#lilith is a cool aunt AND mom

[marching-weirdo]

owl house au where amity and hunter grew up together after odalia disowned amity.

amity had brown hair. therefore, she was different.

different is bad. so she gives the child to alador, tells him to kill her (because you know, mother :3)

alador gives her to darius. darius doesn't want a kid, so he gives baby amity to lilith while he calls a family to adopt her. lilith adopts amity instead.

amity and hunter grow close, like siblings. uncle belos is still a manipulative dipshit, but he brings the emporer coven propaganda into his "gentle" learning

fast forward, lilith, darius, and apprentice bard coven head raine decide to send amity and hunter to hexside.

chaos ensues.

if I keep this I swear I'll draw it pink promise.

[tawneybee]

I love Dadrius, but toh fans are totally missing out on cool uncle Eberwolf.

[the-hufflepuffle]

I just remembered something:

Eda is Luz mentor and mother for all intents and purposes on the Boiling Isles

Lilith is Amitys mentor and, probably, a non-abusive maternal figure for her (because fuck you Odalia).

So can you just imagine, please, a very gay Amity telling Lilith about the girl she likes and Lilith being Cool Aunt LilithTM about it, and supporting her student because hardly anyone does in the way that it's needed.

And then Lilith meets Luz and it a clicks into place.

And then the same thing happening with Eda and Luz.

I just like the thought of these sweet lil guys going to their respective Clawthorne to talk about their crush and them being totally supportive and helpful.

Also Lilith is one of my comfort characters if you can't tell.

[stellarcollison]

Day 134 of posting characters from The Owl House until season 3:

[underground-manticore]

I wanna see Luz showing pictures of Eda and King to her mom

[kihteyu]

While I do agree that Lilith and Amity clearly have a very close bond in the future, I don’t think it would be accurate to throw Lilith into a “mom” role for Amity. Not only does this go back to the whole idea that fandom has no idea what found family is, but Lilith just really isn’t the type to be a parent. Cool aunt for sure, but not a mom. Not every female character needs to become a mother and not every adult-child relationship needs to be parent-child to have meaning.

[mdhwrites]

You said the arcs of certain characters in TOH have an 'Us vs. Them mentality.' I take it that's because, as you say, the narrative pins the bad qualities of certain characters on separate parties (e.g. "Amity's flaws are only because of her mom"), but would you care to elaborate further on said mentality and how it sticks out to you in TOH?

So shockingly, not really. It plays into it but I am actually inherently talking about the same sort of mentality that Belos perpetuates but back onto Luz. After all, if you look at the main cast by even mid season 2 we have a problem forming. Eda: Has lost her criminal edge, has no personal interests, is defined by being nice in a way befitting Luz's worldview. Momma Eda.

Amity: No longer is studious and hard working but instead focuses more on her girlfriend and her nerdy interests. Is also now just nice. Was only shown genuine care by Luz, instead of just trying to fulfill her nerdy desires, once she finds out Amity is into Azura.

Lilith: Has turned into a nerd and given up on any ambitions that had led to her previous actions, becoming a nice cool aunt. Only now has Luz tried to form any relationship with her (admittedly, she didn't get many chances before now).

Hunter: Has only been being given kindness because he has shown a capacity for kindness that Luz only really started showing him, beyond not wanting him to die, once he showed he had a nerdy interest in wild magic.

Gus: Was a nerd from go and always nice, even if he could be slightly selfish.

Willow: By mid S2, is essentially out of the show for the past half season, has never had a strong personality and is just nice. Yes, she'll start her jock stuff soon... And never have a real conversation with Luz again, at least not until S3 maybe? So a full season where Luz and Willow, after Willow might have stopped being nerdy/an outcast, where Luz doesn't have an interest in her anymore.

And uh, just as a reminder to S3, Hunter gains a scifi interest post redemption and Luz explicitly listens to NOTHING her mother says to her during her big speech in For the Future until she reveals herself to be a secret nerd. At that point, suddenly Luz dials in.

For TOH, a show supposedly about the individual and self expression, characters either lose their personality and/or gain the personality that matches LUZ. There is less character variety in interests and personalities than even 90s cartoons much of the time by the end of TOH because these characters all lose so much of themselves fitting in with the good guys, especially the redeemed ones.

This is where your argument for this does come into play. I'll frame it as the fandom likes to with Amity: "She didn't have Luz in her life yet."

Amity is only a bitch while she is hanging out with the wrong crowd. Socialites, those with ambition and jocks. The Luz enters her life and despite the fact that the ONE time Luz ever calls Amity out for being a bitch being when Amity is being a bully to King and clearly trying to get a rise out of Luz, making that moment meaningless, that simple fact starts warping Amity. Starts making her turn back to her good, nerdy side. And because this is such an inherently good thing, there is no difficulty in doing this. She needs no motivation, no calling out, nothing. She just needs to desire to be like Luz/liked by Luz. She can discard her entire friend group and do things that should get her disowned with how evil Odalia is and face zero consequences because... I guess that's the power of becoming a nerd.

You are beyond reproach. You can only do good. Same goes for Hunter. Despite YEARS of potential propaganda and the like, Luz just getting into his life and admittedly jabbing at Belos/him a little, is all it takes for him to embrace the inherent goodness, displayed by his nerdiness about wild magic, and start becoming a better person. For this, he loses his home but that is only seen as a positive because indeed, he got away from those hostile that made him a bad person. He could now be a good person because he no longer had those influences and could embrace Luz's way of life.

With the show's themes, why is this the case? Shouldn't their base personalities be allowed to exist? Shouldn't a wide range of ideologies and the like be allowed since that is a part of self expression? Instead, when people don't like Luz approves, they are disapproved by Luz and either need to get the fuck out or conform.

And this is all without getting into how she becomes Jesus in the last episode...

None of this is intentional but if someone told me that the show felt hostile to them because they didn't consider themselves a nerd or because they tried to get somewhere in life, I wouldn't blame them. The show has a weirdly narrow belief in who is a good person. Who is allowed to exist in the main cast, a problem that cascades issues into a lot of its themes. I mean, this is the first show I've ever had to ask if character arcs are actually hurt the themes of the show because of this, a blog I sadly couldn't refind.

There is admittedly an element of this where I might not have thought about it without the fandom. Most people I know who are multi-fandom still agree that TOH is aggressive against others, even for a fandom. That it lashes out and blames others for its problems. Almost like a *gestures at the thesis*

And that doesn't help make any of this be less uncomfortable unfortunately. See you next tale.

======+++++======

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.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[dazeddoodles]

I love fact that my weird prompt is being discussed, anyways more contribuciones to this.

So when ever Raine is helping or stalking the Owl-family, they get to hear stuff like Luz and King calling themselves siblings, King calling Eda mom or Luz saying the classic “cool aunt Lilith”; so they go deeper into their belief that Luz and King are Eda’s bio kids.

So the hole Owl-family is unintentionally gaslighting Raine into believing that, and Raine is too much of an introvert to ask any of the them directly so this miscommunication just goes for way longer than it should have in the first place.

.

[fandom-discussions-with-avery]

One of TOH's big problems is that the characters are very clearly divided into black and white, which just leads to other problems.

In season 1, they tried to make characters more complicated. There were also characters like Willow and Gus, but the rest still had more elaborated and realistic characters. Amity wasn't a thoroughly bad person, she had some positive moments, but she bullied Willow. Twins were shitty siblings with violent jokes, but they were still not antagonists, they could apologize to Amity and even tried to help her, not forgetting to play a joke with her. Eda was a good person from the very beginning, but at the same time she was a fraud and a shitty teacher. Lilith was a villain with a more or less human motivation. Camila loved Luz and wanted the best for her, even in ways that were unpleasant for her. Yes, even for the first time Hunter, even though he was an antagonist, was also not a black and white villain who is evil because he is evil.

And then everything sank into oblivion. The actions of twins haven't been mentioned, now they never prank anyone and behave like caring, stupid siblings, especially Emira. Camila says that she was wrong about everything, Luz was just expressing herself when she brought dangerous snakes and fireworks to school, and Camila is actually a nerd like her daughter (although I'm sure now she will indulge Luz in any of her whims, otherwise Luz will run away again). Lilith is now a cool insecure nerdy aunt. Amity and Hunter... Enough has already been said about them. Eda doesn't mention crimes anymore, she's just a caring mom in love with her ex. And the fucking Alador lost all his sins and it turns out he was just standing on the sidelines while his wife abused the children and himself, yes, truly believable.

And in the meantime, the antagonists who didn't have time to be redeemed, even those who had the motivation, became evil for evil's sake. The whole past of Belos? Oh, guys, I'm sorry, he's just born evil, the local god himself told us. Can Odalia really love children and wish them the best? No, she hates them, she needs money, money, money, she's stupid and supports genocide for money, yeah! Kikimora has family problems (like Lilith)? Fuck it, she's just dumb and mean. Only Boscha partially avoided this, but it's true that what was done to her was also badly prescribed (they scored on her for a season, then abruptly pulled out when no one needed her anymore). At least they didn't make her Miss Cherry Ice Cream Sweet Girlfriend for Willow, and thanks for that.

I hate that the characters who initially didn’t let me quit the show on the second episode turned into a pathetic semblance of themselves. My God, if I turn on the channel for kids now, the characters from these cartoons will have more character than Amity and Hunter in season 3. TOH wants to seem like an adult cartoon raising adult problems, but his characters are on the level of first Disney movies about princesses. Here you have evil villains who deserve only death and good characterless cardboards, you should feel sorry for them. In 2021-2023, it's completely irrelevant.

[jakeroo123]

King and Family Labels

So, this is something that I've noticed before in The Owl House, and I thought was interesting enough to mention: as far as I remember, explicit labels for found family relationships in the show are near-exclusively used regarding King, often by King himself. I think the only exceptions are Luz calling Lilith "Cool Aunt Lilith" (itself not that explicit, considering how 'aunt' is often used informally), Vee calling Camila "Mom", and Camila jokingly calling herself "a mother of six".

I find that rather interesting, because it does present something worth considering about King's character. Namely, it comes across to me as though these labels are important to him. Being able to define himself in terms of what he is to the people around him, when he has no idea where he came from or what he is, seems to be a comfort for him.

And... That does actually come up with how I think about the characters, too. I hesitate to define what Eda and Luz are to each other, because it really doesn't seem all that clear-cut. Something like parental, certainly a strong bond, and Luz calls her "family", but it's still difficult to define, and I don't think this is necessarily a bad thing.

So, in the end, my approach is to, for the most part, only use the labels and words when talking about King's relationships, because that's how he defines them.

[thisbelongsto-nohbodys]

[Lily and Azura are hanging out on the Isles. Walking to the Owl House]

Azura: So this whole “wanting to protect me from danger” thing, I know our moms ship us but you’re making it easier with that seeming like a whole romantic gesture.

Lily: I didn’t mean it to be romantic, ugh…look, I’ll fight whatever is causing you problems alright?

Azura: So a— what was the Earth saying again? “Knight in Shining Armor”, huh?

Lily: I take it back, I take it all back, you can fight whatever you want on your own.

Azura: I’m sorry. I just wanna know how far you’ll go. Like, would you fight the King of Demons for me?

Lily: Trick question, Maddi and I already learned from your cool aunt Lilith that there is no king of demons. But yes, I would.

Azura: How about the most powerful witch? The Coven Heads, at the same time?

Lily: My aunt Flour taught me some basics when fighting magic users so it’ll be easy. Witches, Wizards, Warlocks, Sorcerers, bring ‘em on.

Azura: Would about Hooty?

Lily: No.

Lily: I’m not fighting that bird, worm, tube thing. I ain’t fighting a demigod-like being again.

[sepublic]

            Can we again appreciate, also, the horror and pressure that comes from Luz’s ‘realization’? The fact that she blames herself for helping Philip find the Collector; And because the Collector taught Philip the draining spell, she sees herself as responsible for both antagonists. She gave Belos access to someone who let him become an immortal emperor with “magic stronger than anybody’s”, and King access to the Collector that is now terrorizing the isles. Belos had an actual game plan thanks to Luz, beyond just killing random witches; And let’s not forget that the draining spell led to Eda losing her arm, which she doesn’t know about yet!

         Obviously, Luz can’t be blamed. The entire isles was manipulated, what makes her think she could’ve done any better, should’ve done any better, when she wouldn’t hold it against anyone else? Dare I say it’s almost arrogant in a roundabout way even, for Luz to hold herself to that extreme, godlike standard, and herself alone; Out of a sense of self-loathing.

         But it kinda wraps around to Luz feeling the need to fix things and be responsible for them, and I can see the connection between that and her once wanting to be a chosen one, which was in itself a rationalization and attempt to make up for, justify, and explain her inadequacies in life. If Luz is a Chosen One, then her being different and rejected by the others makes sense, if Luz is a Chosen One, then it’s okay for her to assume all responsibility for everyone else, and thus blame herself over others!

         Which… Yeah, in a way she DID get to have that ‘magical destiny’ she talked about in Witches before Wizards; But in the worst way possible, WELL after she’d gotten over that. Just like her brother King getting over wanting to be a tyrant with powerful lore, only to be burdened with the curse of being a Titan after all. It’s so cruel that when Luz’s wish IS fulfilled, it’s in the most Monkey’s Paw way, technically a straight play on the idea, but also a deconstruction too. Like she and King are being ironically punished for their wish, well after they’d made up for something you couldn’t blame a child for having.

         I wonder if Lilith has made this connection, too? Does she blame herself, and as much? She DID at least catch onto Philip’s evil… Plus, she’s likely already used to blaming herself for stuff; Eda’s curse, which was only intended for a single day for her (even if her plans still meant taking Eda’s future for herself), as well as being manipulated by Belos in general. At this point, I think Lilith is just used to it, and focused on just making things right, like when she offered to take Eda’s place in the ritual sabotage; She’s self-pitied enough as is. Plus, who knows how therapeutic her time with Gwen could’ve been; And Luz is now with HER mom too!

         Anyhow I guess I want to see Cool Aunt Lilith provide support for Luz over this, and reassure her that it isn’t her fault, at least no more than anyone else’s. This does remind me of a fic I made back when Season 1 ended, of Lilith thanking Luz for helping open her eyes… Maybe when Season 3 is over and I get a sense for how circumstances turn out, I could write a counterpart sequel in which Lilith returns the favor with her advice, even as Luz thanks her as well.

         But yeah; Philip already had most of it figured out, how to get the Collector, and he just needed anyone to be a sacrificial distraction for the Stonesleeper. Lilith even points out that he did most of the puzzle to the lair; Luz might blame herself for being the reason Philip became any more than the incredibly cruel yet seemingly ineffectual human he was, instead of the worldwide threat thanks to the Collector’s knowledge.

         But Philip was ALWAYS like that he and he’d always find a way, and didn’t need the Collector to form a cult of personality, just capitalize on it with the coup de grace. And yet, I can just totally understand the wracking damage and pain, because Luz didn’t just help Belos with any menial task, but perhaps the most fateful one of all, sans killing Caleb… Philip meeting Luz and her Cool Aunt really is a turning point for the entire lore of the show. But Luz’s destiny that changes the world is no longer a blessing, but a curse.

         We’ve discussed how Luz has done SO much, has had an incomprehensible impact and legacy via her arrival; The way she’s changed everyone and then the people around them. But she really did take it a step further in a cruel way, a way she must still forgive and not blame herself for regardless, and it pairs very well with Philip being the same, in a negative way. And how BOTH affected fate together with finding the Collector, in their own mixed way. 

        Thanks to Them is a title that could have multiple meanings; Perhaps about Luz and Philip’s (and Caleb’s) juxtaposed legacies, and more! It feels like a double-edged title…  And double-edged is how one could describe Luz’s feelings towards being a Chosen One with a Destiny, her ability to do good, and conversely the risk of doing bad, and the exhausting expectation to keep up the good. My girl is like a Gifted Child but instead of excelling at grades it’s excelling at improving the world and helping people! Even if Luz focuses on not self-pitying but making up for it... How can one make up for so damage??? You can’t, but that’s not an issue because it was never her fault.

         TL;DR It is very much not Luz’s fault but I just want to remind everyone why this in particular would cause Luz so much anxiety, and in understanding the gravity appreciate more her angst. It’s not just that she helped Philip but the NATURE of that ‘help’, and seeing the Collector last episode has just intensified her understanding of the consequences. It’s a lotta baggage and Luz likely heard the Collector mention to Belos that he taught him all that magic.

[hoopoo09]

Imagine Luz explaining her family to someone:

" This is my mom Camila, she took my friends in when their whole world was overrun by a monster who wanted to destroy their entire species"

" this is my adopted twin sister Vee, she can shape shift and pretended to be me for several months"

" this my adoptive mother Eda, she's crazy and a terrible influence and I've almost died several times since meeting her."

" this is Eda's son King, and I know he looks like a puppy mixed with a cat mixed with a toddler, but he is actually a literal god in his world and the best little brother ever"

" This is Hunter, my adoptive big brother, he is a walking plant and a clone of a dead guy (and maybe related to Eda we aren't super sure)"

"This is cool Aunt Lilith. She's Eda's sister and she punched a guy in the face to protect me, she's awesome"

" This is hooty, he's best friends with Lilith and most people find him disturbing/unsettling, which is far, but he's actually really cool. He helped me land my girlfriend"

" This is my amazing girlfriend Amity. She tried to have me dissected when we first met"

People would be so confused and concerned.

[lampmanliveblogs]

Something about Luz reflection in the portal, but at the same time glimpsing the grave on the other side… I feel like there’s some meaning I should be able to derive from that. Um… I dunno, something about a dream dying? As in, Luz’ dream of a happy life in the Demon Realm dies here in the Human Realm or something.

Death as in permanence, as in Luz deciding to stay in the Human Realm permanently.

Luz feels dead inside.

(this is the kind of quality analysis you can only get here, at Lampman Liveblogs)

”I was scared… I thought you’d all hate me for it. Which is why I’ve made a decision. I think… that it’d be in everyone’s best interest if I-”

”Took your mama to the Demon Realm!”

Heck. Yes.

I think we’ve already established I’m all for that. Now Camila will finally get to meet Luz’ mentor and bonus mom Eda, her lil bro King, Hooty, cool aunt Lilith… oh, and The Collector! If anyone can tame a childish god, it’d be the woman who raised Luz.

I also appreciate that while Camila herself is not immune to making bad decisions, she will also keep her daughter from making bad decisions… granted, this is more like postponing the issues rather than actually solving them, but we’ll get there eventually, I’m sure.

HOL UP, wiat a mintue-

When did Hunter’s eyes change color!??!???? ANd how did I miss it?????

I rewound a bit, and it’s right there, when he wakes up and I just. Missed it. I can’t believe this. I’m an utter failure as a liveblogger and a person. As punishment, I will go on another four month hiatus which is only occasionally broken by posting a few low-quality memes and fanfics that no one will read. 

(hey, Luz and Hunter ((and Camila)) have the same eye color now, that’s neat)

Pictured: Amity being the MOST awesome girlfriend that ever was an awesome girlfriend.

I mean, echoing Luz’ own words from when she asked Amity out is just next-level. so Hang on Sloopy, and let’s go get that bastard Belos.

Pictured: Me, ruffling my snake daughter’s pycnofibers.

Vee’s staying behind in the Human Realm, which… yeah, that makes sense. All her life spent in the Demon Realm was a nightmare. Things only started getting better for her when she came to the Human Realm. Hunter too had a hard upbringing (maybe putting it a bit lightly there), but he at least have some things there to fight for.

Oh, and minor detail, but confirmation that Camila does have living relatives back in the homeland.

And then they hit me with this rendition of the closing theme… it’s too beautiful

As the portal closes and Vee walks of smiling, sure that her family can handle this, we pan up to the beautiful night sky an-

”Shoot, Camila still has the car keys.”

…Vee gives the funniest line of the episode. I love the implication that if she just had the keys, Vee could totally drive the car back home. She is a basilisk/snake/legless lizard/naga of many talents.

[rosemaidenvixen]

Algea

Chapter 1

Algea: personified spirits of pain and suffering–body and mind–, grief, sorrow and distress. The bringers of weeping and tears.

Stranded in a world not her own, Luz works to make a way home while the Boiling Isles struggle under the rule of Emperor Belos. It won't be easy, but with the support of her friends and found family she feels there's nothing she can't do.

Then random chance and careless spite collide into an act of unimaginable cruelty, leaving multiple lives shattered.

Luz is devastated but there’s no time to pick up the pieces. The Emperor's tightening his grip, and Luz and her friends have to push their own pain aside and pull themselves together if they want to prevent the ultimate tragedy.

The day of Unity is fast approaching and they have a plan to stop it, but their allies are few and their enemies are many, and they have plenty of tricks of their own. Hardship haunts them at every turn, their group suffering loss after loss as they struggle forward. Each time they manage to pull through, but their hope is steadily eroding. And their own survival may not be the benchmark they can use to measure victory.

For there are many fates that are far worse than death.

Ao3

Next>

Luz headed down the trail leading away from the overlook, Amity walking right beside her, their fingers entwined. Everytime Luz actually thought about that her heart gave a little flutter.

She hadn’t been able to do her tradition today, go to her dad’s grave with her mom. Spend the day together, talking about all the happy memories they had of him.

Amity’s fingers tightened ever so slightly against her own, giddy butterflies bursting to life in her chest.

But today had worked in its own way.

Reluctantly, Luz slowed to a stop as they came to where the path split “So…you probably need to be getting home now,”

“Actually…” Amity turned towards her “Do you think I could stay over at the owl house tonight? Today was a lot, and I’m not sure I’m ready to go back home to dad…and mom,”

“I’ll have to check with Eda but I think that should be fine! You can sleep on the couch, you might have to deal with one of Hooty’s midnight musical numbers but other than that there shouldn’t be a problem,”

Amity let out a laugh “Midnight musicals, good one,”

Luz just blinked back at her.

“Wait was that…not a joke?”

A short while later the two of them walked through the door into the owl house.

“Eda!” Luz shouted with a hand cupped around her mouth “Can Amity stay the night tonight?”

“Yeah that’s fine,” Eda shouted back from the kitchen “We’ll have to shuffle the sleeping arrangements though, we have another guest,”

Luz turned towards Amity, the two sharing a curious look “Another guest?”

They hurried back to the kitchen, spotting Eda talking with–

“Oh hey aunt Lilith,”

“Wait Lilith!?” Amity whipped back and forth between Luz and the bespeckled puffy haired witch sitting at the table “Aunt!?”

“Oh hello, yes it’s me,” Lilith gave them a little wave.

Amity looked her up and down “I…I didn’t recognize you,”

“I suppose I have changed quite a bit. Ever since leaving the Emperor’s Coven I’ve been working hard to shake off the shackles of conformity and step up as a Bad Girl Historian and Cool Aunt to Eda’s wards,”

“Yeah! Just last week we went back in time to meet the journal author,”

“What!?” Amity whirled back on her, eyes blown wide “You met Philip Wittebane!?”

“Yeah, he turned out to be a jerk though,”

“I punched him in the face,” Lilith said primly.

Amity whipped her head back and forth between Lilith and Luz, mouth working open and shut.

“Alright I’m turning in and leaving you nerds to it,” Eda pushed away from the table and stood “Lily you ok with bunking in the nest with me so Boots can take the couch?”

“Yes that should be fine,”

“Alright, goodnight nerds, have fun with your nerd talk,” she turned and started heading towards the stairs, leaving the three of them in the kitchen.

“Hang on just a second…” Amity shakily took a seat across from Lilith “You guys actually went back in time,”

“Yup,” Luz sat down next to her “We used the time pools,”

“I thought those were an urban legend, next you’ll be telling me possums are real,”

“While possums might be a myth I can assure you that time pools are very real,” Lilith stood and pulled down a large chart from the top of the wall, on it was a drawing of a large pool of water, to the left of the pool was an illustration of a dripping blue liquid, to the right a mossy green mass. Both them them helpfully captioned ‘Titan’s blood’ and ‘Boiling Algae’. Arrows from either picture pointed towards the center of the chart, swirling together into the picture of the time pool.

Amity blinked “Wait, did you already have that set up…or do you just carry it with you…?”

“Yeah she’s been doing that a lot lately,” Luz leaned over and whispered to her “Apparently a good Bad Girl Historian is always prepared for a lecture,”

“You see time pools are formed by congealed titan’s blood mixing with prehistoric algae,” Lilith pointed towards the pool in the middle of the chart “The resulting composition is unstable, both chronologically and geographically, unlike other deposits of congealed titan’s blood, so not only can it provide windows through time, the physical location of these pools is constantly changing as well,”

“Hang on, other congealed titan’s blood!?” Luz shot up out of her seat “What other titan’s blood is out there?”

Lilith adjusted her glasses “Well not titan’s blood per say…”

She reached up and pulled down another chart, this one showing the titan’s skeleton lying in the boiling sea, but it was a cross section with various subterranean spaces visible, including the mine on the knee.

“When the titan fell in the boiling sea, sea water along with prehistoric forms of algae leaked into the titan’s body, forming the first non boiling lakes and rivers,” Lilith pointed to a large swath of purple on top of the titan’s pelvis “At the same time, large amounts of titan’s blood pooled and congealed in the lower areas of the titan’s body,” she traced her finger down, the purple of the pelvic lake turning into a deep turquoise as she traced the map of the water below sea level “Over time the algae consumed the pockets of the congealed titan’s blood, assimilating it into its physiology and permanently altering its biochemistry. Resulting in a host of different algae-blood amalgamations within the titan,”

“Wait…” Luz leaned forward, practically hanging over the table “Does that mean lakes and rivers could be portals through time to?”

“No,” Lilith’s finger lifted, tapping the tangled rib structure above the teal underground lake “Not only is congealed titan’s blood exceedingly dense, the algae it amalgamated with are a primarily subterranean species. As such all known amalgamations, time pools excepted, have settled deep underground. This combined with being filtered by the titan’s skeletal and vascular systems prevents algae-blood amalgamations from affecting the accessible levels of lakes and rivers,”

“Yeah,” Amity cut in “Like Lake Lacuna, it runs super deep in the middle, but aside from the razor eels the shallower areas are pretty safe, a lot of people go there for picnics and swimming,”

“Quite right, now this is also why titan’s blood has been historically mined at the knee,” Lilith tapped the picture of the knee “The elevation isolated it and prevented amalgamation with algae. Creating veins of pure titan’s blood. Now time pools are unique in that their shifting locations have brought them up to the surface and allowed some scant observations, but for the deeper deposits only trace samples have ever been recovered,” she turned back to them “Quite frankly there’s no telling what sort of properties these subterranean algae-blood amalgamations have,” 

Luz sucked in a gasp “We should have a beach day tomorrow!”

Amity blinked in surprise for a moment, before a stray giggle escaped her “That was your main take away from that lecture?”

“I’ve been through the time pools before, but we’ve never had a beach day! And you said people go swimming at the shallow parts of Lake Lacuna, so let’s do it!”

“Well I for one am proud that I was able to deliver such a thorough lesson on short notice,” Lilith said with a satisfied nod, rolling up her charts with a snap “But it’s getting late and I must retire, so I’ll leave you to plan you delinquent outing,”

With that Lilith strode out of the room, Luz still buzzing with excitement beside Amity.

“We can have not-dogs, and invite Gus and Willow–”

Amity felt a bubbly warmth filling her chest, Luz’s sunny enthusiasm contagious, as she pulled out her scroll “I’ll shoot them a message on Penstagram,”

Only seconds after she sent it her scroll chimed with a reply. 

Luz leaned in over her shoulder, the two of them reading the response “Willow says they can come after Flyer derby practice, and they want to know if the rest of the team can come,”

“Sure! The more the merrier!”

Amity laughed again, already composing the response.

---

Alador yawned and pushed back from his workbench, wincing as his spine popped. It had taken longer than he expected but he finally finished working out the prototype for the Abomatron. Normally he’d make a beeline to bed right now, so tomorrow he could start work on his next project bright and early, but tonight something made him drag his feet.

The situation with Amity and the brawl kept going through his head, one of the reasons it took him so long to finish the prototype plans.

Amity didn’t want to join the emperor’s coven, she didn’t want to join a coven at all. When did that happen?

He stood up, knees popping as well, discarding thoroughly stained apron and work gloves on the bench. The action so practiced he barely had to think about it, leaving his mind to dwell on other things.

As long as he’d known it had been Amity’s dream to succeed and rise high. To be the best of the best and do the Blight family proud.

Then again…how long had it been since he’d actually sat down and talked about her dreams with her?

There was the first day of her baby class, an abomination just a little bit taller than she was tottering after her as she ran down the path, proudly proclaiming that she wanted to create the biggest abomination ever, as big as the titan! But that was nearly ten years ago, surely they’d spoken more recently…

Alador searched his mind for any memory of such a thing, and to his dismay came up empty.

Guts lurching uncomfortably, he shut off the lights and headed upstairs. He hadn’t been meant to ignore Amity or the twins, he’d been busy with his work, and Odalia was always better at that sort of thing. He’d never been good at planning and networking, or anything that involved talking to people. Better to let Odalia handle those things; she was charming, intelligent, an absolute force of willpower. With her guidance their children were guaranteed a good future.

But maybe he’d taken things too far, delegated too much, and somewhere along the line he’d become so distant from his children that Alador barely knew them.

That thought made him unbearably sad.

Reaching the top of the stairs he paused with his foot in midair. Down the hall to the right was the small guest room he slept in when he couldn’t be bothered to shower after a long stretch of work. Odalia never banned him from their bedroom but she put her foot down when it came to abomination stains on the sheets. That’s where he should go, get some rest so he could be ready to start work on the Abomaton 3.0 tomorrow. But despite knowing that he found his attention pulled to the left….

After hesitating a few more moments, Alador turned and started heading down the hall to his left.

Maybe he wasn’t good at this, maybe Odalia was better at planning their childrens’ futures than he’d ever be, but that was no excuse not to at least try. And Alador wanted to know his children again.

Soon enough the door loomed in front of him, one Alador didn’t remember walking through in years. He raised a hand then hesitated, intestines twisting into knots.

Swallowing back the sensation, he forced back his nerves and rapped his knuckles against the wood.

After a few moments of unbearable silence Emira’s voice echoed out.

“Uh…come in?”

Alador cracked open the door and peeked inside. When the twins were born they’d shared a nursery, as they got older they’d moved into separate bedrooms, connected to either side of the original nursery. And the nursery had become a playroom, a way to isolate the destructive chaos of twin toddlers from the rest of the manor, and the twins’ favorite place to hang out.

To his relief that much hadn’t changed, while the decorations were more mature than he remembered. Each side of the room was decorated with what looked to be Edric and Emira’s tastes respectively, although there were strands of fairy lights and a small desk near the window that didn’t appear to match either style. 

Edric and Emira were lounging on plush chairs on one side of the room, each of them looking up from their scrolls to stare at him quizzically.

“Hey…” Edric said slowly “Amity’s spending the night at the owl lady’s house, she’ll be back tomorrow.

Alador blinked “She is?”

How checked out was he? His youngest daughter wasn’t home and he didn't even notice. Was he really that little of a presence in his childrens’ life?

He gave a quick shake of his head to dispel the spiraling thoughts. For better and worse Amity had made it clear where he stood with her. Now it was time to clear the air with Emira and Edric.

“I didn’t come here to talk to Amity, I wanted to talk to you,”

Both twins glanced at each other “About what…” Emira said slowly.

“Oh just…” Alador stepped fully into the room and gently shut the door behind him “How are your studies going? Are you two still in the illusion track?”

The twins shared another look, silence stretching out longer and longer until Emira cleared her throat “Actually…I’ve been working on healing magic to,”

“Oh that’s…good,” he turned towards Edric “How about you,”

“I’ve been…checking out beastkeeping, and potions,”

Aladror started a bit “Wait, were you the one responsible for what happened to Warden Wrath at the brawl?”

Edric jerked in his seat, face flushing deep red “That wasn’t– I…uh…”

“Because that’s impressive,”

Now both twins jolted in surprise.

“Really…..?” Emira said hesitantly.

Alador felt his face grow hot. Was it really so unusual for him to take an interest in his children? Well if it was that was changing now.

Maybe he wasn’t good at this, but titan dammit no matter how bad he was Alador was going to be there for his kids.

“Tell me more about your beast potions,” he gingerly took a seat at an empty desk chair “And your healing illusions…”

---

Darius had to fight back a yawn as he made his way back to his quarters. With the day of unity fast approaching the workload was never ending, luckily he knew a shortcut through the back corridors to save him some time.

Spotting an ivory cloak and glint of gold as he rounded the corner, he felt his sour mood recede a bit, the beginnings of a smile curving on his lips. It looked like he wasn’t the only one using these back hallways tonight.

The Golden Guard, right hand to Emperor Belos himself, was hunched over in a corner partially hidden behind a column, unmasked and staring down at his scroll, the personal one Darius himself had given him, like it was a particularly challenging puzzle. Which to him it probably was.

He slowed to a stop, his presence still unnoticed “Having trouble little prince?”

Hunter jolted upright, whipping around to face him “I wasn’t– I was just–”

“Because it looks like you were using Penstagram to chat with your little Flyer Derby friends,”

His face flushed red all the way to the tips of his ears, shoving the scroll into his pocket with far more force than was needed “I was just…gathering intel. It’s not a distraction from my duties,”

Darius planted a hand on his hip and fought the urge to roll his eyes “You know the coven won’t come to a halt if you take an hour for yourself,”

“Wh…whether or not the coven can function without me is irrelevant, I have a responsibility to uphold and I can’t neglect my duties,”

A heavy sigh built in the back of Darius’ throat, but he bit it back before it could escape. Thanks to that whole debacle with the Flyer Derby players he knew there was an actual teenager inside that uptight shell, but he had to be coaxed out gently.

“Little Prince you work twice as hard as people more than double your age. Quite frankly you deserve a break,”

Hunter flinched a little bit at the word ‘deserve’ so slight Darius nearly missed it, but he continued without missing a beat “I don’t know what they taught you in scout training, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with using your spare time to do something that makes you happy, even if it doesn’t contribute to the continuous progress of the empire,”

Gloved knuckles tightened around his staff as Hunter cautiously peeked up at him “You…think so?”

“I’m the head of one of the most profitable covens in the Boiling Isles,” Darius gave a good natured grin and reached out to ruffle his hair “I know so,”

Hunter blinked in surprise before reaching up to smooth his tousled hair “I guess if you’re sure, just…don’t tell uncle,”

“Of course,” Darius patted him on the shoulder “Now you better hurry, I know Kikimora uses these back halls to,”

“Understood,” Hunter turned and strode away, pivoting back to flash a quick wave as he went “Thank you Headwitch Darius,”

Darius gave a slow wave and a smile in return as he watched Hunter hurry down the corridor “Anytime,” he kept waving until Hunter vanished around the corner, pausing for a moment before lowering his hand and continuing on his way.

Maybe it made him a bad rebel to be giving pep talks to the Emperor’s right hand man, but Darius had never given a damn what other witches thought. 

And besides it wasn’t as if he could recruit him for the rebellion. Hunter was a child, to say nothing of the conflict of interest…

That particular thought made the smile drop off his face.

Belos may be a tyrant but he was also Hunter’s uncle, and it was unreasonably cruel to ask a child to forsake his only family member for the good of the isles. For titan’s sake the only thing Hunter should be worried about was more outings with those little Flyer Derby friends of his. And if everything went according to plan, soon he would. Darius and the other rebels just had to keep their heads down and avoid raising suspicion until they took out Belos and stopped the day of unity. Honestly between the two of them they had so many worries that the Emperor finding out about his nephew’s hobbies was barely worth a second thought.

Sure Belos might not be happy about his nephew running off to play with other witches his age when he could be training or studying coven law. But he’d thrown tradition to the wind and raised his powerless teenage nephew to the role of Golden Guard. Belos clearly favored the boy, how angry could he actually be.

[pb-loves-owls]

I just like to think about what the Owl Family started with and compare it to what they ended up with.

Like.

Luz

Started with one mom. No siblings. No friends.

Ended with two moms, one parent, at least two uncles and an auntie, at least two brothers, a girlfriend, and so many friends who understand her and love her for who she is.

King

One mom who viewed him as a pet for the first few years of his life.

Two parents (mom and moms partner), aunties and uncles, two siblings, a lot of friends, and a new sense of understanding of himself. He’s also way more responsible and caring for others by season 2 and looks at the Collector as a little sibling despite them technically being older. He knows that he’s more mature and knows better than the Collector on right and wrong, even if the grey areas are still confusing. King is such a big boy now I’m gonna cry about it.

Amity

Started with a broken nuclear family.

Ended with a better father, a cool new dad, a nerdy new brother, a girlfriend, and a distant to nonexistent relationship with her not great mother. And Cool Aunt Lilith aka New Mom aka Miss Lilith aka Miss Mom

Gus

One dad, one friend, and false bravado.

A whole bunch of friends who love and respect him, not because of his abilities, but because he exists and that’s enough for them. He’s also much more confident and sure of himself now that he’s putting less pressure on himself.

Willow

Two dads, one friend, and low self esteem.

A whole bunch of friends, a boyfriend who sees her for who she really is and not for what people have defined her by, a rekindled healthy relationship with an old friend aka former bully, and is now captain of a sports team.

Hunter

An abusive, manipulative “uncle” who only gave him trauma, anxiety, and a broken sense of self worth.

A family that loves him unconditionally, friends who look up to him and look out for him, a healthy sleep schedule, a regular education, and hopefully therapy.

Vee

No one.

A new sister, a mother, friends who know her love her and accept her, and a home where she feels safe and is more than a number or a test subject.

The Collector

Isolation because of his terrible siblings and a really bad misunderstanding.

A new family, friends, and a sense of maturity that only comes from traumatic events and coming out of them barely alive and exhausted. A brother who loves them and a sister who, despite everything, looks out for them.

And that’s just the kids!