#and then i found out that he’s really mean to barcus but because i never found barcus on my first playthrough i’d missed all of that part

[selunesfavouriteprincess]

saw a meme about wulbren bongle and it reminded me of how during my first playthrough I accepted the runepowder bomb, even though I knew for a fact I wasn’t gonna wipe out the gondians, because I thought it’d be useful for another big fight. I ended up using it in the house of grief and it DID help kill a few sharrans but like… idk how wulbren expected that thing to blow up the entire steel watch foundry because i lobbed that thing directly at viconia devir’s face and it still didn’t kill her so

[sepublic]

Writers’ Post-Hoot!

            As the title suggests, we just had a Post-Hoot with multiple writers from the show! Those present included John Bailey Owen, Cissy Jones (Lilith), Sarah Nicole-Robles (Luz), Rebecca Bozza (ItsRebeccaRose), Mikki Crisostomo, Madeleine Hernandez, Zarch Marcus, Avi Roque (Raine), with Zelda Black as our cameraman! I took notes, including on some cancelled storylines involving characters such as Vee, Odalia, Edric, Eda, and Hooty!

         Firstly, Zach Marcus has been writing on the show since the developmental pilot. It was confirmed Barcus was not based on him (unlike Jerbo for JBO), but he did say Barcus was ‘his’ character. I believe it was confirmed that Kikimora’s alias Miki was a reference to writer Mikki Crisostomo, and we also learned that The First Day had to be rewritten within a day! Mikki revealed she got hired for the show because she wrote a violent sample script in which someone had their rib cage kicked out, which convinced Dana she had to be on TOH!

         The development pilot is very different from the show according to Zach; It had the classic blood smear moment (in which Luz draws herself and Amity together, gets a paper cut, and uses her blood to simulate a blush as improv), and alas will never be released. JBO also said there are three poems in the show that the fandom hasn’t found yet…?!

         Dana was watching and commented a few times, such as when Avi, Cissy, and Sarah were doing the classic “Then why were you so easy to curse?!” line, commenting “Legendary Cissy line”.

         In regards to cut Season 3 storylines, Zach mentioned that there are so many versions of Thanks to Them that they went through (Dana gave a comment giving approval for them to speak on concepts). He revealed there was a version where the kids would’ve piloted Abomaton mechs in the desert…?!

         (I wonder if this is related to Kikimora, who pilots an Abomaton herself and comes from the desert of Palm Stings. Would Amity have helped in the creation?)

         Mikki also revealed Hooty was a Big Bad at one point in the writing process?! He’d have had as many legs as rib bones, poking through, as well as smoke.

         Huntlow was acknowledged as a major goal by Mikki and Madeleine (who kept asking why can’t they be happy???), and Zach joked that Huntlow wasn’t canon but c’mon. We can thank Mikki for writing the haircut that Willow gave Hunter!!!

         Dana was glad to keep the Star Trek reference, since so many crew members are Trekkies. Emmy also alluded to a ‘bog setting’ where the kids fought ‘bog bodies’… Unfortunately, her internet connection wasn’t so great so she cut out a bit and I couldn’t make out everything. But does this mean Belos would’ve reanimated corpses in the graveyard for the kids to fight?! Or the Grimwalkers?!

         JBO liked doing Luz in the human realm, as it was a different vibe than usual; More melancholy but also creepy. He wanted to explore the idea of what if a kid DID go to Narnia, and how that would affect them afterwards, and he’s happy with how it turned out… Same JBO, same.

         Emmy revealed there was also going to be a storyline where Vee was uncomfortable with having Hunter in the house!!!

         Sarah mentioned a question in the chat about the other coven heads, which could’ve been my question actually… JBO says that there was a lot they wanted to do with them, he really likes Hettie in particular. He considered exploring what Darius did to achieve his Abomination transform, speculating it’d probably take a dark sacrifice to do that. In general they wanted to see the coven heads plot with and try to kill each other; Lots of intercoven drama according to Zach.

         Zach also praised those who designed the coven heads; He lamented how designers often visualize concepts submitted by writers as so much cooler than the writers think they can do justice when writing, once they receive them back.

         Zach Marcus was described as the pun man of the writers, and when asked about what Darius’ Penstagram, they all agreed upon Goo Daddy. He was torn between Darius being a luddite, or nonstop posting what he eats, with a reflection of him in something. The writers discussed stuff like a Darius skincare routine, and him getting up every morning like a Disney Princess with animals, except they’re Abominations (fanartists were encouraged to depict this).

         JBO said he would’ve liked to see more of young Terra, Zach wanted to see more of her and Faust! As a reminder, a previous Post-Hoot had him put forth the idea that they were exes until they messily broke up and Terra tore off Faust’s lips and kicked him out, hence him living at Hexside and being so strict as a means of regaining a sense of control in his life.

         Zach also joked about everyone dying in the original Season 3 plans, but they allegedly changed it to a happy ending because the pandemic meant people needed something uplifting! They were barely in the exploration for S3 when they received news of the shortening.

         They joked about Barcus episodes, and also made a point about limitations actually being pretty good for writing, as it encourages writers to cut out the fat and leave the most essential bits. They said it was fun seeing Dana write on spite, and she thinks about a lot of the stuff they do for the story as the mastermind.

         Zach revealed him and Dana disagree on Mattholomule’s name, with Zach insisting it’s Mattholomule; His only compromise is saying his last name is also Tholomule… So Mattholomule Tholomule canon??? Zach also wanted a character named Corvus.

         Eda was a ‘horn dog’ in OG scripts for TOH, breaking hearts and all that. There was an episode with a B-plot in which Eda went on a date with playboy merchant, just so she could get a deal on crow heads, but Disney didn’t want a ‘horny old lady’. Dana commented that it was jut Eda on a date, but Disney was being weird about it.

         The writers also mentioned that they considered ‘Mom Tholomule’ and ‘Dad Tholomule’ in what they called the racing episode (I presume Eda’s Requiem’s B-plot), and they planned Steve and Mattholomule being brothers from S1! Zach joked that if the Tholomule parents showed up, they’d have taken attention from everything, with fans losing interest for Lumity, Raeda, and Huntlow in favor of them.

         They brought up their weirdest failed episodes, such as a race (which might be what they meant regarding the Tholomule parents) as well as an episode where Eda and Odalia had beef. It’d have been based on the Rats! musical poster –the one that gave Raine stage fright- and would’ve had musical elements, but alas Dana doesn’t like musicals herself due to her own experiences with them (which might be the Doylist source for Raine’s own trauma as well now that I think of it).

         Odalia would’ve been one of those obsessive parents, entering an Abomination disguised as a child for the role. Edric would’ve been angry and formed a rivalry with this fake child, wanting to be Momma’s Boy, and it’d end with the fake child getting decapitated and their head sliding off as the big reveal.

         When asked about doing ‘Blaine’ (Belos-possessed Raine), Avi explained they didn’t need to watch Rhys to copy Belos’ inflections, having watched the show plenty. They were surprised about the Blaine development when they went in to voice Raine that day and were told about it!

         When asked about favorite characters to write, Zach said he loved Eda because he didn’t need to go into anyone’s headspace when writing her, it was basically just him talking. Madeleine brought up how Matthew Rhys would charm the entire zoom call with his recording, and Emmy mentioned how twice she wrote for a bloodcurdling scream only for a VA to give more of an Ahhhhh.

         Specifically, Edric would’ve had a more bloodcurdling scream when he broke through his body cast to hug Amity (Zach wrote that, Emmy did the art for it), with everyone agreeing he should be in pain. A ‘piercing scream’ was specified, though Sarah joked about how hard VAs worked, and said a bloodcurdling scream might be done for an Oscar nomination (doing such a scream is taxing due to multiple takes).

         Mikki loves writing Lilith, calling her a big dweeb; Madeline loves Hooty the most, as he’s a wild card and she loves writing those. One example she brought up was in Hollow Mind, when Hooty shut down the Owl House. Madeleine loves it when Hooty goes from zero to sixty in either direction, fully insane.

         JBO also liked Hooty best, as well as King! They referenced the B-plot from Adventures in the Elements, in which Hooty negotiates a drawn body for himself from King, which Emmy and JBO wrote. The actual sketch used in the episode was straight-up one of their drawings, I didn’t catch whose though. Hooty’s dialogue in Eda’s conversation with him (from Something Ventured, Someone Framed) was also written by JBO, with Emmy drawing the bit where his tongue reaches for a fly!

        In regards to writing advice, JBO said to just do stuff, it’s better than nothing; Emmy concurred, it’s still worth it to write it, even if nobody pays you for it. Zach added that for writers, one of their goals is to be more of a tool; Get what they’ve made into the hands of someone who can take it further, it’s collaborative storytelling and writers need to see it from that perspective. Likewise, they mentioned having people read what you’ve written, as they can notice stuff that’s missing that you hadn’t thought of/remembered. Zach hoped for a TOH art book, as he liked a lot of Emmy Cicierga’s visual jokes and hoped people could enjoy them! IIRC Emmy did that one meme of Ariel combining her fish tail with two legs as a solution, so that tracks.

         On a final note, there was a HUGE wave of people commenting about Gustholomule throughout the entire stream. It went unacknowledged alas, but the group also mentioned they couldn’t answer spoiler questions so...

[blackjackkent]

OK, so Rakha is getting really pissed off about everyone in Moonrise knowing her history except her, and maybe killing the Warden wasn't actually the best choice, but she does definitely feel a little better afterwards.

It actually didn't go too badly - Lae'zel was able to destroy both scrying eyes before they could summon additional reinforcements. And frankly (at least so Rakha rationalizes, after the fact) they were never going to be able to finish the upcoming prison break without eliminating the immediate guards to prevent them from raising a wider alarm as soon as they noticed the cells were empty. So this had to happen regardless.

It just also happened because she was really fucking pissed off.

Looting the Warden's office gets a couple of useful magical items and, more immediately important, Wulbren's rock hammer, which she can give to him to complete his plan.

"Your feet fly fast, my friend. Any luck with those tools?"

"Here. I found this hammer. Is it yours?"

"Blessed Gaerdal... I never thought I'd see it again. Thank you." He takes the hammer, spins it in the air. Rakha can see at once that he's used to its weight, like it's a natural extension of his arm. "The plan is to wait for a quiet moment, then bust out the back wall. We'll grab the tieflings along the way; we'll need 'em if it comes to a fight."

He stabs a finger in Rakha's direction. "You, however, are the clincher. Once we move, keep the patrols busy. If the bastards spot us, all of bloody Moonrise will come down on us."

-----

Rakha considers this for a while. Keep the patrols busy could mean a lot of things, and not all of them involve killing everyone else on this level. But that is the easiest way, and (as she already considered) the one most likely to prevent someone from alerting the rest of the tower.

She doesn't like the way the beast purrs excitedly at the decision, but there's no help for that. So ultimately, Rakha and her team clear the place out, and then return to Wulbren ready to get things started.

The gnomes smash out the walls on their prison and the tieflings', and they find their way to a small pier on an arm of the lake that butts into the prison area.

"Boat's good to go," Wulbren says eagerly as the others begin to cut through the chains holding the small vessel in place. "All that's left is to ship off. My plan, for now, is to hide out on the water - unless you have a better idea."

"Look to the east for the Last Light Inn," Rakha says firmly. "You'll be welcome there." Barcus is waiting there for him, so it's best for him to go there at once.

(A/N: It's definitely way north as well as east, but whatever. :P )

Wulbren's eyes narrow with a flash of irritation, quickly masked. "Something survived in this hellscape? You should've lead with that." He leaps into the boat, gesturing the others to follow him. "See you there."

Rakha watches silently as the boat drifts off into the dark. One thing done right, at least. Barcus will get his friend back. No sign of any of the people Wyll needs, or of Mol, or of any possible way to attack Ketheric... but at least one thing is done, however much blood spilled it took to manage it.

[drabbles-of-writing]

Okay now you have to tell us what the siblings did to the Blight manor.

SOMEONE ASKED!!

well, first of all, they tear that bitch to the GROUND. it was during the first four years when they raid the place to grab Amity’s stuff and Dip Out. whole family was there while the parents were out at some meeting. came back to rooms on fire and over half of their belongings missing. they fixed it all up, obviously, but it was a HUGE talk for a while.

but what I really meant was when the twins inherited the manor. Something happens to the Blight parents, haven’t decided on if the bitches just died or moved away, and they suddenly own their old home. They rip out anything that has anything to do with their parents, change color schemes, furniture, all that and either chuck it in the trash or the darkest depths of the basement and set it ablaze. Burning the past away motherfuckers. And then, when all that’s done, they change the name. They thought about it for a while and eventually decided on the name; the Raven House. It was a joke between them, and also to tick off Lilith, but the name stuck. They even gave her a tiny picture above the door to solidify it. Eda still insists the Owl House is better than any big manor.

Once everything is finished and the manor is re-made, the ex-Blight’s all come to an agreement on what to do with it, since they all already had their own places and didn’t feel like moving into the house they were abused in. They say a final ‘fuck you’ to their parents and make it one big safehouse. By which I mean it’s like a shelter. Kids or young witches and humans alike (though the humans are just kids wandering by after getting in a fight with a monster or the older graduated kids when they need a little assistance) can come and stay in the Raven House to be safe and secured for however long they need.

Barcus is in charge of the place, and he looks after any kids who come along no matter the background. Some kids only stay for 24 hours, others stay for months, sometimes a few years, on end.  These are typically kids who have nowhere else to go or are on the run. We’ve got kids from the Isles, stowaways from other islands and even The Mainland, kids escaping abusive homes, orphans, kids who just need a break after getting lost/hurt nearby, the works. It’s a well-known place that’s completely free, since the Blight’s and even Lilith on occasion pay the taxes for it. It’s sweet for Barcus because he’s supplied with everything for free, but also hell because he has to deal with a bunch of kids on a daily basis. Luckily for him, he likes kids.

Course some witches or humans don’t understand Barcus, so he always has a chalkboard and chalk around his neck that he can hover in the air with his magic to write to the kids and help them learn how to understand him. If they can’t read, he usually has to call in one of the other kids in the House to help him out. No matter how long a kid stays, they are asked to carve their names on a large stone outside the manor. It used to be a statue in the front lawn the ex-Blight kids knocked over and left there, but it was repurposed. It’s littered with names and it’s not uncommon to find Barcus staring at the names or teaching some kids to read by having them read the names off the stone.

Now, the manor is big. It can easily house multiple packs of kids. But the thing is, it only has 6 bedrooms, and Barcus uses one of the smaller ones. Of course multiple kids could live in the same room, but there are some that need it more than others and aren’t comfortable with other kids. So the bigger bedrooms are saved for those kids (unless there’s an open spare one in which case it gets SWARMED) or Barcus asks the new kid to set up their stuff anywhere in the house, so long it didn’t interfere with others. Which leads to kids sleeping and hanging out in....interesting places. There’s always someone living in one of the bathrooms, three kids minimum at all times squirreling away in the closets (small and large), there’s a pile of pillows and blankets in the second dining room where kids hang out under the table, the big hallways have sleeping bags in them, some kid hid in one of the larger kitchen cabinets just because she could, there are SO MANY in the basement and attic, the library has all the nerds vibing on the bolted-down wall shelves and balconies, and one madlad set up a hut on the roof. Barcus isn’t happy with any of these but he supposes so long they don’t hurt themselves or own up to it being a bad idea later, he’ll deal with it. 

They also offer to send plenty of these kids to school (usually Hexside but sometimes others), but there are a few who refuse it and Barcus homeschools them. The rule of thumb with anyone who stays in the Raven House is that you WILL be smothered in an intense amount of Found Family and you CANNOT stop them. It’s a mad house and it’s glorious. They have their own kinds of memes and vines in that house and it’s law that if someone says “pubby” then EVERYONE in the vicinity has to tackle Barcus in a cuddle pile.

Others of the Owl Family often drop by as well. The first few times were a mess cause Barcus had to explain this was his family and no you don’t have to come down and say hi if you’re uncomfortable but please stop losing it every time Edric comes by we know he’s a fashion extraordinaire please- Camilia is one of the most common visitors, and the kids call her Aunt Camilia (a name she would vividly remember from her time in the human realm) and she teaches them all how to cook and tell them stories from the human realm. Barcus is very thankful because he needs one stable adult to help him with these kids. All the ex-Blights visit as well, though Amity slightly less because she’s so busy. Edric arrives just to show off, and Emira is a lot more refined n checks in on the kids, since her job is a children’s health care worker. Granted, Barcus does a pretty good job of being their therapist, he got a degree for a reason. Amity is a treat visit, because there’s always someone who knows she’s the Empress’s advisor and they all gawk at her for a minute before realizing she’s a shy dork n have fun info dumping on her bc she listens to them with rapt interest. Gus is a fun show, often taking down notes of the theatre kids and showing off his illusion magic, acting as his own little inspiration to them by being one of the best in his grade despite being significantly younger. He also tells his theories of the human realm which are still off and need to be corrected by Camilia. Willow is a lot more sweeter n is like the grandma who gives you too much candy but is also not afraid to beat someones ass. She’s one of the few adults All the kids respect. Luz is fun because she gives adventures and shows off a lot. And kids are always in awe at her tattoos and scars. Of course, Luz still has dumbass ideas every once in a while and ends up getting kicked out early in her visit on occasion. She showed kids how to swallow a light spell. Lilith shows up at least once a month for a little bit, and the kids always LOSE IT. At first it was genuine shock but eventually they just did it for fun because they knew it made Lilith embarrassed. Eda...god Eda is a visit kids are either excited for or dreading, depends if you can put up with her energy. Eda usually shows up when she’s bored, hiding from the cops or needs to steal something from the Raven House. She’s the weird eccentric grandma of everyone and she adores the kids. Her showing up often either ends in something catching on fire or a couple of kids getting in trouble with the law, which Eda or Barcus can easily snatch them out of. Y’all know of the Life Changing Field Trip With Zuko? Eda has a very similar thing where she grabs a gaggle of kids and takes them on an adventure, but it usually ends up looking like chores. Either way it ends up in either giving the kid some Advice they needed or just changing a way they think based on the adventures they get up to. When she gets much older and crankier, she slows down a bit but never stops having bad ideas or advice, but it’s a lot easier for the calmer kids to talk to her.

Barcus keeps all the trinkets the kids give him and holds them in a special room only he can access, like the passageways in Hexside. He cares about all the kids who come to the Raven House, even if its only for a little while. He’s still a dog at heart. A lot of kids he hears from a few months or years after they leave. They’ll call or show up and tell him how they are. And whenever they do he makes time to sit down with them with tea and listen to all they have to say. Even if they only visit once, he’s glad to see them. But, of course, there are the kids he never hears from. The ones who don’t want to, the ones who are too busy, the ones who moved off the Isle and elsewhere, the ones who get lost out there in the world, and the ones who have died. But Barcus almost never learns what their fate was. He’ll have nights where he sits in his room filled with trinkets or by the rock with names and wonder what happened to them, and hoping that they’re okay and happy. But he doesn’t have time to think about that. He has new kids coming in all the time, he should focus on them, not the past. That’s what he tells himself.

[flowersandskeletons526]

“The Harshest Future We Could Have Imagined” - Lumity Future AU Fanfic Part 3

While Amity and Emira discuss the emerging problem with their brother, Luz grows frustrated with current decisions.

Part 1    Part 2

---

Amity lurched forward, golden eyes blazing with hatred, but Willow clapped a hand over her mouth and yanked her back. 

Edric called orders to his squad as they marched around. Behind him, a young witch stepped out of their house. One of the soldiers grabbed them by the collar and clubbed them over the head with a vicious order to stay inside, before tossing them back and slamming the door in their face. Edric ignored the violence happening behind him. 

Keeping her hand over Amity’s mouth, Willow pushed her back into Luz and held a finger to her lips. “Not now,” she hissed. “We need reinforcements. We’ll have another chance to get him.”

Amity shoved Willow’s hand away. “He’s right there!”

“Amity, we’ll get another chance. Stand down.”

Gus popped up between them. “Guys, we should go. We can’t have Belos finding out that Luz is back yet or he’ll go straight after the portal.”

Willow shot Amity a look. Some of the fight faded from the witch’s fiery golden glare. 

“Gus is right,” she sighed. Still glaring down at Edric, she grabbed Luz’s arm. “Come on. We should go to the base and let them know where he is.”

Willow nudged her as they snuck away in the opposite direction. “You should talk to your sister.”

“I’m going to.”

They reached the base through a tunnel right where the snow began to stick at the Knee. The steep ramp down led deep underground, lit by torches that licked at the low ceiling. Luz looked around in awe like her first few days on the Isles, only now there was a foreboding sense of danger pressing down on the world around her. As they sank further underground, she shook off a chill that settled on her shoulders, one she wasn’t sure was just from the cold. 

Amity walked beside Luz. Their hands brushed together. Luz forgot where they were for a moment and smiled at Amity. The witch returned the smile, slipping her hand into Luz’s and giving it a quick squeeze, but the look disappeared in a moment. Luz watched sadly as frigid rage snuck into Amity’s eyes. 

They reached a metal door at the very bottom of the tunnel. Willow knocked three times. 

“Password,” a familiar voice barked on the other side of the door. 

Luz frowned. “Is that…?”

Amity pulled her back and held a finger to her lips.

“Wild,” Willow replied. 

“Members?”

“Thorn, Tiger, and Clone.” She glanced over her shoulder at Luz. “And a guest.” 

“A guest?”

“Friendly.”

The door swung open. A short girl with a spiky hair tie stared at them with wide eyes. She still wore the same fishhook in her ear. Her mouth hung open for a moment before she found her words again. 

“Titan,” she gasped. “Luz?”

“Hey, Viney.”

“I, you, y-you’re back! How?”

“Long story,” Amity said. “Let’s talk about it inside. Where’s Emira?” 

Viney stepped aside to let them through the door, closing and locking it behind them. “She’s with the boys in Barcus’ shed. They’re reading futures trying to find anything we need to worry about.” She paused. “Amity, I heard. I’m sorry.”

“Thank you.” With that, Amity swept past her and marched into the base, disappearing into the haphazard maze of buildings that occupied the large underground cavern. Luz tried to follow, but Viney caught her in a hug. 

“It’s good to see you again, troublemaker,” she said.

Luz laughed and returned the hug. “Good to see you, too. Where’s Puddles?”

“Out patrolling. She keeps Belos’ soldiers away from the entrance to this place so there’s no chance of them finding it.”

“Speaking of Belos,” Willow said. “We need to meet with everyone to discuss the new developments with Edric. We’re going to show Luz around the base and then I want a briefing set up in ten minutes.”

Viney nodded. “Got it, Commander.”

Willow waved to Luz as Viney rushed off. “Come on.”

Luz raised an eyebrow at Willow’s back. “Commander?”

“Amity and Willow are both technically commanders of the rebellion,” Gus explained quietly. “People usually call them that when we’re discussing matters related to the war.” 

“Should I be calling them that?”

“No, you’re going to be part of our squad. We don’t address them like that, but you do have to listen to them.”

“After what I’m seeing, I guess I better. I don’t remember them being so… scary.”

“We’ve all had to grow up fast since you left.” 

“Yeah, I guess so.” 

“Luz, come here,” Willow said. Luz fell into step with her. “I want to give you a quick tour of the place. See that little building over there? That’s the healer’s building. Viney is usually in there when she’s not on guard duty. That building over there is the armory.”

“Armory?”

“We can’t always rely on magic. Those buildings are our barracks. A lot of people’s homes have been destroyed, so if they join the rebellion and have nowhere else to go, they come here.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Gus mostly manages those.” 

“When I’m not helping my dad with the newsletters,” Gus chimed in. 

“Right.” 

As Willow went on, a growing weight of dread settled over Luz. She touched her glyph pad in her pocket, rolling her pencil between her fingers. What kind of world did she leave behind?

****

Meanwhile, across the base, Amity found Emira sitting in the corner of Barcus’ shed, while Barcus gazed into a crystal ball and Jerbo summoned little abominations to run around the room. Emira squashed one beneath her foot just as Amity walked in. Jerbo shot her a look and immediately resurrected the little purple creature, but kept it away from her threatening shoes. 

Emira looked up at Amity. “Mittens!”

“Can I talk to you outside?” she asked.

The elder sister frowned. “Alright.”

She followed Amity outside. Amity stepped over to the wall of the cavern and sat on a rock, pinching the bridge of her nose. Emira crossed her arms and waited. 

“We saw Edric again,” Amity finally said. 

Emira clenched her jaw. “And?”

“He was leading a patrol squad through Bonesborough. One of his soldiers clubbed some kid over the head and he didn’t even bat an eye.” 

“I don’t…” Emira bit her lip and turned away. “I don’t understand why he would do this. I know that he never liked the idea of the rebellion, but I didn’t think he would ever go this far.” 

“You heard what he said about being the stupid twin. He’s doing this to get back at us.” 

“We teased him! He and I did way worse to you, to the point where it wasn’t even funny looking back, and you didn’t do anything like this!” 

“He hated the idea of the rebellion in the first place. And it doesn’t matter why he’s doing it, it just matters that he is. Emira, L-” Amity stopped herself. She got close to Emira and lowered her voice to a hiss. “Luz is back.”

“What? When?”

“Yesterday when I got back to the Owl House she was there. If Belos finds out that she’s back, he’s going to destroy the Owl House and her trying to get the portal back. He got so close to his day of unity before she left and if we let him get his hands on the portal again, he’s going to win. With Edric running around, it’s going to be a lot harder to keep her out of sight.”

“You expect Luz to stay out of sight?”

“Okay, I don’t actually know what Willow wants to do with her, but I know that we can’t let Edric near her. You know he’ll be sent after her if Belos finds out.”

Emira sighed. “I know.” She wrapped her arms around herself. “I don’t know if I can fight him, Amity.”

Amity looked down. “Willow’s not going to ask you to.” 

“What about you, Commander?”

“You know you don’t have to call me that.”

“I do when we’re talking about things like this.” 

The younger witch rubbed her eyes. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t send you after him.” 

“What about you?”

“I don’t know.”

“Mittens, you can’t hurt him.”

“He’s hurting other people! What do you expect me to do, give him a free pass because he’s my brother? Emira, it’s the same thing that happened with the Clawthornes. We’re Eda now. He’s Lilith. Blood doesn’t change the fact that he is on Belos’ team now.”

“Lilith turned good.”

“Lilith was good. She tried to get Eda healed, she wasn’t leading soldiers around beating people and petrifying them for nothing! Most importantly, she left when she found out exactly how horrible he is! Edric already knows!”

“Right, of course, and the Clawthornes can do no wrong in your eyes but our brother doesn’t even be considered to be helped and given a second chance!”

Amity bristled. “What is that supposed to mean?”

Emira cringed. “Nothing. I’m sorry, that was out of line, I didn’t mean to say that.”

“I don’t care if you meant to, you said it. What did you mean by that?”

“Mittens-”

“Emira!”

“I just wish I could still hear Blight and have happy thoughts of you guys, okay?! I wish my family didn’t fall apart! If not Mother and Father then at least you two, but no! Now my twin is part of the Emperor’s coven trying to kill us, and my sister is a Clawthorne that wants to kill him!”

The two sisters stared at each other in shocked silence after Emira’s outburst. Emira, with her face burning red and tears in her eyes, scrunched her nose and turned aside. Amity huffed and fixed her hair. She crossed her arms on her chest and faced her sister. 

“I want to give Edric a second chance,” she finally said, “but I can’t. The lines are drawn. People know what Belos is doing. Anyone who joins him now is doing it with full awareness of the gravity of that decision. I can’t… we can’t forgive him. You understand that, don’t you?” 

“He’s my twin. We share magic. You understand that, don’t you, Mittens?”

Amity scowled as her face burned. She bared just the slightest bit of fang and flattened her ears back against her head. Emira’s turned down in kind. “Commander,” she growled. 

Emira scoffed. “Oh, come on, Amity.”

“Like you said, right?” Amity pressed. “When we’re talking about things like this, you call me Commander.” 

Emira frowned, startled by the sudden coldness, but turned her eyes town and sighed. “Yes, Commander. Understood.”

Amity softened. “Emira, I really don’t want to do this. I just don’t have a choice. We can’t approach this any differently just because he’s family. Actually, it’s because he’s family that makes it so important to treat him like any other coven squad leader. We can’t show weakness in this.”

Emira laughed, but the sound was cold and hollow. It left a heavy knot twisting in Amity’s gut. “There’s the Amity I remember. I guess all that ruthlessness really paid off in the end, huh?”

Amity smirked sadly. “Just not in the way Mother or Father ever hoped.” 

“Right.” Emira wrapped her arms around Amity’s neck. Amity returned the embrace with a sigh, just happy to be held again. “I really am glad you got out of there, Mittens. Maybe not in the way it happened, but at least you got out. You did better as a Clawthorne than you ever would have as a Blight.”

“You could come live with us, too. You don’t have to stay in the barracks all the time just because they destroyed the manor.”

“They? Didn’t you throw the first fireball?”

“That’s up for debate.” 

Emira chuckled. “Remember who taught you that spell. I still can’t believe you aimed for our parents’ bedroom window with that.”

“The house was empty! It was a message, that’s all. And you started throwing fireballs with me. You aimed for your own bedroom.”

“I needed to redecorate, anyway.”

The two shared a laugh and broke apart. Before the conversation could continue, Viney came running up to them. 

“Commander Amity, Commander Willow wants everyone in the map room for a briefing. She says it’s important.”

“I’m sure. Thanks, Viney. Will you get Jerbo and Barcus?”

“On my way.”

Amity nudged Emira. “Ready to see our favorite human again?”

Emira smirked. “More like your favorite human.”

Amity blushed. Emira laughed. They strode away through the base to the map room in the center of the cavern. 

Inside, Willow, Gus, and Luz stood around the glowing table with the magic-projected map on top of it. Luz grinned when they walked in. 

“Emira!”

“Luz! It’s so good to see you again!” They shared a quick hug, one that left Emira with a mildly shocked smile afterwards. “Oh, wow, you got way taller than me. Isn’t that surprising, Amity?”

“Ah ha, yeah, really.”

Luz just tilted her head and smiled obliviously. Amity allowed herself a crumb of reminiscence. Some things hadn’t changed, after all. 

****

Once both main squads were gathered, as well as a few trusted witches that Luz didn’t recognize, Willow smacked her hands down on the table. 

“First things first,” she said. “As you all have noticed, Luz is back. While that is amazing and everyone is extremely happy to see her again, there are going to be a few problems. The first is the fact that if Belos finds out about her, he’ll know the portal is working again and he will crush us personally trying to get it. We’ve all learned that he isn’t afraid to get his own gloves dirty anymore.”

A chorus of somber agreement went up from the witches. Luz looked around at her brow furrowed. What did that mean?

“So,” Willow went on, “because of that, we have to make sure that she stays hidden for now. We can’t risk anything until we have a better plan.”

“What?” Luz exclaimed. “Willow, you can’t keep me locked out of sight. I want to help you guys. I want to fight with you! I came back here because the Isles are the only place I’ve ever felt at home and everyone here is my family. You have to let me help protect that!”

“Not now,” Willow decided. “Once we have a plan, we’ll see about putting you into a squad. We can’t let him find out about you, especially with what we just found out. Which brings me to our second problem: Edric Blight.”

Amity and Emira stared at the floor, ears flat. Luz wanted to hug Amity, but she was trapped at the other side of the table. Instead, she did her best to convey it with her eyes. She thought it must have worked, but Amity managed the sad ghost of a smile. It was something, at least.

“Edric is Belos’ new commander and has him leading a patrol squad through Bonesborough. We saw him today when we were sneaking Luz through the Isles. He knows all of our faces, especially Emira and Amity’s, so he is going to be one of our biggest threats going forward. He knows too much about the Owl House, about us, and about the rebellion from what he heard in the past to be overlooked. From now on, if anyone sees him, do not engage. You retreat and call for reinforcements, and we’ll send out a squad of witches he doesn’t know. It’s going to be harder for him to make any guesses about our plans that way. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Commander,” everyone but Amity replied.

“Yes, Commander,” Luz mumbled under her breath. 

“Good. Everyone back to your stations. Gus, bring Luz back to the Owl House.”

“Wait, Willow,” Luz began. 

“Luz, that’s an order.”

“But I want to help!”

“You are helping by doing what we say for now. Go tell Eda everything I just said and see what she wants to do. Besides, you should catch up with her, anyway.”

“Amity, come on.”

“Willow’s right, Luz,” Amity said with a sharp, single nod. “I’ll be there later tonight and we’ll talk more, okay?”

“Okay…”

Gus tugged on her elbow and led her along, out of the base. She waved to everyone and got in a few more reunion hugs before they left. She followed him back through Bonesborough without incident, sneaking in most places and cloaked with intricate illusions where they couldn’t.

“Wow, you got a lot better with your illusions, huh, Gus?” she asked. 

“Mostly,” he replied. “I still have a long way to go.” 

Finally, they reached the Owl House. Gus helped Luz explain Willow’s briefing and what they saw of Edric. He stayed a little while longer to carry a message for Eda back to the base before scurrying off into the approaching twilight. Luz sat at the table with Eda and hid her head in her arms. 

The owl lady nudged her with her elbow. “What’s wrong, kid?”

“I want to fight in the rebellion. I want to help my friends but Willow and Amity won’t let me!”

“They’re looking after what’s best for our plans. Belos can’t know about you yet. The portal can be opened but I still can’t hide it. It’s just a free standing door in my closet. Look.”

Eda opened a door to reveal another door within, this one glowing around the edges with a large yellow eye set in the front of it. She gestured to it and slammed the closet door. Luz huffed and buried herself deeper in her arms.

“I already went up against Belos. I’m grown up now and a lot stronger. Let me do it again and I can help take him down.”

“We aren’t one-on-one with Belos right now, kid. That may help, but it’s not what’s best right now. Besides, you’re stronger physically, but your magic is out of practice. You’ve spent five years without it.”

Luz sighed, thinking of all the frustrated nights spent slapping glyph after glyph, only to have them remain pencil on paper. “I know. I’m just stuck, that’s all. I know Willow’s the commander now but I only ever knew her as my friend. Why can’t she just let me help? I’m not some magic artifact to keep in a cave with a booby-trapped boulder guarding it.”

“You’ll get your chance, Luz. It’s just going to take some time.”

“I know…”

“Good kid. Until then…” Eda slapped something down on the table in front of her. Luz lifted her head to see a deck of cards. “How about a game of Hexes Hold’em?”

“You told me you were going to quit that game!”

“I did! For a little while, anyway.” Eda grinned, shuffling the deck. “Now heads up. It’s time I taught you how to play.”

Luz grinned and accepted her hand. War loomed just outside the door, but for at least a few rounds, fighting could wait.

[rudemaidenswrite]

Ice Cold and Mind Games 4

https://rudemaidenswrite.tumblr.com/post/146022615221/ice-cold-and-mind-games?is_related_post=1

https://rudemaidenswrite.tumblr.com/post/146022754441/ice-cold-and-mind-games-part-2

https://rudemaidenswrite.tumblr.com/post/159499388911/ice-cold-mind-games-part-3

The long awaited Part 4! Everyone can blame Sylvanas because she is the one who has had the story edited for literally a year but never posted it.

Warnings: Language. Sexual implications. Injuries. Drugs. 

“It totally clashes with my hair! I’m not gonna wear this!” Stacie yelled at Logan. “I demand a refund.”

“Stacie you didn’t even pay for it.” Logan sighed.

“Well I’m still not gonna wear it.” ‘You only picked purple cause it Jessie’s favorite color.’

“I…did not.” Logan defensively growled as he started to flush. He snuck a look at Jessie who was spinning in circles with Kurt.

“Mmhmmmm sure you didn’t.”

“Just get changed Barcus.”

“For the millionth time I am not wearing purple with purple hair!”

“Stacie Stacie Stacie! Lookie it’s purple!” Jessie sang as she ran up to Stacie and hugged her.

Stacie patted Jessie’s head. “I can see that tiny child, I do have eyeballs.”

“Oh really I would have never guessed. Just let me be happy about it ya big meanie.”

“Alright smart ass.” Stacie threatened getting in Jessie’s face.

“Barcus go change!” Logan said pulling Stacie away.

Stacie pouted at Logan. “Bbbbbuuuuuutttttttttt Mr. Logannnnnn.”

“Stop trying to butter me up.” Logan sighed.

“Hey babe.” Peter zoomed up to the trio. “Why haven’t you changed yet?”

“Because it’s purple.”

“You like purple. I mean your hair is purple.”

“Exactly. I can’t wear a purple onesie with purple hair.”

“Wellllll technically it’s a jumpsuit.”

“Peter shut it.”

“But baaaaabbbbbeeeeeee. I have an idea.”

Stacie pinched her nose. “And just what is your idea?”

The jumpsuit in her hand changed from purple to black. “We’ll trade.”

Stacie held it in disgust. “I know for a fact you weren’t wearing anything under this.”

Alex held back his laughter. “Come on Stacie you sleep with Peter on a constant basis.”

“Oh shut it Summers!” Stacie angrily stormed off towards the locker room with Jessie in tow.

“Do you really need me to be with you when you change?” Jessie asked, sitting on a bench.

“Yesssss I has many things to tell you.”

“Oooooo gossip yay!” Jessie said excitedly. “Who’s it about?”

“Give you three guesses Pam.”

“No…Nooo…Noooo?” Jessie said playing along before they start laughing.

“I’m so glad you get my terrible references.”

“Anyways who’s the person in question that the 411 is about?”

“411? What the fuck is the 411?” Stacie hung her head in shame.

“Google it.” Jessie laughed.

“Google? What’s Google?”

“Google it!”

“You did not do that.”

“Um I think I just did.” Jessie said with a smile.

“Sometimes I just wanna hide your body somewhere. But then I think who would help me hide the body, and so I give up.”

“Well I’m so glad you need me for things like that.” Jessie said as she rolled her eyes.

“Okay getting back on the topic before you derailed it with your 90’s lingo, isn’t it odd that we got purple jumpsuits and the guys got black ones?”

“What are you talking about? It’s awesome that we got purple! I mean I love purple!” Jessie jumped up and down clapping.

“You really are secretly a child aren’t you?”

“Noooooo. It’s just purple. You remember when I found those sheets at Goodwill.”

“Yes. You screamed and got kicked out for disrupting the peace. And I had to buy them for you.”

“Good times.” Jessie smiled.

“Stop derailing!”

“Are you two done in there yet?” Logan hollered from the entrance.

“No! Squeezing these puppies in here is really difficult!”

“Stacie!” Jessie says slapping her on the shoulder.

“Shut it. I gotta procrastinate to talk to you.”

“Oh yeah…duh.” Jessie laughed.

“Well hurry up. We don’t have the danger room forever.” Logan said sounding annoyed.

“Bite me old man.” Stacie said annoyed. Logan groaned and walked away from the door. She turned back to Jessie. “Okay before we get derailed and forcibly get dragged out of here I guess I should put this on.”

“Yes. Yes you should or we may fail this part of school, but while you’re changing what’s the gossip?”

‘The only reason we, well you and Peter, have purple onesies is because Logan picked it for you because he wants to impress you.’ Stacie hissed through their bond.

‘Nooooooo you’re lying it’s just by luck that they’re purple. Logan’s not even in control of ordering the jumpsuits. Wait is he?’

‘Well considering he’s the one in charge of the uniforms for the X-Men, yes. Yes he is. Dumbass.’

‘I thought it was Hank.’

‘Hank is in charge of making sure the suits don’t get destroyed when we use our powers.’

‘Oh. Oh so you mean Logan really picked purple for me?’

‘No I’m telling you the sun is really purple and you’re just colorblind. Of course that’s what I’m telling you idiot.’

‘Well ya don’t have to be mean about it.’ Jessie stuck her tongue out at Stacie before heading out of the locker room.

“Wait I need you to zip me up.” Stacie yells after Jessie.

“Zip your own boobs!”

“Fine be that way.” Stacie followed Jessie out with her jumpsuit unzipped.

“Took you two long enough.” Logan sighed. “Wait why isn’t it zipped?”

“Cause. Boobs.”

“That’s why I gave you the purple one. It was for you specifically and your chest region.”

“I got you babe.” Peter walked up and zipped it.

“Oh god. Can’t breath. Jessie I should have worn the binder today.”

“Suck it up Barcus. You’re the one who traded with Maximoff.”

“Okay so no. Peter decided that we were trading.”

“Ugh just let’s get started with class okay?” Logan said as he signaled to Hank to start the simulation. “Alright so this is just a basic obstacle course, well with fire. But there is no chance of injury, just make it through the course without dying.”

“Oh I am so glad you’re our teacher for this.” Stacie sarcastically rolls her eyes as she walks to the start line with the others.

“Now you need to do this without powers, it is just to test your strength. Understand Peter and Kurt no super speed or teleporting!”

“Really I can freeze things and she can read minds how exactly is that gonna help with this?” Jessie asks.

“No putting the fires out.” Logan says bluntly. “And Stacie no making me think you’ve completed the course when you haven’t.”

“Oh that’s just unfair!” Stacie says.

“Now Alex knows the drill.” Logan says ignoring Stacie’s comment. “You have to climb over some stuff, walk across some stuff, crawl for a bit, and climb over a wall at one point.”

“I can’t climb stuff.” Stacie whines.

“Teamwork. Now get ready and go!” Logan said.

“Wait what?” Jessie looks confused as she looks at Stacie, while the boys have taken off.

“Does he expect us to like run?” Stacie asks.

“GO” Logan yells.

“We only run in embarrassingly short distances.” Jessie stated before she and Stacie are picked up and thrown onto the course by Logan.

They start going through the course climbing, crawling and running in short bursts. The boys already super far ahead of them. The girls reach a part of the course with lots of fire and one of the trees that line the course caught fire and starts to fall towards Jessie.

“Jessie no!” Stacie threw her hand out to stop the branch from falling.

“Huh?” Jessie turned and saw the branch starting to fall in slow motion. She instinctively took a step back and tottered on the edge of the platform.

“Alex catch Jessie!” Stacie shouted as she rushed towards Jessie. She slammed into Jessie pushing her off the platform. Jessie fell into the waiting arms of Alex. Stacie’s foot caught on one of the ropes lining the platform. She fell forward onto the platform. “Oof.”

Logan stood with his arms crossed impressed with the groups teamwork. He took in a deep breath. The distinctive smell of burning wood greeted his nostrils. ‘That’s not a good smell.’ Logan inwardly sighed. Of course something would go wrong.

“Ahhhhhhh” Stacie screamed in pain.

“No Stacie!” Jessie yelled. Ice shot up in razor sharp spikes around her and Alex.

“Cut the simulation Hank!” Logan yelled running over to where Stacie was, climbing up to the platform with ease. Pulling the very real burning branch off Stacie; it took him a moment to realize that the room had not changed back. “Damnit Hank! I said cut it!”

“I did!” Hank said frantically running through the door. “This is out of our control.”

“What the hell is going on?” Jessie yelled.

“Let’s get the wounded to the med bay.” Hank said calmly. He scanned over the group quickly. Peter was frozen in fear.

“Kurt get up here now! Teleport us to the med bay.” Logan commands.

BAMF! “Of course of course.” Kurt appeared beside Logan and Stacie. He wrapped his tail around her arm before Logan placed a hand on him.

“Wait.” Stacie weakly stretched a hand out.

“Barcus stop moving. You’re wounded.”

“I gotta say something first. Asshat.”

Logan sighed. “Make it quick.”

“Peter I told you showers after breakfast are bad luck.”

BAMF! Logan, Kurt and Stacie appeared in the med bay. “What the hell have I told you about teleporting in here Kurt?”

“Stacie’s wounded. I told him too.” Logan growled at Jean.

“I thought you were doing the Danger Room today?”

“We were. Now stop asking questions and stabilize her.” Logan laid her on the table.

Jean glared momentarily at Logan before starting to work on stabilizing Stacie.

“So what exactly happened today Logan?” The Professor said clapping his hands together.

Logan sighed. “They were running the obstacle course. One of the branches started to fall. Normally it would have phased out and everything would be fine.  Stacie threw her hand out and it started to fall in slow motion. She pushed Jessie off the platform into Alex’s arms. Her foot got caught in the ropes and she fell. The branch fell on top of her. Hank cut the simulation but nothing changed.”

Stacie started to move on the table. Hank leaned over and checked her iv fluids level. He turned up the morphine drip another degree. She immediately ceased her movements. “Honestly Professor I’ve never seen anything like it before. Everything was running normally until the incident.”

“It seems our young telepath has more to her powers than previously thought.”

-Le time skip to after Stacie is stabilized-

Stacie started to wake up. She hazily moved her arms around. “Wow I feel great! What is this stuff? It’s amazing! Can I have it to go?”

“You’re staying here for a while so you can just stay on it right now.” Jessie said sighing. Of course now that Stacie was awake, the first thing she wanted was more drugs.

“Oh where am I?” Stacie asked turning her head towards Jessie.

“You’re in the med bay, you got hurt trying to protect me from a falling tree branch.”

“Oh did I protect you?” Stacie slurred out.

“No you didn’t, what do you think?” Jessie said sarcastically.

“What I didn’t?!” Stacie asked almost in tears.

“No no you did I’m fine you did protect me, I’m fine no crying.”

“What is going on? Why is Stacie crying?” Peter asked walking in.

“She’s high. And I tried to joke with her that she didn’t save me and she freaked out.” Jessie bluntly states.

“Oh okay.” He didn’t look convinced.

“No like really high.”

“Ohhhhhh” Peter said. “No no no. You can’t sit up Stacie. You have to stay on your front!” Peter rushed over and gently pushed her back down.

“You’re my best friend why didn’t I save you?!” Stacie balled.

“What is going on in here.” Scott asked walking in.

“She’s high.” Jessie said. “Like really high.”

“Why is she asking why she didn’t save you, and crying hysterically?”

“Um… she’s just really high.” Jessie jumps at the sound of a newspaper rustling.

“Jessie tried to joke with her that she didn’t save her.” Hank stated as he looked over his paper. “It didn’t end well as you can see.”

“Holy crap how long have you been here?” Jessie asked surprised.

“I’ve been here the whole time, you even looked at me when you walked in.”

“Oh really? I did not even notice you.”

“Alright. Visiting hours are over for the night. Everyone out.” Scott said as he started to shoo Jessie and Peter out. They grumbled but complied. “Hank hold on.” Scott grabbed Hank’s arm. “Are the rumors true?”

Hank pulled his glasses off and placed them in his jacket pocket. “It would appear so.”

TAGS: @markusstraya

[sepublic]

Ideas for a Blight Twins Episode

          Continuing off of some ideas from a previous ask;

           Jerbo and Edric isn’t a very popular ship (not disliked, just not widespread), and I know there’s no canon basis whatsoever for Vinira, alas... But I really do like the idea of Edric learning to be his own person, apart from Emira, WITHOUT necessarily finding this through romantic love? It’d be a way of showing that other forms of love are perfectly valid… And it kind of reminds of some of those aroace headcanons I saw for Ed, a while back!

           Maybe it could even tie into his insecurity of not wanting to be alone… Thinking that because he’s aroace, he’s somehow unlovable, and incapable of feeling loved; And his clinginess is a desperate way to avert this view of himself and his identity! So having Edric find meaning and identity by hanging out with, say, Lilith, Luz, and King… I think it’d be a great way for him to learn that not only is romance not required to ‘be your own person’, that you’re not somehow less grown up for not being in love… It’d also make him finally getting a ‘pet’ for himself more meaningful, too!

           (And I see Edric as a kid at heart who never really got to be himself and had to grow up fast, and even as a rebel he still doesn’t let himself relax.)

           And Edric is able to find solace in multiple different relationships at once, instead of clinging extremely to the one he has with Emira… Relationships with different meanings, with Lilith being a surrogate mother, Luz being a regular friend/sister-in-law, and King… Well, I’m not sure WHAT King is, a little brother? Regardless, it’d really expand Edric’s horizons and allow him to experience ‘love’ in a different way that isn’t necessarily related to just being a blood sibling… Which could alleviate his concerns about never having a bond as close as his with Emira.

           THAT could then tie to Edric realizing and understanding Emira’s desire to be her own person more… As for Emira and any interactions with Viney, she might simply recognize how Viney and the other Detention Kids found solace through solidarity and shared similarities, and interactions; But still manage to be their own people! Though, they aren’t siblings, so there might be more of a desire to meet someone who can make it clear to Em that, no, you aren’t going to lose your identity by being close with your sibling…. Again, this ties back to my idea of Eda being a good mentor to Emira as well.

          At the very least, being around Viney, Jerbo, and Edric, who are understandably more sensitive, could lead Emira to being a lot more mindful and understanding of how others feel, and not necessarily steamrolling over that like her mother Odalia would… THAT could translate to her paying attention to Edric’s concerns and at least respecting them, instead of just casually throwing them to the side; Even if she still disagrees, at least she considered his side of the story first!

           Emira is someone who got defensive, in her attempts to be ‘herself’, by feeling like she had to push Edric away and become closed-off… When Edric suggests discussing their worst fears, Emira looks away as she says something that shuts him down- Even if it WAS likely honest, she low-key discouraged any further openness between the two at that point. And while it’s important for Emira to be her own person… Perhaps by opening up to Viney and the others, she could realize she’s still her own person, and better able to appreciate that- Especially since Emira opening up allows herself to be, well, herself around Viney, instead of just the confident mask she’s put up as a charming Blight!

           And because the twins are more honest and open with each other… It could lead to them being even closer, as again- They no longer fear having to hide or suppress parts of themselves, in fear of jeopardizing their conformity (which they mistake as synonymous with their bond), and in turn, they can enjoy one another while being happier individuals… And NOT worry about losing themselves in the process, because they know who they are, they know the other twin respects that, and they have other connections as well!

           …Legit, I have to wonder how Amity would react to all of this. If she may feel obligated to step in, or just stand back and let the Twins figure themselves out… Obviously she’d CARE for the two and be concerned. But at the same time, they ARE closer to one another than Amity… And I can see Amity being afraid of either twin singling her out as a new sibling-bond to form in the absence of their other one, for Emira to get away from Edric’s in her case, and Edric to replace the one he can’t back with Emira. Maybe it could lead to either twin trying to be more appealing to Amity, being less themselves to get her approval; And Amity, who initially may find it amusing, quickly shuts them down because she sees herself in them… And she does NOT want to make others feel obligated to change themselves for her approval, because they feel like they have nobody else!

           Which, that’d likely lead to Amity either participating in encouraging either sibling to mature, to grow… But given how she’s got her own issues, more than likely she’d recognize that it’d be mutually health for them both to split off for now. At the very least, she doesn’t want to risk taking advantage of Emira or Edric… And either twin might feel disgruntled at Amity, but then remember they were also cruel to her in the past ‘for her own good’, but on the other hand, THAT hadn’t been for her own good after all- So who was to say that Amity was correct, pushing away the other twin and not accepting their friendship (laced with dependency) ‘for their own good’?

           Regardless- It’d probably make Amity feel worse if one twin, or both, began to depend on her. She already feels like she has to conform to what her parents expect of her, what Boscha and the others expect of her as the top student… So it’d just put more pressure on Amity to take care of others, VS herself; Especially since she admittedly is not responsible for Emira and Edric’s identity issues this time, unlike with Willow. Plus, she may not be in the right mindset to help them either, as she’s still figuring herself out with Luz…

           Not to mention, Emira and Edric may or may not have reservations about having to depend on their own little sister for help; And they might be too aghast at forcing Amity to take care of the other. Maybe they wouldn’t want to keep bothering her after everything else, after seeing how much they already hurt Amity, who tried to be both like AND unlike them, paradoxically, at the same time (tried to have the same talent but not be a rebel). There might be the insecurity from Ed and Em both that as lonely individual who barely have their own identity, they might just screw over Amity further… Amidst some pride and shame at being seen like in front of their little sister.

           Though, I can ALSO imagine a hilarious scenario where Emira and Edric viciously compete for Amity’s affection, offering incentives and favors, maybe aggressively downplaying the other and holding a bit of a grudge… Until for her own health, Amity tells them to STOP, and leave her alone and figure their own issues out, on their own- Or with literally anyone else!

           I can totally see them going to Luz for help, though… Or again, maybe not- They might see Luz as too cool for them by this point, since Emira and Edric DO seem legitimately fond of Luz, as someone who is likely their only friend outside of the family, and the only person who actively reciprocated friendship with them and wanted to earn approval! Emira and Edric might feel obligated to still be those too-cool-for-school twins, so they may avoid telling Luz about their own problems to ‘live up to her expectations’, afraid Luz would no longer like them as much for being so ‘pathetic’… When in reality, Luz likes the twins as whoever they are, whoever they choose to be! She’s interested in getting to knowthem, whether or not that identity matches the façade the Twins have put up or not; It makes no difference to her.

           Still, I can see Emira and Edric trying to start ‘fresh’ with a total stranger… But as I said before, Edric isn’t identical to Emira and vice-versa. So ultimately, while I think Emira would have more of those reservations about opening up to Luz, as I mentioned earlier; Edric is someone who’d just want companionship, and thus be more liable to others’ opinions for approval. In this scenario, this could be good for him, as then Edric would be more receptive to genuine, positive feedback from Luz… as well as Lilith, etc.

           Like, I’m just imagining a hypothetical episode of the Blight Twins doing some soul-searching, beginning with the separation and following Emira and HER misadventures with Viney… Emira assumes it’ll be oh-so-easy, that she can rely on that charm and confidence and just that, no being open or honest and vulnerable… Which then leads into that fan concept of Emira trying to connect with Viney, but because Em refuses to be up-front about her feelings because she thinks she has to be ‘cool’ to get affection from a stranger, Viney just thinks the girl is out to murder her!

          Emira gets more and more frustrated, ends up accidentally tormenting Viney while Jerbo and Barcus are forced to defend her… And eventually Luz or somebody else, maybe Willow, just throws in their two cents and tells Emira to be straight-forward; Exactly like that ‘Stop lying, stop manipulating, just be nicer’ meme, and Emira is just utterly lost and baffled; But she finally obliges and it works out! And after experiencing happy, formulating relationships, Emira appreciates Edric’s concerns more, and then wonders what happened to him and how he’s doing…?

          And then once THAT ends, we immediately cut to see what Edric was doing; And how alone and dejected after she basically ‘ditched’ him, we have a humorous montage of Edric wandering Bonesborough like a traveling vagrant without a home, connections, or identity…Even though he’s not, but he’s being dramatic! And as he sits by himself alone, he ends up picking up a pet or two that he befriends, because it just strolls up to him and sits down besides Edric in mutual solidarity, as he starts talking to it… Openly appreciating the company, and then maybe projecting some of his own insecurities regarding him and Emira.

          Then maybe the ‘pet’ leaves him by that point, and Edric starts crying out in abandonment! A mean yet hilarious wake-up moment, perhaps alluding to Edric pushing people away for being too clingy and projecting his needs onto them. Maybe Ed DOES find a proper pet, then or later…! Either way, his wandering leads him to the Owl House- Either he sees Eda and the others selling stuff and follows them, he just ends up there on his own, or he deliberates on his other connections, dismissing going to Mittens as ‘too desperate’, even for him; And then he brightens up and remembers Luz, remembers how she always makes people happy, including Mittens of all people! If Luz can help Amity, she can help Edric… And somewhere along the way, Edric is surprised to find himself valuing an unexpected bond with Lilith, and maybe the other Owl House residents as well!

           Certainly not Hooty, though, even if him and Edric may share issues of being ‘desperate’ for companionship. Hooty is a freaking war criminal. Actually… perhaps like Eda in Episode 9, talking to Hooty will help Edric realize where he messed up, and/or come to an epiphany of what he might become, or do to others! In turn, he appreciates Emira’s decision more… Maybe Ed bolts off, understanding how Emira may have viewed him, but he also still needs to figure out how to value himself, and Emira’s desires VS Emira just not wanting to be with someone so ‘desperate’, as it leads to Edric thinking he needs to be more confident just to win back his sister. Either way, Hooty is left in the dust mid-sentence, RIP. Maybe Edric even narrates his realization aloud, ending on him declaring that he doesn’t want to be like Hooty, right to Hooty’s accursed face!

           As Edric gets along with everyone, maybe he picks up a pet, possibly with Viney’s help… And he learns to respect wild animals as their own creatures with their own lives, and not just toys for him to kidnap and take into his own possession! Edric respects the autonomy of these animals, that they don’t owe him anything and he can’t just force a bond… And like with Emira, he better understands how his sibling felt!

          The two meet again, talk awkwardly, mention to their individual journeys in passing, possibly with the others watching- And they have a tearful reunion hug! Maybe Amity even joins in, because why not- She’s happy to see her older siblings healing like Luz did for her, and this could make all three Blight kids better with one another. Of course, Ed and Em ‘ruin’ the moment by teasing Amity but messing with her, but in the end everybody is happy, and Luz does that ugly-crying face from the end of Understanding Willow, reveling in and appreciating wholesomeness.