knows that it’s too personal of a subject. So Luz keeps giving Amity a chance to explain, ALLOWING her to do so at any moment, and only puts her foot down when they have no choice BUT to face the past. Luz has every right to be angry and demanding. After all, Amity BROKE Willow, Luz’s best friend. Amity wouldn’t blame Luz for getting upset, but Luz, the queen of causing problems and fixing them later, understands that the last thing a person wants after accidentally making a mistake is to be yelled at. She does raise her voice to remind Amity that she set Willow’s brain ablaze, but that’s as far as things get. All things considered, Luz is incredibly patient with Amity, to the point where Amity pretty much has to scold HERSELF, admitting shame to cause this much damage. It’s mostly because of guilt, but it can be argued that Amity acts like she’s expecting to be yelled at. It’s made pretty clear that Amity’s parents, mostly Odalia, are ones to scold her for failure and screw-ups. And with how often Amity yelled at Luz for HER mistakes, she probably assumed Luz would have done the same to Amity here. It would only be right, but Luz never does. For the most part, she remains supportive and understanding towards Amity, saying that they can fix things together. And it's at this point that I’d say that Amity realizes she has a crush on Luz.

Before this episode, saying that Amity’s feelings towards Luz were complicated is an understatement. Luz was frustrating, endearing, caused chaos, solved problems, was powerless with magic but resourceful in intelligence. Everything about Luz annoyed Amity, but she grew to appreciate the best sides of her and accepted the worst. And in “Understanding Willow,” when it’s Amity’s worst qualities on display, Luz still acts with kindness and understanding. It’s something Amity never experienced before, all from a person SHE disrespected in the past. Yet here Luz is, proving that yelling doesn’t solve much and is still willing to back up Amity despite everything. It’s a level of kindness that Amity’s never experienced, and getting it all from Luz makes Amity admire her more. She was less than willing to give Luz a chance at first whereas Luz gave Amity all the chances in the world, even now. It’s enough to make Amity finally understand her feelings, starting to blush a little bit due to Luz’s support and sudden proximity. Though, just because she realized her crush, that doesn’t mean Amity knows how to act around Luz. She KNOWS her feelings, but when it comes to figuring out how to go about them, she stumbles. Amity acts as she always does towards Luz, but still wants to be close to her. When the whole adventure is over, you can tell through how resistant Amity is towards going out the door and giving a short, awkward wave that Amity doesn’t want to leave. She does it for Willow’s sake, expecting that she doesn’t want Amity around, despite everything. If not for taking Willow’s feelings into consideration, she might have stayed, talked more with Luz and Willow, and her crush would have grown stronger. But instead, Amity leaves and it’s for the best. She has a lot to think about.

“Understanding Willow” is a fantastic episode primarily for insight into Willow and Amity’s friendship and seeing them reconcile. The Lumity moments are just a little cherry on top to something already perfect, not being the focus but giving great scenes all the same. It’s part of what makes Lumity so perfect: You see Luz and Amity’s bond growing every episode that they interact in, even in episodes like this where it’s not THEIR relationship that needs attention. It causes their relationship to flow all the better and makes what happens NEXT episode feel like a natural conclusion.

“Enchanting Grom Fright”- Ooooooh, this episode…

The episode where the cast and crew kept telling fans that they weren’t ready for it. The episode where there was NO heterosexual explanation for anything. An episode where the writers pretty much looked at the audience and said, “Yeah. We’re doing THIS.” An episode that will likely forever be remembered for the leaps and bounds it did for LGBTQA+ representation! An episode…that I like less and less the more I rewatch it.

Yeah, I’m that jerk in the fandom who thinks “Enchanted Grom Fright” is a LITTLE overrated. That doesn’t mean I hate it. Heck, I loved this episode upon its premiere, and you can see why in my review. But every time I come back to this one, the more the cracks tend to show. King’s subplot is forced padding in an already poorly paced episode, the fact that a responsible principal like Bump allows children to fight a nightmare demon is all kinds of questionable, Eda chaperoning the dance makes LESS sense, the episode feels like it takes place in two days when it’s ONE, some jokes feel awkward to me, and some dialogue is unnatural. All in all, this episode is a mess, with two things that make it worth a watch: Luz’s regrets toward lying to Camila and, as you could imagine, the Lumity moments.

Every scene these two share are pretty much the writers confirming that Lumity is going to be canon. There’s the little stuff, oozing with romantic energy. Like...

How Luz consistently makes Amity laugh and smile, showing how much Amity has come to appreciate Luz’s oddball personality

The scene in the forest is cute with how romantic the lighting is, how close their faces got at one point.

How Luz sits in the mud to make Amity more comfortable after getting messy.

That scene outside the gym, with the playful banter, the genuine admiration in Amity’s eyes, and the little music in the background that’s practically SCREAMING at these two to just kiss already.

All the little scenes are great but the juiciest, meatiest stuff comes from THE NOTE

It doesn’t take a shipper’s mind to guess that Amity’s little pink, love-colored scrap of paper is a note Amity wants to give to Luz, putting ALL her feelings out there. If “Understanding Willow” was the episode where Amity realizes she has a crush on Luz, “Enchanted Grom Fright” is Amity struggling to figure out if she WANTS to date Luz, and for a number of reasons. Because being friends with Luz is one thing, DATING her is another. Amity can always play off their friendship as her pulling a long con on Luz or maybe even faking it to keep the human from being a personal hindrance. There’d be holes in her logic, but Amity can still commit to excuses where anyone can be convinced they’re true depending on how well she sells them. DATING Luz will be harder to sell, as there are a lot of things a person couldn’t fake for a relationship. So the second Amity asks Luz out and they become official, any ounce of Amity’s image that’s left will get torn to shreds. And while Amity is willing to risk it for a FRIENDSHIP, she struggles to think if it’s worth it for a girlfriend. We already know how Odalia reacts to Amity being FRIENDS with someone like Willow and how a so-called friend like Boscha treats people below their status. If word gets out that Amity is dating a HUMAN, life for her will be hell. It’s the main reason why Amity doesn’t want Grom to reveal her fear of Luz rejecting her. It’s a gamble that Grom could take a vague or clear form of someone’s fear, which you see in Luz’s fight with it. It’ll take Camila’s form no problem, but when trying to look like Eda, it’s a lot more like a shadow. And Amity doesn’t want to risk either, because while it’s embarrassing enough to reveal that the great Amity Blight is afraid of rejection, it’ll be worse to show that she’s afraid of getting rejected by the unpopular human. Needless to say, NO ONE would let Amity live this down. And while we’re on the topic of Amity’s greatest fear, it does make sense why she’s so afraid of asking Luz out.

Some fans give the episode flack for making Amity’s greatest fear be her getting rejected by a girl. And out of all the problems “Enchanted Grom Fright” has, this is one criticism I understand but respectfully disagree with. Luz is more than just a girl Amity has a crush on. Despite all the chaos, Luz is the best thing that happened to Amity. She helped patch things up with Willow, gave Amity the final book in a series she adores, and offered kindness and understanding during moments when Amity didn’t feel like she deserved it. Even now, Luz is taking a bullet for Amity by facing HER fears as Amity’s fearless champion. Luz is the bright light at the end of the tunnel that Amity calls life, and she values that. She values Luz’s life so much that losing it terrifies Amity. Asking Luz out is a risk that she’s not willing to take because it’s a miracle that Luz still wants to be friends despite everything Amity has done to her and others. She has NO idea if Luz could like Amity that way or even if she likes girls. If Amity asks Luz out, she risks the gamble of Luz saying no and their friendship being awkward at best and over at worst. Because how can things go back to normal when Luz knows that Amity has a crush on her. It’s why Amity yanks the note out of Luz’s hands instead of letting her keep it. Amity doesn’t want to give it to Luz until she’s one hundred percent sure that Luz could say yes, holding onto the note right up until Grom starts, a point where most would say it’s too late to ask someone to a dance. The grip that Amity’s fear has on her is strong, even if SLIGHTLY unjustified. Most people understand the fear of being rejected by a crush, especially if you’re a teenager and this is the first time you’re feeling the butterflies in your stomach. But Luz isn’t someone who would sever ties with Amity because of a crush. She may be surprised at first, but the worst case scenario would be that Luz would let Amity down gently and politely. As for the best case, Amity bears witness to it.

Once Grom becomes too much for Luz to handle, Amity finally steps in to fight her own battles. And it's great that Luz is worried for Amity facing her fear, showing that there was NO resentment on Luz’s part. She willingly chose to do this for Amity…and partially for the selfish reason of proving that she isn’t as fragile as Eda claimed. Regardless, helping Amity is a big part of why Luz is willing to do this, and it’s her overconfidence that leads to Amity having her fear forced upon her, with Luz sounding more scared than Amity. Because while it’s not LUZ who realizes she has a crush yet, she still cares about Amity like any other friend, wanting to take her place before anyone would call Luz soft. So failing her hurts Luz more than Grom ever could. As for Amity, she weirdly lucked out in this scene. Grom DID reveal Amity’s afraid of rejection, but in a vague shadowy form where Luz couldn’t even tell it was supposed to be her, which is for the best. Amity wasn’t ready to tell Luz and having Grom do it for her would have been a BIGGER nightmare. Hell, it likely already was. The way Amity cringed in anticipation of Luz’s rejection, already assuming Luz had enough information to figure out the truth. Except when Luz picks up half the note that Grom ripped up, all Luz gets is that Amity was afraid of getting rejected by SOMEONE. Not only does Luz act sympathetically, immediately understanding Amity’s plight, but Luz also surprises Amity by volunteering to be her date instead. It was to go as friends, but that’s besides the point. Luz’s gesture proves to Amity that Luz is just…kindness personified. No matter what her feelings were to Amity or how Amity asked her, Luz would have said yes. Maybe she could have misread the situation (somehow) or said yes just to be polite. The point is that Luz would have said yes either way, and while it wouldn’t entirely be what Amity wanted, it’s at least enough to tell her that she has nothing to worry about with Luz. Whether or not Luz would feel the same way, she will NEVER break Amity’s heart. And it’s that confirmation that tells Amity that liking Luz IS worth it. There could be conflicts and consequences from this crush, but Luz is the nicest, warmest person who gave Amity exactly what she wanted without knowing it. Any feelings Amity has for Luz were STRENGTHENED by these events…but doesn’t make her brave enough to admit that she wanted to ask out Luz.

While Amity does understand that Luz won’t break her heart, her strengthened feelings for Luz don’t make her braver. She may be willing to dance with Luz for a beautifully animated combo move to kill Grom, but showing her the rest of the note? Yeah, Amity tosses that thing away immediately. And before I move on, I DO want to say how much of an expectation subversion the writers give with this scene. Most shows fighting for LGBTQA+ representation would have kept out who Amity was willing to ask out. They would have strictly implied it and left it to interpretation to make the studio executives happy…But not The Owl House.

You see it up front, baby! WHOO!

I will ALWAYS gush about how impressive and important this single image is. This is the first big show where a gay character having a crush on the main protagonist is shown EXPLICITLY through visual confirmation. We could have picked up the pieces in past episodes and even in this one. But to have this clear bit of PROOF that it’s officially happening between these two THIS EARLY in the series is all kinds of special. And it is the reason why I still don’t hate this episode despite its problems.

“Enchanted Grom Night” might be a mess, but the Lumity moments will always carry it. Everything that happens between these two in this episode is adorable, endearing, and groundbreaking enough to always make watching the episode worth it. If this was the last bit of Lumity fun we would have gotten this season, I would have been happy…but the writers snuck in one more episode.

Wing It Like Witches-There’s not a lot I could talk about here because a lot of it is pretty self-explanatory. Due to a magical night that proved once more that Luz is perfect, Amity became even more smitten and unable to be near Luz without blushing up a storm. Some fans grew to resent this episode because of how it ruined Luz and Amity’s reputation in the fandom, due to everyone latching onto this idea that Amity is a lesbian disaster and Luz is oblivious to it. As for me personally…I still love it.

The second Amity started nervously stammering in front of Luz, it blew my frickin’ mind. It IS a little weird that this is the only time Amity acts like this, but I can take it as the writers further confirming that this is in fact happening and we should get ready for it. And every moment that shows Amity being a blushing mess was hilarious and adorable to see. As for how Luz, the shipping queen, couldn’t see the obvious signs of a crush, there are two plausible explanations. There’s the boring one where Dana Terrace said that Luz just has a lot on her mind at the moment to notice. Then there’s the interesting explanation, where this is the first time that Luz has ever had someone act this way towards her. It’s pretty obvious that Luz isn’t used to the idea of people caring about her, whether as a friend or something more. This episode alone proves how inexperienced Luz is to friendship itself, making things more stressful for Willow when trying to help her. Before Hexside, Luz was unfortunately a social outcast, with Gus, Willow, and now Amity being the only kids her age who actually like her. So when Amity starts acting a little silly, Luz’s first thought isn’t, “Oh, she’s crushing on me.” It’s, “Gee, Amity sure is acting weird today.” While it’s INCREDIBLY obvious to everyone else, it’s a foreign concept to Luz because it’s not something that she’s used to experiencing for herself. It hurts to think about and is a lot more interesting, to me, than saying Luz has a lot on her mind.

While the fandom definitely went to far with the joke of Amity crushing hard and Luz being oblivious to all of it, the Lumity moments here are still cute. As for any development, this is the episode that cements Amity as part of the group, finally deciding that being with Luz (And, to a greater extent, Willow) is worth any consequence, not caring what someone like Boscha thinks. It’s great and it IS unfortunate that people don’t point that out as frequently as Amity being a blushing mess. But I kind of get it. It’s not as prevalent and you don’t realize it until the episode’s over with Amity sitting with everyone for tea. In a way, this development is more of a footnote in an episode that hammers in the idea that Amity has a crush on Luz, but it doesn’t make it any less important.

And that’s all for Season One. Due to a broken leg, Amity had to sit it out on the sidelines while some big, dramatic stuff happened in the finale. That’s really for the best because with how much Luz and Amity’s romance develops with every episode they’re in together, it makes sense to leave Amity out. Any growth they could have had would have hurt the finale in the long run as it would have been remembered as the episode where Lumity did X instead of…anything else that happened. Regardless, after three episodes in a row where Lumity got closer and closer together, it left fans demanding MORE and hating that they’d have to wait LONGER due to the show going on a nearly year long hiatus. But when that hiatus ended, they were given a good treat.

Escaping Expulsion-Oh, how this one ends beautifully…

But before we get to that, it’s worth noting that this episode is Amity’s last test of loyalty. Once Odalia finally learns about Luz and the others, she wastes no time in trying to cut them out of her life as much as possible. It’s living up to the threat Odalia gave Amity years ago about her friendship with Willow, only this time Amity doesn’t get the illusion of choice to break things off herself. Odalia uses her status and privilege to kick Luz, Gus, and Willow out of Hexside, with Luz begging, screaming, even getting down on her knees (Well, ONE knee—Hey, that’s an image for ya!) as she tries to convince Amity to help them. And you can tell that Amity wants to. She REALLY wants to. The look in her eyes and the way her body goes stiff as if she has to FORCE herself to do nothing shows that it’s tearing Amity apart to not help. Amity wants to be there for Luz like Luz was there for her, but doing so means going against Amity’s mom. Amity’s been allowing herself small rebellions, getting braver for Luz who brought out the best side of Amity. But when the consequences finally caught up to her as Odalia enacted a punishment no one deserved, it made Amity realize that no matter what she’d do, her mom will find out and make her life miserable. So Amity says no and is only brave enough to say sorry. It’s tearing her up inside to let Luz down like that, but she does it anyway. At least Luz eventually gave some motivation for Amity to fight…in an irresponsible manner on Luz’s part.

While Amity is too scared to face Odalia, Luz isn’t afraid of much of anything (Aside from facing her own mom, funnily enough). So Luz isn’t worried too much about going up to Odalia and willing to work things out. Luz goes in peacefully, hoping to set things right where no one gets hurt. Except that Odalia’s out for blood and decides to use Luz as target practice for all of her deadly weapons. Luz takes it all, hoping for it to be for the best until Odalia busts out the literal killing machine. Because earlier, Luz made the valid point that even though they don’t go to the same school together, Luz and the others will still be friends with Amity. Odalia very much disapproves of that fact and decides to take things to the next extreme by trying to kill Luz. Luz fights for her life, but it’s clear how outmatched she is with it taking a miracle to save her. Fortunately, one did.

It’s one thing to separate Amity from Luz or to use Amity as a test dummy, but putting Luz in danger is where Amity draws the line. And it really is amazing that Amity doesn’t waste a second to rebel and get the gang together once she knows Luz put herself in the line of fire (Read: Confronting Odalia). After everything that Luz has done for Amity, it’s great that she’s willing to step up when Luz finds herself in real danger. Getting expelled is one thing, but facing Blight Industries tech and mechs is another. And when the Abomiton 2.0 comes out, Amity rushes to get to a high enough vantage point to come to Luz’s rescue. Perhaps a little enthusiastically with the way she screams, “Stay away from MY Luz!” But she still swoops down like a hero from a fantasy story, standing between her maiden and a literal killing machine. Amity has saved Luz before, but this is the moment that has the most at stake for her as it risks Amity dealing with more hell from her mom. But if the choice is losing Luz forever or dealing with Odalia being MORE unbearable, it doesn’t matter to Amity. Luz has done everything for Amity out of the goodness of her heart, and Amity’s more than willing to do more than anything for her. It’s more than fair to her and she’d do it again no matter the cost. What Amity doesn’t know is that her actions rewarded her in a way she didn’t intend.

Luz liked Amity, there’s no doubt about that. She cares enough to help put out the fires in Willow’s brain and fight Grom for her. It was never a question for whether or not Luz liked Amity…but fans did debate HOW MUCH she liked her. Did Luz have a crush lingering above the surface but never quite knew THAT’S how she felt? I…don’t think so. I know fans like to say that she did (I used to be among them), but it’s clear that Luz’s feelings towards Amity were equal to any other friend. Anything Luz did for Amity isn’t different than how she would act for Gus or Willow. Case in point: The main reason Luz was in this mess was because she wanted to help her friends get back into Hexside. To Luz, Amity is just another friend…But then Amity saved Luz’s life and acted like the coolest witch that ever lived. Luz isn’t a stranger to getting her butt saved, especially when she was too close to death like in that moment. What makes things different here is that Luz is trying her hardest to survive, barely keeping ahead, and is out of luck when she reaches her limit. Just when things seem hopeless, Amity comes out of nowhere as a knight in shining armor, saving Luz in an incredible feat of magic and looking good doing it. In every other dangerous situation Luz found herself in, she either got herself out of it or expected someone to come to her rescue when things got dire. But because Luz didn’t tell anyone about what she was doing, she was all on her own with no one to help her with the Abomiton that she couldn’t keep up with. Then in comes Amity, swinging in holding down the thing that was seconds away from killing Luz in an impressive display of her magical prowess. And with the cape, the way Amity speaks, and how her magic leaves this intense glow in her eyes, it’s all enough to leave Luz a little star struck. This girl, close to her age, is standing between Luz and certain death for the sake of her own protection. It is like every crush fantasy that Luz must have had rolled into one, and it’s Amity doing it all for her. Luz, the fantasy nerd that is, likely DREAMED of a moment like this happening to her. Heck, remember that angsty teen warrior who was used as bait to lure Luz into a trap? He’s proof that Luz has a type and Amity is checking off every box at the moment, finally leading Luz to see Amity in a new light. And, really, can you blame her.

“Escaping Expulsion” is good for seeing Amity standing up to her parents, but Luz gaining a crush on Amity makes the whole thing a little sweeter. And I really do love that Luz gets her crush after Amity gets hers. It goes against the cliche of the nerd trying to win over the popular girl by having that popular girl already falling for her. It provides a decent twist on the concept while showing that Luz doesn’t have to do anything to earn Amity’s affections as that task has been done weeks ago. The problem is that Luz doesn’t know that as we’re now in the phase where the crush is mutual but neither is aware of it. This fact led fans to be excited about what happens next as we’re now super close to Lumity being canon and hoped they’d get closer sooner than later. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long.

Through the Looking Glass-This episode gets a bit of flack due to people focusing more on the Lumity subplot other than the main story of Gus being insecure and looking for a confidence boost. This is definitely part of a bigger problem of fandoms and their obsession with ships over other characters, and it IS worth discussing…But this Lumity discussion post, so we’re just going to save that problem for another day.

Luz and Amity’s subplot in this episode is everything I could have asked for and more. Due to their mutual crush, Luz and Amity spend most of their shared screen time as flustered, blushing messes who can’t pick up on the painfully obvious signs because they’re too busy looking away due to their equal nervousness. It’s adorable and I love how it’s STILL obvious to everyone else. Gus is straight up annoyed by Luz’s cowardly BS of constantly asking for his library card to see Amity but never asking her out, and Edric and Emira are willing to give the lovebirds alone time and support Amity for her crush. Everyone gets it, but never forces Luz and Amity together as it’s equally obvious that they need to work this out themselves…At least in this episode. We’ll get to what Hooty does later.

I will say that if “Through the Looking Glass Ruins" was just the cute antics of Luz and Amity being complete messes, it would be an easy 10/10 episode for me. Unfortunately for them, some angst got sprinkled in as Amity lost her job to help Luz find an old book. What’s interesting about this is that both parties have different ideas for who’s to blame. Luz, of course, blames herself. She’s the reason they got caught despite the many warnings Amity gave to be careful. It was her screwup, but Amity blames herself more. She could have just asked Malphus for the book or turned back when Luz first suggested it. Instead, Amity was so focused on helping Luz that logic went out the window. Look back at how Amity reacts to Luz suggesting to show Amity around the human realm. The second she puts it together that it could lead to a date, she yanks Luz further into the library just to get it faster. So when they get caught, Amity believes that she’s to blame because being around Luz makes her do stupid things and act without thinking things through. But when Amity vents her frustrations over it, it only makes Luz feel worse because it made her think that Amity’s upset about LUZ and not what she does to her. Amity was more upset about herself and her actions than she is with Luz, but Luz, already believing that everything is her fault, can’t help but take the message the wrong way. Amity’s quick to pick that up when she sees Luz tearing up, and that makes HER feel worse as she believes she accidentally made Luz think everything is on her. Except that Luz is crying is because SHE believes that Amity is finally tired of Luz getting them in trouble because Luz makes her do stupid things. It’s an entire moment of miscommunication and misunderstandings that’s a heck of a lot more believable than most romantic drama in fiction. Neither is mad at the other or gives up without a fight. Amity just goes home to think about her feelings and Luz instantly sets out to make things right, telling herself, in Spanish, that things won’t work unless she makes it work.

What gets to me is that despite going through hell to get Amity her job back, Luz is already accepting that Amity will never want to see Luz again. It speaks volumes of how accustomed Luz is to rejection that she already assumes that Amity will be the same like every other crush in the past and would want nothing to do with Luz after this. And yet, despite that mindset, Luz still goes through on getting Amity back her job to make things right. Because even though Luz believes that she no chance with Amity anymore, she’s the kindest person in the world and, after everything they went through together, Luz doesn’t want to end things with Amity without fixing her mistake. So Luz goes through a whole ton of trials for Amity’s job and comes up to her door with an apology already prepared. Only for her words to die in her throat upon seeing Amity’s new haircut.

You see, while Luz was busy facing her guilt, Amity was facing her feelings. Through a wonderfully adorable interaction between her and Emira, Em makes the great argument that it doesn’t matter how Amity acts now because of Luz because she’s never been this happy before. It’s a sweet moment that I always think about when it comes to Amity’s relationship with EMIRA, but the meat of it brings up exactly what I’ve been saying most of this review. Luz is the best thing that has happened to Amity, bringing out her best qualities and being brave enough to go against her parents. Remembering that gives Amity confidence to do something that makes HER happy, this time without Luz motivating it. I mean, Luz would have likely encouraged it anyway, but it is smart that it’s a decision that Amity makes without Luz’s input. After feeling frustrated by Luz making her do stupid, risky decisions, I like how we see Amity deciding to dye her hair as something SHE wants without the supposed source of Luz influencing it. It’s a risk that could cause Odalia to be upset about, but it’s worth it for Amity’s happiness…and the effect it has on Luz. But that last part is just a bonus.

Speaking of Luz, she once again proves why she’s so amazing to Amity. She didn’t HAVE to go through so much to get Amity her job back. Amity already blames herself for the incident and was willing to accept the consequences. Then here comes Luz, fixing Amity’s problem without her having to ask for it. It was done out of guilt, but it doesn’t change how Luz, despite any consequence, will always make things better for Amity. It’s a good deed that proves to Amity that any stupid mistake is worth it because she'll always be happy when she’s with Luz.

…And then Amity kisses Luz on the cheek. A moment that surprised everyone, including the audience, Luz, and even Amity. Seeing Luz and the hell she went through to get Amity her job back filled Amity’s heart with so much admiration that she was thinking on impulse. Only for her to immediately regret it because she just kissed her crush BEFORE admitting her feelings. It’s definitely a leap too far and revealed Amity’s crush to Luz before she was ready. And while WE can see the look of awe in Luz’s eyes, Amity’s more focused on the general shock in Luz’s expression and chooses to run away instead of explaining herself. A shame, too, because…look at this face.

That is the face of a girl who finally realizes that she has a chance with her crush. While Amity is too busy panicking about messing up HER chances, Luz numbly falls to her knees, overwhelmed by the most magical thing that’s ever happened to her. And that’s saying a lot.

Like I said, everything between Luz and Amity in this episode is perfect, with the adorable antics mixed evenly with some light angst. I love it a lot and I adore how the next episode quickly addresses the kiss. The writers KNEW that they couldn’t move on to other antics and adventures with new characters without at least ADDRESSING the kiss. All they had to do is have Willow say that Amity missed a school day and that’s enough to tell us all we need to know: Amity’s too embarrassed about the kiss and is avoiding Luz because of it. And Luz understands that. It took a kiss on the cheek to do it, but she finally understands that Amity has feelings for her. She also understands that the ball is very much in her court. If Luz wants to go out with Amity, SHE has to ask Amity out because Amity is too much of a nervous wreck to do it. The problem is that Luz has a different fear of her own, regarding the matter. A fear that a certain someone helped her out with…

Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door-Ooooooooooh, NOW we’re onto the good stuff…

“Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door” is the best episode of the show. Or second best. Honestly, it’s always a toss-up between this and “Thanks to Them.” Both are very good episodes of television for different reasons, with “Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door” being great for solely focusing on the members of the Owl House and what makes the show so damn good. You get some great comedy from King trying to figure out who he is, well-done drama and tragedy with Eda’s backstory and curse, and some cute, gay fluff with Lumity.

Luz’s vignette begins perfectly by showing how her feelings for Amity are distracting her from figuring out a way home. Luz KNOWS she has to ask Amity out, but due to being rejected one too many times, she isn’t sure how. Amity is the first crush Luz has had to ever show feelings for her and she doesn’t want to mess that up. Unfortunately, her anxiety has left Luz distracted and unable to focus on figuring out how to get the echo mouse to do what Luz needs and help her learn how to build a portal home. She could ask Amity about it, but how can she get Amity’s help without addressing the kiss and how they BOTH want something more from it. Luz can’t ask Amity for anything without revealing her feelings and asking Amity out, and she can’t do THAT until she plans out the perfect way to ask Amity out. It creates this never ending loop in Luz’s mind, adding in an extra bit of stress that makes her life hell. Thankfully, Hooty is there!

Hooty, like everyone else, picks up that Luz is head over heels in love with Amity and needs a push in the right direction. The good news is that Hooty’s there to offer his assistance. The bad news is that he’s there to offer his assistance. His idea to kidnap Amity and lock her in the basement is more than questionable. It’s downright disturbing with and without context, but Hooty DOES have the right idea. Luz and Amity were NOT going to talk to each other unless SOMEONE forced them into a room and finally see one another face to face. Although, things don’t start off well with Amity IMMEDIATELY suggesting that they pretend that the kiss never happened. Luz panics because that’s the LAST thing she wants. Amity may be willing to forget something beautiful and perfect for the sake of keeping Luz in her life, but Luz doesn’t want to move backwards in their relationship. She’s terrified of taking that next step, but Luz still won’t allow Amity to entertain the idea of forgetting the kiss, distracting her with the goal of getting out of the basement, deciding to talk about the kiss later. Unfortunately for Luz, Hooty literally drops her and Amity into the last thing Luz wanted.

Under different circumstances, Luz might’ve loved the tunnel of love. For all we know, she might’ve fantasized about doing something as cheesy as a tunnel of love. The issue is that cheesiness is something that Luz is trying to stay away from. Due to still having this image of this heroic, aloof badass who will save Luz’s life like a knight in shining armor, Luz thinks that something corny and cheesy will make Amity think that Luz is a loser. Except that Amity has not only seen Luz at her most loseresque and fell for her anyways, Amity is also a loser herself. She drew fan art of herself with characters from her favorite book series and acts as a blushing mess around Luz. Amity’s not the super cool witch Luz keeps remembering fondly and is just as much into cheese as Luz would be. The proof is in HER reaction to the tunnel of love. While Luz is cringing her butt off, Amity is…confused. She has no idea what they’re in or what this whole thing is about. It’s not until Amity starts looking around that she picks up SOME idea of what is happening. Upon looking at the messages on the walls, realizing that they’re describing her, Amity comes to the assumption that this whole thing is some elaborate grand gesture for Luz to ask out Amity. It’s HALF right, that’s the whole point behind the tunnel of love. But instead of knowing that it’s Hooty’s idea, Amity believes it’s Luz’s, which you can’t blame her for. Luz’s whole thing is making grand gestures for people she cares about. It’s the very reason why Amity kissed her on the cheek. So when looking at the tunnel of love and think Luz is doing it for Amity, it shifts Amity’s reaction away from...

Confusion

To realization

To elation

To nervous excitement. Finally, at long last, Amity has what she thinks is definitive proof that Luz likes her. The moment is awkward and she probably prefers NOT to being dragged into a basement, but Amity’s willing to sit through all of it now knowing it might end perfectly between her and Luz. Only for Luz to start tearing the place apart and tearing Amity’s heart to shreds in the process. WE know why she’s doing it. Luz is trying to save face and avoid embarrassment, not letting the chance for a perfect romantic confession be ruined by all this cheese. But to Amity, what Luz does is the very reason why Amity was too scared to ask Luz out. When Amity finally allowed herself to hope that Luz might feel the same way as her, Luz destroys what Amity took as a sweet love confession, burning it all to the ground in a savage display all to make one message clear: Luz doesn’t want any of this. She even makes it clearer later that the whole thing was Hooty’s stupid idea. Again, WE know that Luz meant the tunnel of love, but Amity is focused less on actual tunnel and more on its meaning. The whole thing was meant to convey that Luz wants to go out with Amity, and Luz just called it stupid. Amity was already shattered when Luz was wrecking the place, but hearing Luz calling the idea of them dating stupid just about brought Amity to tears. It’s not what Luz meant, but it doesn’t stop Amity from misinterpreting the words and, worst of all, accepting them. Amity wants MORE than friendship, but she also wants to have Luz be close to her so she tries to live past the pain and laugh it off with Luz. Only for a single tear to betray that, making Luz realize her mistake…And causing chaos to start.

After Hooty thinks that he failed his friends, with Luz being the last straw, Hooty proceeds to have an emotional breakdown that nearly destroys the Owl House. Despite King and Eda trying to explain that he indirectly helped them, Hooty still clings to the fact that he failed Luz, who might be the only person who was currently left worse off after Hooty’s “assistance.” Most of it’s on her, but that doesn’t stop Luz from being backed into a corner where if she DOESN’T ask Amity out, Hooty would only get worse. When Luz explains her situation to Eda, she doesn’t waste a second to give Luz support. She offers great advice that if Luz wants to ask out Amity, she should ask her out. Perfection is NOT something to strive for in a relationship, otherwise you’ll be driving yourself crazy with every little decision. And if you’re too scared to ask a big question, putting it off until the perfect moment, you’ll end up losing your chance, something that ALMOST happened to Luz this episode. Eda gets that idea across in just a few little words, being the exact motivation Luz needs to finally go for it. Though, not before Eda yanks Hooty away to give them a more calm, PRIVATE environment. Because while Eda’s advice rings true, she understands that asking a girl out while a house demon is crying wouldn’t be the most romantic moment.

So, Luz and Amity get their privacy, Luz FINALLY explains herself, and…says something that requires me to go on a quick tangent. You see, a buddy of mine has this sort of nitpick where he doesn’t like that Eda and King got cool, new power-ups where Luz…didn’t. It’s part of this bigger problem where Luz isn’t really shown to be as capable in Season Two as she was in Season One. I get where he’s coming from and I PARTIALLY understand what he’s saying here. It does feel a little weird that Eda and King got new powers where Luz got nothing, but…that’s not entirely the point of this episode. The main trio are all looking for SOMETHING. King’s looking for knowledge of what he is, Eda’s looking for control through the chaos in her life, and both get rewarded by confronting what’s REALLY bothering them. King gets a booming voice when he vents his frustrations about feeling abandoned by his father and Eda gets a new harpy form when she asks for a compromise with the beast inside that went through as much chaos as her. As for Luz, what she’s looking for is certainty. Two episodes prior, Luz comes to the realization that she isn’t sure what she wants anymore. By believing that her adventures in the Isles will lead to her being a witch, she forgot to consider what kind of witch she wants to be or if she wants to be a witch at all. And two episodes later, Luz will be given ANOTHER uncertainty on whether or not she’ll return to the Isles. Might even explain why she isn’t as capable this season, as so much uncertainty has bogged Luz down to the point where she’s distracted and unable to focus on anything other than what’s in front of her. She’s also desperate for some kind certainty in her life, something that‘s easy enough to grasp and obtain. And the only thing that Luz is certain about at this point in time…is that she wants to be with Amity. It’s not as big as her wanting to go home or being strong enough, but that’s the point. It’s small, it’s manageable. Plus, for a teenager, going out with a crush is bigger than anything in your life. There’s a lot of reasons why Luz hyper-focuses on Amity, as it all boils down to the idea that no matter what happens, all Luz wants is Amity to be there with her. All she has to do is ask a single question. A question that could change everything if Luz has the courage. And she almost does, the words were coming out of her throat. Except that Amity beat her to the punch.

I’m fine with that for two reasons. Firstly, Luz was NOT going to ask Amity out with all the tension surrounding the importance of a single question. Amity blurting the question out first takes away the stress and allows Luz to finally ask Amity out with confidence that the answer will already be yes. Plus, this is a good character moment for Amity. Her biggest fear was asking out Luz due to a fear of rejection. A fear she was basically living through back in the tunnel of love. And here Amity is, met with more evidence that Luz really DOES like her. Hell, she’s pretty much saying it to Amity’s face. There’s no reason to be afraid anymore and just have to wait for Luz to ask the question that Amity’s been DREAMING to hear. Except that Luz is taking too long and, either due to the anticipation was killing Amity or because she fears that Luz will change her mind, Amity blurts out the question first. She finally pushed her own fear aside and went for it, with the results being very fruitful. I mean, look at their faces.

Every time I watch this scene, I want to bottle and sell the pure joy radiating from both their bright, smiling faces. After all that pining and hoping, these two are, at long last, together. Things are awkward and these two are mutually scared of dating each other, but that’s to be expected. They’re both each other’s first girlfriend and are a little nervous about what that could mean for the future. One thing for sure is that Hooty’s right. They’re adorable and deserve all the happiness.

It’s a bit of a shame that “Knock, Knock, Knockin’ on Hooty’s Door” is primarily remembered as the episode where Lumity became canon as there are equally great moments with Eda and King that make it the best episode of the show. But…you can’t blame people. This is the first time that a bisexual main character and her lesbian love interest became canon HALFWAY through the series. In previous media, this kind of thing could be done through implications, side-characters who appear once or twice a season, or waiting until the series finale. Luz and Amity getting together is not only a huge step in LGBTQA+ representation, but it also gives us more than enough time to see these two act as a couple. And the writers didn’t waste time on doing just that by quickly jumping in and giving fans little moments and episodes about Luz and Amity growing closer and stronger as a couple. How quickly?

Eclipse Lake-The very next episode.

In no time flat, The Owl House delivers cute couple nonsense, giving us the perfect glimpse of what a canon Lumity would be like. From the get go, they both seem so excited to be dating each other. Luz is grinning from ear to ear about calling Amity pretty and Amity is calling herself Luz’s awesome girlfriend at any available opportunity. I also love that most of the awkwardness is fading. Amity still blushes over Luz hugging her and calling Amity an awesome girlfriend, but that’s as far as things go. At least in this episode. So much of their interactions show how happy they are to FINALLY be dating, and you’re right there with them. As someone who’s been hoping these two get together since the damn near beginning, seeing them just slip into this pure, fluffy relationship with equal love.

But as adorable as things are—And they ARE adorable—this episode shows us the first problem in this relationship, particularly with Amity. Throughout “Eclipse Lake,” Amity’s dealing with the idea that she has to EARN Luz’s love. It’s not true, we know it’s not true, and even Amity didn’t think it’s true at first. But due to some meddling from Hunter, it gets into Amity’s head that if she ever fails Luz, they’re done. And the reason it gets to Amity so easily is because that’s how she functioned her whole life. With her parents, mostly Odalia, Amity grew up thinking that love comes with conditions and that if you don’t do what you’re supposed to then you don’t deserve love. Of course, it’s complete nonsense. Still, look at Amity in the beginning of the episode. Her treating Luz’s cold as this big crisis is the type of adorable overreaction that we would come to expect, but it’s more than Amity caring deeply for Luz. It’s Amity stepping up proving that she can be an awesome girlfriend to Luz. And looking back, with every time Amity keeps calling herself an "awesome girlfriend," it CAN come across as her going, “Yes. This is real. It isn’t a dream, it’s a reality.” With each “Awesome girlfriend,” Amity is reminding herself that she and Luz ARE dating and that they won’t break up as long as she keeps proving herself. Thankfully, near the end, Amity remembers that this is Luz they’re talking about. Luz loves grand gestures. After all, it was a grand gesture that made her fall for Amity. But Luz took an interest in being Amity’s friend due to warmth and nerdy fun that only Luz got to see, feeling attraction by seeing Amity’s strength, bravery, and just how cool she looks. Luz loves Amity for who she is and not what she does, and she proves that by hugging Amity the second she gets back. Amity doesn’t have to earn anything. She already has Luz’s heart and it’ll take more than a partially failed mission to change that. Her love is condition-free and I am so glad that “Eclipse Lake” immediately addresses this issue as Luz and Amity start their relationship. Us fans are ready for all the cute moments. Like Luz, in the next episode, immediately thinks of seeing Amity. She’s in the middle of a mission, and all she can think of is her girlfriend. The writers are quick to confirm that we’d get tons of the cute moments we were hoping to see, but an episode like “Eclipse Lake” proves that things won’t be perfect and that there are SLIGHT issues that these two have to work through. I honestly love that more than just giving us constant Lumity fluff. I wouldn’t mind it, but it’s sweet that we get to see them navigate being in a relationship. Instead of doing this on again/off again nonsense or holding off becoming canon until the series finale, we finally get to see a couple BE a couple as they persevere through every obstacle. Even in episodes that you wouldn’t expect.

Follies At the Coven Day Parade-Given the episode’s description and every single expectation going into the second half of Season Two, I was surprised to see that we’d get some more Lumity moments and an entire subplot about their relationship. Things start off cute enough with pet names, Amity getting flustered by Luz’s proximity, and Luz giving Amity a cheek kiss, completely shutting down Amity’s brain in the process. Things are adorable, but they don’t last when Amity notices Luz acting strangely.

Previously, Luz faced a fear of her own by finally telling Camila the truth about Luz’s summer. Things didn’t go well and it resulted in Luz feeling unsure about a lot of things. Will she return to Isles? Will she see her friends again? Could she and Amity be together? All these questions bounce around in Luz’s head and leave her anxious and trying not to show it. The only people she feels comfortable talking about her problems with are King and Eda, and that’s because as close of a connection that Luz has with someone like Amity, it’s nothing compared to what she has with King and Eda. They’re family to her and she trusts them with anything. With Amity…she and Luz have JUST started dating. Luz trusts her, but there’s more of a limit to it, all due to some issues that become MUCH clearer in another episode. While Luz feels she can say SOME things to Amity or share some secrets, Luz isn’t sure what would be too much baggage to drop on someone you’ve dated for a few days. Nor does Luz want Amity to worry. Being new to a relationship, Luz is too focused on keeping Amity nice and happy, not wanting to bring personal drama or conflict when things are going so perfectly between them. Except that Amity wants things to go differently.

Because Amity picked up that Luz was going through something, she wanted to figure out what. This time, it’s not out of wanting to prove herself worthy of love but instead wanting to just…help. To Amity, that’s what couples do: Help each other through mutual love and understanding. And with all the times Luz helped her, Amity only feels like it’s fair to return every single favor. But she can’t do it without knowing what’s wrong with Luz and it’s with this conundrum that the universe decides to give Amity a test. You see, Luz forgot her phone at school. A phone that has a video that can tell Amity exactly what she needs to know. Amity COULD play the video and figure out how she can help Luz…but that would be an invasion of Luz’s privacy. And given how Amity freaked out over her siblings and Luz nearly getting Amity’s diary, I’d say that the last thing Amity wants to do. Yet she still wants to. A small, selfish part of her wants to just play that video and finally help Luz. But if she does, she’ll breach Luz’s privacy and potentially risk losing some of Luz’s trust. It’s a situation where Amity knows the right answer, but it frustrates her so much that she’s desperate for any justification to act a little selfishly. Ultimately, she sticks with the right decision, and I’m glad that she does. All on her own too. Amity DID go to Willow for advice, but Willow basically gave a non answer, leaving it to Amity to figure out what to do. It’s for the best, because if Amity was told what to do, even though she already knew the answer, it would take the punch out of her final decision. But by far, the best thing about this, is how Amity reacts when she asks Luz what’s wrong.

When Luz saw that Amity holds out Luz’s phone and fears the worst, Amity’s quick to act. She doesn’t yell, act confrontational, or feel betrayed like most love interests in bad romantic dramas. Instead, Amity voices her worries, carefully asks Luz what’s wrong, and speaks with understanding when Luz makes her case. THIS is how a couple SHOULD act in a story. Not get into big fights and force a breakup to milk that drama, but actually TALK to each other for the sake of figuring out this problem together. Though, things aren’t perfect. Primarily on Luz’s end. In this scene, we see how Luz handles telling the truth about something uncomfortable. She looks away to hide how upset she is and forces a smile to give the illusion that everything is fine. It’s unfortunately something Luz does a lot around Amity, acting out of this “Keep things peaceful” mindset that does more harm than good. Avoiding the problem doesn’t get rid of it, nor does it stop Amity from worrying. The only way to fix things is by facing what makes you uncomfortable head on. Otherwise, it’ll fester and get worse. Luz was lucky this time, both for Amity catching on early and for being understanding enough to why Luz would want to be secretive. But if Luz remained tight-lipped longer, telling Amity the truth way later, Amity could have felt a little more betrayed by Luz keeping this secret from herand they would have LESS time to process it and figure out what to do. And I will admit that it IS a little strange that they never talked about what COULD happen if Luz couldn’t return to the Isles. They just kind of ignore it and go about things as normally as they could, almost as if they were expecting things to be fine between them. To be fair, the episode ends with them agreeing to take things one step at a time, but they don’t really go past more than one step. Despite that, I still love this interaction between these two.

I expected Luz to tell Amity the truth eventually, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon and so well. The writers found the perfect time for them to discuss Luz’s promise to Camila, nixing unnecessary drama for the sake of showing how healthy Luz and Amity are as a couple. EVERYONE appreciates that decision, because while couples CAN fight and argue, it doesn’t mean we want to see them do that. You root for a couple to get together and be mostly happy. Some angst can seep in, but don’t forget the good stuff. While Luz and Amity met with their first real obstacle, it’s nice seeing them work through it without an argument breaking out. It’s a good mix of fluff and angst that shows just what makes Lumity so good.

Although, not every story these two have together is perfect.

Any Sport in a Storm-I am NOT a fan of the Lumity subplot in this episode, which is CRAZY for me to admit. I love seeing these two together and seeing how perfect they are for each other. But this episode was NOT doing it for me.

I get the intention that the writers were going for. Luz and Amity spouting theories about who Azura’s author could be is meant to show that they’re both of the same mind, coming up with equally crazy theories together. On paper, I love this idea. It SOUNDS like a cute idea. But in execution, it makes Luz and Amity seem a little TOO dumb. They fully believe everything they come up with is plausible and it doesn’t sit right. I can KIND OF buy it with Luz, she’s said weirder stuff with conviction. For Amity, I don’t think any of it lines up. Again, I get that the intent is to prove that Amity can be just as weird as Luz, but there can be better ways of showing Amity’s weird side that doesn’t involve degrading her or Luz’s intelligence. Plus…did we really NEED this subplot? Did we really need Luz and Amity figuring out the mystery behind their being Azura books in the Isles? Just an off-hand comment about how Amity found her books in a box that washed up onto shore would have been more than enough. Over complicating it with having it be this big scam from Tibbles of all characters makes the whole thing weird and leaves me wishing that Luz and Amity went off to do anything else. There’s some good stuff like Luz calling Amity “beautiful” in Spanish, Boscha being jealous of their relationship, and Luz and Amity deciding to start a writing club after realizing they’re equally creative. I love this, but I’d much prefer it happening in a better written story.

But while we’re on the subject of better written stories…

Reaching Out-This…might be the best episode between these two.

Things start…not great. Not for Luz. We catch on quick that Luz is missing something big and is throwing herself into anything and everything just so she won’t think about it. Nothing that she’s doing is healthy and everybody, from the characters to the audience, can pick up on it. Still, Luz refuses to acknowledge her problem and hopes for SOME kind of distraction. And here comes Amity, having problems connecting with her dad and providing Luz with the distraction she wants.

It’s worth noting that Luz would have helped Amity any other day with no objections. That day, though? Luz’s main reason for helping Amity was so SHE wouldn’t think about her own problems. Luz still cares enough about what Amity is going through and offers nothing but support throughout the entire Bonesborough Brawl. The issue is that Luz’s heart and mind isn’t in the right place, leaving her both distracted and a little reckless. Er, well, more so than usual. And, of course, Amity picks up on it. After all the things that they went through together, Amity knows Luz enough to figure out that she’s a little off. Plus, Eda telling Amity that today’s a bad day for Luz definitely helps Amity figure out that something is wrong. And Luz…does the exact same thing she did in “Follies At the Coven Day Parade.” She brushes off the very notion that there’s a problem and pretends to be happy despite the emotional weight adding pressure to her heart. Now, there ARE a few reasons for this. Luz still isn’t sure if her and Amity are close enough for this emotional of a discussion, she doesn’t want to worry Amity while she needs help, and Luz is trying her best to avoid THINKING about the topic altogether. She doesn’t even go into the details with King and Eda, being vague with why it’s a rough day for her. If Luz can’t divulge the details to the people she considers family, then it’s not really anything against Amity. This is just a touchy subject that makes Luz uncomfortable to talk about it with anyone. But that doesn’t change how things would have gone smoother if Luz wasn’t so tight lipped.

If Amity knew what was going on with Luz, she would not have gone to her for help. Amity’s problem is more than winning the Bonesborough Brawl. It’s all about her trying to form SOME kind of connection with Alador, her father who was always too busy to notice Amity being in the same room as him. This is personal to her, and she wouldn’t want to burden Luz with more problems when she’s already going through something. But since Luz doesn’t offer the exact details, Amity allows Luz to help, only if she’s sure she’ll be okay. Except that Luz isn’t okay, she’s practically bursting at the seams and is making risky decisions with riskier moves. Amity notices all of it and CONTINUOUSLY asks Luz if she’s STILL sure everything’s fine. Luz lies and digs herself deeper into a hole when covering a mistake by attacking an Abomiton that Alador sent to watch Amity. Luz was acting out of anger, and didn’t tell that to Amity because then she’d have to explain WHY. So, she kept it a secret, hoping that Amity would win the brawl before any consequences came up. A decision that would quickly bite Luz in the rear as Alador showed up, called off the fight, and revealed to Amity that Luz lied. Again. Lying once in “Follies of the Coven Day Parade” was one thing. Amity figured quick that Luz was going through something and that there were no personal stakes to her at the time to make it an issue. Here, Amity has no idea what’s wrong with Luz. This was supposed to be a day to help AMITY, and Luz did nothing but lie all day. Doing it once is understandable. By doing it twice, Luz presents a pattern. It tells Amity that Luz would sooner lie to her instead of letting Amity know that something is wrong. It’s that realization, added with Alador’s pestering, that causes Amity to run away from BOTH of them. Alador is understandable enough, but for Amity to run away from Luz, a person that made her feel safe and comforted, just tells you how badly Luz screwed up. As for what happens next…Do you remember how I said in part one that Eda’s talk with her dad was my second favorite interaction in the show? Well, what happens next is my ABSOLUTE favorite.

We find Amity sitting at the tree she and Luz made, a symbol of their mutual trust and teamwork. And now its leaves are falling, making the tree look like it’s wilting away just like the trust Amity feels for Luz. Once Luz shows up, asking to take a seat, Amity doesn’t verbally respond. She gives a small, barely noticeable nod, but doesn’t speak. She doesn’t even look at Luz because of how betrayed she feels. Once more, I cannot emphasize enough how badly Luz messed up with all the secrets and lying, and she knows it too. She tries to apologize, but Amity wants more than that. She doesn’t want this to become a pattern and makes it clear she wants the truth now, no matter what it is. With Luz now backed in a corner, she finally comes clean about what’s been bothering her: Today was the anniversary of her dad’s death.

That truth is already sad enough, but the way Luz explains it is almost sadder. She forces a smile, acting like this isn’t a big deal and prefaces it in a way that’s almost rehearsed. Luz saying it happened a long time ago and how it’s no excuse for how she acts tells me she was scolded for acting up with people telling her those same things. Luz says it to Amity because she expects to get the same treatment from her, anticipating that exact same reaction. But when Luz looks at Amity…

All Luz gets is empathy, shock, and horror. On a day when Amity is dealing with a strained relationship she has with her father, she dragged Luz in to help when she's trying not to think about HERS. Not only that, but it’s a day when Luz WISHES she could be with her dad again, that they could just talk or do anything. And on that day, she spends it helping Amity and failing to do just that. It’s not like Luz can do anything else. She can’t go to the human realm, she can’t be with her mom, she can’t pick FLOWERS. It’s all these thoughts, realizations, and feelings that Luz has been trying to avoid all day, and it’s all coming out at once, breaking her. As for Amity, she gains an even better understanding of Luz than she ever had before. Luz is more than a nice person. She is someone who would push aside her own issues for the sake of helping someone through theirs. In this case, it’s partially for selfish reasons, but it’s no less true. Luz has a great amount of care for all of her friends, caring less about herself when they need her. Just look at all the times that Luz threw herself into danger for someone she loved. This episode is sort of the one time Luz thinks of herself first, using Amity’s problem as a distraction to hers, but every decision she makes is to help Amity, even if her focus isn’t a hundred percent on Amity’s problem. And when a new problem arises and Luz is too emotionally distraught to stand, let alone follow Amity, Luz makes a joke, fakes another smile, and says she’ll catch up later as if she’s not going to spend the next few minutes crying alone. All of it proves to Amity that there’s a tragedy behind the kindness that is Luz, as she would pick helping people over helping herself.

So Amity decides that she won’t let this stand anymore. If Luz won’t help herself, then Amity will help her, pushing aside her previous betrayal and says that when everything’s over they will pick flowers together and do as much as they can while Luz is stuck in the Isles. Because Amity understands Luz now, and realizes that even the helpful can feel a little helpless at times, wanting to be there for Luz like Luz was there for her. It’s a beautiful sentiment, and you see in the astonishment in Luz’s eyes, mixed with the blush, that she finally realizes how much Amity really cares about her. Amity’s ALL IN with this relationship. No matter if it’s uncomfortable or is about something difficult to talk about, Amity will be there when Luz needs her. That realization astonishes Luz, and leaves her realizing she shouldn’t take Amity for granted.

“Reaching Out” didn’t really need to go as hard as it did. If it was just an episode about Luz helping Amity with a problem, it would have been fine enough. Instead, it gave us AND Amity insight about the sadness Luz hides away so no one would be brought down by it. And on top of that, we STILL got cute moments. Luz spinning around Amity while calling her pretty, Luz blowing Amity kisses, Amity being flustered by Luz’s awesome entrance. It’s all adorable, WITHOUT having these two kiss like it was originally planned. Speaking of which, as mind blowing as it would have been to see these two kiss, I’m glad they didn’t. It would have been too much and fans would have remembered this episode more as the one where Lumity kissed instead of the one where Luz opened up about her dad. Not to mention that it would have been a bit inappropriate for Luz to kiss Amity after opening up about her father. Luz saying, “Thank you,” and admitting that she can’t wait to pick flowers with Amity is more than enough to show how grateful she is. We don’t need a kiss to top off what’s already perfect.

And…that’s about it when it comes to Lumity episodes. Due to the show’s shortening, everything was coming to a close and we had no time to have an entire episode dedicated to their growing relationship anymore. We still got cute moments, though. Stuff like Luz and Amity sending messages with a ton of love hearts between episodes is always adorable to see and it shows that these two don’t need to be the center of attention to have an endearing relationship. It’s just that there’s no time to focus on JUST Luz and Amity anymore, so the writers have to squeeze them in at any opportunity they can…But still knew when to throw in the important stuff.

Clouds on the Horizon-People would call this a Lumity episode, but I wouldn’t. There’s so much focus on setting up the season finale and stuff going on with Amity’s family that the Lumity stuff, while incredible, isn’t what the episode is about. With that said, we still got ONE big moment that’s worth discussing. And we’re gonna break it down…

We start with Luz being nervously excited to see Amity again. They’ve been a week apart from each other and the first thing Luz does is climb up to Amity’s balcony as if she’s the Romeo to her Juliet. Luz is probably quoting the play in her head right now as she fusses with her hair to make it look better before seeing Amity. That is, until Luz overhears Amity’s little breakdown.

Amity’s whole life is crumbling down before her eyes. Her parents are helping the emperor do something terrible, she has NO idea where Luz is, and Amity is locked away in her room, unable to do anything about all of it. She’s trapped with nothing to do, and all she can do is think about Luz and what SHE’S going through. With the thought of Luz being in MORE trouble making Amity feel worse.

Funnily enough, it’s thinking about Luz that also makes Amity feel better. It’s just that she focuses on what Luz would say in this moment instead of what bad things COULD be happening to her. And Amity has an accurate understanding of what Luz would do and say, with the very idea of Luz’s warmth and kindness being enough to make Amity smile again, getting enough determination once more to fight to stop everything because she’s not letting a genocidal madman destroy everything before she has her first date with Luz.

Unbeknownst to Amity, Luz was hearing the whole thing, and agreeing with every word with gusto. In fact, I’m willing to bet that Amity said the exact speech Luz had planned to say, word for word. That just tells you how well Amity knows her girlfriend to take the words right out of Luz’s mouth.

And I love that the second they see each other, they both immediately run to each other, with Luz calling Amity "Sweet Potato,” keeping that nickname alive, and Amity jumping into Luz’s arms. It’s already adorable, making the Lumity fans happy with this incredibly cute moment. There’s only one thing to make it more perfect…and the show does just that.

BOOM! On screen kiss! And one with the smoothest animation possible, too! I like to think that’s an extra middle finger Dana gave to Disney, using so much of the budget all for a kiss. A progressive kiss between two girls, but a kiss nonetheless. And I can’t help but appreciate Luz’s facial expressions throughout all of it.

“Heh, my girlfriend is so pretty…”

“Wait what’s happening—“

“OH, we’re kissing!”

“Oh, we’re kissing…”

“Oh, wow…”

It is everything I could have asked for. And a little bit more.

Luz and Amity’s awkward reactions to the kiss is just a little cherry on top that I didn’t know I needed. Amity is embarrassed and astonished that she was brave enough to kiss Luz. The girl keeps making first moves and somehow STILL ends up being surprised that she made them. As for Luz, she’s embarrassed over the fact that she reacted to the kiss by going “Crikey.” Of all the things she could have said in this moment, it’s one random word that nobody would have expected. It’s perfectly Luz and helps sell this scene as a teenager’s first kiss. It’s ALMOST perfect, but the awkwardness and inexperience makes it a moment Luz and Amity will both cherish and regret. It’s the exact type of normalization that the LGBTQA+ community has been BEGGING to see, with The Owl House expertly delivering it.

And that’s…really the last big moment in this series. Don’t get me wrong, we still got cute bits afterwards. Like Amity defending Luz’s honor and Luz being amazed by Amity’s strength. Or in the very next episode where all Amity can think about is saving Luz or how it’s Amity tearfully begging Luz to run that temporarily convinces Luz to leave behind the Boiling Isles. You get the sense that their relationship is still going strong, but there’s rarely a sense of progression or focus, especially when we get to—

Season Three-Yeah, might as well lump the whole “season” together. Because with the writers only having three specials to wrap up the rest of the story, we have no time to build off of Luz and Amity’s relationship more than we’ve had. There were SOME cute moments, like…

Luz’s little video that she used to come out to her mom. The fact that Luz calls them Lumity in universe is perfect.

Their little dance in the rain was precious and everything fans expected.

All the little touches and kisses these two shared proved how comfortable they’ve gotten with each other over time. They’re past the awkward stages of their relationship and finally accepting that this IS their reality.

Their couple costumes are the best and it’s kind of funny that they become their default outfit for most of the season.

Luz knowing she’s in a nightmare because Amity misquoted Azura is how it should be done. Luz knows Amity enough to know that would NEVER happen.

And their last on-screen kisses just feels like a final middle finger to the network that screwed the show over.

I couldn’t get enough of these moments, and I appreciate all of them. But it doesn’t change how Lumity is never something that takes the focus in an episode. Instead, it’s something that just simply exists, which is honestly good for a different reason. It allows Luz and Amity to just…be. To prove that their relationship doesn’t have to be the center of attention to be a good couple. They’re in a comfortable enough state and have already gone through so much that there’s not much to do that wouldn’t be repeating what we’ve seen already. Besides, we do get SOMETHING beyond cute moments.

Due to there being three specials left with the series, a lot of characters got the short end of the stick, even for fan favorites like Amity. And while Luz’s role this season is to go through a goth phase, Amity’s is there to…just be Luz’s girlfriend. I explained in part one how fans didn’t appreciate this decision, but I learned to accept it. I see it less of a downgrade and more of a character progression. And it can be best explained through ONE image:

Luz is in a dark time in her life and Amity brings her attention back into the light. That’s Amity’s real role this season: Being to Luz what Luz was toher. With Luz shrouded in guilt about Belos and The Collector, Amity is there to do as much as she can to help cheer Luz up. Planning a way back home in the hope of surprising Luz with a win, coming up couple costumes, reassuring Luz that life is better with her in it, giving advice about the egg, and motivating Luz to save the world one last time. Luz was the person who helped Amity through the darkest part of her life and Amity’s trying to do the same. It’s a culmination of her character development, showing her being the same supportive person Luz was and proving that she can give as much as she takes. The best part is that it…ALMOST works on Luz. Everything Amity does is effective enough to temporarily take Luz out of this funk she’s in, to the point where most of Luz’s genuine smiles came from Amity’s mere existence. But it wasn’t enough to completely help Luz get out of her depressed state. It worked in spades, don’t get me wrong. Whenever Luz was at her lowest, Amity was there to cheer her up a LITTLE. It’s just that Luz was too deep in her guilt that it would take more than Amity being her wonderful self to snap Luz out of it. Still, it was better than nothing, especially considering how Amity was the closest source that left Luz indecisive about leaving the Isles forever.

Eda and King would have likely driven Luz to stay…but they’re not there at the moment. They’re separated from Luz, with any knowledge of their fates left unknown to her. As for Luz’s friends, she’ll miss them dearly but she can always tell herself that they’d be better off without her. And with Willow and Gus already getting along great with Hunter, it just makes Luz’s argument easier to convince herself with. But with Amity, things are different. Dating her was an act of Luz trying to gain some sense of certainty in her life after all the crazy things that left her unsure of even who she wants to be. Being with Amity is something Luz fought for and, if she wanted to give it up, she had two chances to break things off if having a girlfriend wasn’t an option. She could have confessed that they should break up after telling Amity about her promise or take the L in “Reaching Out” after screwing up Amity’s moment to shine. But She didn’t. Because Luz wants to be with Amity, more than anything. And Luz knows that if she stays in the Human Realm, then that’s the end of their relationship. With that being the LAST THING Luz ever wants, it makes her decision weigh heavier on her heart, making Luz feel even more guilt with each soft moment she has with Amity. Because Luz KNOWS she has to confess about staying eventually and actually plans on doing it this time. There’s no ignoring the problem and solving it on her own or lying about things being perfectly fine. Luz planned to have one last happy memory with the people she loves before bringing down the mood about her staying in the human realm. Then Belos happened, but instead of putting it off for a better moment, Luz still decides that she HAS to tell the truth. The only reason she doesn’t is that Camila stalls things by saying that they’re BOTH going to the demon realm to fix things. Luz agrees with that for now, but is still convinced that she has to stay home. She’s even ready to say that to Amity later, only to get interrupted by Kikimora’s insane plan to rule over teenagers. And by the time THAT’S resolved, Camila managed to help Luz get through her angst and help her understand that leaving the Isles isn’t an option. Which means that there’s really no reason to tell Amity or anyone else about the whole thing anymore. She could, but it’s not so big of a deal that she HAS to. Not anytime soon, at least.

To me, Luz wanting to come out and say that she’s staying in the Human Realm is done well enough to make it where she SORT OF learned her lesson in “Reaching Out.” I used to think the opposite and…yeah, it’s not perfect, but it’s good enough. Luz might still stall from saying the truth, and never does, but she still wants to. Luz was just struggling to find the right words or stalled for the right time. As for Amity, she knew that something was wrong but respectfully didn’t pry. Amity offered support when needed, but understood at this point that if Luz was hiding something, it was likely for a good reason. She’ll say it in time and Amity’s willing to trust Luz to do so. And while Luz never does, again, there’s no real reason or urgency to. Plus, trust me when I say that the last thing I want in the final season of The Owl House is more Lumity angst. I am perfectly content with there being primarily fluff between these two with just the SLIGHTEST angst sprinkled in.

I’m also content with the series ending with Luz and Amity STILL being together. They don’t break up, they’re not forced to separate, and neither die.

…Well, not permanently, anyways. The show ends with them together and still dating up to three or four years if the time skip is anything to go on. They got a chance to go on more dates, say “I love you” to each other constantly, hold hands and share soft kisses, go to Grom WITHOUT the drama, have disagreements they can work through, and…likely do adult things in the future when they’re ready for it. They get to go through it all together, likely for forever. I know that there’s this opinion about how it’s unrealistic for teen couples to stay together, especially ones who only ever dated each other, but…I don’t really care. For one, it’s a work of fiction. In a work of fiction, I WANT to see the cute couple get together, stay together, and ALWAYS be together. No sane person should want Luz and Amity to break up unless their reasons are “I don’t ship it.” These two are cute and have a healthy relationship that communicates well and learns WITH each other. These reasons make Luz and Amity one of my favorite fictional couples in animation, as well as the best thing in the show.

Lumity being the best thing in The Owl House goes beyond them being a cute couple. It’s ONE reason, but there are still others. Luz and Amity’s relationship normalizes LGBTQA+ romance, trading spectacle for sweet, awkward teen love that was a joy to see every time. It was also a joy to watch their bond grow stronger every episode, seeing the natural progression of rivals to friends to now girlfriends. There’s no forced drama or stretching out the romance. The writers figured that fans would want a cute couple to be a GOOD couple, so they prioritized as much as they could to make it as appealing as possible. It’s why Lumity works so well. It’s a part of the show that the writers knew they needed to get right, so they tried their best to do so. With it came an impressive romantic subplot that I, and others, couldn’t get enough of, for the adorable moments, showing us how far these two grew, and giving them both a happy ending they deserve. For me, I couldn’t have asked for anything better from a show I love.

Now, a normal person would stop their big, six part long review after talking about what they call the best thing about their favorite show. Save the best for last, and all that. But I…am an idiot who didn’t think this through. And there’s two more things I want to get out of the way before the conclusion. So tune in next time as we discuss the STORIES within The Owl House.

Next Part

#the owl house #luz noceda #amity blight #lumity #what i thought about #the owl house reviews #long post #really long post #again #sorry #my bad

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alexissara · 2 years ago

Text

Play Thirsty Sword Lesbians

So on bird app I talked about how many community copies of Thirsty Sword Lesbians there was and now 100s of people have claimed community copies of the game [Note Community Copies are free copies of PDFs which are on many itch.io TTRPGs and even community made TSL playbooks]. Since a ton more people now have access to my favorite game and one I've worked on for every edition so far as well as making a fan playbook, I wanted to talk about what is special about the system, what makes me love it so much, and why you might want to give it a try.

Thirsty Sword Lesbians is a simple game to understand but it refines even the most simple parts of it's design to make a better experience. In Thirsty Sword Lesbian's there is no failure or success. You roll d26 plus your modifier then you are either given a down beat, a mixed beat, or an upbeat. None of these mean you did what you intended. You can have a down beat where you knocked out the guard you had been trying to knock out but it turns out she was your girlfriends sister and without the context she just witnessed you assaulting her family. You may get an upbeat trying to do something and trip and fall and end up landing perfectly knocking away the sacred stone that the villain needs to turn the world into skeletons, with witnesses now thinking your amazing where in truth you have never quite been good at this.

Playbooks are designed with great intentionality to them each is designed with an emotional conflict at the heart. Where classes and playbooks can often be more like picking your powerset, in TSL your picking a struggle. It's not that other things might not be also bothering you but the conflict is something internally you are dealing with that's standing above the rest of the other conflicts you might have. This is an element that just feels very queer, we all have our problems, our traumas, and we work through them together. Each playbook also has a core mechanic that makes it stand out from the others, these have a narrative weight and a textual weight. These core mechanics typically take the form as some advantageous ability but are also deeply rooted in your conflict. They encourage you as a player to roleplay just by using the most basic aspect of your character.

I have to be real though, the thing that first made me fall head over heels with Thirsty Sword Lesbians was how funny and cool the adventures were. When I was reading the playtest version of the game, before I was brought on to write Yuisa Revolution and later The Matriarch, I was just playing a one shot and thought the name sounded fun. I read Best Day Of Their Life and just knew, this game was gonna be utterly my shit. At first I was just skimming like I do with most TTRPGs at first glance, but I read the first couple lines of the setting and I decided "fuck, I have to read all of this." I read the whole thing, made a character for my one shot and right after that session signed up to run multiple one shots of the game so others could get to play it because I loved it so much.

I don't normally like to play in premade settings but each of these are simple enough to really build on with enough going on that made it easier to run if you didn't want to get super creative and make a bunch of new shit. It really made me fall in love with setting writing in a way I just didn't before. I had gotten asked to work on Mutants and Master Minds before I TSL but I thought it was so boring working on the setting I quit and left money on the table. However, when April approached me to write a setting, I said yes, right away, no hesitation and now I work in TTRPG design. I had done TTRPG design work before but I wasn't locked in after quitting comics, it was how exciting the settings were that got me so inspired to create.

While many refer to Thirsty Sword Lesbians as a Powered By The Apocalypse game and by all means it is in a lot of senses, I think Powered By Lesbians is a very distinct flavor. It cuts out everything bad about PBTA and adds so much to the table. Chiefly among them is the smitten mechanic which is a mechanic I wish like every game had. It is one of the most clever pieces of game design ever convinced of. Being smitten has you do a moment of dramatic introspection, while I am one for more bright and cheery and less drama focused stuff, it's amazingly juicy hooks for a GM to get into. It not only allows you to put out your characters personal doubts about a potential relationship but it also says to the GM and everyone playing "I like this character, I want to see more of them, I want to explore where this goes." It's also in addition a way for players to tell each other "I want to be romantic with your character" and if they chose to get smitten back it's mechanically saying without even needing an out of game chat "Let's roleplay some romance."

Thirsty Sword Lesbians is really something special, I could gush on and on but already a lot given I worked on it and am currently working on it but I just wanted to talk about why the system is special to me. I hope I got you interested and I don't make any royalties on TSL sales [yet] so like I am not really biased here outside of the pages I worked on and that I made friends with a lot of folks who worked on it over my time working on it and after. Go clash swords and cross hearts.

#TSL #thirsty sword lesbians #TTRPG #Indie TTRPG #Gay Games #Lesbian Games #Sapphic Games #Queer Games #lesbian #trans #lgbt #lgbt+#gayming

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invisibleraven · 3 months ago

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getting a little tipsy, giggling together on the couch as they just ramble on about nonsense for Rose/Ray/Reggie pretty please

Most Friday nights, the three of them liked to go out, have a good time, stay out until the sun rose over the horizon. Dancing, seeing bands, maybe a late night movie.

This week though, Rose just wanted to stay in. Work had been hell, she was too tired for other people, and the idea of dolling herself up for her boys didn't appeal to her.

"I propose a night in. Greasy food, cheesy movie, good beer, sweatpants."

"Yesssss," Reggie hissed, a look of relief on his face. "I am so down for a little chiling."

"Me three," Ray stated. "I have been surrounded by people all day, so staying in with just us sounds heavenly. I'll call for Mexican."

"Get extra guac!" Reggie asked as he raced up the stairs, hot on Rose's heels. They were both trying to reach Ray's sare sweats; the worn gray pair that were the comfiest things he owned. They were comically huge on Rose, and just a smidge too short on Reggie, but they loved them all the same.

Rose was triumphant this time, but tossed her oversized sweats at Reggie; a maroon pair that skimmed his ankles but he took them with a smile on his face, sheepishly handing his own black seats to Ray when he entered the bedroom with a judgemental look.

They relaxed on the couch, turning on some random sitcom as they waited for the food, cracking the big beers they had in their fridge, the condensation dripping down the bottles as they clinked them together.

Reggie usually didn't drink; too many bad memories from his parents, a bad experience or two in high school. But he would enjoy the occasional beer with his partners either at home or at the club, but he stuck to one. Especially at home since Rose got these giant bottles of beer that were higher in alcohol content, so he sipped them slowly, and before he got even half way through, he handed the rest off to Ray.

Tonight however, he took a deeper pull of the liquid, letting it melt his tension and refresh him after a long hot day stuck in the stuffy studio with no AC.

The food got there before too long, the show changing to something with an annoying laugh track, but they were too lazy to change it, instead talking over it and chowing down.

"You know the actress playing the waitress started out doing soaps?" Ray asked.

"That explains so much," Reggie snarked.

"That dude in the background is a regular at The Orpheum," Rose commented. "Lousy tipper too."

"How do you think he got the gig?" Reggie mused, taking another pull of his beer. "Like how do you get cast to be in the background?"

"Think the guild calls people asking if they want a day's work, put a bit of cash in their wallet, even if it's just in the background," Ray replied.

"I could never do it," Rose said.

"Rather be front and centre?" Reggie asked.

"I would draw too much attention," Rose teased.

"Of course you would mi vida," Ray stated sincerely, earning him a kiss to his cheek.

"I meant that I'd rather not live a life of uncertainty, waking up every day waiting for a call not knowing if I would earn anything or work that day," Rose said.

"How is that different from now, waiting for gigs?" Reggie asked.

Rose shrugged. "I know we'll never really make it huge, but that's not a huge disappointment for me. The girls and I just want to get our music out there, so it doesn't matter where or even if we play for an audience. Just that we get to play."

"You sound like Luke when you talk like that," Reggie said wistfully.

"I wish we could have gotten to know him," Ray said, rubbing his back, Reggie sending him a grateful smile.

"Okay, this is too maudlin even for me, let's change the subject," Rose declared. She tipped back her beer, downing the rest of it, giving a little satisfied sigh before letting out an ear shattering belch.

Reggie lost it at that, giggling wildly, falling against Ray who was sniggering while Rose looked affronted before a chuckle escaped her, collapsing into them.

"Subject effectively changed," Ray declared later, wiping a tear from his eye. "But now can we change the channel because this show is truly awful."

Reggie snorted at that, but swiped at the remote, finally grabbing it and swiping the television over to soe reality baking show. Then he snagged the last of the nachos, guzzling it down with another swig of beer. "That's not how you temper chocolate!"

That caused the three of them to burst into laughter again, even as the judges agreed with Reggie regarding the tempering attempt.

Sure, the three of them usually liked to go out, have a good time. But they could all agree; this night was just as good as a night out, if not better.

#filled prompts #ficlet #ray/rose/reggie #julie and the phantoms

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primaviva · 1 year ago

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'Writes minors in unsafe situations'

But didn't you write Gwen as a serial killer?? Is that not an unsafe situation? Or does that not apply to you for some reason? Didn't Talia write a fic where she aged up Miles and made him have a baby?

Are you seriously mad at her writing a damn fanfiction? Y'all didn't seem to have issues with her before so it seems you just want to be mad about something. Stop with the picking and choosing

Don't be a hypocrite

“don’t be a hypocrite” don’t be senile bree…

let’s tackle this real quick. if you follow me you know most of my fics are based on COMIC gwen unless specifically said otherwise to the plot or the description, meaning she ages from 17-21 in my writings which is appropriate. that’s why most characters are randy, avril, harry, etc because i go off the comics that have more information and world building. and if we wanna keep going off your lopsided logic let’s bring up the actual scream movie since you’re bringing up ghostface gwen… baby billy was 17. stu was 18. do you know that this is because they were in their senior year and were legally becoming adults?? so it’s not crazy or unsafe considering they are gonna be damn near adults?? you tried, next!

now talia, let’s add some context. she never aged up miles so let’s start there. she also never made him and reader have a baby. what you are tryna do is spin the narrative, try to rationalize and reap together any last bit on brain fell to hit her with a “gotcha” moment and it’s not gonna work. and baby girl what’s w the inconsistency of not double checking your shit?? cus i stand on my business and who i associate with so i asked talia myself and also investigated which took two clicks.

let’s show you the fic, which literally summarizes the plot in the first two paragraphs.

notice here how…. it says they are in visions academy?? notice how…. it says that it’s the robotic baby project that most high schoolers get if their school offers a home ec?? it’s a cute, creative, well written, and completely wholesome concept.

yk what’s not safe tho? writing a fic of miles smoking and not aging him up which multiple people have come to talk to me about since they feel more comfortable to say how questionable the content you spit out is. the smoking thing wouldn’t even be justified with an age up, but at pests it would’ve showed some moral effort! whats not safe is writing a fic about reader indulging in drinking which is a clear self insert and making her go see miles while drunk. you know what else not safe? probably the most outrageous one sent to me but ITS NOT CUTE TO WRITE AN AGED UP MILES FIC WHERE THE READER IS A YANDERE, STABS HIS GIRLFRIEND NECK THEN SLASHES HER FACE, THEN ON TOP OF THAT KILLS MILES BY SLITTING HIS THROAT. take that in and reread the insanity.

context: reader finds out miles has a girlfriend, so she breaks into their place with a balaclava and knife. i don’t even need to tell you why it’s wrong and weird jus skim😭😭😭😭😭

stop picking and choosing when to apply common sense and critical thinking 🙏 especially on my page cus this shit is WEIRD. just accept your situation instead of tryna rationalize it with deducted views that aren’t even fact checked.

#🪷 — dalia’s spam #tried and failed #next!

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sineala · 1 year ago

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How did Carol/Rhodey start/happen? I like the ship and it seems to be sticking more or less (for a comics couple) but was it a, “we need Tony and Carol to fight over someone” thing? And were they interacting often before that point?

And it seems like Rhodey is now a permanent part of both the Iron Man and Captain Marvel supporting cast about 10 years running now, does someone pulling double duty in 2 solo books (when they definitely came from 1) long term happen often in comics? With team books I’m sure it does.

I haven't backread all Carol's appearances, and I actually haven't read all of KSD's run, which is where Carol/Rhodey comes from. As far as I can tell, they got together between KSD's first and second Captain Marvel runs, off-page. In the first issue of the second (2014) run, they're already together.

I skimmed Wiki and I can't find anything in Rhodey's earlier appearances list that looks like it would have had a lot of Carol, or vice versa. I know they must have overlapped a little in Busiek's Iron Man run, but as far as I can remember, Rhodey wasn't a major part of that run and the Carol & Tony friendship absolutely was. So I can't say for sure, but if they interacted a lot before this, I can't find it. I have the impression that KSD put them together because they were both pilots and therefore basically had similar ambitions.

All of this predates the Civil War II "Tony and Carol fight about which of them loved Rhodey more" plotline by several years and I would be very surprised if they'd already had that in mind when the Carol/Rhodey thing started.

Carol is a character who, for better or worse (and, yes, the "worse" has been pretty awful), has a lot of early canonical history in which she is defined by her relationships to men -- I mean, she basically started off as Mar-Vell's girlfriend and, uh, let's not talk about Avengers #200 ever again -- but I think for the most part Marvel seems to have figured out that she has the most popularity when they focus on her as a success of feminism (see: Chris Claremont's work on the original Ms. Marvel run, as well as her massive popularity surge due to KSD's Captain Marvel run) and I think in that light, Carol/Rhodey is a long-term choice that makes a lot of sense because they can clearly support each other as equals and they understand where they're each coming from and it's very nice and you don't have a setup where Carol is obviously "the love interest" or anything like that.

(However, if you read Avengers Annual #10, Chris Claremont's fixit for Avengers #200, you will see that he was clearly where everyone got the Carol/Jess from.)

There have definitely been characters pulling double-duty in multiple solo books. I don't know for sure how much all of this overlapped in terms of simultaneous appearances (I suspect not all that much, because I think Marvel cared a lot more about making sure characters couldn't be two places at once back when they had fewer comics) -- but, I mean, the character I immediately think of is Rick Jones, everyone's favorite perma-sidekick. Seriously, he started off with the Hulk, moved on to Steve, went back to the Hulk, then eventually ended up with Mar-Vell (and then Genis-Vell) -- and if you asked me to pick one and only one hero to say he's associated with, I really don't think I could. That guy gets around.

#replies #visitant-dispatch

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azikarue · 1 year ago

Text

MayBlade 2023 : Day 13 : Royalty

Daichi and Tyson | FFN Rating: K | FFN Link ❖ “The Bladebreakers are back! In a recent statement, the BBA announced the return of the fan-favorite team for the upcoming World Championship Tournament. Tyson Granger, Kai Hiwatari, Ray Kon, and Max Tate are considered beyblading royalty by the millions of viewers that tune into the tournament, and it’s predicted that their reunion will make this year’s Championship a record-breaking success.”

Daichi growled and crumbled up the newspaper. His name wasn’t mentioned once in the whole lousy article. Even the picture, plastered in the center of the sports section’s front page, was of the original four Bladebreakers. It looked like it was taken after their very first World Championship win.

“So much for being World Champion,” he grumbled and threw the newspaper across the room with a grunt.

It landed in front of the door, which was open to the outside to let in the cool, fresh air. Daichi was hoping a gust of wind would come along to carry it away when Tyson stepped inside.

“What’s this?” he asked, bending down to pick it up. “If you’re teaching yourself to read, Daichi, you might want to start with something with more pictures.”

“Yuck it up, Tyson,” Daichi replied and crossed his arms. “Everyone knows you only read comic books or any magazine with your big head on the front.”

“Taste has nothing to do with skill,” Tyson replied defiantly while he worked on unfolding the newspaper. “Just because I don’t read encyclopedias for fun like Kenny doesn’t mean I couldn’t.”

“You can’t even spell ‘encyclopedia’, Tyson.”

“You’re just saying that so I don’t catch on that you don’t actually know what an encyclopedia is. Aha!” Tyson smoothed the newspaper out as best he could and waved it over his head triumphantly. “Now, let’s see what’s got you so frustrated. Did you try sounding it out?”

Whatever other jokes were in Tyson’s arsenal seemed to fade away the minute he started reading the article. From how long he took looking it over, it was obvious he got farther than Daichi did before he resorted to skimming. He flipped the page, turned it over, like he was looking for something. Then, with a thoughtful frown, he turned to Daichi.

“Hiro said they’d be playing up the Bladebreaker angle once the word got out,” he finally said. It sounded almost like an apology the way he talked, and somehow it made Daichi even more irritated.

“Yeah, well, from where I’m standing it looks more like a ‘get rid of Daichi’ angle and I don’t like it!” He stomped past Tyson and out the door, intent on finding a wide open space somewhere where he could dice up the landscape with Strata Dragoon.

“Daichi, wait!” Tyson grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. “No one’s trying to get rid of you!”

Daichi yanked his arm free with one strong tug and shot Tyson a glare. “I’m not dumb, Tyson! I know everyone wants the Bladebreakers back.” He jumped off the veranda and took a second to get a breath of fresh air and feel the earth under his feet before setting off toward the front of the dojo.

Stubbornly, Tyson followed. Why did he only want Daichi around when he didn’t want to be around? “Just because we’re beyblading as the Bladebreakers again doesn’t mean you aren’t a part of that Daichi. Do you seriously think we’d kick you off the team and not tell you?”

Daichi stopped short and rounded on him, fists balled at his sides. “No!”

“Then I’m confused. What are you mad at me for?”

Daichi let out an exasperated groan. “I’m not mad at you,” he snapped, crossing his arms. “I’m sick of being forgotten about!”

There was an awkward silence following that statement. Tyson looked stunned and Daichi shuffled his feet, embarrassed. He wasn’t good at this heart-to-heart junk. He preferred smashing things with his beyblade until he was in a better mood. Or until Gramps helped him put things in perspective with a weird speech.

“We won the World Championships together. And beat BEGA.”

He didn’t know why nobody cared about his involvement. It was like when he and Tyson first started beyblading together, but worse, because he thought he’d proved himself by Tyson’s side this time. Earned something that would make people proud of him, too. Turns out he was still just a substitute for the rest of the Bladebreakers.

“Daichi, this article doesn’t mean anything,” Tyson said, holding up the rumpled newspaper still clutched in his hand. “The person who wrote it doesn’t know anything about us. They just know the BBA wants the Bladebreakers’ return covered as much as possible.”

“I bet your ego likes that,” Daichi mumbled, turning away from Tyson once more. There was no bite behind his words.

“We’re doing this for the BBA, Daichi. To get the tournament publicity,” Tyson reminded him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “And yeah, we’re excited to beyblade as a team again – probably more excited than all the fans are. Kai, Ray, and Max are my friends and we’ve been through a lot together.

“But the press has no idea how many people it takes to make the Bladebreakers winners; this article doesn’t mention Kenny or Hilary either. Our team wouldn’t be the same without any of you.”

Daichi sniffled and wiped his nose on his arm. He wasn’t gonna cry in front of Tyson. “Do you really mean that?”

“Of course I do. You’re a World Champion!” Tyson pulled him close with an arm around his shoulder and gave him a shake. “We wouldn’t hear the end of it from the fans if we tried kicking you off the team. It would be an uproar! Total chaos!”

“Okay, Tyson, now you’re layin’ it on a little thick,” Daichi said as Tyson began marching them back inside.

“No, really, Daichi. Who would we get to spearhead the ‘half shorts, half pants’ trend if you weren’t on the team?”

Tyson was definitely joking now and Daichi would make him pay for it, right after the novelty of seeing him toss the newspaper over his shoulder, for the wind to carry away, wore off.

#mayblade 2023 #beyblade #couldn't get away from the idea of the Bladebreakers being “beyblading royalty”#short and sweet but I like it #azrfic #azikarue #azikarue394

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carmarriage · 1 year ago

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So what is Shade Like? How would you picture them getting together?

by jove being asked about my sonic shipping opinions is the best thing that has happened to me all year. Yippee!!

some context on the sonic chronicles story: the knuckles clan (tikal's tribe from sa1) was at war with the nocturnus clan, which was another more technologically advanced echidna tribe that wanted to Do A Conquest or something along those lines. i think sonic chronicles implies that's the reason for the flashback events of sa1. so the knuckles clan is wiped out by chaos, and shortly afterward the nocturnus clan is thrown into interdimensional space jail (?) by an interdimensional space god (?) and they use the alien technology there to get even more technologically advanced. they manage to find a way back to mobius, but time in the interdimensional space jail flows differently, so though they were only in there for some nebulous few years, 4,000+ years passed in the regular world. it's stupid and it's awesome. i haven't played this game in many years so i had to skim the wiki page for a refresher lol

shade is part of the nocturnus clan, she's like an assassin type warrior lady that works as the big bad's blindly devoted right hand man for the first half of the game, then gets betrayed and swaps sides to join the good guys. she's pretty much what you would expect for that kind of archetype, but since it's one of my favorites (ESPECIALLY when done with female characters <3 women's wrongs etc etc) i like her a lot even if the rest of the game isn't very good. because of the ken penders lawsuit (apparently this game riffs pretty hard on some concepts from the archie comics, but i haven't read those so iunno) none of this is canon anymore and we will never see shade ever again. sadge. (apparently ken penders thinks he owns her now and is making her into nfts. this is the worst timeline)

SO my reasoning for being #1 tikade crusader: technically shade and tikal were born/alive at the same time and it's very likely that at least shade knew of tikal, since she's the daughter of the chief of the clan they're currently at war with. it's got some real good romeo & juliet spice to it. i think the contrasts between their characters (calculating warrior on the cusp of turning into a living weapon vs peaceful pacifist who just wants to live in harmony) is sauurrrr good. narrative foils and all that. and the inherent tragedy of it too!! knowing that tikal is going to seal herself in the master emerald!! and shade is going to slip away thousands of years into the future!! no matter what it'll always end the same way!!

many many years ago i had this fanfic concept in my head where shade is sent to assassinate/kidnap tikal for political reasons, but tikal manages to talk her out of it and the two of them bond and begin to meet in secret, and their romance blossoms from there. this is pretty much still the definitive "how it would happen" scenario for me. i like to think their relationship would help them work through the uncertainty in both of their lives and situations and give them a new perspective on what they want for themselves and what they want their futures to be like. it'd be cute if their attitudes influenced each other, like shade deciding she wants to abandon her life of violence and run away with tikal, while tikal decides she wants to stay and fight (figuratively anyway) their circumstances so they can be together.

once the whole thing with perfect chaos goes down, i don't think shade would've been present so she wouldn't know what tikal had done and where she is, and only thinks she died along with everyone else, which is SUCH good drama. i like to think the grief of losing the woman she loved would've caused shade to regress and further entrenched her into the person she is during sonic chronicles, unflinchingly loyal to ix and the nocturne clan, and she would've tried to forget about her time with tikal and just focus on her mission. yum

i still really like this concept.... i'm not good at writing fic but maybe i'll try to do a little comic about it someday. this is all like 2 steps removed from canon in my brain and i need everyone to see them the way that i do because there's so much potential here...... but ya that's why i like tikade

(hey so while writing this i read through tikal's wiki page and apparently she's ALIVE now?? at the end of sa1?? which is funny because all this time i thought she straight up died. like after she reunited wwith chaos her spirit was at rest or some shit. but that's kinda awesome because at the end of sonic chronicles shade is also back on mobius so they could have a reunion, LOVE WINS!!!!)

thank you for reading my post :)

#this took so long to write because i stopped in the middle of it to make a fanmix for them LOL

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freedvmrouge · 11 months ago

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KNITTING AND SEWING.

fandom: dc comics.

character(s): kon el/conner kent.

word count: 530.

tags & warnings: pov kon el, college au-ish.

summary: kon is trying to catch up on his college projects when he gets a notification of martha's upcoming birthday and shifts focus.

masterlist.

a/n: i've had this hc where kon is a fashion design major, so i couldn't not write it for this prompt.

Kon pulls a thread through the needle and silently cheers. He slides onto the floor as if that'll make him concentrate better. He has two other sewing projects to do for different classes and he needed to start this one yesterday. The deadline is in two weeks and he's only just begun making his designs into reality.

As much as he would like to blame the delays on his side gig as an international superhero and a very active Young Justice member, he really did forget about these assignments.

Out of sight, out of mind.

He sighs as he goes through the routine motions. Even though he can technically move faster and get these done sooner, he's still experiencing every millisecond. The design process was a lot more enjoyable, he laments.

Just before he finishes sewing his first design, his phone goes off. What he initially assumes is a call turns out to be a calendar reminder. Where were you when I needed assignment reminders? Kon groans as he clicks on the notification.

Martha's birthday is in three days.

"Ah, shit." Kon throws his head back onto the couch cushions. "I didn't get anything. What do I get her? Did Clark already get something? He probably has." He whines into the empty space. The only witness to his moaning and complaints is his own supplies.

His head swirls for ideas. He has half a mind to abandon his existing sewing projects now that he has something more immediate to attend to. He has plenty of time... right?

Kon floats above the couch and looks over the entire room. He lazily skims through one of his many sketchbooks. Maybe he can design something for Martha? Should he go for something practical or something for fun? It can't be something too fancy. Even though that'd be a lot more fun to think about, it'd also be a lot more complicated to complete in time.

Scrolling through Pinterest, he finds all sorts of gift ideas. He saves plenty of pins to boards associated with different people in his life. Wait.

He already has a Pinterest board for Martha. Kon sits up and rushes to find it, looking through the pins with excitement. "Shoes? Too difficult. I could paint a base, though. Maybe."

By the time he's gotten to the end of the board, he's got several ideas and none that stand out from the others. He groans, locking his phone and leaving it face down on his chest. There's got to be something he can make within three days. Hopefully, nothing too crazy happens in the world in the meantime either.

The door opens suddenly, and in the quiet, it sounds like an explosion of noise. Kon's eyes snap open and finds Cassie coming in with a knitted scarf and hat. Cassie ignores him, taking one look at the mess Kon's made on the floor and walks past.

Kon's eyes follow her or rather follow her clothing pieces. He could knit Martha a sweater, something better than the name brands, surely. It'll be pretty inexpensive, too.

Clasping his hands together, he floats back down and grabs his kit. Time to get to work.

#gen prompt bingo #gen prompt bingo round 25 #bingo fill #writing challenge #kon el #conner kent #superboy #kon el fanfic #kon el oneshot #kon el one shot #dc comics #dc fandom #dc fanfiction

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rosepetalsinwinter · 2 years ago

Text

Meant to Be — Bucky Barnes (2)

Chapter 2 — Nathan Acosta

Pairing: mafia!bucky x innocent!reader

Word count: 8,273

Summary: Our stalker is getting bolder. Will he finally get what he wants?

Warning: slight substance abuse

Note: Not my best work. I apologize in advance.

Ao3│Wattpad│Ko-fi

Main Masterlist│Series Masterlist│Series Playlist

Chapter 1 — Chapter 2 — Chapter 3

“Yet each man kills the thing he loves, By each let this be heard, Some do it with a bitter look, Some with a flattering word, The coward does it with a kiss, The brave man with a sword!”

— Oscar Wilde

April 23, 2018

“You’re smiling like a dork.” A masculine voice interrupted the girl’s fantasy, making her stand straighter. Her smile, however, did not waver. “Did you finally find that limited edition of The Hobbit you were looking for?”

Dove and Peter were lounging on the tiny loveseat in the corner of the room, watching what sounded like a horror movie—if the blood-curdling screams were any indication—on Dove’s laptop. Even sitting, Peter appeared tall, with his long legs perched on the coffee table, taking up most of the space. His light brown hair skimmed the top of his ears, and his lips stretched into a lazy grin.

Peter often spent his days at their dorm, wanting to be as close to Dove as possible. The two were still in their honeymoon phase—had been since they got together, and were constantly attached to each other. It was something the girl could never have but always wanted… until now. Now, her ideal life seemed a bit closer than before. Close enough to see and maybe skim teasingly with the tip of her fingers.

It was laughable to think that when the girl and Peter first met, he inexplicitly asked her out, then Dove strutted in through the door of the café, loudly cursing one of her professors out.

Peter liked to think it was love at first sight. Dove did as well, though she pretended not to.

What first felt awkward and uncomfortable was now as normal as the colour of the sky. The girl considered Peter a brother and Dove a sister.

Dove pushed Peter’s arm away from her shoulders and sat up to properly look at her friend. “No,” she smirked mischievously, “she’s smiling because her date went well.”

The girl bit her lips harder to stop from giggling like a schoolgirl. She wrapped her arms around her waist and plopped down on the rocking chair across from her friends.

“Tell me I’m right!” Dove demanded excitedly, shouting in earnest when she received a shy nod.

“Date? Who went on a date?” Peter questioned.

Both girls burst into giggles, unable to hold back their excitement. “I did! Can you believe it?”

“What?” Peter’s eyes widened almost comically. “When?”

“Would you like to know the where and why too?” Dove snarked.

“Yeah, and don’t forget the who!” Peter hissed, making Dove roll her eyes.

“When?” the girl replied. “Just now. And where? The Lounge on Discovery Street. Why?... because he asked me.” She burst into another round of giggles.

“Who asked you?” Peter demanded impatiently, tapping his foot on the ground, his chest puffed unnaturally in a display of robust manliness. “I wanna see meet him.”

Dove snorted at his reaction. “Alright, you can drop the big brother act. It doesn’t suit you.”

Peter ignored her, averting all his attention to the girl. “Who?” he repeated.

She took a deep breath, trying and failing miserably to keep the excitement from her voice. “Nathan.”

“Choi?” Peter’s face seemed to relax. “He’s a cool guy. I cheated off of him for my International Relations midterm.”

The girl made a face. “But he took Abnormal Psychology with me. I remember because he did a presentation about Project Monarch, and a guy started crying during it.”

Dove snapped her fingers. “You didn’t sleep at all that week. We built a fort in my room and binge-watched Harry Potter!”

“He used visuals! It was scary!” She shook her head. It didn’t matter. “He couldn’t have taken International Relations with you if he was busy traumatizing Abnormal Psychology.”

Peter scratched the back of his head. “I failed it last semester. So I had to retake it.”

The girls stared at him in shock. Peter had never failed a class before.

“The course never made sense to me!” Peter defended. “Choi did me a solid by turning his paper toward me when he noticed me peeking. He’ll take good care of you. I promise.”

Dove broke out of her shock first by snorting in disbelief. “She didn’t go out with Nathan Choi.”

“Then?”

“I went with Nathan Acosta,” the girl answered.

Peter went deathly still the second she finished speaking. “What?” he gritted out, though the girls seemed oblivious to the tension festering inside him.

“You know him,” chimed Dove. “He’s on the Hockey team.”

“You went out with Nathan Acosta?” Peter clarified.

“Yes,” she told him.

“Acosta? Not Choi?”

Gradually, the girl noticed the tenseness in her friend's jaw, and the anger in his eyes. She swallowed hard. “I’m going out with him again. Tomorrow.”

Dove screeched with happiness, bouncing on the couch like a little kid, but Peter only became bolder and more assertive. “No, you’re not,” he told her.

“What?” the girl asked in confusion.

“You’re not going out with him.”

Even Dove was confused and had no words for once.

“What do you mean?” The girl asked with a nervous laugh.

“He’s bad news, Kitty. Acosta’s not a good guy,” Peter explained.

“Bullshit,” Dove finally spoke up. “He’s my friend. He doesn’t have a single bad bone in his body.”

Peter grit his teeth together. “That’s what he wants you to think. He’s an asshole.”

“Right, because you two are such good friends,” Dove said sarcastically. “You would know his character.”

“You think I’m lying?” Peter snapped, patience running thin. “Why the fuck would I do that?”

“The fuck am I supposed to know? You got in a stupid fight with him last year. Maybe you’re still pissed.”

“What fight?” the girl asked. “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing,” Dove replied, “it was just a misunderstanding.”

Peter scoffed. “It wasn’t a fucking misunderstanding. That fucker knew exactly what he was doing.”

Voices got loud, the language offensive, and the girl couldn’t help but feel that her friends were keeping something important from her. Dove and Peter bickered back and forth, exchanging harsh opinions and degrading each other.

“What did he do!?” the girl exploded. She was the quiet one, always composed and level-headed, so to witness her screaming in frustration caused both of her friends to trail off in silence.

“Acosta made a pass at Dove,” Peter said evenly. “He implied she would spread her legs for anything that moved.”

Dove scoffed with indignation. She was not shy about her endeavours and found pleasure with a string of various lovers before meeting Peter. “Nathan’s a harmless flirt,” she insisted. “And he jokes about everything. He used to sleep around, but he’s changed. He had a serious girlfriend, but she moved, and he couldn’t do the long-distance.” Dove turned to the girl. “I wouldn’t have encouraged you to go out with him if I thought he would hurt you,” she swore.

That couldn’t be right. Could it?

“Marilyn?” The girl demanded desperately.

“What?”

“The girlfriend,” she explained. “Was her name Marilyn?” The girl swallowed nervously.

“Yeah.”

Oh.

“Why are you asking?” Peter inquired suspiciously.

“No reason,” she lied, speaking calmly while her heart broke in half.

Still, her friends insisted on an explanation. She denied them with a shake of her head, unable to voice what was bothering her.

“She’s the one who broke it off,” Dove explained, thinking her friend was put off by a clingy ex. “Nathan wasn’t too upset and got over it quickly.”

Peter scoffed from beside Dove, but she ignored him. “He doesn’t have any baggage you need to worry about.”

“It’s not that,” the girl insisted.

“Then?” Peter questioned softly.

The answer was right at the tip of her tongue, but saying it aloud would make it real. “Nathan lied to me,” she admitted quietly, then recounted to them her earlier conversation. “Why would he do that?” Her voice wobbled, on the edge of tears.

“Because he’s a son of a bitch,” Peter grumbled.

“That asshole.” Dove readily admitted her mistake, consoling her friend, and the three decided that Nathan was indeed bad news and that the girl would stay away from him. “He doesn’t fucking deserve a kind soul like you.”

She wiped away hot tears as she went to bed, feeling completely and utterly alone. Perhaps that was how it was meant to be, and that was how she would die, with no one to call her own.

April 24, 2018

Her brother introduced her to Jim Hawkins when she was six years old. Granted, many could say she was too young to be exposed to such violent storytelling, she immediately fell in love with Treasure Island. It was terrifying, scary, and the vivid imagery kept her up at night, but the allure was too strong.

She begged her brother to read it to her whenever he visited. He would laugh, warn her that he wouldn’t comfort her after (though he always ended up doing so) and read to her in an embarrassing English accent.

He always teased that she would become a pirate when she was older, but it was he who was obsessed. Perhaps he was jealous of young Jim Hawkins and the freedom he had. Eventually, his obsession transferred from Jim to Jim’s creator. Robert Louis Stevenson this, and Robert Louis Stevenson that.

Her brother became a sort of walking encyclopedia on the matter. He walked around spewing information left and right. There was not much she remembered. As a child, she was uninterested in anything that didn’t involve stories of impossible feats and adventures. She did not care why Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island, only that he did.

One thing, however, became ingrained in her mind. Her brother chanted it like a mantra. “Sooner or later, everyone sits down to a banquet of consequences.” She did not understand it then, yet she still opted to recite it with him in her squeaky little voice, over and over again, until she had it memorized. It wasn’t until she was much older when she realized that, no, Robert Louis Stevenson did not quote it, and no, it was not about flower arrangements.

It was about actions and their consequences; every action has one. Most times, the consequences of our actions are inconsequential; they rarely affect anything else, but other times, one choice leads to another, and another, and so on, until one can’t recognize where anything begins or ends.

Nathan Acosta was a choice—a bad one—and the girl couldn’t have known that by saying yes to a date with him, she was setting off a series of events that would affect the course of her life. After all, no one thinks twice before crossing the street; arriving a few minutes late to class isn’t life or death, and one date doesn’t set your fate in stone.

Not usually, anyway.

“We should go to the party,” Dove proclaimed. She was furious, having introduced Nathan to her friend, only to have it conclude with the girl in tears. “Take his ego down a peg or two.”

The answer was obvious, was it not? A simple, no, thank you. It was better to keep her distance from him; better to ignore Nathan outright rather than to tease him with her presence and risk further embarrassment. But she was furious. God, was she furious!

It wasn’t an emotion well known to her. Even as a little girl, she was never prone to outbursts of temper—but then again, she was never targeted in such a way before.

The girl had a choice to make. No, was the obvious answer. It was what she meant to say. Dove would encourage her to rethink her decision, “You’ll feel better once you give him a piece of your mind. Show him you're not one to mess with,” but would ultimately leave her be. Never again would the topic be brought up.

No, was the only answer. Instead, the girl said, “yes,” and they spent the next couple of hours getting ready.

She shone in the mirror. Looking at her reflection, the girl didn’t recognize the person staring back at her. This person was strong and confident. She stood tall and smiled prettily, turning her head this way, and that, to admire herself better.

This person was not her. She, who stumbled over words and cried herself to sleep. Who believed the kind words of a lying man only because she felt cold at night and wished for a warm body to lay against.

The girl was not the person who stared back at her in her reflection. But she wanted to be.

Her hair was styled daintily, and her features had been enhanced with makeup. Her lashes were longer, her lips were fuller, and her eyes were brighter. The fabric of her dress was silky against her skin and fit perfectly. It showed a bit more chest than she was comfortable with but was longer than she had been expecting. She took a deep breath and tucked some loose hair behind her ears. Here goes nothing.

The girl wobbled out of the washroom on shaky legs, still adjusting to the uncomfortable heels Dove lent her. Dove shrieked when the girl finally revealed herself. “Oh! You look hot!” She was wearing something similar, shorter, with a different material and style, but the same colour.

“You look beautiful, Dove.”

Dove posed dramatically, one arm in the air and over her head, bent at the elbow, the other placed under her chest, emphasizing the size of her breasts. “Hot enough to get some?” she asked, laughing when the girl stuttered. “Come here.” Dove gave her friend a pair of earrings and a small purse to keep her phone in. “Wait, let me take a selfie. Ready?” she asked.

“No,” the girl murmured after the flash went off. She wasn’t talking about the picture. “No, I’m not.” She fixed the straps of her dress and licked her dry lips. “Let’s go.”

The Delta Kappa Epsilon house, located on the edge of campus, was precisely how she imagined a fraternity to look. Loud and congested, it felt as if the entire student population had forced itself into the two-story landmark. Music blared from speakers placed varyingly across the space, making it hard for her to hear her friend.

Dove shouted unintelligible words in her ear.

“What?” the girl screamed back.

“I said! Do you see Nathan anywhere?”

“No, I don’t need to use the washroom!” the girl shook her head. “But we should keep an eye out for Nathan!”

“I thought so too!” Dove misunderstood. “I’m thirsty. Let’s go!”

Dove walked the two of them to the back of the house, near the kitchen. “Drink?” she asked loudly, wincing at her volume. “Shit, were we screaming out there?”

The girl nodded sympathetically. “I think so. The music’s very loud.”

“Right, well…” Dove moved into the kitchen, and the girl followed. “Pick your poison.”

“You think they have champagne?” she asked incredulously.

“Somehow, I doubt that,” Dove pouted.

The girl barely drank and was picky on the few occasions she did. Not like she had many options. She had an extremely low tolerance and hated the taste of beer. So, champagne it was.

“Frats don’t really fuck with bubbles. There’s tequila, though.”

The girl shrugged. A little liquid courage would have helped, but she wasn’t planning on drinking anyway. “No thanks.”

“Suit yourself,” Dove winked, throwing a shot of tequila back, wincing as the liquid burned going down her throat. “Ah, fuck!” she suddenly exclaimed, staring at something behind her friend’s head. “What is he doing here?”

“Who?” the girl clamoured, twisting her neck to look. Upon realizing who had just entered the kitchen of Delta Kappa Epsilon house, the girl let out a meek little screech and fell to her hands and knees behind the kitchen island.

“Why are you hiding?” Dove asked in a panic, dropping down next to her friend.

“Why am I—Why are you hiding?!” the girl stage whispered.

“Because I promised I wouldn’t do anything stupid, and I’m doing something stupid,” Dove whispered back.

“You promised Nathan you wouldn’t do anything stupid?” the girl questioned incredulously.

“Nathan? No, I’m talking about Peter. Wait!—”

“Peter’s here?—” “Nathan’s here?—” the girls spoke over each other.

“Dove,” the girl said in a hushed tone, “I think we should leave. This was a bad idea.”

What was she thinking? She was going to show up to Nathan’s party and do what? She didn’t have the guts to confront him about his deception and was sure he wouldn't come clean by himself.

”What? No!” Dove exclaimed. “First of all, all three of us promised we wouldn’t go to the party, so if Peter’s here, he broke his promise and can’t be mad at us for breaking ours. Secondly, Nathan is a little bitch for lying to you about his ex, and he deserves the embarrassment I’m going to cause him soon.” Dove extended her hand toward the girl. “So, what do you say? We either do this together or not at all!”

“I don't…” she trailed off when she heard footsteps next to their hiding place, and she peeked her head past the island to get a quick look.

“Okay,” the girl squeaked hastily and shook Dove’s hand when she saw Peter enter the kitchen to grab a drink.

Ignoring her friend’s warning, Dove stood up from behind the island, pulling her friend with her. “Great! All we need now is a…” Dove stood startled for only a few seconds before launching herself into her boyfriend's arms. “Peter! I w-was just looking for you.”

Peter voiced his surprise with a stutter and was just about to confront the two girls when Dove grabbed him by his face and pulled him in for a searing kiss, effectively shutting him up.

Peter was fiercely protective of those he cared about and would not listen to reason if he thought he was in the right. As it was, Dove and she had lied to Peter about their plans for the night, and she could not face him with a guilty conscience.

Peter broke free from Dove’s lips, sucking in heaps of much-needed air. “What are—”

And that was all he managed to say before Dove muttered a breathy, “shut up,” and pulled him back in.

Her right arm left his body to wave wildly behind her, signalling her friend to run. The girl listened obediently and retreated quietly to the main room, where music was blasting and bodies were grinding suggestively on what looked to be a makeshift dance floor.

Like a deer in headlights, she froze, wondering what to do next. This was new territory for her—a house party. From what she knew, it involved a lot of drinking and making out, neither of which the girl was interested in. Should she dance? No, she decided, she would stick out like a sore thumb.

Slowly, she created a plan in her mind. Step one: Find Nathan (it was what she was here for in the first place). Step two… What was step two? Approach him? Talk to him? What was she supposed to do?

Dove had planned everything already; the girl was just tagging along. She prepared some great scheme last night to make Nathan cry in front of all his buddies. Something that involved one of the girls from the debate club, two pies—one apple, one blueberry—swimming goggles, and some other wildly random object the girl couldn’t quite remember.

Someone bumped into her, pushing her onto the dance floor, making her stumble over her feet. Stupid heels. She held onto a random girl to regain her balance, some preppy cheerleader type with blue lashes and bleached brows.

“Watch it!”

The girl was pushed this way and that, unable to keep up with the fast tempo of whatever new hit was currently playing.

Hands grabbed her from all sides, which she tried to evade, though, eventually, one of them landed. They began to drag her away from the dance floor and toward the front door. She dug her heels into the tiled floor and whipped her head around, trying to catch a glimpse of the person holding her captive.

“Hey!” a voice shouted, garnering the attention of everyone in her immediate vicinity. The hand around her waist dropped, making her think she had imagined it. “Kitty!”

Nathan Acosta pushed through the now small crowd—small, because they all parted for him like the Red Sea—and stopped in front of the girl.

“You came!” he exclaimed with relief. “Let’s go somewhere quiet?”

She would’ve denied him if it weren’t for their surroundings. People were staring, whispering, wondering what the captain of the hockey team was doing talking to a girl like her. She, too, had wondered the same but chose to ignore the answer, that, no, he would not be talking to a girl like her. Now, look where that got her.

The girl nodded reluctantly, not wanting to be alone with Nathan but not wanting to be surrounded by a crowd either. Nathan guided her toward the stairs and took her to a large room. Hockey memorabilia decorated the white walls and the dresser, but the space was otherwise empty, save for a double bed pushed to one corner. She paused at the door, but Nathan encouraged her inside. “I just wanna talk.”

The girl kept her eyes trained on the ground as she sat down on the soft comforter. “What did you wanna talk about?” she was going to ask, but Nathan beat her to it.

“I have a confession to make,” he blurted, interrupting the girl’s intense staring match with the black carpet.

“What?”

He looked nervous. He was biting his lip and tapping his foot on the ground, almost to the point of annoyance. “I lied to you about something. Something I shouldn’t have lied about, and now I regret it.”

Her heart thrummed in her ears. “What did you lie about?”

Nathan shook his head and breathed out in exasperation. “Before I tell you, you have to know that it was because you scared me.”

The girl blinked slowly. She scared Nathan? That couldn’t be right.

“You scared me to death, Kitty. I mean, you’re so different from any of the girls I’ve been with before that nothing I normally do seemed to work with you. I brag about a game I won or a scout I impressed? They eat it all up. I shower them with compliments? They melt right at the spot. But you?…”

Nathan ran a hand through his hair and sighed in frustration. “Nothing I did impressed you. So I panicked.”

“But you never panic!” the girl exclaimed, overcome by the admission.

“I know. You made me panic, Kitty.” And he gazed at her with such intensity that she had to avert her eyes. “I wasn’t cheated on. And it was shitty of me to say that I was. Marilyn was—well, she wasn’t perfect, but she was good to me and didn’t deserve to have her name slandered.”

The girl listened in awe. Just earlier, she figured Nathan would never admit to his deception, but here he was, proving her wrong. It was an incredibly selfless and brave thing to do.

“I, uh, talked to her after our date. She’s in California on a volleyball scholarship and dating some hotshot lawyer.” He chuckled, and the girl couldn’t help but match him.

Nathan smiled. “Made you laugh.”

She burned under his stare. It was concerning, the effect he had on her. He wasn’t anywhere close! Perched on a small chair across the room, but still able to leave her breathless.

“Thank you,” she said quietly. “For telling me the truth.”

“No. Thank you,” Nathan insisted, “for giving an asshole like me a few minutes of your precious time.”

A pang of sudden guilt wracked the girl’s frame. Nathan was so sincerely apologizing and being grateful for her presence… yet she had arrived with ill intentions. She came to Delta Kappa Epsilon house with the objective of revenge, only to find out revenge wasn’t needed.

“Can I grab you a drink?”

She said yes because it was the least she could do. “You wouldn’t have champagne by any chance, would you?” she tried again.

Nathan grinned. “Champagne? Nah, but I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”

Her heart fluttered at the promise of a next time.

“How about a beer?”

She wrinkled her nose. “I don’t care for it. It makes me sick. How about a water instead? I have a low tolerance anyways.”

Nathan seemed to contemplate her words for a moment, nodding. “Do you trust me?”

Trust. It didn’t come easily to her, but something about Nathan put her at ease. “I trust you.”

He left with a smile and the promise of only taking a couple of minutes, leaving the girl in comfortable silence. The heavy bass from the music playing downstairs could still be heard faintly, though not enough to disturb her peace. She decided to use the opportunity to familiarize herself with her surroundings.

Posters of famous hockey players were displayed across the wall—no one that she was familiar with—labelled in big, dark, block letters.

WAYNE GRETZKY — CENTERMAN

BOBBY ORR — DEFENSEMAN

JOHNNY GAUDREAU — LEFT WING

SIDNEY CROSBY — CENTERMAN

Smaller posters took up space along the far wall, helping add a splash of colour to the otherwise bland room. The girl walked along the dresser, trailing a finger over the various awards and medals. One thing was for sure, Nathan was determined to gain success in his field, and that was something she greatly admired.

A slight commotion out in the hall caused her to suspend her exploration. The door opened, and Nathan walked in with two drinks in his hands, clearly upset over something.

“Is everything all right?” The girl self-consciously wrapped her arms around her chest—unknowingly putting her cleavage on display.

Nathan made a show of looking her over. Starting from her heel-clad feet to her prettily made hair—stopping for longer than was appropriate on her chest, though she did not notice. His frown seemed to fade as he took her in.

She felt herself burning under his gaze. Felt her heart beating out of her chest. Her palms were sweaty, and her mouth was dry. It was everything she had read about and nothing she had ever experienced. What was she feeling?

“Nathan?” she croaked, effectively breaking him out of his stupor.

Nathan shook his head but kept a short smile on his face. “Yeah, it was just the guys being assholes.”

“What were they saying?”

Nathan’s smile turned into a full grin, and he closed the distance between them. “They wanted a look at the pretty girl in my room.”

Oh. Oh.

Nathan Acosta thought she was pretty. The girl was sure he had paid her a similar compliment before, but it hadn’t meant anything then. Now? Now it meant everything.

Nathan saved the girl from the trouble of having to reply by handing over her drink. Her eyes widened in surprise after her first sip. “It’s—”

“Really good?” Nathan supplied with a wink.

The girl nodded enthusiastically. “What is it?”

“My version of a Piña Colada.”

She frowned, taking another sip. “I thought Piña Coladas were white. Why is it blue?”

Nathan scratched the back of his neck. “I had some Kool-Aid lying around.”

“Really?” she exclaimed. “I can’t even taste it.”

“I didn’t put in enough, I guess,” Nathan shrugged, frowning slightly.

The girl immediately felt guilty. “It’s still really good. I can’t remember the last time I had Kool-Aid, so I probably forgot what it tastes like.” Then, to show Nathan how much she liked it, she finished the rest of the drink in a single breath.

“Woah,” Nathan chuckled nervously, helping her sit on his bed. “I put a lot of booze in it. You gotta slow down.”

“Sorry,” she muttered sheepishly, “I’m just really thirsty.”

He sat beside her. “Right, yeah. It’s all good.”

Nathan’s hand settled against the girl’s thigh, scorching the exposed skin. He was so close she could see each individual lash of his. He leaned in.

“Are you religious?” she blurted, leaning away to look at him.

“Huh?”

“It’s just,” she started, rivalling Dove in terms of speed, “everyone automatically assumes I’m religious or something when they find out I’m still… And it’s not that I’m religious, and it’s not that I'm not religious—because I think I’m somewhere in the middle of the faith spectrum—but it’s actually sort of a personal choice combined with a lack of opportunity? Now, I feel like I have an opportunity, so I can’t use that excuse anymore, but there’s still this nagging—”

“Kitty!” cried Nathan, after several failed attempts at a more civilized interruption, “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m waiting for the right person,” she breathed out, “at the right time.” A pause. “And not for a while.”

Nathan stared at her. Said nothing.

“Not for any crazy religious reason,” she rushed to add. “Just as a personal… preference.”

God, her mouth was dry, and she was sweating everywhere. That was why she didn’t speak, why she stayed at home and left the social interactions to the experienced.

“That’s alright.”

It’s… alright? That couldn’t possibly be what he meant.

The girl blinked. “I—I don’t understand.”

Nathan grabbed her hand and squeezed. “Hey! You’re a beautiful girl, but there’s no hurry. We have all the time in the world.”

There was so much she wanted to say to him at the moment, so much she wanted to ask. She opened her mouth to speak, but the words died on her tongue.

“Are you going to drink that?” the girl pointed to Nathan’s forgotten Piña Colada, snatching it from the night table as soon as he shook his head disapprovingly.

“Hey, hey, easy there,” Nathan soothed the girl as she attempted to down the entire glass. He ran a hand over her hair, and she felt too drained to stop him.

“S-sorry. I’m just nervous.”

“That’s okay. Let me help you relax.” Nathan moved his comforter back, motioning for the girl to lie down.

“Can I?” she questioned, already lowering herself against his soft sheets. Her head was pounding, and the room was starting to swim. Maybe she should have listened to Nathan and sipped her drink slowly.

The girl closed her eyes, sinking deeper into the mattress until she felt stuck. “I’ve been getting tired a lot lately,” she sleepily mumbled.

“Must be the stress.” Nathan’s voice seemed far away. Had he moved back to the chair? “You seem like the type.”

The sound of the door opening and closing vaguely permeated past her drowsiness, but she paid no attention. “N—no it’s… it’s…” Something was wrong. She didn’t know why or how, but her spine tingled, warning her of immediate danger.

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She tried opening her eyes, but they were glued shut. She found herself stuck in limbo, unable to do anything but think, and even that was becoming a challenge.

Something cold landed on her neck, travelling down her collarbone, up her jaw. The sensation stung her skin, but she could do nothing except groan in response.

“Easy. Just like that.”

The cold trailed down her torso and along her leg.

“You’re a lightweight. I think I gave you a little too much.”

Who gave her what? What was happening?

“God! Baby! You’re a gorgeous little thing! All the stories are true, aren’t they? I can’t believe you’ll be mine soon.”

A scuffle interrupted the gruff voice, and suddenly the cold was gone, replaced, instead, with a familiar warmth. It enveloped the girl’s face and encouraged her to open her eyes.

“Just like that, Kitty. Wake up, sweetheart.”

Slowly but surely, the heaviness left her eyes, and she fluttered awake, only to be met by Dove. Her blonde hair fanned across her head as she bent over, fussing over the girl.

“Hey! Hi! You had us all really worried,” she said. “Peter wanted to call the cops, but I knew you were safe. Best friend’s intuition, right?” Dove pulled at something around the girl’s thighs, fixing her dress with shaky hands.

Still sleepy and not fully awake, the girl did not notice the tears lining her friend’s eyes.

“What happened?” she croaked.

“We looked everywhere for you! Peter was convinced you got kidnapped or something. We didn’t think you’d be here of all places!”

The girl slowly took in her surroundings and realized she had fallen asleep on Nathan’s bed.

“Where’s Nathan?” she asked.

A shadow fell over Dove’s face, one vastly unfamiliar. “In hell!” she growled.

The girl shook her head. “I talked to him. It was all a huge misunderstanding.”

“No! That bastard, he—”

A commotion started in the hall, one that made both girls pause.

“Shit!” Dove suddenly exclaimed, running toward the noise. She threw open the door and launched herself into the middle of a fight.

Still woozy, the girl took her time to leave the comfort of the bed, leaning against the wall for support waddling across the space on shaky legs, much like a baby deer walking for the first time.

Most of her fatigue left her when she took in the scene in the hall. Nathan and Peter were engaged in a rumble, rolling around the floor in a mess of fists. Blood dripped from various cuts around Nathan’s face and soaked through Peter’s white shirt.

“Stop it!” Dove screamed. “Leave him alone, Peter!”

“He fucking deserves it!” Peter bellowed, landing a harsh punch against Nathan’s jaw. “You son of a bitch! I’ll fucking kill you!”

The girl stood there dumbfounded, unable to do much except stare at the scene as a sickening wave of nausea took over her shaking body. She had never seen Peter like this. He was prone to his hysterics now and then, but they usually ended with vulgar profanities and an ostentatious show of muscles—harmless, really. This… this was scary. This was unknown.

People cheered around her, encouraging the mindless violence. No one stepped forward to help, save for Dove, who was failing to get through to Peter. Phones were out, recording the fight in HD, making the girl feel even sicker.

Peter grabbed Nathan by the collar and shoved him against the wall, placing an arm over his throat.

“You’ll kill him!” Dove shrieked. “Peter, stop!”

The room started to spin again, so the girl leaned her entire weight against the wall. The smell of blood invaded her senses, and she had to fight the urge to empty the contents of her stomach right in the hall.

Dove finally found an opening and launched herself between the two boys, stopping Peter from landing what would have been a deadly punch.

He hesitated, arm pulled back. “Move outta the way, Dove.” His voice was eerily calm despite the rage pulsing through his body. “This fucker deserves to die at my hands.”

With tears brimming her eyes, Dove shook her head. “No, I’m not gonna let you—”

The girl ran to Nathan’s bathroom, slamming the door open and hunching over the toilet seat. She sobbed between gags, overwhelmed by the events of the day.

“Kitty?” Present worry forgotten, Dove rushed after her friend, with Peter following close behind.

Amongst the chaos in the hall, a figure watched the scene in front of him, hands clenched in frustration. He had been so close.

If anyone had told the girl earlier how her night would’ve gone, she wouldn’t have believed them. She might’ve even laughed. The girl had prepared for situations like these by ensuring she would never land in them in the first place. She kept her circle small, never hanging out with the wrong crowd. She didn’t do recreational drugs and even stayed away from potent drinks. It wouldn’t do her good to get loose-lipped and share her secrets with strangers.

Where did it all go wrong, she wondered? When did she lose control? Was it when she went out with Nathan? When she let herself harbour a crush on him? Or perhaps the mistake lay far deeper, buried amongst her past when she ran away from home.

Stop, she chastised herself. Nonsense is what she was thinking. No one knew where she was or what had become of her. And a good thing too, because what would her family say if they saw her now? What would her brother?

The girl threw her head back and finished the last of her drink. By running away all those years ago, did she somehow trigger a series of events that led to her current predicament?

She was sitting on the stairs with tears streaming down her face and an empty wine bottle dangling from her hand. She knew it was a bad idea to drink, but the girl felt floaty and sad, reliving the night between soft sniffles and silent sobs.

She finished emptying the contents of her stomach in the toilet when Dove pushed her sweaty hair back and led her to the bed.

“What’s happening to me?” she whimpered.

“What do you remember?” Peter retorted.

She didn’t remember much, but her friends filled in the blanks.

“The hockey team had a stupid bet going.” Tears gathered in Dove’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, Kitty.”

She had been confused, not understanding the implication.

“Someone bet Nathan two hundred dollars he couldn’t get you in bed,” said Peter. “Did he touch you?”

Her head spun.

“What do you remember?”

“No! No, I don’t think so. Maybe? I’m not sure.” Her thoughts were a jumbled mess, her brain fuzzy.

“I’m so sorry, Kitty.”

She whimpered, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Nathan wanted to apologize to me. Just apologize.”

“Oh, Kitty.”

“And I forgave him.”

The room flashed red and blue. Peter cursed, and Dove began to panic.

“It’s going to be okay,” Peter told the girls as two men in uniform escorted him out of the house. “Everything will be okay.”

Suddenly everything became too much, and she needed to be alone. “Go, Dove. He needs you.”

“So do you.”

“I’ll be fine.”

The girl collapsed to her knees when her friend finally left. She pulled at her hair, wracking her brain for something, anything. But she couldn’t remember.

It all made sense now, why Nathan had noticed her, why he was pursuing her. And why he put in the effort to apologize to her. The taste of his attempt was still bitter on her tongue, unable to be washed down by the wine.

Her eyes drifted over the crowd below and promptly landed on one of the last people she wanted to see… only to find him looking right at her, a glare etched on his face.

She couldn’t believe she ever thought him handsome, that she almost kissed him. Her Papa was right. And she now understood why he never let her date when she was younger. Boys were only trouble.

“He told his buddies you were easy. That, he might as well take the money now because you were a done deal.”

The girl stood as fast as a whip.

“They wanted a look at the pretty girl in my room.”

The empty wine bottle dropped from her hands with a clatter.

“He said you would be his first virgin. And he couldn’t wait.”

Her legs felt like jelly, and she leaned against the railing for support. Shame burned deep in her gut, rising in temperature, turning into fear and disgust.

She somehow managed to make her way down the stairs without falling. Out, she needed out. Out of that stuffy house, her stuffy clothes and her stuffy makeup.

The girl pushed past the packed crowd, forcing her way through, ignoring the grunts of protest and curses thrown her way. She apologized instinctively after stepping on someone’s foot with her sharp heel, but did not linger.

When the first gust of fresh air reached her lungs, the girl fell to her knees, fingers weaving through the cool, dewy grass. And when the world finally stopped spinning, she surveyed her surroundings, blinking slowly. A few stragglers lingered underneath an old pine, smoking, ignoring her for the time being.

She got up on shaky feet, standing still for a moment to let the dizziness pass. She turned the corner, walking around the house and towards the backyard, where she hoped to make an inconspicuous escape. With her vision still blurry due to her tears and inebriated state, the girl did not see the overgrown root sticking out from under the house.

The fall happened so suddenly that she didn’t even scream, only flinched as she waited to meet the cold ground. She was thoroughly surprised, however, when she found herself wrapped in warm arms instead.

“Where you goin’ in such a hurry?”

“Sorry,” she gasped, “I'm so sorry.”

The warm arms in question belonged to a man with beautiful eyes and a dazzling smile. His dark hair was cut short on the sides, and day-old stubble decorated his sharp jawline. He was beautiful. The girl was, at least, able to make out that much despite her intoxication.

The man’s hold on her did not loosen. In fact, he tightened it almost painfully, trying to keep her upright and off the ground.

“Hey,” he asked softly, dipping his head to look her in the eyes, “you okay, baby?”

He said her name with a tilt of his head, and if she were in the right state of mind and not burning under his gaze, she might have realized that he used her name, her full name that very few people knew. Yet she couldn’t remember seeing him before.

The girl managed a shaky nod. “Fine. I didn’t see the—”

Once again, the use of her full name, this time from somewhere behind her, startled her out of the stranger’s grasp. He let her go, though he was reluctant to.

Voices emerged from the corner, voices that were talking about her.

“That fucking prude! Did you hear what she did?”

The girl stumbled over her feet, and the man reached out to steady her. “Easy.”

“Poor Nathan. How could she wrongfully accuse him of something so horrible?”

She hadn’t. She didn’t even talk to anyone other than Dove and Peter about what happened because she herself was unsure of the details.

“I have to go,” she whispered, “I need to go,” and freed herself from the stranger’s hold. He called out for her, but she ignored him. She ignored the small group gossiping about her, ignored the ache in her feet, and the pit of dread in her stomach.

There were many other ways the night could have ended, none all too pleasant. If Dove hadn’t encouraged her to come to the party. If Peter had found her earlier. If the girl had not gone through the back; if she had not tripped over the overgrown root and fallen into the arms of a handsome stranger.

Yes, there were many other ways the night could have ended, none all too pleasant, indeed. But what’s done was done, and the consequences of her actions were slowly catching up with her, though she did not know it at the moment.

If things were different, Peter would have offered to walk her home. His perceptive gaze might have found something familiar about the stranger. “I know you. Where do I know you from? I know you.”

The girl’s paranoia might have made her realize he was the man she had stepped on earlier. “Weren’t you just inside? I could swear I just saw you inside.”

And the night could have ended pleasantly.

But alas, the girl was drunk, and Peter was in jail, and out of all the ways the night could have ended, it chose to end none all too pleasant. None all too pleasant, indeed.

April 25, 2018

It was now confirmed. The girl was a lightweight. She never particularly drank alcohol—not the strong kind anyway—choosing lighter champagnes and fruity cocktails that washed away the bitterness with sticky syrup. Just one glass was enough to make her tipsy and eventually drunk.

Three to four wrong turns later, the girl was nowhere near her dorm. As it happened, trying to find the residential building at one in the morning while drunk was more challenging than expected. She was sensitive. A few sips of coffee kept her up all night; no wonder she couldn’t see three feet in front of her. An entire bottle of wine on an empty stomach would do that to a person.

What was she thinking? It seemed like such a good idea at the time. She was confused and hurting, willing to do anything to numb the pain. In hindsight, a good night’s sleep could have given her a similar effect.

Two officers had escorted Peter out of the house, which meant he was at the station on the far side of campus. The girl sent Dove a text of jumbled-up words that barely made sense, telling her she was going home.

Hopefully.

Eventually… If she could figure out where she was.

It started slowly, a tingle in her spine, crawling up her shoulders and towards her neck. The feeling of someone watching her. Eyes, on her back, causing goosebumps to form along her arms. She turned around and did something she told herself she would never do.

It was the start of every horror movie. The kind she was forced to watch through the tiny space between clasped fingers, exclaiming, “stupid. So stupid. Why would—Oh my God! Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god! I can’t watch this! Why isn't she running?! That’s so stupid! I would never do that, I would run.”

“Hello,” she called out. “Is anyone there?”

No response, so she tried again but was met with silence. You’re drunk, she chastised herself, imagining things. Still, the pit in her stomach wouldn’t leave. She kept her gaze on the trees lining the pathway, scared that something would jump out at her if she looked away.

Suddenly, her heel stumbled on the uneven ground, causing her to twist awkwardly and fall backwards on soft sand. Somehow she had ended up on the beach. Huh.

“Well,” she mumbled, shrugging her shoulders, “I could use a shower.”

The girl discarded her phone and heels near her feet, and staggered towards the water, fingers inching her short dress up with every step. The soft material also found a home in the sand, leaving her in her undergarments. A basic, light grey cotton piece.

The moon was out, the tide was high, and the girl didn’t hesitate to throw herself at an incoming wave, giggling the entire way down. Bad ideas seemed to be a theme for the night.

The icy water hit her like a slap to the face, sobering her up momentarily. She broke the surface with a gasp and crawled towards the shore, trying to outrun the wave pulling her back in.

What was she thinking?

There was no time to ponder the question as she lay there on the damp sand.; breathing unevenly, coughing up slight remnants of salty, alkaline water, and recovering from her near death. Only she could be so foolish.

The starry sky looked down at her, mocking her and laughing at her pathetic display. Her breathing slowly evened. Nerves slowly dissipated. The haze of alcohol began to return to her, and unfortunate timing as well because rough hands suddenly grabbed her, hoisting her up in the air.

The girl screamed only once, a short and pathetic yelp, before a piece of cloth was placed over her mouth, forcing her to inhale sweet-tasting citrus. She kicked her feet and thrashed her arms, but the person holding her was too strong. She dug her nails into calloused hands, and to no avail, for minutes later, the last of her fight left her body, rendering her limp and at her attacker’s mercy.

The world spun, and she saw black.

Yes… if only the night had ended differently indeed.

The shadowed figure watched from a distance, clenching his fist in frustration. He had been so close to the girl. Close enough to smell the trace of flowers on her skin, the wine on her breath. She was so soft under him, so pliant. He couldn’t help but want another taste.

He huffed and puffed, trying his best to not reveal himself in his anger. It was too late now, and all he could do was stare as her limp body was covered with a towel and slung over the shoulder of a hooded man. The man said something to his friend, who nodded and picked up the girl’s discarded clothes.

The shadow could do nothing but watch as his inamorata was taken for him. “Just for now,” he consoled himself. After all, the girl was promised to him, wasn’t she?

He took a step back, preparing to leave, when his eye caught on a shiny object partially hidden under the sand. He picked up the device with nimble fingers and inspected it. Notifications popped up on the screen, messages from the roommate, various reminders and emails.

He smiled as a plan formed in his mind, and retreated back to where he came from, becoming one with the darkness. That day she would become his seemed a lot closer than before.

“Soon.”

Ao3│Wattpad│Ko-fi

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