#i might do the rest of the hexsquad

[possibly-a-table-or-just-gay]

He angy

Do not insult his swag he made that himself

[lollytea]

For the character thing how about: Vee Noceda :)

How I feel about this character

This might be controversial....I don't hate her. I don't dislike her at all. She's just a shy sweet adorable little girl. She has great vibes. I think she's precious and I wanna squeeze her.

But like. I'll expand on my feelings down in the unpopular opinion section.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

The show never really gave us a ship dynamic, but pretty much just explicitly told us that Vee's love interest is Masha so I was like "sure I guess"

My non-romantic OTP for this character

I really like Vee and Camila. That's her mama! She gives her all the cuddles and forehead kisses that she's never received before!!!

My unpopular opinion about this character

Ultimately. I think she was a very unnecessary addition to the cast.

I know she's not real but I kinda felt bad for her. Yesterday's Lie was SUCH a strong episode, and Vee had a pivotal role in it. Her character worked excellently for the sake of spicing up the plot. But then once that episode was over, it felt like the show was a child who had just adopted a stray kitten without considering the responsibilities. Like okay you've got a basilisk in the show now. What are you gonna do with her?

They're gonna shove her in the human realm for the rest of season 2 so they don't have to think about her.

But surely once season 3 rolls around and she's back in the spotlight, she'll be relevant, right?

Well.

And I know the tune. "If they had a full season 3, they would have-"

Im not pointing fingers at the crew, blaming them for Vee's awkward inclusion in Thanks to Them. At the moment, I'm just looking at the show for what it is, rather than what it could have been.

And Vee gets. Nothing. She gets nothing. She gets SO MUCH nothing that the crew makes attempts to write her out of the episode because the Hexsquad is already too crowded. Why the hell did her teenage ass not wanna go to a Halloween party? And then at the end, they leave this little girl in the human realm on her own while the rest of her family ventures into certain doom.

Luz fucking DIED. Camila was a PUPPET. They very easily could not have come back.

Also this is kinda unrelated, but I didn't like Vee's mysterious "LUZ'S IMPOSTER" build up in season 1. But then again, that's mostly because her character ended up falling so flat. I didn't mind the subversion of the trope, I just wish Vee's writing stayed as consistently strong from that point onward.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

ANYTHING!!!! FUCKING ANYTHING!!!!! THROW THIS POOR GIRL A BONE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD!!!!!!

[thousand-winters]

Hunter tries holding a sleepover at the Deamonne house since his friends all took a turn hosting, and wants to contribute.

When they play Truth or Dare...

Luz: Hunter, truth or dare?

Hunter: Dare!

Luz: I dare you to sneak up to Darius's room and bring back down his wallet.

Hunter: You've been spending too much time with Eda.

Luz probably isn't even planning to do anything bad with Darius' wallet, she just sort of wants to see if Hunter will actually get it because... alright, she might have been spending too much time with Eda, but she lives with her whenever she's on the Boiling Isles! What else did they all expect from her, really?

The rest of the Hexsquad probably doesn't know exactly what to make of it when Hunter just gets up with the most unamused face ever in his face and just walks straight up into Darius' room, especially if Darius is nearby and Hunter clearly didn't bother with being sneaky.

Even if they were trying to be funny, it's a bit nervewracking too if Darius just goes back to his room to check on what Hunter is doing, clearly not upset, just very casual. Still, it's really something when they hear the little exchange of "what are you looking for?", "your wallet" 😭

Considering it's Hunter, they think he simply might not know why that's something a bit odd to say to your parent, especially with him just not really asking for it before, but Darius just seems curious about why, and when Hunter says it's for a dare? They just about feel their souls leaving their bodies, rip...

Darius simply gives it to him though, and tells them that if they wanted to order takeout or something like that, they should have simply asked, but he supposes kids gotta engage into a bit of mischief sometimes. As long as they're careful and safe about it, he doesn't mind.

Hunter looks far too smug sitting back down with them with his dad's wallet on his hand.

[tohisprettyc00l]

Hii u just found your blog and I live your writing!!

Could I request a raine x Ed’s x reader type thing if you write that sort of thing

Where the reader find them self in the booing Isles as a team and become freinds with rain and Eda but they one day just stoped showing up.

Move forward and luz brings them back wanting to show it to them and it’s a cute sad and romantic ending for the three :)

Have a good day and remember to look after yourself:))

You have been with Eda and Raine for a few years now. It was like a dream. But all dreams had to end. You were with Luz and the rest of the hexsquad (plus King) on The Day of Unity. You were there for adult supervision. Also so that the kids have adult moral support. But things went awry pretty quickly. King got separated from the group and Luz was taken to Belos.

In other words both your adoptive kids were gone, one could be in mortal danger the other one was 100% in danger. Great.

And by the time King and Luz returned the draining spell had already done massive amounts of damage. You were kind of in a haze during the whole thing. You could tell what was happening but didn't fully compare it. And before you knew it you lost King, Eda, and Raine and were stuck in the human realm.

You were holding up as well as the kids, which might sound bad considering you are an adult. But the kids were weirdly strong for the situation. So you were holding up stronger than most people would be after randomly being separated from your family not knowing if they were even alive or not. And the kids were holding up 50x better than they should be able to.

But only a few months later you found a way to get back. Granted it came with Belos possessing Hunter and killing Flapjack but you were back. And after only a few hours of being there and only seeing a glimpse of King and no sign of your partners you were turned into a puppet. You were very barely there when you were turned into a puppet. You could feel everything but couldn't really tell what was going on.

When you were fully back you were welcomed by two people hugging you.  Eda and Raine to be exact. Tears pooled in your eyes when you realized. "I love you both!" Was all you could manage before breaking out into happy sobs. Eda peppered you both with kisses. "Do-do you guys know where King is?" You asked. Almost as if on cue the little Titan tackled you in a hug. You were with your family again and it was nice

[sokkadora]

thanks to them — hunter (gg) x clawthorne!reader

continuation of comfort crowd & hold out!

summary: after months of trying, the hexsquad make a daring try to get back to the demon realm.

a/n: okay um. the requests are going to be coming over the course of this week (no promises 🙏🏼) but. you will be seeing them soon!

wc: 5.2k

warning(s): possession, blood mention, (almost) dying, flapjack dying :(

You squeeze Hunter hand tightly as your. eyes droop and Luz’s mother opens the door, and gasps in shock to find six teens looking disheveled out in the rain, as Luz looks up at her.

“Hey, Mom.” She shrugs softly, and starts tearing up. “I'm back.”

Camila and Luz stare at each other for a moment, before Camila gives daughter and gives her a warm embrace, both crying.

Camila invites you all inside for dinner, and after finishing you all contribute to cleaning up. Camila is washing the dishes, Gus helps her by using magic and an awkward Amity gives her a cup of tea. Camila smiles, and pats Amity on the shoulder.

She joins you at the table, leaving a seat for Luz between you and her as Willow rubs a hand against your back as a comforting gesture.

Luz gets out a box of bandages that have cartoon mascots resembling Eda, King, and Hooty, and she sighs softly. Hunter approaches her quietly, grabbing onto the doorframe.

“Hey. Thanks for not telling them that I'm a...” Hunter starts, looking away, embarrassed.

Luz opens the box of bandages, staring at the bandage softly. “A grimwalker?”

“Shhhh, don't say it so loud!” He shushes worriedly. Luz hands him two bandaids for you, and he stares at them for a moment before speaking. “Uh... what about you? How've you been since, uh...?”

“Since we were in Belos’ mind? Since I found out I helped him meet the Collector?” Luz squeezes her eyes shut, holding back tears. “Oh my gosh, Hunter. They're all gonna hate me.”

“What? Psssh!” Hunter scoffs lightheartedly, stepping closer to Luz as she wipes away her tears and slightly smiles at Hunter. “No, of course they won't. They won't hate you any more than me when they find out that...” He starts panicking. “I might be a clone of... someone who was a... witch hunter... with... Belos...”

Luz and Hunter frown, and slowly turn their individual gazes to their partners; you and Amity.

“(Y/N) already knows and still loves you, but… we'll tell them. When we're ready..”

Hunter nods and the two join the others in the dining room. Willow scoots over a seat for Hunter to sit next to you as Luz sits on your other side and places a bandaid on Amity’s hand.

“Okay, so in the Demon Realm, you fought the evil Emperor Belos who turned into a monster...”

Hunter shakily grabs your arm, pulling you from your thoughts to sit up straight and watch him. He opens the bandaids and places them over them on the scratches on your arm, and smiles worriedly at you. When you smile and take his hand into yours, it quells any fear he might have that you don’t love him the same as before you knew he was a grimwalker.

“Well, he started out human.” Gus says, and you and Hunter turn to listen to the conversation.

“Right, but he was defeated by a newer, smaller bad guy?”

“The Collector.” You say, clearing your throat as Camila turns her attention to you. “We don't know what he is or how Belos found him.”

“Who knows if we'll ever figure that out?!” Luz says, panicked. Amity and the rest of the table (except you) look at her, confused. “But they're creating a lot of chaos.”

“We have to do whatever it takes to get back.” Amity states firmly, turning back to Camila.

“And you will. But for now, you should all rest.” Camila smiles, looking around at all the kids that are now in her care. “You're all safe here.”

Camila shows you and the other girls to Luz’s room, and Gus and Hunter to the basement.

Vee, the basilisk Luz told you about, shows you, Willow, and Amity a small black box with numbers on it with a wide smile.

“In the morning, instead of screaming, it'll do this!” She presses a button on it, and it activates an alarm.

You stare at it curiously while Willow and Amity gasp in shock, jumping up from where they were sitting.

“Don't worry, Vee!” Amity says, placing an arm in front of Vee.

“We'll keep you safe!” Willow shouts, destroying the alarm with her plant magic. Once it collapses on the floor in tiny pieces, Willow and Amity smile. “Good work! It's dead!” She and Amity bump elbows as you pout and Vee stares at the alarm clock sadly.

“Uh... thanks.” Vee says sheepishly.

You look down at the floor where Willow made a hole with her plant magic, and glance up to see Camila peeking in the room. You sheepishly smile, drawing at spell circle and casting a spell that fixes the hole.

Camila smiles at you thankfully, and closes the door.

Over the months you stay in the human realm, there are multiple tries at a portal door to get back to the Demon Realm, but they all fail. But it doesn’t stop you from having fun there, after all, Camila has made time to take you all on tons of trips over Luz’z summer break. You cut Hunter’s hair for him as he shyly explained what he had found on Philip and his brother, and you both experienced human rain for… the first(ish) time.

That one had to be your favorite memory here so far, giggling at Hunter being covered in mud as you hopped down the stairs. You kneeled and brushed the mud out of his hair and eyes, and his shy grin that he always gave you when you were that close.

But summer came to a close and Luz was at school, so you and everyone else were hanging out in the abandoned house behind Luz’s home.

Amity, Gus, Hunter, Willow were all trilling R's, while you and Vee — having lived with Luz and Camila, were speaking perfect Spanish.

Gus mumbled to himself, “Am I doing this right?”

You and Vee spoke into the tablets app, and a ding sound came from it, making the two of you grin.

“Perfecto! You're our top student!”

Amity squinted at the tablet. “Hmm. I was the top student once.”

Flapjack begins pecking at the table, and you glance at Hunter, who shrugs.

“He's still doing that, huh?” Gus asks, crossing his arms and looking up at Hunter.

“He won't tell me what he's looking for.” Hunter sighs and shakes his head.

Camila enters the shed with a warm smile, “Hi.” Looking around she grins, “Ooh! I like what you've done with the place. No more exposed nails or possum nests. But this still confuses me.” Camila motions to a painting of Hooty on the door, and you squint at the droopy paint.

“Yeah. He still confuses us too.”

“Hola Camila.” Gus smiles, waving at her. “We're learning Spanish from this scary owl app.”

“Hoot hoot! Practice every day, or I'll appear in your nightmares.”

Camila blinks in surprise. “Oh, okay. Well, I'm going to pick Luz up from school.” Camila grins, placing a hand on her hip. “Pop quiz; ¿Como se dice eso en español?”

“Oh, oh! Uh... Hunter inhales and starts speaking strained Spanish.

“Voy a recoger a Luz de la escuela.” You grin, clasping your hands together.

“Muy bueno!” Camila grins and winks at you. “Keep it up.”

Amity sighs after Camila leaves, “Maybe we should take a break.”

“A siesta.” Willow grins.

“Siesta!” Gus exclaims, bounding up from his spot on the floor.

“We've been here for months, and we've made no progress on the portal door.” Amity explains, throwing her arms out in exasperation as she stands up. “We can't expect Camila to take care of us forever.”

“In the meantime, we could pull more weight around the kitchen.” Gus nods. “My mustard ravioli did bring tears to her eyes.”

“Those weren't the kind of tears you're thinking of.” Vee cringes.

“I can help fixed damaged clothes!” Hunter holds up a shirt he made / fixed, grinning.

Willow holds up a plant monster, “I can spruce up the garden!”

“Maybe we need to look elsewhere. There's an entire Human Realm to search.” Amity says, placing a hand on her chin while pacing in front of the group.

“But Luz has school most of the week.” You say, a hand on your hip.

“So? Let's explore the town ourselves. After all, Luz went into the Boiling Isles on her own.”

“If Eda came here before, maybe there were others. Maybe they left something behind we can use.”

“Yes! That's the spirit! Together, there is no challenge that can hold us back.” Amity trips in a hole Flapjack pecked and faceplants, making everyone cringe. Amity groans, “Ow.”

“It's a sign! We're doomed!” Gus gasps.

“Come on Flapjack, this isn't funny anymore.” Amity grunts, until she sees something in the hole. She gasps, “There's something in here.”

Amity holds up a hexagonal box as the group gathers around her. She opens it and takes out a scroll and unrolls it.

You kneel down next to her, and run a hand over the paper. “Hmm. Looks like… a map?” You guess, looking up at Amity.

“Or a secret code?”

Flapjack chirps at Hunter, landing on his shoulder. “Flapjack, is this what you've been looking for? What does it lead to?”

“That eye, it kinda looks like the old portal door.” You say aloud, making Willow and Gus gasp.

“The portal door!” They link arms and begin chanting. “Portal door! Portal door! Portal door!”

“Alright, alright, calm down,” You smile softly, standing up and putting a hand on their shoulders to stop their bouncing. “Let's tell Luz.”

“What if it's just another dead end?” Amity sighs, turning to face you. “She already feels responsible for our other failed attempts.

“Then, let's not tell her until we can figure it out.” Willow grins. “Using our buff brains!” She flexes her arms, and everyone follows but Hunter, who’s blushing at you.

“Buff brains!”

Hunter laughs, still flustered as he joins in. “Yeah!”

You and Gus head towards the basement after helping Camila in the kitchen, “Thanks for helping, kids.”

“Anytime!” Gus smiles, waving back at her.

“Anytime, Ms. Camila.” You wave, “Good night!”

Gus hops down the stairs and swings around a banister, flopping on the couch as you walk down the stairs normally. Hunter looks up from his sewing and smiles at the both of you.

“Whoo! We've got a big day ahead of us, so I'm gonna buenas this noche.” Gus smiles, getting under his blanket as you sit on Hunter’s sleeping bag.

“Mm-hmm!” Hunter smiles with his eyes closed, and gets his finger caught in Camila's sewing machine. “Ow!” He whimpers, and you gasp.

“Are you okay?” You asked worriedly, and Gus nods.

“Yeah, that sounded painful.”

Hunter scoffs, and continues sewing, “I've been training in the Emperor's Coven for as long as I can remember.” He smiles confidently at you and Gus, making you smile. “I think I can handle a little...” He cuts his finger, and winces. You and Gus wince with him. “...pain.”

“Oh. That went clean through.” Gus said sheepishly as you pulled a bandaid out of your pocket and gestured for Hunter to come over.

Hunter sat down beside you and started speaking with a smile as you wrapped his finger, “Camila taught me how to use this sewing contraption. Even Darius's stitches have never been this neat. Oh, and look at what I made!” He leans away, grabbing something and holding up a shirt. You scoot back to lean against the couch as you and Gus listen to him. “These are mystical beasts called wolves, and I love them.”

He smiles, his eyes practically twinkling with wonder and joy at the thought of wolves.

“That looks great, Hunter.” You smile, crawling forward and ruffling his hair. He laughs, and fixes it as you crawl into his sleeping bag with a grin. “You know, you've been smiling a lot more since we've been here.”

“It's not like I don't want to return!” He turns to you and waves his hands, denying that he wants to stay here permanently. “I just need a way to pass the time. That's all.”

“No. It's good to see you happy.” Gus chuckles, nuzzling into his pillow. “One of us might as well be.”

‘You could say that again,’ You think to yourself, sighing as Hunter joins you in his sleeping bag.

“What was it like to be in the Emperor's Coven for so long?” Gus asks curiously.”

“I trained a lot. I studied a lot. I wasn't really allowed to be around the other scouts.” Hunter explained as you turned on your side to look at him. “But weekends were nice. I got to leave the castle for missions.”

“…” You look at his gloveless hands and stare for a moment. “Do you miss it?”

“I miss…” He sighs and turns his head to you. “knowing who I'm supposed to be.”

“I miss my dad.” Gus says despondently, turning onto his back and staring up at the ceiling.

“I miss my mom. And King.” You sigh, twirling a strand of hair around your finger.

“Even Hooty?” Hunter asks, shuddering.

“Yes, even Hooty.” You chuckle, hugging his arm to your chest.

Hunter smiles down at you, “We'll find a way back. We have to.”

Gus gasps excitedly. “Oh, my Titan. That's a line from this book I found.” He jumps off the couch and rustles around in a box before pulling out a book. “Cosmic Frontier! It's a story that takes place in the stars.”

“Why would anyone wanna go up there?” Hunter asks curiously.

“I don't know. Humans like spreading their junk everywhere.” Gus shrugs, but continues rambling. “But it's a story of people trying to get back home, like us.”

“Uh-huh.” Hunter nods, intrigued as Gus hands him the book and points to people on the cover. “We got Captain Avery, Security Officer Quando, Alien Princess Gorina, and a Chief Engineer O'Bailey who's hiding as a clone from the enemy planet.”

Hunter gasps, and looks at Gus as he walks towards a door, “What, uh, happens to him?”

“I guess you'll have to find out.” Gus opens a closet to reveal costumes, and shares a grin with Hunter.

The next day, the rest of you without Luz gather in the abandoned house again.

“All right. Luz is at her mom's vet clinic putting tiny little bandages on ‘hedgehogs,’” Amity grins, standing in front of everyone. “So today, we're going into town to solve this code.”

“Ears.” Gus nods, pulling his beanie over his ears.

“Routes.” Vee nods.

“Snacks,” She shows her bag off and pulls your arm around out to show off the snacks on the inside of your jacket. “check.”

“Human disguise, check. Eh?” Hunter announces, walking in and drawing everyone’s attention. He was wearing a costume from the book Gus had shown the two of you last night.

You blushed, clapping at him enthusiastically, “Oh, that is a look.” You grin as Willow snaps a picture of him.

“According to Cosmic Frontier, this is what the modern human male wears.” Hunter informs, walking in while reading the book.

“This was written in the '90s about the year 2008.” Vee cringes after taking the book and reading the cover.

“Yeah. Can't wait for that New Year's party.” Hunter chuckles at Vee as you approach him, holding up his arms and circling him to look at the costume better.

“This costume is so accurate, Hunter.” You compliment, holding up his arm. “Down to the stain on side!”

“I kno— wait, there’s a stain?” Hunter questions, making you giggle as you quickly cast a spell to get rid of it.

“And did you two get to the last chapter?”

“O'Bailey and Gorina are still hiding the fact that O’Bailey a duplicant in hyperdisguise.” Hunter grins.

“But Captain Avery is figuring it out!” You squeal.

“I think he already knows but-“

“Ah, bup-bup-bup! No, no, no, no, no spoilers!” Hunter squawks, covering his ears.

“Hunter, I don't think the world is ready for the brave fashion choices of the year 2008.” Amity says, her nose scrunching up in disgust at the costume. “Please change.”

You quickly lunge at her and put a hand over her mouth. “Don't listen to her!”

“Aw, geez,” Vee morphs into her human form and holds up the map. “we're gonna miss the bus.”

“Oh, it's okay! I'll catch up.” Hunter waves them off. “There's a transport worm every half hour.”

Everyone heads out, you lagging behind while grabbing your fanny pack. You quickly step over and kiss Hunter’s cheek, and turn to him before closing the door.

“With that costume, it seems I’m going to need your help with a Gorina look when we get back.” You wink, closing the door as Hunter blushes at you.

　　　　　　　　　　———

After looking around and finding some answers, you take the bus back to Luz’s house to find Hunter in the basement with Flapjack while Gus brings the costumes upstairs for the others to look at.

After Gus leaves, Hunter turns to Flapjack after you set down the stuff you pickpocketed on the desk. Grinning, your palisman flies out and you prepare to search through it, but Hunter starts talking.

“Did you know about this?” He asks sternly. “That he was here? I can tell you're hiding something.”

Flapjack chirps as you and your palisman share a glance.

Hunter sighs, “Sorry. I shouldn't take this out on you. I'm just scared.”

Clearing your throat, Hunter whips his head to you, who has a brow raise and sits crisscrossed on the chair at the sewing machine.

The sound of a vehicle pulling into the driveway saves Hunter from the interrogation, and you both head upstairs. Hunter heads outside while you head into the living room, (P/N) resting on your shoulder.

“Oh, (Y/N)!” Gus exclaims, grabbing an item and running up to you with it behind his back. “I know what we’re gonna be for Halloween, but where’s Hunter.”

“He went outside to see Luz, I think.” You scratch your head, and try to peer behind his back as Camila walks in. “What’s your costume idea?”

“You, are going to be the almighty….” He pulls out a blaster, paint splattered over the cylinder barrel. Your eyes light up as you take it from the boy, a grin on your face.

“Gorina!” You squeal, bouncing around before posing and aiming the blaster at the wall, trying to imitate the character.

Luz and Hunter enter the house as you do so, and Gus nudges you to signal that they’re back.

“Hey, we're back!” Hunter chuckles. “And we bought some, uh, cars.”

As Amity turns to Luz, Gus rushes over to Hunter with you.

“Guess what I've got planned? I'm gonna be Captain Avery, (Y/N)‘s gonna be Gorina, and you're...” Gus hands Hunter a prop for his character, and he gasps.

“Chief Engineer O'Bailey?” Hunter grins, squealing as he holds it to his ear.

Camila gulps, her grip on her mug tightening. “How do you know about Cosmic Frontier?”

“All the books in your basement.” You say, smiling at her.

“Oh!” Camila laughs nervously. “Funny how things just show up in basements, right? Without you hiding or putting them there. Life sure is full of surprises.”

“Cool! Humans freak out just like us.” Gus grins, gesturing to Camila.

“It'll be fun. We want to experience your weird human traditions.” She laughs, pulling out a headband and putting it on her head.

The next day at the Haunted Hayride, Hunter helps you out of the car and lets you fix your outfit before grabbing your hand again and intertwining your fingers. Smiling up at him, you stepped close to Hunter, your other hand coming up and hooking onto his forearm as you joined the group.

“All right. We'll keep the puzzle a secret 'till the time is right.” Amity grins as Luz speaks to her mom back at the car. “And then we'll tell her about the Titan Blood!”

Hunter suddenly whips his head around, and glances at Flapjack. “Did you hear that?” He whispers to his palisman so that you wouldn’t hear.

Flapjack chirps as you glance over to Hunter, raising a brow at his attention being off the group.

“Hey, it's okay. It's probably just in my head again.” He quietly reassures as you turn your head back. “Nestle down, Flapjack.”

Luz finally joins them, and Amity grabs her shoulders excitedly. “We're gonna have the best night, and we might even have surprise for you.”

“Yeah, me too.”

After doing a few activities, you move over to haunted hayride, where Hunter helps you up the hay bales and into the tractor, where you sit in between him and Luz. You offer your hand to him, and he takes it with a bashful grin,

“I hope you're all prepared for a truly scary ride.” Masha grins, their bangs blowing in the wind.

“Make us cry! Make us cry!” Gus and Willow chant excitedly, making Masha smile wider.

“Because there's nothing scarier than knowledge.”

“Boo, just lie to me!” Gus heckles, earning a nudge from Willow.

“Let me tell you the eeriest unsolved mystery of Gravesfield.” Masha says deviously as the tractor begins moving. “The Tale of the Brothers Wittebane.”

You, Luz, and Hunter gasp, and Amity leans in, moving her bang away. “Wittebane? Isn't that Belos?”

“The year is 1613.” Lights glow behind the four, and they turn to see the story being told in an exhibit. “Two orphaned brothers arrive in Gravesfield. Their names? Philip... and Caleb.“

“Oh, no.”

As Masha narrates the story, cardboard cutouts depicting events that happened to Philip and Caleb play out in the background as the gang watches.

“Caleb did his best to take care of his younger brother. They tried to fit in with this town, and its unsavory practices. They became witch-hunters!” Masha informs, the wind blowing the stray strands of hair on their head around. “Local lore suggests that the Brothers Wittebane met a real witch from another world! Her name was Evelyn. And the older brother was spirited away. She dazzled him with magic and visions of a strange yet beautiful place. They used a secret code to travel between worlds. Philip set off to save his brother and bring the witch to justice. But neither were ever seen again! Maybe Philip saved Caleb, and they went on to lead peaceful lives. Or maybe,” They turn on a flashlight and points it at their face, “he's still chasing his brother, caught in a cycle of horror and strife!”

Masha turns off the flashlight, smiling. “Sounds like big bro got a hot witch girlfriend and little bro got upset.” Masha jokes. You glance at Hunter, who seems out of it. “But that's just me.”

The hayride ends and the gang gets out of the tractor. Nearby, Hunter hears Belos laughing, which terrifies him. He grabs Luz once he realizes that you aren’t watching, and the two run off.

After a few minutes, the group starts to look for them after noticing.

“Luz? Hunter?” You call out, and accidentally bump into Amity.

She shakes her head, “Did you find them?”

“Calm down. They probably just went to buy some more cars.” Gus reassured as you fidgeted with the seeds on your shirt.

“Yeah. Yeah. You're right. I just- I wanted to show Luz the rebus.” She looks down at the pocket in her dress to pull it out, but it’s gone. “Wait. Where did it go?”

“Kids!” You all hear Camila’s voice call for you, and turn to see her and Vee rushing to you from her car. “Have you seen Luz? And has she, um, said anything weird?”

Vee whips out the phone Camila finds her with a grin. “Boom! Find a phone.”

After a few beeps, it shows Luz’s location to be deep inside the forest. And as confused as you all are, you’re more concerned with finding your friends.

You run into the graveyard Luz was in to see her fighting… Hunter? You gasp as you gently push past Amity, eyes wide as you watch your possessed boyfriend fight off your closest friend.

“Hunter?” You question in horror, the blue glowing eyes that didn’t belong to him glanced over at you with a cruel smile.

“That’s Hunter?” Camila gasps.

“Something's wrong.” Gus shakes his head.

Hunter speaks, but it’s meshed with Belos’ voice. “See, this is why you're so useful, Luz. You're so desperate to help people, you even helped me meet The Collector.”

“What?”

“I didn't mean to. I thought I was doing something good.” Luz states, clasping her hands over her chest.

“You did do something good. I thought this one was another lost cause.” Belos spoke through Hunter, and you furrowed your brows furiously. “Because of you, we can finish our work as witch-hunters, starting with them!”

He launches his goop arm at you and the others, but you quickly summon your staff, deflecting it and flying off towards him.

He grunts as you, Amity, and Gus use your magic to try and knock him down or restrain him, but to no avail.

“Hey, Belos. Remember me?” Gus shouts, and Belos launches his arm out again, only for you and Willow to latch onto it and slam it onto the ground to restrain him.

Vee runs forward, “Hang tight, Hunter!” She starts draining his magic with her powers.

Amity snatches Vee away before she can be knocked away. “Vee, watch out!”

After making sure Vee was safe, you all fly back to try again, but Belos knocks Amity, Gus, and Willow out of the sky while you narrowly dodge the smack.

You quickly cast a spell for a cloud to appear under them before they hit the ground, and turn back to Hunter and Luz.

Luz uses Hunter’s staff and teleports to him, hugging his arms to his sides, “I know you can hear me, Hunter. Fight him off!”

Belos flips Luz off of him, and Amity creates a bridge of ice and vines to catch her as you swoop down and break her fall. Letting her roll off you, you quickly sit up.

Flapjack starts chirping and pecking at Belos's antlers, but the he immediately catches the small palisman. Everyone freezes, and Belos chuckles darkly.

“That's right. You wouldn't want me harming your precious palisman, would you?” His grin drops for a moment, before returning. “Oh, but then again, I don't care what you want. Goodbye, Evelyn.” Belos sends sharp parts of himself shooting through Flapjack. You gasp, tears welling in your eyes as he lets go of the bird

“Flapjack!” You cry out, Luz crawling over as he lands in your hands. “Flapjack, you'll be okay.” You gently caress the top of his head, and he chirps at you.

Hunter groans, holding his arm as he stands up. “You know what I'd like, Belos?” He slowly trudges towards the lake, the vial of Titan’s blood in his grasp. “'d like to leave the Emperor's Coven and never step foot in that throne room again. I'd like to study wild magic, and learn how to carve palismen. I'd like to attend Hexide as a regular student and play flyer derby with my friends. I’d like to be able to see my partner without worrying about you killing them. But most of all, I'd like to make sure you never hurt anyone again!” Hunter throws the vial of Titan's blood into the river, and Belos takes over again.

“No!” Belos jumps into the water, managing to catch the vial but falls unconscious as a result.

“No!” You gasp, standing up and moving to the edge of the bridge.

“Move.” Camila says sternly, brushing past you. She jumps into the water to save him and a few moments later, manages to rescue him.

“Be careful with him!” You shout, moving to the edge to help.

The others help you and Camila hoist Hunter onto the surface, you gently set his head on your lap, hands cupping his face.

Belos finally leaves Hunter's body as he takes the monstrous form he previously had.

“Caleb, you would stab me in the back?”

Luz stares at him angrily, “You did it to him first.”

Belos, outraged, smashes the vial of Titan's blood into the archway, opening a portal to the Demon Realm. Your mouth drops open, but your glare remains.

Belos growls, “This is for the good of your souls. You'll thank me later.”

He goes through the portal, leaving everyone speechless.

“That's the Belos you've been fighting this whole time?!”

You turn to the group after shaking Hunter for a while, “Guys, Hunter isn't moving.” You cry, tears in your eyes as you lean down to his face to listen for breathing.

“Vee, call an ambulance.” Camila says, and Vee nods, standing up and pulling out her phone.

“Uh, do human doctors know about possession?” Willow asks, eyes welling with tears.

“Or Grimwalkers?” You ask, looking up at Camila desperately.

“Possession?!”

“Grimwalkers?!”

“We should still call a doctor.”

“I'm not getting cell reception.”

“What do we do?”

A weakened Flapjack flies out of Luz's pocket to Hunter, and the others watch despondently. Flapjack rubs his face against Hunter’s cheek and chirps sadly, then settles down, sacrificing his life to revive Hunter as the others sadly watch on.

Hunter groans and slowly opens his eyes, which have turned brown, “Hey, guys. Is everyone else okay?”

Gus and Luz share a glance before turning back to Hunter, “Actually, Flapjack...”

“Don't. Don't.” He cries, hand clutching his chest where Flapjack last laid. “I already know.”

The tears you’d been holding finally fall as Hunter sits up, leaning back on you for support as you hug him from behind tightly.

“Sit up slowly, baby. Are you in pain anywhere?” Camila asks worriedly, placing a hand on his shin.

Hunter squeezes your forearm as you cry into his back. “I'm okay.”

You don’t really hear the others talking about the Collector over your silent cries and sniffs, but when Hunter turns around and takes your face into his hands softly, you feel grateful.

“I thought I lost you,” You sighed as he stood and pulled you up, not letting go of your hands,

“I’m here.” Hunter smiles, pulling you over to Luz and the others.

“Mija, now that I've seen what you're up against, there is no way I'm letting you go back there alone.” Camila says firmly. “It is our duty to help your friends get back to their families.”

“But...” Luz starts, but Hunter steps over with you right behind him.

“You were tricked. That's what Belos does. He tricks people.” Hunter says grimly, earning a squeeze on his hand from you. “But if it weren't you, it would have been someone else, and then there'd be no one left to fight back. So let's do that. Let's fight back. Please? For Flapjack?”

Luz turns her gaze back to you, and she’s reminded of her family on the other side. Your shared family. You smile encouragingly at her.

“For Flapjack.”

The portal pulses, and the group turns their attention towards it.

“The portal's closing.” Vee points out.

“Then we better head in.” Luz nods, and you and Hunter make your way to the portal first.

Standing before it, he looks to you, and you look at him. You give him a smile reassuring smile, and he sighs shakily.

“Time to go home, Flap.”

[blightsbian]

in case its not obvious i was incredibly disappointed in the finale. the writing was bad, the characterization was all over the place, they completely shafted the secondary cast, they wasted tons of time on dream sequences and weed belos visuals. there was no satisfying conclusion to the caleb/philip history, there was no satisfying reason for flapjack's death other than giving hunter magic he didn't use. the foreshadowing was painfully heavy-handed ("wow, the titan's heart is still beating, titans are sooo strong").

the epilogue was straight fanservice that totally dismissed a lot of major previous conflicts, like the existence of a door. they killed off luz for absolutely no emotional payoff because they shunted camila and the hexsquad so hard that they didn't even know luz died? if you cut out every shot of camila and hexsquad in the collector's palace NOTHING changes. total dismissal of the dynamics built in the prior two episodes for a fucking clipshow of how luz eda king became friends? why? who asked for that?

idk. i really disliked this. there are a handful of things i did enjoy but the rest felt like cobbled together voice lines written by a new fanfic author. it completely destroyed any emotional weight it might have held for me, and i am genuinely baffled seeing people say they cried. glad yall enjoyed it but this feels so drastically different from the rest of the show in both themes and quality that it genuinely makes me unhappy with the show on the whole.

i also do not see this as a symptom of disney shortening the show unless they personally sent in their worst writer to redo the script here. the team took on more than they could handle with the collector and they couldn't pull it off. the writing in this episode is the sort of thing toh satirizes. what the hell happened.

[snip-the-fool]

Neptune Design Showcase!

I've made quite a few designs in Animal Crossing New Horizons this year and given that this year's ending I thought I'd do a little showcase!

(I didn't ever change the eye shape to match the characters because that eye shape is too iconic for me)

Starting with....

The Novas from Super Lesbian Animal RPG!

(I'm not exactly confident enough to make armor so sorry still no Jodie.)

(I could try to make Jody's flannel but I sort of figured it wouldn't be very unique I don't know, if someone thinks it's worth it say the word and I'll do it!)

dedf1sh from Splatoon 2!

(I made this before the side order trailer came out so it's no longer all that accurate, when side order comes out I'll probably create a new one!)

Luz and Vee from The Owl House!

(Sorry to the rest of the Hexsquad I'm biased towards Vee and I figured Luz would be really easy but maybe I'll make them later)

And that's all! Though I am taking requests currently! Just put them in the comments or reblogs and I might end up making it!

(If you want to use any of these designs yourself or any designs I make in the future the Neptune Designs tag is where to look!)

[tentacledsnakelover]

The Owl House Finale Rewrite Part 2

I love many things about The Owl House, from its animation, characters, world, music, and themes. However, I feel the finale, good as it was, was far from perfect, and there are many glaring issues, from character retcons, to unexplored lore, lack of nuance, and several other issues. I am by no means an expert writer, and I have nothing but respect for Dana and her team. I give them the benefit of the doubt because we all know corporate disney has given them much trouble in making this show. So here is how I would rewrite the finale. Keep in mind some of the stuff I mention may not be feasible to include even if the writers wanted to put them into the story.

The special starts out with Luz, Eda, King, the Hexsquad, Camila, and the Collector watching as Belos possesses the Titan, and they narrowly escape the now deserted archives as Belos destroys it with his new body. The Collector explains via a flashback that he told Belos titan hearts can continue to beat long after they die (I find it hard to believe only Belos knew what the Titan's heart and the rest of the isles didn't) and that Titans are technically stronger than Collectors, even being immune to the star species. Belos wanted to use the Draining spell as his first plan because he believed possessing the Titan wouldn't be as effective (In this rewrite, I headcanon that the Draining Spell would have concentrated all magic and used it to destory the demon realm planet, as in canon, Belos' plan was just to kill everyone with sigils) and he made the Titan plan his plan B.

Having gotten to the heart during the previous special, Belos managed to possess the titan. The Collector attempts to try and get through to Belos using kindness and forgiveness like in canon, and like in canon, Belos takes advantage of this to try and destroy the Collector. Luz and King both fly up to intercept the shot and are knocked to the ground, both presumed dead and covered in the ever growing Belos-fungus. Luz and King's friends and family angrily try to stop Belos, but to no avail.

Meanwhile, Luz and King's souls end up in the In-Between realm, where they meet Papa Titan. The Titan explains while they are dead, their souls have not yet submerged in the In-Between liquid, and thus, have not fully passed on, giving them a chance to heal their bodies and return their souls to them.

When Papa T imprisoned the Collector, the force of the spell burned his body away, killing him, though his heart managed to remain intact, and is still beating, thus, making him technically still alive. He is now tethered between life and death, and his soul, like all souls, has passed to the In-Between, a type of realm that acts as the glue for other realms, like the frosting on a cake. Papa T has been able to use the strange boxes to watch over King. He explains the cubes are the Collector's magic. When he trapped the Collector, he used the speaking tablets the Collector gave him as a catalyst, and when the Collector got imprisoned, some of the magic inside the tablets leaked into the In-Between and formed the cubes. Frustratingly, Luz, King, and Papa T aren't 'alive' enough to use the cubes to speak to people, only watch.

After hearing how the Titan took his anger out on the Collector, she nervously asks if they are as bad as Belos. The Titan, decides he can't sugarcoat the harsh truth and asks Luz rhetorically if Amity's decision to bully Willow was justified because she was protecting her, or that Lilith shouldn't face consequences for ruining Eda's life just because she didn't think things would get so bad, or that Hunter should receive death like Belos because he thought he was doing the right thing.

Papa T explains that while Belos' desire to save humanity from witches comes from a genuine place (This is one of my biggest gripes with the finale. The show went out of it's way to hint that Belos and Caleb might have had a complex and interesting story, only to never answer any of the questions fully outside of vague, second hand tales, and reduce Belos to a hate sink. Belos needs to be stopped but acknowledging the nuance and complexity of a character is not the same as excusing their actions), his belief that he is doing good means his actions are justified. Belos is an extremist, and anyone can become like him if they believe their goals are noble enough to excuse their actions.

This strikes a chord with Luz, who has been conflicted with guilt over leaving her mother, as well as her other past actions. King's soul then starts to glow, and Papa T explains Belos inadvertently sealed his fate. Baby titans like King have a special adaption where when they are on the verge of death, or get extremely hurt, their bodies activate a special Titan adrenaline rush, that makes them grow and able to use magic for a short time. King embraces his dad and his soul leaves the inbetween as it returns to his body. King can use his temporary powers to heal Luz so she can lead the fight against Belos, and destory the heart, ending Belos' possession of the Titan.

Luz is worried that she will never be able to stop Belos because she doesn't have any innate magical abilites. The Titan assures her she never needed any innate abilities. The Titan then reveals because he is dead, he never had any control over the glyphs, and thus, couldn't reveal them to her. He certainly never would have let Belos find them. Luz and Belos found them all on their own, but Luz found them faster because Belos never took the time to look for them, and actively feared the magic of the Isles (My headcanon is that Belos etched Glyphs onto his body as a reminder to himself that the glyphs were unholy magic, and only brought suffering to mankind). Luz's confidence is brought up, and her soul is brought back to her body as it is healed by King.

Back on the isles, King reawakens in a burst of energy, and heals Luz, before growing to massive size as he begins to wrestle the massive form of Belos. Luz informs her shocked and very relieved family and friends that King won't be able to restrain Belos forever, and explains they need to destroy the heart.

While Luz and her allies fly to the heart, the Collector, humbled by his inability to heal Luz and King, as well as his lesson on empathy and ethics, is unable to use his magic to fight Titan Belos, so he goes around the isles to protect the freed citizens. With Belos distracted wrestling King, the citizens of the isles rally and begin fighting the infection of Belos-fungus (This could be a nice scene for all the minor background and fan favorite characters like the Blight Twins, Viney, Skara, etc. to do something). This keeps Belos even more distracted as Luz and her friends make their way to the heart.

At the heart, Luz's allies help her distract Belos and she manages to slap a light glyph on the heart, destroying it, and all the remaining Belos fungus. The castle collapses around them, but everyone is saved by Hooty, who coils around everyone, shielding them from the debris. As the last of the Belos fungus is wiped away, King returns to his normal size, and everyone embraces.

But they notice a tiny bit of Belos glop, and corner it, a hissing, furious, Belos tries to possess someone else, but he is trapped. The Collector has a fitting idea for what to do with Belos, and they trap him in the In-Between. (I found Belos' defeat unsatifying, as it unintentionally makes him a martyr by his standards. It also doesn't allow Hunter to get any last moments with his abuser outside of the fight in Thanks to Them, but this feels more karmic to me, as Belos reneged on his deal to free the Collector).

The Collector agrees to stay around, unlike in canon, so he can help fix the damage he caused. He is living with Eda and King, and spends time helping to repair damaged buildings, and he is forming a budding friendship with Hunter and Lilith, too, who are also helping to rebuild the isles.

Luz and Camila also reconcile, and Luz begins to move past her black and white worldview. Camila allows Luz to spend time with her friends and visit the isles, but to take her life on Earth seriously too. The finale ends with the timeskip, as Luz celebrates her Quinceanera with her new friends and family.

[httyddragonfox]

The Hexsquad in Nightmares

I read this fanfic where Amity was put in the Nightmare instead of Luz, so I got to thinking...what would be the the rest of the Hexsquad in nightmares? Let's take a look at this:

For Luz:

Amity tells her she's just like Belos and basically helped him win, Willow says she has no future now, Gus says because of her he'll never see his dad again, and hunter says Flapjack is gone because of her.

Amity says 'Witches battle' and that's where Luz is clued in.

For Amity (in the fanfic):

Willow comments on how Amity abandoned her, Gus mentions how he's constantly overlooked or lumped in with other people, Hunter comments on how they're a lot alike but he had it worse and she didn't care about the consequences for him, and Luz says because of her she became a villain like Belos, like she used to be.

Luz says 'Pictoglyphs' which cues Amity in.

Now how about the rest;

For Willow:

Amity or Luz would be first, Amity would say she was abandoned because she was weak and her parents were right because she's still weak, Luz would say she only helped her and called her strong because she pitied her, Gus would be second and say if she was a better friend they wouldn't suffer in the first place like what happened in Labyrinth runners and then he then hints at Hunter, 'Neither would him.' Hunter would mention how close they've gotten, but then he'd mention that if she was a better friend then she would have gone all out to save Flapjack, she would have noticed something was wrong with him before it was too late, but she didn't do enough.

She'd be cued in by Hunter saying she did 'everything' wrong. Hunter told her recently that she didn't do anything wrong.

For Gus:

Willow would be first, she'd comment on how he was so wrapped up in his own problems he didn't notice anything was wrong with her. Luz would be next, she'd mention that she taught him the fire glyph because she knew how powerless he actually was. Amity would follow, she would say he's not really her friend because he's practically nonexistent, everyone else in their group is more substantial than him, makes more of a difference. She would then hint to Hunter saying 'He'd know more than anymore.' Hunter would point out how Gus knew Hunter was a Grimwalker, and Hunter was obviously struggling with that info, who his original was, if he was good or not, but Gus knew the whole time and said nothing. It would have made him feel a lot better, he wouldn't have wanted to prove himself by going on his own, someone could have noticed before it was too late, heck if Gus did more than make Belos mad, Flapjack might still be alive. Everyone would show up then, berating Gus for being weak.

Willow would be the one to cue him in, I'm not sure what she'd said but I'm pretty sure it'd be her. This would show some growth because he didn't recognize it was fake last time, he'd say 'I'm not being fooled a second time, you're not her. None of you are you."

For Hunter:

Willow would probably be first, commenting on how his original was a witch hunter, Belos' number 2, that's his destiny so he'll always hurt others, even her, for added points he'd be in his Golden Guard garb. Next would be Amity, she'd point out she reached out a hand to him at eclipse because they were similar, but instead of being good he just chose to run back to Belos, he chose to be the bad guy, so why should they ever give him a chance. For Gus, he'd point out Chief Engineer O'Bailey is a fictional character, his immediate goal was to turn on Captain Avery, and because it's fiction Captain Avery showed him the light, Gus questions if he was ever really their friend, did he ever see himself as one of them. Hunter would retort, 'Of course, I'd never hurt anyone." Gus would say, "Oh really, then what about them?" Hunter would be shifted to see Luz. She'd talk about how she was there when he dragged her into the mess with Belos. She thought he was like family, but he dragged her away from the group to confront Belos alone with no magic, not considering what could have happened. Sure he had a palisman, Flapjack, but look where that got him. He knew Belos liked killing palisman and had a grudge, but he still brought them alone. If he pushed back sooner, Flapjack wouldn't have died. Hunter would start crying then, saying that he knows. The whole group would show up, Willow would say he's the golden guard, he hurts people, it's what he does, it's what he was made to be, and he's not one of them and never will be.

Hunter will remember that Willow told him that it didn't matter who he was because he was one of them now, and Willow is too kind to lie about something like that. He knows Willow and this isn't her, none of them are them.

[fangirling-heart]

Oh yeah for the character thingy!

How about Luz Noceda and Amity Blight?

Thanks for the ask!

We got the happy couple for this ask! Let's get to it! Starting with Luz!

favorite thing about them

Can I say everything? I kinda want to say everything. I mean her bright enthusiastic disposition, how smart and creative she is, how sweet and kind she is... I could go on forever!

least favorite thing about them:

How sometimes she gets in over her head and rushes in without thinking of the consequences. Especially when it comes to other people.

favorite line

Ughhhhhh.... this one's tough... I'm putting my top 3, I can't pick just one:

"I don't fit in at home. You don't fit in here. If I stay, we could not fit in together!"

"Talk to the glyph, witch!"

Do not underestimate me, Belos. For I am the Good Witch Luz! Child of the Human Realm, student of the Demon Realm and warrior of peace! Now eat this sucker!"

brOTP

Her and Hunter! They're my top 2 favorite characters and their relationship is one of my absolute favorite parts of the show! Their dynamic is so fun and sweet and interesting, they just work together so well, whether they're having a fun banter or a big angsty/emotional moment.

OTP

Lumity! Lumity all the way!

nOTP

Ships that include adults, characters younger than her (Gus, King) and family members. Also Boscha. I'm not a big fan of the ship type bully x victim of their bullying.

random headcanon

She goes to conventions with her friends and she and Amity cosplay as Azura and Hecate every time.

unpopular opinion

I can't think of anything right now.

song i associate with them

Home by Cavetown. This just feels like Luz's story in a nutshell. The feeling of not fitting in, the desire to escape and especially the "Get a load if this monster" parts and those last lyrics:

🎶Time is...

Slowly...

Tracing his face

But strangely he feels at home in this place🎶

favorite picture of them

It was incredibly hard to pick just one tho.

Now for Amity!

favorite thing about them

Another case of wanting to say everything, but this time I think I can narrow it down to how much her arc is about change and how willing she is to put in the work for it.

least favorite thing about them:

I mostly blame the shortening for that, but probably the fact that there's not enough interactions between her and the rest of the Hexsquad.

favorite line:

"I don't know what rituals you have in the Human Realm... but... I'll help you pick some flowers and we can do something here!"

brOTP:

Her and Willow and her and Hunter. They're both so interesting dynamics, one between two former friends trying to reconnect after a big break off and years of bullying and resentment, the other between two people who come from very similar situations and can understand each other in ways other people might not. (Screw disney for not giving time for these relationships to be explored more!)

OTP:

Mentioned before. Lumity!

nOTP:

Same as the ones I mentioned for Luz.

random headcanon:

She loves baking and is quite good at it.

unpopular opinion:

I'm not a fan of her mean girl persona.

song i associate with them:

Speechless by Naomi Scott. A song about not being silenced, standing up for yourself and breaking free from generational trauma? Yeah, that's an Amity song to me.

favorite picture of them

Look at her! Look at how happy she is to hold her girlfriend!

[mdhwrites]

Have you already analyzed the Hexsquad being rather complacent in TTT of Luz (unintentionally) initiating two apocalypses on their homeland? Common storytelling would expect them to at least be collectively shocked after JUST dealing with so many stressful things at once. But it's handled so informally that even fans point it out.

Do you think it ties in to the writers trying to make the characters as black and white as possible by season 3? Or maybe just an sadly rushed script?

I've also heard that many details get lost after the storyboarding phase because the animators follow character models so closely they void a lot of important facial expressions... but that might be another thing.

So the short version is... It's a fantasy story and a proper outrage over the liar reveal was a good cut for time. If it had been included, it likely would have been awful because it's awful in most stories where the characters don't cut the unintentional accomplice at least some slack.

Having actually seen the moment, having watched it for this blog, it's fine. The two important characters of the Hexide Squad are the ones who respond, as well as the two who have any connection to Luz or Belos. They point out that she is still doing the right thing and that Belos is a trickster. You know... Just like Eda did in Edge of the World. It's brief but it's effective and it's from the correct characters.

I think what hurts for a lot of fans is that it's the big plot point for Thanks to Them... and it's not satisfying. It's fifteen seconds after an already too fast fight against Belos, again, where they survive for no other reason than because Belos just didn't kill them for no reason. Hunter's possession is too fast, his revival is too fast and now the worry Luz has had since at least Clouds on the Horizon is just dismissed almost instantly. Fans want SOMETHING to have a payoff here, even if it's just a chance for all of the characters to react to Luz, and two characters don't even say anything about it even though probably all they would have said were cliches like Amity and Hunter or wildly out of character lines like what we commonly get.

Because here's the thing: They almost always are if they go the rage route over the liar reveal. I talked about this in my original talk about why the source of Luz's 'trauma' is terrible because it's a common trauma trope in fantasy but this is also why the liar reveal plot is so frustrating. In most cases it is characters getting upset at a friend who was doing things either against their will, without their knowledge or to save their own life without listening to them, without trying to understand them or anything else like that. Over the Hedge is the ultimate example where the raccoon has definitely made everyone's lives better, and they can just get more food through the methods he's taught them plus their own, and satiate the bear. Did he put some people at risk? Absolutely but the threat of death is a ROUGH one. The rest of the cast though reveal themselves to be callous as they are entirely okay with him DYING now because of how upset they are about the lie that for the most part DIDN'T hurt most of them except maybe emotionally and not even that for many of them.

So what a lot of fans end up asking for with a bigger reaction from the Hexide Squad is for the show to commit to a trope that isn't liked. So yeah, it's a good thing that it was cut and good on the show for doing so.

...

.........

Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. See, while the Hexide squad does it in a short, sweet way that fits... Luz does the awful version by herself. She goes through a liar reveal arc ON HER OWN. Think about it. At first she believes she is doing something good and by all means she has every reason to believe so, like those around a liar that has yet to be revealed. Then the truth comes out and she DRASTICALLY overreacts to the news and won't listen to anyone around her, especially proved because Eda straight up tells Luz it's not her fault, and NONE of The Owl House, including Eda, hold it against her for a quarter of a season. Then something resonates between liar and the lied to that is something they both care about or something they bonded over and they learn to co-operate.

Just that, you know... In this case that moment is "I always wanted to be understood" and the thing that both sides are joining back together on is Luz's firm belief that she is the hero of her own story. Which, you know, is kind of shit when it has nothing to do with anyone else, either in being triggered besides her mom revealing she is a living trope actually which just pushes the idea in Luz's mind that she's a chosen hero (because the secret nerd, geek, spy, etc. parent is a trope for main characters), or because you spent a special and a half bitching about how much you cared about how you'd hurt people, OTHER people you'd hurt that you apparently just don't care about now because all that matters is YOU.

AND EVEN THEN, the show tries to have its cake and eat it too as it roles back this character development to give us the exact sort of liar reveal quotes it had avoided by doing the dream sequence which retroactively makes the ONE, SINGULAR moment of payoff in the second special FUCKING POINTLESS. And makes it so that instead of for once actually avoiding using a shitty trope and doing it poorly, TOH just goes ahead and does it anyways but at the absolute worst time for it.

They quite literally did EVERYTHING they could with a trope that is already bad to a lot of people without a LOT of clever work put into it (which makes The Eyes Beneath the Water a fucking miracle) except the one thing it could have done.

Given Luz's friends a payoff. Not even a big one maybe but made them actually a part of Luz's arc. The second special early on has the characters in an abandoned Owl House. I know Amity goes and tries to comfort Luz in Eda's nest. To be fair, this is a good time for Luz to be feeling pain and guilt about all of this.

Instead of having that moment not matter in the grand scheme of things except to have Luz angst... Have her friends come in. Have them all be there to give her a hug and let her know she's understood, including her mother. As such, you really reinforce the idea that Luz has made connections that make her feel much more whole than she ever has and you get a grand display understanding of her, probably even with a line like "We aren't going to tell you you need to stop beating yourself up but we're going to be here until you do and long after because we know that's just who you are." Regardless of if you think that line fits Luz's character, it fits the angst arc and it fits the want for Luz's character finish to be a want for community. For a place. In that moment, she would have that place and Camila would be able to truly see the beauty of what the Isles has done for her daughter and suddenly her trying so hard to be okay with everything makes more sense for the rest of the special.

And then Stringbean hatches, rapid firing through each of the other characters' Palisman, dead or alive, just to emphasize that Stringbean was born from society embracing this weird little girl and showing her understanding. That's WAY better than it being born from Luz just randomly stating that after ignoring 80% of what Camila says during her entire speech, only caring about her mom calling her special and then still being alone when the Palisman comes to greet her rather than emphasizing the understanding she's been shown.

And yes, this is easier to do because I'm being able to revise after the fact and it still wouldn't fix the fact that Luz has been shown NOTHING but understanding since at least the beginning of S2. I bring all this up for a way the characters could have reacted to Luz's news, reacted to the liar reveal, that would be in character, in theme and have a HELL of a punch to it while actually having people acknowledge what just happened.

Then again, S3 literally has characters in the rain and then being introduced to human realm rain within three minutes of each other. Consistency between anything happening is not exactly what this show gives a fuck about or else maybe Luz would have had an opinion on Belos properly before HOLLOW MIND, like 15 episodes after Belos tried murdering her entire 'found family'.

This show doesn't do payoffs and it doesn't do follow throughs and besides Eda's curse, the few times they do it, it is also in the worst way. This is one prime example and it extra sucks because it's clearly one of the few plot points of the show the writers cared about... And it was dead on arrival and they never considered how to actually make it even try to fly.

=========

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[sunnslinger]

Same old Soliloquy Update

With the Owl House ending and such, I will say that I have little to no intention to separate Same Old Soliloquy from the Owl House's universe! However I am considering changing the direction of the storyline to be a lot less involved within Season 3, it might give me an opportunity to make either the 2nd third or half of SoS to be mostly post-canon, and therefore I can have more freedom with the story and cast. Arwynn may still come across the Hexsquad and interact with them at the post-canon phase, but I’m retconning the entire “joining hexsquad” thing. So: Early life -> Emperor's coven -> Playing double with the Rebellion & EC -> Realizing impending doom -> Falling out with Adrian and the rest of the family -> Memory gap during Season 3 -> Post-canon recovery and respite. tl;dr I am looking into turning Same Old Soliloquy into more of a spin-off that's only lightly canon divergent, rather than an entire OC insertion on the main plot. To compensate for the long periods of inactivity, here’s what’s currently on the stupidly massive lineup sheet I’m trying to do.

Really looking forward to this, I love this show and could never dream of taking this side story out of the show’s universe. Thank you to the people who’ve followed me so far!

[sergeantsporks]

So... expressive ears and fangs are in too then?

Lol, I'm a biiiiiig fan of making the witches of the BI's less "Just like humans, but with pointy ears and bile sacks!" and more "Oh my Titan, these people may look broadly human, but totally aren't!".

It actually kinda of bugs me that TOH never really leaned into making it's witches less than human. We had plenty of definitely "not human and couldn't pass for human even if they tried" side-characters, but the main cast consists of characters that wouldn't look out of place walking down your street! Any one of them could grab a hat, cover their eyes and no one would be any wiser.

The Hexsquad is especially bad about this. XD And makes it look like Luz just couldn't help but gravitate to the most human looking kids out of Hexside's rather sizable student population. Barring Amity, whose hair obviously isn't a natural color. But that's not even her natural color either, lol

I assume that this was deliberate choice on the part of the character designers, the thinking probably having been that would be easier for kids to relate to Gus or Willow or Lilith or whoever if they looked like someone they could meet in real life. So, I do "get" it. But it's still a touch disappointing - If you're going to make a fantasy show, make your characters look fantastical IMHO.

Oh, expressive ears, my beloved

I'd argue that Eda, definitely a main character, looks a little, hm, at the least, atypical as a human, between the fang, the golden eyes, and the fact that her skin is literally the color of paper, but I get what you're saying. They do mention witches losing their "baby fangs," so here's one for ya: younger witches DO have more "not exactly human" traits that they grow out of and into a more humanlike state. Like tadpoles and frogs. I think there's a theory out there that the first witches were humans who mingled with demons, or slowly evolved traits like pointed ears and bile sacs, which would explain why witches look mostly human.

I feel like too many demons/non humanoid people would have been distracting though, too, you know? Like, you already have King, who's a full on demon (to some extent, you have Hooty there, too, but he showed up less frequently), and then you have Eda, who's visually a little less "typical human minus the ears" than the rest of the hexsquad. Amity has a nonnatural hair color. As cool as having a demon in the Hexsquad would have been (I agree there) putting too many nonhuman features in the group might have made it a little visually jarring to look at when they're all together. You don't want to crowd up the scene with too many flashy, fantastical characteristics

I think it may also have something to do with ease of animation/design, too? Like if you start adding extra eyeballs or arms or complex design, then how those characters move will change, and you have to get their extra blinks in, and there's just a lot of factors to have CONSTANTLY as opposed to sometimes. I'm guessing. I don't actually know a lot about animation.

[thousand-winters]

Hunter is the type of person to say “I’d die/kill for you….ask me to die/kill for you”

One of the hexsquad: No Hunter

They eventually call Darius about what his son is saying

He probably says it at first and his friends laugh because they think he's making a joke, but then he's vaguely offended, thinking they're mocking him, and kinda goes "I can do it" and they go "oh no" because they realize he's far too earnest to be joking 😭

Especially if one of his tasks as Golden Guard was to protect Belos in case someone tried to attack him at the castle (and I imagine it was, since he used to stand at the side of the throne during meetings and such and he's, well, a guard), being willing to give up his life for someone else is definitely in his mental list of things you definitely do for family. And granted, of course people are willing to do things like that for their loved ones and it's not inherently a bad thing, but as usual the bad part comes also from the way in which Hunter is seeing this, because to him it's almost like a duty.

Now I personally believe Hunter never actually murdered anybody as the Golden Guard, but death wasn't exactly something unknown to him, considering... well, everything about the Emperor's Coven. At some level he probably was prepared for the possibility of having to kill someone at some point and not exactly on self defense, but because he would be ordered to.

So I imagine at some point someone in the Hexsquad probably also says that as a sort of lighhearted/affectionate joke, like they're hanging out at the Deamonnes and Hunter just went to the kitchen to bring Gus a box of bloodberry juice or something and Gus is like "I would kill for you, man" as thanks and Hunter suddenly is all serious like "I would kill for you too!!!" and it's funny for all of five seconds but he means it too, he would kill someone for Gus and he also hurries to say he would do that for the rest of them as well, he loves them!!!

... Frankly, given the Hexsquad's history I feel like at some level they all would kinda agree that, yeah, given the need for it, they all would definitely commit murder for each other, they all know this.

However, they still call Darius because the child soldierism evident in Hunter's vision of it does probably need to be talked about before Hunter can make statements like that without worrying anyone. Although at some level they all also need to have some talks with their parents because they might have gone through too much to handle problems like "normal" teenagers 😭

[procrastinova]

art summary 2022 vs art summary 2023

individual 2023 artworks below (plus some thoughts on them because why not. Said thoughts will include me critiquing some of the pieces, especially the ones from earlier in the year.)

also here's a link to all the artworks from my 2022 one if anyone wants to see them

JANUARY - Art piece i did right before For the Future aired of Luz and the rest of the hexsquad having a much-needed group hug. I didn't really look at any references for this one (apart from for the character's designs) so the poses look really awkward and stiff tbh 😭. That being said, I'm still glad I gave it a shot, and it looks a lot better than the one I did before Thanks to Them's release, since I was more used to drawing the characters.

I'm not going to go too much into some of the... questionable... anatomy choices I made, since they aren't exclusive to this artwork in particular, nor is this the worst example of them (*cough cough* my old King's Tide screenshot redraw).

Overall I think this is an okay art piece. Definitely could have been improved by actually using references for the pose though.

FEBRUARY - This one is actually another redraw of a REALLY old piece I drew in 2021. With my finger. Not a good combination to say the least. This one is miles better especially in terms of anatomy, facial expressions and composition.

That's not to say that it's without it's flaws. I do think that lining up Betty and Amber's poses better would have improved the overall look of the piece. Another thing that I did end up changing a little while after I drew this was removing the shine from the black parts of the mirror to make it look like it was actually cracked, which I didn't do in the original version (that one's on my scratch account if you want to see it). It's a subtle difference, but I think it makes the piece look a lot better.

Again, I think this is an okay piece overall. Looks like the mona lisa compared to the 2021 version, but honestly I think anything would.

MARCH - Yet another Owl House artwork (bet u guys cant guess what my favourite tv show is). This one I created for a zine which I was working on for my multimedia class (this artwork in particular was supposed to be an advertisement for the finale). You can kinda tell I still wasn't that confident in drawing King, since his pose is pretty stiff (I don't think I ever really got used to drawing him tbh).

I do think this piece would have benefited from some more shading and lighting that wasn't the singular multiply layer I placed over the characters then erased some parts of. (There is some other shading but there's no other lighting).

Most of the other issues I have with this pieces are just issues I have with my old art in general so I'll leave it there.

APRIL - This is the last Owl House artwork I promise. I made this one for Zeez Vov Gee 2's watching and dreaming art contest. I actually do still quite like this one, which might partly be to do with the fact that I really like all of the character's timeskip designs, but whatever.

Some of the proportions on the hands are a bit weird, and I REALLY wish I put the shading on the lineart as well, considering how light of a colour it is.

One thing I do really like which I didn't notice while I was drawing it, is the pose Luz and Amity are in forms a sort of heart shape, which is really adorable akdjfhskhdf ;w;

Anyway, overall a pretty good piece, might remake it later. Who knows 👀

MAY - as you may immediately be able to tell, I did not make that much art in May (I might've had a few tests on at the time. Or I was just lazy). This one is actually OC art for once (wow shocking never seen before).

It's kinda just a doodle/a more doodley art piece, but it's pretty alright. I actually really like the pose that Robyn (the OC in the drawing) is in. This is also kinda the first time I drew their design, so yeah. The background isn't great, but I can't really expect that much from a doodle -v-

overall, pretty decent doodle. (for anyone wondering if I'll ever post more about Robyn... maybe? I'm mainly using their story for writing practice, but I think I posted something from it on here)

JUNE - June was literally the polar opposite of May. I'm not kidding, there were like 3 artworks that I was debating putting for June (this one, some deltarune fanart and a TOH screenshot redraw). I eventually went with this one because HOLY CRAP am I proud of that background.

This one was really heavily influenced by cartoon backgrounds (in particular ones from Gravity Falls and Hilda), and while I do think there are a few things that could be improved (like some of the trees), this was the first time in a while that i'd tried drawing a background that wasn't grass and a couple of trees (and i think the first time ever that i'd done something this complex).

I think another reason that this one turned out so good is that it was a birthday card for a friend. And if there is anything that I am constantly trying to do better at every time I redraw it, it's birthday cards (probably bc they're for my friends, love you guys sm /p).

anyways, overall a really good piece, 11/10 background.

JULY - behold... the first artwork I posted on Tumblr! I drew this shortly after seeing Across the Spiderverse in cinemas (which I have to say was one of the greatest experiences of my life).

I wanted to mess around with lineless art a bit on this one, as well as sort of try to give it a watercolour feel like earth-65. And I gotta say, I think it turned out pretty good. Though I did spend a good 15 minutes looking for references because ATSV wasn't out digitally yet ;w;

overall, I like this piece, I tried something new and I made fanart for the greatest movie of all time (in my opinion)

AUGUST - I don't think I drew nearly enough Omori fanart when I was super into the game, so I'm making up for it now. I wanted to redraw one of my favourite photos from the photo album for this one.

I probably could have put a bit more detail into the background for this one, but I really like the warm lighting, and the dappled light effect that I used for the characters. The lineart is also a bit sketchy, but I was (and sort of still am) in the process of figuring out how I actually want my lineart to look.

overall, I really like this one, nice colours, nice lighting, has the omori characters being happy in it :]

SEPTEMBER - like in May, I didn't get as much Art Stuff TM done, so it's just a doodle of some of my OCS (except this time it's Copper, Lapis and Peg, who I have posted about before).

I kinda just wanted to draw something cozy, so I didn't put too much effort into the background and stuff. One thing I will say, is that I wish I drew them looking a bit older, since they are all 16-17 lol.

overall, this one's ok. Could be better, but it's just a doodle.

OCTOBER - ohohohohoho we are SO back. Yet another birthday card. I love the perspective and poses on this one (because, you guessed it, I used references for them). Everything about this artwork was really fun to draw (especially the characters).

Overall, really good artwork, 11/10

NOVEMBER - redraw of an artwork from 2021 part 2: electric boogaloo. I remember being so proud of the original artwork, so I wanted to make this one an artwork I was proud of too (which was a success).

One of the main things I wanted to do for this one was to actually draw a background, instead of getting one off google. The one I drew was simple, but I think it really works, because I wanted the focus to be on the character, not the background. I also added some slight perspective to the drawing to make it look a bit more interesting.

Overall, amazing, especially compared to the original

DECEMBER - and finally... December's artwork! Aka my banner. I wanted to do something kinda simple for this, because I'm probably going to redraw it or make a new one later. I really like the contrast between the colours in the foreground (which is supposed to be inside a train, but it's kinda hard to tell), and the background.

Also something I've started doing for a few artworks is making a duplicate of the artwork, blurring it slightly and lowering the opacity, which makes it look a lot more visually interesting :0

overall, love this one, good artwork to end the year off with :] (i'll prolly still draw more stuff tho)

(fun fact - I was going to put the redraw I did of the 'get in loser we're going shopping' scene with the characters from TMC for December because it's the highest quality meme i've ever made but it looked weird next to the other ones bc it was in black and white 😭)

[atomic-sludge]

Yknow what I WILL post this in regards to HtN because. I just really wanted to try and do the designs semi accurate to canon style I guess.

Luz's won't even be relevant until like a good chunk into the story... but I digress.

I might do some more for the rest of the hexsquad while I procrastinate all my other 1000 projects