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atomicblasphemy · 3 years ago

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Can’t promise this will make sense.

But I think I’ve seen people theorize this lovely enormous andominous guy is in fact not King’s dad:

And I’m inclined to agree. I mean, Lilith does mention the island King was hatched at was ancient. So odds are he was being incubated for quite a minute and, when the time was right (which may or may not have something do with that sky window thingy or Emperor Phil’s meddling with the island innate magic), he finally hatched.

Moreover, whatever magic is used to cloak that wee island, to produce King sonic rainboom, or to animate Jean-Luc is probably of a different source to that elemental one harnessed by demons and witches from the Boiling Isles since Hooty was unable to pin down what type of demon King was, suggesting he may not even be one. (Also, on a bit of a tangent I just think that’d play nicely with the contrast between Emperor Phil’s bri’ishness and King’s more francophone tendencies).

Lastly, the carvings, the plant life, of the that Island, the fort’s architecture, the writing system, and the very fact that they managed to build what’s probably the most sophisticated bunker in any dimension would in my eyes point to two things: one, whatever civilization made the island was powerful, foreign, and is long gone; and whoever King’s dad was he was important enough a figure to justify a lot of resources being used to protect his son. And you know how monarchies are: the king is dead, long live the King. Also, we know next to nothing about the world beyond the Boiling Isles other than Eda telling the Selkidomus to hide further into sea and the fact that the Emipre has some form of navy (be it it a military of commercial one, in either case this suggest the existence of other nation with whom to wage war or engage in trade).

Now, I know, essentially, this brings nothing new to the table. But there’s to things I’d like to point which might do just that.

First and weaker evidence:

This looks like a place that has a similar origin to the Boiling Isles, but not really it.

The reason why this can hardly be called evidence is simple though: Eda was undergoing a very bad acid trip when this happened. So while that whole sequence offers a lot of insight into her psyche, that’s all you can take from highs. Everything else there has a very blurry relation with reality. I mean, I’m not even sure that figure people thought was Amity is really someone from Eda’s past or just a way her mind found to cope with the trauma from years of persecution by a fascist state on account of factors way beyond her control.

Regardless, if this is a real place (and consequently faux-Amity a real person), this would mean confirmation that lands other than the Boiling Isles do indeed exist, and on top of that would suggest at least one candidate for King’s true place of origin (and possibly of Eda’s curse, after she became Icarus she did turn into that suspicious looking scroll after all). Hopefully though, the show won’t really focus on that. I mean, just look at how the show sidelined Willow this season then just imagine what the sheer amount of lore this would imply would do, especially considering how short the run time ahead of us is.

But hey, I don’t even know why I’m speculating on all this and seeing how given what we know pretty much all bets are off... so you know... no harm, no foul.

Anyhow. as I briefly mentioned before whoever the lovely guy (fig. 1) is, he seems pretty huge. And that’s actually quite important. Because there is one physically big (to fit her big heart ofc) with a very unclear backstory that the show seems to bring up only when strictly necessary. This lovely gal:

The one on the left.

The reason why I point this out is: I like her and want to see more of her; her backstory was left deliberately hanging after her second appearance; what we do know about her is that she was part of the “staff of a giant” some thousands of years ago; she’s takes care of palismen which put her in a collision course with Emperor Phil; I like her and want to see more of her.

Now, those second and third points are important because as previously stated that guy (fig. 1) is buff. And so was that other figure portray on King’s forts walls. Maybe enough to call them giants (we don’t know what their growth limit is), but not so much to be a Titan. If there’s really a kinship relationship between them and King, then we should probably expect him to undergo a growth spurt, maybe not one of continental proportions, but still a growth spurt.

Anyway, not only that, but Luz (the one on the right in fig. 3) did offer to help Bat Queen find out more about her past, and the offer probably still stands. Meaning that the show writers have this avenue open, and if she really was King’s dad’s palisman then that make her the most poised one to give him the insight he needs on his past (and that his dad is, most likely, long gone, making his story pretty much like Luz’s and Eda’s in the sense it could be described as learning to accept what you can’t, change what you can and from that forge a self you can actually like). Not only that, but this would make her have a deeper connection with Luz’s camp against Emperor Phil, giving her chance to avenge all the palismen he ate over the years (which as of now she’s probably not aware of).

Also, if all of that is the case and King’s civilization is as ancient as Lilith suggested that’d probably mean she is among the oldest palismen out there if not the oldest, which could offer a solution to the palistrom wood shortage problem. And it would also raise the possibility of King’s dad being the inventor of palismen or something along those lines, not sure what that’d entail and I’m into way too esoteric territory to comfort.

But on a mostly unrelated note and seeing how I’m taking a few hours to aimlessly speculate: Luz’s palisman. I’ve seen people suggesting she’d pick all sorts of different animals from bats to blue cardinals.

I just think she won’t really get a palisman at all. She will get a staff though, Hunter’s artificial one to be exact.

Here’s the thing, getting a palisman and the accompanying staff is kinda painted as this whole rite of passage from witchling to witchhood so to speak. Meaning that from that point on they are a witch, a part of the Isles. A huge commitment for a human to make, and her character’s whole subtext thus far this season has been a balancing act between her human past and her magical future, culminating in the promise she makes to Camila.

That’s why the Bat Queen (fig. 3) calls her out on her insecure, tentative response when pushed to state her purpose to the potential palismen - even if covered by her usual upbeat presentation (that girl’s mind is a storm right now, poor child). In other words, for good reason, she sees getting a palisman as too much of a commitment, implying certain sacrifices (her link with the human world) she is not ready to make.

On the other hand, she found in the Boiling Isles everything she was missing in the human realm. She was accepted there, she has a family, friends, and a girlfriend now, all of whom see her as a cherished part of their lives as much as they are of hers. She belongs in the Isles, she belongs in the human realm, and those two are on equal measure to her.

That’s a pretty tough place for some who just started learning who she is - I mean, she is 14 after all. And as of the place that the show left after Yesterday’s Lie, there’s really nowhere she can say to her self that she belongs to.

However, since we are apparently getting a Hunter redemption either way because that’s what popular media is now, every story has a quota of redemption arcs to fill (preferably of officials of monstrous regimes, but i digress) him and Luz could form a sort of parallel. If, as certain sects of the fandom believes, he is a clone of Emperor Phil’s brother (Bob, that’s his name), that’d make them along with Phil himself the characters with the closest connection to the human. Phil is the one pulling the strings so I can’t really tell what the parallels there would be other than some kind of “what if Luz had less of a moral center to her”. That’s not the interesting parallel though.

By the way, obviously, this whole word soup’s validity depends on the Emperor being either Phil, Bob, or some derivation. I know the show hasn’t made it quite canon just yet but I mean, come on, they’ve been throwing so many bones at this theory that we could build a skeleton army.

You see, Hunter’s staff is great symbol of the relationship he has with Phil. Something that symbolizes that, the way things are, seeing how he is a magicless witch in magicful world, his only way to truly be a part of the world and of society, the only way he can have a sense of belonging is through Phil, it is through the magic he provides via the staff’s artificial magic.

Moreover, if Phil being human ever comes out, and that Hunter is Bob’s clone, then Hunter would have this delightfully existential question to answer: “Who the fuck am I then?”

Essentially, he’ll be in a similar mind space as Luz buuuut their ways out of that are opposite. In order to make a self for himself the first thing he has to do is to sever his connection with Phil and reaffirm what he wants to do with his life (wild magic). And now he has the means to do just that, he has a staff and a palisman (made of wild magic) of his own, he doesn’t necessarily needs the artificial one anymore. A way he can cut that connection is by giving his old staff to Luz.

From Luz’s point of view that would solve her own existential problem, this staff, made with artificial magic - thus suiting the existence of a human in this magical world - would allow her to either/or conundrum: she can be a witch AND a human. She hasn’t gone through that rite of passage, so she didn’t forgo her humanity (in a metaphorical sense, of course). But she was given, from possibly her biggest enemy, tangible proof that she has a place in the Isle, not by birth, but because she made one for herself through the relationships and bonds she formed, through the way she changed people’s lives just being there and being herself. It isn’t a complete solution, but it is a compromise between those too sides of her being

That leaves that piece of palistrom wood Eda gave Luz out of the equation. What the show would try to do with it is anyone’s guess. But I think something along the lines of “Willow finds out a way to replenish the palistrom wood forests, she needs Luz’s branch to do it, Luz gives it to her out of a sense of moral obligation but is torn about it since she feels she’s giving up her chance at having a staff” would be pretty neat. You know, building up a bit of dramatic tension and whatnot.

Anyway, that’s it. Word soup’s over.

#THE OWL HOUSE #toh hunter #King's dad #King Clawthorne #Willow Park #Luz Noceda #phillip wittebane #edalyn clawthorne #bat queen #lilith clawthorne

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3hobbitsinatrenchcoat · 3 years ago

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Heavens Look Down

An Owl House Fanfic for @howthemabelshaveturned - Crossposted to AO3

We had a little owl house exchange on discord and this was a lot of fun to write, though whoops my resurfacing Tolkien fixation is showing in the syntax XD

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“They’re different back home”

Amity tilted her head to look at her friend – her Girlfriend, her PARTNER, they’d only been together a day and she was still disbelieving – her dearest friend, stretched out beside her on a little patch of cliff they’d claimed for their own.

Laying out on a soft blanket and staring up at the stars had seemed like such a good idea after the chaos of Hooty’s “Tunnel of Love” but now, looking at Luz’s pensive expression, Amity wasn’t so sure.

She rolled fully onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow to gaze down at Luz, a frown tugging at her lips. She wanted to ask so many things – was afraid to ask so many things – that at first she wasn’t sure what was going to come out of her mouth. Would she ask if Luz regretted it, staying behind? If Luz missed home more than she wanted to be with Amity? If she would leave Amity behind someday for more familiar sights? If, if, if…

Instead she surprised herself by quietly asking “Tell me about them?” and reaching out to gently turn Luz’s face towards her.

Well, she tried to reach out, but halfway there she snatched her hand back, feeling a flush spill over her traitor face. Luz glanced at her, her own cheeks pink, before her eyes skittered away again.

“They’re just different, a lot of things are, but the stars sometimes seem… I’m not sure,” said Luz, waving one hand at the sky. “I know that seems weird since I’m the only human here and everything is new and different but stars are one of those things that don’t ever change, you know?”

Amity did know, she’d spent many nights staring up at the open expanse of sky, wondering at how it shifted little by little and yet she could always find her favorites. It was calming to look up and see Titan’s Eye looking back or the edge of Sickle Staff swinging low across the horizon. She couldn’t imagine gazing into the glittering darkness and seeing nothing familiar.

With a sigh, she settled back down on the blanket, hesitating a moment before scooting closer to Luz. When Luz made no attempt to move away, Amity squirmed closer still until she was curled against her girlfriend’s side.

Luz, for her part, froze for a moment before making a strangled sound in the back of her throat and pulling the loose corner of the blanket over her flaming face. A long, tense silence hung in the air before Luz spoke, a little muffled by the blanket.

“Its… hard to tell you about them without showing them,” she said, hand tapping against Amity’s side as she reached down and laced her fingers through Amity’s own. “A lot of them are myths, at least… the ones I can regularly find.”

She huffed out a sigh and then coughed as she got a mouthful of blanket instead of air on the intake. Struggling to sit up, she somehow managed without releasing Amity’s hand, and then stared out to sea, a wistful expression on her face.

“Show me then,” Amity said, and her voice was very nearly a whisper. She too sat up, though a bit more gracefully than her companion, and pulled a notebook out of her pocket. “I want to see what your stars look like.”

Luz didn’t look her direction, and laughed a little hollowly. “How? I can’t get back home, so how can I take you to see my stars?”

Amity rolled her eyes. “You’re a witch, aren’t you?” She bumped the notebook against Luz’s arm and repeated herself. “Tell me about them.”

It wasn’t a question this time.

Still bright red high on her cheeks, Luz took the notebook with a small laugh. She thought for a moment and then started sketching out glyphs, complicated things that Amity did not understand but longed to learn. Under her fingers, lights began to rise from the pages, filling the air around them with dancing and unfamiliar constellations.

Amity thought Luz might be showing off a bit with how far she’d come with her glyphwork, for they weren’t just the pinprick outline of stars, but ghostly shapes filling the spaces between. She didn’t mind a bit of showing off though, Luz deserved the admiration.

With the stars came stories, fables Amity had never heard. Orion the hunter and the imprisoned queen Cassiopeia, bears and vessels full of cool water. The bright northern star that guided the lost.

After that though, Luz stumbled and the lights started winking out, one by one. Amity, who had shifted so her head lay in Luz’s lap, reached up to cup her girlfriend’s cheek and this time her hand shook but she did not draw it back. Luz leaned into her touch, eyes fluttering shut with the last light.

“Those are the ones I remember the shape of,” she said, voice cracking. “I could always find Orion’s belt above the trees, and from there it was easy. I just….” she swallowed and Amity could feel her tremble. “I don’t remember the rest. What if I eventually forget these? I love it here, with you, but I don’t want to forget home.”

“You won’t. I won’t let you.” Amity said, and she meant every word even as her heart hammered in her chest. “I’ll make you tell me everything about your world. And then, when we figure out how to get you back… I want to go with you.”

“What?”

Her heart was in her throat but Amity forged onward. “I want to see your stars, Luz. I want…” she stopped and licked her dry lips, eyes darting away from Luz’s own startled ones. “They make you smile and…” She wasn’t brave enough to say it yet, she felt, but she wanted to see anything that made Luz smile in that wistful way she’d had when telling her stories.

Instead she merely screwed her eyes shut and said, “I… I like your smile.”

There was a long pause, and Amity thought she’d misspoken but then Luz quietly said, “You’d really go with me?”

Not trusting her voice, Amity nodded. Even if it meant she couldn’t come back, she knew she’d go with Luz. She’d known for a while, but it had never seemed as real as it did now, under a mix of familiar and unfamiliar stars.

There was a sniff, and Amity’s eyes flew open to see Luz beaming down at her, tears welling in her eyes.

“I’d really like that,” she said, leaning down to press her forehead against her girlfriend’s. “I can’t wait to show you my stars.”

#the owl house #owl house spoilers #post episode s02e08 knock knock knockin on hooty's door #lumity #stargazing #my writing #gift fic #howthemabelshaveturned

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pizzaboat · 4 years ago

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I kinda wrote a mom eda fic, cause I wanted to try writing. This is like the first fic I've ever writen so keep in mind it's not gonna be perfect.. but I'm happy how it turned out.. so here!

Some honesty before breakfast

To say Eda had noticed something off with her apprentice, would be an understatement.

Luz's cheery attitude had all but disappeared for the past two days, and instead had been replaced with a quite sadness that followed the girl wherever she went in the house. Her smiles seemed forced, never quite reaching her eye's, lacking the warmth and joy they usually had.

Eda knew she should have seen this coming, the slow change in luz's demeanour. The portal had been destroyed a month ago, but she'd been too caught up in mourning the loss of her magic, processing the cluster fuck that had been the last few months and adjusting to her older sister taking up residency in her shed, she hadn't noticed.

She should have acted sooner.

Because Eda now watched Luz half heartedly engage in her and King's infamous and dreaded "comedy hour" with all the enthusiasm of Lilith on hooty's cleaning day.

"Luz, you're not paying attention!" King whined, "my food puns are genius, and not even a smirk!

"Come on, this is some of my best material!" The tiny demon added, dropping what was left of his toast onto his plate.

"Sorry king, I was paying attention" Luz assured pushing her untouched breakfast away "I was just thinking as well, that's all.."

"Sounds like not paying attention to me" He grumbled.

Sounds like a terrible cover up.

Eda finished the last of her Appleblood, pushed away from the counter she was leaning on and picked King up earning a "nyee" from him as she placed him on the floor.

"why don't you go play with your army of dolls or something?" Eda told him.

"They're my army of darkness!" He corrected "and its not playing, it's scheming. machinating if you will"

"Whatever, go do that. I need to talk to Luz" She sighed.

Luz shifted in her seat, and went to leave.

"Actually, I have a ton of homework so-"

"Nope" Eda cut the girl off "you stay, king go" she ordered

King muttered something about world domination as he scurried off, and Luz and Eda were left alone of the kitchen.

"So.. is this about potions delivery's?" Luz asked "because I know I haven't been doing the deliveries alot lately and-"

"Kid, what?-no, that isn't what this is about"

Luz fidgeted with the string of her hoody "then, what is this about?"

"You tell me, you've been acting weird lately- well weirder than usual" Eda said, taking Kings seat at the table and pushing his leftovers aside.

"Its not that big a deal, really" Luz said, but the waver in her voice betrayed her.

Titan help her.

Eda sighed and rubbed her eyes "Look, I'm not an idiot kid, I know somethings up, and I know the past month has been rough. For everyone"

And here comes the emotional mush..

"I know it can't be easy" Eda continued, trying to choose her next words carefully.

"Living under the same roof as Lilith after what's happened, or adjusting to all this crap, the portal door being destroyed.."

Titan she had no clue what she was doing. How do you comfort people?

"But I want you to know that whatever the problem is, I'm here to help. it matters if it upsets you" Eda told her "and I'll be hexed if I'll let my kid suffer in silence"

"So what's bothering you?"

They sat there for a moment. Eda wasn't sure if her lackluster attempt at reassurance had helped the girl, she searched Luz's face for any signs of what she might be thinking.

Finally, Luz let out in a shakey breath "I miss my mom"

Ah, shit. Of course, the poor kid missed her mother. She really should have guessed that.

"I destroyed the door, to stop belos and- and to save you" Luz's voice cracked " but I miss her.. y'know? .. when things would go wrong back home, she was always there, she knew what to do..." Tears started well in her eyes and spill out onto her cheeks.

Luz sucked in a breath of air " I don't know what to do..the doors gone, and it's my fault and she's probably really worried about me, and its MY fault.

"Im scared I'll never see her again. Eda, I miss my home. I miss my mom"

Of course. None of this was Luz's fault though. Not really. It was Eda's. She was the adult and should have sent her home that first day. But she was selfish and now Luz was paying the price.

"I don't regret saving you though" She continued, and Eda blinked in surprise.

"Leaving you guys behind was never an option. being here with you and King.. its kinda like home here too" Another shakey breath.

"I know I shouldn't complain 'cause I did this to my self but-" Luz's voice cut off and gave way to sobbing.

Eda didn't know how it happened but she found herself at the other side of the table, wrapping Luz up in one of those "parallel arm" things.

She scooped the girl up easily and sat her on her lap, holding her close as Luz continued to cry. This poor kid, who'd brought so much light into Eda's life, Changed it for the better, magic be damned, was suffering and there was no way in hell Eda was going to stand back and watch her blame herself.

Luz had given up everything.

In one of the few times where Eda felt compeled to do the right thing, Eda vowed to herself she'd make this right.

"Luz" The witch said with a softness that surprised herself "None of this is your fault, it's OK to be upset"

"it's my fault not yours, I want- no. need you to know that. I'm gonna fix this. I'll find a way to get you back home, and you'll be able to see your mom again" she said, stroking her hair.

"I promise"

Luz looked up from where she had her head buried in Eda's sweater, her eyes were red rimmed and puffey. Luz rubbed at her eyes, and sniffed.

"You promise?" Luz asked, voice horse.

Eda nodded, brushing some of luz's hair back, fixing it.

"I promise, and that's a promise from the most powerful witch on the boiling Isles, kiddo. it's a big deal, infact you should feel kinda honoured"

Luz laughed. And there it was. That smile that had been missing for so long. Eda wasn't going to let anything happen to it again.

"I kind of ruined your sweater" Luz said apologetically as she pulled away.

Eda looked down at her sweater. yep. Human snot. Gross as all hell.

"Don't worry about it, I didn't like the sweater anyway"

Yes she did.

Luz jumped off of Eda's lap "how do you feel now?" Eda asked

"better" Luz smiled, rubbing her eyes still.

"Good, I can't have my apprentice's in emotional distress" eda smirked "it'd be bad for business"

"I'm your only apprentice" Luz shot back grinning.

"details" Eda waved her hand dismissively.

Eda looked at her now. She wasn't crying anymore, which was good. Eda could still see residual tears, but Luz was smiling, no matter how small it was, she was actually smiling again, and that was what mattered.

A loud definitive gurgle sounded through out the room.

"I never ate breakfast" Luz whispered sheepishly.

Luz turned back to her breakfast cereal to see it had long since turned to disgusting mush in the bowl.

"i'll eat something else.." She decided heading towards the cupboards.

Eda had an idea.

"We could make something"

Luz perked up.

"Really?!"

"I mean, yeah why not?" Eda shrugged " I haven't eaten yet and-"

"Can we make pancakes?!" The girl asked with barely contained excitement "I can dress King up in a little chefs outfit, and we could have pancakes!"

"Um.."

"I have so much prep work to do!" Luz exclaimed as she dashed out the door.

"Kid!" Eda called

"Yeah?" Luz popped her head back in the door.

"Don't forget that if your ever worried about anything at all, you can talk to me. I meant what I said, I'm here to help"

"I know, thanks Eda. I love you" and she was gone.

Eda blinked.

"I love you too, Luz"

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drabbles-of-writing · 4 years ago

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Be Alright

This is part of my Four Years AU

AO3

Masterpost

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Luz was never known to be overly cautious.

She was reckless, impulsive, and an overall disaster of a human.

Titan, Amity loved her.

It was almost routine at this point, how it would go. Luz would jump into oncoming danger, others would (sometimes) follow, and she’d limp out with a big grin and a cheer about how she’d shown them, whether or not she’d actually won. It was no surprise that Amity had taken up healing as a secret secondary track.

It was always a gamble how things would go. Sometimes Luz would only have a few scratches, other times she’d be clinging to consciousness by a thread, moments away from breaking Eda’s house rule of nobody jeopardizing the rebellion by going to a public hospital.

But they usually had it handled. Luz would bounce back with twice the enthusiasm, even if her scars told a different story.

Despite all of this, Amity knew she’d never get used to seeing a scar in the making.

“Who brought fireworks?”

“Ed!”

“Worth it!”

Explosions rung out, painting the emptying Night Market in scattered debris and bright flashes. Amity ducked under a broken roof, cursing as another explosion sounded off further away, accompanied with whoops and cheers.

“It’s a miracle none of them are dead yet,” Came a hiss from beside her.

She whirled around, relaxing when she saw it was just Willow appearing by her hiding place, vines wrapped all along her arms. Out of everyone, Amity was sure she would come out the most unscathed.

“I’m convinced Eda’s already died a few times,” Amity said, tilting her head to the sounds of explosions. “But she keeps coming back. My bet’s that she’s on life seven now.”

“That would explain a lot,” Willow agreed, peering out of their hiding place. “Dawns breaking, we should get out of here.” She added, raising her head.

“Already?” Amity lifted her head as well, seeing that, indeed, there was light seeping around the Market.

“Think you can wrangle Luz without setting more things on fire?” Willow asked, glancing at her with a smirk.

“If anyone is going to set things on fire, it’s Luz.” Amity said matter-of-factly, wincing as she heard shouts and a crash from elsewhere in the Market. “I can promise my best,” She said simply.

“That’s the best I could ask for,” Willow chuckled, stepping out of their hiding place. “Good luck.”

“I’ll need it,” Amity muttered, peering around the debris as she heard another explosion sound off. “Titan knows who she's going to piss off this time.”

Amity felt like she shouldn’t have been surprised.

And yet, she still felt a wave of exhaustion just finding situations like these.

Luz stood atop a pile of debris, swinging her staff like a club and knocking it against the heads of those in the Night Market who had stayed to attempt to fight her and the rest of the Owl House residents. Aside from a few scrapes and cuts to her hands and cloak, she wasn’t any worse for wear. Even her owl mask was relatively intact.

Eda was somewhere at the bottom of the pile with King, also giving their attackers a hard time. Amity was almost about to be surprised at how tame Luz was being...before she combined a firework and ice glyph and shot it towards an attacker, flinging them back with an explosion and into a busted stand with a gleeful cheer.

Amity sighed and calmly summoned a regular sized abomination, sending it off behind her towards other assailants that had assumed she couldn’t hear them approaching. In boots covered in metal. Honestly, she wondered how nobody had caught them yet.

Luz swung her staff at a different demon, grinning as she turned and scanned the area. Near instantly, her eyes landed on Amity, who was a good few meters away from her trash pile.

“Hey, Ams!” Luz shouted across the battleground, frantically waving her hand, her smile somehow growing.

Amity couldn’t help but return a smile of her own, her ears flicking back as her features softened.

There was a bark behind her and she snapped out of it, glancing back as Barcus ran by, giving her a tired look.

“Oh don’t you start,” Amity warned, flashing a fang.

Barcus rolled his eyes and rushed off around a broken stand vanishing from sight. Though the sounds of yelling from those of the Night Market confirmed he was still as much in the fight as everyone else.

“Hey,”

Amity yelped at the sudden noise by her ear and spun around, almost falling over before an arm holding a staff hooked around her back and stopped her falling.

“Oops,” Luz smiled sheepishly, her head hovering over Amity’s as her shoulders hunched. While the top half of her face was hidden by her mask, the eyes were very expressive. “Sorry, wrong time for surprises?”

“That’s not going to stop you,” Amity grumbled, getting to her feet as Luz pulled her staff back and thumped the blunt end against the ground. “I was just with Willow, we need to--”

Luz’s head tilted away from Amity’s face for barely a moment before she withdrew a fire glyph from her sleeve and activated it. She chucked it right by Amity’s head, almost grazing her ear.

Amity turned barely half a second later, watching as the fire glyph made contact with a demon trying to sneak up on them. This one hadn’t worn metal boots and Amity hadn’t heard them approaching. Smart. She’d see if she could get the Emperor's Coven to help her arrest that one.

“Sorry about that, you were saying?” Luz said, looking right back down at Amity. She assumed so, at least. The eyes of her mask were more like pale circles than actual eyeholes.

“The Coven, Luz.” Amity said, also unphased. “It’s dawn, the Coven will be here soon. You know how they like to come early to catch people trying to flee the Night Market.”

“Aren’t you also in the Emperor’s Coven?” Luz reminded, unconcerned. “Can’t you make them leave or something?”

“I’m the leader of my small, and remarkably passive,” Amity enunciated, ignoring explosions sounding off. “Group of the Emperor’s Coven. They don’t come here. Other guards do. I have absolutely no power here.”

“I wouldn’t call Archie breaking Jerbo’s nose passive,”

“Oh you have not seen the kind of guards they have by the Toes.”

“Shame,” Luz leaned against her staff. “Perhaps you could show me sometime?” She asked, the eyes of her mask moving in a sort of eyebrow wiggle.

“Luz,” Amity sighed, clasping the palms of her hands together and pressing it against her nose as she mentally reeled herself in to keep her composure. “Asking me on a date in the middle of a battle is bordering on impressively bold and tacky, which is a line I didn’t know even existed.”

“What can I say? I like making new lines.” Luz beamed widely. “Does this mean I can keep kicking in teeth?” She asked hopefully.

“Absolutely not,” Amity crossed her arms. “I just said the Coven is going to arrive. Do you want to explain to the rebellion you need another prison breakout because nearly everyone here got captured for not leaving?”

“Tell you what,” Luz said, passing her staff to her other hand. “You can grab everyone who’d rather not be here when the Coven arrive while Eda and I finish up here.” She suggested casually.

“Luz you're going to get captu--”

“Oi, there she is!”

Luz and Amity calmly turned their heads, spotting that over the crest of the fallen stands, with the sunrise behind them, was a small band of demons and witches. A little less than a dozen or so. They all looked a little beat up, but many still sported a decent amount of weapons and, likely, magic.

“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” Amity groaned, leaning her head back.

“Well, since we’re already here…” Luz said, nudging her shoulder. “I mean, it's pretty bad form to back down from a challenge…”

Amity, ignoring the gang approaching them (who clearly thought they had the high-ground at were taking their sweet time, the idiots), gave Luz a half-hearted glare. Luz was still giving her a hopeful look, giddy with excitement. And Amity had to admit, it had been a while since they’d fought an enemy on the same side. Publicly, at least.

“Fine,” Amity relented, sagging as Luz perked up. “But as soon as they’re gone we are leaving.”

“As you wish, Miss Blight.” Luz said with a low, dramatic bow, mocking the title Amity’s Coven would give her.

“Only you could get away with that,” Amity muttered, finally turning her gaze back to the group of demons and witches, who had spent the last few minutes pulling up weapons from the debris and scattering to ‘hide,’ if you could call it that.

Snowy finally decided to show up, flying around Luz before landing on the end of her staff. Luz stood from her bow and gripped her staff with two hands. Amity summoned her own, already determining where to place three different abominations in the area.

“Shall we?” Luz said, giving Amity a coy look and gesturing broadly to the approaching witches.

“Try not to get your head blown off,” Amity said casually, offering the tiniest of smiles. Luz’s staff began to glow as she took a step back and braced herself, a springboard moments away from uncoiling.

“No promises!”

It was hardly a fight.

But Luz didn’t seem to mind. She never did. She was just thrilled to be part of one.

Amity would’ve been bored were Luz not there. One could count on her to make things interesting. Granted you had no say on if it was for better or for worse.

Amity swung her staff, her abomination following and lumbering right into a cluster of demons. She had multiple up and running around, and she’d admit, it was a little tiring. But she’d done worse before, and their assailants were almost gone.

Dawn was well upon them now, the light casting long shadows. Amity had lost track of who was or wasn’t around them anymore. She figured Willow had already left, and likely dragged a few others with her. She’d get yelled at later, she knew it.

There was a holler to her left and she turned towards it, flicking her wrist to move an abomination out of the way.

A spire of ice shot up from the ground, sending three witches flying off to who-knows-where. Luz’s head popped around from behind it, laughing as Snowy flew at another witch trying to run at her. In the same movement, Luz drew a plant and lightning glyph. She threw the plant glyph at one of the larger demons around the ice spire, wrapping his arm in vines. She ran by and slapped the lightning glyph on the vines, causing them to erupt and explode as the demon yelled and bolted.

Amity shook her head, glancing at her own palisman, Fang, sitting on her staff and giving her a bored expression that could rival Willow’s.

“Hey, at least she's effective.” Amity shrugged. Fang only huffed and clung tighter to the top of her staff, melding into it until he looked like nothing more than a fancy wooden carving.

There was a crack and a shout, and Amity looked back just in time to see a demon stumble away from getting Luz’s staff whacked right into their face. Amity quickly moved an abomination towards them to get them stuck, should they try to retaliate. She did a double check on the rest of her abominations, which were thankfully beginning to drive away the remainders of their attackers and beginning to melt into the ground when they were done doing so.

“And you better stay out!” Luz shouted after a demon behind her, waving her fist in the air.

Amity was about to call out to her, but sounds of rapid footsteps grabbed her attention. She whirled around, summoning a small abomination as a shield before a witch crashed right into it. It took all of two seconds for Amity to recognize their white cloak and gray mask before she recoiled and cursed under her breath.

“Titan I hope you weren’t paying attention,” She mumbled before drawing a circle in the air. One of her other abominations turned into goo and quickly fused with the abomination in front of her, caging in the guard as they yelped and thrashed about.

Amity flicked her wrist and her abomination lumbered off, taking the guard with them.

They had run out of time.

“Luz, we gotta go!” Amity yelled, her shoulders tense as she searched for her human.

Luz had ended up a good few meters away on a slope, hollering after a few running demons. She glanced back at Amity’s shout, and seeing the worry on her face, wasn’t about to argue with her.

“Well, it was fun while it lasted.” Luz shrugged regretfully. “I suppose this is where I bid you adieu” She said, giving Amity a cheeky bow. In the same movement of her bow, she had hooked her hand into her mask and easily took it off and held it out in a hand. It was mainly for show, anyway.

Amity huffed and raised a brow, despite her amused smile. Luz lifted her head slightly and gave a teasing wink before standing back to her feet.

The witch, who hadn’t paid attention to anything else going on, saw a sudden movement from behind Luz. She could only process the mild annoyance at having to patch up another bruise on Luz before she spoke.

“Behind y--”

In barely a second, the demon behind Luz wrapped an arm in front of her and tugged her back, startling the human. In the same moment, before any of them could react, they brought up their other talon. There was the flash of a blade between their fingers before said blade was jabbed straight into Luz’s throat.

Amity froze. Luz froze. Everything seemed to go still. The blade was dug high up on Luz’s neck, blood already coating the object and beginning to leak around the demon's claws. Blood trickled down Luz’s neck and began to stain the collar of her shirt.

And, just as fast as it froze, time snapped back at a jolting speed.

There was a shriek overhead and a dash of white. Snowy reappeared and slammed her body into the demon's face, flashing her talons and screeching. The demon threw the blade to the side, yelping and stumbling back to try and throw off the palisman.

Blood gushed from Luz’s neck, and upon finally being released, the human gasped as her hand flew up to her wound. She stumbled, having nothing holding her up. Her knees shook and buckled, sending her tumbling to the ground, still grasping at her neck.

Amity could only stare, her eyes wide and pupils so narrowed they practically vanished. She visibly flinched and broke out of her state when Luz’s body hit the ground.

“Luz!” She screamed. A scratchy, shrill sound that even Amity didn’t know she was capable of.

She was running before the name was out of her mouth. She suddenly knew what tunnel vision was like. Her focus was solely on Luz, collapsed on the ground. Her feet seemed to hook and stumble against every little pebble as she rushed up the slope, her heart in her ears. Everything else was fuzzy and irrelevant, and they faded into background noise.

Amity was at Luz’s side far too soon and still too late for her liking. She stared down at her, her throat going dry.

Luz was gasping and pressing both hands to her throat, whether it was due to the pain or some part of her conscious enough to try and stop the blood flow, she couldn't tell. Blood pooled out, creating almost a sort of halo around her head.

But her eyes, oh Titan her eyes.

They were blown wide, and were so white it looked almost unnatural. Her pupils had shrunk to sizes that she’d learned from Luz should not be physically possible for humans. A constant side-effect of shots she had gotten years ago.

Her eyes stared off into nothing, glazed but still so full of pure, unbridled terror. Luz was not someone who was scared easily, and seeing such an unmasked horror from her was nothing short of unsettling. Her eyes darted about as she wheezed for air, and she looked as though she couldn’t tell where she was.

Then those eyes landed on Amity.

Her face barely changed, although her eyes did. Her pupils dilated, ever so slightly. She locked those eyes with Amity as she gurgled through the blood bubbling in her throat. Amity could see her own petrified, still expression reflected back at her in those eyes. She was like a deer in the headlights, and she could feel her hands going numb.

One of Luz’s hands left her wound and she reached out, coated and dripping with blood as her fingers grazed Amity’s pant leg, weakly trying to grab at her.

Finally, though now that she looks back, the entire experience probably only lasted a few seconds, Amity snapped out of her trance.

“Luz,” Amity’s voice cracked, startlingly quiet as she dropped to her knees.

She panicked, and she knew she was. She looked over Luz rapidly as she wracked her brain for what to do. She knew healing magic, for Titan’s sake!

Instead, all she could think of to do was to press down on Luz’s throat, taking over as her girlfriends own hands started to shake and fall. Her eyelids drooped slightly and Amity felt a violent spike of fear at the sight.

“Viney,” Amity croaked, shaking her head as she wrapped an arm around Luz and pulled her closer, placing her head on her lap in some feeble attempt to elevate the wound, even though that wouldn’t do anything for a neck wound because of course it wouldn’t.

“Viney, Viney!” Amity cried, raising her head and frantically looking around the debris and dying--wrong word--chaos around her. “Where’s Viney?” She yelled pitifully, tightening her hold on Luz.

Yes, Viney could help. She was a far better healer than Amity. She’d healed bad injuries all the time. She just needed Viney and everything would be fine.

“Where are you?” Amity wailed, her panic rising to near hysteria as she searched the area with blurry, tear-filled eyes. She wasn’t sure who specifically she was calling for now. “Please, please she…”

Amity risked a glance down at Luz. She was now breathing through laboured breaths, raspy and shaking like a building that was about to collapse. Her eyelids were droopy, but she was stubbornly keeping them open as she lightly tried to hold her hands against her neck.

“There you guys are! What--”

Amity jerked her head up, pulling Luz closer to her chest as her ears dipped low.

Eda.

It was Eda. She was going to be okay. They were going to be okay.

Eda faltered, her confused, but still cocky, grin falling as she looked over Amity. Sitting on her knees, covered in blood that wasn’t her own, holding Luz like she was going to slip away from her at any moment.

“Kid!” Eda exclaimed, rushing forward and skidding to her knees so fast she likely cut them up as she grabbed Luz.

Amity was too numb to stop her, letting Eda take her as she stared off. Eda turned Luz over, sharply inhaling at the sight and her pupils narrowing and ears flicking back. Amity felt selfish for being glad that Eda had to see this, too. Because now Eda could take Luz, and she’d be fine, and tomorrow this day would be a funny story they’d tell the rebellion on a slow day.

Snowy had shown up again, though Amity couldn’t remember when. She had landed beside Eda, chirping and flapping her wings frantically as Eda scooped up Luz in her arms. She stood, momentarily forgetting about Amity as she yelled words the younger witch could no longer make out.

Her vision became splotchy and her ears felt fuzzy. Everything felt like a blur, and she was barely aware of being lifted off the ground. But she could still acutely hear the frantic beating of her heart and feel the stickiness of the blood drying on her clothes and hands.

When Amity finally came to, she was in the Owl House.

It wasn’t a consciousness she eased into, but rather was jerked out of by nothing in particular. She simply suddenly snapped up, her eyes shiny with emotion again as she looked around.

She was sitting on the couch, and Lilith was beside her, obviously lost in thought. Willow, Barcus and Gus were the only ones in the room, all of them sitting on the floor around the table in front of the couch.

She felt something warm in her hands and looked down, realizing she was holding a cup of tea. Lilith must’ve made it, considering how obsessed she was. Likely one of the kinds that helped keep her calm, she used those a lot.

She stared at her hands in fascination, seeing that they were no longer covered in blood. And for a moment, she thought she’d imagined it all.

But if she looked closely, she could still see the small bits and splatters of dried red liquid on the back of her hands. And when she looked down at herself, she saw that while her cloak and extra layers had been removed, her pant legs were still covered in dried blood and her shirt had specks of it that had soaked through.

Amity felt like she was going to be sick.

“Are you back?”

She blinked, forcing her eyes away from herself as she looked to the coffee table in front of her. Gus was sitting next to it, leaning his arms on it. He was looking at her now, face full of concern.

“Come--” Amity stopped and cleared her throat, hating how strained it sounded. “Come again?”

“You, um,” Gus gestured to his face with his hand. “Had a bit of a...gone look, for a while. You just, I dunno, you were…” He shook his head and swallowed. “H-how are you doing?”

He was nervous, clearly so. And seeing Gus as such did little to ease her own nerves. At least it was only nervousness, Amity wasn’t sure how she’d react if he was full-blown freaking out.

“I…” Amity blinked a few times, trying to get her mind in order. She was aware of everyone else in the room looking up towards her. “I’m--I’m fine.” She said, looking down at her hands again before sharply turning away. Right, the blood.

“Where, where’s Luz?” She asked, looking around the room. She tried to push down the growing feeling of unease, she didn’t trust herself not to hurl if she thought about it too much.

“She’s upstairs,” Lilith said, frowning slightly. “You saw Eda carry her up there with Viney.”

“I-I did?” Amity said, staring at her mentor.

“Yeah, you wanted to go with them.” Gus nodded, looking increasingly worried. “You don’t remember? You were freaking out and Willow had to calm you down.”

Amity turned to Willow at that, like just looking at her would suddenly explain everything. Willow was sitting at the other end of the coffee table, looking tired. That was nothing new, but her looking ready to fall asleep where she sat wasn’t. She met Amity’s gaze with exhaustion, cringing slightly and glancing away.

“Oh,” Amity said, gripping her cup of tea a little tighter. “I...I don’t remember that.” She said, shrinking in on herself. “Is Luz okay?” She asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Nobody met her gaze. Aside from Barcus, who lay underneath the table, for some reason. He met her gaze for a moment before his ears flicked back and he growled something under his breath.

“I’m going to check on her,” Amity said, pushing back the way it felt like her heart dropped as she sharply put her cup down on the table and stood up.

Her head felt dizzy as she did so, and it didn’t help that everyone started talking over each other as soon as Amity spoke. She stumbled for a moment before Lilith grabbed her shoulder and awkwardly pushed her back onto the couch.

“Absolutely not,” She said sternly. “We barely got you cleaned up, and still need to get you out of that.” She said, gesturing to the stained clothes Amity still bore. “Eda only took her up there a few minutes ago, we were simply catching our breath before you came to, it's why not everyone is here yet.”

“I know healing magic!” Amity protested, shrugging off Lilith’s hand. “I can help Viney.” She said, getting up again.

“You are in no condition to help Luz right now,” Lilith insisted, getting up just as quickly and lightly touching Amity’s arm as she stood in front of her. “Not after all that.” She said, her voice softening.

“What would you know?” Amity growled, more harshly than she meant. “You weren’t there. Nobody here was!” She hissed, resisting the urge to throw her hands in the air.

“No, we weren’t.” Lilith agreed, and the fact Lilith had done so with no argument had Amity shutting her mouth instantly. “But Eda told us where she found you, and judging from how you reacted and looked when they brought you back, I highly doubt seeing Luz in her current state is going to help anyone.”

Amity wanted to protest, she really did. She wanted to shove Lilith aside and storm up to wherever Luz was and do all she can to make her look up at her with eyes that didn’t get burned into her mind like a nightmare and a smile that didn’t have blood gushing out of it. But she knew she’d never make it far. Lilith was stubborn, and Willow would surely help keep Amity downstairs. There was no fighting Willow.

And, if she were honest with herself, she doubted she’d be able to do anything, anyway. Eda was probably already panicking, and the mere thought of seeing Luz laying on a cot with bandages around her neck and curled into a ball made her knees feel close to giving out.

“Luz will be okay,” Lilith continued, moving her hand up from Amity’s arm to the shoulder. “Viney said the blade entered too high,” She explained. “It didn’t hit any main arteries. She’s made it through a lot, this’ll be barely any different.” She assured, giving a tense smile.

If Amity had the energy, she’d argue that the fact everyone was anxiously waiting around didn’t exactly give any good signs. But right now, she wanted to do anything but dwell on today.

“Come on,” Willow said, pushing herself to her feet. “I have spare clothes here, we should get you out of that mess,” She said, offering a hand for Amity to take.

Amity stared down at it for a moment before her shoulders slumped and she took it, letting Willow guide her out of the living room. Gus and Barcus gave her pitying looks as they left through the door by the stairs.

“I’m sorry,” Amity mumbled, bringing her free hand close to her chest, where it was currently fisted. “I didn’t get her out of there in time, I humored her and now--”

“Hey,” Willow said sharply, turning around and narrowing her eyes. “I know how Luz is, this isn’t your fault.” She said, lowering her head so she could keep eye contact with Amity. “Something like this was bound to happen, anyway.” She mumbled bitterly.

“But I…” Amity trailed off, her throat feeling dry as she broke away from Willow’s gaze and glue her gaze to the ground, her hands trembling.

“It’s alright,” Willow said, gently squeezing her hand. “Luz will be fine, and so will you. Knowing her, she’d probably fight the Bat Queen herself if you so much as said you vaguely missed her.” She added, trying to joke.

“I know,” Amity said, looking up as her ears flicked down. “And that's what scares me.”

Amity was on her fifth cup of tea when the door to the Owl House had opened.

Barely an hour had passed, with no word from anyone upstairs. Barcus insisted that if Eda wasn’t worrying about having to risk a hospital visit, Luz was bound to be fine.

Nobody had left the house since Luz had been whisked away, leaving none of them able to tell the others they hadn’t picked up on the way back about the situation.

So the laughing and jeering that greeted them when the door opened was a bit jarring.

“Ey, there they are!” Edric grinned, walking in as he shoulder-bumped Jerbo. “I can’t believe you guys left us!”

“Ed almost got caught by the Coven,” King said, sitting up on Jerbo’s shoulders. “I rescued him.” He added proudly, a paw on his chest.

“You did not,” Jerbo shook his head with a smile. “What was the rush? We thought you’d all been carted off to prison again.” He asked, looking around the room.

Exhausted, stricken faces greeted them. You could see the joy die from their eyes, replaced with bone-chilling worry.

“What happened?” Emira demanded, stepping in and closing the door.

“Luz got hurt,” Lilith said calmly. “Badly.” She glanced to Amity beside her, who was staring at her tea. “Amity witnessed it.” She added, quieter and full of pity.

The twins looked to each other with similar faces of fear before they rushed in, moving to crouch beside their sister. Lilith silently moved to the furthest side of the couch so Emira could sit next to Amity. Jerbo and King glanced to each other before hurrying to the others on the floor, talking in hushed tones.

“She’ll be okay,” Amity said, her eyes flickering between her siblings. “I’ve learned from you two that things often look a lot worse than they actually are.” She added with an obviously forced lighter tone, giving a small smile.

“Oh, Amity…” Edric trailed off, his ears pressing back. “What...is…”

“Wasn’t fun,” Amity said, continuing her fake tone. “I can tell you that. I think I washed my hands raw.” She said, looking down at where said rubbed-red hands were shaking as they held her cup. “She’s--” She broke off, swallowing thickly and refusing to let her voice break. “She’s with Viney and Eda.”

“If you start using humor to cope I’m going to punch you.” Emira warned, a growl forming before dying out.

“Hypocrite,�� Amity rolled her eyes, taking a sip of her tea.

“Well hey, if Viney’s with Luz, then she’s going to be up and running in barely a day.” Edric said, quickly changing the topic away from them. “She's dealt with all kinds of ridiculous injuries, especially from Em.”

“Oh your one to talk,” Emira snapped. “If Jerbo was a healer--”

“Behave,” Lilith called sharply, giving the twins a warning glare from the other side of the couch.

“Yes, mom.” Edric mumbled under his breath so she couldn’t hear.

“Hey, Luz is tough.” Emira said, wrapping an arm around Amity’s shoulders and pulling her against her side. “A little scrap will barely graze her. It’ll be a joke within hours, just you wait.”

Amity raised a hand to her neck, lightly rubbing it as she glanced to her sister, grimacing before looking away.

“It was here,” She said quietly, almost inaudible. “They got her here.”

The twins tensed. Edric squeezed Amity’s arm and she slumped, letting Emira keep her upright.

Neither of them spoke after that.

It was late afternoon when they heard the sound of footsteps on the stairs. Everyone's heads were up in a flash, waiting in bated breath.

It was Eda.

She looked drained, a hand running down her face. She paused at the doorway, looking out into the living room with anxious faces staring back at her.

“She’s okay,” Eda said, and it was like the weight of the sky had been lifted off their shoulders.

Amity almost fell off the couch by how fast and heavily she sagged in relief. Emira’s arm around her was the only thing keeping her stable.

“She’ll need rest for a few days, but Luz will be back to normal in no time.” Eda said, walking into the room. “Viney’s doing a final once over,” She added, catching Emira’s eye.

“Can we see her?” Gus asked, standing up.

“Kids exhausted, you can’t all see her at once.” Eda deadpanned. “Viney already almost bit my head off for staying that long,” She mumbled under her breath. “One at a time, and honestly, Viney might yell at you to leave her alone within the hour.”

Amity was on her feet in seconds, her cup forgotten on the table. She took a step towards the stairs before pausing and turning back to Gus.

Sure, Amity had seen what happened to Luz but...he was Luz’s friend, too. He and Willow were still her closest. And...well, she couldn’t help but feel guilty as she met his eyes.

Gus seemed to understand and smiled, sitting back down on the floor beside Willow.

“Go ahead,” He said, and Amity once again wondered how his emotions could almost flip on a dimel. “But I call seeing Luz next.” He said, looking back to the others with a joking glare that couldn’t frighten a squirrel.

“Yeah, good luck fighting for that.” Willow taunted, punching his arm as he yelped and gave a sheepish smile.

“Don’t break anything,” Amity warned, but smiled back as she nodded to her siblings and made her way to the stairs.

As she passed Eda, the witch reached out for her. Amity paused, watching her. Eda seemed to hesitate for a moment before patting her shoulder and moving away, towards where the rest of their family began to discuss who-knows-what, all the tension having left them.

Feeling a bit lighter, Amity made her way up the stairs.

She hung outside of Luz’s room for a moment, scuffing at the floor with her feet. She could hear shuffling and muffled voices through the door, and wondered the consequences of busting in when Viney was still packing up.

The door opened and Amity jumped. Viney stepped out, looking surprised for a moment before relaxing with a smile.

“You know, she was just asking to see you and the others.” She chuckled, re-situating her medical bag under her arm. “Try not to--never mind.”

Viney only shook her head as Amity pushe right by her, rushing into Luz’s room. Viney couldn’t blame her, and only shrugged and shut the door behind her.

Amity paused for a moment to take in the scene, suddenly remembering she probably should’ve mentally prepared herself better.

Luz was laying on her mattress Eda had upgraded her too, under a single sheet. She was laying on her back with one hand hanging off and brushing the floor. The other was situated on her stomach. She was still wearing her outfit from earlier, but her purple cloak had been discarded on the other side of the room, and Luz had been changed out of her surely bloodsoaked shirt. She wore one of her gray tank tops instead, and her eyes were partially closed.

For a brief, horrifying second, Amity was reminded of a corpse in an open casket.

That was, until Luz saw who had entered the room.

“Ami--” Luz’s gleeful cry was cut off by her hacking loudly, coughing as she sat up and pressed a hand to her throat.

“Are you okay?” Amity worried, rushing over and standing over Luz, reaching out a hand.

“Fine,” Luz wheezed, lifting her free hand to reassure Amity. “Voice is just gonna be off for a little while.” She said, her voice scratchy as she rubbed at her neck once before dropping her hand.

And once it moved away, Amity finally got to see the bandages wrapped tightly around her. True to Lilith’s word, they were much higher up than a typical throat-slit. On Luz, it was just below her chin, right where her neck met her head. Though it still didn’t stop Amity from wincing at the sight of the gauzes.

Luz noticed and deflated slightly. She attempted to shake it off and grabbed Amity’s hand, pulling it closer and encasing both of her hands over it. Which was an easy feat, considering they were noticeably bigger.

“I’m glad you're okay,” She said in her strained voice, looking up at Amity with a smile that the witch lingered on a moment too long to be natural.

“I’m not the one you should be worrying about,” Amity said, a little sternly as she pressed her ears back. “If anything, I should be saying that I’m glad you're okay.”

“Aw, you care.” Luz teased, sticking out her tongue. Amity gave her a half-hearted glare and she faltered, her smile falling along with her eyes.

“I just,” Luz swallowed, biting the inside of her cheek as she noticed Amity’s unease. “I’m--I remember what you looked like when I,” Luz hesitated, clearing her hoarse voice as a hole opened in Amity’s gut. “I...I was worried about you.” She mumbled, lowering her head.

Amity stared at Luz’s hunched form for a few moments. Then, tentatively, like she was expecting Luz to bolt, she lifted her other hand and stepped right to the edge of the bed. Luz spared a glimpse up as Amity wrapped her hand around Luz’s back and pulled her closer.

Luz drooped into her hold, thumping her head against Amity’s chest and squeezing her hand tighter. Amity lightly ran her hand through the hair at the base of Luz’s head, which she also rested her chin on and rocked subtly to the side, shutting her eyes.

They stayed like that for a while, letting the memories of the day roll over them before forcing it back, all in silence. Amity was sure Luz could tell she was fighting back crying again, and she knew Luz wasn’t as alright as she acted. Not from how her hands left her own and clutched tightly at the girls sides, pulling at her baggy shirt and pressing her face close.

“I was scared for you,” Luz finally broke the silence, her raspy, painful-sounding voice almost inaudible. “You looked like you’d seen the end of the world.”

“Well, I was certainly scared for you.” Amity said matter-of-factly, trying to cover up her disturbance at Luz having remembered more than she thought. “Don’t worry about it, I’m alright now.”

“That’s the worst lie I’ve ever heard in my life.”

“Oh, and you're a master at figuring out liars now?” Amity snarked, looking down at Luz and meeting Luz’s eyes, which were wonderfully normal and not full of panic.

“I’m good with you,” Luz said cheerfully in her stupid scratchy voice that Amity hated she kind of liked. “Your right ear moves when you lie, when you forget about it.”

Damnit. Edric and Emira had always remembered that tick of hers and Amity had learned to stop herself from flicking said ear whenever she was lying. But every now and again, she forgot.

“That proves nothing,” Amity said stiffly, turning her head away. “I move my ear when I’m annoyed all the time.”

“That's your left ear,” Luz said with gleeful factuality. “I noticed.” She said proudly, giving Amity an expression like she’d solved a puzzle and was looking for praise.

“That you did,” Amity mumbled, ruffling Luz’s hair so it’d fall into her eyes. She needed to cut that sometime. “You're very annoying like that.”

“Too bad I’m your annoyance,” Luz teased, giving Amity a smug wink.

“Woe is me,” Amity said in a bleak voice, laying her head on Luz’s to hide the blush creeping up her face. “I’m going to be suffering for the rest of my days.”

“C’mon, I do that all on my own--” Luz broke off in a fit of coughs, doubling over and releasing Amity.

The witch stepped back, eyes flashing with fear as got to her knees beside the bed and laid her hand on Luz’s leg. She shoved down the helpless feeling she thought would’ve been gone by now as Luz coughed and rubbed at her bandaged neck.

“Sorry,” Luz wheezed, her fit finally calming down.

“It’s alright,” Amity said, her voice quiet as well. “You should rest your voice.”

“No, I-” Luz flinched, rubbing at her neck more before shaking her head. “I’m sorry for scaring you,” She rasped. “You said we had to leave, and I didn’t, and--”

“Hey, hey,” Amity chided softly, lifting to hold Luz’s free hand. “It was an accident, I don’t blame you. Nobody does.”

“I know, but…” Luz sighed, her shoulders slumping. She leaned forward, lightly knocking her forehead against Amity’s as she closed her eyes for a second before opening them. She kept her eyes locked on where Amity was still holding her hand.

“I’m a mess,” Luz mumbled, stroking her thumb over the back of Amity’s hand. “And I should’ve...I dunno...I just…” She groaned and finally met Amity’s gaze. “I’m sorry. For a lot of things. And I wish that it,” She gestured around them with her other hand. “Didn’t end up like this. You know? This is a rebellion, I thought it’d be fun. They always make rebellions sound so cool and how you’d always escape them okay and be heroes.”

“So, Azura, then?” Amity lifted a brow.

“Don’t patronize me,” Luz huffed good-naturedly. “Look, I’m just...sorry. That I got hurt, that someone else could’ve gotten hurt, that you're stuck in this mess, that…” Luz muttered and blinked her eyes rapidly, like Amity somehow couldn’t see they were beginning to water. “God, I think I’m still high off those pain medications.” She groaned, covering her face with her hand.

Amity blinked before giving a small smile. She moved her head back slightly and raised her other hand, reaching out for Luz and cupping her cheek. Luz immediately leaned into it and slipped her hand off her face to hold Amity’s in its place.

“I’ve been stuck before,” She said, pointedly keeping her gaze away from Luz’s bandages. “And if this is your idea of stuck, then you better believe I’m not leaving.”

Luz gave a small half-smile, leaning further into her hand. Amity brushed her thump behind Luz’s eye, looking over her with mixed feelings. Luz wasn’t one to admit her fears so openly, and even Amity could tell how she tried to cover up her awkwardness at being open. Perhaps taking a page out of Luz’s book wasn’t a good idea, but she couldn't be bothered to worry about herself right then.

Amity leaned forward, catching Luz’s minor surprise for only a second before she placed a kiss on the side of Luz’s mouth, where a small scar went right over it. She remembered when Luz had gotten that scar, and she recalled how at the time it seemed like nothing more than an inconvenient cut.

Amity pulled back only a moment later, almost snickering at the sight of Luz. She was flushed and looked like a deer in the--nope. Wrong analogy.

Amity hoped her quick cover-up smile was enough to make up for her sudden shift.

Luz eventually reeled herself in and her expression shifted to that of a pout, letting her hand fall from Amity’s as she thumped her head on her girlfriends shoulder.

“Cheater,” She whined, her voice muffled.

Amity giggled, relaxing as she wrapped an arm around Luz and held her close. It was an awkward position, but she couldn’t find it in her to care.

She remained there for a moment, laying her cheek against Luz’s shoulder. She glanced to the side, looking over the bandages around her throat. And for a moment she saw just how deep that blade dug into the human’s skin.

“It’s going to scar over,” She found herself saying, feeling Luz stiffen in her arms. “Isn’t it?”

Luz was silent for a few moments, and in those moments Amity feared she shouldn’t have spoken. Luz had never been one to dislike her scars until...well, she’d gotten a rather nasty one from Eda she’d rather forget. But then Luz exhaled, sounding far more tired than she had been before.

“Yeah,” She croaked. “Viney said it would.”

“I’m sorry,” Amity murmured.

“It’s okay,” Luz said, resting her chin on Amity’s shoulder so she could be heard better. “This isn’t my first and it won’t be my last.”

Amity felt a chill at that line. She knew it wasn’t meant to be foreboding, only a small joke so she wouldn’t worry. Yet, it made her uneasy at how Luz brushed it off. And it was a small reminder that, even if Luz felt regret, she was still a naturally reckless person. And one day she’d be right back in her bed, covered in bandages and possibly in a worse condition than a hoarse voice.

“Luz,” Amity said, tightening her arms around the human. “I…”

Titan, what even was there to say? Don’t say that? You deserve better? I love you?

She wouldn’t get anywhere with any of those. And especially not the latter. There was too much going on already, and this was neither the time nor the place.

Amity squeezed her eyes shut and sighed before leaving her eyes half-lidded.

“Be careful,” She said instead. “If not for yourself, then for the others. You have no idea how scared we were.” She flicked her ears further down. “Don’t do anything overly stupid, okay?” She said, her voice hitching as she tried to cover it with a more teasing tone.

She could feel Luz swallow against her shoulder, shifting in her hold slightly.

“I’ll try,” She murmured.

And Amity supposed that was the best she could ask for.

“Also,” Luz started nervously. “Uh, not to rapidly change the subject,” Luz said, lifting her head slightly, her voice a bit more strained than before. “But your claws are kind of digging into my back…”

“Oh, right!” Amity squeaked and jerked back, sharply tugging her hands off of Luz and wincing when she felt her claws slide out of Luz’s shirt and skin. “Sorry, sorry,”

“I’ve had worse.” Luz chuckled, pulling away and giving Amity a mildly pained smile. “And as much as I love having you here,” Her eyes trailed somewhere behind Amity. “I think Gus is about to break something if this doesn’t hurry up.”

Amity turned around, confused. Sure enough, the door to the room was just barely cracked, and Gus could be seen pacing outside it. And Amity was willing to bet Willow was there, too.

“Seriously, guys?” Amity rolled her eyes, exasperated.

“We weren’t listening, I swear!” Gus insisted, pulling the door open further and poking his head in. “We weren’t even here that long!”

“Next time, you can just knock.” Amity grumbled, flicking her ear at Luz’s snickers behind her.

“Eh, figured you’d tear our heads off if we did,” Willow said, pulling the door open further. “So, can we come in then?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Amity sighed, getting to her feet and brushing herself off. “Eda’s going to kill you if she finds out both of you were sneaking in at the same time.”

“Eh, I’ll probably be fine.” Luz shrugged, her voice scratching more as she clearly tried to hold back another cough.

“Get it out of your system,” Amity told her simply, deciding to push back her earlier turmoil as she turned back to the door. “You want me to cover for you two?”

“You and I both know it's going to take ages for you to finally go downstairs instead of hovering by the door.” Willow deadpanned.

“This is bullying,” Amity complained as Gus and Willow walked in, with Gus instantly springing to Luz’s bedside and going off about some topic Amity was tuning out.

“Yeah, hurts, doesn’t it?” Willow said with a smirk, raising a brow as she passed Amity.

“...Touché,” Amity mumbled with an acknowledging nod.

Willow only shook her head and came up by the head of Luz’s bed, calmly watching as Gus talked a mile a minute, so much livelier than how he was mere hours ago. Amity stood back and watched, fiddling her hands together as Luz coughed and assured her friends she was fine and letting Gus continue his rambling.

Amity unconsciously rubbed her hand at her own throat before quickly dropping it again. She fiddled her hands together, feeling that her claws were still unsheathed. She pressed along her fingers, trying to coax her claws to sheath. It only somewhat worked, and she relented that her claws weren’t going to go away for a while.

Willow glanced over at her with a questioning look. Amity cringed at seeing her concern and gave a forced smile and nodded her head. She knew it didn’t convince Willow, but she didn’t push and turned back to Gus and Luz without further comment.

She’d always be worried about Luz, she decided as she watched said human listen to Gus and pointedly ignore the warning glances Willow gave her as she messed with her bandages. Luz would always be a handful, no matter how much she changed, she’d still be the human who had to learn as much magic as she could and the one who wouldn’t stand for an emperor like Belos. If nobody would do it, Luz sure as hell would.

And, as scared as she was to blink and suddenly see that blood on her hands again, she decided it was worth it. She’d never get used to it, not completely.

Amity could almost hear Willow calling her a hypocrite, because the more she thought about it, the more Amity began to realize that she’d likely do anything of Luz’s request to make her safer. Hell, she didn’t doubt she’d fight her own parents one-on-two if Luz asked nicely.

And while the thought of that terrified her, she couldn’t find the common sense to find a reason to stop herself, should it happen.

Perhaps that's just the impact Luz had on people.

Or maybe it was just Amity.

She couldn’t find it in her to care anymore.

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incorrectlumityquotes · 4 years ago

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FULL REVIEWS: “Covention”

I didn’t think I’d have a harder time doing these reviews on my days off than on a workday, but errands and all that. I had no expectations going into this episode at the time since “covention” is a fake made up word. But I heard Amity was going to be in it, so I got excited. The spice of life returns. It’s been a hot minute. Let’s see how the episode holds up.

The episode starts with one of my favorite cold openings. Super funny and gives a good shot at those books that have that pretentious flowery language. Seriously who says “thou” and “hast” anymore. Lame. Luz tossing King into the portal right when it closes was my favorite bit. Was Eda really going to go to the human world just for that?

Also I didn’t notice until someone pointed it out but I guess they’re using Azura and Hecate as some kinda parallel to Luz and Amity. Hope Amity doesn’t find out that she’s not the Azura character. Does that mean that Eda is that old ass lady and King is that little fox dog thing? That’s not cool, man. Be nice.

So much can be read into it, but that’s for another blog post for another time.

And of course, dumb-dumb me had to wait until the word was said out loud to realize that it was a play on the words “coven” and “convention.” So basically it’s a con episode. Cov episode? Whatever. Big brain hurt.

Relationships are a give and take and sometimes you gotta give in. Sorry, Eda.

I don’t know about you guys, but I never really had a lot of fun going to cons. The only part I really liked was meeting my favorite voice actors and watching indie wrestling. All the food, merch, and art was always overpriced and from shows I don’t watch. I don’t join video game tournaments because those people take the games way too seriously. Plus the area that I live in isn’t known for being big on nerd culture so the cons are never that impressive. I met Steve Blum last time and went to one and you can only go down from there so I don’t think I’ll be going to another one any time soon.

I caught this first time I saw it on TV. Luz and Willow arm in arm. Maybe in another life I would be shipping Luz & Willow. Maybe maybe. Also, Skara in the background. I think her design is really cute. Maybe she’ll get an episode in season two. Maybe maybe.

More lore and more worldbuilding which people really seemed to want and we got it. Eda explains that while covens seem like cool groups to belong to, they also strip you of all the other kind of magic you can do. Why? My theory was (and is) that about fifty years ago a bunch of religious and political hustlers got together and tried to figure out a way to control people. Really keep them in line. They knew that people were basically stupid and would believe anything you told them, so they announced that this one guy could talk to the titan that the Isles were based of off. This one guys says that only he could talk to the titan and hear what the titan was saying and that only he could do all kinds of magic. Everyone else is doing it wrong and only he’s doing it right. With no proof or evidence, but trust him he’s on the level. The Boiling Isles was just doing fine before him, but now all of a sudden, we’re all doing it wrong. Let that be a lesson to you, kids. If anyone tells you anything like that, it’s bullshit.

Also the nine covens. Why nine? Why not group the bard and illusionary covens together into the music video coven? Why does potions get its own coven? How much school do you really have to take to learn to mix shit together and stir? Wouldn’t the plant magic coven know something about using plants to make potions? Why does the construction coven get it’s own coven? Couldn’t you use any kind of magic to build things? Is the construction coven the blue collar coven? Beast keeping gets it’s own coven? Like the bitch at the plant coven needs to switch covens to be told to feed her dog? My theory, the nine covens was really a marketing decision. Ten sounds too official. They knew that if it was too neat and tidy, they’d know something was up. Would they though? I don’t think so.

Any group that has their own stormtroopers is automatically evil. Even more proof that the coven system is bullshit.

“Distraction spell!”

This moment made me laugh so damn hard. The crap that Eda pulls is one of the highlights of the show for me.

Luz and Eda go check out The Emperor’s Coven panel in the main hall, and we’re introduced to another major character. Enter Lilith, Eda’s older sister. And I swear to you guys, I was so confused this entire time on who was the older and who was the younger sister until the season finale. Seriously, I kept getting mixed messages. I mean, I know now but give me a break here.

I think Lilith is a good character and a great foil to Eda. The fun part is that since they are sisters, Eda knows exactly how to push her buttons and drag Lilith down to her level. It’s always fun to see a stoic character break.

My finger points.

Amity shows up which automatically makes this episode better. Luz properly introduces herself and we get more back-and-forth. Amity being a real bitch here is more to mislead us for the last act of the episode, but when I first saw it I thought it was more confirmation that Amity was going to be the Draco Malfoy-clone of the series. Glad I was wrong.

We get more of Luz trying to make life play out like her favorite stories and challenges Amity to a witch’s duel. A thing she read in Azura that she has no clue whether or not is a thing in The Boiling Isles. There’s an equal chance that Amity could have just shaken her head and be like, “The fuck is a witch’s duel? That sounds like something you just made up.”

Also Amity should have caught that Azura reference from the start, but then that kinda would have spoiled Lost in Language, huh?

Again, Luz needs to learn that life does not play out like it does in her favorite stories. Challenging your rival to a duel is cool on paper but a big “Yeah no” IRL. Especially since she knows no real offensive spells, no defensive spells, is a weak nerd who has probably never been in a real fight in her life and has no fighting spirit. Trust me guys I learned the hard way. Life is not a shonen anime. You can’t settle anything by fighting.

I love mentor/mentee stories especially when they have a rival mentor/mentee pair. Too bad Dana has already said that Amity and Lilith were not close at all. It was more a relationship of convenience. But then again that would help witch whole foil angle. Lilith and Amity just use each other to get ahead while Eda and Luz do actually build a familial bond.

The duel goes...exactly the way I thought it would. Honestly. The cheating, the whole fight just breaking down, even Lilith and Eda doing an actual witch’s fight. Totally saw it coming. What I didn’t see coming was the bad ass animation they used for the Lilith/Eda fight and...

The Amity scene. The big reveal that Amity is not a Draco Malfoy clone (I only saw the first four movies). She’s just a girl who thinks people should follow the rules, hates cheaters and is under a lot of pressure to succeed. Only someone as empathic as Luz and try to keep building that bridge and try to make things right with Amity, but that’s a whole other episode.

And the episode ends with another great lesson I really like. “Will I ever be a true witch?” “I don’t know. What’s a true witch?” There are always expectations and pressure put upon you to be a true something. Others will want you to conform into a label for one reason or another. But all those expectations and labels are just illusions. It reminds me of a Bruce Lee quote. When an interviewer asked Bruce if he considers himself Chinese or American, he answers that he considers himself, “a human being.”

Labels can be fun because it makes it easier for the brain to organize things, but when people put too much stock into these labels problems arise. Think of labels as a boat to get you across the river. Once you cross the river you leave the boat behind. You don’t carry the boat with you. That’s just dumb.

“Witch please”

FINAL SCORE: 5 - Loved it.

Hot take, Amity makes every episode better. More funny jokes, more worldbuilding, more Amity and hints at the main villain of the show. Lilith was a great addition and the episode hints at the main plot. Probably the most fun I’ve ever had at a con. And speaking of more Amity...

#the owl house #my works #full review #full reviews

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k7l4d4 · 3 years ago

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Luz the Seeker (Owl House/Huntik: Secrets & Seekers Crossover Idea)

I want to ask, has anyone thought of a Crossover fic between the Owl House and Huntik: Secrets & Seekers? If not, I will discuss my own!! Everybody clap your hands!!!

To help with people who don't know it, I shall now info-dump some of the lore!! And by some I mean a lot. In the World of Huntik, spirits of incredible power, known as Titans, are native to a separate Dimension, also known as Huntik. For generations, the Titans have been summoned to Earth to aid humanity, with the most famous being the Legendary Titans of Casterwill, an ancient sorcerer who saved the world from the Nullifiers, another species native to Huntik, but are instead pure evil, consumed with nothing less than the desire to see all of reality destroyed and subsumed into them. After their defeat, Titans have been scattered throughout human history, lending their immense power and potential to those people who can bond with the Talismans that act as their method of summoning and anchor in our world; these individuals are known as Seekers. Titans are principally divided into Eight core categories: Draco-Titans, Gaia-Titans, Hecto-Titans, Krono-Titans, Litho-Titans, Meso-Titans, Swara-Titans, and Yama-Titans. Each corresponds to a region of the world in terms of design, though some can seem off theme to some extent, and each has some form of connection to historical myth, legend, and even historical facts. Draco-Titans are a type of Titans featured prominently in European legends, particularly those of Medieval England. The fighting style and noble, chivalrous nature that most of them possess, inspired people to act the same and developed into the code of chivalry followed by knights. Draco-Titans' amulets are usually steel-blue with a grayish-pink gem in the center. Gaia-Titans are a type of Titan which tend to be protective and helpful. Gaia-Titans are strongly tied to nature, particularly wood or plants. Because of these ties, most of them are green or greenish-brown. Some may be covered in bark or leaves, with some even looking like walking trees, such as Dark Dryad. Gaia means Earth in Greek, so these Titans are essentially Earth-Titans or Nature-Titans. Gaia-Titan amulets tend to be a pale silver white with a light green gem. A notable exception is the Amulet of Will for Overlos. Many Gaia Titans are found mainly in Ireland. Hecto-Titans are Titans based upon Egyptian legends. Many Hecto-Titans appear like mummies with a monstrous appearance, earning them a place as the monsters residing in Egyptian tombs. Their terrible nature and taking enjoyment from chaos and destruction means that bonding Seekers need to possess a similar attitude. Their amulets tend to be yellow with blue and green highlights and a pale silver gem in the center. Krono-Titans are Titans that are based off of Greek or Roman mythology. These Titans tend to be warriors, a fitting position considering the war-like nature of the Greeks during ancient history. The word 'Krono-Titan' may be based on Kronos of mythology, the imprisoned Greek Titan and father of Zeus. Krono-Titan Amulets tend to be orange and yellow with an aqua gem. Litho-Titans are a very durable type of Titan because most of them are composed of rocks or ice. Litho-Titans usually carve themselves a place in history, even among humans who know nothing about Seekers or magic. Metagolem became the famous Golem of Prague. Gar-Ghoul inspired the gargoyle statues on the rooftops across Europe. Fenris and Ymir are famous among Norse mythology, being responsible for the birth and death of the world. Litho-Titans act almost as if they want to be known for their power. Lithosphere is the ground part of Earth. Litho-Titan Amulets tend to be stone grey, with occasional light blue highlights for ice-based Titans, and have a purple gem in the center with yellow outline around the gem. Meso-Titans are powerful Titans that are difficult to control. They tend to be aggressive and may cause collateral damage if not watched carefully. Some Meso-Titans control powerful natural forces, such as earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Others use combat attacks based on stomping, jumping, and spinning. Meso-Titans often resemble creatures of Native American and Central American stories, such as fierce warriors and totem like monsters. Mesosphere is the middle part of the Earth's atmosphere. Only a Seeker with a very strong will can bond with, let alone control, a Meso-Titan. Meso-Titan Amulets are typically grey with black or yellow highlights and a blue gem. Swara-Titans are a type of Titan, most often used by villains, and are based upon African legends and insects. Like Araknos, a large number of Swara-Titans tend to lean toward arthropods such as arachnids and insects. Swara-Titan Amulets tend to be brown with a darker brown or gold trim and a red gem. Yama-Titans are clever and often overly independent. They often think that their way of doing something is better than their bonded Seeker; because of this, successfully controlling a Yama-Titan can require concentrating exactly on what one wants them to do. Human-like Yama-Titans often have features common to Asian myths, such as clothing or weaponry. Yama-Titans were appropriately common in ancient Asia. People told stories about them, and these stories eventually became myths. Yama-Titan amulets tend to be black with silver highlights with a pale green gem. A notable exception is the ring of Tao since the amulets of Legendary Titans are gold with a gem that matches the Titan. The Legendary Titans are an incredibly rare, powerful type of Titan which were originally controlled by Lord Casterwill and his family and whose Rings and Amulets were later hidden with greater safeguards than the Amulets of any other Titans. The Legendary Titans find their places in the legends of many ancient civilizations and were sometimes considered gods. If a Seeker attempts to use a Legendary Titan without the Amulet of Will or without passing the proper Casterwill test, they may be put under a powerful curse. Three Legendary Titans, Tao, Behemoth, and Araknos, are involved in a ritual to summon Overlos from the Amulet of Will. Because they could technically be considered a sibling species to Titans, I'll include some info on Nullifiers, especially as they can be summoned like Titans. Their isn't a whole lot to say about them, but Nullifiers are often ludicrously powerful, with a bevy of mind-bending abilities as a whole, they largely draw inspiration from the Cthulhu Mythos when it comes to appearance. Nullifiers do not have the standard Classes. In addition to their type, Titans can also be identified by their Class, that is to say, if they are Blasters, Enchanters, Explorers, Scouts, Sentinels, Sharpshooters, Sorcerers, or Warriors. Blasters are those whose specialty lies in high-power blasts as their combat method of choice, and are surprisingly rare. Enchanters are, like Sorcerers, those with principally mystical powers, but are usually geared more towards indirect combat or support, or are associated with more "good" legends as a whole. Explorer Titans are those that excel in espionage, information retrieval, and stealth, distinguishing themselves from Scouts by being larger, more humanoid, and often having more direct combat options. Scouts are often small, with a higher emphasis on information retrieval, spying, and so on, than combat. Sentinels are those which are typically used to guard or watch over something or someone, with a bigger emphasis on durability and defense than the other martial Classes, and are as rare as true Blasters. Sharpshooters are high flying ranged-attackers, with a big emphasis on movement and speed, and while pretty rare in terms of variety, are not as rare as those of Sentinels or Blasters. Sorcerer Class Titans are associated with magical abilities, but often of a darker bent than Enchanters, they are often more likely to be direct attackers as well. Warriors, the absolute MOST common Class, are straight up melee fighters, with the occasional esoteric power thrown in, often wielding swords and shields, or more odd weaponry on occasion. All Seekers, by virtue of the connection they have gained to the Titans, can wield magic. The forms of magical spells Seekers can wield are rather varied, and rather than being marked by specific schools, are instead based on how they are used. It's not something I'd go to much into right now. The nature of the connection that the Titans and their Seekers have is known as the Bond; Titans fresh from Huntik are essentially blank slates when it comes to bonding, and while certain personality types might bond easier, the first bond they gain will always color them when it comes to bonding later. Titans lack true personality when they are first summoned and bonded in our world, communicating mentally with their Seeker through Intuition, feelings, etcetera as opposed to words, and finding the language based thoughts of humans, and Witches, unnatural, not that it will prevent them from obeying. The mentality, thought process, and beliefs of their initial bonded will permanently influence who that Titan can later bond with, as they will invariably bond easiest with those that have a similar personality and attitude to their initial bonded, though the bond can sever if the Seeker's personality changes too much from the mindset that allowed them to bond in the first place. Seekers who've established a particularly strong bond with their Titans are capable of Powerbond, initiating an incredibly powerful transformation that greatly augments the powers and fighting abilities of their Titans and themselves. Anyway, now that the info dump is out of the way, my basis for this crossover is for Luz to be a young Seeker with a reputation for causing havoc. She basically enters the Boiling Isles the same way, but that is when the divergences start. In this AU, I would like to think that the Titan that composes the Isles is a Titan in the Huntik sense, that transported to the Demon Realm and died. As it perished, its essence merged with that of the Demon Realm, and gave rise to the Witches, who are analogous to a hybrid between Titan and Human, though not quite all the way. Titans summoned on the Isles often display heightened intellect and learning ability, and are capable of staying summoned functionally indefinitely so long as they are there, though sufficient injury can dispel them and send them back. Due to her background as a Seeker, however young and inexperienced she may be, Luz is even more used to insanity and danger than her canon self is, and is extremely curious as to the nature of the Isles and its magic (Eda: Can't you cast your own spells already, kid? Luz: Yeah, but not THIS KIND!!!). My biggest issue is finding a way to expand the idea beyond just having Luz use Seeker powers and Titans in the Owl House, with the appropriate butterflies and shenanigans as a result of course, so I've composed a couple of possibilities. My first idea is that Belos is unknowingly connected to the Nullifiers, partially to explain his incredible strength and extremely bizarre abilities compared to the already strange nature of the Isles, and that all his efforts have been unknowingly orchestrated by the Nullifiers to grant them a foothold in the Isles to destroy it and the rest of the Demon Realm, and then move on to Earth. My second idea is a new faction of Seekers, not so much evil as morally grey and with a mixed roster of good and bad, has stationed themselves on the Isles, and are conducting experiments on Titans there; the nature of the experiments is to find new ways of modifying Titans to possess new and interesting abilities for their goals, as well as the creation of genuinely artificial Titans entirely, dubbed Neo-Titans, which, if I got that far, would differ from the rest of their kind in having themes closer to Science Fiction and Alien-life than the mythological basis of their peers, being sleek and technological and possessing powerful abilities beyond the standard. Anyway, this is mostly me ranting, sorry, but if anyone is interested in this or wants to talk or has questions about it, let me, okay? Thank you.

#the owl house #huntik #owl house crossover #luz noceda #emperor belos #huntik: secrets and seekers #huntik: secrets and seekers crossover #huntik: secrets and seekers au #owl house au #alternate history #boiling isles alternate history

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prinxlyart · 4 years ago

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I was just chilling in the morning and then I started to think about how Amity was mean to Willow when they were alone in the woods even though there was no one around to rat her out to her parents or something and now I can't stop thinking about how much it affected her to be forced to cut Willow off and how from the 3 Blight kids she's the one that seemed to crave her parents' approval the most despite their abuse that might not have been evident to her until meeting Luz and seeing that Eda was more caring and supportive of a kid she found in her stand than her parents of their kids.

Anyways, do you have any headcanons about how those 7 years were like for Amity?

This goes perfectly with the last one I answered so let’s dig in

(This is another Long One ™️)

Amity cried for like, a month after she was forced to cut ties with Willow. The only ones that knew this were her siblings though. She made them swear not to tell, although she didn’t really need to. They knew what their parents were like.

As time went on, Amity felt....Othered. She was different from her siblings (she wasn’t a twin nor was she naturally good at illusions). She was different from the girls she was told to be friends with (they were mean and Amity didn’t like being mean). She was different from all the other kids in her grade (she was a Blight).

This odd sort of unintentional distancing left her feeling almost numb. She didn’t know how to act around her new mean “friends”, but over time she picked up their behavior. She knew if she wanted to convince her parents that she was getting along with these girls, she’d have to act like she liked them and act like them too.

So she started imitating them. She’d watch how they made fun of anything and everything and learned to keep her own interests hidden for fear of being the next one they’d ridicule. They would even make fun of each other which was the most baffling to Amity. Were any of them actually friends?

She tried to keep her eyes off Willow. She couldn’t bear to see her, especially now that Amity’s new “friends” picked on her constantly. She couldn’t stand to see the tears in Willow’s eyes and the look of fear and shame her “friends” caused her to don.

As the years went on and her numbness settled in, she learned how to adopt her “friend’s” behaviors even when they weren’t around. Because even though they might not be around, everyone else around her still knows she’s a Blight. And Blight’s always make sure that their status as The Best is known to those around them. So she starts making comments on other people’s poor grades. Snide remarks about others’ lack of talent. Whispers with her “friends” about how so-and-so could barely be qualified as a witch. She had a whole persona to uphold after all; she made sure that no one would be able to call her out for not acting like a Blight.

The library was her safe haven. Her secret nook inside the library was even more so. Even the library was too public for her to be caught acting as anything other than a Blight. The only time she could remove the mask and just be herself was when she was either in her secret nook or, eventually, when she started volunteering to read to the little kids.

Amity cherishes her time spent reading to the little kids because she can indulge in all of her childish interests and fiction under the guise of extra credit. And the kids love when she gets so into her story-telling, so who does it hurt? Those little kids don’t know what her reputation is supposed to be and they have no expectations beyond telling them a fun story. Anyone that does know who she is will only think she’s going above and beyond in what she’s doing like she does with anything else.

She still missed Willow. Every time she saw her eating alone at lunch or hiding in her cowl hood to avoid the taunts and jeers thrown at her from their peers, it broke Amity’s heart. The only person she could be her real self with had become the school target and she was among the people that made her that target. It made her want to puke if she thought about it for too long. So she opted to try not to think about it at all. She would mindlessly listen to her friends drone on about whatever new thing had caught their attention and sit in her thoughts until her attention was drawn by the group.

There were times when she would find herself alone with Willow and she would flash back to her 7th birthday party. Her parent’s threats would echo in her ears and she would have to bite the inside of her cheek to remember to Act Like a Blight. So she kept up the facade, even if it was just the two of them. She had to do it then, of course she’d have to keep it up now.

At the point we see them in the show, Amity’s been pretending for so long that she’s starting to believe her own lies. She’s forced herself to think about only being top of her class and maintaining her family’s reputation (not like her siblings have helped on that front). She is better than Willow, at least when it comes to magic. She can barely do anything with her magic, it was visible proof. Amity had worked harder than anyone to master abominations to the degree she had. She was a Blight. Anyone that tried to say otherwise could suffer her wrath.

She gets along with her friends almost the same way she gets along with her siblings: be civil and relatively friendly in the presence of others and then complain about whatever nonsense they did in her diary. She wishes she had another actual person to talk to about all this, but her “friends” were as fake as the relationships she had with them and as far as she knew, none of them were being threatened by their parents to interact with one another. Maybe Skara? Potentially Boscha? But Boscha has been so into her role as Top Bully for as long as Amity’s known her and she hardly thinks her parents are coercing her into acting so horribly.

When she sees Willow start hanging out with the Illusion track kid (augustus, she finds out from her siblings; he transferred to their home room after being bumped up a couple grades), Amity’s heart drops entirely. She’s officially been replaced. Despite the years of distance and tormenting, Amity wanted to believe that somehow, Willow would find it in her to forgive her and they could be friends again. But Willow’s moved on and made a new best friend. She deserves to.

Somehow it hurts even more when Luz starts attending Hexside. Amity actually likes Luz. She hasn’t actually liked another person since, well, Willow. And now Luz attending Hexside and not being ashamed of being friends with Willow makes her heart ache in a way it hadn’t for a few years. Willow’s smiling. Laughing. Sure, that Augustus kid makes her smile too, but it’s much different with Luz around. With Luz by her side, Willow was coming out of the shell she’d built for herself to protect herself from all the mockery Amity’s friends encouraged the rest of the school to throw at her. It was an odd feeling of melancholy watching them be best friends in the halls of Hexside; Amity was happy that Willow was happy, that she finally found someone to help her out of that shell Amity was forced to make her build. But it stung just as much because it wasn’t her that was able to make Willow smile and laugh like that. Amity hadn’t been able to do that for Willow since they were small.

She truly didn’t mean to ruin Willow’s memories. But she also wasn’t trying to maintain her reputation when she burned the memory of her 7th birthday. No, Amity was sick to her stomach of the years of watching Willow suffer at Amity’s own hands. If she could just. Remove herself from that memory? Remove the fact that it was Amity that caused her so much pain? Amity would much rather Willow forget her entire existence than live with that pain. She half wished she could do the same to herself, but she didn’t have much chance to dwell on it before she realized she somehow had set all of Willow’s memories on fire.

When she was able to finally admit to Willow the whole truth of the reason she ruined their friendship when they were small in Willow’s memory? It felt like the weight of the Titan had been lifted off her shoulders. It didn’t excuse her actions, not by a long shot, but at least now Willow knew it wasn’t because Amity suddenly stopped liking her. Amity never stopped liking her. But to a 7-year-old, she didn’t feel as though she had any choice in the threat her parents posed and then grew up with that same fear looming over her shoulder. She didn’t know how to take it back.

Amity didn’t know what she did to deserve Luz popping into her life from a pot of Abomination goo. What she did know is that the decision she’d made when she was 7 felt irreversible her entire life up until Luz showed up. Luz, who didn’t judge her by her past actions or her fake identity, who liked Azura and was an even bigger nerd about it than Amity, who forgave Amity’s awful behavior when she tried to get her dissected and again at the Covention and then tried so desperately to become her friend; Amity didn’t understand how Luz could be so understanding and not hold Amity’s shitty behavior against her, but she’s so grateful that she didn’t because now she’s pivoted. Her whole life has made a sharp turn into making decisions for herself and not just for her family’s name.

And somehow, Luz managed to give Amity the second chance she never thought she’d get in her life: a second chance to be a better friend to Willow. And she’s so glad she took that chance.

Tl;dr: it’s fuckin ROUGH but like, dissociation, yknow? Works wonders.

#prinxly inquiries #anonymous #the owl house #amity blight #willow park #luz noceda #toh headcanons #toh character study #Amity has a Bad Time™️ -megalovania theme plays-#me gently breakdancing: What’s wrong son?

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flowersandskeletons526 · 4 years ago

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“The Harshest Future We Could Have Imagined” - Lumity Future AU Fanfic Part 1

This is set about five years in the future after “Agony of a Witch.” Luz returned home through a broken portal and couldn’t return, but in four years, without the portal being fixed, Amity and the others had to focus on their lives in the present, including the rebellion they started. Now, what will happen when Luz returns to the war-torn world she used to love?

(Link to Ao3 --- https://archiveofourown.org/works/28305051/chapters/69356406)

----

“You really have to go?”

“I do.”

Luz squeezed Amity’s hands, standing before the portal with her backpack and her cloak. Amity kept her eyes down. She struggled to fight back tears, clutching Luz’s hands like a lifeline. They knew this was going to happen. Both had dreaded it all summer, ever since Luz revealed her exact situation to her friends. Willow and Gus already composed themselves - well, Gus was attempting to - and Eda and King were trying and failing not to cry downstairs. Lilith was somewhere rolling her eyes and hiding her emotions. The twins waited outside to bring Amity home once all their goodbyes were said.

Amity glanced at the fractured portal. After finding that Emperor Belos had managed to put it back together, yet another espionage mission was mounted to steal it back. Now, Luz could get back, but she only had this one chance. It killed Luz, having to leave but knowing he was still in power. Especially with Eda and Lilith rendered magicless after the failed petrification… nothing was certain now. Nothing but the fact that Luz had to leave.

Reading Amity’s mind, Luz touched her cheek and turned her head away from the portal. “Amity, I’m going to come back,” she said. “I promise I will.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. I know that I will, though. I got here before, right? I can do it again.”

“When the portal worked. What if we can’t put it back together? What if there’s no way to fix it, w-what if Belos gets it again, what if-”

“Hey, don’t think about that.” Luz pulled her in, wrapping her arms tight around her. Amity buried her face against the crook of Luz’s neck. “I’ll be back. Don’t worry, okay? You’re not going to get rid of me that easily.”

“Promise?”

“I promise.” She pulled back and pressed their foreheads together. “Don’t go soft on me just yet, Blight.”

Amity giggled through her tears. “In your dreams.”

“Look after this place for me, okay?”

“I will.”

She cupped the witch’s cheek. “And Ami?”

Amity blushed at the nickname. “Y-Yeah?”

“Don’t forget me.”

“Never.”

Luz planted a quick kiss on Amity’s cheek and pulled her into a tight hug. Amity held onto her hand as long as she could as she turned to the portal. Hiding her tears, Luz waved and flashed one last bright smile over her shoulder. She disappeared through the wall of light.

The shaking portal collapsed into a pile of smoldering pieces. Amity collapsed in a heap of silenced sobs.

****

Amity took a deep breath as she approached the Owl House. Hooty, distracted by a bug, perked up when he spotted her.

“Hoot! Hi, angry green haired friend! What’s that? Cupcakes? I looooove cupcakes! Hoot!”

Amity bared her fangs. “Don’t touch me, bird tube!”

“Alright! Hoot!”

“Sorry. Here, that one’s for you.” Amity tossed the treat in the air and cringed when Hooty swallowed it whole. “Can I come in?”

“Sure, you can! Wait, was the cupcake a bribe?”

“It’s a peace offering.”

“Okay!”

The door swung open. Eda and Lilith sat at the kitchen table, chatting idly, while King slept curled into a ball on the couch. They paused and looked up when she took a step inside. She swallowed her fear and waved.

“Hi, Eda. Ms. Clawthorne.” The latter greeting was delivered with just a twinge of venom. After hearing about how Eda was captured, about what happened to Luz, Amity still harbored a touch of resentment, even if everyone else seemed to have forgiven it. “Is it alright if I come in?”

“Sure, kid,” Eda said. Any hatred towards the Blights as a whole had been forgiven in Amity’s case. Amity attributed that to Eda’s constant subtle teasing about how she acted around Luz. Although now it just sounded like pity in her voice.

Amity stood beside Eda and set a pack of apple blood boxes on the table next to her.

Eda frowned. “How did you get your hands on this?”

“Emira.”

“She’s one of the twins I almost died with, right? The smart one?”

“Yes.”

“Ah. Well, thanks, kid.”

“You’re welcome. Luz mentioned it.”

Eda nodded and turned aside. Amity swallowed the lump in her throat and stepped over to the couch, kneeling beside King. She gently shook him until he woke with a quiet, “Weh?”

“Hi, King.”

The little demon scowled. “Hello, offering killer.”

“About that.” Amity set the cupcake on the couch in front of him. “I’m sorry.”

He sat up, inspecting the offering. “What’s wrong with it?”

“What? Nothing. It’s to make up for your cupcake I squished. I’m sorry.”

King tilted his head. He looked between Amity and the cupcake for a minute before pulling the sweet closer to him. “Offering accepted. I retract any curses I laid on you.”

“I, uh, thank you?”

“You’re welcome.”

Eda beckoned to Amity as she stood. “C’mere, kid. Come sit. Now, not that I’m complaining, but I have to ask. What’s up with all this.”

Amity took the offered seat and bowed her head. “Luz. She… she wanted me to stick around. She told me to before she left, so I figured it would be good to at least try to make up for what I’ve done. You are her family, after all.”

Eda sighed and rubbed her eyes. “Right. That’s right. Well, look, you don’t have anything to make up for anymore. You and the other two troublemakers are always welcome here. I know Luz will want to see you all when she gets back.”

“Do you think she will come back?”

“Of course. I mean hey, it’s already been what, a month? And we’ve already got all the books possible on fixing the old thing.”

“Four weeks, two days, and five hours,” Lilith interrupted. Amity and Eda stared at her. She cleared her throat. “I’ve been keeping track.”

Eda smirked and squeezed her sister’s hand. She turned back to Amity, reaching out to touch her shoulder. Amity flinched beneath the gentle pat. Eda paused, just long enough for Amity to relax, and tried again. This time, Amity just sighed as Eda rubbed her back.

“She’ll come back. It’s Luz, after all. Knowing that kid, she’s already got a new portal halfway finished in the human world.”

“You really think so?”

“Absolutely.”

****

“Absolutely not!”

“But Mom, I-”

“Amity, that is enough!” Odalia Blight slammed her hands down on her desk, looming over her youngest daughter standing across from her. “You are forbidden from returning to that den of criminal activity ever again. Do you understand me? If I ever hear about you so much as heading in that direction again, you will be sorry. Titan, I should have known this would happen after that fiasco at the petrification. That Clawthorne woman never should have been in the Emperor’s coven to begin with, considering her criminal sister.”

“Eda isn’t a criminal! Okay, well, technically, but not for any good reasons! And Lilith isn’t bad either, not anymore. She’s better than she was when you approved of her!”

Odalia scoffed. “Please. I know what is best for you, young lady, and I have made my decision. You are not to return to that place ever again or associate with anyone connected to it, including that half witch and the reporter’s runt.”

“But Luz-”

“Oh, the human! That’s where this began! I should have put a stop to this behavior as soon as Boscha’s parents told me you were hanging around her. This is what is best for you.”

“No it’s not!” Amity hollered. Odalia froze at the outburst. “Luz is my best friend and I’m not going to let you talk about her like she’s nothing! Not her, not Willow, and not Gus! They are better than anyone you ever picked for me and care about me more than you ever did.”

“You will do what I say! I am your mother!”

“I want what is best for you!” Odalia protested.

“You want a perfect daughter as head of the Emperor’s coven,” Amity retorted. “I’m not abandoning them like I already abandoned Willow. And I’m not abandoning the Owl House, either. You can’t make me.”

“I don’t care!”

Amity regretted the words the moment they left her tongue.

Odalia froze. Her face went deadly cold, eyes like ice as she leveled a vicious glare at her daughter. Amity shrunk.

“You don’t care that I’m your mother?”

“I-I… I didn’t mean…”

“Hmph. Fine. Then our name shouldn’t matter to you. If you are going to keep associating with the Clawthornes, you can take their name instead. Anything but Blight.”

“What?”

“Get out of this house, Amity.”

“Mom!”

“Get. Out.”

Amity took a step back. Tears burned her eyes. She clenched her fists and scowled.

“Fine.”

She spun on her heel and marched out. Flying to her room, she slammed the door behind her and grabbed a bag. She shoved a few regular outfits inside, along with her books, her school uniform, and her box of keepsakes with her Grom tiara in it. She shouldered the pack and bolted out of the house.

The twins intercepted her before she reached the door. Their ever present smiles disappeared when they saw her face, streaked with tears.

“Mittens, what’s wrong?” Emira asked.

“Ask Mom.” Amity shoved past them.

“Wha- Amity, wait, where are you going?”

“The Owl House!”

The massive doors of Blight Manor slammed shut behind her.

Casting a light spell, she ran through the Isles all the way to the Owl House. She never stopped or looked back, even as hot tears poured down her cheeks. When she reached her destination, Hooty let her in without so much as a hoot.

Eda gave her just a passing glance as first when she marched in, then whipped her head around when Amity’s appearance registered. Amity stood in the doorway, shaking and panting, clutching her pack to her chest. She scrubbed at her face and scrambled to regain some of her composure.

“Eda, Lilith, I, um… C-Can I…?”

“Kid, what happened?” Eda asked.

Amity shook her head. “My mom kicked me out. She told me I had to stop coming here and said I had to do what she said because she’s my mother and I told her I didn’t care so she kicked me out. I just… Can I stay here? Please? I-I don’t have anywhere else to go right now.”

“Of course. Come on, you’ll stay in Luz’s old room. Lilith, help me get her set up.”

That night, Amity cried herself to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor, clutching her pillow and cursing all the years she spent in that controlling hell already.

The next day, the twins came by with the rest of her belongings, most of them dirty and broken.

“She threw them out the window?” she asked when they told her what happened.

“Well, she had the servants do it for the most part, but yes,” Edric replied. “Look, Amity, if you just apologize-”

“No,” Amity snapped. “I’m not apologizing to her. I’m staying here.”

Emira put a hand on her twin’s shoulder. “Ed, drop it. Look, Mittens, we’re here if you need us, okay? We’ll see you at school.”

The two hugged their baby sister and waved to Eda and Lilith sitting in the living room. Amity watched them disappear down the trail before shutting the door silently. She leaned her head against the wood for a quick moment before straightening.

“You okay, kid?” Eda asked.

“I’m fine.”

The next morning, Amity approached Lilith with a pair of clippers in hand. “Lilith?”

“Yes, Amity?”

“You do your own hair, right?”

“I dye it on occasion, when the orange roots start to become noticeable.”

“Will you help me cut my hair, please?”

“Of course.” Lilith closed her book and stood. “How did you want to cut it?”

“Cut off all the green dye.”

“Are you sure? That would make your hair quite short.”

“I’m sure. I just want it gone. I’m not going to let anyone force me to dye my hair again.”

Lilith frowned. “Your mother-”

“Please help me cut it.”

“Alright. Come here.”

****

“Okay, these are the outposts we know of so far.”

Gus spread a map over a rickety table. Orbs of light hovered in the tunnel above them, illuminating the little meeting place dug beneath Hexside. Willow and Amity knelt on either side of him and watched as he gestured to little markers on the creased parchment. Emira stood behind Gus, watching over his shoulder with Viney and the rest of the detention kids.

“Belos has squads of guards here, here, and here, and then multiple roving patrols through the marketplace and around Hexside. As long as we stay in the tunnels for meetings, we should be fine.”

Amity idly ran her hand over the short sides of her undercut, with the long part on top pulled into her normal short ponytail. With Lilith’s help over two years ago, she cut out all the green dye and never touched it with a drop of pigment afterwards.

After the meeting, the group said their goodbyes and took off down different tunnels of Gus’s making. Willow and Emira hung around with Amity as she extinguished the light orbs.

“Has Eda made any progress on the portal?” Willow asked after a moment of silence.

Amity sighed. “No. Nothing. We haven’t even gotten a flicker from it. I…” She shook her head and extinguished another light, trying not to think about the missing human. “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

“How long has it been?”

“Too long.”

Willow nodded and touched Amity’s hand. “They’ll find a way to fix it.”

“I hope.”

Willow took off, leaving Amity alone with her sister. Emira leaned against the wall with her arms crossed. Amity stopped and turned to her sister.

“Have you heard anything from Edric?” the elder asked.

“Nothing. Has he been talking to you?”

“Not a word. He hasn’t told Mother and Father, I know that, but he stopped talking to me as soon as he learned about this. He doesn’t even play pranks with me anymore.”

Amity scoffed. “He’s trying to become their favorite child.”

“I think he is, at this point.”

“Right.” She held a light orb between her hands. “I heard they made Dad the leader of the emperor’s coven.”

“They did. It’s no wonder Edric is trying to get in so badly. I still can’t believe he’s doing all this.”

“Me neither. Look, I have to get back to the Owl House and keep helping Eda with the portal.”

Emira bowed her head with a tight lipped grimace, watching Amity with pity in her eyes. “Mittens, do you really think you’re going to get her back?”

“I know I will!” Amity snapped, but the anger faded quickly. “She promised she would come back.”

“Not all promises can be kept.”

“I know that, but we’re going to find a way. We have to.”

“Okay.” Emira hugged her sister and kissed the top of her head, still so much taller than her even after the years that had passed. “You’ll figure this out, Mittens. They can fix it.”

Amity just nodded and hugged her sister tighter.

****

Edric stood on the edge of a crumbling roof. Fires raged around him in the burning marketplace, littered with the bodies of fallen Emperor’s coven soldiers and wounded rebellion fighters fleeing the scene. His white cloak was stained red, and his sharp beaked mask hung around his neck. He leaned heavily on his staff.

In the street below, Amity wielded her own staff with its snarling tiger palisman. She growled at her brother while her friends fell into line behind her. Emira stood at her side, watching Edric not with anger, but heartbreak in her eyes.

“Ed, please!” she called. “This isn’t you!”

“Enough, Emira!” he roared. “I’m done being the stupid twin. Now it’s time for me to do what you and Amity failed to. I’m going to lead the Emperor’s coven after Dad and my career is going to start with ending your stupid rebellion!”

“You know Belos is wrong!” Amity protested. “This isn’t going to end how you want, Edric. Please just come with us.”

“Never!”

Amity shook the tears from her eyes and cast a spell circle. “Fine.”

A pink flame lit in her hand. Emira grabbed her arm.

“Mittens, no!”

“If he’s not going to join us, he’s against us! Belos is going to fall, Edric. Belos, the coven system, all of it. Including you.”

“Grow up, Amity. It’s time all three of us started acting like Blights. If you two won’t, I will.” Edric lifted his head. “Soldiers, retreat!”

Amity watched her brother flee with the rest of the soldiers. She gripped her staff and turned to Willow and Gus and the others standing behind her. “Everyone out of here!” she ordered. “Before they send reinforcements back. At least we know our enemy now.”

“Our brother,” Emira said quietly.

“Our enemy,” Amity repeated. “Willow, Gus, let’s go.”

The pair followed Amity back to the Owl House. They walked in silence, all three contemplating the day’s battle and the new development. There were suspicions of Edric’s involvement, but they hadn’t known the extent. And the fact that he was leading a command…

Amity, although hiding it beneath her rage, wanted to weep and curse at the sky. Her own brother! After all those years of him and Emira goofing off, never conforming to their parents’ expectation, leaving all the vicariously realized dreams to fall upon Amity, she never could have imagined him becoming so fed up with Emira’s jesting that he would turn his back on the both of them. She cursed under her breath thinking about it and forced the thoughts from her head. She couldn’t afford getting stuck in her thoughts now. She had the rebellion to think about, the rebellion that Willow founded and the two of them now led together. The rebellion, keeping the Owl House hidden, fixing the portal…

Titan, she couldn’t even afford to think about the portal anymore. Four years passed without anything working, and then the rebellion started with Willow’s attempted assassination of Belos a year ago.

Amity glanced at Willow beside her. A long scar wrapped around her eye from her forehead down to her jaw. She cut her hair short and wild to display it with pride. They all bore scars now, but Willow’s scarred face had become a symbol of the rebellion with her wanted poster plastered all over the Isles. Amity, although a leader herself, didn’t envy the responsibility Willow gained. Her speech all those years ago is what sowed the seeds, after all.

Hooty greeted them when they returned and flung the door open. Amity sighed and rubbed her eyes as they stepped inside, keeping her head down. She hadn’t noticed Willow and Gus stopping in their tracks by the door.

“Eda, Lilith, we found the new commander Belos has,” she said.

“Amity,” Eda said, rising from her seat. “Look up.”

She did.

Standing across from her was a tall girl with rich dark skin and fluffy brown hair pushed out of her face. Wide, fiery brown eyes locked with her golden stare. She was taller now, finally overtaking Amity, and her weak nerd arms had developed built and defined muscles. Her gently rounded ears were pierced with multiple golden rings. Despite everything, her bright smile was still the same, and it still sent Amity’s heart racing.

Amity sucked in a sharp breath.

“Luz?”

The girl grinned.

“Hey, Amity.”

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animerunner · 4 years ago

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Luz’s Not So Great Luck: I am Not the Monster in Your Story

Fandom: The Owl House

Relationship: Eda Clawthorne & Luz Noceda

Characters: Eda Clawthorne, Luc Noceda,

Warnings: Implied Verbal and Physical child abuse, heavily implied past medical experimentation

Summary: One of the first things Eda noticed about Luz was just how many scars she had. The pattern of stitches were hard to miss.

Something doesn't feel right about it but at this point Eda doesn't know enough to articulate what.

Maybe it was just the number of it. Or maybe it was the uneasy familiarity she felt when catching a glimpse of a scar that nearly mirrored her own.

Which considering what that scar was from...it was concerning to say the least.

Notes: Not much else to say here today. Most questions were addressed in the last chapter posting here.

Ao3 Link Here

If you want to read it on Tumblr fic is under the read more:

One of the first things Eda notices about Luz after the fact she’s human is the scars.

It’s hard to miss. From the first time Eda took off Luz’s shirt to try and get her temperature down. The patchwork of scars scattered over the girl’s body stare back at her.

It unnerves her for some reason. Though she can’t entirely put her finger on why.

Maybe it’s some of the locations?

After all one of the scars would be right above where a bile sac would normally be in a witch. She would know since she has a similar scar on her own chest.

However in a human, Eda’s not entirely sure why there would be a scar there.

Humans didn’t have bile sacs right?

Something to worry about another time. She had bigger concerns on her plate.

--------------------

The second time Eda thinks about the scars is after Luz first casts magic around her by accident.

Once she’s got Luz calmed down and asleep her mind flashes back to that one scar. Suddenly everything she had thought she had understood about humans is thrown into question.

The magic and the scar makes her wonder, maybe humans do have bile sacs?

But if they did then why had Luz needed surgery there. Most witches and humans she supposed didn’t need surgery for it. So what gave?

Why did Luz have an almost identical scar to her own?

Why did it feel like there was something sinister afoot?

Maybe the healer she’s going to call can answer her questions. --------------------

The third time Eda is reminded of the strange stitched scars that are over Luz comes when the girl has her first nightmare since arriving on the Isles.

The healer wasn’t able to tell her much on the mystery that is Luz. She had been hapless as Eda was on why Luz had so many scars.

All Eda knows is that there must be some time to the fact Luz can do magic. Though she doesn’t understand it yet.

King’s the one who wakes her up in the middle of the night.

“Luz is having a nightmare I think?”

“You think?” Eda stares at King for a moment. Hoping he just didn’t wake her up at 2 am on a whim.

“She’s not saying anything. Just a lot of miming. But she is sweating a lot and-”

“-she could make herself sick at this rate. Got it.” Eda concludes summoning Owlbert to her side.

The kid had just started getting better. The last thing they needed was for Luz to work herself into such a frenzy that she makes herself sick all over again.

Luz is still in the throws of a nightmare when they reach her room. King’s description had been accurate. The kid was tossing and turning in her sleep but Eda couldn’t hear a sound from her.

Eda frowns before she realizes why. Silencing spell. Well that’s easy enough to fix. Thankfully she hadn’t used up all her entire yesterday.

What she doesn’t expect is the near scream from Luz when the spell is cancelled. Jumping back slightly in surprise for a moment. She catches a few phrases that make her stomach sink further. Before she moves closer and decides a simple spell to wake up Luz is in order.

It’s probably maybe not the best course of action Eda realizes as she draws the spell circle. But Eda’s more worried what might happen if the nightmare is allowed to continue.

The kid’s fever just finally broke three days ago. She really doesn’t know if the kid can afford to be sick again so soon after.

Luz cuts herself off rather quickly as she rejoins the land of the living. Stares up at Eda who had been holding her, not entirely sure what would happen when she came to, for a moment confused. “Eda?”

“The one and only.”

Luz finally wakes up enough to realize what happened and immediately starts panicking. “Oh my god I am so sorry-”

Eda cuts in as the kids' words get more frantic. “Kid breathe. I’m not mad.” A bit concerned about what Luz might be having a nightmare about to begin with that would leave her in such a state. But not mad.

“But I woke you up.”

“King woke me up actually. He noticed you having a nightmare.” Eda said with a shake of the head. “And even if he hadn’t you don’t need to hide them from me.”

Titan knew she was familiar with having her own fair share of nightmares.

“But people don’t like it when I scream in my dreams and wake them up.” Luz says after a moment. She was supposed to be quiet. If she had to have magic then this was the one good thing she could do.

Or that’s what people liked to say to her a lot anyway.

What the actual hell? Eda wondered for a moment. Who were these people that apparently needed a head smacking? You couldn’t control nightmares.

Luz continued seemingly unaware of the growing horror in Eda. “They don’t like being reminded that things happened to me.”

Eda stares for a moment, mouth slightly agape. She is left again wondering what Luz’s story is. The kid had been dodging questions about it since she had finally become well enough to hold a resemblance of a conversation.

For now though she pushes it aside. Luz didn’t need questions. As much as Eda wanted answers that could wait.

“Well it doesn’t bother me. I know all about horrible nightmares.” Eda admits with a shrug. Titan knows how many she had had herself. “You can scream if you need too and if we need to find another outlet for the nightmares. We can look into it.”

“Still I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.” Luz shut her mouth with a click. Eda realizes she made a mistake a second later. “Kid I just-” Eda breaks off not sure what to say. “I’m not mad. You don’t need to apologize. I don’t know what they’re about but you’re allowed to have nightmares.”

“No I’m not.”

Some part of Eda is growing exasperated. “Yes you are. No matter what other people say you can’t control your dreams. And anyone who thinks otherwise is foolish.”

“Then why does everyone get mad at me when I have them? It’s not like I chose to-” Luz cuts herself off before she finishes the sentence.

Eda raises an eyebrow. “Choose what?”

She’s guessing whatever the end of the sentence is deals with Luz’s nightmare. But the girl just looks away. Refusing to answer her question.

“It just hurts less.” Luz finally just says.

What the actual hell. Willingly muting yourself hurt less? Less than what exactly?

“Well around here you're allowed to let them loose. I know what nightmares are like. I know what trying to bury them is like. Just let them loose okay kiddo?”

Luz looks like she wants to question it but decides finally against it.

Eda knows she’s probably wondering what will happen when she goes back to the human realm. Not that will be an issue for a while. She wasn’t letting Luz out of her sight until she knew exactly how the girl was doing magic. Maybe there was a bit of projection going on. But Eda felt that Luz, whether she would say it or not, needed some guidance.

Guidance that she definitely wouldn’t get back with the humans.

Also there were concerns Eda had just from the fact Luz could do magic at all. And letting the teen back into the human realm without knowing what the story was didn’t sit well with her.

Especially with where some of Luz’s old scars were. --------------------

Eda finally finds out about the story of the scars by accident.

Any plans of Luz returning to the human realm had long been scrapped by this point. Eda’s not entirely sure what happened that caused her to find Owlbert and the door. But whatever it was she doesn’t feel comfortable letting her out of her sight.

Not when Luz has magic that she can’t seem to always control at least.

Luz still hasn’t talked about how she has magic. Eda does know that humans normally wouldn’t be able to cast. And Luz really doesn’t cast that often. Most often it’s an accident.

“Magic just gives me grief sometimes.”

“So you hate it?” Eda asks, quaking an eyebrow. She certainly wouldn’t have pinned that based on the fact Luz seemed comfortable staying on the Isles.

“‘Hate it’ are probably the wrong words. Magic is pretty. I love it when you do it.” Luz slowly admits. “I just, I’ve always been able to do this and no one can tell me why.”

“No one?”

Luz shakes her head. “I accidentally cast my first light spell when I was seven. It’s just been a long downhill mess since.” Her voice cracks. “Everyone looks at me like I’m a freak. And I know it has something to deal with the fact I don’t remember anything before I was six. But I can’t figure out what.”

Woah wait what?

Eda stares at Luz for a moment not sure if she heard right. “You don’t remember anything from when you were five?”

Luz shakes her head. “I know something happened. But everything’s sealed. No one can tell me. No one’s willing to tell me.”

Eda stares at Luz for a moment. A nastier theory starting to form in the back of her mind. She really doesn’t like the possible implications that are lining up here. “Alright, why don’t you tell me what you do know and let's see if we can’t maybe figure something out to help.”

The kid probably knew more than she realized. However, it was obvious that no one had tried to help her before now. --------------------

Eda is right. Luz does remember a bit more then she realizes about her younger childhood years.

It would be more accurate to say Luz doesn’t remember enough to make things make sense. Then it does to say Luz doesn’t remember anything at all of those years.

Though Eda gets the impression she would rather just not remember at all.

Luz does know snippets. Mainly thanks to her nightmares. Men in lab coats. Needles and words she never understood.

There’s more there. Luz occasionally cuts herself off from saying something. However, Eda doesn’t push for more. Obviously whatever Luz can remember is hard on her.

Eda only ever asks one question. “Can you tell me how you got some of your scars?”

Luz hesitates for a moment. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to kid. I was just wondering."

“The thing is like everything else I don’t really remember how I got them.” Luz finally admits after a second. “I know they’re from back then. But other than that…”

“Nothing else?”

Luz nods.

Maybe that’s a blessing Eda reasons. If these ‘people’ (if you could even call them that) were willing to do all sorts of experiments on young children. Then however Luz got her pattern of stitched scars was not a pleasant one.

“Why did you want to know anyway?”

“Curiosity mainly.” Eda says with a shrug. “I have a similar scar to one of yours on your chest.”

Luz’s scar was smaller all things considered. Which made sense considering this happened when she was a small child. But the location was not that far from her own scar.

She thought Luz would just accept the answer. Instead Luz seems to grow more curious. “Why do you have a scar there?”

There’s a beat for a moment and Luz realizes she may have asked too personal of a question. “Sorry-”

Eda holds a hand up effectively cutting her off. “It’s fine. I should have expected that question, all things considered.”

Of course Luz would wonder why she has an identical scar.

Eda sighs debating for a moment. On one hand telling Luz makes sense. On the other she’s worried what telling the kid about the nastier side of magic is like might do to a witch who is just starting to accept her magic.

Though really she supposes it's only a matter of time before Luz finds out the truth anyway.

“When I was younger, someone cursed me. The why and who to it really doesn’t matter now. Point is it was using my magic and my bile sac against me. So I was given two options. One was to hope to find an elixir and hope in the meantime it didn’t cause too much damage. Or two, since the curse was mainly centered around my bile sac still. Have it removed and have an artificial one put in place thus eliminating the curse entirely.”

“You went with option two.” Luz realizes eyes widening putting the puzzle pieces together.

“Yep.” Eda confirms with a nod. “Bitch of a surgery and I still have to take medicine just like you do. But it's better than the alternative.”

It was better than possibly dying.

“Anyways my scar from back then is pretty dang close to yours.” Eda finishes knowing the question that’s on the tip of Luz’s tongue.

“Oh.” Luz says quietly. “But I don’t have a bile sac.”

Yeah that much was obvious. They would have found it within Luz’s first week. Hard to miss on a medical scan.

“True but I’m guessing in whatever they did to give you magic. Some haphazard attempt at giving you a bile sac like a witch would have happened at some point.”

Oh.

“They were trying to make humans into witches.” Luz realizes what Eda has already figured out.

“Seems like it.”

“But why?”

“That’s the million snail question.”

What did humans want with magic?

Better yet how had they even found out they existed?

If they knew about bile sacs. That suggests that they knew how witch anatomy worked. Or at least enough to know that they needed them to do magic. Which raised a whole other set of questions.

Eda needed to talk to Lilith. Because she really didn’t like where the implications of this might be pointing towards.

“Would finding out why you can do magic help with your unease?” Eda says trying to push the disturbing thoughts out of her mind. And circling back to why they had started talking about this to being with.

Luz frowns for a moment. “Maybe. It could just make things worse.”

Eda hums at that thought. She hadn’t really considered that. “True. But it could also help with your health issues. If we know what was actually done to you.”

“You really want to look into it don’t you?”

“Only if you're comfortable with me doing it.”

It’s a sensitive topic Eda can tell that much.

Luz still hesitates. “I just don’t want you to think of me as differently afterward.” She finally had somewhere it didn’t feel like she was a monster. Somewhere that felt like home. What if-

Luz is surprised when Eda pulls her into a tight hug. Squeezing her tight for a moment. Her tone’s surprisingly soft and gentle when she speaks. “You're not a monster kid. And whatever happened to you, me knowing isn’t going to change my view on that. I just want to help, please just let me help.”

Luz's voice chokes for a second, she feels the start of tears, as she tries to talk again only getting a couple of words out. “But I-”

“Hey no buts.” Eda says. “The only monsters are those freaks that did the experiments okay?”

The fact Luz doesn’t say okay back immediately is telling. However Eda supposes it will take time. She only knows pieces of the story but obviously doing magic had a negative impact.

Convincing Luz to embrace her magic and that she wasn’t the monster in the closet in her own story is going to take time. But Eda is sure that with enough time she can do it.

Something in Luz breaks at that and the tears start cascading fully then.

“Kid?” Eda asks now, more worried than before.

Between a few hiccups and the tears Luz manages to get out. “No one’s really ever said that before.”

Part of Eda feels like her heart’s breaking all over again for Luz. Though this time it's out of a sense of familiarity as much as having known Luz went through that. No kid should ever have to think that. She knows that pain all too well herself. And the grief it causes. She doesn’t hesitate a moment to pull her kid back into a tight hug.

For a few minutes neither of them said anything. Eda doesn’t let Luz go when she speaks again there is a sadness to it with an undertone of fury.

“I’m so sorry kiddo that you went through that. But I promise you you’re not the monster in this story. And you may not realize that now, or tomorrow, but someday you will understand that you're not the monster for something you can’t control and never asked for.”

#the owl house #the owl house fanfiction #toh fanfiction #Luz Noceda #eda clawthorne #mama eda #toh au

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