#the demon of the lonely isle

[anne-bsd-bibliophile]

The Demon of the Lonely Isle by Edogawa Ranpo

Whatever challenge or hardship we face, it is never as dreadful as that which we are able to imagine.

- Edogawa Ranpo, The Demon of the Lonely Isle

Our youthful spirits were still capable of enjoying such adventures and thrilled at keeping secrets. Added to this, the type of relationship that existed between Michio and myself meant we were more than just 'friends'. Michio's affection for me was atypical - although I didn't really comprehend how he felt, I understood it on an intellectual level - and like any normal romantic sentiment it wasn't necessarily unwelcome, so when we were face to face, there was a kind of sweet sexual tension in the air. This tension perhaps made our 'game' all the more pleasurable.

- Edogawa Ranpo, The Demon of the Lonely Isle

Nobody can see the plight we're in, we can't see each other's faces. After we die, our bodies will lie here undiscovered for eternity. But just as this place has no light, it has no laws, no morality, no customs. It is another world, where humanity is extinguished. In the short time we have left, I want to disregard all such formalities. We need not feel embarrassment or jealousy, or hide behind good manners or put on a show anymore. We're like two newborn beings, the only living creatures in this primordial darkness. - Edogawa Ranpo, The Demon of the Lonely Isle

A little bit of darkness and people fall to pieces. Get a hold of yourself. Where there's life there's hope.

- Edogawa Ranpo, The Demon of the Lonely Isle

Fun Fact:

Ranpo's friend and fellow detective writer Yokomizo Seishi (1902-81) wrote, 'the love for the same sex, which had been a long-standing desire of the author [sakka no hisashiki ganbō de atta dōseiai], had finally been incorporated into this novel.' An insert to another multivolume collection of Ranpo's works published in 1938 and 1939 emphasizes in boldface type that Kotō no oni is 'a work in which the author dealt with the topic of same-sex love.'

- Jeffrey Angles, Writing the Love of Boys pages 14-15

[anime-academia]

"My son, Michio, never called out for me or his mother. Until his very last breath he clasped one of your letters to his breast. It was you, and you alone, he kept asking for."

-The Demon of the Lonely Isle, Edogawa Rampo (trans. Alexis J Brown, 2022)

[pastelpaperplanes]

Introducing KOBD ( and Wildbreak) into Thorns and Thrones AU!!

These two play the part of Rescuers to both Sir Orion and Megatronus at a turning point in their quest!

I’m thinking KOBD are the ones who come across them after this scuffle in the snow gone wrong >:]

Knockout and Breakdown are currently lone travelers on a journey off to the Dinobot Isles! The couple ventured out of the desolate, ever-increasing decay of Decepticon lands in a hurry to secure a stable future for their adorable new addition.

With the re-entering strict Autobot lands clearly not presenting itself to be a safe option to settle down, these two, with their little one in tow, have been making the lengthy journey to the coastlines.

Allies anxiously await their arrival—both in determination to seeing their old friends safe, as well as being in great need of their skills as both healers and warriors.

Trouble is stirring in the cavernous mountains that aid in the sustainment of the Isles. Those who have ventured up for recourses are returning with fewer numbers, strange wounds, and even stranger stories of the web-wielding demon supposedly responsible.

Knockout and Breakdown are off to offer their help in exchange for a place to call home—but first they have to figure out what the hell an Autobot and LORD MEGATRON-!?!? are doing all the way out HERE??

Perhaps after Optimus (ohhh that’s his name!) and Megatron (whoops! merc cover blown) get patched up, their rescuers and new friends made in the Isles will wrangle them into an adventure in the mountains—for for Primus’ sake get them some new gear!!!

[tartsinarat]

Ngl was thinking about this whilst drawing some toh au stuff while watching doctor who in the background but I really feel like Pip would really be into the toh version of doctor who.

no idea what it would be called tho in the owl house but Pip’s into it for obvious reasons of sci-fi but also occasionally randomly fantasy?? show, which has chaotic mess of lore that makes no sense whatsoever (I say this with extreme love tho) and has a main character who’s a mad genius and criminal who stole a time machine and ran away to explore the universe and time which I feel meshes very well into what Pip would enjoy

Like I don’t see him enjoying space frontier as it’s pretty much Star Trek and that show has an really optimistic grand view of the future, it focus mostly on the good of people as a whole and that anything can be achieved if people work together and put their minds to it, I can see why Hunter and Gus would enjoy it which I find really sweet and adorable

On the other hand Doctor who has a very complex but pessimistic view on people/the universe, it mainly focuses on the crazy situations that a lonely alien on who’s constantly running away but desperately trying their best at all times to either atone for what they did in the past or to help people across time and space which I think Pip would find more interesting and relatable.

He’d also probably think that all the historical stuff in doctor who is real and that Britain is just constantly getting invaded by aliens.

Funniest thing though about him discovering Doctor who is Pip finally learning what a British person is, and that he’s got a British accent himself as I’m pretty sure there’s literally no one on the boiling isles other than Belos and Pip have that accent so he wondered where it’s from.

Pip also enjoys this show even more because time travel is a concept in toh, soooooooo the guy is just itching to figure out how to make a real Tardis, the only thing stoping him is that he’s in the human realm and in the demon realm the titan themselves was like “nope not even risking it” and decided to never allow him to be able to find a time pool again (he was apart of the events of elsewhere and elsewhen along side Luz and Lilith… it was awkward between him and Philip to say the least but it was more on Pips part because he was like” holy shit is he an older me?? Or my great great- something?? grandad what is going on???” So he didn’t know how to react to that and neither did Luz who was like yep they’re related, and Philip was like “what a strange hooded kid, I didn’t know that demons could mimic accents and appearances so well, I should be stay wary of that abomination and slay it when I have the time”. Oh yeah Pip does almost get killed but Lilith springs into action and does the badass punch to stop Philip. Ngl I’ll have to draw this as a comic at some point because it’s interesting to imagine/draw)

As well I had some ideas of him in thanks to them dressed up in a nerdy doctor cosplay which I found fun but idk if that’ll end up being what I draw him as for his Halloween costume, all three were picked because they all had similar Pip personality wise and I feel like he would relate most to these three in particular;

Like Pip, 10 is pretty much a wild card personality wise depending on the situation he can either be a sad destructive arrogant bastard with a slight god complex who takes matters into his own hands because he believes that he’ll make the right decision without thinking about the consequences or be a lonely silly guy who rambles a lot and is always running around and just wants to have fun.

1 is a grumpy trickster that has strong opinions about right and wrong, he also appears rude or uncaring but actually cares a lot and is the guy who ran away and stole a fucking time machine. He and 14 (14 is basically a mature 10 but I was tempted to go with him instead of 10 but he doesn’t have the ego problem so 10 it was lmao) fought a god like being that’s from another dimension thats obsessed with playing games.

4 is a bit of an odd ball though, he’s the weirdest doctor out of the bunch. He’s pretty silly, but at times he’s shifts into being quite callous and broody but still has a heart of gold. As well as 4 seems to struggle a lot in acting human as he’s pretty distant, aloof and alien at points, he even emphasises a lot throughout his run how he’s not human. Which I feel Pip would find extremely relatable as well as enjoying 4’s adventurist spirit and his extreme hatred of authority.

I think 4 is Pips favourite so he’d most likely cosplay as him during thanks to them.

Omg almost completely forgot to mention but I didn’t add his scar on purpose, he’s used illusion magic to remove it to make the cosplay more accurate and because his curse at that point is showing more physically on his body at this point in season 3 (he goopy 😔) and I can imagine it’s hard to explain to people in public why you a rotting infected looking green scar across your face and an even worse looking arm that’s weirdly proportioned to your body.

[welcometogrouchland]

I also think it's nice that they made Camilla a sci-fi nerd and Luz a fantasy nerd. They're genres that are often seen as completely opposing one another by many people, which is what we're led to believe about Luz and Camilla in season 1. Luz is silly, nerdy, frequently in over her head and irresponsible and loves the boiling isles. We're led to believe that Camilla is the normal, conventional TV mother who'd be disgusted and terrified by the demon realm if she saw it.

Then yesterday's lie gives us a lot of nuance to this, and we realize that while they're still very different and now on opposite sides of a conflict, both mother and daughter are incredibly kind people (seen in their treatment of Vee) who love each other but struggle to make the right choices without hurting one another.

Then thanks to them drops all this Camilla characterization and we realize! She was a nerd too this whole time! The wedge between Camilla and Luz is motivated by past traumas and grief! and for the future has them switching sides on the central conflict of where Luz should stay (Camilla now wanting Luz in the demon realm because it's what's best for her, and Luz believing that staying in the human realm is what's best for the people she loves). They finally talk and realize that, like Willow pointed out earlier in the ep, the two are so alike. Camilla reveals that she's a secret nerd too! That she had a hard time growing up and accidentally hurt Luz trying to save her from the same fait! It's so important to me that Camilla keeps calling Luz a good witch. It's affirming her interests and goals, reminding her that she's just as good as the hero of her favorite story. And Luz finally only realizes that she wants to be understood...when she's finally able to understand her mom. When she realizes that the woman she loves and admires is just as much of a nerdy screw-up as her and that there's hope for her. Her palismen ends being multiple animals at once, showing both how Luz making unconventional choices (like carving an egg) keeps paying off for her and how her potential is limitless now that she finally knows and accepts her own goals, but to me it also reminds of the fact that Camilla is a vet and passed a love of all the weird and unliked animals (like wolves, possums, snakes, etc) to her.

It's just so so sweet and it really shows how much love and thought the crew put into this mother daughter storyline (FTF haters are not welcome on this page, respectfully). I can't wait to see how both of these misunderstood but healing women (who radiate "little/big sister" and "mom" energy respectively) are gonna interact with a) the lonely, easily manipulated and well intentioned but ignorant collector (a mix of both their interests as a magic being with a space motif! I just realized that lol) and b) the nasty puritan white man who's really obsessed with conforming to society's norms even when it literally doesn't benefit him at all.

Anyway, I believe in noceda( AND clawthorne 👀) family supremacy 💙

[angeliquexoxo]

General Information - Slenderman Mansion Residents

All of the information written for each character are merely headcanons from my Creepypasta AU! Characters are not mine to claim and belong to their rightful owners!

Some of these characters may be written differently than how most people write them. But again, all of the characters written here are based on my creepypasta AU. Though I will leave a 𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴!!

𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞

"The Slenderman | The Operator" (Master of the Mansion) [age unknown] | 8'5" | Male-presenting | Supernatural Entity

creator: Victor Surge

𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐟𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧

"Masky" [Timothy Joshua Wright] (Head Proxy | Partnered Proxy with Hoodie) 28 | 5'9" | Male | Enhanced Human

creator: Marble Hornets

𝐃𝐨𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐫𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞

"Hoodie" [Brian Alan Thomas] (2nd Ranked Proxy | Partnered Proxy with Masky) 29 | 5'11 | Male | Enhanced Human

creator: Marble Hornets

𝐒𝐮𝐛𝐣𝐮𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞

"Kate the Chaser" [Kate Milens] (The Slenderman's Personal "Lapdog" | Lone Proxy) 25 | 5'6" | Female | Enhanced Human

creator: Blue Isle Studios

𝐎𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐚𝐠

"Ticci Toby" [Tobias Erin Rogers] (Lone Proxy) 24 | 6'0" | Male | Enhanced Human

creator: Kastoway

𝐕𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐒𝐩𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐭

"BEN_Drowned" [Benjamin Lawman] (Slenderman Mansion's Cyber Security Expert | Senior Resident) Physically 15, mentally 21 | 5'5" | Male | Techno-Poltergeist

creator: Jadusable

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐜

"Eyeless Jack" [Jackson Nyras] (Slenderman Mansion's Resident Doctor | Senior Resident) 27 | 6'3" | Male | Cannibalistic Half-Demon

creator: Azelf5000

𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐞 𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡

"Jeff the Killer" [Jeffrey Calvin Woods] (Senior Resident) 25 | 5'10" | Male | Human

creator: Sessuer

𝐒𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐚𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐭

"X-Virus" [Cody Rowan Wolfe**] (Slenderman Mansion's unofficial 2nd Doctor | Recent Resident) 21 | 5'8" | Male | Human

creator: MamaPorcupine

𝐓𝐰𝐨-𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐞𝐝 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫

"Kagekao" (Resident) 24 | 5'9" | Male | Japanese Demon

creator: Jinbeizamezama

𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐳𝐞𝐧 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐫

"Clockwork" [Natalie James Ouellette] (Resident) 25 | 5'7" | Female | Human

creator: Soffbois

𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡

"Homicidal Liu" [Luis Caden Woods] (Resident) 27 | 6'1" | Male | Human

creator: Vampirenote13

𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬

"Jane the Killer" [Jane Todd Richardson] (Resident) 24 | 5'7" | Female | Human

creator: FearOfTheBackWolf

𝐀𝐩𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐭𝐞

"The Bloody Painter" [Helen Otis] (Resident) 26 | 5'8" | Male | Human

creator: DeluCat

𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐃𝐚𝐦𝐬𝐞𝐥

"Nina the Killer" [Nina Charlotte Hopkins] (Resident) 23 | 5'6" | Female | Human

creator: Alegotic-twevel

------------------`🍓୧ ‧₊˚ 🍮 ⋅ ☆-----------------

Took me some time to create their titles (⁠╥⁠﹏⁠╥⁠) I'll probably start posting resident headcanons- basically how they act around the mansion and stuff ┐⁠(⁠‘⁠～⁠`⁠;⁠)⁠┌

For the credits for each of the character's creators, I'm not entirely sure that these are the actual creators (especially for Jeff's character) I only based it on Google results and other sources like reddit and Tumblr (⁠◠⁠‿⁠・⁠)⁠—⁠☆

Anyways, I'll probably be more busy in the next few days- school is coming up soon so there is a chance I might accidentally abandon this acc for some time (⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠´⁠꒳⁠`⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠⸝⁠) hope y'all enjoy this post!

✨🌷⊂⁠(⁠•⁠‿⁠•⁠⊂⁠ ⁠)⁠*⁠.⁠✧

[sepublic]

Anyhow, I want people to understand the significance of me crying over TOH ending because. I generally do not cry. It’s hard for me to cry, I feel sadness and grief sure! But tears themselves are difficult. And as much as I love media, it’s very rare and hard for it to make me genuinely cry. Other cartoons and shows I’ve gotten into haven’t done it, but...

The Owl House genuinely made me cry. After the grief of Agony of a Witch, the lonely despair of King’s Tide, and so many other painful moments. The Owl House finally made me sob, genuinely, wails I had to cover up, hot tears, sore eyes and a dripping nose. I heaved and made myself cry even more, because goddamn is there such a relief in the catharsis of feeling this pain, and knowing it means you’ve felt something, you’ve felt happiness to begin with.

So yeah. The Owl House has always been pretty special to me. But I think this expression of how I felt was low key what I was waiting for, working towards, after the finale. The absence hurts, but it makes me appreciate all the more the presence it entails for TOH in my life. For the community, for the experiences, the analyses, the genuine fun and laughter and speculation! The hype and friends I’ve made along the way, me building up my own skills as a reader thanks to this show!

I remember being enamored by The Owl House’s first announcement in February 2018, the first ever, possible public reveal of that show; You could’ve only known it beforehand if you worked at Disney and/or were one of Dana’s friends. Something about Luz, about Eda, about King... The very premise itself, the magic. Something about this show felt special to me, I had a really good feeling about it I couldn’t explain.

I ended up checking Dana’s Twitter obsessively for updates, was excited when she posted this one art of Luz and King having an ice cream run, while Eda was displeased with a little demon trying to get her dessert. I expected mostly casual things, but something about the vibes, the magic and wonder experienced through the lens of Luz... It got to me in a legitimately depressive state of my life.

Because I was depressed. Suicidal, even. It was perhaps the worst phase of my life ever, and I hope it’ll stay that way. The beginning of 2018 felt like me finally getting over the big hurdle, that enormous halfway point at the top, and how it was all relatively smooth, downhill sailing from here. So it feels fitting that it was the beginning of the easier part that TOH was announced for me. All I knew were Luz, Eda, and King; I eventually gave up checking Dana’s accounts for art, because I was SO excited and impatient for this show, inexplicably.

That’s probably why I missed Dana’s little sneak peek of Amity Blight, haha... But anyhow, TOH gave me something to look forward to. Something to live for. And when I finally got a shot of Eda throwing treats to Luz and King, the former taken aback by the eyeball, the latter having it bounce off his skull. It didn’t make it to the final cut obviously, but it was my first glimpse of how the show itself would look.

I was in despair when The Owl House was delayed to 2020; I had to wait another whole year for it! And going from 2018 to 2019 was painful enough as is! But man... Was it worth it. The first teaser, the mystery and wonder it promised. My Bionicle brain freaking out over the reveal of the Boiling Isles as a giant corpse. 

And then the theme song. Me learning Luz’s VA, scouring very obscure media to get an idea of how she might sound like. And finally I heard it, we got other announcements; Eda by Wendie Malick, who made perfect sense, and King by Alex Hirsch, cue those obnoxious Bill Cipher theories I still hate to this day! 

Some crew members announced cupcakes they made, complete with banners like “Drinkers Coven” and I got hyped for this little content. I wanted to try cashew meringues because of it, and later recognized the repurposed frames of Luz, Eda, and King in actual episodes. I saw some concept art and expressions removed from the show, and was glad to recognize them later, as I did a frame-in-process of Luz wondering about her magical destiny.

I checked Tumblr but it seemed like I was the only person actively anticipating, and not just including TOH as part of a larger collection of media posts. I wanted TOH for itself, someone was curious if it had owls, I scoured the first teaser for a screenshot to satisfy them! I wanted more people in on it! I saw some clips, figured out Luz’s ethnicity from her squealing “Ay que lindo!” in response to King.

I made a few ancient posts, my first TOH post was me admitting I was excited and wondering if anyone else was. It got NO traction, at least not until much, much later... But that didn’t stop me! I had a dream where Luz was revealed to be disabled, her legs were prosthetics and Eda ended up giving her new magic prosthetics styled after owl feet. This would prove weirdly prophetic... Less so, my dream about Luz being the Anti-Christ (this was framed as a good thing), hence why she found the isles.

I speculated Luz was an orphan who had nobody, hence why she found the isles; But then an article mentioned her mother Camila. I went with that spelling until some end credits confused me with a typo that gave us Camilia, which led to a big fandom debate later until Dana clarified.

I analyzed the trailers, trying to figure out the plot and trajectory, wasn’t quite right there. I was happy to see TOH would have full 22-minute episodes, allowing them to get nitty gritty and elaborated, instead of truncated into 11-minute segments. Boy did that pay off, and looking back I can appreciate what a rarity that was, an achievement. People pointed out the anagram for me... 

I speculated on the titles, confused bits from Covention with scenes from the first episode, wondered if Escape of the Palisman referred to the tower. And in the end, the first episode finally came out, after I was enjoying Infinity Train Book 2, and I was enamored. It was wonderful, it utterly blew me away and was all I wanted and more. I had to get more! The moment Luz spoke of liking editing anime clips into AMVs and all that other stuff, I felt seen, and that was just the beginning.

I spoke my praises, but alas there was no fandom. The next week, I was surprised to find posts for the next episodes so early, and learned the episode was released ahead of time on DisneyNOW, so I immediately subscribed. I was excited to meet Amity Blight, Willow and Gus; And I was caught by surprise by how openly mean Amity was when she debuted! But I analyzed the sub-text of her actions and dialogue, and was vindicated. 

Amity was such a fun and interesting character because she really felt like a puzzle that we unlocked more and more pieces of, to better understand her. And I really got the sense of TOH’s re-contextualization and surprising character continuity, such as when King’s B-plot in one episode actually became the focus of the very next! You could tell the writers really cared about making a deeper story for kids and teenagers. 

One nice memory was when I wrote a post appreciating Willow and Luz’s friendship, the idea of Willuz as a ship; I took a shower and went back to check afterwards, and got notes! I analyzed the mechanics of glyphs deeply when they were first revealed, getting nitty-gritty; I remember the events of a few nights and what happened around me writing a post, comparing glyph magic to artificial replication of dragon breath!

I looked for crew art, which alerted me ahead of time to the existence of Emira and Edric, thought I didn’t know their names, and was delighted to learn Amity had older siblings!!! They were hers! Shoutout to @anistarrose who was one of the few people in the tag at this time. I really appreciate that post where you called out people constantly trying to make King into Bill Cipher in a serious manner, and the annoying implications of it. And how you realized a tweet poem by Dana foreshadowed Warden Wrath and the Emperor’s Coven... AND THE CODES TOO!!!

I distinctly remember this one meme video in the tags, a song singing “This girl is a lesbian” as Amity showed up as the punchline. I thought it was cute and loved the idea, I had no clue...! I even tried to analyze the dates on her diary entries because I was so obsessed with the show and wanted more, trying to see if I could figure out a calendar...

Spoiler alert, I didn’t. but it was FUN trying! Putting in all of this unnecessary effort for a detail nobody cared much for, because you could tell the crew were people who did the same, Dana even confirmed it later for herself! I remember being shocked about Eda having a curse, that one theory it was a Blight who did it. I suggested King being the Boiling Isles Titan, some Youtube channel even asked permission to use my post in discussing that theory! I was skeptical but checked and it was legit, and was pleased.

I went through that godforsaken Witch’s Apprentice game, realized too late the artifacts represented each episode and gave hints to the rest of 1A. I watched Look Hoo’s Talking, with Owlyvia and Horus, shout out to those who remember! I was amazed by Eda’s self-awareness in deciding things for Luz, especially after Luz briefly called it out in Covention. I found myself so ATTACHED to the characters, which makes sense since I hyped myself from the start!

I remember being surprised to see King wasn’t an overlord... Or was he? The original 2018 announcement suggested as such, but the way the show played around even after the premiere seemingly disproved it was fun. I speculated on what Luz’s magic track would be, enjoyed fanart of her in Potions as Eda was. Seeing Young Eda was a blast, and I remember being so distraught at the idea of her being cursed! I made a post wailing about it and Cat-Harman Mitchell commented LOL as I ranted about taking vengeance on the curser. Little did I know...!

I was afraid of a cliffhanger with Season 1A, but nope! Eda made it out despite the demon hunters! With a hiatus, I was left impatient and needing more. I scoured crew art, speculated on what Emperor Bellows would be like; Covention’s subtitles mispelled him as such, and Dana had to clarify in a tweet when 1B’s trailer released! I got into deep discussion with @fermented-writers-block about the show, about the mysterious owl mural.

I guess TOH was my first start at really analyzing a show from the start, especially since nobody else was around to do it for me. And coming fresh from reading the meta of those who did inspire me, I went HARD, reasoning that even if it was disproven, the process was fun! I analyzed snake motifs, the mysterious green hand that stole King’s crown. I made a whole diagram about parallels between Luz, between King and the Gildersnake, between ‘human counterparts’ to Amity and Willow and Gus. This definitely fed the revelation of Creepy Luz later on...

But yeah. To think the snakes did pay off with Luz’s palisman Stringbean; Back then people speculated as such with the title’s design, and I’m so happy to see it came through! I speculated on lore, wrote my first TOH fics, The Bile Coven and Amity’s Diary Entries, the latter of which I feel particular pride for since it was a character study of her that proved rather on the spot!

I was obsessed with the worldbuilding, came up with my own ideas. Imagined what Bellows and Kikimora were like. I waited IMPATIENTLY, and even had a dream where Eda was captured by Lilith, Kikimora, and Wrath, as well as some covenscouts... But then it was revealed her curse was a result of possession by the creature depicted on the mural; And it progressed to the next stage of converting her body to its own as she got more feral and escaped on her own!

The airship used by the Emperor’s Coven proved prophetic. And after 1B seemingly disproved this idea, 2A brought it back after all and I was delighted! TOH was and is a show that keeps giving for me, makes me feel rewarded for engaging with it, and is grateful even when I’m wrong, as Any Sport in a Storm’s B-plot attests. I made jokes about King being Mata Nui because I was a Bionicle fan. Someone saw a Grom poster in the background of a shot and suggested Lumity, but I didn’t get my hopes up... Hah.

There was a trailer that alluded to an episode of Luz and Eda in a snowy place; I knew of an article on TOH that mentioned a ‘Witch’s Arena’ at the Knee and guessed this was it. I liked the song that played because I associated it with TOH, found out for myself.

Rebecca Rose, shout out to one of the OGs talking about the show on Youtube! She made a wonderful video discussing Amity’s development and potential, speculating on her, and I felt SOOOO vindicated and followed her for it! As you know, she became THE fan channel for TOH, and was eventually ascended to a full-on crew member for it. We’d all watch her reactions and discussions afterwards.

Adventures in the Elements leaked, I correctly guessed it wasn’t the next episode but the one after it. I was delighted to see the twins be good siblings, and Amity’s casual outfit... Before that, I read a fic during the hiatus of Lilith adopting Amity from abuse (Remember when we thought she was that functional?), and it understandably depicted the twins as mean-spirited and basically apathetic. It was a good fic.

I remember joke-speculating that Bellows would be short, because I was projecting analyses of the Pale King from Hollow Knight onto him! I considered making an animatic of Farquaad’s reveal from Shrek but with Bellows, but alas I’d never actually done an animatic and had zero clue lol. I had another dream about Bellows coming in with the Emperor’s Coven to apprehend Eda, who became an even larger version of her Owl Beast form in response.

Then Summer 2020 came around. What a wonderful time of my life... New fans came in when they saw the possibility of canon sapphics with Lumity, and I was exhilarated! So careful not to get my hopes up, but look now... I was hyped to see Belos’ appearance. I analyzed the 1B trailer, took screenshots and organized them to guess which episodes they were. Rebecca Rose found foreign titles of 1B and translated them, and I did note how translations could skew the intended anagram. I remember “Mini-Problems” being an episode title...

You can probably guess the rest from here, since this was about when the fandom really kicked off. And boy did people stick around for it all. I felt delight in knowing Grom was sooner, due to Understanding Willow being paired with Really Small Problems on the same day! Two episodes at once, instead of the original plan for the last two episodes of the season together! I ended up regretting that low-key with the angst and pain of Agony of a Witch, which made me realize how much I cared for Luz, Eda, and King, and made me the closest to crying from the show.

I felt vindicated to see a popular artist like MoringMark begin making fan comics, I had no idea that’d be THE thing he’d be known for, after I knew him as the Gravity Falls guy. I followed Matthieu Cousin on Tumblr, got excited for that trend of dressing up TOH characters for Grom and sending in your designs, with a winner announced! I don’t think that ever happened. Anamanaguchi’s Prom Night became a thing thanks to a crew member, and who can forget Little Miss Perfect? Kwame rolled with the success and I was glad for him. Eda’s gray eye appearing after the season finale in the end credits shocked me.

There was the Reddit AMA, where I prepared lore questions afterwards and had none of mine answered, but we learned a good deal! Especially the telling “Clawthornes are a bird motif” from Dana, her being put into a headlock by a nun. Amity and Lilith weren’t close but as I mentioned a while back, Dana expressed that she also made connections with cartoons as a kid. Odalia liking her kids color-coded, hence Amity’s hair, and Alador being interesting. Which led to a bunch of fanart that proved off the mark but also not? Alador wasn’t THAT well-put but otherwise...

And that stream! That wonderful stream! I contemplated spending so much money via donation to get something. Eda drinking Apple Blood, Spencer Wan almost spoiling Lilith having a Raven form. Our first sneak peek at Hunter’s face, not counting his appearance as the Golden Guard in S1; We all guessed he and the Golden Guard, or “Owl Mask” were the same. I was stumped and baffled how he fit into Belos’ dynamic... Hoo boy. And we all thought Hunter was an adult, even Alador at first, because of those eye bags!

I wanted to see the coven heads, based on their banners we saw; I liked the Potion Head especially and even when his design proved different than I expected, it was still my favorite! I thought Darius might be a Blight grandfather and he DID have a connection... I had a dream of the twins working for Osran at a library and messing with him, recognized Mason from Covention, and dreamed Terra was named Botanica.

Christmas art of the cast came out, I was happy to see Emira and Edric happy there, after being saddened by Dana’s Grom art of them and even writing a whole fic about it, which I’m chuffed about! She also drew Mattholomule... I recall in the wait for Season 1B, she did some art of the characters. Gus playing games, Mattholomule losing to him; King despairing over stubby thumbs.

Fanart of the kids in quarantine, Amity declaring it’d be easy to stay away from Luz, to Luz’s sadness; Boscha being mad because she couldn’t talk to her friends. Remember when Boschlow was a big thing, until Understanding Willow killed off some of the hype? And confirmation that Willow worked out, which we saw come to fruition in Season 2; People were surprised but I wasn’t! And of course, Frewin being his own entity from Bump, and not Bump himself.

But back to chronology, I guess this is where I should end off. Sorry, this ended up being MUCH longer than I intended, and really you could write a book about my experience with TOH and the journey on a meta level. But those were interesting times, those beginning eras. Back when I didn’t feel the need to always add screenshots to posts unless necessary. And it’s making me nostalgic. It’s making me appreciate everything we’ve been through, the roots of my hyperfixation. And how it all led to me finally crying, because I really did build up THAT much of a love for the show.

I found my first fandom I really felt a part of, found so many people who enjoyed my meta and validated me for it! I feel I’ve grown so much as a person because of TOH. And as I nostalgically reminisce on how different the show was then, I appreciate all the more how far we’ve come, and what it is now. Snapping back to the present does make me sad over how much has passed and changed, but I also appreciate it while remembering the ideas I once had.

I’ll miss that era, and TOH as a whole. And boy do I associate that classic ending theme, how I loved the melancholy of those end credits, speculated on them paying off in the finale. And they did...! It feels good to hear it one last time after a year without it, due to the end credits being removed or redone. There was something so idyllic and dreamlike about that original sequence, capturing the feeling of coming home, and I’m glad TOH did that once more with it.

[anonymous-lightbulb]

Luz Noceda, Belos’s Guide to the Modern Day

What if Luz’s offer to Belos wasn’t a ploy to brand him with a sigil, but instead a desperate attempt to save her friends?

When the rest of the Hexsquad (and King) arrive, they’re shocked, but Belos uses the fact that Hunter only has so long (because he has a sigil) as a bargaining chip, and everyone goes through the portal door with Belos. Afterwards he keeps Luz to serve his hero complex and keeps everyone else as proof of the demon realm’s existence. They all live in the shack (he locks them in their rooms every night), Luz has to guide him through being in the modern day.

(Random but important detail: when Luz makes Belos mad she is not directly punished, rather she’s given a choice between punishing or Belos punishing Amity twice as hard)

(Another random detail: Eda and the owl beast start to keep each other company due to being very lonely after the day of unity (most of the Boiling Isles’ population died on the day of unity))

(Yet another detail: Belos doesn’t see modern technology as evil or weird, but rather as an example of human ingenuity)

Belos eventually tells his version of the story in front of the Wittebane statues. He lies a lot (obviously) such as saying that Hunter is the son of Evelyn and Caleb and he claims Evelyn committed date r*** before she murdered Caleb (he also blames all of Hunter’s trauma responses on Evelyn’s actions instead of his own). Jacob Hopkins records Belos’s speeches and puts it on his conspiracy blog. Soon Belos decides to let Jacob record him directly (so Belos doesn’t have to be at risk of someone who knows Luz stepping in). Eventually Jacob decides to interview the witches, demon (everyone makes very sure to not let Belos know King is a titan) and “Corrupted by witches” human. Luz tries to get secret codes out by saying things in Tumblr slang and Spanish. Jacob gets worried when Luz describes Belos’s treatment of them in a way that involves the phrase “Horse Plinko” (Jacob knows Tumblr slang, and yes he gets a redemption arc)

(Also Belos might run for mayor of Gravesfield.)

More to be added.

[somethingclevermahogony]

OC Intro: The Deep Sun

Hello everyone! Here is the newest OC intro. This one is gonna be a bit different than other introductions that I have done. The next poll will be up tonight!

Name: Da Dóp Fricandel "The Deep Sun"

"I have forgotten what my name was when I first ventured here from one of the spirit realms, I cannot tell you which one. That was millennia ago, when mountains were young, when the ocean water was sweet, before what you call the Age of Glass and Metal. In the tongue of those whose spawn now surround you I was called Da Dóp Fricandel, that is The Deep Sun. I rather like that name. I believe it suits me."

This continues below the cut!

Family

Children/Creation: The Kosheki

Narul looked out at the pale crowd, they looked back at him with their expressionless eyes. “What are these…things?” The Deep Sun laughed, a surprisingly soft and musical sound. “I’m shocked that you don’t know Narul. Come on, make a guess.” "Why would I know what these monsters are? I’ve never seen these things in my life." The Deep Sun sighed, shaking his head. " Oh, how times have changed. They are like you, dear boy." " These are spiritbloods?" Narul asked, revolted. " No, no! Well at least not these ones. These are humans, or at least a more perfect form of them."

Homeland/Place of Origin

One of the realms of the spirits, exactly which one is unknown. Prior to the Age of Glass and Metal the Deep Sun was simple spirit, a rather small spirit of the soil and rock, who lived on the Isle of Stān, now called the Island of the Kosheki.

The accursed island loomed ahead of them, a great rocky crag towering over a foundation of verdant green hills, jutting out of the water, lonely and cold.  “There she is,” Istek said, gazing at the island solemnly. The birds that circled the stony peak called out mournfully into the mist. The rocky beach was littered with the wrecks of ships, hundreds of them from every era, all in various states of decay. Great warships, their wooden ribs jutting into the sky like the bones of slain dragons. Royal barques, smashed by the waves, their ornate sides now choked with algae and rot. Merchants ships, their contents haphazardly strewn across the white sand, Ikopeshi raiding canoes torn asunder and scattered amongst the beach stones.The newest vessel was a Knoshic fishing boat, its sail still flapping softly in the breeze. A great hole had been made in its side, as if a great something had ripped into it.

History

"I trust that you have heard of the Great Calamity?"

" The fairytale?" Narul asked cautiously.

There was silence for a moment, and then the demon tilted his head back and laughed with such intensity that the doors of the cages rattled.

" A fairytale? Oh my boy. I like you already! Tell me what you know about the Great Calamity, what fairytales do they tell in your city?"

Narul closed his eyes, remembering the stories Bira had told him.

" A long time ago, the people of Kobani were rich and prosperous. They made great cities of glass and metal. They grew so powerful that they thought themselves better than the gods. For their hubris, they were punished, the great cities were destroyed, and only the pious remained. Everyone in Kobani now are the descendants of those pious people." He thought of the tunnel and the strange orbs. Glass and metal.

The demon chuckled and wagged a finger.

" No. No. All wrong. You savages weren't punished for your impiety. Do you truly think that is such a pressing matter to the gods? Do you think that the arbiters of the universal laws of nature care if you pray or make the proper sacrifices? They ruled over Kobani long before your kind or any of your kin were here, before any sentient life besides we spirits were here. No, your crime was far worse. Your ancestors discovered a way to harvest the het. The soul. The spirit. You found a way to rip the essence of being from its place and turn it into fuel for your machines and to light your houses."

" But that's impossible," Narul interjected, the het was an intangible thing, it was no more possible to secure it then it was to trap light in a bottle.

" Oh, it was very much possible. And when a het is destroyed, burnt up, it is gone forever. The soul will not reincarnate. It will not continue on to the next world. By harvesting het, a being is doomed to oblivion, thus interrupting a thread in the intricate web of reincarnation crafted by the gods. So the het that is destroyed in Kobani means that a baby is not born in the next world."

" I don’t believe that people would do that…it's evil, why would they?" Narul muttered softly.

" Oh, I haven't gotten to my favorite part, my naive little friend. At first, you people only harvested het from animals, which caused untold ecological catastrophe not only here on Kobani but on other worlds too. Entire ecosystems withered, species vanished. But it wasn't enough; your cities grew too big, too power-hungry, you longed for luxury. So you turned on each other; your criminals, your prisoners of war, your destitute, your diseased, your unwanted. Your ancestors turned mortals souls into commodities, your drove your own cousins the tree-tenders to extinction. The depths of your species’ depravity is truly awe inspiring. The gods made this world and gifted you the privilege of living amongst it, they filled it with beauty. Every human could live in comfort, could go to sleep with a full belly and roof over their heads. You were loved, cherished. We spirits lived to make the world one which suited you, we strived to make the world beautiful and fruitful. We loved you, myself included. We gave you the tools to make the world more beautiful than you had found it. But you squandered the gifts that you were given. In your twisted, broken, greedy little heads, you justified how one man could live with the means of thousands of his peers while others starved in the mud. You consumed and destroyed with such voracity and foolishness that you drove my kin to despair. Your gross negligence of your fellow man, your greed and hatred, that is what birthed the first demons, you twisted us, disillusioned us.”

Narul felt a knot in his stomach as he listened to the demon speak, he didn’t dare respond.

 The Deep Son continued. “In their overconsuming need for more, your ancestors consigned millions to the void. And when they started attacking spirits. Needless to say, that was just too much. The gods knew that if you were allowed to continue like this then the world would be thrown into complete chaos, and all life would crumble. To save the cycle of reincarnation, and ultimately life on all worlds from falling apart, the gods elected to wipe out your civilization."

" And that was the Great Calamity," Narul whispered softly.

" It was glorious. The world burned and froze and burned again until your kind and all of their creations were scoured from the face of Kobani. Your cities which reached towards the heavens were smashed to dust. Though, of course, some of my kin still had a soft spot for you creatures, they hoped that you could be reformed. They invited you into their homes deep in the mountains, with the condition that you leave your tools behind you, tools like that.” He waved a dismissive hand towards the strange metal suit which lay dusty and abandoned among the refuse. “Those are your ancestors, not the pious or noble. The poor. Those unfortunate sods who could not so easily prey on the world around them."

Narul looked at the metal walls and at the gaunt figures.

" Is that what this is? One of those places where the good spirits hid people?"

" Oh no. Men made this, a marvel of human engineering. You see some of your kind were not content with paying for their crimes, for reincarnating in the next world, as they would have. And so they built this place in hopes that when the gods had finished their justice on the world above, they could emerge triumphant with their machines and continue their wickedness. They lived down here in comfort, men of business and government. The fools thought they were so clever; they thought they could hide from us, from justice. But I found them, and I punished them for their arrogance. I whispered to them in the shadows. I destroyed their food, and I plunged them into darkness. I ripped apart their machines and engines. I drove them mad.” The demon chuckled. “With no food, they fed on each other. I scrapped away their pretensions and revealed the feral evil beasts that they were. All their culture and superiority was wiped away in an instant. All it took was a bit of hunger. And when they had forgotten what light was like, when they had been reduced to vermin cowering in the shadows. I revealed myself to them, their Sun. They are my Kosheki. They worship me, Narul. Look at them. All they know is hunger and love for me. I am their god, their everything.”

The Deep Sun reached out to caress the face of one of the Kosheki. “ I have molded them into a more beautiful human. Perhaps not physically, but mentally. I have taken their concept of self. There is no greed, no hatred. They do not murder, rape, or steal. They know only a childlike love, a pure love. They appreciate every meal, they dance without fearing judgment, and they look at me as their father, their warming sun. Look at them, Narul. Innocent. Gentle.” He cooed softly.

Appearance

Narul turned towards the deep rumbling voice. At the center of the room sat what he had thought was a great bonfire. He saw the face first, peering out from the tongues of flame. A man's face, though twisted, the lips stretched, the crevices of the face deep, as if they had been carved there by hammer and chisel. The figure reclined on the floor, his chin resting upon his clawed hand. His nudity was disguised by the inferno that emanated from his crimson skin. The eyes glowed, in each a single glowing ember surrounded by black coal, burning deep into Narul, terrible and yet beautiful.

She looked down into the calm waters and saw it, a face looking back up at her from just below the surface. It was human, or at least human in shape. The glowing red face was surrounded by a mane of fiery locks that danced and undulated in defiance of any current. It's eyes burned like coals. As it looked up at her its lips twisted into a smile. Two of the monster's claws took hold of the sides of the ship and began to shake the vessel to and fro.

Before his eyes the demon began to contort and change, his body roiling and stretching, extra limbs erupting from his scaly skin. Its body was long and sleek like a snake, its torso supported by six clawed arms. Its face remained the same.

Personality

The Deep Sun is cruel, vindictive, he relishes in pain and humiliation. His view on humans is shaped by the pain and fear experienced by millions of spirits, mortals, and animals that fell to Ekatsim Technology.

Gender/Pronouns

(Most spirits are not gendered, Narul typically refers to the demon with he/they pronouns)

Sexual Orientation

Asexual and Aromantic (Most spirits do not feel sexual attraction of any sort)

Relationships

The Deep Sun's relationship with his creations, the Kosheki and the spiritblood, Sadaric, is manipulative and cruel, reliant on control and possession. He does seem to feel some sort of tenderness for his “pets”, though whether that could be considered love is doubtful.

Favorite Color

Black

Favorite Food

Most spirits do not eat, though they do enjoy the aroma of cooking food. The Deep Sun enjoys the smell of the Kosheki's meals, which typically consist of the poor sailors that land on the Island's shore.

Biggest Fear

Ekatism Technology

Arkodian Bronze

Sage

No (Spirit/Demon, capable of magic dependent of sagecraft)

Literate

No

No excerpt here since most of this post is made up of excerpts haha

@patternwelded-quill @flaneurarbiter @skyderman @blackblooms @roach-pizza @illarian-rambling @dezerex @theocticscribe @axl-ul, @persnickety-peahen, @surroundedbypearls , @kaylinalexanderbooks , @mk-writes-stuff

[calebwittebane]

real found family is when you find out youre the last in a series of clones made of a long-dead murder victim who was in fact killed by your creator who has been posing as your parent figure (but an adoptive one of course. he generously stepped up and took you in) which really sucks and then youre haunted by the idea of the person youd been created in the image of and wonder what makes you resemble them and what exactly makes you supposedly a better version of them and then your fucked up parent figure dies and at first it feels so lonely but then its not so bad because youve found people who actually care about you and consider you family and its great but there is a void and a sense of loss you cant explain and you realize that for years youd been mourning a family that never existed outside of a fake tragic story sold to you by your late fucked up parent figure and meanwhile the closest equivalents to them (none of whom had ever met you and never even knew about the possibility of your existence) have been so forgotten so lost to time that at this point no one even knows how many of them had to live and die that way because that knowledge died with your fucked up parent figure and there are so many things you dont understand and youre angry on behalf of your younger self who had to live so alone and so unloved. and then one day years later one of your friends who is actually a god and the son of the island you live on and the source of all magic and who has been growing and changing and along with him the land and magic have been changing as well and developing new kinds of magic never seen before realizes theres someone trapped in the in between realm someone who couldnt become one with the boiling isles after death and while theyve been dormant for who knows how long theyve sensed something has changed and theyve woken up and he talks to his almighty star child friend and together they figure out what to do about it and they manage to summon that presence into the demon realm and you realize that its literally the person you are a clone of and neither of you have any idea what to do about it not to mention this person has no clue what had transpired and whats going on and its really awkward and you have a bit of an existential crisis but then you kinda bond and she warms up to you and as she pieces things together and gets to know you she starts seeing you as her son and well its as close as it gets doesnt it but she wont push that on you she understands if this is too weird for you after all this is all a part of a very painful aspect of your life and your past and much if it is painful for her too but when you think about it something about this brings you immense comfort as you think about your younger self and realize that the story about dead relatives wasnt entirely false after all and though it feels naive its like a retroactively comforting thought that even back then even as a lonely unloved child there was someone out there who wouldve loved you and was waiting to meet you one day and when you tell her about all of this she says that she wants nothing more than to have been there for you and watched over you and let you know that you deserved so much better. and then you hug because shes your mama. idk

[anime-academia]

The Demon of the Lonely Isle - Edogawa Rampo (Translated by Alexis J. Brown)

Screaming. Crying. Utterly obsessed. Minoura could benefit from some introspection. The Nile is not just a river in Egypt and it is strong with this one. Michio. I would like to keep him in my pocket and from time to time observe him under a microscope. The desire to read this in Japanese is definitely fueling my study motivation for the language. It was delightful and horrifying and all round one of the best novels I've ever read! 11/10

[thepeanutbutterwizard]

Ok, I wanna talk about those diverging Owl House au's I thought of. One of them uses something from the finale as a big plot point, but I'll put that under a read more.

But yeah! Here we go!

So you guys know how it was mentioned in S2 that Titans Blood mixing with water can create temporary portals between realms? Well let's go back to King on his little island sometime before Eda shows up. Both of these au's start with tiny little King wandering out of the...temple? that he hatched in and that Jean-Luc is confined to.

He explores the island a bit, and ends up tripping and scraping his palm or knee, just some small minor injury that would produce a little bleeding. King ends up opening a portal, either by trying to wash the blood out of his fur in a pond or stream or something, or by falling into that body of water.

King Noceda au

First off is the one where he falls in. And I wanna start off by saying that this is a crack offshoot of my first idea, so we're going to pretend that there aren't a million different plot holes that would make this au garbage nonsense.

King slips into a body of water too deep for him to swim in, and with his little scrape his blood mixes with the water, and next thing he knows he's being pulled out of the water and into the Human Realm by a young (about six years old) Luz Noceda!

The Nocedas haven't moved to Gravesfield yet, the portal opened near their old home. Luz, who was exploring a wooded area near her home at the time, rushes a soaked, freaked out, and half drowned King home, where Camila, being a vet, is more than able to treat King, even if she's wary of the fact that this adorable but weird dog thing Luz brought home has a skull for a head.

At first Manny, Camila, and Luz think King is just a weird dog, but then he starts talking.

So King grows up raised by Camila and Manny with Luz in the Human Realm! I'm gonna say that they're able to get buy using disguises like the Plantars used in Amphibia, and pretend that that would be the only thing the Nocedas have to worry about regarding raising a Demon in the Human Realm.

Things with Manny unfortunately go the same as in cannon, and even though having a little brother for most of her life means Luz is less lonely, school is still sucky and the Principal still pressures Camila into sending Luz to the summer camp.

Luz still chases Owlbert through the portal, but with King following her, both winding up in the Boiling Isles, and after that this set-up makes following cannon closely kinda impossible since even with Vee coming through the portal she could only fake being one person.

And thats pretty much it for this one, just a funny crack au about improbable adoption regarding characters I like. If I had a nickel for every time i made one of those, I'd have at least two, mb three depending on if you count VT.

But anyway, onto the more thought out au. It will be under a cut like I said earlier so anyone who hasn't seen the finale yet doesn't get spoiled by the thing I'm incorporating into this version. But I will leave the name I'm currently using for it.

Half-siblings au

So in this one everything starts the same, but instead of King falling into the water that opens the portal, he just like, tries to clean the bit of blood out of his fur and accidently opens the portal. Luz, still out playing in the woods behind her home, sees the pond and that the reflection in the water doesn't actually match the woods. She gets excited, rightly thinking it's some cool magic thing like out of the books her Dad reads to her before bed.

She falls in on accident trying to get a better look, and pops up in the Demon Realm. Luz see's King immediately and reacts the same way she does in cannon.

Since she's an excitable six year old with a love of fantasy and an overactive imagination, Luz doesn't really panic at her suddenly being transported to a different world. She sees it as a fun adventure, and those always end happily!

Right?

So Luz spends a little time with King out in the woods. King quickly warms up to her and Luz thinks he's absolutely adorable (and really hopes that she can take him home with her once she finishes her adventure)

They play in the woods a bit, but Luz notices King's getting tired (and she's kinda tired as well) so she picks him up and asks which way his home is. King points in the general direction he came from, and Luz quickly finds the temple. King dozed off in her arms, and Luz was excited to see who or what lives in there!

Mb other creatures like her new little friend? His family? Oh! mb an exiled ruler, waiting for a chance to reclaim their throne! Or a cranky old sorcerer who's looking for an apprentice!

Her mind is racing with excitement as she steps foot in the temple.

Unfortunately, the only thing waiting in the temple is Jean-Luc. And Jean-Luc was made to protect King from anyone or anything; it doesn't matter that Luz is a little kid, she's in the temple and she's not a Titan, so she's a threat to be dealt with.

Papa Titan watches the guard he made to protect his child kill a six-year-old in horror from the Inbetween. She watched as this little human fell into the Boiling Isles, and immediately befriend his only living child, just to be killed for trying to help King get back home.

She won't let that stand. So, much like in cannon, he stops Luz from sinking down into the depths, and gives her a second chance at life.

Luz doesn't really understand what just happened. Jean-Luc got her from behind, so to Luz one minute she was walking into the big tower with her new little friend, and now she's wading through water? in a weird glowy place full of floating boxes and there's a big hairy person kneeling in front of her.

Luz's resurrection is a bit different from cannon. Bc its a few years earlier (and Belos hasn't embraced being a literal tumor yet), Papa Titan has a bit more juice left, so she doesn't finally fully pass on after bringing Luz back (I like him too much to not give myself an opportunity to use him at least one more time in this au). And instead of Luz temporarily being in Titan mode with all the powers that come with it, she's just permanently part Titan now, and if she can use magic to that extent she doesn't figure out how for a while.

As much as I love her cannon Titan form, since this au has Luz as permanently half Titan (or, well, i think it'd technically be one third Titan) she's gonna look more like some of these concepts.

((Small side note, I know why cannon went with the more witchy looking form, since Luz always wanted to be a witch, but look at these!! Look at my girl!!! She looks so cool!!))

So yeah, Luz comes to in the temple with King snuggled next to her, having slept through...everything that just happened. She just kinda figures that she was so tired that she fell asleep as soon as she sat down, and then she had a dream about one of the murals in the temple.

A month or two later, Eda shows up.

Luz has realized that this isn't like one of her dad's bedtime stories by this point, and she just really wants to take her little friend and go home to her parents. Eda, at first, thinks King and Luz are half siblings through a demon parent, and doesn't fully believe Luz when she claims she's actually a Human.

But Luz's knowledge of Human items and her being fluent in Spanish (a language which doesn't exist in the Demon Realm), among a few other things, quickly leads Eda to the conclusion that yes, this kid is from the Human Realm and something really really weird happened to her.

The first thing on Luz's mind, once she and King have been brought back to the Owl House and fed and cleaned up, is getting back to Camila and Manny. Unfortunately, this isn't an easy task.

Luz, being 6ish, doesn't really know where she lives. She remembers parts of her address, and that they live in America, but other than that and her last name, she's got nothing (idk if Noceda is a common last name, so let's just pretend that it's common enough in this world that it wouldn't be helpful in tracking down Luz's parents).

And it's not like Eda can just help her come up with a good story and then drop her off at the Gravesfield police station; Luz might not stand out in the Demon Realm, but in the Human Realm her new Titan traits could get her killed.

So Eda spends the next few years raising both Luz and King, while trying to find Luz's parents in the Human Realm with no success.

Until Luz is around fourteen, and a certain heartbroken veterinarian living alone in Gravesfield chases a thieving little owl into a shack in the woods.

Ok, that's it for now. I have a lot more thought out for the Half Siblings au (not sold on that name, suggestions are welcome), like how certain events go, but I think this post has gotten long enough.

[lopsicle]

Did you know Viney and Emira are the best side characters in The Owl House?

Healing Tickles

TickleTober Day 4: Weak spot

Fandom: The Owl House

Pairing: Emira X Viney (Romantic)

Summary: Emira gets injured while trying to ride Puddles, and discovers some of the side effects of healing magic once Viney uses it on her.

Warnings: Injury, Feet Tickles

——-

Even though the magic in the Boiling Isles was exciting and enchanting to use, their was always a subtle danger that laid with it. A spell not being aimed properly, wrong ingredients in a potion that would cause you to turn into a pile of frogs or some other twisted joke that magic liked to play on people. The creatures were also no exception, whether it was the largest Slitherbeast or the tiniest fairy, the weakest demon to the most powerful Titan, everything had a way of hurting you.

Though in our case, it wasn’t intentional. It was more of an accident, practically brought on by Emira tempting fate. She had gone on a ride on her girlfriend’s griffin, Puddles, to spend more time with her and since flying was a lot less lonely with Viney. But after a couple times of riding on the back of a beast, you tend to grow more confident in your abilities to not get flung off it at every sharp turn; despite Emira practically clinging onto Puddles the first time she ever rode on her.

In contrast, the green haired witch was now standing up on Puddles back, her hands rested near her waistline in an oddly relaxed way for someone souring swiftly through the air. Viney didn’t look so impressed with her, sticking to sitting down just under Puddles’ neck while flying, not wanting to get too cocky.

‘You ever heard the saying pride comes before the fall?’ Viney asked her, getting a rather blissfully ignorant ‘Nope!’ in response. She just sighed, gently gripping onto Puddles’ feathers.

‘You should sit down, really, I don’t wanna have to scrape you up off the ground,’ Viney said, dead serious as her eyes narrowed slightly, not taking her eyes off the sky in front of her since she was still steering Puddles. Emira just shrugged her off, before saying,

‘You don’t have to worry so much, I’ll be fi-ah!’ As the girl attempted to take a small step back on Puddles, she ended up losing her footing and and sliding right off the back of the griffin, leading all three of them to fly into a mad panic. They weren’t massively high up on the air, not enough to break a bone or seriously hurt yourself from the fall but just enough to make it hurt and bruise. Because of this, by the time Viney had tilted Puddles around to try and catch Emira, the girl had already landed on the floor, surprisingly managing to stay upright.

‘Emira!’ Viney cried, souring down and landing her pet right next to her, hopping off and running over to her. ‘Are you alright?!’ She asked, looking over the girl to see if she had any marks or cuts, but she seemed to be injure free. Key word, seemed. Emira still just smiled at her, not wanting Viney to worry as she responded,

‘Oh yeah, I’m fine, it was only a little fall!’

Viney looked at her with a slightly unimpressed look before crossing her arms over her chest, not taking her stern yet worried eyes off the girl for a second. ‘Alright then, could you walk over here, please?’

Viney asked her, causing Emira’s lips to curl in worry for just a second before she went back to smiling,

‘Yeah, o-of course I can, I really am fine!’

Though, right as she finished taking her first step, the girl already winced in pain but tried to keep it hidden. Emira looked up to see Viney sighing and stopped right in her tracks, like a child being caught redoing something they’re not allowed.

‘I’m, uh, sorry about standing on Puddles,’ she said, staring at the floor as her girlfriend walked over to her, before gently scooping up Emira in her arms.

‘It’s fine, Emi, just don’t do that, I don’t want you getting hurt, okay?’ The healing track member smiled softly down at her girlfriend, booping her nose to alleviate the tension. ‘Now, let’s get you fixed up, can you tell me where it hurts?’ She asked Emira, sitting her down against Puddles’ side, who had began resting on the grass. Emira blushed a little, holding her arms to her sides as she muttered,

‘My feet,’ her body seemed to tense up a little as she said that, not going unnoticed but Viney decided not to comment on it for now. The brunette just nodded, carefully taking off her girlfriend’s boots. Luckily they’d landed just on the outskirts of the forest, meaning Emira wasn’t too embarrassed about being without her shoes in public.

‘Okay, just try and sit still for me, healing magic can sting a little,’ Viney told her, though Emira barely seemed to be paying attention. Ever since Viney’s focus had been in her feet, the girl seemed a little more tense, clenching her palms into her fists, locking her eyes on her girlfriend’s fingers and godwhydidherfingerslooksoteasytoher?!

Before she could bounce away, a pleasant blue glow had enveloped Viney’s hand with a gentle whoosh sound. She then pointed her hand an Emira’s socked feet, nearly making the girl squeal from the sheer anticipation building up in her. It wasn’t until Emira’s soles had the same soft blue glow on them did the girl finally erupt in goggles and start twisting about.

‘Oh, I get it now, your ticklish, that’s why you’ve been so jittery! Super ticklish by the looks of things, or are your feet just a little weak spot of yours?’

Viney smirked over at her girlfriend, her playful personality immediately resurfacing once she realised she had found one of Emira’s adorable weaknesses. That and maybe being flustered and tickled would distract her from any of her lingering pain, that was definitely the main reason she was doing this.

‘I-ihaahaahahaha’m nahahahahaha-eeeep-ahahaht thahahahat ti-tihihihcklish..!’ Emira squealed though her laughter quickly trailed off as Viney finished her healing spell, leaving her feet good as new. Emira just looked over at her girlfriend, flustered and trying to timidly pull her feet back while thanking Viney.

But, her ankles were quickly snatched up by Viney, dragging the girl a little closer as she did so. The brunette got her arm wrapped around the green haired girl’s ankles, making all those little kicks and squirming useless.

‘Hey! I-I thought you were done healing me, what are you doing?!’ Emira asked, curling her toes as a smile of anticipation crawled its way onto her face, no matter how much she tried to remove it.

‘Well, Smiles, you have been difficult today, standing on Puddles, getting all jittery when I was trying to heal you, and you just leave one of your most ticklish spots literally on my lap?! Of course I’m gonna tickle the Hell out of you after that!’

Emira just blushed more and more as Viney spoke, opening her mouth to try and pout or argue back, but she seemed even too flustered to get her words out properly. It wouldn’t have mattered much anyway, Viney’s nails were already scratching and skittering all over Emira’s sock clad soles and arches, her fingers making sure to dig right in and slide over every part of her newly discovered sweet spot.

‘E-eeek!! V-vihihhiHIHIHneehehEHEHEHEY!!’

Emira clutched the sides of her face with her hands, with an expression that wasn’t quite discernible between horror and enjoyment. The girl bounced around like a mad witch, flinging her face from side to side while her legs tended up and twitched about, not sitting still for a minutes.

‘Oh, we’ve got ourselves a squirmer here, don’t we? Your really are suuuper ticklish, Emi, you should be lucky we’re still technically in public otherwise these socks would be coming clean off!’

‘P-PLEAHAHAAHAHAHSE!!’

‘Please what? Please tickle you more? Finish your sentences, Emi!’

She playfully threatened her, though Emira’s face was going entirely red. It wasn’t like Emira was new to being tickled or teased, but there was a certain level of flustering to it when it was her girlfriend teasing her. It felt warm and safe rather then embarrassing, like she was actually enjoying tickling Emira.

Viney’s nails soon began to claw and scrape at Emira‘a socked heels, making the witch begin to go hysterical from all the tickling she’d received. Tears even began to prick in her eyes, which Viney almost immediately noticed.

‘Alright, I think you’ve had enough tickles for one day, cutie!’ Viney smiled teasingly at her, causing the already flustered girl to absolutely crumble and curl up in on herself. Viney just chuckled lightly as she carefully put Emira’s boots back onto her.

‘Now, are you ever going to ride recklessly on Puddles again?’

Emira looked up, still blushing up a storm before shaking her head.

‘Great, because I will not hesitate to go for that sweet spot of yours if you step even a toe out of line while on that griffin!’ Viney said, her tone serious in a jokey way, but Emira could tell that she meant it.

And by Titan she was looking forward to it.

[zyrafowe-sny]

Trick or Treat!

Candy first :)

And here's a snippet from a WIP I started for Veek for the prompt "Nocedas" but didn't have time to finish:

"Shit, shit, shit. Where are my gym clothes?” 

Vee managed to intervene before Luz dumped out most of their (shared) clean laundry hamper. 

“I set them aside last night.” She held up a tied plastic Target bag, and immediately Luz’s level of panic seemed to dial down from a 9 to a 7. 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you! I don’t know how I ever got to school without you!”

“Late?” Vee deadpanned.

Luz answered with a grin. “That’s fair. Have you seen my chemistry book?”

“Under your sketch pad.” Vee moved out of the way as Luz zipped around the room assembling her backpack. 

A concerned voice called from downstairs. “Luz, hurry up! You know I can’t drive you today!” 

“I know, Mamá!” Luz yelled back. “Ugh. Wish I could stay home.” 

“Wish *I* could go to school.” As much as Luz complained about boring lectures and pointless tests, Vee loved poring over her textbooks. With Mamá’s help she was still cobbling together her own version of homeschool, but without the rest of the gang there, it was a little lonely. Hunter had casually floated the idea of her attending Hexside — he was hoping to enroll there himself once it reopened —  and while more time with her chosen brother and their friends was appealing, the idea of returning to the Demon Realm was not. 

“Trade?” Luz joked, not for the first time, but they both knew their mom would boil their heads for dinner if they swapped places. 

Vee made an attempt at a smile, but didn’t think she was entirely successful. 

It all came down to not being a real person. At least not in the eyes of the human government. Possibly not in the eyes of the Boiling Isles government either, but even under Belos the Boiling Isles didn't care as much about things like birth certificates. (It's not like King had one either, and *he’d* managed to change his name.)

[let-us-cultivate-our-garden]

Initial Thoughts and Reactions to “For the Future”

Spoilers after the cut. Avoid if you don’t like me being salty over the Collector.

Well, we are here at our penultimate episode of The Owl House. I enjoyed this one much more than “Thanks to Them” mainly in its depiction of Belos and not adding more Hunter angst. My main gripe with the season premiere is that it gave Belos this new-found possession power in a clear case of New Powers as the Plot Requires. Hunter spends 3/4s of the episode recovering and finding himself only for all of that to be obliterated by Belos once again. I have a more detailed post here.

Anyway, things I liked about FtF: the animation, holy smokes do they go all out with the fluid animation! Stand out pieces include the Collector’s sparkle wave and the reveal of Luz’s palisman. I liked how the little critter can shape-shift. Did you want an otter, here it is! A bat? That too! A snake? Well, that’s its default form! Her name is Stringbean. You will die for Stringbean.

Camila continues to be the best animated parent ever as she learns more about the Boiling Isles and how much it means to her daughter. Despite being freaked out multiple times, Camila sees how important the place and the people are to Luz and more importantly, how Luz is only hurting herself by pretending she wants to return to the human realm. Luz finally discovered who she was in the Demon Realm but she hadn’t realized yet, she only focused on her failures. Camila is able to open up about her own mistakes as a parent which triggers Luz’s realization as to what she really wants. She never fit in the human realm and had to find people in the Demon Realm that understood her so all she really wanted was to be understood. This epiphany followed by her palisman hatching is a beautiful climax to her character arc.

Things I was not fond of: The Collector. They’re a last-minute addition to the show and it’s apparent; his only real characterization is that he’s immature, likes to play, and doesn’t seem to realize the consequences of his actions. This would be a good starting point for a deeper, more layered character but the show is going for the common fan interpretation that “he’s just a kid! He just needs someone to guide him and he’ll be good!”

This is the same character who was a-okay with witch-genocide but since he’s a “kid” he gets a pass from the fandom and the show because he’s super-lonely and just wants friends.

Plus, there is the strong implication that he was not even responsible for the death of the Titans but other, apparently more “adult” Collectors were. See! He’s not like the others! He just wants to have fun! Belos is a bad influence! No wonder he’s like that!

Belos returns and true to form, starts manipulating people but this time in Raine’s puppified body. I didn’t care for Bunter but at least this possession makes sense because he is doing it to gain control over the Collector again. Belos didn’t feel like Belos in “Thanks to Them”; we didn’t get his reaction to the human realm despite it being foreshadowed, he was more like a movie monster villain than the character we’ve known since season 1. Here, at least Belos is being relatively subtle in his schemes instead of spouting cliched villain dialogue.

So Belos-as-Puppet-Raine starts to convince the Collector that King is actually trying to harm him! Obviously, King isn’t but the show needs to have a conflict between King and the Collector so it commits the most cliched miscommunication trope possible: Out-of-Context Eavesdropping. You’ve seen it before: Character A overhears Character B talk about them and out of context it sounds terrible. Character A is upset and leaves the scene. We cut back to Character B and it turns out that Character B meant something totally different! It’s in damn near every movie (especially kid’s media), it’s trite and everyone knows how it will end.

This is the problem with the Collector’s characterization so far: it’s basic. He’s just the Sad Lonely Boy Who Needs Friends. He makes mistakes but only because he doesn’t know any better! He falls under the sway of the Bad Guy and the Heroes have to save the Sad Lonely Boy and show him the True Meaning of Friendship. I really hope the show doesn’t go that route but all signs point in that direction.

This has been my main problem with The Owl House is that despite its commitment to trope-busting and nuanced characters, it lays all of the world’s problems on one person who is primarily characterized as Evil Incarnate. Fortunately, we do get some glimpses of Belos and “Caleb.” Belos is literally falling apart and sees visions of Caleb (whether it’s a ghost or a hallucination is unclear) and he lashes out in anger, blaming “Caleb” for everything. The “ghosts” of the previous grimwalkers even show up and Belos rebukes them with a simple “oh, shut up.” It’s a brief yet effective look at Belos’ vulnerability and his adamant refusal to even acknowledge his actions. The man is literally haunted by his past but can’t turn back now because what would he even do? I like to think that these apparitions are really Belos’ guilty consciousness made manifest since his worst memories are when he kills his brother and the “birth” of the first grimwalker. Belos, despite his literal monstrosity, is a supremely human villain and I just wish the show spent a little more time showing the tragedy of his character instead of being the Source of All Evil in the Boiling Isles.

Since we got this little taste of Belos’ “haunting,” I’m hopeful that it will all come to fruition in the finale and we can have a proper sendoff to his character.

Assorted musings:

· The Collector should have petrified Terra. It would have cemented his status as a Real Threat instead of just another misunderstood child who was abused by Belos.

· Speaking of Terra, I like how the animators gave her an old-lady pouch. Even evil folks need body diversity.

· Willow finally got some focus and a little mini-arc of her own. This would have been more impactful if she was more of a key player in Season 2B instead of it being the Luz and Hunter Show.

· Hunter has Flapjack’s teleporting abilities. Yay! Our boy can do magic! It would have been neat though if Hunter could hear Flapjack in his head. If Belos could hear the thousands of palisman souls screaming in his mind then why can’t Hunter do the same?

· Hooty manages to be freaky in an endearing way even as a jack-in-the-box. Never change Hooty.

· Why is Boscha here? We haven’t seen her properly since season 1 so it was a little jarring to see how much time they spent on this character. I guess a few loose ends needed to be tied and we needed to see what was going on with Hexside so here we are. Kiki is also here for Reasons. I guess we need a few mini-bosses before dealing with The Collector/Belos duo.

[faustianbroker]

TIMING: Current LOCATION: Harmony Hill, World's End Isle PARTIES: Caleb (@dirtwatchman) & Gabagool (& Levi at the end lol) SUMMARY: Caleb meets Gabagool in a graveyard, and the badalisc has an interesting offer for him. CONTENT WARNINGS: n/a

—

The strangest part of not working for Nichols anymore was the loss of comfort that came from being around them. Caleb had always had a hard time getting close to people, it was something that stemmed from childhood and it was no secret, but the Nichols family had always been that security blanket that made going through life so much easier. It had started with losing Jack and now that he couldn’t really be around Erin or Diane every part of him felt…out of place. He’d been trying to search for a new home, a new place where he could feel safe and understood without feeling like a burden, and he could get that with a few of the friends he still had around town but it was nothing compared to what he’d had before.

New locations weren’t doing it for him but he’d found himself searching them anyway. It was like he was sixteen again, running from what he couldn’t change while delving into the peace of the dead. He was leaning back against one of the larger headstones on Harmony Hill, his eyes closed as the sounds of the night barely reached his ears. The zombie wished he could hear the chirp of the crickets like he could when he was a kid, longed for the days he never thought he’d want to go back to again. 

He was just about to put his headphones in his ears and really go back to the past when he heard the scuffling of little feet coming towards him. Caleb’s eyes snapped open, his body now on alert, knowing what he could encounter. He was not expecting to see the weirdest looking cat thing he had ever encountered scurrying around one of the headstones to his right and he didn’t know whether to be cautious with it or hold out a hand to scratch behind its ears. “Uh...hey buddy. You seem like you’re a long way from home.” As it got closer, he took in the two different colored eyes and the soft gray of its fur, his body still tense. The thing was kind of cute but that didn’t mean it couldn’t be deadly. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m pretty far from home too.”

—

Gabagool was a hunter by nature. A hunter of juicy, juicy gossip. And sometimes, you know, you didn’t find that in highly populated areas! Usually, sure, but the juiciest stuff usually happened when someone was alone, was unaware that they were being watched. So from time to time, the little demon would wander his way through the outskirts of town, snooping around lonely cabins and weaving his way stealthily through more populated areas into the quiet, empty parts of town. Graveyards tended to fit that description, and this one was no exception! Except for the one guy in here, which was definitely suspect. Sure, maybe he was just out here mourning someone, but did they even bury people in this graveyard anymore? The demon didn’t know and didn’t care. All he knew was that there was a potential source of gossip to be investigated, and at the very least, it might do something funny. People tended to do funny things when Gabagool showed up.

It was hanging back for a while, but the man was being boring, so it decided to introduce itself. Trotting up to the man, totally carefree, Gabagool cocked his head as he was spoken to. “I am, actually,” he responded in his best version of a teary, lip-trembling sort of voice (that inexplicably sounded a lot like Billy Crystal). “A long way from home. I’m lost!” He could have gone on and on, quite the yapper, but it was always fun to let the humans react to the fact that he could talk.

—

It shouldn’t have surprised him that this thing could talk. He was used to the unexpected, so much so that the unexpected wasn’t all that unexpected anymore. But for some reason when the thing opened its mouth Caleb was shocked enough that his own fell open. A talking cat thing wasn’t as bad as a literal demon but maybe the fact that it sounded like that one guy from City Slickers didn’t help much. “Uh…right, yea. Of course you can talk, why would that not be a thing right now?” 

He was still staring at the thing, still poised for some sort of attack because that voice did nothing to convince Caleb that the cat was sincere, but he also was ready to help if needed. It was something else instilled in him, that need to please even the smallest of creatures around him. It said something that Caleb wanted the approval of this animal but he wasn’t willing to dive into that yet. “Do you uh…want me to help you get back? Do you know where you live…do you even have an address?” Was it rude to ask a lost…thing if it had an address? The zombie didn’t want to offend it even if he was a little scared the thing was going to take his head off at any second. 

—

Gabagool grinned a wide, cheshire grin, his little tufts of fur that might’ve been ears flattening against his large skull. The creature was 70% mouth, the rest of it consisting mostly of soft fur and flab. Well, and sharp teeth. He was still a carnivore, after all. 

“Oh gosh, mister, would you?” The badalisc hopped on all four paws, moving closer to Caleb and shaking out his fur. “I live on World’s End Isle. I’m sure my master is terribly worried about where I’ve gone, mister. Could you take me there? I don’t like walking on the bridge alone… it’s scary.” He dropped his head low, dramatically throwing himself to the ground right next to Caleb’s legs, rolling onto his back and looking up at the other upside down. “Hey, what are you doing here, anyway? Not a very nice hangout spot. I don’t like graveyards — I didn’t mean to end up in this one.”

—

This thing sounded almost condescending as it spoke, that wide grin not helping one bit. But it was a ridiculous thought, right? It was a cat…thing. Animals weren’t condescending from what he knew of them. Still, animals didn’t talk either and this was proving him wrong. When it flopped on its back and started looking at Caleb while upside down the zombie felt his lips pull up into a smile, all thoughts of its tone disappearing from his mind. They were dumb thoughts anyway. It had to be the voice. “I can help you, yeah. The walk across the bridge can be pretty terrifying in the dark. We don’t want to keep you from your master any longer.” 

He reached over and hesitantly ran a finger under the animal’s chin before getting to his feet. Caleb felt like a giant standing next to it with his chin almost meeting his chest as he looked down. “I’m kind of the opposite. I come to cemeteries to think when I have too much on my mind. They’ve been a source of comfort for me.” How sad was that? Why was he scared that this animal was going to judge him for it? And why was it easier to talk about all of this with a cat? “There’s been a lot going on lately.” 

—

“Oooohhh, a lot going on, huh? I gotcha, I gotcha,” Gabagool sympathized, following Caleb’s lead and rolling back over onto his paws. He gave his whole body a shake to get rid of any stray dirt or leaves, then started to pad along beside the man. “I’m Gabagool, by the way! And I’m a great listener. At least, that’s what papá tells me! Sometimes when he gets home from work and he’s just had the hardest day, he likes to sit with me on the couch and tell me all about it. Says it makes him feel better!” The badalisc bounded in front of Caleb, standing up on his hind legs and stretching the front ones out toward the man as much as he could. 

“Uppies?” he asked with a grin, hopping on the spot to maintain his balance. “Papá also says that my fur is the softest he’s ever felt and that it’s soothing. Plus, you got long legs, I dunno if I can keep up.”

—

Caleb had never had a pet before. When he was younger his foster parents claimed they were too busy taking care of their foster kids to house any pets inside. The mom would try to be nice about it, let the kids believe that it was for the benefit of any animal that might come through their home, but Caleb saw the real truth when he was thirteen. His foster brother, only a year older than him, brought home a cat one day because he’d found it stuck in a drainpipe. Gary, having already started his drinking that day, went ballistic. Turns out, the man really did not like animals. It almost reminded Caleb of how much Gary hated the very children they let into their home. His brother had been able to get the cat out of the house before anything really bad happened but that moment had stuck with all the kids from that point on. No pets allowed. 

When he got older Caleb had never really thought about a companion no matter how lonely he’d gotten over the years. It must have been ingrained in him that pets were a bad thing and then he was killed and became a zombie…which he felt would put any pet at risk if something were to happen to its owner. 

But having this cat stand on its hind legs and reach for him made him want to break down and get his own. Obviously this one kept speaking of an owner so it was off the table but there were shelters around here. He grinned, not even hesitating to pick up the furry thing as it danced in front of him and let it settle comfortably in his arms. “That’s an interesting name. I’ve never heard one like it.” But this animal’s papa was correct, its fur was very soft. Caleb was absentmindedly brushing his fingers through it as he started walking in the direction of World’s End Isle. Maybe the papa was right about spilling his guts to the cat too. He didn’t think about the fact that if this thing could talk to him it could talk to others before he launched into things. When a person sees a cat they don’t automatically think the animal can spread their secrets around. “You ever heard of demons, Gabagool? Those things are very real. And they like to possess people and use them and ruin their lives. I was doing okay, you know? My life wasn’t horrible but then Aesil set out to destroy almost every relationship I had for fun.”

—

Had Gabagool ever heard of demons? It made the badalisc want to laugh, made him want to chuckle and chortle and guffaw right in this silly man’s face, because of course he had! He was one! But all the mirth would have to wait, because Gabagool knew that name. Aesil. They weren’t friends by any stretch of the imagination, and their paths had only crossed one time — this was before Gabagool had decided to align himself with Leviathan. But he knew that name, knew that demon, and had some small inkling of that demon’s purpose. It wouldn’t do, not here. Not now. 

Lying, though, that wouldn’t do, either. Because the truth would come out eventually, and it was better to build that trust now. If this guy was somehow connected to Aesil, who might have had plans that would disrupt the operation here, Leviathan would want to know. Leviathan would want to take care of it, as it always took care of things. That didn’t include killing the man who was now carrying Gabagool home, but it would very likely involve getting some information out of him. Papá liked to do that a little more humanely, these days. It liked to not burn bridges that didn’t need burning. So, the badalisc put looked up at the man with wide, mismatched eyes, conjuring every ounce of pity that he could into those bright orbs. 

“Oh… I’m really sorry to hear that, mister,” he commiserated. “Demons can be… well, like you said. Just the worst. But yes, I know all about them.” There was a pregnant pause, and the creature smiled again, this time without baring his little fangs. His ears perked up, little nub of a tail wagging behind him. “I am one, actually. But not like Aesil. There’s lots of different kinds of demons, did you know? I just talk a lot. That’s my thing.”

—

He almost dropped the cat. Caleb almost launched it in the air as soon as it admitted to being a demon itself almost as if the creature was burning him but he held on, albeit a little tighter than he had before. Of course it was a demon. Of course the only damn thing that he’d felt completely comfortable with in the past couple of months turned out to be the very thing that had almost destroyed him. What was it about these things that attracted them to Caleb? Were they now kindred spirits or something? Now that he’d been taken over by one they all wanted a piece? He needed to know so that he could find a way to get rid of whatever was pulling them his way.

His body had stiffened so much that he felt himself coming to a slow stop in the middle of the street. He did know about different types of demons as he was currently reading up about them as much as possible but he’d never come across one like this in his teachings. Gabagool seemed friendly enough but Aesil had been the same when they wanted something from someone. Right up until they decided they were done with them and got rid of them in some excruciating way.

Caleb couldn’t deny that this was an opportunity though. If the demon in his arms was willing to talk, which apparently it talked a lot, he could possibly get more information about Aesil and demons in general. There was a brief thought of how concerned he should be about himself for the subtle obsession of finding as much information about this stuff as possible that was starting to take over his mind but he brushed it aside. “Do you take over people’s bodies?” Maybe it had taken over the cat’s body? No, this wasn’t a normal cat that didn’t seem right. “How do I know I’m not going to wake up one day to you controlling me while trying to raise a greater demon?”

—

Gabagool felt the man’s grip on him tighten and closed his eyes for a moment, resisting the urge to react by sticking his claws in him. He was freaked out. Of course he was freaked out, apparently he’d been a vessel for a while. People didn’t like being vessels, Gabs could understand that. So he waited patiently for the man to speak, and when he did, the demon let out a little scoff. 

“Me? No, no, of course not! My body is perfect for me, thanks very much, why would I want to crawl into someone else’s? Anyway, even if I did want to, I can’t. I’m not that kind of demon, y’see? I’m a badalisc. I can’t help my nature, mister, but I’m no body snatcher. As for raising greater demons…” Gabagool smiled gleefully at Caleb. “My  greater demon is already raised! It’s walkin’ around town, happy as a clam. Didn’t hardly need anyone’s help to do it, either! It’s the best, honestly. There’s no better greater demon to work with. You’re gonna love ‘em. Y’know, I gotta tell them about this Aesil guy, though. He sounds like a stinker, and we’re not really in the market for competition. But Leviathan can take care of that problem easy peasy! You make friends with it, and it’ll have your back if that clown comes back to town! One greater demon is enough for a place of this size, don’t you think?”

—

He wanted to relax, forced himself to do so by lessening his grip on the animal, but how could Caleb even believe a word this thing was saying? He knew. He knew about the lies that spilled from the mouths of these things because he had been trapped with one for months watching every horrifying scene play out as he screamed for things to stop. Even now his own voice echoed in his mind, pleading for Aesil to end things by either leaving him or somehow taking him out to leave a husk the demon could have forever. 

But he was getting some new information already even if he couldn’t trust the source. Caleb had a source he could trust, someone he could run this information by later and see what was truth and what wasn’t. It was the only thing calming him down. “Badalisc…I didn’t realize there were so many different types of you guys.” 

His mouth ran dry as the badalisc continued, news of a greater demon already walking around making him feel a new kind of terror. From what he had gathered throughout the months of Aesil’s reign, the greater demon he was trying to raise had one goal and one goal only; to wipe out the human race. That demon despised humans, the undead even more so, and had been planning very cruel things for this dimension. If what this thing was telling him was true though, it didn’t seem like Leviathan had the same goals. Caleb hoped that was true. “You want me to meet them? And be friends?” That wasn’t happening. The idea of telling them about Aesil so they could take care of them? That could be arranged. “....Okay. I have a lot of information about Aesil I can pass along. I think I even know the name of the demon they were trying to raise.”

—

“Oh, there’s loads of little demon friends. Not all of us can talk, though. I’m special like that.” Gabagool beamed proudly, deciding to forgive the man for his tight grip. He seemed hesitant about meeting Leviathan, which was fair. Most people heard a name like that and started to remember all the human stories they’d ever heard and read about creatures called Leviathan, most of which were the demon in question at one point in its life. It could be terrible and cruel, just like the stories all said, but it did love humans. It was fascinated by them, even though it sometimes did terrible things to them. That was just greater demons, though. You can love a thing and treat it poorly, too — Gabagool had witnessed this plenty of times. It made sense, really, since humans were so very far beneath demons on the totem pole of life. They were like… pets. More like pets than even Gabagool was! Which he was fine with. He liked being pampered. 

Of course there were exceptions to every rule, like his human brother, Teddy. Teddy was a human who was made into something better, then changed back. It’d been sad to see them lose what connection they’d had to their father, but it had been necessary. And Leviathan still seemed to love them just as much as it had when they were less human. 

“Great! Leviathan would love to hear it, if you know the name. Is it their true name? Greater demons love to use aliases, you know. Leviathan isn’t my master’s real name, of course — we wouldn’t just use that in casual conversation. You can do a lot of damage with a greater demon’s true name. Leviathan might even be able to summon it to kill it!” He wiggled excitedly in Caleb’s arms, staring up at him with wide eyes. “It did that once before, you know! Killed a greater demon for a human. I don’t know if it would do that again, but it’s worth asking.”

—

“You sure are.” Caleb felt like he was on autopilot as he started to walk again, going over the bridge into World’s End Isle. The closer he got to this thing’s house, the more his body started to buzz with anxiety. He almost wanted to let it go on its own but the idea of sending Aesil and their greater demon to an end was too tempting to let go of. Their doom might even make him feel a little lighter knowing that they wouldn’t be back to continue what they started. It was a constant fear in the back of his mind. What if Van let them out again? Worse, what if she brought on the greater demon with the powers that she couldn’t control? Would Caleb be sought out for the use of his body? Would they succeed in taking over this time?

It was worth seeing this other one. As long as he didn’t get possessed yet again. “…I’m really putting a lot of trust in you right now.” Which felt like a mistake even as he looked down into the demon's eyes, even as he admitted to his master doing such a good thing before. It didn’t seem truthful though Caleb was probably biased…with good reason. “Please…please don’t lie to me about this.” He’d seen too many die by his own hand, good people who hadn’t deserved the fate that had been handed to them.

“Andras. The greater demon, Aesil called them Andras. I don’t know if that was his real name or not.” Was Aesil smart enough to not let Caleb in on the true name of the thing they were trying to raise. His money was on ‘no.’ The cockiness alone was enough to make them believe that Caleb was never coming back from inside his own mind. “Does it sound familiar to you?”

—

The house was like most in this area — large and somewhat imposing, especially when you knew that a demon lived inside of it. Well, two demons, technically. Gabagool might not have had the talents of Leviathan, but he was every inch as demonic! The sky was dark and smattered with stars that peeked out from behind the thick cloud cover, and the ocean roared behind the house with large, stormy waves that crashed against the private beach. There were a few lights on on the first floor, glowing amber and warm in contrast to all else in the town.  

“I would never lie, mister. I’m honest as they come! Don’t worry, Leviathan will have a lot more interest in this possessor of yours — and the demon they serve — than it will in… you. To be blunt.” The town had no shortage of viable humans, there was no reason to go breaking the trust of this one just to add one more to the pile. No, he seemed like he’d be much more useful alive. 

“Andras, though… no, that doesn’t sound familiar. Papá might know it, might know it by some other name, too. Sometimes the real names only pass the lips of other greater demons, you know? Very sacred stuff.”

As they approached the house that the badalisc indicated, he finally wiggled himself free from Caleb’s grasp and dropped down onto the footpath, stretching out his limbs before hopping up and down on the spot. “C’mon! Time’s a-wastin’!” Bounding up to the door, he leaped at the doorbell and slapped it with a paw, falling back into a heap before righting himself on the stoop, little nub of a tail wagging. 

Footsteps approached the door, and there was a loud click as the lock was disengaged. Then, the door was pulled open and artificial light poured out onto the stone walkway. A large figure stood silhouetted in the doorway, silently assessing the stranger on his doorstep.

“Leviathan! This one’s got a story you’re going to want to hear.”

—

As Caleb watched the animal scurry out of his arms and up towards the door it was hard to believe that this wasn’t some unbelievably talented cat but instead a demon. He’d spent the better part of the last five months believing that those things came in only one form; evil. Gaba wasn’t evil, or he was at least doing an amazing job at lying if he was. Which...was possible. Demons were manipulative and even if Aesil lacked the cunning that the zombie believed they should possess he was pretty sure it was because a dud took over his body and that wasn’t normal. Still…watching him slap the doorbell with his paw almost made him smile. 

But then the door opened and his eye was drawn upwards, that fear from earlier trickling back in when he took in the sight of this greater demon. Of course it was intimidating in all aspects, because why wouldn’t it be? 

He met its stare for a brief moment before looking back down at the steps of the porch, not able to summon the strength to boldly look it in the eye. At Gaba’s insistence, Leviathan seemed to deem the zombie worthy of entrance and it stepped aside to let him in but he hesitated, swallowing down the lump that was forming in his throat. All he could do was hope this would pay off. He stepped forward, still avoiding the persistent gaze of the demon, and didn’t even bother looking around the house before he started his story.

“I’m Caleb…and I think there’s a demon you might want to look into.”